The Great House-Swap Adventure has begun. John and Cathy Ney, friends and former residents of Blacksburg, arrived on Monday, desperate for relief from the sunshine and warm temperatures they endure each winter at their Naples FL condo. We spent a snowy Tuesday acquainting them with the peculiarities of our Blacksburg house. They handed us the keys to their condo and this morning, after we scraped away another inch of snow, we hooked up the camper (which we'll use after our condo stay) and headed SOUTH. We were relieved to run out of snow around Charlotte NC.

Tonight, we are "camped" in a Comfort Inn in Ridgeland SC. The Aliner has towed nicely and it's been an easy trip. It seems that there is another winter weather advisory for Blacksburg from Thursday through Saturday. The forecast for Naples is partly cloudy, with highs in the 70s.


Addendum: Strange things happen, and you never know what ... or who ... is just around the corner. As we left our motel room tonight to grab a snack, Forrest noted a popup camper parked out front. A man emerged from two doors down, and I asked if the camper was his. It was. As we chatted, his wife, Emilie, joined us. They are from North Carolina, headed to Florida. We said we were from Blacksburg, and the woman said the daughter of a close friend of her father's lived in Blacksburg. She couldn't remember the daughter's married name, but her maiden name was Lynn Rockcastle. I stammered, "I'm Lynn Rockcastle!" Emilie's younger sister had been an elementary-school friend of mine, and I hadn't seen Emilie in over 50 years. Our fathers were close friends, colleagues and co-authors. We reminisced with them over supper, gave a camper tour, and will see them for breakfast in the morning. Small world!