Our Trip to Justin and Ashley’s Wedding Part 2

Weeks three, four, five and six. Now we’re in Texas (it’s a big state)Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida

Wednesday, January 13, 2009 Holiday Villages of Medina, Bandara, Texas

We’re back to one of our clubs. It’s a bit off the beaten track, 8 miles or so. Not much happening at this park, but it’s OK, we are here because it close to San Antonio.

This morning, Thursday, I went to the clubhouse to check my email then headed to San Antonio and the Alamo. The TomTom got us there, in a round about way. I should have brought my computer with the Trips and Streets program. The weather was rainy and foggy, very foggy and it was rough driving. The rain lifted a bit when we got to San Antonio.

We made it to the Alamo and enjoyed touring it and the video presentation. Carl knew quite a bit about the Alamo, he was the #1 Davy Crocket and Jim Bowey fan of 1958!

Then we went to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. It’s touted to be the Venice of the West (I might have made that up). I thought of it as Pier 39 with water running through it. It’s not actually a “river”. It’s more like a long, narrow pool. We had lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack and the waitress told us they just finished cleaning it yesterday and they empty it to clean it. It’s only 4’ deep, or so. The water was kind of murky, like the Mississippi, not clear like the American River. We did see a fish in it and some ducks. It was mostly eating establishments on both side of the river. Our lunch at Joe’s was good. Then we walked around San Antonio, kind of getting lost like we usually do. We found the “Market Square” and Carl was hoping for fruit and vegetables. It was gift shoppie type vendors. I did buy a Texas charm for my bracelet.

The TomTom got us back to the freeway heading back to the campground, but….it was not the same directions as the road signs. We followed the TomTom and geez, it was so confusing. It took us on roads that cars shouldn’t go on and it kept saying “turn around when possible” whenever there was a curve in the road. I should have brought my computer!

We made it back, safe and sound and Hattie was ready to go for a walk!

After dinner we headed to the hot tub for some relaxation. The hot tub was really hot, so our soak was short and sweet.

Friday 1/15/10. It rained non-stop all last night. I got up a few times and looked outside to see if it had flooded. You always hear about trailers getting washed away in Texas and I was afraid we’d be one of them. No worries. We were safe.

We stopped in the town of Bandera on our way out of town. I was able to find a CD with some of favorite cowboy songs; Don’t Fence Me In, Back in the Saddle Again, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, etc. for my video. An enticing sign lured us into a restaurant in Bandara for bbq lunch. It turned out to be an all-u-can-eat and we did our best. The barbecue was better than Ribs and Things but not as good as Everett & Jones and a far cry from Carl’s.

We’re tootling down the highway, headed for Rockport, listening to Cowboy music and me writing on the computer when Carl said we’ve lost all power in the RV. I unplugged my computer, turned off the radio and didn’t know what to prepare for. Losing the power meant losing steering and brakes but Carl gently maneuvered the RV to the side of the road. Thank God for Texas’s flat, straight roads. We don’t know what happened. Everything seemed to be fine. I guess it was just one of those scares we have on our trips. Like the time one of the wheels on the Saturn locked up, and when the slide slid out, and all the times I bring the wrong clothes for the weather. I was nervous the rest of the trip, so a nap was out of the question. Someone was watching over us.

Then we saw an armadillo. It was dead, fresh but dead, but we saw it.

We’re really living on the edge. We were moving on down the hwy 37 and took the exit to Rockport. The road was closed, due to flooding. We took the frontage road and were going to hop back on the freeway down the road. There were areas of standing water, but you could see the yellow line in the middle of the road, so we felt safe. Then, there was an area of choppy water, like the bay, so we decided to unhook the Saturn and back up the 4 or so miles. Along came a Texas Department of Transportation and they said the choppy water was OK to pass as long as you go slowly. Whew! So we did and snaked our way back to Hwy 37. We’re on the right path and then some truck rocketed a rock at our windshield, now we have a star on it. We’ll have to get it fixed in Rockport.

We finally arrived and settled in. The rain is supposed to subside. Our fingers are crossed.

Friday, January 15, 2009 Bay View RV Park, Rockport, TX

Our spot is one of the better spots, muddy, but not a lake. We settled in and tried to take Hattie for a walk but the wind scared her so just kicked back. I called Richard and Irishka to let them know we were in town. We’ll meet tomorrow and I can’t wait.

This morning (Saturday) they had $1.00 cinnamon rolls and a craft fair at the clubhouse so we were all over that. We missed the rolls, oh well. There was a man selling the Delorme trip program similar to our Streets & Trips but he made a program with all the clubs mapped out. What a great idea. It had ROD, RPI, C2C and tons of others, so we bought it. He loaded it on both of our computers then I had to leave to meet with Richard and Irishka. I hope I don’t suffer from buyers remorse.

We made it to R & I’s around 2:00. It was wonderful seeing them. They have a beautiful brand new house in Corpus Christi, you know, Corpus Christi, the birthplace of the Whattaburger. We were able to meet their pride and joy, Blackie, their white fluffy dog. We chatted for a while then went out for lunch at their favorite Mexican restaurant. Corpus Christi is known for it’s Mexican restaurants and seafood, not barbeque like we’ve been looking for.

After lunch we headed to the marina and pier and to check out the replica of the Niña. Cousin Margaret called and we all talked to her. Wish she was with us! Then back to R & I’s house for more chatting and reminiscing and making plans for tomorrow.

Rosie called while we were driving back to the camp. She’s getting ready for the wedding. It’s getting close and I’m getting excited ‘bout seeing my sisters.

Today (Sunday) is a much over due laundry day. Hattie and I took a walk up to the laundry room and found the four washers empty. Yeah! I drove our dirty clothes back to the Laundromat and filled all the washers. Everything was clean and folded by the time Richard and Irishka came over. They brought Blackie and the two girls got along marvelously. After the usual sniffing, they ignored each other, but it’s all good.

We went for a walk around the camp, swatting mosquitoes. We enjoy each other so much, that at the end of the day, I am high with giddiness. We have plans to meet again before we move on. I know I’ll be sad when we leave.

I played with the new map program and I’m not to happy with it. I think the program Dave made is a good idea, but still in the idea stage. I’m hoping it’s just a learning curve on my part.

Carl and I went to the “Big Fisherman” restaurant for dinner. Well, we won’t suggest that place to Richard and Irishka.

Today (Monday) we checked out the beaches in the greater Rockport/Fulton area. We found a great beach but they did not allow dogs. Well, shucks. There was a small patch of beach that dogs were allowed, but it was shallow, nasty, foamy and stinky and we didn’t want Hattie in it. We walked around the touristy area for a while then went back to the campground for lunch. Dave, the DeLorme Map guy, came over to try to load the program in Carl’s computer. It won’t work and I’ll deal with it when we get home.

We met Richard and Irishka at Landry’s in Corpus Christi for dinner. They were a tad late; Richard went over the bridge by mistake. He always goes over the bridge my mistake. Good thing they don’t charge toll!

We had a wonderful dinner and visit. We laughed so much my chest hurt. They made this part of our trip the best part yet!

Video for your viewing pleasure

Tuesday - The fog really set in today. It was thick and warm. What a concept.

After breakfast we headed to Mustang Island to check out their beaches. Driving through town I noticed the most popular businesses are “car washes”. I swear, almost every block there is a car wash. Hmmm. Maybe they’re trying to tell us something.

We stopped at the post office to see if the package Chris sent had arrived, and it did. Yeah. We got Carl’s meds, spices, travel brochures and the wedding invitation from J&A.

We took the ferry to Mustang Island, a short jump across the estuary. The town is called Port Aransas. It’s a real beach town, lots of seafood restaurant. We found the State park, paid our fee and settled in. The beach was long, flat, hard sand and Hattie loved it. She ran after her ball in the Gulf of Mexico and went wild. Tomorrow she’ll be pooping Gulf of Mexico sand. It was foggy the entire time and we both got so wet from the humidity. We stopped for lunch at a little joint called Castaways. We shared an oyster po’boy. It was delicious. Then we took the ferry back to Arnasas Pass, the town on the other side of the estuary.

We stopped at Great Cuts and both got haircuts and then to the produce market. Best haircut I’ve ever had.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Gulf Coast RV Park, Beaumont, TX

We had a full day of driving today, going through Houston’s maze of freeways. We didn’t get lost, no thanks to me. Even with all of my directional devices, I still can get us lost.

Our new RV park, the Gulf Coast RV Park is right on the freeway – easy on, easy off. It’s just for a couple of days. We went to town to see what there was to see. Well, it was dark and rainy so we just headed back to the park. I had a belly ache so I went to bed. Was it the licorice I bought at the Dollar Tree? I threw them away, just in case.

Thursday – We awoke to a beautiful, sunshiny day and my tummy OK. The park serves a continental breakfast so Carl went over and grabbed a couple of sweet rolls while I checked my emails.

We headed to Port Arthur to see the sights. We stopped at the Gulf Coast Museum. It was very interesting. Fact: Janice Joplin, The Big Bopper, to name a few, are from Port Arthur. We checked out the riverfront area and boardwalk. The town is still in shambles from Hurricane Ike. The boardwalk is gone, building and homes boarded up and businesses closed.

Still in the quest for the best BBQ in Texas, we headed for Tony’s BBQ, recommended by the docent at the museum. It a hofbrau-ish and was good. We then checked out the theater district, Crescent Street. The bars and restaurants are only open Fridays and Saturdays.

Driving through the area we came upon beautiful colonial mansions right next to boarded up shanties.

Later in the evening, after a wonderful chat with Heidi, we went to Fat Mac’s BBQ (still on the quest) for dinner. Again it was good. When the server delivered our meal, she said, “this one’s on me ‘cause you had to wait”. We don’t think we waited long. Maybe we misheard her? We went up to pay and she said “thanks for coming” so we gave her a big tip.

We brought a tidbit from both BBQ restaurants for the pets, so they love us!

I finished my “Visit with R&I” video and posted it on YouTube. It’s so good, with Roy Rogers singing “Don’t Fence Me In”.

Friday, January 22, 2010 Passport to Leisure, Robert, LA

We got up in time this morning to take advantage of the breakfast at the clubhouse. We made waffles.

