9/11-18/2020 Excel RV Service Center, Smith Center, Kansas

 The RV has been sitting at the Excel Service Center in Smith Center Kansas since our return from Zoe's in July.  Almost $10,000 in maintenance and repairs including new black/grey tanks, ladder, and much labor to lift and replace bolts and rotted wood in back end and secure interior walls which were not properly installed in the first place.  Also installed correctly and replaced worn parts in sewer ez, and fixed many small things inside and sealed spots on the roof after replacing vents, etc. etc.  FEELS GREAT to have her back knowing she is now as good as NEW!  

Mark Twain Cave, Missouri

Another bonsai trip (which we always say we are never going to do again), squeezing it in between doctors appointments and social engagements. Feels weird to be on a road trip in the truck without the RV behind.  We spend three nights in hotels, which we disinfect thoroughly to avoid COVID, and eat from casseroles, etc. from our cooler to avoid restaurants.  Arrive Monday 14 September, we spend a couple hours checking everything out then on the road again till dark.  Diesel is CHEAP most places paying less than $2.00 in mid west, versus $2.90 in Pennsylvania and more on the coast.   

9/15 Break up the return trip a little on the way back passing through Champlain IL again and check out some more addresses where John lived as a kid.  Spent the night at lovely Mark Twain Cave Campground in Hannibal Missouri and toured the cave that Samuel Clements hung out in as a kid and which he based the Tom Sawyer and Becky's lost cave adventure.  Next day we stop north of Henry, IL on I-80 for lunch with cousin Will Duke (grandma Mary's nephew) and wife Carol.  

9/17 For our last night John finds very rustic Clearview Campground in Dubois Pennsylvania.  On a

Clearview Campground, Pennsylvania

hilltop off the beaten path with a beautiful hilly view of cornfields, green hills, forests and a couple of houses in the distance.  95% of sites are seasonal and there is only one other camper here.  Only ONE site of the few available for overnighters can we fit in due to the rough roads, steep hills and small sites.  Run by a lovely local man, Dale, whose father built the park in the 1940's, in between spitting tobacco, he told us the history and brought us plenty of firewood which we enjoyed for hours watching the sunset through the smoky haze from the wildfires on the west coast.  We really needed this rest after 7 days of driving.  Was wonderful to watch a flock of migrating geese land in the field in front of us, and hear them excitedly welcome a few stragglers who came about 20 minutes later.  Wonderful, peaceful night.

Always good to be home, and the trip was totally uneventful for a change!  3,297 miles in 8 days, never again we say.....AGAIN.  One of these days our life will really slow down so we can drive on a relaxed schedule.  Looking forward to it.

July 24, 2020 HOME At Last

7/23  14 hours away from home, Covid continues to keep the traffic down and we finally have 2 uneventful days of driving.  

3 Months To Go

7/24 We are HOME!  Truck metrics say we drove 123 hours and 40 minutes this trip, covering 6,110 miles using 572 gallons of diesel.  Everyone is in quarantine for 2 weeks, so donning face masks and social distancing even inside the condo, we don't hug Jack and Michelle.  Emotions are all over the place, so happy to be off the road, happy to be home, while grieving this new norm which keeps us at arms length.  We are mentally and physically exhausted and Debra decides she is done with the RV lifestyle.  John says, yeah right, give you a couple months to recuperate and you'll have another trip planned.  I dunna know, have to go back and get it from Smith Center after repairs in September and we'll see.......

