ANNO III: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
Happy New Year! Well, here we are embarking on our third year of livin' Our Last Quarter in the BoomerBus. Thanks to all y'all who followed us and follow us now on this third chapter. I truly enjoy writing about our adventures and it is a great reward to know y'all find this blog amusing, informative and humorous. Please keep the comments coming. Thanks again.
So, we're still in RI with our daughter Gaiya, her husband Kevin and our grandkids Lola and Luca. We arrived here -sans BoomerBus- on 22 December and we'll pick it up on 13 February 2026 from NIRVC Nashville where it is currently stored and undergoing maintenance. We'll be heading to Florida. Specifically:
Feb 14 - Mar 7: Laguna Caribe RV Resort, Fort Myers
Mar 15 - Mar 20: Champions Run RV Resort, Ocala
Mar 21 - Apr 5: Sugarloaf Key KOA, Key West
Apr 7 - May 1: Margaritaville, Auburndale
Oct 1 - Oct 31: Splash RV Resort, Milton
In between our Florida sojourn we'll also attend the New Cornerstone Line Pre-Launch Rally at The Ridge RV resort in Sevierville, TN from 10 - 13 March. We've never really spent time in Florida. We've flown in and out during our professional years, attended a wedding in Orlando, visited Ybor City while in Tampa for business but never really had the chance to visit and explore the state. So, this year our goal is to spend some time in the snowbird state.
Over the holidays I had time to read blogs, magazine articles, internet posts and other RV lifestyle-related musings. I discovered most of these posts contain tons of very useful information. However, most of these postings target an audience which is not fully retired, Medicare & Social Security eligible and full time RVing. We're not RVing: we live full time in our MotorHome except when it is being maintained, repaired or improved.
Work? Again, while the information is useful to many if not most RVrs, it does not apply to us. Reasons for us to live full time in our MotorHome are to explore places we've never been to, visit old friends, make new experiences, meet new people. We approach every day with the anticipation for what it will bring. Work is not one of them.
Our long range plans for the rest of 2026 are:
Memorial Day Week in Lake George RV Park, NY to attend our grandson's annual baseball tournament.
Attend the NIRVC Music City Expo in Nashville, TN in early June.
Visit friends in Wilmington, NC for a week after the Music City Expo.
Normandy Farms Campground, Foxboro, MA from 6/15 - 7/14
Visit family & friends at the Washington DC/Capitol KOA, 7/15 - 7/25
Relax at the Swan Bay RV Resort, Alexandria, NY, 7/28 - 8/27
That's all for now folks!
Oooops...forgot to mention we'll certainly make the de rigueur pilgrimage to Red Bay at some time during 2026.
January 30, 2026: Plans Change
Howdy y'all! So, plans change: we won't be heading to the snowbird state as planned. Instead we'll be parked in the Jellystone Watts Bar RV Resort in Loudon, TN from 12 February to 19 March. However, we'll be in Sugarloaf Key KOA, FL on 21 March. See y'all then!
PS: found this in a Dove chocolate. Seems appropriate.
March 16, 2026: Still in Jellystone Watts Bar.
Today we spent a couple of hours at the pool and were visited by 'Fred' the friendly iguana.
Yep, here we are at the Bent Prop restaurant. Right on a canal. We watched folks come to eat by boat. I had the grilled octopus while Linda had Maryland Crab Soup....with cocktails of course. The next day we purchased stone crab claws and enjoyed them on the BoomerBus.
Went to the Broil restaurant yesterday, 31 March, with new friends Ron & Steph with Tony and Ellie. Broil is a restaurant on Cudjoe Key, just a couple of miles from our CG, well known in the Keys as the place to go for steak and seafood. Reputation deserved! I had a monster 14oz NY strip with diver scallops while Linda enjoyed a 6oz petite filet mignon. Both were superb. We washed everything down with a bottle of Lemberg's 2018 Spencer Pinotage from South Africa. The earthy and fruity aroma evoked memories of the bulldogs greeting us at the tasting room in Tulbagh, South Africa. Yes, we have leftovers which Linda will incorporate into a tasty meal at some point.
April 5, 2026, Sugarloaf Key, FL
April 10, 2026, Camp Margaritaville, Auburndale, FL
Hello y'all! We are in Camp Margaritaville, Auburndale, FL for the next three weeks. It's an awesome CG with 400 large sites, two pools, splash pad, tiki bars and that laid back, 5 o'clock somewhere feel you expect from a Jimmy Buffet inspired vacation destination. We are super excited to be here.
We are still parked in Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale, FL and enjoying the lifestyle and soaking in the sunshine. Pretty much sunny & 80F during the day and 65-70F during the night. Somedays the wind picks up in the late morning and blows at about 15MPH. We visited Lakeland, just a few miles from here and found a couple of eating establishments which we'll try in the next week.
