BON VOYAGE (March 8 - 29, 2022)

Our final week on Edisto Island, South Carolina, at the WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE RESORT was spent with my daughter's family as they visited during spring break from Indiana.  We enjoyed watching the dolphins play in the Sound and watching the magnificent sunsets.  This out-of-the-way island has always been a favorite of Autumn, and her family come to visit just about every year.  Time was spent bike riding, at the pool, playing cards, eating out (Pressley's at the Marina and Whaleys), and just having a great time being family.  

Scott and Autumn stayed an additional five days by themselves while Sherry and I took the two girls on a cruise from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Bahamas.

We are scheduled back for ten weeks next year and can't wait.  

REFLECTIONS

The Bahamas

"Guy's Burgers and Ice Cream!"

Cruises tend to be one of the most amazing events that one can experience.  We have found that no two have been the same.  They all offer to meet your every expectation and, quite honestly, they try really hard to make everything as special as it all looked in the pre-cruise hype.  Yet, there's only so much they can control.  They can't control all "cruisers" as they return to their room after a day of drinking too much.  They can't be there when the screaming begins in the hallway at 2 a.m.!  They can't control the weather.  After thinking that it might be awesome to take a loooooong cruise and talking to my wife about it, the next morning the ocean decided to rock and roll and roll and rock and rock and roll for about 6 hours. (not thinking about that round the world cruise anymore).

The opportunity to eat 24 hours a day sounds like a great idea, but the food is only mediocre at best (except for Guy's Burgers, which were outstanding).  It was another example that quantity does not always equal quality.

I am not saying that I didn't enjoy the cruise.  I am just saying that many times the reality does not

match our expectations.  We must be very careful not to build things up so high that, when the item doesn't match our expectations, we fail to enjoy the blessings that the experience provided.

We spent five wonderful days and nights with two of our favorite people on planet Earth.  Our two granddaughters, Abigail and Adelyn, were fun and understanding.  They seemed to enjoy their time with us old folks, and their first cruise.  We have now completed three such cruises with our six grandchildren.  I trust that we made some memories for a lifetime.

Life is short, and with our traveling lifestyle, it is super important to spend quality time with those we love when we can.  Other grandparents might be able to give their grands more quantity of time but, we are determined, none will give them more quality of time.

Although the "cruise of life" may not always meet our expectations, we can make it a goal to enjoy the journey and those who sail beside us.  BON VOYAGE!

Now, it's off to Alaska through June!

OCEAN BREEZES AND WEDDING FREEZES (February 12 - March 7, 2022)

Edisto Island Sunset

We traveled from Florida to Edisto Island, South Carolina, with good friends, Darwin and Jean Pressler, they dropped us off and headed back to Indiana.  It felt like we'd come home as we opened the door to our Bay Point condo at WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE.  Since retiring in 2016 we will have spent more days here at Ocean Ridge than any other Resort (227 days).  To us, it is a little bit of Heaven on Earth.  Its laid back, peaceful demeanor is perfect for just "Chillaxing".

This time our visit here is going to be a little disjointed.  After the first five days of enjoying the quietness of the island and watching the dolphins play in the bay in front of our lodging, we boarded the big sliver bird and flew to Missouri where I officiated at the wedding of my oldest grandson, Austin.  After six days with my son's family in Republic, we flew back to South Carolina.  We enjoyed a few days of islandness before my brother and his wife drove over from Simpsonville, South Carolina to spend the weekend. They have headed back home and now we await my daughter's family from Indiana later this month. But that will be another blog. 

REFLECTIONS

Austin and Maddie Dicer

    

     Family has always been of primary importance in our lives.  That's why we started this journey with Fairfield/Wyndham in 1982.  It was a way that we were forced to vacation annually as a family.  It provided memories that continue today to be talked about and remembered.  Back then, we didn't envision that someday we would become the retired timeshare travelers that we are today.  

     It shouldn't matter if you live next door or hundreds of miles away you should always strive to be involved in the lives of those you love.  You find a way.  

     I wouldn't have missed my oldest grandson's wedding for anything.  It was a testament of our efforts to keep family primary that he and his bride asked me to perform their ceremony in Missouri.  They knew we would get there somehow.  They chose 2stoday, February (2) 22nd, 2022 as their date.  Oh yes, he is 22, and the temperature at the time of the "outdoor" wedding was 22!

