Dear family and friends, it has been a long time since I have posted and so much has happened. You would think that being retired and being free of housework and yard work, I would have plenty of time to write. However, we are just having too much fun! We have been to see friends in North Carolina. John was a classmate of Chris when we were at Virginia Theological Seminery. His wife Debbie became my best friend. The four of us and our children did everything together. John asked Chris to supply for him on the Sunday after Christmas. He loves doing it and I get a good sermon. Best of all, I don't have to wonder where we will go yo church. We have been to two very interesting churches in Virginia Beach. It is very different up here. We did attend a very simple Midnight Mass. Sure missed Holy Spirit.
We also spent time with a girlfriend that moved to Virginia from Gulf Shores. She is the one that turned me into a blonde. We had so much fun catching up and meeting her new husband. I ate my first fish taco and learned to play Mexican Train Dominoes. It has nothing to do with lining them up and knocking them down. Chris was so disappointed.
Of course the best part was spending time with family. My granddaughter and I made matching macrame key chains. I could not find my glasses to read the directions so they are not perfect but we laughed a lot. We went to see Night At The Museum. I cried a lot because Robin Williams was in it. I rode all over town with my college age grandson and learned about his ambitions and goals. I watched my daughter Amy bake every kind of Christmas treat and had to keep Chris out of the buckeyes until all gift bags were filled. (And he can't understand why his sugar levels are so high)
We had planned to meet our Ohio friends over New Years but had not set a destination. After examining several options we decided to just meet them in Ohio. Chris has no fear of anything! The first day of driving was not bad. By nightfall we had made it to the West Virginia border and stayed at the no frills Wal-mart. Nothing but the best for me. The next day of travel was harrowing. I had to
drive through the mountains in the rain. I don't think I ever went over 50 miles an hour. I was the slowest vehicle on the road. The curves were matched with 5% downhill grades. I just stayed in my lane and prayed for my shift to end. Of course when it was Chris' turn to drive, the sun came out.
It is very cold here but we are warm In our camper. I am amazed at how well we are doing. Tonight will be the real test with freezing temps. The current temp is 21 degrees and the low tonight is 18. If the pipes hold up tonight we will be ok.
Peace to all. Happy New Year
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina
We arrived n Charleston late today after two wonderful days in Savannah. I wish we could have stayed there a week but even though we are retired and free spirited, we still have deadlines that can't be moved....like Christmas.
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Greetings from Savannah Georgia
Saturday was beautiful after the fog lifted. We took the dogs, Millie and Miss C, to the ocean for time to run and play. Because of the fog, the beach was empty so we let the dogs off the leash and they had a great time as seen in the video. In the afternoon we went to Jacksonville Beach Pier with our friends to watch the surfers. At first sight I thought there were about 40 large black birds in the water but then I realized I was looking at wetsuits.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Greetings from Mayport
The weather was great on Thursday. The fog cleared and so we decided to drive up the coast to checkout Jekyll Island. We had lived a short drive from the island when we were newlyweds but never visited the island. When we finished crossing the bridge to the island, there was a toll booth and a charge of $6. I thought Chris was going to turn around. He did not want to pay just to see the island so he went into the visitor center to see if it was worth it. We had already driven about 100 miles so what is $6? Alas,he decided we would enter this little community. Most of the restaurants where closed for the season but the big, historical Jekyll Island Club Hotel was still serving. We ate in the Grand Dining Room. It was very beautifully decorated for Christmas and it was Grand! What a treat.
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Greetings from Mayport Naval Station (Jacksonville, Florida)
The RollinACE has hit the road again. We spent the month of November in Gulf Shores. This gave us time to visit friends and have walks on the beach. We also sent the ACE to camping world for repairs and a modification of the TV. We also took time to purchase a jeep so we would have a vehicle for our next trip. The boat is practically sold. If nothing goes wrong we will close this week. The buyers have not acquired insurance yet...the only holdup.
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Greetings from Lake City, Florida
Dear friends and family, I really thought I had come to the end of our exciting once in a life time trip. I was looking forward to a relaxing, nonevent full five days at the airfield. I should know by now that at no time is my life boring or nonevent full. How ever it is rich and full of blessings.
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Greetings from Coldwater, Alabama
Dear friends, the tour of National parks is over and now it is time for a different kind of journey. We will be in Fort Valley, Georgia tonight. For the next five days we will be parked on the edge of an airfield. We will not have hookups for water, sewer, or electricity. Thank goodness for the generator. I know people live like this or worse but I am calling it "roughing it" and a step below Walmart. At least at Walmart I can go shopping for fresh fruit and water. The one silver lining is that Jennifer and Bud Currens will be joining us on Thursday. NO they are not staying with us and they are not even staying in Fort Valley. They will stay in a lovely motel in a real town and join us each morning. Bud will fly with Chris in the competition on Saturday. I get a few days to relax and read as I have not done that this whole trip. I am looking forward to being in one place for more than two days in a row even if it is rustic. Maybe Jennifer will take me to town one day.
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Greetings from St. Luke's parking lot.
It is Sunday morning and we are at St. Luke's in North Little Rock. Deacon Joanna asked Chris to celebrate today as her priest I'd out of town. They are doing the 8:00 service and I am enjoying a very quiet morning. We have had a great time in Little Rock.
After surviving the tornado we walked around town and enjoyed some awesome ice cream. We had a special tour of the Clinton Libray with Robert's and Joanna's son who is an archivist for the library. Then we went for a nice walk and somehow I was stung on the face. I never heard a buzz or saw anything but I have a painful red bump on my face.
