Fulltime RV

August and part of September 2011

Peg — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:37:53 GMT

August started off with a fun day at the North Charleston Waterpark with our daughter and grandchildren. What a fun day that is floating around on a tube or the huge wave pool knocking you over. We had a wonderful day enjoying the water and heat.

This month Julia, our 7 year old granddaughter, had a special sleepover with us and then we had a girl's day. We went shopping, out to lunch and then to a movie. It was special and I think she enjoyed it as much as I did. LOL.

One night we went out to dinner at Poogan's Porch in downtown Charleston with friends. What a wonderful dinner we had - the food was out of this world - we all cleared our plates enjoying every bite.

Most of the month was spent on the boat crusing Charleston's waterways, watching the grandchildren tube or just enjoying floating while reading a good book. We also enjoyed the beach at Isle of Palms with warm water and warm sunshine.

On the 24th we were blessed again with our 6th grandchild. Amanda and Tim had a new son whom they named Elijah. He is just darling and was welcomed by his parents and brother Joshua and sister Gracie. We can hardly wait to fly out and meet him in October.

On the 27th we checked into Marriott Surfwatch, our timeshare in Hilton Head, SC, for two wonderful weeks. Most of the time was spent on the beach enjoying the water, sunshine, reading, walking, drinking, and just spending alone time with hubby.

On the 29th I woke with problems seeing. It really scared me but I tried to stay calm - the sunlight really bothered me so spent the day staying inside. By nighttime it still hurt so Tim took me to the emergency room only to learn I had an infection. They gave me some medicine and in a few days I was back to my old self.

Our daughter and family spent Labor Day at the beach with us. Our oldest granddaughter got stung by a jellyfish - they were really bad that weekend.

Our two weeks were just wonderful and feel so lucky to be able to enjoy our stay so much.

July 2011

Peg — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:19:54 GMT

On July 1st we left the Columbia area and headed to Charleston, So Carolina. We got set up in our site and then headed to Lighthouse Church to see our 7 year old granddaughter perform in a musical "Everday Heroes." She went to camp for a week at the church and it was amazing what they accomplished. After the play we went to Sonic and all had an ice cream sundae. Yummy!

What a wonderful idea this distillery has. They open the distillery grounds for free, have lunch trucks come in to sell food, ice cream and soft drinks, hire a band to play all afternoon - everyone brings lawn chairs and enjoys the day. The distillery sells firefly, which is a flavored tea vodka and they do have a tasting room where they charge. It brings lots of people to the property but yet they make lots of money on tours and tastings. It was located on Wadmalaw Island which is about 30 miles from Charleston. We enjoyed the food, company, and wonderful music.

The 4th of July we celebrated in the morning by going boating with our daughter's family and her in-laws. The weather was just perfect and we had fun - even stopped and swam for awhile. Back at the marina we had lunch and the girls went on the waterslides. Back home for showers and rest and at night went to a couples home on Sullivan Island for dinner and then fireworks on the beach. What a wonderful way to celebrate a holiday.

Makenzie, my four year old granddaughter, and I had a nice day out alone. We went to the Children's Museum first and she enjoyed playing and painting. Next we hit Target for a special toy that she picked out and then out for a nice lunch. She is such a job to be with but then again I say that about all my grandchildren. I think they bring out the best in us, don't you?

On the 8th of July we left Charleston with our 12 year old granddaughter Emily for some summer fun. We arrived at the Rutledge Lake Rv Park in Fletcher, North Carolina and had a time getting parked. Nice campground but narrow streets and people park on them so lots of tries before we got parked. Emily and I went over to the swimming pool and as soon as she got in the water it started to pour. She just laughed and smiled as usual.

Our excitement for the trip was going whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River. We checked into the Rolling Thunder River Company in Bryson City and were outfitted for our adventure. I got alittle scared and do not believe I would have done it but Emily really wanted to so chicken grandmom went. Tim, Emily and I all loved it, we were in a raft with 2 other guys and a guide. The water is freezing even in July being only 45, you sure did not want to fall in. It was an adventure and I did something new. Thanks Emily for pushing Grandmom to do something different.

Hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Craggy Pinnacle Trail was pretty cool also. When you reach the top you are suppose to have a 360 degree view but we saw nothing - the fog was just too thick. It was great exercise and gave Emily a feel for hiking. Our next hike was climbing up Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains. It has an elevation of 6684 feet which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. The average temp in July is 68 for the high and 53 for the low. The state park covers 1946 acres and was a refreshing stop.

We drove into Hendersonville to check out the Mast General Store. Their original store opened in 1883 and carried everything from cradles to caskets back then. Today they carry alot of different things, lots of old fashioned toys, all kinds of penny candy that we loved as kids, shoes, clothing, tents, sleeping bags etc. It was fun to look around and Emily was delighted to find gifts for her family.

We walked around town checking out different stores and Tim trying to remember where his school was. He went to a private high school back in 1960 - 1962 time frame. We found out the school no longer is here - now a shopping mall sits on the property.

If you ever want to see how the wealthy live stop in at the Biltmore. As a bachelor George Vanderbilt built this 250 room home on 8000 acres. Three years later he married and they had one child. The home has 101 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms. His library had over 23000 volumes - do you think he liked to read? Would you want to clean this house - today they have 1800 employees to keep up all the work. Yikes. My 300 sq foot home sure was small when we went home. LOL.
We had a nice lunch in the building that used to be the stables. They still have the stalls with tables in them to enjoy lunch. We shopped the shops and then went over to the gardens. Just beautiful but so hot we did not stay too long. I think I would like to go here in the fall or early spring when the temp is cooler to enjoy the grounds. All in all it was a nice day.

It was wonderful spending this alone time with our granddaughter - she is such a delight to be with - so lucky to have her in our lives.

We traveled back to Charleston and bought a 2005 Hurricane boat with Susan and Jerry. We all fell in love with it and it brought us many happy times for the month of July. Between the boat and the beach we enjoyed the remainder of July.

Travel to North Carolina/South Carolina June 2011

Peg — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:30:08 GMT

On June 1st Tim and I left Goose Creek and headed north on the back roads to tour North Carolina for a month. Our first stop would be Onslow Beach Recreation Area on Camp Lejeune for 10 days. What a wonderful 10 days it was. Every morning we walked at least 2 miles on the beach enjoying the fresh air and getting our exercise at the same time.

The campground has full hookups with a large cover over the picnic table but large enough to put chairs and be in the shade. We spent every day at the beach and enjoyed the surf greatly. One day the wind was blowing so hard that sand was blowing everywhere so we left after an hour. That day we went shopping and enjoyed touring the base. The base is huge as it occupies 246 square miles with 14 miles of beach. The only bad part about being here we never toured the area as we enjoyed the water and beach too much. LOL

While at Camp Lejeune we celebrated Tim's birthday. Happy Birthday honey.

Our next stop was Smith Lake Army Travel Campground on Fort Bragg. This is a nice campground with full hookups, showers, cabins, tenting sites, tables, campfire rings, lake, fishing, boating and hiking. A tornado had gone thru here in April and destroyed alot of trees, homes, dropped trees into the lakes so it was not as pretty as it could have been. We did enjoy our stay and the only complaint I had was the laundry is in the office and closes at 5pm. We found a laundry on base though so got all of that done in one afternoon.

Fort Bragg covers 251 square miles and was established in 1918 as a field artillery site. In 1934 the airborne tradition began with the first parachute jump using an artillery observation balloon as a platform. In 1952 it became home to the Army's Special Forces known as the Green Berets. The Golden Knights, the Army's Parachute Team, are also stationed here. It is one of the largest military complexes in the world because of personal stationed here.

We did alot of hiking while here each day early in the morning before it got to hot. It was wonderful walking in the woods listening to the birds chirp and seeing so many pine trees.

One day we toured Cape Fear Botanical Gardens in Fayetteville. They are located on 79 acres where Cross Creek meets the Cape Fear River. They have a beautiful Visitors Complex, children's gardens, butterfly stoll, friendship garden, camellia garden, daylily garden, conifer garden, shade garden, rain garden, and a hosta garden. My favorite part was the hosta garden as I loved hostas - had loads of them in our yard when we owned our home. Another part I loved was they had old buildings with flowers growing in the yards to look like a neighbor. Really cool place.

We toured the Fayetteville Transportation Museum where they had exhibs and artifacts of transporation from days gone by. It was very interesting and all free. While here a lady thanked me for letting my hubby serve in the military. In the last few years alot of people have thanked him for his service but never me. Maybe the next time I see a military spouse I will thank her for her sacrifices.

If you are ever in Fayetteville, North Carolina please stop in at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Admission is free - only the movie and simulator cost money. What a wonderful museum as the exhibits start in 1940 and go thru all the wars right up to present day. It is a museum which will not bore anyone as the displays are so interesting and imformative.

They have a wonderful movie called "Descending From the Clouds" which is well worth the time and cost. The motion simulator was wonderful as you felt like you were flying a helicopter, skiing down hills, jumping out of the helicopter etc. It sure gave you a feel for what the special ops training is like.

We totally enjoyed this area and will return again someday. Our next stop was Weston Lake Recreation Area and RV Park located on Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Fort Jackson is the largest and most active inital entry training center for the Army. It sits on 52000 acres which gives the army plenty of room to train. The base was founded in 1917.

The campground was just wonderful, full hookups, tables, campfires, showers, lake, swimming, fishing and boating. This was one of our best stops as we saw so much and enjoyed our selves greatly.

One night we had a nice dinner with fellow campers from Arizona which we totaly enjoyed. Real nice couple and wonderful food and conversation.

We went to South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum one afternoon. It shows the history of the military from the Revolutionary War to present in South Carolina. They had loads of civil war flags which were fun to look at but on a scale of 1 to 10 we would rate this about a 3. Kind of boring but it could be because we have been to so many museums. After we left the museum we stopped at the State Capitol which sits on 18 acres in the heart of Columbia. Construction of the capitol or state house as they call it started in 1855. In 1865 General Sherman's cannons shelled the walls of the unfinished capitol. Today 6 bronze stars mark the impact of the shells. It was finally completed in 1907 and is a beautiful building. We were able to tour the inside but not the chambers as the house was in session. Very impressive.

The grounds are just beautiful with loads of trees, flowers and monuments galore. Wonderful stop.

We drove to Camden to tour the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. The battle of Camden was the worst American defeat during the revolutionary war. This site shows how an 18th century town looked like. We paid extra to get a tour of the Kershaw house which is a replica of the original home. This house served as post headquarters during the British occupation in 1780. During the civil war in 1865 it served as a storehouse for the Confederacy. It was burned to the ground in 1865 when Federal troops came thru Camden. It was a very enjoyable day. We had lunch downtown Camden in a restaurant which was very popular with the locals. Wonderful food.

