Author: Easin' Along

It’s January and things are slowing down.  The Christmas rush is behind us, Helen (adorable wife) is in the final stages of celebrating birthday month, and cold days and nights are keeping us pretty buttoned up. On Sunday of this week, the skies cleared, temperatures warmed, and the rain finally moved out.  This delightful weather motivated us to move outdoors so we took the opportunity to attend the annual RV Show in nearby Sevierville, Tennessee.

Readers may remember that last year we went to this same show and a new 26-foot travel trailer followed us home. This year, we vowed not to repeat that event, but we did want to see the latest and greatest of new models for the upcoming season. We also wanted to put our names in all of the door prize boxes.  Maybe we would win a free trip to a fancy RV resort in someplace warm. We made the forty-mile drive under blue skies and the mountains soon came into our view.  

Sunday is the last day of the show and it ends at four o’clock. We arrived at two that afternoon. Nevertheless, the parking lot remained crowded and people still lined up to purchase tickets. Helen and I hustled inside and filled out a few slips for some attractive door prizes (Florida vacations).

Once inside, the new RVs glimmered in the bright lights like well-polished gemstones. There were motorhomes, fifth-wheels, and travel trailers of every stripe. We walked into a motorhome in the first aisle with a list price of over $302,000. The picture below gives a view of the living area all the way to the bedroom. I liked the reclining chairs and the comfortable seating for the driver.  Helen liked the cozy dinette for a place to work puzzles.

The second motorhome (top of page) was a bit larger and featured a fireplace and a cedar closet in the bedroom. It had tons of storage and closet space, a great feature in RVs where storage can be a scarce commodity.  Helen does a great job of organizing our trailer, but more room would be nice.

We toured a fifth-wheel trailer near the rear of the exhibit hall that was about as nice as it gets, although there seems to be no end to the features or floorplans found in modern recreational vehicles. Unlike most fifth-wheels that feature the master bedroom on the “second floor”, this RV placed the living room in that space. Helen cozied up on one of the couches and let the fireplace lure her into thoughts of a nap. I loved the kitchen that featured a full-size refrigerator and lots of very nice cabinetry.  The bedroom also had nice cabinets and a large closet. I could get used to this one…list price $105,000.

In all of the RVs we toured, the one feature that I appreciated most is how well-lit all of them are on the inside. All of the pictures shown here are good examples of the lighting in each, and most of it is efficient LED lighting placed around the RV both overhead and along the floor. An abundance of windows help, of course, but good lighting inside of cabinets, closets, and storage spaces are must-have as far as I am concerned.

As the afternoon wore on, we toured a few of the smaller RVs, such as the Mercedes Sprinter vans, and the smaller coaches known as Class C RVs.  They are all nice and preferred over trailers by some, but we like to park our RV, hook up the utilities, then shop or sight-see by a separate vehicle. We went across the country almost two years ago in a rented Class C that we named Sherman.  We have a lot of fond memories of that trip and both agree that it is a great way to sample RV living without having to make a purchase. We rented that one from Cruise America.

By the time the show closed at four, we had made our way in and out of a lot of RVs but left convinced that our RV suited us as well as anything we saw that day. We managed to keep our vow that a new RV would not follow us home, as well we should because we purchased a new fifth-wheel three weeks ago. I even handed out a slight hint.

We wrote recently about having cocktails in the “annex” during our annual meatloaf party. Well, the annex was our new fifth-wheel parked behind the house and hooked up so that we could share it with our friends.  We love this new trailer, and, after several tries at various RVs, we both agreed that we have it right this time. It has plenty of room, plenty of storage, and is so easy to hook up and to tow. We plan to take it on a “shakedown” trip to the mountains next week to prepare for our trip to Arizona. Please come back for a complete review.

For now, we are naming this trailer Gracey II because we like the name and Gracey I gave us a great deal of fun. Nevertheless, Helen and I are open to suggestions for a perfect name for our new family member.  She is pictured here. We feel so very blessed and are very eager to take our readers with us as we begin another year of just…Easin’ Along.

Right on cue, the doorbell rang at 6:00 pm on January 3^rd. I opened the door and five attractive, well-dressed ladies marched inside, all wearing Mardi Gras masks. Immediately they assembled at the bottom of the steps and began at once to sing.  January 4^th is Helen’s birthday (one of those “zero” birthdays). She had no idea this was coming and that’s what makes our friends such a delight.

Last week I posted about our annual meatloaf dinner which was a fun-filled evening as usual.  The next day I got a call from a member of the group and learned that plans were well underway for the ladies to kidnap Helen and whisk her away to dinner at a downtown restaurant. I was so thrilled for her that I could barely contain myself.  January 4^th is a horrible date for a birthday.  It falls too close to Christmas when no one wants to shop and everyone is partied out…except this bunch.

When the singing began, Helen came out from her she-shed study with a smile so large, I was afraid her face would crack.  Hurriedly, I grabbed my camera to capture the moment, but the flash didn’t sync very well and things came out a bit blurred.  Nevertheless, I posted it anyway thinking that the moment, and the masks, gave out an artsy feel.

The masks have been around for a while.  I think they found them on one of their annual girl’s trips to Hilton Head and seem to come out on rare special occasions. I thought this was a place for them, especially since this occasion featured a kidnapping. Those masks are very realistic, and it is sometimes difficult to determine where the masks end and faces begin.  Here is a group shot.  The honoree is somewhere in the middle. Cuteness reigns supreme!