That evening we went to dinner at a fabulous steak house and celebrated Robert and Joanna's 45th anniversary. Saturday we had a tour of the older sections of tow before stoping at their house for lunch on their beautiful terrace. After a short afternoon break to do laundry and naps, we headed to St. marks for a fantastic shrimp boil. It was quite a big deal and raises a lot of money for outreach.
After dinner we went to LePops for desert. Thais is a unique ice cream shop. The frozen cream pops come in 5 flavored but you can have them rolled or dipped in different toppings. Mine was salt caramel dipped in dark chocolate. Chris...chocolate dipped in chocolate.
We stayed at a lovely rv park on the river...next to a pedestrian bridge that took us over to town. The bridges are lit up at night with colored, programmed , lights. The last two nights were all pink for the breast cancer run Saturday morning.
Today we head towards Georgia. We have to pick up the airplane in Birmingham and head to Fort Valley, Georgia for a power parachute fly-in. Should be interesting. We hope to mee Jennifer and Bud Currens there. He is supposed to be Chris' flying partner.
Headed to church soon and looking forward to a good service.
Hope everyone in our church we left enjoy the first sermon of their new priest.
Peace to all, Batbara
After surviving the tornado we walked around town and enjoyed some awesome ice cream. We had a special tour of the Clinton Libray with Robert's and Joanna's son who is an archivist for the library. Then we went for a nice walk and somehow I was stung on the face. I never heard a buzz or saw anything but I have a painful red bump on my face.
That evening we went to dinner at a fabulous steak house and celebrated Robert and Joanna's 45th anniversary. Saturday we had a tour of the older sections of tow before stoping at their house for lunch on their beautiful terrace. After a short afternoon break to do laundry and naps, we headed to St. marks for a fantastic shrimp boil. It was quite a big deal and raises a lot of money for outreach.
After dinner we went to LePops for desert. Thais is a unique ice cream shop. The frozen cream pops come in 5 flavored but you can have them rolled or dipped in different toppings. Mine was salt caramel dipped in dark chocolate. Chris...chocolate dipped in chocolate.
We stayed at a lovely rv park on the river...next to a pedestrian bridge that took us over to town. The bridges are lit up at night with colored, programmed , lights. The last two nights were all pink for the breast cancer run Saturday morning.
Today we head towards Georgia. We have to pick up the airplane in Birmingham and head to Fort Valley, Georgia for a power parachute fly-in. Should be interesting. We hope to mee Jennifer and Bud Currens there. He is supposed to be Chris' flying partner.
Headed to church soon and looking forward to a good service.
Hope everyone in our church we left enjoy the first sermon of their new priest.
Peace to all, Batbara
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas
Dear friends, we have had quite a night. We arrived in Little Rock in time for dinner and a chance to meet a few new people. We have a great spot right on the river. After dinner we joined two other couples to walk over the presidential bridge to the Clinton Library. There was a very pleasant breeze and we enjoyed our walk. About 5 minutes after our return the tornado alarm sounded. We all went to our rv to turn on the news. The news had the area on tornado warning. People in the rv park were headed to the rest room. We chose to stay with our dogs and watched the news. It got very close and I was sure we were going to see the tornado. I sent a text to my children, pulled in the slide to make us more stream lined, grabbed a bag of m&ms, and the four of us climbed into bed to watch the news. I don't know if any of you have seen the Rv that turns into a boat but I imagined our rv sliding off the bank into the Arkansas River, and floating away. Bob and Johanna, the friends we came to see, were kind enough to call to check on us. The worst part was that they kept saying if you are in a mobile home you need to go to a safe place. We had no where to go. Thank goodness we were not on the bridge when it happened.
When it was over my DH....that is rv language for dear husband...said,"that is one more thing to cross off my bucket list." He had initially thought we should wait outside so we could see what was happening.
We were blessed that it missed us and went three miles south of us. Like I said, what a night.
We will be here for three nights and I am very excited to not be on the road for awhile
Peace to my wonderful family and many friends, Barbara
When it was over my DH....that is rv language for dear husband...said,"that is one more thing to cross off my bucket list." He had initially thought we should wait outside so we could see what was happening.
We were blessed that it missed us and went three miles south of us. Like I said, what a night.
We will be here for three nights and I am very excited to not be on the road for awhile
Peace to my wonderful family and many friends, Barbara
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Greetings from Elk City, Oklahoma
What a long 3 days. We have been driving until late in the day so I have been ready to turn in as soon as we have settled. It has been an interesting 3 days.
Sunday: We woke up early to pack up and head to an Episcopal church in Moab. We arrived very early for the 8:00 service. Really about 2 hours early. There was no 8:00 services. Churches would be better off without a website if they are not going to keep it current. Oh well...all dressed up and no place to go. We decided to head on to Mesa Verde. We were so excited about seeing the cliff dwellings and since it was about 20 miles into Colorado we could add another sticker to our state map. When we arrived we purchased two tickets for the easier tour. We arrived at the overlook and waited for the ranger. This would be a tour group of about 25. I was very excited until the ranger started describing the tour. "If you are afraid of heights you should not go on this tour", he said. "You will have to go up 3 ten foot ladders", he said. "There is no turning back once you start", he said. And finally he pointed to the ladder across the way and said we would not have to worry about falling because you would be between two sides of the rocks. That was enough! I turned to Chris as everyone was lining up to start the tour and begged him to go without me. I am so glad I did not go. I am afraid of heights and I am very claustrophobic. Sunday we drove until 9:00pm and pulled into a very iffy campground. We were only there to sleep so it was not a problem. However, we had now moved into a string of iffy campgrounds for the next two nights.
