A Couple of Boomers, Workin' a Dream

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Our month in Florida just flew by. We spent it with friends from Michigan, some for the month and some just over the New Year holiday. But the time ended and we have moved on. Here we all are relaxing on the beach on Sanibel Island.

We were headed to AZ so we traveled the Gulf Coast of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and New Orleans.
We stopped in Mexico Beach FL (east of Panama City in the FL pan handle) to check out another friends vacation home.

He and I were hoping that the motorhome would fit in the driveway, but it didn't. This is a photo of the Gulf which is right across the street from his home.As we continued our trip west we spent a few days with Paul and Mary at Fountainbleau St Park in Mandeville LA. It happened to be Karlas' birthday so we all went out to dinner. Next we stopped to visit our friends Art and Terry in Lafayette LA.

Art's hobby is wood turning and he needed some help bringing some wood home. We spent a day and soon we had a chunk of wood on his new lathe.

Another 3 days of driving and we made it back to Valle Del Oro, Mesa AZ where we will spend a week relaxing and visiting friends from last seasons workamping.

And last but not least, this weeks prize photo of Grant.

2011-12-01T16:46:00.001-08:00

Grant on his way to get a Christmas tree

Today we made it safely into FL. and tonight we are parked in an RV park along the Suwannee River. And yes it is the river that the song was written about. We arrived here with blue skies and warmer weather. And yes it does feel great to have the windows open. Tomorrow we will make to to Ft Myers Beach where we will be for a little over a month. Yea!!!

As you know, while we were in MI I helped my friend, Ted remodel his kitchen and bath. Here are a few photos of the project. When we left, the only things left to do are have the counter top installed, complete the painting, plumbing and electrical. I finished my part, now it is up to Ted to wrap it up. Go Ted go! (Hopefully the check book stays healthy)

To keep us in MI and to help w/ completing the kitchen, while we were in Chicago, Ted put a "boot" on the motor home and said it would only be removed once the kitchen was done.

Before we begin

all tore out and ready for the first party

new cabinets and floor installed

waiting for the counter top
(taken from the same spot the first photo was taken)

inside of the original kitchen

Ted puts the "boot" on the mh to keep us around

our spot the day after we leave

the "boot"

Boy am I glad that I got my work done and that I figured out how to remove the boot, or I would have had to do some snow shoveling!

2011-11-29T19:26:00.001-08:00

We had a great time in Chicago, but it was over to soon. We left for home on Sunday and it rained all the way back. We spent Monday packing and loading up and getting ready to travel. And Mon. night we went into town and spent time w/ friends and said our goodbyes. Today it rained all day but we made it safe and sound to a park just outside Lexington KY. Tomorrow to somewhere close to Atlanta.

Tonight the rain is changing to snow back in MI. Boy are we lucky, as we leave just in time. Almost to close for comfort!

2011-11-18T13:58:00.001-08:00

Here is the latest pic of Grant. He looks great all decked out in maize and blue. My son, Jesse was babysitting today and took the photo. The pic isn't going over so well w/ Grants' parents because they both went to Michigan State. And I actually got the blame for it, and I'm 350 miles away. Go figure and GO BLUE!

The kitchen is almost done, the electrician, plumber and counter top install is all that is left. So I am packing up my tools and getting ready for Thanksgiving in Chicago. And not to soon because it is becoming more like winter here than fall. And that makes it time to move on.

Back again!

2011-11-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

Again, it's been a long time since the last post.

This is from June 1 at Tahoe Valley CG, S Lake Tahoe, CG when it snowed 2 inchs.

Despite that, we had a great time there. We spent the rest of the summer doing workamping and biking, hiking, kayaking, dancing, oh and a little drinking too! The park, town and staff were wonderful and and we had a good enough time to say "We'll be back next summer!"

We visited the Grand Canyon and spent some time in N. CA. at my brothers house again. We also saw my sister and are currently outside Ann Arbor MI in Pinckney MI on Portage Lake. Again we are parked at Ted and Renee's house and this time I am remodeling his kitchen and bath. It has been a lot of work but I am taking time to spend some time with friends and ex- worker buddies. There is not much left to do on the kitchen, a little trim, install a door, install the new floor and wait for the counter top. But it won't be in till after Thanksgiving. Darn, this will be the second time we won't be able to see the finished kitchen till the next time we are in the area. We can't wait around here much longer, it is getting cold and we have reservations in a park in Ft Myers Beach, FL for Dec.

So you saw the picture of our first grand child, Grant Matthew Drury, born Oct 3 to my daughter Kai and her husband Mike. You might remember we were at their wedding in Sept of 2010 (they were on a baby mission). We plan on going to Chicago for Thanksgiving to be with all of them and my son Jesse. And after that heading south.

2011-03-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

Good Byes are said for now. We will all meet again on the long road to---everywhere.
Happy trails to all.

2011-03-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

Spring is just around the corner and it's time to figure out where everyone is off to next.

2011-03-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthdays and great times.

2011-03-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Eric and Al had great fun playing softball in the park.

Winter in Mesa

2011-03-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

More fun in Mesa with concerts at the park and the Tiki Bar Grand opening.

Winter in Mesa, Az 2010/2011

2011-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

These on begin to tell the story of our wonderful time in Mesa with old friends and new.

wintery weather everywhere

2011-02-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Massive ice storm hits Mesa AZ, paralizes many

As the snow storm of the century moves towards the east coast, I want to let everybody know that it isn't all sunshine and warm winds here in Mesa AZ. We too had a massive ice storm that effected, well maybe not everybody, well maybe only the few that walked past and noticed the ice on the water fountain here in the park. It has been cold here for the last 2 nights but it is going to warm up after today.

Since I haven't posted for a bit, Karla and I are in Mesa AZ for the winter. We took a "J-O-B" "working" the pool side Tiki Bar at Valle Del Oro RV Park in Mesa AZ.

Karla loves that we match

We are having a great time especially since Sherry and Sharon and Debby and Bill are here in the park also. Having friends as neighbors makes being in one spot much more enjoyable. Other friends from the Escapee Club come and go as they pass through Mesa, so we have plenty of people we know in the area. It is so much different when you are with friends than when traveling. Both are good, but being in one place with friends is nice.

water volley ball is every day 12-2

As I said,

we match

Mon, Tues and Fri there is a Happy Hour from 4-6 which has live music. The dance floor is a bit away from us but it was so busy one night people started line dancing right by the Bar.


Line dancing moves to a new dance floor

Working late into the night

Once in awhile, we are open later into the evening, it was pretty dark so we had them put up some lights. We get all of our work hours in on Thurs and Fri so we do have plenty of time to explore the area, visit with friends and enjoy all that the park has to offer.

Thanks for reading and as always travel safe

And into Arizonia

2010-12-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Enough of Utah, it was getting too cold so it was time to head south. Plus my "seasonal worker" position was over so we said our good byes to Michael and Christi. They are great people, managing a great park and if you are ever there tell them we said HI. Also if you get the chance, stay and see Michaels' show, it is very entertaining.

We landed in Camp Verde AZ which is pretty close to Sedona AZ, Red Rock State Park and Jerome AZ.

Cathedral Rock

We did a nice hike at Red Rock State Park and had some nice views of Cathedral Rock.

Foot bridge over a creek in Red Rock St Park

We also walked over this bridge, never miss an opportunity to photo railings and bridges.

On our way back to Camp Verde we stopped at this chapel that had been built out of the rocks. Chapel of the Holy Cross was built in 1956 and won many awards from the AIA.

and looking up another stair

Jerome AZ is now a partial ghost town. It was once the 4th largest city in AZ and was a copper mining camp. It is built on the side of the mountain and the streets zig zag back and forth as you travel up the mountain and thru the city. It is now an artist community with many art filled shops. If you "click" the photo it will enlarge and you can see the OPEN sign for this Glass Blowing Shop. I now know what "store front" means.

looking down a flight of stairs in Jerome

We have since moved on to Mesa AZ. Here there are many other members of the Escapee RV Club and it is good to see them and spend time together. Everybody has a year full of travel stories to swap with each other. We were all together last Jan in Quartzite AZ at our graduation. And more on all of the festivities in future posts.

Spread the word that we RVers want recycling!

2010-12-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

Hello All!
Well,leave it to my sweet husband to give me praise when he helped me incredibly with this project while he worked hard in other areas in the park.

But seriously just a side note regarding the recycle issue. It has been amazing to us what excuses some parks come up with as to why they can't recycle. We RVers, who are the reason for their existence need to get the word out that we want recycling. You can help by just letting every park that you stay at know that you want recycling or that you appreciate the ones who do recycle. Every person who speaks up, makes a difference. Thanks for your help in this. Karla

Mission Accomplished

2010-12-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Recycling Containers provided by Karla

Karla wanted to do something positive while I was working at the last cg. She saw no recycling containers at the cg. She asked the managers if she could help them by doing the research for providing this service. They were receptive and said yes so she called the local recyclers, the local trash companies and spoke with the people in charge of recycling at the county. There are many options in Washington County, Utah which is great for recycling. The county provides provides "binnies" (large drop off bins) at many locations through out the county. She presented all the options to Michael and Christi and they chose to buy these containers to put in the park. County has binnies right down the street from where they live so it will be easy for them to keep these empty. As soon as Karla put them out people started to use them. As the park fills up in the spring and more and more people use the containers they may have to go to plan two, but this is a great start. Way to go Karla and Michael and Christie !

