Some birthday fun!

Prunedale, CA

The last few days have been pretty busy.

Since I've been here at my parents house,

I'm helping them by chauffeuring them to doctors appointments.

Chemo makes my Dad a bit dizzy :-(

Some of the appointments have been at the crack of dawn!

I also went to my old high school, Salinas High, where I graduated in 1975.

I will need proof of that for Amazon in the form of a diploma or transcripts.

Both my college & high school diplomas were destroyed in the flood.

It was an easy process to get my transcripts, for only $2.00,

as opposed to a copy of my diploma for $25!

My college diploma from San Jose State would take months to get.

The afternoons are spent relaxing and reading.

I think some relax a little too much... :-)

(They'll kill me for this picture!)

Their cleaning ladies came yesterday as well.

She brings her granddaughter Brianna,

who showed me her Ipad..

The best part of my day was dinner!

Yesterday was my 57th birthday..5 more years to SS!

My parents took me to a new restaurant called Patria,

which is in downtown Salinas.

The inside is made to look like an old European inn.

The food was delicious! I had the house smoked pork loin..

It was on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes with sauteed kale, savoy cabbage, and mustard greens.

It was fabulous!

My Mom & Dad really enjoyed sharing this place with me.

Happenings..and future plans..

Prunedale,CA

I've really been enjoying my visit in California.

I think my parents have enjoyed me here too, and helping out with errands and chores.

The weekend was spent doing a little shopping, church, and watching golf :-)

Yesterday after church I took a ride up to Coyote Valley RV Resort.

We worked there last winter, and our friends Connie & Greg 

are workamping there this season.

It seemed like old times, sitting and visiting them.

We got a ride on the golf 'limo' to the country club for lunch.

Don, a workamper that was there when we were here last year did the honors.

Greg, Connie and I had a great lunch, and caught up since we saw them 

in their home state of Ohio last September.

Of course I didn't take any pictures!

When we got back to the park, Connie and I took a little walk.

I was able to say hi to our other friends, Keith & Denise,

who live here while Keith works as a CT technician.

I've been looking ahead to going home.

Since my son Adam's birthday is the 12th of February,

I've decided to fly home on the 13th.

I can spend his birthday with him, he turns 29!

I'm sure George would love to have me home by Valentine's day :-)

With my Dad's great news and improving health,

we've decided to stick to the eastern side of the US after our job in Florida.

We applied, and got, a job running the gatehouse for Clark's Hill day use park

at J. Strom Thurmond Lake in South Carolina.

We'll stay at Volunteer village, where our friends Paul & Marti, and Mike & Terri are now.

Unfortunately we don't start until the first week of May,

and they all leave in April :-(

We will work weekends and the 3 major holidays of the summer,

and get the other 5 days off a week.

After that job ends after Labor Day,

we're hoping to start a position with Amazon!

Great News!

Prunedale, CA

I had the pleasure of going with my parents to the oncologist on Tuesday.

My Dad had another PET scan of his pancreas & liver a week or so ago.

His doctor walked in with a huge grin on her face,

to tell us the news...

REMISSION!

I had to ask her...how often does stage IV pancreatic cancer 

go into remission?

"It happens, but it's very rare" was her reply!

We're all thinking that it is the constant prayers that are being said around the US.

Thank you!

He will continue with another round of chemo for good measure.

Last night we went out to their favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate.

There is rejoicing in the Chamberlin household!

A feast for the eyes!

Prunedale, CA

Today is a visit with my Dad's oncologist to get the results of his latest PET scan.

I'm anxious to find that out, as well as get some questions answered.

Sunday I went to church. It was nice to see some of my old friends again.

Afterwards we met my son Adam, and his girlfriend Candee at Phil's.

I love that place!

Yesterday I took a ride into town and picked Adam up to spend the afternoon with him.

I followed him to the restaurant where he works as he had to report in at 3:30.

We then went down to Cannery Row and walked around.

