Why Georgia?

Greetings from Georgia

About a year and a half ago I wrote a blog titled Why Florida? (link) Six months earlier, we had packed up everything we owned, loaded a truck (or 2) and trekked 400 miles south, rented a house, and became residents of Florida. About six months later, we sold our old house in Georgia. Carol had moved away from the only town she had ever really lived and, that I had lived for over 45 years (you can read the blog I linked above to to see why we moved.)

But the main reason why we moved to Florida has now changed. Because Florida wasn't ever going to be our permanent home, we had to make a decision of where we would live next. We are blessed to both be retired and honestly, we can choose to live anywhere we want. But, no matter where we live, we need it to be a place that can be "home." Back in 2012, when our daughter and son-in law were living in Korea, I wrote a blog titled Where's Home? (link) While the idea of moving to some exotic place sounds tempting... the beach, the mountains... some foreign country (I loved the idea of living in Ecuador,) the truth is, no matter where you live, you still have to wake up on Tuesday morning and live your life. In most cases, people choose where to live, during their working years, by where the job takes them. When that is not an issue, what is the appropriate criteria of where to live?

So many beautiful places in America

Based on my own travel experiences, if I wanted to live where the overall weather was great, I'd live in San Diego. If scenic beauty was the priority, I might move to Breckenridge, or Sedona, or Bar Harbor, or Naples, or... (honestly, there are way too many to list.) If I wanted to live where the overall surroundings and lifestyle are appealing, I'd live in Blowing Rock, or Asheville, or Charleston, or Knoxville, or Chattanooga. If I wanted to live in a place that is vibrant, I'd live in Nashville, or Athens, GA (or most any SEC college town for that matter... but not Gainesville...can't live in Gator country.) There are so many places where I have loved spending time... San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, but... I wouldn't want to live there.

We have two beautiful grandchildren. We loved living near them when they were here in Florida. But, they are now in NE North Carolina. We could always move there and remain just a few minutes away. That idea was very, very tempting. But, just like our last move, we didn't know a soul (except our kids and grandkids) here in Florida, and we wouldn't know a soul in Moyock, NC.

So, we've decided, despite the difficulty of the decision, that it is time to go "home" ...back to the area where we previously lived. In 2016, Carol was diagnosed with some memory related challenges (although she is still doing remarkably well.) My first priority was and is to do what is best for her. Our son lives in Augusta and will be getting married in November. We'd like to be nearby as he and our daughter-in-law embark on the beginning of their married life. We have a church in Augusta that we have been a part of since 1984. We have all of Carol's doctors in Augusta. Carol's sister and her husband are nearby. And there are some other important people in Augusta. As her husband, I can serve in many capacities for her... but there is one thing I cannot be...her girlfriend. She (and I) have some very special people in our life that, for decades, we have called friends. I think it is important for Carol to have her girlfriends nearby. I mean, she needs someone to whom she can complain about her husband!!

HaRVy- our 38 foot home on wheels, pulling Dolly and Taurus

If you follow or occasionally read my blogs, you know that we purchased a motorhome. Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids live 450 miles away from Augusta. Since traveling has become more difficult for Carol, we discovered that traveling by motorhome, allowing her to wake up in familiar surroundings (albeit smaller,) makes it easy for us to visit and spend time away from where our house is.

So, while we are now officially renters in Evans, GA... we will keep our motorhome HaRVy busy as he takes us to reuinite with our other family members and with friends as often as I can afford to put gas in him.

Where we belong

Why Georgia? Well, it just seemed like that is where we are supposed to be.

On The Road With HaRVy

HaRVy is an RV

We have an addition to the family. His name is HaRVy. At least, that's what we have decided to call him. HaRVy is an 11 year old Damon Challenger 377 Class A motorhome. He's almost 38 feet long built on a Workhorse W-22 chassis and is powered by an 8.1 liter gas engine (that's 496 cubic inches for those of you still unwilling to embrace the metric system) mated to an Allison Series 1000 6-speed transmission. He's rated at about 340 horsepower @4200 RPM and 455 lb.-ft. of torque at 3200 RPM. HaRVy has three slideouts, has twin Carrier A/C units, hot water heater, 5500 watt generator, a queen size bed, 20 inch TV in bedroom, dining room table that seats 4, kitchen with refrigerator/freezer (that runs on propane or AC power,) gas stove and oven, microwave oven, full-size kitchen sink, bathroom with toilet, vanity and shower, living room with sleeper sofa, recliner, and a 32 inch TV. Outside, there is a powered awning that runs 20 ft down the length of the motorhome.

