Hey everyone! We left San Diego in April 2026 and attended the San Francisco, CA; Portland, Oregon; and Denver, Colorado stamp shows. We made it in time to participate in the World Show in Boston as well. Wow, what a show.
We want to give a big shoutout to our friends at the Elks Lodges. They made this cross-country traveling so much better. We were safe and made new friends along our travels. Another shoutout to the folks who helped us unload/load all our stamps. It was so nice to hear, “What can I do to help you?” AWESOME. The assistance we received at the world show is also worth mentioning. Thank you to the men and women who helped move us smoothly.
Pat and I traveled in rain, snow, sleet, very cold and warm weather. Every day was a surprise as to what the weather would bring. However, it wasn’t the weather that became our biggest challenge. You see, in San Francisco the overhang at the front entrance is not posted. I watched buses fit under the overhang without difficulties. So, of course I was confident that if the bus could get under the overhang, I would be able to as well. WRONG.
Now, I’m driving really slow and I get about a quarter of the way under when I hear Pat yell, STOP. Of course I stopped. It was a bit late. The air conditioning unit is on the roof of the RV which did not fit to well under the overhang. Then, on top of all of that, we had to backup the RV down the ramp which of course is curved. Are you kidding me? No, that’s what we had to do. Now, there is no way I was going to let the stress get to me. Inside I was shaking like a leaf. However, on the outside it was a piece of cake. We moved inch by inch to get down the curved driveway. Did I mention it was curved? It took a while, but we were finally able to leave the parking lot of the hotel in one piece. We parked in the lot to assess any damage.
Did you all know that Pat is related to Spiderman? Yup, she gets on the roof of the RV and begins the process of securing a tarp around the air conditioning unit. Don’t ask me how she did it. Like I said, she is related to Spider Man.
Of course, with the unit being giggled around a bit it would rain on our travels. It arrived in the middle of the night. Now, here we are after midnight trying to place a bucket under the vent so none of the water would get into the RV. What a hassle. When the temperature dropped to the mid 30’s it got cold. We had no heat and no air conditioning. Oh my, another challenge. Off to Costco to purchase warm PJ’s for the extra cold nights. We survived!
Not all the adventures were a challenge. We managed to cook gourmet meals in the RV and Pat paired it with superb wine. Yummy. My favorite was teriyaki flank steak. Oh my, that did turn out well.
Today, at the start of this blog we are in Mystic CT. We walked all over town, went on a sailboat ride, then out to dinner with friends. What a perfect day. If you haven’t been to Mystic, Ct we highly recommend it.
We begin our next adventure in the morning. We are heading to Pennsylvania to spend some time in the Amish Village. We are looking forward to buying fresh herbs and spices. Maybe we will get a couple of Christmas Gifts along the way.
Will keep you posted on our next blog. Stay safe everyone and drive carefully. We look forward to seeing you all at the next stamp show in Grapevine, Texas and then again in Chicago. Let Pat and I know if you need a few stamps if you are unable to attend the shows. We will be happy to help you out, just send us a list of what you are wanting/needing