People We Meet As We Travel & Work

I have always loved to travel…Ever since I can remember I wanted to visit different places & meet different people…That has been happening since I met Richard…We have been meeting people from everywhere…The most different people that you meet is when we work at Walt Disney World…Working in one of the resorts in the gift shop really lets you meet people from all over the world…Asians, South Americans, Brits, etc…We even met people from all over the USA too…

We met people from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida and other states…At one of our membership parks in Pennsylvania near York, we met a couple who were parked next to us…The most unusual way we met them was by Richard making a campfire…We noticed that they were from Maryland and got to meet them but at one of Richard’s campfire makings, his campfire got really big…Like 3 feet high…Their names are Bob & Donna…and Bob taught at Dundalk High School, my alma mater…Donna was so “scared” that the campfire would peel off the paint off  of their trailer…lol  They were full time rv’ers too until a few years ago when they decided to settle down in Polk City, Florida…They became such wonderful and dear friends…It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them and we miss them a lot…

So one night they were heading over to another friends place and asked us if we wanted to go…This is when we met Bob & Glenda and Bob & Rosie…Yes, we have met a lot of Bob’s along our journey…Bob & Glenda are an older couple who we now call “Mom & Dad”…When we are together, mostly at our Thousand Trails membership in Clermont, FL, we go to CiCi’s for a early supper, go to Disney, or go to their place to play games…Bob & Glenda are from or around the York, Pennsylvania area…We have had some great times with them and it has been a very long time since we have seen them too…I heard once when we all were talking that they use to ride a motorcycle and to me it seems hard to believe cause they just don’t look like the type…I’m not sure of what type, but it was a surprise… So far the above 2 pictures have been taken either near a Disney park or in a Disney park…Bob & Donna’s picture was taken at the boat dock at the Beach & Yacht Club…Bob & Glenda’s picture was taken at Epcot…

Then we met Bob & Rosie who were friends of Bob & Glenda’s and Bob & Donna’s…Now at this point we had to distinguish who was who by their rv…So Bob (Glenda) was Montana Bob, Bob (Rosie) was Hitchhiker Bob and Bob (Donna) was ?…Have to have some way to tell them apart when we talk about them…lol  Bob & Rosie were from New Jersey…Very sweet couple…We didn’t see them as much as we saw Montana Bob and ? Bob…Most of the time our 2 weeks in/2 weeks out schedule was always off but there were times when we were at the same place at the same time…However, Hitchhiker Bob passed away due to cancer and Rosie moved back home with their kids…

In 2004 we became members at a campground called Sunset King RV Resort…At the campground, we met many couples who are full-time rver’s and have come down south for the winter…Here we met Mike & Betty…We had such a blast with them at Sunset King and when came to Walt Disney World with our really great friends, Doug & Lois…Last year, 2011,  Mike & Betty decided to relocate to Myrtle Beach for the winter…We sure will miss them when we do visit Sunset King RV Resort…

Another great set of friends are Doug & Lois (on the left) and Bill & Martha (on the right – Bill passed away about 2 years ago)…We also met these folks at Sunset King RV Resort…They would come down to Walt Disney World and we all would hang out, talk, play Wii bowling and go to Disney…What a blast…Sure do miss everyone!

There are many couples that we met Sunset King RV Resort in DeFuniak Springs, FL…Another couple who are tremendous are Steve & WIlla…Since we first met them, we have worked for them for 2 summer seasons )2008-2009) and plan on working this winter season (2012)…We have been lucky to see them a few times over the years we have been apart from them…

More couples from Sunset King are going from left to right, top to bottom, are Ed & Iva, Bob & Linda, Wendell & Sally and Jim & Carol…Wendell & Sally and Ed & Iva are 2 couples we have not seen in a very long time…Wendell & Sally stop coming to Sunset King and Ed & Iva haven’t been down much either from Illinois…We talk to Ed & Iva once in a blue moon just to let them know we think of them…It’s been a while so I guess we need to call…Bob & Linda are awesome too…They actually got us to play Cribbage which was fun…Jim & Carol are still at Sunset King, I think…Things haven’t been the same for some  years now but as time goes on, things are just forgotten and time moves on…Also from Sunset King are our good friends, Durwood & Dottie…Several times we have met up at Disney World and have shown them around Disney..They have brought their daughter, Amy, & son-n-law, Dustin and 2 grandkids, Nikki and Nick…We’ve had some grand fun times with the Woodards & Roeders…Now there is another little Roeder whom we have not met yet but hoping to do so in the near future…

As years go bye, we have been at different campgrounds working for a company called Legacy Resorts…We met Mac & Trish down in Waller, TX…Mac was a maintenance guy and Trish worked with Tracy & me…Very neat couple…With full time rving, one tends to meet up again at some point..As we moved to Monroe City, MO for a job, we learned that Mac & Trish was also coming to Monroe City to work…