Sunday we took a ride to Lake Murray which was constructed in the 1930's as a hydro electric generating facility. It is 41 miles long and 14 miles wide and covers an area of 78 square miles with 649 miles of shoreline. As Tim and I found out most of the shoreline is private property so very few places to see the water. We had a wonderful lunch at Rusty Anchor Restaurant at the Lighthouse Marina. This sat right on the water and was very pretty.

Congaree National Park was another wonderful stop. The park is the tallest deciduous forest on the planet and is home to several champion trees. The park was established inn 1976 and is so different from any park we have been too. We hiked 4.4 miles enjoying the wonders of this place. We even got to see barred owls and heard their call which is a series of 8 accented hoots. Worth coming back to this place to enjoy nature. It is home to the largest old growth floodplain forest in North America.

The Governor's Green is a 9 acre comples consisting of the Governor's Mansion built in 1855, the Lace House which was built in 1854 and the Caldwell-Boleston House which was built in 1830. We did not have reservations so we were unable to tour the homes but it is quite a pretty setting.

One of the best museums in the country is located in Columbia and is the State Museum of South Carolina. It is a comprehensive museum with extensive exhibits in the disciplines of art, science and technology, cultural history and natural history. In one stop it encompasses all that South Carolina was, is and can be. We totally spent hours looking at everything. I would go back here in a second.

Columbia also has a beautiful river walk which we did one day. It was neat to see people putting tubes in the water and drifting away. Our only complait was the heat - much too hot to be walking in the sunshine.

A wonderful month

May 2011

Peg — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:53:26 GMT

I have been alful about doing the blog - seems the more time I allow to go bye the harder it is. I will try to capture what we have done that was fun and interesting this summer.

On May 6th we picked up the camper and headed north stopping at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base for the weekend. We both like this campground as it has everything you need - even a free laundry. We had a nice relaxing weekend and got ready to leave Monday morning and realized something was wrong with the camper. Back to Ocala for repairs and also to get the window installed. On the 12th of May we were finally ready to head north and arrived in Charleston on the same day. Checked into Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek and got set up. We will be here a couple of weeks to visit doctors and children. On the 15th all 3 granddaughters were in a dance recital and must say they all did a wonderful job. I love watching them perform and see how they have improved over the years. It was 2 years ago that we watched them so alot changed in that time period.

While in Charleston area we celebrated Emily's 12th birthday and Julia's 7th birthday. Are they getting older or is it just me - wow I feel old now. I remember my children being that age and all the wonderful memories of them. Time sure flies when your having fun.

During this time frame we also went out on the boat with Susan and family and so enjoyed that. Charleston has so much water with islands galore to explore. What fun that has been.

One day we even had dinner sitting on the beach for a different experience. The weather is just beautiful to enjoy being outside most of the day and evening.

We also got to visit with friends and that wraps up another month in our lives. We stay busy most of the time going places, shopping, laundry, cleaning, taking rides, boat riding, hiking and of course reading. Our lives seem to be filled with all kinds of pleasures and we thank the Lord each day for such a blessed life.

April 2011

Peg — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:39:28 GMT

Well in the last post failed to mention that we were suppose to change our site on March 28th and got everything stowed and realized the slide on the curb side would not come in. After trying several times with lots of people trying to push it in we decided it was not going to budge. We called a mobile repair guy whom came out in the pouring rain and realized that one of the bolts broke off. He said he would find a new one and return the next day. The next day bright and early he showed up - replaced the bolt and the slide moved like a charm. $190 later we were happy campers.

On April 4th we left Charleston and headed south stopping at the rest area in Florida for lunch. We arrived in Ocala, Florida and checked into Santos Campground which is part of the Green Ways Trails in Florida. The campground is small but very neat with water and electric sites. We picked this campground as it is really close to the rv dealer whom will be fixing our camper later this month.

Tueday morning we woke to pouring rain so we just read for awhile and then decided to check out Ocala. This area is known as the Horse Capital of the world with the highest number of horses and virtually every brand of horse. While in this area it is hard to believe you are in Florida as it as rolling hills and so green.

We had the camper checked out on Wednesday morning so they could order what parts we would need to get it fixed. Our camper will finally have the new window plus fixing all the damage from the blow out. We will be back in two weeks to have this work accomplished.

Our next stop was MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. We love this area as we get to see my sister and brother-in-law plus it is on the beach. While here we attended our neice's wedding in Clearwater Beach right on the beach. It was an elegant wedding and then we attended a nice reception right at the beach. The sun was shining and the heat was pretty high but still a beautiful day. Thanks Jen and Howard for letting us share in your special day.

While in the area we enjoyed the beach, walks, rides, shopping and visiting with family. Spent two wonderful weeks there and then headed back to Ocala to drop off the camper. While it is being fixed we checked into Celebration World Resort located in Orlando, Florida. This timeshare had a beautiful pool but nothing else - couldn't even take a long walk as they are putting in pipes along the road which made it quite dangerous. At least it was clean plus we had a washer and dryer which made me a happy mama.

Easter Sunday fell on April 24th and we attended a sunrise service at Sea World. It was a beautiful service with a spectular sunrise as we were listening to the sermon. What a wonderful crowd to celebrate Easter with Chris Sligh from season 6 of American Idol leading us in song . We went to Panera Bread for a bagel and a good cup of coffee after the service. Later in the day we took a ride downtown Kissimmee and then around the lake - stopped for pizza as Tim was having the urge for it. It was very good and filled our bellies.

One day we took a ride to the town of Mount Dora. My sister and brother-in-law had told us about this town and we decided to check it out. Whatat a fablous little town. We walked around peeking into many shops and then had a wonderful lunch where the locals eat at a place called One Flight Up. You actually had to walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor. What wonderful food and got to sit outside on the porch. We walked down to the lake and enjoyed the quiet and beauty of the water. On the way back to the condo we stopped at Lake Louisa State Park located in Clermont, Florida. This is a wonderful park with a nice campground, swimming, fishing, boating, 6 lakes, 2 streams, 4500 acres and 23 miles of trails. It is a fairly new state park being purchased in 1973 and opened in 1977. We enjoyed our stop and hope to return some day.

Another day we visited the Ochid Place which was up the street from the condo. Some of the flowers were just beautiful but on a whole quite run down. The visit was free and Tim and I both agreed if they charged they could fix up the building. It could turn into a gold mine. They ship all over the world so alot must happen behind the scenes.

We also took a ride to Largo to visit with my sister Ann and her hubby. We went out to lunch and really enjoyed being with them again.

On the 29th we checked out of the condo and checked into Vacation Village at Parkway. We had a wonderful condo on the 6th floor with a nice balcony which we love. This timeshare had a beautiful pool, nature walk, activities, basketball, shuffleboard, playgrounds, horseshoes, fitness center, shuttle bus, grills and a place that sold food at the pool. We were very pleased with the timeshare. Again our own washer and dryer - see how little things thrill me. LOL

We took a ride to Disney World Fort Wilderness Campground to check out the place for our visit in September. Makenzie, our granddaughter, will turn 5 and we do something special with our grandchildren on their 5th birthday. We just fell in love with the place. So looking forward to our visit.

A visit to Celebration was another experience. This is a planned community developed by Walt Disney Company in 1996. It has schools, parks, housing, shops, offices, restaurants, etc. We enjoyed walking around and even checked out a few stores. It really is a very pretty town and well kept. The stores were alittle pricey so we just looked but totally enjoyed our day.

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales was another stop. In the early 1920's Author Edward W Bok commissioned artisans to create a stunning landscape garden with a 205 foot 60 bell carillon tower. The carillon tower plays beautiful music so we sat on a bench and closed our eyes and just listened to the wonderful sounds. They play a different song every 30 minutes. We walked on the trails, visited the visitor center and historical museum and really enjoyed this visit. We had a wonderful lunch at the Blue Palmetto Cafe. Another wonderful day.

We found the following card which I really liked. It said
"The Gift of God is Eternal - The Wages of Sin is Death - You may tie your shoestrings in the morning, but the undertaker may untie them before night. Are you ready to meet your maker?" This really gets you thinking, doesn't it?

On May 4th was our daughter Susan's Birthday so we called and wished her a happy birthday. No matter how many years pass you remember the day you delivered your baby. I have such fond memories of that day etched in my mind. I have been so blessed with two beautiful daughters, 2 wonderful son-in-laws and 5 wonderful grandchildren. Thank you Lord.

One night we went to Landry's Seafood Restaurant and I had a wonderful dinner of lobster and Tim had scallops. What wonderful food - yummy. Think this is my favorite restaurant in the Orlando area.

On the 6th we checked out of the timeshare and headed to Ocala to pick up our camper. More to come in next blog.

Charleston, SC March 2011

Peg — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:44:11 GMT

The month of March was spent at Goose Creek Naval Weapons Station, Goose Creek, SC to visit with family, friends and visit doctors.

One day we took Makenzie, our 4 year old granddaughter, to the Children's Museum in downtown Charleston. What a wonderful idea - they have things to do art projects, play on boats, grocery shop and actually pick out food and ring it up, water games etc. Makenzie really enjoyed herself. We then went for lunch and then Makenzie and I had our nails done. Grandpa passed on this part of our day - wonder why?

One weekend we had both Makenzie and Julia spend the night - they were so good. Grandpa slept on the blow up mattress while we all slept in our bed. Such good girls - in the morning we went for a nice hike in the woods which they loved. So enjoyed being with them.

One day we went to the Aquarium in downtown Charleston and enjoyed watching the fish, played in the playroom, watched the movie, had lunch and just had lots of fun with Makenzie. Her sisters are in school during the day so time alone with her which is nice for us all.

Julia had a special day with grandmom also - we went shopping at the mall - had lunch and just enjoyed being together. She fell in love with the Body And Bath Shop and had to have a bunch of things from there. She also found a book that se wanted - forget what else but we enjoyed ourselves.

We had a nice cookout at the campground with a bunch of people which was very enjoyable. Thanks so much to Darcy and Rich for inviting us to join them.

Tim went to the regular doctor, heart doctor and gastro doctor while here and good reports from them all. We even had bone density tests which went off well also.

One day Emily and I had a shopping trip - first we did lunch at Faz which she loves and then to the outlet mall. She got a bunch of tops and shorts which made her so happy - then we went for ice cream - had a wonderful day with a special young lady.

Watching Julia play soccer was another highlight of our time in Charleston. She is a very good player - really does well - guess she will take after her dad playing.

A visit with Lucille and Vinny and a wonderful dinner at a restaurant on the beach. I had lobster and it was out of this world - yummy. Enjoyed seeing you guys again and hope it will not be to long before we get together again.

On April 1st we drove to Columbia on Friday night and spent the night at the Marriott. We went out for a nice Italian dinner with Sue, Jerry, Julia and Makenzie. Saturday morning we attended Julia's gymnastics competion. She did really well and we were so proud of her. We then went to Charlotte to IKEA. Susan and Jerry bought a new desk for their office and we needed to put it in our truck for the ride home. I love that store and we had a wonderful lunch of Swedish Meatballs. They are pretty good, not as good as mom used to make though.

