WHEW.....FINALLY CATCHING OUR BREATH

Mount Rushmore

Hello Family and Friends,
Where oh where has the time gone? We have been on a dead run, living life to the fullest, on the move since Hot Springs, Arkansas. A week after arriving in Hot Springs, AR.  we flew to Idaho for Seanna's 12th birthday. Seanna was also in a play The Tortoise Versus The Hare. She was so cute playing the part of news reporter Cupcake O'Rourke.

Seanna as Cupcake O'Rourke in The Tortoise Versus The Hare

We soon had to leave the kids and all the fun to fly back to Hot Springs for Easter with the cousins at Judy's. It was a day of visiting family and eating lots of good food.

Mike, Karol Ann, Judy, Joey 

We stayed at Catherine's Landing RV Resort right on Lake Catherine. Incredibly beautiful setting even during the rain, rain, rain. We had so many plans to hunt for diamonds and play a lot more golf but this year was not the year. Every nice day we got outside and enjoyed family activities. Barbara and Tom came for a barbecue while I, Debi, the great fire maker, attempted to smoke us out of the campsite with all the wet wood. I will never live that one down. :D Fran and Ron invited us for a yummy, yummy dinner at their beautiful home on Lake Hamilton. The evening boat ride with drinks was relaxing and a nice way to wind down the day. We have always liked being at Judy's. That has become a secure and safe haven for Mike and me. Her dogs, Harley and Winston have become our girls' boyfriends. We did look at the Malt Village Homes in Hot Springs Village...fell in love with the area, the lakes, the golf courses and the Malt custom built homes. First time I would "consider" moving from my beloved Conifer, CO. No decisions have been made, this is just in thought process. A quick trip to Olive Branch, MS with Judy the middle of April allowed us to visit long time friends Sandrine Neely (Qwest Co-worker) and Barbie Trivelli with her beautiful family ( friends from CO).

Barbie Trivelli and her family with us

When we returned to Hot Springs, we went to Oaklawn to the horse races, met up with Janie and Mike at the Infield. One of the few horse races that was absolutely beautiful weather.
The Arkansas Derby was a warm up for our anniversary weekend in Louisville for The Kentucky Derby. We drove from Hot Springs to Louisville in 8 hours. We stayed at The Hampden Inn, which was minutes from the shuttle service to The Derby. We were married on Derby Day in 1985 so having this years Derby fall right on our anniversary was extra special. Friday May 3rd, we went to The Lilies for the Fillies, a breast cancer charity event. The day was a picture perfect day spent at the infield. Mike was extremely happy winning money on The Kentucky Oaks which paid for his betting the rest of the weekend. I won the Daily Double at The Derby which made me a happy girl so came out of the weekend "up" which is very unusual for me in the betting arena. We love watching the horses race, such incredible creatures. Everyone asks us about my hat...I chose a black Fascinator with feathers and pearls. Mike wore a black Fedora. It poured and poured on Derby Day. Everyone was wrapped in plastic since umbrellas are not permitted in The Derby gates. This was right after the Boston Marathon bombing so tensions were high with security. The mood however was fun and we met great people. We hung out with a family from Napa, California and retired school teachers from Chicago. The rain stopped right before The Derby so we ran out to the infield. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Kentucky Derby

Lilies For The Fillies

         

Calvin Borel and Debi

Sunday we toured the Derby Museum which to my sheer delight ran into The Ragin Cajun, Calvin Borel, one of my favorite jockeys.  I am still short standing next to him. I missed my calling and should have been a jockey. We left the museum and drove around the area, then decided to drive to Jeffersonville, Indiana to have our anniversary dinner on the water at Kingfish Restaurant. Incredible anniversary weekend which will be in my heart forever. We left Louisville Monday with a stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky to tour The Corvette Museum. Mike, of course, loved the white 58 Corvette with red interior. A stop in Olive Branch, MS to spend the night with Karol Ann was an enjoyable visit. 

