2023 is in the rearview mirror and what an action packed year it was! Traveling from California throughout the southwest to Texas, continuing east through the south to Florida for the Winter then on up the east coast to Virginia and over the Appalachian Mountains to Kentucky and Indiana for the Alliance RV Rally in June. Onward to a wedding in New England and Canada for the Summer then down to Maryland for our first RVICS project in September. With Fall around the corner we continued south through Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia and back to Florida where have been since the end of October. It was a great year seeing the country and spending some extended time with family and friends along the way. With a new beginning ahead, Karen and I have a pretty good idea of where and what we want to see and do for the new year. January and most of February will be in Florida. We start another RVICS project on January 8 through January 26. We will be working again with Steve and Joyce Parlette as our team leaders and two other couples who are yet to arrive at the camp. Karen is scheduled for pre-op labs on January 2 in Keystone Heights nearby Melrose and on January 3 we travel to Jacksonville for her "joint replacement class". For those who missed it, Karen is having her right hip replaced on February 16 here in Jacksonville, Florida. Believe it or not, it is an out-patient surgery and I'll bring her home later the same day! According to her doctor, she should be on her feet the same day with a walker and three weeks later no walking aid will be required. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as we take on this new medical adventure together. Before her surgery we will move the fifth wheel to Bushnell, Florida for 18 days at the Sumter Oaks RV Park and meet up with Sean and Kathy Earley to plan our next big adventure later in the summer. June 2024 through September 2024 we have scheduled an RV trip to Alaska via the Alaska/Canadian Highway (ALCAN). We met Sean and Kathy at the Alliance Rally last year and floated the idea back then. The enthusiasm is still high, so now it's time to do the work of travel routes, timing, reservation planning and miscellaneous other logistics. Foundational to this trip is "the Milepost". The Milepost is the best-selling travel guide to Alaska and a "quintessential reference" for northern travelers. The Milepost includes mile-by-mile descriptions of more than 15,000 miles of road in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta. It's 700-plus pages detail accommodations, camping, fishing, fuel stops, restaurants, attractions and services found along the highways and byways of Alaska and western Canada. The guide's Travel Planning section answers frequently-asked questions about travel in the North, including what you need to know about crossing the international border, traveling with pets, the Alaska ferry system, driving conditions, railroads, tours and wildlife. Suggested itineraries are mapped out to help travelers plan their trips. The 2023 edition of The Milepost® is the 75th edition of this classic annual travel guide, which was first published in 1949 as a 72-page guide to the recently opened Alaska ("Alcan") Highway. While the log of the Alaska Highway is still the foundation of this guide, it has been joined by dozens of connecting routes as well as newer roads, such as the Dalton Highway, the Dempster Highway and the recently opened road to Tuktoyaktuk. All highway logs, which are updated every year by field editors, include a look at the history of the route and often the natural history of the region. The Alaska Highway section includes a brief history of the Alaska Highway that is a poignant reminder of the scale of this project. The Alaska Highway was named an International Historical Engineering landmark in 1996. Between February and June we have two additional RVICS camp projects scheduled in Alabama (February) and Nebraska (May), multiple family and friends visits along the way and a total solar eclipse in Texas to experience. On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse, known as the "Great North American Eclipse," will trace a narrow path of totality across 13 U.S. states. Heads up Texas relatives: we're giving you fair warning that the cousins are coming your way! I'm sure it sounds like a very busy agenda for the year but in reality we have plenty of time to accomplish all the traveling and relax in the process. One thing we have learned this past year is how to adjust our plans. The real beauty of this lifestyle is the ability to stay as long or as short a time in any location we visit. We plan on using that method again as we continue our traveling throughout 2024. May God continue to guide us as we purpose to share His love with those we meet up with. Stay tuned, the adventure continues...