I should mention that we also added another to the family. Since we need to be able to go places when HaRVy is in his camping spot, we now have Taurus the Bull that HaRVy pulls along behind on a tow Dolly. Taurus is a couple of years older than HaRVy.

You may be wondering why two 60-somethings, who have already raised 2 kids (now 30 and almost 33 yrs old,) would, at this stage in their life, want to be adding to the family.

Well, here's the deal. We have two grandchildren (and their parents) who live about 10 minutes away. We like that. Thanks to the Coast Guard, they will be moving in a couple of months to a small town in northeastern NC (in fact, only about a mile and a half from the VA border.) That being the case, Carol and I will be leaving Florida (this was only ever a temporary gig) later this year. But where to go then? Our home prior to coming to FL in 2017 was Augusta, GA. Our son and his fiancee live in Augusta, GA. Nearly every friend we have lives in Augusta, GA. But... our grandchildren don't live in Augusta, GA. Hence, the dilemma.

To add to that dilemma, over the last 3 years or so, it has become harder for Carol to travel. I won't get into all the specifics but, I will say that staying in hotel rooms or even in the homes of family members has become more and more difficult because those surroundings are now a bit disorienting to her and staying in what are becoming less familiar surroundings is stressful. We still want to be able to go places, especially go to where our daughter & her family live as well as to where our son & fiancee live. One of those places will be where home #1 is.

So, that's where HaRVy comes in. HaRVy's role in the family is to be rolling house #2 that can allow Carol to feel "home" regardless of what city we are visiting. This allows Carol to have her bed and her bathroom with all of her stuff in a familiar spot... no more packing suitcases and makeup bags, which is also a high stress activity for her (HaRVy is now fully equipped with all the things that would typically need to be packed whenever Carol would travel... both our house and our house-on-wheels are fully equipped with duplicates of her stuff.)

We took HaRVy out last weekend for the opportunity to get to know him a little better and see how well he (and his dad- the driver) behaves. It was also important for me that Carol and HaRVy have a real bonding experience. We booked a couple of nights at Colt Creek State Park campground a little over an hour from our house. I didn't want to get too far from home... just in case. The drive from our storage lot to the state park was pretty uneventful (thank goodness!) Carol was a little nervous riding for the first time in a big Class A motorhome with a rookie at the wheel but, both HaRVy and I were able to assuage her fear. Set-up at the campsite went perfectly. This is a nearly new campground with only about 36 sites so, we enjoyed some peaceful relaxation.

      

(Click here to open in YouTube)

I am happy to report that Carol truly grew to love HaRVy over the course of our two-night stay. In fact, on the day we were to leave Carol said, "I wish we could stay here a few more nights." I'd call that a good first step in the relationship. Exiting the campground included a stop at the dump station to experience the nitrile gloved-up sewer hose hook-up to drain the contents of our onboard grey and black water tanks. Fortunately, I had no Robin Williams-in-the-movie-RV moment so, all was good. On the return trip, Carol also got to experience our first fill-up at a gas station. Bear in mind that the total length of HaRVy and Taurus is about 60 feet. And, with Taurus in tow, there is no backing up (I remove Taurus and the tow dolly before backing up HaRVy into a campsite.) $162.00 later at the Flying J, we were back on the road heading home. Like most large motorhomes, HaRVy is a thirsty boy...he drinks a gallon of gas for every 7-8 miles he runs.

Next weekend, Carol, HaRVy, Dolly, Taurus, and I will head out to spend 8 nights at Mistletoe State Park near Augusta to take care of some routine semi-annual doctor appointments. I'm optimistic that the bonding that began last weekend will continue and that we will confirm that this new way to travel is all that we hope it will be. So... I plan to blog about our adventures on the road with HaRVy. This isn't just about having a motorhome. This is an important thing for our family. I know that some of what I have written is a bit cryptic but... you'll just have to try to understand that some private, family stuff will remain private, family stuff. Thanks in advance for understanding.

Here are some pics from our first time out with HaRVy and Taurus the Bull.

plenty of room with these spacious sites

this guy walked up while we were eating dinner

all the comforts of home...

happy wife- happy life

75 gallon tank... this is gonna hurt

beautiful scenery; lots of hiking trails

Carol and HaRVy bonding

Why Florida?

