Shaffer Way

September, 15, 2017, Friday, Cincinnati, OH   We received word last night that power had been restored to our community.   We left the safety of Katie and Franks house to travel home.   Josh and we left about the same time but Josh traveled much faster.   No need to wait on us. We were certain that we would not have gasoline problems until we got to Macon, GA.   As it turned out, the only scarcity we encountered was around Gainesville FL.   That station only had 87 octane.   We stopped in Stockbridge at a Walmart for a few hours.   I started driving around 10pm and drove until we got to the welcome center across the Florida border.   We slept for about 3 hours there and then headed for home.   We arrived at 11am Saturday morning. Our villa was just as we left it except for the remnants of melted ice frozen on the floor of the freezer.   Most of the debris on the property was gathered into piles.   3 Queen palms betwee...

Labor Day Weekend - Severn, MD  We spent a few days with Andy, Yoko and the kids.  It was a good visit which included good times with the grandchildren, some golf and of course Yoko’s great cooking.  I found out I can be quite a good Gyoza maker.  Gyoza is similar to pot stickers only better and of course, these were home made.  We also went to a crab house to eat some Chesapeake Bay crab.  I tried this years ago and was unable to get the knack of the whole experience.  Everyone including the kids was quite good at cracking the shells and picking out the meat.  As good as I am at making gyoza, I suck at cracking crabs.  Just give me a good old Maryland crab cake and I’ll be one happy camper. (no pun intended)  We decided to leave on Monday, Labor Day, to avoid the DC traffic.  As it turned out that was a great decision. Driving was easy. Florence, SC  We made it to Florence, SC by late afternoon.  As you may remember,...

Brookville, PA – After spending a couple days at Katie and Franks house in Cincinnati, we loaded Katie and Hudson in the RV and traveled to Clarion PA.   We were going to attend a surprise birthday party for my brother Dan who was turning 70.   (Frank followed later in the car) All the Tim Shaffer branch (formerly known as the Illinois Shaffers} were planning to attend.   Also, everyone wanted to visit my mother who will be 95 this fall.   It’s not often we can all be together so this was a special time for more than one reason.   Although we drove our RV, we decided to get a room so we could easily visit with everyone.   At this point, counting spouses and grandchildren, we total 13.   The timing was great and we all arrived within about 2 hours of each other.   While we were parking the RV, a couple stopped and asked if we traveled in the RV and stayed in hotels.   I should have said we decided to spend all this money so we could drive on ...