Christmas Day was spent mostly in bed attempting to recover from my unfortunate illness. Nurse Karen was able to find a Covid test for me at Safeway; I tested negative and was greatly relieved. Thank goodness. We spent the last week in Sonoma County saying goodbye to our friends in the area. Thursday night, December 28 we celebrated our last night with a wonderful dinner out with our good friends, Jeff and Dana Guidi. We made reservations at a wonderful venue in Santa Rosa we used to take our parents to for special celebrations, We brought two bottles of wine with us and had a wonderful dinner at Ca'Bianca Italian restaurant. We had a great night enjoying great cuisine, drinking incredible wine and laughing together as we wrapped up the evening. We will miss all of you and look forward to the next opportunity we have to see you again. Friday morning, December 29 came early. Our flight out of Oakland was at 11:45 AM, but we got word from a friend who had missed their flight on Thursday that the airport was a zoo. So to be safe, we left Healdsburg at 7 AM allowing plenty of time to travel to the airport and return our rental car. Fortunately for us we arrived with no glitches, checked in, got boarding passes and had our luggage tagged all the way to Jacksonville, Florida. We boarded on time and headed to San Diego continuing on to Nashville, Tennessee. From Nashville we changed planes and flew the final leg to Jacksonville where we arrived at 11:45 PM. I took the long-term parking shuttle bus to get the truck while Karen stayed with all the luggage. Guess what parking for 44 days cost us? Only $440.45...ouch! I picked up Karen and we loaded up all 4 full-size suitcases, one carry-on roller bag and two backpacks to drive back to Lake Swan in Melrose, Florida. We arrived early in the morning at 1:45 AM on December 30 to 36º F and a chilly trailer. We opened up Trinity, turned on all the heaters, changed into our PJ's and got to bed. Unpacking would wait until the next morning. I still had a cough so I didn't sleep great, but I was glad to be in my own bed again. We checked over the rig the next morning and everything looked good, so we started the odyssey unpacking the luggage. It took the whole day! On Sunday, December 31, New Years Eve we attended church, went out to brunch and did our grocery shopping to refill the refrigerator and pantry. Our team leaders, Steve and Joyce joined us for dinner and we sat outside around the gas fire pit until it got too cold. Karen and I spent a fun evening watching old movies until midnight. It was a quiet New Years celebration, except for the loud music the neighbors are playing and the occasional firework explosion nearby. We thank God for a blessed and exciting 2023 and we look forward to continued adventures in 2024. We pray God bless you in 2024 with good health, loving relationships and an abundant life! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We left Fiji on Tuesday, December 19 at 10:35 PM in the evening and arrived at SFO in California on Tuesday, December 19 at 12:30 PM in the afternoon. By flying east across the International Date Line we got back the day we lost on our way to Fiji. The Fiji Airways flight took nine and a half hours returning to the US and was smooth. Our group cleared Customs, picked up our baggage and took the parking shuttle out to the long-term parking garage where Bill Bullard had parked his truck. We picked up our Budget rental car and drove back to Healdsburg in Sonoma County for the remainder of our trip. We both spent the next day catching up on sleep, The last ten days have been a mix of whirlwind travel, relaxing multiple massages, diving adventures and countless moments of laughter and joy. Another memorable diving adventure in the books! Now begins the conversation about the next diving adventure...maybe a live aboard in the Maldives? Maldive Maniacs maybe, huh...?!!! Thursday, December 21 Karen went into the Total Concepts office to work and I went to the Veteran's Administration Clinic in Santa Rosa for my annual physical and surgery to remove a suspicious mole on my back. I left the VA Clinic with stitches in my back and a sore arm from my flu shot. By Friday, December 22 I was sick with a head cold and a cough. This is why I don't like getting a flu shot! It's not uncommon to feel tenderness at the injection site and experience mild symptoms within the first few days. Everyone was concerned about Covid-19 but honestly I think it is more the reacting to a foreign antigen and triggering the production of antibodies plus traveling fatigue. Karen started getting congested after me but with milder symptoms. The plan was to travel to El Dorado Hills for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and return on Tuesday evening, but our son Nick and his family are all sick too! So we will isolate to be safe, hunker down at the AirBnB, enjoy Christmas music, read, relax and rest up. It is weird to think we are spending Christmas Eve in a barn. But the accommodations are far superior to what Joseph, Mary and Jesus were provided with on that first Christmas night. Christmas Eve we enjoyed watching Handel's Messiah on the TV and a meal from Safeway of hot meatloaf, mushroom ravioli and a salad. I've been catching up on blog postings, if you haven't already noticed. Despite the less than desirable circumstances we still find joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. And like the shepherds in the field of Bethlehem that amazing night, we rejoice with all people of faith! Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men. We praise you, we bless you, we worship you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory. Lord, King, God of heaven, Father almighty: Lord, only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. To all our family, friends and blog subscribers, here's wishing you all a joyous and blessed Merry Christmas!

