The Only Way to Go

2010-10-17T20:31:00.004-05:00

Traveling the Oregon Coast was amazing, spectacular, incredible and one of our most memorable trips. As you cross the 4-mile long bridge at the Washington Oregon border, you are in Astoria, a maritime town nestled against the hills along the Columbia River. Some of you will remember Astoria for the movie “The Goonies” that was filmed there. Others refer to Astoria as a mini version of San Francisco with narrow streets winding up and down hills, homes built “on top” of each other and many of those homes are of Victorian style. Jack, and his love for castles and mansions, had to go see the Flavel House, a 11,600 sq. ft. house built in 1886. From the top floor, Captain George Flavel, a noted bar pilot on the Colombia River, could see ships coming in the river and would go down and pilot them in. We could not get over the 14’ ceilings, the pocket doors and the woodwork. From here we traveled to see the Astoria Column, an artful summary of the triumphs, conflicts and turning points of the frontier and stands 125 feet atop the Coxcomb Hill.

Further down the coast is Cannon Beach, named for a cannon that washed up on the beach in 1846. Some say Cannon Beach is a small version of Carmel, but not sure we agree. However it is charming town of boutiques. As you drive thru the town you see Haystack Rock and if the tide is out, we could walked up to the Rock.

The Oregon coast has 9 lighthouses to see and we made it a point to see each lighthouse, starting with the lighthouse atop Tillamook Rock, “Terrible Tilly” because of the storms that often brought flying rocks and debris through the lantern room. Cape Meares Lighthouse was our next lighthouse, but we were so sorry to see that two people with high power rifles shot out 15 panes of the outer window glass and did extensive damage to the Frensel lens. If in the area be sure to drive the Three Capes Scenic Loop that encompasses Cape Mears, Cap Lookout and Cape Kiwanda. Cape Kiwanda is a sandy dune where you can see some great surfers enjoying the ocean.

Driving on we stopped at Depoe Bay, a very commercial town but has great views of the ocean and we were able to see two whales swimming a few feet from shore. Also here, as well as other places along the coast, when the tide is coming in you see the “spouting horn” a rock formation that turn crashing waves into a rising column of water. As we traveled the coast, we stopped at many wayward stops to enjoy the crashing of waves against the rocks. Close to Cape Perpetua is another spectacular view. There you see another spouting horn. Over years a cave was formed by the pounding waves and then a hole in the top of the cave setting the stage for an “ocean geyser” or spouting horn. We could not get enough of the spectacular ocean glistening in the sunlight and crashing against the various rock formations along the coast. Now the sun did not shine a lot but when it did, the view was spectacular.

Along with all the lighthouses we saw, there were many coastal towns that were interesting to stop and visit; Winchester Bay, Coos Bay, and Bandon to name a few. Winchester Bay is a great place to rent an ATV and go out and enjoy the ride up and down the sand dunes. Some of the “trails” looked very challenging. Coos Bay, not only has the casino but many antique stores that we had to explore. Brandon, being the cranberry capital of Oregon, has many cranberry bogs which we now understand since our visit to a cranberry museum in Washington. Driving from Gold Beach to Brooking, you once again have many wayward stops to enjoy the sounds of the ocean as well a few more lighthouses.

We did leave Highway 101 and the Oregon Coast a couple of times and headed to the I-5 corridor. Once was to see the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. The museum is dedicated in memory of Captain Michael Smith who died in a car accident at the age of 29. The museum was his dream and he came up with the museum design to house the Spruce Goose. The Spruce Goose was our main reason to go and what a sight that was. The wing span is greater than a football field. Howard Hughes called it the HK-1 and forbid anyone on his staff to refer to the plane as the Spruce Goose. That name came from a photographer upon hearing that the airplane would be built out of wood due to all the metal being needed to build planes for the war. He “assumed” that the plane would be built out of spruce. However the plane is mainly built out of birch wood and very little spruce. Anyway the plane was amazing to see along with all the other hundreds of planes, helicopters as well as the space center. Plan on several hours if you want to see all.

Another great trip was to Crater Lake that rests in the shattered remains of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into itself 7,700 years ago. The view of the lake, formed by rain and melted snow, is breathtaking with the intense blue color that seems to turn emerald green around the edge. It is five miles wide and the deepest in the US. As you travel around the rim you are in awe of the pristine lake with various formations in the lake such as Wizard Island which is another volcano that erupted since the collapse of Mount Mazama. You will see another island called Phantom Ship which is a 16-story island that resembles a pirate ship. Pumice Castle Overlook, a layer of orange pumice rock that has been eroded into the shape of a medieval castle.

In the winter this area receives average of 44 feet of snow. While driving around the rim, it was hard not to notice the 20’ snow poles lining the road. The crew arrives mid-April and starts plowing the road. There are electronic cables along the edges of the road so the snow plows know where the edges are. You are told that there is still snow visible in July!!! Because of strong, harsh and nearly constant winds, the trees, mainly whitebark pines, are interestingly deformed. The trees curve out from the ground as they grow and even curl around another tree. They seem to have ridges embedded in them by the wind. Crater Lake has been compared to one of the most beautiful sights similar to Grand Canyon.

Traveling through Oregon for 3 weeks we noticed several things, besides the coastline. One is all the mist and rain which people in Oregon said was nothing compared to what it will be like later in the year. However don’t think we have ever worn our rain coats for so many straight days. Also, like Washington, Oregon has many many drive thru espresso shops and they were not Starbucks (however Starbucks did start in Washington). Oregon is noted for the Oregon Coast Bike Trail and the many bicyclists with camping gear riding along the side of the road in the rain. However some of those trails are very narrow and not what we would call a bike trail. Also in Oregon you cannot pump your own gas. It is a state law that an employee of the station must pump your gas. The first few times were great but after that you got tired of waiting for them to pump your gas.

We look forward to another year when we can once again enjoy Oregon, the coast and the area around I-5 corridor.

2010-09-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

Washington – what a beautiful state with all the indigenous trees, mountains, lakes and not to mention the seafood -- Dungeness crab, clams, oysters, salmon and more!!!!!!!!!!! Why would anyone not want to live in Washington? Oh yea the winters. Oh well, if you could live somewhere for six months, this would be heaven.

Arrived at Birch Bay, just 5 miles from the Canadian border, to visit friends, learn how to catch crab and see the area. Now crabbing was fun, putting turkey legs in the wire crates known as pots before lowering the pots into the bay. Then we would either motor around the bay for few hours or leave the pots and come back to check them later. If the crabs were male and over 6 ¾” across, you have a legal catch and over the next week or so, we caught way more than we could eat. Learning how to dig for clams or get oysters will have to wait for another day as due to the Red Tide, we could not do either in the bay. Lessons were learned and many seafood meals were consumed, including delicious clam chowder and grilled oysters (shellfish bought elsewhere).

We drove over to Mount Baker, a stunning 10,778-foot volcanic peak that offers year around recreation. The day unfortunately was overcast but the view was still breathtaking. Am sure if you were able to ski or hike Mount Baker, the views would be awesome. Fortunately as we moved around the northwest, just few miles from Canada, we saw many views of Mount Baker.
Fidalgo Bay is another amazing area to stay in, especially with several of our Arizona friends. Fell in love with the charming town of Anacortes. One of the unusual things about the town is the wooden cutouts on many of the buildings by artist Bill Mitchell. If Bill Mitchell hadn't rolled his car, damaged his spine and wound up in a wheelchair, he says he might never have found his life's work - decorating the buildings with pictures of people and scenes from the past. The entire town of Anacortes has become Mitchell's canvas and its history his subject and his passion. Mitchell began the work in 1984 and the murals keep coming. To date there are more than 100. To see more of the murals, go to www.rvtrekker.com/northwestpages/muralsofanacortes.htm
There are so many towns and places to see in the Fidalgo Bay area. We took an hour-long ferry to the San Juan Islands and spent the afternoon at Friday Harbor. Little bit of history - Friday Harbor was named for a Kanaka – a Hawaiian named Joseph Poalie Friday, who was employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company to tend sheep on the land overlooking the harbor. His was the only dwelling to be seen for miles, and when sailors coming along the coast saw the smoke from his camp, they knew they had reached “Friday’s Harbor.” Yes there are several shops and restaurants that we visited but the main attraction for us was the Harbor with all the boats or ships that are docked, including the 174 foot Silver Shalis built by Delta and owned by someone connected with the World Trade Center. Now watching that boat dock made our day. Better would have been if we could have only gone on board!!!
Next we headed to Seattle to see the famous Pike’s Fish Market. And what a sight it was seeing 3-4’ haddock being thrown across the counters. And the size of the fish, lobsters, scallops and crabs in the market was unbelievable. The Public Market is a great place to visit. There is also the fresh flower market with bouquet that smelled wonderful (and helped cover up that fish smell), and many other shops and restaurants.
All good things come to an end and it was time for the Arizona group to separate and go back home or in our case, head over to the coast and the Olympic Peninsula, camping at a park in Ocean Shores.

We drove up the western coast of Olympic Peninsula to Cape Flattery and Port Angeles. The drive through the trees was amazing and could not believe the lush vegetation and all the areas where the trees had been clear to plant future growth. On the way to the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula, on one of the most remote and breathtaking coastlines, we stopped at Neah Bay which is home to the Makah Indiana Nation and overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Further down the road, and a must stop, is Cape Flattery, which got its name from Captain James Cook. In 1778 Cook visited the waters off the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and an opening along the coast had “flattered” him into thinking he had located a harbor or a passage, prompting him to name the place Cape Flattery. This is one of the most breathtaking views on the Pacific Coast and also the most northwestern point in the continental US. The Makah Tribe has renovated the 3/4 mile trail down to the Cape as you now hike the picturesque trail on cedar boardwalk, groomed earthen trail and bridges across the wetlands. Once at Cape Flattery you have a magnificent view of the Strait of Juan Fuca, several sea caves, sea life and across the way, Tatoosh Island, where you may see the lighthouse. And then as you travel the ¾ mile walk up the trail, you hopefully reflect not on how hard the walk is but that you have just seen one of the most beautiful places in the Olympic Peninsula.

We drove on to Port Angeles for a quick tour of the town before calling it a day and driving 4 ½ hours back to camp in Ocean Shores. Next day we traveled the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula up north to Port Townsend where we thoroughly enjoyed the 34th Annual Wooden Boat Festival. With over 300 wooden vessels, you marvel at the size and beauty as you board various boats and see just what they have on board. Course my favorite had 10 sleeping bunks, sun bathing areas and even a hot tub. Now what more could you wish for unless it had a helicopter on board to take you shopping. It was amazing to see not only the wooden sail boats, the wooden power boats but even the wooden kayaks and canoes. Then with little time left, we drove around town to see many stunning Victorian homes. Port Townsend will definitely be on my “must return to” town as there is so much more to see but another 3 ½ hour trip was ahead of us as we headed back to camp.

Still trying to see as much of Washington coast as possible, we headed to Long Beach Peninsula to explore that area. Long Beach Peninsula stretches 28 miles and is the world’s longest beach. We traveled the entire length of the Peninsula, seeing both Lighthouses on Cape Disappointment. But the highlight for us was stopping at an Oyster Farm in Oysterville to learn how to grow and farm the oysters. Another highlight was stopping at the Cranberry Museum and learning how they plant and grow cranberries.

Driving through the Quinault Rain Forest you are surrounded by several types of ferns on the ground and massive trees “dripping” with moss. The vegetation in some areas along the road is so thick you cannot see through the trees. You want to ask “Does it always rain in the Rain Forest?” as it was raining the day we went. It is the perfect thing to do ……..in the rain.

Now you know why we love Washington so much. We have tried to see and learn as much as we can but there are many more places we need to visit. We will be back. It is time to continue down 101 and discover the Oregon coast.

2010-08-20T12:28:00.002-05:00

Back on the road and on the blog again. Had a great 3 months (January – March) in Arizona but due to technical problems like the computer crashing – had to put the blog on hold. Next we spent a few months in Texas with family and moving Jack’s mother and also brother into their new homes. Next we spent almost a month in Alabama working on landscaping our property. During this time we had great news – our son finally proposed to Meg and the wedding is December 4 in Rochester, NY. We could not have been happier. Two months were spent in Buffalo/Rochester picking out clothing, place for the rehearsal and seeing where all the activities are going to take place. But it is time for us to start back traveling and seeing the states.

Headed to state of Washington to meet friends but first we stopped in Moscow, IA to visit with Sandy and Darius as well as HWH for quick check on our leveling system. Sandy and Darius showed us all around the area, meeting not only their son but Carol and Tom Maxwell’s family. What a great group of people. Next we had to stop in South Dakota to renew driver’s license. You can’t drive across South Dakota, and not stop in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace which started in 1892. The idea was started by two men to showcase the crops grown in the area and to attract immigrant farmers to settle here. Each year a new decorating theme is chosen and the outside of the Corn Palace is stripped and redecorated with new corn and grains. Over 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half and nailed to the building following patterns created by local artist, kind of a “corn-by-number” process. There are 13 different colors of corn, each grown in a separate field, just for the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace is known around the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota. This year’s theme is Mode of Transportation, showing canoes, covered wagon, snowmobile, motorcycle and even a Sagway.

Our timing was great(?) as we were in South Dakota during the 70th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. You are surrounded by motorcycles as you drive anywhere close to the west side of South Dakota. Saturday we headed over to Sturgis for 5 hours to see some amazing motorcycles and even more amazing sights!! To say we saw some unbelievable motorcycles is an understatement. There were all types of motorcycles from old homemade cycles, one made with back end of 57Chevrolet Bellaire with a V-6 engine; a turn of the century motorized bicycle; a bike that looked like a John Deer tractor; and a three wheeler that had a beer keg for a fuel tank. Then you were astonished with the high price, professionally built and painted gorgeous motorcycles. Then the incredible sights which included a guy walking his dog around with a cat and a mouse on the dog’s back; several ladies showing sometimes more than you needed to see and guys wearing all kinds of head gear and ridiculous outfits. We were told since it was the last day, there would not be the huge crowd but we were still very impressed. Judging from the crowd that day, we could only imagine what it was like during the middle of the week. It was a Rally we will never forget and one that we would like to come back to – and with a motorcycle if Jack had his way.

Time to meet up with our friends in Riverton, WY and travel to Washington. Meeting up with Diana and Gene, we headed to Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park for a day. Jackson Hole is a little valley which is comprised of the towns of Jackson, Teton Villages and Wilson. Never made it to Wilson but Jackson and Teton Villages has many quaint stores and restaurants that we enjoyed. Camping in the middle of Grand Teton National Park was incredible. As always, we wished we could have stayed there for several days. But Washington calls so we head out thru Yellowstone National Park, traveling the western loop to Bozeman, MT. What a different view we saw of Yellowstone from the time we were here June 2009 when we only drove to Old Faithful. Here we saw many trees and sparkling streams. Traffic was heavy but the scenery was amazing. Was disappointed that we did not see any bear or moose, only elk. We arrived in Bozeman at Betty and Konrad’s ranch, spending the night there on the ranch surrounded by mountains. Bozeman is a cute town with many old buildings actually in great condition and being used. Had great hamburger/bison burger at Ted’s (Turner) Montana Grill. Ted has a ranch nearby and owns the most singly-own land in the US (not the best but the most acreage). The meat for the restaurant actually comes from his ranch and was outstanding.