9/11 Heading back to Smith Center Kansas to pick up RV

July 17, 2020 Heading Home

Wyoming

 7/17 With Covid closing down so many summer entertainment venues, RVing has become an even bigger rage and after being on I-84 through Washington, Oregon and Idaho for 8 hours and calling almost a dozen campgrounds around Boise, we find nothing available.  At 97 degrees we need electricity for AC so dry camping on BLM land or a Walmart parking lot (few and far between in these parts) is an unacceptable option.  John remembers Mountain Home AFB in Idaho is about 90 minutes ahead.  It's after 6 p.m., the office is closed but we press on. Rolling in around 8 p.m the camp host greets us with one open overflow spot with electric - YEAHHHHHH.  The base is in the middle of nowhere and we enjoy the desert sage smell.  Around 2:30 a.m. Debra awakes to extremely loud sounds something like a massive plane trying to take off.  It lasts several seconds.  A few minutes later it comes again.  She looks outside and sees nothing.  After all we are on an Air Force Base but really.....they have to do this in the middle of the night.  She puts earplugs in after the third wave.  Of course John never even stirs!!!  On the road the next morning Deb looks up UFOs near Mountain Home and guess what....in February 2020 there were several sightings!!!  I KNEW IT........

7/18 An hour on the road we blow a tire on the RV, we slow down trying to find safe place to pull off but the tire starts smoking so we pull over the best we can to change it, then find a tire store for a replacement.  Continuing across Idaho, Utah and Wyoming along I84 is a beautiful and relatively flat drive through rocky outcrops, sage and pronghorn (deer like animal).     Its another 97 degree scorcher so we start looking earlier for a campground with electricity and get the last spot at a KOA in Lyman,Wyoming.

7/19 Sunday is another long hot day.  In Wyoming we cross the continental divide which actually splits in two here and in between forms the continental basin where there is no outflow of water to either coast, it only evaporates.  Few campgrounds on this stretch of Wyoming and Nebraska but we find a nice RV park at a  Cabela's store in Sidney, Wyoming.   For a while now every time we open the parlor slide it sticks, this time it really stuck and caused a loud bang when opened.   We are exhausted and this is the straw that broke the camels back, we've got to stop and get it repaired. John comes up with the brilliant idea of bringing the RV back to where it was build in Smith Center, Kansas only 4 1/2 hours away and 50 miles out of our way.  

Excel in Smith Center Kansas

 Heading to Smith Center, we are on the road for about an hour when we blew another RV tire.  John knows which one as soon as we hear the POP; it is the 3rd blow out of the three crappy tires we just put on last October while visiting Joan in Rapid City.  John is wayyyy to good at this tire changing process but it takes its toll physically and emotionally on both of us. We arrive at Smith Center at the end of yet another long day and camp in their parking lot.

7/21  After determining that the back of the RV dropping is just sheared off lag bolts and not a structural issue, we go over our extensive list of repairs and maintenance overhaul as it has close to 90,000 miles on it.  We leave at 11 a.m. with the truck loaded to the hilt and praying for the rest of the trip to be drama free.  A few miles from Smith Center we visit the geographic center of the continental United States.  So cool that on this trip we visit both the continental center and geographic center!  Decide to travel due East on Rt 36 which has little traffic and lovely small town views.  Stay at a Comfort Inn in Missouri and disinfect every surface and bring our own pillows.  

7/22  Okay, finally a normal day, no drama, just relax...wrong!!  Now on Rt 80 we get a DEF warning light saying in 50 miles our truck speed will be limited to 50 mph because we almost out of DEF (cleaning fluid for diesel system). Makes no sense, the tank is more than half full and adding more DEF didn't turn off the warning.  For 50 miles it counts down a warning every 5 miles.  Our nerves are shot.  About 2 miles before we get to the Ford dealer, our 50 miles count down is up and the warning light goes off.  What the hay!!!!! 

John at Fraternity Scene of the Crime

 In the middle of this little drama we pass through Champaign, Illinois where John lived at age 10 when his father was getting his PhD in Civil Engineering at University of Illinois and his mother was getting her Masters Degree in Library Science.  Ah, who was taking care of their 5 kids????  John and a buddy bought some water balloons with money from scavenging bottles from the bushes around the fraternity houses.  Some frat boys gave them 25 cents (a huge amount of money in those days) to throw balloons at another fraternity causing a 3 day campus wide water war resulting in John getting grounded for a week.

