We Are Enjoying Retirement

(Raleigh, North Carolina) We are certainly enjoying being retired and visiting with Jen.  Everything is so much more enjoyable when you have time! Some of the advantages of retirement and living in a motorcoach include-  Christmas shopping is now fun and enjoyable.  Cooking dinner is no longer a hassle nor is grocery shopping.  Decorating a motorcoach for Christmas is easy and cleaning one is a snap. Having more time and a smaller "home"  is wonderful.  What a great blessing.

We are camping at the North Carolina Fairgrounds in Raleigh  There are four campgrounds at the fairgrounds and we are staying at the newest.  They offer a full hook up site with WYFI for $25/night.  Our site is very level and very convenient to all the shopping and downtown.  There is not much of an "it" factor but it's so great when Jen can just stop over for lunch while she is working.  There  is not an office and all registration is handled by the security guards.  They have been very helpful and can be called at anytime if there is a concern.  Here are a few pictures of the sites. 

There are three of us (rigs) camping here for the holidays.  We are all visiting family in the area.  Below is our neighbor Larry and his toad.  Check it out (it's a 1956 Cadillac).  He tows it in a trailer behind his motorcoach. 


Larry and John & 1956 Cadillac



We have been to a few holiday events in the area.  We went to at the Raleigh Little Theatre and saw a very funny Cinderella play.  The wicked step sisters were actually men and very, very funny.  There was a lot of audience participation and the many of the girls in the audience were dressed as princesses.  It was lots of fun.  It was amazing to see how they transformed the pumpkin into the coach.

We also attended a walking tour of the historic Oakwood area and toured thirteen homes.  This is a money raiser for Oakwood, a nineteenth century neighborhood and historic district located near downtown Raleigh.  It is a beautiful neighborhood with hundreds of home is a wide variety of architectural styles.  We were able to go inside the homes and there were guides inside to tell you about the special features  They were all decorated for the holidays. Here are a few of the homes.  These pictures were taken by my Droid phone and are not quite as clear but certainly not bad for a cell phone. 

This is the Tucker House built in 1914.  It was actually moved slowly down the road to this area in 1975 and is now a  community center. There was a brass band playing Christmas carols at the entrance. 

This is the back of the Bryan house, built in 1893.  This pool was recently added and the house had been converted from a duplex to a single family home (it's original intent).  It was lovely and had an outdoor sleeping porch off of the master bedroom

This home was not on tour.  Isn't it spectacular.  There was also a trolley you could ride to see most of the neighborhood.  We met many people who have been going on this tour for over 20 years  Sort of a family tradition. 

We've been busy Christmas shopping and spending as much time with Jen as possible.  We decorated the front window of the coach and a small Christmas tree.  I'll finish the entry today with these pictures.  Happy Holidays!