Straight out of retirement – for 2 weeks

We left Diamond Caverns RV Resort on Saturday July 17 at about 10:30, Acey’s mileage 75,352.7 and Thor has 88,728. We purchased Acey on March 27, 2019 with 55,051 miles, so we have driven just over 20,300 miles since then. We arrived at Piney River RV Resort in Bon Aqua, TN at 1:30. We had Tom & Christy coming for dinner, so we got set up and Linda fixed pastitsio while Jim went to the grocery for a few things.

Sunday we got up early to get to Sunday School and church – Bon Aqua is nearly an hour drive from Stephens Valley Church. Sunday July 4th we went to Niagara Falls and last Sunday we missed church again (Linda was in Oregon and JIm was moving); unusual for us – so it was great to be there in person today!

After church we met Chris for lunch; he is able to borrow a car while we are in the area, so Linda can have the Rogue to drive, and we returned his pressure washer. Starting Monday, Jim will be working at a paper mill in Waverly that he has helped support for nearly 40 years. They have a big project that they wanted him to work on, and since they are making it worth his while, we came back for him to come out of retirement for 2 weeks. We Zoomed with the family in the evening – the wifi is not really good here, so the zoom was a bust – we are in the boonies! To get to Piney River, you go to Timbuktu, take a left and go a bit further…

Monday Jim got up early and left for work by 6am – Linda was going to do some scanning of photos; a “rainy day” project she hoped to get done one day… but she discovered that the cords for the scanner were not in the box we had been hauling with us since Easter! Chris thinks he may have appropriate cords.

Tuesday, JIm went to work, Linda drove into Nashville and attended the Women’s Bible study. The study is on Genesis – and today’s lesson covered chapters 25-35; picking up where our Sunday School class left off! The study focused on the life of Jacob. After lunch, Linda ran a few errands – including stopping by Christopher’s place for the cords for the scanner (YAY!) and picked up some Amazon packages – and then met up with her old Bridge group to play for a couple of hours; had lousy cards, but enjoyed playing anyway – and seeing familiar faces!

Wednesday Linda scanned several photos. How fun to see some old photos, many she had never seen! Linda was not sure what the story was behind this photo, so she sent a copy to brother Ted. He said this one is from 1964 when he and cousin Dave went surfing off Long Island! This photo stirred up a lot of memories for Ted (13 yrs old at the time) and Dave (12) -Ted remembered “We surfed at Jones Beach or Gilgo Beach on Long Island while Mom & Dad visited another Bays franchisee. Not sure what the girls did. It was getting late in the day. Dave and I must’ve looked a bit forlorn. As a family was leaving, the woman said, ‘There’s some new potatoes on the grill. Help yourself if you like'”– Dave reminisced about their “subway/train ride to the end of the line on Long Island. Our parents let us do things back then that you wouldn’t dream of in today’s world.” How true that is!

Ted and the surfboards at a Long Island beach in 1964

Here’s Linda’s family with a couple of neighbor girls and cousin Dave – this may well have been around the time we went to New York in ’64; just leaving or just coming back!

The Mags were members of the Travelmaster Trailer club – #150!

Here’s a classic family photo – her folks had an enlargement of this shot hanging in Dad’s office – Rob has it now!

Linda’s Mom and brother Rob in Leland, Michigan

We visited the grandparents frequently when the kids were little – here’s the 4 grandsons all together!

Chuck, Christopher, Steven and Tom in July 1987

July 1991 at Connestee Falls – Laura, Vern, Bob, Louise & Rob

Even the best toys are never as entertaining as a big box! Chuck is watching the antics of Chris and Amanda!

July 1992 at the grandparents’ home in North Carolina

Thursday, Jim went to work and Linda met her friend Lori for breakfast and we walked nearly 3 miles on the Greenway at the Harpeth in Bellevue – it was a bit warm! It was good to see her and catch up – we used to walk together many years ago.

Friday Linda drove out to Waverly and met Jim for lunch and get a paper notorized – then she stopped at Walmart for a few things – and came back to Acey to work on bills and more scanning! Here’s a great photo from 1960!

Linda’s Grandma and mother – Mom looks great even with 5 kids under 10!

This one is a bit dark – but here’s 4 generations with Linda’s other grandmother in 1987!