Gangsters

Our last couple of weeks in Hot Springs, we visited the Gangster Museum ( read about Mike's Uncle Gib who taught the gangster's how to play golf), West Mountain, Hot Springs National Park, had frog legs and catfish with Judy, Barbara and Tom, had drinks with friends Cal and Kathy,

Mike and Judy golfed Belvadere Golf Club, Mother's Day was spent with Judy having brunch at The Arlington and touring Garvin Gardens (finally got to see this amazingly beautiful, peaceful setting).  Sadly had to leave Hot Springs May 13th. The family treated us like gold and leaving them was not easy.

 Barbara and Mike

Mother's Day with Judy

We stopped in Branson, Missouri on our trip toward Colorado. Lakeside RV Park on Lake Taneycomo for 2 nights allowed us to see the area. We went to Silver Dollar City for a day, watched the artists, glass blowers and listened to Blue Grass. The one show was called Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. We HAD to see that show....after the show we walked to the front to talk with them . Greg Blake, singer, coincidentally lives in Kings Valley, Conifer. That was a funny conversation as we realized he and his wife live right below our house. 

Next stop Manhatten, KS to see Kelly and John Pecoraro. We stayed in Paxico at a really cute RV Park along the railroad tracks. We enjoyed a cookout with Kelly and John, catching up on the many years since we had seen each other. The next day we went to the Wizard of Oz Museum and Winery. That night was horrendous storms. I am not usually freaked out by weather but these storms had me worried. A storm shelter was right in front of the motorhome so I had "shtuff" ready to make the run. We survived and left the area the next morning. Mike decided because of the weather to drive straight through to Denver. Our norm has been 4-6 hr daily drives but Mike said we were doing the 8 hr drive to get out of the crazy weather. That day was the Oklahoma City tornado so being worried was justified.

May 19th, we arrived in Littleton safe and sound, stayed the first night in Walmart on Bowles, Littleton, then to Chatfield State Park. It felt good to be "home" after almost a year on the road. We spent 4 days seeing friends, doing eye appts, seeing our Conifer neighborhood, Kaiser Dr appts, trying to get our motorhome registered in CO. That was brain damage since we had bought the mh in CA, somehow CO just could not tell us the steps to properly get it registered. I finally found the most wonderful, professional Jefferson CO employee, Jimmy, who made it his mission to help us. We put our mh in storage at Pine Junction, our Celica was dopped off at Aspen Park Auto to get some transmission work done, rented a car and drove to Idaho to see the kids on May 23rd.

We arrived in Idaho on Oshie's 18th birthday, headed to the casino to celebrate. Oshie's next milestone was graduating from Potlatch High School on June 1st. Seanna graduated from Potlatch Elementary also that week. We are so blessed to be able to attend all of these events. Nine days of celebrating, ping pong tournaments, movies and lots of family laughter went way too fast, as always. We are incredibly proud of the young woman Oceana has become. She begins her next chapter at the University of Idaho working towards a Biology/ Pre-med degree. 

Brian and Oceana

As we drove back to CO from Idaho, we noticed the brilliant yellow in the fields. We asked and found out it was mustard. Mike and I both love McCall, Idaho so we made a lunch stop there. 

Idaho Mustard Fields

Back in CO, we picked up our motorhome and car to stay in Cherry Creek State Park. Two weeks of whirlwind appts, seeing friends, camping with Rodger and Leanne who came from Florence to be with us and finally getting the motorhome registered thanks to Jimmy.  Watched as the fires engulfed the state. Roger and Toshi had to be evacuated from their home while the fires came within a qtr of a mile of Flying Horse. Scary! They stayed a few nights with an ex-neighbor, then came to stay with us. We all made the best of a bad situation and had fun camping with them.

The best part of June was when Seanna flew in from Idaho to be with us on the 17th. She will be traveling with us from CO to PA. We decided to extend our stay in CO so moved from Cherry Creek to Jellystone in Larkspur. Such an interesting park especially with kids. The camp sites are what I called "burritoed" in between tall hedges, very private.

