Wednesday, December 17, 2008
December 17, 2008
We are sitting in Detroit MI ... it snowed (again) last night about 3 inches. We just can't wait until we get down to FL ! We leave here on January 5 or thereabouts.....depending upon the weather. If there is a big storm coming, we may leave sooner. We took our motorhome to Ocala FL in early November because we knew icy weather would be arriving much, too much, early this year. Sure glad we did!! So, now the holidays are upon us, and we wait....impatiently to take off in our Jeep!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
First 10 days of March
Friday, March 9th
What a week! On Monday we visited the Pima Air Museum. There must have been 300 airplanes there! You know who was in heaven, don’t you? I liked the first 15 minutes, then they all began looking alike: engines, cockpits, wings, wheels…..on and on… you’ll have to give Brian a call on his cell to get the full description of what he saw. I know he loved it!
I went to a quilting group on Tuesday. Our neighbor here in the Park is from Troy, and she had seen my applique quilts, and insisted I join their group…by the way, “show and tell” was Tuesday. So…….I showed my Hearts and Flowers that I am hand quilting. I felt really good about the comments. I finished Danny and Jonna’s wedding quilt just before Christmas, and sent it out to my sister, Wendy in Oregon, to quilt on her Gammill machine. She finished it last week, and sent it back to me to put on the binding. Last night I sewed one side of the binding on, and now I have to hand sew the back side of the binding to the quilt. Wendy did a great job on the quilting….Danny and Jonna, you are just going to LOVE it!!!!!
Wednesday we went exploring…got kinda lost, but found our way back home, whew!! Also, we are going down to Chelle’s home in Mexico in a couple of weeks, so we wanted Mexican auto insurance for the Jeep. What a fun chore that was for us. On Monday, we went to the AAA office about 10 miles away, filled out the forms. When she asked me to check all the figures, I mentioned that the expiration date of our insurance certificate should be ’07 not ’06. Well, she read it right. Our new certificate is nowhere to be found…must still be in Michigan somewhere at our home. Well, we contacted our insurance agent in Michigan the next day and asked our agent to fax an updated copy to AAA. They did, and we went over again on Wednesday. Well, all the figures she’d typed into her computer were gone, so we had to start all over from scratch. So, Brian went out to the Jeep to get the registration….couldn’t find it. Well, you know what he said, don’t you???? “Why didn’t you put it away in the folder in the glove box?” To make a very long story short, on Monday he had taken the certificates away from me in the AAA office, interleafed them with some maps he had in his hands, and put those maps between his seat and the middle console. Went back today with all the correct paperwork, and got our insurance policy for our trip. Yay!!!!!
This morning we went up near Phoenix to check out an RV Park that Dick and Joyce Thams highly recommended. It is everything they said it would be. Maybe someday in the future we’ll have to go there for the winter.
Brian is making plans and reservations when we leave here on April 1st. We want to make it to the Monaco Factory in Elkhart, IN to get a few things resolved. We love this coach, and are really enjoying this lifestyle.
Brian’s brother and his wife, Art and Carol, just got home from their trip to Australia and New Zealand today, so they are going to have a lot to say to us, and pictures to share.
More next week!
Dee
March 4th
Since we don’t have wi-fi at our site (it would be about $100 for the month of March because we have to buy a modem, which we already have one in Michigan), so I run/walk to the Information Center because they have a direct hook to the internet. So here is what we’ve done this week:
On Tuesday we kinda did nothing but walk around the Park to investigate what all the activities that are offered here. The weather has not been all that warm….low 30’s at night, but only trying to reach 60 during the day,. The wind blows a lot here, too, not every day, but a couple of days a week. We came South for our trip because the winters in Michigan are extremely low humidity and very cold. This morning, here in Tucson, the humidity is 8%, so we didn’t really trade up, did we? We use a lot of creams on our skin here, too.
We met Chelle for dinner on Wednesday. She made reservations at “Hifalutin” restaurant. Brian thought she was describing the restaurant, not the name. It was neat….the waiters were cute young men dressed all in black with huge silver buckles on their belts, and huge black hats. When asking what we’d like, they said, “what’d you like, ma’am?” Chelle and I were enthralled!! It is nice to meet with family. She doesn’t have much family here, just her daughter, Soleil, who is 16, and she has one more year before college. She is talking college in England. Chelle will be missing her a lot, then.
