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Our Current location.#930

January 4th,2009

Happy New Year

Loretta and I would like to wish all our readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We arrived here at Desert Trails, December 13th,and received a warm welcome from Andrea, as we checked in. Many friends saw us as we drove to our new site, M25. Plenty of help to get backed in. Just after we got set up, Brody had his ball in his mouth and was waiting at the door to go to the dog run and play ball. Think he knew where he was?

Since we have arrived, we have been just hanging around, enjoying the warm weather, well almost warm weather. We have had a few days of rain and very cool evenings! Getting as low as 26 one morning. But things have improved.

Loretta rented a car and drove to San Diego, to spend Christmas with her kids and grandkids. She was just going to go for the weekend, but it ended up being 10 days! This was the first time in about 20 years that she has spent Christmas with her kids.

We had a real nice New Years eve party at the rec hall. Steak, shrimp, BBQ ribs were on the menu, along with skits, poetry and music from our local musicians. A white elephant exchange was held, quite a feat for 100+ folks. We were the first table and we had a nice clock/photo frame. It lasted for about 15 minutes, before someone exchanged a bag of outdated bake goods for it! As we were the first to pick, we also got last choice, so we watched where the clock went and waited. Finally we were able to reclaim the clock, only to have our friends across from us trade a Willy Warmer (use your imagination) for it! In the end we finally were able to trade for a nice "Faith" plaque. It was a long night, but a lot of fun!

Loretta is planning another trip to SD soon, but this time is flying! Soon we will be geocaching, as some of our group have finally arrived. Brody is having a good time as there are several JRT's in the park, but as he is with most dogs, he greets, then ignores, especially if he is carrying his ball!

Keep in touch and let us know what you are doing this winter!!!

December 4th,2008

Getting closer to Tucson

We left Illinois the day after the election. We arrived in Aurora, Ky. late in the afternoon. We stayed on our friends lot, that he just finished getting set up. Thanks Dale and Linda. It is across the street from our other friends, Ralph and Angie. As Dale and Linda were also there we were able to visit with both. We also were able to spend some time with Efraim and Joan our dear friends from Cadiz, Ky. Thanks friends for making us feel welcome.

Our next stop was in Tupelo, MS. We stayed at Barnes Crossing. We had stayed there before, so we knew where it was. From there we jumped on the Natchez Trace and Followed it to Natchez, MS. As we approached Natchez, it began to rain. The last time we were here it also rained. We again stayed at Riverview RV park in Vidalia, LA. Just across the river from Natchez.

We left the next day and headed to  Baton Rouge, La, where our dear friends Jim and Jane recently moved to. They had sold their house in Lafayette,LA. and moved closer to their daughters. We will miss our friends on the road, but we know where we can find them for a visit! While visiting with them another couple arrived, Ed and Pat. So again we had a nice time visiting with our friends that we had met in Texas.

Our visit was over and it was time to head toward Rockport, Texas. Boy was traffic heavy at 8am on I-12! Had to wait until about 9am to leave. As we pulled on to the I-12 we heard someone honk, Loretta looked out her window and then saw that the awning over the door had not been retracted! we pulled that one in quickly! Thank goodness we could do it using the remote. we had planned on staying south of Houston, but when we called the park, they were full and told us most of the parks would be full, due to the hurricane! So we decided to go all the way to Rockport. 10 hours and 478 miles later we arrived just at sunset. Do not want to do that again. Rod and Rhonda saw us pull in and came over and gave us a warm welcome. R&R are also friends that we meet during our winter stays in Texas.

We stayed 2 weeks at the Lagoons. Going to shows, eating out and visiting some of the attractions in the area. We also entered a shuffleboard tournament. Rhonda and I drew each other as partners. We won the tournament!! Each earned $8.00 for our effort. The following Saturday we did not do as well as we both, with different partners did not win anything! We had a neat surprise. Rick and Jeanne from our stay in Az last winter, happened to check our web site and found that we were just down the road from them!!! As it was their anniversary, we went out to supper with them. Later Ron, Rhonda, Rick, Jeanne and Loretta and I went out for supper together before we left. R&J will also be spending the winter in the Rockport area.

We left Rockport on December 1st and headed to GRRVR and arrived late that afternoon. We got our old site,#71! Nesta and Mike saw us pull in and came over and gave us a very warm welcome! Others now at GRRVR are, Lowes, Hendershots, Lappins, Vivian, Fibelstads and the Phillips. Soon to arrive are the Cuttings, Ben and Gordy also will be back from a trip. We only planned on staying until the 8th, however due to a problem discovered while I had the MH serviced, we will stay at least until the 10th. It appears the the differential is leaking fluid! Fortunately there is a good repair facility that I trust just down the road.

So that is our adventure so far this winter season. It has been cold at night, but the days have been warm. It has been good to see friends from our stay in Texas and Arizona. It makes the world seem small, when you see folks again, that you do not see on a regular basis.

October 23rd,2008

Getting ready to "Hit the Road"

Our time here in Illinois has gone by quickly! Just ask my granddaughter and grandkids. We have had a good time. Haley became interested in the guitar, when I got my guitar out and started to relearn the chords. She caught on quickly! Luke has been busy with baseball when we arrived and did quite well. He is now continuing his piano lessons and plays the flute in the Seneca Grade school band. Zachary and David both play flag football and Zach likes to go to the shooting range with dad. Ali Jo is still a cute little girl who is growing up too quicly!

As we got a new "toad", I needed to get a new base plate for towing. Got this done and then had to transfer the 'Breakaway system to the new vehicle. This was a time consuming job as the new vehicle engine compartment is very crowded and this made it difficult to find an opening in the firewall to run the wires. But we did it!!

Loretta went to California on September 28th and will be back on October 28th. She went out to stay with the youngest granddaughter, while her parents went on a Marriage retreat in Hawaii. As the other granddaughters were out of school for the last two weeks of her stay, that gave her time to spend with them as well. It's a good thing she is coming back soon, I am getting used to the bachelor life (LOL)

Soon after we got back I learned that the Governor had chosen 2 of the State Parks I managed to be closed due to budget problems. He says they were picked because of low attendance. 11 State Parks and 13 historic sites will close November 1. All of the parks to be closed are in the central to north areas of the state. These closings had nothing to do with their attendance( a lot of southern Illinois parks had lower attendance) but rather in what Legislative district they were in. Rallies have been held, petitions have been signed and the Legislature has passed bills to keep the parks open, but the Governor recently said he will not sign the bill to fund the State parks! This guy has done nothing for the State Of Illinois and how he got elected twice is beyond me. I am sure glad I saw the "writing on the wall" when I chose to retire!

We will be leaving here on November the 5th. We plan to head to Kentucky to visit some friends for a few days before we head to Rockport Texas, where we will stay for 2 weeks at the Lagoons rv park. We have friends that stay there, that we haven't seen in awhile. Then on to Kerrville for a few days while I get the MH serviced and weighed. On the road again to Silver City NM to see friends and arriving in Tucson around the 15th of December.

Speaking of the election, here is some info to consider:

Stay informed on what you are actually voting for in November!

We look forward to seeing our friends and talking with some of you. If you will be near Tucson between December 15th and March 31, stop in and see us. Keep in touch.

September 7,2008

Back In Illinois

We left Island Park, Idaho on August 13th. Our goal that day was Jackson Wyoming and the Tetons. What a beautiful area! We spent the next two days exploring the area. Beautiful mountains, but saw little wildlife! Not like Yellowstone! On our last day, we drove up to Signal Mountain. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement about 30 feet from the road in the trees. It was a Grizzly bear!! We got some excellent photos. ( See the Photo link) That made our visit very worth while.

