Friends at the Heart of 2024

You might remember that, for our 2024 travel, we’d planned on this:

We ended up doing this:

We zigzagged up and down as we changed plans on the fly, mostly while I tried to figure out what the heck was going on with my health.

I’ve been thinking about how to recap the year without dragging either of us through all the details of that medical crap, and it came to me in a bright moment: the people of 2024 are what really stand out. I sometimes skip people in my posts for various reasons, but I’m going all out here. Bring on the happy people of 2024.

January & February

We started the year with absurd tasks: surgery in Houston (when the trailer was in Brownsville), then getting the trailer to Ohio in the winter, getting most of our stuff into storage while the floor got replaced, then back into the trailer, all while I was in a full leg brace. In the snow. Nutty, nutty times.

The upshot is I got to spend time with Finn twice, when he visited me in south Texas before we left and when we got an AirBnB in Michigan while the trailer was getting worked on. Double Finn for double tricky times.

March

We went back south to restart our trip to Newfoundland from Florida.

In the Panhandle, we hung out with Carl (whom we met in Alaska) and his wife Brenda. Hey Carl!

In Gainesville we spent a week with Tracy’s lovely sister Darcy.

Near Atlanta we spent the best Easter yet with my favorite chicken people, the Piotrowskis. Here, we’re having a mini playgroup reunion, 20 years! Hi Susan and Ellen!

April

In Virginia I got to hang out with part 1 of the friends and family tour.

Silly eclipse viewing with college roommate Heather. Looking good, Heather!

We visited family we rarely see at my former mother-in-law’s birthday celebration, including young Max here. Hi Carole!

And we caught Covid. We had to cancel seeing friends in DC so we could backtrack to Virginia later. I sure wish those DC faces were here.

In between the two Virginia trips, we hit Lewes, Delaware, to spend time with our former neighbors, Ben and Bob. Happy hour cheers, guys!

May

Back in Virginia.

Amazing Amy from Finn’s middle school days.

My lovely and charming cousin, Lisa.

The smartest and warmest person I know, my BFF Lucy.

My longtime friend John, with his wife Sue and band mate Steve. We got to hear their band (our favorite band) play, too. What a treat.

Mary and Tracy having adult laughs in the adult lounge.

While we were in Maryland, I got a call from my Texas doctor advising me to get a brain scan because she thought I had a tumor. Great. We managed that in New York. (No tumor.)

Highlight: Matt and his eldest son (that’s Tracy!) met us at the campsite for brilliant fellowship. Hi Matt!

June

We met Whit and Melanie in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for a picnic lunch in their favorite botanical garden. Hi Whit!

And we decided to scrap all the rest of the travel plans, all those reservations and expectations, to turn around for Virginia, for the third time, and look for a doctor.

We spent time with my aunt Esther, who pets Banjo so calmly. Right at Banjo’s speed.

July

No luck with a doctor in Virginia. But look who I did meet.

I met my doppelgänger near Roanoke at a beautiful Airstream park we’ll visit again. Hi Maryanne!

August

We had to spend the rest of the summer near Houston seeing the only doc I could get in with, who turned out to be a dud. No more on that.

We did meet a fascinating couple, full of stories. Twenty years as full-timers!

On our way back north to get out of the heat, we managed a one-afternoon rendezvous with good friends, Doug and Melanie. See you two soon in New Mexico!

September

The Midwest used to be Tracy’s friends and family tour, and now all the friends are mine, too.

Blogging mentor Mark, wearing a spiffy shirt.

Tracy’s best friend’s little sister, also the artist who created all my tattoos, with her newly adopted dog completely asleep in her arms. And on the table. Ha!

Another sibling in that family, Mike, at his and his wife’s bar. Cheers, Meeter family!

Fellow writer, Ron, odds are in the middle of telling an absurdly funny story.

October

Thanks to Sherri and Mooch we found joy at our first Airstream Rally, in Missouri.

The Facebook full-timers meetup, where I made new friends, my own peeps.

We snuck away from our volunteer jobs at the rally for an afternoon catching up with Tracy’s hometown friend, Tom. Always a delight.

Back to Texas, and the queen of my heart, Karen, my oldest friend. Clearly we still rock, after all these years.

November & December

No faces for the rest of our 2024, but I already have special guests planning on visiting us in January.

As for the health stuff, if you can believe it, I’m back to seeing the same doctor here in Brownsville, repeating the same tests as last year. Medically, it feels like the year was wasted. When I look at all those smiling faces, my view of the year is righted.

You know how I love compilations, so stay tuned for more from the year. Even though we didn’t go to the places we’d planned, we still stayed in a few beautiful spots, and I’m looking forward to rooting those out. There’s also a funny collection of photos of us at breweries I’d like to expand on. If you’re interested in a medical recap, contact me and I’ll send it to you.

Thanks to all the people in our lives in 2024, people not here, but we texted with each other, or we played virtual trivia together (go Donner Party!), or maybe you’re a GDTR reader. The year was saved thanks to you.