Get a text from cousin Kevin who is now in Attic, Illinois visiting his son and realize we will be within 45 minutes of there when we stop for the night tonight!!!  We have an enjoyable dinner with Kevin. 

Kevin and John

7/7/20 Extended Stay To Recuperate

After 10 days of pain and 3 visits to the ER in the middle of the move, Doctors find a hot dog size piece of strangulated fat adhered to her abdominal wall and small intestine near her appendix which is also enlarged so surgery removes both.  Her hospital room in Hood River, Oregon has a great view of the Columbia River and Mount Adams when it is not so cloudy.  Looking at Mount Adams to the right of the big pine tree you are also looking over Zoe's new house!  Nice to be staying with Zoe when this happened and not be in Alaska or British Columbia on our covid cancelled 62 day RV trip like we were suppose to be at this time! 

Will not be home to greet the newly weds Jack and Michelle who are moving from Hawaii  to Boston, so they will have a couple of weeks honey moon/quarantine at our place.  Sherrie will set them up with her good home cooked food.  They are still trying to find a place to rent in Boston before school starts for Jack at Tufts,  but since it will be online due to COVID, they have time to find what they want.  

Zoe Picking Sister Ball Momentos

The extra week at Zoe's was a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time together.  It especially gave us time to  paint flowers on her "garden wall" next to the kitchen.  She plans to ask everyone who visits to paint a flower.  

We have been away from home for almost 6 weeks and at Zoe's for almost a month and with mixed emotions, it's time to head to Rhode Island.  Hate leaving when we don't know when we will see each other again as Covid cases are skyrocketing around the country worse than ever.  With dangerous leadership from the White House, and states choosing to ignore recommended safety guidelines, the  pandemic is exploding.... no surprise, 2 weeks after July 4 partying.  In US 4.6 million known cases with 154,000 deaths, more than any other country in the world by far.  In the world there are 18 million cases, with 689,000 deaths, averaging  6,000 deaths a day.  Clearly some Americans think they are too privileged to have to sacrifice for the health of others. With nerves already frayed, months of protest around the country for  human rights and against police brutality and racism continue to escalate.

7/4/20 Zoe and Gabe's New Home Cedar Flats Road

Mount Hood view from street of rental house

Zoe touching Pacific at Waikiki Beach near Astoria

Here we are in Washington state to help Zoe and Gabe pack and move to their new home about 10 miles north of their current home in White Salmon, a small town on the Columbia River gorge.  A short walk down the street reveals a wonderful view of Mount Hood.  At 8 pm every night you begin to hear wolf howling here and there and then the kids and the rest of us start howling, with brings more howling from nearby neighbors.  This goes on for several minutes as a sign of thanks and respect to the covid workers.    

We have a break between houses and go to Salem, Oregon with Zoe to visit cousin Meghan, John and Aunt Shirley.  On the way back we tour some Lewis and Clark venues near Astoria, Washington where the expedition finally met up with the Pacific Ocean.  Zoe sends Jack and Michelle greetings from one Waikiki beach to another.


They move into THEIR house, they own it, on Cedar Flats Road in Cook, Washington!  It is closer to Mount Adams (like Hood, another non-dormant volcano) in the spectacularly beautiful Monte Cristo Mountain Range surrounded by thousands of acres of timber lands and national forests.  The second night here we were sitting on the back porch and noticed a deer munching flowers in the yard.  She looked up at us then continued to munch.  A few nights later out from the forest comes a doe with two speckled fawns.  There are many trails cut into their 5 acre wooded lot, with a bridge across a creek and a barn with an unfinished attached apartment.  From their trails, they join up with other property owners trails for a short walk down to the White Salmon River.  There are only 3 houses on their dirt road so why 7 mailboxes at the entrance?  Because there are only 4 houses past theirs on the main road before it also turns into a dirt road through the forests and mountains.  Last stop for the mailman! 
Had a wonderful July 4th with sparklers and cooking in the heart shaped fire pit where Gabe built a wonderful fire and Zoe and the girls collected cedar and other local flowers to smudge and purify their new home and property.  The house is beautifully built and may have used local cedar beams throughout.  We had great fun planting the peony's that originally came from Great-Grammy Dot Smith ( Phyllis's mom) via Phyllis's yard, Debra's yard, Dee's and Sherrie's yards!!!  Also brought out the hope chest from my great-great auntie Ruth (Dot's Aunt) filled mostly with family treasures.