I emailed my video link to those that aren’t privy to Facebook and I received a lot of compliments. It bounced back from Richard, so I called him got the new email address and chatted. Now I miss them again.

When we arrived at the park, much to our surprise, we had arrived at Jellystone Park. There was Yogi and Boo Boo to greet us along with Ranger Smith. There is a waterslide, game arcade, snack bar, pool, all the fixin’s for a great family retreat. But, alas, everything was closed and there was just a bunch of oldies, like us, but older. I’m sure it’s a full of kids in the summer.

Saturday – We had plans to meet up with Karen Newcomb who is working in Hattiesburg, MS right now. We drove through what looked like the bayou, over Lake Ponchetran into the town of New Orleans. We stopped at the visitor’s center and picked up a map. We found a parking garage and the attendant offered to detail the Saturn for $20. The car was filthy and full of dog hair, so we jumped at the chance. I wanted to clean it before we got to DeFuniak Springs anyway.

We met Karen at the Café Du Monde, a New Orleans landmark. We had beignets and coffee for “lunch” then toured the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. The three of us were great tourists. We hit the shops, listened to some street music and ate an early dinner, Carl and I had our first taste of Louisiana oysters. Yumm

Sunday – We were awoken by a thunder, lightning and rain storm last night. This morning was bright, sunny and fresh.

We signed up for the 1:00 Honey Island Swamp Tour in Slidell, LA. We arrived around an hour early, but we really didn’t know where we were going so we gave ourselves extra time. There were around a dozen tourists on the boat giving everyone ample room. Our tour guide, Capt’n Jack, warned us that the West Pearl River was the highest it’s been in years because of the recent rains and we might not see an alligator. I said as long as we see one, I’ll be happy. We toured the swamp seeing a little wild life; some turtles, a raccoon, and a few snowy egrets. We went through an area that Capt’n Jack said usually has ‘gators and to keep our eyes peeled. Well, guess who found one? Moi! Yes, Moi! It was small, but a bonafide, swamp swimmin’ Louisiana alligator!

We stopped at Sonic’s for lunch. I can check that off my bucket list!

Everybody is all in an uproar about today’s football game – Saints vs. Vikings. We don’t get it on our TV so we’re doing laundry.

The Saints came marching in. They won the NFL playoff against the Vikings and will be going to the Super Bowl. You’re welcome!

Monday - We wanted to go to the Gulf Coast today and the closest was in Mississippi…so we checked out of Jellystone and headed to a Coast to Coast park in Pass Christian, Mississippi.

Gas was $2.36 at Walmart in Waveland Mississippi, wow! That’s the cheapest we’ve found. We have not paid anywhere near the $3.00+ we pay at home. If it wasn’t for the rain, heat, wind, humidity, tornados, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, etc. I’d so move here!

We stopped at the Five Star Resort in Pass Christian, MS, a Coast to Coast park. It was still early so we grabbed Hattie and headed to the Gulf. The beach was beautiful, a long, narrow strip of white sand. We had the beach to ourselves.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Sunset King Lake Resort, DeFuniak Springs, FL

We left the RV park at Pass Christian at 10:00, early for us ‘cause I couldn’t wait to see Rosie & Fred.

Our ride was good. Our only faux paux was missing our exit and having to go 10 miles to the next exit. Who puts exits 10 miles apart?

The park is very nice, paved roads, cement patios and grassy areas. Hattie remembered Rosie and Fred and we had a great homecoming.

We headed to Enterprise, AL to check out the venue for the rehearsal dinner and ended up at Pop’s Oyster Bar for dinner. It was delicious. Justin met us there. Yeah!

Wednesday – Today we took a ride around the greater Samson -DeFuniak Springs area in Alabama and Florida landing at a Dollar Tree. We had lunch at Po’ Folks. I just love that down home southern cooking. Rosie and I worked on the Bingo centerpieces for the rehearsal dinner and printed and framed old pictures of Justin for the wedding.

Thursday – Rosie and I drove to The First Baptist Church in Samson to help Ashley and her mother Nett assemble the programs and make the favors for the wedding. We had a great assembly line and it did not take much time. Rosie and I were going to head right to the Pensacola Airport to pick up Maggie but decided to swing by the RV park since we were driving right past it and do a few things. . . good thing we did, Maggie called us and said she was stranded in Dallas, weather related, shit! James and Jenessa arrived from Fargo via Atlanta so at least part of us made it. We hung around the camp and tried to take a nap waiting for Maggie’s call. We received good news and bad news that she might have to stay the night in Dallas or she was on the wait list, but I must admit, no tears from Maggie until I mentioned them. We finally got word that she got on the plane, and would be in Pensacola at around 10:00. Rosie and I dashed out of our RVs and with the help of Susan, the TomTom lady, we arrived with time to spare. Finally, the plane from Dallas arrived; Maggie called us with the good news. Rosie said “Great! We’ll be there in 15 minutes” and then surprised the hell out of her with our “Official DeFuniak Springs Welcoming Committee” poster. It was all good.

Friday – We were supposed to be at the church to help make table decorations at 8:30. Rosie made it 8:30 central time, me and Maggie 8:30 pacific time. We helped for a while then Maggie and I bowed out and went back to the park. We picked up Carl and went to DeFuniak Springs for lunch and Walmart.

Tonight was the night for the rehearsal and dinner. Maggie, Carl and I did not go to the rehearsal but straight to the dinner in Enterprise. Then the weather turned on us. It was so dark, so rainy and driving was scary. Susan the Tomtom lady, got us lost a few times; sometimes I wonder what she’s thinking. We were supposed to pick up balloons at the Dollar Tree on the way but we were to afraid to ask Susan any other directions. We finally made it, Carl doing a wonderful job of driving, and set up the checker card center pieces on the tables.

The wedding party arrived at around 8:30, also battling the storm and I must say, the dinner was delicious. Braso Brazil, fyi, and worth the drive. Well, going home, we followed James, Jenessa, Rosie Fred and it really stormed then. It scared the shit out of me but James and Carl did a marvelous job of keeping us safe and on the road.

Saturday – Today was the big day. The wedding party had to be at the church at 10:30 so the rest of us, me, Maggie, Carl and Jenessa left at 1:00. The Bride and Groom looked lovely and it was such a nice ceremony. The reception, immediately following, was nice and the food was good. Maggie and I had the honor of taking care of the Groom’s cake. I don’t think they’ll ask us to do that again, our slices were very avant-garde, to say the least. But it tasted good.

Jenessa caught the bouquet. Yeah! Maggie, Carl and I went back to the camp and prepared our dinner of left-over reception food. Delicious!

Justin and Ashley's Wedding Video

Sunday – Rosie, Maggie and I planned on a Swedish Smorgasbord for our new relatives on Sunday, after Church. We prepared all the fixings, shleped it up to the Members Activity Center, set everything up and had a wonderful lunch with our old relatives. But again, we had fun so it was all worth it and we had leftovers for dinner.

Monday – Today is the day I have not been dreading. Rosie and Fred left for New Port Richey, Florida in the morning. Carl and I will be seeing them soon on our travels and then I took Maggie to the Pensacola Airport, first checking the weather in Dallas. We planned on finding the fun part of Pensacola, and we sort of did. We found the Dollar Tree and Maggie was able to pick up some crap she had been looking for. We had lunch at the Beef ‘O’Brady, the same place we ate with Carl but different city. We were afraid to get far from the main road.

And Carl is sick. I think it’s the flu or a cold, and that makes me sad. I did the laundry after I got home. The pet’s bedding needed cleaning.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010, Ochlockonee River State Park, Sopchoppy, Florida

This morning I readied us for our departure from DeFuniak Springs; I dumped the RV, unhooked all the hookups, attached the Saturn and drove for most of the trip. It was a good drive, dry, flat, straight. We stopped for lunch at a small town called Apalachicola and shared a oyster po’boy, now a family favorite. We also picked up some local shrimp to cook for dinner.

We arrived at the state park, losing an hour, but still light and took Hattie for a walk. It’s a nice park, lots of trees & sandy beaches along the river. We’re looking forward to staying at other Florida state campgrounds.

Wednesday, Feb 3, 2010 Winter Quarters, Lutz, Florida

Carl is feeling pretty good now, still has a cough. We headed to our next stop close to Rosie and Fred. I’m hoping to be able to cancel some of our stay and move closer to their park, we’ll see.

We arrived at the park, found our spot and headed to Rosie and Fred’s park. We decided to go out to dinner, me and Rosie following Fred and Carl and poof! We lost them at the first turn. After driving around the greater New Port Richey area, we finally found the restaurant, Bonefish. Fred and Carl were no longer there, since we never showed. Rosie called Fred at their RV, yelled at him and they drove back to the restaurant and joined us.

Thursday – Fred had to work so we picked up Rosie and headed to the Sponge Docks at Tarpon Springs. It’s a fun area, made famous by Greek sponge fishermen, now has lots of shops selling natural sponges. I bought one as an object de art. We grabbed a couple of yuros for lunch and went on a cruise to view the birds and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. We saw so many birds, including the long billed curlew, pelicans, cormorants, herons, egrets, big and small. And we saw dolphins dancing in the water. Rosie was the official co-captain and I was beaming with pride.

We had dinner at our RV and took Hattie for a walk around the park.

Friday – This morning Carl and I adjusted our reservations for the rest of the month. We had a blank spot – this might be our Walmart time.

We went to TECO (Tampa Electric Co.) Manatee Viewing area, adjacent to the Big Bend Power Plant. We were able to see the manatee’s swimming and playing in the warm water the plant releases. There were stingrays jumping out of the water and sharks spinning out of the water. Fun. It rained like crazy. We stopped for a burger for lunch. Fred came to our RV after work and then we all went to dinner at an Italian place across the street from our park.

Saturday – Today is our last day with Rosie. She has to go back to Minnesota on Sunday morning.

We drove to Rosie & Fred’s for breakfast then headed to some of Fred’s favorite haunts in the area. Our first stop was the FMCA rally. It was so windy there, I was afraid the tent would fall on my head. Then we went to a big flea market. There were also fruit and vegetable stands, so we picked up a few items. We stopped at Cody’s for lunch/dinner then dropped Rosie and Fred off at their rig with plans for them to come over later on.

