RETIRED ON WHEELS

Wheels at Rest

2012-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

We are heading to Texas to spend a little time. I will be doing a continuation of our blog but it will be under a new name. Please join us there for the next few chapters of our life on the road.

http://retiredonwheels2012.blogspot.com

Preparing for New Zealand September 28, 2010

2010-09-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

Last day. Tomorrow we head to LAX and hop the plane to New Zealand. So today will be the last blog at this address. We invite everyone to come along with us and enjoy our travels. The new blog will be

The Kiwi Kronicles and will be at the following URL

http://thekiwikronicles.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there.

Preparing for New Zealand September 25 - 27, 2010

2010-09-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

The time is getting near to our leaving and our time has been spent packing, repacking, getting a few last minute things done, repacking and waiting.

We had a nice break on Sunday. We were invited to travel over to Mission Viejo and have brunch with

Sanjay and his family. Mission Viejo is about 70 miles west of Hemet and is in the southern part of Orange County. It is a very nice and clean little city and was declared to be the safest city is California and the third savest city in the US. Sanjay had planned a BBQ outside but since it was 107 degrees we decided to stay indoors. It was a very pleasant afternoon of good company and good food. As usual I ate too much.

Nancy, Sanjay, Kathy, Me

Neil ( Sanjay's Son ) and Sanjay.

Nancy, Sanjay and Neil.

Sanjay and Nancy

We left Mission Viejo and headed back to Hemet but decided to take the slower route through San Jaun Canyou. The landscape is pretty barren and rocky but what to you expect when it is over 100 degrees for most of the summer.

San Juan Valley, California

San Juan Canyon, California

We left the canyon by climbing the eastern ridge which brought us out overlooking Lake Elsinore. This left us with a short jog across Hwy 74 into Hemet.

Lake Elsinore, California

Only one more day.

Preparing for New Zealand September 10 - 24, 2010

2010-09-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been pretty slow, just slowly dragging along. We have managed to get most of the things needed to be done and are now just putting in time. The list of things we had to do when we got to California have pretty much been completed. We got the prescriptions sorted out, we did the shopping for the extra clothes and hiking gear. We delivered the camper to Lancaster, CA home of Lance Campers to have some work done on it when we were away. We made the arrangements to have the 5th wheel stored and the limo to and from the airport is all set up. So NOW we WAIT.

Oh Yea, there was one other thing that had to be done.

Before

The Beginning

The End is Near

All Done

The New Me

Five Days to Take Off

Preparing for New Zealand Sept 1 - 9, 2010

2010-09-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

We left Grapevine on the morning, early morning, very early morning on the 1st and hot footed it to Hemet. We made it to Van Horn, Texas on the first day and then to Blythe, CA on the second day. This left us with only 150 miles of the 1367 total miles so Friday was an easy day. We had made arrangements to have the 5th wheel delivered to the RV park for us so it was an easy set up.

The reason for coming back to Hemet early is that we need the time to make sure everything is ready for our trip to New Zealand. We are leaving September 29, 2010 from LAX and will arrive in Auckland on the 1st of October. We have rented a Campervan and will be touring the three islands for six months, returning on April 1, 2011.

The most important item that had to be taken care of is visas for New Zealand. We had sent off the applications shortly after crossing the border into the US but it was returned because we sent them too much money. Go figure. We made the corrections, reapplied and waited. Fortuntely all was good as the visas arrived yesterday. We are good to go.

Stay turned for further updates.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 91 – 90 August 19 – August 31, 2010 Grapevine, Texas

2010-09-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

The stop in Grapevine was mainly for doctors and prescriptions to prepare for the next part of our journey. So we headed out to be poked, probed and stuck with needles. The good news is that we were both given clean bills of health and told to get out of town.

However, before leaving for California we were able to catch up with some good friends. When we first got to the Vineyards we hooked up with The Harpers for breakfast. Floyd and Lynnie are two special people we have come to know during our time here. We enjoy their company very much and will certainly see them down the road.

Floyd and Lynnie Harper

We were able to have dinner with Marsha but I don’t have a picture as she is camera shy. Okay, the truth is I forgot the camera. We enjoyed a very nice dinner and were able to catch up with all of Marsha’s going on’s since the last time we saw her. She is a special friend and we wish her well.

We couldn’t come into town without meeting up with Eddie and Anna. I play poker with Eddie and I plan to join him and a few others at the World Series of Poker in Vegas this coming June. On this trip we did get to join them for dinner and a very fun night.

Anna and Eddie Melissari

The weekend before we left we were invited to Bernie and Susan’s for dinner. When we arrived we discovered it was Bernie’s birthday and he is now the same age as me. Ryan ( Bernie’s son ) and Michelle ( Ryan’s wife ) was also there and we had a nice night. We hadn’t seen much of Bernie and Susan since we retired and it was good to catch up.

Bernie Anderson

Susan Anderson

Michelle and Ryan Anderson

Bernie Anderson

We got our final reports from the doctors on the 31st of August so the plan is to head for Hemet in the morning.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 88 – 90 August 16 – August 18, 2010 Cleveland, Ohio to

2010-09-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

We left Hudson early Monday morning and jumped on Hwy 71 which headed south through Columbus and down into Cincinnati. We then turned southwest, still on Hwy 71 and followed it into Kentucky towards Louisville.

Welcome to Kentucky

We stayed on a southwesterly direction through Kentucky until we hit Tennessee and came to Nashville. We passed through Nashville and decided to stop at a little place called Buffalo, Tennessee after 600 miles of driving.

We did not get away as early on Tuesday but we still had a good driving day. We left Buffalo around 10:30AM, got back on the I71 and followed it through Tennessee to Memphis. We passed through Memphis and entered Arkansas by crossing the mighty Mississippi.

Mississippi River

The Mighty Mississippi

At which point we turned a little more south and headed to Little Rock and then Texarkana. We were going to go into Memphis and take in the Elvis Presley Museum at Graceland but decided against it. We carried on into Texas and finally stopped at a little town named Mt. Pleasant where there is a KOA campground. We did a little over 460 miles today which will leave us a very short jaunt into Grapevine.

With only 150 miles remaining on the trip we decided to sleep in and have a relaxing day. We arrived back in Grapevine early in the afternoon and set up. Tomorrow we start with our appointments and visits.

Texas Sky

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 81 - 87 August 9 – August 15, 2010 Toronto, Ontario to Cleveland, Ohio

2010-08-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

The plan was to leave Toronto Monday morning for Buffalo so that we could get the paperwork done for our visas. We were also planning to spend a couple of days in Ellicottville just relaxing and enjoying the area, but such was not to be. We had ordered something from the bank that was scheduled to come on Monday but in fact did not arrive until Thursday morning. We had returned the rental car so we just stayed close to the camper and enjoyed (not) the heat and humidity.

Thursday morning we headed for the bank, picked up what we needed and headed for the border.

The line up at the border was heavy but it moved pretty quickly and it was to long before we left Eh and crossed over into Y’all.

We stopped in Buffalo to send a FedEx package and then headed straight for Hudson, Ohio which is a small city about 20 miles south of Cleveland. In making the drive we crossed through New York State, touched the north end of Pennsylvania and then entered into Ohio. We followed Lake Erie until we came to Cleveland where we turned south to Hudson.

We arrived at the Johnson’s (Kathy’s older brother and family) just in time for supper and spent a quiet evening catching up.

Sister In Law Shirley

Neices Camille and Grace

Brother Bob

Friday was a busy day. Bob and I hit the links for 18 at a nice course not far from their home. It was here that I learned the Ohio Scoring System. It seems I lost the golf came because in Ohio the high score wins.

We got back from the golf course with enough time to have a little rest before getting ready for dinner. We ventured downtown to a restaurant called “The Tomato Grill” and had a very nice dinner. The food was good, the company was excellent and Bob treated, how do you top that. Thanks Bob.

After dinner we walked down the street to the town square where they have a bandstand. The band was already playing when we arrived and it was crowded. We strolled around for awhile before making a stop at the ice cream store, Stone Cold Calories, sorry Creamery. I was introduced to a particular flavor in Oakville (it was Nancy’s fault) and now it is becoming a habit.

We stayed and enjoyed the band for a period of time and we also met a group of the Johnson’s friends and neighbors. Once the socializing was done we headed home and called it a night. It was a really nice evening.

Sunday morning we headed for the farmers market on the outskirts of Hudson. It is located in the field of an old farm. They was a bunch of stands set up with vegetables, fruits, baked goods, crafts, you name it. We looked at everything and bought a few things. It was a nice morning.

