Maryland, here we come...

April 29th
Zorma's travels to MD and beyond...
Leaving NC was tough; we would have liked to have spent more time with Great Grandmother. She is very well taken care of and seems to be quite happy with her situation so that made it a little easier to leave. We do have plans on going back because we miss her a lot, she is so fun to be around. There is so much history rambling around inside her 93 year old head!
The drive up to MD was pretty uneventful until we got to WASHINGTON DC! We finally manage to get out of the city and back onto the highway...
We were just a short way from the Rapposelli's... YEAH!
We tried to surprise the kids because they didn’t know exactly what day we were coming but it turned out we were getting there at the same time as school was being let out and bringing Zorma into the school parking lot wasn’t going to happen so we went straight to Karen’s house and only beat the kids by about 5 minutes. They were soooooooooo excited to see the new home on wheels and couldn’t wait to get a ride. Had half the neighborhood gallivanting through it until Grandad used his “grumpy” voice and kicked them all out so we could get her parked and set up for an extended stay in Rising Sun, Maryland. Longest stay ever with the Rapps and it was FANTASTIC!!!!!! We spent every minute we could with this wonderful family and enjoyed every single one of them… Em and Thomas are the best kids; smart, funny, adorable, happy and just plain FUN! They truly love each other and rarely argue… Karen and Tommy are doing an amazing job with them. And with both parents working, ‘Mom-Mom’ and ‘Pop-Pop’ Rapposelli are really a blessing. I only wish I had as much time with all my grandkids everyday!
With work, school, baseball, dance classes, scouts, friends and family functions, the Rapposelli’s are a very busy bunch.
NASCAR Day on May 14th. [By Jimmy]

Tommy and Karen (their kids & brother Sterling & his family) were going to a NASCAR race and I was invited to go…for FREE. It was the NASCAR Dover 200 Camping World Truck Race and we were going to be sitting in the DuPont Box Suite, refreshments and food included!
This was my first pro-level event in 40 plus years. The last time that I went the event cost $7 for the day… in the sun… no food and no ear protection. But the cars that were racing were actual cars from a showroom. They had been street legal at the point of purchase. You can’t say that about NASCAR race cars today.
I may have been quiet all day because I was taking it all in, and I was very impressed with the facility at Dover Raceway. I’ll likely never have a chance like that again; thanks Tommy & Sterling for making it happen. Flat out, I had a great time, and did I mention it was FREE? Aric Almirola won that day and it was over too quick. The whole day can be summed up into one word; NIIIIIIICE!
May 15th... Happy Birthday KitKat and Betsy!
Today we went to see the Charm City Cakes(“Ace of Cakes”) store again. Last time it was January and about 10 degrees and it was dark so it was a super fast stop. This time we were able to go over and check it out, take some pictures and feel like real ‘tourists’… I would have LOVED to of gotten a picture of the inside just for Valeri and Daniel, but you can’t get in without an appointment. Oh well, it’s too bad Duff doesn’t know how talented Val and Daniel are or I’m sure he’d hire them on the spot! That's OK; we have our own California Duff... :o)
From there we took a trip to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore to meet up with my cousin Peter and his family. Haven’t seen them since Alaina was 3 and she is now 14! Still has the same adorable face with her big blue eyes and bright smile. She now has 2 younger siblings, Patrick and Julia. Both were born in Japan while Peter was stationed there with the Navy. Patrick is only 8 months older than Julia so needless to say, Lisa is one busy mommy. Em and Thomas had such a fun afternoon with them. I just wanted to say how VERY proud I am of Peter and Lisa. Peter's been in the Navy for over 20 years and has worked hard to climb up that ‘corporate’ ladder and is now working in Washington DC for some Admiral or another. He is a graduate of Annapolis, has been deployed many, many times and has had to suffer great lengths of time away from his family. Not to mention moving around every few years, to not only different states but countries as well. His children are extremely well adjusted and well rounded and that says a lot for both Peter and Lisa… Thanks guys for taking the time to come and see us. It was a terrific day!
And before we knew it, it was time to hit the road again. We can’t wait to go back; we might even get in a few more weeks next time! There were tears all around when we left! I think Thomas was more upset about Sammie leaving than us! That boy REALLY needs a dog!!!!!!!! I would have left Sam if she would have stayed, she was fantastic with Thomas and Emily, never snapped at them once, and that is saying a lot for her… 

May 17th,
Left MD and headed for Ohio to see my Uncle Pete and Aunt Maureen again. It was a great place to stop and rest and found their ‘summer’ home as warm and welcoming as their ‘winter’ home in FL. I just LOVE those guys! This time we got to see Justine and her hubby, Artie. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen them as well (not as long as Peter and Lisa though) and they are adjusting to Ohio life just splendidly… I couldn’t be happier for all of them, it is well deserved…

May 19th,
Now we are off again, heading for our “home away from home”, South Dakota. And, as we quickly found out, South Dakota is a really beautiful state, with lots of friendly people, can’t wait to come back actually…
Next time we’ll stay awhile and see the sights.

May 22nd,
And now I’m lying on the bed as Jimmy fights the high winds of Nebraska, heading towards Colorado and a visit with another life-time pal, Val Garcia-Pemberton. She has been away from California for a long, long time and it will be very nice to see her again.