We had little brownies that I made and strawberries for our evening dessert. I was sad for Rosie to leave, but we still have Fred for another day.

Super Bowl Sunday – Fred picked us up in the morning and we headed to Parkesdale Farm in Plant City, Florida’s strawberry capital. We had strawberry shortcake and strawberry milkshake, shared. It was a big fruit stand so we also picked up some fruit. Our next stop was Lazy Days RV; part campground, parts, service and RV sales. We looked through many RV’s and I’m so happy to say, I didn’t see anything I like better than mine. We headed to the Crab Shack in Tampa for dinner. When we got there, the chef was leaving, saying it was closed for football. Holidays! We went back to our RV and had smoked salmon for dinner. I was sad for Fred to leave, but tomorrow we’ll see Dee and Anthony!

Monday, February 8, 2009 Dee & Anthony’s Place, Manatee River State Park, Bradenton, Florida

We arrived at another beautiful Florida State Park. The spaces were secluded from one another and white sand surrounded the area, but enough of that. I couldn’t wait to see Dee, Anthony and John, aka Grampy, Dee’s father. We took Hattie because they are dog friendly people and Hattie could play with their puppy Honey. We arrived in the early afternoon. Their home is beautiful, finely decorated as only Dee could do. We got right back into the swing of the good old days – chatting non-stop. The dogs got along well and simply ignored each other. This time Hattie was the alpha, but in a good way.

Dee prepared a delicious dinner of pork roast, salad and potatoes. We continued our chat for a while then headed back to our park.

Tuesday – Today Dee and Anthony, with Honey in tow, took us to Myakka River State Park to see the River Canopy and go on the river boat tour. This time we did see alligators, lots of alligators, big ones and small ones. We stopped at Bob Evans for pie and coffee then went back to Dee’s. Carl and I went back to our RV to pee and poo Hattie. We all went to one of the family favorites, an Amish buffet. It had a gift shop and I couldn’t believe it. Everything was made in China or India or Fairfield, California. My image of the Amish was tarnished, but hey, the food was good.

Wednesday – We checked out of the State Park and checked into the Tara Preserve Campground commonly known as Dee’s yard. She warned all of her neighbors so we wouldn’t get towed and she wouldn’t get thrown in jail. This was actually one of our better spots, dinner included, but no hook ups.

Dee, Anthony and us toured the greater Bradenton area, hitting the hot spots of Bradenton Beach, Siesta Keys, Anna Maria, all in the greater Tampa Bay Area. We stopped for lunch at the Siesta Keys Oyster Bar. We all had a bowl of clam chowder and Carl and I also had some

oysters. The clam chowder was the best I’ve ever had, that we’ve ever had!

Thursday – Today was check out day. Hattie is so used to being at Dee’s house and gets excited when I say “Let’s go see Honey!” Dee made us a wonderful breakfast and I was sad to go. Now we’re heading to the Keys, accommodations unknown. Yikes.

Our Trip to Justin and Ashley’s Wedding

Weeks One and Two - Covering California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas for starters

This trip all started when Rosie called and said Justin and Ashley were getting married. We were all together when Justin popped the question (Orlando Florida visiting the Swede’s), so I couldn’t miss the big day. We haven’t actually received an invitation, but I’m sure if we show up at the church, they’ll let us in.

We installed Streets & Trips 2010 in both of our computers. Carl did a masterful job of mapping our trip and making all the reservations from home to Florida. We were able to use all of our clubs, except for a stretch in Texas. We’ll, there’s always Walmart!

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Monday, December 28, 2009 The Ranch at Elizabeth Lake

This looks like a new park, new hookups, new park models, new river and lake going in. We took Hattie for a walk and were told by one of the workers that a Mountain Lion had been spotted. Well, that did it for me. It was too scary to walk any further so we hopped in the car and headed to Lake Elizabeth. No Mountain Lion sightings there. Hattie just loved the park and the lake and the running and the swimming and the frolicking.

And then, oh shit, I stepped in my own puppy’s poop. This is how it all came about. Last night, we or should I say, Carl, left a brand-new pack of Temptations on the dining table. Chado knocked them off the table for Hattie to eat/share. Well, she ate them alright, all except for the wrapper. Then she pooped, and pooped, and pooped and then I ran out of pick up bags, so I started to dig a hole to bury the last poop and stepped in it. Oh shit is right. Well, I did bury it, so I did the right thing.

We were abruptly awoken on Wednesday morning by the most severe wind storm I’ve ever heard. It rocked and swayed the RV so much, I thought the awnings over the slide outs would rip off, so we pulled the slides in. The wind continued all morning and into the afternoon and the fog was so thick, you couldn’t see but a few feet in front of you. We stayed at the campground until the mid afternoon, when the fog finally lifted and went to the store in Palmdale.

I talked to Dee, Cousin & Aunt Margaret and Cousin Richard. We’ll be seeing Dee and Richard during our trip. Yeah!

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Catalina Spa and RV, Desert Hot Springs, CA

Talk about a change of weather, it’s all about the sunshine down here. There are so many RV parks in the area, all looking about the same.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2010! I texted Heidi and Chris last night at 12:01 and they both responded.

We went to a farmer’s market and small craft fair in the Palm Desert area before we left for our next stop.

Saturday, January 02, 2010 Colorado River Oasis, Ehrenberg, AZ

This is kind of a blast from the past. We stayed here last year, the park is close to Quartzsite, the town of a million garage sales. Hattie recognized the park and couldn’t wait to go swimming in the river.

There was a dinner at the clubhouse so we decided to join in. They served chicken and pork chops. It was pretty good, well, it was OK.

Sunday’s outing was shopping at Quartzsite. We only saw a small part of the mega-garage sale / flea market. We got stuff. I bought some necklaces for me, Maggie, Rosie, Ashley and Diana.

Monday – still no wifi at the campground, so we headed to Blythe to find a Starbucks. Whew! Found one and we had a mocha AND we found a Dollar Tree. It’s all good.

After our great adventure in town, we took Hattie for a swim in the river. What a crazy puppy. I headed back to Quartzsite by myself to check out the bead store for Monica. Well, I didn’t find any beads that didn’t look cheap and cheesy, but I did find some cheap and cheesy earrings and bracelets. So I bought a bunch for my Bonko girls and my Little Theater girls, not that they’re cheap and cheesy.

I worked on coasters for Justin and Ashley, found them at the Dollar Tree. I ran out of ink in my printer. To be continued…

Tuesday, January 05, 2010 St. David RV Resort, St. David, AZ

I finally plugged in the GPS locator on my computer that goes with the Streets & Trips program. I love it. It’s hot!

We have wifi here, so I was able to check my email, etc.

Today, Wednesday, we went took a trip to Tombstone, a legendary town from the wild wild West. It’s classified as a ghost town, but has a zillion souvenir shops, restaurants, bars and authentic gun fights. We went to one of the gun fights, supposedly a comic gun fight. It was a little funny. The town is old, very authentic as far as I could tell and some of the local arts was local, but most was made elsewhere. They sold jewelry like I bought in Quartzsite, but with a 100% markup.

There are a lot of Border Patrols vehicles and check points in the area with full bullet-proof armor vests. I don’t know if we should feel safe or scared.

We crossed the Continental Divide at 4500ft altitude.

Thursday, January 07, 2010 Hidden Valley Ranch Resort, Deming, NM

The drive from St. David was pretty much uneventful. The wind was blowing and there were signs of possible sand storms and possible zero visibility. Luckily, it was only windy.

We got to our turnoff for the HVR and it turned to a dirt road, a long dirt road. We pulled over to check our maps, TomTom, computer, directions in the Coast to Coast book and we were on the right road. I let Hattie out to go pee pee and she bolted toward a herd of cows. What was she thinking? She’s not a herder. Well, she poo’d in the desert and ran back to the RV. She was licking at her foot. She had a cactus thorn in her hoof. I removed it and kissed it, so she’s all better.

We took a walk in the desert by the park. It’s very beautiful. The weather here is very cold, but were comfy-cozy in the RV.

We went into town today finding a super Wal-Mart. I bought a new printer for the RV. My old one ran out of ink and I could not find a replacement cartridge. The new printer, an HP1660, was $30! I set it up and printed out the coasters I made for Justin and Ashley. So cute.

We took Hattie for a long walk along the dry riverbed. This time we let her off leash. She chased a couple of rabbits, but realized she was no match for their hiding ability.

We’ve seen so much wild life at this park. Carl put out his bird feeder and every type of bird in the area plus a bunny and a rat or mouse, came to dine. We’ve see quite a few road runners, meep meep and cubbies of quails.

The news on TV is all about the severe winter weather in the Western US, right where we are. This is déjà vu from our trips to Oregon and Minnesota last year. I just hope it warms up before the wedding!

Saturday, January 09, 2010 El Campo RV Park, Van Horn, TX

The sun was shining this morning. Carl said our thermometer said zero in the middle of the night. I did buy the thermometer at the Dollar Tree, so it might not be accurate.

We are now on our own, campground wise, that is. We do not have any reservations for 4 days, between Deming NM and Bandara Texas. After driving for 222 miles, we came upon some RV parks on the GPS. We exited at a town named Van Horn, following the directions from the GPS and got lost, but . . . . we found a budget looking park called El Campo, which translates to The Campo, so we stopped for the evening. And it was quite the bargain, $16 for full hookups. If this is my last entry in the Chronicles, it means we were murdered in the middle of the night.

Well, it’s the AM and all I could think of last night was “somebody kill me!” The train that gently rolled down the tracks had to blow it’s whistle right by our trailer park. Geez.

I’m getting Wifi from the Days Inn so I can check my email etc.

The weather continues to be unusually cold. Record cold in Florida. I wonder if we were at home if there would still be that Arctic Blast? Our water hose froze last night. Carl had to take warm water to remove the hose from the faucet.

