"The Hobbit" a few thoughts

I was 19 the first time I read The Hobbit.   I became an instant fan.  Tolkien's humor, incomparable imagination and ability to transfer written word in to a reality that I could totally engage my loyality and devotion.  I loved the characters....good, bad and ugly, very ugly.  There were no subtle refrences to evil--it was clearly identified.  And the Good, well, it was noble and sincere completely admirable even tho each noble character had shortcomings, they were each totally believable, charming and heroic.  We all need a hero.  Tolkien gave us all of Middle Earth! By the time I was 20 I had read all of the Lord of the Rings saga...and each year afterwords, I re-read all three just for the sheer pleasure of enjoying the story all over again, that is what classic literature is meant to be....sheer enjoyment! I read LOTR every year in my 20s and 30s.  In my 40s I probably read it 5 times...in my late 40s I discovered the unabridged audio of LOTR and the Hobbit and wow!  I then began listening each year of my 50s....I have grown old and never tire of the reading or hearing of the story of Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam and on and on....Technology finally made possible a movie rendition of the saga!!!  When I saw the very first trailer in the movie theater I could identify all the Fellowship and I knew these movies were going to be epic!  I was not disapointed in the least....in fact, Paul and I saw the first movie 20+ times in the $1 theater!
So, when we went to see the Hobbit yesterday, I sat back and just flat out enjoyed myself lost in the miracle of a fantasy turned into reality in the very best way!  Oh, this young Bilbo is so loveable and true to the book....I don't know if you are a fan or not, and maybe this rambling seems a bit over-board, but friends I just had to let you know, you should go see the movie, then read the book.
Thank you Peter Jackson.

Oh, we have also seen "Lincoln". an outstanding movie with a cast of wonderful, talented actors who all performed Oscar-worthy performances....do not miss this one.
And then there is Bond, James Bond....of course we have a loyalty to the brand...again, our youth is attached to Mr. Bond as sure as our attachment to the Beatles...a totally entertaining movie to see on the big screen for sure!
Tally ho ho ho for now,
Cathy

Christmas in aCasita...ho ho ho

I am a huge fan of Christmas...the Nativity, of course and all that means for mankind is awesome to ponder....then of course, the music both sacred and popular, and then there's the family traditions of fun, food and fellowship and of course entertaining and being entertained, all the wonderful programs both school, church and community.....there is just so much going on....even in a 17 foot Casita!  You remember, I left 50 + boxes in storage chock full of Christmas "stuff".  Well, I did bring along a couple of things from home....

 

This is ourWee Forest Folk nativity set and a few of ourChristmas mice....


We do have a small tree....

 

And a bit more of our halls are decked....

 

 

So, we are ready, areYOU????

Tally Ho Ho Ho,
Cathy

6 Months!

Hello to all!  We have been "on the road" for six whole months officially.  We left NC on June 10th and headed north spending time in DC area, NYC area, Boston burbs, Bar Harbor/Acadia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York state, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama....*whew*.  We have had a blast (great 60s expression!).  Time has certainly flown and altho my blogging has been at best, sporadic, please know I have a ton of great info and experiences to share and I will share, promise!  We watched "Christmas Story" the other night (just one of our many Christmas rituals....) and were reminded how long it use to take to finally "get" to Christmas...but now seems like poof, it is here and gone!  That is what time on the road is like too.  When we first started Paul would say, "We will go 6 months and then see how we feel about it...", then he would admit to a year and now....well we know a year will not be close to enough time to fit in all we want to do and see.  That is the first realization we have come to after 6 months out.

 

The day we left NC

 

 

The second thing we realize is we miss our family!  Whether it is our grown kids and our grands in NC, or my folks, sister and cousins in the KC area or Paul's family scattered all over....well, we miss the connections and being around the ones who are so dear to us!

 

 

Our grandson Zion

 

 

Next realization:  We are so fortunate to be able to have this "adventure" !  We cannot begin to explain how amazed we are at being able to travel as we do, believe me when I say we never take this opportunity for granted and altho we miss folks and a "normal" life....well, living our way-un-normal life is so exciting and educational...Usually, as folks age their world becomes smaller (happens to most of us), but we are trying to keep our world wide open and expanding....at least for a while and then, when the time comes, we will have lots of photos, videos and blog posts to remind us of a time when we were foot loose and fancy free!



 

 

Claudia standing outside her 5th wheel with Bella, her pug, after their first night in a Walmart Parking lot!

 

 Here we are in MiniPearl at Walmart too!

 

Another thing we have learned is to be flexible.....we do have to work at this, but when we do, we are both alot happier :-).  I finally dropped a whole container of vegetable soup on the floor of  Mini.  Luckily, it was not alot of liquid and we had it cleaned up pronto.  We bump into each other frequently as this is a small rig, but, we still agree it is the best choice for our situation and we have learned we can live very well inside our little "egg".

 

We use the elec. kettle daily and the food processor, not so much....but could not do without either.  As for the iron...well, haven't used it since Boston!  We have had summer clothes on until we hit KC, then got out the winter stuff only to break into the summer again when we hit Alabama.  Glad we brought for both seasons.  We have really used our travel duffel bags, they hold alot and don't take up much room.  We bought a coleman ice-less cooler that runs on a 12 volt with a converter to DC and love it!  has enlarged my refrigerator storage and that is something I have really had a hard time adjusting to....4 cu ft of refrigeration is dismally small, but I try to shorten my list, really I do!  Practice is making me better, that is for sure!  Our Nissan Pathfinder is a true champ and the best choice for a tow vehicle....we have lots of room for storage in there.

 



 

 

Our set up in Alabama...we do travel with quite a bit still after much parring down.....the tent is our garage where we store our bedding during the day, our Coleman elec. cooler, and the big boxes out of the back of our Nissan.  The ground is super sandy here and full of tiny mean ants....not my favorite location, but all in all, a great place for the month!

 

 

Statue:  The Pioneer Mother

 

I so admire those amazing brave pioneers who forged a country from the wilderness with such courage and tenacity.  Paul and I are enjoying our journey in our own way!

 

Two days in a row!  hooray and Tally ho,

Cathy





Time Travelers

I am so behind in my blogging, if anyone is still checking, I may have lost everyone just through boredome!  I think I will just start from where we are now....altho we have been enjoying ourselves. Have been in Alabama a whole week already.  We are about 40 min. from Mobile, the closest large city.  Have made several trips there for groceries, church and Camping World.  The campground is in a wonderful location very close to the beach.  The weather has been excellent until today...how can we complain tho, it is still jacket weather!



Dauphin Island in the distance, this is the bridge you must cross to get there!

 

Campground entrance

 

 

 

Fiona does not like the water, but it is a beautiful beach and the water is warm!

We have been to see the light display at Bellingrath gardens just down the road.  Perfect clear warm evening and spectacular lights, Claudia and Paul and I enjoyed ourselves and agreed it was worth the price of admission.  Mr. Bellingrath made his money via Coca Cola!  We want to go back and tour the mansion, it looked lovely.
We get free wi-fi at the campground pavillion so that is where I am now.....