Monday: We woke up early to go to a volcano site in Blue Spruce, New Mexico. Chris has been wanting to see a volcano and I read that New Mexico had lots of them. We found the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. It is privately owned. We walked a lava bed about 1/2 mile to the overlook. It was not what I expected because it was 10,000 years since it had erupted so the inside of the cone was smooth and had trees growing in in. There was plenty of lava rocks, tubes, and you could see where the volcano blew out the side of the mountain. Then we took a second short hike to an ice cave. That was also formed when the volcano erupted. After the morning visit we headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico. This was a big town during the days of route 66. It sounded like a good stopping place with things to see. Well, it is a dying town. When interstate 40 by passed the town, it took their life blood. You can see the remnants of the old hotels and the broken neon signs. Most of the old gas stations are shut down but the old tyme pumps remain. The campground we planned to stay at was worse than the night before but the one next to it was ok. It was surround by a very old, run down, wood/brick motel. The campground was a giant gravel parking lot with a few trees and a few patches of grass. The owners were very nice. The wife was American Indian and the husband was Hindu Indian. Quite the combination. They were trying to fix the place up but have a long way to go. The waitress at dinner said the town was slowly dying. They are trying to get a casino to help the town come back. It was pretty depressing.
Tuesday: A few days ago I mentioned to Chris that our vacation was over. There are no more colored rocks or unusual rock formations to see. It was going to be 5 days of boring driving until we reach Little Rock and visit Deacon Johana and Robert. So...we have decided to make it a road trip and see the quirky things on the way. Today we saw Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, where about 10 cars are half buried in the ground. People come with spray paint in hand to do their art work. It was not as impressive as we had seen on TV. After that adventure we headed to Big Texas Steak Ranch, home of the 72 ounce free steak. In the movie Road Trip, Barbara Streisand goes uninvited on a trip with her single son. They stop at a steak place and she takes the challenge of eating a whole 72 ounce steak dinner. It is free if you can eat all of it. We saw the signs on the road for this place and had to stop. It is another Route 66 original establishment. It started out as a cowboy restaurant and the real cowboys would show off how much they could eat. It got into a real competition. When we were seated we asked where Barbara Streisand sat during the movie. She did not film the movie there. It was really a good meal anyway. We had a hard time finding a good campground for tonight have found a pretty good place in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is just different out west.
Peace and love to all, Barbara
Sunday: We woke up early to pack up and head to an Episcopal church in Moab. We arrived very early for the 8:00 service. Really about 2 hours early. There was no 8:00 services. Churches would be better off without a website if they are not going to keep it current. Oh well...all dressed up and no place to go. We decided to head on to Mesa Verde. We were so excited about seeing the cliff dwellings and since it was about 20 miles into Colorado we could add another sticker to our state map. When we arrived we purchased two tickets for the easier tour. We arrived at the overlook and waited for the ranger. This would be a tour group of about 25. I was very excited until the ranger started describing the tour. "If you are afraid of heights you should not go on this tour", he said. "You will have to go up 3 ten foot ladders", he said. "There is no turning back once you start", he said. And finally he pointed to the ladder across the way and said we would not have to worry about falling because you would be between two sides of the rocks. That was enough! I turned to Chris as everyone was lining up to start the tour and begged him to go without me. I am so glad I did not go. I am afraid of heights and I am very claustrophobic. Sunday we drove until 9:00pm and pulled into a very iffy campground. We were only there to sleep so it was not a problem. However, we had now moved into a string of iffy campgrounds for the next two nights.
Monday: We woke up early to go to a volcano site in Blue Spruce, New Mexico. Chris has been wanting to see a volcano and I read that New Mexico had lots of them. We found the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. It is privately owned. We walked a lava bed about 1/2 mile to the overlook. It was not what I expected because it was 10,000 years since it had erupted so the inside of the cone was smooth and had trees growing in in. There was plenty of lava rocks, tubes, and you could see where the volcano blew out the side of the mountain. Then we took a second short hike to an ice cave. That was also formed when the volcano erupted. After the morning visit we headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico. This was a big town during the days of route 66. It sounded like a good stopping place with things to see. Well, it is a dying town. When interstate 40 by passed the town, it took their life blood. You can see the remnants of the old hotels and the broken neon signs. Most of the old gas stations are shut down but the old tyme pumps remain. The campground we planned to stay at was worse than the night before but the one next to it was ok. It was surround by a very old, run down, wood/brick motel. The campground was a giant gravel parking lot with a few trees and a few patches of grass. The owners were very nice. The wife was American Indian and the husband was Hindu Indian. Quite the combination. They were trying to fix the place up but have a long way to go. The waitress at dinner said the town was slowly dying. They are trying to get a casino to help the town come back. It was pretty depressing.
Tuesday: A few days ago I mentioned to Chris that our vacation was over. There are no more colored rocks or unusual rock formations to see. It was going to be 5 days of boring driving until we reach Little Rock and visit Deacon Johana and Robert. So...we have decided to make it a road trip and see the quirky things on the way. Today we saw Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, where about 10 cars are half buried in the ground. People come with spray paint in hand to do their art work. It was not as impressive as we had seen on TV. After that adventure we headed to Big Texas Steak Ranch, home of the 72 ounce free steak. In the movie Road Trip, Barbara Streisand goes uninvited on a trip with her single son. They stop at a steak place and she takes the challenge of eating a whole 72 ounce steak dinner. It is free if you can eat all of it. We saw the signs on the road for this place and had to stop. It is another Route 66 original establishment. It started out as a cowboy restaurant and the real cowboys would show off how much they could eat. It got into a real competition. When we were seated we asked where Barbara Streisand sat during the movie. She did not film the movie there. It was really a good meal anyway. We had a hard time finding a good campground for tonight have found a pretty good place in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is just different out west.