Our next stop was Riverton, Wyoming, so we could drive the Wind River Canyon in the car and visit Thermopolis and the hot springs. Another nice drive.

After leaving Riverton, we headed to Nebraska to visit with the Dudney's. I was wavering on what route to take and chose I-80, in doing, we missed an opportunity to visit with another friend, Marvel! I originally was going to take I-80 to 25 and then cut down to US 34 and take it to Hastings. In fact we drove down 85 to Carr Colorado and was not to far from her house!! Guess we need to check our directory for address', to see who is on our route! Sorry Marvel!

We spent  some time with the Dudney's and the Brandts, who were also visiting. A mini GRRVR reunion. We had also planned on visiting the Potters as well, but time was against is. Sorry Duane and Florence, will have to catch you on the next trip back to Illinois!

Our next stop was in Fairfield, Iowa. We had met LaVon in Tucson and said we would stop in on our way home. LaVon made arrangements for us to stay at the Fairgrounds. We had a very nice visit and enjoyed the tour of the area that she gave us. We also stopped at John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa.

Our visiting of friends continued as we entered Illinois. We stopped in Havana, ( not Cuba!) and visited with Loretta's best friend Mary Ellen and her husband Archie. We stayed in the church parking lot across from their house. Thanks to the Baptist congregation!

We arrived back at my daughters on the 28th and had a couple of days before we had to go to our granddaughters birthday party in Champaign, Il. Happy Birthday Ali Jo!

The weather has been okay, not too hot. We did have 2.95 inches of rain on Thursday and so far have had 3.77 inches for September!

We did go car shopping! We had decided, while in Idaho, after driving some of the roads (trails) that we needed something with a higher ground clearance! So we went looking for a Jeep Liberty. What we ended up with was a 2008 Saturn Vue! Not 4 wheel drive, but good ground clearance and better fuel mileage than the Jeep.

One last thing! While in Idaho, I worked on a computer for David Burghoff. Later I found out he was Gary Burghoff's ( Radar from Mash) brother!

Hope all are had a good summer and will see some of you in Tucson and others as we travel.

August 12, 2008

Time to Leave

2 months has flown by! It is going to be hard to leave paradise. Well that is what I call it! The days have been moderate and the nights cool. Lot's of places to go besides Yellowstone. But Yellowstone is the best! Every time you visit you see something new. Blue wildflowers give way to red ones and the red ones give way to the yellow flowers. Elk and Bison move from one area to another as the days grow warmer. The water levels have dropped from the roaring melt off to quiet gently flowing streams. Yes things change quickly and soon fall will be approaching.

We finally got to see a Grizzly! On a drive back home through Yellowstone, between Tower and Canyon, we came upon cars parked in the road in both directions. I asked someone "what do you see" a Grizzly they replied. After getting parked in the road, we spotted it. As it was on Loretta's side I gave her the Nikon with my 200mm lens. After taking a few shots I remembered I had my 300mm lens ! after switching lenses', I got out of the car and walked closer. He was still about 400 yards away! He was grazing toward the road, when he started to run, boy did folks scatter! He leaped between a motor home and the car being towed and ran up the other side of the road to a ridge. I have a picture on my Picasa web site. Just click on the photos link to the left and then click on animals.

Further down the road, we came upon another crowd of cars. this time it was 2 bull Elks, lounging in the meadow. More pictures. So now we have pictures of Bison, Elk, Moose and the Grizzly. The big 4! We however have not seen the wolves.

Mike and Shar Reynolds, who live here and suggested we come here, have shown us  or told us of places to go. One of or trips was to Bozeman, MT. to do some shopping. Bozeman is the closest place to find a Super Wal-Mart and a Costcos. It is just under 100 miles! On the way home, we took a different route, through a beautiful canyon. It began to rain, then blow very hard. So hard we had a hard time seeing the road. Mike and Shar, being familiar with the road saw a turn out, so we could get off the road a wait out the storm. How Shar saw it is beyond me, I was sitting in the front and I did not see the entrance! Just as we pulled in, with the wind blowing so hard you could not see, it began to hail, directly into the windshield! I told Mike to turn around and let it hit the back of the Suburban. No sooner had we done that, the wind switched 180 degrees and was hitting the windshield again! The hail was about marble size. Later we found out the the conditions were ripe for a tornado! Tornados are rare in this part of the country.

We have met some really nice people here. Jim and Silene Reed comes quickly to my mind. They are from Texas. Silene is from Venezuela and is the sweetest person. Brody took to her right away! She started walking Brody, and I mean walk! she even jogged with her. He always came home tired, but was always ready to go with her again. Jim and Silene have reservations for Desert Trails for February and March, so we will see them again.

Tomorrow we leave here and head to the Tetons and Jackson Hole Wy, for a couple of days. Then on to Riverton WY so we can drive the car through Wind River Canyon. We will then head east through Nebraska and Iowa, stopping to visit friends along the way.

Yes, it has been a wonderful summer and I hope we come back here again. We have some wonderful memories and the photos to go with them.

Hope all had a good summer and we hope to hear from you soon.

July 17, 2008

Idaho summer

We arrived Red Rock Rv Park on June 13th. We were in between snow storms! It was snowing behind us in Bend and the day before we arrived at Red Rock it snowed 6"! Ever since we arrived the weather has been great. Most days are in the 70's and low 80's, nights are cool, great for sleeping. Humidity is also low. We have had some rain and small hail. Our elevation is about 6600'.

We have been traveling into Yellowstone quite a bit. It is beautiful. We have caught a glimpse of a Grizzly bear, but were unable to get a picture. Moose are also hard to see. Our friends Mike and Shar, emailed that they had 10 Moose in their backyard! We have seen Elk, Eagles, and other smaller animals. Each day we go to Yellowstone we travel through 3 states, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

We did see the Grizzly bears and Wolves at the Grizzly Discovery center. These are animals that have been adopted for a variety of reasons. Haven't seen any in the wild yet.

Our photo production will be increasing as we have upgraded our cameras. I got a Nikon D60 with 3 zoom lenses and I found a Canon G6 for Loretta. We both have been bitten by the photobug! Some photos I have put into my Photo web page and some I have uploaded to Wunderphotos Loretta's photos are at Wunderphotos  you can rate these pictures, we would appreciate it very much. One of my photos received an Approvers Choice!

We have also been exploring the National Forest roads. Most are gravel and dirt. Some we can not go on, not enough clearance or they are rutted. Time to look for a 4-wheel drive vehicle! The roads do take us to some remote areas. We have also been Geocaching. We introduced caching to some folks we met here at the park, Bobby and Joan. They are now certified geocachers and planned to geocache on their way back to Florida!

The Rv park is located about 5 miles from the main highway, West Yellowstone is about 15 miles away. We do some shopping in West Yellowstone, but our selection of stores is limited. No Wal-mart! Closest we got to a Wal-Mart was when we followed a truck down the highway! The nearest Wal-Mart etc is in Bozeman, MT.

We really like it here, so much to do and see and the weather has been great. We will be back.

Hope all are having a good summer and to all our grandkids, we hear you are having a good summer and doing well in all your summer activities. Keep up the good work and we miss and love you all.

Our Spring adventure

June 6, 2008

Our adventures started even before we left Desert Trails! When we started to put one of or slides it it would only start and then stop! I got my neighbor, Clint to help me push, but it still would go in for awhile and then stop. We finally got it and and we were off.