Thursday we had our major adventure of going out to the grocery store, the rest of the day we looked into the Fitness Center and found out how the machines work. Brian wants to get an exercise routine going, but because of my back and arthritis, I would have to use the swimming pool exercise classes. Now, let me tell you when they have these classes in the outdoor pool…..9AM!!! I’m not that crazy to run out to an exercise class when the temps are at 32 degrees, let me tell you flat out. So, when it comes right down to it, we’ll probably not do either one.
Yesterday we drove out to Old Tucson. That is the movie set that most of the Western Movies were made on: High Chapperal, High Noon, McClintock, also the one that Sharon Stone made famous with her leather breeches, and tons of more films. Almost all of the John Wayne movies were made there. We spent nearly 4 hours there just wandering around, and listening to different things.
One of the activities here are cards, lots of different card games. Brian knows how to play bridge, and I’ve played a little a long time ago. So, we tried to find a book store. Wow, had to travel a great distance from where the Park is, but we found a Barnes & Noble, and bought “Bridge for Dummies”, I guess Goren’s book is out of print…. So, now begins the slow process for me to learn it all over again!!
One thing I forgot to mention in my last update was this: When we were in San Antonio, we loved that city! The River Walk is something grand. It goes right through the city, and they’ve built their restaurants and shops along this walk. It is beautiful! We like this city the best of all we’ve seen on our trip. We also saw an IMAX film about the battle for the Alamo. Wow!!
That’s all for today.
Dee
What a week! On Monday we visited the Pima Air Museum. There must have been 300 airplanes there! You know who was in heaven, don’t you? I liked the first 15 minutes, then they all began looking alike: engines, cockpits, wings, wheels…..on and on… you’ll have to give Brian a call on his cell to get the full description of what he saw. I know he loved it!
I went to a quilting group on Tuesday. Our neighbor here in the Park is from Troy, and she had seen my applique quilts, and insisted I join their group…by the way, “show and tell” was Tuesday. So…….I showed my Hearts and Flowers that I am hand quilting. I felt really good about the comments. I finished Danny and Jonna’s wedding quilt just before Christmas, and sent it out to my sister, Wendy in Oregon, to quilt on her Gammill machine. She finished it last week, and sent it back to me to put on the binding. Last night I sewed one side of the binding on, and now I have to hand sew the back side of the binding to the quilt. Wendy did a great job on the quilting….Danny and Jonna, you are just going to LOVE it!!!!!
Wednesday we went exploring…got kinda lost, but found our way back home, whew!! Also, we are going down to Chelle’s home in Mexico in a couple of weeks, so we wanted Mexican auto insurance for the Jeep. What a fun chore that was for us. On Monday, we went to the AAA office about 10 miles away, filled out the forms. When she asked me to check all the figures, I mentioned that the expiration date of our insurance certificate should be ’07 not ’06. Well, she read it right. Our new certificate is nowhere to be found…must still be in Michigan somewhere at our home. Well, we contacted our insurance agent in Michigan the next day and asked our agent to fax an updated copy to AAA. They did, and we went over again on Wednesday. Well, all the figures she’d typed into her computer were gone, so we had to start all over from scratch. So, Brian went out to the Jeep to get the registration….couldn’t find it. Well, you know what he said, don’t you???? “Why didn’t you put it away in the folder in the glove box?” To make a very long story short, on Monday he had taken the certificates away from me in the AAA office, interleafed them with some maps he had in his hands, and put those maps between his seat and the middle console. Went back today with all the correct paperwork, and got our insurance policy for our trip. Yay!!!!!
This morning we went up near Phoenix to check out an RV Park that Dick and Joyce Thams highly recommended. It is everything they said it would be. Maybe someday in the future we’ll have to go there for the winter.
Brian is making plans and reservations when we leave here on April 1st. We want to make it to the Monaco Factory in Elkhart, IN to get a few things resolved. We love this coach, and are really enjoying this lifestyle.
Brian’s brother and his wife, Art and Carol, just got home from their trip to Australia and New Zealand today, so they are going to have a lot to say to us, and pictures to share.
More next week!