Peace and love to all, Barbara
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Greetings from Arches National Park
Yesterday was a day of laundry and resting. We had dinner out and walked around downtown Moab. Everything went well till we drove home and saw the blue lights in the side mirror. Oh no....what did we do now. We had no tail lights! Chris tried all evening to find the fuse that was blown with no success. This morning we got up early to drive to the Ford dealer. A wonderful young man took care of us right away. He checked all the fuses but they were all good. He was perplexed! Then he started looking for a second fuse box. The night before I researched the problem on the internet. So I told them there were two fuse boxes under the hood...not one. It was hard to find but they kept looking till they found it and found the fuse. We asked for the bill but George did not charge us. Unbelievable! What a nice young man.
We left the dealer and headed to Arches National Park. The weather prediction was for rain but since this was our last day we took a chance. The park was packed because today was free entry. We could not find parking at any of the view points. We headed to the very end of the park in hopes of hiking a trail there. We were lucky. We started the hike with dark clouds overhead. I said to Chris, "if we hear thunder we need to head back" . He agreed. Two minutes later we heard thunder. But we trekked on because there was no lightning. Glad we did. The trail was almost empty and we had a wonderful hike. We saw landscape arch which is over 300 ft span. We alo saw double arches but my favorite was pine tree arch. It is the one were chris and I had our picture taken without the backpacks. This arch was on a side path. We walked into this tiny cove that opened into the arch. There was a log that provided us a place to sit and rest. No one was there. It was beautiful and so quiet. I just wanted to stay forever. A couple our age came along and Chris offered to take their picture. Then there were two young men that came along and I offered to take their picture. However by now the sky was darkening and the arch would not show up. One of them showed me some tricks on the iPhone to lighten the picture. I got a great shot and they took a picture of us. The rain had stopped so more people came to my sacred spot and before you knew it we were taking everyone's pictures in front of the arch. I thought we would be there all day. Finally we saw a break so we headed out. You may see in the pictures a rock climber and a man repelling. The pictures did not upload in order this time so it is a bit confusing,
Tomorrow we head to 8:00 church and then to MesaVerde to view Indian Cliff Dwellers.
Peace to all my family and friends, Barbara
We left the dealer and headed to Arches National Park. The weather prediction was for rain but since this was our last day we took a chance. The park was packed because today was free entry. We could not find parking at any of the view points. We headed to the very end of the park in hopes of hiking a trail there. We were lucky. We started the hike with dark clouds overhead. I said to Chris, "if we hear thunder we need to head back" . He agreed. Two minutes later we heard thunder. But we trekked on because there was no lightning. Glad we did. The trail was almost empty and we had a wonderful hike. We saw landscape arch which is over 300 ft span. We alo saw double arches but my favorite was pine tree arch. It is the one were chris and I had our picture taken without the backpacks. This arch was on a side path. We walked into this tiny cove that opened into the arch. There was a log that provided us a place to sit and rest. No one was there. It was beautiful and so quiet. I just wanted to stay forever. A couple our age came along and Chris offered to take their picture. Then there were two young men that came along and I offered to take their picture. However by now the sky was darkening and the arch would not show up. One of them showed me some tricks on the iPhone to lighten the picture. I got a great shot and they took a picture of us. The rain had stopped so more people came to my sacred spot and before you knew it we were taking everyone's pictures in front of the arch. I thought we would be there all day. Finally we saw a break so we headed out. You may see in the pictures a rock climber and a man repelling. The pictures did not upload in order this time so it is a bit confusing,
Tomorrow we head to 8:00 church and then to MesaVerde to view Indian Cliff Dwellers.
Peace to all my family and friends, Barbara
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Greetings from Moab, Utah
It has been two days since I posted. On Tuesay we had no internet and last night we were just plain tired from having so much fun. My granddaughter called when we got home and needed some math help. We skyped the whole lesson. This was a first for me.
On Tuesday we explored Canyonlands. It was just a day of driving and stopping at view points. When we arrived at our campsite in Dead horse state park we took forever to level. After about the seventh try, and three boards, we were as close as we were going to get. We decided we would find a new campground for Wednesday. I really liked the state park because it was so quiet. The park got its name a long time ago. Some cowboys rounded up some wild horses and corralled them at the point. It was a large area with a small opening so they only had to fence off a small amount. Something delayed the cowboys from returning. When the arrived, the horses had died of thirst within 2000 feet of water below them in the Colorado River.
Wednesday we drove with our new friends through the La Sal Mountains. I posted those pictures yesterday. The Aspens were bright yellow and covered the mountain side. We hiked a little and stopped a lot for pictures and geo-caching. We found a great restaurant for dinner and then Chris found us an ice cream shop.
Today we met up with friends from Gulf Shores. Sue had been reading our blog and thought we were ready for a hike to Fishers Tower. Now it was only about a mile long and we had certainly hiked more than that so it should have been no problem. Well....we never hiked a trail like this! It was a rock trail through, around, and up. We were use to parks that had maintained trails. This was more like some one found a way to get from point A to point B and left some rocks to mark the path for the next person. They stack three rocks, called carrins, to mark the way. I did it but I have never done such a difficult trail in 95 degrees. Of course I needed lots of help but we made it. After lunch some of the group wanted to go further, some rested, and Chris and I headed down so we could take our time. At one point we lost the trail. We could not find anymore carrins and it was hot and I knew we were going the wrong way. I was sure that we were going to cook ourselves in the heat and perish in this desolate place. However, we backtracked a little and waited till some of the rest of our group came and we found our next carrin and got back on track. I saw how easy it is to get lost in this environment. Glad I did it--glad I am done.
