I looked back at the bus-house log and found our Christmas spot for each of the past years:
2007 - Sandollar in Rockport TX (decorated big tree over bus-house)
2008 - Sandollar in Rockport TX (diff site... lights in tree again)
2009 - Sandollar in Rockport TX ("our" site)
2010 - Lost Alaskan in Alpine TX
2011 - Lone Star Corral in Hondo TX
2012 - Foscue COE Park in Demopolis AL
This year we rendezvoused with our friends Doug and Kay from Minnesota about a week before Christmas. They had both been a bit under the weather... first Doug and then Kay... and we thought being around for a few days might take their minds off things. By Christmas everyone was on the mend and we all decided that since we were here, and since no one was in a rush to be anywhere in particular, (and since Christmas comes but once a year)... this would be a fine place to spend the holiday.
So between the four of us we created a pretty darned good holiday dinner... ham, sweet potato casserole, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries, Christmas cut-out cookies for desert, and a little holiday wine to keep the spirit merry. It turned out as good as we'd hoped and no one left the table hungry. And plenty of left-overs for the next day.
Later that evening we attended a gathering of all the Park denizens in the main laundry room... aka: storm shelter. Predicted heavy storms did indeed materialize and when a tornado sighting was reported with a cell that had Demopolis in it's cross-hairs, we scampered to the shelter for an hour or so to join in the festivities... mostly story telling... while we waited out the storm to pass. No damage in our area and the bus-house was still there when we returned. Another "first" for our intrepid explorers.
So, how have we dealt with being away from family for Christmas? We've coped, we've dealt with it... but would still prefer to be with them if we could. Flying during the holidays is expensive and a real hassle... not something this now laid-back and simplified couple would like to do. And family is all in the North, not the place we're going to take the bus-house during the winter. However, our future plans involve a much smaller and more capable rig that would make forays into the frozen northland a real option. It's one of our reasons for down-sizing... and we're SO looking forward to it. But more on that later.