Our 7 day adventure at the Paradise Resort on Taveuni ended on Saturday morning December 16 when we returned to Viti Levu for the final three days of the "Fiji Fanatics" diving trip. Our hosts and staff at Paradise Taveuni Resort made sure to send us on our way with a song and full bellies after breakfast. A five-star review of this resort does not do it justice for the staff hospitality, accommodations, dining facilities, quality of the meals, and scuba diving department. Everything was fabulous! We all agreed we got our monies worth and everything we hoped to experience. We arrived in Nadi, Viti Levu in the early afternoon and took two taxis to the Aquarius Hotel near the airport. The Aquarius Hotel was an inexpensive, no frills accommodation where we stayed before leaving on December 19 to return back to the US. During these remaining three days in Fiji we scheduled an optional shark dive, botanical garden tour and a mud bath/hot springs session. Diving with Bulls Our dive team member, Patrick Sharp put this excursion together for Monday, December 18 which required we drive to Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu the day before. He had arranged for transportation and an AirBnB for us to use. So on Sunday, 6 of our group packed up our diving gear, drove the three hours to the Pacific Harbor five bedroom home on the south side of the main island. We arrived in the late afternoon and hung out around the pool before getting a taxi to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The next morning the shuttle from Beqa Adventure Divers arrived at 8:30 AM to pick us up. Unfortunately the weather conditions were terrible with heavy rain squalls, thunder and lightening; I half expected the trip would be cancelled, but we arrived at the dock facility and started the process of checking in and getting geared up and on the boat. There were five divers from the "Fiji Fanatics": Patrick Sharp, Bill Bullard, Mike Grummell, Suzy Wheat and myself. The boat crew consisted of the boat captain and three shark guides or wranglers. While at the dock before leaving we did a comprehensive dive and safety briefing, then we were off to the dive sites. In the protected waters of the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, we tied up to moorings and prepared to enter the water. The sea state was rough due to the weather but not unlike conditions off the California coastline and islands I have previously dove. We entered the water and held on the mooring line before descending as a group with our guides. We proceeded to the "Arena" at approximately 100 feet where we would spend 10-12 minutes observing. The Arena is where the Bull Sharks have celebrity status. Once we were all in our assigned spots, the guides released food from the suspended bait box. Normally the guide will hand-feed the sharks but not today. The visibility at the site was only twenty feet and there was a slight surge, so the guides had their hands full wrangling sharks and divers. I had added extra weight to facilitate staying on the bottom more easily so I could shoot digital still images and video with my underwater camera. We got a real show with multiple 8-9 foot Bull Sharks and a variety of other species including Sicklefin and Silvertip Sharks, not to mention an assortment of reef fish looking for a free meal of leftovers. As we concluded at the first level, we swam up the sloping reef wall to 33 feet to spend 10-15 minutes with the Whitetip and Blacktip Reef Sharks. Our final stop was at 13 feet to do our safety decompression stop while hanging our with the "Reef Shark Mafia". Apparently, the Whitetip Reef Sharks have no sense of personal space and enjoyed cruising around us as we waited. Advertised as the best safety stop you'll ever make, guaranteed! Well, we all made it back onboard the boat bouncing on its moorings. What a wild and awesome experience! While on the surface, Captain Earl informed us that the conditions were deteriorating and the second dive would be cancelled so we headed back into port. We had no objection, what could possibly top the first dive! So we headed back in through the rain, thunder and occasional lighting. We got back to the dive shop, showered and changed, while the crew washed down and hung up our gear. What happened next was frankly unbelievable. The owner of the dive shop informed us that the dive was "on the house" due to the terrible conditions. I thought our $200 dive may be discounted but not free; incredible! We made sure to contribute a generous tip the crew/staff and bought a bunch of souvenirs before we left. Following the dive we picked up Karen and drove to a local restaurant for lunch before heading back to Nadi. Botanical Gardens and Mud Our last day was December 18 but we still had plenty of time before our 10:35 PM flight leaving Nadi for SFO departed. We had one full day to explore the local area before heading to the airport, so Suzy Wheat coordinated a van tour and visit to a local orchid garden and mud bath/hot spring. The gardens were beautiful but the highlight of the day was at the mud bath and hot springs. Oh boy, did we have a good time! The fun began by covering our bodies with mud from clay pots, Laughter and jokes filled the air as we proceeded in covering every inch of exposed skin. It was a bonding experience as we dried in the sun before entering the mud pond to wash off our dry mud layer. From the mud pond we moved to the first hot spring to soak and rinse then to the final hot spring pool before showering. I don't think Karen and I would have ever done this on our own initiative, so thanks to Suzy and the rest of the gang for going along with the idea and being such good sports to even do it!