Being a good Mom, I bought us both lunch at Sly McFly's, a Cannery Row favorite.

I love being at the Pacific Ocean again!

We saw some cute otters floating and eating crabs from their stomachs.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my good camera this trip!

Still enjoying perfect weather, while George is chilly :-)

Some family come for a visit

Prunedale, CA

I've been enjoying my time visiting with my parents.

My Dad seems to be doing fantastic,

but they delayed Friday's chemo treatment because his platelet count was down.

I've been running errands with my Mom,

and basically just relaxing.

The weather has been great, high 70's and sunshine abounding.

Unfortunately, California is in an extreme drought,

and it looks like water rationing is on the horizon.

Yesterday we got a call from my Aunt Judy & Uncle Don.

They live in Bakersfield (where we moochdocked last year).

Don wanted to take a drive up and see us for a visit.

They arrived around noon, and we had a great time visiting.

Laughter is always on tap when the sisters get together!

After a bit, my Mom got up and decided to fix a nice meatloaf dinner.

It was great!

Soon after, Don & Judy had to leave.

It's a 4 hour drive to Bakersfield, but they stayed half way in Paso Robles.

So nice of them to make the trek!

I'm missing George :-(

He's keeping busy working the forest.

Today he's picking up a new anode rod for the water heater.

He says it was 30 degrees when he got up this morning!

Nicer to be warmer here in CA than in Florida. :-)

In sunny California

Prunedale, California

Today I flew from Orlando, FL to Monterey, CA via Phoenix, AZ.

The flights were uneventful, and the best part 

were the smiles on my parents' faces at the airport!

George gave his blessings to me to take the trip out

to spend some time with my Father, and give some moral support to Mom.

I'll be going to my Dad's chemo treatments and other doctors appointments

as well, so that I can get some questions answered.

George is holding down the fort in Florida :-)

I have a feeling he'll be working more hours since he will be bored..lol.

I get to visit here, see my son Adam as well!

The weather here is glorious, 80 and sunny.

I'll check in once in awhile!

Another lovely visit with friends..

Pittman Visitor Center
Altoona, FL

We have been blessed to meet several RVers in the last 4 years.

George and I first met this lovely couple at the April 2010 RV-Dreams rally

in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Jim & Linda Smith went full time on the road in 2001,

and have recently purchased a home in DeBary, FL.

Their time on the road is on hold while Linda undergoes some medical treatments.

It turns out that they aren't that far from where we are workamping here in the forest,

so today George & I took a drive to their home and have lunch with them.

We had a nice time catching up with them!

Jim & George ordered some Chinese food and went and picked it up,

while Linda and I sat and chatted some more.

The food & conversation was great!

We really enjoyed visiting with them,

and we also got to meet Blaine!

You see, Blaine is the author of Jim & Linda's blog :-)

We hope to see them again while we are still in the area!

Fellowship with lots of RVers

Pittman Visitor Center
Altoona, FL

When we got together with Nancy & Neil last week,

they had mentioned a group getting together today for lunch.

It seems that there are a lot of RV Dreamers in Florida!

George and I drove the 71 miles to Crystal River to

Crackers restaurant.

There we met up with 22 RVers.

Quite a few of them we've met before,

been with at rallies, the Carolina Clan,

and others we've 'met' by reading their blogs.

The restaurant did a nice job of getting the food to us, 

and put us all together.

It was a little too chilly to sit outside.

We tried to get everybody in the pictures..

Gail & Rick, Gin & Syl, Dan & Tricia, Neil & Nancy

Rick & Kathy, Donna & Ralph, Jonell & Dan, Phil & Rudee 

Jim & Dee, Al & Karen, Lee & Martha

Lee & Martha

Karen & Al

Tricia, George, Karen, Rudee

Lee, Gail, Gin, Dee, Syl, Neil

Me with Nancy..lol..interested in two different conversations.