Washington is still calling so we head out to Coeur d’Alene, ID for another night. Drive was long and roads where terrible (where is the stimulus package here) but Coeur d’Alene is another charming town. Spent the night at Blackwell Island RV Park on Lake Coeur d’Alene and had a delicious dinner at Cedar’s Floating Restaurant.

Washington is still calling so headed out for the last 8+ hour drive. It was great to see Brent and Kathy waiting for us at the gate to their park and to be able to settle in for a couple weeks.

2009-12-18T22:54:00.002-05:00

Spent three weeks at our Alabama “home”, Blue Herron Paradise RV Park in Guntersville, AL. We quickly realized we not only made the right choice in the lot we chose but in the park as we met several great people there. We have no plans to build a “port home” which is what they build in this park, but have some neat ideas in case we change our mind. The area is surrounded by lakes with Lake Guntersville, one of the best bass lakes in the US, stretching over 25 miles. Jack is already dreaming about a boat! However since our lot backs up to a pond, I told him he has his water front property and we can afford the boat to go on it. We are only 40 minutes from Huntsville, 1 1/2 hours from Birmingham, AL or Chattanooga, TN. So we are not really in the sticks. After planting 4 Lakeland Cypress trees and getting many landscaping ideas for when we return in April, we left our Alabama home and headed to Florida for repairs and the new MCD day/night shades.

Florida was much better weather-wise as it was only in the 80’s. While waiting for 3 days at Alliance RV Service in Wildwood, we were able to once again visit my Aunt and Uncle in the Villages. If you have never been, there are several separate villages with many shops, restaurants and nightly entertainment 365 days a year!!! What a place to retire if you want a house and love Florida. Next stop was Bay Lakes RV Resort for a few days to look around and see if we really wanted to buy a lot in Florida. This place is very nice resort for Class A motor coaches. Casitas are built here which is a 400 – 800 sq ft building which usually has a kitchen, bathroom and storage area. You live in your Motorhome, unlike Alabama where you live in the port house. The $3 million club house with theater, ballroom, exercise room, kitchen facilities and several meeting rooms/crafts room with a pool and hot tub outside is absolute gorgeous. It is much more elegant than our Alabama clubhouse but the prices of lots, HOA fees, etc. are also much higher. Once again if you want to live in Florida and own a Class A motor home, this is a great place and we may return.

Next stop was Classic Coach in Lakeland where they can renovate any type of coach at any price you want to pay. While we were there, they were renovating a 1973 Airstream and the finished look was unbelievable! With the cost of new coaches, many people are looking to renovate instead of buying. We however will settle for the new shades in the front of the coach – and love them. While waiting for three days, we were able to travel to Tampa and Clearwater to look over that area. Still trying to decide why so many people love Florida.

Time to head back to Texas for Thanksgiving with Jack’s family. We were able to finally get his mom to the Victoria mall after 5 years; a Christmas pageant at one of the local churches and even for a ride in the coach which she had never done!

As we travel to Arizona for Christmas with our RV families, we will greatly miss being with our family, especially Scott who will spend Christmas in Baltimore with Meg and her family. We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas, safe travels and good health in 2010.

2009-10-17T16:51:00.002-05:00

Summer was short but sweet in Buffalo NY area. After having great time at the Monaco Rally in Ohio, we headed home. This always means doctors, dentist and hair appointments but also means time with our son and Meg. My sister joined us for two weeks and we did get to go to Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada one of her favorite places. The flowers were in full bloom lining the streets and parks. Have never seen Niagara-On-The-Lake more beautiful!!! Will have to remember this time of the year for future visits. Of course we went to the famous Anchor Bar for Buffalo wings, which is a must when we go home. Had some great visits with Scott and Meg, showing their house and area to Joan. But after only 5 weeks, we received a call that Jack’s mom had fallen, broken her arm, and they needed us in Texas.

Left September 4, after spending one more weekend at home with Scott and Meg, and drove almost 1200 miles to Victoria, TX. We spent a month there helping her as much as possible. A physical therapist came three times a week to help her get stronger. After two doctors appointments, a change to a smaller cast, and home health nurses set up to assist her, we left for Florida to visit Classic Coach in Lakeland to get our new day/night shades. Guess everyone is ordering these shades as we were told it would take 5 weeks to get them because they are custom made. We decided to leave and head to Alabama to spend some time at our RV lot we purchased in Guntersville.

2009-07-12T20:28:00.003-05:00

Not emotionally ready but time to move on, we drove north to Cheyenne, WY for couple of nights. Cheyenne is known for the “grandfather of them all” rodeo which is in August and on our list. We did get to see the Western History Museum which is a history of the Cheyenne Rodeos and very interesting. After walking the historic 26 blocks of Cheyenne, we took a horse and buggy tour to learn more about this area. We found out that Wyoming is one of the least populated states in the US and started out as a railroad town and later cattle ranching. Cattle were brought up from places like Texas to Wyoming to enjoy the vast rich fertile grass lands. Most of the rich cattle barons then settled in Cheyenne due to the railroads and the convenient way to get their cattle east to the slaughter houses. It not only provided a means to shipping the cattle east to the slaughter house but also provided richer lifestyle to ship the finer things of life out by rail. We also found out that Cheyenne had the first building dedicated to a telephone switch house. This is where the old time operators could sit at switchboards and connect phone calls. As it was the first, they decided to put together a phone book. So they collected all the names and phone numbers and went to a local printing company to have it printed up. The printing company was out of white paper and the people had a choice of waiting a couple of weeks or having it printed on color paper that was in stock. Hence the beginning of the yellow pages.
After a brief night in Casper WY which we can’t recommend, we headed to Cody, WY, where we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum which is a must if ever in the area. The gun section was unbelievable especially if you love guns. I had to wipe the drool off Jack’s mouth as he looked at each of the 1500 guns on the main level and the 1200 guns on the lower level. What a display!! Jack was surprised at the number of guns that were donated from Winchester Rifle, Olin Corporation.
From here we headed to The Irma, Buffalo Bill’s original hotel named after his youngest daughter. Inside you see the $100,000 Cherry wood bar that was presented to Colonel Cody in 1900 by Queen Victoria of England. It was made in France, shipped to New York by steamer, then shipped by rail to Red Lodge, Montana and then by horse drawn freight wagon to Cody. That evening we made it to the Cody Rodeo which is every night during June, July and August. The performers are made up of young kids from all over who pay $25.00 entry fee just to try their talents. It was a fun night and would do it again.
Can’t be that close to Yellowstone National Park and not go. Knowing we only had one day we chose to see Old Faithful Geyser first. Yellowstone surprised us with the mammoth size and over 100 geysers. We saw the California’s Old Faithful in Calistoga, CA which shot up 60 feet high but Old Faithful in Yellowstone made it look small. This shot up from 103 – 180 feet high, was much wider but did not erupt as often. There are two other geyser’s in the immediate area that also erupt but we only watched the one. There are geysers releasing steam all over the park which was surprise to us. We definitely have to go back and stay in the park for at least 3 days. While driving around we saw many buffalos roaming the grounds, deer and one grizzly bear.
On to Rapid City SD for few days. Having been here for two weeks in 2006, we went to Custer State Park which we did not have time to see before. We took the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway out to Custer State Park, named after George A. Custer who led a scientific army expedition into the Black Hills in 1874. The expedition did find gold but Custer was more interested in the area’s uncommon natural beauty. The Park covers 71,000 acres in South Dakota and it is breathtaking with the granite peaks that seem to soar to the sky, glistening streams in the sunlight and various shades of green with the trees, grass and pastures. As you drive thru the Park you see Bison running freely throughout the park and they will even sit in the middle of the road while you wait for them to move. Also along the way we saw wild donkeys, antelope and prairie dogs. We did not see any elk or big horn sheep that are also located there. All the streams were filled with fisherman. Another bit of info – the filming of National Treasure was done in the Black Hills. The scouts were sent out to the Black Hills area to find potential filming locations. The team examined Needles Highway, Mount Coolidge, Harney Peak and various fire towers located within the region. However the Sylvan Lake area was ultimately chosen as one of the premier sites for the film. As there is not actual lake located within Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the scenes were filmed at Sylvan Lakes which is located in Custer State Park.
Now as you drive across South Dakota, you must stop in Mitchell and see the Corn Palace which started in 1892. The idea was started by two men to showcase the crops grown in the area and to attract immigrant farmers to settle here. We were also told that Mitchell was vying to become the state capitol and thought this idea would benefit the town. Each year a new decorating theme is chosen and the outside of the Corn Palace is stripped and redecorated with new corn and grains. The process begins in early summer with the removal of the old grasses and grains. The corn mural has to wait until late summer when the crop is ready. Over 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half and nailed to the building following patterns created by local artist, kind of a “corn-by-number” process. There are 13 different colors of corn, each grown in a separate field, just for the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace is known around the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota. (www.cornpalace.com) In 2006 when we saw the Corn Palace, the theme was Rodeo. When we stopped this time they were starting the process of removing the theme for 2009 which was “American’s Destinations” and the panels showed Washington, D.C., the Statue of Liberty, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Golden Gate Bridge, the St. Louis Arch, the Alamo and Davy Crocket, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, the Kennedy Space Center and of course Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and the Corn Palace. The theme for 2010 is “Through the Ages” depicting various modes of transportation. The murals will show an airplane, segway, sailboat, bike, and motorcycle, canoe with Boy Scouts Logo since BSA will celebrate their 100 years in 2010, hot air balloon, snowmobile, stagecoach, four-wheeler, car and train. It is a relatively small town but many tourists come just to see the Corn Palace.
Time to go see Abraham Lincoln. Even if you are not a history buff, walking in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, OH was extremely interesting. After stopping at Lincoln Depot which is now the Visitors Center, our first stop was Lincoln’s Presidential Museum. Here you journey from his rustic Indiana cabin to his Executive Mansion in the nation’s capital, his fate as the 16th President and the joys and sorrows of his family. He had 4 sons; three of them preceded him in death. There are so many facts and stories you will learn and see in this building. His adult life started in New Salem, then Springfield and on to the White House. And politics do not change as many people hated Abe and made fun of him back then. After several hours we walked to Lincoln/Herndon Law Office, the only offices that still stand where Lincoln practiced. Next stop was the Old State Capitol where Lincoln practiced law before the Supreme Court and gave his famous “House Divided Speech”. This is also where his body lay in state when he was brought back to Springfield after his assassination. Our tour guide told us that many interesting facts including one about the documents were tied up in string, red string to be specific. And here is where the term tied up in Red Tape began.
From here we walked thru town to see Lincoln’s Home while he was married and lived in Springfield. This is the only home that Lincoln ever owned. They lived here from 1844 until he left for the White House in 1861. Next we drove out to see Lincoln’s Tomb where his wife, three youngest sons and Abe are buried. His oldest son, Robert, is buried in Arlington VA. It is said that his wife Mary and Lincoln visited Oak Ridge Cemetery while they lived in Springfield. They were both impressed with the setting and that is why Mary insisted that Lincoln be buried here.
Next day we drove out to New Salem State Historic Site which is a reconstruction of the village where Lincoln lived for 6 years during his early adulthood. Through interpreters you learn about this village and about Lincoln’s life while here. One bit of trivia we learned from a German who was the wheel maker in the village, was that after all the spokes and wooden rim were joined together, they were held together by a steel wheel. This was called a tie-er and from that we have today’s term of a tire.
Also in one of the houses in the village we learn another bit of trivia. One of the interpreters who were working with yarn told us that the ladies would measure their yarn on a wheel device called a weasel. When the correct amount of thread was spun onto the wheel, the yarn would pop at the appropriate length. The kids made up a song and would try to guess when the yarn would pop and thus became “Pop goes the Weasel’.
(Hope you have enjoyed all the trivia we learned along this part of our trip)
After stopping in Monticello, IN for several days, celebrating July 4th with a boat parade on Lake Freeman, we will head to the Monica International Rally in Springfield OH to enjoy a week with all our Monaco friends.

2009-06-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

Traveling full time is not all fun and games as we found out in Cloverdale, CA as we were headed north to see the California Redwoods. Drove into an old park, around a corner and trying to dodge a truck, drove too close to a tree and took out 3 bays. Not a good day. Long story short, we ended up going back to Sacramento for two weeks while a company fabricated the bay doors. Then to a hotel for two weeks while they installed the doors, did some fiberglass work and painted the coach. It now looks great. Oh – forgot to mention that before we left the park, someone else hit the same tree!! Time to take that tree down.
During the month of waiting, we continued to venture to various areas. While parked in a great ROD park in Pollock Pines, CA, we drove to Coloma, where James Marshall discovered gold in 1848. There is a very interesting Marshall Gold Discovery State Historical Park and that day there were many character actors showing 4th graders how to make rope (which we did), blacksmithing, and panning for gold. On other days there are other events open. It is another opportunity for 4th graders to learn about California history. Next on to Placerville which is another interesting town. Walked a good part of the town, stopping at one of the best old hardware stores we have ever seen, in fact it is the oldest hardware store west of the Mississippi. From there drove on to see the area and ended up at Jack Russell Brewery. A guy, years ago, wanted to make beer and found this place and bought it. He named the beer after his two dogs, Jack Russell. The beer is only sold in the California area and was pretty good for a microbrew.
Can’t be this close without driving to and around Lake Tahoe, so we did and what a beautiful area this is. Forgot how cold it could be at 8000 feet – brrrr. But before heading back, we drove on to Carson City, Nevada’s Historic Capital and walked the tour of 24 historic houses, stopping to also see Jack’s bar which was built in 1859. Next stop was Virginia City driving through Silver City, an old mining town with shacks and mining equipment all over the side of a hill. It looks like the town is abandon, but people were actually living in some of those shacks. Virginia City is America’s largest historical landmark and very interesting. The buildings are old and you do feel like you are stepping back in time, especially in the many bars. One interesting bar is Bucket of Blood where there are pictures on the bar back and Victorian pickle castors on the shelves. The Victorian pickle castors is a fancy table pieces used by privileged class Victorians back in 1880s, mainly made in America with few made in Canada. It was considered an American Victorian tradition and was used prior to refrigeration to serve all type of pickled vegetables and meat. Further down the strip was Mark Twain Saloon/Casino with a glass case that contained “the face on the bar room floor” and it was a section of a floor with a face on it. Pictures were very hard to get. Another bar contained the “suicide table” named because three owners of the table committed suicide due to the heavy losses. Most of the buildings have a history which makes the town so unique. It was a great place to stop and walk around.
While living in a hotel, we were able to spend a day in Old Sacramento with great RV friends, Jim and Joy. Folsom City was not far away and spent the day walking around the town, as well as traveling to Jackson, CA which was founded as a gold rush camp in 1848. Next we drove on to Sutter Creek, another historic town. But while we walking around, we received a very unexpected call that my sister’s husband died in his sleep. We were fortunate to also get a call that the coach was ready so we headed out to Denver to be with her, her son and family during the unbelievable sorrow time.

