Trippin' with Susan Straley

 If things are not going well, just wait it out, things will change.   I last wrote to you when I was at Bald Ridge Creek Campground in Cumming, GA Northeast of Atlanta.  It was a very nice campground and it wasn't far to get to an Anytime Fitness to start working on getting my straight posture back. I had mentioned there were lots of children at the campground.  It was energizing to see them running, playing, riding, and swimming. A woman walked up to get a closer look at Lilac.   Gabriella lives nearby in Cumming and when I asked about all the children, she said that she was part of a group of parents with children in a Catholic School.   The group has a camping outing at this campground twice a year.  The children attend school two days a week and are home schooled three days a week. She said that she has four children.  She told me there were families there with nine children and seven children.   I told her it was a delight to see active slim children running and playing for h

Regret is useless.  So, I push it away when it rears its ugly head.  I keep envisioning a waterfall.  I can't hold out my hand and stop it.  I certainly can't reverse it.  Instead, I push through, I learn, I go forward. The DMV I was nervous going to the DMV.  Though there are thousands of people living as Nomads in this country, and all of those that drive themselves around the country need a Driver's License.  That is what I was telling myself.  Some of them live in tents, right?  So living in a trailer that is registered as a utility trailer shouldn't be a problem. I called Connie, who has been living in her van until recently.  She is the one who directed me to Green Cover Springs for mail service and to establish my address in Florida.  She reassured me that the folks at the DMV were very knowledgeable.  Thousands of nomads make Green Cove Springs their address.  They know how to do this.  She didn't need an appointment when she did it, pre-covid.  I was comfor

My van died. After arriving in White Springs, FL, I had to drive back 1.5 hours to Green Cove Springs for my DMV appointment.  That is a story in itself, which I don't have time for at the moment, so we will skip that saga. Just as I pulled into my campground where I am attending the Suwanee Bicycle Association's Annual Pedal and Paddle event, my van died.  I was pulling to a stop by the ranger station.  And it sputtered and quit.    I suspected the transmission because I could start the van just fine, but when I put it in drive it would jerk, sputter, and then silence. I called my friend Mari Towle who until a few days ago was my next door neighbor.  She is here at the festival and she was very supportive and came and helped me take the important stuff out of my van and transfer it to hers for transport to my camping spot. It ended up to be the transmission.  I would have fixed it to get a few more years out of the van, but due to a shortage of parts and labor, the time line f

 I found myself smiling a lot the morning I prepared Lilac for travel again.   The months I spent this winter in Inverness, Florida, while my trailer stayed in one spot, have been full of a whole lot of fun with friends.  It has  been a flurry of activity at times, but always worth it because I was able to connect with wonderful people. My last week in the area was no different.   I went birding with Regis and Cindy in Weeki Wachee.  Cindy was writing down the birds she saw.  "That is the sign of a real birder," I thought.  The birds were nothing new to her, but I was thrilled because it was a beautiful day, the tree we were watching was lovely, a Silken Oak in bloom.  We were watching this particular tree.  We had heard it is a place for migrating birds to refuel on their journey north.  We watched a flock of cedar wax wings visit a few times.  Lots of little yellow birds, some I can identify but most still look alike to me.  Cindy can ID the birds by their song. When she po