Sunday, January 10, 2010 Marathon Motel & RV, Marathon, TX

We’re still in the on our own part of this trip so we picked Del Rio as our next stop. Del Rio is 300+ miles from Van Horn so we decided to go approximately half way. We noticed for miles a strange object in the sky, flying around that we could not identify. Could it be a UFO? We thought it might be a blimp, but we were in the middle of nowhere. Maybe a weather balloon? We stopped at a picnic area to check it out, eat lunch and let Hattie go pee. At a closer look, it appeared to have cameras attached to it. I didn’t feel any probes, neither did Carl so wasn’t a UFO, probably just a border patrol thing. There’s border patrol all over the place. Anyhoo, Hattie and I were walking in the rugged Texas desert when she started to limp. She had several burrs in her paws, all 4, so I carried her back to the RV where we plucked them out. She let me carry her!

We stopped for the evening at the Marathon Motel and RV. It was very nice and the town is also very cute. I took Hattie for another walk and again, stickers in her paws. We have to stay on pavement. She’s such a city girl.

The RV park was full by the evening. The park was situated right across from a train track and it was LOUD! But, it did stop around midnight, or I slept through the whistles! Our RV neighbor, who was coming from where we’re going, said most of the parks are by rails. Oh well.

Although it was cold last night, it was nothing like previous days.

We are on the lookout for Peccaries aka wild pigs. We saw a dead one and three on the side of the road, but we need a picture. It’s like trying to see a kangaroo, bear, moose, etc.

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Monday, January 11, 2010 American Campground, Del Rio TX

The roads through Texas are long, straight and barren with no pot holes and little garbage. Good RV driving.

Well, it finally happened. Carl found the wildlife mother lode. I don’t know how he does it, but he spotted a herd of long horned sheep grazing in the grass. Then, not far down the highway, he spotted some peccaries on the side of the road, only this time they were alive. I was to busy working on my Chronicles to see anything. He stopped the RV and ran across the street and was able to snap a few photos.

We came upon a big bridge that went over the Pecos River. We pulled off the highway into the Amistad National Recreation Area parking lot and got quite the eyeful. The river was beautiful. The area was where the Pecos River meets the Rio Grande. You can see Mexico from the parking lot.

We made it to Del Rio around 4:00. The RV and Saturn are filthy. We had to drive through a construction zone for a while and it did a number on the vehicles.

After settling in, we went across the highway to another Amistad NRA, they’re all over the place. Lake Amistad is one of the largest lake in Texas. Good swimming for Hattie.

Del Rio is a much larger town than we expected, you know, Wal-Mart and every fast food establishment ever made, even some we’ve never heard of. We picked up a burger at “Whataburger” for dinner. It was good. And we washed the car.

Tuesday, was an adventurous day for us. After breakfast we stopped at the Visitors Center to get the 411 on Del Rio. Well, she had only been there for a few months, blah blah blah. We headed to the border, leaving our TomTom at home. We found the border and I thought you could take a bus across. Well, there was no bus so we drove. We found a girl that spoke a little English and she pointed us to a parking lot. The sign said “pay now or when you return, do not pay anyone without a ticket”. We left and would pay later ‘cause we couldn’t find anybody with a ticket. We were walking around and trying to figure out which way to go when a man offered to guide us. What the heck, he couldn’t get us any more lost than we could. He took us to some local curio shops and Carl gave him a few bucks. When we got out of the store, he was there offering to guide us more. He took us to a local restaurant Las Cazuelas. We ordered a couple of Pepsi’s, a nacho appetizer and two entrees. The food was delicious. We were full after the appetizer so we got the rest to go.

After lunch, our guide long gone, we walked around the plaza and moseyed our way back to the parking lot. The town is very depressed, lots of vacant buildings, not much street activity, at least on a Tuesday afternoon. We had a great adventure in Mexico, I’m glad we went.

When we got back to the camp, after stopping at the post office to mail my postcards, we grabbed Hattie and headed to a trail behind the Visitor’s Center for a nice, long walk. It was a nice trail that ended at Lake Amistad.

My turn to cook tonight. We had left over’s for dinner. Again, delicious.

Camping at Harmony Ridge, Nevada City

Russian River Resort – Cloverdale, a family favorite

September 9, 2009

Heidi and Tim were here for around three weeks, so we’ve been busy. They were here for Jen and Fermin’s wedding, but now they’re back home and I’m sad. . . so, to make me happy, we headed to one of our favorite spots, Russian River Resort in Cloverdale. I downloaded a new program to do my Camping Adventure and am very anxious to use it.

We ordered a Satellite dome for our new DirecTV from Allied Trailer and it arrived today. It was way over my budget, but what isn’t? It was a snap to set up in the RV and we have great TV reception.

September 10, 2009

Our favorite spot, #3, at the campground was occupied, so we settled for a spot in the B section. It had no picnic table area so we moved this morning to C69. This is our first time in the C section, and it’s very nice.

After our move and breakfast, we headed to town to pick up a phone charger, I forgot mine, and a few other things.

We took Hattie to the river for a swim, this time we joined her. I took my swim noodle and she wanted to “fetch” it. We had so much fun. It is very hot, so the river felt so good.

September 11, 2009

We ventured out to Boonville today. The last time we did this the road made me sick so I wasn’t real keen on the idea. Either the roads got straighter or my stomach stronger, in any case, it was a nice drive. We had lunch at a cafe in Boonville. The town used to be a huge apple growing area, but the wineries and vineyards have taken over. We did stop at one family run orchard called the Apple Farm. We bought some just squeezed apple juice and some apples.

On our way home, along highway 128, I saw from the corner of my eye and building-in-progress Lone Oak Winery. I said to Carl “I think that’s Larry Ratto’s winery, turn around”. So he did and it was! It is being built by Kenny, Larry’s nephew and will be open in a year. I said to be sure to put us on the invitation list and we will be there. We always think we should see Larry when we’re up in Cloverdale and this is the closest we’ve gotten!

When we got back to the RV we saw another two RVers stressing out trying to set up their Dish. Am I ever glad we got the expensive state of the art one. A guy across the way has been working on his for three days. That would be THREE DAYS without HGTV! Yee Gads!

Hattie is still limping so we try to keep her frolicking down to a minimum, but when she sees the river, there’s no stopping her. Carl and I took her swimming and played “puppy in the middle”, making her swim from me to Carl and back trying to get her stick. Maybe not the best thing for her leg.

We’ve been using the campground showers and I put my toiletries in my plastic Australia bag. While we were at a little shop in Boonsville, I saw a cute canvas bag and I said to myself, that would be great for the shower. It can get wet and would dry in no time. Well, being the frugal person that I am, I decided to make my own. I had a real large kitchen towel from South Dakota, not user friendly, so I used that to make a breathable shower bag. I got out my "as seen on TV” sewing machine and whipped it up. I just can’t wait to shower tomorrow.

September 12, 2009

Well, my new shower bag worked just fine. We decided not to take Hattie swimming today so hopefully, her leg will get better.

We went to the pot-luck luncheon at the clubhouse. It was very nice, although not well attended. We sat with a nice couple, Ray and Pat. That’s why I like to go to these events.

I started to vacuum before Julie and Chris got here and noticed the vacuum, the old green one, was doing a lousy job;well, the belt broke on it. I guess it’s seen better days. Maybe it’s a sign to get a new one!

Julie and Chris arrived at 3ish for a visit. We were planning on going to the classic car show in Cloverdale but opted for chatting and a walk around the park. We went to dinner at the Hamburger Ranch and Pasta Farm. We had such a nice visit.

September 13, 2009

We woke to cool, overcast skies this morning a drastic difference from the earlier part of the week. I only hope I have proper clothes to wear.

There was a pancake breakfast this morning, but I slept way to late, so we settled for cereal. After breakfast we headed to Walmart in Ukiah. I finally broke Carl down and bought a new vacuum cleaner. When we got back to the RV, I put it together and vacuumed my heart out. It works great!

There was a ice cream “social” at the wagon so we stopped by. Nothing to shout about.

Pat and Ray, who we met at the pot-luck, dropped by with a bottle of wine and a platter of cheese and crackers. We had such a nice time chatting, then we headed to Sho-ko-wah Casino in Hopland for their $4.95 prime rib dinner. It was very good, especially for the price. Carl and I each got a players card and had $20 worth of play, which I flushed down the slot machine in record time.

September 14, 2009

After breakfast and a brief visit with Pat and Ray we headed for the upscale town of Healdsburg. It’s a little to upscale for me, I’m more of a Walmart/Kohl type person, but it’s fun to look. We did stop at a deli where they had samples of jams and relishes. We sampled some peach-chipotle chutney, and I think we can save the peach jam we made with a little chipotle added. We’ll seeThe weather is nice and warm today so we took Hattie for a swim at the river. Once there, we decided to keep her out of the water so maybe her leg would heal. She stayed out, well, except for her paws.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Today we ventured to the Ferrari Winery in Healdsburg. We heard from one of the campers here that the gardens on the grounds were beautiful and they were! We found this little frog that still had part of his tadpole tail. How cute is that?

The rest of the day we basically hung around the campground, relaxing in the warm Sonoma County sunshine, walking about the grounds with no particular place to go.
I worked on Annick’s birthday card on my Printshop program. It’s so cute. I can’t wait to print it.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The dark tank was full this morning, so, one day before leaving we had to unhook and go to the dump station. Oh well, we knew it would happen sooner or later.
I love my new vacuum cleaner. It really sucks up the pet hair. I don’t know how we could breathe before.
We took Hattie for a swim at the river, us joining in. I spotted a lone crawdad in the water; winner! Glad my toes weren’t in the river.
We’ve been collaring Chado and bringing him outside. He just loves it. We just have to say “wanna go out?” and he’s right there, and we give him treats. We stayed at the campground all day, listening to my MP3 outside. I just love that, and there’s no one around, so I can blast it, sing along and even dance with Carl, he’s always begging.
I went to the lodge to check my email and do a few things that required internet connection. The wifi here is slow so I’ll do whatever it is at home!

Thursday, September 17, 2009
Today is our going home day. I have Bonko tomorrow and Annick’s birthday party on Saturday and of course, I have to get back to the gym. Yee gads!

The End

.