Brothers

     

It was also wonderful to have my brother and his wife visit with us at Ocean Ridge.  Gary is 10 years older than I am and lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina.  We don't get to see each other often but, when we do, it is special.  There is always so much to talk about.  I am feeling sentimental and blessed right now as I pen these words.

     Do not take your family moments together for granted.  Enjoy them to the fullest.  Put aside differences.  Be available.  Love them while you can!  

     I can attest that it is possible to enjoy the freedom of retirement and not sacrifice the blessing of family.  

     

 

Our front yard this month

   

HOMES SWEET HOMES (January 2 - February 12, 2022)

   

B. Solomon   A. Dicer      
Mark Vice   

 

 Our six weeks stay at the WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS RESORT in Kissimmee, Florida will soon come to an end, and we will make our way to WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE in Edisto Beach, South Carolina.  While in Florida, the weather was a little cooler than expected but the average high temperature was 70 degrees.  The average high at home in Indiana for those days was 35 degrees.  I guess one could say that it was twice as warm in the sunshine state. Our time was spent enjoying the comfort of our two-bedroom condo, the swirling waters of the hot tub, and the warmer than Indiana temperatures.  This resort commands a strong community feeling and it always has felt like a welcoming location.

Presslers

     We took a three-day break from our stay to spend time at the Central Florida Holiness Campground where I spoke in their chapel.  It was nice to be able to share God's Word again and to reconnect with good friends, including Rosie and Bryan Solomon, Mark Vice, Mark Murphy, and Ted Lee.

     Our Florida respite ended with friends from Indiana, Darwin and Jean Pressler, spending the final four days with us.  We will share a ride to South Carolina with them where they will be our guests for another four or five days at Ocean Ridge.

REFLECTIONS

Edisto Dolphin

Whoever would have thought, when we bought a week's vacation at Fairfield Glade, Tennessee, that the time share lifestyle would be such a large part of our retirement journey.  It certainly wasn't on our minds when we first became involved with Fairfield/Wyndham in 1982.

Then, it was simply a way to have a nice vacation annually at a fixed price.  It was a way to force us to get away.  Those years, traveling as a family, were some of the best times of our lives.  

Cypress Palms Gator

Now, we are retired and for the last six years have made Wyndham properties our vacation homes away from home.  We spend about 40 weeks a year in timeshare resorts.  Some have said that we have spent considerable dollars across the years, and I agree that we have.  But never did we spend beyond our means, and I doubt that we have spent more than we would have for a retirement home somewhere.  The difference is that when I look out my "vacation home" window I might see a dolphin frolicking in the ocean, an alligator sunning in the warmth of the sun, or a deer sneaking along a tree line.  

As we enter our condos, we feel like we are home!  The appliances are the same, the bedding is the same, the coffee maker is the same, the dishware is the same, the blue glasses are the same, and it feels like home.  

Someday we won't be able to travel anymore, and we'll have to settle in somewhere.  The kids will take over maintenance fee payments or unload the points somehow.  Until then it's full speed ahead.  I have to book March 11-18, 2023, at Ocean Ridge tonight at 12:01 a.m.! 

Fairfield Glade Deer

TWO LOGS FOR SHERRY (November 16 - December 31, 2021)

Family "Beatstar"

Our final eight weeks at the WYNDHAM FAIRFIELD GLADE in Tennessee were spent relaxing and enjoying the wonderful property.  Autumn and early winter at "the Glade" are the perfect times to just lay back watch the seasons change.  We did have the blessing of being joined by children and grandchildren between Christmas and New Year's Day.  Puzzles, table games, televised football games, and many other great times filled our hours with laughter.

It was in 1982 that we joined the Fairfield/Wyndham family and we have been returning to the Cumberland Plateau on a regular basis since then.  Our family has grown up exploring this expansive resort.

With Ed Kile at Dorchester Golf Club

We introduced many others to "the Glade" back in the early days, including Ed and Ruth Kile.  They are the parents of our oldest son's wife, Jennifer.  They were here, in their own unit, during the last week of our stay.  They were on their way to Florida and so were we so we ended up riding with them as we made our way to WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS in Kissimmee.  We will reside there until the middle of February.