Today we closed on the sale of our house in Georgia. We had lived there 10 years and our previous house we had occupied for 25 years. My wife Carol was born in Georgia and, in fact, had never lived anywhere else but the city in which she was born. I, on the other hand grew up a military brat and had lived in six different states before I was 17. During my corporate career I had headhunters contact me occasionally about positions in other parts of the country. I never seriously considered any of them because Carol just didn't want to leave home.

In 2017, Florida, once again, had the largest net gain of retirees move there.... almost 78,000. It's almost a cliche that when you retire you are supposed to move to Florida. Some have joked that it is the law in New Jersey.... when you turn 65 you must move to Florida. My grandmother retired in Florida. During my many visits and an entire summer staying with her in 1972, I came to the conclusion that I would never want to live in Florida. Visiting Florida, especially in the winter, is wonderful. But to live there? No way.

So, guess where I am right now? Many of our friends know what is going on in our life. The good news is that we have two grandchildren (oh yeah... and their parents) that are currently living in Florida. My son-in-law is a helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard; which is why they are here. I won't elaborate on the not-so-good news but, most of our friends are familiar with it.

About a year ago, I came home from work and Carol said, "I have an idea. Why don't we sell the house and move down to Florida for two years so we can be near Jessica and Matt (and our grandson... [our granddaughter hadn't been born yet]) while Matt is stationed in Florida?" This was spoken by the woman who has lived in the same city for the last... well, her entire life. So, after picking myself up off the floor, I thought about it and said, "You know...why not? We can do that." (Honestly, if Carol had asked me to take her to Timbuktu I would have tried to make that happen... Florida was a piece of cake compared to Mali.)

Pulling up roots isn't easy though. All of our closest friends are in Georgia. Our church home and church family are in Georgia. I had a job I enjoyed in Georgia. Our son is in Georgia and Carol's sister and her husband are just across the river in SC...only a few miles away from where we lived.

Almost exactly 6 years ago I wrote a blog titled "Where's Home?" Here's a link to it.  In that blog I attempted to describe what we mean when we refer to "home." Georgia was home. How could we leave everything that was familiar? Could Florida really be home, even if it was only for a couple of years?

Just like I wrote six years ago, home, for me, is wherever Carol is... and where my family is. For three years Jessica and Matt were 7,000 miles away in Korea. Now we had the chance for them to have some family that wasn't 7,000 miles away or, even in the best case, 7 hours away. We are now more like 7 minutes away. Our hope was that we could be helpful to them as they raise a 2 1/2 yr old and a 3 month old.

Why Florida? I think you get the picture. This is home for now.

Are You Part of a Famous Family?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Henry Ford

Teddy Roosevelt

William Rockefeller

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Do you ever wonder what it is like to be closely related to a very famous person? I don't mean famous in the smaller sense, I mean famous as in being written about in history books and having documentaries and even movies made about you. Do you ever think about what it was like being the son or daughter of a Vanderbilt or Roosevelt or Rockefeller? What if you were related to Martin Luther King or Henry Ford or Bill Gates?

Bill Gates

Let’s say the famous person was your grandfather and he was an important part of your life for many years… in fact, he is still alive today and he is still an important part of your life. As you matured, you were able to get to know him as more than just a relative or a famous someone that others had heard about…you are able to spend time talking with your grandfather and learning more and more about him. Your grandfather shared things with you that have helped you navigate your life and you know deep in the deepest part of your heart how much you love him and how much you are loved by him. Even though he is extremely well known and famous, to you he is almost like your closest friend and you know that you are a very important part of his very large family. You are aware that his fame came with sacrifice to himself personally but, he was willing to do it because he knew that the people that came after him would benefit from what he did.

I often wonder how people that are related to very famous people talk about them when people inquire. If someone asked about your famous grandfather, would your first inclination be to recite the many things written about him in the history books? Would you describe his accomplishments and talk about what he has done? Or would you just tell them who your grandfather is to you and share what an incredible influence he has had on you and in your life? Would you talk about his nature and tell about the reasons that you love him so much. Would you describe what it is like to be a part of his family? I wonder. See, I think people that are closely related to famous people see them not necessarily as others see them…not the way the writers of history books and movies see them. They know them intimately.

