Snow!

December 5th Wednesday. 21* snowy

We got our first real snow today. Accumulated about 3-4 inches. Some spots due to the wind it is much deeper. Could hardly open the back door of the shop this evening. Major was having a hayday, he loves the snow even though he has a hard time getting thru it sometimes. Warming up tomorrow and more so towards weekend and suppose to be 50* on Sunday .

I got an email from our good friend Nathan Phillips, Nate took over the business when we sold it. Nate worked there for about a year and a half and then decided to join the Army. One of the brightest kids I have ever met. Good heart and brains. Don't know why he decided to join now during a war but that is just Nate. He had been stationed in Hawaii for the last year or so. He was just home for a short leave before having to ship out to Iraq. Nate and all the other brave souls who defend our country deserve the most respect we can muster. We should all give thanks to these people every day. Nathan has a new girlfriend who now must endure the long wait for him to come home along with his loving family. Mary, his mom is trying to be supportive but obviously wants her son here. I am not anything close to a religious person but Nathan is so Godspeed to you my friend, do your job do it good, be safe and return home to us in one piece. Watch your back brother and don't take any unnecessary risks. I believe Nate is in Recon division so he will unfortunately be at risk all the time. We love you dude, hurry back and we'll take care of your Mom while your gone, don't worry about that. Keep your mind focused on the job!

With that I am closing this update, nothing can top the bravery or our friend Nate! Hopefully they will get you guys out soon. Peace out bro!

If anyone would like to send Nate a note or card please do, they need all the support they can get from home! Just put a note you're friends of Tab and Deanna

Spc Phillips, Nathan W. / Recon 1-27
2-25 SBCT
HHC 1-27 In SBCT 6260
APO AE 09378

Catch up time

Sunday November 25th 2007 Cold 36*

Well, been a long time since I updated but not a lot to report, so I will just pop in some thoughts of things we have done since Labor day.


In September after leaving North Carolina and our dear friend Patti we headed to Gettysburg with Ken and Kathy. We spent 5 days at the Gettysburg Campground. We liked it so much we bought a membership there which would now be our home park. So when we get back to traveling full time this park would basically be home for us. Our membership allows us to stay up to 3 weeks at a time for free (so to speak :) ) then we have to be out for a couple of weeks and then can return.
The area is so rich in history and so much to see and do it will take a while to get it all done. Then the surrounding area will be another journey. Not to far away is the Nations capital and Washington DC. Ken and Kathy also belong to this park so we would always have friends to share the area with, and they are from near there so they already know a lot of the good places.

We made the journey home on Sunday to avoid a big traffic rush and also give me a day to relax before going back to work. Speaking of work, it is plenty busy. There are now 3 of us in the shop so this will open up some opportunities for us to take some extended visits in the future. The reason being is there needs to be 2 people in the shop at any given time. It was different when I owned it, I could work by myself and if I got hurt that was my deal.

After Labor day we slowed down a bit but did make a trip to Elkhart to visit friends. All of our friends are now south or west trying to stay out of the cold. Don't think they are all getting it done but at least they are trying . :) Terry and Dale and Ken and Kathy now own lots in Mission Texas, not at the same place but same town. Smokey and Pam and John and Doni are in Yuma Arizona ( where I would like to be) Janice and Dean are helping her father in Alabama and Bill and Helen are relaxing on their new lot in Ocala Florida I think it is. That is the home of Don Garlits Drag racing museum and must see for motor sports enthusiasts. Many of them visited with us this summer and they are always welcome.

My metal detecting has kept me really busy this summer and fall. Since April I have managed to find $225 in change, couple of nice silver rings a silver coin and some oddball coins. The grandson loves to go with me and use my old detector. He managed to find a coin from either Japan or China but I think it was China. Had a square hole in the middle of it and I think Japanese coins have a round hole. Anyway I went this last weekend and found about $7 and last weekend I found a 1893 Indian head penny. That was pretty cool. To think it is over 114 years old. Pretty rough shape but enough to see what it is and the date. No value to it other than I found it and it's old. Deanna has been with me several times and did pretty well also for never using one before. Fun to share that with her. :) I never thought I would find $100 let alone the $225 I have now!

