“USA 🇺🇸 North Carolina ~Monthly Blog Series of….It’s Never Dull!! ~DECEMBER 2023”
We were so happy to finally arrive in North Carolina, in time for Christmas preparations and the actual Joyous Day, plus other “things.”
The original plan was for us to be here, by LAST Christmas, but between an unfortunate breakdown, whilst in Arizona, with our, then vehicle, “Rusty the Dodge,” plus our VW Bug, Jonah still getting restored; or what we now refer that as, “getting screwed up,” we were grounded, and unable to move, till a part, on backorder, could be found for Rusty, plus we were in a long line of vehicles ahead of us, also needing work. It just wasn’t meant to be, but waiting till this year was worth it, because we get a much longer stay with our family this time, than we would have gotten last Christmas.
It was another 6.5 hour day, coming from Congaree National Park in South Carolina, and we just drove into North Carolina; within hours, now, of getting to see our grandkiddos!!!!
They think we are coming in, tomorrow… hee hee hee
Luke turns 10, today, so we are NOT missing that birthday party!!!
So while the birthday party, with the the fam and a few of Luke’s buddies was going on at trampling jumping place, at “The Zone,” or something like that was going on, we were at their house, waiting for them to come home…
We hung out, and I noticed a few things:
⬆️ When Chelsie was born, I got this “skating bear,” for her first Christmas.
Chelsie is almost 40, and I passed the Christmas Bear to her, when she had our first grandchild, on her first Christmas, almost 13 years ago….A precious sight to see.
⬆️ Also, this “24 Days Till Christmas Countdown Tree!” I bought it 35 years ago, and passed it to Chels, when she had her first child.
So fun!!!
#kidsaresuchgifts
And this….. ⬇️
It started as a single cutting of leaves, and has grown big, and of course it’s Christmas, so it’s blooming! Chelsie has been babysitting my Christmas Cactus for all our travel years.
When the family did get home, and long after Chief; their pup, stopped barking at us for 1/2 an hours straight, because he did not remember us, Chels was ready with the phone video, and we were to pop out of the room near the kitchen. The code word was “okay.” But we couldn’t understand her or hear her, as we were behind a door, and with the dog being so excited they were home, and maybe a little, from us being on the 11th hour and all, because we drove a long ways to get there, in our outfit, park and get set up; and of course lots of kid commotion and all……
…..so it was pretty hilarious and unorganized, as Chels was “acting funny,” according to McKenzie…
Luke (in the green) was absolutely shocked and very surprised. They all were, and Kenz got emotional and Rylan was non plus-ed, as per is his norm……saying; “weren’t you guys suppose to get her on Christmas?”
Our Blog format does not support video, but we pulled off the surprise! Here are some (not so great) screenshots from the video, but ya get the idea:
The kids are all wrapping their brains around us being here for four months!!! So are we, for that matter!!!
What was the surprise hit of the whole evening, was Jonah the VW Bug. The kiddos checked her out, with awe… Luke said “it takes my whole body to open the window!” 🤣🤣🤣. I explained she was 51 years old and built way before automatic windows and locks, etc.
I also explained what her name was and the name of our Motorhome. “Jonah and The Whale.” Once they saw The Whale, their names were not lost on any of them.
Joey was flying out to a speaking engagement in Tennessee, day after we arrived (he was asked to and it was such an honor in the medical community, he was give time off work to speak at this conference) …..Anywho, so the rest of the family was to come to The Whale for dinner.
The last RV we had, which the kids saw us un, was “Tiny,” the 18’ Trailer. They know we got something “a little bigger,” but no idea we upgraded to a 42 foot Motorhome.
This was gonna be fun!🤩
“Tiny” the Trailer ⬇️
We were so small back then, we fit in their driveway at the house they lived in, on base. (Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base)
⬇️ Current day RV: “The Whale”
Anywho, back to the night of our arrival, to their house: Chelsie came outside, after her children did not come back in the house, and we were gone. 🤩 She knew right away, they talked me into a “spin around the neighborhood” in the Bug. The kids were ecstatic! They wanted to go fast, so I punched it. They screamed. They thought it was SO fast, because she makes a lot of noise for any effort. I only went 30 and they thought we were doing at least 45!!! 🤣🤣🤣
It was very dark outside, but Chels might have gotten some pics, when we came back from our “drive.”
Such a Fun evening, and Lukey picked an ice cream cake! He has good taste.
⬆️ Luke got a real soccer goal with net for this bday (group effort by both sets of grandparents).
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Well, a get-together at The Whale for the family and sleepover for the kids got postponed, when a Tornado decided to make an appearance in North Carolina!
…The storm we knew was coming, did, but it turned very serious, very quickly. We were really getting hit. This storm was no joke. This is not normal, when it’s not even hurricane season. It’s like a Tropical Storm, but with cooler temperatures.
We are staying optimistic for a Christmas blessing, because we’ve been dogged by the devil on the weather front, for the last six months in our Motorhome.
