Friday, July 1,2016, Clarksville, TN

In Clarksville, I had the chance to reconnect with one of my old friends, Paul.  Paul and I spent many hours fishing on Old Hickory Lake back in the late 60's.  Paul has a little less hair now but was still easily recognizable.  His wife, Janice, was busy with the grand-kids, so he and I met for a couple of hours to catch up and reminiscence. Seeing old friends is definitely one of the perks of being on the road.

We were also able to see Joani's big brother, Steve, and his wife, Jane.  They grilled chicken and cooked some vegetables from their garden.  We topped the meal off with watermelon and a yummy cream cheese tart with blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Joani forgot her camera, so she decided to include a few oldies with Steve and Jane and most of the Goodman clan.

Steve and Jane's wedding day, April 5, 1975

Steve, Jane and Danny, late 70's/early 80's

Kitty cat, Mom, Kristy and Janie.

Steve, Jane and Danny

Since I have a maternity dress on I would say this is 1981.

Kristy, Dad, Steve, me, Danny, Mom, Janie and David, or is that Tom Selleck?

No, that is definitely David with the Goodman clan trying to look normal.

Again, normal.

Me, Mom, Steve and Ronnie (my baby brother)

Steve and Jane a few years ago at our family reunion.

Steve, Jane, Chase (Steve and Jane's Grandson), Rachel (Chase's Mom), and Danny (Chase's Dad and Steve and Jane's son)

Thursday, June 30, 2016

After a five-month hiatus, we got back on the road with a rather lengthy (for us) trip from Cumming, GA (no more ties to that place) all the way to Clarksville, TN. We made the 297.9 miles (77,045.2 total) in just under six hours. It might have been luck or just great planning that got us through both Chattanooga and Nashville with very few traffic slowdowns.

I never got around to cleaning the radiator, so I had to closely watch the engine temperature as we climbed Monteagle. The five miles of 6 percent uphill grade pushed the temp up to 210 degrees, but no alarms sounded, so we were good. At the top, we stopped in a rest area to let the engine cool off a bit and grab a bite of lunch.  It felt like the entire day went well, so I think we didn't lose too much of our traveling mojo during our time off.

I think Sam was relieved to be back on the road again away from all the air compressors and carpet layers and paint odors!  He is a traveling dog through and through.

Our realtor, Tricia, gave us a very generous closing gift - Big Green Egg Mini.  The next day in the Clarksville RV Park we saw this in a neighbors site.

David noticed this clever cat screened in patio cut into the side of a five-er.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Closing on the sale was a bit tedious as we waited more than three hours for everything to be completed. With a check in hand, we ran straight to the bank wondering if and when we could stop worrying about whether the whole thing might fall through.

We committed to staying in the area to help Jon and Sara with a number of things to help get them settled into their new home.  At least our chores for the next two weeks were much less stressful (no deadlines) and were much more satisfying (we were helping family instead of strangers).

We drove by the house one last time to retrieve St. Joseph.  He will now tour the country with us.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

We left Tennessee early enough to get the coach out of storage and set up again at Sawnee campground.  Most of the day's driving was in the car with the last 11.7 miles (76,747.3 total) in the coach.  After setting up camp, Joani found a creepy surprise.

I needed something nicer than a t-shirt and shorts to wear to the closing on Friday.  My better clothes are in this little closet in the back corner of the coach in thin plastic suit bags (thank goodness for the plastic bags!)

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I have no idea how long the fungus has been taking advantage of the moisture somehow entering the closet.  Miraculously, there was no odor.

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Although there was a natural beauty to the growth, I sprayed it with bleach, pulled out the wood trim, caulked the corners and painted the walls with white anti-fungal paint.  Time will tell if I am rid of it.

While we were gone Jon had removed the last few things at the house. We visited the house one last time and said our final farewells (it really was not that much of a moment - we were both ready to move on).

Thursday, May 26, 2016

With the house under contract, we needed a break while we waited for our closing date.  To avoid the crazy Memorial Day weekend traffic, we left the Sawnee campground a day early, put the coach into storage and headed out in our toad.  Joani made a lot of calls to find a storage facility with a vacancy (it was amazing just how difficult that was).  It was just outside the Cumming, GA, city limits, so the drive in the coach was only 12.2 miles (76.735.6 total).

We drove the FIT another 240 miles to Lebanon, TN, to visit with the Parriott clan.  After a long weekend, I drove my mom and Joani (in mom's plush Maxima) up to Iowa to visit relatives.  We rolled into Story City, IA, in time for their annual Scandinavian Days Festival.

We had the chance to see Macy in a dance recital, eat at one of our favorite BBQ spots with the Osmundson clan and have some homemade ice cream at Sweet Treats in Jewell.  It was so great to see everyone.

This time the corn was planted and already knee-high, unlike three years ago when the fields were too wet to plant.  It was one of those rare times when we were able to extend our visit for a full ten days on the farm.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Our house had been on the market two days when our realtor, Tricia, held an open house for local agents to see the property in hopes of creating a buzz.  One agent brought a client by 15 minutes after the open house ended. A man from Portland, Oregon, wanted to relocate to the Atlanta area and our house fit the bill.  We had an offer.

We countered on the following Monday and everyone agreed and signed on Tuesday.  Since everything went well we considered it sold today!

He has no house to sell and wants a fast closing and so do we!  He liked our library and wants it as is and he liked the remote control curtains.  Hooray for books and technology, we can hit the road again!  

Friday, May 13, 2016

There were still quite a few things to finish, but Tricia wanted to get the house listed in time for a big open house weekend. She said it would be clear it was a work in progress and that it would not deter any prospective buyers. We consented and up went the sign. It was officially listed today!

I can't remember when the lawn looked better.

St. Joseph had a place of honor between the sign and the flowers.

Below is a sampling of the shots Tricia used for the sales flyer.  The laundry room and garage still needed work.

The books are what remained after everyone we knew picked out what they wanted!