Laughlin, Nevada - Happy Halloween!

Mel Tillis's Tour Bus. Very Dirty, but Nice.

I'm getting some strong hints from several people about updating the blog, so here goes. We are about halfway to Albuquerque, NM, where we plan to just take a look at the new 5th wheels there.

Two weeks with our granddaughter and Donna's daughter and son-in-law just went so fast for Donna. Tom isn't fond of Ukiah, but he manages to suffer through it. I think Julia helps make the time happier for him. We managed to spend quite a lot of time with Julia when she wasn't in school and it was a lot of fun. She loves coming to our "moving house" and playing games. Her favorite is hide and go seek. Since we don't have much space, we usually hide something small to find. We really miss them already. They may come to Texas this winter for a little visit - hope so.

We made it across the desert in a couple of days - not too warm at this time of year. We saw a huge wild turkey. It was probably hiding out with Thanksgiving not far away. We are staying here in Laughlin a couple of nights to get laundry done and just kick back. We aren't traveling really long days though and that's helping a lot. I thought I might want to go and do some gambling, but it just hasn't appealed to me. The weather is beautiful here although a bit on the windy side. This park has several levels and we're glad we aren't on the top one. Tom took a walk up there and he said it was very windy. One interesting note - Mel Tillis has a big Prevost two sites down from us. We haven't spotted him yet, but Tom tood a picture of his rig.

We stopped on our way east at Sacramento to visit "Monaco Mama" or Becky as I call her. Tom helped her repair the string in one of her shades for her rig. She spent the day with us and we had a good time. She and Tom had plenty of time to catch up on their mutual friends and GM too. She works at a GM dealer so there's plenty of shop talk for them.

We have stayed at several Elks Lodges on the way so far and have enjoyed them. They have all been pretty good spots to stay and the members are so friendly and welcoming to us. It makes it a good overnight stay.

Hope you all have a great Halloween.

IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY!!

Today it's one year of Donna being cancer free. What better news than that is there!!!! I'm celebrating all day long - every day - but especially today!!!!

Pacific Highway 101

Elks Lodge RV Park in Florence, OR

Tug and Journey cozy in the country setting of Elks RV Park Florence, OR

From Florence, OR, to Ukiah, CA, we traveled Hwy 101. It was a spectacular drive all the way. We drove along the Pacific Ocean for miles and then inland to quiet redwood forests. We took our time and traveled a day then stayed two nights before continuing on. It took us 6 days to reach Ukiah. On the way we stayed exclusively at Elks Lodges RV parks. The first one in Florence was out of town and in the woods. It had signs to watch out for bears but we never saw any. We found out that it took seven years for Elks' volunteers to build the park. It was very peaceful and quiet. It definitely was the best Elks' rv park we've every stayed in. We stayed in Brookings, OR and then Eureka, OR for two nights each. It was a great way to travel so we didn't feel worn out when we reached Ukiah.

We are in Ukiah to visit our daughter and family. Our granddaughter is now in Kindergarten and very busy with her new life. The changes in her since June are amazing. They grow up way too fast. We plan to be here until the last week in October and then head south and west for Texas.

Victoria, B.C.

The Famous Fairmont Empress Hotel

Enjoying the famous "High Tea" with our friend Barb

View from Barb's Apartment of the Inner Harbor

We have returned from our trip to Victoria, B.C. We had a great time with our friend, Barb. First we left on 9/28 and went to Port Angeles, WA, to spend the night at a B & B. It was very nice and we enjoyed our time there. On Tuesday, we took the 2:00 pm ferry to Victoria. We wanted to take our time and enjoy the trip as much as the destination. We arrived at 3:30 pm and Barb was waiting right outside the ferry terminal. She directed us to her apartment and we were blown away by the fabulous view. She lives on the 12th floor and when we looked out the window, we were looking at the inner harbor and to our right was the Empress Hotel. To the left, the cruise ships docked. It was amazing. Both of the bedrooms also had the same view. That night we went for pizza and settled in for an evening relaxing. The next two days, Barb took us on driving tours of the island. We saw one of her favorite beaches, French beach, where large waves roll in. It was exciting. The tide was coming in and where we sat would soon be covered by water, but we stayed a while and just enjoyed the wildness of the waves. In contrast, the next day we went to a very small, very private, quiet beach that she loves. What a difference. She took us to the site of the new HUGE WalMart complex that is being built. It will not only house WalMart, but shops, restaurants and condos. It is over 850,000 square feet. On Friday, we went to the Empress Hotel for tea. It's one of those things everyone should do when they go to Victoria. Being served tea on gold embossed plates, tea out of silver tea pots and cups you could almost see through was a thrill. All of us even managed to get our pinkies up as we sipped our tea! We also had a great view of the inner harbor and were treated royally by the staff. It's not something one would do every day as it's quite pricey, but it's a fun thing for the "bucket list". Saturday we took a ride on the little ferries in the harbor and learned more about Victoria. It's such a wonderful city to visit. Two of the nights we were there Barb took us to her friends' houses for dinner. We were happy to meet her friends and the dinners were exceptional. We all laughed so much, our stomachs hurt! Even with our sightseeing and visiting friends, we took plenty of time to just relax and spend time visiting and catching up. Barb's apartment is so cozy and nice that it was easy to feel at home. Sadly, Sunday we boarded the ferry at 4:00 pm to head back to Portland. It was just such a great week and the time with Barb was exceptional. We feel so fortunate to have met such a wonderful person in our travels. Thanks again, Barb, for a great week.

Now we're on the road again and we'll be sending more frequent posts of our travels.