We went thru some issues with our new 5th wheel rv we bought back in May. Had some troubles with the holding tanks but I managed to get it all taken care of and improved the whole design. You know me 'I ain't skeered Andy'! We love the new rv and it fits our life so well. Just the right size and easy to move around. Now heating season is upon us and it is regular trips to the propane station about every 10 days. Our new truck is great, and we really love it. We missed our other Dodge after we sold it to buy the Medium Duty Kodiak. That truck by the way went byebye. I tried for a couple of months to sell it and got tired of the tire kickers so I took it to a dealer who gave me a reasonable offer and I sold it to them. Of course right after I got 10 calls asking about it. Just the way it works! Got our money, dropped an insurance policy and set of tags and moved on.

Then our pet frog that lived in the loading dock I had to relocate due to filling in the dock. So I moved him to the other side of the railroad tracks to the creek. Well about a week or so later he comes back. I once again return him to the creek. Weeks later while I was working underneath the RV I see the frog INSIDE the building by our water hookup. He has moved inside NOW! I put him outside and he managed to get back in! So he would disappear every few days I assume to hunt for food ( I fed him crickets and millers and grasshoppers I found) but apparently he needed something else. Anyway living inside during the summer is ok but he would never hibernate during the winter due to it being warm. Well I'm not about to buy and feed him crickets all winter so I relocated him to Kiser lake 6 miles away. Now if he comes back this time I will feed him :) Here's a pic of him. He lived in our dock from a tiny baby for about 2 years.

















Thanksgiving we spent with Bill and Molly and Tabby, they were staying home for the holiday which is what we were going to do till they called us up and invited us over for dinner with them. We of course ate WAY to much and then to top it all off Bill made a chocolate pie that would put you into a diabetic comma just smelling how sweet it was. OF COURSE we ate it! Paid for that all night long though but the whole dinner was fantastic and spending some alone time with them was fun. Tabby is growing up so fast, walking and talking. :) what a sweetheart she is. Jordan and Jessie were with their mom for turkey day so we didn't get to see them.
Saturday we took the girls and Molly to the Build a Bear store so Tabby and Jessie could build a Reindeer for Xmas. Easier to let them pick their gift and then you don't have to worry about someone else getting the same thing. They had a great time dressing them up. Tabby got Rudolph and Jessie built a Clarice deer. Had them all dressed up with skirts and shoes! Now after Xmas we will take Jordan to most likey Best Buy for his presents that he picks out. Easier to let them get what they want.















Almost forgot, first part of October we went with Bill and Molly and kids to a Renfest. This is a pretty good festival going back to the 16th century of Knights and jousting. A lot of the people dress the ages and talk the talk. It was really cool and would be fun to go back to. There are all types of side shows going on from magic to the jousting. Gotta say they were big about boosting their boobs back then ! :)





























So that brings you all up to date on what has been going on. Not a lot but we are still kicking and eager to travel again. So, all our friends, stay warm and in touch and be careful out there. The price of fuel is probably keeping some sitting still longer than normal but at least you are doing what you enjoy! Will try to update around Xmas time. Take care all and don't you eat that yellow snow! :)

August 28th, 2007 Temp 100*

Left on 8/24 Friday to go visit Patti and meet up with Ken and Kathy. We stayed at a nice quite county park at the Neuseway Nature center. Here at the nature center they have every thing from an Eagle to Rattlesnakes and in the basement which they call the cave there are displays of fish and even some skunks, along with skinks and iguana's. There is also a planetarium that we will go see on Sunday.

The trip thru West Virgina was pretty and the valleys were pretty cool. Lots of 5% grade but the Dodge did a superb job. The exhaust brake with the tow mode enabled on the transmission controlled our down hill speed so well I would have to give it throttle to keep going fast enough. I used the spare fuel tank this trip to extend our range without having to stop for fuel. With both tanks we can get about 800 miles before empty at 9mpg. Total fuel capacity is about 86 gallons. Sure is nice to not have to worry about where we are going to find a gas station.

So Friday on the trip here it went pretty well until we got to Raleigh, at the point apparently they have done enough road construction that the gps maps I had were outdated. We took the turn headed for I40 and from there don't know what happened but somehow we were off route and it only got worse from there! We spent probably 1/2 hour to 45 minutes trying to get out of Raleigh. Frustration turned into anger and every turn I made was wrong! Finally someone we were booted out of there and back on track. Good thing I had just bought a new version of Streets and Trips 2007 as it had updated maps and got us going straight and narrow again. Note to self, quit being cheap and buy updated maps!