Gillian and Katerina, artists & muralists, painting a mural at the intersection of streets in downtown Lakeland, FL. Their artwork is scattered throughout Lakeland. Their mantra is "Creating Community Through Color". Beautiful art.
Charm City Restaurant: "Authentic Maryland Cuisine"
Not so much! We went for a late lunch/early dinner to Charm City based on a recommendation. The menu advertised authentic Maryland crab cakes and other seafood delicacies. You order at the counter and the food is brought to your table. The owners, originally from Maryland, also owned a restaurant in Maryland. Well, we were both excited -actually drooling- to sink our teeth into "authentic Maryland cuisine". Yeah, not so much. The "authentic crab cakes" contained more filler than meat and were simply soaked in Old Bay seasoning and salt. Could not taste the little crab meat there was. The scallops and shrimp (I chose grilled), while cooked to perfect tenderness were also drowned in Old Bay seasoning and salt. Just inedible.
Just across our campsite we heard the infectious sounds and rhythms of Brazilian samba and karaoke voices singing with an enthusiasm which made it impossible not to move your body to the beat. The laughter and music just swept us up to the power of a Brazilian Carnival. During the past week we met Jeronimo & Sinthia, Jaison & Bruna and Renato & Marianna and other friends who entered and exited the group at various times. Great people originally from Brazil. While the affection for each other is clear, the love for each other is rooted in decades of friendship. Truly a Band of Brothers. They welcomed us into their circle without hesitation nor preconception. They shared their churrasco-style grilling featuring tender, flavorful cuts of beef seasoned with coarse salt and grilled mozzarella. They are the poster board of making every minute count. Grazie! π
Kevin and Christine arrived this morning and it seemed like we were back in the late 90's when we first met. They now live in Dunedin, FL but we were neighbors in NoVA (northern Virginia) for almost a decade. A small, "Washington DC bedroom community" of approx 50 homes became our safe haven from the DC work-style and where Friday "porch beers" gave us the the chance to decompress and become normal again. When Kevin & Christine moved into the neighborhood they were the "young ones" but became an integral part of the Sandalwood Family from day one. Over the course of several hours we reminisced, caught up on news and just enjoyed talking with each other. Time flew. We'll meet up again dear friends.
Well, our stay here at Camp Margaritaville Auburndale, FL is almost over. We will depart here on Saturday, 2 May and head toward Loudon, TN for Jellystone Watts Bar CG. We'll be there for a couple of weeks for our semi-annual medical tuneups.
Howdy y'all! Yes, we're back in our old stompin' grounds of Loudon, TN for our semi-annual medical tuneups. Our first medical review was a successful one. No adjustments required. We'll be here for approx two weeks, departing on 16 May to Lake George, NY to watch our grandson play baseball in his annual tournament. We are scheduled to arrive in Lake George on 21 May.
Howdy everyone! Yes, we're still here taking care of our medical tuneups, seeing friends and spending time with family. In an earlier post I said one of the most frequent questions we get is "what do you miss" from the previous lifestyle. Well, again, we miss the people who enriched our lives not the 'stuff'. We can't even remember half the 'stuff' we owned in our previous lifestyle. However, we are living the best of both: full time RVing and spend time with friends and family during our semi-annual medical tuneups and Christmas holidays with our daughter's family in RI. Yes, we are fortunate.
Recently, our story was made public in an article written by Madison Hoff and published in Business Insider magazine. That story is legit. Madison worked with us over a period of a month to get her facts. However, several other articles, piggybacking on Madison's version, have been written and published online in Moneywise, AOL, MSN, etc. Those are NOT legit nor approved by us. We contacted the editor of Moneywise to address the misleading, inaccurate and false statements in the article by Amanda Smith. The editor apologized for Amanda's version and promptly edited her article, made the corrections and published a new version and an editor's note. Editorial integrity and ethical reporting are essential, especially in today's online world.
We will heading to Lake George, NY on Saturday and expect to arrive on 21 May to attend our grandson's Memorial Day baseball tournament. Afterwards we'll be heading back to Nashville for the third annual Music City Expo sponsored by NIRVC from 29 May to 4 June. For the rest of June, we'll be in Wilmington, NC visiting friends, Red Bay, AL for the required visit to Tiffin and finally in Normandy Farms, MA til 14 July. Yes, lots of travel but just more adventures for us.
May 20, 2026: Matamoras, PA
Howdy y'all! We are parked in the Matamoras RV CG in Matamoras, PA. Yeah, this is a glorified gravel parking lot with some grassy areas within 150' of I-84. I mean I could throw a rock and hit a passing car. I posted a pic below. Great location for a stop while traveling to Lake George, NY. However, the traffic noise was incessant! It gets crossed off our list.
Traveling on our roads and highways we've witnessed numerous examples of what we call "road insanity". A group of motorcyclists on their bullet bikes ignoring all rules of the road and weaving through traffic at hair curling speeds. Jacked-up pickup trucks with monster wheels spewing black diesel smoke as they straddle two travel lanes. A car weaving through traffic at speeds exceeding 100 MPH. Cars and trucks -even 18 wheelers!- tailgating so close you couldn't see where one vehicle ended and the other began. Insanity!