One of our reasons for traveling to Fiji was to dive the Rainbow Reef, Fiji Islands, discovered by Jacques Cousteau and now known as the soft coral capital of the world. The Rainbow Reef is a reef in the Somosomo Strait between the Fijian islands of Taveuni and Vanua Levu. It includes one of the most famous dive sites in the South Pacific known as the Great White Wall. It is named because of the white coral inhabiting the area at depths between 45 and 200 feet. Rainbow Reef impresses with stunning collections of red, yellow, purple, pink and blue soft corals, which thrive on the currents that bathe the reef in a nutrient-rich flow. A kaleidoscope of bright colors underwater and marvelous marine life. this reef is home to 230 hard and soft corals and about 1200 species of exotic marine life including nudibranch, flat worms and shellfish. We spent four out of our five, two tank dive days exploring the Rainbow Reef. In addition to the Great White Wall, two of our dives were at the "Cabbage Patch" coral structure. Cabbage Patch is a sloped reef full of different kinds of stony corals. It was named as Cabbage Patch from the big field of Cabbage Corals there and their resemblance to giant cabbages. The field of cabbage coral here is larger than the size of a basketball court. Most of the cabbage coral are over one meter (3.3 feet) high and some are higher than two meters (6.5 feet). The patch size is impressive! The corals form upright whorls with layers inside layers and they are yellowish and greenish in color, making them look like giant cabbages.. If you take a closer look at the coral, you can see hundreds of thousands of individual polyps on them which they use for feeding. The scenery is just stunning! The coral patch is located at around 42 to 50 feet of depth, with the clear visibility, snorkelers are also able to enjoy this amazing scenery from the surface.

While visiting the islands of Fiji we experienced the pleasure of their wonderful hospitality as well as some of the traditions of the Fijian people. Our first experience was with "Bula", the common greeting that means "hello". We couldn't go anywhere and not be greeted by an enthusiastic "BULA" during our stay at Paradise Taveuni resort. The staff also greeted us by our first name whenever we encountered them on the grounds or on the boats. And each evening we were serenaded with lovely Fijian music during dinnertime. On Wednesday, December 13 after we finished our dives at Rainbow Reef, we traveled to Kioa, a small island in Fiji, an outlier to Vanua Levu which is one of Fiji's two main islands. Situated opposite Buca Bay, Kioa was purchased by settlers from Vaitupu atoll in Tuvalu, who came between 1947 and 1962. Before our group went ashore the women changed into their sarongs and the men put on the traditional "Sulu" to show respect for their customs. Visitors to Fiji bring a light tropical wardrobe: bathing suits, shorts, T-shirts. We soon discovered “sulus” (known throughout the Pacific as pareau, lavalava or sarong) are also a must for both men and women. The wrap-around “sulu” is Fiji's most distinctive and versatile form of dress. The population of Vaitupu, their original home island from 1860 to 1900 was estimated to be 400 people. Vaitupu is home to the second-largest population in Tuvalu, numbering 1,576 per the 2002 Census and 1,555 in the 2012 census. Despite its relatively large size, Vaitupu became so overcrowded during the 1940s that a number of families migrated to Fiji to live on Kioa Island. Neli Lifuka was the magistrate on Vaitupu from 1945 to 1951. He was instrumental in collecting the funds to purchase Kioa Island in Fiji. Initially 37 people migrated from Vaitupu to live on Kioa Island; within a decade, more than 235 people followed. Kioa is one of two islands in Fiji populated by migrant communities from the Pacific Islands, the other being Rabi, also in the Vanua Levu Group and home to a displaced Banaban community. Early in 2005, the Fijian government decided to grant full citizenship to the Kioa and Rabi Islanders. As a culmination of a decade-long quest for naturalization, a formal ceremony was held December 2005 to award 566 citizenship certificates to residents of the islands and their descendants (some of whom now live elsewhere in Fiji), which entitles them to provincial and national assistance for rural development. When we arrived on Kioa Island we were each crowned with a fresh flower wreath. As we all gathered in their community hall, one of the elders shared a bit about the history of their people. The community proceeded to greet us with their traditional music and dance. On Thursday, December 14, back at Paradise Taveuni Resort we celebrated with the staff and