After our hike we were invited to a cookout with Sue, Mark, and her family. We had a great time and had lots of laughs about our hike. I guess we are still novice hikers. Miss C is spending the night with them so I guess we will get to sleep in.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring. Maybe we will see Arches National Park. Maybe we will do laundry.
Peace to all of my family and to my friends who have followed us on this journey. Barbara
On Tuesday we explored Canyonlands. It was just a day of driving and stopping at view points. When we arrived at our campsite in Dead horse state park we took forever to level. After about the seventh try, and three boards, we were as close as we were going to get. We decided we would find a new campground for Wednesday. I really liked the state park because it was so quiet. The park got its name a long time ago. Some cowboys rounded up some wild horses and corralled them at the point. It was a large area with a small opening so they only had to fence off a small amount. Something delayed the cowboys from returning. When the arrived, the horses had died of thirst within 2000 feet of water below them in the Colorado River.
Wednesday we drove with our new friends through the La Sal Mountains. I posted those pictures yesterday. The Aspens were bright yellow and covered the mountain side. We hiked a little and stopped a lot for pictures and geo-caching. We found a great restaurant for dinner and then Chris found us an ice cream shop.
Today we met up with friends from Gulf Shores. Sue had been reading our blog and thought we were ready for a hike to Fishers Tower. Now it was only about a mile long and we had certainly hiked more than that so it should have been no problem. Well....we never hiked a trail like this! It was a rock trail through, around, and up. We were use to parks that had maintained trails. This was more like some one found a way to get from point A to point B and left some rocks to mark the path for the next person. They stack three rocks, called carrins, to mark the way. I did it but I have never done such a difficult trail in 95 degrees. Of course I needed lots of help but we made it. After lunch some of the group wanted to go further, some rested, and Chris and I headed down so we could take our time. At one point we lost the trail. We could not find anymore carrins and it was hot and I knew we were going the wrong way. I was sure that we were going to cook ourselves in the heat and perish in this desolate place. However, we backtracked a little and waited till some of the rest of our group came and we found our next carrin and got back on track. I saw how easy it is to get lost in this environment. Glad I did it--glad I am done.
After our hike we were invited to a cookout with Sue, Mark, and her family. We had a great time and had lots of laughs about our hike. I guess we are still novice hikers. Miss C is spending the night with them so I guess we will get to sleep in.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring. Maybe we will see Arches National Park. Maybe we will do laundry.
Peace to all of my family and to my friends who have followed us on this journey. Barbara
Monday, September 22, 2014
Greetings form Dead Horse State Park, Utah
On Sunday we had two options for church in Torrey: Church of Latter Day Saints or Baptist. So we looked to the next closest town which just had one option--Church of Latter Day Saints. I guess we are in Utah so that is to be expected. So we did not go to church but we have the next two Sundays planned. It rained all day so I just vacuumed the whole place and 15 minutes later I organized all the baskets and then made soup for dinner. My wonderful husband listened to the Dolphin football game on the radio while watching some other game on the tv screen. It was quite confusing at times when I would forget that the sound did not match what I was seeing.
Today we headed to Moab, Utah. There were two routes. One was shorter on two lanes most of the time and the other was longer but we would get to the interstate quicker. We chose the longer because I could help out with the driving. Our drive could not have been more beautiful. What a surprise. It is hard to explain how different rock formations can look but they do keep changing. I would have taken pictures but I was driving and Chris was sleeping. I went up and down the steepest grades ever. It was like driving in the grand canyon, with canyon walls reaching to the sky.
It is amazing what erosion can do. In the gulf coast we consider erosion as a negative thing. It is destructive to our beaches and our dunes. But here in Utah, erosion has created magnificent sites. Wind, water, and ice have created masterpieces. We are now in a state park that overlooks Canyonland National Park. We can't wait to start hiking tomorrow.
Tonight I saw my first shooting star. The stars are plentiful and the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye. It is very quiet here. Hope we don't get kicked out because of the dogs. We will be here three nights and then move to another campsite closer to Moab. We have electric here but no other hookups. The campground looks like a movie set for a John Wayne movie. The cactus and all desert brush are new to the dogs. I keep trying to keep them away from the cacti. I will take better pictures tomorrow. We arrived here late and took about an hour to level. It was only 158 miles from Torrey but somehow it took us about seven hours by the time we had lunch, grocery shopping, rv dump and fill with water, and maybe a few amazing pullouts.
Many of you had said that reading the blog is like being on the trip with us. Well, I feel that writing the blog and reading your comments is like sharing my adventure while it happens instead of waiting till we return and bore you to death with hundreds of pictures. I think it is easier this way. Thanks for coming with us. So far we have just over 10,000 miles on our new Rollin Ace.
Peace to all my family and all my friends, Barbara
Today we headed to Moab, Utah. There were two routes. One was shorter on two lanes most of the time and the other was longer but we would get to the interstate quicker. We chose the longer because I could help out with the driving. Our drive could not have been more beautiful. What a surprise. It is hard to explain how different rock formations can look but they do keep changing. I would have taken pictures but I was driving and Chris was sleeping. I went up and down the steepest grades ever. It was like driving in the grand canyon, with canyon walls reaching to the sky.
It is amazing what erosion can do. In the gulf coast we consider erosion as a negative thing. It is destructive to our beaches and our dunes. But here in Utah, erosion has created magnificent sites. Wind, water, and ice have created masterpieces. We are now in a state park that overlooks Canyonland National Park. We can't wait to start hiking tomorrow.
