The Latest News!

"Charm" Our New Home!!!

We haven't posted on the blog lately because we've been very busy - moving into our new 2012 GKE Excel (pictures included). We are very excited about it and although we aren't completely settled, we are getting there. It's a completely different floor plan from our RSO and it has a "gourmet kitchen" which means there's a lot more room for cooking and prepping meals. I think Tom will really enjoy it when he has a chance to relax and use it. We are in Las Cruces, NM, right now for an Excel rally and it's fun seeing our old friends and meeting many new ones. Everywhere we look there is an Excel! This is the first New Mexico Excel rally we've attended and so far it's fun and it hasn't even officially started! Tim and Rosie are here and we spent the evening with them and some new friends - it was great catching up. From here, we're headed to Ukiah, CA, to spend time with family before we head up to Portland for the summer. Take care.

Our Time in Mesa, AZ

Air Museum in Mesa

This is the Plane (Stearman AT-6) My Dad Used to Train the RAF to Fly

Well we are now in Mesa, AZ with our good friends Paul and Kathie at the Valle de Oro RV Resort. We’ll be here ‘til Thursday AM. Our other good friends Ralph and Cheryl are coming tomorrow to join us and we’ll have lots of fun! Weight Watcher points……watch out!!!

Yesterday Tom and Paul went to the air museum here in Mesa and saw some really great old aircraft. Paul spent his life working with aircraft so he is so knowledgeable it is unbelievable. The stories he has are almost endless. What fun we had. As an added bonus, when we got to the museum and got out of TUG, we hear a roar and looked up and saw the star of the show, the beautiful “Sentimental Journey”, a B-17G that looked like brand new! I understand that there are only 8 left that are in flyable condition! OMG. The plane seemed to be about 100 foot above us. Of course Paul and I were scrambling to get our camera’s turned on. In the picture, you’ll see blue smoke coming off of #4 engine. Later we found out it was just a pinched pushrod tube seal and the oil was leaking onto the exhaust making the smoke (thank goodness that was all). As we were trying to pay for our admission the phone started ringing off the hook from concerned neighbors seeing the trail of smoke and wanting to report it! What an experience! Anyhow, please check out the pix and enjoy.
The separate slide show of one airplane in restoration is one that is very near and dear to me. This is the plane my Dad taught the RAF (Royal Air Force) to fly on at wartime. It is a plane that was built by Stearman (later Boeing) from the mid 30’s to the mid 40’s. This plane was primarily used for training. The Air Corp (Air Force) called it an AT6, the Navy “SNJ”, and it was nicknamed “The Texan” and the Brits called it “Harvard”. I was so excited to see one close up and imagine what it was like to be 18.5 years old and being an “advanced pilot instructor” teaching British guys, who were mostly older than you, to fly. Wow! There are a few still flyable out there.
The girls stayed back at the ranch and made homemade chicken noodle soup which was delicious and we had it for dinner. Yum!
More adventures today!!!

Baby chicks

A few weeks ago, Donna went to Ukiah to visit our granddaughter. She has become the helper feeding and watering the chickens for the neighbor. She also gathers eggs. Her neighbor calls her the "Chicken Whisperer" because the chickens see her coming and they follow her around. I think it helps that she always feeds them while she's there. Because of her diligence in helping, the neighbors have let her have two baby chicks as her own. She has named them Chocolate Brownie and Buttercup. When she's ready, her parents plan to let her have her own flock. She's fun to watch with them. She takes her chores seriously too.

We are on our last week in Hemet before heading to New Mexico. We are planning to see several of our friends along the way and we are excited about getting back on the road again. The weather should be good for us and we always enjoy a fun trip. There are a lot of people leaving every day and the park is getting pretty empty of snowbirds. However, this park does have many permanent residents so stays pretty full all year around. We will keep in touch as we travel along.