Author: 48beforeitstoolate

So Chris and Daisy the dog are here. They arrived just before New Year. Chris has started working as a handyman for friends and realtors, in high demand too, fortunately. We sold Winnie the RV and Piglet the Vespa, but have replaced them with a 5er and a truck. Both of which have yet to be named.

This was our maiden trip up to Norris Dam State Park. This week we head out to Austin. TX for a week to see the Motogp and hopefully the lovely Newland Moorefield.

Chris’ move here had gone well but not with out its hiccups. First minor was his green card had the wrong DOB on it , bloody typical. But the major hiccup was his son Matt, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, in February, an aggressive rare form of blood cancer that is generally found in males over the age of 60. It affects around 2,500 people in the UK each year. After an aggressive round of chemo he is now back home and under going continued monitoring. Chris did go back and spend some time with him , but of course it is a constant worry.

Looking forward to our trip this week and being back on the road and camping !

Peace,hugs,love and equality

48beforeitstoolate

Quick update, Chris had his green card interview last week and was approved !!!

Looking for him to be in TN  on a one way ticket between Christmas and new Year !

Cannot wait for him and Daisy to be here for real !!

So here we are in June 2018 , Chris has been here since May 4 and will stay until the end of July . First the good news. Green card application has been approved. That means someone has actually looked at and we can proceed forward with interviews and medical etc !!

So what have we been up to ? I am working still and Chris has been helping out a friend with some remodeling. Winnie has had 2 trips out so far. Nashville to see the Foo Fighters and to Cumberland Mountain State Park for a long weekend. Hoping to get some trips in but life seems to be taking over !

Chris is currently at home replacing our back deck

And we are in the process of repainting the house. Why oh why did we start this. This is Tennessee in June !! 90 degrees and 90% humidity!!! But it will look fab when done !! So I keep telling ourselves.

We have had a few nights out downtown Knoxville , Bearden Beer Market and went to Knoxville Pride last weekend. Absolutely Fabulous!

So that is our summer so far. We will keep you updated on the Green Card process and anything else that may happen !!

Love Peace and Equality

Sam and Chris xxxx

So, we have been back for 4 months now, figured it was time for an update on where we are and what’s going on.

Chris is back in UK, he went back at the beginning of November. He moved into a tiny house (as I call it, he says it’s a shed !!!) in Hastings. After lounging around for a few weeks, he got himself a job as Groundsman for a Country Estate, Leyswood House in East Sussex. He is slowly restoring the grounds to their former glory. Chris actually grew up here, so is familiar with the property and the gardens.

I am still in TN USA and also had a few weeks of lounging around (not really, but the job I was promised did not come to fruition). But I now work for CBWW as office manager for a brand-new office located at Northshore and Pellissippi. It has been fun building up an office from the ground, doing everything from ordering paperclips to recruiting agents. In 2 weeks we have our official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony! Adam is the broker of the new office, he was back-up broker at the Bearden office, we get on very well, which is fortunate as most of the time, right now, it is just the two of us in the office. This office is a new concept for CBWW, it will have agents assigned to this office, but no individual office space. There are 10 offices/conference rooms that any CBWW agent can come in use for meetings, work, printing etc. It is designed for the mobile agent.

The kids and I did go back to the UK for Christmas and New Year. We had a great time catching up with Family. I think it was the first time since 2008 that my mum had all the grandchildren, children and spouses together ! Naturally she got very emotional !

Living 4000 miles apart is hard, especially after travelling together for 6 months and getting married. But the Green card application is in, still awaiting assignment to an officer ???(Immigration received it in November) So we just have to be patient and hope it takes months rather than years!

And for those that know me, hate politics, but events over the past year have propelled me forward to act and RESIST !!!!

In family news, I have had both of my kids move back home, new jobs etc. So it was a bit of a squash at one point. Rebecca and Jewelia were in the basement and Steve upstairs . But now they are all moving out, having found apartments of their own. Just need to clear my garage of all their “stuff” now! Rebecca has found a job she adores, teaching assistant for special needs children. We never thought she would go into teaching, but the world works in mysterious ways. Stephen is working for a logistics company in Knoxville and loves it. It is so satisfying when your children are happy in their work.

Chris’ two are both still in Crowborough. Although Steph will be off to France in May once again. She goes over every summer to work for Euro camp. Matt is still climbing and travelling. Chris is planning on coming over for the summer starting in May, so if anyone knows of a cheap way to ship belongings and a dog over, please let us know !

