We wish you a Joyous Holiday Season and the Happiest of New Years!!! 

As we began to think about Christmas and the year coming to an end, we reflected on our past year and thought you would like to know where we went, what we did, and if we still like our full-timing lifestyle. 

Last New Year's Eve found us in Central Florida. We published our first Newsletters in January and have printed one each month since. From Florida, we spent most of our time slowly inching west until we ended up in California. Then we went back to Michigan for the summer. 

We were in Mississippi and Louisiana in January enjoying national seashore parks, warm hospitality, Mardi Gras, and good food. A new grandson was born on January 29. Kristopher was born in England to son Jim and his wife Sue. 

We enjoyed two fantastic months in Texas (February and March). What contrasts: the big city of Houston, the quieter and lovely Austin and San Antonio areas, the lively Rio Grande area full of retirees ready to party, the remoteness of Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountain National Parks. We danced, played lots of tennis and bridge, enjoyed family visits, climbed mountains ---we just had lots of fun. We started writing our book---An Alternative Lifestyle and the Newsletters got fancier. It went from two pages to five and our "subscription" list grew to 50. 

April found us heading toward Los Angeles, California, for the April 28 wedding of son Mark and his bride, Ana. On the way we visited more family in New Mexico and Arizona. 

Right after the wedding, we headed back to Michigan with a short stop in Las Vegas. We were back by May 17 and stayed in Michigan until the middle of September. Most of our camping in June and July was in family driveways. We attended four family reunions, camped with the granddaughters, attended several high school graduations, and celebrated the wedding of our good friends, Jim and Norma. 

Most of the month of August was spent exploring Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We sent out applications for volunteer positions at two national parks and two national forests, in the mid south, for the months of October and November, so we could easily get back to Michigan for the December 1 wedding of daughter Susie to Ross Curtiss. We received replies from all and accepted positions at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. We worked on the book some 
and the Newsletters got real fancy—we added photos and five more pages. 

October and November in Arkansas were wonderful. The climate was near-perfect. Their mountains were full of color. Yes, we would consider settling down there someday. Who knows? We loved our volunteer work and spent five days a week in the visitor center helping in many ways. We led tours, developed a computer program to expedite scheduling and worked the information desk. We liked it so much that we applied to six parks in the southwest, for the months of February to June. Where we go next depends on the responses. If there are none, we will just frog around in the southwest (Texas, Arizona, California) until the coast is clear (winter weather is gone) before heading northwest. We have a lot of sightseeing to do. 

Guess we don't need to tell you that we still really love this lifestyle. We have met so many wonderful people, seen so much of this country, and know that we have only scratched the surface. As we circle the country and come into your area, you can be sure that we will give you a call. It would be nice if we could get together for a while. Write when you get a chance. We love mail. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!