other guests a traditional Fijian Lovo banquet and kava ceremony. A lovo is an underground oven used as a traditional Fijian method of cooking food in large quantities to bring together communities or groups. It can be likened to a Fijian version of a barbeque or grilling, with somewhat more smoky flavors. Everything from fish to chicken to pork can be cooked in a lovo and the meat will sometimes be bundled up in banana leaves to retain the moisture. Once the food is inside, the pit is covered in banana leaves, soil or potato sacks and left to slow cook for several hours. The meal was introduced with the ceremonial kava. In Fiji, a kava ceremony is a ritual in every village you enter as well as a key feature on your Fiji resort 'things to do list'. It is commonplace for Fijian families and friends to gather together on a daily basis and enjoy kava together. It is what Fijians commonly refer to as 'Fiji time'. Kava, otherwise known as yaqona, or quite simply, grog, is the traditional national drink of Fiji. It is a mildly narcotic and sedative drink made from the crushed root of the yaqona (pronounced yang-GO-na) strained with water. It is served in a large communal bowl as part of the traditional kava ceremony. When drunk, it creates a pleasant, numb feeling around the mouth, lips and tongue, as well as a sense of calm and relaxation. Yet despite the naturally calming effects of the drink, the true experience lies in partaking of the complete kava ceremony. Kava is traditionally served as part of a ceremonial atmosphere, most commonly in welcoming guests into a village and on important occasions. The kava ceremony focuses around the communal Kava tanoa (bowl). Guests sit in a circle around the bowl which is placed in front of the leader. The ceremony commences with the actual production of the kava. The plant is pounded and the pulp placed into a cloth sack and mixed with water. The end result is a brownish coloured liquid – the Kava gold. It is then strained and ready for drinking. Once you receive your Kava, clap your hands once with a cupped hand making a hollow sound and exclaim: Bula! If you can, drink your Kava in one 'gulp'. Then clap again with your hands cupped – and say: 'Maca' (pronounced maa-tha), as a means of confirming 'the cup has been drained'! I drained three cups full of kava during the ceremony and felt my lips become a bit numb. After dinner, Karen and I watching the sunset then retired early so we could be up at 6:00 AM for breakfast and on the boat by 6:30 AM for our last day of diving.

Our long anticipated scuba diving adventure with the "Fiji Fanatics" began late Thursday night when we all gathered together at the San Francisco International Airport for the 10 plus hour flight to Nadi, on the largest of Fiji's 330 islands, Viti Levu, Fiji. Our flight would cross both the Equator and the International Dateline, hence we would lose a day on Friday, December 8 arriving the early morning of Saturday, December 9. Once we had all our baggage we boarded a smaller turboprop aircraft for the one and a half hour flight to the island of Taveuni. Our final destination was Paradise Taveuni, a relatively small resort with less than 20 rooms, nested on the south-west shore of Taveuni, the Garden island of Fiji. It is reached in about 75 minutes from the airport through a road which is unpaved for the last part of it. . The staff of Paradise Taveuni is simply incredible. Everyone greeted us by our first name, and did everything or anything to make our stay more comfortable. While waiting for our bures (rooms) we were treated to complimentary tropical fruit, refreshing beverages and foot massage. Karen and I were staying in the Hibiscus Bure with an air-conditioned bedroom, living room, bathroom including an outdoor private shower/bath and lovely ocean view expansive patio. After unpacking our baggage we headed back to the open air dining area for lunch along with a staff and facilities introduction. Later that same afternoon we all did our "check out" dive offshore with the diving staff to make sure all our diving equipment was working properly. Unlike most resorts, the food at Taveuni was excellent and not buffet style. Instead, every morning guests order their lunch and dinner from a selection changing regularly. Whether it is the fish of the day, a burger, pizza or any of the specials, everything was tasty - not surprising when you know that the owner is also the head chef! Cocktails are excellent, too. The resort has a very pleasant pool overlooking the sea, and a well-equipped diving center with a camera room. There are two dive boats (a larger, slow one as well as a faster boat for 6-7 divers) both usually heading to the famous Rainbow Reef.

