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[Guest]

Lurker here checking in..<br>Love this site, think I have read almost every post. <br>I am in MI, very rural boonies. I'm a transplanted southerner for some years.<br><br>One reason I joined today was because my last chick in the nest is now 18, wants to get out on his own and my graduation present to him is a few days road trip.<br>I'm not able to do much else but he never asks for anything and has been a tremendous help on the homestead these last several years.<br><br>So I am planning a few days the first of March for this. I plan to take him down in KTY and TN. We just have the minivan but it will have to do.<br><br>When my young'uns were much younger (all grow'd up now) I would throw em in the big conversion van we had and take off for parts unknown. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay gone a few weeks and we did all rough camping.<br>We slept in the big van and loved it. Got to see many places. Some camp spots were in National forests we had to hike back into. This young man was just a preschooler then but he carried his own backpack and gear. <br>Since we've mostly homesteaded for the last 15+ years, he was quite familiar with off-grid stuff. I homeschooled all the babies and some are in college now. <br>They still talk about those years of camping and traveling. <br><br>Recently I had cause to travel to SC and back, very sad family event. I stopped to sleep a bit at a rest stop outside Cosby, TN area on that lonely stretch of 40 that winds its way through the smokies. It was gorgeous. I had taken the kids all over that area years ago, and this is where I want to take son. <br><br>We won't have alot of time or dough but just getting out on the road I think will be wonderful. I want him to see the mountains and the friendly peeps. Its a promise I made and one I intend to keep.<br><br>So there it is..and thank you for keeping this site going.<br><br><br><br>

 

[SheketEchad]

<span style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Good to have you! &nbsp;I love TN and I'm sure you're going to have a great time with your son <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">~SE</span></div>

 

[Guest]

thank you! i had forgotten the beauty of it and how friendly people are..and the men opened the doors for me..<img src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> <br>

 

[stude53]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Welcome, Aunt Meg <img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif"></p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Glad to have you with us.</p>

 

[Les H]

Welcome, just posted on your other thread too!
Les

 

[cyndi]

Hi meg! Welcome! What an awesome thing to do with your son! I'm excited for the both of you!

 

[sl1966]

Hi &amp; Welcome Aunt Meg!<div><br></div>

 

[judycmomx6]

Hi Meg, see I told you I hadn't read the post's yet, I don't know how you can live up there in the winter, I would literally freeze to death! Where in SC did you go? You said you had a nephew that is a marine, you must know where Parris Island is, I live very close to there. Are you living off-grid up there? Talk to ya after while.

 

[Guest]

hey girlie<br>went to chas..thats where i was born and raised. how the heck did i end up in MI? <br>thats another story..<br>yes i think he was there forawhile, and GA and outer banks NC. he just got back from stan and has a year to go i think? he was completely "unschooled" along with all his other big family of sibs. he took all the clep tests in comm college and aced them, then signed up for marines. he is a truly genuine awesome young man!<br><br>off grid yes and no. i have for sure. compost toilet, rainwater system, wood cook and heat stoves, oil lamps and a small solar.&nbsp; chickens, ducks, goats, horses, rabbits, dogs and cats and so on. do all vet care. large gardens and put up in pantry. i haven't been able to do all i'd like to the last few years, i am hoping to get back to it. got shortwave, cb, all the camp gear, tents, shower tent, etc. collected over the years.<br><br>right now i heat with wood and cook with it. heat water like that to bathe, do dishes. <br>i have a small laptop for movies and the net, straighttalk phone 30$ a month. tons of books, mags, all manners of off grid things. i would be so happy to do it full time the way i want. get a spot of land, live in van or old camper (have 2) and travel when it gets cold. these campers for the most part i picked up cheap. <br>i do have some livestock at this point. but living in rural homestead area i can buy almost all i need out here. <br>thing is, i would happy to be a hermit, though i wonder if its because peeps here mostly keep to themselves and you rarely see the southern friendly thing. i've been up north for a good while. not putting anyone down, i got used to it. but wow was it nice when i made that trip to SC and what a difference along the way. <br>&nbsp;have i rambled too much?<br><br>one memory i have is the kids and i on our travels went to hot springs, ark campground. clinton was prez then. we had a blast in the springs. we went into town that night just to look around. i got pulled over by the pokey just cause we had out of state tags. they were a tad on the arrogant side. we never went back there.<br><br>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p>Hi Aunt Meg!&nbsp; Welcome to a friendly group of cool people!</p>

 

[KatieinKansas]

<font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hi Meg,</span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">..Glad you're with us! &nbsp;Katie</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br></span></font></div>