Our first stop was in Why,AZ, So we could visit Organ Pipe National Park. Certainly different than Saguaro NP. As we left the campground, I turn the key on and got no warning buzzers or lights on the dash! After a few minutes, I started the engine, then called Freightliner about the problem. They said there was an issue bulletin about that problem and it was okay to drive. I needed to go to a Freightliner service center. Also as I pulled out of the park, not being used to the turning radius of the new MH, I turned too quick and scrapped branches down the left side!!!!

We decided to go to an RV park, where our new friends, Mike and Char were staying near Yuma,AZ. As I pulled in, and hit a small bump, the dash gauges all came back!!! The next morning, again no gauges! I jiggled the key and they all came back and stayed that way. We ended up at a Freightliner SC in Bakerfield, CA., where they could not duplicate the problem! The tech did find a loose connection at the computer and he said that was probably the problem. They also did a recall on the exhaust.

On our way to Escondido RV Park, we stopped at an rv dealership about the slide. The problem was the switch. If pushed all the way in it would start then stop, but if pushed part way in it would work fine. They did not have a new switch! We went on to Escondido and I found a switch at a Christian RV dealer for $5.95 and changed it myself.

We had a great visit with Loretta's children and grandchildren. While at the rv park we met our friends, Steve and Ricki Dumser, who were also visiting relatives. Oh, I looked up an old friend from Morris, Bob Thompson, that I had not seen in 40 years. He only lived a short distance from the rv park. He came to the mh and we had a nice long visit, catching up. Later in the week we met him and his wife for breakfast. What a wonderful reunion after 40 years.

We left Escondido and headed to Bakersfield for repairs, then proceeded west to Paso Robles. We used the rv park as our base to visit the west coast from the Hearst Castle down to San Luis Obisco and Morro Bay area.

We left Paso Robles and headed to Moss Landing, south of San Jose. We toured the area down to Monterey and back. We drove the 17 mile loop around Pebble Beach. The closest I will ever get to playing this famous golf course!

Now it was time to head North to Medford, OR, to visit Loretta's son David and family. We stayed at Lakewood rv park for about 10 days. Boy have the boys grown!! Next year T.J will graduate from H.S!

Again our friends Steve and Ricki Dumser shared a campsite with us. we all went geocaching and then lunch.

Our next travels took us to the Oregon coast, where we followed 101 up to Astoria. Our original palns were to follow 101 west through Washington to Sequim, however since it didn't follow the coast like in Oregon and I was tired of curves, we decided to take a different route to the east route of 101. Our friends Steve and Ricki we to met us in Sequim for the holiday. We left Astoria in the morning and they left Olympia, later that morning. We were headed to the same route only from different directions. As We reached the ramp to enter 101, I looked to my left for traffic and lo and behold, there was Steve and Rickii!! We couldn't have planned that if we tried! They followed us up to Sequim. But it was not uneventful! We had to cross to narrow bridges in a row, I was first and I slowed to let traffic clear the first one and proceeded through. As I got to about the middle of the second bridge, 2 5th wheelers were coming toward me. I made it through okay, but as Steve came through, one of the 5th wheels moved over and Steve  moved over and clipped his right side mirror on the bridge! We finally made it to Sequim and spent a week exploring the area together.

Sequim is a small town. Weather is moderate in the summer and the average rainfall for the year is only 16 inches, with a lot of sunshine. We really liked the area and have even booked in for next summer. It is close to the ocean and mountains as well as Victoria, Canada. While there we looked up another Desert Trails winter Arizonian, Jane Erickson. We had a nice visit with her as well.

We left Sequim and headed to Poulsbo WA to stay a couple of days. I wanted to go to Gig Harbor to see if I could find the 5 acres I had bought and old 30 years ago and we wanted to see Seattle. I found the property and it has several homes on it now and the area has grown a little bit. But the town of Gig Harbor is still the same. We got a nice view of MT Rainer as the day was sunny and clear.

We took a ferry to Seattle and visited Pike Market Place and saw the fish mongers throwing the fish, the first Starbucks (for my daughter) ,rode the Monorail to the Space Needle and got a wonderful view of Seattle from it.

We are now in Salem, Oregon for a week, leaving Sunday for Bend Oregon and the High Desert Museum. We will be in Island Park ID at Red Rock RV Park by next Friday, where we will stay until August 15th. It is 22 miles sw of the west gate to Yellowstone. So we should be able to explore the area very well.

Today is Loretta's birthday. So if you have a minute give her a call at 815-274-4484 or email her at lcarr@christiancomputerservice.com. I know she would enjoy talking with you.

Have a safe summer and keep in touch.

Time to Leave

April 7,2008

The time has come to leave Desert Trails RV Park, here in Tucson, AZ.

We have enjoyed our stay here in Tucson. We have enjoyed meeting all new friends here. Pericles, our hats are off to you. You are a great owner operator, that knows how to run an RV park!!!!

We had a great Geocaching group! Each week on average 8-9 folks would head out in cars to find the geocaches that I gave them. We laughed a lot and we feed our faces well after geocacheing.

We hated leaving our friends in Texas, however we have made new friends here, that will last a lifetime as well.

To our friends from Texas, you are not forgotten and we think of you all the time. So do not be surprised if we call and say"Hey, we are in your neigborhood......" We love to visit our friends whenever we can. We had a surprise visit from Wade and Mary Sundin on Saturday. It was great to see them again.

It has been interesting here. First the lack of humidity. That took some getting used to! Second it is sunny most everyday. I thought I would feel guilty, staying inside to "have a down day" but I soon realized that it would be sunny the next day too, so I wouldn't waste a sunny day.

The desert is fantastic, and the sunsets are beautiful. Now spring is here and with some additional rain this winter, the desert bloomed, extra pretty. In fact you could watch the mountains turn green and yellow. The green looked like the mountain was a giant Chia Pet!!!!

Bird life here during the winter is abundant, from Hummingbirds, Cactus Wrens, Curved Bill Thrashers, to all kinds of hawks and owls. In fact we have a nesting pair of Great horned owls, right here in the park.

Yes we hate to leave, but spring is quickly giving away to summer, so it is time to head to cooler climates.

Congratulations to our grandchildren, Luke, Haley and Zackary. They all had great achievements this past year. Luke on the piano and flute, Haley with gymnastics and Zack in the pinewood derby. Keep up the good work!!!!

I reached a milestone while here in AZ, I turned 62. You say so what! Well I now was eligible for the NPS Senior pass, for $10, good for life. I also will get my first SS check on Wednesday! Hooray!!!!

Our travels will take us to see the grandkids in San Diego, Medford, Oregon and the we are taking a tour of the Oregon and Washington coast. We will stop in Salem, Oregon to visit with some folks we met 2 years ago in Oregon, then it is on to Island Park, Idaho. We will spend the summer there. It is about 22 miles southwest of Yellowstone. So we will get to explore the area a lot. We also met a great couple Mike and Shar Reynolds, who live in Island Park. We plan on doing some geocaching with them as well as other events too. The RV Park is located on Henry's Lake about 5 miles from the town. It is in a meadow and away from trains,planes and car noise. Loretta says "Hooray!"