Sunday April 3rd we celebrated Jerry's birthday and said our goodbyes. Tommorow morning we leave for Flordia - stay tuned.

On the Road Again - February 2011

Peg — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:22:22 GMT

On February 1st we left Alameda Fairgrounds around 9:15 am and headed east. The ride was so much prettier as all the hills are green - not that dead looking brown. I just love seeing the cows on the sides of those huge hills chewing their cuds. Being on the road again gives us the opportunties to see new places, meet new people and discover new things. The night before we had said our goodbyes to our family in Pleasanton which is always hard to do We enjoyed our time here but so ready to move on.

Once we exited off I-575 we were in new territory which made the ride very enjoyable. On the way we saw where so much of our fruit, vegetables and nuts are grown. This area is known for grapes, pomegranates, pistachios, and figs. We stopped around 1 at "High Sierra Rv and Mobile Park in Oakhurst, California. They offer full hookups, clubhouse, cable, wi-fi, tables, fire rings, dump station, and a river for swimming and fishing.   Our site was on the Fresno River with a waterfall which was so pretty. We received a nice discounts because we are Escapees Members. This campground is really close to Yosemite National Park which we will explore tommorow.

The next morning we had to go to the auto parts store and buy chains for the truck before entering Yosemite National Park. $85 later we had the chains in the back seat and headed towards the park. Because we have a senior pass for National Parks we got in for free - sometimes it pays to be old. LOL. Alot of the roads in the park are closed due to snow during the winter so this will have to be a mini view of the park and then revisit sometime in warmer weather. We were able to see the beautiful falls - Yosemite Falls which is 2425 foot drop, the Bridalveil Falls which is 620 feet but often the wind blows the falls sideways giving it the appearance of a brides veil. The Ribbon falls is the tallest single falls in North America. Looking at all the beautiful rock formations and seeing snow was the highlight of our day. Not one animal was seen - guess wrong time of the year. We had a nice lunch at the Lodge and rode the bus around the loop. We watched a movie and hiked to one of the falls thru ice and snow. It was a wonderful day and we enjoyed it greatly.

On the 3rd we took a ride to Bass Lake which is located in the Sierra National Forest. Drove all around the lake and enjoyed seeing the homes right on the water. We got a real good feel of the area and another enjoyable day.

Our next stop was Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, California. We have stayed at this nice campground before and again enjoyed our visit. While here we had trouble with our airbags on the hitch so had to wait until a new set was shipped and installed by Tim. We got to do laundry and also took a ride to Barstow, California to visit with Lamar, Tim's oldest brother. We took him to lunch at Coco's which was not every good and enjoyed our visit with him at the Veteran's Home.

Another two days we hit Disneyland. Disneyland opened in 1955 and I think I have wanted to see it since the Mickey Mouse Club back in the 1950's. It was quite an experience but I must admit that I like Disney World much better - bigger and more options. The first day we did the Disneyland Park and rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Innoventions, Pinocchio's Daring Journey and the Sailing Ship Columnbia.   We had lunch at the Carnation Cafe which had excellent food. We then treated ourselves to an afternoon snack at the Blue Ribbon Bakery. Fun day.

The next day we went back to Disneyland and did The California Adventure Park. We had fun doing so many enjoyable rides including California Screamin, Animation Academy, Disney Aladdin, Games of the Boardwalk, Golden Zephyr, Its Tough To Be a Bug, Monsters Inc, Soarin Over California and Toy Story Mania. We enjoyed lunch at Wine Country Trattoria enjoying Italian food. Another beautiful day.

We went to the South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa, California. Oh my what a wonderful mall. Has every store you can imagine especially the high end stores. A few of them even had guards at the doors. We enjoyed walking around and looking but the only things we bought were in the Kitchen Store. Nice to live in a small house - cannot be tempted to buy alot.

Our youngest daughter had a birthday on the 8th of February - I cannot believe my baby is 35 - wow that makes me old. We did receive good news that they are having another child in August. So happy for them.

On the 11th we pulled out of the Navy Weapons Station in Seal Beach at 8 am to start our journey east. As we started our journey we hit quite abit of traffic - this is norm for California as they have alot of traffic during the day and night.

Off in the distance you could see snow on the mountain tops while we were in 55 degree weather. Also as you look at the mountains you can begin to understand mud slides in this area. Some of those homes just don't belong on the sides of the mountains. Another thing that amazes me about California is the old school buses. They look like the ones we had back in the 1950's - I remember my dad driving one in the afternoons back then. Back then if the kids misbehaved you could throw them off the bus. Imagine doing that today????

The speed limit most places is 65 except for trucks and behicles towing it is 55. I must say you get to see much more when going slower.

We stopped in Chiriaco Summit to fuel up the truck and total shock with the price at $4.269. Yikes. They also had a General Paton Museum - we had toured one at Fort Knox so not sure what this one was.

We stopped at a nice rest area and enjoyed our lunch. We were both totally amazed going thru Quartsite, Arizonia and seeing all the rv's just parked out in the desert. They can park out here with no hookups for free and so many stay all winter. This is really not for us as we enjoy our comforts much to much.

We stopped in Tonopah, Arizonia and fueled up for $3.549 which was much better. Down the road was the campground Saddle Mountain RV Park. It is an Escapee Park so we got a nice discount. This campground is in the Sonora Desert and has 342 full hookups, pull thrus, Laundry, activities, tennis, basketball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, putting green and a pool. We spent only one night here - would stop again.

As we were driving down I-10 we saw a sign for Chiricahua National Monument in Willcox, Arizonia. We both looked at each other and said lets go see. It was 37 miles off I-10 but well worth the ride. When we reached the park the ranger told us we could not take the camper any further - but to drop it and take a ride up the mountain. We decided to go for it and so happy we did.

It is an 8 mile scenic drive. the Chiricahua Mountain Range is an inactive volcanic range 20 miles wide and 40 miles long. The park covers over 11,985 acres and the Apaches called this place "The Land of Standing Up Rocks". The monument was created in 1924 to preserve this beautiful area. It truly is a wonderland of rocks. There is also a ranch called the Faraway Ranch built by Swedish Immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson in 1888. It remained a guest ranch until 1973 when it became part of the national monument.   It was a very interesting stop and so different than most places we see.

We stayed at the Fort Willcox Rv Park in Willcox Arizonia for the night. Full hookups, discount for passport america so we were pleased.

Sunday morning we hit the road again around 8 am and headed east. We crossed the Continental Divide around 10 am. Driving thru New Mexico they have signs all over the highway saying Desert Storms may exist - do not stop in travel lanes. Guess people need to be reminded about common sense. LOL. Just outside Deming, New Mexico we had a tire blow out on the drivers side of the camper. Yikes it took out alot of the trim work. Thank Goodness for the road service we have as they came out and changed the tire for us. We then followed him back to the garage and had to buy another tire for over $200.    We stopped for lunch and headed towards Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Today was a hard day - we had the blow out - our oldest daughter is having problems with her feet and could not race in the New Orleans event and our youngest is pregant and was bleeding and had to go to the hospital. Very stressful day.

Our stay at Fort Bliss in El Paso was pretty relaxing. We did go to Home Depot and buy some tape to patch up the damaged area of the camper from the blowout. A repair man was in the park and looked at it but it will take over 2 weeks to get the parts so we will have it fixed at a later date. Fort Bliss has a beautiful mall right on base - while here I had my hair cut, stocked up on wine and got laundry done. We have been to this area before so no sightseeing this time.

On Feb 16th we pulled out of Fort Bliss at 8 am and headed south stopping for the night in Ozona, Texas at the Circle Bar Rv Park for $27 a night. Okay stop but as we have said before once we go inside and close the door we can forget about the outside world - our own bed, chairs, tv and of course computers.

Driving all day our next stop was Corpus Christi Naval Air Station at the Shields Park Naval Air Station Recreation Area. This campground sits right on the bay with beautiful views. Full hookup site for $15 a nite but we could only stay one night. The wind was whipping so we did not get our walk in today but did enjoy looking out the window at the water. The military sure has some of the best real estate in this country and we are so thankful that we are able to use these benefits now.

We took the toll road around Houston which cost us $18 which we thought was pretty pricey but we avoided alot of traffic.

The campground we ad picked for the night looked horrid from the road but luck was on our side. About a block away was Gulf Coast Rv Resort in Beaumont Texas for $17 a night for full hookups. This campground was so reasonable because it was in the Passport America Family which we belong too. Passport America parks are membership parks so you pay 1/2 price for a site which is quite a deal. Real nice campground and we really enjoyed our stay. Our only complaint was we sunk into mud 1/2 way up our tires as the ground was so soft because of all the rain. Of course this is not the campgrounds fault - mother nature is to blame. LOL. We stayed two nights and were able to see alot that Beaumont had to offer.

Saturday morning we headed to Beaumont Botanical Gardens. What a wonderful place to visit - the Horticultural Center had a collection of botanical artwork and the Warren Loose Conservatory had a collection of lush tropical plants from around the world. They also ad a native plant center, Japanese Gardens, Rose Gardens and a 9/11 Memorial Garden. This was just beautiful and they only ask for a donation.

Our next stop was downtown Beaumont to see the Fire Museum. Well downtown Beaumont is closed up on the weekends so we got to see only the Dalmatian spotted Fire Hydrant which is 24 feet tall and weights over 4500 lbs. It is made out of fiberglass and reinforced with steel. Kind of cool.

Next stop was St Anthony Cathedral Basilica which was built over 100 years ago. Also locked up as tight as a drum. Kind of sad that even churches keep their doors locked - I used to love to stop into the church
and just say alittle prayer or have a chat with our Lord - this world sure has changed.

As we were riding around we came across Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum located on Lamar University campus. They started drilling here in 1893 and finally it oil in 1901. It was a small community with a derrick, barber shop, log cabin, saloon, post office, dry goods store, oil exchange, print shop, drugstore, carriage works etc. It was very interesting but I think they forget how to dust - the dust was a few inches thick and smelt dirty. It was something completly different though so we enjoyed it.

The lady in the campground recommended a good seafood restaurant so we thought we would try it out. It was called the Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. As you entered they gave you a number and you sat out on the patio and listed to a live band play music. Then your number blinked on the screen and you were seated for the best seafood dinner ever. Highly recommend this place - our meals were outstanding. It is a good thing we are leaving the area tommorow or I would be tempted to go back - lol.

We left Beaumont, Texas around 9:15 am and headed east on I-10. If you follow I-10 across the state of Texas it is 880 miles long in just one state. Being from little Connecticut this blows my mind. We could cross our state back and forth in one day easy - even stop along the way.