Another couple we got to meet and happen to work for at 3 campgrounds are CJ & Paula Sands and Paula’s daughter, Tracy..We didn’t get to meet Tracy until we went to Waller, TX and she worked in Activities with Richard and I…CJ & Paula were short term managers for Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, VA and then got sent down to Lonestar Yogi in Waller, TX and was sent to Mark Twain Landing in Monroe City, MO…They are great bosses and we have been very fortunate to work with them..They are very conscientious about their employees which makes working for them a pleasure…

Another couple is Frank & Alice..The best part about working for the same managers and assistant managers is that one knows how we all work together…Many couples came from Waller, TX up to Monroe City, MO just to work for these people…  

A part of the couples crew from Waller, TX is Bob & Anna…They were head of housekeeping and moved to Monroe City too…

Annie & Bill…Annie worked in Reservations and Bill was in Maintenance, Golf Carts…Annie is originally from England…She is such a funny elderly lady who I like dearly…Bill is great too…I got lucky to work with Annie in the Reservation Center in Texas…I heard they are heading to Navarre Beach campground for the winter so we are looking forward to seeing them again in our travels…

Our dear and close friends are Bill & Alice…We met Bill  & Alice at Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, VA…Bill worked around the grounds and Alice helped out in the Crafts Center…Although Bill is a Steelers fan, their personalities didn’t stop us from being friends…This was taken at the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, TX…  Working at Lake Ridge RV Resort was great…One of the greatest families that we still stay in touch with are The Paynes…We have Michael, Samantha, Brittany & Michelle…They are awesome…I am so glad that we became great friends and we look forward to seeing them again in the future…We will meet up one day and what a reunion it will be… We have been very fortunate to meet such great people over the past 9 years… On Sept. 15 it will be 9 years of living in a 40 ft. rv that I love so much…I wouldn’t trade what we do and I look forward to meeting more people as we continue to travel…I know I am missing some pictures of people but until I find those pictures, I hope everyone knows that we have enjoyed meeting everyone from all the USA states…

Happy Travels!

Game Time…

Since leaving Baltimore, MD, there are only a few things that I miss…First thing is the seafood..Second thing is Kids & Grandkids…Third thing is Baltimore Ravens Training Camp…After leaving Maryland, it always seemed that no matter what town we have been in, the Ravens were always playing at home…For example, we live for some time in the Davenport area and Tampa isn’t that far away but during the season, the Ravens have played the Buccaneers in Baltimore…This is how it goes…Fortunately, this time Richard noticed that the Ravens were playing the St. Louis Rams in a pre-season game which is close enough for me…

The pre-season game is being played at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO…We are about 2 1/2 hours northwest of St. Louis…A while ago, I noticed that the Ravens were going to be in St. Louis but forgot about it…My sweetie, Richard, was looking at the Ravens schedule and noticed that they were playing in St. Louis…He brought it up to me and we discussed getting tickets…He asked me why I didn’t bring it up and I said “cause I remember when you said that you don’t really like going to a game…That you would rather watch the game on tv” so I didn’t bring it up…We went online and went to Stubhub.com to find tickets…Great prices for our seats…Total for the 2 seats, Lower Concourse, Section 142, Row B, Seats 22 & 23 for about $120…and Visitors Side…August 30, 2012 at 6pm CST…

Our first stop was Red Lobster in Chesterfield, MO..We have never been disappointed with our food at this restaurant in all the places we have been in…Cheddar Biscuits are awesome as long as they are warm…I always get my normal and Richard got the All You Can Eat Shrimp…

After a great meal, we finished our drive down to St. Louis…Just follow the signs to a parking garage called Broadway & Locust that are in Blue background & Yellow lettering between Locust St. and Washington Ave…Well, we saw the one garage and knew it had to be it but we had to go around the block one more time cause we went pass it…An online site called Parkwhiz.com was awesome…Paid $15 for a spot that was guaranteed…Awesome!  This is part of the America Center that is near the Dome…America’s Center is on Washington Street…

  

The truck was parked, grabbed our cameras-pillow-homemade sign, and off to the Dome that was only a block away…We saw a few Ravens fans walking to the Dome…At the entrance, we got scanned and bags got checked…Walking around the Dome to find our section was very easy…Section 141-142…

 

We got to the game around 5pm…It was awesome to watch some of the pre-game activities between both teams…What one didn’t realize was that most of the regular players weren’t fully dressed to play…Maybe for a little practice but not for the game…Most of the main players didn’t have their black knee socks on, just socks and shoes…Dead giveaway… but what the heck…It was going to be fun…

   

It was great to see our awesome Head Coach, John Harbaugh, on the field…There were moments when he was pissed at the Side Judges and was giving them hell…

  

Our awesome seats…There was only one more row of seats in front of us…For a little while, there were no bodies to block the view…

Three quarters went by with our guys getting their butt kicked…The Rams had some of the main players playing for at least half of the game while we had mostly 2nd & 3rd stringers in…Some tipped balls to the Rams didn’t help the score or the non-scoring on the Ravens end…Justin Tucker did an awesome job and Koch, as normal, did his job very well…Pierce, Rookie RB, did a great job…I wasn’t too keen on how Tyrod Taylor played and I thought Curtis Painter did a better job than Taylor…