I don't know about you but I don't have any famous people in my family. You won’t read the name Toomey in any history books. The only “famous” Toomeys I know are/ were Regis Toomey (an actor), Bill Toomey (won the decathlon in the 1968 Olympics), and Pat Toomey (a politician in Pennsylvania.) So the hypothetical question I have posed is not one that I have ever had to address.

But, you know what? I am related to a famous person, written about in history books, portrayed in movies and known the world over. His name is Jesus. And I am a part of His family.

When I talk to others about Jesus do I recite what has been written about Him in history books or do I tell people about the relationship I have and the incredible influence He has made in my life? Are you related to anyone famous?

Dumb car ride games

1955 Buick Special- built like a tank

As long as I can remember, one of my fondest memories was taking trips in the family car. The first car I remember us having was a 1955 Buick Special. This mammoth hunk of Detroit steel was built like an Abrams tank. Not exactly the best handling behemoth on the road but, good grief, did it have room inside! Back in the days of no seat belts and "three on the tree" manual transmission shifters, I would lay across the rear seat deck (under the rear window) as we rumbled down the road. If the brakes were ever slammed on, I would fly forward and crash into the rear of the front seats. Ah, the good ol' days.

To this day, I still love driving places on day trips, long weekends or even week long driving vacations. I love to stop at the trashiest tourist attractions and eat at places that Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives hasn't even found yet. A few years ago, Michael and I made an I-40 road trip from Augusta to Asheville, NC, to Knoxville, TN to Nashville and ended up in Memphis. Why? Our goal was to eat as many meals of barbecue ribs as we could, see Graceland, Sun Records Studio and hang out on Beale Street. Carol still thinks we are both nuts.

How cold is it?

After I had my own family, car trips or vacations would typically generate some interesting games or contests. Contests like...who can guess what the lowest outside temperature will be (according to the car's outside temp gauge) by the time we get to our hotel in the mountains? What time do you guess we will cross the river back into Georgia? (I always won this one...I had control over the speed of the car...) Only years later after acquiring some basic mathematical acumen of their own did the kids figure out how I could guess so accurately. (For the mathematically challenged...a car traveling 60 miles per hour will go a mile each minute...if the mile marker I just passed said we were 29 miles from the border...voila! it's gonna take 29 minutes. Of course I could also slow down or speed up as necessary in order to make the time I chose hit exactly when we crossed into the next state.) The kids thought Dad had some mysterious power.

One of the most interesting hour long games was: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life and you were assured that it would be nutritionally adequate for good health, what would it be? The food could be prepared multiple ways but it had to basically be just one food item (condiments, simple additives are allowed.) First, I got screamed at that my question was ridiculous because no one could survive on just one food for the rest of their life. So I had to explain again the hypothetical caveat that whatever food you chose in my make believe scenario would be completely nourishing. Then I get a million clarifying questions asked. You would think I was asking them to jump off a bridge. Finally grasping the concept, they begin to give answers.

 I'm pretty sure Carol's answer was rice since Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were disallowed for being a candy not a food. Rice was a pretty good answer though...steamed rice, fried rice, rice pilaf...lot's of ways to enjoy rice and lots of different kinds of rice...Carol takes an early lead in the contest. I think Michael's answer was some type of meat...chicken or steak maybe...can't remember exactly. I was proud of my carnivorous son for giving a manly answer though. Jessica cheated and said something like salad. Buzzer goes off...no--- salad is not a single food ...do you mean lettuce? Then 15 minutes of arguing before Jessica picks another food item...I think it was a fruit. She kept thinking she needed to choose something healthy since it was the only thing she could eat for the rest of her life. Tiring of my silly game, I just let her stick with her fruit choice. Being a good ol' Irish boy, my pick was...potatoes. Boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, crinkle french fries, scalloped potatoes, potatoes au gratin, hash browns, baked potato, potato chips, potato sticks, home fries, potato pancakes, waffle fries, curly fries, tater tots... I went on and on with my assortment of potato dishes.

The incredibly versatile potato

Then the the car just went quiet. They knew that Dad had won again. Then they all verbally attacked me for playing such a stupid game. Sore losers.

Fun times in the car with the family...having a blast playing silly games and actually...talking to each other (with a little shouting added in.) Turn off the radio, take out the earbuds, put down the book or computer and have a good old family competition. Dumb car games.