We had a great time!
There are some we hadn't seen in over a year.
Some of the couples have just gotten off their gig with Amazon,
and we are going to give it a try this fall.
It was great to pick their brains a bit :-)

We are hoping to get together again later this spring
before we all scatter to different states!

A nice visit with fellow RVers

Pittman Visitor Center
Altoona, FL

We've been plodding along here since the New Year flipped.

There is always lots of trash to pick up,

and we make our rounds of the forest in all kinds of weather :-)

Yesterday we had a nice surprise.

Our friends, Neil & Nancy Savage have left

the frozen north of Pennsylvania to spend a few months in Florida.

Since Neil's mom and sister live near us in the Villages,

they are staying for a few days in the Thousand Trails park nearby.

We took the drive over, about 40 minutes away.

Nancy had prepared a nice lunch for all of us of

chowder, and sausage hoagies.

Neil gave George a tour of the outside of their new Redwood,

and Nancy showed me the inside.

It's beautiful!

I think that Tatum likes it too!

We enjoyed seeing them!

They are leaving on Monday to head west,

and we'll be taking a trek towards Crystal River

on Wednesday to meet up with them again!

A look back - 2013 recap

Pittman Visitors Center
Altoona, FL

On October 1 of 2013 we started our second year on the road!

I've decided to do a recap of the highlights of the past year..

January - April

The first part of the year found us at our first workamping gig

at Coyote Valley RV Resort in Morgan Hill, CA.

We enjoyed the job at a first class resort, and will be back!

Our primary reason to be in the area,

was the proximity to my parents home,

as well as my older son, Adam.

We spent a lot of time with them in the 4 months.

George & I also formed some great friendships..

Seems like we were always eating or drinking something!

In May it was time to move on.

We spent some time exploring northern California,

seeing Yosemite..

Mt. Shasta..

and getting together with a lifelong friend!

June - August

Our next adventure led us to Oregon for the summer.

We applied, and got, a workamping job

for the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife

at their Cedar Creek fish hatchery.

We were 'hosts' for the hatchery,

but our main job was mowing grass, and keeping the grounds looking nice.

The views were fantastic, and the fish didn't give us any problems!

We got to explore a lot in the area & surrounding cities.

Portland, Astoria, and the lovely coastal towns were some of the places we visited.

In July, my parents came up for a week,

and we toured around with them, enjoying their company.

In August, we found out that my Dad was diagnosed with

Stage IV Pancreatic cancer.

It was quite a blow to my family, as he has been healthy otherwise.

We all decided at the time, it was best for us to continue with our plans,

as we had another workamping commitment in Florida.

So..

In September we said farewell to Oregon,

then skipped down to California to visit with my parents for a few days.

There were some events on the east coast that we had made plans for,

so we high-tailed it east, putting some miles on!

My son Austin was living in Denver, so we stopped there for one night..

There were our friends in Ohio to see..

and finally, a visit to PA to see George's family..

We also spent time with some fellow RVers, Jim & Dee, and friends who came to camp with us.

October

Found us very social!

We attended the fall RV Dreams rally in Franklin, NC.

Then spending some time in Georgia at J. Strom Thurmond Lake..

and were lucky enough to have some time with this crew..

who then led us to our next gathering,

the Carolina Clan, in Murrells Inlet, SC.

November - December

We are rounding out the end of 2013 workamping

in the Ocala National Forest.

Once again, our primary job is maintenance,

which we really enjoy.

Picking up trash is no picnic,

but who can complain when we spend our days outside in sunny Florida?

2014

..will find us in Florida until the end of April.

I am flying to California in a couple of weeks to spend some quality time with my parents,

while George stays to fulfill our commitment to the forest.

We will travel back to California at that point,

staying as long as needed through the summer and early fall.

A job at the Amazon fulfillment center in Campbellsville, KY in October sounds promising to us.

We have been lucky to have had funds to carry us through 2013,

without touching our investments, but it is time to replenish the coffers :-)

George & I hope that we have the opportunity to meet up with fellow RVers,

friends we've met, and friends yet to meet!