Fall Recap!

Greetings from the senior Marstons!

  

We trust your activities have been good. 

As usual our activities are full 

of hustle and bustle.  

We hope this has been 

on the productive side of life!

We left our TN home on Nov. 25, 2014 bound for a visit with son Kevin 

and our family in Waynesboro, TN. 

Kevin is a United Methodist Minister 

and our daughter/law is a teacher.

We had a good visit and departed on Dec. 1.

             

Our immediate destination was to a trusted independent repair in Guntersville, AL  We had some small issues with our furnace.

Next we headed south making one night stops in Gadsden, AL, Thomasville, GA and Chieftan, FL.  The last stop is just 80 miles from our park in Leesburg but it drops us into our very poorly lit park to get much set up 

done on  sand.

In Gadsden, AL we stayed in a city run large park, Noccalulu Falls.  The park is named 

for a distraught Indian maiden 

who jumped to her death 

at the falls 

rather than marry into the Creek Tribe.

We are into our park, Holiday Travel Resort of Leesburg, FL on Dec. 4 until April 4, 2015. Volley Ball, compu ter and band activities will fill some of our time.   Click and look.

HTR Volley Ball 

HTR Computer

Strike Up the Band

We continue to make preparations for 

Frustrated Maestro events in Sarasota, FL,

 Goshen, IN and Madison, WI through

July 2015.



Frustrated Maestro Blog
or http://www.frustratedmaestros
.blogspot.com/

In September we traveled to Marion, NC for GEAR’s Music Camp at Tom Johnson RV.  We caravaned to the Western North Carolina Fairgrounds for a FMCA area rally.  As usual these weeks are filled with rehearsals and performances on an intense 

and rewarding schedule.  

We arrived home on Oct. 7.  The fall at home included prescheduled medical appointments, music arranging and ends with massive leaf removal from our tree laden yard.  

Meanwhile we begin to inventory our packing needs to be off again for 4.5 months.

Lulu, our neighbor’s cat, continues to live with us.  She has a kitty window, lights, radio, plenty of food and our neighbor is sure she is in each evening with her kitty window closed.  Lulu does not do rain, wind, cold, hot, noise!

She spends her time in one of her comfy beds.  Lulu and Charles find lots of bonding time.  

Her demands!

As we roll toward our winter home our two greyhounds snooze in their open crates 

on our bed.  

PeeDee, 9 year old cat travels with us as usual. 

2014 Summer Travels

We arrived home to Franklin, TN on April 27, 2014 from our winter away.  Please see the blog below this posting for our winter time activities.

This is the view from our backyard that welcomes us home. 

There are always all of the first at home things to do which includes unstacking and unpacking our flood proofed house.  Again…refer to the blog below when we prepared for floods!  No floods this year!

We left on May 7, 2014 for a trip to our factory in Red Bay, AL.  There are no longer appointments made so we were there a week before we could leave with our list complete.

On the return from Red Bay, AL…we were anxious to see where our son was moving for his next Methodist minister position in Waynesboro, TN.  This is just off the Natchez Trace Parkway, a route we often take.  Unfortunately after we turned a town too soon we rounded a corner in Collingwood a little short and dropped the right back tire into a culvert.  After grinding our teeth and gunning our escape we learned we had cracked the right passenger windshield.  Said windshield will be replaced at the end of our next trip to Asheville, NC.

Our Methodist Minister son was moved this year from Decherd (TN) United Methodist Church, 5 years, east to 

Waynesboro, TN First United Methodist.

Our part in their move was to keep his two dogs and two cats for a week.  We then loaded Noah’s ark, two by two…and drove the grandpets to their new home.  Grandsons were most eager to see them.  We also had our two greyhounds and one cat with us.

We enjoyed Rich and Freda Kale and marvelous cat Rascal parked in our driveway in their motor home while we had our grandpets in the house.  While a brief visit we took in some of the Civil War sites in our Franklin, TN home town.

