I said that my last few months on the road formed a transition to life at home. The first transition was to Toastmasters. Over the years, I had visited a lot of clubs around Australia but Peninsula and Healthy Chatterers remained my home clubs. I was coming up to 40 years in Peninsula and 10 years in Healthy Chatterers. I've always considered Toastmasters my second family, and the Solos Network of motorhoming solas as my third family. I knew I was coming close to a divorce from my third family but Toastmasters was to become important again. One of the things that I have linked over time was the travel and Toastmasters, not just in my blogs and speeches, but in the people I met along the way and the clubs I visited. I often had TM projects on the burner. While I was in Broome in about July, I began work on a project that I planned to deliver in November when I got home. I wanted to honour my friend Jan who was celebrating 40 years in Toastmasters. She joined Peninsula at about the time I transferred from Coolabah club in Mackay. My project was This is Your Life, Jan Bell. Over the following few month, I organised speakers from all parts of Jan's life based on the TV program from a few years back. Some of these were pre-recorded, like her grandson Mark who was, at the time, at a United Nations conference in Belguim. Others were to be on Zoom. Former work friends and retired Toastmasters were to be featured. As well, I knew there would be speakers at the meeting, such as her daughter, her granddaughter, and many Toastmasters friends. I had to rely on current members for some of the legwork involved in the preparation as I often lacked internet connections. All was going to plan until the last minute - widespead rain along my route home. Australian roads are not noted for their accessibility. As I rushed across the Nullabor, then South Australia and turned north, everywhere the road quality had deteriorated. Some roads were more pothole than road. I rushed to get ahead of the rain but only got as far as Moree before the floods forced me to stop. I couldn't get through to either Goondiwindi or Stanthorpe. After a few days, a young fellow I had been travelling with suggested that we backtrack to Tamworth and try the coastal route. I got home 24 hours before my presentation of This is your Life. The timing of the presentation was fortunate. Jan had recently been confined to a nursing home. She had said to Janine that she wanted to go to a meeting and say her farewells. Janine managed to bring her to this meeting where we honoured her 94th year of life and her 40th year of Toastmasters. It proved to be a rehearsal for her eulogy. Less than six months later, in her real eulogy, we repeated many of the stories she was privileged to hear before her death. By then, I had sold my motorhome and settled back into a quieter lifestyle. Because I had been on the road for most of the previous 13 years, I had no community at home apart from family. Over the next six months, I deliberately built community. I continued with my two Toastmasters clubs of course. On top of that I built a spiritual community at St gerard Majella's at Aspley, including working in the op shop there once a week. I joined the Burnie Brae senior centre playing Scrabble on Tuesday and attending the Older Women's Network (OWN) on Thursdays. For a while I was part of a ukulele group until my lack of time and lack of talent led me to drop that. Once a month I attended a Murder and Crime book club - which I prefer to call merely a Murder and Crime club, to keep people guessing. A couple of times a month, I went to trivia. I played cards and boardgames with my sisters and some Toastmaster friends. I think I have a good balance of activities and have several communities where I feel comfortable. This will be my last blog on this site.

 Time flies. It is nearly two years since I sold the van. My wings have been clipped. I had a wonderful swan song - the big lap over 10 months! That trip formed a kind of transition from my mobile life to the sedentary one that was beginning. 

During the big lap, I travelled mainly with Bethel, Pamela, Robyn, and Ali. After the Cohuna rally, most of the Solos headed west, along the Murray and then north to Gemtree, via Alice Springs. For a variety of reasons, the five of us (and John taking bird photos) left from Brisbane and travelled through Western Queensland, via Mount Isa and on the Gemtree. 

Ali, Monica, Bethel, Robyn and Pamela

Robyn, me and Pamela

At the Northern Territory Border, my van, Robyn's and Bethel's

After the rally or bush camp there, all five of us continued together to Darwin. Ali had trouble with her van and was stuck there for six weeks. The rest of use moved on and spent time in Lake Argyle, the Warrumbungles and the Kimberley area. Somewhere along the way, Pamela sprang a leak and her van went on a truck to Geraldton and she had to backtrack to eventually meet us in Broome.

We made our slow way across the north of Western Australia. At times we were joined by others, including Joy and Ed, Laraine, and Trevor. Having one of the blokes travelling with us added a campfire to the mix. We usually didn't bother about fires but the guys always carried a chainsaw and built a fire. Depending on who was with us at the time, sometimes there were dampers or meals. Our eventual destination was Leeman, north of Perth, for our second rally of the year. 

From there. we made our way home in smaller groups. Carol and Pamela left fairly early as Carol's son was ill. Bethel spent some time in hospital in Margaret River then flew home (to return for her van in the new year). I was meant to meet up with Robyn in Norseman to travel across the Nullabor together. However, she hurt her knee and was air ambulanced home, with her van following on a truck. So, when I got to Norseman, all my travel buddies had gone. I stayed at a free camp there, met up with a couple who were leaving at the same time, and travelled with them for three days in a quick trip. There was widespread rain, the roads were in dreadful condition, and it became important to get to the east coast while it was still possible.

At the Cohuna Flower Power rally

This blog was meant to explain the transition from travel to home but I'll save the transition for the next installment.