2010 -> 2011

Once again New Year's eve is upon us. 2010 has been an exciting year. We are getting closer and closer to retirement. The reality of this will occur at the end of this week when my DW retires. Before I get into that, I want to tell you about a trip we took on Monday 12/27.

The internet is a great place to find information quickly. As I was researching about a group called NOMADS, I came across another RV traveler - Jim and Kit Bertelsen. I enjoyed reading about their NOMADS experience so I continued reading their blog. Their current gig is guarding the gate leading to a drilling operation near the town of Crystal City. I said to myself, "Self, we need to go visit the Bertelsens." So I emailed them to ask if they would be available to receive visitors on 12/27. They said sure so we took off for their location. The blue line in the map below shows our route. From our house to theirs was 198 miles - one way.

All I will say about the road trip is that Texas FM 624 from Orange Grove to Cotulla is 103 miles of nothing but miles. Lots of ranches and a few farms along that route. We did see several gate guarding RVers along the route. Because of the large number of drilling operations along this route, we also encountered many 18-wheelers hauling drilling stuff in and out of the sites. This explains why this is such a rough stretch or highway. No chance of sleeping at the wheel here since the road did a good job of tossing us around a bit.

We arrived at the Bertelsen's location shortly after 2 and stayed for a couple of hours. From the first handshake and hug to our departure, we never felt like strangers. Jim and Kit shared their experiences as RVers. The information we gleaned was well worth the travel time and bumpy route. Plus we got to meet another RV couple we can now call family. Say hello to Jim and Kit (That's DW and Gage our grandson to the left of the Bertelsens.)

We said "see ya later", and hit the road back to Corpus Christi.

Tuesday began the final week at work for DW. Carol has faithfully worked for many years in a variety of jobs in different fields. She is a people person who has had many opportunities to minister to people God has placed in her path. Beginning next year she begins working for free. We all know that retirement does not mean "not working", it means focusing on different objectives. In 2011, DW will begin the daunting task of downsizing our household. This is not just for her, but for us. We still have a lot of stuff that will not fit in our future home. So begins the process of getting rid of stuff, deciding what stays or goes; deciding to give it away or hold a garage sale. While I will continue working, I too will be working along side her.

Carol will finally have an opportunity to participate in some of the ladies activities at the Summit Church in Corpus Christi. She will have an opportunity to work on some craft projects that have been put on hold. And she will have an opportunity to spend some quality time with our grandson Gage.