2009-05-06T18:49:00.002-05:00

San Francisco area is a great place to visit. We were here for three weeks last year and will do the same this year. Once again we want to do some different things but we just can’t stay away from Fisherman’s Warf, Sausalito, or driving down Highway 1 to see the ocean view. Taking the Bart into San Francisco we spent the whole day walking from Pier 1, around Fisherman’s Warf, and ending up at Ghirardelli’s. Another day was spent walking around Sausalito and Tiburon, two of our favorite towns in this area where you dream about owning one of those million dollar boats or homes. Both towns offer a number of chic boutiques and restaurants to enjoy.

A Medieval Festival in Vacaville, CA was definitely different. It seemed like most of the town turned out in costume (some good and some bad) to enter into the costume contest. There are many events for the kids to enjoy including “throwing of the rat” (fortunately a stuff one). But we did discover a new instrument called the Chapman Stick. It is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. The stick looks like a wide version of the guitar yoke with 8, 10 or 12 strings, and is played by tapping the strings instead of plucking them. Very interesting especially for a Chapman.

The great things about this life style, is discovering the out of way places and sites. One of these is a neat restaurant in Rio Vista, called Foster’s Bighorn, established in 1931 by William (Bill) Foster. He was a great hunter and there are 300 different heads of animals, birds and fish in the restaurant of which 95% were shot by Bill in Africa, India, Greenland, Alaska, Mexico and United States. The collection includes a mounted head of full-grown African elephant with tusks weighing 110 pounds each and is five feet long. Another rare specimen is the mounted head of a giraffe, one of less than dozen like it in the world. Also a moose Forster claimed was the largest in the world, with an antler spread of 76 inches which was shot by guy in LA and not Forster. And the food was also good – stop and see if ever in the area.

We also got to spend a few days with old neighbors and great friends from Buffalo – Barb and Gary, and their son and his wife, Doug and Joelle and adorable granddaughter Avery. Had a great time visiting and moving the kids to another place in San Ramon. The following week we also met up with great friends Tim and Mary Jo and walked around the Haight Ashbury area. Talk about “walking back in time”! Then what a better place to be on National Marijuana Day but in the Golden Gate Park. Had no idea that April 20 was such momentous day (????) but guess it is for some. Just shows you never know what you find as you travel around. But it was great to be in San Francisco at the same time as our great friends and was happy we could see all of them.

Traveling on we headed to Cloverdale, CA for a few weeks. Keeping up with trying to see all of Highway 1, we headed over to Albion and drove down to Guerneville. We stopped at Fort Ross, one of the oldest parks in the California State Park system. In 1812 Russian and Alaska explorers and traders established Fort Ross at Metini, a centuries-old Kashaya Pomo coastal village. There we discovered a group of 4th graders that were doing an overnight as Russian immigrants, dressed in costumes and even had Russian names. The group we saw were cooking beef stew including making their own butter. The other half of the class were out ‘hunting and fishing” so have no idea just what they caught. They were to spend the night and leave around noon the next day as part of the 4th grade studies.
Driving on we stopped to see a very unusual building, the Sea Ranch Chapel (www.TheSeaRanchChapel.org) which was designed by a San Diego artist and architectural designer. The chapel features a cedar roof accented with copper and bronze spire, teak doors and local stone in the walls. Different areas are accented with sea shells to complete the décor. It was a gift of two Sea Ranch residents who wished to offer a nondenominational sanctuary in hope that all who enters will find a measure of peace in the blending of art and purpose amid surroundings of beauty and inspiration. A beautiful and interesting drive on Highway 1.

Another interesting town in the area is Calistoga with many interesting antique stores but more importantly Old Faithful of California. Unbeknown to us, there are three old faithful geysers in the world. There are geysers in Wyoming, Nevada, Iceland, New Zealand and Russia but these erupt continuously or less predictably. Supposedly only a few geysers in the world merit the name “Old Faithful”. California’s rank among the world’s few geysers that perform at regular intervals. Repeat performance was 10 – 15 minutes the day we were there and the water would shoot approximately 60 feet into the air. Can’t wait to see the one at Yellowstone. Also did you know that from two days to two weeks prior to an earthquake, Old Faithful gives warning by delaying it regular performance to longer intervals?

From here we drove down the road a few miles to see the Petrified Forest which was interesting but from what we heard, not as good as the Petrified Forest in Arizona. Must check that out next year.

Time to move on……………

2009-04-02T21:25:00.003-05:00

California is still one of our favorite places to visit and we are back this year. Last year we drove up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco. This year, although we hated to repeat what we did, it was such a great experience that we started the trip around the LA area and hope (weather permitting) to continue up the coast to Oregon.

Along our route, we stopped for a night in Barstow, CA to see the Calico Ghost Town. Back in the 1880s the town of Calico became one of the richest silver mining districts in the state of California. At that time population was 1200 with 22 saloons and it produced $886 million in silver and $45 million in borax. However like most towns in the West, when the price of silver dropped from $1.31 ounce to $.63, Calico became a ghost town. Thanks to the help of Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, Calico is one of the few remaining original mining towns of the Western United States. You can take a tour through Maggie mine, ride the train around the mountain or take a leisurely walking tour of the town which features many interesting buildings with great history. Although our favorite ghost town is still Chloride, NM, we did enjoy Calico, CA.

We headed for the coast and spent several days at Lake Cachuma, a nice county campground close to one of our favorite towns, Solvang. Leave it to Jack to “sniff” out a model airplane fly in that weekend! There was a very active group of 40-45 men flying their planes with pontoons over Lake Cachuma. What a fantastic sight seeing 5 – 6 planes flying at once over the lake. Then one man was screaming through the water with his Miss Budweiser boat, equipped with a weed eater motor. Needless to say, Jack was in awe and we spend a few hours each day enjoying the different planes. But there are other things to see and of course our first stop after that was Solvang, a neat Danish town, to enjoy their delicious aebleskivers, (a round Danish pancake served with raspberry sauce and powder sugar) and walk around the town. But we agreed not to do everything we did last year so we drove out to Highway 1 to enjoy the coastal drive. We stopped in Lompoc, CA to look around. Here we found a grove of unusual trees that the town is very proud of, called Italian Stone Pines. We were told that this grove of trees was planted in 1930 and is one of the largest in the US. Would really like to plant some of those on our lot. Back to the coast, we stopped once again at Pismo Beach but preferred the Shell Beach next door; walked the neat shops at San Luis Obispo and the Mission San Luis Obispo de Toloso; spent a day at Santa Barbara, walking the streets and enjoying the ocean front; drove to Buellton for a Danish pancakes breakfast which was unbelievable; enjoyed the awesome homes in Malibu and just wished we could see the inside of just one home.

Time to move on so we drove to San Lorenzo Park in King City which is a neat park with all kinds of historic farm equipment on display. Back to the coast with an exciting shortcut thru Fort Hunter Liggett Army Base – the only way to get to the coast. It was a scenic drive but you have a good hour of one lane switchback roads. Luckily we left the Monaco Moose at camp! Again there is nothing better than driving the coastal highway, enjoying the many vista views and of course stopping at another favorite town, Cambria. Along this route you do pass Hearst Castle which is a great place to tour, and which we did tour last year. If time, be sure to stop in Cayucos with all their antique stores and of course Morro Bay with the famous rock and delicious salt water taffy.

Time to move on to Laguna Seca Racetrack and RV Park, outside Monterey, another one of my favorite parks (see why we love California). This park overlooks the racetrack and you enjoy the cars or motorcycles practicing during the day and the view of the valley. It is hard to leave but there is so much to do in this area. We did have to repeat last year by spending time shopping in
Carmel, going to the beach and walking in the sand and then driving the famous 17-mile drive. There are so many spots along this drive to just pull over and have a picnic which we did. You also get to see the elephant seals, harbor seals and the cute sea otters, not to mention all the gorgeous homes along the way. Another day we headed to Cannery Row in Monterrey, next to the Monterrey Aquarium which we did last year and we were tempted to repeat again this year.
We spent many days just driving Highway 1 to enjoy the great ocean view.

This area of California is one of our favorites and am sure we will be back again, but time to move on to San Francisco.

2009-03-24T20:16:00.003-05:00

Las Vegas is always an interesting place to visit even if you don’t gamble. With our two traveling couples, we once again walked through several of the casinos along the strip, including the Wynn, the Encore, which we missed last year and again enjoyed the fountains at Bellagio. We also went to Fremont Street to enjoy the fantastic laser light show. Downtown Las Vegas has converted a five-block area of Freemont Street and enclosed it into a pedestrian mall with a barrel vault canopy 90 feet high. During the day you enjoy the various casinos, shops and restaurants. While Las Vegas is know for never turning the outside casino lights off, the casinos and other buildings under the canopy do turn their lights off as the laser light show starts. The shows are like a moving parade overhead, dancing to the music of famous bands. A great experience we were able to do this year and hope to see again. The 5-7 minute laser light shows start at dark and come on every hour with different shows/bands.

While in Las Vegas we also ventured over to Hoover Dam to see how the construction was going on the new highway that is going to bypass the Dam. You have to wonder what brave person works on the bridge high up in the air --- and are both ends really going to meet! Then on to Red Rock Canyon on the North West side of Vegas. Although it is not quite the red rock views you see in Colorado, it was spectacular. Probably because it was Sunday (and maybe spring break) there were several rock climbers from various degrees of experience which we enjoyed watching. The route is 13 miles long, very colorful and a view you don’t expect in Las Vegas.

Next on our adventure, we travelled to Pahrump to enjoy Terribles Lakeside RV Park, with green grass and a pond here in the desert. Pahrump also houses the famous Chicken Ranch. Remember Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton in the movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”. Texas closed the ranch and a businessman in Nevada moved the Chicken Ranch to Pahrump. It is still very active and supposedly you can get a tour. We tried but they were very busy so we went to the bar where people wait and bought souvenirs. So I guess you could say we have now been to the Best Little Whorehouse in the West.

Moving on, the group traveled to Beatty, NV to Beatty’s Hot Spring RV Park which is very old but known for the hot springs. We took the gang to see one of our favorite castles – Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley which is another story we told you about last year. Back to the campground to enjoy the hot springs which we have always wanted to do but never have. We describe this experience as a hot tub with gravel in the bottom with no chlorine. A fantastic week traveling together but time to say goodbye as our friends go south and we travel north in California.

2009-03-10T12:06:00.003-05:00

Christmas, New Years, time in Arizona and now leaving, heading to Las Vegas ----- where does the time go. Christmas this year was in Texas with Jack’s family. Scott was also able to fly down and be with us. It is always great to see all the relatives and spend time with family.

January 2 we headed to our winter home at Canyon Vista in Gold Canyon, AZ for two months of fun in the sun, great sunsets and time with great friends. This year for the most part, January and February’s weather has been in the 70’s and 80’s with lots of sun, which is great for all the birthday parties’, happy hours and feasts!! We once again made the trip Quartzsite to the RV Show, Superbowl party which included the 3-D glasses for everyone to see the special commercial, trips to the Mesa market, Gourd Fest in Casa Grande, dinner and music at San Tan Flats, art show at Fountain Hills, Arizona Opry, and the musical “King and I” at the local community theater in Gilbert. New this year was the Light Rail from Mesa to the northwest side of Phoenix, 20-mile trip one way. We stopped and ate at a Greek restaurant on Mill Street, where we were introduced to Flaming Saganaki (a flaming cheese appetizer). Due to the nice weather we were fortunate to spend most of our time outside and met some great new friends. March 6 was our last hoorah at Canyon Vista, another reason to eat and drink, and there were 21 celebrating a great time. Jack also spent many days flying his helicopter (and many nights repairing it). We were able to see three model airplane and helicopter shows which were great – and even saw that the professionals also crash their planes (oooops). With many memories and new friends, we head out to Las Vegas with two other couples for another short adventure together.

2008-12-07T12:48:00.002-05:00

Savannah is a great place to walk around and enjoy all the history in the 25 town squares. Be sure to visit the St. John Baptist Catholic Church which is one of the most beautiful churches we have seen. Take one of the trolleys and hear about the history of Savannah featuring eighteen-century Georgian mansions as well as quaint contemporary townhouses. Get off at City Market and check out the neat shops and restaurants. Walk down Jones Street, a neat cobblestone street lined with unique colonial homes and Spanish moss covered trees. (However don’t take any of the moss as chiggers or red bugs live in the moss.) Stop and spend time at River Street. Although the area is a little touristy, we toured a boat called The Peacemaker. The boat was built in southern Brazil and launched in 1989. The Brazilian industrialist, Frank Walker, sailed up through the Caribbean to Savannah where he intended to rig her as a three-masted staysail schooner. But that never happened. In 2000 a group of people known as Twelve Tribes purchased the boat and have refurbished it, rigged her and set sail in 2007. The back of the boat drops down revealing two water tight doors that can be opened permitting access into the engine room. They are completing maintenance work in hopes to take sail this spring. The boat is 150 feet long overall with 12 bedrooms and 8 baths aboard.

We stayed at Skidaway Island State Park and highly recommend that for fellow RVers. It is a neat park only 15 minutes from historic Savannah. We also drove out to Tybee Island and enjoyed all the colorful cottages close to the beach. It was little to cool to walk along the beach but would love to do that someday. We stopped to see the Tybee Lighthouse which is the oldest and tallest lighthouse in Georgia. Then drove on to Fort Pulaski built in the19th Century on Cockspur Island to guard the river approaches to Savannah. While there we listened to a very interesting story and demonstration on the firing of the musket.

Savannah and the area is a great place to visit and we hope to return again another day.

Next on our travel was Mountain Lakes ROD Park in Langston, AL just south of Huntsville. We arrived in time for a music festival at the park which was great. Also to our surprise, November is the peak time for the colors and the leaves were fantastic. We spent many hours traveling around Lake Guntersville, enjoying the scenery and all this area has to offer. If in the area be sure to stop at the only Unclaimed Baggage Store that gets shipments from airlines, trucks and various other places ever day, twice a day.

Still just traveling around, we headed to Monroe, LA for a very cold week. We are sure Louisiana has more to offer than what we saw but there was not much in this area. We drove back to Natchez, MS and wished we would have stayed there for the week. The town has many old historic mansions that are opened to the public at different times. We chose to just drive around due to the windy cool day before heading over to Natchez Trace Parkway. Natchez was a tribe of Indians and the Parkway began as a series of hunting paths that slowly came to form a trail from Mississippi over the low hills into the valley of the Tennessee. The trail today extends from Nashville TN to Natchez, MS, about 450 miles. Back in 1700s Ohio River Valley farmers seeking markets would bring their crops and goods down the rivers to Natchez or New Orleans. Because they sold their flatboats for lumber, they would return home by either riding or walking the Natchez Trace. Although we only drove 90 miles north of Natchez, it was a very scenic and interesting drive. One day we hope to start in Nashville and drive the Natchez Trace Parkway in the coach, camping on the way.

The next portion of our trip was “reunion time” as we stopped in various towns in Texas to visit friends we use to live by, that we had not seen in several years. Now it is time to travel home for the holidays – this year home being Victoria, TX with Jack’s family.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Safe travels to everyone during the holidays and in 2009.

