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Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 11:16 am
by BirdbyBird
I wanted to take a moment this morning, after a good night's sleep in a room that stayed a steady 63 degrees and that didn't rock with the howl of the blustery March winds, to thank everyone along my winter journey these past months.

I joined the forum in September of 2008 not long after Beth created this space out of a need to have a welcoming, supportive platform for women RV'er to come together and share their knowledge and experiences and support their dreams and lives. (Thanks also to Margie Woodall, "Ms Behaving", for sharing the site with me at that Nick Russell Rally.)

I have been to GTG's from one side of the country to the other. I have been lucky to have met so many of you. Some of you several times. With the support and encouragement of some of you I have been able to see Alaska, Baja Mexico, Florida, Oregon, Washington State, California, New England, the Blue Ridge Parkway, New Orleans, Kansas City (Unbound Headquarters!) , San Antonio, Avon (SD :) ), the piney woods of Georgia, McIntosh, Fl, interesting bars in Nashville, Texas and so many states and places in between.

I know that the last few years have seen some of our members change their life styles to better fit their current wants and needs. I know that some have left the forum's community for the ease of Facebook. Some have just left or drifted away. People come and go in our lives. Most of us have lived long enough to recognize that of all the constants, change, is often the front runner.

This winter's trip out west gave me an opportunity to revisit many of the memories of the past 11 years. And an opportunity to make new ones. I thank everyone that "waved me down" and invited me to visit along the way. I thank everyone who found a hole in their schedule, large enough to take me on a tour of their city, to show me places of interest, to include me on site seeing tours or hiking or to gather for a dinner with friends.

I definitely don't want to take it for granted. I am not a member of multiple RV communities. I am too much of a hermit for that. My network exists because of this forum and many, many of you. My life is richer because of this diverse supportive community.

I want to give a special thanks you to Martha for sending me off from Louisiana with three tins of home made cookies. (At Quartzsite it seems that I only found two of the tins but luckily by the California coast I discovered the third tin.) Though Martha gracefully said I could eat them all if I wanted to, it made me feel pretty special to be the delivery person for Martha's cookies. It made me remember that we don't always have to be someplace in person to remember and think about those we care about and have shared moments of our lives with. I got to witness Martha's generosity and caring as her cookie's brought her to places she could not herself go this winter. Thank you, Martha.

So, yes it was colder out west that I wanted it to be. No one thought to put me in charge of the weather. And I may think twice before heading out to Arizona for another winter season. But I hope to be able to head back out in the future. I know that some of you will be somewhere along that route. Utah's parks have been calling out my name for years and those towns in northern, NM......

Thank you again, and safe travels through life whether or not you still have a house with wheels. You are will always be a part of this tribe.

Tina

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 11:51 am
by Shirlv
Tina, thank you. I no longer have a house on wheels and still miss it. Thanks for taking me along on your travels and seeing new places through your eyes. I can escape from life’s challenges with the woman on this site. It’s also soothing to read about friendship and kindness in these chaotic times.

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 5:11 pm
by Bethers
Tina, it was truly wonderful to spend a bit of time with you this winter. Shirl, I'm glad you've decided to come here still even though you've stopped RVing.

This forum has allowed me to make so many friends and a more personal relationship than FB. I welcome the members from the beginning and am glad to see some new people still joining.

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 5:47 pm
by Rufflesgurl
Tina what a nice posting. I have not met you in person but joined this forum a year or so later than you and have enjoyed
reading about your travels through the years with your beautiful pups! I try to read this forum at least once a day to catch up.
Don't do facebook so this is my online go to.

Linda

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:18 pm
by IrishIroamed
Well said Tina. I too like to GTG with the forum sistahsif time and locations allow. Always nice to put a real face & personality on everyone.

Until we meet again. <3

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:54 pm
by monik7
Great post Tina. I’ve so enjoyed seeing you at several GTGs and love hearing your adventures with your pups at shows. I’m so thankful I found this forum when I got my RV as a complete newbie to RVing. I’ve learned so much and made wonderful friends both in person and online. I love hearing what everyone is doing whether it be traveling or what you’re doing at home. Thanks Beth for everything you do for the forum and all of us.
Sandi

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:01 pm
by Acadianmom
Tina, thank you for taking the time to come by to see me and bring the cookies West. Thank you for taking us on your trips and letting us get to know your dogs. I never got to meet Hershel but I still think about him. Hopefully, one of these days I'll get my life sorted out and be able to travel more than a few days.

