HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Nice Christmas lights in Redlands, CA

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. We are still in sunny California and loving the weather. Don't miss the snow!!!!! Take care. We miss you all. Tom and Donna

Hemet, CA, Mountain Shadows RV Resort

Well we finally got here to Hemet, and then we both got bad colds and/or upper respiratory crud and it's been hard to shake. After a couple of weeks, we are finally getting better. We even had to stay at home on Tom's birthday. Our weight group came over after class and sang Happy Birthday!!!! Now that we have the new-to-us '14 Chevy Captiva LT, we had to sell ol' Chase. Tom got her slicked up and put some "for sale" signs in the windows and the word spread like wildfire through the park. Within a couple days and she went to a new home. Almost got asking price as Chase "showed good" for sure. We miss Chase but Cappy really fits our needs better as the seating is much higher and has lots of room. So all is good in that dept. We weren't feeling quite up to par on Thanksgiving, so we fixed up a nice turkey dinner right here in the rig. It was very good, but no pie! After all our wonderful travels this spring and summer it feels good to set still for awhile. It sure is good to see all our friends in the park, snowbirds and permanents alike. What fun we have here. Weather has been excellent especially compared to the rest of the country, but always could use rain in the desert.

We wish you good health and fun this winter wherever you are. Take care!

Goodbye San Antonio

We're packing up to head west again. We've had a lovely busy time here in S.A. Tom has so enjoyed seeing all his family and friends (as have I). Here's a summary of what we've done: Ate: Taco Cabana, Rudy's, Grist Mill, Carino's, China Bowl, Café Rios, Schilo's, Mi Tierra, Tip Top cafe and I can't remember the rest. Tom was able to see some of his old friends. We played cards several times with Tom's sister, Toni and her friends, Phyllis, Cheri and Della. What fun! One Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for Tom's brother and sister-in-law. They were really shocked and we had a great time. We also were able to spend some time with our Excel friends Shar and Bill Robertson. We went to Octoberfest in Fredricksburg with them. Tom and Bill went to a car show in Boerne and we visited them in Kerrville (ate at Fuddruckers there). Donna's sister and her husband came to S.A. and we did a lot of card playing, saw San Jose Mission, the River Walk, the Menger Hotel, the Alamo, LBJ Ranch, the movies and other places I can't remember right now. Also, our friends from Kansas, Pat and Wiley were here for a weekend and joined us for the fun. So, you can see, friends and family, that's why it's been so long since we've posted anything. This is only a summary of our fun, but Tom is hooking up the rig, so I'd better sign off for now. Hope you are all well and happy.

Where did the time go?

2014 Chevy Captiva Sports LT 2WD

Jeez! I can't believe it's been so long since we posted! Here's a few highlights since the last time we were in touch: We went to Portland where Donna had all her doctor appointments - declared cured of cancer!!!! Hooray! All other appointments fine. Tom had a basil cell cancer removed - all fine there (it was on his left shoulder at the back). We went to Ukiah and spent Donna's birthday there with Beth and Julia - celebrated all three of our birthdays at once - what a busy weekend. Next stop was Redlands to stop by the yarn store to see our friends there and lucked out for Donna to have knit night with the group - fun. On from there to Hemet to leave the Chase car and have a very quick visit with Mona, our friend. Originally, we were going to drive both vehicles all the way to San Antonio but decided to leave the car and travel together in the truck. On the way to S.A. we ran in to VERY HOT weather through Arizona but started cooling off by the time we reached Deming, NM, where we had a great lunch with our friend, Jim, (a knitter and RV'er). We arrived in San Antonio on September 19 and will be here until the end of October. So far we've had lunch with Tom's sister, Toni, celebrated her birthday, played cards with our friends, had two breakfasts at Taco Cabana, to Tom's delight and oh yeah, we bought a new car! It's a Captiva Sport - a GM, of course. It's a small SUV crossover, Silver Champagne, very nice, used but gently used. So, when we get back to Hemet we'll be selling our little Cobalt. It's with mixed emotions as we've had really enjoyed that car and it is special because we bought it from our good friends, Paul and Cheryl. We hope to find it a great home. The time here will go fast, we're sure but we'll try and be better about keeping up with our news. Happy Fall!!!!!