Dee
March 4th
Since we don’t have wi-fi at our site (it would be about $100 for the month of March because we have to buy a modem, which we already have one in Michigan), so I run/walk to the Information Center because they have a direct hook to the internet. So here is what we’ve done this week:
On Tuesday we kinda did nothing but walk around the Park to investigate what all the activities that are offered here. The weather has not been all that warm….low 30’s at night, but only trying to reach 60 during the day,. The wind blows a lot here, too, not every day, but a couple of days a week. We came South for our trip because the winters in Michigan are extremely low humidity and very cold. This morning, here in Tucson, the humidity is 8%, so we didn’t really trade up, did we? We use a lot of creams on our skin here, too.
We met Chelle for dinner on Wednesday. She made reservations at “Hifalutin” restaurant. Brian thought she was describing the restaurant, not the name. It was neat….the waiters were cute young men dressed all in black with huge silver buckles on their belts, and huge black hats. When asking what we’d like, they said, “what’d you like, ma’am?” Chelle and I were enthralled!! It is nice to meet with family. She doesn’t have much family here, just her daughter, Soleil, who is 16, and she has one more year before college. She is talking college in England. Chelle will be missing her a lot, then.
Thursday we had our major adventure of going out to the grocery store, the rest of the day we looked into the Fitness Center and found out how the machines work. Brian wants to get an exercise routine going, but because of my back and arthritis, I would have to use the swimming pool exercise classes. Now, let me tell you when they have these classes in the outdoor pool…..9AM!!! I’m not that crazy to run out to an exercise class when the temps are at 32 degrees, let me tell you flat out. So, when it comes right down to it, we’ll probably not do either one.
Yesterday we drove out to Old Tucson. That is the movie set that most of the Western Movies were made on: High Chapperal, High Noon, McClintock, also the one that Sharon Stone made famous with her leather breeches, and tons of more films. Almost all of the John Wayne movies were made there. We spent nearly 4 hours there just wandering around, and listening to different things.
One of the activities here are cards, lots of different card games. Brian knows how to play bridge, and I’ve played a little a long time ago. So, we tried to find a book store. Wow, had to travel a great distance from where the Park is, but we found a Barnes & Noble, and bought “Bridge for Dummies”, I guess Goren’s book is out of print…. So, now begins the slow process for me to learn it all over again!!
One thing I forgot to mention in my last update was this: When we were in San Antonio, we loved that city! The River Walk is something grand. It goes right through the city, and they’ve built their restaurants and shops along this walk. It is beautiful! We like this city the best of all we’ve seen on our trip. We also saw an IMAX film about the battle for the Alamo. Wow!!
That’s all for today.
Dee
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Tucson
So……now it is 10 days since I’ve updated…not from lack of interest, but from lack of internet service.
We have arrived in Tucson at the Voyager RV Resort, our most western destination. We find the weather delightful. We are at 2500 ft above sea level. There are mountains all around us. So, it gets very cool after the sun goes down. Tucson is very spread out, so you have to go a distance before you find shopping. But, hey, we do it. So here’s a cap of the past 10-12 days:
We left San Antonio on Friday the 16th, and headed for 2 days at Fort Stockton, which is very small community. But we didn’t plan to stay but 2 nights – just to rest up for the next drive, which was Las Cruces NM. It is 30 miles from downtown El Paso TX. We drove down one day to take a walk across the border into Mexico. We found it to be very grungy and depressed looking, so after 3 blocks we turned around and walked back over the bridge into El Paso. We lunched at a spot that was highly advertised in national mags to be one of the best authentic eating places in El Paso. We thought it was good, but ate too much, as usual. The next day we took it easy. Then we drove over the Organ Mountains into the White Sands Proving Grounds. Remember this? Werver Von Braun came over to the US after WWII, bringing the V2 technology, as well as tons of parts --300 train car loads to be exact. They have a lot of the missiles that have been developed over the years displayed in an exhibit outside. They also have a V2 missile that they reconstructed that is displayed in a building by itself. There is a museum that we were in for a couple of hours. I took pictures, and will add them later today or tomorrow morning. We were to spend 5 nights in Las Cruces, but left a day early for Tucson because of a high-wind forecast. This was the same storm that did all that tornado damage in Arkansas the next day. We still ran into a lot wind though. Not too much fun driving in high winds!
We arrived in Tucson late Friday. In San Antonio Brian lost a filling in his front tooth, so I called Michelle Ellis if she could recommend a dentist for us. She did one better. She made an appointment with her dentist, and got us in on Monday – yesterday. It was wonderful to see Chelle again. We have been friends since 1960. She is now the Director of the Behavioral Health Services of the Marana Health Center in Marana NM—just 30 miles north of where we are staying. Marana is the place where the latest golf tournament was held – Tiger Woods did not make it…sigh—last weekend.