Tonight I saw my first shooting star. The stars are plentiful and the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye. It is very quiet here. Hope we don't get kicked out because of the dogs. We will be here three nights and then move to another campsite closer to Moab. We have electric here but no other hookups. The campground looks like a movie set for a John Wayne movie. The cactus and all desert brush are new to the dogs. I keep trying to keep them away from the cacti. I will take better pictures tomorrow. We arrived here late and took about an hour to level. It was only 158 miles from Torrey but somehow it took us about seven hours by the time we had lunch, grocery shopping, rv dump and fill with water, and maybe a few amazing pullouts.
Many of you had said that reading the blog is like being on the trip with us. Well, I feel that writing the blog and reading your comments is like sharing my adventure while it happens instead of waiting till we return and bore you to death with hundreds of pictures. I think it is easier this way. Thanks for coming with us. So far we have just over 10,000 miles on our new Rollin Ace.
Peace to all my family and all my friends, Barbara
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah #3
Did you miss me? Thursday was a day of rest so I should have had time to write but we met a very nice couple and went to a stargazing program and did not get home till very late. Chris had a chance to look through the telescope and the stars were incredible.
On Friday we took our jeep rental and our new friends to Gobblin State Park. It is a very interesting place with thousands of rock formations that look like toadstools or gobblins. We took lots of picture and had a great time roaming through the formations. Children were allowed and encouraged to run and climb through the rocks. Then we went out to dinner and again got home very late. I never thought I would enjoy meeting people in the campgrounds but it was really nice to spend the day with other people. It turns out they are going to be in Moab while we are there and we plan to get together then.
We were busted again--this time for the barking dogs. We had left the windows open so the dogs were barking all day. We were called while at dinner. Seems like the dogs take after our children only instead of the principal calling it is the camp host.
Today we went real 4wheel driving on a trip through Cathedral Valley. This 60 mile loop is 4 wheel drive only. There are so many warnings that I was afraid to go--take food and water for two days, no cell service, and no way to get help if you break down. But everyone at the camp ground said the view is incredible and they were right. The trail was dirt, sand, and boulders. We only saw three cars the whole time. Chris had a blast but the dogs and I held on for dear life. The trip was awesome, I am glad we did it, I do not want to do it again.
By the way...when we returned the jeep we got busted for the dog hair. We took the dogs so they would not bark but we could not get all of the dog hair up so they wanted to charge $40. Can't win!
Tomorrow is another off day.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah #2
Just a short note to let you know we survived our back road adventure. Our 3 hour drive turned into an 8 hour journey going 20 miles an hour at times. We found a slot canyon where there was just enough light to let a few trees grow. I will post that picture and others. I am getting tired of sight-seeing so tomorrow we with take a day off from vacation. The lady in the RV next to me said she didn't think she could look at another rock. I am beginning to feel the same way. Tonight we went for a walk to see the stars and they are quite majestic. It looks like twinkling Christmad lights when looking through the trees.
We will be in Torrey until Monday. We have several hikes and two more jeep days ahead of us.
Peace to our family and to all of our wonderful friends. Barbara
We will be in Torrey until Monday. We have several hikes and two more jeep days ahead of us.
Peace to our family and to all of our wonderful friends. Barbara
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah
We are in a small town just 6 miles from Capital Reef. The view here is beautiful. Guess who we ran into as we checked in? Our German friends, Theio and Susan, they left Bryce the night before us and went somewhere south of us before coming to Capital Reef. We have asked them to join us tomorrow on our jeep ride. I don't know why they keep crossing our path but it has been nice company. The night we went to dinner Chris asked how long they had been married. They weren't married. Awkward moment. Well through the night Chris would say more things about marriage and they would laugh. Chris offered many times to marry them. They have been together 14 years and are in their 50's. Tonight when we ran into them the first thing they asked was had he married anyone since we had seen them.
The driving is so slow here even when going fast. We left Bryce at 12:30 for the 95 mile trip. Even with no turn outs, no overlooks, no photo ops, we did not arrive till 5:00. The only pictures I took were out the window. I am sure I will lose my cell phone out the window one day. I just hold it out as far as I can and snap as many pics as possible hoping one will be good. Boy do I wish I had a good camera for this trip.
There was this one moment when my life flashed before my eyes. We were driving along at a reasonable speed when we saw a car pulled over on the opposite side of the two lane highway and people taking pictures. This always means there is something interesting to see. Well Mr. ADHD decides to pull over. The only problem is there was no pull out and I am looking down a cliff as he is pulling onto the gravel shoulder. I screamed so loud that I got his attention and he was good the rest of the trip. I really could have used a drink after that but since we are 'alcohol free' I just waited till we parked at our campsite and took a long nap before dinner....my way of relaxing.
Other than the cow that decided to run across the road at the last minute we had a pretty bland day.
Hope you enjoyed the sunset pictures.
Peace to all of my family and all of my friends. Barbara
The driving is so slow here even when going fast. We left Bryce at 12:30 for the 95 mile trip. Even with no turn outs, no overlooks, no photo ops, we did not arrive till 5:00. The only pictures I took were out the window. I am sure I will lose my cell phone out the window one day. I just hold it out as far as I can and snap as many pics as possible hoping one will be good. Boy do I wish I had a good camera for this trip.
There was this one moment when my life flashed before my eyes. We were driving along at a reasonable speed when we saw a car pulled over on the opposite side of the two lane highway and people taking pictures. This always means there is something interesting to see. Well Mr. ADHD decides to pull over. The only problem is there was no pull out and I am looking down a cliff as he is pulling onto the gravel shoulder. I screamed so loud that I got his attention and he was good the rest of the trip. I really could have used a drink after that but since we are 'alcohol free' I just waited till we parked at our campsite and took a long nap before dinner....my way of relaxing.