Tillamook, OR

Tillamook, OR

Well we finally made it back to Oregon. We decided to take a few days and go to the Tillamook Elks RV Park just south of town. A very nice park with FHU and strong WiFi for $20 a night! Took our second tour of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. Split a the house grilled cheese sandwich for lunch! Oh yum! Off to visit the Quilting and Textile Facility. Lots of very nice stuff there. Donna was in hog heaven. Then off to the beautiful beach and did the light house. The light house had reopened recently as some vandals took several shotgun blasts to the beautiful thing. Took out the much of the glass and the reflectors. Damn! This is the shortest light house in North America as it sits very high up on the coastline. We are in Portland doing our doctoring and enjoying our friends and activies in the park. Then we're off to our slow trip south to Texas. I can hear it now.....ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!!

Shelton and Bremerton, WA

After Hoaquim, WA, we went to Shelton, WA, and spent two nights in a casino rv park. It was a nice, fairly new park and had all the amenities. We enjoyed it very much. While we were staying there, we took a trip to Olympia, the state capital. We had a wonderful tour by a very knowledgeable guide. She had spent many years working in the capital building both as a administrative assistant and later as a lobbyist. The building is beautiful. It has been through 3 earthquakes and the last one actually moved the dome 6 inches. Consequently, the building was closed for about 5 years while repairs were made. We learned about some of the interesting history of Washington, including that the state was named after George Washington. Tom took many pictures which he shows a sample of on the blog. After leaving Shelton, we headed back to Bremerton and spent a week there exploring the area more thoroughly. We had only spent a couple of days there earlier this summer and wanted to check out more and also see our friends, Paul and Shar again before we left the state. We drove to Mt. Walker one afternoon and could see the skyline of Seattle from there. Wow! One day we went back to Bainbridge Island and walked around checking out some of the shops we hadn't seen on our previous trip. What a nice place to spend an afternoon. We also took the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle to return to Pike Market. The skyline from the ferry was breathtaking. Tom took pictures but they don't do it justice. The market is really a must see for anyone going to Seattle. It is full of flowers, meat and fish markets, produce, and various crafts. It is impossible to see the whole thing in one trip as it's so large. The flowers were gorgeous and very inexpensive. We wound up the week having dinner with Paul and Shar. Paul made his famous lasagna, homemade bread and a great salad. We took a couple gifts for them that Donna made - socks for Paul and a scarf for Shar. They were very appreciative. We also celebrated our 25th anniversary of when we met (Tom and I). It doesn't seem possible that we've known each other for 25 years, because it's gone so fast but it's true. Hope we make it another 25! We are now in Kelso and will be returning to Portland in about a week to complete our doctor appointments before heading to Texas to visit Tom's family and friends. Whew!!!!

La Push, Cape Flattery, and Hoh Rain Forest

Cape Flattery Neah Bay, WA





Hoh Rain Forest, WA

Here we are still on the road in Hoquiam, WA. It's kind of inland but near water (check the map I guess). We spent a week in Port Townsend, went to Whidbey Island, checked out the town, ate in a really questionable but delicious sea food place (Sea J's). I told Tom not to look too closely at anything, but he took pictures anyway. I wouldn't even look in the kitchen. We shared a table with "toothless Bob" who entertained us with stories of his time in Alaska (many years ago) and kept us laughing. Tom checked out the airplane museum and enjoyed it. It was small but well done. One day he went all the way back to Sequim (46 miles) to go to WalMart. He wanted to save money! We checked out the local hardware/general store in Port Angeles on the way west. There were a lot of things but we left with nothing but good memories. Our friends, Paul and Shar, came over to have dinner with us last Sunday. Tom made a great dinner of chicken picatta with pasta and everyone loved it. We were so glad to get to spend another day with them. We aren't going to let another 40 years go by without seeing each other again as we decided none of us will probably last that long! One day we went to Cape Flattery (the northern most point in the lower 48 states). We took a hike that was strenuous but I made it! It led us to a wild and beautiful shoreline. Some people said they had seen whales but we weren't so lucky. The next day we went to the Hoh Rain Forest and took another hike, longer but less strenuous. I am happy to note that the new knee is holding up very well. We've seen mountains, beaches and beautiful trees. I don't think Tom will ever get tired of seeing trees, mountains, beaches and strange things! My brain, however, is getting very confused. Along the way, I've managed to knit some things including a project for the yarn store in Redlands, CA. All in all, it's been an eventful time and there's yet more to come. . . .

