Back Home in Austin

Main reason I'm here so long this time is that -- (wow, I'm getting ready to put it in writing for the first time) -- I'm going to be a great grandmother soon! I've only recently been able to say that with a straight face, even though it's as true as can be. It's more recent still that I've been able to say without cringing that it's my 16 year old granddaughter that's pregnant. And that's not even the "best" part - she's pregnant at 16 with TWINS - (double exclamation point for sure needed here)!! It's enough to say for now that our entire family (and the boy/father's family as well) have been through an emotional process to get to this point of acceptance. Not to mention the process my granddaughter went through when she found out. To her credit, she considered all the options and alternatives, and says the only thing she can live with is to have her babies and care for them as best she can. Even though we all know she has no real clue yet about what all is involved in mothering one child, much less two at the same time, we have decided we couldn't make that decision for her if we tried, and at this point it is in everyone's best interest to just accept it and be as supportive as we possibly can be.

You got two websites - why blog?

I created Inspiration's Journey (Malia's RV.com) simply as a way to let family and friends know where I was when I started fulltime RVing in 2001. It was easier and I could post more pictures than sending individual emails out. It never crossed my mind that people I didn't know would come across the site and find it interesting. But it's really cool to me that readers have commented that it does live up to its name and that they have found it inspiring.

If I could convey just one thing through that site, it would be this: it is possible to pursue your dreams and make them come true - even if you don't have a clue how, even if you're petrified with fear, even if everyone else thinks you're crazy - you can walk right through all of that and come out the other side doing what you want to do. Is it always easy? Of course not, but it all starts with baby steps and ends with you not sitting in an old folk's home rocking chair full of regret - not for things you did in your life, but for all that you wanted to do but didn't.

After a couple of years of RVing, I started Malia's Miles as a way of sharing info with other RVers. It was frustrating to me how long it could take to research things we roving souls like to know when we're planning a stop. So I started writing about the campgrounds I stayed at and fun activities I did with reviews and lots of pictures.

But I decided to get on the blog bandwagon because it seems it would be easier to make short regular posts here - and I like the fact that people can make comments and contribute - and it's free - so why not?

And I plan on writing about more personal stuff here instead of mainly RV related material. There's lots of stuff going on in my life these days that have nothing to do with RVing. Mostly family drama and there's certainly enough of that to keep me occupied for the six months I plan to be here.

More on that later...