Still Living the Dream

Time flies so fast... can't even believe summer is here & almost gone! Since our last post, we've moved on from Charlotte and moseyed through Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and of course -- Colorado.

Our "front yard" in a lovely RV park close to Sevierville, TN

Our annual visit to Denver during the month of June now seems like a blur. But we had a fabulous time seeing our family, dear friends and of course all of our doctors, dentists and veterinarians. Whew! Seems like we always need a vacation after leaving Denver.  It's always great to see all the "folks" but amazingly, Denver no longer feels like home.  As beautiful as it is there, we are still thrilled to be on the road exploring the rest of this magnificent land. And the best part - it seems like we're on a permanent vacation and yet wherever we go, we are always home!

Currently we're just about to leave Bayfield, CO (just east of Durango) where we've spent the month of July. This is our 3rd visit to this lovely little spot and we continue to find new treasures - good restaurants & activities. It's a great place to relax after leaving the hustle and bustle of the city.

Beautiful meadows to explore

A nice view from Bayfield Riverside RV Park

Harley found his long-lost twin -- good times!

Who let the cows out???

Nice neighbors

I (Debbie) took the narrow gage railroad from Durango to Silverton with Chris & Jeanne while Steve enjoyed a long, quiet day at home with the kids.

No shortage of beautiful landscapes between Durango and Silverton

Silverton, Colorado

We've been full-time RV-ing now for almost 2 1/2 years and people often ask us if we still enjoy it. Well... in a word... YESSSSSS!!!!!  Like anything else in life, there are plus's and minus's but all in all, we cannot think of a more pleasant way to spend our time. The tranquility of this stress-free life is just amazing. Each and every day, we give thanks to God for our rich blessings. We feel so fortunate to be on this extended journey through such a beautiful land. All creation declares His majesty!

Although we feel like we're living in our own little ideal world, we can't help but pay close attention to all of the growing turmoil in the world and especially in the Middle East. It's crystal clear to me that we are headed toward WWIII and ultimately to the battle of Armageddon (in the valley of Megiddo near Jerusalem). If only people were more literate about the Bible and Bible prophecy in particular. Just read Psalm 83 for a quick example of how it describes what is happening right now in Israel. (Also Ezekiel 38 & 39 foretells of the end-time wars in Russia and throughout the entire Middle East). But there's good news! There's a very happy ending for believers -- even the persecuted Christians.

Below is a link to my favorite online resource - the Blue Letter Bible. It has every translation of the Bible (for quick comparisons & clarity) and has great search features. You can also download the free app from iTunes. The NLT (New Living Translation) is in my opinion, the easiest to read.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/

But I digress... next, we are headed to the small town of Ruidoso in the mountains of New Mexico for a visit with friends and a golf tournament for Steve.  Then we're headed to the great state of Texas -- our very first visit to this state. We'll go to San Angelo for a week and then we'll be staying in Austin from mid-August to mid-September.  After that - a month in Foley (near Gulf Shores) Alabama and then on to our winter home -- Destin, FL for our annual 3-month stay (mid-Oct thru mid-Jan). We are really enjoying the longer stays at each location.

Until next time...  you are all in our prayers. Wishing you sunshine, blessings and all good things.

A Sunny & Warm Florida Winter

They say once you've spent a winter in Florida... you're hooked.  (They are right!) We spent a fun week in December with Jeanne & Chris (sister & brother-in-law) just before Christmas.  What a great way to spend the holiday - with family and sunshine!

Sisters Debbie & Jeanne just outside the condo & our RV spot on Miramar Beach
(Destin, FL)

A beautiful view from Jeanne & Chris' 14th floor
hotel room (condo)

Chris & Jeanne at one of our favorite
Destin restaurants - "The Back Porch"

In January, we headed south to Clermont, Florida just outside of Orlando for a few weeks (chasing the warm temps & visiting with friends Joe & Carolyn) and then continued south to The Glades RV park in central Florida near Lake Okeechobee. We hadn't ventured that far south before. Pretty nice! Not very far from either the Gulf or Atlantic coasts. While there, we took a day trip over to Sanibel Island. Beautiful spot but traffic was horrendous. We're definitely becoming fonder of the smaller, more rural communities where the living is slow and easy!

Harley's not sure what to think of the
huge Sandhill Cranes (Clermont, FL)

The rat race - Steve & Harley down by the
river & marina near Lake Okeechobee, FL

Next we headed over to Ft Lauderdale. We'd heard about a huge Calvary Chapel church there and wanted to visit.  Most of the Calvary Chapel's we've been to across the nation have been very small so it was intriguing to find a large one. We stayed at the Aztec RV Resort which turned out to be an interesting experience. Almost everyone there were French Canadians who spoke little-to-no English so it cut down a bit on our socializing. But what a beautiful spot! It felt like we were living inside the Botanic Gardens! Too bad about the crime rate in south Florida, though.... seemed like there was a murder every night on the 10 o'clock news. We'd heard that about Miami, but it seems it's not much better in Ft Lauderdale.

Aztec RV Resort in Ft Lauderdale, FL

From there we headed back north again to Kissimmee (also near Orlando) to meet up again with sister Jeanne for the 3-day "Orlando Prophecy Summit." In addition to being students of the Bible, we spend a good deal of time specifically studying Bible prophecy & end-time events. Our favorite cable TV program is "Prophecy in the News" hosted by Gary Stearman who also hosted the summit. It was a fabulous conference with 24 "rock star" speakers. It was a who's who of prophecy scholars! The days were long (early morning to 10:30 at night) but we were riveted by all the information presented. We were familiar with most of the topics, but with this lengthy of an event, we felt like sponges absorbing a huge data dump. Fabulous!

Just arriving at the spectacular SeaWorld Renaissance Hotel

Host Gary Stearman (on the right) from the weekly TV
show "Prophecy in the News"

Jeanne at the book table with speaker, author and
researcher L.A. Marzulli

Steve enjoying a conversation with a fellow attendee before
one of the presentations 

Debbie & Steve with front row seats!  More than 2,000
people attended the conference.  Multiple presentations ran
concurrently which sometimes made it hard to choose!  

You can read more about the conference by going to www.prophecyinthenews.com

On April 1st, we arrived in St. Augustine, Florida on the Atlantic coast. It was our first time there as well. We'd only booked two nights but it was love at first sight... it's a place we definitely want to come back to and spend more time. Our campsite was right on the beach and dogs are allowed!!!  A slice of heaven!

These pics are from a walk in the woods in Canadys
(near Charleston) South Carolina.  

Springtime in the South!

Harley, Willie and Jimi are still loving life on the road!

We are currently in Charlotte, North Carolina for 3 weeks and looking forward to heading westward for our annual visit to Denver in June.

Until next time... we send our LOVE to all and hope to see you soon!