May 7, 2021, Branson, Missouri.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see all the places you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” -Terry Pratchett, English Humorist, Author

I haven’t posted in more than a month because we were traveling, and just doing that was enough. We left Bandera in mid-March and arrived in Branson April 25th—1,921 miles and 11 stops in eight states later. Except for the explosive poopy fiasco in Meridian, Mississippi that was described in the previous post, this trip went very well. No flat tires, no awnings suddenly giving way for no apparent reason. We were blessed with good weather and not much highway construction or congestion to deal with. I drove at least half of the time (!) and I’m really enjoying it. All in all, it’s been smooth sailing.

The greatest amount of time spent in any one area was Hopkinsville, KY, where two weeks flew by way too fast. We spent as much time as time would allow hanging out with Kate and the grandkids (Bobby, 14 and Maeby, 12), going to Bobby’s baseball games, eating out, etc. It felt wonderful to be with family again.

We had just arrived in Hopkinsville when we got a phone call from the park ranger in Branson, notifying us that the opening of the Visitors Center was going to be pushed back from May 1st to the 16th.) Did we still want to come? They would understand if we didn’t want to for just two weeks; another couple had already bowed out.

Since this is the only volunteer opportunity we accepted for this year, it is disappointing that the 3-month position which was supposed to start March 1st has been whittled down to just two weeks. But it is what it is, and if the last year has taught us anything, it’s that things don’t always happen as planned.

We’ll make the most of whatever time we have. The location is beautiful; the Visitors Center is right by the dam, so we’re around lots of water. Volunteer RV pads are lovely—paved, spacious and shady—and back up to the trailhead of the Lakeshore Trail. And there’s enough to do in and around Branson that we won’t be bored. If the past couple of weeks are any indication, a lot of it will have to do with food, and ice cream in particular.

While we were in Kentucky, we bought a vehicle that we can flat-tow (all 4 tires rotating) behind Felix. Totally unplanned for, but something we had agreed to doing ‘someday’ months earlier. Well, someday comes when you least expect. This is a huge change from towing our car on a 20’ car hauler! I don’t know if everything that needed to happen would’ve happened if we hadn’t been in Kentucky, but once the ball started to roll, it took just five days for it to be a done deal (including driving to Maumee, Ohio to get it, almost 1,000 miles round-trip.) It must’ve been meant to be! (PS The car hauler sold in less than a week, the Juke went into storage for Bobby who’ll be 16 next year, and Kate inherited Dave’s scooter. And, our new vehicle is a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and we love it. So much so that I’ll probably write a blog about it someday.

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Speaking of Kate…some of you are genuinely concerned about her and always ask how she and HBC are doing. That really warms my heart, it truly does. (By the way, the business is doing great. She and Joey can’t brew beer fast enough. In fact, they just ordered a bigger brewing system.)

So she said it would be okay to share her exciting news with you: She was chosen by Samuel Adams as the winner of its 8th Brewer Experienceship program. Each year one craft brewer is selected to learn the art of brewing and business alongside Jim Koch, Samuel Adams’ Founder and Brewer, and others. In addition to one-on-one mentoring and financial support to attend industry events are also part of the Brewer Experience, Kate will be flown to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery and have the opportunity to brew a collaboration beer with the Samuel Adams team. We are so proud of how far Kate and Joey have brought HBC in less than five years. Congratulations, Kate!

When we leave here on June 1st, we’ll begin a summer of two weeks here, two weeks there. We had planned to go on a 30-day tour of the Great Lakes starting in mid-July. When we originally made the reservations, the first leg of the tour was to start from Niagara, New York and cross into Canada for about 10 days. But since the border is currently closed with no reopening date in the near future, the trip was re-routed to places we’ve, unfortunately, already been. We debated and debated, and finally decided to cancel, rationalizing that going to Canada was a big reason for going on the tour in the first place.

So, the summer will be spent exploring Army Corps of Engineers’ campgrounds in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa—not the most exotic of itineraries, but all new experiences for us anyway. September will be spent in South Dakota. That’s the plan, at any rate. As always, time will tell.

Until next time, peace, love, hugs, and now, SMILES. No mask mandates here! –Maria 😃