2008-11-04T22:00:00.003-05:00

Surprise visit to Mary Jo and Tim’s was next on our agenda. While there we not only hit several flea markets and antique stores, we also kayaked on Lake Keowee after climbing down their steep hill to the dock. What a gorgeous place to live. We also did some serious searching in corner of NC, SC, and GA for an RV lot for future retirement. We did find one but still searching before making that final decision. No we are not ready to stop traveling, just looking for the place for when we do slow down.

We finally made it to Asheville, GA to see the Biltmore during their fall season which was fabulous but want to one day come back during the Christmas season. The Biltmore Estate, home to George Washington Vanderbilt III, opened its doors to family and friends on Christmas Eve in 1895 and is still owned by the family. It is a 250-room mansion featuring 33 family and guest bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens and an indoor swimming pool. The surrounding grounds encompass 125,000 acres of forest, farms, dairy, 250-acre wooded park, and five unbelievable gardens. To step back in time and see the various rooms of the home is amazing. To walk the grounds and think of all the places you could play as a child is intriguing. They are in the process of refurbishing several more rooms and you see the steps taken to return these rooms to their original splendor. As an example the velveteen wallpaper in one of the bedrooms is weaved by hand in France. The grounds are manicured and the flowers are changed each season. (Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside, only outside)

We ended our stay in South Carolina by going to Oktoberfest in Walhalla, SC, a treat that was definitely different but will not be on our annual calendar. The German Polka Band from Raleigh NC did liven up the festival.

After a few days at North Shore ROD Park in Greensboro, GA, we headed to our favorite camp – Camp Monaco in Wildwood, FL. While the coach was having its annual maintenance, we were able to see Ruth Ann’s Aunt and Uncle who live in the Villages – great place to live and stay young. We also traveled down to see nephew Chad, Katy and baby Wyatt in Tampa.

We then turned north and headed to St. Augustine, FL, the oldest city in the nation and they say the most charismatic. If you are a history buff you will absolutely love this town – and if not you will still enjoy all the various tours offered.

The best place to visit is Flagler College. Henry Morrison Flagler built three hotels in the town, the first one being Ponce de Leon Hotel which opened to the public in 1888. The hotel was known as the world’s finest hotel and you see why as you view the entrance, ballroom and other rooms decorated with Tiffany windows, murals by George Maynard, ornate 24 carat gold leaf overlay lions lighting the ballroom and main entry rotunda, Mosaic tile floors, and hand carved furniture and columns. The hotel is now Flagler College which is a 4 year liberal arts college where you can attend for $19,000 a year which covers tuition, room and board. The dinning room of the hotel is now the dining room for the college and has some of the old chairs from the 1800s still in use (these chairs are valued at $15,000 a piece).

Another hotel Flagler built at the same time is the Alcazar Hotel, built across the street. The hotel was closed during the depression. Mr. Otto C. Lightner was in town staying at the Ponce de Leon when he saw the Alcazar Hotel. He was looking for a place to show his Victorian collection of artwork and purchased the Alcazar in 1946. It is now known at the Lightner Museum and houses elegant displays of Victorian-era treasurer, Tiffany glass, and antique mechanical instruments. Twice a day you can learn about the history of these musical instruments and hear some of them play. It is another amazing place to see.

There are several other tours you can enjoy but we only chose a few: the Oldest House which was built in the early 1700s; the Old St. Augustine Village which possesses a collection of nine historic homes dating from 1790 to 1910; and Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a fortress that has served six different nations and was built in 1672 by the Spanish to protect their empire in America. Along the trolley route, be sure to stop at the Old Drugstore and then walk over to St. George Street where you find many unique shops and restaurants. Along the trolley route you are also “introduced” to the Old Senator, a 600 year old Live Oak Tree.

2008-10-12T20:30:00.002-05:00

On the road again …. after a short but fantastic 2-month visit home. As always the time is way too busy with doctors, dentists, and general maintenance on our bodies. We of course love spending as much time as possible with Scott and Meg, meeting Meg’s family and visiting with several friends. In addition, we flew out with Scott and Meg to Ventura, California for a week as we celebrated our nephew Chad’s marriage to Katy. It was a great trip and the highlight besides the wedding was granting Meg’s request for In and Out Burgers!!

Traveling this year will be different due to the economy and gas shortages in the southeast but we will continue to travel, staying at membership parks longer and seeing the sights along the way. First stop this year was in Easton, PA to visit great friends Barb and Gary Stockslager and their son (Steve) and girlfriend (Adele). It was like leaving home and going home.

Continuing on, we stopped in Front Royal for few days. By car we traveled the Skyline Drive thru Shenandoah National Park. The drive was beautiful but the leaves were just starting to turn. We would have loved to hike down to see some of the falls but due to time restraints could not do it all. After the 4 hour drive on the Skyline, we continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Montebello to the Crabtree Falls, labeled as the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River and assumed to be named after a William Crabtree who resided in the area in 1777. The Falls is a 70 feet cascade featuring a series of five major cascades and a few smaller ones that drop an entire distance of 1,200 feet. We were able to walk to the lower falls and viewed as much as possible. It was a steep 2+ mile hike up to the top of the falls which we decided could wait another year. From here we headed back to the Parkway and drove down to Glasgow, VA to see the Natural Bridge, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The height of the bridge from the stream below to its upper surface is 215 feet…. 55 feet higher than Niagara Falls. There is even a highway, The Lee Highway, US 11 that passes over Natural Bridge. It was strange to hear cars pass over as you stood below this natural wonder. Down below the bridge there is also a walkway with many things to see especially in the spring/summer when all the flowers are in bloom. The walkway ends at a lace falls which was spectacular with the colors of the leaves and the sun shinning off the water.

Next stop on our journey was Bass Lake RV Resort in Salisbury, NC. We went to see North Carolina Transportation Museum which is located on the site of the Southern Railway’s steam locomotive repair facility in Spencer. Although the main event that day was Thomas the Train and the place was crowded with little ones, it was an amazing place to visit. The following day we headed to Old Salem to walk around a community built on the foundation of the Protestant Moravian religion. The Church owned all of the land in the town and dictated what crafts and domestic skills the people were allowed to do back in the eighteen and nineteenth century. Boys went to a boy’s school to the age of 14, learning to read and write. Then they lived in The Brothers House to learn a craft, which could take up to seven years. They could stay in this house until they were married. Likewise the girls went to a girl’s school and at the age of 14 lived in The Sisters House. A lot of the homes in the area have been restored to the original time period and are opened to see the history of that time. Other homes in the area have also been restored and are private residence. Today Old Salem is the place to live with small homes valued at anywhere from $300,000 to $800,000.

Next stop is Fair Play, SC.

2008-08-03T10:37:00.001-05:00

Before heading home to Buffalo NY area, we attended the Monaco Rally in Wilbur, MN. We had a great time seeing old friends, renewing acquaintance and meeting many new friends plus seeing all the new coaches. You never know what to expect at these events but are always guaranteed a great time. An unexpected event happened Friday night, the last night of the rally, while we were getting ready to have dinner. We knew we were under sever weather warnings but did not expect the tornado sirens to go off. We all were ushered into the locker rooms at the civic center and waited for about 15 minutes. Fortunately we did not have any problems on the north side of town, where we were – with over 400 coaches. However the tornado did touch down on the south side of town destroying some homes and buildings. This is one of those events we fear and hope we never have to face – this was as close as we want to get.

Next we travelled to Faribault, MN to rest (?) up a day or two. We ventured out to Mall of America for a day and it took most of the day to walk around the four level mall. The fourth floor was not occupied (fortunately) but there was more than enough to see. In the middle of the mall is adventure land for the kids including water world, Lego world, and rides of all kinds plus in the basement of the mall is a large aquarium. This place is huge and a place you must see. Next day we headed to the FMCA Rally for the day – choosing not to stay at the grounds for the week. This is the big rally with many vendors and stuff to buy from clothing, jewelry to anything you want to put on or in your RV. Course you also have all the brands of RVs to view including the new Country Coach with the veranda – what a sight to see.

After two days of continuous walking, shopping, we headed back to camp to pack up and head out to Ohio. It took two days including driving around Chicago in 4:00 traffic but we finally made it to Wauseon, OH where we met up with our good friends, Chuck and Joanne for a fantastic home cooked meal. It was a short but great time. Next stop was Avon, OH where we stopped to see a high school friend, Doris. Another great visit with nonstop talking for hours on end trying to get caught up with each others families. Time to head home to see Scott after almost 8 months.

Scott and Meg were getting ready for her 25th birthday party and graduation from grad school the following weekend. It was a “little” work for all of us but got the house in order which included painting, weeding, putting up doors, new windows and baseboards. He is almost finished with his downstairs remodeling job which also included laying ceramic tile before we arrived. What an amazing job he did. We finished shortly (less than an hour) before the party started. It was a great party and we got to meet and visit with her parents and brother, sister-in-law and nephew from Argentina.

Time to go back to Buffalo for some much needed R&R as we see many of our friends plus visit the doctors, dentist, hair salon, etc. before flying out to California for the August 16 wedding of Chad and Katy.

2008-07-07T14:42:00.003-05:00

Time to slow down after an amazing several months of traveling and seeing so many great places. We drove on to Denver, parking our coach at “Camp Jackson” and spent a week with Joan and Earl. Time to rest (?) while washing clothes, shopping and visiting. However we did venture to their friends mountain home – and we mean mountain home. Laurel bought property on top of a mountain years ago and built a fantastic home years later. There is nothing like climbing the rocks behind her house, overlooking the area and taking in the gorgeous views; or relaxing in a hot tub at sunset; or sitting around a fire while looking at the stars. What a fantastic weekend! After loading the coach with many new purchases, it was time to move on. We set out for Nebraska to see Diana and Gene, our traveling buddies. Again a great time with friends as we saw the sights of Shelby and Lincoln, NE as well as learn so many facts on farming. Did you know they actually have male and female corn??? With tears in our eyes, we said goodbye for now and headed through Iowa. Fortunately the interstate was now open and we had no trouble driving across Iowa. It was sad to see people with their belongings out on the yard trying to dry out. Iowa City and Cedar Rapids still had high waters but most of the roads and definitely the interstate were opened. On to Minnesota where we first stopped in Spring Grove, MN which was another farming area. We took a drive along the Mississippi and stopped in Wabasha, where Grumpy Old Men was filmed. The town was neat – known also for the Bald Eagles that are here in September. Another interesting town is Winona with many large old homes and churches. (Course no pictures as left the camera at home- duh). Another day we drove to Harmony and around to various Amish homes that sold good – you can’t stop and not buy the Amish cookies and cakes. They also make great furniture but no room in the coach (darn). Another great town is Lanesboro and their great museum that is full of interesting stuff the townspeople donated. Unbelievable wood carvings from a barber in town; bridal room with wedding gowns – one from the 1800s; a dentist room with an old old x-ray machine are just a few of the items that were donated.

From here we drove to Hinckley, MN to the Grand Casino RV Park which is a great park. We can say we did play at the casino and didn’t lose even when you spend less than $5.00 and come out ahead it is still a win-win!! The casino put on a spectacular fire works display that we watched from our campsite. What a great place to spend the 4th.

Took a drive up to Duluth, MN and saw so many neat lakes and Lake Superior. Duluth has a neat rose garden park and walkway along Lake Superior which we greatly enjoyed. Minnesota is a state of 10,000 lakes and we saw several that were inviting us to stay but then remembered SNOW in the winter!! Drove around Millie Lacs Lakes and saw so many fish houses that they haul out in the winter to ice fish. One even had a satellite on the side of it and another new one had a satellite dome on top. Guess that is really fishing in style.

Time to head out for the Monaco Pre-Rally in Willmar, MN.

2008-06-11T21:27:00.003-05:00

Mesa Verde gave us a totally different experience as we learned about the Ancestral Puebloans. Modern southwestern Native American tribes descended from these people. We took three tours which were very educational and entertaining, but physical. We walked ¼ mile into the Cliff Dwelling with five 8-10’ ladders, 151 rooms of approximately 6 by 8 feet, and then exiting via a 100 foot climb. Next we bravely went to the Balcony House, which is thought to be a ceremonial sight since it contains features which identify the summer solstice. This was the most physically challenging. You enter the dwelling by climbing a 32-foot ladder and exit by climbing 60 feet of ladder and cliff side. Next day, after resting, we toured the Long House, which consisted of 150 rooms, that had two 15’ ladders within the ruins and 120 foot elevation to exit. Although we were challenged physically, the tours were worth every ounce of effort. We learned about kivas, sipapus, and their culture. We also viewed many sights that exhibited other types of ancient dwellings.

Next we drove on to Montrose from which we first went to Ouray, know as “the Switzerland of America.” The Indians came to Ouray to get out of the heat and to bath in the healing waters of the hot springs, which they considered scared. Here we drove up Canyon Creek towards Yankee Boy Basin where the opening of the “Sound of Music” was made. We saw many unbelievable water falls due to the huge snowfall in Colorado. We did not make it as far as the Basin due to deteriorating roads. From here we drove on to Box Canyon Park where you walked down to see the falls which are almost completely enclosed by rock. Again because of the snow melt, the falls were spectacular due to the volume of water traveling down the creek. Traveling on we went up the million dollar highway to Bear Creek Falls – another spectacular view. We returned to Ouray to tour the historic town.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison was our next stop. The Canyon is an awesome sight because it is so uncharacteristic for the area. It is 48 miles long and not more than 1750 feet wide and in some places is 2700 feet deep.

Telluride, our next stop, was a mining town that has since been discovered and is now an upscale ski area and cultural event center. Back in 1889, Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank here, which is now a Stetson haberdashery. Due to the gas prices, Jack found us a ranch to buy. It consists of 3100 acres, 77,000 square feet of living and recreational space for small a mere $88,000,000. We are taking donations!

We tried to drive to Bridal Veil Falls, a 330 foot twin waterfall, but could not get up to the bottom of the falls due to the road conditions. The view was still spectacular. We rode the gondola up to Mountain Village and back, overlooking the ski area and many gorgeous homes. Next we walked thru historic downtown viewing many numerous original buildings with quaint expensive shops.

2008-06-03T19:21:00.002-05:00

Grand Canyon is an unbelievable picturesque natural wonder of the world. Neither words nor pictures can accurately describe what you see when you walk up and view the magnificent viewpoint overlooking the Grand Canyon. We took the shuttle to the end of Hermits Rest Route which is the East Rim and slowly walked back, stopping at every view point along the way. To add to our experience we also saw a condor, one of the larges birds in the Western Hemisphere, sitting on one of the Canyon’s edges. Back on a shuttle bus, we stop at various designations on the South Rim or what they call the Village Route. Every viewpoint gave you another breathtaking view of the canyon. Then we drove out to the West Entrance of the South Rim, again stopping at various points and ended at the Desert View area. At the Desert View is a Watchtower that was built in 1932 and is a re-creation of the strange prehistoric towers found scattered over large areas of the Southwest. Today it is used as an observation stations and rest stop for Grand Canyon visitors. We stayed around for the sunset, and what an amazing view watching the sun set over the Grand Canyon. This will definitely be one of our favorite spots.
(Now for those who wonder, no we were not close to the glass walkway, about 250 miles away, and if we were, we would not have walked on it.)