Seanna arrives at DIA

 Monday June 24th, we took the motorhome to Transwest, Fredrick, CO while they replaced seals and our washer/dryer. While they did that work, we attended Joanie Shoemaker's retirement party in Colorado Springs. Seanna got to be with her Uncle Roger and Aunt Toshi.

Roger, Toshi, Seanna and Debi

May 25th, we left CO for South Dakota. We stayed in Sturgis, SD at Rush No More RV Park which made Seanna laugh every time she said it.  Deadwood, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse were fun places to show Seanna. The Crazy Horse Memorial was celebrating Ruth Ziolkowski's (Korczak, the sculpter's wife) 87th birthday with a night time laser light show on the mountain and a dynamite blast- 87 blasts on the Crazy Horse mountain - cake was served to all who attended after the show. That was amazing! We had dinner at Alpine Restaurant in Hill City right before going to Crazy Horse. For 30 years they serve one menu... filet mignon, baked potato, lettuce wedge.

Deadwood - Mike,Debi and Seanna

Crazy Horse Memorial at night

We have so much more to share but this Blog is long enough. I keep promising to do these more but our adventures get in the way. Currently we are at Dogwood Acres in Newville, PA close to Dad's. I will update further adventures with Seanna and Oshie's short visit with us in the next blog. 

Much Love sent to all.

Where Oh Where Is Spring?

Greetings from Catherine's Landing, Lake Catherine,  Hot Springs, Arkansas. We have had some challenges with our computer so took me a little time to salvage my old computer enough to get my pictures and now learning how to use an Apple Mac. I have wanted an Apple for a few years and Mike surprised me with one for my birthday. 

I forgot to mention in the last blog we had visited with Pam and Dan Erickson, friends from Conifer, CO, while in Las Vegas. They left Conifer and now are living in Henderson. It was special seeing them both. 

We also visited Valley of Fire State Park while in Las Vegas, which I also forgot to put in the last Blog. We enjoyed hiking and seeing the beauty of the red rock formations. 

When we last wrote we were heading to Tucson from Phoenix. Dessert Trails, Tucson was very interesting and much fun camping with the Ahlins from Castle Rock.  The view out the back of our motorhome was pretty and we laughed about the funky one armed cactus.

Desert Trails

We packed quite a bit into our 2 week visit to Tucson. Old Tucson is an old movie studio set for movies like The Bells Of St Mary's, Rio Lobo, The Trial of Billy Jack, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Tombstone, 3:10 To Yuma;  hundreds of movies starting in 1939 with the movie Arizona. Many TV Shows also were filmed here: Little House on The Prairie, Bonanza, Gunsmoke and several others. It was an interesting tour ending with the typical Western Gunslinger Shoot-out. 

Old Tucson

Xavier Mission, Jewish Museum, Sabino Canyon, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and celebrating my big 60 Birthday with Deb and Larry Ahlin at Casino Del Sol watching The Doors Tribute Band are just a sliver of fun activities. Desert Trails RV Park was another good choice with 2 resident owls in a palm tree and coyotes howling at night. Nights could be very cold, first time in over 40 years theTucson  desert area had experiences such a long cold snap. We got caught in blizzard like conditions in North Tucson, Catalina Hills Feb 20th. The Accenture Golf Tournament, Dove Mountain, was "snow postponed", first time ever. 

Mike at Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon Road Runner

Snow Storm Catalina Mountain

Love at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Xavier Mission

Desert Trails RV Park resident owls in a palm tree

We had several Denver visitors. John and Alice Bonjourno were in Phoenix, called us and came for an afternoon visit. It was so nice of them to travel to Tucson. After being away from Colorado DOC for so long it was great catching up with all the news. 

