Ruby is ready to roll

Well, looks like I am writing in this old blog again!
I have been trying to compile all my notes from our year on the road and make it magically become a book or something. :)
I am on Chapter 4, but I am not even sure if I like the chapters I chose. I am just going to keep writing and Carl will edit and add pictures and pretty stuff. Maybe it will be done when I am 50!
Anyhoo, I meant to write about Ruby RV. She is all registered and inspected and has one new tire. Carl took a chunk out of one of the duelies last year when making a tight turn. Tire met curb and pop, off came some rubber.
So, we are taking Ruby out next weekend to southern NH to my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jim's place. She sat all winter and I hope she hasn't aged too much in the last year. She looks pretty good and smells halfway decent. Kind of like me......
Y'know we almost sold Ruby last Fall, but I just couldnt do it. It kind of felt like selling a relative. Granted, there are a few I wouldn't mind selling, but that is a whole different blog post.... ha.
So, if you see us on the road, give us a wave. Give Ruby a little pat on the ass and a prayer. I think she will need it in her twilight years with us.

Our last new state of the trip

Heading into Maine today. This is probably the last state sticker we will place on our map for this year.
The end of the trip is bringing on a lot of mixed emotions for us. We are so excited to move into a house and have a bit more space. The boys really want to set up their own rooms.
On the flip side, I know we will miss the road. This year was all about freedom. We stayed up as late as wanted and slept in too. We got a lifetime of beauty sleep. We also meandered aimlessly around and let fate lead us to the next stop.  It was pretty awesome. It brought us to many unexpected places that we would have never planned to visit.
So .... a lot of mixed emotions.  One thing is for sure,though. This trip was a life changer and we will always remember and look back fondly at this experience. Life is meant to be a wild ride and I think we did our part this year in living with that idea in mind.

Shout out to Carl

Carl is an amazing dad. In fact , he won an award. It is on.his shirt. Check it out.

Hey,hey summer...

This is going to be a kick ass summer. We have complete freedom until august when we will move into our new place on the school campus in Bethlehem, NH. We do not know much about the new pad except that it is 3 bedroom and 1 bath. It will be free rent so that is the best part. We like living in community. There are always folks around, families with littles,pets around to play with and acres and acres of land to run around on.
The new town we are going to has about 2000 people.
There is also a health food store, yoga, a movie theater and Thai good nearby. I am in heaven.
But....until August we have some fun  things planned until the money runs out. We are going to cape cod for a week. We are going to see a bunch of college friends over near Albany for a long weekend. We still have free tickets to six flags to use up. In July we are going to park it for a week near Bethlehem. Then, off to Maine for a week or so. I am very thrilled to go to Maine. I have spent little time there and i know we are going to love it.

Cool,old playgrounds

I am the first to admit that some of the newer  playgrounds out there are pretty amazing. We have seen some that look like modern art with their color schemes and art deco designs. Funny that many of the new playgrounds have signs that say something like " this playground was built for children aged 5-12". Really?!?! So a mature 4 year old or immature 13 year old; where do they work into this equation? LOL

OK, but back to the title of this blogpost....old playgrounds. We have all seen them. They are total throwbacks to the 70's or earlier. They tend to have rusty metal pieces instead of plastic. The slides are like 30 feet high with no side protection. There are those funny bobbing animals that are falling apart with chipped paint flaking off.
Lead paint, most likely. They may have themes linked to old cartoons, like loony toones, yogi bear, Mr Magoo.
The next few pics are from our latest cool playground. I wonder if it will still be around in 50 years?

There is no place like home

These travels have taught be a wonderful lesson. No matter where you grew up, there truly is nothing like coming home.
People from NYC will swear the city is the best with all its culture and diversity. Folks from the country love the quiet and the trees. Ocean dwellers would never want to leave the water and views. Everyone who lives in warmer weather swears they could never live near snow. Northeasterners want their seasons come hell or high water.
So, who is right? Where is the best place to live?  Where should kids be raised? Where are people the happiest and healthiest? Who is right?
Everyone.
Most people live somewhere for their own particular reasons. They can't imagine having it any other way. And they are right.
We saw a lot of cool places on this trip, places that were more than livable to us. But....we thought about family and what home was for us. We thought about the trees and water and crazy seasons we love. We thought about how everyone comes together after a blizzard. We thought about being paid in free range chicken, knowing everyones name in town and being pulled out of a muddy road by the neighbors tractor. We know the smells, the sounds and sights of this place we have called home since birth;  New England.
We just don't want it any other way and it feels so right to all of us.

Small libraries are the best

We love the Haverhill library. We visited there this past Saturday.  Nanci and Anne greeted us with a homemade sign and coffee and hugs. The boys got out some new books. I am unbelievably grateful that Coltrane and Emmett grew up with this small library. It is so personal and sweet and will always be special to them.
Here are a couple of pics.