We stopped along the way at a Target parking lot and had lunch - nice to have your kitchen with you. We took a bridge over the swamp in La which was 18 miles long - it amazes me how they build these things. We stopped for one night at Jellystone Park in Robert, La and paid only $16.65 for a night with full hookups. It is off season still so low prices. Really nice campground with lots of things to do - had a nice walk around the grounds and a wonderful chat with the girl in the store about camping.

On the 21st of Feb we arrived in Panama Beach, Florida and pulled into a site next to Jeff, Tim's younger brother. It was great seeing him again and that night we had dinner with Jim, Annie and Jeff. Very enjoyable food and company.

While here I saw a road called MOYLAN Road - had to laugh as this was my maiden name - wonder where that came from?????

We spent 3 nights here relaxing, stocking up on food, enjoying our company and best of all our free campsite. Thanks Jeff.

Hitting the road again we took the back roads to be able to enjoy what this country has to offer. The interstates are nice for a quick trip but you see nothing that each state has to offer - they all look the same from the highways. Highway 98 east thru Tydell Air Force Base, Mexico Beach, Port St Joe, etc. We saw a sign that said "Fish at Social Security Prices". We ran into a minor problem with the truck - said we needed to add water to the battery - kind of weird but thankfully we had water - nice to have everything you need right with you at all times.

We stopped for the night at Southern Comfort Campground somewhere in Florida - little pricey for what you got but good overnight stop.

Left the next morning and headed south into Largo Florida to Lee's Travel Park. Pretty nice campground but our main reason for stopping here was to spend sometime with my sister Ann and brother-in-law Rich. This worked out perfect as they are about 5 minutes away so we were able to be together for dinner each night but still have our own time. We spent a week here and truly enjoyed every minute. One day we went down to Clearwater Beach and sat at a beach bar for a few drinks enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. Another day we hit the Flea Market, girls shopping day, tour of the area and just sitting around talking.

The last night I got so sick - spent half the night in the bathroom so the next day traveling was not to enjoyable - I was dead tired. Slept alot. We stopped for the night at Pecan Park Rv Resort in Jacksonville.

On March 5th we pulled into the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Stayed tuned

December 2010 and January 2011

Peg — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:09:00 GMT

This has been a very hard time trying to do a blog when you really do not do anything different each day. When you travel and see different things it is quite easy so that shall start in Feb.

The highlight this month was I flew to South Carolina for a week to see our daughter Susan, son-in-law Jerry and our beautiful 3 granddaughters. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed shopping with all 3 girls alone. It gave me great grandmom time which I love so. How I wish our children lived closer so I could see all the grandchildren more often. While in South Carolina we were able to do more Christmas shopping, play, enjoyed just spending time with them and enjoyed great dinner times. At dinner time they all tell about their day and it was interesting to hear school tales etc. Thanks Shallo's for a wonderful time.

Christmas was a special time for us also. We went to Amanda's (our daughter) and Tim's home on Christmas Eve. We attended a church service first then came back to their home for a great dinner. We enjoyed talking and spent the nite. Christmas morning we were up early to watch Gracie open her presents. She is just 15 months old so it was fun - she went from one thing to another. Santa was really good to her. Joshua enjoyed all his gifts also especially his paintball stuff. We had a wonderful dinner and really enjoyed our day. Thanks to the Vogels for a wonderful time.

New Year's Eve we were suppose to go back to the Vogel's but Amanda was not feeling well so we just stayed home and enjoyed time alone with Josh. We watched the ball drop in New York and enjoyed all the excitement.

Santa was also very good to me this year as he is most years. Gift certificates to Nordstrom's, Barnes and Noble, clothes, perfume, jewelry and new silverware. Thanks to my family for being so good.

Josh has continued to do really good with his school work and will be going back to school on the 24th of Jan. Home schooling is hard especially for a teenager - I think they need the interaction with other kids. He has impressed us with his cooking skills and we enjoyed sampling each item.

January was a cold month even here in California - I still wore a winter jacket but no snow. We did take a ride one day to Lake Tahoe to see the snow and just enjoyed the beauty of it all. The lake is huge and so pretty - now I need to see it in summer time. We also went to Squaw Valley - had lunch at the inn and watched the people come down those huge hills on skis. Wished I had learned to ski so many years ago as it looked like fun. I am too old now to try that - old bones would not like falling even in the snow.

We moved from Travis Air Force Base back to Pleasanton for our last two weeks in this area. This way we can spend more time with the kids before heading out.

Promise that starting Feb 1st our blogs will be more interesting as we travel across this wonderful coutry. Our first stop will be Yosemite National Park so stay tuned.

November, 2010

Peg — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:37:00 GMT

The month of November started with us volunteering again at the Senior Housing here in Pleasanton, California. I spent most of the days serving up food while Tim did dishes. He became a real master at dishwashing - said it brought back lots of memories from high school when he washed dishes to pay for schooling. I have really enjoyed the volunteering and meeting so many nice kids and adults.

We took a ride one day to Fry's Electronics which is a fun store to shop in. I believe it has everything you need for computers, tv's etc. I enjoy just looking around at that different things and watching the people. Some really serious computer geeks shop here! LOL

On the 9th of November we moved about 50 miles north to Travis Air Force Base which is in Fairfield, California. The Fam Camp is really nice with full hookups, table, patio, showers, and a nice laundry. The cost of $17 per nite is another wonderful benefit which we love. It surly helps the budget for the months we stay there. The fam camp has 72 sites and is across the street from the post office, exchange and commissary. I love this base because I can walk to so many things - shop plus get in some exercise.

One day we went to Ikea in West Sacramento and enjoyed our time just walking around and looking. Anyone that needs furniture on a budget would be luck in this store. We like to look as it has setups for small houses and gives us ideas to make our home more liveable.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day spent with Amanda, Tim, Josh, and Gracie. Amanda and Tim made a delicious dinner with turkey, dressing, potatoes, yummy sweet potatoes, corn and all the other dishes we love for the holidays. We even had Clam dip which brings back so many memories of my parents. Thanks guys for a wonderful day.

The day after Thanksgiving Tim and I took a ride to Napa and enjoyed looking around. We are the only ones I think that go to Napa and not drink abit of wine - lol. We stopped and had a really nice lunch and just enjoyed the scenery. Great day.

Josh spent alot of time with us this month but has been doing really well with school. He is able to maintain all A's and B's which makes us very pleased. He spends most weekends paintballing which he loves. We took him a few weeks and we enjoyed the different towns we went too. One day we were in Sacramento and another in Davis which turned out to be a very interesting town.

All in all the month went quickly - lots of shopping and walks - did lots of Christmas shopping and enjoyed that. Stay tuned for December.

Month of October 2010

Peg — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:02:00 GMT

This has definitly been a different month for us - we have volunteered and really enjoyed that experience.

The month started off with us volunteering at the "Panama Red Coffee Company Block Party which benefitied the Tri-Valley Haven. This organization helps domestic violence cases, sexual assaults victims and the homeless. They had a 5K race, kids activities, vendors, music, auctions, food, wine and beer. It was happening in Livermore, Calif and we became a part of this. At first we were part of the 5K race sponors. We stood at different locations directing trafffic while the race was run. after the race we found a job for Josh but nothing for us so we walked around Livermore enjoying the scenery and looking in stores. Josh was able to get 10 hours for this work towards his community service which made us all very happy. Tim and I enjoyed the experience and enjoyed working with Josh also.

On the 4th of October we started volunteering at the Open Heart Kitchen in Pleasanton, California three days a week. We were assigned different duties but mostly Tim doing dishes, Josh doing the salad bar, dishes and being a waiter and myself as a server which made we serve up plates for the seniors dinners. It become a wonderful experience for all of us - we felt we finally gave back to the community in someway and were really appreciated. It made us feel good plus very easy work. I think going forward we will find places to voluteer and help the comminity we are staying at plus help us feel useful. Being retired at times makes you lazy and forget how important others are - love volunteering opportunities.

On the 9th we walked the Alameda Fairgrounds and took a walk to Pleasanton which made a 3 miles walk. We stopped at Tully's Coffeee Shop and had a nice frozen drink, bought a little sign at the Berry Patch which is a store that supports local artists. We also went in Kasasia Jewelers and had my rings cut off and resized as I have gained alot of weight in the last 40+ years of wearing them. We also stopped at the Museum on Main to explore the changes that impacted the town. It was a really cool musuem and I love the town as they brought it back to life -so many people walking around and enjoying dinner, etc. I wish you could see this happen in other towns so that they also would thrive.

Anothher day we toured he Alviso Adobe Community Park in Pleasanton. This park has an adobe house constructed in 1854 and became a park in 2008. In 1919 it was purchased by Walter Briggs to house his workers when he started the Meadowlark Diary. This was the first certified dairy in California and was used as a dairy until 1969. This was a very interesting park and we totaly enjoyed the experience.

On the 14th we went to Panera Bread for lunch. I had the Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich which was out of this world. Tim had the Fontego Chicken Panini which he really enjoyed. We then went shopping at Target as they now carry food and have great buys.

On the 16th we stopped and realized my Dad died 7 years ago. How I miss my parents as they tried their hardest to provide us with a wonderful life. As you grow older you realize the sacarifices that they made for us. Mom and Dad I truly miss you both greatly.

Another Saturday we walked downtown and did the farmers market as they have the best tomatoes around. We also went to "Amarone Cucina Italian Restaurant and sat outside and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. I haed a Meatball Panini and Tim had a Chicken Pesto PaniniThi which really topped our reviews. Great food and enough to take home and have the reminder for dinner. Great day.

This month has been a hard one for me - I feel alittle depressed but try to remind myself that better days are ahead. A few more weeks and we will move to Travis Air Force Base which should help me as alot of walking, gym, stores, beauty salon and just different opportunities to keep busy.

Until next time keep me in your prayers - love ya all.

September 2010

Peg — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:44:00 GMT

We started September off supervising Joshua with home schooling. This will keep us fairly busy but will also keep us stationary for awhile. He must go into school every Thursday for tests and new assignments so stay tuned on how this works out.

On the 2nd they had a sale at the Camp Parks Base in Dublin - it consisted of case lot sales with really good buys.   We were able to get quite abit of supplies for the next month. Never been to a case lot sale before but it was well worth the trip. It pays at times to have been in the military. They do so much more today for the military man and woman - thanks to the commissary sales

On the 4th of September Tim and I got on the bart (which is the Bay Area Rapid Transit) for a ride into San Francisco. For $5 each you can ride into the city and then not worry about parking or paying a toll on the bridge. We were armed with our suitcase also as we would spend two nights at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. We got a beautiful room with a sitting area on the 6th floor. This hotel is huge with 39 stories, beautiful pool, restaurants and bars. The best part is the location on 4th Street and Market Street. We were able to walk to Union Square which is the central shopping, hotel and theater district area in San Francisco. We first went shopping at Nordstroms, Bloomingdales, Eddie Bauer etc looking for a new jacket. The weather in San Francisco is much colder than anywhere else in the bay area - think it is at least 20 degrees cooler. I was freezing with my light jacket so I bought a down jacket which kept me quite warm.