Deb, Mike, Larry, John

Jeff and Cyndi Kleinholz from Denver were another visitor. While Cyndi was working in Phoenix, Jeff came to spend an afternoon. Then the following Friday we went to the Rockies/ Brewers Spring Training game, Salt River Field, Scottsdale with them. Perfect weather for a change and all around enjoyable afternoon. It was nice the Rockies won just for us. :D

Cyndi, Jeff, Debi, Mike at Salt River Field

We left Tucson March 4th after 2 weeks of fun with the Ahlins. Thanks to them I fell in love with Bacon Maple Cream filled doughnuts. Their new grandson is beautiful and it was nice sharing the experience with them, as well as seeing Alicia again.

Onward toward Hot Springs with nightly stops at The Elks Lodge, Las Cruces, NM; WallyWorld in Midland TX and a week at Grand Prairie Traders Village outside of Dallas. Everyone who knows Mike KNOWS we had to go to see the Dallas Stadium. I have always been a huge Dallas (The TV Show) fan so we toured Southfork. We met with friends from my days at Qwest. LAM Communications hires the most special people. Judy and John have a vacation home in Bailey as well as living in the Dallas area, so we have become buddies throughout the last couple of years. They took us to The Stockyards, Ft Worth. What a neat place! We also toured LAM, put faces on the voices behind the training calls. Our last day we ran through the Traders Village Flea Market and I was sooooooo good...only bought fruit.  HUGE Flea Market!!!! On the way to Dallas we got stopped by Border Patrol, west of Odessa. I never saw so many officers and dogs. It amazed me we do not have to show proof of citizenship when stopped, just answer the question yes or no on being a US Citizen. 

Judy and Debi Stockyards TX

Debi on Petrone Stockyards TX

Southfork

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Mike and Tom Landry

Mike and Debi Dallas Cowboy Stadium

Border Patrol TX

We are officially in Hot Springs, Arkansas right now having a great time with cousins. The weather has been bizarre so haven't been able to get to the Diamond Mine in Hope just yet OR the Bath Houses. Still on our agenda. Judy's dogs have become Lizi and Maxi's boyfriends and Judy spoils them all. Mike's heart has always been here...everyone here is so good to us. The area certainly has grown on me. More detail on our Hot Springs visit in a future blog.

For those of you in CO, we will be arriving at Chatfield State Park May 20th but only for a few days before heading to Idaho to attend Oceana's graduation. June 4th we will be back in CO at Cherry Creek State Park, staying until app. June 20th. We are anxious to see you all before heading East for round 2 of the Great Adventure. 

Much Love To You All.

Mike, Debi, Lizi and Maxi

Christmas in San Diego, 2013 Las Vegas Welcome and Phoenix

 

Hello Family and Friends,
When we last communicated we had left North of LA from Santa Clarita after our visit with friends in North Hollywood CA. The Lew Goldstein Family gave us quite the tour of their neighborhood which is the home of many TV Actors and Movie Stars. It was legendary being among the Rich and Famous. Their hospitality made our visit so much fun. Steve Carell's home across the street from Lew was of particular interest to Mike since he has an 18 car basement garage with a car elevator...some 6 weeks later, Mike has finally quit drooling. We were quite the sight pulling up in front of Lew's home in our 1991 Toyota Celica...I know security was biting their lip.





While in the area we made a quick trip to the end of Route 66 at The Santa Monica Pier.

We took the back way into San Diego, East to 210, Riverside and then I15 South to Diego. We were able to bypass LA traffic which when driving this motorhome seemed like a no brainer.

Found San Diego RV Resort adjacent to "The 8" and beside the 70th Street Trolley Station. The views were not what we were used to but the convenience was excellent. We utilized the Trolley System quite a bit...loved the convenience. San Diego has a wonderful transit system.
We quickly set up between 2 palm trees...fun time backing into that spot but Mike did an incredible job. Then headed to Cardiff By The Sea on 101 to meet Cousin Mike and family. Mike had Margaritas waiting for us when we arrived at Los Olas. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa! We had many outings with Mike, Kate, Maddox and Sydney throughout the month of Dec. La Jolla Cove during unusual stormy10 ft waves was an extraordinary sight. Farmers Market, Beers and Burgers at our motorhome, Christmas at Rancho Bernardo Winery, many relaxing dinners (Cardiff Crack- a Tri Tip Roast in a Burgandy Sauce, was our favorite), Kate's Birthday celebration at Pacific Grill, Cardiff By The Sea and  watching the kids open gifts on magical Christmas morning. Cousin Mike, being the excellent host, took my Mike and his Best Friend Denny to Torrey Pines Golf Course for a round of golf. This course has been on Mike's wishlist for years.

