"F" is for ... NO, Not What You Think!!! :-0 (#atozchallenge)

Today is my sixth day as a participant in the "#Blogging from A to Z Challenge" so it is time to reveal that I am writing about the letter "F" = F is for Family. 

FAMILY...  

Luke and Judy - Christmas 2016

My IMMEDIATE FAMILY includes my hubby of 46+ years, Luther (aka Luke), and our only child, daughter Robin. 

Robin is happily married to Troy and they have two teenage sons: techie Taylor (age 17 next week) and sports player Tanner (14). They live in Pleasanton, CA and we can conveniently visit them with our motorhome if space is available at the nearby Alameda County Fairgrounds RV Park. 

We also have been known to tag along with them in our motorhome on family vacations to Palm Desert and Disneyland and to youth baseball tournaments in Cooperstown, NY and the Phoenix area.

(From left to right)  Son-in-law Troy, Grandson Taylor, Daughter Robin, and Grandson Tanner visiting the "Tower of Terror" at Disneyland last year.

My side of our EXTENDED FAMILY is very small.  My parents died when I was a young teenager so my older sister Pat and brother Frank became my legal guardians as I grew up.  They and their spouses were present at our wedding in 1970 for this group photo.  From the left: Dick and Pat Philip, Luke and I on our wedding day, and Shirley and Frank Quillinan.  Except for my dear Sister-in-law Shirley, the others are now all deceased.

During my high school years I lived with Shirley and Frank in the Sacramento area and their two daughters, Reggie and Corie.  The girls have grown up and in May we are all going on an Alaska Cruise together.  Here is a photo of my late brother Frank Quillinan's side of the family taken on Mother's Day a couple of years ago:

Starting from the left and going up the stairs are my nieces Reggie and her daughter Randi, Corie and her wife Christine, myself and my sister-in-law Shirley.  

My late sister Pat had three children and they all got together up in the Pacific Northwest last year. Nephew Gary and wife Sandra Philip now live in Port Townsend, WA, Niece Susan and Richard Valente live in La Pine, Oregon, and Nephew Jamie Philip lives in Danville, CA.  Pictured in order, from left:  Sandra, Richard, Susan, Jamie and Gary.

Luke's Rinehimer Family lives in Pennsylvania and we have been driving cross country in our various motorhomes every five years for Berwick High School Class of 1960 Reunions and family get-togethers.  

Luke is on the left with his younger brother Dale in the middle and older brother Gene on the far right.

Two years ago when Robin and her family were all in Cooperstown, New York for Tanner's "All Star Village Baseball Tournament", everyone met in Boyertown, PA for a "Cousins Reunion".

 

My WORK FAMILY and thousands of students were always dear to me at Cosumnes River College (CRC) in Sacramento and Placerville, California.  I worked 32 years for CRC in a variety of roles including public information officer, professor of journalism, photography, communications media and computer science applications, Study Abroad Coordinator, and College Dean. I still stay in touch with my Emeritus Association members and even former students who have gone on to have their own communications career.  As a matter of fact, my next door neighbor is a former Desktop Publishing student who went on to have his own printing businesses.


Our COOL FAMILY HOME!

Since I retired in 2004 we have been "on the road" anywhere from six to nine months out of the year. When not traveling we live in a multi-story house on 3/4 acre in a 2700-acre gated community with security patrols, a free 9-hole golf, walking and horse trails and many clubs. As a matter of fact, this week we are celebrating 38 years living in Auburn Lake Trails, in Cool, CA.  When we travel our Community Services team provides courtesy house checks for open doors, windows, or strange vehicles in the driveway.  We pay a neighbor to mow the lawn when needed.

Casa de Cool and our Rolling Condo parked in our driveway in Cool.

Our RV Family is Huge!

The greatest part of the RV lifestyle is meeting friends all over the country and online.  A few days ago I mentioned that we now have over 1,000 Escapee Boomers and sometime we meet in large groups called "Boomerangs" or small groups called "Mini-Rangs".  We also belong to a variety of other RV clubs:  Winnebago-Itasca Travelers (WIT), Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA), Golden Spikes, Freightliner Owners Club, Good Sam, and plenty of Escapee RV Club "Birds of a Feather" chapters like the Geocachers, RVing Elks, and the Mexican Connection.  

We just came from two national RV club gatherings in Chandler and Tucson, Arizona and literally met up with and hugged hundreds of friends.  We stay in contact through newsletters and social media, especially Facebook and Yahoo discussion groups, and I can probably tell you where each of my 510 Facebook friends are currently on the road visiting with family or playing tourist somewhere in the world!

In the RV world I am frequently called "CoolJudy" and I tease that it is an attitude, as well as a nickname, based on our home town.  I can't even imagine how many times someone had walked up to me and asked:  "Aren't you Cool Judy"?   My photo and nickname are all over the internet in RV discussion groups.  Some folks even call my husband "Cool Hand Luke".  

We are also called the CoolRVers because of our email address and motorhome license plate. 

So this has been all about our various families both at home and on the road.  Hope you will continue to follow this blog and others participating in the Bloggers Challenge. Please take the time to Google search "#atozchallenge" and read what all the Participants are writing.  You are encouraged to provide feedback by using the COMMENTS box on each blog posting.  If you like what you read, take the next step and "follow" the author's compositions by completing the "subscription" box.

BE SURE TO GOOGLE SEARCH THE OTHER BLOGGERS

PARTICIPATING IN THE "#A TO Z CHALLENGE"

TOMORROW:  "G STANDS FOR ________"