Some of our travels to the San Diego area and Washington area, we will meet up with Steve and Ricki Dumser. Folks we have met here in Tucson. It seems we are on the same track, at least as far as Washington. They were our geocaching partners and we call Steve "Old Eagle Eye" (Hey Steve make a U-turn)

Brody is a park celebrity. every time we go out to play ball, he carries his ball. So the times we just go for a walk, everyone asks "where's his ball?" So everyone knows Brody. Brody had to have his teeth cleaned again this year and the had to pull 2 more teeth that were loose. Poor Brody, he was so drugged up when we brought him home, he was out of it, so much so that when he wanted to go out, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. By morning the morphine and anesthetic had worn off and we knew he was alright when he went to the door with his ball in his mouth!

Time to finish getting ready to go, so must end this episode of D&L Adventures. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and keep in touch by email or phone.

First 2008 Post

January 30,2008

As this is my first post for the new year, let me say HAPPY NEW YEAR albeit a little late.

Hope all our friends that are not in a warmer climate, are staying warm!!! Sorry did not mean to rub it in, but here in AZ we have low temps at night, but it does warm up to the low 60's during the day with plenty of sunshine.

So what is different about AZ vs Texas? Well I believe it is 2 things. 1) Low humidity and 2) More sunshine. The low humidity can be a problem, dry skin and static electricity! Oh how I hate static!! We did buy a humidifier and that helps alot. What can I say about the sunshine, except it is great!!!Oh one other thing different about Texas. The demographics. In Texas most of the folks were from the Midwest and the surrounding areas. Here in AZ, most of the folks are from either the Northwest or the Northeast, with quite a few Canadians. Washington seems to be the leader, with Oregon and Colorado having quite few here as well. There are also quite a few from Ohio, Illiois and Iowa. But you all have one thing in common... you are all friendly and great people to know.

Geocaching has been a good activity here. Last week we had 11 folks looking all over the desert area for the treasures! This week looks like we may have more! Keeps me busy trying to decide which caches to download, make maps and distribute them out. We generally do 3 per car and try to meet somewhere for lunch.

Each Tuesday and Friday the park provides some type of entertainment, usually musical. Last night it was a county Gospel family. They were great. From the youngest at 8 to mom and dad. There are I believe 8 children in all. Other entertainment have been Irish dancers, a Forensic expert, and other musical acts. Never a dull moment for lack of things to do right here in the park.

Both Loretta and I have had colds or maybe desert fever, or maybe the flu. Nothing serious, but enough to make us miserable. Loretta has been going to PT for her fingers and it seems to be doing better. The new Doctor we like and he is steering her away from any further surgeries.

Brody is having a ball. I mean having a ball. Each day twice a day he grabs his ball and throws it to me and then runs to the door. That is his way of saying "Let's go to the dog run and play" He carries his ball to and from the dog run. Folks are really in awe of him doing that and are always commenting, "where is his ball" when we just go for walks.

John and Pat Dahl were here for a month and Joan and Buddy Templeton will be in the area some time this week. John and Pat bought a Park model near Phoenix and went back there last week.

One new addition to my web site is daily weather from right here at the park. I purchased a weather station and can upload the daily weather to Weather Underground and to my web site.  This way I can get what the weather is here rather than 10-15 miles away. It is quite different than say the weather at the airport!

Our plans at the moment are to head to San Diego at the end of March, then on to Oregon and Washington. while on the way to Oregon, we may head to the California coast to see Napa Valley, Monterey and that area. Hopefully by summer (June) we will be somewhere where it is cool. Colorado? Then it will be time to head to Illinois by late August, to spend a couple of months there to visit family, see our Doctors and to VOTE!!!!

We enjoy emails and yes, phone calls from our friends and family. So send those emails and or call and let us know what is happening in your life.

Enjoy!!!!!

Merry Christmas

December 11,2007

Merry Christmas to all our family and Friends! Time has gotten away from us, as we have been busy getting boxes sorted and items stored away in the MH. Still not done, we have many more to go!

We hope all are doing well and send our prayers out to those who are ill, having surgeries and going through rough times.

Desert Trails RV park is really decorated. Most everyone has decorated their rigs, even us. Had to go buy more rope lights and even some colored Christmas tree lights! Even though it is cool and rainy here the Christmas spirit is creeping in, with Cantatas, special music and other activities related to Christmas.

I will be flying home on the 23rd to spend Christmas with my family, at our home place. This will be the first Christmas without either of my parents. My family has decorated the house, just as mom and dad did. It will be a sad and joyous time. Sad that mom and dad are not there, but joyous in the fact that we know they are celebrating Christmas with Jesus!

Wouldn't you know it moment! Beaudry RV gave a presentation at our Monday morning meeting and we all signed up for their prize drawing...well the next to last prize was a nice fleece pull over and ..Loretta won it!  We were hoping we wouldn't win anything!!!

I will be giving a class on Geocaching and using the gps. We have a lot of trails just north of us and several caches in the area. The trail maps that were made in the late 90's is very crude soooo.. I went for a walk to gps one of the trails and then brought up Google Earth and downloaded the track. I then discovered that I could see most of the trails. Since I have Google Earth Plus, I had a tool to create paths. I recreated all the trails that the old map had, only in color and on an aerial map.   I am now in the process of adding landmarks etc. to the map.

To our GRRVR friends, we will miss seeing you this winter season, however you will be in our thoughts and prayers. As we begin traveling again in the spring we just may visit you, so just a warning (LOL) Have a great time in Kerrville and keep us posted on the happenings, both good and bad!

To all our friends and family, have a joyous and Merry Christmas and enjoy the season with a REASON!

David & Loretta

Thanksgiving

November 22,2007

It is 6:14 am in the morning. I was awakened by the pitter patter of rain on the roof and the distant thunder. The wind came up so it was necessary to bring in the awning. Being wide awake, I decided to bring the blog up to date.

I hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving. We will be joining the group at Desert Trails later today for our feast.

We are so thankful that we have a loving family and wonderful friends. We are thankful for our health and that God takes care of us no matter where we are. We are thankful for our safe travels. We are thankful for all the things that God has provided for us. We are thankful for the young men and women who serve our country to keep it free. Please be in prayer with me today to thank them and to keep them safe.

We left Illinois on the 31st of October and headed west to Tucson. I had mentioned in the last blog that we may stop and see friends along the way. I received an email from Ruth Denny, inviting us to stop if we go their way. Little did she know, but that was our plan!!! We stayed with the Denny's, in their driveway for three days. We had a wonderful time visiting with them, and the Holmgrens as well as seeing the Oklahoma city sights and sounds. Before we left we wanted to see the Memorial in downtown Oklahoma City. This was I am sure an emotional visit for Ivan and Ruth. Neither had been to the memorial. Ivan was 2 blocks away when it occurred and they both lost friends. So our desire to see the memorial was the reason they needed to finally visit. The Memorial was very well done and yes it was emotional, even for us. If you get a chance make sure you visit. While visiting the memorial we ran into some folks from Kankakee, Illinois. They knew some of my former employees from Kankakee River State Park. Small world!!!!

We had received a phone call from Pat Dahl. They are staying near Surprise, Az. and will be at Desert Trails in January! Great news. Pat had told me that  I-40 was under construction from Amarillo Texas for many miles and that it was not in good shape. As that was the route we were going to take, we quickly changed our route. We decided to head south out of Amarillo to Us 60 and head west to US 70. This wa a good choice. It was a four lane divided highway for most of the way and the scenery was wonderful. One of our stops was Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico. What a beautiful area. We will need to explore that area some more sometime. We arrived at Desert Trails on the 7th of November.