After a great time in Portland with our friends, we headed north toward Seattle. We spent a few days with our friends, Paul and Mary, going to Brisbane Island, Pike Market and just seeing the sights around Seattle. After a few days, we went to Bremerton to see high school friends of Donna's. We had so much fun and had a wonderful meal of salad and pizza (homemade by Paul) and fresh apple crunch (made by Shar). We talked about old times and caught up on what we've been doing for the last 40 years. Where did the time go? We are GRANDPARENTS now. It seems like yesterday we were in high school and next year we'll be celebrating our 50 year reunion. We headed to Sequim and Donna went to Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C., for a few days with our friend, Barb. We had a great time there and I had Saganaki for the first time ever. It's fried goat cheese (yum)! Tom joined us later in the week and he and I went to Sooke to visit Lee and Steve for another fabulous day with fresh caught salmon for dinner and lots of veggies and other good stuff. We sure do enjoy our Canadian friends. We returned to Sequim after a week and visited the Olympic National Park, Marymere Falls. Just a note: I (Donna) climbed all the way to the falls (1 and 1/2 miles round trip - much of it very up and down). What a thrill for me! It's wonderful being able to walk without pain. Today we went to a dog show. It was so interesting seeing the different dog breeds and talking to the owners. The dogs were friendly as were the owners. Tom took lots of pictures and we petted our share of the canines. We have been staying at Elks' Lodges since we left Portland. They don't have all the amenities we're used to in our RV parks, but they are fine and always welcoming. Monday we're off to Port Townsend where we'll do some island hopping and exploring. From there, who knows?

Portland and Beyond

We've been in Portland for over a week now and Tom has had all of his medical appointments - he's fine by the way. Our friends, Mary and Paul, will be arriving on Sunday afternoon. On Tuesday, we're all heading north to what we hope is cooler country. We plan to see some sights in Seattle, i.e., the Seattle underground, the market, eat pizza at a special place that Mary read about, go to Bainbridge Island and whatever other trouble we can find. We are also planning on looking up our line dancing instructors for a visit and maybe a little line dancing refresher. After we part ways with Paul and Mary, we are headed west to the Olympic Penn to see a few more sights and also to Vancouver Island to visit friends there. We love the island and are so looking forward to being back there again. Our friend has an apartment that overlooks James Bay where the cruise ships come in - beautiful. She's on the 10th floor so we can see the ships and planes. We have other friends in Sooke and plan to visit them also. We don't know how long we'll be in Washington, but we plan to just take it as it comes. We have been having so much fun here in Portland - seeing our friends, Donna visiting her daughter, participating in the park activities, including Karaoke, eating at some of our favorite restaurants, and just relaxing. It's great that Tom isn't working while we're here, but he does have a little trouble remembering that at times. The temptation is almost too much for him to resist!!!!! Life is good for us and we feel so lucky to be living this life. We are in our 10th year now of full timing and have no plans to stop in the foreseeable future. Hope your summer is going as well as ours is.

Ukiah and Portland

Tom is currently on his way to Portland, OR, for a couple of weeks. Donna will follow in a few days. Donna is in Ukiah (Tom was here through the day after Father's Day) spending time with our lovely granddaughter, Julia and daughter, Beth. We are having way too much fun. We took Julia to play miniature golf on Monday - her first time and she did great! She has a very weird way of holding the club, but she made a hole in one and many other good shots. She had a great time cheering on Bubba and Grandma Donna too. We had a very nice Father's Day - breakfast at the Elks Lodge and dinner with some new friends. We love meeting new people and these were really nice ones. The longer our daughter lives here, the more friends we make. She knows so many people now. Before arriving in Ukiah, we went to Reno to visit our friends, Mary and Paul. We had a great time playing miniature golf,(had to practice up for Julia), seeing "Dancing Inferno" and having a wonderful dinner at Harrah's Steakhouse. Man, do those folks know how to show us a good time!!! Mary and Donna were able to get in lots of knitting too. The time went too fast. Hope things are great with all of you.