REFLECTIONS

One of the reasons we have regularly found our way to WYNDHAM FAIRFIELD GLADE in Tennessee during the fall or winter is because they have wood burning fireplaces in the condo units.  Since 1982 (our first purchase) we have enjoyed the warmth and the ambiance of the flaming logs as they crackle and flicker in the recessed indoor fire pit!  The quivering flames rise and fall as they reach toward the chimney and the smell of the burning wood reminds one, somehow, of days gone by.  The resort even provides the spilt wood and the daily journey to the "wood shed" is, in this case, not an unpleasant experience!  The walk back to the room, with an armload of fuel to be burned, in the brisk cool air of the Cumberland Plateau is enjoyable as one knows of the warmth that your burden will bring.  For 40 years it has been an experience to which we have always looked forward.

Now they are digging gas lines behind our unit in order to install "gas fireplaces"!  I understand the reasoning......safer, cleaner, less hassle!  But there's just something about artificial, constant, regulated, flames that leaves one feeling cheated.  Simpler, yes, just throw the switch, but something special will be lost, at least for us.

Now, every night when I go to bed, I place two logs in front of the roaring fire so that my wife can continue to enjoy the comfort, warmth, and peace of the fire before she joins me in a couple of hours.  TWO LOGS FOR SHERRY.  It is an act of love and a reminder of my desire to make her happy and to provide a place of calm in a sea of tumult.  Next time, if there is a next time, it will be; "Make sure to throw the switch before you come to bed."

It won't be the same!  I know that change is inevitable.  I know that nothing on this earth is forever.  I know that I will miss the "two logs for Sherry" times.

FALL FOLIAGE AND THE FRAILTY OF LIFE (October 18 - November 15, 2021)

Curt and Jenny

As we conclude a month at Wyndham Fairfield Glade in Tennessee, I am reminded of both the beauty of autumn and the fragility of life.  Some blogs are difficult to pen but must be written none the less.  Thus it is with this edition.

The Cumberland Plateau was ablaze with the changing optics of fall.  The canvas, with random patches of yellows, greens, reds, and oranges, blended wonderfully against the backdrop of deep blue skies, flowing white clouds, and distant mountains.

Scott and Autumn

Our spacious two bedroom Kensington Woods condo was filled several days with the blessing of family and friends.  Picture puzzles were pieced together, table games were hotly contested, and hours were spent in front of a flickering natural wood fireplace. Drives into Crossville for lunches at Fortes, shoe shopping at French's, and the Military Museum, provided opportunities to enjoy each others company.  An outing to the Cumberland Playhouse to see Scrooge, The Musical was a perfect night out with Curt and Jenny, Sherry's brother and sister  in law.  Our daughter's family from Indiana joined us for a few days too.

Here's where it gets really difficult.

Jimmie and Doretta Durnil

The Durnils had joined us before on our WYNDHAM adventures.  We had explored the beaches of South Carolina together at Myrtle Beach and Edisto Island.  Now they were joining us to enjoy the beauty of the Cumberland Plateau as it transitioned from summer to fall.

Doretta and Sherry had attended High School together so each visit contained several trips down memory lane.  They were again good days until the day before they were suppose to leave.  Doretta complained of a headache and within a couple of hours was having difficulty communicating.

Jimmie took her to the hospital in Crossville where she lost consciousness and was air flighted to a trauma center in Murphysboro, Tennessee.  She never regained consciousness and sixteen days after walking out the door of our condo she was gone.  From prayers, hugs, and kisses to eternity in two weeks.  Her diagnosis was viral meningitis.  She will be missed by many.

REFLECTIONS

Doretta was a Christ follower.  Like so many, she believed that for the believer "the best is yet to come".   Our hearts are broken but our hope is in Him.

I look out over the Tennessee woods beyond our deck.  Once vibrant with fall colors, the trees stand naked and stark.  Their colorful leaves lay in wind blown piles on the ground.  Life, in every regard, is a cycle and can change quickly.  Once again I am reminded that we should treasure every day....every moment.  Tell those you love often that you do.