Not the same as Grand Canyon, but Jerome is a very interesting place to visit. Jerome in its time was a booming copper mining town of about 15,000 people. But due to the up and down costs of copper, depressions and wars, Jerome’s mines closed in 1953 and soon became a Ghost town. However in the 60s and 70s, Jerome offered a haven for artists who renovated homes, opened shops and Jerome became the cultural city. There are so many neat shops to browse through, interesting places to eat like the Haunted Hamburger, and still many historic places to see like the old jail and pieces of mining equipment displayed around the town, or the Douglas Mansion at the State Park. While shopping we also were “fortunate” to see a tarantula on the sidewalk outside one of the shops. It was as big as Jack’s hand!!

Then you have to go to Sedona, now one of our favorite towns, with the natural red rock sculptures, greenery from the national forest and at this time of the year blooming cactus. Sedona is 4300 feet above sea level so it is not the desert area like Phoenix. There are many hiking trails, jeep trails, and shops to see. We took a 1 ½ hour jeep ride out Soldiers Trail. Now if I had understood just what I was getting myself into, I probably would never had gone. The jeep drove over rocky trails that at points you were sitting down but still standing up. Not sure I would have walked that trail and here we are driving on it. I felt like I was riding a bucking bronco, but have to admit it was great. On the ride we were told about the vegetation, saw the Apache’s Seven Pools, the various rock formations and an actual sink hole which they referred to Devil’s Kitchen. Guess I’d say I would do it again.

Also if in the area be sure to see Montezuma Castle, a 5-story, 20 room dwelling built by the Sinagua farmers in the 12th century. It stands in a cliff recessed about 100 feet above the valley. Although badly deteriorated, you could see part of the remains of 6 story, 45 room dwelling. Then for some mysterious reason, the Sinagua farmers left and still until this day, no one knows why they left. The dwellings were first assumed to have been built by the Aztec and therefore named Montezuma Castle. Down the road is the Montezuma Well which is a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. Here you saw more Southern Sinagua dwellings built between 1125 and 1400 for about 150-200 people. Next we drove to see Tuzigot to see more of the Southern Sinagua village build between 1125 and 1400 AD. Here the village was not built on the side of a cliff but on a summit above the Verde Valley. The original pueblo was two stories high and had 77 ground floor rooms. They entered their rooms thru the roof tops. We actually got to walk thru one two story dwelling that was a part of the village.

Being in Arizona this time of year, we not only enjoyed the cactus flowering which is great, but also the heat. Time to move on as we head to Mesa Verde in Colorado.

2008-05-23T16:59:00.001-05:00

Death Valley, a very hot (especially in May), desolate desert but a very interesting park with many sights you would not expect to see as you drive into the desert area. One of our favorite is Scotty’s Castle since we love castles. This has a very interesting story that you can find online (http://www.nps.gov/archive/deva/scottys1.htmor ). In short Scotty met Andrew Johnson, struck up a conversation and proceeded to tell him stories about the west, gold mining and the fantasies of being a cowboy. Johnson was intrigued and advanced him money for a grub stake in a Death Valley goldmine. After a short period, Johnson had given him thousands of dollars and decided to go out to Death Valley to see the gold mine. Johnson fell in love with Death Valley, the Wild West plus his heath improved in the dry, sunny climate. Later he built the castle and since Johnson still lived and worked in Chicago, he let Scotty live there full time. Scotty began to tell everyone that this was his castle, and the name Scotty’s castle stayed. The castle is a Spanish hacienda with very modern conveniences for its time. One of the reasons this sight was chosen for the castle was the water flow from the underground springs that ran down thru the area. This water supplied not only drinking water but a source of power for generating electricity.
Other favorite stops we made were: Natural Bridge Canyon, a short ½ mile to see the bridge, Badwater Salt Flat which is the lowest place in the western hemisphere as you stand 282 feet below sea level; Devil’s Golf Course, I called it Devil’s crystals, as it is an area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires; Artist Palette drive, a scenic loop through multihued volcanic and sedimentary hills where you see some amazing colors and understand the reason it is call Artist Palette; and Zabiskie Point, one of the park’s popular viewing locations which is amazing. Pack a lunch, plenty of water, and if you can spend two days exploring Death Valley.
Next stop on our adventure was Hoover Dam, an amazing site to see and hear how the dam of this size was built in 1931-35 with technology of that era. Be sure to take one of the tours. In 1900 the Bureau of Reclamation was tasked to find a way to control and manage the Colorado River. The dam was unofficially called Boulder Dam by the locals but it has always officially been called Hoover Dam, after President Hubert Hoover because he was so active in resolving the conflicts of the dam and the dam rights. First problem in building the dam was to diver the river which they did by building two tunnels on each side. The dam is equal to 72-story building, weighs about 6,600,000 tons and consists of 3,250,000 cubic feet of concrete plus another 1,100,000 cubic feet in the power plant and appurtenant works. This is enough concrete to build a highway from San Francisco to New York City. The concrete was poured in less than two years with 5,000 workers working around the clock

From here we drove to Lake Mead which is very low. They say it will take 5 years of huge snowfall in Colorado to bring the water level back to “normal”.

Moving on, we were able to find a park (Oasis RV) right off the Las Vegas strip and relocated there for three days of fun in 100+ degrees. Having never been there, we found it to be amazing even in this heat. We managed to walk most of the strip and see many of the casinos. Not sure which we liked better --- Paris Las Vegas where we rode up in the Eiffel Tower; the equestrian arena in South Point Casino where we watched the cutting horse competition; the gondolas on the man made river at Venetian; secret gardens and indoor rain forest at Mirage where they also have a volcano outside but it was under construction at this time; moving sidewalk to see the unbelievable shops in Caesar Palace; Brooklyn Bridge, tribute to 9/11 and the roller coaster at New York New York, or probably our favorite is the water show outside the Bellagio. Here the water “dances” to music and we understand there are over 26 different songs played. While we were there the Country Music Awards were going on at MGM but we did not see any stars, just a very sleeping lion in the tiger and lion cage. Not wanting to leave, and definitely will be back, it was time to head to hopefully a little cooler weather in Sedona, AZ.

2008-05-05T12:26:00.002-05:00

Yosemite is another amazing place in California. This time of the year the falls in Yosemite are full due to the melting snow and what a sight to see. They say in the summer the falls are just a trickle. There are several including Yosemite Falls which is the 5th tallest in the world, Sentinel Falls which is the 7th tallest in the world. There are 15 different falls in Yosemite and we were able to see 7 of them. The downside traveling this time of the year is several of the roads are closed due to snow.

If you are up for the challenge, try climbing El Capitan, a sheer walled face climbing mountain. We actually did see climbers. Normal time to reach the top is 4- 6 days. To sleep they hang a hammock from pins anchored in the wall face – not what we want to do!!!! But the challenge is there for all the climbers including one who is paralyzed from waist down and actually does climb El Capitan.

Next head to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias. The road had just opened but the tram around the grove was not in service and without the tram, it is one heck of a hike. We did hike up to see the Giant Grizzly which is the largest giant sequoia in the grove with diameter of 31 feet and a circumference of nearly 100 feet and is believe to be 1800 years old. Not far from there is the California Tunnel Tree which was cut in 1895 to allow horse drawn stages to pass. It was definitely an interesting stop.

Pack your lunch, your hiking shoes and enjoy several days at Yosemite. Now if you are crazy you can climb El Capitan and am sure you will enjoy an amazing sight.

While in the area be sure to take the Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway and stop in Nelder Grove and see the “Bull Buck Tree” which is 246 feet high and ground level circumference of 99 feet. There are other trees to see, however without the campground being officially opened, the paths are not cleared, and the camp worker not on duly yet, we were not able to find them. The upside is during this time of year when the snows are melting you see many falls that you don’t normally see in the summer. But the roads are unpaved and we eventually came across the unpaved, snow covered roads so had to turn back and not continue the drive. The roads are usually closed from November – May so we were fortunate to see what we did.

If you have more time, drive about 2 hours west to see King Canyon and Sequoia National Park. We drove the winding roads in Kings Canyon and the view was spectacular. First stop was General Grant Grove. Here we saw the General Sherman giant sequoia tree, 275 feet tall with circumference at the ground of 103 ft. Close by was the Fallen Monarch that has two stories; either lightening struck it in the middle and it fell, or the tree fell and the center was burned out. Either way the tree was used as a campsite for shelter and for cooking back in the 1800s. There are several trees that are named for the different states. However no record was kept and the tradition stopped. If you are a hiker there are many more things to see. Driving on we finally found a spot for a picnic, only to find out that it was also shared with a rattlesnake and poison oak. Ooooppppps -- we decided to eat out of the back of the car. Also time to head back to Bass Lake to our campsite.

We have had an exciting time these past two months in California, enjoying the flowers, ocean, mountains, waterfalls, sequoia trees and beautiful scenery. And don’t want to forget the little otters, seals, quaint towns and wonderful seafood. We will definitely be back to explore the other parts of California but now it is time to head to Pahrump NV and enjoy the sights there.

2008-04-25T21:58:00.004-05:00

Other things to do while in San Francisco are ride the ferry to Alcatraz, see Chinatown and ride the cable car – and we did.

Originally Alcatraz was just a rock but in 1850 it became a fort for the U. S. Army after the military constructed all the buildings. More than 400 soldiers were stationed on the island. The Army decommissioned Alcatraz in 1907. In 1934 it reopened as a federal penitentiary for high-profile, maximum security inmates. The famous inmates there were Al Capone, Doc Barker, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Floyd Hamilton and Robert Stroud, “the birdman of Alcatraz”. (Note of interest is that Robert Stroud never was allowed to have any of his birds on Alcatraz and his real nickname was Bird Doctor of Leavenworth..) There are 336 cells on the island but the maximum number of prisoners was 302. There were 14 attempted escapes but best known escape was in 1962 when Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin slipped into the water, using raincoats as floatation devices. Their bodies were never found but they are assumed to have drowned. This attempt was later described in the movie “Escape from Alcatraz” with Clint Eastwood.

Families of the correctional officers lived on the island. Children would travel by boat to go to school in the San Francisco area. While we toured the island, there was a lady who lived on the island as a child as a guest to answer questions. She said she loved living there and was never afraid.

In 1963 due to increasing costs, Alcatraz was closed and left to the care of one custodian. In 1969 a small group of activists landed on the island and claimed it in the name of “Indians of All Tribes” and lasted for 19 months. In 1973 Alcatraz became part of the National Park Service, not because it was a prison, but due to it being a fort.

There are several modes of transportation in this town and we took most of them. Jack’s favorite was the cable car and wished he could have ridden it by hanging on the outside – as you see in many movies. It was so crowded that we were lucky to get on.

It was time to say goodbye to San Francisco and days later we drove south to San Jose to see the famous Winchester House. This place is amazing, unbelievable, and definitely bizarre. Mrs. Winchester was told by a Boston Medium that the spirits of those killed by the Winchester Rifle killed her daughter (6 weeks old) and years later her husband. As the legend goes, if she appeased these spirits she would live forever. She bought an eight room farm house and continually built for 38 years, 24 hours a day. As you all know, she had stairs leading nowhere, windows that opened to another wall, and then the famous door that leads to nowhere. Whether or not you believe in Mrs. Winchester’s superstition, you see many occurrences of the number 13 as you tour the house. Many windows have 13 panes; there are also 13 bathrooms with 13 windows in the 13^th bathroom. There are 13 steps leading to that bathroom. The Carriage Entrance Hall floor is divided into 13 cement sections. These are just a few of the 13 things around the house. In her will she has 13 parts and signed it 13 times. She even had an Italian porcelain sink that had 13 drain holes put in. She was a very bizarre lady. It is said she paid her workers twice what the normal rate but you did not argue with her – if you did you were gone. The house contained 160 rooms, 40 bedrooms, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 2 basements and 1 shower. Unfortunately she never had anyone at this house other than her niece who lived with her. One time President Roosevelt came to the house but was sent to the servants’ entrance as he was not recognized. He was insulted and left, later calling to see Mrs. Winchester but she refused. Mrs. Winchester was not a recluse but she entertained at her other homes, not the Winchester House.

The house was built out of redwood but she would paint the wood to look like Birdseye maple. Termites would not eat redwood as it would kill them. She was bizarre but practical. Another example, she recycled the water in the North Conservatory where indoor plants were watered. Here the floorboards could be lifted up and the plants placed on the metal floor beneath. The excess water would drain toward the windows and into pipes to water the gardens below. She loved her gardens.

This is just a few of the things we learned on the tour. It is a must see for anyone in the area.

Next stop - Yosemite

2008-04-07T22:37:00.002-05:00

San Francisco area has so much to offer and we are trying to get in all in. Muir Woods is amazing with all the tall giant redwood trees. After a local couple bought the 295 acres to protect the redwoods, it eventually became a National Park. You could spend hours just walking around the forest and enjoying all the various flowers and plants. A must see if ever in the area.

Next on our agenda was of course the wine country. We toured Napa Valley and fell in love with the amazing homes and wineries. Miles and miles of vineyards cover the rolling hills. One of our favorite towns is Sonoma. Another interesting town was Petaluma. If in the area of St. Helena, you must stop and enjoy one of the best hamburgers in the US at Taylor’s Refresher (according to Food Channel and we agreed).

Course you can’t visit San Francisco and not walk Fisherman’s Warf and enjoy the fresh seafood. For dessert we highly recommend walking to Ghirardelli Square. There are several modes of travel to get to and around San Francisco, and we are trying to take them all. We enjoyed the Ferry over to the Warf one day but if in a hurry, suggest taking the bus. Then we jumped on a motorized cable car and toured Union Square, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, Japantown, Union Square, Chinatown and North Beach.

Sacramento is only an hour away so drove up to Old Town Sacramento for lunch. The town reminds you a little of a Western Town with cute but some touristy shops. The ladies enjoyed walking around in the shops while the guys went to the Railroad Museum. It was a sad day as it was our last day together. Our friends will leave and go their separate ways home – to Nebraska and Washington. This past month traveling together thru California has been unbelievable and hopefully we will all travel again down the road together soon. Jack and I will stay here a few more weeks to enjoy the sites.

We drove back in to the Golden Gate Park and enjoyed the amazing Japanese Tea Gardens. We can only imagine what the gardens look like in the summer. Next we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, which we now add to our list of favorite towns. Walking in and around the town, we were amazed at all the gorgeous homes nestled on the hillside overlooking the bay, at all the boats and sail boats in the marina, and especially at the houseboats that are permanently docked along the piers. This is definitely a place we would love to live if only we could afford the house, a boat, and way of life here. California is truly an amazing state and we plan to enjoy more of this area in the next few weeks.