Zoe's office with an amazing view

HUGE BARN with Unfinished Apartment in Back

The "Solarium" 

Cedar Flats Road

Wildflower Fields surround the house

6/27/2020 Jack and Michelle Marry

We are SOOOOO excited to welcome a daughter and sister-in-law to the family.  Jack and Michelle decide to have a simple marriage ceremony in Hawaii to get Michelle into the Navy medical system before they arrive in Boston.  When the COVID thing subsides they will have a real wedding.  Our Hawaii friend Dean officiated the ceremony infusing Buddhist and Hawaiian traditions while his wife Jaynine did a spectacular job decorating with flowers.  The ceremony took place in their yard which is up the road from where we used to live in Kailua 20 years ago.  Michelle's family and ours was on  ZOOM to witness the festivities.  After the ceremony was a puppy reception with 10 puppies from Dean's dogs recent litter.  Soooooo cute.......both puppies and newlyweds.  Jack said good thing they were all spoken for or there probably would be a pup on the plane to Boston in addition to their dog Penny.   Later they had some photos taken at the beach.










On July 10, 2020 Jack departed from the destroyer USS Chung Hoon (DDG93) after serving for 4 years as Legal Officer, Auxiliary Officer, and Navigator.  For "meritorious achievement" during his two tours of duty Jack received both the Navy/Marine Corp Achievement Metal and the Navy/Marine Commendation metals.  

6/15/20 Geographic Center of US, Belle Fourche, South Dakota

6/15/20  Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Geographic Center of United States Monument

Here we are on the north west corner of South Dakota called the Tri-State area as it is 15 miles from Wyoming and not much farther to Montana.  20 miles north of here on private property is the geographic center of the United States since the addition of Alaska and Hawaii.  The geographic center of the lower 48 is in Kansas near where our Excel RV was manufactured at Smith Center.  

Rocky Point Campground From Our Kayak

We are staying at a lovely state camping area called Rocky Point Recreation Area on the Belle Fourche Reservoir.  Created in 1911 when the Orman Damn was built to provide water for the area, at that time it was the largest earthen damn in the world, just over a mile long.  Nothing on the Plains to stop the wind that blows regularly here, the locals call it Stormin Damn.  We meet one of the local RVers who brings us some fresh caught walleye.  We met because the night before the wind was sooooo strong that it blew their two large floats across campground into the woods so fast that I couldn't begin to catch it.  I told them about it the next morning and they found them over the ridge behind our RV.  We exchanged some stuffed quahogs (hard shell clams from Atlantic) that our Westerly neighbor caught and made the day before we left. We picked some sage on our way out the park for Zoe to use to smudge her new home.  

Custer Arriving Black Hills 1874

Another great visit with John's sister Joan and husband Craig who we social distance with eating on the deck. Deb and fellow rock hound Craig can't pass on an opportunity to dig rocks together so off we go on the ATV with masks.  I LOVE TO ROCK HOUND WITH CRAIG cause he knows his stuff!!!  I want to spend a week here so we can do it every day and not have to rush.  We pack up a 50 pound rock filled with rose quartz that Deb mined with Craig on a trip back in 2014 or 2015 to take to Zoe's new house.

