Falltime

It’s Falltime! Yes… Falltime! Okay, yet another quirky thing about the English language. We have Wintertime, Springtime, and Summertime… but what’s the deal with Fall… no Falltime… just Fall! So what’s up with that? After all, Fall is one of the favorite seasons of the year. Ahhh… the Fall. The rush of summertime is over, as well as the summer heat. The crisp coolness of the early mornings and late evenings… the freshness of the air… and the rising and setting of the sun lets you know a change is coming. Every where you look there are subtle changes, even the clouds look different, fluffy and snow white. The grass is greener (not so dried out from the summer heat) and the sky even seems to be a bit more blue.

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The days of the early sunrise at 6am, and the 10pm sunset have given way to the lazy mornings of a 7:30 sunrise and heralding the end of the day at a 6:30 pm sunset. Dew is on the ground each morning and soon to be frost… and everything seems to slow down from the feverish pace of the summer. People even seem a bit friendlier too. The kids are back in school and one of my favorite times of the year is just around the corner… Halloween. An unpretenticous holiday that always seems to be much more fun than work. Fun costumes where your imagination can be free to run wild, and you are free, nay, expected to be a little crazy with your behavior… and rewarded with delightful sweet treats.

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So now it’s time to reflect on what we did this summer. Wow, what a great summer. Pretty much every season has extra special memories since we went fulltime Rving tens years ago. Go where you want, do what you want, and stay as long as you like… unfettered by the constraints of a traditional job. Working 5-6 days a week, 50 weeks a year, year in and year out… well, it certainly consumes most of your life. After all, getting ready for work, time at work, and travel time consumed a good 11-12 hours everyday. Then there was the maintenance on the house and the yard work eating up your days off. Now, most of our days are free to do whatever we want, at least most of the year. Yo-ho, yo-ho, the Rv Life for me! Started this new life at 49 years old, best decision I ever made.

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First off, we got to spend most of the wintertime months with family in the Florida panhandle. Worked a little, played a lot.

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But getting back to a great summer… wow… another great summer, even better then usual. Our summer started off at Disney, at first on our own,  and then we got our 3rd grand daughter for an extended Disney vacation. Our daughter brought her down from West Virginia and we did Disney and a trip to the gulf beaches… wonderful visit. Then Lizzi stayed with us for her turn at a Disney vacation.  Each grand girl has had a 5-8 week vacation at Disney. A priceless lifetime experience… Disney World vacation for a month plus! Pretty much seen it all and did it all, mixed in with a lot of pool fun.

 

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Then best and foremost, we got to spend the entire summertime (24/7) with our daughter and the three grand girls. We took Lizzi back home and stayed with them for the summer. Fun and smiles everyday. Not all fun and games but still totally priceless. And the weather was perfect in the upper Shenandoah Valley… mild summer heat and cool evenings.  If we still had the house and were still working, we would only be free on the weekends, oh, wait, with my old job I worked the weekends. So how often would we see them, about like the usual… in bits and pieces of time. We had lots of fun time to enjoy and relax. Life is sweet!

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Being back up north near Maryland, we got to have steamed crabs when ever we wanted (it’s a Maryland thing). Steamed crabs, great crab cakes, steamed spiced shrimp, and lots of local produce like watermelons! The nearby pizza and sub shop wasn’t too bad either. I’m fairly sure that most people have had crab cakes… but usually not good Maryland Crab Cakes. Lots of places even in Maryland don’t have truly great crab cakes. Jumbo Lump Crab Meat with a very little filler, just enough to hold it together and some spices. No peppers, no celery, no onion, and certainly no corn (yuck). 98% crab meat! Pan fried or broiled! Ahhh! … Tasty! For more on great crab cakes, I offer the following links:

 http://www.rvkamping.blogspot.com/2013/03/crab-cakes.html

http://www.rvkamping.blogspot.com/2013/09/old-bay.html

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I also got to go a Baltimore Orioles Baseball Game… Father and Daughter time… just me and Brandi… Priceless! Oriole Park at Camden Yards… what great memories, and now a new one to add… but this was extra special and indeed priceless. And yes, the Orioles whipped up on the Yankees… that’s was just a bonus memory!

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We visited friends on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and went to Ocean City, Maryland. Wow, brings back lots of memories! Lots of old favorites… like Boardwalk French Fries (salted and with malt vinegar), Pollock Johnny’s Sausage, Boog Powell’s barbeque and lots of other favorites. One thing that was missing… Taylors Pork Roll, gone forever I guess. Well, maybe two things… gone forever are those youthful days back around 1969… “hotpants and halter tops”… that’s a summer I’ll never forget! See, not all my favorite memories center around food!

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This summer we had lots of pool time for the Girls! We put up a 15x3 round pool in the backyard. Swim anytime they wanted. Only problem was that sometimes the August nights got so cool, the water would get chilly, and be a bit too cool for the girls to get in. July was warm and the pool got like bath water, August turned cool and “warm water” days were hard to come by, even with the pool cover on at night. Despite the undersized paper pool filter, the pool was still easy to maintain. I think I’ll make it a point to get in more often next summer when we return for another summer vacation with the girls. I’m thinking about “adult time” in the pool after the girls get out… oh yeah.