We left the market and headed back to Bob and Shirley’s house where we spent the rest of the day visiting. We haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time with the Johnsons over the last few years so it was nice just chatting. They have a lovely house with a large back deck and I spent a lot of time there

We all had an early night as Bob had a flight in the morning and we wanted to get an early start on our drive back to Grapevine. So we said goodbye to the girls (Camille and Grace) as they wouldn’t be up in the morning and headed for bed.

We really enjoyed our time in Hudson and it was nice seeing the Johnsons again. It would be nice to catch up with them more often.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 71 - 80 July 31 – August 8, 2010 Toronto, Ontario

2010-08-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

We spent the August long weekend at the Indian Line RV Park in Brampton. We tried to rent a car but left it too late, everyone was sold out. As a result it became a very relaxing few days, we just laid back and enjoyed life.

On Wednesday we had arranged to meet up with Tom and Ruth Smith one last time before leaving the country. Tom and I spent the morning chasing around a little white ball at Silver Lakes Golf Club which is north of Newmarket. The course was very nice, in very good shape and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Neither the heat nor the humidity could dampen our enjoyment.

After we finished playing golf we went back to the Smith’s for a look at their new house and to spend a little time with them. Dawn and Avery dropped in while we were there so we had a nice farewell visit.

I did have to go to the Walk In Clinic on Thursday to get something for my bronchitis but spent the rest of the day and Friday resting up for Kathy’s reunion with some of her old Ryerson classmates.

On Saturday we headed over to Jim and Pam Jeffries who were hosting the get together. They were terrific hosts and our gratitude and thanks goes out to them.

Jim & Pam Jeffrey

It was a fun day as a lot of old adventures and tales were dragged up and rehashed. Kathy had not seen some of these people for 35 years, while some she had seen in recent years. I have come to know several of them over the years so it was also a fun day for me. I do believe everyone had a grand old time.

Jim Jeffrey, John Valenteyn

Mandy

Janet, John, Ian

We had a wonderful meal and then sat around and continued with stories, picture viewing, picture taking and just catching up in general. The day came to a close at around midnight as some people had long drives ahead of them. Overall it was a tremendous day spent with old and valued friends.

After a very leisurely morning we headed back over to Pam and Jim’s for a little one on one visiting. We really hadn’t had a chance to spend much time with them the night before so today was nice. We just sat around their lovely back yard and chatted. We did take time out for a swim in their pool before sitting down to dinner. Overall it was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We said goodbye around 9:30 PM and ventured back to the RV Park. Tired but very contented.

Tomorrow we plan to head over to Buffalo for a couple of days before heading to Cleveland to visit Kathy’s brother and his family. The trip to Ontario has been phenomenal; we got to see our new granddaughter Ashley. We were able to visit with our daughter Mandi and her husband Gary for an extended period of time. We even got to take Ashley on her first fishing trip at 5 months old. I was able to play Glen Abbey. More importantly we caught up with friends and relatives that we regrettably hadn’t seen in a long time. It is things like this that have certainly made this trip memorable.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 61 - 70 July 22 – July 30, 2010 Peterborough, Ontario to Toronto, Ontario

2010-08-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

As Kim and Kathy had a lot of catching up to do, John and I were able to golf a number of times. John belongs to a very nice club in Peterborough and we got in three rounds there as well as one round at a course called Black Diamond.

Terry and Howie

For a little guy, he hits the ball a long ways

John, Dennis, Juan

Saturday night the Kasperski’s had a BBQ ( good ribs ) and invited a few people over. We had met some of them on previous trips and some were new to us. It was a very nice night and we ended spending most of it either on the back deck or the front porch. That is until the bugs got too bad.

On Sunday we headed to downtown Peterborough for “The Taste of Downtown”. We were able to enjoy a little fresh air while sampling the wares of various downtown restaurants. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Kim, John, Linda, Terry, Kathy

While we were at Kim and Johns we met two of the loves in their lives, Bella and Bernadette. Bella is their dog who really tried to be my best friend. Even though she is a cutie we did not spend a lot of time together as I am allergic to dogs.

Bella, Bella, Bella

The other love is Bernadette. First and foremost she is a camper van but she also doubles as the golf mobile. You don’t see very many of this classic on the road anymore.

1987 Volkswagon Van

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Kim and John and will definitely be back to visit in the near future. We spend a fair amount of time just talking and catching up and enjoying each other’s company. As they both like to travel we just might meet up with them down the road.

On Wednesday morning we said goodbye to the Kasperski’s and headed back to Toronto and the Indian Line RV Park. We spent a leisurely Wednesday evening and Thursday just doing nothing. It was nice.

Friday afternoon we packed up the Camper and headed to North York. We were in the camper because we could not rent a car as they were sold out for the long weekend. Our destination tonight was the Toronto Center of the Arts as we had tickets for Jersey Boys.

Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons presented live and on stage. I cannot tell you in words how much we enjoyed it. It was tremendously cast, the acoustics were phenomenal, our seats were perfect (row 5), it was a fabulous night. If you have not seen it, you have until August 22 in Toronto as that is their last performance. I would highly recommend it.

Once we left the theatre, we found the camper and headed back to the RV park. Another excellent day.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 57 - 60 July 18 – July 21, 2010 Oakville, Ontario to Peterborough, .Ontario

2010-07-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

We packed up this morning and headed for Oakville and parked the camper at Dennis and Nancy’s Place. They have a big driveway so it was not a problem. Upon arriving we were given the tour, had brunch and then went for a ride along the Lake Ontario Waterfront. They have done a marvelous job of making the lakeshore a fun place. We rode up and around Bronte Harbor before heading back to the Clarke residence.

Dennis and Nancy were having a dinner party on the Sunday night and we were going to get to see a few people we had not seen in a long time. It was a wonderful night and really fun to reconnect with them and find out what been going on in their lives.

Our Hosts: Dennis Clarke & Nancy Osberg

Jim and Irene Ecclestone

Dale Cholik and Carla Hanna

Pam Fallow

I eagerly arose on Monday morning, early Monday morning as Dennis, Dale and I were playing golf. That in itself is exciting but this morning we were playing Glen Abbey, home of the Canadian Open. Fortunately Dale was able to get us a tee time (Thank you Mr. Cholik) at a very respectable price and to make it even better, Dennis treated. Thank you Mr. Clarke. It looked like it might rain when we first got there but it turned out to be a glorious day. The sun we shining, the course was in excellent shape, the company was exquisite and we were playing Glen Abbey. Enough said about our golf scores. Actually we all played quite well on the front nine but my wheels fell off on the back nine, but who cared, I was playing Glen Abbey

After enjoying a nice lunch on the patio overlooking the 18th green we headed back to Dennis’s for a little nap before going out to dinner. We ended up going down to Bronte Harbor and sitting out on the patio. The evening ended with a short walk and a stop at Tim Horton’s for ice cream. It was a good day, a very good day.

On Tuesday we headed towards Beamsville as we had plans to visit Marc and Chrystine Seguin later in the day. We left the camper in Oakville as Dennis had graciously lent us his car for the day. This gave us the opportunity to take a leisurely drive through the Niagara Wine Region before stopping at the Seguins. We stopped at a couple of Wineries and even bought a bottle or two before arriving at the Seguins. Marc, Kathy and I all worked at GWG for a short period of time and Marc and Kathy worked at Levi's until Kathy retired in 1999. It was fun catching up and finding out what had been going on in their lives the last ten years.

Chrystine had prepared an excellent meal and we had a very nice evening with two very nice people. The time passed very quickly and before we knew it was past midnight so we said our goodbyes and headed back to Oakville.

The next morning we were heading to Peterborough but we enjoyed a cup of coffee with Dennis and Nancy before heading out. We had a magnificent time with the two of them and their hospitality was beyond compare. They are two very special people who have hearts of gold and we will miss them. However the road is calling and Peterborough is next on the agenda.

We arrived at the Kasperski’s in the early afternoon and managed to get the camper backed into their driveway and plugged in. Kathy and I as a couple have known John and Kim Kasperski for over 20 years. However Kathy and Kim have been friends since the 10th grade and I am not allowed to tell you how long ago that was. Naturally they had a lot of catching up to do and that relegated John and I to just being eye candy.

Kim and John Kasperski

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 52 - 56 July 13 – July 17, 2010 Stouffville, Ontario to Oakville, Ontario

2010-07-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we headed downtown to Joe Badalli’s restaurant where we met up with a group of people (and spouses) that Kathy worked with while at Levis’s. I had also got to know them through various functions and social events over the years. We were a little early and had a chance to walk around the lower end of downtown. There were a few changes, mostly new condo’s and different stores but not anything significant. At 7PM we headed over to the restaurant.