Yellowstone National Park

Trip to Minnesota - to and fro

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 – First stop Crossroads RV Park, Wells Nevada
As usual, I had a big dilemma. We had plans to leisurely go to Minnesota, leaving sometime at the end of May, early June so we could meet Rosie and Fred at the FMCA Rally. Nakia was supposed to be out of the duplex by the 6th of May giving us plenty of time to clean it and rent it before our vacation. Well, she didn’t get out until the 28th; we got it cleaned and rented by June 6th and headed out a couple of weeks late. Then…Chris will be home June 22nd and I won’t so I’m sad. He said “go have fun Mom, I’ll be here when you get back”. I only hope I can survive.
We left Hayward at 9:00 am leaving Cynthia court in the able hands of Monica and all of our neighbors. We had planned to stop in Winnemucca as our first stop, but there were no more Coast to Coast spaces left at our RV park, so, just a mere 200 miles up the long, flat, straight highway 80, we stopped as Crossroads RV Park in Wells,Nevada. It was perfect for an overnighter. Poor Hattie and Chado, every time we stopped for a break, they said “are we there yet????”
We took turns driving. I slept while Carl drove and Carl clenched his teeth, fists and used his own brake while I drove.
We had chili and leftover Subway for dinner, and it rained. We were exhausted after our 11 hour drive and went to bed early.
We could hear the clackety-clack and whoo whoo of a nearby train during the night. I incorporated it into my dream; Carl got up.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 – East Canyon Resort, Henefer, Utah
Carl was already in the showers when I awoke and me soon thereafter. We ate, cleaned up and headed out around 9:00. There is an hour time change, so I’m not so sure of the time.
Driving through Utah on the Bonneville Salt Flats was like driving on the ocean. You could see nothing but the faint outline of mountains for miles around. I took a nap.
The leg between Wells and Henefer was around 4 hours, settling in our campground around 2:00. It’s a very nice Coast to Coast around 12 miles from highway 80. The weather was on and off rain, mostly on so we decided to drive into the town of Henefer, even though we drove through it going to the campground. Well, we soon found out there was no town, what we saw is all there was. The campground is close to a lake but there is no access to it, so… no swimming for Hattie. The little river behind our campsite was too swift to even think of letting Hattie in. We took the downtime to watch the movie “Australia”. It was 3 hours and we never had time to watch it at home.

Thursday, June 11, 2009 KOA Casper, Wyoming
We did not have reservations today, so our goal was to go half way between Henefer Utah and Friday’s campground in Rapid City, South Dakota, quite a haul, but we made it. It rained/poured most of the way, as it has most of the trip. Rosie called and I’m so excited to see her, so excited that I cancelled our last reservations in Kimball SD so we could get to Albert Lea on Sunday. It will be a long drive, like 7 hours, instead of 3 hours, but what would we do in Kimball???
We stopped in Casper Wyoming for the night. Casper is a city made of Tuff Sheds; the stores, the churches, the KOA campground. We bit the bullet and stayed at a KOA because there was nothing else in the area. They did have free WiFi and cable. Yeah! I made a Cornish hen for dinner with mashed faux potatoes and peas. Delicious. I’ve been pretty lazy and let Carl do a lot of the cooking.

Friday, June 12, 2009 – Rushmore Shadows, Rapid City South Dakota (RPI)
We got off to an early start this morning. Carl was up at his usual crack of dawn and I got up at 6:15. AM. We left the park at 8:00, clean and fed.
Well, we know where the deer and the antelope play – highway 90 in Wyoming and South Dakota. But I wonder where the buffalo roam? Carl’s quest was to get a picture of a herd of antelope but they were too far off the highway. The deer, on the other hand, were “sleeping” on the side of the road.
The drive on highway 90 was very pleasant. There were lush green hills as far as you could see. And the dirt was brick red. Beautiful.
We arrived at our campground around 2:00. We had a little snack and headed to a point of interest. We planned on stopping at the wildlife drive thru park, but there was an accident in front of the park, so we instead we ventured off to the Reptile Gardens just down the road. After our visit, we headed to a town we saw on the map, Hayward. How cute is that? We found it but it was only a sign…but behind the sign was the Rushmore Caves, so we went there.
On our way back to the campground we stopped at a cute town called Keystone. We walked around visiting the shops and stopped for a hot dog for dinner.


Saturday, June 13, 2009 Rushmore Shadows, Rapid City, South Dakota
We awoke to warmth and sunshine. After breakfast we headed to Mt. Rushmore. It was very enjoyable, well worth the trip, since we were in the neighborhood anyway.
We stopped at Keystone on the way back to the campground so I could buy a charm and some fudge. The charm is great, the fudge, no so.
We decided to eat lunch at the RV, grab Hattie and find a lake so she could go for a swim. Then, some ominous clouds appeared and within a half an hour we were being plummeted with golf ball size hail. The noise was deafening. Hattie hid under her pillow, Chado hid under the couch, I plugged my ears and Carl took videos and generally enjoyed it. I was worried about dings in the RV and car and broken windows. When it was over, the ground was white with hail. Then it rained/hailed, then rain. Needless to say, we did not take Hattie swimming.

Sunday, June 14, 2009 – Albert Lea Minnesota
Happy birthday Heidi. Today was the most beautiful, clear morning we’ve had. I got up early, excited to get to Rosie’s.
We left Rapid City SD at 9:00. Our plan was to make a direct shot to Albert Lea, but all along Route 90 was advertisements of all the fascinating things Wall Drug has to offer. Well, we/I just had to stop. Wall Drug has been showcased on different TV shows, so it just has to be worth the stop. We stopped. I wanted the free donut for Viet Nam Vets that they advertised on the highway, but we couldn’t find the donut shop. Was it worth the stop? Yes. Will I ever go again? Probably not.
We stopped for gas a couple of times and made it to Albert Lea at around 8 pm. Quite a haul.
Yeah! Our first sight was Rosie meeting us on her bike, at the wrong gate. We un-hooked the Saturn, turned around and followed her to the correct entrance. We were lucky to have a very coveted spot, one of the few with electricity and water. I wonder how many people were “mad” at us for our good fortune? Tough!!
The four of us headed out to dinner at Trumbles, but they were closed so we ate at Pizza Hut. Whatever. I was just happy to be with my sister.

Monday, June 15, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
It was a little rough sleeping last night, I guess from all the excitement from yesterday. Rosie and Fred were up bright and early, clean and showered.
All I could think about on our way to Albert Lea was I would find a RV/Car wash and wash our vehicles. Well, low and behold, Fred cleaned the bugs and grit off of our RV, by hand. What a sweety.
Rosie transported us to the Fairground showers then we headed to town for breakfast. We were able to eat at Trumbles.
Carl and I were officially volunteers so Rosie quickly put us to work, not doing much of anything.
We, along with some of the other volunteers, caravanned to the new golf course for a pre-show dinner. The food was questionable, but it was nice meeting the FMCA gang. After dinner, some of us took a pleasure cruise on Albert Lea Lake onboard the Pelican Breeze II.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
This time Carl and I were up bright and early and drove over to the showers. I didn’t want to chance walking because I wasn’t sure of where it was.
We were invited for smoothies for breakfast at Rosie & Fred’s. Delicious! After some running around “volunteering”, Rosie, Carl and I went to the SPAM museum in Austin, MN. The town smelled like spam. It was a fun museum and I bought a can of Spam. I could probably get it at the dollar store, but what the heck, we’re on vacation.
We were hoping for Spam samples at the museum. I guess they only have samples during the height of Spam Season. We were told by the cashier that “Jerry’s Other Restaurant” has the best Spam sandwiches, so that’s where we had lunch.
When we got back to the campground, Rosie busied herself with volunteer duties and I baked cookies. I thought it would be nice to bring them to the hard worker’s at the Info booth. Rosie was so excited with the idea, made a pot of coffee and we made mucho brownies points with the folks at the Info booth.
Party’s over. Back to volunteer work. Carl, Rosie and I put table “cloths” on the craft tables. Now we can officially go to the volunteer dinner.
Dinner was very good, catered by HyVee. We had Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, beans, salad & dessert. And we were able to meet many of Rosie and Fred’s Pioneer friends. Rosie reminds me so much of Mommy.
The rain has been non-stop today. It is a pleasant rain, as rain goes; not cold, no wind.
Later on in the evening Rosie and I took Hattie for a walk. Fred wanted to go to Super Walmart when we got back, so we all joined him, and it was after 9. It was a 24 hour Walmart. Sweet.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
Today is the first official day of the rally so things are buzzing, mostly Rosie.
Today was “Show and Tell” where members showed off their hobbies, collectables and crafts. Rosie showed her coffee roasting beans. Well, I didn’t actually bring one of my hobbies or collectables so my new iron-on Hattie t-shirt was going to be it. Then, around an hour before the show, I decided to go around the campground, Carl taking pictures and make a slide show video. I did it. And it turned out great, if I do say so myself.
Then a little excitement started. There was a severe thunder storm warning announcement over the PA system, everyone was to go under the grandstand. We kind of waited for the storm to start and it didn’t so we went back to our activities.
Carl made pork loin, mashed potatoes, green beans and coleslaw for dinner for the 4 of us. It was delicious. It was warm so we ate outside by Rosie and Fred’s rig.
At 6:30 we headed to the “Swine” barn for the evenings entertainment. There was a distant siren heard, then an announcement that there was a tornado warning in the area and to proceed to the grandstand. We did, but the tornado did not come to Albert Lea, although it did land in Austin, just a few miles away. After the all clear, we headed back to the hot, sticky barn to be entertained by the Spamettes. Rosie gave me and her friend Mary, a piece of paper to use as a fan; then she started giving them out to the entire gathering, me being her lovely assistant.
They were darling, singing songs and blam! The electricity went out. Too bad. They were very entertaining, so we went to our RV and had ice cream.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
Today was very busy. We started by a 7:00 am shower call, then breakfast at the main dining room. Carl and I attended the First Timers meeting. It was boring, uninformative and a waste of our time, but we were the monitors of the seminar aka Rosie’s lackeys.
Next, Carl and I each had a seminar, Computer Safety for me and Fire & Life Safety for Carl. After our monitoring, we had a quick lunch on the run and headed to catch the bus to the Winnebago factory. The Factory tour was kind of boring but I was able to get a good nap on the bus ride back to the fairgrounds.
We were then hurried off to dinner at the Elk’s club. We went there for their fish fry, but I opted for a hamburger. It was delicious.
Back at the ranch . . . we went to attend the nightly entertainment. Carl and I stayed for only a while. I wanted get back to call Heidi and Chris. I was able to talk to Heidi, but not Chris. Boo hoo.
Rosie is so funny. She is just like mommy. I can hear her on her golf cart laughing and being silly from almost anywhere in the park.

