Family, Friends and Fun...

 One of the joys of traveling is the opportunity to stop and visit with family and friends along the way.  With our family so spread out, along with all of us being stuck at home for the past year of so, it’s been quite awhile since we’ve had the chance to visit anyone.  This trip is bringing us to a few people we haven’t been able to see in a very long (or ever) time!

Our first visit was to see my youngest grandchildren, in Texas.  At almost 4 and 7, I take every chance I can to see them, as they grow up so fast at that age and then as we all know, are off doing their own thing!  Those two boys are so full of energy and giggles it just warms my heart each time I see them!  We lucked out with the weather and even had a nice sunny, windy day and got to introduce the littlest one to “kite flying”.  He really did quite well too!  They have a rather large back yard, so can let loose and run and go with it quite a bit.  Sometimes just enjoying the simple things brings the biggest joys.  ;-)

After a week with them, we traveled on to Oklahoma where a couple of our friends from Happy Trails have their “other home”.  They hadn’t made it down to Arizona this past season and I really missed them, so we decided to come to them!  They have hook-ups in their driveway, which allowed us to park right there and stay a few days!  Terri and Don were such fantastic hosts, cooking us dinners, playing cards, going shopping and sightseeing.  We just had a ball, and almost hated to leave after our 3 day stay.  

Our next rendezvous was in Louisiana, where my Grandson and his family lives.  I have a new Great-Grandson that I hadn’t met yet and was anxious to meet, so had set up some time for all of us to get together over the weekend.  What a treat that was!  We all met over lunch first.   After all the hugs, I asked if I could hold him (he’s 9 months old).  He came right to me (you never know if a baby will take to you or not), he immediately put his little hands on my cheeks and gave me a big smile!  Well, THAT just melted my heart!  

After lunch we all went to the Shreveport Aquarium.  What fun, Ezra was just beside himself.  I put him next to the big tank and showed him the fish and he began to dance with joy!  He was just so cute to watch, so excited about all the colors and moving fish!  When we came to the tanks that you could reach in and touch the starfish or rays, he didn’t hesitate for a minute!  His little eyes took in everything.  I’m betting he went right to sleep on his way back home though, one tired little guy.  It was a to short a visit, but a wonderful one.

From Louisiana we traveled on to Georgia to see a dear friend I hadn’t seen in over 35 plus years!  Wayne was my “dancing partner” back in my “single days” in San Diego.  We danced together every Tuesday night at a club near where I lived.  He moved back to Georgia to help take care of his parents, and stayed.  A few years later, on a cross-country trip with a friend, we stopped and visited him, but that’s the last time I saw him.  We’ve stayed in contact though and remained friends, so when this opportunity came that we would be this close to where he lives, I wanted to see him (and dance!).  

Wayne is retired, but still works part time as a Columbus GA. Sheriff assigned to a Municipal Courtroom.  He was able to get one day off, but had to attend a class on the second day.  He met us the day we arrived and took us out to dinner and then dancing.  I haven’t been dancing (Jack doesn’t dance) in many, many, many years…but it all came right back!  It was just like old times!  We were the only ones on the dance floor, but we didn’t care.  Damn, it felt good!  We even got a few hoots and whistles!  He said several people were video taping us, so if you see us on UTube, let me know!  lol  He dances regularly and is very good.  One thing I’ve always enjoyed about him is that he is a great lead, and easy to follow.  

Our last night together he came and picked us up straight from work (still in uniform).  Drove us out to see where the law enforcement officers practice their shooting, then around town a bit and then changed clothes and then went to a great buffet dinner.  Afterward we searched for another place to dance, but alas, no luck.  Thursday nights just aren't "the night" for places to have live music, bummer.  All to soon, it was time for us to bid farewell.  I reminded him that he now owed me "two trips out my way" and now that his girls were older, and he was (kind of) retired, "no more excuses!"  He agreed. 

So much fun to have these kinds of visits along the way!  Now it's time to go see the "Gold Coast of Georgia"!  We will be visiting more family in July, but for the next six weeks or so, we are back to doing what we do best...seeing this beautiful country of ours!