July 7, 2014 we departed our Franklin, TN home for a trip to Essex Junction, VT (Burlington, VT) for a Frustrated Maestro Rally. We spent 4 nights with friends, Rea and Joy Edenfield, at Shelburne Campground in Shelburne, VT.  One evening we drove to Lake Champlain for a nice float under that wonderfully full moon.  We floated just before dusk and were safely back home by dark.

Charles directed the Frustrated Maestros for this NEAR event…North Eastern Area Rally. This event was July 14-21, 2014.

From Essex Junction, VT we headed to Freeport, ME to LL Bean. Our campground was a short 5 miles to the paradise of shopping for folks who love the outdoors. 

But…our main goal was to purchase and have installed a Hulluvator.  This amazing contraption hoists the kayak onto the roof of the Honda with very little effort by Charles.  We have waited many years for this luxury.

We started our trek southwest stopping in Watkins Glen, NY on one of the Finger Lakes…Seneca. 

This is our third stop at Clute Park, on the lake, and we had wonderful floats.  A Maine Coon cat was returning to its boat after a walk on land.  His brother was in the boat.

From NY we spent one night in PA and landed at Gary Freeman COE near Sutton, WV.  Unknown until we got there we had many short and curvy roads before the drop to the campground.  Here we found a lot of campers all surviving with very little cell coverage.  Need we say more!?!

The float was beautiful on a calm inlet.

Next we had a contrast with two nights at the Horse Park in Lexington, KY.  What a wonderful place where the Horse Meca of the world is.  We enjoyed and biking to these events of the weekend.

Our final stop was at a COE (Corp of Engineers) at Jamestown, KY…Cumberland Point.  The park was pretty, very difficult because of steep drop offs to the water and small. 

Our site was between two trees around a sharp corner.  While backing Charles into our site I was watching the front right mirror while standing in poison ivy..and suddenly realized, just in time, we were backing into a tree!! 

Our walking was limited and the bikes never came off the car.  We did drive the boat down the long ramp to the water for one float.  A first for us was leaving two days early…………………..to home!

We have been home since August 7 and will leave on September 9 for North Carolina.  This area Maestros sponsors a Music Camp to be this year in Marion, NC at Tom Johnson RV, Sept 16-20, 2014.  From here the group will caravan about 40 miles into Asheville, NC for the GEAR rally Sept. 21-28, 2014. Maestros will perform one of the evening entertainments.  Charles will be directing both of these.

We will be back in Franklin, TN and our home by the middle of Oct.  This depends on the length of time we have to spend in Red Bay, AL to have our windshield replaced.  In between, Oct. 3-5, 2014…we will drive the 78 miles to our son’s and help him celebrate the big 50 year birthday.  Oh me…how did that occur so fast?

Our Daughter/Law celebrates on Oct. 6.

It is always good to hear from you via our E mail address.

2014 Winter Recap!

To say that this has been a whirlwind season away would be an understatement!

Fall at home always means leaf pick.  We enjoyed our family over Thanksgiving, 2013.  Three days later we had “packed and stacked” the house in an attempt to stay high and dry.  Thank goodness our efforts were not needed but our efforts provided us comfort.  No water.

 

 

We arrived at Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg, FL on Dec. 4, 2013.  Same site for 10 years with good neighbors.   http://www.holidaytravelresort.com/

December 4, 2013 we divded into Volley Ball and Computer activitiers while completing a refinance of our Franklin home.  We now own our coach free and clear kissing Bank of the West goodbye.

 

Charles continued to manage the very active volley ball season as he has for several years.  His “work” included organizing daily teams, making announcements, coordinating with the park, setting up and running the Challenge Tournament and the annual Tournament.   Team selections were made and posted on the V ball blog.  www.htrvolleyball.blogspog.com

It is always fun to watch the hits to the site increase just before tournament.  The V Ball season wound down with the yearly Spring Social potluck and awarding of the woodels (metals..made by Charles) to the first and second place winners of the tournament.

Roxie continued to work with the Computer TEAM.  This group offers Monday morning Help and maintains wifi and the public computers. 