Thanksgiving/Black Friday 2010 and Zion Nat'l Park

2010-11-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving here at the park. The turkey was good and the friends were new, few but fun. We didn't get any turkey for left-over sandwiches, turkey pot pie and turkey soup so today we are cooking our own using the oven in the club house. The park is slowly emptying out and we are getting ready to move south into AZ. We had a great time here as the company is great and plenty of places to go. Black Friday we went into Zion again for some hiking. For work yesterday I raked leaves, ALL DAY (now I remember why we sold the s&b) We received a dusting of snow at the park last night, so no leaf raking today.......darn! Tonight I just have to post my phone number at the guard house and be "ready" to handle any "in the park issues". Should be a quiet night for eating our turkey dinner.

The hike in Zion we wanted to go on is called Angle's Landing. It is listed as moderate to difficult but we knew we could just turn around if and when we got tired. It starts by crossing over the Virgin River and continues up into the mountains for some spectacular views of the canyon and river. In the picture of the trail with the guy in a blue jacket you can see off in the distance, and in between the two tops of the mountains, a notch in the rock face, that's where the trail goes. One picture is a close up of the notch and you can see people walking in the notch. To get there you hike on Walters Wiggles, a steep and winding trail that gets you to the notch.

Karla did great and made it very close to the notch and I continued on. I made it there but after that the trail got very icy as it traveled in the canyon between the two tops of the mountain. I stopped there. I didn't want to slip on the ice and I missed Karla, (oh ya,I was tired too).

It was a most enjoyable Black Friday with plenty of great weather and great scenery.

We are moving south and into AZ next week. Camp Verde RV Resort then Val Vista Village,Mesa then Casa Grande RV Resort. Can't wait to see all of you guys. Sherry and Sharon have been back home for the last couple of months but will be returning to mainland AZ in early Dec so we will be meeting up with them also.

SW Utah continues

2010-11-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

Snow Canyon State Park is right outside of St George UT. The drive has a south and north entrance. From the south you look into the canyon and are driving uphill and as you reach the north entrance you are on top of the canyon looking into it.

We also went back into Zion for another day of hikes that we haven't been on yet. One hike was to an area they call Weeping Rock.You walk into a canyon area and then you can look back out through the weeping water off the rock face. The bridge was a walking bridge over the Virgin River and you now know I have a "thing" for shots of railings on bridges, stairs and walkways. And one picture I was just playing around with my photo program.

And yesterday we drove into Mesquite NV for dinner with Virginia and Scott. For this dinner we had to drive over 2 state lines, an out to dinner first. While in NV we took advantage of a cheap Liquor Store. I was bummed, they were out of my most recent favorite choice for scotch, Dewars White Label, but I think they had every thing on the list. Once home we unloaded the boxes and put it all on the table, I had to get a picture of this. Oh, we had a great dinner and seeing Virginia and Scott was also great.
And finally today it rained on and off all day. At one point the sun came out long enough to see the snow through the clouds in the mountain tops just to the West. (If you look closely and enlarge the photo you can see the white stuff covering the mountain.) We are here for another 10 days and the weather reports are calling for night time temps to be below freezing for Wednesday and maybe Thursday. Who told us it didn't get cold here?

Red Cliffs Recreation Area

2010-11-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

From the park where we are at, you can walk or a short drive away are some great hiking areas. We can take Kora too. This is where Karla goes for her walks when I'm working. The walk follows a stream that starts in the mountains and passes by our rv park. It is ultimately stored in a reservoir and used for drinking water. This is as pretty of a walk as we have been on from any park we have stayed.

One day we loaded up the back pack with lunch and cameras and set off on a walk past where we had been before. I started to take a picture and my batteries were dead. These are pictures taken by Karla on her camera.

Hey, where'd we go ?

2010-11-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Since Mesa Verde, we have been busy and in areas that haven't had great internet service. And uploading photos is hard unless you gotta da speed. We are currently able to use the park wifi and if you go towards the Clubhouse it is pretty fast.
In our travels we have been able to knock off a couple of items from my list of wanna sees before I go.

Monument Valley and the classic picture heading into the valley from the North, on HWY 191. Finally, did it! It was awesome and well worth the trip. It took a bit of a wait to get the shot without other cars in it. Karla was not enjoying her time while I was standing in the middle of the road but I assured her, "it was ok". Yea right! While there we visited a Museum in Goulding's Lodge. It is full of movie memorabilia from all the movies that have been shot in the area. My personal favorite actor from the old westerns.....John Wayne. He filmed a few movies here and his cabin has been retired so you can go see what it was like back in the day.

From Monument Valley we visited Moab UT. Lots to do there. We had a wonderful day kayaking on the Colorado River.
The river was mostly flat but one spot had a little bit of white water and I went right into the middle of it. I was taking on water over the bow, filling up fast and then I was out of it. I was able to paddle to shore to dump the water out. I was concerned about Karla but once I looked back and noticed she took the better route through and was just fine, floating down happily with no issues. I should of followed her.
Arches National Park was a 15 minute drive from our park outside Moab and we were able to visit the park a couple of times. Also in the area is Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park. They were a bit of a drive but quite a place to see. Remember the film Thelma and Louise? The final scene where she drives over the cliff? Just inside Canyonlands Nat'l Park. We made it to the State park and it would have been another 45 minutes to get to the cliff where the drive off was and it was late, next time in the area we will make it.

We left Moab and headed to the southwest corner of Utah to a park outside St George. We came for a week and we got stuck here. I heard they needed some help for the month of Nov so I applied. I work 2 afternoon shifts as the night host. (4:30 to 9:30) And two days building small rock retaining walls between the sites to level them out a bit. It's a job but not bad for 20 hrs a week. The weather is good and there is plenty to do in the area. The park managers plan outings, dinners and music shows, it's different than any park we have been in and kind of fun.
Since we have been here, Karla has done a lot of research on "in the park" recycling for the park managers. The plan is for the park to have recycling containers on site and for the use of the guests. Way to go Karla!

These last 4 photos are from Zion. There is a mile walk along the Virgin River that ends when the river banks disappear into the shear wall cliffs of the sandstone mountain. It is called "The Narrows" and if you want to continue the hike you have to get into the water and go. The water is cold and deep in places and it's Nov for goodness sake. Maybe next year/ next trip/next summer.
As always, double click a picture for the larger version.

Mesa Verde National Park

2010-10-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

The last few days we have been camped at the cg inside the park. The closest town is Cortez, CO. Mesa Verde is home to the largest collection of Cliff Dwellings in the world. The Ancestral Puebloans occupied the Four Corner region from AD 1 to AD1300. Over that time period they lived in pit houses, cliff dwellings and above ground complexes. It was very interesting and quite a learning experience. We did a tour that left the cg that was put on by Aramark (not the Park Service). I wasn't sure about it but for only $25 we gave it a try. Well, the guide was very knowledgeable and as it turned out, we were the only people on the tour so it was essentially a private tour. It lasted almost 7 hrs and was well worth it in time and money spent. Randy spoke the entire time and if I remember 1/4 of what he said I'd be doing well. He is a retired Park Ranger and spends his time now doing these interpretive tours.

This last picture is from The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I have been meaning to up load it and haven't till now.

(as always, double click the photo to enlarge)

pictures from today

2010-10-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today we did the drive from Durango to Silverton. And wow, it's getting even more gorgeous, daily!

And while in Silverton, we had lunch at Thee Pitts Again. It's a bbq place that was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, but the Glendale AZ shop. The owners opened up a 2nd joint in Silverton this past June, and their kids run the Glendale store. The food was as good as the scenery. We lucked out in that Wed they are closing for the winter. (As always double click the picture to enlarge.)

with some time on my hands......

2010-10-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

I finally inserted the map of our 2nd year of travel into the blog. Now you can see where we are currently and how we got there.

And speaking of where we have been......it is hands down, some of the prettiest country that we have been in, EVER! The mountains in SW CO, especially in the fall are gorgeous. However this first picture was taken by Alex at the Vail Golf course on the Fri before the wedding.

This is a side road we took off the main highway between Gunnison and Montrose.

Driving from Montrose to Dunango we headed over Lizard Head Pass,10,222 ft. It is the long way around. The straight thur road, US 550 is called the Million Dollar Highway and is full of twists and turns and with no guard rails we chose to NOT drive the mh that way. This way takes you over Red Mountain Pass. We did drive it in the car and it was spectacular. The toughest part of the drive is between Ouary and Silverton. One theory it is called the million dollar highway is because it cost that per mile to build in 1924. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_550 Check out the web site and look at their pictures. I couldn't get Karla to jump out of the car and take any pictures so this is all we got. (I could barely get her to open her eyes)

We also visited The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest. It too was quite a view and from our vantage point it is just over 2,000 ft down to the Gunnison River.

more pictures of the wedding

2010-09-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

here they are at the rehearsal

And if you really want to look at more pictures, you can follow the link to the left to MY Gallery

And I got to practice the walk down the isle with my daughter

And then the wedding dance with the bride, (oh, thats me too)

The maid of honor and all the others in the wedding party put on a dance for the new couple, the guy in front is my son Jesse

And lastly I went with the new couple and the photographer as they went into Vail to get some pictures around town. Here's one of the poses,

Kai and Mike are married

2010-09-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

What a flurry of activity and now it's over. Kai starts her new life with a great young man and joins his huge and wonderful family. We met so many people from Mike's extended family and they were only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
It was great seeing Jesse and all of Kai's friends also. We got to see Eric's brother Steve and his family and Eric's sister Laura too.