As it was Wednesday when we arrived, no one was in the office to check us in, but the instructions on the info board said to setup in a pull through site until the office opened the next day. We did and when we checked in, we were greeted very warmly by the owners and their daughter and 2 dogs. They mad us feel right at home! We were told to walk around the park and see what sites we might want. ( we had done this the night before) we had picked out several sites, but all we picked we taken for the winter! One site the owners had suggested, was a good site and we could fit in it. It faced  west and we could watch the beautiful sunsets from our outside living room.

Folks have been very friendly and stop and talk to you. Just like at GRRVR. Every Monday morning Pericles, the owner has an informational meeting. He brings us up to date on what is happening at the park as well as events that will be happening in the area. Did I mention the doughnuts and coffee? Yep he provides them.

There are  a lot of activities in the park, but not ping pong....yet! I am working on that. We have not done a lot of sight seeing yet. We have found the Walmart and a barber, but not much else. We have been quite busy! You see we went to Camping Worl to buy a folding bike and came home with the bike and a new(used) motorhome!

Our new home is a 2005 Discovery 39s. It has three slides and a lot more fancy stuff than the other motorhome. Including power awnings. So it was not a big task to raise the awnings this morning. Did not have to go outside! We have been at Beaudry RV since Friday the 16th. we are in the transition area. We pulled our old and new motorhomes side by side to move stuff into the new one. What we discovered was  we had less cabinet space in the new one!!! Not all of our stuff will fit. We have been saying for a long time that we needed to go through our stuff and get rid of some. We have 4 years accumulation so it was time. It was a blessing in disguise as now we are forced to do it! I am proud of Loretta! She has been doing a good job of getting rid of stuff. Even some of the shoes she had. Way to go Loretta!!! As of this writing we are not completely done. Most of the stuff has been boxed and need to be removed from the old and placed outside of the new, so we can sort through them. Later today we will remove the last boxes from the old unit.

The 2005 unit had the J lounge couch removed and the washer and dryer. We decided not to move our washer and dryer and use the space for storage. We also decided to have the sleeper sofa removed and we moved the table and chairs to the old unit. ( we had taken the dinette out a couple of years ago) So we have the passenger slide out with an open spot and the drivers side slide out is open from the drivers seat to the refrigerator. Loretta's recliner will go there and we plan on buying another recliner or chair as well. We have found cabinets that will fit along the walls and  will look good and give us more storage.

If you remember from a post about 2 years ago,  I wrote about when we took out the dinette and the building of  a computer shelf. Well the unit I built will not fit well in the 2005, so we scrapped that and will go to plan B, whatever that will be. Actually we know what we are going to do, it is just finding the right pieces. As we are wireless, we do not really need a table for our laptops.

The dealership service sucks! We have a few items that need to be taken care of before we leave and go back to Desert Trails. It feels like we are forgotten about once we take delivery. Speaking of delivery! We had to have the coach driven out of state to take delivery. Apparently they do not collect taxes for Illinois. So we went 2 ours east to Steins Ghost town, to Notary, signed some papers. The driver unhooked his car wand we drove the motorhome back. Back to service. We have had to stay on top of the service dept so they do not forget us! You are only suppose to stay 3 days and 2 nights in the transition area! I really believe that if I did not bug them and remind them that things need to be done, it would be out of sight, out of mind and we could stay here free for the rest of the winter! However we are scheduled to have the couch removed Friday and other items taken care of on Monday. Many folks are complaining about the service, especially after the sale.

I want to thank Buddy and Joan Templeton for recommending Desert Trails. Although not fancy, the friendliness of the owners and the park residents more than make up for the amenities. Thanks Buddy and Joan.

October 29, 2007

My Dad passed away October 11, 2007. He is now with his Lord and Savior and with his love, Mom. He passed quietly in his sleep as he wished to do.

Loretta and I as well as the family, wish to thank everyone for all the communications we received over the last few weeks. All the prayers, cards and emails. They were all appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

Life is getting back to normal, a little bit at a time. We are preparing the motorhome to leave here on the 31st, arriving in Tucson Az about the 7th of November. We got our quest health insurance membership reinstated in AZ. We had canceled it when we were going to stay in Illinois.

Loretta will now have here surgery's in Tucson. The are numerous hand surgeons in the area and it will be warmer there for her physical therapy. Still continue prayers for her recovery.

Our granddaughter Haley is a gymnast and her first competition was a few weeks ago. Although PaPa thought she did great, the judges did not agree and she did not medal. Yesterday was her second competition and she did much better, improving her scores in all areas except one. This time she won 5 medals, including 6th place overall!!! Way to go Haley!!! Haley is 8 years old. She can't walk with out doing cartwheels or some other gymnastic move.

The daughters living in San Diego were evacuated. Angie's house was with in 1/2 mile of the burn area. They are both home now and they did have a home to go to. Thanks for the prayers. Her home has about 2 inches of ash on the roof, but that is all. It will be a mess to clean up!!

We will miss all our friends at GRRVR, this year. We hope however that we can keep in touch via email and phone calls. We may even try to see some folks on our way to AZ. So stay by the phone!!! (LOL)

The past few months

October 10,2007

Been wondering what we have been up to? Probably not (lol) Most of the last 2 months we have been traveling to Woodstock for PT on Loretta's hand. We are now at the point where additional surgery may be needed. An MRI was done yesterday and we have an appointment with the Dr. to find out just what is wrong with the fingers and why they are not responding. If surgery is indicated, then it will be followed by intense(5 days a week) PT. So some decisions will have to be made.

Since our health group is in McHenry, it is a 160 mile round trip. To do that 5 days a week is insane! So do we rent a motel room for a week, stay with friends, or rent an apartment? Another option is to transfer our health group closer to where we are located. We have set up a quest membership in Tucson, AZ. We can have that for 6 months, however as we are not going to AZ anytime soon, we will have to cancel that and restate it later. But that is an option too. Having the surgery and PT in AZ. So please pray for the decisions we have to make and the healing of Loretta's hand.

So why are we not going to AZ? My father has been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. He is 82 and has numerous other health problems. The cancer has spread to his liver and is a fast growing cancer. Currently he is in a nursing facility and has chosen not to receive treatment. So along with Loretta's hand situation, we have decided to stay in Illinois, until these issues are resolved. Please pray for my dad, that the Lord will take him quickly to be with mom, and to ease the pain and suffering.

Not all is bad!!!! Who travels from every direction to a central location to visit for a week? Why the GRRVR reunion attendees, of course! Around 84 persons attended the reunion in Ashland (Omaha) Nebraska, for our annual or sometimes annual reunion. These  are folks that we have been privileged to winter with the last four years in Texas. Picture having all your best friends in one spot for a week! We ate, we visited, played board or card games, visited the local sights and best of all we LAUGHED! Some even had a pajama party!!!!  Some got carded at the bar. Boy was she lucky! Some sat in the hall at a restaurant, waiting for a table, harassing folks going to the bathroom, telling them the waiting area was the line for the bath room.

A BIG thanks to Dottie and Duane Dudney and family for planning such a great time in a great place!!

On the way out to the reunion, somewhere between Cedar Rapids and Des Moines Iowa, I lost my front air conditioner shroud! We heard a thumping sound a couple of times and when we pulled into our camp site, I went to the roof to see what was happening. I discovered that I had no shroud on the front and back of the a/c and very little on the sides! I bought a tarp and covered the a/c for the rest of the trip. Tried to replace the shroud, however after calling an rv dealer and finding one, I waited too long to buy it and after traveling 20 miles, found out they no longer had it in stock! Oh well. I just hate not being whole, but will wait till I get home (I have ordered from CW)

We took I80 out, but we headed south to go home via Springfield, Illinois. My granddaughter Haley had her first Gymnastic competion. For her first time out she did fantastic. Although she did not place in any of the 4 events, she did receive decent scores and almost got 10th place overall for her age group and level. Just missing by 5 tenths of a point! Way to go Haley!!!

