Friday 31 October 2014

Ramblin' On... in the Whelan Wagon



Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...
 
Ramble On!
 
 Led Zeppelin
 
 
Here we go!!!!  We just hook up and... "head out on the highway, looking for adventure or whatever  comes our way!" (Steppenwolf)... I have to stop listening to radio when I type these things. 

The past few months flew by and like songs says the "Summertime and the livin' is easy" ( Ella Fitzgerald)...sorry, I can't help myself now.  We kept busy with friends and family.  We were lucky enough to have our daughter Jennifer fly home from Liverpool to attend our nephew Michael and Brittni's wedding.  We a great time with the family gatherings big and small. The Chicago Crew ( Brian, Jodie and Brad, but no Steven)were here for a time and cousin Paul returned from doing his studies/thesis/publishing in New Zealand, so I guess I have to call him Dr. Cousin Paul now.

If you followed last years blog you know about the cutest guy ever, our grandson Logan.  We spent as much time as we could babysitting and making silly faces at him. 

 
Logan and Aunt Jenny


 
Cutest guy ever!
 
 
While we can't wait to get rolling, this little guy is the biggest problem we have with fulltiming.  Skype is just not going to cut it for our grandson fix for the next six months of his life.  We shall see if we can handle the separation in the coming months.  This will also be the first year we aren't home at Christmas time, which is another tuff hurdle to be jumped. 
 
We made stops with all our friends and family to say "Hello, Goodbye"(I don't have to tell you ...The Beatles) including our musically inspired friends, Steve and Amanda, who I'm sure will give me a passing grade on the recital of this post.  Dean and Laurie, who you might remember from Champagne Wishes cruise last year, treated us to a wonderful bon-voyage meal at Twisted Lemon in Cayuga.  This years plan also includes meeting up with friends Jeff and Nancy for a month in Arizona.
 
We have left what has been our home park for the last time and headed for our staging area at Sherkston shores until the end of October.  We will be heading for a new park and new experiences next year when we return to Canada, I will fill you in when the time comes.
 
So now November is rolling around and we get to head south for our 2nd annual snowbird road-trip extravaganza.  This time we'll be taking a page from history by hitching our wagon and heading out to the wild, wild west.  We made it to Texas last year but this year we won't stop 'til our wheels get wet on the California coast.
 
Keeping with the musical theme we are heading for Nashville for a week or two before continuing on to Arizona by way of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.  Our plans like many songs will be edited and added to along the way.  Our travels are more like jam sessions that wander on a whim than some strict orchestra piece.  We already have our second and third verse on paper (Arizona and California for Dec. and Jan.) but we will flush out the song as we go. 
 
So tune in this winter as we head on down "The Long and Winding Road."  I can't promise any chart topping hits but it will be easy listening.
 
...as long as we don't hit the "Highway to Hell"(AC/DC)
 
Spinin' the vinyl and the wheels,
 
Scott