We girls had a art and craft day making a lot of the decorations at Mike's sister's (Kelli) home, up the mountain. What fun that was. I made Kai drive my car (I was too chicken). Eric helped with the Arbor that Mike Sr. had made for the wedding. It was just lovely.

The weather for the wedding was beautiful. Everything was perfect.
I tried to upload some more picture but could not for some reason. I will put a bunch together and you can see them at the web album link in a few days.

We get a new engine!

2010-09-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today I went back down the mountain to the motor home, to get the last of the wedding stuff and all the things we might need for our little mini vacation. While there the service manager stopped by to let me know the bad news, good news of my mechanical problems. We through a rod, and need a new engine... it is covered by my Ford warranty and it might take through next week to get fixed. By Fri morning we should know if a new engine is in Denver system.

I also called the customer service at Ford today to ask how I might get reimbursed for all my out of home pocket costs and they said to keep all receipts and mail them in for consideration. "what does consideration mean" I asked...... the rep said she has heard that they pay the motel bill but nothing else, it is a different dept and she really doesn't know.

I am concerned about a new engine and a very tall mountain in front of where we want to go after the wedding with no break-in miles, so I asked the question of the service manager. He said it would be just fine and go for it, the new engine is far better than the original. It's a good strong engine and they see these problems occasionally with no known reasons why.

So life continues on as an adventure and as I always say ..... (so I'm told)

it is what it is
&
travel safe

On our way to the wedding

2010-09-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

LONG STORY...................Well, we made it to Vail area, however.............. driving up I70 yesterday, about 35 miles from our exit in Frisco and about 1:30pm, we had mechanical problems. Lots of loud noises and black smoke. Luckily we were on uphill climb with a sort of wide shoulder so I coasted safely off all lanes of traffic with no power steering and brakes. Only have 15,000 miles on the engine, so I called MH customer service at Ford and they said I was out of manufacturer warranty due to the coach being 2006. Also the Ford truck dealer in town said they couldn't look at it till Wed and that I couldn't bring it there till then. Since I needed to find a place to get off the e-way, found a rv shop in Denver that would work on it and also work w/ my after market service contract provider. Got towed there and arrived after 6 pm, gates locked so we camped outside the fence. I was pretty sure we were covered by Ford because the date they use for warranty is the "in service date" not the manufacture date. This morning went into the service dept and he agreed that I should be covered so I called Ford again and the co. I bought the coach from. Well today it got worked out, I am covered and now I needed to get towed to the ford truck center and ford will cover the towing from today.

So, today after getting our second tow, we landed at the Ford truck service center. We packed the car and headed back up the mountain with a car full of stuff and found a reasonably priced, dog friendly motel, with availability for a week and is close to Vail. We are now checked into the Quality Inn in Silverthorne CO and tomorrow I get to drive back down the mountain to get more wedding stuff that we were bringing with us. Luckily at the last moment before leaving MI, my daughters maid of honor said she would take the wedding dress to CO. So all we have are the wedding shoes, all the candles and candle stick holders, table runners and a few bags of unknown stuff. I haven't let my daughter know yet, she has enough on her mind. I figure I will leave a message on her cell phone tomorrow morning while she is in flight from Chicago to Denver. Then when she calls, I can tell her all is well but to not come to the rv park that we were going to be at but we will meet her somewhere else.

Also tomorrow I find out what the real deal is w/ the engine and hopefully Ford won't find a way out of covering it.

More as it develops

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!!

2010-09-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

WoW! We are finally on the road again. Our month stay in Michigan turned into almost 4 months. Doctors took longer than expected. We had a wonderful time with friends and it was lovely weather for the most part. We stayed several weeks in Ted and Renee's driveway. That was a great time. Kora got to go fishing almost every day.We had a good bye pot luck at their house.

We gave them a breather and went to a fair grounds. The doctors decided that we weren't leaving just yet. We then went up north for a while. When we returned, Eric workamped at a lovely RV park and conference center in Hartland, Mi. We were there a month and went back to Ted and Renee's driveway.

So, finally after much concern of getting to Kai's (Eric's daughter) wedding on time, we are on the road again. We are going straight to Vail, Co. for the wedding. We are so happy for them and can't wait to get there.

We will try to be better about keeping up with our where abouts. We will post pictures of the wedding as soon as we can.

It's good to be on the road again.

A new state.......Mississippi !

2010-04-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

We are currently hot on the Blues Trail in Mississippi (and The Natchez Trace Parkway). We have been to Natchez MS where we spent one evening listening to Dexter Allen at the only Blues venue in town, Natchez Manor. He came by our table to chat and we learned he was going to be at the Chicago Blues Festival in June. Since we will be in Ann Arbor in June and my kids living in Chicago, I think we will be seeing Dexter Allen again.

We also visited Ferriday LA, the hometown of Jerry Lee Lewis. Where his sister has the family home (and drive thru party store) set up as a museum in honor of Jerry. We were there during open hours but.....the door was locked and the drive thru business was closed. There was also a Delta Blues Museum in town which was open and we toured.

Next we went to Jackson MS via the The Natchez Trace Parkway. It was a great drive with No Commercial Vehicles allowed on the Parkway. In Jackson we visited more of Blues Trail Markers

and found a bar that had blues music (at least on Monday nights). The band was The Mid Mississippi Blues Society Band and they were great. It also was a jam night so many musicians and singers jumped in and played with the band. Lots of fun.

Back over to Highway 61, the Blues Trail and up to Greenville. Passing thru Onward MS we stopped for lunch at the Onward Store,
which was recommended by some friends. Thanks Jan and Bill. We had a burger and it was ok and the service, ok too. While we were having lunch I noticed this History Marker road sign. Really, the Teddy Bear, I didn't know that. (click on the photo to enlarge it so you too can read the history of the Teddy Bear) Again, the things you find along the American Highways.

Saturday we will drive down to Rolling Fork MS, home of Muddy Waters. Going there for the Deep Delta Festival which is held the first Saturday in May. More on all that later!

Our first Habitat for Humanity build is over

2010-04-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

We are members of a group called RV Care-A-Vanners which is affiliated with Habitat for Humanity. We found an open build that fit in with our time frame and in Louisiana. It was in Galliano which is SW of New Orleans and just about 20 miles from the Gulf. There were 4 other rigs for a few days and then 3 others for the balance of the 2 weeks. There were already 3 homes completed and occupied and 6 others in progress. I worked on the siding, exterior painting and building the front steps. Karla painted,caulked and a little cleaning. There was a rule that any time you were on a ladder somebody had to "foot" the ladder. So Karla was my "foot". We parked right in the sub division where the houses were being built, which was great. It made it easy to take care of Kora, get to know the other care a vanners and meet up with some of the owners that had already moved in. They gave us some insight on the process of getting a habitat house and what life is like living southern in Louisiana and dealing with hurricanes. We found a local drive through daiquiri store which made after work a more enjoyable time.

We had weekends of so we had some for sight seeing. We heard that Torres' Cajun Swamp Tours gave Habitat volunteers discounts so a swamp tour it was. We saw plenty of alligators, turtles and even an eagle

Roland was quite a character with plenty of tall tales and good stories of his life on the bayou.

We aren't sure when but we know that there will be more builds in our future.

2010-04-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

WoW, it sure was nice being able to visit with Tony. He stayed with us for a week. We all started out at Terry and Art's driveway in LaFayette, LA. What a fun time, drinking Art's beer, enjoying Terry's cooking and adventuring out to point of interest in their stomping grounds.

We left to head toward New Orleans and Tony decided to continue on with us. It was a great visit, no overcrowding, no frustrations, just good conversations and good company. It was so nice to talk like we used to. Analyzing the meaning of life endlessly.

Of course there were tears when he left but he was off on his adventure. Mom will worry but it's to be expected. I have faith that he will find what he is looking for. I can't wait to run into him on the road again.

Louisiana continues

2010-03-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

When we were in Livingston TX visiting w/ Paul and Marsha, Paul heard we were going towards Eunice and Lafayette and told us about an rv park where the rigs are all parked around the owners house. Paul came up w/ the name and some reviews. (I think he wanted us to check it out so if it was awful, he and Marsha wouldn't go there.) After checking it all out, we decided to go for it. Betty's RV Park is in Abbeville LA and she had availability for Mon and Tues night only. We confirmed and within the next few days Betty called and added an additional night for us. It is a small park with only spaces for 18 rigs. There is an area were she can handle a few dry camping spots. Now what makes Betty's so good is that she hosts a daily happy hour for all the guests. It isn't mandatory but most people do show up. It was raining and chilly so it was held inside but there is an outside area with tables and chairs also. Besides the happy hour, Betty sets up local tours, lunches and dinners, lets peole know about local concerts and just provides a whole lot of information for her guests. She really makes you feel special. The first day we were there we wandered off by our selves to the Tabasco Factory. It's on Avery Island and there is also a garden tour that you drive around that has plenty of birds, trees, flowers and even some alligators.

