15 Apr 2023 - Friends from Afar

 

Jimmy and Jan Roberts arrived at our campground today!

We hung around the campground today.  The truck never moved.  Doreen snuck in a load of laundry in between grandkids sports updates:  

 

Grandson Jon Ervin bowling in the Wisconsin State Youth bowling tournament in Appleton WI

Grand daughter Lindsey Buehner (#3) competing in Indiana volleyball tournament

Grandson Daniel (pink) competing in baseball tournament in West Des Moines IA (file photo)

The only one of these that was streamed was the baseball game which we watched until the rainout, and then the rest of the tournament including tomorrow, was cancelled due to weather.

As I write this our oldest grand daughter Hailee is attending prom tonight!

More coaches rolled into the campground today and we noticed another Alliance coming in.  As the whole Alliance FamAlly is a pretty tight knit group, there would be a chance we would know them, at least from Facebook.  We did not bother them as they parked in their spot, set up and got settled.  We figured we would walk by later and see if they were out.  

A little later we got a knock on the door and WOW, it was not only another Alliance owner that we knew but also a guy I served with in the Iowa Air National Guard for years and years - Jimmy Roberts and his spouse Jan! He noticed our coach and then noticed the Iowa Firefighter license plates and knew it had to be us.  Jimmy was assigned to the Civil Engineering Squadron and worked fulltime for the State of Iowa as the painter on base.

Another of Jimmy and Jan Roberts who arrived at our campground today!

Jimmy and his Alliance Paradigm 390MP, same model our daughter owns.

We took Liberty for a walk later on and stopped to see them at their campsite.  They had arrived today from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, on their way west after spending the winter at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa FL.  Jimmy and Jan full time in their Alliance coach.  We shared a lot about our experiences and places we had visited.  I have not seen Jimmy for quite a few years except on Facebook.  It was great to talk with them and we look forward to talking with them more before we leave here Monday morning.

Our kids bought us a meat package from Fareway (local grocery store) for Christmas to take on our trip. Fareway super-freezes it so it travels well in our freezer.  Doreen divided the package in half and only brought part of it on what we are calling "Phase I" of the trip.  We will pick up the other half when we are home in July.  So we grilled one of the steaks tonight, enough for both of us, and it was delicious!  We don't buy a lot of beef so it was a treat for us. Thanks kids!!

 Life is good on the road!  That's it for today, except for the late Cubs-Dodgers game on Jackie Robinson Day tonight.  Tomorrow we will make preparation for our departure Monday morning.