We are now located at my dad's house. The mh is in the driveway. I needed my internet!!!! We will stay in the house for the winter and keep heat and electric going to the mh.

Kids say the darndest things! A few weeks ago we went to Champaign to baby sit with my son's children. When I grew up the "belt" was a fact of life. Although I do not use it myself, I know the the threat of it works, most of the time. So to set the stage for any problems we may have with misbehavior, I explained to our 3 year old grandson, about the "belt". I told him when papa grabs his belt buckle with both hands and makes this terrible face, it is my belt face. Then I asked him, "Know what happens when I take off my belt?" His reply was "pants fall down"? Boy how do you hide the laugh?

May God bless each and everyone and for our GRRVR friends have a great winter and we will miss you all.

This and That

July 26, 2007

The summer seems to be flying by. We have been spending our time helping my Dad and traveling to Woodstock,Illinois for Loretta's physical therapy. About a 2 hour ride one way! Loretta will be getting the wires out of her fingers tomorrow, then more PT.

Our dog, Brody, was attacked by a Bull Terrier (Patton's type of dog) We were taking our daily walk, and this BT came at us. I pulled Brody into my arms, however his right leg was hanging down and the BT jumped and pulled him from my arms. I hit the BT in the throat and he let go! I ran to a pickup truck parked nearby and put Brody in the bed. The BT could not get him there. The BT was not interested in me or anyone else just Brody. Brody had 2 puncture wounds on his right thigh, one inside and one outside. Very little blood (thank goodness) He is doing fine and is back to his old self.

Our prayers go out to Glenn and Carol Phillips. Glen has been diagnosed with cancer and while doing surgery he had a heart attack. Please keep them in your prayers. Also Ben Leedle has been hospitalized as well, but  is on the road to recovery. Keep him in your prayers as well.

Please let us know how your summer is going and what you have been up to.

Home

July 8, 2007

We are now in Verona, Illinois at my daughters house. We arrived home a couple of weeks earlier than we had planned! More about that later.

After leaving the Outer Banks of N.C. we headed to Williamsburg, Va. The drive was not long and the traffic was not to bad. On the way we stopped at the Wright Memorial at Kill Devil Hills, NC. We spent a week in the Williamsburg area, visiting Williamsburg, York and Jamestown. We also went for a boat ride, cruising the harbor and seeing the USS Enterprise and the USS Eisenhower, as well as several old forts.

Leaving Williamsburg, we headed to Gettysburg, PA. Again the ride was not long and the traffic was light. ( It helps to drive on a Sunday) We had reservations at Granite Hill Rv resort. As we arrived early afternoon, I asked if they had any full hookup sites, as our assigned site was water and electric only. They worked with us and found a seasonal site that was not rented for the time period we needed. Plus it was open to the south for my internet satellite. It was a back in, no problem getting in, put had to put it at an angle to get the southern view I needed. But we did. Sure glad we asked for a different site! I looked at the site we were assigned and it had a downward slope of about 8-10 degrees and our wheels would have been really off the ground after we had leveled, as evidenced by the poor soul that later got the site.

Our first full day in the Gettysburg area, we took a drive on US 30 to the Toll road, as I was planning on leaving that way and I wanted to check it out before we left. Sure glad we did! About 1/2 way to the toll way was gentle rolling hills, but after taht they became very steep with a lot of curves! Not for the mh!!!! We ended up traveling to I81, driving south to I70 and back North to the toll road. Much easier and no steep hills and curves.

Gettysburg is really interesting, however it is very tourist orientated. We bought a cd/dvd combo and took our own tour of the battlefields. It was very interesting. we later did some other driving tours around the area.

We visited York, Pa, which claims to be the Factory Tour Capital. We did visit the Harley Davidson Motorcycle factory. It was about an hour walking tour. They manufacture all the parts at this factory and assemble. No they did not give free Harley samples! Moving on we went toward Lancaster Pa. to Amish country, where we took a ride with an Amish farmer in his buggy. We visited the farms and he told us about their lifestyle. An interesting question was asked of him. Can any one join the Amish? Yes, however most do not stay very long, and leave after a year or two. You almost have to be born into the lifestyle, even then and more now than in the past, the kids are leaving the area. Most of the land available for farming is already taken, so there are few opportunities to purchase a farm. Our driver was very friendly and had a good sense of humor.

Leaving Gettysburg, we moved to Bedford, Pa. Another historic are and spent 4 days there. One of the interesting sites we visited was the Flight 93 memorial. We had just watched the movie a couple of days before, when I found the site on a map! There was also a geocache at the site. Too see the site and see the temporary memorial and all the things folks have left was very moving. It is designated a National Memorial site administered by the NPS.

While in the area we also took a driving tour of all the covered bridges in the area, before leaving to head to our next stop in PA. We only traveled 80 miles to a KOA south and east of Pittsburg. This was to be our genealogy tour. Most of the Carrs and Widneys' were from this area. We first traveled to Concord, PA in the Path Valley of Franklin County. This is the town that the first Widneys came to from Ireland. I have most of the information on this family, but wanted to visit the town and find the cemetery. We found the cemetery and saw the graves of the first Widneys! while in the small town, and I mead small, we stopped in a driveway so Loretta could mail Dad's Fathers day card. While sitting there an elderly gentleman came out and we told him we were just mailing a letter. We began talking and he said he remembses the Widney name. As we were about to leave he asked us if we liked country music. we said sure. He left and came back with a cd and a cassette. He sings and plays guitar and had recorded some bluegrass and gospel music. He told us he goes to another small town every Saturday night to play and entertain folks. He said you seem like nice folks and gave us the cd and tape. He really isn't to bad!!! Although the recordings are not professional we do enjoy his music.

Our next tour was to Brookville, Pa and Puxatawney, Pa. To see if I could find information on the Carr's , which has been a problem. So off to Brookville we go. when we got there they were having a festival, so lots of traffic. I went to the Historical society and did my research. Nothing really new, however My 5th greatgrandfather may have been David Carr! But it may have also been Thomas. Both were living in the area with my 4th GGF.

No the reason we came back to Illinois early. Loretta was walking the dog around while I did the research. We met and decided to get a snack before we headed back to the mh and to stop and get a special sandwich, made only in Pa. (We had seen this on Taste of America). So after getting our snack and walking back to our car, Loretta tripped on an uneven side walk, fell and broke 2 fingers on her left hand!!! Fortunately she fell in front of a Doctors office! The nuses heard her and came out and soon summoned the Doctor, who said, they are at least dislocated and may be broken! He gave us directions to the hospital and even called the emergency room to let them know we were coming.

We spent about 3 hours in the ER and we had 3 hours to drive back to the mh! They determined her fingers were broken and dislocated. After putting them back in place they splinted and wrapped her fingers and e headed back to the mh. We had decided that it would be better to be back in Illinois for any surgery and within our HMO coverage area. We left for home the next day and made it back to Illinois the next day.

After seeing our Doctor we went to see a specialist and surgery was performed to install wires into her fingers to help them heal. She now has a removable splint and is doing therapy. In about 3 weeks she will have the wires removed.

Just after we got home, Dad went into the hospital. He will get out tomorrow. His breathing is getting worse and he tires easily if he walks to far. Please be in prayer for him.

That's all for now, keep in touch and let us know how your summer is going.