Louise, Chuck, “Nana” Bob with Chris and Linda – Nana flew to North Carolina from California!

Saturday – Jim had a long day at the paper mill and Linda scanned some slides we found in storage. Here’s a fun one from 1968 — Linda’s parents named the Travelmaster “Wewanago” – and we did!

Linda went to Sunday School and church at Stephens Valley Church – it was great to be there in person again. Pastor Heath Cross had a message titled Getting Your Head into the Heavens based on Psalm 8. Heath talked about how God has revealed himself to us in two “books” – the book of scripture and the book of creation. You can see the entire service here (worth watching to hear Mary sing!) and click here to view the bulletin.

After the service, Eve, who also came for worship, had lunch with Christopher and Linda. Eve brought her computer along and Chris helped her by opening a Zip file that she couldn’t figure out how to open. It’s great to have a computer tech in the family!

JIm had a really long day at the paper mill on Sunday – and then had car trouble on the way home in the dark – trouble was evident when he went out for lunch, and things went downhill on the way home. He made it to the truck stop near the interstate exit and Linda picked him up – it was 10pm by then – we had to wait to call a tow truck in the morning!

So – on Monday, we got Thor towed from the truck stop to the Jeep dealer in Dickson, and Jim went back to the paper mill with the Rogue. The Jeep dealer will let us know by THURSDAY (?!) what is wrong and when we will be able to get it back. Linda got a courtesy ride back to Acey. So much for having 2 cars to use!

Tuesday we BOTH got up early so Linda could drop Jim off at 6am at the truck stop (the same one where we had left the Jeep overnight on Sunday) and have a co-worker pick him up to go back to work. Linda had the Rogue to go into Nashville again for Bible study, pick up the bikes (with no bike rack on the car), run more errands and then play Bridge. The cards were much better today; Linda and her partner Alva did well today!

Wednesday, we invited Lori and Rockwell to come for dinner and to see Acey.

Thursday the Jeep was ready! It needed a new throttle body – which was covered by the extended warranty. Jim was released early from the papermill, so we were able to pick up the Jeep before the dealer closed for the day! Linda finished scanning all the photos and slides we had on hand, so we can return the scanner to Chris for safekeeping.

It has been really hot here – in the 90’s – so we are really looking forward to cooler weather as we head up to Michigan next week! We decided to “bug out” of Bon Aqua and moved for an overnight stay at Grand Ole RV Resort – We drove past Nashville!

and half way to Park City, KY where we will stay for 2 nights before we leave Monday for Michigan. So, we left Bon Aqua on Friday with Acey’s mileage 75,489.2 and Thor’s 89,655 and drove an hour and 40 minutes to Goodlettsville. We went to Yazoo and had a couple of brews – here’s 2 Chrises and 2 Jims with Linda!

After that, we met Eve for dinner to celebrate her birthday – which is actually on Sunday.

Saturday morning, we left Goodlettsville at 9:45; Acey’s mileage 75,558.3 and Thor’s 89,687 – we arrived at Diamond Caverns in Park City, KY at 11. Sunday we went to church, had a last meal with Chris, dropped off a few things at storage and headed back to Kentucky. We Zoomed with the family in the evening. We leave in the morning for Michigan!

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6 thoughts on “Straight out of retirement – for 2 weeks”

  1. Loved the photos! l’ll be following this blog in the future. Safe travels and God bless the Compsons❤️

    1. It was great to connect with you Lori! Glad we had the oppotunity to meet Rockwell and spend some time with you!

  2. Thank you for posting those childhood memory shots. We sure had great parents. And I see Buchanan MI is just above South Bend, IN.
    I wonder if Travelmaster trailers are still being built in Elkhart IN.

    1. Sadly, I think the Travelmaster brand is no more; after 1998 it seems they were merged or bought out by Shasta. I remember always getting excited to see a Shasta back in the 60’s with their cute little wings hanging out on the back; darling!!

  3. Linda, a kick to see some of the old pictures. I told mom (Aunt Dee) that you and Jim were coming over on the 9th or 10th. She was happy to hear that. Sandy and I are looking forward to catching up. Drive careful in whatever you are coming over in.

    1. We are on our way to Michigan as I write. We hope to see you guys this week – its been too long! We’ll be driving the Jeep over – much more economical – and safe – than driving the motorhome in Chicago traffic!

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