We continued our journey from PDX (Portland, Oregon) to OAK (Oakland, CA) on Tuesday, November 28. We had arranged a rental car through Turo.com for the nine days we planned on visiting Sonoma County. Turo.com is a remarkably convenient transportation resource. Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing platform that allows car owners to rent out their own cars to regular people. Consider it a sort of Airbnb for cars. Given high rental car prices and often limited rental car availability, alternative rental car services like Turo can be a lifesaver. We rented a dark blue 2011 Honda Accord with 1800 miles included through the Turo platform for $365 for 10 days.. After driving up to Sonoma County we arrived at the Herrick Vineyard's AirBnB they recently finished in their barn where we planned on staying through December 7. We arranged get togethers with local friends, former co-workers plus knocking out multiple doctor and dentist appointments. The first order of business on Thursday was picking up up two cases of wine futures we ordered last year at Sunce Winery. We figured we might be able to enjoy the wines with our friends during our stay in California before shipping it back to Florida! On Saturday December 1 we attended the Fire Cause Analysis company holiday party in Berkeley with the Ginn's and Guidi's. We had a great time hanging out with all my work associates. Sunday we attended Living Roots Church with our church family. Monday I attended the holiday party of the Sonoma County Search and Recovery Dive Team while Karen hung out with her Total Concepts co-worker Sandra for some wine and a visit. All in all, we got to spend the week catching up with many friends for coffee or a meal before packing for Fiji.

Friday afternoon, November, 24 we landed at PDX (Portland International Airport) to spend an extended weekend with our daughter Elisa, son-in-law Aaron, and granddaughters Diana (18), Macy and Zoe (15). We last visited with them back in summer of 2022 on our return trip from Washington so we had a lot of catching up to do. We were picked up by the hotel shuttle and spent our first night at a Best Western near the airport. Elisa came to pick us up for dinner at their house and we hung out for the evening. The next day she picked us up at 11:00 AM and we moved to an AirBnB in their neighborhood. The "Casita" is a converted single garage with all the comforts of home. It has a wonderful fenced in patio area with a hot tub we looked forward to using. The Casita is beautifully appointed and cozy. We will spend the next three days here within walking distance to Elisa and Aaron's home around the corner. Saturday we visited Aaron's business, Black Wolf Protection Group. Black Wolf is an elite-tier private security provider located in Portland, OR. They're proudly veteran & minority owned and operated. Our son-in law, Aaron is the one on the left side of the photo. He and his partner Nate started the company in 2017. Their mission is to provide the purest, most comprehensive security services while creating and maintaining a true career pathway for those who share a passion for protecting the community. They're promoting a new standard for experience and capability in the private security industry. Dedication to service, ingrained in them by the military, is their guiding principle. Saturday evening we got up to date on all the Edgington family news. Elisa is getting ready to start a new job managing two Veterinarian offices. Diana is working at a bowling alley in town when not at her high school senior year studies. She is interested in forensic anthropology but thinking about taking off the year after high school to work and enjoy a break from studies. The twins are sophomores at the same STEM high school with their older sister. Macy is leaning towards studying dental hygiene and Zoe is interested in the mortuary sciences. All of them are out of school right now because of a Portland teachers strike...which means more time to spend with the whole family while we're here. Sunday morning we all relaxed. I made coffee and then enjoyed the hot tub with my wife. It's chilly outside but the hot tub was 101ºF so we just soaked and read for about an hour. We walked over to Elisa and Aaron's later to run some errands together, hang out with the family and later all seven of us went out to a restaurant called Stanford's for a wonderful dinner. The evening ended with Mimi and the twins enjoying the hot tub at our AirBnB while Elisa and I "binged" watched three episodes of Reacher, season 1. We had a great time just hanging out and sharing life with Edgingtons and their three dogs. All in all, it was a low key visit with no sightseeing or busy activities; it was very laid back and relaxing.

