Update from Ron and Connie

by Connie, via Keith 

Hello to all of our wonderful Rockport 35 friends!  Wanted to let you know where we are and what we've been doing. We left Rockport on April 2nd and headed to Branson to meet up with Carol and Jerry Bieglow. Then found out that my cousin from Iowa was going to be there at the same time and so we enjoyed time with them at Silver Dollar City. We headed on to Kansas City, Kansas and spent a month visiting with family and friends.

Also I got a couple of painting lessons from my daughter, Pam and jumped into acrylic painting with both feet. Attached are a couple of pictures I've painted from the photographs I've taken. I've got six paintings already. I just love it!  Guess I can't say anything about Ron and his carving.

From there we headed to Livingston, Montana to visit with our friends who we worked for at the Livingston/Paradise Valley KOA.  It is still the most beautiful part of the country for me. Paradise Valley lives up to its name. Also, while we were there, Ron decided he'd like to try bark carving. They had wonderful cottonwood bark at the campground, and Terry said that we were welcome to all we wanted. So we partially stripped a dead cottonwood tree. Now the back of the Jeep is full of cottonwood bark. So guys, he has plenty to share when we get back to Rockport. I've attached the two bark carvings he's done, already giving the first one away to our wonderful campground owner friends. (Well, that's the least he could do after collecting the cottonwood. )  While in Montana, we had to get two new tires for the motorhome and have the front end aligned.  It had a bad vibration that continued to get worse.

 Then on to Oregon. After crossing the Cascade Mountains, we had a blowout on the front left tire on the Jeep while we were towing. The good Lord was looking over us: we made it through the mountains before it happened, we weren't driving the Jeep at the time, we were in town and not driving highway speeds, a man in back of us saw it happen and had us pull over, and then a truck full of young men stopped immediately and changed the tire for us. God is so Great!!

We went to Tillamook for a week to visit the wonderful cheese factory. (We won't need cheese for awhile.) Also other interesting places there. Then we drove down to Bandon on Hwy 101. . We will be here for probably 3 months.  (It hasn't hit 70 yet.)  But it is beautiful and it's good to be back here. Ron's been carving and I've been painting and doing my Swedish weaving.  We found a carving group for Ron and some painting classes for me, so think we'll be busy while we're were here.  We're looking forward to visiting the beach and Old Town Bandon, smoking some more tuna and seeing all of you again in Rockport. Take care, we miss all of you!

Blessings to ya'll!

Ron and Connie