September 19, 2020

Dear Family and Friends,

After nearly six weeks of going without any internet at all, our problem seems to have been finally solved once and for all. Thanks to Nomad Internet—the name is perfect for us—we finally are connected to the outside world in every way…to include text messaging AND phone! I could never attempt to explain its details (that’s a Dave-thing) but believe me, it is absolute magic. Deep in the heart of the George Washington National Forest, we can surf the internet, make and receive phone calls, Zoom, watch TV, download books, stream videos, and listen to music—everything we’ve been unable to do since we arrived here on August 13th.

Up until now, our connectivity to the outside world has been extremely minimal and, at best, unreliable. I’d given up on even attempting to do anything internet-related while we were at home in the RV. I would only be able to check email and Facebook and make phone calls when we drove to Waynesboro (12 miles away), which was no more than twice a week.

I’d reached the point of acceptance after the first couple of weeks, probably because I’m about as technically-UNinclined as they come and am old enough to remember when there was life-before-internet. Poor Dave, though. Having been a computer systems engineer before retiring, he just could not/would not accept that a solution didn’t exist somewhere. After all, men had been sent to the moon and come back, for heaven’s sake! His discontentment with not having internet was such that he even went kayaking with me (once).

He recalled reading about a certain router in one of the RV newsletters we subscribe to and thus learned about Nomad. After our experience with the AT&T router though (it worked, but the cost was prohibitive), he was more than just a little leery and his expectations were low. Out of absolutely any other options, ordering the Nomad router was truly a last ditch effort.

But HOLY MOLY, it arrived yesterday, and it works GREAT! And it’s fast, too!

After weeks of seeing how frustrated not having internet made him, Dave is as happy as a clam now! If you’re interested in the particulars, I know he’d love to tell you all about it. His email is dave@lemonadefromlemons.com, and now that he’s able, he’ll be on the computer a lot. (I give him a hard time for being on Facebook, but to be fair, he still maintains our daughter’s company webpage and Twitter and Instagram accounts and needs to update them all several times weekly.)

While it seems like we just got here, we’re already at the midway point of our stay in Virginia. I can’t believe how fast time is flying, but as Andy Rooney said, “I’ve learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.”

Until next time, be well and be happy. And remember to wash your hands!😷

Love and hugs, Maria