Well 45 minutes later we arrived here at the campground with Ken Kathy and Patti waiting. It was great to see Patti again and she looks good. Always great to see Ken and Kathy but seeing Patti was a bittersweet moment with the loss of her husband Mickey last November and this being the first time we have gotten to see her. She was quite excited to see us all also.
Anyway our trip ended up being 700 miles and 13 hours! Should have only been 630 miles so I don't know where the additional miles came in as we were not THAT lost! I will have to try to retrace the trip and see if the old gps maps took was long way around. That is quite possible as I set the options for mapping to Bus which tries to keep on us decent roads, the cost of that is extended tours.

Saturday, Patti came over about 10am and we all loaded into the Dodge and headed for the east coast for an Ocean fix. I so miss the Ocean since we were in Morro Bay California. Something about the waves and smell of the air. Patti took us to eat at a place called the Sanitary which is a seafood restaurant on an inlet waterway. Food was great and even though I managed to knock over Patti's tea and my Pepsi at the same time it was a lot of fun. Fortunately no one got soaked. Patti was quite nimble on her feet when the glass went crashing. Deanna had the popcorn shrimp fried and I had the Talapia fish sandwich. They bring you all you can eat hushpuppies which look unlike the hushpuppies I am use to that are round balls but shaped like a fat curly worm. Food was great and the view was pretty cool out the windows as this was on a boardwalk or wharf or whatever you call it. Basically a restaurant on stilts in the water!

Next after eating we headed for the waterfront. Where we went to was a point where there was a Fort by the name of Macon Fort. It was seized in the 1800's by the Union Army, not all that exciting as when they captured it the fort was being watched by 1 Confederate soldier who didn't even have a weapon with him! He soon after joined the Union army. Interesting thing about this fort was it was there to keep the enemy from coming in from the ocean side. There were cannons placed all along the border of the fort facing the ocean. These were smooth bore cannons firing a cannon ball weighing 32 pounds and could fire 1 mile with 6-7 pounds of powder. Now that is a long way in the 1840's. They would set each cannon to fire a different distance like 1500 yards 1600 yards etc, when the enemy attacked they would fire each cannon until they found the range and then reset all the other cannons to that range. Another thing was they would heat the cannon balls to 1000 degrees in a furnace and fire them and set the ship on fire. Supposedly it worked quite well.

The ocean was fantastic, the waves were not huge but sure were refreshing, main difference here from Morro bay and the Pacific ocean was this water you could stand in, on the Pacific the water was so cold your feet would go numb after less than a minute! This was nice cool to warm water and felt wonderful! I didn't want to leave. The area we were in was mainly for fishing and no swimming or wading was allowed but then the water came to me not the other way around and DAMN the sand was hot away from the water! We spent an hour of so admiring the ocean and then left to see the fort and then headed back towards home.

On the way home we stopped at a fishing pier and beach and walked out on the pier. Lots of people on the beach as far as you could see, some were just sun bathing while others were out on surf boards or just enjoying the waves. Might have been some pretty girls in skimpy bikini's but I didn't notice :) . Some small fish were being caught off the Pier but nothing large that we saw although they apparently do catch some large ones and there was a board there you listed your big catch on. Some were pretty large getting upwards of 40 pounds. Now if you an imagine trying to hoist a 40 pound fish up 50 feet into the air with a fishing pole I think you begin to see the picture.

We then headed home and waked the dogs. Patti wanted us to come by to see her place so we said we would after we got our ice cream fix! We actually decided to get something to eat so we hit an Arby's and had some fun with the girl at the register and we are suppose to swing by on Tuesday and pick her up and take her back to Ohio with us. :)

We then got our ice cream from DQ and headed to Patti's. Nice little place Patti has and we got to see Frosty again and Joeys dog Jaz. He is pretty shy but would let me pet him with my arm hanging over the couch. Tomorrow we are going to Patti's for a cookout after we all hit the nature center and Planetarium.

Weather this morning is humid and very over cast as if going to rain, they could use some as the river is almost non existent. This area at the campground is prone to flooding at times and is evident when you notice the power receptacle's you hook up to are 5 feet off the ground! That is a lot when you consider the river is probably 20 feet below us!

8/25/07 Sunday 95* and HOT!

This afternoon we went to the Nature enter and Planetarium to check it all out. But before we went we were sitting outside Ken and Kathy's rig when something attracted the attention of Katie their dog, she began swinging her head side to side to get something out of her mouth but we still don't know what it was but just a few minutes later I see this monster creature scurrying around. It is like a HUGE ant and is covered with a red velvet fur with a black stripe. So Ken and I jumped into action knowing what better place to find out what it is but at a Nature Center. So we quickly trapped it in a water bottle and trotted off to the Nature Center. The guy running the center says "Oh yeah, that's a Cow Killer"! WHAT! Insert :EEK: here :0 . It is related to the bee family and will put a wallop on you if you decided it is cute and you need to hold it. Not only once but repeatedly if need be! It is a lone critter that hunts by itself and forages for food. Can you imagine if you ran across a mound of them if they weren't? This guy was about 5/8" long and when you turned the bottle upside down you could here him hit the other side! They get up to an inch long so this was a younger one apparently.