 

“Strike Up the Band”, the park band begun three years ago by Charles, met on Fridays.  This year they played for the Volley Ball Spring Social.  This small group is tuneful and artistic and growing.  www.htrband.blogspot.com 

 

 

We did manage to get in some Therapy Dog Visits through our Florida Paws Therapy Dog Chapter.  We did get to eat out with them one time.

 

While these activities were not quite exhausting we were more than knee deep with Frustrated Maestro performances at two events. 

In February the FMCA Southeastern Area Rally met in Brooksville, FL and Charles directed.  Please see www.frustratedmaestros.blogspot.com for Maestro events that Charles directed.  This blog covers all Maestro chapters throughout the USA.  This is Brooksville, FL and the Southeastern Area Rally or SEA.

In March International FMCA met in Perry, GA.  Charles directed this international event. 

Be sure to go to www.frustratedmaestros.blogspot.com and select Perry 2014 You Tube to hear this outstanding  group of volunteer musicians.  So twice in this season we turtled off our sandy site in Florida.

 

Simultaneously E mail plans were flying to set up the FMCA Northeastern Area to be in July in Essex Junction, VT.  (Burlington, VT)  Charles will direct.

 

Charles accepted the request of the International President of FMCA to direct the International FMCA to meet in Madison, WI in the summer of 2015. 

 

Also, in the last few weeks plans are forming for the Feb. 2015 Frustrated Maestros in the Southeastern area to be in Sarasota, FL.  This rally has moved away from the Hernando County Airport in Brooksville, FL.  We will have real buildings and shore power! 
We are finally "past tense-tents!"

 



Our preparations for events overlap!

On April 5, 2014 we departed  our Winter Home in Leesburg, FL…Holiday Travel Resort and rolled toward Gaffney, SC to have our yearly service at Freightliner.  We stopped in route close to Augusta, GA at a Corp spot at Modoc, SC on Strom Thurman Lake.

We have traveled into East TN to Dandridge and visits with Marstons family members and friends for 10 days.

From Dandridge we will go east to Asheville, NC the last weekend in April to be a part of the Greater Eastern Area (GEAR) Rally plan which will be in September in Ashville.  Charles will be directing.  Two days before we will join our Sharps and Flats president  at Tom Johnson, RV, Marion, NC to look over the facilities for Music Camp 2014.

 

You can look for us to head west at the end of Sept. to be home a bit, rake leaves, make woodels, do yard work

and prepare to do it all over again starting with having our family for Thanksgiving before heading south in December 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seasons Greetings 2013

We wish for you and your family a fulfilling holiday season. 

Our year has been filled with a winter season at our Florida Home in Holiday Travel Resort, Leesburg, FL.....   

….and summer travels to Gillette, WY for the International FMCA convention.  Charles played and directed some.

We traveled in KS, SD and spent the month of July in Iowa. We enjoyed a week at the Seven Amana Colonies, Iowa and spent two weeks in beautiful Corp parks in Iowa.

At the end of July 2013 Charles directed the Frustrated Maestros of the Midwest in Manchester, IA.

After a few weeks at our Franklin, TN home we spent 3 weeks getting to PA.  Charles directed Music Camp sponsored by the Sharps and Flats of GEAR in Gettysburg. nThis was the week of the government shut down.  The trail riding horses at Artillery Ridge Campground were a treat to see each day as they waiting to return to the trails.  This week was followed by the GEAR event in York, PA.

Sadly we lost of beagle Lucky at the end of this trip.  She had gotten very ill and we let her go Oct. 18 upon returning to Franklin.  She was between 16-18 years old.  She adopted Roxie in 2006 and was a wonderful traveler.

 

We have our two Greyhounds Daisy and Heidi and our 7 year old cat, PeeDee. 

 Seven weeks in TN in Oct and Nov. has allowed us time to mulch many leaves and have our family for Thanksgiving.

We are now in Leesburg, FL at Holiday Travel Resort.  We are on the same spot…for the last 10 years enjoying our neighbors and computer and volley ball activities.  This very large park affords us much space for walking.

We hope you had a nice holiday.

The Marstons, Charles, Roxie, 
Daisy, Heidi, PeeDee.