Share Blogs - Tues., Apr. 22

For today's A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, my "S" word is share. Today, I want to share with you bloggers who are good friends, inspire me, touch me, entertain me, make me think, tipsters, and travelogue-ers (those who give great ideas for places to visit). I encourage you to check out their blogs. In writing this, I am amazed by how many bloggers we've met over the past two years!

Where would we be without RV-Dreams.com? Howard and Linda inspire people to give their dream of full-time RVing a shot. When we were serious about selling our home and most of our possessions, we consulted RV-Dreams.com for answers to our questions. After five months on the road, we attended an RV-Dreams.com rally in Kerrville, Texas. Not only did we learn tons of information about RVing, we also made wonderful friends. On the RV-Dreams.com Forum, people who have been RVing for years - with knowledge, experience and expertise - share how-to's, and answer questions that stump wannabes or newbies. An invaluable resource for those considering full- or part-time RVing.

Linda as Cleopatra and Howard as Paul Newman?

Box Canyon Blog: Mark Johnson's inimitable style sets his writing skills apart; skills honed as a writer for a newspaper. Not only will you want to be right there with him hiking the trails around Ouray, Colorado, you will enjoy his wit and intelligence, as well as his spectacular photography. Bobbi gets in on the action, too, and from time-to-time you will see pictures of her hiking, and her watercolor artwork. An awesome couple, I can't wait until our paths cross so we can meet.

Wheeling-It: Nina is a fierce blogger and very organized. Her blog includes travel sites, RVing tips, gorgeous photography, campground reviews, info on boondocking, health care, pets and volunteering. You never know what she'll write about next, but you can be sure it will be interesting.

FOSJ: We hold a special place in our hearts for Steve and Joan. They started full-time RVing about the same time we did. It's been fun to follow their workkamping experiences, their travels, and to meet them. When we stayed at Lake Mead, their workkamp spot was one mile down the road from us and we finally met. What fun we had. They taught us how to play Qwirkle. We enjoyed it so much, we bought our own game. And, Steve made home-made peanut brittle. When we departed that evening, he gave us a bag of the brittle. Isn't that sweet.

Steve and Joan of FOSJ blog fame.

RV Sue and Her Canine Crew: This lady gets around! I enjoy following her adventures, joy in living, and her compassion for people and animals. Sue helped a down-on-his-luck gentleman, Rusty, and his dog, Timber, move from a camper into a home. Not only that, she asked others to help out. What happened next was heart-warming. Bloggers and friends helped furnish his new house! Wow, very impressive.

Rick Paulette RV Journal: This is Mr. "I can help you with your technology and I'm happy to do it." Besides being a tech guru, he and Paulette enjoy their home on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Their adventures with Molly and Rylie hiking through the forests of the Pacific Northwest and Paulette's quilting are fun to read. They spend winters in Palm Springs.

Linda's Lens: How I learned of Linda's blog, I can't remember, it may have been through a link from another blogger. I was instantly drawn to her stunning Mt. Hood and and Pacific Northwest photography, her hikes, and her get-up-and-go enthusiasm. Last year while I was visiting my mom in Portland, Linda and I met for lunch and had spicy Thai cuisine in downtown Portland. When Susan and I take our driving trip to the Columbia River Gorge for Volksmarching in June, Linda plans to join us for a hike or two or more?

Linda and I finishing up our Thai lunch in Portland, OR

Tales from the Camping House: Peri and Jim have become very close friends since we met at the 2012 RV-Dreams Rally in Kerrville, Texas. They had the RV site next door to ours. We were full-time newbies and Jim was infinitely helpful with advice on how to do things we were clueless about. They live in Texas when they're not gallivanting about on their travels. We spend as much time with them while they're here as both our schedules allow! We have enjoyed many Volksmarches with Jim and Peri.

Bob, Peri and Jim - Woodlawn Volksmarch

Live Laugh RV: After reading Ingrid's blog and following along with their travels, we noticed we would be camped across Lake Pleasant from them and made plans to meet for socializing, sunset and snacks. They are a wonderful couple who welcomed us with open arms. As we sat around the picnic table with four other couples telling travel tales, we made other new friends as well. (See Bear Tracks blog below.) The evening was awesome and our sunset was absolutely gorgeous. We became picture-taking fools.

Al and Ingrid of Live Laugh RV blog

Sunset over Lake Pleasant

Bear Tracks: Before meeting Linda and Mike at the sunset social overlooking Lake Pleasant, I had never read her blog. We exchanged blogs. Now it's fun to keep up with all the lovely southwest destinations they're exploring: House on Fire, Natural Bridges, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments. Hopefully we'll meet up again on the road and can spend more time getting to know them.

Ingrid (Live Laugh RV) and Linda (Bear Tracks)

Damn Near Perfect Couple: Keith and Brenda were visiting Texas (Wimberley to be exact) and we wanted to get together. First, we headed up to Wimberley, had brunch, bought cake slices for dessert, hiked the stairs to the top of Prayer Mountain, went to see Jacob's Well Natural Area, drove along River Road, and spent time chatting at their RV. A month or so later, Keith and Brenda came down to San Antonio where we had breakfast at la Madeleine, after which we spent time in our RV learning more about their travels and what they plan to do next. They are currently in one of their favorite places, the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona enjoying bird watching, exploring and eating out.