 

SUPPLY CHAIN STRANDED SENIORS (August 12- October 17, 2021)

 

(Adelyn)

Once again September marked the time for our annual GATHERING OF FRIENDS. This year's event was held in "Music City" (Nashville, Tennessee).  Eight couples (college friends from the 1960s) enjoyed five days of Nashville sites and the comfort of our lodging at WYNDHAM NASHVILLE.  The reunion was sandwiched between time in Indiana and Missouri with family and friends. The two month long hiatus was perfect.

(Ethan)

Volleyball in Indiana and Marching Band in Missouri reminded us of how quickly our grand children are growing!  I spent some time golfing, fishing in Sugar Creek, and exploring Wilson's Creek Battlefield.  Summer turned into autumn and now we embark on a long WYNDHAM RESORTS ADVENTURE with extended stays at the GLADE (TN), CYPRESS PALMS (FLA), OCEAN RIDGE (SC).  We will finish our sojourn mid May, 2022.  THAT IS IF WE CAN EVER GET STARTED!

(Rick Wetnight and friend)

REFLECTIONS

For the last 5 1/2 years we have soared from adventure to adventure as the guests of a major airline thanks to their generous retirement benefit of free air travel.  In these past 5 plus years, it has been pretty much smooth sailing.

However, as I pen this blog, I find myself seated at a work station in the Springfield, Missouri airport!  We arrived at 4:30 a.m. and it is now after 2 p.m. and the next possible flight to catch isn't until 5 p.m.!  Flights all across the country are "oversold", standby lists sport 20 to 30 names, and there are no rental cars to be found.

Thanks Southwest, thanks economy, thanks employee shortages, thanks mandates!  It's the perfect storm.  As retired airline employees, at the bottom of the standby list, we feel a little like a container on a cargo ship anchored off the California coast with no way to get where we need to be.  So I'll just sit and REFLECT how good we have had it until today.   Maybe tomorrow.....maybe next week.  We will just have to wait and see.

RUN OF THE MILL (June 14 - August 11, 2021)

 

Fawns in the Pokonos

After returning from the Northwest, we spent the next 45 days in Indiana (19 days), Michigan (7 days), Pennsylvania (13 days), and Ohio (6 days).  Is it any wonder that friends, when calling or texting, always ask "Where are you?"!  As long as our health holds out, that will remain a natural inquiry.  Whether staying with family/friends or with WYNDHAM VACATION RESORTS it is the retirement life we have chosen.  In about a month, we will begin our sixth year of being "drifters"!

INDIANA: We spent our time in the Hoosier state between our cabin outside of Bloomington and at

our daughter's home in Avon.  They were days of doctor appointments, dog/house sitting, and enjoying some down time at our Indiana retreat.

MICHIGAN : Times with super friends (Halls/Bittenbenders) made these 7 days fly by.

PENNSYLVANIA : These two weeks were spilt between WYNDHAM DELAWARE ON SHAWNEE and Sherry's uncle's place on Lake Wallenpaupack!  They were filled with covered bridges, waterfalls, train trips, boating adventures, good conversation,  camp fires, and so much more.  When staying at the WYNDHAM we visited the Delaware Water Gap and the town of Jim Thorp.  Alaska Pete's is a recommended eatery.

OHIO: Again with long time friends (Moores/ Crawfords) before returning to Indiana.

REFLECTIONS

Clifton Mill (Ohio)

The Clifton Mill has been grinding away for 219 years on the bank of  the Little Miami River in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  That's a long time!  A long time to do the same thing day after day after day for 79,935 days!  Yet the "big wheel keeps on turning".  I am sure that it has had its down times but it has survived.  It still goes round and round harnessing the power of the river.

There is much to love about those, who likewise, remain faithful year after year to the task assigned.  In our day, too many run from place to place and job to job.  "Stick to it ness" is not a trait often seen. When things go wrong they
run off somewhere else in stead of "toughing it out".

"Run Of The Mill" has come to mean average or ordinary.  So here's to all the ordinary folks who have, year after year, grounded out a living and a life.  We, run of the mill folks, are who keep the wheels of our nation turning.  Let's remember to say thanks to those who faithfully serve us daily.

Lake Wallenpaupack (Pennsylvania)