Other than the cow that decided to run across the road at the last minute we had a pretty bland day.
Hope you enjoyed the sunset pictures.
Peace to all of my family and all of my friends. Barbara
Monday, September 15, 2014
Greetings from inside of Bryce Canyon National Park
I only have one thing to say about Bryce Canyon...Awesome. It is the most incredible place I have ever seen. We spent 5 hours hiking the most strenuous trail ever. We down to the bottom of the canyon floor and then back up again many times. Thank goodness for the walking sticks. Near the end...when we were out of water...and going straight up...I wondered who we thought we were to take on such a journey. We did a combination of three trails marked STRENUOUS. There were several easy and moderate but we thought we were advanced enough to go to the bottom because we now had trekking poles. We could not have gone 10 feet without the poles. It was steep up and down, very primitive and we still managed two slips. Chris went down pretty hard in an area with loose gravel. There was a nice couple that stopped to help and wouldn't leave till he was able to stand. We still had about 2 miles to go. He is pretty sore. I just had a slip-slide. No injury but my trekking pole took a little damage saving me from the fall.
I think Chris and I have a misconception about many things. One--we think we are young and athletic and two--he thinks the RV is a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Actually it is 4 wheels in the rear ...that is his explanation. We will never grow up. Even with the aches and pains, we are having the best time of our life. An older than us lady was complaining to us about her husband. She wanted us to take him on our hike because she won't go with him and he has a bad heart. He was moving faster than us. I thought about how we protect our loved ones as we age and came up with this: I would rather die living than to live dying. Let's have fun as long as the heart is beating.
We got busted by the ranger for leaving our generator on all afternoon. We specifically parked in the loop that said generators from 8am to 8pm. It was hot today and we could not leave the dogs without AC. He said someone had complained. You are supposed to turn it on for short amounts of time. I think we are going out late tonight to let the air out of our neighbors tires.
I give thanks for my family, my friends, and Aleve.
Barbara
I think Chris and I have a misconception about many things. One--we think we are young and athletic and two--he thinks the RV is a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Actually it is 4 wheels in the rear ...that is his explanation. We will never grow up. Even with the aches and pains, we are having the best time of our life. An older than us lady was complaining to us about her husband. She wanted us to take him on our hike because she won't go with him and he has a bad heart. He was moving faster than us. I thought about how we protect our loved ones as we age and came up with this: I would rather die living than to live dying. Let's have fun as long as the heart is beating.
We got busted by the ranger for leaving our generator on all afternoon. We specifically parked in the loop that said generators from 8am to 8pm. It was hot today and we could not leave the dogs without AC. He said someone had complained. You are supposed to turn it on for short amounts of time. I think we are going out late tonight to let the air out of our neighbors tires.
I give thanks for my family, my friends, and Aleve.
Barbara
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Greetings from Bryce Canyon National Park
What a day!! It is late but I really wanted to post so forgive any typos. We started out at 8:30 going 40 miles in the opposite direction from Zion to go to church. Grace Episcopal was a beautiful new church with the design greatly influenced by Native American Culture. The church is in transition with their priest leaving last week. They have a retired priest in the church and Russian Orthodox deacon that was in the process of becoming an Episcopal Priest. The service was the most un-energetic church service and it was hard to stay focused. Church is supposed to be a praise party for God but this was dry and monotone. The priest preached way too long and he told too many stories. Glad we had communion. As Chris always said, "even if you get a bad sermon you can always get good communion."
After church we headed back to Zion. You are supposed to park outside of the park and take the shuttle to the park. There was no place to park. People everywhere. It was like Gulf Shores during the Hangout Festival. We had hoped to camp in the park but all campgrounds were full by the time we showed up. We decided to drive through the park as we traveled to Bryce. It was a beautiful drive but we had no time to stop because the tunnel closed at 7:00pm and we needed to get through the tunnel to get out of the park. Vehicles our size had to have the tunnel closed to other traffic in order to pass through the tunnel going in the center. There was a 15 dollar charge for this. But it was worth it to get a chance to see Zion for a little while.
The views in Zion were incredible. The walls go straight up hundreds of feet and the boulders are bigger than our RV. I snapped a few pictures as we drove but mostly I had to watch Chris to be sure he was not doing too much looking. I have this rule that he can only look 30 degrees left or right of center. I caught him doing 90 degrees and we were going around a curve with a sharp drop off. It was a beautiful drive but harrowing. One lady looked at us as we passed the pull out and her mouth hung open as she stared at us like we were crazy to be up there in an RV. Maybe we are.
All of a sudden the canyons disappear and you are driving through flat lands. We drove about 50 miles when all of a sudden these strange red hodoos appeared. It is amazing how each area is so different in just a matter of a few miles. As we entered Dixie National Forest all I could do is squeal like a little child going to Disney. I could not believe what I was seeing. There was a campground in the middle of this incredible beauty and it was about 5:30 but Chris wanted to get to Bryce because it would be so much better. WELL...when we go to Bryce all of the campgrounds were filled so we had to turn around and leave the park. We stopped just outside of the park and found a public campground but it was full. All they had was dry camping for $30. That means no electricity, sewer or water. They were telling all of us late comers to go to the tent area and grab any site. It took us about an hour to get leveled. By then I was hungry and tired so we walked to the nearest restaurant. As we waited in line, our German friends from yesterday walked into the restaurant. Chris recognized them right away and started up a conversation and before I knew it he had invited them to eat with us and they accepted. Now they speak a little English but to have a conversation is a little extra work. However, we had a delightful meal together and it was nice to have someone to eat with. I am still amazed that we ran into them again.