June 3rd, 2007

Tropical Storm Barry

We are experiencing the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. As of this writing the wind has picked up again and the rain has returned. We were supposed to leave today, but high winds (25-45mph) kept us in Frisco for another day.

This morning we went to the beach to see the wild ocean. The wind was blowing sand about knee high and it was like our legs were being sand blasted!!. Last night we had high wind and rain. Several canopies of campers blew down and scattered their equipment around. We also smelled the smoke from the GA and FL. fires.

Lets back track a little. We loved Charleston, SC! The town seemed cleaner and we really enjoyed the historical aspect of the town. While downtown to view the Tall Ships that we coming in, we again experienced the fire smoke. We were even interviewed for the local tv station. I sent the link out to all some time ago.

After Charleston we headed to Simpsonville, SC, where my brother Brian lives. We stayed about a week. We visited with Brian, went to Scottish dance classes, played cards and did some geocaching.

We took a road trip to DEI Motorsports in Mooresville, NC and then on to MT. Airy, where Andy Griffith was born and Mayberry was patterned after. Nice but nothing special. Did see Floyds Barber Shop and Wally's Service station, as well as a statue of Andy and Opie.

Downtown Greenville is really nice. We were impressed with the area and what it has to offer. They have a very spectacular park near downtown called the Falls. Very well done, with lots of trails and areas you can wade in the river.

After Simpsonville we headed back south toward Columbia, SC, to avoid the traffic near Charlotte, NC, as it was race day!. Glad we did. We stayed at a nice campground near Washington, NC. Did a couple of day trips to some historical areas.

Took US 264 a scenic highway along the Palmico sound to US 64 that took us to Hatteras Island. Very nice drive with very little traffic.

Hatteras Island is really a nice area. We enjoyed it very much and got us to thinking about wintering south of here, near Wilmington, some year. Took the Ferry to Orcracoke island, seeing the lighthouse there and driving around the island before heading back to Hatteras.

Went to the beach a couple of days. Found out Brody is a crab dog! He smelled the sand and started digging. Soon a claw peeks out. Brody sniffs it and when it moves he jumps back. Soon he dug some more and uncovered it and out it came with his claws in the air! Brody jumped back and it scurried down the beach! I had to hold Brody back or he would have chased it.

Our next destination will be Colonial Williamsburg and the Gettysburg. Spending a week at each, before heading west toward Illinois.

Enjoy your summer and keep in touch.

May 15th, 2007

Columbus, Savanna GA. Charleston SC

We arrived in Columbus at a nice park about 9 miles south and east of town. Our first order of business was to find the Lunchbox Museum. We found it, boy what a disappointment! It was in a crappy looking building and was in the process of moving, so it was closed. They also had a handwritten sign saying it would cost $5.00 to view!! So much for that.

We headed back to the motor home and on the way the engine quit! We were doing 60 and all the gauges went blank, just as if I had shut the engine off. We coasted to the side of the road and called our Good Sam emergency service. It was a little difficult to tell someone in Arizona where we were in Columbus, Ga, when we were not sure where we were! She was able to locate us and dispatched a tow truck to us with an eta of 1 hour. Brody was in the motor home. We were to be towed to the Saturn dealer. I called them to let them know we were coming. Linda Wells the service consultant, said they were closing at 6pm, so she offered to call enterprise to send out a car to pick us up, as they were closing at 6pm as well.

Both Enterprise and the tow truck arrived at the same time, about 45 minutes from when I had called. I rode back with the tow truck and Loretta drove back with Enterprise. since the dealer service dept was closed, I wrote a note explaining we were RVers and our schedule, asking for prompt service, took the note and my keys and dropped into a night box.

The next morning Linda called early and told me they found the problem. It was the crank sensor. This sensor monitors all the cars functions. When it went out it just shut the car down. Later she called back about an hour later and said it was finished! While it was there they discovered a recall on the tail light assembly, so they fixed that as well. What service! The total bill after my extended warranty including the car rental (warranty would not pay for the rental) was $87.00!

We decided as long as we had to wait for the car, we would visit Warm Springs and Roosevelt's Little White House ( See link in previous post) That was very interesting. We also saw the Warm Springs pool, where he went for treatments for his polio.

We left Columbus on schedule, thanks to Linda Wells of Saturn and Sterry Smith from Enterprise. Good job and great service from them both.

Our next stop was outside of Americus, GA. Brickyard Plantation Campground. Basically a field. Our next days travel was to Andersonville and Jimmy Carter Historical site. Both were interesting, however we both enjoyed Andersonville much better. We did get to see Plains, GA. but really not much there!

On the road again to Townsend GA. About 45 miles south of Savanna. This would be our home for the next week. A small campground, not fancy, but okay.

Some of the places we went were Jekyll Island, St Simon Island, Savannah and the surrounding area.

Jekyll Island is very interesting and a very pretty area. We went to the beach and drove around the Island. That did not take long! Another day we went to St Simon Island an visited the light house. We also saw dolphins in the harbor area.

Since we were on the coast we had to eat seafood. We went to a place called the Buccaneer Club. The road to the restaurant was a good road but the neighborhood wasn't looking too good! Once we found the restaurant we ate and had a great meal.

Our first trip to Savannah was with Brody to do some recon on the area. We went to the river front area and found a free 2 hour parking place! It was busy, so we walked around some and the headed back.

The next day we booked 2 tours online. One for a trolley tour of the city and the other a lunch cruise of the river. To our surprise when we checked in the lunch cruises did not start until the following week! So we got our money back and just took the trolley tour.

We were not impressed with Savannah. It did not look or feel clean. It was broken up by squares everywhere, but that was the design and did give it charm. Loved the history and the Civil War history.

Ahhh time to eat seafood again. Loretta wanted Crab cakes. So we headed to Sunbury Crab Co. in the small town of Sunbury. An excellant choice! Loretta had the crab cake dinner and I had a flat Iron steak and crab cake. All was excellant.

Finally we went cacheing. One of the caches was the The Smallest Church in America, so the sign said. It was small!

Oh! While visiting Jekyll Island and the beach, we noticed dark clouds to the west and south of us. No other clouds anywhere! We figured it was the fires that were in Waycross and Florida. They are still burning!

On to Charleston, SC.

April 30, 2007

Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia Bound!

We left Rockport on a cloudy day, with threatening rain. About half way to Beaumont it began to sprinkle, but soon stopped and turned partly cloudy. We stopped at Gulf Coast Rv, just outside of Beaumont. That night we had severe storm warnings issued. Most of the storms that hit Dallas went north of us.

We arrived at Jim and Jane Hebert's early Saturday afternoon. They live in Grand Coteau, La. A historic town, very small. Jim and Jane were very gracious hosts and we learned quite a bit about their Arcadian heritage and their families. In fact before we left I had done some genealogical research for Jane and found some new info for her.

We visited Avery Island. Home of Tabasco. We toured the factory and then went on a driving tour of the Island. The owner of the area, set aside an area for endangered egrets to breed. What a sight to see thousands of Egrets nesting along with the new hatched chicks.

Another trip we took was to St. Martinsville, and the Arcadian Museum and monument. The story of the Arcadians is quite interesting and at times your heart goes out to those that had to leave Nova Scotia, sometimes being separated from family members.

Jim and Jane both speak French. It was interesting to watch Jim when he heard someone speak French. If you know Jim, then you know he couldn't resist talking to that person! ( Jim désolé ! J'ai eu à dire cette histoire.) I hope that was translated properly!!!