We had not seen any of these people since we moved to Dallas so that makes it at least 10 years. Everyone looked really good and were enjoying life. Glenn and Sherri’s (Matsuba) kids were almost grown as was the same with Suzanne and Julian’s (Savory). Bob and Molly (Goodish) had a new addition since we saw them last and their baby in now 5 years old. Janet (Melendez) has become a birding and photography enthusiast and the combination have become a good hobby for her.

It was a great evening and really good to see everyone again. It would be nice to do again the next time we are in town.

We said goodbye to the Smiths and Stouffville and headed for a RV park in the 427 / Finch area. We set up for a couple of days before we headed to East York for dinner with friends we had not seen in around 8 years.

Brendan played on the original “Yesterdays Legends” slowpitch along with Tom Smith and myself. However, that was in a different lifetime.

June cooked us a wonderful supper and we spent the evening catching up. On this trip we realized that it’s not the city we miss, it’s the friends we had made during our stay here. Brendan and June are definitely two of those people. We had a lovely night and hopefully we will see them again soon.

Thursday afternoon we headed over to Bill and Janet Potter’s house for dinner. The occasion was that Brian and Phyllis Balkan had a planned layover on their return trip from Newfoundland to Edmonton. Phyllis is Kathy’s sister and Brian is Janet’s brother. Bill and I were the eye candy.

We had seen Phyllis and Brian last September at Jolene’s wedding but we had not seen Bill and Janet since February of 2008 in Las Vegas. They have a lovely home in the Jane/Bloor area with a beautiful back yard where we spent most of the evening. Dinner was lovely and we had a chance to learn all about Brian and Phyllis’s trip to Newfoundland. They had a great time with the exception of the black flies. We called it a night around midnight and headed home with plans to meet up the next day.

After arriving at the Potter’s the next day it was suggested that we take the subway over to Spadina and walk down to the waterfront. So that’s what we did. It had been around 15 years since I had been on the subway when I think it was about $ 0.90 to ride. It is now $ 3.00. Once over the shock we boarded and got off at Spadina and headed south through The University of Toronto and into Kensington Park. Kensington Park looked exactly the same and as you can see by this car things move slowly. I did stop and buy a hat.

After leaving Kensington we continued south on Spadina through China Town and passed 185

Spadina Avenue which is the first building I worked in when I was transferred to Toronto with GWG.

Shortly after passing through China Town we turned east on Queen Street and came across the famous “Horseshoe Tavern”. I had to go in and have a look around for old times sake.

A lot of big names have played there over the years. After leaving the “Horseshoe” we found a restaurant and had lunch on their patio. Lunch was good and the people watching was better. It is always fun to people watch in Toronto. After lunch we headed south passing by Sky Dome until we came to Queens Quay. Here we leisurely strolled along the boardwalk taking in the water, the boats and the people. We did stop for refreshments on the patio of a waterfront restaurant and it was good to rest the pieds.

Once we were refreshed we started north up Yonge Street and the Eatons Centre. It had not changed much and was still as busy as ever. Bill and I ended up getting a pair of sandals as the Rockport Store before heading over to Yonge and Dundas. Wow, what a change. I would not have known where we were if I did not know where we were. Definitely for the better. It is Toronto’s Times Square.

We hung around for awhile before heading north on Yonge to Bloor Street where got back on the subway to return to Bill and Janet’s. Once there we had a very nice dinner of Salmon cooked on the BBQ and again we had dinner outside. Once the mosquitoe’s got bad we headed inside and Janet pulled out a game called “ In the Box “. At least I think it was called that or something close. I won’t go into all the specifics of the game but I must point out that all the answers that were in the gutter came from the female portion of the participants.

We soon realized it was after midnight and we needed to get going as I need my beauty sleep. As Brian and Phyllis were heading out the next day we did the goodbye thing tonight. It was really nice to see both couples and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. We would also like to thank Bill and Janet, two very nice people, for their hospitality. You do it up right and we really appreciated it.

Saturday morning found me heading to Aurora and the Westview Golf Club. I was meeting up with Brendan Casey for a round of whap f__k. We got in 18 holes just before it started to rain and then adjourned to the clubhouse for a beverage before heading out. It was a really nice day and it was good to see him one last time before we head back to the States.

I left the golfcourse and headed back to the RV park to pick up Kathy as we were meeting friends for dinner in Oakville, Ontario. Dennis Clarke has been a friend of my since the early 70’s and Kathy's since the early 80’s as we both worked with him at GWG. His partner in crime, Nancy Osberg, we have known for about 12 years and we still can’t figure out why she is with Dennis. Just Kidding.

We met up at their place before we went out for dinner. They have a lovely home in Oakville south of the QEW. We decided to go out for Authentic Chinese Food and it was wonderful. The food was good but the company was exceptional. Dennis and Nancy are exceptional people and we always enjoy our time with them. Once dinner was finished ( They treated, Thank you ) we called it a night and headed back to the RV park. Tomorrow we are headed back to Dennis and Nancy’s with the Truck and Camper. We are going to park it in their driveway for a few days. It should be a lot of fun.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 38 - 51 June 29 – July 12, 2010 North Bay, Ontario to Stouffville, Ontario

2010-07-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

We headed south on Hwy 11 towards Toronto, waved at Bruce and Chris as we passed Burk’s Falls and pulled into Barrie late in the afternoon. Tonight we are staying with Tom and Lyse McDonough, we are parking in their driveway. Tom and I met in 1973 when we were both working for GWG and even though I left GWG in 1982 we have remained friends. They are both doing well and we enjoyed a nice evening out for dinner. It was good to catch up.

The next day we headed over to Midhurst to have lunch with Kent and Rebecca Osborne at their home. Kent is a consultant and worked with Kathy at Levi's. They have a beautiful home set back in the woods that really gives them a lot of privacy. They are very charming people and we had an extremely nice visit.

After leaving Midhurst we have planned to go to Shelbourne, Ontario to visit with my aunt but the closest park we could get was in Cookstown. So we settled in there for two nights as we were going to visit on Friday. Aunt Donna was married to Uncle Leo who was my dad’s younger brother. Donna moved to Shelbourne from North Bay after Leo passed in 2005.

It was good to get all the gossip on the rest of the family which is all over the country. We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. We also got a chance to visit with Cathy, Donna’s daughter and my first cousin.

Once we left Shelbourne we headed for Stouffville to visit with the Smiths. Tom and Ruth have been friends since I met Tom playing baseball a number of years ago. We only planned on being here a couple of days but here we are 12 days later. It is reminiscent of when we were renovating our house in the Beaches. We needed a place to stay for a short time while I finished enough of the house so that we could move in. I told Ruth it would only be about 2 weeks, 4 months later we moved out. Amazingly they are still friends.

We have really enjoyed out time catching up and having a break from the camper. We also got to see 2 of their three kids. Joe is on holidays so we missed him but we did get to see Sunny and Dylan. The last time we saw them was in Mexico when Dylan and Dawn got married.

The Wedding, Cancun, Mexico April 2008

They have been busy since the wedding.

The little one in the middle is Avery and she is the new boss of the Smith Clan. She has GrandPa and GrandMa wrapped right around her little finger.

Tom and Ruth are two of our closest friends and we have really enjoyed our time with them. They have made us feel very at home and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. We will be sorry to leave.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 29 - 37 June 21 - 28, 2010 Dowling to Burks Falls to North Bay, Ontario

2010-07-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in Dowling late Saturday and Gary had to leave for Timmins on Sunday so we just hung around and vegged. On Monday night we went over to Gert Bolger’s house for dinner and had a very nice night. We sat around and told Ted stories. Ted Bolger was the individual who first trained me when I joined GWG and soon became a mentor, teacher and a coach but most importantly a good friend. We all miss him.

Kathy & Gert Bolger

We spent Monday and Tuesday just enjoying Ashley and Mandi as we had planned to leave on Wednesday. It was a very enjoyable trip and it was really nice to spent time with Mandi and of course to meet Ashley Jordan. However, Wednesday did come along and we had to leave so we regretfully said our goodbyes and headed down the road. The trip to Dowling was very special and we look forward to getting back soon

We were packed up and heading down the road with the next stop being Burks Falls, Ontario and the home of Bruce and Chris Campbell. Bruce and I go way, way, way back as we played soccer and rugby together in the very early 70’s. We also made a couple of trips together when we were single, one to the east coast and the second to Australia and New Zealand. It was fun reminiscing about not only the trips but the early days in total. We spent two nights at the Campbell’s catching up and it was really good to see them and we plan to be back soon. On our next trip to see Mandi and Ashley we are also going to stop in Burks Falls. This time we will hold them to their promise to take us out to their cottage for a few days. Good friends are always good friends that time doesn’t diminish.

Chris Campbell

Had to get the head shot in.