We did join the group on a tour Abbeville. Betty set it up with a couple of actual city tour guides. All we had to do is pay for their lunch at a local restaurant. We did a walking tour of the city with stops at the town square, the local catholic church, cemetery next door and the historic black smith shoppe. .

After our 3 days at Betty's, we moved onto maybe the BEST spot yet. A little history, I met Art when I was working on one of the many construction projects at the Michigan Theater. We always had a good time during the projects. But a few years back, he and wife Terry, moved to Lafayette which is where Terry is from. Art told me that if every in the area to stop by.

Here we are all standing on a porch of a historic house in Vermillionville. Which is in a village of preserved buildings at a local National Park. We visited it on Saturday. There was a cajun music jam, a man pulled us across the river in a small ferry and much more. Getting back to Art and Terry, their hospitality was great. They fed us, we drank their beer (Art brews his own), let us swim in their pool and soak in the hot tub.
Boy did they make it hard to leave for New Orleans, The Big Easy? It didn't get any easier than being with Art and Terry! Thank you, we will be back.
If you know Tony, Karla's oldest son, yes that is him in the photo of the jam session. He left Ann Arbor and is doing a little bit of his own driving around the country but he is doing it in a Miata Sportscar and staying in tents, well our couch for a few days. I think he is coming to New Orleans for a few days with us and then he is heading out on his own.

Praire Cajun music

2010-03-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

We made it to Eunice LA on Monday, March 8 for a week of Cajun Music and Food (or so we thought). As it turns out, there ain't much hap-nen during the week 'cept work and all. The Cajun Music Meusum was open so we visited it. We also visited the Cultural Center and Chamber of Commerce. We found that just about the only music before Saturday was at DI', but not till Thursday evening, so on Thursday we went. The food and music, were well just ok. Hopefully Saturday will be better. Mark Savoy owns a music shop in Eunice and he and his family are well known for their cajun music. Every Saturday morning at 9am he opens up his shop for a jam session. Anybody with a instrument and a desire to play can show up and join on in. And every musician needs an audiance, and thats where we fit in, we listen and enjoy. In the picture is a white haired guy playing the fiddle, See him? sure ya do, well I have seen him, but from where?.......um....... Mountainview AK, last May, he was there playing. Oh what fun, we talked, I bought a cd of his, and he played some more.

Next is the Liberty Theater for the radio show. Buy your tickets at 4pm and the show starts at 6:30. Nicks for dinner and drinks and then on to the show.

The patio at Nicks was wonderful and........................... empty. The food was great. Our waitress gave us two boiled crawfish to try, she even showed us how to eat them. Good but not much food from a crawfish, I couldn't imagine eating enough to get full. Some day, maybe.......

It's 6:30 and time for the Liberty. It was a radio show spoken in cajun french with a wee bit in english. The band was good and we enjoyed the show.

While in Eunice we stayed at the Cajun Campground and Saturday they had a Jambalaya Cook-off. About 6-8 contestants. We were able to try 3 and all were very good. We struck up a conversation with one of the contestants and he gave us a lesson in cooking jambalaya and much about the local customs.

Eunice again? lots to do on the weekend, not much during the week. We learned all about growing rice, farming crawfish, we also learned the difference between etouffee and jambalaya, we ate (and learned how to pronounce) boudin, cracklin' and finished it all off with a cruise down the Zydeco Cajun Prairie Scenic Byway.

Port Aransas Continued

2010-03-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

Actually, we have left Port Aransas, left Katy TX (where we had and will have some work done on the mh) and are currently parked at an Escapees Park in Livingston TX. We did have some nice weather at Port A and we did some more things during the month. My goal is to update to the current date, So here we go:

I had a birthday, oh what fun! Thanks Sherry and Sharon for the banner in your window.

The Mardis Gras festivities continued with another party, this time with little dog races.

One very nice day, Sherry, Sharon, Karla and I drove into Corpus Christi to see the USS Lexington. It is a Navy Aircraft Carrier which has been retired and is a floating museum.

Next up was a fishing trip. We picked a morning, no wind, sun and sort of warm (and we found it)!!!! It was on a fishing charter boat which stays in the corpus bay area and was for 1/2 day. We loaded up sun screen, hats, sunglasses and coats and wet out. It was a great day or 1/2 day.

On now comes THE BELT SANDER RACES. I never have heard of this new sport but it peeked my interest so I made it a point of going. And I am glad we did. It was a totally fun way to spend an afternoon and evening. At the start of the races, we had to sing the National Anthem (of course)

I did a check of all my tools that I brought, and a belt sander was one tool I didn't think was necessary. Boy was I wrong. You just never know what to pack. The closest tool on board.......an orbital sander. I could take it and maybe, run circles around the competition?

At these races, you just never know who will show up
I am going to add this event to my list of events to follow or find as we continue our travels. There is an association which states all the rules and standards for belt sander racing. So, in the future, stay tuned for more BELT SANDER RACES .

Whooping Cranes. Did you know that there are only, apx. 250 left in the world? And they are winter texans, right here in Port Aransas. There is a bird preserve which allows for them to be safe here as they spend there days eating and relaxing. To get to see them, it is best to take a 4 hour boat trip out to the preserve. And again we choose a good day to do this. We saw whooping cranes, herons, sea gulls and many other birds that I don't remember the names of. There was a bird expert on the boat that was talking the entire time explaining all sorts of interesting tidbits of local interest.

The cranes are very territorial and don't like it when another crane is coming into there area. It is the males job to protect his acreage.

We ended our month stay in Port Aransas wishing we had better weather. It would have been a great place with all the beaches, waterways, biking and walking areas. However, we did enjoy meeting up with old friends and meeting new. It is time to move on.

Who needs New Orleans?

2010-02-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

Look out New Orleans, here comes Port Aransas Texas. The town puts on quite a parade which was about 50 to 75 floats from the local bars, restaurants, RV Parks and just about anybody who wants in. It turned into a late night out with a band playing at the bar where the parade ended. My birthday was the next day and I think I used the Fat Tuesday celebration as my birthday party. Wed was a pretty laid back day.

One of my birthday presents from Karla was a outdoor wireless speaker. Now we can sit outside (when the weather cooperates) and listen to music without having to crank it up inside. I had been checking out brands for some time and finally figured out the right one just in time for my birthday. We also bought a portable ice maker which has been on the list for some time. We have such a small freezer that there was no room for ice, so to have ice meant to buy it by the bag. Lets see, drinks take ice, beer is best cold, so yes we bought a lot of bags of ice. Now we can get under budget. No more ice buying!

The weather continues to be less than "outdoor friendly". We get a somewhat nice day but then it turns sour again the next. Today it rained . We are all getting a lot of stuff done on the motorhomes. Like I now can play the computer on the tv,the tv sound though the wireless, Itunes through the tv and the wireless and I made room for the new ice machine in one of the bays. I helped Sherry get his front tv working off the satellite and today we figured out where to put his engine fire extinguisher. All important stuff but I'd rather have nice sunny warmer days. Only once have we been on the kayaks.

Again I will comment that the weather has to get better.

Update Port Aransas

2010-02-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

We have been here since Feb 1st. The weather has not been great for beach walking, riding, or even driving. Drinking however has been on the increase, is it the weather................. or Priscilla and Al? Hum..........Let me think........

It has been cold, windy and rainy. But the company has been great! We are here to join up w/ our long time friends from the stick and brick life, Al and Priscilla. They have been FT now for 3 years and part time for 7. Skip and Deb, fellow SKP's and also members of our class of 2009 showed up here for a few days. We had dinner and then I presented them w/ the Mortgage Burn and class papers. They enjoyed being able to get the papers, thank you Sandie.! I took no pictures, bad me. That was our second time meeting up w/ them since we first met in Sedalia MO. And thanks Deb for the eye meds, it cleared up Kora's eye infection right away.

Then arrives Sherry and Sharon, also fellow SKP and classmates members. Boy is it good to see them again. They are here for a month also and they are sporting their "new to them" motor home. It is everything thing they want in a home, especially the increased ceiling height from their past home. Sherry hasn't hit his head since they moved in. As nice as it is it wasn't big enough to fit my little "all in one" printer. We have one that we need to sell, they were ready to buy but there just wasn't a place for it. I will continue to look and I am even willing to even build a shelf for it, which would be fun cause I would get to use some tools and yes Doug from Canada, maybe even my nail gun again.

We have been trying to met up with Paul and Mary (Boris and Natasha ) since our arrival. Yes, they are classmates too, we just have never met them. They are at another park, just a few miles from here, saw that we were coming and let me know that they were in Port A too. I decided that an "on the spot" unannounced meet was a good idea, so Karla and I ventured out to stalk them. Luckily there was only one rig like theirs in the park and we found them outside. It was good to meet more of our class. Like all of us out here, they already have many stories to tell of their travels.

My next goal is to all meet for lunch where we can have a mini graduation for Sherry and Sharon, and Paul and Mary. And yesterday that happened. It was a great lunch and the papers were handed to all. I might say that Sandie did a much better job than I did but I can't expect her to be every where. I can hope but can't expect.

My request to all of them, is that at a bare minimum please post their location to the Class of 2008 map. That I would get them connected w/ Jeri who would help them through the process. Look out Jeri here they come.