Champagne from a bottle with screw-off cork (loved it) flowed, with birthday cards read aloud.  I retired to the man cave but kept creeping back to the center of activity as the champagne helped bring the laughter to increasing levels of volume with each humorous card reading. Helen received a gift of a handful of quarters. It seems that her reputation as a casino aficionado has spread. I’m sure they will be a source of good luck.

The doorbell rang again. I opened it to greet Roy, a sharply-dressed young man who owns and operates The Southern Gentleman, a personal concierge service.  Roy was the designated driver for this evening, but he also provides a variety of services to numerous clients around our city. Click here for a link to The Southern Gentleman website.

Roy gathered the champagne and helped the entire birthday party into his impressive SUV.  Everyone gave out a smile to the camera and before I could ask what was for dinner, the doors closed and everyone was off. I think Helen gave me a “Goodbye, Honey”, but I couldn’t be sure. Oh, well…it’s her night, I’ll find a baked potato somewhere and basketball on the tube.

Pictures from the evening began arriving by text. One showed Helen checking out a pair of ice skates beside the downtown ice rink. I hoped they were just props, we had enough knee trouble last year.  Another picture arrived showing the partygoers gathered around the bar at Emelia’s, a favorite downtown restaurant.  Everyone appeared to be in good shape.  The last picture I received featured Helen in front of a menu.  I’m not certain if it came from Emelia, but I agree with the sentiment.

Late in the evening, Roy returned with Helen and one of the celebrants who came to pick up her car. Roy had completed his assignment well and said he had almost as much fun as they did. By that time, I was ready for bed, but not Helen.  She was wound pretty tight so I got to hear about each course of the dinner and a thorough discussion of each dessert. It all sounded lovely, and certainly better than a plain baked potato. I managed to slip away as she counted her quarters.

The next day is her actual birthday: happy birthday and all my best to you, Love.  I doubt that I will top this event so I’ll simply close with a big thank you to our friends once again.

We look forward to 2019 with each of them as, together, we go Easin’ Along.

Footnote: On her actual birthday, it was my turn to kidnap her and take her to our favorite Mexican restaurant.  She was treated to a great dessert, a huge hat, and “Happy Birthday” in Spanish.  Ole!

 

I’ve written about this party before. For at least ten years (and probably more), Helen (adorable wife) and I have gathered with a group of dear friends from our former neighborhood in our home for a traditional meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I make the meatloaf and, without bragging, I do a pretty good job. One of our guests brings the mashed potatoes, and they’re equally as good.

This event is always a highlight of the season for Helen and me.  Our time with our friends is special and goes back over forty years when we all lived a few doors from each other and watched our children grow up together. The ladies take a trip to Hilton Head every year and no one would dare miss it. The guys have fished, hiked, camped, and drank together for many moons. Now we share pictures of our grandchildren and share some memories along with a few laughs from “the good old days.” The only difference is that we don’t stay up as late as we used to. Nevertheless, those memories meld together and stir in the mind like a well-seasoned, slowly cooked gumbo.

Helen worked hard and had the house decorated and the table set in plenty of time to take a few deep breaths before everyone arrived.  She even hung a wreath she made nearly fifty years ago when we were living in Germany.  She sent the wreath to a favorite aunt back home in Tennessee and her aunt hung it on her front door every year after that. Sadly, Aunt Anne passed away this year and Helen’s cousins returned the wreath to its creator. She hung it over a kitchen window.

When our guests arrived, we took the party to the annex for cocktails.  (We’ll have more about the annex in future posts.) Things started pretty lively with Helen leading the conversation. The night sky was clear but the temperatures were cold.  The heat in the annex was a bit lacking but everyone was having a grand time and hung in there until it was time to pull the meatloaf out of the oven.  Before we left for the house, I persuaded the ladies to pose for a group picture which turned out well.

Once the serving line opened up, things moved smoothly on to the dinner table.  Helen’s snow village served as low-level lighting for the dining area.  I just wanted to show off the addition of the campers to her village because camping has been a big part of our year and the snow village needed a trailer park.

Dinner went well and the delightful conversation lingered long into the evening. I even had a few takers for seconds on meatloaf and one request for the recipe.  The recipe is one that I found many years ago in an old magazine and I have not changed one ingredient in all of the years I have made it. I only went back through the serving line once so that I had room for dessert.

After dinner, it was time for the Red Hat Award which goes to the male who has had a significant accomplishment or persevered through a tough event over the past year.  Bob, last year’s recipient was on hand to present this year’s award which went to yours truly.  The award was for a successful hip replacement although my struggle was not nearly so difficult as that of the past two recipients.  I also suppose that the award was for achieving three years as the author of Easin’ Along.  Bob placed a notepad and pencil inside the hatband. I am honored and saying so is understating my true feelings.

In addition to the Red Hat Award, Bob handed out candy canes to everyone who needed a cane in the recent past.  Almost everyone in attendance received one—Helen and I included.  Helen posed with Ralph for a great picture as both have had joint replacements. Great idea, Bob!

Time spent with friends and family is time spent well. We love this gathering and hope to continue it well into the future.  Making meatloaf is easy. Making friends is a treasure. Helen and I wish all our friends both here and online a Blessed 2019. We hope to see you somewhere on the road less traveled as we’re…Easin’ Along.