2008-03-23T00:26:00.003-05:00

Traveling on…… We arrived at Hearst Castle for an evening tour which included docents’ dressed in the period dress. It was still light enough to enjoy the spectacular grounds with all the colorful flowers, Gothic statues and fountains. Hearst Castle is truly one of the world’s greatest showplace with 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways. The magnificent main house and three guest houses are of Mediterranean Revival style, with the towers being inspired by a Spanish cathedral. Hearst built one of the guest house first so he could have a place to live while building the main house. His wife never moved to the main house, choosing to stay in New York as she knew about his long affair with Maureen Davis. Davis and Hearst each had their own room that was joined together by a sitting room. Some of the other rooms we saw were the dinning room, kitchen, guest library and his private library and the main gathering room. Truly an amazing place to see.

Next day we saw the Madonna Inn in San Louis Obispo. Not quite the Hearst Castle, but the Inn has 109 rooms and each room is decorated elaborately in different unique styles. For example, one room is Traveler’s Suite and fit for a queen and king with its huge rock fireplace, two king-size beds, and 7 foot bathtub. The Inn’s men’s bathroom is a must see – with two large rock seashells for sinks and a rock urinal with a waterfall every time it is used.

Moving on, we spent several hours in Cambria, another one of our favorite towns with all the flowers and specialty shops. On the drive we stopped and saw the elephant seals which are strange looking mammals. The male is huge and has the nose like an elephant. At this time of the year most of the adults are out at sea but we were fortunate to see an adult male and female.

On to Monterey where we stayed at Laguna Seca RV Park and Racetrack, overlooking both the racetrack and the city. Although no races took place while we were here, there were either cars or motorcycles practicing everyday we were here.

We went to see the famous Monterey Aquarium. It is a home to 550 species of marine animals including sharks, penguins, otters, and many types of fish. It houses a 33-foot tank, the first in the world to simulate tidal currents on a large scale. We also saw the jelly fish and the works of living aquatic art. Truly amazing to see.

When in the area you have to drive the 17-mile drive from Monterey thru the Del Monte Forest and along its spectacular coastline to Pebble Beach. The homes, the trees, the flowers, the ocean and rocks truly made this drive spectacular. We stopped at Cypress Point for a picnic lunch, after watching the Harbor Seals and the otters.

Now we can’t decide which is our favorite town, Solvang, Cambria or the famous Carmel. Now Carmel is really out of our price range in all of their specialty shops but was great dreaming.

Next stop – San Francisco area.

2008-03-17T11:56:00.003-05:00

Driving through California with California poppies, lupins, daisies, ice plants and more colorful flowers is unbelievable. Now driving through California with all the crazy drivers and interstates is another word.

First stop was one of our favorite towns, Temecula where we stayed at beautiful Lake Skinner, a county park that is a must stay if in this area. We thought the sunsets in Arizona were great, well the sunsets over the lake were just as beautiful. We visited Old Town Temecula, another one of our favorites, as well as touring the country side with all the orange, lemon, grapefruit and avocado trees.

We traveled on to San Diego and spent a day at Legoland. Legoland is really geared toward the kids but we did enjoy the Miniland area where they used legos to replicate the different cities – such as New York City, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington DC. It was amazing to see what you can do with the legos. Next day we traveled back to San Diego to see the tall ships and took a 2 hour harbor tour in San Diego. Every night found us around a campfire enjoying the evening.

Next we traveled north to Ojai, but had to drive around Los Angeles which was not a good experience. Fortunately we took a break and stopped in Simi Valley to see Ronald Regan Presidential Library and Museum. This was a very special place where you not only were told the story of Regan’s life, but felt their love for each other. While the girls were in awe over Nancy’s dresses and jewelry, the guys almost ran through the building to see Air Force One. Nixon was the first of seven presidents to use the Air Force One 27000. It was quite an experience to see inside of the plane as well as the Marine One helicopter. The view from here is breath-taking.

We arrived at Lake Casitas in Ojai, CA. Now we thought Lake Skinner was beautiful – Lake Casitas is even better. The perfect place for a wedding and where we will return in August for Chad and Katy’s wedding. After spending the day at the lake with another campfire that night, we drove to Ojai, CA the next day for a great shopping adventure in the specialty but very expense stores. Raines was especially interesting as it was clothing, kitchen and hardware store in one! Both husbands and wives were happy.

Again traveling north, we made a short but fantastic drive to Buellton, CA and enjoyed the flowers, ocean and countryside. It seems every day we ate lunches at great restaurants in the area. Today we walked to Andersons restaurant noted for Split Pea Soup. The next day we all went to Solvang which is a neat Danish community with many wineries, specialty shops and of course restaurants. One thing you have to have while here is an Aebleskiver, a Danish round donut with raspberry sauce. While the girls visited the various specialty shops, the guys tried to go to the motorcycle museum but it was closed. Instead they happen to find the Elverhoj Museum, a Danish house built in 1950 by Viggo Brandt-Erichsen and wife Martha Mot. The house was built in a style derived from the large farmhouses of 18^th century Jutland in northern Denmark. They incorporated elements of Scandinavian architecture with ornamental wrought ironwork, a carved redwood main entry door and hand-painted panels. When the museum was open to view you would find two leather strings out of a hole in the door – which you would pull and the door would open. When closed, the couple would pull the strings. There were no door handles, locks or anything on the door except the leather strings. Inside the kitchen the cabinets and tables were very colorful. Unfortunately the girls only saw pictures of the unique house, but we did find several neat shops.

More adventures to come……

2008-03-04T13:28:00.002-05:00

Last two weeks in February brought better weather in Arizona and we actually got to sit outside most days. During this time we managed several group feasts with the arrival of my sister and her husband and before some friends took off for the rallies in California. Eat, drink and be merry seems to be the motto.

The guys enjoyed a full day of ATVing in the hills and rivers nearby. The girls spent the day shopping – not sure who had more fun or spent more money. Unlike the men, the girls had no accidents or losses unless you count that green cash.

Again this year we spent the day at Fountain Hills Art Show which is always a great event. It was colder this year but we enjoyed the various artists’ booths and especially the hoop dancing and music that Brulee and his dancers put on at the festival. We were fortunate to go to his concert in Mesa the prior week.

Our time at Canyon Vista RV Park came to an end much too soon but with many memories. We headed out with two couples to Yuma, AZ for two nights. We spent on evening having a scrumptious dinner with good friends that have a neat RV place in Yuma. The next day we were introduced to the sand storms of Yuma! Time to move on.

Continue to travel with us as we go to San Diego and up to Sacramento during the month of March.

2008-02-13T21:12:00.002-05:00

It doesn’t seem possible that it was two months ago we celebrated Christmas with family in Denver CO and met our new grand-nephew Wyatt. It is always great to spend the holidays with family and was very special for Joan and me to have both our sons with us for the holidays. Of course they were upstaged by Wyatt!

After all the cold weather and snow, we left and moved to warmer (?) weather at our favorite park. Canyon Vista in Gold Canyon, AZ. However it was not that much warmer. We have had the coldest and the wettest January-February yet – with only one day in the 70s until February 10 when we started to have the 70s we love. Arizona has the most beautiful sunsets and from our campsite we are fortunate to look out unto the dessert and enjoy these sunsets every night. Coming to Canyon Vista is like coming home, being back with our friends and all the activities (and there are many including concerts, 50-60s dance, birthday parties, and happy hours). As I mentioned, we have had more rain this year and the desert is greener than we have ever seen it. We drove the venturous Apache Trail, crossing a flooded area at Tortillas Flats and saw several waterfalls that are normally not in the dessert. Also, this year we ventured to Mexico for a visit to the dentist. It seems all the retirees here go to Yuma and then cross over to Mexico for their drugs, dentist and glasses. Guess it was time for us to join the group and it was an experience (good one fortunately). Again we made the day trip to Quartzite, AZ, which is an event everyone should at least see. During the months of January, February and March there are over 500,000 campers, RVs, Fifth wheels and whatever camping device you have, dry camping mostly on the dessert while they attend either the RV show or the gem show. We have not taken the coach there yet – maybe one day.

We still have two more weeks here before traveling to California. Joan and Earl will join us for the last two weeks of more fun and adventure. Still loving this life style and looking forward to more adventures.

2007-12-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

After spending Thanksgiving with family and friends, we traveled on to Carlsbad, NM. We got into the Christmas spirit by going to Christmas on the Pecos. Dressing warm as it was 48 degrees, we snuggled into blankets and enjoyed a boat trip down the Pecos River to view many highly decorate homes. Next we went to the famous Carlsbad Caverns which were magnificent. We did three tours. The first was the Natural Entrance tour – a self-guided 1.25 mile tour down 800 feet of winding trails. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cave at our own pace and due to the time of year, the traffic was very light. Next tour was the guided Kings Palace tour for an unbelievable 1 mile, 1.5 hour tour which showed the King’s Palace, Queens Room, Papoose Room and Green Lake Room. A must if you ever go to Carlsbad Caverns. After that we did the self-guided 1.25 mile tour of the Big Room. This again is very interesting seeing all the various formations of limestone. What amazed us was the vastness inside was unbelievable – very open and larger than we remembered.

Time for more adventures and we drove on to Alamogordo, NM. The drive was little scary as we drove from Cloudcroft 9,000 feet above sea level to Alamogordo at 4280 feet. The road was an easy climb from Carlsbad but 6% incline coming down. Fortunately we chose a day without wind or snow. We drove the car back to Cloudcroft to shop the quaint stores all decorated for the holiday season. The town’s main season is in the summer. They do mention skiing but last year was the first year in many that skiing actually took place. Drove up to the famous Lodge which is a great place to have weddings, parties, or just visit for a few nights. The original Lodge was built in 1899 but destroyed by fire in 1909. They rebuilt in the present location in 1911. There is a legend that dates back to 1900. A chambermaid named Rebecca disappeared from her quarters after her lumberjack lover found here in the arms of another. They say she still wanders the halls – ashtrays have been seen sliding across tables, doors open and close, and furniture has been moved, etc. There are some that believe Rebecca is in search of a new lover or friend who might appreciate her flirtatious and mischievous ways

Next adventure was to see White Sands National Park and White Sands Missile Range. White Sands National Park is one of the world’s great natural wonders. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand engulf 275 square miles of desert, some rising to height of fifty feet. Only few plants and insects live in the dunes. As you drive along the 7 mile route, the vegetation disappears as the sand gets deeper. At that point you feel like you are in the middle of snow covered mountains. In fact you will see children sledding down the dunes. The sand is so white, very fine and feels almost like silk slipping through your fingers. It was neat to walk around on the dunes. Fortunately for us there was no wind!

White Sands Missile Range was established in 1945 The Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA test the guided missiles and rockets on these 4,000 square miles, the free world’s largest missile range. Here the world entered the Atomic Age when the first atomic bomb was tested at Trinity Site on July 16, 1945. In 1949 the world entered the Space Age when Bumper, an early two stage rock, roared beyond the earth’s atmosphere. The museum tells these stories and more. We also were allowed to walk around the Missile Park, an outdoor display of over 50 missiles and rockets that were once tested on the missile range.

As we travel to our winter park and then on to Denver for the holidays, we wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and good health, safe travels in 2008.

2007-10-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

Miniature towns, Ghost towns, and Historic towns seem to be our current adventure. While still in Albuquerque we drove the Turquoise Trail, a scenic trail with several small towns along the way. One in particular that we highly suggest to visit is Tinker Town Museum, a miniature town. This museum was a dream of Ross Ward and he spent over 40 years building the museum. He started carving miniatures while in the service. Today over 50,000 glass bottled form rambling walls that surround 22 room museum. Each room has it own theme and he carved all the miniatures in each room. As he traveled as a painter with a circus, he also collected assorted memorabilia that is also included in the museum. It is an unbelievable place to see.

Next we drove on to Elephant Butte which is located on Elephant Butte lake, which got its name from a mound in the middle of the lake that looked like an elephant …with some imagination. After setting up went to see Truth or Consequences which got its name from the TV show in 1950. Ralph Edwards MC of the radio show was looking for a town that would change its name to Truth or Consequences. Hot Springs, NM was one of the small towns that sent a letter to the radio show and the rest is history. On the tenth anniversary of the NBC radio show, April 1, 1950, the program was broadcasted from Truth or Consequences, NM. Neither town is very large but unique.

Next on our adventure, we drove over to see the historic town of Hillsboro, 1877. It was a mining town that was prosperous during its time but is now a ghost town with only the general store/café open. Other stores may open on the weekend or may be closed for the year.

Still seeking out historic towns, we drove to historic Chloride, a classic old west town. This town was started in late 1870s when a mule skinner, Henry Pyle, discovered the town was rich in chloride of silver (hence its name). Population grew to 3,000 during its heyday but started its decline in mid-1890s when gold was selected as the monetary standard. Currently the town is made up of 11 retired families. One retired couple bought a lot of the old town buildings and has restored two of them. The Old Monte Christo Saloon and Dance Hall is now a gift shop and gallery. Next door is the museum which was once the general store and post office. After being closed for over 70 years with ever thing still in the store, Don and Donna cleaned, refurbished and restored the store to look much like it did in its time. The antiques in the museum are in amazing shape thanks to this couples love and dedication. One thing we have never seen in our limited antique shopping is an old lawn mower.

From here we drove to Winston, population approximately 40, and stopped in an old general store. This was another interesting town with so many buildings in dilapidated shape but still occupied.

Next stop was Ruidoso, NM. The town reminded us of Colorado with the ski shops, mountains, evergreen trees and quaint shops. But there are many historic towns in the area.

Capitan, NM is known for Smokey Bear. Smokey Bear was an actual bear found (May 4, 1950) badly burnt, clinging to a tree in a forest fire in Lincoln National Forest in Capitan, NM.. The fireman originally named him “hot foot” because his buttocks and feet were so badly burnt, but he was soon to be named Smokey Bear. After he recovered, Smokey was flown to Washington, DC where he lived at the National Zoo. As known, Smokey the Bear became the symbol of forest fire prevention. He was so popular that at one time had to have his own zip code for all the mail he received. He retired at 25 years old which in bear life is 77 and the retirement age for fireman. He died the next year in 1976 and was returned to his birthplace in Capitan.

Now if you are in that area you have to drive over to Roswell and see the UFO Museum. The Roswell incident happened July, 1947. There are a lot of stories as to what happened that day – was it a UFO or weather balloon. One story is a funeral director, Glenn Dennis, who was also on contract for Roswell Army Air Field for ambulance and mortuary service. On that day he received calls from the base inquiring if he had children caskets and various questions about embalming. Later that day he received a call about an airman that was hurt in a motorcycle accident and he responded. When he arrived at the Air Force base there were three ambulances that he tried to see inside. He was escorted off the base and told quite harshly to talk to no one about anything he saw or thought may be happening on base or he and his family would be killed. Also before he was escorted off base, he saw one of the nurses he knew and she was extremely upset. He talked to her later that week secretly and she told him that she happened to be on base and was asked to assist the officers who were examining two mutilated bodies. The things she wrote and saw did not make sense. She later drew pictures of what she saw and gave those to Glenn to keep in safekeeping. She disappeared later that week to overseas assignment and he was informed crashed and killed. The pictures depict what we see today and spacemen. Another story was a photographer was shown some debris on an officers desk, went outside and when he returned the debris was replaced with pieces of a weather balloon. So the question is – was it a UFO or a weather balloon that crashed in July 1947 in Roswell, NM?

