Our Chapter Two

The traveller has reached the end of the journey!    Edmund Burke       This is a story of a man and an engine. I will begin with the first time we tried to retrieve it from the seller.  From  March 2016 - A few weeks ago Monty bought an engine with hopes of building his own airplane so we can fly when we want. The only problem was he bought it in Ohio. Okay, now we have to go pick it up. No problem, we have the Dodge one ton truck and we decide to go this past Thursday. Pack up and we head off.   First stop, Mexico Missouri (4 hrs from here) to visit the Zenith Aircraft Shop where the plane kits are made that Monty wants to use. We meet a very nice man who gives us a tour and we get to see the plane we want and touch and sit in. Exciting. Back on the highway towards Mansfield, Ohio where the engine is located - 14 more hours to drive. We cross Missouri, get through the busy St Louis traffic and 40 miles later, near Pocahontas, IL,  BAM!! ...

Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower, and flush toilet. With family changes on their way we thought it was time to take an RV camping trip and include grandchildren. We could bond, enjoy each other and just have fun. When I think about it our RV is 60 feet long and twice as wide but, in reality it is 37 feet long and about 18 feet wide. Now it is not just the two of us but the seven of us. I will make this work.  We decide to experience a new place. Roman Nose State Park near Watonga, Oklahoma. Named for a Cheyenne Chief, about 3 1/2 hours west from home. We drive down on Friday afternoon to get set up. My daughter Erica will bring her two children (Hugo and Lucy) and two of my other daughter's children (Conor and Emma) later that day. They will sleep in a tent she is bringing.  We get the RV set up and she arrives just as we are finished. She gets the tent set up quickly and the kids are running aro...

Besides, I'm a gypsy at heart and I like to travel around.  R eba McIntire Life update: Monty retired this past April after 30 years with American Airlines. Due to the Covid-10 virus, flights were restricted and business down so he was offered, with many others, the opportunity to retire. I worked out his social security account and helped with getting retirement paperwork going a couple of months before and it all happened as we expected.  As most of the USA, isolation and stay at home orders (suggestions to some) began about March 25. After Monty retired we wanted to travel somewhere via automobile and nearby. We decided on Springfield, Missouri. We had hoped to stay in our favorite place, The Mansion at Elffendale but booked with weddings several weeks ahead. I had been reading about a new motel on Route 66 in Springfield and it sounded like our kind of place.  J uly 5th we are off to the Rockwood Motorcourt in the older part of the city right on Route 66. The original...