On Golden Pond ...

We've been in Shelton, Washington, at the Spencer Lake RV Resort since Monday afternoon.  To say it's been a wonderful time is an absolute understatement!  Cousin Steve and his wife Desolee have been absolutely the perfect hosts.  What a blessing to be welcomed and accepted so warmly.  Even though the cousins have not seen each other in 30 years, I'm told, we have felt accepted from the very first moments. We didn't know what to expect, except we really looked forward to meeting them (in my case) and getting reacquainted (in Steve's case).

This whole full-time RV thing came out of the enjoyment of being open to new things.  We want to continue on in that spirit.  We don't want to miss out on any of the new and exciting things God may have for us.  Staying in this RV Resort with Steve's cousin is so much a part of that plan, and we are truly enjoying it.

Tuesday evening, after a wonderful first afternoon of visiting, Steve & Desi hosted us at dinner over at the Spencer Lake Bar & Grill where I had a delicious Patty Melt - just the way they are supposed to be made, with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and on marbled rye bread.  It doesn't get much better!  We stayed afterward for a community game of Bingo, a free game night offered by the bar to bring in business and make life fun.  We're not sure when we last played Bingo, but it was really a fun evening.  It was a good chance to see the locals in action.  Everybody was extremely friendly.

The bar and grill is on the edge of Spencer Lake - a beautiful lake.  Many of the locals live in houses around the lake.  Cousin Steve's family has a "cabin" on the lake.  In our eyes it's a beautiful 6 bedroom home, beautifully landscaped to the edge of the dock.

Wednesday morning I woke up in pain from my lower back. It's been a problem through the sale of our home, and move to the motorhome.  I thought I'd have some time to rest up and give it time to settle down again, but it hasn't worked that way so much.  It is doing better, so I'm not completely laid up, for which I'm thankful.  However, this morning I was just so tired, and I couldn't sleep any longer because my back hurt so much.

Our new motorhome came with an upgrade to a sleep number kind of bed.  I was really hoping it would be a great mattress for my back.  It hasn't worked out that well.  I've been trying to get by for over two weeks now, and it just isn't helping me at all.  So, Cousin Steve decided to lead us into Olympia, where we went in search of a mattress pad that perhaps would help.  We eventually found a 3" thick memory foam topper at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I used a 20% off coupon from my purse and they waived the Washington State Sales tax with my Oregon driver's license.  I slept nine hours last night and though my back was pretty stiff, I feel very hopeful.  Life is good.

While in Olympia, we also visited a car dealership.  Cousin Steve is looking for a new tow vehicle, and has definite ideas on what might work for us.  We want something a little cheaper and a little smaller than he's thinking, but it got us look for real and was really quite fun and informative.  Steve and I ended up taking a test drive in a GMC Terrain.  Nice car, good and zippy, and felt comfortable.  It was only our first time looking into possibilities, so we're not ready to take the plunge yet, but it was a very good thing being encouraged to look.  We've just been overwhelmed by all the things we don't know yet, and getting a tow vehicle and getting it ready to be towed is just another task on our list.  Seems like we ought to feel a bit more comfortable with the motorhome before added a "toad" behind us!

On the way back to the lake, we stopped and Desi bought a bag of fresh steamer clams.  What a treat!  They were a wonderful appetizer before our dinner.  Lake friends of Steve & Desi's invited us to join them for dinner that evening.  I swear I felt like I was living the "On Golden Pond" lifestyle.  We sat out on this wonderful deck, overlooking the lake.  We ate steamer clams, followed by a meal of tri-tip, mushroom rice, shrimp salad, corn and fresh rolls.  We were out on the deck as the sun was setting, and soaked in the fun and wonderful visit with Jackie, Tom, Bud and Steve & Desi, right up until the mosquitoes began to bite.  It was hard to believe I was thinking I'd want to get back to the RV early.  I think it was about 10pm before we left the cabin.  Steve & Desi stayed the night at the family cabin.  We've been so thankful to have GPS available to us in both the car (thanks, mom!) and the motorhome.  It's helped a lot since we've been up here on unfamiliar turf.

Today, Thursday, we're having a down-day.  I'm finally getting some laundry done again.  Also, I had thawed ground turkey than needed to be turned into meatloaf.  I also put on a crock-pot of pork country ribs.  We've invited Steve and Desi to join us for ribs tonight.  The meatloaf will keep for another simple meal, or some nice lunches.

The weather is beautiful, the breeze feels heavenly, and we are so enjoying this week with extended family.  It's so good to be where God wants us!