Well the night stars are waiting for me to look at through the binoculars and Chris is ready to tell me all the names of the constellations.
Peace to our family and to all our friends, Barbara
After church we headed back to Zion. You are supposed to park outside of the park and take the shuttle to the park. There was no place to park. People everywhere. It was like Gulf Shores during the Hangout Festival. We had hoped to camp in the park but all campgrounds were full by the time we showed up. We decided to drive through the park as we traveled to Bryce. It was a beautiful drive but we had no time to stop because the tunnel closed at 7:00pm and we needed to get through the tunnel to get out of the park. Vehicles our size had to have the tunnel closed to other traffic in order to pass through the tunnel going in the center. There was a 15 dollar charge for this. But it was worth it to get a chance to see Zion for a little while.
The views in Zion were incredible. The walls go straight up hundreds of feet and the boulders are bigger than our RV. I snapped a few pictures as we drove but mostly I had to watch Chris to be sure he was not doing too much looking. I have this rule that he can only look 30 degrees left or right of center. I caught him doing 90 degrees and we were going around a curve with a sharp drop off. It was a beautiful drive but harrowing. One lady looked at us as we passed the pull out and her mouth hung open as she stared at us like we were crazy to be up there in an RV. Maybe we are.
All of a sudden the canyons disappear and you are driving through flat lands. We drove about 50 miles when all of a sudden these strange red hodoos appeared. It is amazing how each area is so different in just a matter of a few miles. As we entered Dixie National Forest all I could do is squeal like a little child going to Disney. I could not believe what I was seeing. There was a campground in the middle of this incredible beauty and it was about 5:30 but Chris wanted to get to Bryce because it would be so much better. WELL...when we go to Bryce all of the campgrounds were filled so we had to turn around and leave the park. We stopped just outside of the park and found a public campground but it was full. All they had was dry camping for $30. That means no electricity, sewer or water. They were telling all of us late comers to go to the tent area and grab any site. It took us about an hour to get leveled. By then I was hungry and tired so we walked to the nearest restaurant. As we waited in line, our German friends from yesterday walked into the restaurant. Chris recognized them right away and started up a conversation and before I knew it he had invited them to eat with us and they accepted. Now they speak a little English but to have a conversation is a little extra work. However, we had a delightful meal together and it was nice to have someone to eat with. I am still amazed that we ran into them again.
Well the night stars are waiting for me to look at through the binoculars and Chris is ready to tell me all the names of the constellations.
Peace to our family and to all our friends, Barbara
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Greetings from Virgin, Utah
Yes I did type that correctly. This is a small town just 12 miles from Zion National Park. On Friday we drove way too many miles. We arrived at our campground by 7pm but had been driving since 9 that morning. Though we went to bed early, we woke up today, Saturday, too worn out to do anything. So even though we were just 12 miles from Zion, we chose to take a day off from having fun and just stayed in our campround. We did use this time to do some much needed cooking, French toast for breakfast and homemade spaghetti for dinner. Chris used the time to install two 12 volt sockets so that we could run our sleep machines without electricity. This will allow us camping opportunities in the parks with great views and will save us lots of money.
We did take a dip in the pool which is something we have never taken the time to do in other campgrounds. The pool was very cold even though today was extremely hot. We have had such changes in temperature. One day we wear long pants, sweatshirts, and socks and the next day we are wearing shorts, bathing suits, and staying inside the AC.
We met our camping neighbors. They are from Germany and he is an FBI equivalent. We met a lovely woman from Japan that fell in love with the dogs. She and her family are doing some kind of exchange with a family in Salt Lake City. It was hard to follow the conversation because her English was weak and our Japanese was nonexistent. While we were at the pool we observed two Italian couples. It is interesting to see so many foreigners traveling to our national parks.
Chris found an Episcopal church about 35 miles away so we will be getting up early and heading to the town of St. George. There we will get supplies and then come back to Zion. I am not sure if this will happen but we hope to hike a riverbed that goes to the "narrows".
I love all of the comments. It makes writing this blog worthwhile. At first I thought it would be a great way to let my children know where we are each day. Now I feel that the blog keeps us connected to our family and our church families--Holy Spirit, St. Georges, St. Stephens. I don't feel so alone out here. Thanks for sharing this trip with us.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
We did take a dip in the pool which is something we have never taken the time to do in other campgrounds. The pool was very cold even though today was extremely hot. We have had such changes in temperature. One day we wear long pants, sweatshirts, and socks and the next day we are wearing shorts, bathing suits, and staying inside the AC.
We met our camping neighbors. They are from Germany and he is an FBI equivalent. We met a lovely woman from Japan that fell in love with the dogs. She and her family are doing some kind of exchange with a family in Salt Lake City. It was hard to follow the conversation because her English was weak and our Japanese was nonexistent. While we were at the pool we observed two Italian couples. It is interesting to see so many foreigners traveling to our national parks.
Chris found an Episcopal church about 35 miles away so we will be getting up early and heading to the town of St. George. There we will get supplies and then come back to Zion. I am not sure if this will happen but we hope to hike a riverbed that goes to the "narrows".
I love all of the comments. It makes writing this blog worthwhile. At first I thought it would be a great way to let my children know where we are each day. Now I feel that the blog keeps us connected to our family and our church families--Holy Spirit, St. Georges, St. Stephens. I don't feel so alone out here. Thanks for sharing this trip with us.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
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