Bailey

On Friday we left Burks Falls and headed to North Bay. We were planning to stay with Rick and Trudy Stanton and we ended up parking the Truck Camper in their driveway. We spent another three nights with them and the stories just kept coming and coming. It was a lot of fun. Also on this part of the trip we were able to get in a golf game at the North Bay Golf and Country Club. I hadn’t been back there since my caddying days in the early 60’s. We played with Ricks’ brother Jon and Gerry Rivet but I forgot my camera and didn’t get any pictures. We ended the evening going for dinner at the Green Papaya, the food was very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It became much more enjoyable when I found out Gerry and Karen had treated. Thank You both. Again I forgot to take my camera to the dinner.

Monday morning we said goodbye to Rick and Trudy, promised to keep in touch and headed out.

We left the Stanton’s and headed to Four Mile Lake to visit with Cousin Al. Al and Aline Sage have a cottage at Four Mile Lake which is a small but very pretty lake.

Al and I spent a lot of time in our younger years creating havoc for our parents (especially his). The last time we were able to visit was prior to us going to Texas and it was really good to see them.

We spent the evening catching up and rehashing old tales. A lot of these tales took place at the cottage and it brought back a lot of memories. We had a very nice evening and we were also able to see their son again (Cory) as he joined us for dinner along with his fiance Sarah. We hadn’t seen Cory since he was a baby.

We got ready to leave in the morning but not before I had to take a few pictures. Cousin Al is a collector and do it yourselfer. He has discovered a new way to store his tools that he feels should be in the cottage. Tool Fridges. If the truth were known, it’s the only way Aline will let him have them in the cottage.

We left Al’s with a promise to spend more time on our next visit. However, prior to leaving North Bay I had one more stop. We headed to St. John’s Cemetery and I had a visit with Mom and Dad. After chatting for awhile I said my goodbyes and we headed to Barrie, Ontario to meet up with friends there.

The last few days in Burks Falls and North Bay were very special. I left the Bay in 1973 and really haven’t spent much time here especially since Mom and Dad passed on. I cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed this portion of the trip and the effect it had on me. It was so nice to be able to reconnect with old friends and family. They all made us feel so welcome. I am sorry I did not make the effort to keep in closer touch. That will not happen again. It was with a tear in my eye that we hit the road again.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 22 - 28 June 14 - 20, 2010 Dowling, Ontario

2010-06-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Prior to heading back to Dowling we headed for downtown Parry Sound, the home of Bobby Orr.

We also took a look at the harbor and decided not to take a tour of the islands in the area. The cruise is called “ 30,000 Islands “ and it probably would have been very nice. However we decided to push on and head to Dowling.

We arrived back in Dowling fairly late in the day so we just set up and called it a night. The next two days we spent getting new tires, doing a little shopping and just enjoying the time. When Gary returned we decided to go camping on Manitoulin Island. Gary’s family still owns the old homestead and a lot of his family use it for camping. We spent 2 ½ days just enjoying the company, the fresh air and the good food. We definitely ate too much.

We did do a little sightseeing during the day and of couse I took pictures.

Sights of Manitoulin Island

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 19,20 & 21 June 11,12 & 13, 2010 North Bay to Parry Sound, Ontario

2010-06-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

We woke up Saturday morning a little tired, ok, a lot tired and didn't get moving real fast. When we finally did get moving we headed out to do a few errands and then we headed over to Rick and Trudy's house once again for some more story telling. It was a great night and it certainly gave us a chance to catch up. It is most unfortunate that we live so far apart as we really enjoyed their company. However, I think we might have stayed a little longer than we should have. This is a picture of Rick and Trudy as we were leaving.

It was another good night, late but good.

Sunday was a day of rest. At least it was for us. We didn't do much until around supper time when we had to go " Swiss Chalet " for our fix. We have to head there at least once when we come to Canada as they are not in the USA. It was gooooooooood.

Monday we decided to head south as we wanted to gather some information of a certain RV for a future trip. The only place where we could view one was in Shanty Bay which is halfway between Orillia and Barrie. Once we got the information we started heading up the 400 to Hwy 69 which would take us back to Dowling to spent a little more time with Ashley, Mandi and Gary.

On the way we stopped in a Severn Falls for lunch but couldn't find the falls. I almost thought I was back in Michigan. However it was nice to stop for awhile and I did take a couple of pictures.

We decided to call it a day when we got to Parry Sound, Ontario and stopped for the night at the KOA Campground. Tomorrow we are planning to tour around town for a bit before heading to Dowling. We might even take in the Bobby Orr Museum.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 18 June 11, 2010 Dowling, Ontario To North Bay, Ontario

2010-06-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

We got away from Dowling just before noon but had to make a couple of stops in Sudbury before heading east. It was only a couple of hours to the Bay so when we arrived we headed down to a RV park very close to Champlain Park and checked in for a few days.

Next we headed over to Rick and Trudy Stanton’s house for a BBQ. It had been 25 years since I had spent any time with Rick and Trudy and I was really looking forward to the evening. Rick was one of my first room mates when I moved out of the house. We also played Rugby together as we were both founding members of the “North Bay Vandals Rugby Club” When we got there we were also very happily surprised to find that Gerry and Karen Rivet had arrived back in town and had come over for the BBQ. It had been over 30 years since I had seen either of them and it was really good to see them. Gerry and I went to college together and he was also a founding member of the Vandals Rugby Club.

It was great to catch up and find out what everyone had been doing with their lives and we realized how lucky we had been with family, health and friends.

However it wasn’t long after supper that the reminiscing started and the stories came out. Some of them were even true. It was a great night and one I will remember for a long time and I didn’t want it to end. However we were thrown out just after midnight so we headed back to the RV site and settled in for the night.

Rick and Trudy Stanton

Gerry and Karen Rivet

Glad I didn't wear my blue shirt.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 11 – 17 June 4 – 10, 2010 Dowling, Ontario

2010-06-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

We have had a real nice week visiting with Mandi ( daughter) Ashley Jordan ( granddaughter ) and Gary ( son in law ). We didn’t do anything special as the weather turned a little cold and rainy and spoiled our plans to head to the lake. We did manage to get out fishing once and in fact it was AJ’s very first fishing trip. She handled it pretty well until she got hungry and then made sure that everyone knew it, including the people on the shore. Once she was fed we got back to fishing but she kept dropping her fishing rod so we had to take it away from her and call it a night. Sadly to say Ashley got skunked on her very first fishing trip.

The rest of the week we just enjoyed each others company and took a lot of pictures.

Then, just because we could, we took a few more of Ashley Jordan Sharp.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 10 June 3, 2010 Brimley, MI to Dowling, Ontario

2010-06-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

We stayed last night in Brimley State Park which was a large and very nice park. However it was pretty quiet as we are not quite into the camping season here. We were eager to get going so I took a couple of pictures and headed.

We headed straight to the border which was only a few miles down the road in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. After a fruitless stop at the Duty Free Shop we joined the line heading for the border inspection. We were waived through with a simple “ Have a good day, Sir”. I am sure it was my good looks, charm and personality that impressed them.

We were now in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and I realized that I had not been here since January of 1973 and of course I couldn’t recognize anything. We decided not to stop and just keep heading to Dowling. So other than a stop for lunch we we just followed our nose and arrived in Dowling just around supper time. So it was hugs all around and we settled in to catch up.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 8 & 9 June 1 & 2, 2010 Champion to Brimley, MI

2010-06-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

The past two days have been fairly quiet by choice and weather. Tuesday June 1 was a planned relaxing day. We spent the morning catching up on paperwork ( paying bills ) researching this and future trips and all in all just relaxing. We didn’t leave the campsite until almost 1PM when we headed a short way up the road to Munising. We plan to take a boat trip along a section of the coast of Lake Superior which is called Pictured Rocks.

We arrived in Munising around 3PM, headed for the boat cruise office, got the info we needed and headed back towards a RV site. On the way we came across a sign.

We thought there was only one definition of Pastie and were not sure what we were going to find. It wasn’t a shop for strippers but a shop that sells Pasties (pass-tee) which in Michigan is a special Meat or Fruit Pie. We bought an Apple Pastie for our Anniversary. Yes today is our 9th/28th Anniversary.

We headed to the RV site where we had planned to BBQ but shortly after we got set up the wind came up and really started to blow. I mean really blow. We sat in our camper and were thankful we were not in a tent. We saw tents, chairs, tables and anything that was not secured go flying across the parking lot.

So BBQing was out as it also started to rain so we contented ourselves with Eggs Benedict and our Apple Pastie. It was a nice night especially since we were not in a tent.

