Through the years of traveling in a motorhome, we have met
many people and have even continued to be friends with some of them. Bette and Gordon Sprague, Bob and Sandy
Thomas, and Arlene and Ken Caspersen to name a few.
When you are traveling through Alaska, since there are only
a few roads, it is not unusual to run into the same people several times along
the way. In 2008, we met Arlene and Ken
Caspersen along with a few more couples traveling with them. They were so friendly, and we got to know
them. They invited us to stop by their
place in Arlington, Washington on our way out of Alaska. We spent several days with them and had a
really good time.
This year, we gave them a call the day before we left
Canada. They invited us to stop by. When we got there, we were very surprised to
find several motorhomes, campers and a lot of people. As it turns out, every year there are a group
of people Arlene and Ken have met while camping, just like they met us and they
get together.
It was dark when we arrived, but they had a big campfire
going and everyone was so welcoming. They’ve
been meeting once a year for many years.
One of the many fun parts for me was most of the ladies had read my
books. They were so complimentary and
really liked Bertie.
Saturday morning the men fixed a huge breakfast of bacon,
sausage, hashbrowns, home fries, fried and scrambled eggs. Everything was so good.
Saturday evening, Judd Wilson (Mayor of Concrete,
Washington) headed up a shrimp boil and served excellent brisket he had
smoked. Side dishes were added and what
a feast we had. After eating, the
campfire was lit and we all sat around talking and laughing more than I have in
a while.
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| Shrimp boil |
This morning, before we left, Arlene fixed breakfast
casseroles and a few of the ladies had made sticky buns which were soooo good.
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| You cannot imagine how hard we laughed at Christie (the mayor's wife) as she blew up the water feature of the Slip and Slide |
There’s a picture of the ones we were able to round up.
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| Most of the gang at Arlene and Ken's Great fun people |
It was such a fluke
that we happened to be in the area at the time. It was a Labor Day celebration Richard and I
won’t forget any time soon.
We left shortly after breakfast. Our next stop was to visit friends who moved
from Jacksonville a couple of years ago to Puget Sound. Then tomorrow we were scheduled to go to
Roseburg, Oregon to visit with Richard’s half-brother’s wife, Virginia. She lives in an assisted living
facility. I talked to her last week to
let her know we would be there this week.
Before we got to the turn off to go to Denise and David’s house,
Virginia’s daughter Diane called to let us know her mom had passed away
peacefully in her sleep.
Over the last few years, we have had the privilege of
spending time with Virginia (Ginger) and her family. She was such an interesting and energetic
lady. Before she slowed down, she would
dress up as a clown and visit hospitals and nursing homes. At home, I have several pictures of her in
her costume. For her 70th
birthday, her family flew her to Jacksonville to spend time with us. We had a great time learning about Richard’s
long lost family. She was truly a funny
and remarkable lady. I’m so happy I got
to talk to her shortly before she passed.
Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Diane and her
brothers and the families as they go through this difficult time.
Until next time,
Dolores
What a lovely way to spend Labor Day. Sorry to hear about Virginia, but glad you were able to touch base one last time even if it wasn't in person.
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