So as you can see, the laundry is piling up and I need to get it into the car. All for now from chilly Port A.

The next update will occur after Saturdays "belt sander" races which happen every 2nd and 4th Sat of each and every month at a local bar. Now this I have to see. A belt sander is one tool I didn't bring and nobody would dare show up to a Belt Sander race with an orbital sander, or would they?

Stay tuned

San Antonio, TX

2010-02-04T07:35:00.001-08:00

We made it to the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Pretty amazing place, what foresight in planning a city. Christmas time would be a great time to visit because there are thousands of lights hanging from all the trees. I thought it would be fun to put the kayaks in for a float. (see them on top of the car?) Just as I thought about it a cop came around the bend to let me know he wouldn't advise it. (just kidding).
hum.......the Drury Plaza....I know a Drury......ah, it's Mike, my soon to be son in law, he's holding out on us,
The construction workers here at the Riverwalk get to ride boats to bring tools, material and themselves to the job site. What fun! They all have their hardhats on, but what about guard rails and life jackets? Where is OSHA ?
The right beer, for the right location, life is good
We did the boat tour, learned a lot about the history. For lunch Karla spotted a wings joint, Hootters (I didn't choose this place),
I had another beer.
While in San Antonio, we also visited The Alamo. Here is a picture of the front trellis.
Also two items of note from the "future down the road front",

one is that Karla and I were asked to volunteer at the city Campground in S Lake Tahoe. So July 12 thru Sept 12 will be be working hard at the Park by the Lake. We will be working the same shift of 14 hours per week and our job is to assist and greet the campers as they arrive. We will be parked in the cg in a special area w/ other volunteers.

and the other is, we have been trying to get onto one of the builds with Habitat for Humanity around New Orleans for once we leave here and they have been all filled. The other day a new build job was posted, I applied and was accecpted. So we have that to look forward to as well. It is in Thibodaux LA from March 28 - April 11. They are still looking for more RVers for this build so if interested, call

2010-01-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

As of today I am an unofficial GEEK! For months now I have been trying to solve a problem about blogs and maps, and as of today I solved it. So here goes with the problem with the ultimate fix

My friend Ted has wanted me to have a map of our route so he, and others could visualize our travels. I also wanted the map on the blog, but not just a link to a map. Many hours I have worked on these two items. The stuff is out there but you just have to search and read. And people wonder what we retirees do w/ our time. People always say that the computer and internet have saved time, I believe that they give more people, more ways to WASTE time!

So for those that read my post in the SKP's forum about blogs and maps, here is what I did,

first, go to Google map and create the map to your liking, give it a name and save it to MY MAPS. This in itself is pretty frustrating. I had a lot of problems the drawing of lines.

second, on the google map page, on the right, above the map and below SIGN OUT there is chain link LINK, click it and then click CUSTOMIZE AND PREVIEW EMBEDDED ITEMS, then pick a size that fits the blog ( I used 110 by 200), then copy it

third, go to your blog, click LAYOUT, ADD A GADGET, pick HTML/JAVA SCRIPT, now paste the HTML that you saved from the map page.

fourth, click SAVE

sounds easy but the problem I was having was I couldn't do the paste thing. I finally found a HELP page about blogs and found that others were having the same problem. It was suggested to try using FIREFOX and not SAFARI or upgrade your IE to the latest version. Well, I use safari so all I did was change to Firefox and it worked. I have firefox on my computer and use both but more of safari.

Please check out the new map on our blog, click on the A COUPLE OF BOOMERS for a larger map to see where we have been.

So, as my son puts it to me after we have been talking on the phone to long,

WELL, THATS ALL I GOT

2010-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

We are spending the month of Feb at a park outside Corpis Christie TX with Al and Priscilla (friends from home who also live in their motor home, it has been 6 years for them so far). We are heading that way now. We went thru Chandler AZ so I could meet up with a cousin, Joel who lives there. He is the son of my Aunt Flo who we went to see in MN. That is another goal, as we travel to meet up with all my cousins. It was great to catch up with him. He too has a dream to do what we are doing and last year he took the first step and bought a motor home. I know we will see him again and maybe even some traveling together. That would be great.
We choose to drive HWY 90 from El Paso to San Antonio, which is a less traveled two lane road. It is a great drive, you gotta love the "blue highways". It took us through Marfa TX where we spent the night. We heard about the Marfa Mystery Lights while in Quartzsite and it sounded good. (We weren't told that they only are seen about 30 nights a year). Well we didn't see any lights, but at least we tried.

2010-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

While in Quartzsite we did a side trip to a local hangout just outside the town of Parker. It is a bar that is run by solar and is 5 miles from the main road. Down a dirt road into the hilly desert. No utilities at all come into the property. It is only open on Sat and Sun from "high noon" to sundown. There is a stage and dancing area and a band plays for all to enjoy. There was even a chuch on the property. It is open for weddings and any kind of rental.

2010-01-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

Quartzsite, every fulltime rver needs to go......once, and if you like it, go yearly. Well, we liked it. The being with friends, meeting new friends, being unconnected and in the desert, we liked it. The show and all the people selling stuff and the lines, you can have that. It was unlike anything we have ever done, and that is why we liked it, thats what this new life style brings to us. I wish I could find out how many other rigs were in the desert in and around Quartzsite cause I think it was in the 100,000 or more. I know they say a million will pass thru the town in a winter.

This is the group that camped with. We all meet thru the Escapee RV Club. It is a support group of like people that all (mostly all) live in there rigs full time. They sponsored the rally that we wet to in May. We are considered the Graduating Class of 2009, there were some 2008 members camping with us. On Sat night we had our graduation ceremony where we burned mortgage papers, had a chile cook-off, sat around a bon fire and each of us said why we were doing this. It was a lot of fun. Karla's chile won so now you can ask Karla to make some of her awarding winning chile. Here she is holding her prize. We were in Q for just about 2 weeks and as I said, it was a lot of fun and we would do it again.
We need to thank Sandie for making all of this happen, thanks Sandie (and Jim).

2010-01-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

Again it has been awhile since I have posted. So here is a quick update of our travels.
After Thanksgiving Steve and Linda went on vacation to Mexico so Karla and I went to S Lake Tahoe for some downhill skiing. We had to buy and use chains for the car, never done that before. Skiing was good but the best thing that went on was Mike, Kai's boyfriend called me to ask for my permission to marry Kai! How great is that! So there is going to be another wedding to drive to. We came back to Steve's to finish what I could of the kitchen before we had to leave for Christmas.
Christmas was in Las Vegas with Virginia and Scott. We were able to park the rig at there house but we stayed in there spare bedroom. It was odd being out of our house and we missed it. Scott and I were able to go downhill skiing on Christmas Day. And boy was that a great present! We also were able to meet some of their friends, go to a sea food buffet and even do some site seeing. Karla and I drove out to the Red Rocks and did a little hiking.Had to see the bridge construction at Hoover Dam. Virginia cooked a great prime rib for dinner. Christmas was good!
We were having problems with the main slide not work so we scheduled a mobile mechanic to come to the house. He came out, messed with some electrical connections, got it working and left. That night it did come in again so he came back the next day. While he was working on it, I heard a loud snap or crunch. It took him three trips and all day but he got it working again. Our service contract company denied our claim which is really upsetting. More on that later.
So we left Virginia and Scott on New years Eve day and headed down to Bullhead City, AZ which is across the river from Laughlin NV. The park we stayed in was having a New Years Eve Party and we were invited. We were told to bring a dish and some margaritas and come on down. We celebrated with the Times Square ball drop and off to bed everybody went. (it was only 10 pm) Karla and I stayed up to the real midnight. I was able to get out golfing 2 times w/ a couple of guys staying in the park.
Next stop, Lake Havasu City, AZ, (we had to walk the London Bridge).
We found a very nice off leash dog park in town so we went to let Kora run and play. She told Karla she liked it and thanks. This whole town was built by the chain saw guy, McCulluch. He built a little english village around the bridge with lots of stores and restaurants. This economy has really hit everybody and everywhere hard as most of the stores were closed. Very sad.
Friday, Jan 8th it is onto Quartzsite AZ., snow bird capital of the world. We plan on meeting up with fellow newbie full timers and have a mortgage burning and graduation into our new lifestyle. This group comes from the club we joined and went to the rally back in May. There will be some people we have already meet and a bunch of people we haven't.

Off to Las Vegas

2009-12-20T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we are off to Las Vegas tomorrow. I am very excited about visiting with Virginia, Scott and their 3 doggies. It's a little sad leaving Monte Rio. We have gotten quit comfortable and know our way around pretty well. It has been nice visiting with Steve and Laura. It was also nice to spend Thanksgiving with Linda and Alex. We missed not seeing Trevor though.

The kitchen is shaping up but not nearly done. It turned out that the floors could not be used, so Steve went and got a beautiful laminent that goes great with the cabinets. So, cabinets are all set, windows are framed and it's time for us to go. Steve said he would fly us back for a big party to celebrate the finished kitchen. I can't wait.

Happy Holidays to all of you. Have fun but be safe. We want to see you again, safe and sound in the New Year.

Christmas is coming

2009-12-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

Well, nearly Christmas and we are still at Steve's waiting for cabinets and windows. We got to go on a short "vacation??" Can I really call it that?

