The Farewell Tour - places to go, people to see!

So many things needed to be done before we left. We had vehicles to sell (camper, pickup), a car and motorcycle to deliver, household items and clothing that couldn't come with us, and family and friends to visit. We had to downsize (AGAIN), and somehow fit 5 checked bags, 2 carry-ons, and 2 personal items into a VW Jetta, pulling the Harley on a trailer. Thank goodness we still have a small storage locker in Port St Lucie, and we made several trips to pare down our belongings (and say bye-bye to the beach😢).

The camper and pickup sold quickly, and before we knew it, we were saying good-bye to Florida and making our way north and west. The great folks at Camp Central had a bon voyage party for us, complete with cake and Fireball. We have lots of fond memories of our friends there!

We made our way north through Alabama, with a stop to visit Randy's cousin Frank and his wife Amy. Their southern hospitality included a shrimp boil and the best peach cobbler. From there we traveled through TN, KY, and IL and arrived at Taylor's home in Davenport on Labor Day. He is graciously caring for the motorcycle until our return.

After lots of hugs (and a final nap with Gary), we left Taylor to his active life (busy job, softball, volleyball, officiating football, singing karaoke, etc.), with the promise of a sailing trip in his near future. (Is that a Vikings shirt he's wearing??)

Is that a Vikings shirt???

Randy and Gary

While in Des Moines we got to stay with our dear IA family, old EDS friends Ted and Linda Stetson, and meet their adorable new granddaughter. Randy had a chance to visit with some of the guys in his Men's Group, and I was thrilled to have one last breakfast with my old running crew - Sherri, Clare, & Stacey. We ran many many miles together, many many years ago!

Running Gals!

We cruised past our old homestead south of Bevington one last time, then made our way through KC to Wichita, where we visited Randy's brother Danny and his wife Susan and their grown up daughters. We then traveled on to Preston KS and spent some time with Randy's Aunt Ethel.

Our next stop was Pratt, KS, where we stayed for a few days to visit Randy's high school pal and his wife, Bob and Laura Gwin, and their son Vince. We also visited the Friend's Church in Haviland, and reconnected with several of Randy's friends and teachers from his college days.

Now we headed west, and made our way to Thornton CO, to the home of our daughter Rachael, her fiancé Austin, and their fur-kids Beesly and Mose.

While in CO, we had the opportunity to meet up with my Uncle Bob Fryberger, cousin Bill Fryberger, and Bill's girlfriend, his daughter, and her family. We discovered that one of the paramedics that Austin works with is actually Rachael's second (or maybe third?) cousin - its a small world!

We drove further west into the majestic Rocky Mountains to see Randy's oldest brother David, and his adorable pup Mist. We had a sunny picnic and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was the perfect time of year to catch the aspens in all their glory!

Our oldest son Brad flew down from MT for a quick visit, and it was great catching up with him. Oh - and getting hustled at the pool table (his no-look shot is a killer!!) And his toasted 'everything' bagel, with cream cheese, red onion, and a slice of tomato - you have to try it!

I'm pretty sure he'll also be crewing on the boat in the near future....

Our pals Jerry and Melva live in the mountains outside of Denver, and we met them again for a nice dinner.

As I said farewell to my 25+ year career, Rachael said hello to a brand new job as a contract attorney. We left our 6-speed Jetta in their driveway, knowing that one day soon she will get the hang of driving it in Denver traffic.

We packed up our remaining belongings (5 checked bags, each one was over 49 lbs, but under 50 lbs - a testament to Randy's expert packing skills!), and the kids dropped us off at the airport on Wednesday evening, October 5th. We began a long, dark journey - landing in Vancouver in the dark, taking off in the dark, and we didn't see the sun again until after we had landed in Taipei, Taiwan on Friday October 7th. Randy tried to explain to me that we had crossed the international date line, but I was low on sleep at that point and promised to study it later....

We landed in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Friday 10/7 right before noon local time. This felt like the final leg of our journey, but our adventure was just beginning!

View from our apartment in Ho Chi Minh City