People We Met Along The Way

Final 2016 post

One of the nicest things about traveling is the people you meet! RVers are fun and interesting people! This last post of 2016 is dedicated to all the family and friends, old and new, we met along the way. Here are pictures of some of them. There were so many more who we enjoyed meeting and chatting with. Some we shared a meal or two with, some a beer or glass of wine, some, like the many awesome Park Rangers, we chatted with only briefly but all have made this journey just that much more fun and memorable!

My problem is I always remember the dogs' names,

not always their human's name. This is Archie the French Bulldog!

We met he and his human everyday at the dog run in Silver City RV in Minden, NV

I think her name was Julia. She was from New Zealand on holiday in the USA!

 When I went to see Hillary speak I got in line with Laurie, on the left. She was really good at snaking her way through a crowd to get up close. She told me to follow her and I'm glad I did! We met, I think her name was Karen, inside. We all had such a great time cheering and listening to a great lady speak!

I was so happy to share this experience with them!

 I didn't actually get to meet them, but I was so excited to see Senator Amy Klobuchar, from the Great State of Minnesota (my birth state) and the One and Only Secretary of State (should be President)

Hillary Clinton! I'll never forget the experience!

 The little girl with the bobby pins in her hair really wanted Hillary's autograph. She was very shy and couldn't work her way up to the front to ask. I'm shy when it comes to doing things for me but I told everyone around us that she wanted her autograph and everyone happily moved aside to let her up!

She got the autograph!

We met Linda, her son Zack and their adorable little Doxie, Roxie in Black Canyon City, AZ. Javelinas visit the park frequently. We never saw any but Linda played us an audio recording of them squealing like crazy trying to get some cat food they left out.

After hearing that recording I was kind of glad we didn't see any!

I've known Kim for over 40 years! She was my sister's best fried in high school but I haven't seen her for almost 40 years. It's great to meet up with old friends too!

I don't normally talk politics with people we meet, especially when they're from Texas! But Dana and Bill had a Bernie sticker on their car so I thought that might be safe. I mentioned the sticker and right away they told me they were voting for him in the primary but didn't expect him to win so of course their vote would go for Hillary! We talked politics a lot!

 Again, I already knew these people but meeting them along the way and sharing some of my favorite places with them was one of the highlights of the year!

I know, I know those aren't people! But while we were driving the road in the Badlands in South Dakota every time we pulled over to one of the viewing places there was a family from the Middle East that we would meet up with. The father and one of the older girls spoke English. They really wanted to see the Big Horn sheep. I saw these guys, then crossed the road and saw the family. I told them about the sheep across the street. They were so excited to see them and so grateful to me for telling them. I love sharing exciting things with enthusiastic people!

We went to Nebraska for a couple of family reunions! Larry got to reconnect with cousins and I got to meet some I'd never met before! 

Larry's mom, Janet (on the right) and her sisters! We both know

these lovely ladies of course but seeing them all together was special!

Larry went to high school with Ron (middle) but hasn't seen him since then.

It was delightful to be able to have lunch with him and Larry's brother Steve!

Poor JoAnn, they only girl with 4 brothers! It's a good thing she loves her brothers and they love her! Of course now she has sisters-in-law who love her too! 

Visiting Parents is always nice! When we were working we only saw them for a few days every couple of years.

We got to spend a whole month visiting them in 2016 and we plan to stay another month in 2017!

Now on to visit my side of the family! Dinner with my Uncle Jim, Aunt Annette (she's actually only a few months older than I am though) Cousin Kat and John, her special someone was a whole lot of fun!

 Going into the Windy City with my Aunt Rita, Cousin Nancy and 2 of her kids, Matt and Hannah was a great way to spend the day! I'd never seen the Chicago bean before!

Headed to North Carolina to meet up with Larry's brother Jerry and

got to meet his wife Sharon! They were gracious enough to let us 

ride out Hurricane Matthew at their much studier house.

We were very grateful to get back to our camp and find Stella still in one piece,

where we left her and no leaks!

Hurricane Matthew blew us off course. Not literally but we had to change plans

because of trees down where we had planned to go.

But meeting Dave and Donna made it worth the change.

Their stories about their travels in Asia were interesting and hilarious!

 We also met Betty there. And what a treat! We, well I, talked a lot of politics with her!

She used to host a radio talk show in GA on LGBTQ issues.

Still friends with Betty and we plan to meet up again on the road somewhere!

Here’s to friends you meet along the way!