Brenda and Keith (Damn Near Perfect Couple)

The Lowe's RV Adventures: MonaLiza and Steve are the consummate full-time RVers, traveling wherever they want, but avoiding cold or hazardous weather. We met them as they passed through Traveler's World RV Park in San Antonio. MonaLiza loves socializing and getting people together. They are a wonderful host and hostess. On her blog MonaLiza lovingly details all the places they go. It's a joy to know her and read her words. Oh, she is also a shutterbug!

Steve, MonaLiza, and Bob at Mission Espada, San Antonio

RV Khronicles of Kevelyn: After reading RV Khronicles of Keveleyn, we knew we had to meet. Kevin and Evelyn braved a 10K Volksmarch in Kerrville with us on a very hot day. The walk was boring and did I mention hot? Afterward we headed to Mamacita's Mexican Restaurant for a hearty lunch. We had a lot of time to talk and enjoyed that aspect of our day. By the way, Kevin and Evelyn, congratulations on your new 5th wheel. It looks fabulous!

Kevin and Evelyn at Mamacita's in Kerrville

Traveling with the Long Dogs: Hi Colleen! Colleen has become a good RV blogging friend. She lives in Texas and from time to time organizes RV ladies luncheons. She loves to hit the road with her doxies and enjoy fun camping times. She just finished a trip around south Texas coastal waters with the Pink FlaminGoes.

Peri, Susan, Colleen, Mary Jane, Margareta, Birdie and Vicki

What's Up with Susan and Company: The other Susan A. and I met through oil field blogs and help pages. We were only about seven miles from each other gate guarding (as the crow flies), but about a half-hour in actual driving time. That is because of the state of back roads in the South Texas oil fields (AKA Eagle Ford Shale). She was a gate guard with her dog, Angel. One day, I substituted for her at her gate so she could get away to take care of a few things. Since gate guarding, she has made her way west and is now camp hosting in California.

The "other" Susan A.

Angel

Two to Travel: Erin and Mui have traveled all over the world, in addition to full-time RVing in the U.S. We were lucky enough to catch up with them in Corpus Christi where we did a 10K Volksmarch with them, and Faye of Malouf's RV Tour (see below). Erin loves to write and take photographs. I have enjoyed reading her blog for over a year. Our Volksmarch was beautiful with nice temperatures (until lunch at the end of our walk). We all enjoyed the three hours or so we spent together exploring Corpus Christi.

Faye, Erin, Mui, Susan, Bob

The Wandering Camels: Faye was game to go Volksmarching in Corpus Christi. When I was reading Erin and Mui's blog and then Faye's blog, I noticed they were staying in the same RV Park. Didn't know if they knew each other, so I sent them each an email introducing the other. They met, then in the next day or two, we all walked together (except Dave). Fun times. (See Faye's photo above.) They just finished visiting Kentucky Civil War sites and are now in Ohio.

Technomadia: We have yet to meet the technomads, Cherie and Chris, and their cat Kiki. Traveling in their converted vintage bus, we learn about all their techno-gadgets and mobile technology which they share with the world. Being very social, I think they must know about every blogger out there. They do interviews that you can watch with unique travelers. They also create Travel Apps and conduct live Video Chats. Busy, busy people. We look forward to eventually spending time getting to know them in person.

Adventures in Living: I think Robin is my soul sister. I met her through the A-to-Z Blog Challenge this year. Imagine my surprise when I found myself reading words I could have written. Yes, we have a lot in common. I plan to read her blog religiously and make it a point to meet her one day.

RVing: The USA is Our Big Back Yard (KarenintheWoods): Karen and Steve are also bloggers we met at Traveler's World RV Park. They were in the space next to us. They no longer full-time, as they bought a beautiful home in Wisconsin, but they do still RV as often as possible. Grand-kids keep them busy. Steve works at a State Park and Karen spends her time upgrading their home, cooking, playing with their two dogs, learning quilting, and doing fiber arts. Both of them are down-home sweethearts with immense love for each other. I love keeping up with them.

Karen and Steve

Steve and Karen at Mission San Jose, San Antonio

Cold Lake Cathy: If it weren't for the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I never would have met Cathy. She is a hoot. I am enjoying making her acquaintance through her writing. And a writer she is for real, she is doing a reading of one of her books this week!

Travels with Emma: This is our resident Bird Lady of Blogland. If you have a photo of a bird and can't figure it out, send it to Judy and she can probably tell you what kind of bird you saw. Volunteer extraordinaire...she loves to volunteer at National Wildlife Refuges where she helps with bird counts, leading field trips, teaching kids, working in the Visitor Center, and whatever else they find for her to do.

Me and My Dog: I enjoy keeping tabs on Barbara and her dog, Katie, as they camp their way around the U.S. She obviously loves nature as much as I do, judging by her exceptional photography of everything from horses to coyotes to the moon and her campsites. Barbara, if you're ever in San Antonio, please stop by Traveler's World RV Park and say, "Hi." We could go visit Mitchell Lake Audubon Wetlands to check out the local (or migrating) bird life.

Nomadic Newfies: Pam is a blogger after my own heart. I love looking at all her photos of waterfalls, murals, architectural details and learning about all the places they travel.

Where's Eldo: Sparky (Jeannie) and Eldo hung up their full-time RVing traveling keys and bought a place in Florida. Sparky doesn't blog as much as she used to, but it's still a joy to read her writing. When she does blog now, it's about the fun places they go and things they do in Florida. We have yet to meet, but Florida is in our future travel plans.

One thing I have learned sharing all these blogs is that we form a tight-knit community of like-minded, nature-loving, travel-happy people. I am honored to know you all.

There are many other worthy bloggers who I either haven't met yet or didn't have room for in this blog. Look for another blog with shares in the future.

Travel Bug out.