2019 Year in Review

We spent February in Florida visiting Barbara’s family and volunteering at Habitat for Humanity.

And we plan to do the same in 2020.

In May Bill and Carrie explored Iceland driving the Ring Road seeing waterfalls, icebergs, thermal features, puffins, whales, and much more.

Then we took a 6-week RV trip to Newfoundland – early enough for icebergs and late enough for whales. We loved the scenic coastal hikes, bird watching and boat tours.

Later in the summer we helped Kate move to a house she and her boyfriend, Josh, purchased in Framingham MA. Kate & Josh have tech jobs in Boston. Carrie works for an economics consulting firm and is looking into grad schools for next year.

Carrie, Kate & Josh at Rattlesnake Knob Christmas 2019

We went to Ohio several times to help out Bill's family and for Barbara to letterbox with friends.

And we keep busy with Habitat for Humanity (Bill), Community Bible Study (Barbara), our church and small group, local hikes, and our usual projects.

Back to Colorado

Barbara returned to Colorado Springs for a Community Bible Study conference. (She had just been there in November for Training.)

It was a lovely facility. Here is the view from Barbara’s window.

Seeing Cheyenne Mountain reminded her of camping there.

The conference was jam packed with inspiring talks, informative sessions, and conversations with Community Bible Study leaders from all over the world.

Here’s Barbara with Liz and Rebecca. We all had been Core Leaders in the North Shore Massachusetts class. Liz is now the North Shore Teaching Director and Rebecca is now Teaching Director in the Dubai class.

Liz, Rebecca & Barbara

As Area Director, Barbara encourages the Teaching Directors from Springfield MA and Hartford CT: Katie and Linda.

Katie, Barbara & Linda

And she works along side other Area Directors from the Northeast.

Marcia, Nadine, Carol, Jen, Sue, Katy,
Pam (Regional Director), Barbara, Beth, & Mindy

This was the suite where we had one of our meetings.

Barbara’s flight home got canceled due to bad weather. We were unable to find any reasonably-priced flights to Boston, Manchester or Providence but Bill found a flight going to LaGuardia. Unbeknownst to Bill, Barbara's conference roommate Nadine had the same flight and offered Barbara transportation from LaGuardia and an overnight at her house in Connecticut. So Bill picked Barbara up the next day. It could not have been a better outcome. Thanks Nadine!

2018 Year in Review

2018 began in Florida visiting Barbara’s family and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

Then back home Bill volunteered with our local Habitat for Humanity, Barbara letterboxed and volunteered with Community Bible Study, and we both delved into projects and tried to get involved with a new church.

We planned a June trip to Newfoundland, but on the morning of April 5th…

The picture says it all. So with the exception of a trip to Ohio to see Bill's family, we spent the summer in Massachusetts exploring our new area and making plans to replace our trailer. We picked up a new trailer in the fall in British Columbia combining it with Barbara’s Community Bible Study training in Colorado and touring the Pacific Coast.

North Cascades, Crater Lake, Oregon Coast, Redwoods, Colorado Springs

Kate, Carrie and Tina (their dog) share an apartment in Boston. Kate transitioned to a tech job, working for Toast – a restaurant software company. She traveled out west several times, bikes to work, and learned to surf. Carrie continues at the economics consulting firm – Cornerstone Research. She traveled domestically and abroad including Cuba, Italy and Spain and returns to Uganda in January. Here they are with Bill and boyfriends.

One time when Bill was hiking ahead of Barbara he left a stick message for Barbara along the trail. So then we left messages for each other when we had the opportunity.

 In that spirit we leave a stick message for you.

 

2017 Year in Review

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

EAST COAST TRIP

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

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS TRIP

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.

Massachusetts – A New House Part 2

It’s official. We own a house.

FINAL CONSTRUCTION  

When we put an offer on the house it had 4 weeks to completion, so we tagged on a few last minute features. 

a patio

a concrete pad for our trailer

We scrambled to pick out appliances, find mirrors, and complete the needed paperwork while the contractor scrambled to finish the house by our closing date.

THE HOUSE  

The house is a 3-bedroom ranch with one-floor living, master bedroom on the opposite side of the house as the other bedrooms, and an open great room with a kitchen, eating area, and living room.

the floorplan

(the actual house varies slightly)

Had we designed the house ourselves we would have done a few things differently, but for the most part the house meets our needs and seems to be a good plan for this stage of our lives. We also appreciate the workmanship. Much new construction seems shoddy, but this contractor did quality work with nice features.

The location isn’t quite as convenient to our daughters and friends, but we can still visit them in a day trip and we now have a new area to explore: the Pioneer Valley (the valley formed by the Connecticut River). We’re also close to Amherst with its colleges.

MOVING  
Most of our possessions sat for a year in two storage units: a large 15x30’ unit and a small 5x5’ climate-controlled unit. We purged quite a bit before putting things in storage, but it still seemed like a lot when we made trips back and forth to the storage unit. Bill moved most everything on his own with some help from Barbara and a little ingenuity. He rented a UHaul trailer (cheaper than a truck), carried what he could, made a ramp, and used a dolly and hand truck for heavier items.

ramp & dolly

Then for the few remaining very heavy things we got help from our friends, Matt and Melissa. What a welcome sight to see the storage unit empty.

our storage unit before and after

SETTLING IN 

Now we are unpacking boxes, cleaning everything, putting furniture in place, and installing things like a mailbox and shower rods, transforming what was a construction zone to a comfortable home. Lots of work, but it’s shaping up.

On our first morning in our house, Barbara spotted a fox in the backyard. The next day she saw two deer with antlers and a hawk. A nice welcome from the local residents! We also met a few of our human neighbors.

 

Our first overnight guest was Kate’s dog, Tina, who we watched while Kate and her boyfriend traveled. I think she liked the place.