One more historic town, Lincoln, NM. Lincoln started as a little Hispanic farming community over 150 years ago. By 1878 it was once of the largest counties in the US. Now the population is approximately 35 people. Back then two competing mercantile stores were vying for economic and political control of the area. Open animosity between two merchants, the Tunstalls and the Murphreys broke out in gunfire. A young cowhand, who was a good shot and quick on the draw, William Bonney (Billy the Kid) sided with the Tunstalls. Before the Lincoln War, Bonney and Pat Garrett were good friends. He was captured later for supposedly killing the sheriff and jailed. Before he was to be hung he escaped, killing two deputies. In the Old Courthouse is the Courtroom, Sheriff office, and a Masonic room.

2007-10-17T20:58:00.000-05:00

The Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque is the largest balloon fest in the world. It is the only one that allows spectators to walk amongst the balloons as they are laid out, inflated and lifted off into the air. Words can not adequately describe what we saw and the photos and videos we took do not capture the unbelievable, amazing sights you see on the field. The first part of the week was when they had the accidental death of a 60-year old woman and few others were hurt in separate balloon accidents, which definitely dampened the spirits of the fiesta. They are still investigating these accidents. We attended the last 4 days of the 10-day event. The first day we got up at 4:30 in time to see Dawn Patrol at 5:45 a.m. Dawn Patrol Balloons participate in a pre-dawn show that also helps the pilots determine winds aloft conditions. We only did that the first day. That day and the next 4 mornings we were over to the field by 7 a.m. to see the mass ascensions where hundreds of balloons launch in waves filling the sky overhead. This was an amazing sight and there is no way we could capture all of it on film. Being amongst the balloons being inflated and watching them lift off was so exciting. Then seeing almost 700 balloons up in the sky at once is indescribable. During the days we attended, the special shapes were also a part of the mass ascension. One of the special shapes was the bumble bees that were attached by their hands with Velcro. They would eventually kiss and then separate – amazing! Others were Light House, Energizing Rabbit, Humpty Dumpty (both on the wall and then falling off the wall), Darth Vader, Nightmare House (haunted house), Moo Cow, Wells Fargo Wagon, Tree of Parrots, Orient Express and many many more. This is not to down play the unbelievable colors and patterns of the regular shape balloons.

On two of the days, after the mass ascension, they had the Flying Competition and Prize Grab. This is where the balloon pilots attempt to maneuver their balloons over a designated target and drop color streamers. In addition they would also maneuver their balloons close to a 15 foot pole that had an envelope at the top that contained keys to a Honda Truck, valuable wrist watch or sizeable amount of cash. This was very exciting to watch.

At night we would go back to the field around 6:30 to watch the Special Shape Glowdeo where the special shapes and regular shape balloons would on count light up. Another night it was the Night Magic Glow where the regular shape balloons and some special shape balloons would on count light up. Both nights were amazing to see. And the final event each night would be the amazing fireworks.

We made our reservations back in January. We were parked across from the field and it was exciting to see many of the balloons go over our coach and land in the space behind our group of RVs. We looked forward to this event for several months and we were not disappointed. We will be back and we highly recommend this event to everyone.

2007-10-08T20:28:00.001-05:00

Traveled on to Sedalia, MO for the FMCA Rally 9-25-29. Rallies are gatherings of RVers to learn more about their coach and lifestyle, spend money with the vendors, enjoy entertainment, meet new people and see old friends. And that we did!

We did venture out one day to see MKT (Katy) Depot which was built in 1896 and used to house railroad offices and restaurants. The tracks of the old railroad track route have been removed and it is now a walking or biking trail. We also went to visit the Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site, a castle like building we saw up in the hills while traveling on Highway 65. This lodge was constructed in 4 sections on top of 3 natural caves, from 1897 to 1928, using native rock from the estate grounds. It was built for a prominent Sedalia lawyer, John Homer Bothwell. The 12,000 square foot lodge contains 31 room and 5 bathrooms, which was something for that time period. Mr. Bothwell thought if he built over the natural caves he could use the cool air to cool his home. He was wrong as cool air does not rise.

We left Sedalia and traveled on, stopping a few days in Checotah, OK. This town brags about being the hometown of Carrie Underwood, 2005 American Idol. After visiting Checotah, Eufaula and Muskogee, it was time to head on to Oklahoma City. We went to see the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. This gave us the opportunity to look at the period of the cowboys and the pioneers, remembering the western heroes that we idolized as a child, such as Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Audrey, Roy and Dale Rogers, and by far the most impressive being John Wayne. There was a large collection of memorabilia that John Wayne left to the museum for display. A must see for anyone traveling in this area.

Next we visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial which is an excellent tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack of April 19, 1995. There are twin gates that frame the moment of destruction. The East Gate shows the time 9:01 and represents the innocence of the city before the attack (9:02). The West Gate shows the time 9:03 the moment when we were changed forever. Between the gates is a shallow pool of water representing the street in front of the Federal Building. The gently flowing water is intended to help soothe the wounds. There is a field of 168 chairs representing those that perished in the attack. The chairs, large size for adults and smaller chairs representing the children are placed in nine rows representing the 9 stories of the building and are placed according to the floor on which those killed worked or were visiting. There is a glass base below each chair with the name of a victim which illuminates at night.

There is a 90 year old Elm tree that survived the attack. A circular concrete overlook is now built around the Survivor Tree so families, friends and visitors can come there to view the memorial.

Next we visited Bricktown and had lunch on the canal. In 1999 a canal was built in what was once the old warehouse and wrecked buildings of Oklahoma City. A lot of those buildings have now been transformed into restaurants. There is also a baseball stadium, theater, convention center and arena sports theater. We believe they are trying to rejuvenate this older section of town.

Next stop was Amarillo, TX. Here we drove thru the Palo Duro Canyon, one the nation’s most magnificent scenic attractions. Although it is not the Grand Canyon, it was a great sight to see. Unfortunately we were too late to see a show at the outdoor Pioneer Amphitheater. And if you in the area of Amarillo, at least 40 miles outside the city limits you will see a sign that says “Free 72 oz. steak”. Well that is unbelievable – 4 l/2 pounds of meat and all the trimmings free if you eat it in one hour. So we had to see – not eat – and we went to The Big Texan Restaurant to see if anyone would try that challenge. Unfortunately no one did while we were there but they said that over 8,000 people have done so since the restaurant opened in 1960.

Next stop – the Balloon Fest in Albuquerque.

2007-09-27T07:55:00.000-05:00

Time to travel south ….said goodbye to our friends at Monaco and headed out for Batesville IN to one of our membership parks, Indian Lakes Thousand Trails & NACO Park (very nice). We went to Metamora IN., another quaint, historic town. In the middle of the town is a canal where you can board a canal boat and travel through Duck Creek Aqueduct. It is the only covered wooden aqueduct still in working order in the US. On Tuesday we headed to Madison, IN – another extremely interesting town full of history nestled beside the Ohio River. Another town suggested to us but we were not able to visit is Nashville. From here we chose another membership park in Owensville, MO, Lost Valley Lakes Resort and OMG what a place to stay. This is by far the best park we have ever stayed in. It is on 353 acres of green land with several lakes, indoor and outdoor pools, almost 800 sites, 3-hole golf course, Frisbee golf, riding stables, adult activity center that features everything from bingo to basketball, workout gym, country store with restaurant and more. If you don’t have a rig you can rent a trailer, cabin, or condo. You can also rough it by renting either a tent or tepee. The resort is in the middle of nowhere with closest town about 45 minutes away but was worth the commute. We did venture out to Herman, a German town full of old historic buildings, antiques, and wineries. We of course visited the one brewery in town along with 3 wineries, not all on the same day. Then back to camp to enjoy the rough life.

2007-09-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

On the road again……

After three months in the Buffalo area we are back on the road with our first stop in Elkhart, IN for general maintenance on the coach.

While “home,” we spent many days with Scott, once again working on his house. The living room and dining room definitely took on a new and better look. Work has started on his den but left that project for Scott and his girlfriend, Meg, to finish. So many plans but so little time……

It is always nice to come back and see so many of our Buffalo and camping friends. We also took care of our personal maintenance with visits to our doctors, dentist and hair saloon. Once again Jack had to visit the hospital for another stent. He is on new medication and hopefully this wonder drug will solve his problem.

We made a trip to Pennsylvania to see our good friends Gary and Barb Stockslager, for a weekend of movies, great food and even better companionship. Their youngest son Steve also joined us while taking a weekend break from medical school.

Coming home is great but time to move on. For those we did not see, please call us so we can make plans next year when we hope to be back in the area in July. Turn in often for update on our travels as we go another year seeing the United States.

2007-06-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

The Carolinas are definitely a place we loved and will return for longer period of time. We spent May 21-30 in South Carolina in Fairplay which is close to Greenville and close to dear friends, Mary Jo and Tim. They chose this area to build their retirement home on lakefront property which we would love to share with them. We enjoyed our time together by visiting several antique places to help decorate their new lake home. Besides that we also tried to find the many waterfalls located in the area. We did find Isaquenna Falls; Whitewater Falls; and Blue Sluice Falls where we watch the kayakers and rubber rafts shoot the rapids in that area. From here we drove around to various areas trying to find the other falls – if we found them it was a hike with rough terrain or we could not find them at all. We also spent time with her brother and wife – Pete and Janet – and fell in love with their waterfront property. We are so tempted to sell and buy waterfront property here – but we continued on and found we are doing exactly what we want to do. Next stop was in Boone, NC. We went to see Mast General Store which was built in 1883. The building had a character all of its own with slanted floors, unleveled stairs due to use, and an old post office that was still operational. To top that off it had some neat clothes, old fashion candy and other stuff. Wow to see the old store and be able to shop at the same time – what more can you ask for! We finished the day by going to Grandfather Mountain which is the highest peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains at 5280 feet above sea level. There you walk across a swinging bridge that is 5300 feet high – and luckily it did not swing that much!!!

Next we packed a lunch and took Blitz and headed to Love Valley NC – a place Jack’s brother, Tom, spent some time in 1965. Love Valley was a dream of Andy Barker as he always wanted to live in a western town. In 1954 he purchased land in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains, north of Statesville, NC, moved his family and built his town. It is now known as Cowboy Capital and no cars are allowed in the small town where rodeos, horse parades, benefit concerts and cook-offs among other events take place. We even met Andy Barker and his wife in the hardware store he actively runs at age 83.

From here we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a beautiful drive back to camp. The various shades of green trees, mountains, Mount Laurel flowers of white, pink or even orange made the drive breathtaking. Can only image what the drive is like in the fall season. We will return again and hopefully in the fall. The Carolinas definitely appeal to us and we will return in the near future. For now we are shuffling off to Buffalo – or rather Rochester to spend time with our son.

2007-05-23T19:03:00.000-05:00

Arrived in Memphis and spent the first night with high school friends, Sharon and Steve Archer. Spent Mother’s Day with Elvis as we visited Graceland for several hours (not the same as being with Scott but not a bad second). This was a fantastic tour as we saw the main part of his house and the basement where all the action took place. Although he had changed the décor while living there, the house is still the way it was when he died in 1977 -- the avocado coffee pot, harvest gold refrigerator, his favorite chair of beige shag, his room in the basement known as the animal room because the décor, the pool room with wild colored material even on the ceiling. Unbelievable. Next we went to see his trophy room and many of his outfits he wore during those years. We could not get over how thin he was at one time and all the “glitz” of his costumes. From there you saw many of his cars and other “boy toys”. He loved to race around Graceland and even put wheels on a snowmobile. He was a boy at heart but never liked to lose. He owned two airplanes. Lisa Marie is 1988 Convair 880 completely remodeled inside with two bathrooms, bedroom, conference room with a large table and then a lounge area with couches, tables and chairs. Then there was the Hound Dog II, a smaller 1960 Lockheed Jet Star which Colonel Parker used to go ahead of Elvis and set up the concerts. Again Elvis spared nothing when it came to decorating and inside were bright colored chairs of turquoise and yellow. Elvis had a large brick wall installed in front of the property for privacy. Fans now leave messages in tribute to Elvis on this wall. We recommend this tour to anyone that is in the Memphis area. We also visited Beale Street which is the Home of the Blues.

From Memphis we stopped off in Tunica, MS for the night on our way to Nashville. Although Tunica is not exactly on the way to Nashville, we needed to stop at a Monaco dealer to have a compartment seal replaced. Tunica consists of small historic town and many many neat Casinos. It was interesting to go to several Casinos but since we are not gamblers we did not spend much time in any of them.

From here we drove on to Nashville and met up with Joan and Earl for the night as they traveled to Arkansas for their niece’s wedding. We were in Nashville this past November but were not able to tour the Grand Ole Opry as it was closed for special recording session. This visit we not only toured the Opry but sang to a standing ovation on the Grand Ole Opry stage --- along with everyone else in the tour group. We were impressed with the Opry and wished we could stay around for a show and see all the action that we were told went on behind the stage. We did get to see several dressing rooms and were told the dressing rooms are assigned to the entertainers based on the size of the group. Roy Acuff was the only entertainer that had his personal dressing room and he actually lived on the grounds in a small house a few feet from the Opry.

Next stop – Knoxville. Here we toured the historic section of Knoxville, which was not as interesting as other cities. We have noticed that the Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville are remodeling all the old buildings and turning them into lofts at a very nice price. We also took a ride on a paddle boat down the Tennessee River and saw more historic sights and gorgeous houses. The next day we spent in the Smokey Mountains which with all the green was breathtaking. So did the highway as we traveled around for several hours on narrow winding roads along with hundreds of motorcyclist.

2007-05-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

Spent 5 weeks in Victoria, TX helping Jack’s mother before and after her hip replacement surgery. She is doing pretty well. It was great to see the family again but time to get on the road.

We headed toward Branson MO, stopping off in Fayetteville, AR so Ruth Ann could see University of Arkansas and relive her college days. What a shock that was - can’t believe it has changed in only 30+ years!!! From there we traveled to Eureka Springs, AR which is another place she visited years ago when they had just finished the Christ of the Ozarks statue. Eureka Springs is in the heart of the Ozark Mountains. RVers beware if you are traveling north on Highway 62as it is a “white knuckle” drive around the several hairpin 15 mph turns to get into Eureka Springs. Eureka is a great place to relax and enjoy the arts and culture in the area. One of the neat things in Eureka is the tram system, which stopped right at our camp ground. There are five different routes that the trams run which allow you to get just about anywhere. This also allows for sight seeing without having to worry about driving. Don’t miss the historic section where the houses and shops are old, quaint and unique.

From here we went on to Branson MO for a week. Now Branson is a place to see! You can enjoy a variety of shows from musicals, comedies, and dinner theaters, with old and new performers. The shows are always changing. Bring lots of money if you plan to do it all as the shows are expensive. Or you can visit the several antique shops, and enjoy the lakes and the scenery. We saw two shows – New Shanghai Circus where kids 14-24 do acrobats of China which is unbelievable what they can do (pictures are of the postcards as no cameras were allowed) And then we enjoyed a dinner and a fabulous show at the Magnificent Seven which is a musical that features seven amazing decades of music – from 1940 to 2000. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will be back. From here we head to Memphis and places northeast.

