Holiday greetings from Bob and Betsy!
The REALLY big and most important news in our family this year is that Nathaniel and Lindsey are expecting a baby! Lindsey is due just after the first of the year. The pregnancy is going well, and we are very excited at the prospect of becoming grandparents. The baby’s working name is Tater, gender to be traditionally revealed at birth. Likely there will be a renaming.
Last year’s newsletter left off with us buying a camping trailer as a scheme to get around all the various travel concerns. We started out with a couple of short overnights in the nearby mountains, just to learn how everything worked. That was followed by some long weekend trips to the SC and GA coast to meet up with the Woodmansees. We got to explore lots of cool beaches and islands, and even canoe with gators in the Okefenokee Swamp.
In May we trailered out to Elko, NV for Betsy’s nephew Erik’s high school graduation, stopping in Taos, NM, Capital Reef National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park along the way. It was great to finally be able to spend some time with Roger and Susy in Elko. The parks were wonderful, and we got lucky - we were there right before the high tourist season and before the big heat wave and forest fires hit. On the way back we saw friends Dar and Leslie in Park City, and Leeann and John in Boulder, CO. It’s great to have fun friends who live in beautiful places! We even driveway camped at Alice’s on the way out and back.
Late summer found us on an “around Lake Michigan” tour. We spent a few days visiting the Blichmanns in Lafayette, IN and Dubuque, Iowa, before heading up to the Upper Peninsula. Brenda and Jeff put on a low-key retirement party for Bob’s brother Tom. We were able to catch up with the Cecconis before heading east toward the mighty Mackinac bridge. The return journey took us by Lake Michigan’s eastern shore where we got to visit with Jim and Jodi.
In November we headed out on the “States We Hate Tour 2021”. Not that we really hate any states, but there were a few in the Southern tier that, by chance or by choice, neither of us had ever visited. Figured it was a good chance to find some cool stuff in some new places. We had a great time mountain biking and kayaking in north Alabama and in the Bentonville, Arkansas area. The Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi was a great destination for road biking. Bottom line - many more states got good ratings than bad.
So the trailer scheme worked out pretty well. We didn’t back it into any trees or blow anything up. We decided “off-season” camping is there it’s at. All in all, we spent 65 nights on the road in 21 states, and chocked up around 13,000 miles. But who’s counting? The best part was that it enabled us to catch up with relatives and old friends.
Paul upgraded to a new job with US Foods in Madison and is doing well. We managed to meet up with him in Iron Mountain and do some mountain biking at the Fumee trails.
Zeela, the long time matriarch of our backyard rabbit herd, passed away this summer. True to her ornery nature, she held on for as long as possible, fully convinced she could defeat even death himself. We think she was pushing 12 years old. You’re never really sure with a rescue rabbit. The adolescent boys, Hoover and Dyson, are doing fine. Bob built a deluxe vacation condo for them at The Nook (Nathaniel and Lindsey’s place), so they have a place to stay while we’re traveling.
In the miscellaneous activity department, Betsy is still knitting and Master Gardening. She started writing online Google Maps reviews of the rest areas, campgrounds, picnic areas and other random stuff we stop at on our travels. Bob and Nathaniel did one of those big group bike rides in the mountains on the tandem, which was challenging and rewarding for them both. Bob discovered a couple local ski hills and started skiing again. This winter’s goal is to get Betsy back on the slopes. We got a pair of those folding ORU kayaks, which have worked out really well for us. They fit in the truck bed, so they’re handy for camping trips. We like to stay at Army Corps of Engineer campsites, which are, naturally, built on big reservoirs.
Here’s to a great 2022!
Bob and Betsy
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