Sweet Carolin(a)

It’s a toasty 41 degrees here in sunny Orlando! Seriously, you can’t make this up….God has a sense of humor. We figured we’re back to board shorts, slippas and tank tops but hey, you just gotta roll with it right? 

We just wrapped up two weeks in the Carolinas. For the first 10 days we were stoked to spend time In NC with two families that we knew from the islands. One was the chaplain at my command whom I bonded with not only at work but also during the numerous sessions in the lineup at North Beach. He was gracious enough to allow us to park the RV in his driveway (think Chevy Chases Christmas vacation) and we ended up staying in his guest room. Thanks so much for the wonderful hospitality, I hope your Christmas decorations stay up all year! We also reconnected with our friends from the church group we met with in San Diego. We hung out with them almost everyday at their house on Camp Lejune and it was so great to rekindle memories of times past. Our kids, although much taller, picked up right where they left off—- sleepovers, baking Cookies, and playing silly games. If the amount of tears the kids cried when we left is any testament to how much they enjoyed themselves then I’d say it the trip was priceless. We look forward to the next time we can meet up with all our friends in North Carolina.

Next, we headed down the road to Charleston, SC. This is one of the first stops where we didn’t know anyone, and didn’t have anything specific we wanted to see. It’s a very historic town which I found out after reading thru some of the write-ups. (Fort Sumter among one of the many significant locations in the area). We even took a trip to one of the larger plantations where Ally had the rare opportunity to feed a fox, Daniel got lost in a horticulture maze, and Nikki captured some amazing photos of the landscape. Still, while Charleston was nice to visit just wasn’t as meaningful as our time up North. The contrast in our experience between North and South Carolina validated one of the biggest rules of our RV trip — “People over places”.  I know it sounds so cliche but its true. —- it’s not the places you go, but the people you’re with that make life memorable. 

So here we are, writing from the Sunshine state. We caved into Mickey and will be spending a few days at his place. We look forward to some solid family time, meeting up with my Uncle/Aunt from Naples and a surprise visit from two folks who will be mentioned in a future blog. I hope this finds you all well. 

Aloha

Loco