...on the road in Georgia,  Marie

On The Road Again...At Last!

It's been awhile...but we are finally back on the road again!  Yea! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we bought a new home, but I'm just not ready to quit traveling...and I was really getting antsy to get back in the passenger seat again!  

This will be a short trip for us...only a little over 3 months.  We have a flight to Maui in late October that we need to be back in Arizona for, and we got such a late start (because of my broken tooth and work on the rig)...but, some travel is better than no travel!

Our first leg is to my son's in Texas, partly to get some love'n and partly to drop off a bunch of "stuff" that I unpacked as we moved in (yea).  We will spend the 4th of July with him and his family, visit a bit then move on...into Louisiana, then north where hopefully it will be a bit cooler.  We will let the weather be our guide this trip.  We really don't have much of an agenda with such a short amount of time.  I'd like to round out the trip in Washington, to visit with my family there, so that kind of makes an odd circle, so to speak.  We shall see.  We have friends from Hawaii who are also on a journey through some of the western states during this time, so we shall see if our paths can cross each other...it would be wonderful if they could...one never knows...

We did manage to break away from all the unpacking for a few days to Sedona before we left.  We'd been there before, but it had been a few years, and we really needed a break.  It was about 10-15 degrees cooler too, which was nice.  We took advantage of our time-share and stayed there and swam in the pool, had a massage, ate out, read a book, layed around and relaxed.  It was great.  The area's red rocks are just so lovely, really peaceful.  I love walking through Tlaquepaque Plaza, it's such a picturesque place, even if you don't want to buy a thing!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to new adventures, and even re-seeing places we've been before...bring it on, bring it all on, I'm ready world, here we come!  Yahoo!


...on the road to Texas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Good times with friends...

As I've shared before...we did something different this year, we "settled in" at one place for 3 months.  If you've followed my blog at all, you know that's not something we do!  Staying anywhere longer than a week is rare for us.

We have one set of long-time friends who live at Happy Trails Resort in Surprise, Arizona full time and another set who live there part time.  Last year we stayed there for a month visiting with them while we waited for the rest of the country to "warm up".  This year we were talked into doing it for 3 months. With the crazy weather the way it's been...it was a good idea!

When we planned this trip, I had all kinds of things I wanted to do during our stay, knowing that Happy Trails has lots of shops (sewing, crafts, wood, etc) and classes (dance, computer, photography, etc).  With all the wonderful sunshine I envisioned I would get all this great exorcise in riding my bike everywhere, swimming in the pool and (re) learning line dancing!  Then at the end of the the 3 months I would be 20 pounds lighter!  Wouldn't that be a fun way to loose the weight?   ;-) 

Well...of course we all know that didn't happen!  One broken wrist later, and I spent the next 3 months going to doctors and physical therapists!  So, no sewing, crafts, dancing, swimming or (more) biking for me!  ;-(

What I did do though (besides all those "appointments"), is read a lot and meet a lot of nice people!  Being in one place for that long of time affords you the time to get to know the people around you. 

Our friends like to have people over, and several nights a week John & Dolores "were cooking" and/or "having drinks" at their site.  It was not uncommon for there to be 8 to 10 of us there several nights a week.  They loved it, and we all loved being there! 

I might not have been able to do much, but Jack kept busy.  Besides taking care of me, which at the beginning of my injury was pretty "full time", he got involved in the wood shop.  We have a game board called Aggravation that we enjoy playing that we learned from my family in Washington.  I thought it would be nice for him to make my two sisters each a board for Christmas this year.  We found some great wood on sale and he had fun creating some nice designs for them.  They turned out wonderful!  I'm glad someone got something done here! 

Just before we left, I was (finally) able to hold my heavy camera a bit, and went around the resort and took a few pictures.  The cactus are starting to bloom and many are just about bursting with flowers!  I could hardly contain myself!  Here are a couple of snaps of a few of them.  In another week or two this place will be a blaze of color tho...