Friday, June 19, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
Carl and I both had monitoring duties at 9:00 so we hurried to the showers and then to b-fast. At my seminar, the instructor was late so I entertained the ladies in waiting. Rosie let us off early for good behavior so we had no more seminars to monitor so we were able to check out the vendors. We also ran to the post office to pick up a letter from Monica, but it has not arrived yet. Today the Ice Cream Social, an ice cream sandwich from the Schwann’s truck. It was great. I’ve always wanted something from the Schwann’s truck. We were also given a bag of waffles, some kind of promo, I guess.
I attended the “RV Blog” seminar. They use the BlogSpot website, so I already knew most of the stuff. I now want to start blogging again, as soon as I get WiFi, of course.
Carl and I had bbq from one of the vendors for dinner; Rosie and Fred went to Subway. The entertainment for the evening was The Odyssey. They were great.
I bought Rosie a flash drive and necklace to put our FMCA video on. Good idea if I do say so myself. It will be her birthday and Christmas present for the last 10 years and the next 10 years. I also made her a video of our travels out to Minnesota, the background music is “The Stripper”. It’s so cute.


Saturday, June 20, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
The campground showers only had cold water so I took a shower at Rosie & Fred’s. Our tanks are full, the dark tank is up to the tippy-top.
After breakfast at the clubhouse, waffles, Rosie and I had our beauty makeover at the Mary Kay booth. We had so much fun, laughing with Sondra, the MK lady. Chris called me during my makeover. I was so happy to hear from him.
After our beautification, we headed to the Ladies Tea. I won a very nice painted vase and Rosie won a demitasse cup set in the raffle. We both “won” a melted record with fake flowers centerpiece. Fixed!
Carl and I went to the post office again and I got my letter from Monica. Whew! Then I made some brownies for the Pioneer’s Potluck.
2:00 sharp was the Pet Promenade. I didn’t think Hattie would be able to cope, but she was wonderful. So many butts, so little time. She made the loop in the parade and actually hung around with the other dogs as Rosie awarded every dog with their First Place prize.
I made a video for Rosie’s flash drive of the pet promenade, “Hound Dog” is the music background.
We headed to the Beer Garden for the potluck. If I lived here, I would so be a Pioneer!

Sunday, June 21, 2009 – FMCA Rally last day
Happy Father’s Day.
Everybody is heading out today. We dumped last night, after the entertainment, but will do it again today.
We left Albert Lea at around 10:00, closely following Fred. Our first stop was Cabalas. Now that we’ve been there, we never have to go back. It was nice, had an aquarium. We had lunch at Famous Dave’s, close to Cabalas, then went to the candy outlet for free dessert samples.
Ah. We arrived at Rosie and Fred’s house. It’s an old “barn” subdivided into 6 apartments. Rosie has it decorated so cute. We have a great spot to park, with electricity!
James and his girlfriend Janessa came by. It was so nice to see James. We had a slide show for them, then watched some of James’ strong man challenges on YouTube. We all went to RJ’s for dinner.


Monday, June 22, 2009 – Rosie & Fred’s
Rosie had to go back to work. Boo hoo hoo. I slept until 8:30 then took a shower at the house. Carl, Fred and I had breakfast then I did the laundry, 5 loads. We met Rosie for lunch then went to the post office and the store. We decided to have salmon for dinner, so we went back to Sam’s club later on.
Rosie had an animal control call about some turtle eggs at a boy’s home, so Carl, Rosie and I went to dig them up. We first thought it was a hoax, but viola! There they were, 7 turtle eggs. Carl and Rosie gently removed them from the dirt and placed them in a dirt lined box.
After dinner (salmon, salad after ahi tuna appetizers) we all headed to the pond in the back yard, a death defying trek under a chain link fence, but we all made it, where Fred and Carl relocated the turtle eggs. Keep your fingers crossed.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 – Rosie and Fred’s/ Mille Lac
We called Rosie this morning to meet us for breakfast. Lucky for us, she has a cushy job and was able to meet us. Her friend Carol, who I’ve “known” for years, joined us. It was nice to meet her. When we got back to the barn, Fred washed my car. Fred. You’re spoiling me. Then we headed to Camper’s World and a few other spots to browse.
Carl and I headed to Mille Lac Island Resort and arrived around 6pm. Greeting us was a 6” to 8” turtle. Carl stopped the RV and told me to pick it up but I was too scared. And it could walk pretty fast.
We picked site 180 and 179 is still open. I hope it stays open ‘til Friday.
We took a walk to the lake in the evening and came upon a snapping turtle laying her eggs. This must be the season.


Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Mille Lac Island Resort
We’re back to cereal for b’fast. No more eats at the Rally. Carl and I went for a ride around the Lake. We stopped in Aitkin so Carl could get a hair cut. I WiFi’d at a nearby café. I wanted to put my “Visiting my Sister” video on Facebook for the world to see. There are all sorts of little towns and smaller lakes surrounding Mille Lac Lake. We’re waiting until Rosie and Fred get here to do any deep exploring.
Carl hung the bird feeder from a limb of a tree outside the RV. The birds are slowly coming by to eat.
We took Hattie for a swim at the Lake and she was in her glory. There is not much beach area, just mucky shoreline, but we found a suitable spot, actually right by the turtle eggs.
It’s nice to have water, electricity and a dump right at our site, but I wish we had cable. We get one station, PBS, and it’s pretty good. There is WiFi up by the office. It’s a weak signal but I was able to re-check my email. Lot’s of comments on my video. I’m such a dip.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
We headed to the town of Onamia this morning to go to the grocery store; we’re out of ice cream. We stopped at a very cute store called “Water and Woods” and I bought a cute pair of thongs (shoe type). We took Hattie swimming at the lake.
It’s very sad today. Michael Jackson and Farrah Faucet died.

Friday, June 26, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
Rosie and Fred are coming up today, so we stayed close to home. Carl and Hattie went swimming in the Lake. I think Carl had more fun than Hattie.
Rosie and Fred arrived at 1:30ish. We had PBJ sandwiches and smoothies for lunch on our finely decorated table. Rosie brought the two centerpieces we “won” at the Ladies Tea. I hope she remembers to bring them home.
We walked around the campground, showing R&F all the exciting hot spots. Then we drove to the farmer’s market in Isle. Rosie picked up some honey and strawberries. We also went to the Meat store. I got some beef jerky & sausage, planning on bringing some jerky home, we’ll see. Rosie got steak dinner for tomorrow.
Carl made chicken, rice and broccoli for dinner tonight and we had well travelled ice cream for dessert.


Saturday, June 27, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
We slept in today, my usual 8:30, Carl’s usual 2:30, and Rosie & Fred’s unusual 8:00. After breakfast we headed to the Mille Lac History Fest and Rendezvous. It was a group of people in 1850ish period attire. We drove around the lake and stopped at Kosie’s for lunch. Then we stopped at the Grand Casino for a pop. It was so smoky-stinky, we didn’t stay long. We went to the grocery store next door and picked up stuff for dinner. Our last stop of the day was the Indian Museum right across the street from the casino.
Dinner was bbq’d steak, corn on the cob, potato salad and garlic bread. Then we went for a nice walk around the park. Our evening entertainment was playing Mexican Train Dominoes. We had so much fun!

Sunday, June 28, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
It seems like we do a lot of eating. . . it’s such a social thing. I made pancakes for breakfast. We hung around the campground – took Hattie for a walk/swim at the lake. I’m glad Rosie and Fred could see her in her element.
We decided to go to “town” for lunch. Our first stop was Walleye Dundee, they close at 2:00; it was 2:30. Everything we saw, closed. We came upon the Sunrise Coffee Shop in Isle. It looked open but when we came to the door, the lady said they were closed. Along came her husband and said they were open. He made cappuccinos, she made the sandwiches. It was great.
Rosie and Fred left for home when we got back from lunch. I’m so sad. Now I want to BE home. I only hope I can enjoy the rest of our vacation.
I talked to Chris and Heidi, so that made me happy.


Monday, June 29, 2009 – Golden Eagle Vacationland, Perham, MN
Carl got on the phone and made some reservations for our trip home. Our first stop was only 100 miles away. It is a very nice park, so I want to tell Rosie and Fred about it. According to our itinerary, we won’t get home for quite a while, this weekend or early next week.
I did a load of laundry and we walked around the park. The park is on Big Pine Lake. All the parks are on lakes in Minnesota
We drove to town after our nap. It’s such a cute slice of Americana, nothing like we see at home.
I made a poster for Rosie so she’ll know how popular the centerpieces are!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 -Frontier Fort Campground, Jamestown, North Dakota
We had a shortish drive from Perham Minnesota, relatively speaking. We were battling winds the entire way, so there goes our gas mileage, like it matters.
The campground has small spaces. We were spoiled in Minnesota. There are buffalo on the campground, in a cage, that we visited, with Hattie in tow. Up the road a way, there was Frontier Village, a very cute old western town. We stopped at the village store and bought a North Dakota towel and some native jam and salsa. Down the road was an open area where the buffalo roamed free. There were three albino buffalo, White Cloud, Dakota Spirit and a baby. Something different!
We ate dinner at the restaurant at the campground. It was hamburger basket Tuesday. There was a band playing at the amphitheater at the Village, so we gathered up Hattie and headed over. By the time we got there, the band was packing up. The audience was made up of their parents, reminiscent of 9 Windz days. We took a walk on the White Cloud trail. Of course I was afraid of bears or buffalo, but the only thing that attacked was a tick.