Traveling is coming up soon

After a last visit to the eye doctor on June 5th, we are "on the road again". Donna's eyes are getting better everyday but are still too swollen for pictures. When the time is right, we'll post one for you who are interested. We attended a very moving Memorial Day service yesterday here in our park. Tom didn't take his camera but wished he had. Both current military and veterans were honored and many good stories about their service were told to an attentive audience. One couple told how grateful they were when the allies came to their Japanese concentration camp and freed them. They had been held prisoner for 3 1/2 years. The tears were flowing for sure. We are heading to Reno, NV, first to see Mary and Paul Wells for a few days then over the mountain to Ukiah, CA, to visit one of our most favorite people in the world, our granddaughter, Julia Rose. She will be out of school, so we'll have lots of adventures while we're there. Tom is so ready to go on the road but has been very patient waiting for all this surgery to be over with. Our summer plans seem to be pretty fun and we'll be keeping you all posted as time goes on. Hope you are all well and happy.

Windy in Hemet Town!

Hemet is a south Californian town that is surrounded with mountains and usually is free from the winds. Many towns around us have normally breezy winds, especially during the day. The weather man always predict winds, but seldom do they come. But last night, today and tomorrow is different. The winds came in last night and shook the rig most of the night. This AM it calmed down a bit and we went to our weight class, had breakfast out and the winds hit big time about 9:30AM. Three electrical poles about 2 blocks away went down and we lost electricity for about 8 hours today. Donna and I went to aid in the shut in and elderly taking food and just generally supporting. Most of these folks are alone and get scared with weather issues. As you can see by the pix the dust and sand is a big problem. Here's a little video clip I took this morning from the rig.

Our 8 day California Coast Cruise

On the 21st of March, we left San Pedro, and headed north on the Celebrity Century cruise ship. Our friends, Gail and Janice, also went on the cruise, so we decided to car pool. We had lots of fun getting to and from the cruise. After a long wait in line to get aboard, we finally made it. We had the obligatory safety lecture, then headed to the café to have a little bite of something to hold us until dinner. After unpacking and getting settled (the room was great) we went to dinner and started our cruise adventure. Our awesome waiter (Romit) and assistant waitress (Khanitha) treated us like a king and queen. That's one of the things we really love about cruising - being treated so specially. Our room steward, Vital, kept everything in our room so nice all the time, it really spoiled us. The food was great, the table mates were fun and we were very excited. We went to the welcome aboard show after dinner and (surprise!), we were chosen to do a little skit with Brad Cummins, the ventriloquist appearing on the show. It was lots of fun and fortunately we were able to get a copy of the video of our silliness. During the cruise, we stopped at Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Monterey, Catalina Island, Ensenada, Mexico and then finally arrived back in San Pedro on the 29th to disembark. We ate too much, had too much fun and met some fun people. We had a great bus tour of San Francisco, even though it was cold and raining. Then, we had fun on Catalina Island because we rented a golf cart and spent an hour buzzing around to see the sights, followed by happy hour at a really good Mexican restaurant. The entertainment on board was great as it was with our other cruises so that added a lot to our experience. Everyone should get the opportunity to take a cruise and enjoy being treated like they are the most important people on the planet!!! It was tough to come back home and have to make our own bed, cook our food and do the taxes!!!! We are adjusting to our regular life, which is pretty great, and looking forward to our next adventure. We plan to leave here the end of April but that could change. By the way, Donna had cataract surgery on both eyes and can see almost perfectly now!!! Yay!!! Oh, yeah, I still think Tom is pretty okay and I'll keep him around!

Rib Dinner With Our Friends at Mountain Shadows

We Love To Eat And Drink!!!

It's been a while since we posted! We were lucky enough to have a few days of rain, so now that it's stopped we needed to get out and and have some fun. We've been staying busy with park activities like water aerobics, line dancing, weight loss group and shows that the park puts on.

Tom loves to get his little KC Rival Smoker out to do some BBQ. This time it was 3 extra meaty pork back ribs. Yum! All our friends brought the nice side dishes, like baked beans, coleslaw, green salad and a nice light desert.

Ms. Leona has quite the reputation of getting all dressed up and show off all her "bling", so we have a lot of fun with her by calling her "bling baby"!! She even get gussied up to come to water class! Ha.

We really enjoy our time and friends here in southern California.

2014 Brings on the Wompum Parties

It Doesn't Take Much For Us to Act Silly!!!

We've been laying back a bit here in the park as many have been on "food plans" trying to take off a few unwanted pounds. But you can't keep us pent up too long or else we get a little wild!!! With the turning of a new year, we woke it up a bit here on "Bourbon Street" as we are known in the park! We actually had 2 Wompum Parties in the first half of the month! Yee Haw. And we did have some fun. Stay tuned for more antics shortly.