So we toured the Nature center and I admired how HUGE the rattlesnakes they had were. One is 11 years old and if you came across it in the wild you would trip over it thinking it was a log! It makes the Sidewinder rattlesnake I found in the desert look like a worm! This guy was probably 4-5" in diameter and it would have been hard to wrap both your hands around it's body. This was an Eastern Diamondback which can be identified by the diamonds on it's back. The other nearly as big was a Timber Rattlesnake which the curator said was quite a testy specimen when he first came there, striking at the glass all day long trying to enjoy a little human meal! Plenty of other snakes like copperhead, Moccasin's, Rat snakes, Albino King snake, Boa, Python and on and on.

Also there was a Parrot named Oliver and he told you that quite often along with what sounded like ordering food from a fast food drive thru. :) He was about 20 and will live to normally be in his 80's. Of course lots of other critters, gecko's, skinks, birds, scorpions, spiders, sea crustaceans, star fish, lots of different fish. Pretty much all you could imagine but in a quite small building. It was a neat little visit and we really enjoyed it, plus it was just across the parking lot.

We then headed to Patti's for a cookout. Patti did the cooking and everything was fantastic! Hamburgers hot dogs, Funi salad, some other salad and some other salad (obviously things I don't eat). Lot's of sweet tea to drink and chips! We were stuffed and then she brought out a strawberry cream pie! I couldn't stuff any more down so I passed but did taste it and it was delicious. She later took us on a tour and showed us the Garden Center her and Mickey had built and ran. She is back to working there now though someone else owns it. Then she took us past a house they had built when they got married complete with a pond in the side yard. What a beautiful house. Mickey was talented in many ways and one of them was woodworking, he not only built benches and furniture but art with different shaped pieces of wood. We really miss that guy!

So we finished the tour and it was getting to be early evening and we decided to head back to walk the fur kids. A storm was impending but never materialized for us although it did rain in some other places. One thing it did do for us was cool it down. It was a wonderful night to sit outside and enjoy the company of our friends. We sat out till about 10pm and then called it a night as Ken as about to pass out in his chair (lightweight) :) I mean he sleeps till 10 in the morning! Sheshhhhh.

Tomorrow, thinking we will hit a local aquarium.

Diggin for change!

Saturday March 24th, 2007 Temp 62*

Been quite a while since I have posted but not a lot has been going on. Have been waiting for the weather to change and finally this week it is warming up. 70 degrees today but we have had a lot of rain. Next week is suppose to be near 80 but some possible severe weather with rain mostly all week.

Just recently I have updated our RV with a tankless/water heater. It was an interesting project to get completed with having to alter some plumbing and gas piping to make things more user friendly for connecting. Nice thing about it is there is no more tank cleaning to take care of and it ends the often sour smell water odor. Should be a lot more efficient on propane as the burner only runs when you turn the hot water on. Another nice item is once you get your water temp set you don't need to mess with it any more as the water temp is constant.

So now that the weather is getting better I have been playing with my metal detector and having some pretty good luck. In the last week I have found almost $8 in change at the local ball park. Below are a couple of pictures. It is fun spending a couple of hours looking for treasures as you never know what you will find. A lot of people look at me and laugh thinking I am crazy but once I find that first valuable coin or jewelry the laughing will subside! :) Have also been practicing gold panning as that is something I have always wanted to do when we are traveling . I am getting pretty good at it and have practicing in a little creek across the tracks. Actually there is the possibility of Gold in most of the streams in Ohio that the glaciers came thru. Actually I believe there were 3 glaciers that came thru this area. Anyway the glaciers carried gold down from Canada and deposited it all over Ohio. There are 3 claims in Ohio for gold prospecting that have produced. Now that I belong to the Gold Prospectors Association I can go to these claims at no charge.





























Next month we will be going to Elkhart Indiana for an annual RV rally we have attended for the last 4 years. Some friends of ours put it on and it will be good to see them again. Terry and Dale are also fulltimers and are due back in the area in April. Our other friends Smokey and Pam will be there and will be spending the summer in Elkhart area vending some products.