On the way back from the dentist, we stopped at Beaudry RV just a few miles from our park. We made a good decision when we bought this coach. We could upgrade and get a king size bed, but the cost is staggering. Nearly double what we paid for our Knight!!! So, we have decided that a king bed isn’t quite worth it…duh…rocket science, yes??
So, now we are up to date. Keep checking back. We hope to get internet service this week. They charge by the month, and we also have to buy a modem. Well, we have one….in Michigan. So, we either decide to bite the bullet and buy one from the provider, or make a trek up to the registration office each day to plug in free to the wi-fi there. We haven’t fully decided to go the modem way, yet. So stay tuned!!
We have arrived in Tucson at the Voyager RV Resort, our most western destination. We find the weather delightful. We are at 2500 ft above sea level. There are mountains all around us. So, it gets very cool after the sun goes down. Tucson is very spread out, so you have to go a distance before you find shopping. But, hey, we do it. So here’s a cap of the past 10-12 days:
We left San Antonio on Friday the 16th, and headed for 2 days at Fort Stockton, which is very small community. But we didn’t plan to stay but 2 nights – just to rest up for the next drive, which was Las Cruces NM. It is 30 miles from downtown El Paso TX. We drove down one day to take a walk across the border into Mexico. We found it to be very grungy and depressed looking, so after 3 blocks we turned around and walked back over the bridge into El Paso. We lunched at a spot that was highly advertised in national mags to be one of the best authentic eating places in El Paso. We thought it was good, but ate too much, as usual. The next day we took it easy. Then we drove over the Organ Mountains into the White Sands Proving Grounds. Remember this? Werver Von Braun came over to the US after WWII, bringing the V2 technology, as well as tons of parts --300 train car loads to be exact. They have a lot of the missiles that have been developed over the years displayed in an exhibit outside. They also have a V2 missile that they reconstructed that is displayed in a building by itself. There is a museum that we were in for a couple of hours. I took pictures, and will add them later today or tomorrow morning. We were to spend 5 nights in Las Cruces, but left a day early for Tucson because of a high-wind forecast. This was the same storm that did all that tornado damage in Arkansas the next day. We still ran into a lot wind though. Not too much fun driving in high winds!
We arrived in Tucson late Friday. In San Antonio Brian lost a filling in his front tooth, so I called Michelle Ellis if she could recommend a dentist for us. She did one better. She made an appointment with her dentist, and got us in on Monday – yesterday. It was wonderful to see Chelle again. We have been friends since 1960. She is now the Director of the Behavioral Health Services of the Marana Health Center in Marana NM—just 30 miles north of where we are staying. Marana is the place where the latest golf tournament was held – Tiger Woods did not make it…sigh—last weekend.
On the way back from the dentist, we stopped at Beaudry RV just a few miles from our park. We made a good decision when we bought this coach. We could upgrade and get a king size bed, but the cost is staggering. Nearly double what we paid for our Knight!!! So, we have decided that a king bed isn’t quite worth it…duh…rocket science, yes??
So, now we are up to date. Keep checking back. We hope to get internet service this week. They charge by the month, and we also have to buy a modem. Well, we have one….in Michigan. So, we either decide to bite the bullet and buy one from the provider, or make a trek up to the registration office each day to plug in free to the wi-fi there. We haven’t fully decided to go the modem way, yet. So stay tuned!!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
San Antonio Feb 14
We visited the Alamo yesterday. The weather was sunny, but windy. But, last night was a different story. We awoke today to 32 degrees, and tonight it will be 27! Brrrrrr. No rain, though. AND, no tornado! We have missed 3 of them so far. Last one was in New Orleans last night (Tues), and we left there last Saturday. Tornado #2 hit Mobile on I-10 (we were in N.O.), and then before that, was #1 in Tampa, north 35 miles of where we were. Wow, we've sure dodged a few bullets, haven't we?
We hope to visit more of San Antonio today or tomorrow. Yesterday we had to cut it short because Deanna wasn't feeling well. So, today and tomorrow it will be a high of 50, but 60 and sunny on Friday. Then we go to Fort Stockton, TX on Saturday morning for a couple of days.
We are looking forward to being in Tucson so we can be still for a bit.
