eastward ho

A bit overdue, but the blog is back! After a real good visit with Joan's brother Gerry & wife Maryellen in Phoenix, ( during which we were hit with the worst storm in AZ history ) we headed for the Tuscon area. While there, we met up with good friends Bob, Kathy, Andy & Marge Secker. It's always great to see friends & family from home.

The pic here is from Boot Hill cemetery in Tombstone. It was a neat place to visit , and the nearby town of Bisbee was picturesque and historic. We also got over to Cochise's hideout, an amazingly beautiful and boulder strewn area. From there, we ambled east thru New Mexico and into west Texas. There were many historical markers to study and we marveled at the sheer magnitude of the lands and it was a good trip thru the hill country. Then, we got into San Antonio, land of Missions, the most famous of which was the Alamo. For us, it was very moving to see and think of the events that took place there. We also did the Riverwalk, a beautiful area filled with all sorts of shops, cafes, and other unique stuff placed along a meandering waterway with landscaping and neat lighting. It was quite the experience. From there, we proceeded to Austin and visited the LBJ Library and the state capitol building. Everything caught & held our interest. Weather was not the best, but we kept remembering that we'd missed all the snow up north and immediately felt better! After that, it was up thru Waco and then into Dallas to visit my cousin Larry and his family. He's a prof at UT Dallas, involved in neuroscince and has many interesting projects he's working on. We were amazed at the scope of it all. The whole visit was enjoyable, and included a trip to Dealey Plaza, site of JFK's assassination. A great museum was housed in the old Book Depository, where Oswald fired the shots from. Being there provoked many emotions & thoughts. We explored the downtown areas after that. Dallas got hit with 12" of snow the day before we arrived, but the roads were clear for us.

Upon leaving Texas, we went into La., thru Shreveport to a little town named Gibsland, where Bonnie & Clyde got ambushed by the law. After seeing the actual car while in NV, we felt we had to see where it happened, and it was worth the trip. Turns out that the place we stopped at to confirm directions was the site of an old cafe that the pair had stopped off to get sandwiches just before meeting their maker. Hmm, wonder if they were able to eat them.......

We're now in N'awlins, also known as the Big Easy. What a town!! All of our senses are under assault, what with the great foods, beautiful buildings, and interesting folk. It's pretty wild, and we can't imagine how much wilder it was at Mardi Gras and after the Saints won the Super Bowl. This place knows how to partee'!! We also got to view & tour some of the elegant river plantations and ante-bellum mansions in the area, plus those in the Garden District of New Orleans. That was a wow-a-minute tour.

We soon leave for Biloxi, MS, then to Mobile and Pensacola. Crossing our fingers for the southern warmth, but will not forget ya'll up north as well. You'd probably be happy with the days we consider bad here. We'll check back in later.....

Continued west coast fun

We're now in the quaint village of Carlsbad, Ca., taking a trailer break at a timeshare on the beach. It's sunny & warm, unlike most of the country at this time. We feel incredibly lucky to be here, and wish we could bottle up the atmosphere for ya'll back home. While here, we took a trip down to San Diego area, including a ride over to Coronado, where I had some training before goin' over to 'Nam back in the late 60's. It's an absolutely gorgeous island with beautiful homes & landscaping. No homes under a million, so we've kinda ruled it out as a possible place to someday put down stakes.

San Diego is a great town and we walked the Gaslamp District as well as Seaport Village. Got to see a big cruise ship leave dock, and down a few berths was the Midway, a WW2 aircraft carrier that saw much action. Had an urge to don my old sailor suit, but even if found, could not envision fitting into it now.

Unfortunately, the Snyders had to change plans for their visit with us. We miss them a bunch...

We head back to the desert in a few days, in time for the resort Pickle-ball tournament. I've rested my right arm & knee sufficiently to start the process all over again. Joannie will be competing as well, so please pray we do no more physical harm than possible!

Speaking of Joannie, take notice above of her & our new-found beach buddy. We were on the Oceanside pier and he made no attempt to flee, just lookin' for a handout.

We'll be heading to AZ early next week, first going to Quartzite ( a huge RV get-together and flea market there ) then on to Phoenix where we'll meet up with my cousin Esther, then on the 21st, Gerry ( Joan's brother ) and his wife Mary Ellen will land to spend a week with us. We really are looking forward to their visit. After that, it's on to Tuscon for a bit. We'll revisit the blog a little later, so bye for now!

We are still slumming it in Palm Springs, Ca. Oh, the misery! Since the last posting, we've enjoyed some real nice experiences. The main one was our visit to brother Vince & family for a Turkey Day celebration. They're in the San Fernando valley, specifically, Van Nuys. Sister Donna flew out as well, making it a joyous occasion. While in the LA area, we were hosted by good friend Sue Montague & the DiCola's as well. ( we thought we'd spread out the pleasure of putting us up! ) Another neat deal was attending tv tapings of the Leno show, plus an episode of Bonnie Hunt.