We also got our RV washed and polished.  It's quite a job, since she's 10 years old and gets oxidized pretty badly.  It took 3 guys all day long, but they made her shine like new again!  Yea!  ;-) 

The last week of March seems to be the "end of the season" for many as well, because the parties were hopping!  Several nightly!  Some even had block parties with a live band!  Food, fun, lots of laughter and camaraderie was everywhere!  We almost hated to leave...

But leave we must...as that's what we do!  Places to see, adventures to experience...and onward to new roads!

...on the road in Arizona,  Marie

Emotions...

What a strange day.  Have you ever felt every emotion the human being possess at one time?  That's what I'm experiencing today.

I had another blog to post today, but I am to emotional and need to share, with you, my friends and family.  We have just left San Diego after a full week of cramming every minute with special visits with our wonderful friends and family.  I'm exhausted, elated, sad, happy, excited, afraid, proud, angry, confused, eager, and numb.

It was so great to see so many of our friends, to hear first hand all the news and successes and get all the hugs in person.  One of our friends has lost over 90 pounds and is model beautiful.  She just beams with her new self confidence.  Another is managing her life with the loss of her husband of many, many years and fulfilling a life long dream of going to Africa and then later this year to China.  One friend has adopted her two little nephews (ages 4 & 6) at an age (in her 50's) when most are looking toward their retirement, not starting the responsibility of a family.  I am so proud and happy for these ladies who have had major challenges and have risen to the top and are beautiful winners all!

It was so great to see so many of my (ex?) co-workers and how successful everything is going, personally and with the Zoo as well.  No surprises there though!  I was able to spend some time with a friend who is getting ready to join the "retirement club" and learned about another one doing the same.  The first one is going back to her "first love" of writing and has promised me a signed copy of her book when it's published, how great is that?  She has ignited a fire in me.  She wasn't the only to encourage me in that area, and that meant a lot to me; it touched me greatly to get such sweet feedback, thank you.

Spending time with my family was very special.  Even when we lived in the same town we didn't see each other enough.  As many of you know, my brother is fighting a loosing battle with cancer, so time with him is precious.  He is my "big brother", the one who was always there for me, teaching me how to dance, how to catch frogs and with no mom around, even how to curl my hair!  He was my protector and my night in shining armor.  He would get up early and take me to the Easter sunrise services I wanted, and I would get up early and help him fold his newspapers for his route.  I don't remember ever fighting with him, but I do remember him tickling me until I wet my pants!  He is the best brother a girl could ever ask for. Everyone should be so lucky.

We are back out in the desert for a few days before we go help a dear friend celebrate her 60th birthday and then we are off and on our way to continue our adventure!  I think this will be an interesting year...as always, thanks for coming along with us...

 

...kicking back in Indio Ca,   Marie

Time to say goodbye...

Time to say goodbye to Nevada and to our friends, for now... Both have shown us a great time, and left us with wonderful memories that we will cherish for a very long time!

One of the things you realize when you are "on the road", knowing that you are not going to be seeing your friends for awhile, is how very precious each one is. I think we take our friends for granted most of the time; believing that they are "always there" so we can put off that call, or visit until a "more convenient time"...but is there really one? Sometimes not...and then the time is lost, and perhaps the friendship. A lesson, I fear, I've learned the hard way, as I found when we reached Phoenix (more about that later).

Although our time together was short, it sure was fun! Aside from the "tourist-type" stuff, hours were spent just talking, drinking wine, sharing stories, laughing, cooking together and enjoying the company of old and new friends. Working full time with the addition of the long commute, had changed our lives so much that I had gotten out of the habit of really cooking anything that took longer than a few minutes, and when we got together with friends, we almost always went out. Being with 6 others, who all chimed in that they "didn't cook, but would help" made making dinner again, fun! Meals I hadn't made in a long time; simple, everyday fare, made special because of the people, the laughter and the joy of sharing. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed that.
Even tho it's just the two of us again, back in the tiny rv kitchen, the freedom of "having all the time in the world" to cook (or not) is like a new found joy.

















As we left Pahrump, and headed in to Lake Havasu, and as usual, the Arizona sunset greeted us...















...on the road in Arizona, Marie