(2022 Newfoundland Ep 22)
Leaving Corning, NY, we drove south through colorful rolling hills in central Pennsylvania. We boondocked at a Cracker Barrel near Harrisburg and continued on I-81 across the tips of Maryland and West Virginia.
Our destination was near Roanoke, VA, where we planned to camp for a couple nights at Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway. From there, we would continue south to visit friends near Knoxville and our daughter and her family in Georgia.
But we had to make an unexpected change to these plans!
A few miles into western Virginia, Max started to shudder and make odd noises. We limped to a garage in the next town to have Max looked at. The mechanic gave us bad news: he suspected Max’ problems were the transmission.
We backtracked a few miles to the nearest Chevrolet dealer in Winchester, VA and the diagnosis was confirmed. Max needed a new transmission.
After two days and quite a few dollars, Max was repaired.
Deciding not to risk further travels through the mountains to Knoxville and Georgia, we beelined it down I-95, instead, arriving home on October 15.
We are thankful despite issues with Max
Our three month Newfoundland trip spanned nearly 10,000 miles, across 17 states and 4 provinces. We camped in 44 different locations and visited remote areas where we enjoyed exploring, biking and hiking during overall great weather. Oscar provided trouble-free accommodations and we were healthy throughout the trip.
Back Home
After Thanksgiving with family at our home, we spent several days in Ft Myers, FL doing hurricane relief work for homeowners affected by Hurricane Ian on September 28. We volunteered again with Samaritan’s Purse, part of the Billy Graham organization, gutting flood damaged homes so they could be rebuilt.
Steve and Audra were among the 80+ volunteers serving that week with SP. We learned that we share a passion for travel, adventure and giving back. Their YouTube blog has excellent videos about their cargo van conversion and recent Florida travels.
One of their recent blog episodes gives a moving recap of the impact of Hurricane Ian and the work done by Samaritan’s Purse teams. This video is definitely worth watching: click here for video
Christmas and Beyond
We had an enjoyable Christmas as we celebrated the ‘Good News’ of Jesus’ birth.
Starting in January, we will explore new RabbiTRAILS at several Florida state parks south of Tampa and in the Florida Keys. We’re also planning a longer journey in the Spring and will share plans when things firm up. Watch for blog updates.
Until then, we pray you will be blessed as you take the LONG ROAD and follow your own RabbiTRAILS in 2023!
Take the LONG Road... 
Happy New Year! Wishing you a new year filled with amazing answers to your prayers!
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Happy 2023 to you too, bro! HIS answers are always amazing!
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wow! what an amazing adventure you two have had! I’m very impressed that you volunteered with Samaritan’s purse! This is one of my favorite charities. They really do some pretty amazing work! So, now I can say, I know a couple of my favorite people who volunteer with SP . Love those orange shirts too! Thank you for sharing your very amazing trip. Looks like Max did a pretty good job of getting you lots of miles and places. I guess he said, “Enough is enough already! I need a new transmission! ” Happy New Year and Happy trails to you . Love, Maureen and Bob.
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Hi and Happy New Year! We always appreciate your encouraging comments. It is great to work with SP – if you haven’t already, check out the video link for more information about the work being done in Ft Myers. We hope to work as day volunteers later this month, between short camping trips. All the best to you in 2023!
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Thank you for the shout out! It was a joy to meet you at Samaritan’s Purse.
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Thank you SO much for sharing your list of non profits with me and for taking the time to chat with us during the Tampa RV show. It was wonderful to connect, and I really appreciate your input. All of the locations you shared are wonderful fits for our seRV platform and should work beautifully on the database. I’m in the process of contacting them now! Please reach out at leslie6479@hotmail.com anytime, and we hope to see you on the road! We just posted an event at Give Kids the World for February 21st if you happen to be in the area and available. The information is on the seRVwithpurpose.com website
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Thanks for your kind comments! What a great thing your family, Lippert and others are doing to connect the RV community with great volunteer/service opportunities.
We are in transition right now from a truck/travel trailer to a larger truck/slide in camper. We hope to be on the road by early April and will check the website for serving opportunities. Perhaps we can connect along the way!
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Thank you for your very interesting and informative blog. We are presently planning our 15 day trip to Newfoundland from Maine with our ArcticFox865 truck camper. Thanks again. God Bless!
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Thanks for your comments. Have an enjoyable and safe trip to Newfoundland.
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