Love and Peace

Sam and Chris xxxxx

October 17th we headed across Florida to Shell Mound, Ceder Key. This state park contains a shell mound that was built up over a 1000 year period. between 1,800 and 400 years ago, native people created the mound by discarding the shells of oysters and clams. Here we stayed at the state park and had the whole campground to ourselves.

October 19th found us at the beach for 6 days , Gulf Shores Alabama. Beautiful beaches but not a lot else. But I love the beach so I was happy !

Huge campground at Gulf State Park , lots of good walks though with some wildlife.

Voodoo Festival and New Orleans marked the last weekend of our trip 😦  But what a way to end , brilliant music from some much loved bands, Foo Fighters, The Killers, The Head and the Heart . But discovered some great new music, in particular Black Pistol Fire from Austin TX. Who I would call old school guitarist, totally immersed in his music. Loved it !

So there ends our amazing trip, 20304 miles, 177 Days, 48 states and $1000 under budget

I have been asked so many times “What was your favorite thing?” I have thought and thought about this and cannot come up with one single place or event. There were so many great moments, beautiful places and amazing sights. Chris and I both fell in love with the Oregon Coast, YellowStone NP was incredible, the festivals were so much fun and all without a single argument .

So begins our new journey together even though we are 5000 miles apart again. Chris had to return to England as his visa ran out. But the Green Card process has been started and hopefully it won’t be too long before we can be together again .

If anyone has any thoughts on doing a trip like this, we would thoroughly recommend it. Don’t put it off , you never know what is around the corner! This is truly an amazing country with so much to offer, go grab it whilst you can .

So today is our last night on the road. Just had a great last weekend in New Orleans at Voodoo Festival. Saw some great bands. News and photos of the last couple of weeks to follow in a few days when we are back and sorted. It’s been a blast !!!! 

So a few things have happened since my last blog, the biggest one being WE GOT MARRIED ! What a great day, but more about that later.

Sept 30. We headed into Homestead just south of Miami, with easy access into the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and The Keys. On the way we stopped in at Loggerhead Marine Rescue Center, Chris finally saw some live turtles, I think he was beginning to think I was pulling his leg about seeing turtles.

In Homestead we set up camp for the next 4 nights in an expensive, lets nickel and dime the campers, RV park. But after Irma there is not a lot of choice. Miami does not look too badly affected, lots of vegetation blow down etc , but not much structural damage. The place that did look bad were the middle Keys.  Anyway next day we visited Everglades NP #56, but guess what no wildlife, no gators , nothing ! Apparently most of the wildlife has headed further inland as the salt water level in the glades got too high. So sadly no photos to show but grass and water .

Monday Oct 2 , hired a car and took off with Cole to The Keys. Driving though all the keys it was evident which one got hit the worst, boats, RV’s, vegetation and household appliances just piled up everywhere. We have never been in a disaster  zone before, it was quite eye opening.

Fortunately Key West had very little damage and we had a wonderful 24 hrs there, in a great Inn. Douglas House Inn, where we had a whole suite to ourselves completely separate from the rest of the Inn and right off Duvall Street.

Monday Oct 5th, We rented a house in Miami in Hollywood, all the kids are coming in along with very good friends of ours for 5 days. Steph and Matt flew in from England , Bex, Jewelia, Deb and Lissa drove down from TN and Steve flew in on Tuesday. We had a great house with a pool , lovely to see everyone and catch up. So next few days were spent at the beach, in the pool and generally enjoying each others company. All in preparation for a wedding on Wednesday !

We had originally thought we would get married on the beach, but it was so windy we stayed at the house and had a great time with family and friends finishing off with a pool party ! Thank you to all those who helped make our day very special.

Next couple of days were spent mooching around Miami and generally having a good time . Had fun on a Duck Tour and got soaked out in the bay when it decided to bucket down with rain. On Friday 13th we went deep sea fishing.

Chris was the only one who caught anything, King Mackerel , it was delicious !

So now all the family and friends have left , Chris and I have one more night in the house until we return to our mobile home. Tomorrow we start the final leg of our trip and the first part of our new journey together, heading up to the Florida Pan Handle, Alabama , Louisiana and Mississippi .

