10:16 PM Friday April 8, 2005

Sometimes you just get plain lucky in this world and because all my stars must have been aligned, they shined their good-luck light on me today. Can you believe Phil and I rendezvoused with my real-life mentor (aka hero) today in Stockton, CA. after making arrangements via e-mail and our cell phones? George, creator of the blog, “The Adventures of Tioga and George”, http://vagabonders-supreme.net/ met with us just outside of the city and led the way to a restaurant down the road where we parked our Pace Arrow and he parked Ms. Tioga (come to find out, they are long-lost cousins-both being 1991 Fleetwood descendents) on the street. It was raining buckets but George and I managed to stay dry using umbrellas (Phil got wet) as we scampered across the busy road for some intense conversation and a bite to eat. It’s hard to explain my happiness at meeting and talking to the man who through his pictures and writing on his website made it possible for me to learn how to become a successful fulltime Rver. We have been reading George’s blog daily for nearly two years and when at last we followed in his footsteps, our dream of living full time in an RV and traveling the country became a reality. It was a wonderful afternoon (Thanks for the yummy chocolate chip cookies back inside Ms. Tioga, George!). After nearly four hours (which went by way too fast) savoring our new friendship we returned to the road, each of us looking forward to our next adventure.