 

 

Denny and Janet from Hershey, PA were in Carlsbad visiting their daughter Erin, while we were in San Diego. What an added bit of fun for Mike and me since they are both incredible friends. Although time with them was limited, it sure was special.

The stay in San Diego went fast. I, Debi, love San Diego and want to spend a few winters here in the future. Wink Wink. We visited all the usual Tourist spots- Old Town, Gaslight District, Balboa Park. Coronado Island, San Diego Harbor, Seaside Village and many beaches.

Lizi and Maxi loved going to The Dog Beach at Ocean Beach every chance they could. Lunch at Hodad's after hours at Dog Beach added to the interesting places/people. We also went to Del Mar Dog Beach which was even nicer. Ocean Beach is funky where as Del Mar Beach is beautiful.

We met many nice people at San Diego RV Park. Our neighbors Steve and Karin were fun and kind. They are in San Diego doing a mission trip for the Mormon Battalion, Old Town San Diego. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. The Mormon Battalion is an integral part of California history when in 1846 the U.S. military enlisted the Mormon Battalion to march 2000 miles from Iowa to San Diego. The historic site was an interesting interactive tour.

Meeting the Dannas,  Paul, Tracy and their children at SeaWorld was a hoot. We went with cousins Mike, Kate and children so a fun day.

Mike found a way to investigate the area's health care systems with stops at San Diego's Kaiser Clinic and Hospital for abdominal pains which they thought was just a bug. After going to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, it was determined through a CT Scan that Mike had a kidney stone. He gave birth to several tiny broken up stones app. a week later in Las Vegas.

After a day in San Diego Kaiser Clinics with mega pain, Mike lost his mind and decided to trade in our 2003 Gas Itasca/ 2 slides Motorhome on a 2004 40 ft Diesel Pusher with 3 slides. La Mesa RV in San Diego turned out to be an impressive RV Dealership. For any of you thinking about purchasing, they really are a class act. They kept every promise...and more. Delivery was made in Yuma AZ to avoid CA taxes since we are non-residents. Mike loves driving a diesel pusher and we love the ride, stability and upgraded spaciousness of our new rig. Having a washer/dryer onboard is also an added plus.

Vegas is the next stop to meet Roger and Toshi to bring in 2013. It was quite the experience being downtown Vegas to bring in the New Year. Fireworks Displays were incredible and we all had so much fun. Roger and Toshi came over  to our motorhome New Years Day to have our traditional New Years Day meal for good luck...Pork and Sauerkraut. We had met Roger's friends at The Wicked Spoon Buffet Dec 30th in the Cosmopolitan....WOW ...what a spread! Angelina and Mark stayed at The Aria 53rd Floor, invited us for drinks and VIEW New Years Eve! INCREDIBLE!!!!! It was such a wonderful memory spent with Roger and Toshi.

Riviera RV Park....hmmmm...what an interesting place with "unique personalities" who reside there. We felt safe and enjoyed talking to the tenants but at first glance we were afraid we had made a mistake. The razor wire around the facilities reminded Mike of Camp George West. When Mike was so ill, our neighbors were all caring, checking on us. I am thinking of writing a book much like Cannery Row by Steinbeck. This is the real America. Many of those folks had very little but would have given their last dime to help a neighbor. Don made us laugh daily with his home cures for Mike, ie Southern Comfort daily and other stories. He now is an email friend who sends us daily jokes. His kindness and gentle nature was a comfort to me. Ricky would ride around the park on his Vespa in his bathrobe to come talk with us. Mike lives in a van on blocks that he converted to his humble home and was mighty proud of.... Barb, the manager of the park, is a feisty, tiny 82 year old. She kept us laughing with her antics and motherly advice. We had to extend our time in Las Vegas by a week until Mike could get rid of the kidney stone. We left Vegas on Jan 10th. for Phoenix. Jan 10th was Mike's 5 year anniversary of his heart surgery. Can you believe it?