Yesterday, while traveling from Williamsport, MD to Matamoras, PA on our way to Lake George, NY we merged onto I-84, lanes going left, at the I-81 and I-84 split. Just as we merged onto the far right lane, an 18 wheeler decided to pass us on the shoulder! He barely made it -we thought- before the shoulder narrowed. We never felt his 'love tap' but the damage is quite visible in the pics below. I'm guessing his rear tire rubbed against the BoomerBus while another part of his rig twisted the Zephyr rock guard. I've since removed the rock guard and will try to repair it, as best possible, when we reach Lake George. In retrospect, his 'love tap' could have had disastrous results. We are fortunate.
So, during the third year of our adventure, I've replaced the motor which runs the BoomerBus steps, the black and grey water discharge valves and I serviced the Blue Ox tow bar system. FM! Well, YouTube is really helpful.
Polka Palooza: Anda One, Anda Two...
Yesterday, 20 May, we participated in the Polka Palooza event hosted by the Riverview Inn on the grounds of the Matamoras RV CG. When we checked into the CG the owner invited us to the event and gave us two complimentary tickets. We had no clue but we accepted. The afternoon event included a meal, beverages including wine and beer and entertainment MC'd by JoJo. When we saw the sound setup we assumed this was a DJ who would play some polka music for the crowd which consisted mostly of members of social clubs from the surrounding area brought in by tour bus.
Well, JoJo turned out to be more than just a DJ. He is an entertainer who sang tunes, DJ'd a variety of music from Glen Miller to Kool & The Gang, led the crowd in sing alongs, got folks on the dance floor and engaged the crowd in humorous question and answer segments. However, what made JoJo stand out was his outfit. A black suit with silver sequined trimmings, silver sequined cap and, the coup de grace...black quilted shoes. The Dude!
The Riverview Inn hosts similar events from April through October, twice a month. If you stay in the CG, bring earplugs.
Here we are, for the third year in a row, ensconced in site #89 in Lake George RV Park, Lake George, NY. Here to watch our grandson, Luca, play in the annual Memorial Day baseball tournament. An uneventful drive from Matamoras, PA, we arrived here at 12:30PM on Thursday and, as we did in previous years, we went to the Log Jam restaurant in town for dinner. As usual, the bar was packed with regulars and the bartender never stops talking but has all orders under complete control. It was such a comforting feeling, as if we had been doing this for years.
We both slept a deep sleep and woke up to chirping birds, woodpeckers pecking at trees, a light breeze which made the leaves on the trees sing and trees sway. Just two others trailers several hundred yards down the road. It's like being in the middle of the woods. So relaxing.
Tuesday, 26 May, 2026: Pine Hill RV Park, Kutztown, PA
So, we attended Luca's baseball games on Saturday, 23 May. His team lost the first one but redeemed themselves by winning the second and capturing the Wild Card spot for the semi-finals. The weather was just barely tolerable for the first game but the second game, which began at 3PM, was played with a steady drizzle and 55F! As the Wild Card, they were schduled to play on Sunday afternoon. However, the weather was nasty but the forecasters called for a break in the winter-weather-like conditions so the organizers decided to play the elimination game. Luca's team played very well, determined to not just rollover to the #1 seeded team. They lost by one run in a time shortened game. They acquitted themselves very well and certainly deserved to be recognized as the second best team in the tournament. The #1 seed team had given up just 1 run in the previous games. They gave up 5 against Luca's team! His play improves every time we watch him. Here's a pic of us at the second game!
Now we're in Kutztown, PA at the Pine Hill RV Park for an overnight en route to the NIRVC EXPO in Nashville, TN. Two more overnights and we'll be there!
We departed the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, TN on Wednesday, 3 June and traveled to the Atlanta South RV CG in McDonough, GA. Here's a couple of pics of us driving the BoomerBus & toad thru Atlanta.
6 June 2026: Atlanta South RV, McDonough, GA
8 June 2026: Wilmington KOA, Wilmington, NC
Love seeing this year's posts! Looks the start of a great adventure for Year Three! XO, Pupa
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, how are you? So good to hear from you. Yes, we have planned a 10 day stop in Millersville, MD from 15 July. Details to follow.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a pleasure meeting! You are an inspiration for us! Will be following the blog, and hopefully we can meet again soon!
ReplyDeleteTo our Brazilian friends: atΓ© nos encontrarmos novamente
DeleteMary Gabinet commented on "ANNO III: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES"
ReplyDeleteApr 17, 2026
Just found the address of your blog and thought I would take a look at what you guys have been up to. Looks like after your delayed start, things are going very well and you are enjoying your continuing adventures. Michael mentioned you might have a stop in the Mid Atlantic this year. If that works out, let me know. Would love to come by and see you both. Safe travels!