Deanna and Brian
We hope to visit more of San Antonio today or tomorrow. Yesterday we had to cut it short because Deanna wasn't feeling well. So, today and tomorrow it will be a high of 50, but 60 and sunny on Friday. Then we go to Fort Stockton, TX on Saturday morning for a couple of days.
We are looking forward to being in Tucson so we can be still for a bit.
Deanna and Brian
Monday, February 12, 2007
San Antonio TX
We left the rv park??? near Houston a day early. It was misting rain on our windshield, and it was time to "get out of Dodge"... It was only less than 200 miles to San Antonio, and it was a breeze, compared to the road construction we drove through from New Orleans to Houston! We are all hooked up, have cable tv, internet, and a nice pull-through site. We even found the liquor store nearby!!
Tomorrow we might go into San Antonio and visit the Alamo. We hear that the city is built around this particular historic site. The weather is sunny, warm (68 today), and no rain. Sounds good! Michigan is cold and snowy, so we are ahead of the game in that regard!
More tomorrow...
Deanna
Tomorrow we might go into San Antonio and visit the Alamo. We hear that the city is built around this particular historic site. The weather is sunny, warm (68 today), and no rain. Sounds good! Michigan is cold and snowy, so we are ahead of the game in that regard!
More tomorrow...
Deanna
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Sunday Feb 11 Houston
This afternoon we tried to tour the downtown area of Houston, but decided to drive to Galveston Island. It was farther than we thought....about 80 miles from our RV park. If we'd known it was that far....didn't look too closely at a map, I guess! Anyway, it was a nice diversion from this rv park. We are leaving tomorrow morning (a day early) and go to San Antonio. Looking forward to the Alamo, etc.
It is raining, and gray, and soon we'll be out of it, I hope.
Cheers!
Us2
It is raining, and gray, and soon we'll be out of it, I hope.
Cheers!
Us2
Saturday Feb 10 Houston
Sunday 2/11: Well, if we thought the last RV park near Baton Rouge wasn't up to par, this place near Houston is the pits! It is in the middle of a field, I kid you not! It looks like they put in electric/water/sewer hookups, ran out of money, and just laid down some gravel and bought some plastic picnic tables. There is dried mud right at the bottom of our front door, and it is suppose to rain today and tomorrow. When we checked in yesterday, Brian paid for 3 nights. (We had reservations for 6.) We haven't unhooked the Jeep yet, and may not do it, either. Just might leave tomorrow morning...forget the small fee we paid for Monday night!
The highway between Baton Rouge/New Orleans was a nightmare. Road construction nearly every mile. If there was a patch of pavement that wasn't under construction, I'm sure it was due to be repaired. We were bouncing up and down...I thought all my dishes were going to be found broken...surprise! They were not. I was shocked. Our brains were sure rattled, but the dishes were not.
Our coach takes up most of the normal highway lane, and when it is under construction, the lanes marked are more narrow, and when they put those concrete barriers next to the right-hand lane, it is harrowing to drive in that lane. Brian was exhausted when we arrived at this park. We left Baton Rouge around 8 am and arrived here at 3 pm....a distance of 330 miles.
But, we are not discouraged...we know there are nice RV Parks out there, just not many on Highway 10 here in Texas. We currently have reservations in San Antonio, Fort Stockton, and Las Cruces NM, then Tucson AZ. We are going to try to add a week at the front end of our reservation in Tucson, and change our reservations in the above cities.
Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Deanna and Brian
The highway between Baton Rouge/New Orleans was a nightmare. Road construction nearly every mile. If there was a patch of pavement that wasn't under construction, I'm sure it was due to be repaired. We were bouncing up and down...I thought all my dishes were going to be found broken...surprise! They were not. I was shocked. Our brains were sure rattled, but the dishes were not.
Our coach takes up most of the normal highway lane, and when it is under construction, the lanes marked are more narrow, and when they put those concrete barriers next to the right-hand lane, it is harrowing to drive in that lane. Brian was exhausted when we arrived at this park. We left Baton Rouge around 8 am and arrived here at 3 pm....a distance of 330 miles.
But, we are not discouraged...we know there are nice RV Parks out there, just not many on Highway 10 here in Texas. We currently have reservations in San Antonio, Fort Stockton, and Las Cruces NM, then Tucson AZ. We are going to try to add a week at the front end of our reservation in Tucson, and change our reservations in the above cities.
Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Deanna and Brian
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)