2007-03-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

Spent 12 days in the southern part of Arizona in one of our membership parks, St. David’s Western Horizon, located about 45 miles south of Tucson. First we went to see Biosphere 2 Center which is north of Tucson. Built in the late 1980s with $150 million in funding from Texas oil magnate Edward Bass, Biosphere 2 was designed as an airtight replica of Earth's environment (Biosphere 1). This 7,200,000-cubic-foot sealed glass and space-frame structure contains 5 biomes, including a 900,000-gallon ocean, a rain forest, a desert, agricultural areas and a human habitat. The first crew (4 women and 4 men) entered Biosphere 2 on September 26, 1991. The crew members remained inside for two years despite various problems, including limited agricultural productivity, and emerged on September 26, 1993. After a 6-month transition period, a second crew of 7 (5 men and 2 women) entered Biosphere 2. Unfortunately, after a number of physical and social problems developed, the project soon suffered scientific disdain and public ridicule before these experiments were suspended in 1994. Since then, there have been no resident crews living inside Biosphere 2, and no future human habitation is planned. It was extremely interesting to walk thru the various areas and try to imagine how one would live in this atmosphere.

Next we toured the Big Room of Kartchner Caverns, with plans to tour the Rotunda/Throne Room next year. (Wish we could include pictures but no cameras were allowed). In November 1974 two young cavers, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts, were exploring the limestone hills at the base of the Whetstone Mountains. In the bottom of a sinkhole they found a narrow crack leading into the hillside. Warm, moist air flowed out, signaling the existence of a cave. After several hours of crawling, they entered a pristine cavern. It wasn't until February 1978 that Tenen and Tufts told the property owners, James and Lois Kartchner, about their amazing discovery.

During the four years of secret exploration, the discoverers realized that the cave's extraordinary variety of colors and formations must be preserved. The cave's existence became public knowledge in 1988 when its purchase was approved as an Arizona State Park. Extraordinary precautions have been taken during its development to conserve the cave's near-pristine condition.

At the end of April each year, the female bats return to the Big Room to have their babies. Therefore the Big Room is closed to the public from April 15 – mid September to become a nursery for the bats.

Tombstone was not our favorite as it has become a commercialized western town with stagecoach rides, gun fight shows and various tourist shops. However we did hear about and went to see Gammons Gulch which is the work of Jay Gammons who loved the old west so much he built his own Old Western town by hand. His father was John Wayne’s body guard and Jay was the kid in the movie Rio Bravo. It is definitely a place to see – a western town that is not commercialized. He tells many interesting tales about where he got things, the story behind them and how he built the town.

Tucson Air Museum was fascinating as you walked around the miles of old planes. We did get to walk thru Air Force One for President Johnson and Kennedy. Can only imagine what Air Force One is like today. Several planes have been mothballed and set aside while others are being striped so they can be recycled. We had a special attraction as the Blue Angels were practicing for air show the following weekend.

Bisbee is a neat mining town which reminded me the area where my parents were raised in Ohio. We toured the mine which was very interesting and cold. The Old Town was most interesting with the old buildings, houses built on the hillside in all colors and shapes like the 70s and you did see old VW vans as you drove around. We also went in several antique stores and ate at a neat restaurant Bisbee Café that had the neatest ceiling fans. The fans were copper with one fan on each side that rotated around. Could definitely visit that town again.

After many days of exploring this area, we traveled back to Victoria, TX.

2007-03-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

March 4: Time in Canyon Vista Resort (our winter park in Arizona) comes to an end for another year. Joan and Earl were able to join us in February moving into one of the park models. Several of us rented a party boat and spent a beautiful day on Saguaro Lake. Two places we always visit are Goldfield and Tortilla Flats. Goldfield is an old mining camp. We returned later to enjoy their famous chili cook-off. Tortilla Flats is a town with population of 5 and has a unique restaurant famous not just for their hamburgers but their 90,000+ dollar wallpaper, literally. We also got to see the world’s largest grill as Johnsonville Brats came to town during the Apache Junction rodeo. Fountain Hills is an exclusive town near Scottsdale AZ and is named for the fountain that shoots over 200 feet into the air. We went there to see the fountain and take in a great art show that was very upscale. Jack and Earl joined others in the park to see one of the areas largest cacti. We all hate when it is time to leave and go our separate ways. Thanks to Jim and Joy, we had a great going away party in their recently purchased park model. We look forward to next winter when we are all back in Canyon Vista enjoying the sites, food, and friendship.

2007-02-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

Wintering at Canyon Vista Resort (outside Mesa, AZ) feels almost like coming home as we join several friends we met last year. This year has been little colder. We even had snow on the top of Superstition Mountain which is across the street, but fortunately none in the park. Nor did we share any accumulation like our friends in Buffalo and Denver.

In addition to all the activities in the park (and there are several), we have managed to go to Australia Day at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The Arboretum is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden that houses plants from around the world on its 323 acres. Australia day was of special interest to see Outback folklorist Paul Taylor play the didjeridoo and listen to his storytelling. (Jack made a didjeridoo last year when we were here and is trying to learn to play).

Jack now has a new hobby – flying models planes. We went to model airplane show for two days – what a spectacular event with people from around the States coming to fly their model plane. Jack is hooked and waiting for his new model helicopter to arrive. Fortunately he has a flight simulator to practice with before flying the real helicopter.

Again we made the day trip to Quartzite, AZ, which is an event everyone should at least see. During the months of January, February and March there are over 500,000 campers, RVs, Fifth wheels and whatever camping device you have, dry camping mostly on the dessert while they attend either the RV show or the gem show. Hopefully next year we can join them for few days and camp in the dessert.

We also went to see the World Championship Hoop Dancing competition in the adult division at the Heard Museum one gorgeous Saturday in Phoenix. Now that is not an easy dance and is quite remarkable if you have never seen hoop dancing. In addition we have gone to several concerts including the Diamonds, Crystal Gale, and soon Brulee.

Special events are birthday parties (another excuse to eat) and we celebrated Jack’s with a Mexican Fiesta including a piñata. Course life here would not be complete without our daily happy hours with the group. This is a great place to either sit around and enjoy life or attend the many activities offered not only at the resort but also the Mesa area. Retirement life is great!

2007-01-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

Our holidays in Texas were spent with family and friends, baking and eating and enjoying the time together. Scott arrived safely but his luggage lagged behind for 3 days. Scott, Jack and I did sneak away for few hours and went to San Antonio. It had been almost 30 years for us and Scott had never seen the famous River Walk which at this time of the year is even more gorgeous with all the festive lights.

We are now on our way to Gold Canyon, AZ where we will spend 2 months with several of our fellow campers. We wish everyone a very happy, healthy and safe New Years.

2006-12-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

From Florida to Alabama to Mississippi, Louisiana and finally Texas – four days later we finally made it. And I helped!

We basically drove, stopped for the night and drove again to make it to Victoria, TX for the holidays with Jack’s family – several days later than expected. We did stop at a great ROD/AOR campground east of Mobile, AL called Styx River Resort. While there we met up with our old camping buddies from New York, Steve and Betsy McLaughlin for great visit. As we get closer to the holidays with love ones and friends, please don’t forget our military friends. You can write them a note at www.letssaythanks.com . We want to wish every one a very Happy Holiday, safe travels and the best in 2007.

2006-12-09T07:25:00.000-05:00

Jack is ready to rock and roll again. After 9 days in the hospital and 17 days of daily antibiotics at the infusion clinic, Jack is allowed to travel. He is feeling much better, stronger and will continue treatment with oral antibiotics. Other than hospitals, doctors offices and the outpatient clinic, we saw few sights in Florida. However Chad and Katy did take us out for some Christmas adventures. One night we went to Lido Keys for dinner at Tommy Bahamas and walked around the square enjoying all the Christmas decorations and unusual shops. The next night we went to Venice to the Lighted Festival of Boats parade featuring 46 decorated boats. Now as we leave Florida, with smiles on our faces, we start our trip to Texas for the holidays with Jack’s family.

2006-11-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

Florida has not been one of our best adventures. We had to go to Camp Monaco in Wildwood, for some unexpected repairs on November 6. Since we did not have an appointment we had to wait our turn. Fortunately we were very close to Ruth Ann’s Aunt Helen, Uncle Harry and cousin Connie Springer and we able to visit with them. Her aunt and uncle live in a neat retirement community of over 40,000 homes call The Village. There are 18 golf courses for the residence. Each area has their own town square with quaint shops and restaurants. Every night from 5 – 7 is happy hour with some form of entertainment. The mode of transportation is golf carts. You jump in your cart to golf, go shopping, out to eat, or even the doctor or dentist. There are cart paths everywhere, and even an overpass or underground tunnel to safely cross some of the major roads. Now this is a great way to live. If we wanted to stop RVing this would be a great place to settle down.

While there Jack came down with the flu and had to go to the ER only to find out he had a bacteria infection. After few days on an antibiotic and the coach repaired, we traveled two hours to Bradenton/Sarasota area to see our nephew, Chad. Jack continued to feel bad even after 5 days of antibiotic, so we headed to the ER in Bradenton. There he was diagnosed with an abscess on his liver. Nine days later after many tests, antibiotics, and abscess drained, he was able to get out of the hospital late the day before Thanksgiving. However we have to stay in the area for few weeks for his daily antibiotics in his PIC. Won’t go into all the details but the only scenery we have seen of Florida is the hospitals – not the adventure we want. Hopefully we are released soon and on our way to Texas for the holidays.

2006-11-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

Some days you have to stop and smell the roses. So we did. We found a great ROD campground in Greensboro, GA called The Northshore Resort. It is nestled on a lake next to a train track. They have used that as the theme of the park with rail cars throughout the campgrounds. The cars are used as the registration office, sales office, manager’s offices, country store, plus cabins for rent. The campground is on Lake Oconee with many scenic views. Our site was great as we pulled in next to our personal deck which overlooked the lake. What a great place to stop and take a breath.

2006-10-31T21:59:00.001-05:00

(Oct. 28-30) We spent a few days in Chattanooga, TN and rode the Incline Railroad up to Lookout Mountain. It is like going up and down a roller coaster – only very slowly which made Ruth Ann happy. It is the world’s steepest passenger railway. Up top you can see the Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend. The homes and views are spectacular especially since we are still enjoying the fall foliage. Next we went to Rock City which is a must if you are ever in the area. It started out in 1920 as a family began to develop a walk-through garden on their private estate. Years later the Carters opened their Rock City Garden to the public. Now you walk thru, around, between and over the rocks and even over a suspension bridge to enjoy the gardens, caverns and spectacular views. At the top of Lovers Leap, you can see seven states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. At more than one area you barely squeeze thru the rocks on the path – one is even called Fat Man Squeeze. Another section is call Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village which is unbelievable. It took over six years to finish that project. We only wish we could put all our pictures on the web, but since we can’t we hope some of you can visit Rock City in your travels.

2006-10-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

October 25-27: We chose a neat campground about 2 hours south of Nashville that was in the Natchez Trace Wilderness preserve. It was picturesque with all the fall foliage, several trails to walk plus a few historic sites to see. Problem was it rained and rained and rained. We tired not to let that dampen our enthusiasm and headed to Nashville. A long drive but we made it to the Grand Ole Opry only to find out that the afternoon tours were cancelled and we could not get in to see it. We were able to tour the museum. It started raining harder so we walked back to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention center. What an amazing resort. It consisted of 2,884 guest rooms, 85 meeting rooms, five ballrooms and over 20 neat shops. Would love to come back to see it at Christmas as they were starting to put up the decorations while we were there. On Friday since it continued to rain, we headed to the Saturn Plant in Tennessee for a very interesting tour. We were very impressed with their philosophy and technique. As it continued to rain we decided to pack it up on Saturday and head on out for more adventures and dryer weather

2006-10-28T19:45:00.000-05:00

October 22-24: Next in our travels we stopped in Louisville, KY for a couple days. We went to Fort Knox but since 9/11 tours are no longer given. We were only allowed to see the outside from the road. There is an exhibit in the Patton Museum showing a replica of the gold bullion. And if you have never visit the Patton Museum, don’t miss it, especially if you were in the service or a history buff. Next we had to visit the Jim Beam Distillery, a family operated business for now seven generations. Unfortunately they no longer offer tours, but the movie was interesting and the samples of bourbon were strong. Then you can’t visit Louisville without going to Churchill Downs. We were told that seats for the Kentucky Derby start at $80.00 and go up to $1,000 for a simple folding chair. Other times you can purchase the same seat for $2.00. Racing starts up again October 29 with the Breeder Cup but it was time for us to move on.

2006-10-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

After little over a week at Camp Monaco in Elkhart, IN we left our friends and headed south to the Covered Bridge Festival in Rockville, IN. This is an awesome event with 31 covered bridges nestled in and around Parke County. The fall foliage made traveling thru the woods even more fantastic as you searched out the bridges, ranging from 43 to 315 feet long. The oldest one, Jackson Bridge, was built in 1861, is 207 feet long and open. The longest one, West Union Bridge, was built in 1876, is 315 feet long and open. Twenty of the 31 bridges are still open to travel across. We managed to see 27 bridges and either walked or drove over most of them. Covered bridges have always been one of Ruth Ann’s favorite sights, so you can imagine the constant smile on her face. We spend many, many hours walking the craft/flea market at both Bridgeton and Mansfield. If you ever get an opportunity to travel in this area, you may want to check out the covered bridges especially during the fall festival.

2006-10-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

While waiting to leave Buffalo to go to our favorite campsite -- Camp Monaco -- we took a side trip in the car to visit friends in Easton, PA. Barb and Gary took us to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, places we have not seen before. Although we did not have time to go into the city, we did have a wonderful day. We started out from an old railroad station on the New Jersey shoreline, where trains brought the commuters in to catch a ferry into the City. You could just imagine all the commuters arriving back in that day. Now it is part of the Statue of Liberty park and you go there to get tickets to ride the ferry to the Statue and Ellis Island. Once at Ellis Island you could search your ancestry via their computers. We then caught the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. What a spectacular sight! You can imagine how the immigrants felt sailing into the harbor. You can no longer go up into the Statue. This was stopped after 9/11 due to fire codes and safety reasons. You can still go into the base of the statue where they have plexigas windows cut out so you can look up inside and see the construction of the statue. Later we went to Hoboken, NJ for a great dinner and a fantastic view, both day and night, of the City.

2006-08-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

We are still in Western New York at our two summer jobs, one at the camp site and the other at Scott's house. I have to say that we have really enjoyed spending the time with Scott and helping him with his home. He has learned a lot from his father. Here is a picture of our camp site here at Niagara's Lazy Lakes. We look forward to getting back on the road and seeing part of the United States. We are heading to Pennyslvania then down the East coast to Florida.

2006-07-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

We are still setting at Lazy lake's Campground here in Cambria, New York. We have been working camping here at our home site during the summer, so that we can stay here during the summer and help Scott with his home. Scott purchased a home in Fairport, New York, rather then spend the money for a town house and not get anything in return. Got a good deal on the house, but needs a lot of work. Naturally he called Mom and Dad for assistance, so we spend four days a week working in the camp store, then it's of the Rochester for three days helping Scott on the house.