The weather in Denver has been fairly mild but chilly during the week. There is a forecast for snow on Thanksgiving as well as Friday when we depart for Portland, Oregon. We're getting plenty of time with all three of the grandchildren watching TV, building projects, playing games and just hanging out together. Sometimes it gets loud and I need a respite so I head downstairs to read or nap. Tori and Erik do a great job of balancing life with these three energetic personalities.The kids have plenty to keep themselves busy outside the house with the trampoline in the backyard and bikes or scooters in the garage. Arley loves to talk to "Alexa" to ask for musical requests and build his towers with magnet squares. Mattis is a real artist and can spend hours drawing super hero cartoons. He watches cartoonist instructions on his computer and draws the same figure free hand as the illustrator gives the lesson. Emery loves to read and is known to stay up late reading after bedtime. Thanksgiving rolled around and we had a wonderful feast of turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, string bean casserole, sweet potatoes with apples. Oh my goodness, what a treat to have a great meal and spend it with part of our family. We even took some family photos for posterity! I started making turkey soup by boiling the turkey carcass in the largest stock pot they had in the kitchen. With the drippings from the pan, I added carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms and sweet peppers to the brew and boiled until bedtime. I took the pot out to the patio to cool until morning. We woke up to snow on Friday morning, November 24 when Erik got home from work. Karen had prepared a breakfast of "Thanksgiving French Toast" to make it easier on Tori and Erik the morning of our departure. After a hearty breakfast and saying our goodbyes, we left the house in Thornton at 8:15 AM and got to Denver International Airport by 9:00 AM for our 11:00 AM flight. The airport was busy but not nearly as busy as we expected. We checked our bags and got through the TSA screening with enough time to get coffee at Starbucks then relax before boarding was to begin. Next stop on our journey is Portland, Oregon to visit our daughter Elisa's family for the next five days.

With our Lake Swan Camp RVICS project completed on Thursday, November 16 we began the process of getting the rig ready for its extended stay in Florida while we packed for our upcoming trip to the west. Karen actually started packing almost a week earlier, after returning from her visit to Nancy's home in Tampa with an extra borrowed suitcase. Our planned itinerary will take us first to Denver, Colorado for Thanksgiving with our son Erik's family until Friday, November 24. Then, it's off to Portland, Oregon for five days with our daughter Elisa's family before heading south to California. We arrive in Oakland on Tuesday, November 28 and travel north to Sonoma County to visit with friends and get a bunch of doctor appointments out of the way. On December 7 we will fly to Fiji in the Pacific with our dive buddies, the "Fiji Fanatics" to spend 10 days scuba diving. Returning to California on December 19 we finish up spending another week, including Christmas with our son Nick's family in Sacramento before flying back to Jacksonville on December 27. I'm sure that many of you might think this a whirlwind schedule, but fortunately it is working out manageable within the 6 week time frame we've allowed. The biggest hassle has been the amount of luggage for dressing in multiple weather conditions and our dive gear. With four suitcases and two backpacks in the truck, we left Trinity (our fifth wheel) all buttoned up for the next six weeks on Friday, November 17 at noon. Lake Swan Camp has graciously allowed us to leave the rig on the camp property at no charge for the duration of our holiday vacation. This is a huge savings and in a safe location where other members of our team will still be around the trailer most of the time we're gone. This first travel day on the itinerary we drove from Lake Swan Camp in Melrose, Florida to the Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) where we parked in an off-site long-term parking facility and then arrived at the terminal for our flight to Denver. The weather in Florida the past three days has been rainy so we were looking forward to new surroundings and maybe even snow. Thank goodness that 2 bags fly for free on Southwest Airlines! The flight departed at 4:34 PM and arrived in Denver at 6:30 PM their time. Erik picked us up and drove us to their home before leaving for work that evening. We got to see the grandkids and Tori before bedtime rolled around. We surprised them all with the disguises Karen bought. We can't discuss does details in the blog yet, you'll just have to wait until after the trip. Monday, November 20 we took the grandkids to the Denver Aquarium for the day. Arley made sure he would fit in and wore his shark sweatshirt. The aquarium was impressive and the grandkids had a great time running from one tank viewing area to the next. We ended the visit with a late lunch in the aquarium dining room and a trip to Freddy's frozen custard before driving back to Thornton.

