and so we enter into our last week in Muncie IN (8-27-11)

         Somehow the time in Muncie has flown by a lot faster than I thought it would. With shopping, wedding planning and exercising, the days filled up.
   The weather has been absolutely terrific, if a bit warm.  Jess and I have played tennis several times, getting better each time we try- although, in our version of tennis we try to hit the ball to each other.  We've been biking many times, so many, that we are getting a little bored with the bike trail here.  The last time we went, Jess was at work, so it was just Paul and I.  To counteract the monotony, we tried riding significantly faster than we had done before, so we averaged 13.5 mph, and therefore we at least got a better workout for our time.
    We’ve done as much for the wedding as we can at this point. The rest will have to wait until we get to Michigan next week.  Once we get there, we will have a whirlwind 3 weeks before the wedding.
    The biggest excitement we had this week was the arrival of David.  He drove across country with two of his buddies, and they dropped him off here so he could spend a day or so with Jess.  After two days, he left to go to Wisconsin to see his parents for a few days before heading to Michigan.

    Yesterday we started paying closer attention to Irene as she barreled towards New England. As it turned out, although it was a deadly storm, it could have been much worse. I guess that’s easy for me to  say, since it was sunny here all day today and temperatures were in the high 70s.  Oh, and I didn’t lose my electricity. 


Well, Jess has 3 more days of work before we leave Muncie for good on Thursday morning.  She doesn’t have too much time to relax in Michigan though, since she got a transfer and will start working at a Toys R Us in Michigan a few days after we get there!

This week’s activities (Muncie, IN 08-12-11)

      I have Hitch Itch.  Yeah, I know it sounds like an awful condition or something, and really, actually, it is.  My full-timing friends will know exactly what I mean when I say it.  I am ready to move. I want to ride off into the sunset, find someplace new to explore.  I want to find out what’s “over that hill”.  I guess Hitch Itch is one of the reasons we enjoy full timing so much.  After staying in one spot for a while, we love going someplace new. I am already trying to sneak in a 3 day stay in Muskegon on our way from here to Novi. I’m not sure we can do it, but I think I’d like to try.  There is a pair of Bald Eagles that make their home in Muskegon, and I’d love to try and find them.
           Anyway, that makes it sound like I’m not having any fun, and really, I am.  Now that the frantic craziness of moving into the new trailer, moving Jess into the new trailer, and getting  us all situated has abated, we are settling in to a routine that’s quite nice.  Jess and I are determined to fit exercise into our daily regime, and so far it’s working very well-so well that we had to take today off completely.  We have overexerted ourselves.  We’ve done workouts with weights, played tennis (hmmm, not great for my foot), and been biking several times. She is doing great on the bike.  She hasn’t ridden in years, but has already worked up to a 15 mile ride.
    In between all the workouts, we are working on wedding details.  We spent a couple of days building the invitations, staying up one night until 2 am to get them finished, and they have now gone out in the mail.  We’re going over all the details of what needs to be done, and when, so we can start knocking things off the “to do” list and into the  “DONE” pile.  Neither of us has much experience planning weddings, so I hope we don’t forget too many details. 
     Paul has been helping us with the the wedding, when we need him, and when we don’t, he is busy making his modifications to the trailer. He has added shelves, bought things like a quick disconnect outdoor shower faucet,  and piping to rearrange the water system, and has started researching things like water filtration systems, weather monitors, Wi-fi antennas, and bike racks. 
        All in all we are having a great time and enjoying the opportunity to be able to spend a significant amount of time with our daughter before she gets married in September.

Muncie, IN (08-06-11)

    Busy, Busy, Busy. 
        Paul and I hardly had time to settle into our new home before we moved our daughter into the trailer with us. We spent last weekend moving her out of her apartment and into the trailer.  I must say, we all did a great job of fitting all her stuff into every available nook and cranny!  We sorted through everything she owns and made separate piles for the trailer, Goodwill, and Storage.  Our original idea was to put her stuff to be stored in our storage unit in Michigan until the wedding, but in the end there was just a tad bit too much stuff to do that comfortably, so we got her a small unit of her own.  We had to scramble at the last minute because we were arriving in MI on Sunday and the office to the Storage place isn’t open.  They were nice enough to assign us a unit, unlock it, and let us fill out the paperwork for it on Monday morning.
    We dropped her belongings off and checked in to the hotel early Sunday evening.    Monday was doctor day.  Jess had her appointment in the morning, then we headed to my appointment in the afternoon.  After that we investigated florists and made a couple of appointments for early September, to make final decisions on flowers for the wedding.
     Tuesday was Jess’s dress fitting.  In the morning we went to the salon to get her make up done as she wants it done for the wedding, so when we went for the fitting, we had a better idea of the “whole picture”.   Marissa, one of her bridesmaids, was able to meet us at David’s Bridal, and Jess was really excited to have her girlfriend be there for the fun.  
       After another 4 hour drive, we were back in Muncie Tuesday evening, all of us pretty tired after a whirlwind 5 days.  Since then we’ve been getting settled, Jess has been working, and we are putting together the invitations, so they can go out in a few days.