Our next stop was Andersen Bakery on Market Street where we had a nice lunch of sandwiches and coffee.   My sandwich was a chicken salad with chicken, apples, celery, lettuce, sprouts, onions, toasted almonds and dijon mustard. Tim had a turkey and fresh mozzarella which he said was very good. Very nice lunch.

We then started walking and found the Yerba Buena Gardens. What a beautiful place plus they were having a free concert. We sat on the wall and listened to the music for awhile and then walked and admired the beautiful plants, art work and statues in the gardens. Inside one of the buildings we came upon a display of photographs by Robert Cameron. He was an aerial photograph whom took many famous shots all over the world. It was so interesting looking at these and appreciating the work he accomplished.

Our next stop was Saint Patrick Catholic Church on Mission Street. This church was founded in 1851 and is now a historic landmark. It has served the Irish immigrants, Spanish and now the Filipinos Community. It is a beautiful church with such wonderful details. Today they do not build churches like that - could you imagine the cost today? It really blows my mind looking at all the details on buildings from years ago when everything was so manual. What great craftsmen back then.

We went back to the hotel and went up on the 39th floor to the bar and enjoyed a few cocktails. Back to the room to clean up and then walked to Macys. What a nice store - we were thinking of doing dinner there but a wait of 2 hours. No restaurant is worth that wait. We walked up the street and had dinner at Johnny Foley's Irish House on O'Farrell Street. This is an authentic Irish Pub. We sat next to two couples from Australia and enjoyed talking to them about traveling the world. We had a nice dinner of prime rib and everything was wonderful. We then walked some more - San Francisco is like New York - you can walk and walk and never be bored. We went back to the hotel and back to the bar for a few more cocktails and a nice chat. All in all a beautiful day.

Sunday morning we were up early and ready for another busy day. Today is our 40th wedding anniversary so we will enjoy our day being together. I cannot believe that 40 years has passed so quickly. Wow - I love you Tim more today then I did 40 years ago. Thanks for being my best friend.

We set out walking again this morning and stopped for a pastry and a cup of coffee. The coffee house was really busy but the coffee was not too good - crowds do not make it good I guess.

Our first walk was to Chinatown. Loads of stores, restaurants, markets, parks and homes. It is an interesting area to tour. We have been here before so we just walked and enjoyed watching the people and looking at the buildings. Would have loved to tour the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company which makes over 10,000 cookies every day but it was Sunday morning.

We wandered down to Fisherman's Wharf which is the most popular destination in this city. You can take a boat cruise, shop, eat, see sourdough bread being made, watch people, sea lions, shows etc. Very active area and very interesting. We strolled the area and enjoyed buying so goodies at Ghiradelli's. We then had a nice lunch at Neptune's Palace on Pier 39. We had a nice seafood dinner and everything was delicious. We watched the boats cruising out in the bay while eating and also watched the sea lions.

We then started walking up Powell Street and felt like our energy level was dropping. We decided to get on the bus and ride back to the hotel. We picked the right bus cuz it wandered all over but stopped right outside of our hotel. What luck as we were tired.

We stopped at 4th Street Bar and Grill for a drink and some pretzels. Enjoyed our talk with the bartender and then returned to our room for about an hour to just relax.

We stopped at the Concierge desk to find a nice retaurant for dinner. They recommended Zingari Ristorante on Post Street and made reservations for us. We walked thru Union Square and arrived at the restaurant for a wonderful dinner. Great Italian food, great service, and good company. After dinner we wandered around and then headed back to the Marriott and the wonderful bar on the 39th floor. Enjoyed more drinks and then time for bed. Think I drank more today then I have in years - thank goodness for all the walking. All in all a wonderful day.

Monday morning we woke up early and decided to go in the hot tub. Felt really good on our tired muscles. We then went out for breakfast - back to the room to pack. We had a wonderful weekend and hope we can do this again someday soon. Such a fun city and so much to see and do.

September was a month of birthdays. Our granddaughter Makenzie turned 4 on the 18th and how I wished I could have celebrated with her. She is such a sweet girl and just darling. She had a nice birthday party which she loved. I will be happy to celebrate with you next year Makenzie. Grandpop and I love ya.

On the 24th our youngest grandaughter Grace turned 1. You wonder where the time goes - wow they are all growing up so fast - does that mean that I am getting old?

On the 25th I celebrated my 64th birthday - nice day and I got to talk to my daughters and all my grandchildren which made it so special. Thanks to you all.

This month has been a hard month for me - at times I want to give up this lifestyle - and then I don't. I think it is sitting still for so long plus not a great campground - nothing here except full hookups. Our awing almost touches our next door neighbor. I must rethink and get myself in better moods. Until next time

August 2010

Peg — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:49:00 GMT

On the 3rd of August we hooked up and hit the road heading south with our grandson for a few weeks of vacation. Our first stop was for lunch and then diesel and then on to Vandenburg Air Force Base for 2 nights. The campground was pretty filled so we ended up in site 43 which is a parking lot with hookups. Not to pleasant. While here we ate at the galley one night for dinner and for the 3 of us it cost $8.40. You cannot beat that for dinner and it was pretty good. While here we stocked up on food at the commissary and wine and then just relaxed for a day. The weather was pretty cool - okay for walking but no warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. I always thought California had warrm weather especially in the beginning of August. I guess this is what global warming is all about - the East coast is having brutal summer temps and the west is cool.

Our next stop was Seabreeze RV Resort at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach. This is a really nice campground with full hookups for $27 a night. Beautiful laundry for free and nice track for walking. The only bad thing is they have no commissary and a very tiny exchange. Really does not feel like you are on a military installation.

While here we walked on the pier at Seal Beach and enjoyed the summer breezes. Loads of people where in the water but certainly not warm enough for me. Seal Beach is a cool little town though and has many unusual stores. It could be a fun place to shop but the guys had no interest in doing that.

Another day we went to Knotts Berry Farm which is a really nice amusement park and they let seniors in for only $19.99 each. Plus they gave us a military rate for Josh which was only $29.99 for him. I went on two rides only - the first one was the worst - closed my eyes and just prayed for it to end. The second one was the Silver Bullet Roller Coaster which is the biggest and baddest suspended coaster in the west. It was an old wooden coaster and scared the living daylights out of me. That ended my rides and the rest of the day Josh rode alone. Guess I am getting to old for rides - I used to love them in younger days. We did have fun walking the park and watching people.

Our next stop was Camp Pendleton the huge marine base in southern California. We arrived at Del Mar Beach where the campground is located and we backed right up on the beach. Nothing like walking out into sand or looking out the windows and watching the water. So relaxing and peaceful. We spent everyday enjoying the warm sunshine sitting in our chairs in the sand on the beach. Josh spent many a nights sleeping under the stars with his sleeping bag and pillow right on the sand. Josh did go in the water but it felt like it was about 50 degrees - much too cold for me. I did enjoy just watching the water - the people and the military doing training. I could of stayed here along time but this is a very popular place for campers. At $30 a night with full hookups it is truly a wonderful destation.

While there our refrigerator quit and we lost most of our food. We had to pay $2700 for a new one - nothing reasonable about buying appliances for an rv. We did have a rv mobile repairman come out and fix it right at the campground which was good. Now we have a brand new one and really enjoying that. Using coolers grew pretty old - reminded me of years ago tent camping.

Most nights Josh and I ran on the beach - I keep trying but I doubt I will ever be a runner. Guess I will have to do my 5K at 65 years old walking and running alittle at a time. I will keep striving to attain my goal though.

On the 19th of August we left Camp Pendleton and headed back north thru Los Angeles traffic which is the worst in the world. We stopped for the night at Sommerville Almond Tree Rv Park in Coalinga. It was a very nice park with full hookups and a great stop for one night. We journeyed onto northern California and attempted to stop at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton but they wanted $50 a night and we quickly veto that. Back to Sharpe Depot for awhile.

The end of the month brought us back to Alameda Fairgrounds where we will spend a few months. Stay tuned

July 2010

Peg — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:29:00 GMT

Then end of June we marked the beginning of our 5th year as fulltimers. At times I wonder where the time has gone - we have seen so much, experienced alot, questioned our sainity, wondered if really this was our chosen lifestyle but in the end we came to the conclusion that we still have so much more to see and do. We will continue on for another year if the Good Lord sees fit to allow this.

In our last blog I mentioned that we arrived in California and will spend sometime with our Daughter Amanda, her husband Tim, and our grandchildren Josh and Gracie. It is really hard to have children on both coasts and this lifestyle helps in being able to see them.

We stayed at Sharpe Depot for 28 days and enjoyed that greatly. While in the area we took a ride to Modesto and enjoyed a nice lunch out while enjoying the sites. Another day we headed to Stockton to shop at my favorite store "Homegoods". I just love that store - find so many neat things even though I really do not need a thing. Bought a basket that I will put on our backseat of the truck to hold our camping books and my little pillow to keep them clean and neat. A girl can always find something to spend money on.

We attend the Alameda Fair and enjoyed that greatly. It was senior day so we got in for free - had to pay $8 to park but who can complain. We didn't know that it was senior day so the savings really was great. We enjoyed shopping, looking at exhibits, food, livestock, horse races, farm equipment, minerals, gems, garden displays, and watching our granddaughter Gracie go on a merry-go-round for the first time. We attended a "Crystal Gayle Concert" and listened to all her old songs especially "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." She can still sing pretty well - Tim and I both liked her years ago. All in all it was a really nice day and the weather was just perfect. Lots of walking!

We hit "In-N-Out Burger" which we both love. This is my favorite fast food restaurant. It was started in 1948 and uses only fresh ingredients - no freezers, microwaves or heat lamps. You can watch them cut up your onions and grill you hamburg. I love the animal fries but gosh are they fatting with all that cheese melted over them and onions.

We had another new hitch put on the camper while in the Stockton area. The last one just did not do it so they replaced it for free. This one really is doing a super job which was a great relief.

All in all it was a pretty quiet month - visiting family and just relaxing. We have read many books and look forward to heading to new places. Until next time

June 2010

Peg — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:46:00 GMT

June started off as a good month with plenty to do. On June 3rd I had my hair done, nails and then we did dinner at a nice Italian Restaurant downtown Pittsburgh with Jeff and Lamar (Tim's brothers). Lamar treated us for a celebration for Tim's birthday which I thought was very nice. We all enjoyed our dinners which makes it even better.