We woke up Wednesday, June 2 to a cold and cloudy day with threats of rain. We weren’t in any hurry this morning as the boat did not leave until noon. We stopped at the Info Center in town and found out that the lake would be fairly rough today with the North wind and you know what happens to me on a boat in rough water. Well all I can say is that you had better stay up wind.

We decided that we needed to come back some day and take both the Pictured Rocks Cruise and the Sunken Ship Cruise because today was not the day. We decided to drive up to Whitepoint Bay which is at the tip of the Peninsula and take in the ShipWreck Museum so we jumped in the truck and headed out.

We followed Hwy 41 until we came to Newberry where we turned onto Hwy 123 for the loop into Paradise. At Paradise we turned due north and drove for 11 miles until we reached Whitepoint Bay.

However on the way I did something I said I would not do. I lied. I said I would not stop at another waterfall no matter what the reviews say. When making that statement I did not take into consideration Kathy saying “ Pull over, we are stopping “ What’s a guy supposed to do? Stand up to his commitments or listen to his wife. So we at Tahquamenon Falls State Park and hiked down to the falls. Actually this one was pretty impressive.

We also enjoyed the hike as the return trip was the forest on a well marked trail.

We had no sooner got back to the truck when it started to rain so we headed once again towards Whitepoint Bay and the Shipwreck Museum. The museum is in the old original lighthouse which is still operation today. They have four building holding all the artifacts, showing movies and of course selling stuff.

It was amazing to learn how many ships had gone down in Lake Superior or Gitche Gumee as it is also called. The first ironically was the “ Invincible “ that went down November 16, 1816 and the latest was the “Edmond Fitzgerald” that went down November 10, 1975. Overall there have been up to 6000 ships estimated lost on the Great Lakes, with 550 credited to Lake Superior. Until I talked to people here and visited the Museum I had no idea how big, bad and mean the Lake can be.

I also found out that the Lake was first discovered in 1622 by Etienne Brule who was a protégé of Champlain. After several years the Hurons began to distrust his comings and goings and he met a most unfortunate end. The Hurons captured, tortured, butchered and then ate him. Not a nice way to go.

It was a very interesting stop.

We left the museum and headed towards Canada which we will cross over into tomorrow. We ended up stopping at a state park in Brimley where we set up and called it a night.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 7 May 31, 2010 Copper Harbor to Champion, MI

2010-06-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Another normal start had us leaving the park at 11AM, at least we are consistent. The first stop this morning was a short jog north, very short as we came to the end of the road.

Only to find out it was the beginning of the road. As the sign says, Hwy 41 starts rights here and goes all the way to Florida. Who knew.

The next stop on the way out of town was Manganese Falls and again it was not all that spectacular. I am not going to stop at anymore falls no matter how great the reviews are. We couldn't get real close but I took the best picture available and then we headed on.

It wasn't that far down the road that we stopped to walk on the beach for awhile. It was a cool and windy day as it should be on the beach with a rocky point. During our walk we ran into a bunch of people looking for rocks or so we thought. We found out they were actually looking for Agate. Agate is a micro crystalline variety of quartz, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. We looked for a little while and I think we found one. Whooppee.

We left Hunter's Point and headed for a scenic view before we left town. We climbed to the highest point in Copper Harbor which gave us a nice view of the town and surrounding area.

Town of Copper Harbor - Lighthouse on point.

Lake Fanny Hooe

Island on the end of Hunter's Point

It really is a nice area and we both would like to come back some day, let me refrain, some summer day.

We finally got out of Copper Harbor and headed south on Hwy 26 which gave us a different perspective of the peninsula as it runs down the west coast close to the water. The drive was quite nice as we had a view of Lake Superior just about the entire way. We made brief stops to take pictures of Lighthouse, sandy beaches, bake shop run by the monks and other various things of interest.

Lighthouse at Eagle Harbor

Bakery Run by Monks

We made a quick stop for a late lunch at a roadside park outside of Mohawk, MI and found this sign at the side of the road depicting the annual and largest snowfall in the area. You can see from the sign that the record was 390.4 inches in 1978-79. Now that's a lot of shovelling.

After lunch we continued on until we came to Van Riper Campground which is on Lake Michigamme just outside of Champion, MI. We decided to stay here for the night even though it was still early in the afternoon. We just relaxed and read a bit before having supper and called it an evening. Another very enjoyable day.

Sunset Pictures of Michigamme

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 6 May 30, 2010 Silver City, MI to Copper Harbor, MI

2010-05-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

We headed out this morning with Copper Harbor as our destination, which is at the very top of the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the most northern place in Michigan and is part of what is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula. We also found out that there is a great rivalry between the Upper Peninsula and the lower section which is anything below the Mackinac Bridge. The residents of the Upper Peninsula call the other people Trolls, they who live below the bridge.

On our way to Copper Harbor we detoured off of Hwy 41 and took Hwy 203 which ran along the coast. We did this for both the scenery and to be able to stop at McLain State Park. We wanted to hike out to one of the many lighthouses that were in the area. So we had lunch down near the water and before we started the hike I had to dip my toes in the water. It was cold. We could still see ice out on the lake.

After my dip, as planned we were going to go hiking. It was a good plan until I couldn’t get Kathy off the swings. She bet some kid she could get higher than he could. She did pretty good, she came in second.

I finally dragged her off the swings and we headed out. It was a nice hike and we got a few pictures of the trail, the lighthouse and the beach.

Once we got back to the truck we headed out for Copper Harbor and Fort Wilkins Historic State Park where we planned to camp for the night. Once we got checked in we decided to bike over to a Lighthouse Viewing area to have a look at the Lighthouse which is now private property.

We left the lighthouse and headed to Fort Wilkins which is right next to the campground. It was built in 1844 to supposedly protect the copper prospectors from the Native American Indians. It is the last remaining original fort east of the Mississippi River. We had a look around, took a few pictures and headed back to campsite for supper. It was a good day.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 5 May 29, 2010 Silver City, MI

2010-05-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

We decided to stay an extra day at Union Bay Campground so after breakfast we headed out to do some exploring. We planned to drive to the other end of the park and do some hiking into a group of waterfalls but first we stopped at Lake in the Clouds and walked into a cordoned off viewpoint. The viewpoint is at one of the highest elevations in the park and gave us a splendid view of the lake and the valley. The lake is over one mile in length but is only 16 feet at its deepest spot.

We left Lake in the Clouds and headed for the west end of the park and looked for a spot to have lunch. They actually had a parking and picnic at the trail head which made it very convenient. So we stopped and had some lunch before heading out.

The main attraction of this hike was the Falls but we found that they were small and unspectacular. However the walk was very nice, strenuous but nice as we walked through a forest that had some trees that were up to 4 centuries old.

The walk took us first to Manido Falls which actually looked like more like rapids but the water is very low for some reason.

As we carried on we came to Nawadaha Falls but found we couldn’t really get that close to it. We also discovered that the third falls was back the other way from where we started so we turned around and headed back. However not before we took a picture.

The hike out was just as strenuous going in as the up and down terrain had not changed in the short time since we had hiked in. We did make it back and headed over to the other falls which was called Manabezho Falls ( don’t ask me to pronounce any of them ). Again we were not overly excited but we were getting a good workout.

A short way from the third falls was a foot bridge over to an island which I don’t believe is named or I just missed it. Once you were on the island you could walk down to the shore of Lake Superior which we did before heading back. Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world.

Once we got back to the truck we headed back to our campsite and decided to go for another walk along the shore of Lake Superior.

It was a good way to end the afternoon so we headed back to the camper for supper and an early evening.

Another glorious day.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 4 May 28, 2010 Hayward, MN to Silver City, MI

2010-05-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

We reluctantly left Lake Chippewa Campground at our usual get away time of 11AM, actually it was a little later but not that much. We headed back into Heyward to pick up Hwy 26 which we followed for a short way before we turned onto Hwy 2 which took us into Michigan.

The rest of the route had us following Hwy 2 until we came to Hwy 28 which we followed until we came to Hwy 64. At which time we turned due north on Hwy 64 and that took us into Silver City and the Porcupine Mountains. The day, due to the late start was spent mostly driving with a couple of stops for groceries and gas. The terrain was mostly forest and water and reminded me of the countryside where I grew up in Northern Ontario as it is all part of the Great Canadian Shield.

Our first look at Lake Superior

We arrived at Union Bay Parkground in the Porcupine Mountains National Park in the late afternoon, set up and called it a night.

It was an uneventful but very relaxing day. It is nice to travelling again.

FROM Y’ALL TO EH!!! Day 3, May 27, 2010 Owatonna, MN to Hayward, MN

2010-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

We said our goodbyes to Bert and Barbara and headed for St. Paul where we had to drop off a couple of prints. We were only about 40 miles from the gallery when we left in the morning as it was south of St. Paul in the bedroom community of Burnsville. This allowed dropping off the prints and skirting around the city and avoiding all the traffic. It was a good plan until we hit construction and then I remembered the 4 seasons in the north. Fall, Winter, Spring and Construction.

