The Adventures of Jim & Rhonda

The last 6 weeks has been loaded with activity! For myself, life back at GET is busy, busy! Bookings are still slow with the down economy but I’m having to learn two new reservations systems within company and then last week we also changed over to a different airline computer system. My brain is a bit fried but..they say knowledge is power right?! Jim’s work is also keeping him busy. With he & Mike now the only 2 employees at their location they constantly on their toes. However, for both of us it sure makes the days go by quickly.

We’ve been having amazing weather, although very changeable from day to day. We have gone camping twice in the last 6 weeks and then spent Labor Day weekend at Ron & Dario’s mountain cabin with them and some other friends. It was rainy & chilly but that was perfect for eating too much, drinking too much, and reading by the fire. Nice!

Sep 11 -13 we headed off for camping at Cape Lookout, on the Oregon Coast. We hadn’t been to that campground before and arrived on Friday at noon to find the most perfect day imaginable. For anyone who hasn’t been to the Oregon coast, well, let’s just say it’s not always shorts & tee-shirt type weather! However, on that day it was around 75degrees, sunny, and miracle of miracles, no wind! We got camp set up and spent the afternoon playing on the beach with Maddy…wonderful time. After heading back to get jackets and some drinks we had a fantastic sundowner on the beach with a glorious sunset. Sometimes, things just all come together!

The next day, alas, wasn’t quite as nice, although fairly warm and no wind. We took several long walks on the beach, bummed about, and headed into Tillamook to get Jim a new beach chair, his finally having bit the dust after being ripped for over a year.  A storm blew in late that night and we had to get up around midnight to batten down the hatches, throw some things into the car and tent , stack everything down a bit better.. I fear the sunshade may not survive that wind. No worries.. up Sunday to head home fairly early and were shocked to find brother in law Ken home from deployment for the week!! Amazingly enough, pretty much EVERYONE else knew but us (they were getting us back for surprising them when we got home from our RTW) and no one spilled the beans.

Obviously, with that new development, Sunday night turned into a welcome home party and Monday morning was messy to say the least. Lucky me, I got to sit through 7hours of training on the new airline system. Oh joy! However we survived and started a busy week, dinner together, the boys taking a camping trip for 2 days with Ken’s brothers, and my pulling out my back a bit unloading the new keg (well, we had to have a new keg you know!) Friday night commenced with enchilada night at our house and what seemed like gallons of tequila. Ken was off again Saturday morning but, fingers crossed, may not have to actually leave to Afghanistan until October.

We have decided to go to Puerto Vallarta for our 20th anniversary next year. Jamaica was becoming a bit complicated trying to use miles, the hotel we wanted wasn’t availabel, etc. and when we started talking about it we realized that, although we do still want to get to Jamaica, Puerto Vallarta has such meaning to us we should go there. We’ve been there more than a dozen times. it’s sort of our place of refuge at moments like after my mom passed away as well as where we go to really just get away and relax. So, planning is going full force. Can’t wait to see our old friends on the beach.

As far as other travel goes, I spend my lunch hours drooling over other peoples blogs at bootsnall.com. We are still planning our next getaway for 4-5 years down the road and I’m honestly not sure we’ll last that long. Whenever I read a blog about a couple who has decided to NOT follow the path everyone expects them to and decides life should be about more than working 40-60hrs a week just to get by I remember that  is what we want too and we’re already straining at the bit. We really want to lead a “life less ordinary” and while we made a good start with our RTW, we’re not done!

One good thing about being back at work is that I’m writing a lot of catalog and webpage copy and even did a couple short blurbs for our ads in AARP so maybe I can get some travel writing thing going, even just freelance every so often.. that would certainly help keep us on the road longer. Until then, we’ll keep doing our thing, still enjoying spending most of our time together and dreaming of past and future travel and plotting the next departure. Until next time,Still living the Dream!

Cheers, Jim & Rhonda

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