June the 4th was Tim's 67th Birthday and a long day of driving. We left Freeport, Pa about 8 AM and headed for the Courtyard by Marriott at New York LaGuardia Airport. We had dinner and sat in the bar for quite along time to celebrate. Nice evening for both of us. We drove to the airport on Saturday morning to meet our daughter & son-in-law and drove to Oceanside New York to check into the Hampton Inns. At 2 PM we drove to St Anthony's Church to see our nephew Steven marry Denielle in a beautiful military ceremony. At 6:30 pm we boarded buses and drove to the Thatched Cottage in Centerport, Ny for a fablous reception. They had all kinds of cocktails and food. We then sat down to a beautiful dinner with 7 different choices. The food was wonderful, the band was just great and met lots of nice people. Wonderful time and so happy we got to share their special day. The bride was stunning and the groom could not stop smiling. So nice to see young people so happy and in love. God bless ya on your marriage!

Sunday morning we drove Susan and Jerry back to the airport and picked up our oldest granddaughter Emily.  It was great seeing Sue, Jerry, Marie, Jerry and Emily. We started our long ride back to Pa with Emily. She is such a delightful girl - very talkative and so happy.

While in Pennsylvania we took Emily to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. It cost us $12 for seniors and $11 for Emily. Very nice zoo with over 4000 animals representing 475 species on 77 acres. The zoo is a natural habitat committed to conserviving wildlife and their habitats. We got to watch polar bears swimming, saw sand tiger sharks, amur tiger, snow leopard, komodo drago, dwarf crocodile, rhinoceros, african lions, giraffes, monkeys, gorillas, kodiak bears, painted dogs etc. We all enjoyed our day touring the zoo and highly recommend it if you are in the area.

One day we took the Duquesne Incline up to Mt Washington in cable cars that have been used since 1877. It gave you a great panoramic view of the city. The incline is 800 ft long, 400 ft elevation, 30 degrees in grade and travels 6 miles per hour with 17 passengers. Never saw anything like this before so we all enjoyed it. While on the top we had a nice lunch sitting outside and enjoying the view. Another great day.

We left Pennsylvania and headed to Bass Lake Fam Camp on Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. While here we did grocery shopping and laundry but also got to tour the National Museum of the United States Air Force. It is the worlds largest and oldest military aviation museum with over 300 aircraft and missiles. We got to see B-2 Stealth Bomber, exhibits from Wright Brothers to stealth tchnology, rare aircraft, cold war gallery, research and development aircraft, hot air balloons, unmanned air vehicles and over 400 aircraft. The best part was getting to see the Kennedy's Air Force One by ourselves so we could take our time. Emily just loved that - all in all it was a great stop.

After two days we departed Dayton and headed to Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort, Kentucky. This was a pretty nice campground with full hookups, dump, showers, laundry, pool, playground, store, horeshores etc. While here we got to go swimming and met some really nice people. Emily made a few friends which pleased her especially in the pool and at night.

While here we toured Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. This state park has 1200 acres and has over 53 breeds of horses. You are able to see them at play and at work. We did the trolley tour, shows at Hall of Champions, another show with the Parade of Breeds which highlights the unique characterictics of selected breeds. We toured the Big Barn and Emily got to pet the horse Emily. It was not a very pretty day - we used the umbrella off and on all day. We toured the gift shop and then did the American Saddlebred Museum.   While there they had a show judging horses which was quite interesting. While in the area we took a ride to Frankfort which is the capitol of Kentucky. We got to see the capitol building and the governor's mansion.

Left around 10 am and headed to Louisville, Kentucky for a stay at Louisville South KOA located in Shepherdsville. This was a nice campground plus they gave a discount for military. While here Emily made another friend whom was also traveling with her grandparents. They enjoyed playing in the pool and jumping on the jumping pillow.

We toured the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory where they take you right on the factory floor and show you how the baseball bats are made for the big leaguers. They give everyone free mini-bats and you learn so much about bats. In the front of the museum/factory they have a 120 ft 68,000 lbs bat which made us look like ants. We saw a film about the company and then toured the paintings of the Negro Leagues done by artist Kadir Nelson. The paintings were just amazing - oil paints on canvas and all the features of a person in portion to how we are. Just amazing - if you ever get the chance to tour these painting take the time to enjoy.

Our favorite tour was of Kentucky Derby Museum located on Central Avenue. They have two floors of exhibits celebrating Derby themes such as celebritis, the infield, fashion, stories of champion horses, trainers, jockeys, owners and a wonderful look into horse racing. We saw the movie "The Greatest Race" which is a 360 movie and very imformative. We had a nice lunch in the cafe with yummy food. We paid extra for tours but it was well worth the money. We got to walk thru the grandstands, toured the backside where they hold the horses, saw where the help lived, saw the jockeys locker room and all their gear. Emily even got to get on the scale they use to weigh the jockey before a race - being only 60 lbs she was happy to jump on. We saw the area the jockeys relax in, Millionaires' row, press box, clubhouse which was so interesting. I have always loved horse racing and wished I had done this years ago. Churchill Downs was established in 1874 and is America's most historic thoroughbred racetrack. It is one mile oval and covers over 166 acres. The actual twin Edwardian spires were built in 1895 and our a national historic landmark. The Kentucky Derby is run on the first Saturday of May and is the most popular race in America. It surprised me that in 2009 they started night racing for the first time. All in all it was a wonderful day despite the heat. Highly recommend doing the tours.

We visited the Falls of the Ohio which is a state park located in Clarksville, Indiana on the banks of the Ohio River. The main feature of the park are the fossil beds. We enjoyed walking around this area and then went for a pizza on the Ohio River. Great day was had by all.

Our next stop was the KOA Campground near St Louis, Missouri. Not to impressed with this KOA - much to expensive with very little in return. At this stop Emily did not even want to swim in the pool as it was very tiny - she enjoyed the jumping pillow though and we were happy we had lots to do in the area.

Our first stop was Grants Farm which is owned by the Busch family whom owns the Anheuser-Busch Inc. This estate was once owned by President Ulysses S Grant. The estate covers over 281 acres and is home to over 1000 animals representing more than 100 different species from 6 continents. We saw the beautiful Clydesdale Horses, President Grant's log cabin, collection of antique carriages in the beautiful Bauernhof which is a 19th century farmstead. While here you can get 2 glasses of beer for free. This land was purchased by August Busch Sr in 1903 and opened to the public in 1954. The only charge is $11 to park - and then food and souveniors - otherwise everything is free.

Across the street from Grants Farm is the Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site called White Haven. This 10 acre site is free and you get to see a film on the life of the Grant family and the home.   All in all it was a great day.

St Louis Zoo is another great value - paid $11 to park and entrance to the zoo is free. St Louis definetly is a great place to tour with so much being free. The zoo has over 18,000 animals with all kinds of shows and talks. The temp was quite hot the day we went and after about 3 hours I started to feel horrid so we had to leave. This is one of the best zoos in the country and highly recommend it to everyone.

St Louis is best known for the Gateway Arch so we paid a visit to this unusual place. The arch is 630 ft and is our nations tallest man-made monument. We took the tram ride to the top and were able to see all over St Louis. We visited the Museum of Westward Expansion which explores the American Indians and the 19th century pioneers who shaped the west. While here Emily work on a Jr Ranger badge so you really get to see things thru a young persons eyes.

We also did the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower which is 150 feet above the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. A confluence is the place of meeting or flowing together f two or more rivers. We were not impressed after going to the top of the arch. We also visited the Lewis and Clark Corp of Engineers park which had a few interesting tipits. This area is filled with Lewis and Clark as this is where the journey began. Another wonderful day.

On Sunday, Father's Day, we took Emily to the Lambert-St Louis Airport for her trip back to Charlotte to join her family. When we got to the airport she really wanted a donut - impossible to find. We saw the USO and went in and guess what we found. Donuts and juice for Emily. Only one of us was allowed to accompy her to the gate so I went down with her. She was very calm and only cried when she said goodbye to me. I had tears in my eyes also - we enjoyed having her so. She is a sweet young lady whom we are very proud of,. Course I feel that way about all my children and grandchildren. God has surely blessed us.

Monday morning Tim and I were up early and began our trip westward. We stopped for the night at Sundowner West KOA in Salina, Ks for the night. We were very tired as we drove quite far so we were in bed really early that evening. One thing I noticed driving across this part of Kansas was the rolling hills. I remember before the areas we drove in were so flat that it was a pleasant surprise.

On Tuesday we left again quite early for a drive into Colorado. Around 2:30 our tire blew on the camper. Thank goodness for Coachnet as we called them and within 20 minutes someone was changing our tire. Great investment! The state police stopped to make sure we were okay. Colorado is just a beautiful state with so much to see.

We stopped in Strasburg, Colorado and got 3 new tires for the camper and then spent the night at the Denver East KOA. What a nice campground this was, they even had an ice cream palor so of course we had to get an ice cream. We took a nice walk all around the campground and then early to bed so we could rise early again tommorow.

This morning we woke early and started our drive around Denver - looks like a really neat cIty that we will visit someday in the future. We always thought Denver was in the mountains but it sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains. I read that it is against the law to build any building that would block the 120-mile long view of the mountains from the State Capitol. Pretty cool. We will definitly be back to this area to enjoy all that Denver offers.We climbed and climbed crossing the continental divide. Did you know that the divide is the separation of watersheds? If a raindrop falls east of the divide it will flow through rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. If a raindrop falls west of the divide it will make its way to the Colorado River and flow into the Pacific Ocean. The ride was just beautiful and saw all the towns famous for sking. We both experienced altitude sickness feeling very tired which was due to the fact reaching high elevations too quickly. I guess I should of read about this before we started - again today learned alot of new information. We stopped for the night at Shady Acres Rv Park in Green River, Utah. It was an okay park for just an overnight stop. We have everything we need in our camper so only really need to hook into power and water which makes us happy.

The next morning we started out and saw a sign that said next gas station 100 miles west. For the next 100 miles we saw nothing but land and more land. It was a beautiful drive with so many different formations of rock with different colors mixed in. We stopped for the night at Ely KOA. Another long day but enjoyed this amazing country.

On the 25th I received a phone call from my sister Sharon with very sad news. My nephew Richie had died the night before. He was only 31 years old and my sister Ann and husband are devasted. My heart goes out to them - the worst thing any parent has to go thru. Please say a prayer for the family that God will give them strength to find peace with this horrid tragedy.

Our ride today was across Nevada on Hwy 50 which is called the lonelist road in America by Life Magazine. There are no attractions or points of interest along the 287 miles stretch of road. It retraces the route of the Pony Express. The thing that surprised me was we saw no animals at all on this ride. Our stop was at Fallon Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nevada. This is the only facility in the Navy where an entire carrier air wing can train together in the strike tactics. We stayed here 3 nights for some down time but felt like we were breathing dirt. Really odd experience. While on base we did hit the exchange and one night went to the movies. The movie was "MacGruber" and it was just horrid. We left after 10 minutes and were just happy that it was free. The acting was alful and the language was horrid.

