LEAVING MEMPHIS

On Monday night, we watched the full moon rise across the river on a balmy, calm night. On Tuesday night, we took Luna to the protection of Audrey's house as thunderstorms rolled over Memphis and the weather radio trilled with severe weather watches and warnings.

After so many years in Sacramento, we are trying to adjust to the fact that we are in a part of the country that has WEATHER. As fronts move across the mid-west and mid-south, the warm, humid air and the cold dry air collide somewhere - we just hope it is not over us!

After a great visit with family in Memphis, we are currently on the road towards Little Rock, Arkansas, and then slightly northwest to Toad Suck Ferry, a Corps of Engineers campground on the Arkansas River, where we plan to stay two or three nights. Since it will be a couple of weeks before we see anyone we know (therefore, no uncontrolled social eating), today is Day 1 of 2 weeks of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. We hope two weeks are all it takes to lose the fabulous ribs, fries, and deep-fried catfish we have consumed since we hit the Texas border on our way east.

A FAMILY PICNIC

On Saturday, we stayed inside all afternoon while rain poured down and thunder rumbled - worrisome weather, since we had invited Odel's family over for grilled chicken on Sunday. Sunday dawned clear and beautiful, and we had a perfect day for an outdoor picnic - best weather we have seen since we arrived.

Here are Audrey, Earl, Emma, Odel, and Jacquie posing next to Scoopy.




See the tree in this sunny photo I took Sunday afternoon?
Now, see the same tree in the photo I took this morning? The fog is so thick that we can't even see the river, less than 100 feet away!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US! YEAR FIVE BEGINS

April Fool's Day - yep, we left Sacramento in Scoopy on April 1, 2003. Today begins our 5th year of fulltiming.

Neither of us can imagine a different, better, life than what we have, and we feel so lucky that our partner feels the same way!

Why We Love Our Travelin' Life

Every once in awhile, I look back over the photo record of our travels. For this anniversary, I picked out 30 that capture the spots that have impressed us as most special. Thirty photos are TOO many to post on the blog, but I had difficult time distilling 4 years of travel into just 30 photos... so I made an online album that you can view if you are interested, and have a high-speed internet connection. Click on the photo to visit the album. I hope you enjoy it.