Work is busy and life is short so I got things to go do! See ya next time!

Time flies

January 10th, 2007 Wednesday Temp 29.

Well time sure slips by. Since the last update not a lot has happened but I will bring you up to date. Xmas we spent in Atlanta Georgia with Mike. We drove down on Friday before Xmas and came home the day after. While there we did a little sight seeing and visited a kind of Theme Park called Stone Mountain. It is a huge rock mountain that has a carving of some Civil War soldiers on horses on the face, which they also used the side of the mountain for a light show.

It was extremely crowded as one might expect and navigating around was an interesting experience. While there we rode a train around the mountain which seemed to be the most popular thing going on there. It was a modern locomotive pulling open passenger cars which held a LOT of people. The trip around is interesting and had displays of lights and a little show of a guy singing and telling a Christmas story. Trip was probably about 30-40 minutes which paled in comparison of an hour plus wait to get on it. Of course the whole place is designed around shops and eating Kiosks and luring the visitors in to support them. We dropped a few dollars while there so they won't close soon.

While visiting we also made the rounds for eating, taking in Frickers, Maggie Moo's and Starbucks. All over priced but still nice places to eat at.

Traffic on the way down was not to bad till we would hit major cities. Atlanta was certainly the worst. Fortunately we were on the good side of traffic as the opposite side in Atlanta had a 10 mile stand still jam! It still took us about 30-40 minutes to go 2-1/2 miles for our exit.

We left early on the 26th before traffic had a chance to get snarled so it was pretty much a breeze escaping. The rest of the trip was uneventful and just a long drive. 550 miles one way. Got home at 4pm and beat the dark with enough time to relax and catch up on a little rest.

New Years day was spent at home relaxing. The weather has been so warm and we had some days that were in the 60's. Cold right now but going back up into the 50's for the weekend but lot's of rain. Pretty unusual weather for Ohio. Should be in the 20's right now so no reason to complain. Time goes so fast anymore and I finally turned 50 in December. Guess I am officially an old fart now. Whatever!

We had snow on the ground when we returned home from Atlanta but it did not last. We are pretty far behind in snow at the present and with El Nino I don't think we will have to worry about much snow but rain may be the issue and a dry spell this summer.

Well gonna call it updated for now. Not much to report beyond this. So everyone stay warm and to all our friends who are now out West without us, have cool one for us and we will join you in the future.

Turkey Day

November 22, 2006 Temp 52* and sunny

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner at Bill and Molly's on Thanksgiving. We are going to Deanna's mothers in the morning and will probably end up eating some there first. That would be our normal eating time, and then we eat again at Bill's later that night about 6pm. For years we have always eaten our main meal at Noon. So we will be really stuffed by the end of the day. I love turkey so guess I will get my fill. This is a long weekend for us as I have Thursday and Friday off. Can't believe xmas is zooming up so fast!

For Christmas we will be going to Atlanta to visit Mike. It will be a long drive as we are not used to driving 600 miles in one day. A normal day of traveling for us became 250 miles and off the road by 3pm. We will need to leave nice and early to get there while some daylight exists. Then leave day after Christmas to get back in time to make work....................that's a scary word! Hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. What a change the past year made. We have been in the desert, to the coast of California to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida back to Ohio and going back to work! Funny where life takes you. We have seen beautiful sunsets on the beach and in the mountain surrounded desert, Roadrunner birds, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and lots of changing terrains. We have made lot's of friends and lost some, neither will ever be forgotten. Then coming back to Ohio the first night in March it snowed on us, but when we woke and looked out the window we saw a herd of Whitetail deer foraging in the campground.

So to sum this entry up I think it is appropriate to say that we give thanks to all our family and friends and the wonderful things we experienced and saw. Hopefully many more Thanksgivings will be spent remembering the past ones and those to come. So to all our friends and family, thanks for all the memories and know we love all of you. :)

Loss of our friend Mickey

November 6th, 2006

Today our dear friend Mickey Ivey passed away from a heart attack. Following is an article I wrote and used as our home page after his death.