Monday morning June 28th we left Fallon and headed towards Reno, Nevada and then into California. This is such a beautiful country with so much to see, so many different terrains, trees, flowers, bushes, lakes, oceans, towns, cities etc. We are surely enjoying our ride thru the west.

We pulled into Sharpe Army Depot in French Camp California where we will visit with our west coast family. Stay tuned for July.

Month of May, 2010

Peg — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:33:00 GMT

Sunday morning we left Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and headed north into Arkansas. We stopped at a beautiful corps of engineers park called the Rising Star which is located in Moscow. This is a tiny town with one store only in the whole town. The campground sits on the Arkansas River which is used for alot of shipping - we sat and watched loads of barges going up river. The campground is small with 25 sites with electric/water, picnic tables with covers, grills, dump station, showers, playground and a boat ramp. It sits 5 miles off the main road and is surrounded by farm land. If you are looking for solitude this is the place. We really enjoyed our time here just relaxing in the peaceful setting.

We took a ride into the town of Pine Bluff and rode around to see what the town had to offer. We found the Governor Mike Huckabee Delta River Nature Center which was closed but had a nice nature walk which we took. We then tried to see the Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River but where told that it closed after 9/11. I think it really closed because of budget cuts because we went to one in Iowa a few years back.

This month was filled with birthdays - our daughter Susan, our granddaughter Emily and our granddaughter Julia. We wished we could have spent the day with you - maybe next year but we love and miss you greatly. we enjoyed our phone conversation though.

Our next stop was north thru Little Rock to Jacksonport State Park in Newport, Arkansas. This used to be a thriving river port back in the 1800's but not much here now. They have a beautiful 1872 Courthouse which is now part of the state park. The park sits on the White River and has an old steamwheeler which had rolled over on her starboard side and became submerged. While at the park they were attempting to upright her which was pretty interesting to watch.

The park was small with 20 sites, campfire rings, tables, pavilion, river for swimming and nice walking paths. This was another quiet stop but we met interesting people while here. One day we took a ride to Olive Garden Restaurant in Jonesboro and needed to get a membership card to order a glass of wine. How weird that was for senior citizens!

We left Newport and traveled on The Rock N Roll Highway which is old US 67. During the 1950's the roadhouses and liquor joints helped launch rising stars like Elvis, Johnyy Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rob Orbison and others. Pretty neat the things you see and find.

On Mother's Day we traveled to a corp of engineers park called Canal Campground which is located on Lake Barkley. This campground was flooded in quite a few areas but we got a beautiful site up on a hill. This campground had full hookups, dump station, showers, tables, grills, campfire rings, pavilions, and a boat launch which was under water.

We enjoyed this area greatly as it is located close to "Land Between The Lakes" which is a National Recreation Area. The area sits between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in Kentucky and Tennessee. There is so much to see and do in this area that we will come back someday really soon.

On two different occasions we went to the South Bison Range. The first time we saw one moose and 2 buffalo's. The second time we arrived at 6 AM and were treated to about 50 bison alongside the road. This range sits on 160 acres and they wanted you to feel like you were back 200 years ago. It was a wonderful experience and Tim took loads of pictures.

We visited the Homeplace which was an 1850 living history farm. Interpreters were dressed in period dress and explained and demonstrated how the chores were done. They had 16 buildings, crop fields,. vegetable gardens, historic livestock, corn fields and tobacco fields. The thing that really interested us was the Double Penhouse with a breezeway in the center of the house. It was covered on top with a roof but the sides were open so the breeze could give you relief from the summer heat. You walked outside from the living quarters to your bedroom which we found interesting being in cold country.

One night we went to dinner at Patti's which is an 1880 settlement that is now a restaurant. They have a 2 inch pork chop, mile high meringue pies and bread baked in flower pots. The food was very good and we enjoyed ourselves greatly.

On the morning of the 13th we were on the road bright and early heading to Camp Carlson Army Recreation Area at Fort Knox. The campground had full hookups, dump station, showers, laundry, tables, campfire rings and grills. They also have a lake that is stocked with fish which drew alot of people in the evening. Fort Knox is a huge base with 109,000 acres which was started in 1918. In 1936 they built the U.S. Buillion Depository which sits on the base to hold some of the gold. I was disappointed that you cannot go near it and receive samples. Oh well. Our stop provided us with loading up on groceries and getting our laundry done. We also did alot of walking which was great.

On base they have the General George Patton Museum which was done very nicely - my dad would of loved this place. He was an old army vet from WWII and loved the Army. Some of the tanks were really cool and they had a wonderful gift shop beside. It is all free so a great way to spend the afternoon.

On the 16th we left Fort Knox and headed into West Virginia. We stayed at a commerical campground that had nothing except full hookups. While there for 2 days we rode into Charleston, WV and around the area. West Virginia is a very pretty state. Quiet stop but enjoyable.

Next stop was Overflow Corp of Engineers Park which was in the middle of no where - no phone service - no internet. We drove 35 miles one way so we could call our granddaughter and wish her a Happy Birthday. We spent one night here and headed to Pennsylvania to visit with Jeff, Tim's brother. He is staying at the Biblical Life Institute in Freeport, Pa. What wonderful people we met here. They opened up their arms to welcome us and made us feel so welcomed. We were allowed to park the camper at the Grace Pointe Community Church which is located across the street from the college. We had full hookups and loads of privacy. While here we attended the church and became friends with the Pastor, Herb Hartman and his wife Shelia. We also become friends with Lucille and Henry Clay Shillings. Henry Clay's Dad began the college back in 1937 and it was built mostly by hand and loads of hard work. While here we attended church, my first time at Sunday School, memorial day picnic, piano recital and just visiting with these wonderful people. We truly enjoyed it and hope to return someday just to say hi.

This covers May - now I must start on June - stay tuned.

April 12th to May 2nd

Peg — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:38:00 GMT

We were up early and departed St Bernard State Park before 8 am. Our drive was interesting but nothing unusual. We arrived at Chicot State Park in Villa Platte, Louisiana around 1 pm. This is a huge park with over 6400 acres and many rolling hills which I found very different as most of the state is flat. The park has over 300 campsites with water/electric, dump station, tables, showers, and campfire rings. They have a huge lake which has fishing and boating and seems to be the most popular thing in the park. They also have swimming pools, cabins, loads of hiking trails, and great bird watching. The park is also home to Louisiana State Arboretum which has 600 acres with swamps and bald cypress trees plus a brand new nature building. Our stay here was enjoyable but we did no sightseeing, just walking each day and reading. We even had a campfire one night in the rain – we sat under the awning and watched the fire burn. The first two nights we were in a loop with no one else but us camping. That sure made it very dark but you could hear every bird and every animal in the woods. Such a peaceful setting. We spent three nights and were ready to hit the road again.

Our camper still is not fixed so we headed to Shreveport, La and found a camping place that will order the parts for us. We will be sitting here for two weeks waiting so hopefully we can find things to do.

Our campground is at the Barksdale Air Force Base located in Bossier City. This base is home to the B52 bombers and has been a base since 1933. They have loads of land so we have spent lots of time walking and running on the trails. My goal is to run a 5K for my 65^th birthday next year. Can I do it? As they say if you want something bad enough you can. I gave up smoking after 40 years so I guess I can. I have never had a goal for physical activity before so this could turn into something great. I will keep you posted.

This weekend will be Barksdale Air Force Base air show which everyone is invited to. Air shows are a huge success and it gives the military a chance to show the people in the community what the military is all about and what is actually on a base. As we say on base those planes keep this wonderful country free. God bless the military and all they do for us.

Well I am back to finish this blog – the air show was a huge success. Tim and I avoided the crowd and stayed on the back side of the airfield – I love to see the planes fly. As usual they were great.

We have met a lot of nice people while here and realize how much military families do to be together as a family. Because of this economy and unable to sell their homes they are living in their travel trailers and home schooling their children. When we were in the service 95% of the people moved with their families to the new location and got into housing or bought a home because it was easy to sell. One family had 8 children and they slept in a tent and travel trailer to stay together. I hope and pray they can sell their home soon.

After our 2 week stay they finally took us in on a Friday morning and fixed our landing gear on the camper. It cost us over $2500 so I hope we will be happy with it for years to come. Because it was a Friday we decided to leave on Sunday morning so we extended for a few more days. While the camper was being fixed we took a ride around and walked thru a mall. We had hoped to do the river walk but it was pouring so we decided against that. We did do a nice lunch at Olive Garden which we enjoyed. We got an appetizer and salad and enjoyed that greatly.

While at Barksdale we did a lot of walking and tried to run a little. It will take a long time before I will be up to speed to run but I will continue to plug along. We did a 4 mile walk one day but usually did 3 miles. Time to move on - stay tuned.

New Orleans April 1st to April 12th

Peg — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:29:00 GMT

New Orleans

We arrived at St Bernard State Park located in Braithwaite, La around 1pm for a 2 day stay. We had no idea where we would go next because it is Easter weekend and the state parks are full. We got situated in our site which is quite nice. We have a cement pad, water, electric, table and fire ring. The park sits on the Mississippi River and was devastated by Hurricane Katrina also. The water in the office was about 8 feet as they have it marked on the door frame. Can you imagine that much water? This area is about 19 miles from New Orleans and was hit pretty hard. They use ferries to transport you across the river – free going over and a $1 coming back. Pretty reasonable but it brought back memories of when we lived on Governors Island and our lives were controlled by the ferry. I loved it there except at night when we did New York City and the last ferry was at 2am. You couldn’t miss that one or you were stuck in the city until 6 am.

This state park is really nice plus senior citizens with a golden age card get the campground for half price. They have nice walking trails which we did most days unless we went into New Orleans for the day. They have beautiful picnic grounds and a swimming pool also. The park comprises of 358 acres – very quiet and so peaceful. They do have a lot of bugs though – they are those small ones that bite but you cannot see them – yuk!

Our visit to New Orleans was a very pleasant one and I highly recommend it as a vacation getaway. It is a fun city for children also but please do not take them on Bourbon Street. I saw a young girl about 8 and her eyes were popping out looking at the stores and bars. We were able to watch a parade on Easter Sunday which actually was pretty good. They throw necklaces, beads, stuffed animals, flowers, and candy at you as they go by. We walked and walked having lunch at a nice restaurant and then splurging on a beignet at Café du Monde. This place was established in 1862 and has continuously served coffee and beignets since the 19^th century. Really different – it is a combination of a French pastry and an American donut. It is covered in powdered sugar and served warm. We walked and walked thru the French Quarter which is the oldest and most famous neighborhood. It was founded in 1718 and has a real old flavor. The buildings are interesting to look at so it is fun just to walk the neighborhoods. You will reach a corner and an act of dancing or music will be going on. You can walk the streets with a drink in your hand and it is perfectly legal. We also did the famous Pat O’Brien’s Bar twice – what great drinks they have. We sat outside on the patio and just enjoyed the day.