We are weary
We had to cancel a family gathering, with grandkiddos; dinner, sleepover, etc, due to these winds, and flooding. We have a long night to go, with the same, and maybe worse…..
We are so weary of terrible storms, and we rebuke Satan, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
A 50 -70 mph gust got us! Our superslide topper (it keeps the rain out) just tore about 6”…… we JUST replaced the full length topper, in September, since it was worn out, to the tune of $650
*life*
We had to make some quick decisions, I have a friend that lives nearby and we were in touch, recently, because we were arranging a get-together, next week. So talking with my friend, Kaylee, today, who knows what’s up, since her and her hubs live coastal and know we are also staying coastal; and not in a great location, if the tornado touches down where we are; while in our Motorhome. The Tornado will be coming off the water….She mostly just wanted to make sure we knew we had options.
Honestly, after our Tsunami evacuation we got while in Alaska last July, being quite alarming; after bring awoken in the dead of night, to leave the area for higher ground NOW!! (But our only route we had was TOWARDS the Tsunami)…….my senses were reeling, today!!!
Better to be safe than sorry at this point! So we closed up the slides (3) on the Whale, to prevent any further damage there, to the toppers, and turned our setting to auto, so our generator would come on when the power goes off (and it will) my friend, Kaylee and her hubs, Tom came to where we were at, and left us their 4×4 truck.
We had a short lull in the storm, and Daryl and I drove to Chelsie’s house. Joey is in Tennessee speaking at a conference, and left before this storm popped in. Nobody knew it would turn into a tornado.
We did not need our friends 4×4 to get to Chelsie’s, that afternoon, but we would possibly need it, to get back to The Whale, due to the flooding that was predicted.…..
How nice are our friends? THE BEST!!!
We left Jonah and The Whale locked up and said our prayers, and arrived safely at Chelsies house, where they are inland a bit more. The lull ended, and the storm just raged on.
🎼 “There’s got to be a morning after….” 🎵 🎶
Next day dawned beautiful. Sunshine and 60’s!!!! Thank for the prayers and thoughts!
We returned Kaylee and Tom’s truck and enjoyed our drive to their beach at their home, to do so. The surf was definitely still pounding, and there is some flooding and debris around, but otherwise, it is hard to believe a Tornado touched down, in the early hours, just south of our location!
Jonah and The Whale were just fine, and we were able to put all slides back out and move back in…..YAY
Chelsie and our kiddos are coming over for 2.0 dinner a little later, and the littles will stay for a sleepover, with no storms in sight!!!!
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We would also have decent weather, through Christmas. The day after the 25th, it was cloudy, and then all day and all night of rain. BUT, no Tornado, so it was doable!
Our grandchildren have grown up so much. They all have good singing voices, and they are very witty and make us laugh. They have manners and have been taught right. We hear: “Luke, take the garbage out, please.” To which he says: “Yes ma’am, or Yes sir.” I love it!
The kiddos all have an artistic flair, which is also fun to watch. So far, Kenz and Luke are athletic. Ry is still little, but he likes kicking the soccer ball around, too. Most importantly, they know who Jesus is and are not shy to share their thoughts on Him.
While visiting the campground, during the daylight, we just had to go tootling around in the Bug! Our grandchildren are all very close, as siblings. This just warms my heart. They all piled into the backseat of Jonah, so they could all sit, together.
We had so much fun, together. We made, baked and decorated Christmas Cookies. There was also some chill-axing going on, too.
In the morning, we had lots of snuggles, with a side of monkey business, then MeMa made her homemade Buttermilk Pankcackes, which they ate with gusto!
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Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was upon us. We sure had a busy and fun week of shopping, wrapping, driving around looking at Christmas lighting, baking and eating!
⬇️ The campground hosted a movie and craft night for the kids at their rec center. We were all most excited about that! But, on the day of, the woman in charge came down sick. We ended up having a fun party in The Whale, anyway, eating up the snacks we bought.
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Post Christmas
Way Fun Fact: I looked forward to the day when my grandkiddos got their own phone, so we could chat more often. Well, that time came this Christmas for McKenzie, when she got her first cell phone! Yay, so Next Level Fun!!
You know, I’ve always said; there are two that make getting older, tolerable:
1. Retirement
2. Getting Grandchildren
⬆️ Luke and Rylan are enjoying their new sleeping bags we got them for Christmas
More Sleepovers at MeMa and Grandpapa’s
Just in Case You Missed Other December Fun I Blogged About, Separately ⬇️
Christmas Eve and Christmas 2023 ⬇️
On “Amazing Grace,” with our Friends: Kaylee and Tom
Back On “Amazing Grace” and This Time The Grandkiddos Got an Invite!!
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Just before the end of the year, on December 30th, we all experienced a beautiful sunset in the area.
My grandaughter, McKenzie (12 years old) took this photo the other night, using her new cell phone camera, and using the side mirror on the car she was riding in.
She’s Got Talent!!
So proud of you Kenz!!!
❤️❤️❤️
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Next up, we move on to the New Year ~January 2024
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Archive Blog Posts of Our Country Visits
About Us
About Us
Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More