Well anyway, we went to Lake Tahoe, CA to do a little skiing. We went just after their first big snow storm and 25 inches of snow. It was so beautiful. The break was much needed. Eric has been working very hard on the kitchen. I will take more pics just before we leave to let you see the progress.

Kora got to go to a new doggie daycare. The owner is a woman who works with Steve. She and her partner took Kora home with them at night and Kora got to stay with two other dogs and an old cat. She seemed to be very happy. She has slept ever since we brought her home. I think it was a good experience for her. I am glad to have her back home with us.

Cabinets come tomorrow, so, back to work for Eric.

Just in case I don't blog again this month.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year.

With love and respect,
Karla and Eric

Steve's Kitchen project stay

2009-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been here in Monte Rio since just before Halloween. The kitchen is moving slower than Eric would like. Lot's of choices to be made. We will stay longer than we planned but will have to leave before it is complete.

I really want to see the finished project that Eric is working so hard on. It's going to be very cool.

We got to see a great pet parade for on Halloween and then we went to "glow golf" at Steve's favorite golf course. They were both a lot of fun.

I got to take a trip back to Michigan and had a chance to see my boys, my sisters and all of my missed friends. I had such a great time staying with everyone. I really needed that visit. It was the best trip I could have asked for. It will be a long time before I see them all again. Thanks so much for your wonderful hospitality. I can't tell you what it meant to me.

It's nearly Thanks Giving and I am thankful for so many things. I hope all of you have a happy Thanks Giving and take a moment to give thanks.
Thanks, Karla

2009-10-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Long Beach, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay

2009-10-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

We took the tour of the Queen Mary and walked the Pier in Long Beach. We saw tons of seals sunning themselves and resting for their next long journey on the beach near Hearst Castle. We saw sea otters playing in the ocean with a sea gull.

The wonderful things to see, just go on and on. All different, all new (for me at least). There is so much to see. This is an incredible place, our United States.

On our way north

2009-10-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been inching our way north on our way to Steve and Laura's by the end of October.
We have seen a couple of my old friends from Ann Arbor, in LA and San Diego. Had a great time with Jean Crandel and her lovely friend, Karen, doing a little wine tasting. Also had dinner with Don and Jean on the beach near San Diego.

We have seen beautiful coastline and been in very hot, very cold and very windy weather too. One of the many fires here blocked us in our campground as the road out was closed for 2 days.

We went to a festival at Morro Bay and heard lots of good music and had good food. Kora got to go into a restaurant on the wharf that is pet friendly. They have leases attached to the wood seats every few feet. I thought it was very cool, she could have cared less. She just wanted the birds.

We got 24 straight hours of rain yesterday. It finally stopped about 2am. We developed a couple of leaks in the motor home. One of them was quite a mess. Eric had to go out in the rain several times to figure out where it was coming from. Of course he fixed it but the carpet was drenched. We had to have the fan and the heater on in all day and night. I think we are ready for another down pour thanks to my husband. He has decided to stop fixing things because every time he gets one thing fixed, something else breaks.

We are heading back into Yosemite in the next couple of days. There was a lot that we didn't get to see because of the fire last time.

Well, that is about all for now. See you down the road.
Karla

The Wedding

2009-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

The Wedding, where do I start? It was just wonderful. Everything went beautifully. Virginia put it all together. There was no drama and only lots of good times.
It was so much fun watching the girls get Virginia ready. They were a bunch of great girls and they really loved Virginia. The whole wedding party was so beautiful, guys included. The ride over to the wedding in the limo was a hoot. All the girls spilled Champagne on their dresses and just laughed about it and continued their toast.

Virginia was never a bridzilla. Quite the opposite. There were a few things that happened behind the scenes that would have caused me some real anxiety but she handled it like a trooper. She kept everything organized and running smoothly. I was very proud of her.

After the wedding, the photographer was taking pictures outside and the sprinklers went off and got everyone wet, including people's cameras. We all just laughed and ran. It was one of the best wedding I have been to, other than my own of course. :)

You can take a look at the wedding pictures by going to the link at Karla's Album on the left side of the blog.

a found grave sight

2009-09-04T02:15:00.000-07:00

Driving down US 395 we saw this fenced in head stone. So we had to stop. The history you see as you drive America's roads. What a country we live in.

More of Mono Lake

2009-09-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of pictures that Karla took while we were at the lake. What beauty! The formations are called Tufa. And we were in the Tufa Gardens. But is it worth it? I think not.

Mono Lake, CA

2009-09-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

This first picture is of a sunset over the Sierra Nevada Mnt range with a shooting star (boy was that hard to catch).

We have been a lot of places and seen a lot of wonderful things. However most of the places we have been to I have heard about or read about (DA....that's why we went), until here. This was just a place we passed on the road (US 395) to June Lake/ Mammoth Lakes CA. Never heard about it, never saw pictures about it and never heard the story of the lake before. Nothing..Just a sign on the road (which said Tours 10, 3 and 6). So we went back at 6. And what a place. The most picture perfect place yet. But it wasn't natural. And it is a sad story, with the beauty coming from mans needs, which never takes into account the devastation he can do. The story goes that in the 40's, Los Angeles was buying all the land around Mono Lake. (they needed drinking water. They then diverted all the natural water from the winter snow melt which used to go into Mono Lake to the faucets of the citizens of LA. Well in 20 years this lowered the lake 45 feet. 45 feet! This exposed the natural wonders of the lake. A lake very similar to The Great Salt Lake, which has no outlet, (which causes the salt effect). Well Mono Lake is a little different in that something in its chemical make up causes these strange looking growths to happen underwater. And with a 45 foot drop in lake level, you get these picture perfect growths. Well the story goes that a couple of hippies from San Fran showed up in the 70's (Haight Ashberry was over ya know) and they became concerned about the lake level dropping so they took up the fight.The birds, the natural habitat of the lake was dieing. And after 20 years in the courts, it was agreed to re establish the lake level to a certain level, and that just because you own the land, you don't own the water. Power to the People! What are we doing now that is gonna cause problems in the future? What a fine line we live in.

2009-09-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Eric has been asked to dance with Virginia at her wedding. Here, he is practicing dancing to the song " My Girl" and trying to make it a slow dance. It's not going so well.

Lake Tahoe

2009-08-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Oh my, we love Lake Tahoe!! Kora loves Lake Tahoe, Karla loves Lake Tahoe and Eric loves Lake Tahoe.
We actually put in an application for a short workamp for next summer. We will not know if we are "accepted" or "needed" until the holidays. There are many opportunities here but most require a full season. I'm not sure we are quite ready to commit to that. But, boy we love Lake Tahoe.

did I say HOT?

2009-08-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

We left Salt Lake City with our new coach batteries, Kora with a haircut and us having done all the shopping we care to do, under the hot blazing sun. It reached 102 degrees as we traveled across the Great Salt Lake Desert. They all say "but it is a dry heat" and yes it is dry, which means you don't sweat as much. You still don't feel like being outside and if you did there is nothing to do in the desert. After driving our three plus hours we arrived at our park. There was a sign on the door that told us to go find a spot and register later. Well as we were looking I asked Karla if there was a pool, she said yes so we looked and looked for the pool (and we know what a pool looks like) but no pool. With now one to ask and me feeling better driving than sitting in the hot sun, we decided to move on. Not sure how far we would go, but ready to take the full advantage of this home on wheels, new good batteries and a generator and me not afraid to use them. We actually drove all the way to the next park in Winnemucca, NV which did have a pool. We stayed there 2 nights, it was still hot, now 104 in the sun. After our two nights we left and drove another day through the desert. I did find what people do in the desert however. Along side the road people had taking rocks and spelled there names, made peace signs, spelled out harry loves susie and made symbols in the sand. Wow, what fun! Thru Carson City and up and over the mountains we go. We climbed, 1000 feet, 2000 feet and over the top! We made it and it is cooler, much cooler. We made it to S Lake Tahoe City park where we are in a no hookup site, so these cooler temps are needed. We put the batteries to there first test and they worked great. No furnace use over night but no real drop battery charge w/ the fans and lights we used over night. We are here for two nites and then move into a FHU C-2-C park where we will be till the end of the week.

so, its been a while (again)

2009-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

You would think that going from working a full time job, keeping up on a household full of stuff and visiting with friends and having fun to being retired and living in a MH that keeping up on a blog would be easy. Well, I'm here to tell ya, it ain't. After driving to a new location, or sightseeing, or sitting in a pool or organizing pictures, or having a cold one, or and or and or, there just isn't the time to post (on a regular basis). So here goes.

We were in Yellowstone dry camping with our friends Sherry and Sharon, driving around seeing all Yellowstone has to offer (it is a wonderful place). We saw a lot of wild life and all the gizzers and pools and streams and lakes. We did the drive out the NE corner to The Beartooth Highway, which was great by the way. All in all in was a perfect visit to the park. We did leave some things on the table so....... we have to go back.

We also visited the Tetons and they were even better. We dry camped in a park, did a lot of day trips around and we kayaked on Jackson Lake and that was the best. We did discover that our battery system was not working properly so in the middle of he night we ended up w/ no furnace. It wouldn't have been bad except it went down into the 30's. So we left after a few nights for a full hookup park S of Jackson WY. We left more on the table in the Tetons so...... we will be back.