I met my high school friend Deb DeBolt Gallaway in Henderson for lunch at PF Changs. We reminisced about old times, caught up with our present lives, children, hubbies, etc. The lunch went way too fast. I so enjoyed visiting with her.

We arrived at Dessert Shadows RV Park on Jan 10th for a month's stay. Such a cool place with lots of activities, including Sat night dances, Bingo, Line Dance Lessons, Indoor Pool, really nice exercise room, pool tables, library, dog park...just about everything you can imagine for a sense of community. We cannot take a walk without people stopping us to chat. The early morning coffee circle at the office fixes the "issues of the world". We have made many friends and wish we were staying longer than a month. This is definetly on our list of places to come back, possibly winter. Our neighbors, John and Val from Conifer are in Sun City for a few weeks. It sure has been nice being with them again. Mike and the "girls" held down the fort during the wierd cold spell while I made a trip to Shippensburg...met Brian there. On my return from Ship, we went to Papago Park, Hole In The Rock, Phoenix for hiking with beautiful views.

A trip to Freightliner, Tolleson had to be made to complete warranty work. What a phenomenal facility and operation. They have a RV Park on their property with full hookups which we utilized by arriving the evening before. Their garage is clean and organized. I have never seen a garage like it. They did the work in 2 and a half hours, no charge to us and we were on our way back to Dessert Shadows.

We have visited 89 year old cousin Charlotte with her children, Jay and Marlene twice in Pebble Creek, Goodyear and it has been fun. Charlotte never changes and is feisty as ever. We spent Super Bowl Sunday with them enjoying their company as well as the game. It has been nice getting re-acquainted with Jay and Marlene.

A day spent with 87 year old Aunt Jane in Payson happened this past week. We had a lovely visit and dinner. Times spent with her are always cherished.

The adventure continues....we have one more week here. We will be attending the Sat night dance, lets see if we remember any of the dance lesson moves. Hahahahaha.

We leave Friday the 15th for Tuscon to be with our friends Larry and Deb at Dessert Trails RV Park. Can't wait!

Love you all...Miss you all!

 

Happy Holidays From Our Home On Wheels To Your Home

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

 

 

 We have had quite the year getting ready for this great adventure. The last four + months have gone quickly and we really are living the dream.

 

Our blessings are many....being with Brian, Emily, Oceana and Seanna for an extended visit filled August and September with such love and joy. We enjoyed having Seanna with us for the first leg of the journey. Watching Oshie cheerleading at football games was such a treat for us. Boating, fishing, playing board games, barbecues, golfing, mining for Star Garnets, attending the county fair and just plain being with them was fun beyond words. Leaving them was bittersweet as we officially started on our quest to see this country.

 

We have traveled through Prosser WA, Cascade Locks Oregon, down the Oregon Coast - from Astora to Brookings- our first time seeing Oregon. WOW, what incredible beauty. We spent time on the beaches exploring the tidepools, letting Lizi and Maxi romp along the surf chasing birds, golfed, saw old friends, made new friends, hiked, visited museums, dropped into Elks Lodges, tasted wines, cheeses, ice creams, watched the seals, whales and made it through the torrential Oregon rains.  The  starfish are unbelievably colorful, seafood yummy and lots of memories made. Doing day trips across the California border to see the massive, magnificent Redwoods was inspiring.

 

We traveled from Oregon to California, doing 2-3 day stints in Fortuna, Petaluma, Santa Rosa and then Thanksgiving week outside of Sacramento on the California Delta, Snug Harbor, Ryers Island. We visited friends and extended family.