Undaunted we headed north still on Interstate 35 planning to cut off at highway 8 and enter into Wisconsin and travel into St. Croix before turning north and driving along the St. Croix National Riverway. However, Sheila, our Aussie navigator let us down ( Well, I couldn’t blame Kathy ) and we missed the turn. We ended up heading a further 32 miles north before we turned east and crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin.

We continued east for about 100 miles until we came to Hayward and decided to stop for the night. We found a lovely park about 15 miles out of town called Lake Chippewa Campground and settled in for the night. It is a beautiful spot right on the lake and we were able to get a spot on the water. It was a very quiet and peaceful night.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 2, May 27, 2010 Williamsburg, KS to Owatonna, MN

2010-05-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

We got away this morning around 9AM from a nice little RV park in Williamsburg, KS. The route still kept us on Interstate 35 and the highway construction made for a little slower going. We are averaging about 460 miles a day.

It was not long after leaving Williamsburg that we came to the Iowa border and passed through Kansas City into Iowa. In the process had to go through the city of Kansas City.

There is a lot of flat farm land in Iowa and everyone has heard of Iowa Corn but a lot of the land we passed through was laying fallow this year or it is too early for crops to be showing.

You also see quite a bit of cattle in Iowa but they don’t look right to me. I can’t put my finger on it but something is different about the cows in Iowa. However they do make good cheese.

It was in the great state of Iowa that Kathy revealed to me her true thoughts on retirement.

We crossed into Minnesota around 3 PM and continued onto the town of Owatonna where we stopped in at friends we had met while wintering in Hemet. Bert and Barb Antoine spend the summers here and were very gracious by not only inviting us to supper but let us hook up in their driveway for the night.

We had a delightful evening enjoying a great dinner, catching up, talking about new travels and ending it with a walk around Owatonna. They are very nice people and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with them and thank them very much for their hospitality.

Looks like there was more talking than walking

Chinese Weeping Willow – This tree is in their front years and is over 6 feet at the base and is over 150 years old.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 1 May 25, 2010 Grapevine to Williamsburg, KS

2010-05-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day in the new chapter in the continuing saga in the lives of Rod and Kathy. We left Grapevine, Texas this morning just after nine ( really early for us ) and headed north on Intersate 35 with the final destination being Ontario, Canada. The day started out pretty good as we travelled north through Texas but as we got about 100 miles into Oklahoma we hit major construction and lost about 2 hours of driving time. But hey, who cares.

Oklahoma is a producer of natural gas, oil, and agriculture. The majority of the state lies in the Great Plains and the U.S. Interior Highlands—a region especially prone to severe weather. Along with Kansas they are probably the two states that see the most tornadoes every year. Glad we a just passing through.

We left Oklahoma early in the afternoon and crossed into Kansas. The traffic was pretty light so we were able to make up some time. We noticed that the terrain in Kansas is very similar to Oklahoma in many parts and of course they share the tornadoes with their Okie neighbour. Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing many crops, leading the nation in wheat, sorghum and sunflower production most years. You will also see a lot of cattle ranching in the state. We arrived in Williamsburg around six and decided to stay here for the night so we found a RV park and hooked up.

It was good to get back on the road again.

GETTING TO GRAPEVINE May 21 - 24, 2010

2010-05-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

Bonus there was a cancellation at The Vineyards, so we only had to change sites to extend our stay. The past 4 days we have just been waiting for glasses and presciptions and trying to get used of the humidity once again. After being in the desert for 5 months we find it quite humid and having the temperature in the high 80's and low 90's hasn't helped. I am not sure we are going to get any relief as we head north as the temperature in the part of Canada we are going to has been in the mid 80's and probably very humid.

However, we now have our glasses ( except for my sunglasses ), we picked up the presciptions and the camper is loaded. We had said goodbye to all of our friends so in the morning we are heading north. It feels really good to be getting on the road.

That brings a close to the chapter " Getting to Grapevine " and tomorrow we will introduce the chapter titled
" From Y'all to Eh!!!!!"

GETTING TO GRAPEVINE May 11 - 20, 2010

2010-05-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying our time back at the Vineyards RV Resort and it was fun to catch up with some of the people here. It is still one of our favourite parks.

The best part is that the neighbours for the most part are pretty quiet.

We have completed most of what we needed to do with one exception, as Kathy has one more doctors appointment tomorrow. Now we are just waiting for the new glasses to come in and depending on what the doctor says tomorrow we should be good to go.

While we were here we did get to catch up with a few people and I even got to do a little golfing. It was a good day even though I got my ass kicked. Thanks Bernie.

We caught up with Eddie and Anna first at their house where they were having a graduation party for their daughter Kristen and then later in the week we went out to supper with them. A good time was had by all. I am sorry that I am not going to be able to join Eddie and the rest of the poker gang at the World Series of Poker next month in Vegas. Oh well, next Year.

I had a really nice lunch with Chris Taylor or Chris Dover ( not really sure what his name really is ) at our old standby ( Champs ). It was good to find out that things are good. Unfortuately we could only do a 2 hour lunch as he had to go back to work ( hehe )

As we are still waiting for glasses we have extended our stay in Dallas until the 25th but as we did not make a reservation for that long we have to move on Friday for the next 4 days. We will be at the KOA in Arlington. We still have a few people to see over the weekend but hopefully we will be able to head out on the 25th. I am getting itchy feet.

GETTING TO GRAPEVINE May 7,8, & 9, 2010

2010-05-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

We left Tuscon at our usual early time ( 11 AM ) and headed east on Hwy 10 through the balance of southern Arizona and the Sonoran Desert and of course the Saguaro Cactus.

You can see the foothills from the highway for most of the way through southern Arizona and the Sonoran Desert albeit they are in the distance.

As we neared New Mexico we came travelled through and past huge Pecan Farms. You will find the both states produce a large amount of pecans.

We left Arizona and entered New Mexico however we only travelled half way across the state before we dropped down into Texas. The terrain did not change much as there was also Pecan Groves, Scrub Land with the foothills in the distance and of course just prior to entering Texas at El Paso we came upon the stock yards.

You do not get a true picture of New Mexico only travelling along Hwy 10 as the northern part also adds much and is quite different. In fact the only reason the stock yards are where they are is their proximity to El Paso, Texas. I could live in New Mexico.

The terrain when entering Texas is not much different from New Mexico with the foothills and scrub land but as you continue to head east you it starts to flatten out. Now what you see is oil pumpers for the oil wells, cattle and cotten fields. As we got closer to Dallas it got a lot greener with more rolling hills, small but hills.

You cannot see any oil wells from the highway, these are on display at the petroleum museum in Odessa.

These cotton fields are just about ready for planting.

We stayed Thursday night in Van Horn, Texas and Friday night at the KOA in Arlington before heading up to The Vineyards Campground in Grapevine on Sunday. This is still our favorite park and of course as soon as we arrived our friends came to visit.

GETTING TO GRAPEVINE Niland, CA to Tucson, AZ May 6, 2010

2010-05-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

We left the "Fountain of Youth" RV park this morning after taking a good soak in the mineral spas. It was pretty nice but I had to get out sooner than I wanted as I felt it was best to stay awake at the wheel during our drive.

Our first stop was just down the road in Niland, CA where after a slight detour off the main road we came to Salvation Mountain.

Salvation Mountain has been created and built by Leonard Wright over the past 26 years. Leonard is 78 years of age and still does work on the mountain every day. You have to admire his determination.

Leonard arrived here 26 years ago on the exact spot he is now when his truck broke down. It still hasn't been fixed.

Leonard now lives in a bigger truck and greets everyone of the visitors he gets. In the peak season that could be as 1200 per week following off to 300 per week in the warmer weather.

Leonard is still hard at it and it is pretty amazing what he has been able to accomplish with mostly donated paints, straw, tires and other assorted needs. What hasn't been donated has been picked up in the desert.

SALVATION MOUNTAIN

We have heard of Salvation Mountain but just didn't remember it. The movie " Into the Wild " is the story of Christopher McCandless who abandons all his worldly possessions to travel around the country until his death a few short years later in Alaska. It was during this travels that he came to Salvation Mountain and the mountain was shown during the film. Leonard Knight gave a tour of the mountain on film and that what was in the movie.

Christopher McCandless's trip to Salvation Mountain was an afterthought as he was close by. He actually came to Slab City.

It takes its name from the concrete slabs and pylons that remain from the abandoned World War II base Marine Barracks Camp Dunlap. A group of servicemen remained after the base closed, and the place has been inhabited ever since, although the number of residents has declined since the mid 1980s.

