Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Holidays 2013!

Jeffrey writes a Holiday letter each year.  Below is its debut on our blog, so enjoy!
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It has been quite a year. Some of it very fun and enjoyable traveling – visiting and exploring with the motor-home – and some of it very confounding because of the motor-home and the issues of the mobile life style. Nothing serious, but it helps that we have a background that includes basic electrical knowledge!

We left Austin, Texas last December as planned and traveled until mid-August. We spent most of the time in Florida and Raleigh but made it as far north as Connecticut before we turned around and headed back south for more Raleigh, more Florida and eventually back to the Austin area. I think the highlight for both of us was Washington, DC and the impromptu Civil War history sub-plot that we weren't expecting.

When we got back to Austin we flew to Burlington, WA to visit Maren's father Rick and Sheila and while there we explored the north west corner of Washington state with them. I joked to Maren that we were visiting 3 of the 4 corners of the US this year without even really planning it. Well, upon our return to Austin, Maren found a cruise for my 50th birthday that included Key West, FL – and a few weeks later we planned a trip to meet up with Rick and Sheila in December in San Diego! Now I wish we had made it all the way to Maine in the motor-home before we turned around. Next year we will have to try harder ...

Now, just because we are full-time RVers, that doesn't mean we don't plan other side adventures when we are out on the road. We just have to carry luggage with us for when an airplane is the mode of transportation. In March we flew from Raleigh to Miami for a Caribbean cruise with David and Mary and kids. In June we flew from Raleigh to Cancun, Mexico just in time to experience Tropical Storm Andrea forming and a very wet week. 
 
The fall in Austin was a blur, and that is when we had some electrical issues with the motor-home. We had a few different problems and it took a bunch of investigation (by us) and several attempts by the experts to get it right, but we think that this problem is now behind us. Issues are a given for full-time RVers since every trip is a windstorm and an earthquake to the home. We expect this and so far it hasn't changed our minds, yet. In the middle of all this we ventured to west Texas and the Big Bend area. Is that the 5th corner of the US? Driving there and around the area we saw the great expanse of Texas with the views to match. Did we mention that “the stars at night – are big and bright …. deep in the heart of Texas”?

We again plan to be back in Austin in 2014 in time for another season of Gator football (lets not talk about that!) and hosting game watching parties with the Lone Star Gator Club. That will also let us catch up with Austin friends and repeat the cycle of getting our regular doctor and dentist visits out of the way before hitting the road again for 2015. 
 
In summary, our travels let us visit all the parents, all the brothers and sisters-in-law(5+5) and all the east coast aunts(4), uncles(5) and cousins(8 + spouses); and even some 2nd cousins and extended family! Next year's plan is still in the works, but look out mid-west family - it might happen this year. (We will let you know as soon as we figure it out).

I try and make an effort to keep friends and family up to date via Facebook but we realize that not everyone uses that. The blog gets updated at least every month, so look for the real story of this year's adventures and future travels in this blog (http://marenandjeffrey.blogspot.com).  If you'd like us to email you when we add new posts to our blog, please click here -> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Nfel34nwmpCGfpXeJxCqZoy6_uJOCru7KTk01pDMicI/viewform

We wish you the very best for the New Year and hope you are spending the holidays making memories with family and friends.


Jeffrey & Maren
171 Rainbow Drive #7173 Livingston, TX 77399
512-689-4896

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