We left the day after Thanksgiving for Salinas CA so we could spend time in one of my favorite parts of this country (If I ever won the Powerball, I would buy property here) - Pacific Grove. Atascadero, Santa Clarita, Toluca Lake and then arrival in San Diego, again one of my favorite places, to spend a month. I will do another blog with details / pics of "Christmas Month" in San Diego, CA.

If you have a computer, you can keep up with our travels at:
 http;//evansmd85loving life.blogspot.com/

If you want to be added to our blog email distro let me know.

Our new address is 25587 Conifer Rd, Suite 105-#328, Conifer CO 80433. This is a UPS mailbox service that forwards our mail as we travel and change locations. Our home phone number is alive and forwarded to my mobile number.



Mike and I are having the time of our lives. Lizi and Maxi have adjusted to a different dog walk on a regular basis. We would be remiss if we did not Thank Ken and Margaret for taking excellent care of our home, giving us the mental security to keep traveling.

We love this great country, it's pristine beauty and diversity. The more we travel, the more this becomes crystal clear.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays dear family and friends. Your love, encouragement, friendships and kindness mean the world to us. You all fill our hearts with joy.

Lots of Love,
Mike, Debi, Lizi and Maxi

 

 

 



 

 

 



Drove Our Chevy To The Levee

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving from Mike, Debi, Lizi and Maxi at Snug Harbor, Ryer Island, CA. We are blessed to have the love of family and friends...many blessings on our plate again this year. This trip has opened our eyes to the beauty of this great country and the continued kindness of many people we have met. This year we think about those who struggle physically and emotionally; those who are far away from loved ones fighting for our country's freedoms; those who have experienced weather's vengence; our First Responders who leave the warmth of family holidays to help at a moment's notice and for all the friends and acquaintances we have me on our travels. May you all have a safe, happy and blessed holiday.

We spent a month in Brookings OR, Oct 10th thru Nov 10th. We stayed in Driftwood RV Park a block from Brookings Harbor Beach, a cool little beach with daily surfers. It rained about 40% of our stay, sometimes torrential. We developed a tiny pinhole leak in the overhead cabinet over the bed. We replaced our slide awnings, found a 72 year old couple who make them and gave us a deal we really could not walk away from. They are an amazing couple, working together to make and install the awnings. Mike sealed all the seams and we learned to pull in the slides when the rains became gale-like. The girls got really cute doggy raincoats in hopes of keeping them semi dry. I have to say the rains really did not slow us much. Rain or shine, there was always something to do. We did enjoy some down time, reading books with the fireplace going in our home on wheels. Somtimes just staring at the ocean was on the agenda. The beaches were amazing with the jutted rocks and we especially loved the tidepools. We walked the Brookings Harbor Beach every morning and sometimes in the evening. Harris Beach State Park, Whaleshead and our favorite beach Pistol River were all within a half hour's drive. We found huge perfect sand dollars at Pistol River on the ocean side one evening at low tide. Our Lizi, who becomes crazed when birds are around (she is the typical Spaniel, bird dog), chased a bird right into the Pistol River. The look on her face when she ended up in the water was priceless. She lost her off leash privileges at that point. When we got home from that excursion, we realized her collar was no where to be found. This had all her tags attached so I thought I would be making calls the next day to get replacements. Mike decided we should go back to the beach and retrace our steps. Lo and behold after app. an hour of retracing...there it was, her bling collar, sparkling in the sunlight at the ocean water's edge. How incredible that it did not go out to sea during high tide.

We met another couple while at Driftwood, who sold their home in Aurora, CO and are full- timers also. Ed and Kim were a hoot and we enjoyed spending time with them. They had a Japanese Chin, named ZuZu, the same coloring and size as Maxi. He adored our girls. :D We are hoping to meet back up with them, if all goes well, in AZ at Spring Training.

Day trips to see the area are always a good game plan. We spent a day at the CA Redwoods; Trees of Mystery, Klamath, CA, was intriguing. This is an interpretive trail of enormous, 1000 year old Redwood formations such as the Cathedral Tree, Candlelabra Tree, Elephant Tree and the tallest of them all, The Big Brother Tree- over 325 ft tall. The Sky Trail was really fun, flying high above the trees.