John Travolta was a guest on Leno, and Bonnie had the 2 harlem Globetrotters that'd been on the Amazing Race. ( Bonnie wanted me to come on down, but I didn't want to spoil the thunder of the other guests ) We also got to see the building used as the Tara plantation in the classic "Gone With The Wind" movie. It's now an office building on the Culver Studios lot. Really enjoyed all that. In addition, we went to Gladstone's, a great eatery on the beach at the end of Sunset Blvd. We had the opportunity to get together with a couple we'd met in Nevada ( Joannie & I had whooped their butts in shuffleboard, but they tolerate us anyway...) They're planning to visit us here in the deset for a few days this week, so that'll be nice too. By the way, the wind turbines pictured here are only a few of the approx. thousand or so in the area. They generate much energy, but are quite an imposing visual presence. We're really looking forward to our buds the Snyders coming out in Jan. for a week on the beach at Carlsbad, close to San Diego. After that, we'll start heading east, taking our time and trying to stay in the sunny warmth of the southwest and following it eastward. Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas will be on the itinerary, with much to see in those areas. We're hoping that a good tailwind will help out with the fuel mileage along the route. Anyway, will try to update soon. Merry Christmas to everyone and the best of New Years!!

back to the shaky side

It seems a problem to get text & pics coordinated, so here goes another attempt.....The sunset pic is the one that didn't make it onto the last post, taken at the great resort in Pahrump, NV. The 2nd I will soon explain.
Our Las Vegas segment was a good one. We got together with Lancaster buddy Dave Conner, who flew into town during our time there. It was great catching up on Pa. stuff, as well as having a touch of home. We experienced all the glitz & glitter of Sin City, even coming away with the enormous sum of $23 taken from a nickel slot machine. It seems we didn't profit from things overall as we spent 3 times that amount on a trailer repair. Message received, God..... We did see some cool shows, one a variety type, and one hypnosis show. It was pretty funny, but now I cluck like a chicken whenever a siren goe off!
We headed south from there, stopping at a NV/CAL border casino parking lot for the nite. While there, we spotted a poster announcing a Bonnie & Clyde exhibit, hence the 2nd picture here. It was the "death" car, in which the bank-robbing/murdering duo was surprised by the law and after ignoring the order to halt, were blasted into the next world. There were 167 bullet holes in the car itself, many of which pierced their bodies. That pretty much stopped their crime spree. There were also some add'l photos and memorabilia on display that really enhanced the display On the way back east, we aim ( no pun intended ) to find the Loiusiana road where the actual ambush took place. The subject always fascinated me, and Joan also finds the story interesting.
We then headed for Palm Springs, where we stayed at an excellent RV resort as guests whom they hoped would buy a lot from them. But, we've finally figured out how to say no, after a few timeshare presentations that cost us dearly. Anyway, we're now staying with good friends here in the desert whom we met during the short time we lived here back in '78/79. We'll soon go into LA for a Thanksgiving visit with my brother Vince and his family. Sister Donna will be flying in as well, so we're really looking forward to that get-together.
We're soaking up as much sunshine as we can handle, and don't yet miss any of the east coast weather, especially the oncoming winter stuff. We'll update soon !

nevada to cal.

nevada continues

We've been bouncing between Ca. & NV since our last post. One omission from our last was a tour of the Jelly Belly candy factory near Sacromento. Neither of us knew all that goes into that magical little jellybean. It was very interesting, and we had many samples along the way.
On the way south from Tahoe, the landscape changed much with the lower elevations. The mountains got smaller and balder. Still beautiful, but in a different way.
We went from Carson City ( named for Kit C. ), and headed for Yosemite NP. Sadly, it closed because of an early snow. Those that know me even a bit know my aversion to the white stuff and the accompanying cold temps. So we didn't hang around long. We'll do there & Sequoia on trip B in the future.
On the way again, we promptly got a flat on the van, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. But, after a short delay, our roadside assistance co. came and changed it out. We got it repaired & remounted in a little mining town called Tonopah. It was still cold & windy there, but we spent my b-day evening in a neat casino from which we left $13.75 richer. But we enjoyed Mn. nite football, some good eats, and warmth! So, all was well with the world again. Therein proves that it doesn't take much to make us happy now...
We got to visit Death Valley and it was amazing. That land , tho mostly desolate, has its own unique asthetic scenes. And again, we both tried to envision trekking thru in a covered wagon for days & days & days. It's a very humbling thought and give us great respect for those
hearty pioneers. And what a change from the forested mountains we'd just left. Wow.....

We're now in the best ever camping resort we've experienced yet. It's in the town of Pahrump, maybe an hour out of Veagas. Amenities are xllent, the people are all nice, and the weather has been near perfect. The photo here is a small example of some of the beauty around us.
This morning, we had a bingo experience that humbled me. I mean, there were 80 yr. old ladies nearby that were keeping up better than I was. The #'s were flying, mentally draining my previously fractured, concussion pounded brain. I guess it was the Big Guy's way of tellin' me to stay away from gambling. Message received ( for now, anyway )
We'll be heading for a weeklong Vegas timeshare stop around the end of the month, so the next message we post should include our Sin City sojurn. We're hoping to hookup with our friend Dave Connor there, so that should be fun. Later !

california dreamin'

This post will be on the brief side. We'll try to make it up soon....... Upon entering Cal., we were carefully checked for gypsy moths, then cleared to proceed. The first visit was to Redwoods Park. Those trees are something else indeed, beautiful and stately. From there, we toured the wine country in Sonoma Valley. The scenery was great, with vineyards everywhere, even on the hillsides. The winery mansions and gardens appealed to all our senses. Of course, the wine itself helped accent those senses.
From there, we proceeded up the mountains towards Tahoe, with a stop at Donner Pass. The land is rugged and primitive, and helped envision the tribulations of that group in trying to get over the range. Very moving...( there was a point that Joannie looked at me with hunger in her eyes which made me move away a bit )
Tahoe is magnificent, though suffered an unusual cold snap upon our arrival. Go figure....
When we got to the condo, we had to park the rig across the road for a time, and on one of my trips over, I encountered 2 rather large bears up front & personal. They were going thru some nearby dumpsters, and I managed to avoid being their buffet. Will expand on that saga at a later date.
We found a great sitter for Conrad at a nearby wildlife shelter. Her name is Connie Stevens, and even tho she had a resemblance, it was not THE C.S.
We had a problem with one of the brakes on the trailer that has since been repaired, so we're thankful for heathy binders for the trip down the mountain & beyond . We leave tomorrow for Yosemite, so we'll check in soon. Take care ya'll !