I have been lucky enough to meet some of the forum members and feel like I have friends from one side of the country to the other. It has been almost a year since I lost Harold and Scott. I don't think I would have made it without my forum friends and my local camping friends.

Thank you Beth for starting the forum and keeping it going. I know how lost I was when it was down.

Martha

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:55 pm
by snowball
Tina
it was so special to have you here for a few!!! so enjoyed it... I've loved meeting you and your puppers
hope that you do come back it was such a off winter I think everywhere... I am not sure at this point in time when I will make it up to Idaho due to Mother Nature's rant ...
I love to read your posts you speak so well
thank you for sharing the two tins of cookies and hope you enjoyed the other one haha
sheila

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 9:25 am
by BirdbyBird
Sheila I am sticking to my story. I found the third tin when I went looking for my good camera after having to "borrow" the dolphin pictures from Laura after our whale watching trip. She had brought her good camera on the trip and I had forgotten mine. My silly brain cells.

So the third and last tin (sugar cookies) got passed out to Laura and Alice in California and then to Eileen, Cheryl and Ava at the lunch GTG at Picacho Peak near Tucson! The interesting part was when I passed out the last three baggies of cookies to Eileen, Cheryl and Ave, a few minutes later I remembered that I wanted to take a picture to share so that Martha could see the smiles her cookies brought. The three smiling women held up their cookie bags. It took me a few seconds to notice but Cheryl was laughing and her bag was already empty.... Those cookies did not last long.

I had to be able to distribute the cookies so that I wouldn't eat them......The dogs had been working too hard on my health plan of walking and helping me lose weight. Lark and Audrey were so dedicated I didn't want to disappoint them.

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:01 am
by Acadianmom
Tina, I could have sent you off with pudding shots but those things take up a lot of freezer room. lol I keep my cookies unbaked in the freezer and only bake 5 at a time. I have very little self control when cookies are in the kitchen. Carolyn keeps sending me recipes that involve liquor. I think for St Patricks it might be Irish Cream Brownies with green icing.

Martha

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:03 pm
by BirdbyBird
Carolyn is a good friend!

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 6:16 pm
by IrishIroamed
BirdbyBird wrote:..
So the third and last tin (sugar cookies) got passed out to Laura and Alice in California and then to Eileen, Cheryl and Ava at the lunch GTG at Picacho Peak near Tucson! The interesting part was when I passed out the last three baggies of cookies to Eileen, Cheryl and Ave, a few minutes later I remembered that I wanted to take a picture to share so that Martha could see the smiles her cookies brought. The three smiling women held up their cookie bags. It took me a few seconds to notice but Cheryl was laughing and her bag was already empty.... Those cookies did not last long.


What can I say? I like cookies and they were good! :P

Acadianmom wrote:...Carolyn keeps sending me recipes that involve liquor. I think for St Patricks it might be Irish Cream Brownies with green icing.
Martha


Martha, you do know I'll see you on St Pat's weekend right? Just sayin' :lol:

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:35 pm
by Redetotry
Great post Tina. I wish the weather had been better for you and the others in the west this year but so glad you enjoyed the journey. I think I met you for the first time at a GTG in Nashville TN. I didn't have an RV yet but had been a forum member for several years starting in the 'old' one. I was feeling a pretty overwhelmed and was grateful you took time to chat with me. I was thinking the other day of the first litter of puppies you posted on the forum and how we all followed them growing up. I think you kept my favorite of the group. Crab Orchard is doing some sprucing up if you find yourself back this way.

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:56 pm
by mtngal
While not traveling much at this point, still very grateful for the good friends I’ve met here over the years. Thanks Tina for expressing so elegantly what so many of us feel. (Extra love to West coast friends who I do still see once in awhile!).
Happy Trails!

Re: Thank You All

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:31 am
by BirdbyBird
BJ, I will admit to checking Crab Orchard several weeks ago only to find that it didn't open up early enough for my schedule. Then the cold weather kept hanging around and my "to do" list of what I hoped to accomplish before returning back to my work opportunity started kept growing.