6/16 John spends the morning remotely giving presentations on "the limitations of computer simulations" at the Military Operations Research Society conference. It was well received and I am so glad he continues to make a difference in the world of serious gaming.  He finds a few hours here and there to continue working on his book about using game theory to solve complex world problems.  We tour Deadwood and learn about the massive amount of gold taken from these hills and about Wild Bill Hickcok getting killed here. 

Deadwood Today

 6/17 NO TRUCK DAY - boy do we need a day off the road. John works on his book, Deb works on the blog and we enjoy a wonderful kayak on the lake where we see carp feeding on the surface.

6/18 Now on to Montana, which is 675 miles across and 10.5 hours of driving time.  Like traveling from Westerly to Fayetteville NC - 9 states.  Almost to our destination of Bozeman MT, we stop to change drivers and notice that we have a flat tire on the rig.  Doesn't take long to change due to electric levelers acting as a jack and VAST amount of experience.   Arriving at "Camp Walmart" at 3:40 there are already 12 RVs in the lot, by 9 pm there were 25!   The view of the Rocky's over the white RV in the photo is

Camp Walmart, Bozeman

magnificent. Good thing we have wax earplugs for the noise and eye shades for the parking lot lights at Camp Walmart.  

6/13/20 Deadwood Trail and Wall Drug, South Dakota

6/13/20  Sorta following the Lewis and Clark trail, we take the back roads along Rt 7 out of Minnesota onto SD 212 and see only farm after farm, corn and cows, with a small town and/or a granary every now and then.  Have to watch gas tank closely as LONG distances between stations.  Lovely and way more relaxing than Interstate 90.  Driving 65 versus 75 increase our gas mileage from 10.2 to 11.5 until the headwind kicks up and drives it back down to 10.

Missouri River at West Bend

From the camper on the Missouri River at West Bend Recreation Area near Lower Brule SC, we have views of the vast grasslands and gently rolling hills that were once home to millions of bison. The area has a rich human history, too, having been home to several branches of the Sioux and Dakota tribes.  The river here forms almost a complete circle (west bend) which Meriwether Lewis in his journal in 1804 stated that to travel the bend by land it was 2000 yards, by river it was 30 miles.  Because they had so many boats and supplies they had to take the river route.  

Traveling along Route 212 and SD 14 we follow parts of the old 200 mile Deadwood Trail seeing signs indicating wagon train ruts from the 1874 gold rush.   We take a break at Fort Pierce (pronounced "Peer" by the early German and Scandinavian   settlers) which was the nearest port to gather people and supplies heading to search for gold in Deadwood, SD.   Although the Fort is gone the state house and fighting horse sculpture is beautiful.  

Deb at Wall Drug

Leaving Minnesota on 212 no "Welcome to South Dakota" greeted us, just the first of dozens of "Wall Drug" signs.  Deb pouts when John says we're not going through Wall this trip so he changes his mind and goes 20 minutes out the way to placate his loving wife.  What a sweetheart he is.  We get our free for vet's coffee and doughnut at the cafe.  It is worth the stop just for that doughnut!  Meandering through to the bookstore where we always find a treasure or two, we pick up some jam in another shop.  We love to buy jam from the local area when we travel.  It keeps a long time and soooooo fun to pull out papaya jam from Hawaii for our waffles in middle of winter or cactus jam from Utah.  Makes us get the bug to get back on the road! 

Fighting Horse Sculpture, Fort Pierce SD

Wall Drug Sign in  France WWII

6/7/2020 Heading West to Hanley Family mini Reunion

June 7, 2020 Truck Mileage 55,212.  Packed to the gills (again...bringing treasures to Zoe's new home), the stars align and we are able to get on the road to what was supposed to be an RV trip to Alaska with John's cousin Kevin and several other RV friends.  With US/Canada boarder still closed, the Alaska trip is cancelled but we will pursue the front the part of the trip as originally planned.