We traveled with Mickey and Patti from late November 2005 till the end of January 2006 when they decided to travel to Yuma and we went to California. They quickly became our best friends and we greatly enjoyed our time we spent with them. Mickey was such a card and always good for a smile and I don't think he had a serious bone in his body. From the times he entertained us with coin and card tricks to him and Patti singing 'On the road again' over the CB radio. We spent our last Thanksgiving with them at Deanna's sisters house in Oklahoma and the last Xmas in Huachuca City Arizona along with New Years Day. While in Huachuca City we visited nearby Tombstone and then went Ghost town hunting while listening to Mickey complain about how the last 30 miles of back road was wearing out his Jeep. Of course he was just giving me hell but it was still funny. While in Huachuca City they decided to trade their Motor home for a 5th wheel trailer, which was quite a change and totally unexpected. After New Years Day we made our way towards Quartzsite which was our original destination for our rally. Once arriving in Quartzsite we made camp 3 miles back in the desert. We were like meat and potatoes with Mickey and Patti and went everywhere together.

When they left the desert they headed for cleaner ground in Yuma while we stayed behind to finalize the deal on our house. We shortly thereafter left for California and did not connect with Mickey and Patti till they came to Ohio to visit us in July. They were on their way to South Dakota to make that their resident state. We enjoyed a great visit with them while showing them some sites around here and take Patti to the Johnny Appleseed Museum which she was tickled with when she saw the sign. They spent a weekend with us before heading northwest. We then again saw them in September prior to them attending the Escapade Rally, that would be the last time we saw our friend smiling.

During a visit to Las Vegas to surprise a friend of Patti's Mickey told Patti he did not feel well and was going to stay at the RV while she went with her friend to sightsee. Patti was reluctant to go but under persuasion from Mickey gave in and went. Patti called mid afternoon and he said he was feeling better and for her to enjoy her visit and take her time. She called a couple hours later and received no answer. Upon returning to the RV she found him to late to administer any help. Apparently he had suffered a massive heart attack. Unfortunately Mickey had several signs of heart issues and chose to ignore them calling them indigestion and such.

Mickey leaves behind a large family of a son and daughters and recently had become a Grandpa. It is a sad day for all of his friends. Mickey never made an enemy and was instantly friends with anyone he came into contact with. He authored a great computer program called RVnotebook . His passing leaves voids in many many peoples hearts but especially his dear wife Patti. She is doing as well as can be expected but is lost without her rock. Fortunately our friend was able to enjoy the last year of his life doing what he had longed to do and with whom he loved the most.

They were such a great couple together and smiled all the time. They enjoyed seeing so much together and Patti got to visit many states she otherwise may have never have been able to see. The memories and things they experienced will last her forever and the times we spent with them will last just as long. I spoke with Mickey nearly every weekend since we went our different ways. Unfortunately I did not speak with him the weekend prior to his death as I did not want to bother them while they were entertaining friends. I so regret that now but hindsight is useless in this case. So in respect to our dear friend we dedicate this page in his honor for the friendship and times we shared with him and Patti. Farewell my friend we will miss you very much as will all your friends. Keep an eye on all of us and don't let us do the stupid things we are bound to do otherwise. The next world is lucky to have you while we are cheated your presence. For our dearest friend Patti, know we love you and will always stay in touch... Your best friends and travel companions Tab n Deanna..........................

For those still with us please take this as a lesson, do not ignore any signs of health issues. They may be an inconvenience now, but could be a life saver. As always my friend is still teaching others

Here is a copy of a blog entry to say what kind of guy he was.

A special note from Mickey:

This blog is for family, friends and anyone else that may stop by. Most of the content is about our travels and what wonderful things we have seen and the many great friends we have met. When we get a chance to visit with family we obviously love to share our time with them with all readers. They’re special.

I have been truly blessed with 4 great kids, 3 stunning grandchildren and a daughter-in-law and son-in-law that are beyond wonderful. I am so proud of each and every one of them. By the way, my new granddaughter WILL be President of the United States one day. Andrew, my oldest grandson, will be a very successful businessman (or sportscaster for NBC) and Shawn, the youngest grandson, is destined to be a great athlete making lots of money. I love them all very much.

If you would like to read some notes and comments about this great guy, go here.


Here is a piece that Tony Cornett (Firedude) posted on his blog:
I recieved some bad news yesterday. Mickey Ivey passed away unexpectidly day before yesterday. Many may connect him as the Author of RVnotebook the software program for Rv'ers. Mickey's passing is such a tremendous loss to the RV community. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Patti his wife, the families and all of the RV community. I had the pleasure to meet Mickey and Patti last January in Quartzsite at the '05 Graduating Class of Full-timers and enjoyed my time with them both as well as all the other wonderful people from RV.net and the Escapees I met. Mickey made such a positive impact on RV'ing and the entire RV community along with everyone he met. Mickey was truly the best. God speed my friend.