Lots of Love

Mr and Mrs Tullis  xx

Today is Friday Sept 29th, wow where has the time gone. After a few days in Knoxville we headed off to the Carolinas. North Carolina #43, South Carolina #44. First stop was Congaree National Park #52 , a small swampy park. And from there into Charleston to spend the evening with Kristen.

Friday 22nd we headed to Tybee Island and Savannah , Georgia #45. We were hoping to see Turtles on Tybee, but a little too late 😦  Spent Saturday in Savannah, lunched at Six Pence pub, drinking bitter shandy and chatting with 3 sub mariners from north of England.

Next stop was Okefenokee Swamp Park and …. mosquitoes !!!! This is a National Wildlife refuge that covers nearly 1/2 million acres. Here we took a ranger guided boat tour into the swamp and got up close with the wildlife.

From the swamp to the beaches, we travelled to St Augustine Florida #46, and stayed at Anastasia State Park, lovely beach side campground. St Augustine is the oldest town in USA with lots of Spanish and English influences. Had fish and chips in Prince of Wales Pub, which was actually pretty good.

Wednesday 27th drove south on A1A to increasing amounts of debris on the side of the road. Have not seen too much evidence of hurricanes so far. Through Daytona Beach and into Cape Canaveral. Thursday we spent the day at Kennedy Space Center, fascinating place. Got to see the launch pads, Space Shuttle Atlantis and had a go on a launch simulator . The sheer size of the rockets and the transporters . Well worth a visit.

Unfortunately we did not get to see a launch, there is one in a few days ,but it is at 4am and if i see one I want to see it in daylight, rather than just an orange glow in the sky.

So now we are heading into The Everglades and The Keys, which should be opening up on Oct 1st. Fingers crossed.

46 states, 52 national Parks and 18246 miles.

Theodore Roosevelt NP#43, North Dakota #34, was a small but pretty national park, sadly it was very over cast due to smokey skies yet again. Theodore Roosevelt moved here in 1883 to grieve after losing his wife and mother on the same day, the rugged landscape and strenuous life he experienced here helped shaped a conservation plan that we still benefit from today. Saw Prairie Dogs for the first time, along with Eagles and Coyotes.

Having photo issues yet again, putting up what I can , will add to it as I can.

From North Dakota into South Dakota #35, stopped in Buffalo for the night. Labor Day saw us passing the geographical center of the lower 48 in Belle Forche, really in the middle of nowhere !! Back into Wyoming (#27) and to Devils Tower (National Monument).  An astounding geologic feature protruding out of the Black Hills, America’s first national monument.  Lots of climbers , think Chris of feeling a twinge of jealousy.  The Native Americans hold Devils Tower in high regard and is scared ground to them. They still come here to preform ceremonies such as sweat lodges and sun dances and leave prayer offerings, colorful cloths or bundles.

From Devils Tower we drove to Sturgis SD, motorcycle capital of America, sadly we missed bike week by about a month so was very quiet. But used the time to have new tires put on Minnie and new glasses for Chris.

Wednesday sept 6 stopped in Deadwood SD , caught up with Wild Bill and Calamity Jane.

Then onto Crazy Horse Monument, this is the world’s largest mountain carving and its mission is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. It was started in 1948 and is still on going.  We once again lucked out and were there on one of only 2 nights when they perform a Night Blast, lighting the carving all the way up with explosions.

Next day we took Piglet on a 70 mile ride though Custer State Park with amazing scenery and roads. Hiked upto some Cathedral Spires , another great climbing location. This park was a great surprise , had never even heard of it before. Well worth the visit and drive though.

Mount Rushmore was a little disappointing , maybe we have seen so much in the way of natural wonders of this country , that we were expecting too much ?? Anyway its checked off the bucket list.

Next up was Wind Cave NP#48 and Badlands NP#49, interesting landscape. One of the richest fossil beds in the world. They have fossils dating back 6,000,000 years.  From here it was onto Minuteman Missile Silo NHS#50.  Very interesting, also scary , showing you just how close man can come to annihilating the human race !!

From here on for a few days , it was just long days driving though Nebraska #38, Kansas #37, Iowa #38, Minnesota  #39, Wisconsin #40, Illinois #41, Indianna #42 and Kentucky , back home to Knoxville for a few days before we head south to the Carolinas and Florida to meet up with family.

42 States, 50 National Parks/ Monuments and 17,000 miles.