Holiday lights at Pocahontas With a little more than a week in Jacksonville before heading out again, we managed to squeeze in some Christmas festivities, before driving north for the holidays. This year, we put on the miles, going as far north as Pennsylvania before turning back south. After Christmas at Pocahontas, we made a short stop in NC and arrived in Jacksonville in time to welcome in the New Year.
Tuba Christmas and more
After our arrival in Jacksonville, we had to get squared away before we would head out again, leaving the RV behind. In between packing and tending to some tasks at Faith, we took advantage of the warming temperatures to enjoy an outdoor Christmas concert at the beach. But you wouldn’t find any stringed instruments or keyboards in this concert, it was all tubas, from the smallest to the largest. While this was our first Tuba Christmas concert, these events had been held for decades and repeated all over the country. Our main reason for attending was to support Nelson, the young man from Faith who manages the livestream each Sunday.
After our arrival in Jacksonville, we had to get squared away before we would head out again, leaving the RV behind. In between packing and tending to some tasks at Faith, we took advantage of the warming temperatures to enjoy an outdoor Christmas concert at the beach. But you wouldn’t find any stringed instruments or keyboards in this concert, it was all tubas, from the smallest to the largest. While this was our first Tuba Christmas concert, these events had been held for decades and repeated all over the country. Our main reason for attending was to support Nelson, the young man from Faith who manages the livestream each Sunday.
The angel announces the birth to the shepherds at Church of Our Savior live nativity. We also took in a unique live nativity at the Church of Our Savior on their grounds which back onto the St. John’s River. It was scripted as a short play, having us walk from scene to scene. We saw Mary and Joseph’s visits from the angels, and their journey to Bethlehem, through the entire Christmas story. While it was beautiful and well-done, the 90 minute wait was way too long.
Now that we had kicked off the Christmas season, it was time to head north to spend much of it with family.
Now that we had kicked off the Christmas season, it was time to head north to spend much of it with family.
Dave and Neal work to remove the freezer from the pallet, while Pastor Barry supervises. Faith Work
Being back at Faith meant that we no longer were doing all of our support tasks remotely, which meant there would be (literally) some heavy lifting. With the help of some strategic planning by a fellow camper, we managed to move 2 very heavy refrigerator / freezers into a room for Kim’s Open Door, as they made plans to provide more food to the families of the students they tutor.
The next day, as we were helping load supplies for 2 of her events at nearby apartments, we discovered that Beyond 90’s holiday celebration was about to begin, and they needed help sorting through the dozens of boxes of toys received late the previous evening. An unexpected surprise gift from a local church. We helped organize the bounty so that their volunteers could find what they needed. And later, we worked with them to provide gifts for a family in need that Dave’s sister supports in PA. We were glad to be able to make the connection.
Being back at Faith meant that we no longer were doing all of our support tasks remotely, which meant there would be (literally) some heavy lifting. With the help of some strategic planning by a fellow camper, we managed to move 2 very heavy refrigerator / freezers into a room for Kim’s Open Door, as they made plans to provide more food to the families of the students they tutor.
The next day, as we were helping load supplies for 2 of her events at nearby apartments, we discovered that Beyond 90’s holiday celebration was about to begin, and they needed help sorting through the dozens of boxes of toys received late the previous evening. An unexpected surprise gift from a local church. We helped organize the bounty so that their volunteers could find what they needed. And later, we worked with them to provide gifts for a family in need that Dave’s sister supports in PA. We were glad to be able to make the connection.
Being back on site, we could take a closer look at the state of the internet after the fire damaged an ethernet wire a few weeks before we arrived. Once it was replaced, we took time to test it only to discover that it didn’t work. Cathy dusted off her tools and put a new end on the wire that looked most suspect. Her guess proved right and the connection worked again. This would prove to be one of the most valuable things we did. When the Comcast modem failed a few days after our departure, having that connection working meant that most of the campus was up and running much faster (over a day) than it would have been without it.
When Comcast did replace the modem, an installation error caused another problem that prevented the office from using the printer. This created a lot of stress, since not 1 but 2 sets of bulletins needed to be printed for Christmas Eve Sunday. Dave spent at least an hour each day working with persons on site to finally get the connection restored. It didn’t help that he was kicked off his remote access software ( for using it too much ) for a few days in the middle of the problem.
When Comcast did replace the modem, an installation error caused another problem that prevented the office from using the printer. This created a lot of stress, since not 1 but 2 sets of bulletins needed to be printed for Christmas Eve Sunday. Dave spent at least an hour each day working with persons on site to finally get the connection restored. It didn’t help that he was kicked off his remote access software ( for using it too much ) for a few days in the middle of the problem.
But there was one fun task that we took on for the church during our time away. We were asked to record the Christmas Eve candle lighting readings to be played for the evening service. After a few false starts, we managed to get it right, and were able to watch ourselves during the service that night. It was sort of like being there in person.
Lunch with Linda and Steve and Steve and Sue at Jason's Deli. Travels North
Our first stop as we headed north was a few days of relaxing in Hilton Head, before heading out just ahead of a huge storm that was working its way up the coast. We managed to stay ahead of it until we stopped in Hampton to see friends.
Our first stop as we headed north was a few days of relaxing in Hilton Head, before heading out just ahead of a huge storm that was working its way up the coast. We managed to stay ahead of it until we stopped in Hampton to see friends.
Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in the rain. By the time we headed out after lunch, the rain was with us. We had decided to head up the Eastern shore en route to Pennsylvania, which meant crossing the long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. By crossing on Sunday, we stayed ahead of the high winds that would follow the rain. Driving through flooded roads the next am, we finally emerged from the storm. Our route took us close to Crisfield, MD and Ranger Mark helped us order 2 Smith Island cakes to take north on our travels. We met him in a Salisbury MD parking lot, but the wind and rain forced us to make it a brief stop.
Dave with Mom and sister Diane We enjoyed a few nights staying with Dave’s mom, his sister Diane and Pam. We helped out a bit, enjoyed the company and some good food before packing up again for our next hop.
Grandpa checks out Troy's set of tools. We turned south again back to Virginia, where we would spend a week at one of the nice vacation cabins at Pocahontas. Bringing lights and decorations, we made it feel like Christmas. We arranged a Christmas Eve dinner with Andi (former volunteer coordinator) and her husband Max, whom we hadn’t seen much in the last year. We enjoyed catching up. After spending Christmas with Bonnie and Troy and the kids at their place, they joined us for a meal at the cabin the next day. Carolyn had driven up Christmas night to have some time together with them as well.
Cathy with sisters Grace and Chris By Thursday, our week was up, and we made our way to Raleigh, visiting with Grace and John, their girls’ families and Chris who arrived from Greensboro. Seeing everyone made the circle complete. After heading south again, we pulled into Faith on New Year’s Eve, and managed to just make it to midnight to toast the new year. It had been a lot of miles, but the trip was a good one.
Cathy put together a look back at the year just ended, which we hope you might enjoy as well.
Cathy put together a look back at the year just ended, which we hope you might enjoy as well.