St Louis Cathedral was another stop to see one of the prettiest church’s I have ever been in. It was founded in 1718 and rebuilt in 1850. The ceiling has paintings which is so unusual for a church but just beautiful. We tried to get into the church one Sunday and could not get in the door – so many people. Glad that we came back so we could really enjoy it. I do love old churches as they have so much more details that are so interesting.

Another fun thing was the French Quarter Festival. This takes place for 3 days and nights with plenty of food, drinks, and music at 18 different locations. Let the party begin. We were smart and parked on Canal Street and took the streetcar down so we only paid $7 instead of $18 to park close. Each day we found something interesting to see or do.

New Orleans has a wonderful zoo with over 2000 animals and covers over 58 acres. We love zoos and each one has a few animals that you have never seen before. They even had a white alligator and a huge carousel to ride on. We enjoyed that greatly and got to see tigers, elephants, monkeys, gorillas, snakes, sea lions, etc. It gave us a good work out for us.

New Orleans was definitely a great stop for us both. Tim enjoyed the food as he eats everything- but as you know I am not a real good eater so I survived on mostly chicken. One night we ate at The Gumbo Shop sitting outside in the charming garden courtyard. The building was from 1795. A young mom and her 8 year old son sat next to us. We enjoyed talking to them and found out they were from Ohio visiting the city as we were.

Chalmette Battlefield which is a National Park was another stop on our journey. They are still rebuilding as this park was hit hard by the hurricane. We went into the visitor center and watched a movie explaining the importance of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. This battle lasted less than 2 hours with 13 Americans dead and 2000 British. The visitor center is located in the Malus-Beauregard House which was built in 1830 in the French-Louisiana style.

After 10 days in New Orleans it was time to head somewhere new. We enjoyed our visit greatly and we will be back some day.

Alabama March 15th thru April 1, 2010

Peg — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:35:00 GMT

We left the corp of engineers park at 9 am eastern time and drove exactly 2 miles and hit central time zone so it was only 8 am. Wow I should of slept longer I guess. We took Route 90 into Alabama and stopped for a break. I heard Tim say Oh S___! and wondered what happened. Our side window over the dining table was smashed and nothing to indicate how it happened. The glass did not fall apart which was lucky something to do with the tinted glass. Tim took tape and sealed the window on the inside and outside so now we must find a place to get a window fixed. Yeah such fun.

Our next stop was a passport America campground which was Wilderness RV Park in Robertsdale Alabama. At one time this campground was nice but it needs alot of tender care. Being fully self contained helps because we do not need to use the restrooms which were in need of alot of care. The laundry room I did use - clean machines but the surrounding area was horrid. The campground has a lake, pond, pool, hot tub, clubhouse and full hookups. It needs some money thrown in to really bring it back to the way it was years ago. We decided to stay for 3 nights and see about getting our window fixed while here. Our luck did not come thru - we were told we needed to go to the Mobile area and get it done. While in Robertsdale we did take a ride to Gulf Shores and understand why people love these beaches. The sand was just beautiful - so white but the wind was horrid. Spring break so loads of college kids everywhere you looked. We stopped at Lamberts for lunch - this is the restaurant where they throw rolls to you - really a fun place and very good food. We did alot of laughing while here.

On Thursday we moved our camper west and stopped at Johnny's Rv Resort in Theodore, Alabama. This is a nice campground with over 100 sites, full hookups, lake, cabins, laundry, store, and restaurant. We got all set up with the idea of staying one week only - this is also a Passport America campground so we got a really good deal. We had a guy come out and look at the damage to the window - he will do alittle research and let us know how it will work going forward.

We took a nice ride one day to Dauphin Island which is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. 96% of the island is water which I found interesting plus the entire island is a bird sanctuary. The beach has beautiful sand that looks so soft. We had a nice lunch sitting outside on the deck at a local restaurant. We sat with another couple whom travels in a motor home 6 months of the year. We compared stories and laughed about certain things. Tim and I were here a few years ago and saw the devasation from Hurricane Katrina and today it is almost back to normal. Most of the houses have been rebuilt and work continues on roads etc.

Our tour of Bayou La Batre was also very interesting. This is a fishing village with hundreds of fishing boats and fish processing plants. I have never seen so many boats in one area before. We stopped into a grocery store and to my amazement they sold chicken feet. Never knew anyone ate those but I have heard that they use them in soup. Learn new things every day.

We toured the Mobile Botanical Gardens which is over 100 acres. They had rhododens, camellias, ferns, herbs, japanese maple, pines, magnolias and azaleas. It was very pretty and interesting because each area of the country grows different flowers and at different times. Only one other guy was there so it was really peaceful.

A drive to Bilouxi, Ms took place one afternoon to hit the commissary at the Air Force Base. This base was hit hard by the huricane Katrina five years ago and they are still using an old warehouse as their commissary and exchange. Good new was that 7th of April brand new ones would be opening which I would have loved to see.

In Mississippi we toured the Gulf Islands National Seashore Park. This park runs from Cat Island in Mississippi to Okaloosa, Florida which really surprised me. We were at the Davis Bayour Park which had a beautiful visitor center explaning the park in great detail. They offer 52 campsites with water/electric which we will keep in mind for future trips. They had nice trails wandering thru the woods but I few are still in the process of being repaired. Hurricane Katrina really took a toll on these poor towns. The area along most of the beaches are still empty lots where you see the remains of a slab where a house once stood. The wealthy of course have rebuilt beautiful homes and the casinos and hotels have rebuilt. The middle class and poor are not that fortunate and have moved elsewhere.

I keep telling myself that the people in the north really are not as poor as the south. I have never seen houses look so horrid and people actually live in them. Yikes - it also amazes me of the number of people with loads of kids live in campers. Where do they put all there stuff?

This stop has turned into a nightmare - we spent two weeks waiting for the window to be replaced and the landing gear fixed on the camper. The last day at the campground they came out from the window place - started putting it in the window and it was about 4 inches to small. I felt like crying - so they put the plexiglass back in and it was a wait and see what next. The landing gear at the last minute could not be found by the tech - I'm beginning to wonder what is wrong with people when so many are unemployed and the employed do not like to work. Well we have had enough and are moving to New Orleans - stay tuned.

Spring is here March 10 thru the 15th

Peg — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:22:00 GMT

Wednesday morning we left Valdosta, Georgia and headed west on route 84 for Lake Seminole corps of engineers park around 8:45am. We took the back roads again and enjoyed them greatly. We are now staying at Eastbank Campground wich is located on Lake Seminole. Our site is right on the lake and it is just beautiful. They have 65 sites with water and electric, nice showers, 1 washer and 1 dryer, tables, lantern posts, firerings, dump station, picnic shelter, volleyball and badminton nets, horeshoes, shuffleboard and a nice boat ramp. The best part is the lake view and because we are old we get to camp for half price. $10 a night cannot be beat.

Lake Seminole lies within the borders of both Georgia and Florida and has over 376 miles of shoreline. The lake makes me wish we had a boat - even a small one just to enjoy the beauty. This lake does not have a place to rent them so we were stuck on land. The first day here was just so nice and warm and that is why I said spring is here. That did not last long at all, the rain moved in and heavy winds that shook us up alittle. We did get a few walk in during breaks in the rain plus a ride around the area. This area really does not have much other than the lake - no shopping except the Dollar General store and a grocery store. Our time was spent playing on our computers, watching tv, reading and doing my WII fit.

We have eaten well while here and all at home which is good for us. I really am trying to be healthy and lose some more weight - I lost 20 lbs last year but gave up exercise and gained 10 back so exercise is a must.

Tommorow we leave here and head west - no definite plans other than New Orleans as a good stop over in a few days. We have never been so it should be really interesting. My sister Sharon gave me alot of good ideas on what to do while there plus one of the guys here at the campground told Tim about a free ferry and shuttle. We are really looking forward to that. We also hope to stop in Mississippi at Kiesler Air Force Base and hit the commisary and exchange. Food is getting low and Tim's pipe broke.

I just finished reading the book "Between Sisters" by Kristin Hannah which I highly recommend. Just started another one of her novels called
"On Mystic Lake" which has really caught my attention. I started about 3 different books and just could not get into them - will put them away and try again another day. Some books take along time to get your interest and I have no patience at this time for that.

Hope your all enjoying your Sunday - and have a very successful week. Until next time

Valdosta, Georgia March 7 thru March 9, 2010

Peg — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:17:00 GMT

We left Fort Stewart around 9:15am on Sunday morning and headed west on route 84. It is a 4 line highway but goes thru towns and you get a feel for the area. Tim and I both enjoy these routes much better than the interstate.

We saw one sign that said buy your chewing ice here - what does that mean? On one church they had "Lifeguard on duty, he walks on water" - I loved that. We got to see cotton growing in places and in Jesup, Georgia they have an old fashioned drive-in movie. Remember those from your teen years?

We arrived at "River Park Rv Park" located on Suwanee Drive in Valdosta around 12:30pm. This is a pretty nice campground with full hookups, free wifi, free cable, pull throughs, showers and a laundry. They charged us $28 for a full 50 amp site but we are located so close to everything. We got all set up, ate some lunch and then walked to the store to buy a Sunday paper. We then walked the campground which has a hill - we have not walked hills in ages. Charleston, SC area does not have many hills at all.

For dinner we both did not feel like cooking so we went to the Outback. We ordered off the special menu which will provide assistance to our military men. We are always willing to help them. We had a drink, a bloomin' onion, Tim had steak & shrimp with baked potato and I had chicken with a sweet potato. As usual a very good meal.

Monday we took a tour of the city of Valdosta. Valdosta is the 11th largest city in Georgia. It was incorporated on December 7, 1860 and sits alongside I-75. The city has alot of beautiful old homes - huge with big porches around the sides and front. They have a few colleges with beautiful grounds. We stopped at the mall and went to Talbots where I bought 4 new tops for summer. I had a gift certificate that I received for Christmas so I used that which worked out wonderful. We talked to the salesgirl for quite awhile about the service as she was an ex-service wife.

Monday night for dinner we had a salad, and lamb chops which were just wonderful. We relaxed watching tv and I finished my book "Between Sisters" by Kristi Hannah. This was an excellent book which made me laugh and also cry really touching.

Tuesday morning I did 45 minutes of exercise and then we went to Moody Air Force Base. Tim was able to get new sunglasses and I was able to buy some underwear which made us both happy. We toured the base and then enjoyed our ride home. At night we went to the restaurant "Smok'n Pig B-B-Q which is rated #10 in the country for barbecue. It was excellent plus I had a sweet potato souflle which was out of this world. We totally enjoyed that. We came home and watched Biggest Looser on TV enjoying our glass of wine and piece of dark choclate. Tommorow morning we head west - until then