A little Ray Rice action on the side line was great…I got a thumbs up from Matt Birk when I yelled his name…I wish I had a players chart with their faces on it so I could tell the rest of players apart whom all were all dressed alike in all black outfits…We had a rough time trying to find Ray Lewis but after a while, we found him next to Ed Reed chit chatting…Ray Lewis does like to hide…lol

There were 3 young guys who moved down from where they were sitting to be down by the railing…They kept yelling for Ed Reed to throw them the football…When the game was over, Ed Reed walked over to the TV interviewer, who was set up not far from us, talked to the interviewer and then slapped the hands of the guys…There was a table in our way where we were sitting and by the time I could have gotten to where he was, Ed Reed was heading back to the center of the football field to congratulate the Rams on their win…

Our 2012 Draft Rookies…

One of our new TE’s is Billy Bajema…With a little work, he could be a very good TE for Flacco to throw to..

After the game, on our drive back home, we decided to find a place to grab a bite to eat…Ah, a Hardees sign along with a few other restaurants…We got off of the highway and was trying to find the Hardees…No Hardees was in sight…We decided to eat at a new place, the Steak’nShake…Pretty interesting, to say the least…

Has anyone ever heard of a “Steak Frank”?  or Guacamole in the center of your “steak frank”?  But Richard said the Steak Burger was good…He also got a Chocolate Malt which was very good…It always seems that when I sit in a booth bench, I feel that I always need a booster seat…I tried to have a sip of the malt and found myself not quite reaching the top of the straw…and bending it wouldn’t help either…

What a great day with my sweetie…Thanks for suggesting going to the game…I had a blast…Just seeing our Baltimore Ravens in person was awesome…Spending the time with you was more than awesome…

St. Louis Day Trip 7.17.12

A long day trip today with the kids down to St. Louis…The first important thing about today and this date of 7.17 is that it was our daughter-in-law’s, Sandy, birthday…

We piled in to the van with the grandkids having their stuff to read or to listen to, the older kids having their reading stuff and music and Richard & I with our mp3 players…There was no way that I was going to drive 2 hours without my music…lol

Our route took us out of the campground, turning right on Hwy. J, making a left on EE, making a left on Rte. 19 and then taking the ramp to Route 61 which turns in to I-64 to Forest Park where the St. Louis Zoo is located…Our TomTom was telling me to take Route 61 all the way down to the St. Louis Zoo…So that’s the way we went…After about an hour of driving there was a stop at Hardees for breakfast…Everyone got their breakfast of champions and back in the van and on our way we went…We arrived at the zoo a little after 10am and was having a hard time finding a parking spot…The St. Louis Zoo is free but the parking is $15 which isn’t bad if one wants to spend all day in the zoo…

 

The drive wasn’t bad and the grandkids were great…I was very proud of Tim for being real good during our drive…The entrance to the Zoo area was very awesome and while driving through the entrance I was trying to get a picture of the great sculpture that marks the St. Louis Zoo…We pulled in to the parking lot and finally found a parking spot…Cameras in hand and off we go…

The days have been very hot previous to Josh and family coming to Monroe City…Thought the weather might break but nope, it didn’t…It wound up being a 100° day…Everybody was in a rush to get inside the building, get a map and decide where to go in the zoo…

I always taking pictures of everything that I see…One of the main things that I love taking pictures of are flowers…The Hibiscus in the zoo were huge and beautiful…

Here’s our grandson, Tim, wanting to go “Onward” on his scarab…He had a blast…

This is our family…From left to right:  Richard (hubby), me, Josh (son), Mary (granddaughter), Tim (grandson) and Sandy (daughter-n-law)...Luckily we returned a favor for another couple to take a picture cause most of the time we were all spread apart looking at different things along our walk..At one point, we lost Richard…Didn’t know where he went…After a while, we found him…Eating on a blue raspberry snowball…We all had to go to that snowball stand and get ours…The grandkids have been trying to think of a name to call their grandfather and after this visit and the snowball, they came up with a name….Poppy Smurf…It fit!!  lol

After a hot 1/2 day at the zoo, we had to make it to the Penguin area…The nice very cold air in the penguin area was what the doctor ordered…I didn’t want to leave and it was fun to watch the penguins play and swim…and this little guy played around like he had an energizer battery inside of him…Splashing tremendously and playing like crazy…but at some point we had to leave the coldness and head back out to the heat…We all agreed it was time to head out and go get some early dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe, St. Louis…

Last stop of the zoo travel was the Gift Shop…The boys were not going in to the gift shop…I got me a very cute little gray elephant as our keepsake in the rv…I have no idea what the others got but I’m sure they will have their gift from the St. Louis Zoo a long time…

What a great time with our family…I’m so happy that they came out to visit us and wanted to go to St. Louis and do a few things…