Wednesday, July 01, 2009 – Rosebud, Montana
Driving through North Dakota, its green as far as you can see, flat and green. Is it fields of crops? Fields of fields? Whatever it is, it's very pretty.
We cleaned up, ate b-fast, and made reservations for July 2, 3, and 4 at Yellowstone. We were lucky to get a spot! We’ll wing it tonight, maybe even a Walmart. It’s all the rage here in the Midwest.
Well, there were no Wal-Mart’s to be found so we pulled off the road in Forsythe, Montana and found a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks campground, Rosebud East Fishing Access Site. No frills, just water hook-up and mosquitoes. Their mosquito’s put Minnesota’s to shame. We drove to town, again, a quaint little slice of Americana

Thursday, July 2, 2009 – Bridge Bay Campground, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Today was a long driving day. We left Rosebud at 9:00ish and other than a few “did she say left?” on the TomTom, we made it to Yellowstone by 7:30ish. We stopped in Cody, Wyoming and checked out the Buffalo Bill Exhibit then went to the City Park where they were having a craft/crap fair. We did buy some kettle corn. We got caught in a big drop rain storm and escaped in the Chamber of Commerce and picked up some brochures.
Driving into Yellowstone, we came upon cars stopped on the road. There was a bear sighting. Does seeing people sighting bears count as sighting a bear? That was as close as we got.
Arriving at Bridge Bay, it was a like a scene out of Griswold Family Vacation. Truly, we’ve never seen anything like this in our years of camping. There was the roar of generators, a thick cloud of campfire smoke, piercing car alarms, garbage truck, with tents and RV’s squished together as far as the eye could see. We’re not in Minnesota anymore! And, unlike Yosemite, Yellowstone in a “driving” friendly park; no buses and no footpaths. You drive or you fight for your space the road with cars and RV’s.
There was a Ranger program at 9:30, that’s when it starts getting dark, so we gathered up Hattie and our kettle corn and walked up to amphitheater, dodging cars all the way up and back. The program was about Grizzly Bears in the park. Hattie was so well behaved. Actually, all the dogs were.

Friday, July 3, 2009 – Bridge Bay Campground,Yellowstone
We slept good last night. The roar of generators woke me at promptly 8:00, the legal time to crank ‘em up.
Carl made eggs and Spam for b’fast using my collector’s edition of Spam. We took Hattie for a walk to the lake. We have a view of the lake from our campsite. It’s right behind the 50’ C class, the 45’ A class, the pop-up and the 14 tents. Hattie whimpered to go in, but it was much to cold and there were Ranger’s all around, so no off leashing in Yellowstone!
We left the campground at 10ish and headed to Old Faithful. We stopped at the visitor’s center where I bought a Yellowstone towel, a charm of a moose and Old Faithful for my bracelet and a Christmas ornament. We headed to OF, and she had just blown – her next projected eruption was in one hour so we went back to the car and had our picnic lunch, more of a tail gate lunch. We got back to OF in time to see the eruption. I’m sure there are eruptions and then there are ERUPTIONS. We saw the eruption. We then walked the boardwalk around the various geysers, hot springs and thermal areas.
There are two main loops around the park, so we did the first loop, we’ll call it the Lower Loop. It was about 100 miles. As we were cruising along, what to our wandering eyes should appear – a herd of buffalo, big ones, little ones, old ones and baby ones. There were hundreds. Carl got some great shots. Now I’m ruined on seeing anything less than a herd of buffalo. So where are the moose and bears?
The weather has been rather cool, with a splash of sunshine every once in while. We could see dark clouds and rain falling in the distance when we were at Old Faithful. When we got to that area on our drive there was a thick layer of pea-sized hail. That’s what we missed!
We did not go to the Ranger Program this evening ‘cause it was wet and cold. Instead we watched Dave and Bye Bye Birdie, two of my favorites.


Saturday, July 4, 2009 Bridge Bay Campground, Yellowstone
Another good night sleep, at least for me. I again woke to the sounds of generators, now I can incorporate them into my dreams.
We are out of water so skipped showers. After breakfast we headed to the Upper Loop of Yellowstone, this time with Hattie in tow. We stopped at the first point of interest and NO DOGS ALLOWED. I thought I saw lots of dogs yesterday. Well, I did, but not in no dog zones. Our first stop was the Mud Volcano then the Sulphur Caldron, leaving Hattie in the car. There is a distinct odor, eggish, or as I like to call it “a safety zone”. We went to a few more spots then decided to return to camp, eat lunch, dump and fill up with water, leave Hattie and resume our adventure.
We stopped at Lower Falls and Upper Falls and Artist Point in the Canyon Village area of the park. It is known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and is quite impressive. Quite a hike but well worth it.
We came upon more buffalo, or bison as they are called here. Is there any difference? Anyhoo, all they do is eat, sleep and mosie. I could so be a buffalo.
We drove the loop, around 100 miles, although slower than yesterday’s and stopped at various points of interest.
There was a 4th of July parade at the Bridge Bay Marina at 6:30 but shucks. We missed it. That was about the only thing happening at the park that we heard about.
After dinner, yucky salmon that we bought at Walmart, we went to the Ranger Program at the amphitheater. Hattie joined us and seemed to remember going before and all the dogs that were there.

Sunday, July 5, 2009 – Rexburg, Idaho
We both took much needed showers, cleaned up and headed out at 11:00, check out time.
We drove through Jackson Hole, Wyoming – the IT place for the skiing / rafting bunch. It looked like a nice stop, but we just drove by. I’m sure the shops had the usual gifty items I don’t need. We also drove through The Tetons. They are beautiful, 13000’ altitude. We viewed from afar.
Not having a particular place to stay this evening, we checked our books and found an Enjoy America park in Rexburg, Idaho, on the way home. It’s a real dog, no WiFi or cable. Geez.
We set up then headed to town for groceries. It looked like the town was closed for the day. We were in the parking lot of a grocery store and a woman directed us to an Albertson’s. Whew!
I made meatloaf for dinner. Not so good this time. Hum?
We took Hattie for a walk around the park. Not much to see.

Monday, July 6, 2009 – Mtn. Shadows RV, Wells, Nevada
Well, I finally saw that moose I’ve always wanted to see. He/she was in a fenced in area right by the freeway at a local attraction called “Bear Park”. Now my Christmas ornament and charm are of something I actually saw.
Today and Tuesday will be marathon drives. The wind through Idaho is rough. Hattie and Chado are hunkered down, spewing hair all over the place.
We stopped at Wells but opted for Mountain Shadows instead of Crossroads. And, yes, Mtn. Shadows was much nicer, with WiFi, although very tight spaces. I caught up on my emails and we had good phone reception so I was able to do some phone catching up. I also Skyped with Heidi.
I worked on my vacation video ‘til late at night. When I finally went to bed I was serenaded by the local trains. How Carl could sleep through that????

Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Cynthia Court, Hayward
Today started out pretty normal, except the part about me getting up early. We were going to high-tail it home. We’ve had such a carefree time up until today. Poor Carl, he had to fight with the wind to keep the RV on the road, Carl won. The hydraulics on the front slide broke and the slide started coming out. Carl got out the wench for that purpose and stabilized it, Carl won again. The pets were exceptionally stressed today, the wind, the roads, especially our own Hwy 80. Geez, haven’t they ever heard of asphalt? I spent the drive home working on the vacation video and stressing. I just don’t know why Carl doesn’t let me drive.
There’s no place like home, click-click, there’s no place like home.

The End

California, Oregon & Washington Coasts March & April 2009

Saturday, March 21, 2009 Russian River Resort, Cloverdale
We no longer will be taking vacations. We now go on trips. And we go on lots of trips.
We met Julie for lunch at Mary’s Pizza in Windsor. She just celebrated her 60th birthday so a party was in order. We had a quick slide show in the RV before we parted ways. I wanted Julie to see the progress of Cynthia Court.
We spent the first night at our favorite spot, Russian River Resort in Cloverdale. Dave and Betty, our favorite rangers were there. Hattie totally recognized the place right as we turned into the park. She jumped up, and couldn’t wait to go outside. She gladly accepted a cookie from Dave and couldn’t wait to get to the river. So, we went to the river first thing.
Carl made left over corned beef for dinner. I was able to Skype Heidi from the clubhouse and later on, Chris. Chris is in Singapore visiting his sister and Tim. Wish I was there.

Sunday, March 22, 2009 At Rivers Edge, Brookings, Oregon
We wanted to get an early start so we showered in the restrooms so we wouldn’t have to dump. Our early is not the same as other people’s early. We left the park at around 10:30 and drove straight through to Brookings, Oregon, arriving at 5:15. Our thought was to stop at Klamath, but our park was closed for the season. The park we settled in is a “Enjoy America” park, it’s ½ price from their regular price. And there are all sorts of restrictions. Half price for us is just fine. The park is very nice and we are at the river’s edge. Before we even hooked up, we took Hattie for a walk and swim. She was so good during the long trip. Chado is always good.
We found a launching ramp for Hattie to swim. She was shivering, but kept going back for more. After her swim, Carl fixed left over pork loin and rice and I WiFi’d. I’m trying to upload a video of Cynthia Court on Facebook, but one of us is having problems.

Monday, March 23, 2009 At Rivers Edge, Brookings, Oregon
We decided to stay here one more day and pay retail, but it’s a nice park. We took Hattie to the rocky beach area for a swim. And was the water ever cold. Then Carl and I went to Brookings to find the post office and a Fred Meyers. I had to mail Heidi her bag-o-magazines. Ouch! Fred Meyers hasn’t changed since the last time we were in the area, but oh well.
I felt lousy when we got back. I think we didn’t stay home long enough between our “trips”, and I wished I was in Singapore seeing my kids. Hopefully, I can sleep it off. We’ll see on Tuesday.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon, Oregon
We awoke to a much warmer day. We decided to make our next stop Bandon. On the way to Bandon, we stopped at a beach along the coast. Hattie had a wonderful time chasing after sticks and balls in the ocean. And then we had PGJ sandwiches for lunch. We stopped at Old Town Bandon to check out the shops before heading to the campground. We bought some candy at the Cranberry candy store and a quest item, a myrtle wood napkin holder in the shape of a shell. Cute.
We settled in at the campground, spot #C26 and went for a walk to the marina where Hattie went swimming and then running in the mud.
Carl made raviolis and salad for dinner. We had those candies for dessert

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Neskowin Creek, Neskowin Oregon
Well, this is Oregon. I tried to sleep in until it stopped raining, but I was getting bed sores, so I got my lazy ass out of bed at 9:30. Hattie came in every once in a while to bug me, but saw I was unbugable and left. What to do, what to do. I keep reminding myself we came for the severe weather, and that’s what we got.
Once I gathered myself, we headed out to our next spot, Neskowin Creek. It was a mud bath. This was a sleep and run park. It did have cute bunnies all over the place. Must be getting ready for Easter.