The city is busier in the cooler months as people from the north stop in for awhile. There is a group of around 150 permanent residents who live in the Slabs all year round.

In the movie the area was depicted as a thriving community made of people who wanted to be free of government or any kind of influence. Today, however, I think ( my opinion only ) that the majority of the people are here out of necessity and not choice. It is pretty barren.

After leaving Slab City we had to make some time so we headed south of the 111 and picked up Interstate Hwy 8 and scooted into Tucson where we spent the night. It was another good day even with the temperature in the high 90's.

GETTING TO GRAPEVINE - Joshua Tree National Park May 4, 2010

2010-05-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to come with a good name for our trip to Canada so the next chapter will just be on getting us back to Texas. We left Hemet yesterday and stayed last night in 29 Palms and then this morning we headed for the Joshua Tree National Park.

Upon arriving at the park we discovered that it encompasses two deserts. The northwest portion of the park sits on the Mojave Desert and the southeast portion sits on the Colorado Desert.

We spent the first part of the day in the Mojave Desert and this is where the tree that gives its name to the park is in abundance. Actually it is not really a tree but a giant member of the lily family. It is all over the northeast portion of the park and comes in many sizes and shapes.

However, the most spectacular feature of the park is the rock formations. Geologists believe they were born more than 100 millions years ago as molten liquid and over the years became what they are today. The area is very popular with rock climbers. There are many different shapes of individual rocks and rock piles.

During our day in the park we took in Keys View which is the highest point in the park at 5185 feet. After a relatively easy drive up to the viewpoint we had a pretty nice view back towards Coachella Valley and the Indio Hills. Well today we had a good view as some days the haze is quite heavy. The view from this point includes Palm Springs, Palm Desert, part of the Salton Sea and of course the San Andreas Fault.

San Jacinto Mountain in background. Palm Springs is at the base of the mountain.

Coachella Valley

San Andreas Fault

We did spent a part of morning hiking through a small valley. We thought we were in Hidden Valley and couldn't see what all the excitment was about. It was just a valley. We never made it to the real Hidden Valley. However it was nice to stretch the legs for a bit even if it was 90 degrees out.

A few other sites from the Mojave Desert

The Infamous Desert Balloon Plant

While still in the park we were now leaving the Mojave Desert and entering the Colorado Desert and immediately there was a change in terrain. Also the Joshua Tree disappearered.

The first stop in the Colorado Desert portion of the park was at The Cholla Cactus Gardens which is dominated by the Jumping Cholla Cactus. The name is for its tendency to attach itself to the unwary and this you do not want to happen. It's spines are very sharp and have little barbs on the end which make it very difficult and painfull to remove.

The final stop before exiting the park was at the Ocotillo Patch where there was a group of unusual looking plants that we thought were cactus. We actually found out that this thorny, multi -stem shrub is a woody deciduous plant. Unlike other diciduous shrubs, which normally grows leaves in the spring and drops them in the fall, the Ocotillo may actually grow and drop leaves up to five times a year. The reason is that it's leaves are not season dependent but rain dependent.

They also look nice.

It wasn't very long before we exited the park and headed the RV park we were going to stay at. We have been there before and it is called "Fountain of Youth" RV park and are known for their natural mineral spas.

I didn't get any younger the last time we were here so I thought I would give them another change. When we arrived it was 97 degrees. How do you spell hot.

We quickly set up and got out of the sun. Despite the heat it was a very good day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA May 2, 3 & 4, 2010

2010-05-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

This will be the last WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA post as today we have officially left Hemet and the Golden Village Palms RV Resort. It was a good 1st winter as retiree's and we really enjoyed our time here.
I do not believe we could have picked a better park. The individuals we met, both staff and fellow RVer's were spectacular which just added to the good times.

Sunday and Monday was spent putting the finishing touches on moving everything from the 5th wheel into the Lance. Monday afternoon we took the 5th Wheel over to the Storage Facilities and bid it farewell for the next 5 or 6 months. The only enjoyable aspect of the two days was being able to go for a hottub later in the evening. A good long soak does wonders for aching muscles.

Monday was leaving day. The Lance was all packed up and ready to go.

So we said goodbye to some of the few people still left in the park including our neighbour Tom who came to our rescue the first day we got here and helped us navigate the 5th wheel into a good position.

We then stopped at the office on our way out to say goodbye. The young ladies at the front desk were sorry to see us go.

Okay, maybe not all of them were sorry to see us leave.

After leaving the office winter was officially over and we were once again headed down the road. It felt good to both of us to once again be moving. We did not plan a long trip today as we are headed to the Joshua Tree National Forest which is on 50 miles down the road. However to get there you go past Palm Springs and get a chance to view the biggest farms around. Just don't try to eat this crop.

We decided to spent the night in Twentynine Palms which is at the East entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. Not sure where it got its name as we counted a lot more than 29 Palm Trees.

Tomorrow we head into the park and will post our activities in the new chapter in our retirement life. Not sure what this new chapter will be called.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 24 - May 1, 2010

2010-05-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

The past week has been spent mainly getting ready to leave Hemet. We are putting the 5th wheel in storage and taking the Camper to Ontario for the summer. It has turned out to be a bigger job that we anticipated or maybe we have left the sense of urgency behind us in retirement. When it gets done, it gets done.

I still managed to get a couple of golf games in and Kathy continued to ride her bike between going and getting the camper. Once we had the camper in the park the first thing we did was get it washed and waxed. It was still covered with bugs from the Alaska trip. The guys we hired did a great job and it looks like it is new.

Once we had a new and clean camper it was time to start moving over everything we would need on the trip. It is amazing the amount of "stuff" one can accumalate in a small space. However, a little sorting, a little disposal and we are almost ready to go.

We plan to leave here on Monday or Tuesday and our first destination will be the Joshua Tree National Forest and then onto Dallas.

The park is getting quite empty and today we said goodbye to one of the few snowbirds still left here. Terry and Joy are from British Columbia and both are quite good golfers. When the three of us played I think Joy held back so that she didn't kick our butts to bad. They are both very nice people and we look forward to hooking up with them next winter.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 12 - 23, 2010

2010-04-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks has been spent saying goodbye to people as the park is slowly empting out. The Canadians have pretty much all left as the weather in Canada is becoming favorable. Other than saying goodbye to people we have just been relaxing and enjoying the nice weather.

I have got a few golf games in and Kathy is diligently riding her bike but other than that it is pretty peaceful.

On the 17th of April I celebrated my 61st birthday. We spent the day going over to Lake Elsinore and meeting up with a friend we hadn't seen in many years. Kathy and I both worked with Sanjay Choudhuri at GWG and we met up with him and Nancy ( his better half ) at a small restaurant. We managed to turn breakfast into a 3 hour event and it was really nice to catch up and hear about his future plans. I unfortuntely forgot my camera but Sanjay brought his and pictures were taken. I will post them when Sanjay forwards them to me.

The Pictures arrived.

Starting next week we will be getting the truck camper ready for the trip to Canada and slowing starting to move what we need from the 5th wheel into the camper. We are starting to get itchy feet, the travelling bug is starting to bite, the truck is whining, the north is calling. It's time to go.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 10 & 11, 2010

2010-04-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday were pretty quiet. The weather turned a little cold, it went down into the high 60’s so we decided to just sit back and enjoy The Masters. So that’s what we did. It was a quiet but nice weekend. Monday we have to start getting ready to pack up and head north.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 8 & 9, 2010

2010-04-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a do errands day but we did it on our bikes. We ended up riding about 15 miles as we had to go to the Post Office, a couple of Drug Stores and the Grocery Store. We also made a stop at Starbucks for a little refreshment. It was a nice afternoon.

The evening did not go as easy as a hose under the sink let go and we ended up with water all over the place. It took quite a bit of work to clean up all the water and it took right up until it was time to go to bed to finish it. The end result being that we had to order a new hose from Mobile Suites.

Friday I had made a commitment to go golfing so that’s where I was headed and it was another beautiful day hitting the early 80’s temperature wise. I felt a little quilty as Kathy was stuck in the 5th Wheel shampooing carpets and cleaning the kitchen floor. I think that must have been than messed up my golf game.

The manufacturer in discussions with Kathy agreed to send us a new kit for under the sink at no charge so not all was lost. It will be here in about a week.

Tomorrow is another day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 7, 2010

2010-04-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today was golf day for Rod and laundry day for Kathy. Sounds fair to me.