Coos Bay, OR, was another day trip. We visited the Coos Bay Museum, which houses the Steve Prefontaine story.  Very interesting and what a loss of a phenomenal athlete.
We stopped at the Elks Lodge there and had dinner. They invited us back for Mexican Train/ Potluck night which we did the following week. WHAT FUN!!!!!
We visited Golds Beach, Crescent City and Bandon. Lots to see and experience. We found our days very full.
Before we left the area we did have to stop at Superfly, the local Vodka Distillery and Restaurant. It is a favorite hang out with good food and of course yummy Vodka drinks.
The last 2 days spent in Brookings were at Beachfront RV Park, right on the ocean.  I truly love (me more than Mike) watching and listening to the ocean. Mike indulged me being near the waves...it felt like Christmas.

We left Brookings OR for Fortuna CA on Nov 10th. We drove 101, The Pacific Coast Highway, through the Avenue of the Giants, Redwoods. A spectacular 2 and a half hour drive. We passed Pelican Bay State Prison, of course Mike has an interest in that facility. The One Log House was interesting, it really was a house built inside a Redwood log. WOW!

Fortuna RV Park was our next temporary home. This town has a special meaning for us since our granddaughter Oceana was born here. We spent 3 days checking out the area. The whole town of Ferndale is on the historical register, keeping their Victorian motif alive. Eureka, CA is a quaint, waterfront town. We visited their Elks Lodge and met a woman who is from Potlatch ID. Her nephew is Brian and Emily's electrician. Their children all are friends at school. Small World!

Onward to Petaluma, CA to spend 3 days at the Petaluma Elks Lodge RV Park. We couldn't wait to get to Healdsburg to visit with Jolly Stine, Jolly has been a long time family friend who was a bridesmaid in my parent's wedding. She is a fun and beautiful woman, whom we love. Her home sits in the middle of fields of grapes/ wine country; the views are spectacular. As always, the time with her went too quickly.

We spent a day in Santa Rosa, stopped at Tex Wasabi, Guy Fieri's Retaurant. Mike likes watching DDD...he says he can live vicariously through the food on his show. lol. The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center was extremely interesting and fun. How many of us read his comic strip through the years - who doesn't love Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Sally and Pigpen ?

Three days went extremely fast and we had to leave for Snug Harbor, Ryers Island, outside of Sacramento, CA. We get to stay here for a week and spend time with friends and extended family. This is the California Delta and what a hidden treasure. Most people we spoke with had no idea this existed. That is the great thing about doing this Great Adventure..we see the "hidden treasures" of the USA. The Magellan we received as a gift when Mike left DOC has been a God-Send. It got us to Snug Harbor along the river levee roads which is not an easy task, especially in a motorhome.

We met with Gene Upton and his Jean, (they call themselves the pair of Jeans- love it), at the Texas Roadhouse in Elk Grove our first day here. Gene is a Navy buddy of Dad's, as well as Best Man at Mom and Dad's wedding. It was a delightful lunch and we heard many stories of their time in the Navy.

My friend, Pat Miller, from my MCI days, lives in Citrus Heights so we have been spending several days with her. She was hit by a car while walking 2 weeks ago leaving her with a broken leg. She maintains her sense of humor and loving demeanor despite the incredible pain. We will be spending Thanksgiving with her tomorrow.

Emily's (our daughter-in- law) brother lives in Sacramento so we had dinner with them. Their daughters are adorable and I enjoyed the several games of Go Fish before dinner. We are hoping to see them again before we leave the area. Thank you Matt and Chaundra for making time for us in the middle of your move.

This island is neat- we have to take a ferry back and forth to the mainland. It runs 24x7 and is free, which is nice. There are cute little harbor villages all around us.

 

We leave here Friday for the Monterey Peninsula.

Until we meet again....have a wonderful holiday and enjoy life to the fullest. You all are our biggest blessings in our life.