It was soon to press on. We left Jim and Jane and headed to Foley Alabama. Stopping on the way in MS for the night. The park looked like a camp for Katrina victims!

 We have been trying to stay at Gulf Breeze in Gulf Shores, for the last couple of years. But it was not to be this time either. First it was the hurricanes, but this time it was spring break! We thought that was done with, but not in this area. So we found a new RV park, just south of Foley AL. called Anchors Aweigh. What a wonderful park! Clean, concrete pads and patio and friendly folks. We stayed here 10 days, exploring the area.

One thing we quickly learned about the beaches.... they are not dog friendly! We did find a beach, that was deserted, and the sign was laying in the sand, that said no pets. So we took Brody to the beach. the sand here is white. A dazzling white.

As were were driving around we went close to the Gulf, where all the houses were and saw a lot of fantastic homes. $$$$$ all were on stilts. We did find a few with damage and a lot with new steel roofs.

One night we went to Orange Beach to catch a Dolphin Cruise. Reasonable in price and on an old Navy Transport ship. Our Captain guaranteed we would see dolphins, and we did. All in the bay. We would look for shrimpers and following the net would be dolphins. The dolphins would some how bite into the net, without being caught or tearing the net to get at the shrimp and the fish. After the shrimper had pulled his nets, the Captain would run ahead of the dolphins and speed up creating a wake. The dolphins would then begin following us, jumping through the wake, rolling, swimming upside down, just behind the ship. We even got the opportunity to see a mom and baby dolphin. The baby was about 4 ft long.

Seems like the storms were following us, just like many of our friends when they were going home! While in Foley, we had severe thunderstorm and tornado watches. A tornado was sighted north of us about 15 miles. We had the computer on,the weather radio on and my phone next to our bed, all for the weather warnings. However most of the storms again went north of us.

As we were close to Pensicola FL., we decided to visit the Naval Aviation Museum. An awesome place. We even got to watch a Change of Command ceremony. After that ceremony was a graduation ceremony, and several received their wings. Loretta had the opportunity to assist the former commanders wife, while in the restroom. She got to hold their 7 month old baby!!! This was after we had been looking at all the displays and were getting ready to leave.

The area is rich with Civil War history. Fort Morgan was the location of the Battle for Mobile Bay. There also is a ferry from this location that takes you to Daphen Island. We took the ferry over and did a driving tour of the island. Not very big! However a lot of homes are on the west end. Some were damaged in Hurricane Ivan, as was evident by poles sticking out of the sand, but no house.

We left for Dothan Alabama on Sunday and arrived at Pecan Point Rv park in time to see the last 90 laps of the race. Dothan is the Peanut capital. Peanut items all over the place. Some important folks. G.W. Carver. He was involved with a lot of discoveries concerning peanuts. We also saw the worlds smallest city block. It is in the Guinness book of world records. So much for our visit to Dothan.

Tomorrow we will head to Columbus, GA. we will try to visit the Lunch Box Museum, Warm Springs, and The Little White House, which is FDR's house in Ga. Then it is on to the Plains Ga. area to see Jimmy Carter Historical site and Andersonville, a civil war site.

So until the next post, y'awl have a good summer and keep in touch.

April 11, 2007 

Easter weekend arrived with cold weather and rain!!! It was actually the coldest day we had on the Saturday before Easter. It was cool and rainy all day. Easter Sunday was somewhat better.

Monday morning we left Kerrville at about 9:30 am. It was overcast, a little warmer and not raining. Our destination Rockport, Texas. We arrived at 3:00 pm at the Lagoons. It is a very nice park, not on the water, however it is only a mile or so to the bay.

Tuesday we went for a ride along the bay and explored around Rockport, rested in the afternoon. We decided to extend our stay to Friday am, as we wanted to go on a Whooping Crane boat tour on Wednesday AM and to see the USS Lexington on Thursday.

Our Whooping Crane tour was excellent, although we almost did not get up in time to go! I had set my phone to go off at 6am, however I did not set which day! Fortunately I woke up at 6:30 and we made it to the boat in time. As we left the harbor, we spotted dolphins! Then after a short ride, we began to see lots of different shore birds. Egrets, Great Blue Herons, different Terns and Gulls, Flycatchers, Pelicans, a Peregrine Falcon and of course Vultures.

A few minutes later we spotted 3 Whooping Cranes. There are 275 Cranes here at the present time. We spent at least a half hour watching them. Later we saw a few more as well as Rosette Spoonbills and a Heron Rookery. All in all it was a very good trip and the weather was perfect.

Tomorrow we head to Corpus Christi, to tour the USS Lexington. Until later, keep in touch.

April 4, 2007 

The time has come for us to pull up stakes and move on. Many of our friends have now left. Only a couple "Winter Texans" are left. It is quite different now. No activities, no folks to talk to, or play games with. It is like we have become empty nesters again.

We were to leave on the 2nd, however we decided to extend our stay thru Easter to attend church here, at a church we were familiar with.

The weather has been rainy and stormy for the last few days, then some nice days. The birds are singing, the trees have burst forth with their leaves and the blue bonnets have arrived. We went for a ride a few days ago looking for the blue bonnets. We went toward Harper, then to Doss and on to Mason. We found blue bonnets and Indian paint brush blooming along side of most of the roads. The picture above shows Brody in a field of blue bonnets.

About a week ago, I had the oil and filters changed in the engine and the generator. I also had the motor home weighed. We had not really weighed the motor home fully loaded, so we were anticipating being over weight. I even joked we would have a yard sale after the weighing! We were in for a pleasant surprise! We were 1390#s under our maximum and we were fairly balanced right to left. Now that I had the weight for each axle, I could calculate the amount of air pressure I should be using. 100#s was the figure, exactly what I was putting in the tires. So we have been traveling safe as far as the weight and tires were concerned.

This week we began getting the motor home ready to travel. But first a few repairs were needed. The water heater was not igniting properly and after doing some reading, I determined that the problem rested with the computer control panel on the water heat. A local rv parts dealer had the new part and lets say it wasn't cheap! Next was the problem I have been having with the electrical connection between the car and the motor home. Each time I had the car hooked up and turned on the motor home headlights, a fuse would blow. I did have a fuse that would reset., so after a few minutes it would reset. I had bought a new connection cable and put that on and that seemed to solve the problem, at least sitting still!

We will be heading for Rockport, Tx. on the Gulf Coast for a few days to do some birding and some sight seeing. Then on to Lafayette, La. to visit a few days with friends. Then it is on to Gulf Shores, Alabama and then we will head toward Savanna, GA.

We will miss our "Winter Texan" friends, just as we miss our family and friends in different areas. We will be having a GRRVR reunion, October 1-4th at E.T. Mahoney SP near Omaha, Nebraska. So we can renew our friendship and spend a few days catching up and telling stories.

Have a safe and enjoyable spring and remember our Christ, by attending the church of your choice on Easter.

March 3, 2007

I would like to say I have been too busy to update the blog. We have been busy, but I just have been lazy and not got it done.

January and most of February have been cold and rainy. We even had a snow and ice storm that closed the Interstate and most everything in town. We went out to eat with some friends, and only one restaurant was open. Even the fast food places were closed!

Toward the end of February it began to warm up and we have been in the high 60's low seventies ever since. It even got to 88 a couple of days ago!.

So much has happened in the last 2 months. We lost our friend Sherry to cancer. We really did not lose her as we know she is with our Lord. She was a strong and brave lady and battled this cancer with everything she had and with a great attitude, never giving up. We love you Sherry and miss you a lot.

We have not done a lot of traveling around the