Well, well, well, look who's here! It's been quite a while since my last blog. This is my first blog in 2020! I've definitely been busy. There are all kinds of excuses I can come up with for why I haven't done my blog.
I spent the last few days looking through photos from our eight-month trip and I am energized to write again. My writing mojo is back.
Since it's today and there are some exciting things happening in my life right now, I am going to share those first. You all know walking is my passion and AVA: America's Walking Club (Volksmarching) is where I put my energy.
So, I will be presenting a seminar at the Escapees Escapade RV rally in Rock Springs, Wyoming in June. The title is, "Are You Ready to Walk?" My co-presenter will be Steve Sandridge, AVA Rocky Mountain Deputy Regional Director, AVA Life Member, and a member of the Falcon Wanderers Volksmarch Club out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Both of us have lots of experience in Volksmarching. I am also an AVA Life Member, a member of the Randolph Roadrunners Volkssport Club in San Antonio, Texas, and have been a Volksmarcher for 23 years. (That's 750 events and almost 7,500 kilometers! These feet are made for walking and that's just what they do...)
Today, I was approved by Escapees RV Club to start an Escapees "Birds of a Feather" (BoF) group called AVA: America's Walking Club. We will have events a couple of times per year and the members are encouraged to take part in any of the other AVA walks nationwide (and in Canada). It seems like a perfect pairing: people RVing across North America, many of whom love to walk or hike, being able to find ready-made walks. Personally, for our eight-month RV trip, we planned many stops because there was an interesting walk there, e.g., Watkins Glen State Park in New York, and part of the Appalachian Trail in Baxter State Park, Maine. The list goes on and on!
Another great honor is that I will have my second article published in the May/June issue of Escapees full-color glossy magazine. (My first article was in 2016.) That will tie in perfectly with the seminar in June! It's all coming together. [This is to let you know I didn't completely stop writing.]
On January 26, we celebrated my BFFs 60th birthday at The Melting Pot in San Antonio. It was awesome. Many years have passed since the last time Bob and I ate at a Melting Pot. The food was so good, as was the company. Here is photographic evidence.
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| Susan and Darren anticipating our dessert: a Rocky Road fondue. |
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| The grand finale...setting the chocolate fondue ablaze. |
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| Completely satisfied with our dinner! |
Next Monday, 12 ladies from the RV park are going on a five-day Carnival Dream cruise from Galveston, Texas, to the Yucatan Peninsula and Cozumel, Mexico. My roommate will be Peri who I met at an RV-Dreams Rally in 2012. We've been great friends ever since. Can't wait! It's been cold, dreary, and rainy in San Antonio for the past couple of weeks (with a few 80-degree days thrown in to confuse us).
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| Our friends Jim and Peri. |
At the end of March, Susan Medlin and I will do a walking weekend in Memphis/ Germantown, Tennessee. It looks like it will be a fun time complete with a Happy Hour one evening.
No dust gathering on these fingers or my brain. I just have to put fingers to keyboard and get all my thoughts out here.
Travel Bug out.
Glad to see you back online! I love writing too. A hobby I keep working at. Congrats on the presentation opportunity at the rally. And getting your article published! cool!
ReplyDeleteWe have fond memories of Volksmarching way back to 1980 when we lived in Germany. We could not wait for the Stars and Stripes to show up on Wednesday so we could chose our Saturday excursion. Back then you could walk for a plate to hang on the wall or a medal. There were some gaudy and bombastic medals and we opted for those! Fun times. Great post. Looking forward to reading more...
Hi Pam and Randy,
DeleteThanks for letting me know I haven't dropped off into blog wasteland. It's really nice to get a well-thought-out comment.
A lot of people started out Volksmarching in Germany. Do you think you'll go back to it?
Susan
Glad to read your blog again. Great opportunity and awesome subject for your WY seminar. Bring in LOTS of new walkers. That's one of the things Tom and I do when we travel, only sometimes he doesn't walk but he sure doesn't mind dropping me off to get my distance in and see what's out there.
ReplyDeleteYou will LOVE Memphis. We just finished up the routes this week and are so excited. We have multiple distances to offer now that the hotel has changed. I wasn't happy about that but we go with the flow.
Thank you! Bob and I both loved Memphis, we only wished there had been Volkmarches there in April when we traveled through on our eight-month trip. He and I made up our own walks, We criss-crossed downtown Memphis, and we did the walk across the Mississippi. We are rock & rollers so we enjoyed Memphis way more than Nashville!
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