Regretfully . . . .

The blog heading says it all. It really is with a lot of sadness that as many of you have probably already figured out - "there is no room at the inn" for us. We had our usual spot 409, that we have occupied for the last several years, reserved and had left a deposit. Unfortunately within the last couple of weeks our spot has become at least partially occupied by one of the new mobiles and our 5th wheel is so large that we just don't fit anywhere. It is bigger than most park models and probably bigger than some mobiles so we do require a big spot. That was what we liked about our corner on Magnolia and Center. We had plenty of room and also a place to park the pickup. Jim always liked sitting out in front and watching what was happening around us and many times someone would wander over and "sit awhile" and chat with him. He enjoyed that (even if he couldn't remember everyone's name, typical man I say!).

Because I've done the directory for so many years I knew almost everyone in the park on a first name basis with the exception of some of those folks who don't speak English and at that time there really were only a few.

Over the years we've done what a lot of people do, especially those with RVs and have visited many parks. It always came down to the fact that we liked Magnolia, we liked our lot and we liked the people who had become our friends. When the large mobiles started arriving in late spring we thought, well, we'll have to wait and see what happens. When the new sign went up we realized that Magnolia was now a family park and not a 55+ park. We still hoped that it would all work out but by now we, as well as many others have come to realize that at least for us, there is no spot for our RV or for us. It was really hard to come to realize that we now had to decide what we wanted to do. We had several possibilities but some of the parks that sounded and looked good on line we had never been in. The park that Harpers are moving too, Trails End I thought was a real possibility until Jim looked at the aerial view on line and saw how close the RVs appeared to be parked next to each other. He didn't like that and we had never visited that park for whatever reason. It did come down to just a few and they mostly were all Wilder Parks. After kicking it around we finally decided on Trophy Gardens which was one we both liked when we had visited it. We've been over there several times either on our own or last year visiting Butch and Barb as that is where they spent last winter. They have a great pool hall with equally great tables and as most of you know we did spend a lot of time in the Magnolia pool hall, well that is until last season when there really was hardly anyone in there and somehow it just wasn't the same. Several pool players had left the park, some moving to other parks in the valley, some staying home and unfortunately a couple  who had passed away, namely Don Louks and Kim Hodge. Trophy Gardens also has a longarm quilting machine and as some of you know I have a longarm machine here at home so I found that somewhat intriguing. There are also nice streets to walk on, and trees which I hope will have some birds in that I can catch with my camera. One of the many things we will miss are the parrots that fly over Magnolia twice a day, almost every day. They were great fun to try to photograph, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.

We certainly are going to miss more than that we know but we are hoping that we will be welcome to come over to visit. Chet & Irma are still going to be there and here at home we drop in to see them at least once a week and we intend to do that down there too. Jim will miss being "fireman" at the steak frys and actually Chet's crew may be quite shorthanded.

As both Barb and I have said in the last few days, the blog will continue. We want to keep you informed of what's happening, not only in the park but also in the lives of everyone who was once a member of the Magnolia family and for whatever reason no longer is, whether they are now staying home, living in another park, or just "whatever." I know for instance that some people who were once in Magnolia made a trip to Alaska this summer. I know that some current park residents made a trip out west. I also know that there have been sickness and health issues for other former residents but unless we are given permission we really can't just post anything about these things.

As always, please feel free to contact either of us and even though we won't be living in Magnolia simply because there really isn't place for us, Jim and I intend to see you this upcoming season.