Aligning stars meant that the (1) states along our route were open to out-of-staters, (2) covid cases were falling, (3) after another very public murder by police of an unarmed black man (George Floyd) in Minneapolis;  riots, burning and looting were mainly limited to large cities which we could avoid if necessary, (4) the RV repair shop opened on June 1 so we could leave the RV there on May 25 to decontaminate for 5 days before they would work on it to patch the leaking roof and do some routine maintenance, and (5) we felt we could travel safely without infecting ourselves or the others we were meeting along the way by wearing masks, consuming bottles of sanitizer and clorox wipes, and social distancing (6 feet plus).

After years and 10's of thousands of miles on the RV crossing US numerous times, we now enjoy the stress free freedom of driving till we're tired knowing that there are many commercial retailers/restaurants who welcome RVs to overnight in their parking lots.  Good thing because most campgrounds are still closed unless you have a season contract.  COVID lock down around the world has caused a massive drop in demand for oil/fuel as businesses are closed and people are not driving.  Found diesel as low as $1.99.  Real good news is that the world wide air pollution has also dropped dramatically. 

Some Rest Stops have Covid proofed with every other sink/stall blocked off, others have only signs.  Further West we go the fewer face masks we see.

Chicago Sign ..... #StayHomeSavesLives

First time that the GPS took us right through Chicago on I90.      Like NYC, a good time to see the city with less smog and traffic.   The world is stressed out from Covid and additionally in the US from our idiot President's antics,  with some people looking for an excuse to blow off steam. Demonstrations and riots around the world supporting BLACK LIVES MATTER may hopefully bring change this time, especially in police departments which have militarized.  There is serious talk about banning choke holds and de-funding Police Departments as way of getting rid of the Police Unions which protect police behavior no matter how bad.  

June 8   Drive for 10 hours to try to get ahead of tropical storm Cristobal which is also heading toward Minnesota from the Gulf of Mexico.  Expecting lots of rain and wind.  600 miles today is a very long day but adrenaline and some great night of sleep on the road has us up to the task.   Along the way we stop to visit John's high school buddy, Melissa's husband in Red Wing, MN.  So sad that she passed away unexpectedly about a year ago.

June 10   Arrive at Baker Regional Park Maple Plains MN about half hour from Aunt Joanne.  We love this park!!!!  Only campers are allowed, no guests, so we move what is left of the Hanley reunion to Aunt Joanne's lawn.  Cousin Kevin Hanley and wife Jamie arrive at campground in their new Airstream and we have a grand time.  This was supposed to be our meeting place for the Alaska trip, but not to be this year.  John's sister Barbara joins us at Aunt Joanne's for lunch and we enjoy reminiscing  as we social distance.  The weather couldn't be better.

The Hanley's - John, Kevin, Barbara, Joanne 

3/20/20 Kicked out of the Keys

At Sunshine Key RV Resort we were enjoying life with John's Dartmouth NROTC buddy Dave and wife Pat and are all planning on attending Dartmouth Reunion in Naples Florida the end of March.  It is great having friends in the RV park with us and we so enjoy getting together with the Geri/Bill and Peggie/Tom and their friends.    All activities in the town and in the campground come to an abrupt halt as governments begin to follow CDC guidelines to lock down and stay home.   

Miami Hearld Headlines

Florida Keys closed to all tourists and visitors because of the coronavirus spread