We headed over to Moreno Valley and The Ranch at Moreno Valley Golf Course where we played the Lakes and Mountain courses. It was a little windy but not enough to make a significant impact on my game. The course is really nice, in very good shape and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I have been impressed with all the golf courses in the area and there is a lot of them. The rains this year has them all in good condition and the price is certainly right. A round with cart will run anywhere from
$25 - $ 35. Pretty hard to beat.

Kathy also enjoyed her day in the laundry room but she always enjoys doing laundry.

After dinner we joined the Wednesday night poker game. This game is usually men only and restricted to a max of 10 players however as people are starting to head home for the summer we were short a few players. This opened a spot for Kathy to play but I am not sure they will invite us back as we took 1st and 2nd spot which was the only spots that paid money. It was a nice way to end the day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 6, 2010

2010-04-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

We have decided to take the camper to Ontario this summer so we have to do a little work on it. We ordered a new ladder and had to go to Lancaster to pick it up. Lancaster is about 115 miles northwest of Hemet and for the most part it was an enjoyable drive. Well it became enjoyable after we passed the stretch of Highway 215 between Hwy 10 and Hwy 60 as it was very congested and very fast. The latter part of the drive took us through the high desert and it was quite unique with a different selection of trees and cactus.

When driving through the high desert the evidence of how much rain California has had this year was pretty obvious. It was green. Normally by this time of year there wouldn’t be a speck of green.

During the drive we passed through part of the San Bernadino National Forest and Mormon Rock Station. The formation of the rocks were quite unique. Pictures at Eleven.

However, it was a drive for nothing as when we got to the Lance Factory we discovered that they had given our ladder to someone else. They are going to ship us one but it will be tight time wise as we are scheduled to leave here May 3rd.

In spite of not getting the ladder it was a nice drive and we enjoyed the day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 5, 2010

2010-04-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today was planned to be a golf day for me and a “Get Rid of Rod” day for Kathy. However it was raining in the morning and continued to rain for most of the day so it became a movie day.

Not very exciting but you are allowed to have them when you are retired.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 4, 2010

2010-04-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter Sunday and the day started off with an earthquake. The epicenter was about 100 miles south of here on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds and really shook us around. Thankfully there was no damage. It was our first big one here as it measured anywhere from 6.9 – 7.2 on the Richter Scale. The aftershocks lasted for about 2 days.

There was also another earthquake of sorts prior to the big one. Kathy went out and bought roller blades, not only roller blades but the helmet, knee pads, wrist protectors and elbow pads. The whole kit and caboodle. When my opinion was requested I did express concern over her safety and sanity. A fifty something year old body does not recuperate as it once did. I must admit that I was not as eloquent in
expressing my concerns at the time.

Things were going great until she tried to jump one of the speed bumps in the park. Kaboom, down she went. Nothing was hurt except her pride, that is until she tried to get up the next morning. She was hurting, big time. After three days of recuperation she wisely decided that Roller Blading was not for her. All that is left is the helmet and permanent bruise to her ego.

However, I am too much of a gentleman to say " I told you so." HeHe.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA October 15, 2009 - April 3, 2010

2010-04-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Its April fool’s day and time to start the blog up again. The last time I posted we had just left Sedona, AZ and were going to make our way back to Dallas with a week long stop in Lake Havau City. The stop in Lake Havasu City was to find a RV park in the area that we would enjoy settling for the winter. The day we left Sedona we headed a short way down the road to Verde Canyon where we took a tour of the Canyon on the Verde Canyon Railway. It was a enjoyable but very hot day and of course we took a few picktures.

After spending the day on the train we headed west which took us through Jordan, AZ an old mining town that is now mainly an artist colony and tourist attraction. We had been to Jordon before so we didn’t stop. However the drive was quite exilerating as the climb and winding streets through Jordan make the trip worthwhile on its own.

The next few days had us travelling through California via San Bernadino Valley down to Temecula where we spent the night at the Pechango Casino and RV Resort. Of course I had to go in a play a little poker and even made a few dollars. The next day we travelled 23 miles up the road to Hemet as we wanted to check a RV park that Peg and Rick recommended. We spent a good portion of the day touring the park and as it turns out we liked the park well enough to book it for the winter.

Now that we had taken care of winter residence we started heading east back to Dallas to pick up the 5th wheel. We had stops at the Fountain of Youth RV Park that was located just east of the Salton Sea and had Natural Hot Springs. The Hot Springs were rumored to restore your youth. They lied.
However the scenery was quite nice.

After leaving California we stopped in Lake Havasu City for the week at our timeshare. The original plan was to look for a park to winter in but since we took take of that is Hemet we used the week just to relax.

The next few weeks was spent returning to Dallas, picking up our 5th wheel, getting rid of our locker, doctors appointments, saying goodbye to friends and just preparing for the drive to Hemet.

We are in Hemet, CA and have been here since the 1st of December in the Golden Village Palms RV Resort. The park is one of the very best we have been in and was perfect for settling in for the winter. It has a lot of amenities such as two pools, 3 whirlpools, exercise and weight room, large laundry room, chipping and putting area and a billiards room with about 6 tables. It also has a large banquet hall, a large meeting room and a few other rooms that can be used for pot luck suppers, cards or whatever you choose to do.

Hemet is located in southwestern Riverside County, and is located in the San Jacinto Valley. Hemet issouth of the city of San Jacinto, and located near the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. The valley is surrounded by the Santa Rosa Hills and San Jacinto Mountains, and is mostly dry land, except for Diamond Valley Lake to the south of Hemet. We are roughly 67 miles north east of San Diego and 75 east of Los Angeles. The city has about 75,000 people and is large enough to have all the resources we need but it is small enough that we can bike or walk for groceries and other shopping needs. The truck doesn’t get of lot of running time.

The activities here are pretty extensive and we have taken advantage of them. I golf with the men’s club on Monday and Wednesday. Kathy and I play poker ( Texas Holdem ) every Tuesday and I play with the men on Wednesday night. There is shuffle board every Friday night but we have not made it there.

The Tuesday night poker is open to the park and it fills to the max of 48 players. Kathy won it one night and brought in $156.00. She wouldn’t share. We also get points if you reach the final table and the top 8 finishers play in a year end tournament. I was able to squeak in with enough points to make the final table and ended up coming in 2nd . It was a lot of fun.

The Final Table

We Drew a Crowd

The Final Hand - I lost and came in second

The Top 3

We enjoyed a few other planned functions such as Xmas Dinner, St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, GVP Golf Tournament and Dinner and of course Canada Day.

Everyone is very friendly and laid back and so they should be. They are retired and life is good.

The park is open all year round but is the busiest from December to April as a lot of Canadians come down for the winter. They are mainly from BC and Alberta and judging from the people we have met I don’t think there is anyone left in Port Alberni, they are all here. We have met some really nice people and get together a couple of times a week to play cards (mostly Texas Holdem)

The People

The Hand

The Bragging Rights

My sister and brother-in-law have been with us for the last couple of months and it was good to see them again. Well, I didn’t appreciate getting my ass kicked at golf by Rick (bastard) but it was good to get together. We even had a short visit from Boy (their son) but as he is only a retiree in training he had to go back to work.

The Howies also had to return to St. Albert as Peggy had to go back to work (hahaha) so we say them off. They weren’t very excited to be heading back to the colder weather.

Well maybe they weren’t excited to be leaving but the puppies were.

TEXAS IN TIME FOR TURKEY Day 14 October 15, 2009 Out of Africa Wildlife Park, Cottonwood, AZ

2009-10-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Today we traveled down the highway a few miles to Campe Verde where we took in the Out of Africa Wildlife Park. It is a Wildlife park that has animals from Africa and North America that have been rescued, donated or born into captivity.

When we arrived we found there were two sections to the park. The first was a bus ride through an area that housed animals with hooves. They actually gave us pieces of carrots so that we could feed the animals. It was a great hit with the kids. The one aspect of the bus ride that surprised us was how close and personal you could get with these animals. You could not get off the bus but the animals did come up to the bus looking for food.

Once we finished with the bus tour we caught the shuttle up to the caged area where the rest of the animals were. In this section was a show area where they brought in pairs of animals. The one we really enjoyed was called “Tiger Splash” and that is just what it was. Two trainers actually got in the caged area and pool and played with the tigers. It was quite enjoyable.

The next show was the snake show where they brought out two Burmese Pythons for everyone to pet. We passed.

The last show was back in the pool area where they brought in two Hyenas. There was one male and one female and they have been at the park for 7 and 11 years respectively. We also learned that the female is always the boss in the relationship. When they were feeding the Hyenas we were able to hear their laughs which was really their way of saying “Hurry up and feed me”. I was surprised at how big these animals are as they go about 140 lbs.

Once the final show was over we walked back down to the entrance so that we could see the rest of the animals. Upon completion of our viewing we headed back to the resort and called it a night. It was a good day.