As we were driving to our new park outside of Jackson Hole we noticed people whitewater rafting on the Snake River. Well........we had to try it. And it was a very nice trip down the river, just enough whitewater for Karla to enjoy it (she is getting better). We saw some eagles in the trees along the river and it was great. We did get rained on but water is water, either coming down from above or splashed up from below. And did I say we saw lighting and heard thunder? Well it was a storm that blew through. We made it to the bottom. And we moved on.........to................

Outside of Salt Lake City for a few nights while the MH got new batteries and a few other things checked out. While there we joined Costco, did some shopping, Kora got a haircut, we saw a movie (or most of it), we mysteriously (just ask me what that means) found a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream where I got a dip of my favorite ice cream, Rocky Road, it is the best. The MH is all better and we are now in NV as we travel to Lake Tahoe.

So there you have it, you are up to date and all is well with the world. As always, more of my pictures are viewable through a link on the left side of this blog (under sites we like).

later

eric

outside Yellowstone

2009-08-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Aug 2, we are at the east entrance to Yellowstone Park at the Yellowstone Valley Inn. We came from Billings so the drive South was very easy. A nice rainbow and moon rise from the park. Tomorrow are going to meet up w/ more friends from the Escapade, Sherry and Sharron. They are parked at Fishing Bridge in the park.

Pompeys Pillar

2009-08-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

Karla was not interested in the next trip so she stayed home. I drove off to (by myself) the spot where Clark of Lewis and Clark fame had stopped along the Yellowstone River and signed his name and date to a large outcropping of stone. Many others before and after Clark have signed there names or drawn pictures in the stone. While there, I went down to the river bank and noticed a guy with a UM shirt on, so I had to ask, well, he went to UM and also went to Pioneer High, same high school as me, only he was one year behind me. Small world.

Well I had to drive quickly back to rig to be there in time for Jim and Sandie's (classmates and friends that we meet at the Escapade) visit. I made with a few minutes to spare. It was a good time visiting with them again

moving west

2009-08-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well, The time has come to continue west. On our way to Yellowstone we stopped for a day to see the Little Big Horn Battlefield. I was impressed with the Native American Memorial. The last photo is of Last Stand Hill, where Custer and the remaining soldiers lost there lives.

The Black Hills, SD

2009-07-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

We arrived at our park, south of Rapid City, SD with a refrigerator not working and a leak in a grey water fitting (which I cannot get at) in a 90 degree heat. After contacting the RV dealerships in the area I was given the name of a mobile rv mechanic who could come out but not till tomorrow late. Over the phone he was able to walk me thru some checks and we were able to get it working. So we didn't loose any food. Next day he came out and together we fixed everything. My great extended service contract (or so I thought) didn't cover any thing.
We toured the Southern end of the Black Hills from this location. Custer State Park is a great place and first on the list of places to come back to again. Even great enough to spend a few months and do some workcamping. We drove the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway which takes you through Pig Tail Bridges and tunnels that if you look closely, frame Mt Rushmoore.
We met up w/ Jana and Mike (SKP members) in Rapid City. It was nice visiting w/ like minded people as always. It was too hot in the city and we ended up going home a little early. Hopefully they will be able to come visit with us later in the week.
Made a couple of cg moves around the Black Hills and ended up in Spearfish City Park. Really enjoyed this park. It is on the creek, walking distance to Spearfish, next to a historic fish hatchery, met nice people, wow what a park. Also more trips into the Black Hills. What a great place w/ many things to do.

The Enchanted Highway

2009-07-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

On our way to Madora we saw a large metal sculptor along the side of I 94. We said we would go back to check it out. A school teacher didn't want his town of Regent, ND to go by the wayside so he created 7 very large metal sculptors along the 20 mile stretch from the town to I 94. It was a pretty stormy day and at one point it was so dark and it began to rain pretty hard. Once we made it to the town, it was pretty much empty.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

2009-07-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 12, we went into the park twice. Once mid day and once again in the evening, hopefully for a sunset. There were lots of prairie dogs, wild horses and more bison in the evening. One bison was walking so close to us that I got a little nervous. (really, Karla said we had to go)

Westward ho!

2009-07-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

We are on our way west but one last stop in MN. Moorehead actually to see the Hjemkomst Exhibit. This is a replica of a Norwegian Viking ship that was built and eventually sailed to Norway. Also there is a full scale replica of a Norwegian Church. We then crossed into North Dakota, past over the continental divide and changed to Mountain time. Had to stop at the worlds largest Buffalo. Wow, all that in one day.

More of MN

2009-07-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

We then moved south and inland to Millie Lacs Lake. Karla saw a great big walleye, we visited the town where my mom and Aunt Flo were born. Saw the house they lived in and visited the cemetery where my great and grand parents are buried.

North Coast, MN

2009-07-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

We moved to a park north of Duluth in an area called the north coast. Very nice drive along the lake that goes all the way to Canada. As always we had to stop and take pictures of these large statues. This is a french guy w/out pants.Aunt Flo, Lloyd and Beth and her family came up for a picnic. And then on the 4th Flo and Lloyd came and we drove up the coast to Split Rock Light House and then watched the fireworks over the harbor. It was another nice day. It was great that Karla was able to meet Flo and family. We did some day trips and some walks and enjoyed the cool weather. We even had to turn the furnace on one night when it got down to low 50's.

Moose Lake and Duluth, Minnesota

2009-07-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

The photo of the wall is mosaic tile done in pictures from around Lake Superior.

We parked at Moose Lake City Campground and did day trips to see the area and visit my Aunt Flo. In Cloquet, MN is the only gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We had to see that. The owner even pumped the gas for us. There were some nice tall statues in the area that we got to see too. In Duluth, we saw the aireal bridge in action. The US Steel "The Edwin Gott" left the harbor. The laker is 1000 ft long and 105 ft wide. We also walked the lake walk. Duluth is a pretty industrial area but they have made the waterfront a great place to walk and enjoy the lake. If Duluth can do it, why can't Detroit do it?

Cool weather continues

2009-07-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, on to Moose Lake, Mn. we are heading to Duluth to visit with Eric's aunt and her family.

This park had lots to do but the cool weather did not allow us to take advantage of all we wanted to do but, it helped us do others. There was a tennis court right behind our campsite and we got to play tennis and be nice and cool. Kora just loved playing with us too. She had so much fun running around with no lease in the tennis court. It was so cool that there were no other people in the court and we could let her run. She has had a lease on ever since we left Ann Arbor. She didn't bother our playing but she had quite a time playing by herself with the other balls.

We got to go for a couple of long bike rides on the great bike trails. We walked to downtown, to the coffee shop or ice cream store.

We didn't get to kayak or swim. It was just too cold and windy.

There will be lots of time to kayak. We can't do it all in every spot. This adventure must start to move from do, do, do to do, live life, do. We are moving from vacation to, "this is our life". Sometimes it is just good to sit, and be in the moment.

Onward to Duluth.
Karla

The Day the Music Died

2009-06-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Why we were in Clear Lake we went to a concert at the Surf Ballroom. It was the 61st Gala fund raiser event and the band was The Grassroots. It was a lot of fun. The ballrooms claim to fame is that on Feb 2, 1959 the Buddy Holly tour stopped and played an unexpected concert. After the concert, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper chose to fly to their next concert. The plane crashed within 5 miles of the airport and all were killed. We visited the crash site.

We out ran the heat, well sort of.

2009-06-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Clear Lake on 6/23. We only stayed one night at the last park because it was so hot and they put us right in full sun. Kora didn't even want to go out. We never saw any other travelers because they were all hiding inside too.

Clear Lake, Iowa was still just as hot and muggy but as soon as we got set up, notice I said(as soon as we got set up), a huge storm passed through and took the heat with it. The temp dropped 20 degrees and stayed down. It got a little muggy the next couple of days but it was much easier to deal with now that it was 85 and not 100 and we were in the shade. It was a lovely State Park.

Anyway, Clear Lake was a pleasant surprise. It had a large, lovely lake and quaint town. We took a ride on their paddle boat and road our bikes to town a couple of times.

We found several wind farms, which I was absolutely fascinated with. Just seeing these incredible massive structures creating sustainable energy, in the middle of this beautiful field of growing produce was enough to take my breath away. We went back several times to take pictures of different wind farms. I have attached only one picture. I will put together an album soon, if you care to see more.

We are off to Duluth today (Sunday) where the temperature will be around 67 all week (be careful what you ask for). So much for my swim in Lake Superior. Sorry Anne, I am not a trooper like you. I need you here to encourage me.

More later.
Karla

up to date

2009-06-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

The last posts are a little out of order, but who's grading this anyway. And with this post, I think I am up to date. We are now in Branson MO for a couple of days as we head north. With the temps in the mid 90's with high humidity and all the work associated with a travel day (break down and set up) I got a little heat exhaustion and was in bed for a day. Feel much better now though. We were going to leave here yesterday but had to modify plans, again. We now are scheduled to leave here Monday and have reservations in Kansas City (gotta make a trip to Whole Foods and The Apple Store) and then on to Duluth MN for next Sunday night. That makes a nicely paced trip.

safe travels to all,
happy fathers day
and
it is our 1 year wedding anniversary tomorrow too, so..... to Karla, all my love and Happy Anniversary

eric

Rush, AR

2009-06-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

The town of Rush is on Rush Creek which flows into the Buffalo River. It was a zinc mining town in the late 1800's and into the 1900. When the zinc market fell slowly the town died. These houses were lived in till 1960 and the General Store/ Post Office closed its doors in 1956.

the town of yellville

2009-06-20T19:49:00.001-07:00

Saturday night, the town square turns into a music concert and all the town folks turn out for the action. We were there last Saturday and it was blues night. It was fun.

