“Goodbye you Old Acres of Mudd”

Mary and I love the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  After George Bailey’s enlightenment, he is very appreciative of his little town, and as he rushes home he says “Hello you old Building and Loan”, and “Hello you old movie house”, etc.  So now every time Mary and I get sentimental about arriving or leaving places we say “Hello or goodbye you old…..”

Our old house in Olympia has a sign on the driveway that says Acres of Mudd.  This refers to the mud in the bay at low tide.  We drove by today for the last time before we head out toward Florida.

Much has happened since our last blog entry….The dolphin swim trip to Bimini was fantastic, and we attended a great Fairy Congress event in the Washington Cascades.  Our house finally sold and we sold off most of our furnishings.  We have been living in the fifth wheel trailer in Matt and Tiffany’s driveway for more than six weeks now.  

My son Matt and his wife Tiffany had their first child Rowan on July 19^th. Rowan and her mom and dad are doing great.  My sister Tammy came up from California to help out, and I know Matt and Tiffany really appreciated her experienced help and support. 

Last week, Mary and I drove our van and Prius with our remaining belongings to Sarasota to put in storage until we arrive in the fifth wheel trailer.  The drive was long and hot and we had to replace a few tires and a part on the turbocharger on the van. We ended up driving slowly (under 60 mph) because of these van issues while trucks and cars whizzed past us at 75-80 mph. Mary was not very excited about driving behind the van and having to look at my    motorcycle hanging on the back for 3300 miles, a motorcycle that Mary thought I should have waited to get in Florida.  She was right!

We are leaving in the morning for a more leisurely trip across the country in Ozzie (the truck) and Harriet (the trailer). This is our opportunity to experience some areas we missed on our first cross-country ramble, and to make sure we cover the four states we missed (North Dakota/Nebraska/Oklahoma/Arkansas).  We will try to send a blog entry after each stop. If you have any must see or do suggestions please don’t hesitate to email.

So it’s Goodbye, you old Puget Sound, Goodbye you old Mt Rainier, Goodbye you old Orcas Island, Goodbye you Old Olympia, and a fond farewell to Washington family and friends.