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We got to return to one of my favorite places and drive atop the mountains of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. Beautiful scenic drive along the crest on the mountains overlooking the valley below. About 100 miles long with what seems like an overlook every mile or so. Wonderful trip, beautiful nature views. Didn’t see any bears, and the deer were scarce, but the mountains and the views were breath taking. Lots of birds, wildflowers, butterflies, and bees… all doing their own thing as if it was all orchestrated for all to see.  Just wish we could be there in the late fall to see the colors of the trees change, beauty simply beyond anything, nature is truly awesome. I can still smell the honeysuckle and picture all the bees going from one flower to another. Somehow, from atop the mountain, looking down across the valley, the quiet solitude makes everything seem right with the world. Beautiful, peaceful, and serine.

http://rvkamping.blogspot.com/search?q=skyline+drive

http://www.rvkamping.blogspot.com/2013/05/virginia-caverns.html

 

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After Labor Day, we headed back to Disney for our own 10 week Disney/Orlando vacation… and lots of time to just relax. Magic Kingdom is all decorated up for Halloween, and we have plans to attend and enjoy the special Disney “Not So Scary Halloween Party”. Special parties, parades, and shows all centered around Halloween… and of course, Trick or Treating Disney style. Always a great time. Just about everyone is in costume or dressed for the party… and lots of sweet treats. Watch out for the Headless Horsemen… he rides again on Main Street.

 

 

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September also had a special family wedding, so we traveled back to Navarre Beach Florida to enjoy and share the experience with family. It was planned to be a beach wedding, but extended rain and thunder storms prevailed the entire weekend… but not to fear, inside backup plans made everything run smooth, and the wedding and time with family was spectacular and memorable! The short weekend and weather left us short on time to visit friends, but we’ll see them when we return in November.

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After the wedding, it was back to Disney with family and friends. We have always enjoyed Disney, but it’s always extra special to share with family and friends. So for the next 10 weeks we’re just planning to relax and enjoy life, take it easy, and wait for the first frost on the pumpkins. Now this is the way to see Disney. Go in the parks 3-4 times a week for ½ day visits, leisurely enjoy everything in a non-rushed easy going manner with plenty of relax time. Speaking of pumpkins… it’s another favorite this time of the year. Everything pumpkin… pies, muffins, cakes, doughnuts, cookies, desserts of all types, and pumpkin butter.

If you like pumpkin pie and have never had pumpkin butter, you are missing a real treat! Just like apple butter, but pumpkin based. Warm biscuits hot out of the oven, real butter, and cold pumpkin butter… ahhh… a little bit of heaven. Don’t forget that cold glass of milk for the finishing touch. You’ll probably not find pumpkin butter in your local store, or even the specialty shops, unless you live in certain areas. The Ozark mountains or near the Amish Settlements. When living in Maryland, we usually got ours just across the line in Penn-Dutch Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. But you can easily make your own right in a crock pot… just check out the recipe on my blog… here’s the link…

http://www.rvkamping.blogspot.com/2013/08/pumpkin-butter.html

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Our plans for the winter? This winter is work time.  We have fulltime jobs at a Rv Resort in Navarre, Florida… right on the beach. A little work, a little play, and a whole lotta time with my toes in the sand. And, as it’s been said before, somebody has to do it! We will mainly be doing Adult Activities for the wintering snowbirds. Lots of fun games, activities, dinners, and cookouts… yep, it’s a tough working life, but as I said, somebody has to do it. I can hear and smell those steaks sizzling on the grill now! Anyone for shrimp on the barbie? Or maybe a pig roast? Pizza night, special dinners, hot dog and ice cream socials! And how about a game… snowbirds love games! B-I-N-G-O and maybe a little karaoke or a dance party! Being just minutes from white sandy beaches and emerald green water, taking a morning or evening walk looking for and collecting shells… what better way to spend the winter.

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Well, that’s my little person spiel for what we have done and plan to do! Hope yall had a great summer, and enjoy a wonderful falltime. For all our family and friends in the northern cold, frosty, icy, snowy regions… I wish you well… enjoy the snow for me, because the closest I’ll get to snow is seeing it on the Tv.  And I promise, I’ll “try” not to make winter life in the south seem overly better than it really is. But it’s kinda hard with your toes in the sand, and ya decorate palm trees for Christmas. Every time we hear of it snowing (up there), we’ll make snow angels in the sand, so we can feel a kindred spirit with yall in the snow. Oops… sorry, I’m doing that thing again. Snowbirds are such great folks, we’re just overjoyed at spending winter where it’s warm… and want to tell everyone about it… so you can be happy for us… after a lifetime of being in the north, in the winter, in the cold, where you seem all alone, in the frigid darkness, where no one would even hear you scream… it’s great to winter in the south. I know… I know… I watch too many movies and tv.

I’ll just stop now… Before I go completely bonkers…

or prove it beyond any doubt.

Catch yall later. Enjoy life!  Life’s too short to do anything else. And for us older folks… that are closer to the end then the beginning… life’s getting shorter everyday. Live long and be happy.