With deaths being reported in Washington state and NY in early March, panic hits stores with runs on toilet paper, hand sanitizer and anything to make homemade sanitizer. We start stocking up on nonperishable food, making numerous trips to grocery stores where long lines leave shelves bare.  There is NO chicken to be found.  School systems start to close and Spring break hits Florida bringing thousands of students and families who are now home schooling, pack the RV parks, hotels, beaches and bars bringing the first covid case to the Keys and the Keys lock down. On Friday, March 20 the news reports.... if you don't live here or have a long term lease, leave by Sunday at 6 p.m. Friday afternoon we in middle getting the RV polished and Deb panics, worry about scenes of hurricane evacuations taking 8 hours to get off the keys, petro stations, cars, trucks, RVs running out of gas blocking highways, etc. etc. So we pack in 21/2 hours, kick out the guy polishing the RV (he only half done John NOT HAPPY with Debra for this but knows that once I in all out panic mode there is no stopping me) and we get on the road. 
Boy was I wrong, we hit NO traffic all the way out of Florida.  Second night we camp in a Cracker Barrel Restaurant parking lot with 4 other RVs (so far) after being on the road for 10 hours. We try to appreciate the sunset and block out the horror that is yet to come.....hurry home.   Just before stopping for the night, wearing my hot pink rubber gloves and mask, I pump diesel while John checks the tires.  The pump won't work so I have to go in and pay and then disinfect the credit card.  Still doesn't work, have to go in again.  Over loud speaker, clerk calls for maintenance to go check the pump, as I walk away he asks if I "pushed the button"..... Ah, No.  Then over the loudspeaker he says, "never mind, she didn't push the button".  About half hour back on the road I admit to John that I don't know how to pump gas......a little stressed out am I.  Next day we drive home all the way from Lumberton, NC.  A 12 hour day, 10 1/2 hours of driving for 713 miles.  Very strange, NO traffic in NYC!  Only takes us 2 hours to get home from NYC, normally a 3 hour trip on a good day.

Two months ago Covid was just a concern in China, having not acted on it early, now it is devastating countries all over the world.  Stock market is crashing as people fear deaths in the millions unemployment, and personal and corporate bankruptcy and economic depression.  The government is pumping billions into the economy, sending stimulus checks to everyone in the $1-2,000 range depending on your income, all of which helps a few businesses who can survive online.  Mail order businesses like Amazon are booming as are delivery companies.  Nobody is flying, stores are closed unless selling food, booze (deemed essential), and medical supplies so airlines stocks and retail store stocks plummet.   Most businesses are working from home in order to remain open which if efficient, will change the future work paradigm. 

2020 The Kids Settle and Covid

2020 will be a year of highs and lows in the world and in our personal lives.  

As we leave for the Florida Keys in early February the rumblings of a new virus called Covid 19 gets louder and louder as thousands are dying in China as it spreads like wildfire. My generation has seen nothing like this having been born near the end of the polio crises.  Wikipedia says, in 2008 a team of researchers identified 335 diseases that emerged between 1960 and 2004, at least 60% of which came from animals. The resulting transmission of disease from wildlife to humans, is now “a hidden cost of human economic development. Humans are moving into largely undisturbed places and being exposed more and more."  This could be the new norm.

GOOD NEWS

Zoe and Gabe are finally buying a house on the 4th house they put an offer on.  Never saw a real estate market as crazy as White Salmon, Washington.  High demand, low supply so prices are ridiculous.  They are buying a wonderful home on 5 acres in Cook, Washington about 10 miles from where they live now.  More on the house later as WE WILL BE THERE FOR THE MOVE!!!!

Jack and Michele ARE PREGNANT AND ENGAGED!  Things are moving much faster than they had planned but they and we are very happy. I always said the diamond ring John gave me for our 20th Anniversary in Hawaii would go to Jack and the sapphire ring would go to Zoe.  With jewelry stores closed due to covid, I took the ring off my finger and mailed it to Jack.  

After the whole crew was quarantined on the ship (still USS Chung Hoon) at the dock for 2 weeks (covid precaution) then on sea trials for 5 weeks, Jack is home!  June 5 we get a text "I'm home! Can you guys Face-Time in 30 minutes so I can learn what my child is going to be haha?"  Michelle is "so sweet" as Jack is always saying, she wanted to include his family and zoom the reveal.  She baked a cupcake and when he bit into it there was blue frosting.  Little league, little league he repeats as he gives Michelle a big hug and kiss.  The tech's have told them that baby boy Hanley is VERY active and in the 85th percentile for size.  Hummmm, wonder where that came from Jack:)