Thursday, March 27, 2009 Pacific Holiday RV, Long Beach, WA
Maggie called confirming our ron-day-vue on Sunday. I can’t wait. We leisurely drove up the Oregon Coast stopping at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Why, oh why? We did buy some smoked salmon for us and for Sunday and chocolate milk in these cute containers that look like gallons but are quarts, for Nils and Finn and some Kookaburra licorice for Alan. He just loves that song.
We stopped for lunch off the road, PBJ, now a family favorite.
We had reservations at Columbia Shores RV in Chinook, WA. We drove up and as it says in the brochure, a “fisherman’s campground”. Well, it wasn’t all that great. The manager was busy so he said he’d check us in in the morning.
We drove to the nearby town of Long Beach to check out a couple of parks. The first one was Pacific Holiday. It was great! Just a hop skip and a jump from the ocean, so we cancelled our reservations at Columbia shores and made new reservations at Pacific Holiday, for two nights.
We went back to park #1, picked up the RV and settled in at park #2. And then took Hattie to the beach. It’s a “long” beach, hence the name and is the type you can drive on.

When we got back to the RV, we broke out the smoked salmon. It was almost as good as Carl’s.
I worked on my video’s from vacations past. Still learning.

Friday, March 27, 2009 Pacific Holiday RV, Long Beach, Wa
The sound of rain didn’t wake me this morning. That’s because it was drizzle. Drizzle doesn’t bank on the roof of the RV!
I was on my last pair of undies, so it was laundry or go to Fred Meyers. There are washer and dryers in the clubhouse and WiFi, so after breakfast, I set out. It took much longer than I ever imagined. Oh well.
With clean laundry in hand, I headed back to the RV where Hattie was anxiously awaiting my arrival. She knew we would go to the beach. We had a great time. Although it was still drizzling when we started, the weather broke and it was just cloudy and damp. Hattie found some kind of a carcass that she rolled in, uncontrollable non-stop, rolling. My fear was she would bring the stink home. Lucky for us, the carcass must have been buried where she could smell it but it didn’t rub off on her. Good thing. We would have tied her up outside, day and night until she quit stinking.
After our ordeal, Carl and I headed to Long Beach for lunch and to check out the lighthouses. We stopped at Stormin’ Norman’s. It was the usual type of shop, with a cute name. We didn’t buy anything. We had lunch at the restaurant next door, fish and chips for me and clam chowder and salad for Carl. It was OK. I think I would have liked a Filet-o-fish from MickyD’s.
Our first lighthouse was North Head Lighthouse. It looked like a lighthouse. Then Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It was too muddy to walk to, thus the name “Disappointment” Lighthouse. Then we headed back to the RV stopping at Sid’s Market. Dang, things were expensive there, so we limited our spending.
The RV park is filling up. This weekend is razor clam season, one weekend a year.

Saturday, March 28, 2009 Pacific Holiday RV, Long Beach, Wa
We again awoke to the sound of rain. Hattie bugged me out of bed so I took her out to go potty. Although it was raining, it wasn’t cold. Still in my jammies, we grabbed Carl and went to the beach to check out the clam diggers. Carl had already gone to the beach earlier, oh well. It wasn’t as impressive as I was hoping, no one jumping with joy as they caught one, so we threw a stick for a while to Hattie then went back.
We decided to stay at this park for two more days so we went up to the kiosk to check in. No prob.
We checked out the area. Our first stop was Oysterville. We found a little shop, but it was the usual candle/souvenir shop. The clerk directed us to the Willaby Oysterville Sea Farm where we bought some oysters (pre-shucked) to bring to the picnic tomorrow. Then we stopped at Okie’s Thriftway Market in Ocean Park. Besides groceries, I was looking for some animal balloons and wanted to check out Jacks. We did. And they did! And they had the under counter mount lid vice. I was in heaven.
The rain hasn’t slowed down much and the wind is blowin’. I went to the clubhouse and checked my email and Facebook. Then I worked on my slideshow videos. Carl does most of the cooking these days. I still do the dishes, so I’m still a valuable asset in this partnership.

Sunday, March 29, 2009 Pacific Holiday RV, Long Beach, Wa
It howled last night. The RV was rocking so much Carl brought in the slides. I thought the wind would rip the covers right off.
We got up extra early this morning ‘cause we were meeting Maggie, David, Seth, Molly and the boys at a park in Chehalis, around 2.5 hours away. We packed up tons of stuff in the car, blankets, rain gear, electric heater, just in case it was real cold. We even packed up Hattie.
We had the best time. Nils and Finn are wonderful kids and they like me Hattie was a joy at the park. Since the park was pretty deserted, we left her off leash, but she always stayed close to us.
I gave Maggie and Molly each one of the lid vices. Looks like we’ll be headed back to Jack’s tomorrow.

Monday, March 30, 2009 Fort Stevens, Oregon State Park
After breakfast, we headed to Jack’s for the lid vices. I bought the last two. Whew! We also picked up a few other things. The weather is very nice today, cold but sunny.
We left the park at noon and headed to Fort Stevens. It’s a real nice, Oregon State Park. We settled into space 264 then took off to see the sites. We visited the Peter Iredale shipwreck where Hattie got attacked/chased by a collie in the parking lot. The collie was off leash, charged Hattie, Hattie backed up and her head slipped out of her collar and she bolted. Luckily, she ran to the car and the collie’s owner caught it, with Carl’s help. After all that, we headed to see the shipwreck.Very interesting. We walked the beach tossing a stick to Hattie all the way.
Our next stop was South Jetty observation deck. It was a rock wall made between the mouth of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Fort Stevens, Oregon State Park
It poured last night. This morning was just the cloudy leftovers. We both showered in the camp showers. We don’t have a dump at our site, so we must conserve water. The showers are very nice and clean, in the Oregon tradition.
After breakfast, we headed to Astoria to check it out. We stopped at the Maritime Museum. It was too expensive so we skipped it. We stopped at the Astoria Column. The murals on the column illustrate events of Astoria’s history from 1792 to 1818. We stopped for lunch and gas and groceries while in the area.
We went back to the park and picked up Hattie and went to the wild life viewing bunker, quite windy, but had a great beach for Hattie to run. Our next stop was the Fort Stevens Historic Military site, but it was closed. We’ll try again tomorrow. Next stop was the Battery Russell. Surprisingly, Hattie seemed to enjoy the walk in an old dark building with lots of rooms. Humm?
We went back to the South Jetty Observation Deck ‘cause it was so windy and Carl wanted to check it out. I stayed in the car.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009 Fort Stevens, Oregon State Park
We decided to stay one more day. It’s still raining and we decided to drive down to Cannon Beach and other stops going South. We drove through Seaside, a town much like Long Beach, then on to Cannon Beach, a more up-scaled area. We stopped at the visitor’s center then at a coffee/gift shop so I could check my emails and have a cup of coffee. We didn’t peruse the gift shops in the area since the rain wouldn’t let up and I really didn’t want anything. We went back to the RV, picked up Hattie and headed to Fort Clatsop to tour the Lewis and Clark exhibition. Dogs were allowed so that was good, since Hattie had been in the RV all day.

Thursday, April 2, 2009 Edgewater RV Park, Sweet Home, Oregon
We woke to scattered shower, so we left. We had an uneventful drive to Sweet Home Oregon arriving at our destination at 4:30. This is a new park right by a lake. There wasn’t anybody in the office, so we just parked the RV. A while later the manager came up to check on us and give us the WiFi code, whew. We had refrigerator cleanout for dinner. And there are still scattered showers.
I worked on my videos. I’m getting pretty good at it.

Friday, April 3, 2009 Edgewater RV Park, Sweet Home, Oregon
Again, the pitter-patter of rain rocked us to sleep last night. It is a little less rainy today so we decided to stay another day and check out the covered bridges in the area. First stop was the Chamber of Commerce for a map of the bridges. Well, the map wasn’t to scale and we could only find two, but they were very nice.
We took Hattie and stopped at a river along the route for a quick swim. She needed it.
We stopped at Safeway on our way back to the park. I am going to make some brownies. I can smell them already.

Saturday, April 4, 2009 Valley of the Rogue State Park, Rogue River, Oregon
We woke to (drum roll please) SUNSHINE! It was spectacular. We hurried out and headed to the Rogue River. We were able to get a good spot at the State Park.
We had a snack outside, a first for this trip then took Chado outside for a brushing. We brushed him until he got mad.
We’re close to the river, the only drawback is the river is bordered with thick blackberry vines. We asked the camp host if there was a beach anywhere on the river, and he didn’t know. Well, we found one. We tossed sticks to Hattie. The current looked pretty strong, so we didn’t throw it out very far. We then went back to the RV and took a nap outside on the new RV mat. Nice.
We drove into town, City of Rogue River, to check it out. Not too much going on.

Sunday, April 05, 2009 Valley of the Rogue State Park, Rogue River, Oregon
We should have gone home today but since the weather was nice, we decided to stay one more day. Tomorrow for sure. Carl wanted to check our RV campgrounds in the area for future trips, WGAF, and I thought that was boring, so we went back to the campground. I wanted to see some of the sights so I headed out on my own to Jacksonville. I read about it in one of the magazines. Anyhoo, it was an old town, lots of shops. It was a nice outing. Carl and Hattie went swimming on the river. There is a lot of things to see in this area, Ashland, Crater Lake, to name a few, but I think we’ve been away from home too long to appreciate anything in the area.

The End