Saturday, December 30, 2017

2017 Year in Review



We started the year in Florida full-time RVing and doing a Habitat for Humanity build.

Then we slowly headed to Massachusetts, mostly hugging the coast, visiting historic places, scenic spots, and some friends and family.
Barbara at a garden on Saint Simons Island GA
Bill at Outer Banks NC

Bill & Barbara at
Wright Brothers National Memorial NC



We went back south, then took another trip heading slowly north – this time following the Appalachian Mountains. Friends joined us exploring & letterboxing in northern Georgia. Then we hiked and enjoyed the scenery as we drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway from the Smokey Mountains to the Shenandoahs.
Barbara & Bill at Clingmans Dome, Smokey Mountains National Park NC
our car & trailer along the Blue Ridge Parkway NC
Sunset from Shenandoah National Park VA
We had lots of special moments on both of these trips like spotting a wild horse, watching dolphins play, finding the first US letterbox with Mama Wolf, meeting another Escape 19 full-timing couple, finding a yellow Lady Slipper, and the list goes on, but we particularly treasure the times we spent with the people we met along the way.

MOVING IN
We started the summer looking at real estate, squeezing in trips to Ohio and Maine before finally buying a house.
Barbara, Bill & Carrie at Acadia National Park ME
our new house
VOLUNTEERING
Then we scrambled to finish all the paperwork and move in before leaving for South Carolina as we committed to a 3-month volunteer stint at Kings Mountain National Military Park. So we spent the fall there, learning about the Revolutionary War battles in the Carolinas, volunteering, and exploring the area.
Barbara & Bill at Kings Mountain National Military Park SC

THE GIRLS
Kate and Carrie share an apartment in Boston. Kate waitressed and taught herself computer skills. She and her boyfriend, Josh, traveled out west and Kate adopted a rescue dog, Tina.
 
Carrie graduated from Boston College and then traveled in Eastern Europe. She’s now working at an economic consulting firm in Boston.