After our morning devotions on Monday, October 30 all eight of us drove over to the Lake Swan Camp (LSC) Anniversary Lodge to get started. All the ladies in our group, Rhonda, Marlis,Joyce and Karen were painting the "accent" wall in the eight rooms of the lodge. Some of them were cutting in paint on the T-111 interior siding panels with others rolling the paint on. Karen worked with Marlis painting the bathroom ceilings with a special mold inhibiting formula later in the first week Robert and I were paired up to install the condensation drain hose plumbing for the new air conditioners in all eight rooms . We had to add a dishwasher drain fitting between the room sink and the P-trap. We then installed a flexible hose through the back of the sink counter and wall partition in a storage closet up to the previously installed A/C unit drain. We worked well together and got all of the installs completed before lunch. Dan and Steve were busy removing the old A/C units under the windows next to each doorway and framing in the opening. After lunch Robert and I moved over to the Block House complex to fill the old A/C unit holes with cinder blocks. We removed the wooden covers over the holes then measured, cut and mortared the blocks into the opening. I had never done this kind of work before so I was very interested in how it would work. Robert had a portable electric disk saw he used to score the block to the right shape before using a hammer and chisel to break the blocks on the scored line. It only took one block to get the technique down but worked every time after the first attempt. One of the openings needed to have an electrical box installed in the block wall, rewiring and a new exterior switch plate. I took this on because I knew how to rewire and proceeded to install the metal box with the connections. Again, we worked together with one guy on the inside wall and the other on the outside wall positioning the blocks in place with mortar to hold the assembly together. By quitting time at 3:45 PM we had three old A/C openings completed. The next day, Robert and I returned to the Anniversary Lodge to finish the old A/C openings with insulation, replacement T-111 panel on the interior and Hardie board shiplap planks on the exterior. By Thursday, all the men moved over to the next project site on the property which is a two-story dormitory building near Lake Rosa. We began .removing old A/C wall units then patched the old holes with block & mortar on the first floor and T-111 on the second floor Week two we started replacing 32 double hung windows in the same two-story building. It is an ambitious assignment that took us a few windows to get up to speed. We started on the bottom floor to see how complicated removing the old windows would be before starting the installation of the new windows. We eventually developed an efficient process and rhythm we can use as we continue into next week. We successfully complete all 32 windows by Thursday, November 9. I'm really glad to be doing some building construction and not painting for three weeks. I have learned how to cut, fit and mortar concrete cement blocks along with the process of removing old aluminum windows, installing new PVC windows and finishing them in the original openings. These are all new skills and increase my comfort level addressing these kind of challenges. These first two work weeks at the camp have been very efficient and have gone by quickly. After working all day Monday through Thursday we're all pretty much wiped out. However, we did find enough energy for Wednesday night socials at 6:30 PM. We got together and played a few rounds of various card games: 4 up/4 down, Pyramid and Seven but we ended the evenings early by 8:00PM. On Friday, November 3 our team met up with our old RVICS team leaders, Frank and Melissa and a couple from their team for a brunch at the Orange Blossom restaurant. The restaurant is part of a RV park which includes a mini golf course attraction. After brunch we all played a round and followed up with ice cream, of course, at a locally owned shop. It was great seeing Frank and Melissa and catching up. Their team is working another RVICS camp project in Keystone Heights, FL a few miles up the road from where we are working. Front row (L to R): Joyce Parlette, Marlis Williams, Rhonda Mazzanti, Karen Teague, with other team members, Mary and Melissa. Back row (L to R) Steve Parlette, Dan Williams, Robert Mazzanti, John Teague, with other team members Mike and Frank.