Merry Christmas!

"Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozey, and don't be afraid to hit the ball."
-Billie Jean King

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Wow, can you believe that it's Christmas yet again?  It seems like the year just flew by for us - - I guess being in a different place just about every week will make the time seem to fly.  We hope you guys are all able to be with family this holiday season and take the time to let them know how much they mean to you.

This week was very slow for us.  We did get a chance to visit Galveston, which we loved so much that we changed our plans and will be spending a week there beginning December 28.  What an adorable town!  The architecture is really quite cool with a good number of the city's original buildings still in place and restored back to their finest.  We drove around the island, did some geocaching, and visited the Railroad Museum.  Again, we are planning to return to Galveston next week so we will have more to write about then.

Steve and I also went Christmas caroling this past week.  We are staying at one of the parks that is part of the Escapees RV Club in which we are members.  What we really like about this club is that it is more of a family than just a bunch of people who share the love of RV'ing.  At this park, there is an organization called C.A.R.E. - - Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees.  Its mission is to provide a safe haven with professional assistance at affordable prices for members whose travels are permanently ended because of age or temporarily interrupted because of health problems.  CARE is a place where retired RV'ers will receive professional help for the things that they may no longer be able to do for themselves.  It is not a nursing home.  Its goal is to delay or eliminate the need for a nursing home.

There are CARE patients who live in their RVs right on the premises and are cared for by the full-time medical staff at the facility.  CARE patients receive 3 meals per day, have a dedicated activity center where they engage in exercise and other fun things, and provides transportation to/from various appointments for its members.  Most of all, CARE provides these people with companionship.  The members are visited and cared for by the other RV'ers in the park.  So, you can see what I mean by "family".

Some of the patients of CARE are shut-ins due to their health.  For that reason, Steve and I got together with a bunch of other campers here at the park and visited them and did some Christmas caroling.  What a blast!  We had a parade of golf carts and a beautifully decorated trolley car that traveled throughout the park complex.  We stopped at about a dozen homes along the way and the residents were thrilled to have a visit.  Steve had never been caroling before so this was a new experience for him!  He loved it and both of us got into the Christmas spirit with this little adventure.  Most of all, though, it brought some Christmas cheer to people who are really suffering and some who are very much alone.  We were both so delighted that we could bring a little ray of sunshine into their lives this holiday season.

Lastly, we visited Lake Livingston and did some geocaching.  That was fun and probably our most productive day in terms of finding caches.  Our goal is to have 100 by the end of the year, so we still have a little bit of work to do.

Okay, that's it for the week.  Now, for our Christmas card to you  - - - - - - - - - - -