So, if you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life (and that food item would be nutritionally perfect for you) what would it be?

Some things I know

Jessica and Matt

I have been away from my blog so long that Amazon sent me a notice yesterday that they would drop my blog from their "inventory" of blogs available by subscription for the Kindle if I went much longer without writing something. My subscribers expect fresh content they say. Really? Two people are subscribed...my wife and son and they didn't even subscribe on their own...I signed them up. However, it is time to write some stuff I guess.

My wife Carol, son Michael and I just returned from an 10 day trip to Korea. Many of you know that our daughter and son-in-law live there. On the last leg of our journey home from the Augusta airport we were talking about the trip and what we liked about Korea. While we were so glad to have gone, Korea probably would not have otherwise been on our list of most desired world travel destinations. I have never heard anyone say "Hey, guess where we are traveling for vacation? Korea!" We were there for one reason.

We experienced the "out in the country" Korean landscape with flooded rice paddies everywhere. There was also corn and a host of other crops planted on every square inch of available land. Aside from the large Army base and the little "ville" of Anjeong-ri that sits just outside of it, the area where Matt and Jessica live is farmland and some light industry.

To get a taste of the city, you would travel to Pyeongtaek, a few miles to the north. Pyeongtaek Station is where you catch the train that runs to Seoul, about a 50 minute train ride even farther north. Cost of one way ticket...about $3.75 or approx 4300 Won.

Pyeongtaek Station is surrounded by AK Plaza, a modern shopping mall full of stores and full of Korean shoppers.

KoRail is a very modern, well run mass transit system that alleviates the need to get out and about with the less-than-traffic law adhering Korean drivers. Traffic control devices such as red lights, stop signs, speed limit signs, etc. are merely suggestions I guess. Just don't run a red light where there are the very well marked CCTV cameras. Apparently, you will receive a ticket in the mail.

One evening we were returning home from Seoul Station or Yongsan Station and we realized that we had forgotten to previously purchase our return tickets for the train. All the seats had been sold for the last train but we could buy tickets for standing...yeah... for an hour long train ride. No problem, Matt said, we could head for the "party car." The party car has only a few seats in front of video gambling consoles but does have a concession counter where you can purchase chips, candy, sushi, soft and "harder" drinks. Most folks were sitting on the floor of the car pecking away on their smartphones or listening to music. It seems like about 60% of the folks in Korea have earphones in their ears and are holding some sort of electronic device. You don't see many iPhones or iPads...you are in Samsung territory now. One gentleman in particular stood out. He looked like a businessman returning home on Friday evening after a hard week of work. I noticed him as soon as he got on the train. He had evidently gotten into the soju earlier in the day.

Soju is the very popular colorless Korean beverage made from rice that is about 25% alcohol by volume. Soju is usually consumed by the shot and Korean tradition states that you do not fill your own glass. You also do not refill a glass unless it is completely empty but you do fill it as soon as your drinking buddy's glass is empty. In Korea, it is considered rude to not fill someone's glass when empty, regardless of what you are drinking. "Drunk Korean dude on train" (as I called him) must have been some sort of acrobat/ balancing artist because for the life of me, I could not figure out how he was able to stay erect for 50 minutes. He would occasionally do a spontaneous "bend" from the knees or the lower back as the "hinge" would come loose but he was always able to lock back up before hitting the floor. He was my source of entertainment for the train ride.

It will take multiple blogs to describe 10 days in Korea. I will try my best to make my recollections interesting.

The title of this blog is "Some things I know." After 10 days halfway around the world, here are a few things I know.

• You should get out and explore the world if given the chance. This was my second trip to Asia (experienced China and Korea on a business trip in 2005.) People of other cultures are fascinating and strange, friendly and a bit skeptical, and in most ways, just like you and I.

• Just like you and I because I see Moms and Dads, brothers and sisters that love each other and are living life the best way they know how. Doesn't matter if they prefer kimchi and squid or pot roast and potatos, whether they speak English or Korean or "Engrish" or whatever the heck I sounded like trying to say an-nyeong-ha-se-yo (hello) or gam-sa-hap-ni-da (thank you.) 

• The love of family is important beyond words. Those bonds of love that hold us together are stronger than armies, higher than mountains. I wrote in an earlier blog asking the question "where's home?" Home is wherever I can be to love on my family. For the last 10 days, home was in Korea. And it was good to be home.