It’s 9 pm and all is well. I spent the day in my parent’s house borrowing their Internet connection and catching up on work. Eleanor spent the day sorting clothes that don’t fit Emma anymore, arranging donations, and picking out long-stored jewelry she wants to sell. Emma, of course, spent the day playing with her grandparents, who show no sign of being tired of her so far.

We have hardly been in the Airstream lately. We’re spending all day out or here at my parent’s place on the lake. Since we are showering here, and eating here, I suppose our holding tanks will be good for longer than I thought. And Mary doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to evict us. It’s very convenient being parked a few hundred feet away, and a real money saver too. We haven’t paid for camping since August 13, which helps balance expenses against the $700 in fuel we spent getting here from Colorado.

I called a bunch of people about getting rid of our stuff. We’ve got a few pieces sold, and a few pieces committed to various outlets. The auction house wants our antiques. The eBay guys are meeting us on Monday to see about anything over $50 in value and under 100 lbs. The used furniture guy will meet us after Labor Day to pick over the cheap furniture. And a few friends have put in their bids for various other items. Last night we delivered a couple of nice cherry ladderback chairs to our friends Katie & Guy. But with all this, I fear we still have a long way to go.

The really sunny part of today was hearing from friends in every part of the US. Gunny called in from Oregon to tell about his latest fiasco in his new rig, this time a water pump failure. Rich C called in from Tampa to say he was having a nice time at the same park we used when we were there.

Brett called from Florida also, to catch up on a few things. (Happy birthday, dude!) Bert Gildart called from the highway in New York to say he and Janie will be here tomorrow. They’re in Ticonderoga NY tonight and will be checking out historic Fort Ticonderoga tomorrow morning before they leave, so they are just down the road from us.

It’s great to hear from all our traveling friends once in a while. We were all together not long ago, and their calls remind me of the good times. I don’t know if we’ll see some of these folks for weeks, months, or years, but I do know that we will see them.

This evening after dinner on the deck (and before chocolate cake & Star Trek), Emma and I went out on the road for a little bicycling practice. She’s still a bit wobbly but gaining capability fast!

Now Emma’s in the tub and Eleanor and I are about to head back to the Airstream — our home next door in the neighbor’s driveway. Emma is still a hostage here, so once again we’ll be alone. This is really starting to feel like summer vacation.