The map

2009-06-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a map of our travels, what to you think? It is one step ahead of us, but what the heck.

Buffalo River

2009-06-20T19:26:00.002-07:00

After many storms, we got out on the river for a days float. We put in at Dillards Ferry, (which is up stream from Buffalo Point) and floated down to Rush. It was hot, did I say HOT! I think I did but if I didn't, it was a HOT and humid and sunny day. Glad we were on the river. We paid one of the canoe liveries to move our car from where we put in to where we got out. It worked well. There were a a lot of others on the river but it was still a very nice trip.

Still Waiting

2009-06-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we are in a new park near the Buffalo River. We are waiting for mail and nice enough weather to go for a float down the Buffalo. It's been raining and/or chance of rain for several days. Very hot and humid. We are going for sure tomorrow, rain or shine. I can't wait. It will be more fun than the last float. That was a lot of work, dragging instead of floating. It was fun too though. It's all fun.

Kora is a bit upset with our choice of camp ground. When we got here, she kept going to the back of the lot to find her fishing spot. She seemed very confused and sad for most of the first day. We have taken her to another river to get wet a couple of times. She is happy now. She is not liking this humidity any more than we are. She barks to come into the cool home, very quickly these days.

Heading north in a couple of days, to cool off. Will keep you posted. :)
Karla

P.S. June 16th It's still raining. No float today. :(

Life don't get no better than this!

2009-06-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just another day in paradise. Here we are sitting in the creek, watching Kora fish. She is in doggy heaven.
Also, our first kayak trip down the creek. We ended up right in front of our motor home. How cool is that?

I hope we can find another place right on the water. Kora is sure spoiled. She now sits and whines to go down to the water.

2009-06-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

2009-06-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Most nights when the weather is good, the town is full of pickers, singers and most importantly, listeners. It is a town full of music. Many places to go see music on stage also. We have been to 3 places and all have been great. They pass the hat to pay the bills, all very low key and friendly.

2009-06-09T20:17:00.001-07:00

These pictures were taken at the park we are at. It is right on the Sylamore Creek, about 5 miles out of town. We have been able to do a little kayaking too. As you can see, everybody in these parts gets into the singing, even Karla and Kora.

2009-06-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Leaving the Escapade Mud Bowl

2009-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

We forgot to tell the story of our departure from the Escapade. So, here it begins. I think it had been raining for 3 day straight. Remember, we are in a field. Motor homes and 5th wheels started sinking the second day. Other Escapees started being towed out before the rally was over. We were staying an extra day and decided the extra drying time would assure us getting out, so we thought the break in the rain would offer us a break from the learning. So, off we go to watch others deal with the mud bowl, with our bloody mary, Kora and a camera.

Alas, 3 days later when we go to leave, the mud is no more dry and we also have to be towed out of the mess. But, a quick pull and we are out and on our way. I did learn, not to put our rugs down to keep the mud out of the home because the mud soaks thru the rug and then you have to get it out of the rug and the home.

2009-06-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind with updating the blog, (retirement has been very busy). However here is a picture taken of a rainbow over our rig taken during the Escapade. On Saturday we tried to drive out but weren't able to so we had to be winched out. It took a little while but we did make our appointment to be weighed. We are 600 lbs under and pretty well balanced from side to side. All that is good. The Escapade was great. We learned so much, meet a lot of like minded people and bought a lot of nice "gotta have" stuff for the rig. Now to start using it. Also learned a lot about ALL the maintenance that has to be done. It is now time to figure out a schedule for all of it.

We are in Mountain View now. Sherry and Sharon, who we meet at the Escapade, stopped here on their way to Louisiana. So we are having a lot of fun with them. They have friends here so they've been here before. It is nice to continue a friendship after the Escapade. They have invited us to follow them to Louisiana, which we are thinking about. No reason not to.

More later

eric

2009-06-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is the "full timing" graduating class of 2009. We are missing Diane, who took the pictures, and her husband John .
We had a wonderful last night potluck and got to talk about our upcoming adventures. We will all meet again in Arizona this winter.
Safe travels to all.

What a great bunch of people that we met at the Escapade. I would highly recommend the Escapees to anyone living the RV living experience.

Karla

Pooped Puppy and Boot Camp Graduating class

2009-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, it's been a busy holiday weekend. No rest for these weary retirees. I have had little time to even clean (oh darn!). It has rained for the last 24 hours. No, not rained, it poured. It stopped a couple of times so that Kora could go out. She has been really good while we are gone all day and much of the night.

We graduated from boot camp and have way too much information in our heads to even begin to remember. Good thing Eric takes really good notes. The hand outs help too. Another new book to be created.

Eric says he has to be retired just to keep up with all of the maintenance that we learned about. Oh, and I have to practice once a month climbing out of a window only big enough for Kora to get out of. Fire drills every month now. Oh brother!!

Now we have to get our rig weighed on each tire to make sure the load is well distributed. We got most of what we wanted in and we are under our max load but now we may have to move things around?? Oh, that's going to work well. We are kicking ourselves for a few things that we purged that we are now finding that we really did need. It's all part of the learning process.

We met a couple that live in the same area where Virginia is having her wedding and we are making plans to meet up with them while we are there. We have met so many nice people but we so miss the friends that are back home.

Well, off to more classes and a dinner with the full timers graduating class of 2009, tonight. We are having happy hour with the "Boomers" group tonight.

All for now. More to come later.

Karla

another picture of a sunset behind Chicago

2009-05-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

2009-05-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we are finally living our dream. We got on the road on Sat. May 16. There were only a few mishaps before and during our 1st day.

Oh, let me see, sparks coming out from under the motor home. The electrical cord got caught in the levelers. I wasn't home.

Several issues with my computer. I thought for sure that it croaked. It was fine after it had a day of rest. Go figure!

It was all worth it when we landed in our 1st park, Indiana Dunes State Park. What a lovely park. We took a walk down to Lake Michigan to watch the sunset. We didn't bring a camera and Eric had to go back to get them. His wasn't charged but I got the shot attached. We stayed an extra day to get a shot with his camera because it has a better zoom.

What an incredible sight!

Stay tuned, more to come later along the way.

One step closing to leaving

2009-05-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Retirement day is done. Leaving the old life and moving closer to the new one. Party tonight, final packing starts tomorrow as we prepare to leave on our new journey into life.

Eric keeps repeating to himself, "What the heck are we doing? Giving up a good job in this awful economy to go on the road, are we nuts?"

He doesn't really mean it, but it is pretty scary in a lot of ways. But, we are ready and we will make it work. Remember, "what you think about, you bring about", and we have been thinking about this for a very long time.

See you on the road.

Karla

One last picnic with friends

2009-04-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

One last picnic with good friends and family. There are a few missing but they are in our hearts and we will see them before we leave.

Oh my gosh, what a great home this has been. It feels very strange saying good bye for, who knows how long. We will stay connected and won't lose touch. We will see you all again but will miss you all very much.

It's getting so close to leaving now. Eric is putting the final tweeks on the mo ho. I am getting things organized inside. Eric is getting nervous about too much stuff, weight and room. It will all work out. Relax Eric.

Four more working days for Eric. Thursday he says good bye to many years of of working with great people and creating a little bit of history. He has had a lot of projects that have special meaning to him. Here's to a job well done, my love. You gave it your all. They will truly be lost without you.

We have had great timing and great weather for accomplishing all that we needed to get done. We still have several things to get done but it is all falling into place.

Thank you to all of you who have been there for us in many different ways. Everyone of you is appreciated and loved.

Karla

Counting down

2009-03-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

It's nearly time for our big adventure and the waiting is harder each and every day. We have a lifetime of new experiences to unfold before us.
I'm trying to tie up loose ends of paperwork. I am also working on finalizing my aunt's affairs. Now on to what to do with all this "stuff" in our house. Amazing how much stuff one has to go through.
Eric is putting more and more pieces of the puzzle together and he is doing a wonderful job of it. Which phone, which router, which bike rack, surge protector, air gauge, ceiling fan??? It goes on and on and he has researched it all and makes the best choices for our new home on wheels.

When it is time to go, we will be ready!! We'll do our best to give you glimpses of our on going adventure.
So, stay tuned.

Karla

The Blog Begins

2009-03-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

I'm off and blogging. This first entry is for Annie. She insisted we do a blog of our travels. At first I hesitated. At first I said no. I did however, want a way for family and friends to keep track of us.... but a blog? Too much writing, to much content. Who's gonna read it? Who's gonna keep it current? I then started exploring for other options and looked into using google maps and google earth and then I found google blogger, wow, it's a natural fit. So now I'm a blogger. But it will be a blog of few words and many photos. I will however be adding my take on the places and people we meet. So come on along for the ride.

eric