Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. 
   - Jim Rohn


Well, Steve and I are officially the "Travelin' Andersons" again.  We took off from Port Charlotte on August 16 and headed north in our attempt to not postpone our happiness for the future.  Both of us are so comfortable living in this RV and traveling from place to place and truly delight in the beautiful vistas and interesting experiences we have along the way.  Plus we have friends and family all over this country that we intend to spend time with over the next couple of years.

Our first stop was in St. Mary's, Georgia.  If you have never visited this little slice of heaven, I highly recommend it.  The town is just over the Florida border on I-95 and has been our pit stop many times as we trekked north and south along the east coast.  St. Mary's is the launching spot for the ferry to Cumberland Island, is a mere 20 minutes drive to St. Simon's Island, Jekyll Island, and is very close to one of my favorite places:  the Folkston Funnel!  Seriously, if you are looking for a unique place to take a vacation, check out St. Mary's.

When we arrived, Steve and I headed to the Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island.  Our son, Terry, turned us on to this place when we had a family vacation on St. Simon's Island last September.  This beach is covered with skeletons of trees that have died due to the erosion on the northern side of the island.  As the erosion sets in and the trees get uprooted, they travel down the coast and the bark and leaves and smaller branches get removed.  What's left is a "driftwood" version of their previous selves which gets deposited on the southern end of the island.   This beach is quite long and is littered with driftwood that you can climb on to your heart's content.  The erosion that's taking place is a difficult situation, but the resulting art formed from on the beach from the displaced trees is truly a sight to see. 

The next day, Steve and I met one of the best Bible teachers I have ever had.  For a few years now, I have been taking on-line classes through Precept Ministries from a woman named Kari Dent.  Every time that Steve and I were in St. Mary's in the past, we could not seem to meet up with her, but this time we were successful.  We met at a wonderful seafood restaurant and I got to meet her husband Ian as well.  I am so happy to have finally met Kari and if you are interested in checking her out, her website is:  http://www.preceptcamden.com./   Kari and Ian shared with us that there was a tall ship parked in the St. Mary's harbor, so we checked it out.  It's called "The Peacemaker" and is owned by a group called The Twelve Tribes (www.peacemakermarine.com).  We weren't able to tour it but Steve was able to capture a beautiful full moon keeping watch over the ship in the harbor.  

Our last stop was to visit Fort King George which is the oldest English fort on Georgia's coast.  As I mentioned, there is a lot of history in this area and this fort is an excellent example of that.  Basically it was built to protect the Altamaha River (which flows up to Atlanta) from invading indians or the French.  I thought it was in a pretty cool spot on the water, but apparently the soldiers stationed there didn't agree.  They were so desperate to get out of duty at Fort King George that they burned down their own barracks!!  Here's the website about this fort if you are interested in learning more:  Fort King George

On the 18th, we arrived in Asheville which will be our home base until September 20.  We are here to celebrate the renewal of wedding vows for our son, Terry, and his wife, Jill.  They are the parents of our most recent grandchild (Sofia) and we are excited to enjoy this special event with them.  We have family coming in from all over for this so that weekend will be a hoot.  Can't wait.  We've spent time catching up with Jill's parents who live in Asheville as well.  Today, we were treated to a baseball game featuring the Asheville Tourists (the Colorado Rockies' version of the Stone Crabs or the Toledo Mud Hens).  It was a blast and we have additional adventures planned with Jill's parents which you will hear about in the near future.

Ok, that's it for this week.  Keep the quote at the top of this blog entry in mind this week.  What happiness are you putting off that you can you design into your present?   

Love you guys,

Lauren and Steve

After two wonderful years here in Port Charlotte, Steve and I are, once again, heading out to travel around the country in our RV.
We will be leaving Port Charlotte on August 16 and head to Asheville, North Carolina where we will be until mid-September. Our oldest son, his wife and daughter live there and we are excited to be celebrating a renewal of their wedding vows.  They've been married for almost two years, but didn't have a reception.  So, family and friends from all over the country will be converging on Asheville to have a great party and a weekend of hiking in the mountains.  Plus we get to spend some quality time with little granddaughter who really only knows us as faces on a computer screen.  It's interesting to know that her generation will think seeing people on the computer will be perfectly normal . . . ah, technology and the pace of change.  

Anyway, from there, Steve and I will have a brief stop in Covington, Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum and the new Ark Encounter (https://arkencounter.com/) built by Ken Hamm (Answers in Genesis).  I cannot wait as I have heard marvelous things about both venues.  The ark is "life-size" so how cool is that going to be?????

Next, we are off to Toledo/Michigan to visit with our daughter, and our other grandchildren.  We have missed them so much this past couple of years and look forward to them visiting us while we are on the road this next year or two.
Additionally, we will be spending time with our parents and our siblings. Lastly, but certainly not least, we are especially excited that we will be present for the birth of grandchild #5 - a boy whose name will be Tytus Landry Anderson on or about October 2nd.  His parents are our youngest son, Steve Jr. and his wife Aime who live in Colorado Springs.  Due to Stevie's need to be in training the month of September (he's a special agent for the Air Force), Aime elected to go home to Ohio and have the baby where her mother and our daughter Jill live.  We will be in Toledo/Michigan from mid-September until Mid-October and then travel to Colorado Springs to stay with Stevie and Aime and the new baby for a week or so before we land in El Mirage, Arizona for the winter.
Next spring, we plan to head to the Pacific Northwest to explore God's creation in that area of our country.

Finally, let me just say from the bottom of Steve's and my heart,.. thank you so, so much to all our dear friends in Port Charlotte.  We have loved getting to know you and spending the past two years playing, praying and worshiping with you.  I cannot believe what a loving group of people you have been to both of us and we will miss you all so very much.  Please come back to this website often and check up on us.  You can even get in contact with us through the website if you would like. We are also thinking of creating a Facebook page so keep an eye out for that.
May God bless you all.  We love you!!!

Steve and Lauren