It's been a while huh

We know we’re in trouble! It’s been a very long time since we’ve updated our Blog and we apologize for that, thanks to everyone for checking up on us.

We didn’t do anything real exciting this winter, mainly hung out with our friends in Yuma. The best part were the visits home to see the kids and our grandbaby Chloe. She is growing so fast and is the cutest thing ever.

Our friends from California, Scott, Debbie, Rich and Karen came to Yuma again this year for the Midnight at the Oasis Car Show. We had a great weekend, we really enjoyed riding in the parade again and getting to be part of the whole car show. And of course seeing our friends.

We went Jeeping with our friends Peggy and Elden to a place called Graffiti Hills. It’s an area in the desert where people have collected brown lava rocks and written their names, tributes and even made some pictures. There were some dated back to the 80s, it was really fun to see. Kim and her new puppy Tyson are coming out this weekend so we may go back out to show her the graffiti. She's always up for a little off roading.

Mike is still working at Wal-Mart and will put his resignation in at the end of May. By then it will be very hot here in Yuma and we’ll be ready to get the heck out. We aren’t going to travel this summer because of the money situation.

The beginning of June we have a family reunion in San Diego, and then we’re heading to Pismo Beach where we’ll stay until the end of August. We stayed there for a month last summer and really enjoyed it. We took the Kawasaki to the beach almost every day so Mike is really looking forward to doing that again. Pismo is only a couple of hours away from the kids, so we’re hoping to see a lot of them over the summer too. We’re staying at Pacific Dunes Ranch RV Resort in Oceano, if you happen to be in the area stop by and see us, we’ll go to the beach and play. The campground isn’t right on the beach, so there are usually spaces available on the weekends.

Take care and we’ll try to be better about updating.

Back in Yuma

Hello Everyone,

We spent the first week of September in Ventura, there to celebrate Chloe's first birthday. We had a wonderful time, celebrating on her official birthday, Sept. 4th, then again at her birthday party in the park on Sept. 6th. She was so much fun and is such a good baby. The whole time we were there we never heard her cry once. Her Mommy and Daddy are such wonderful parents and we're very proud of them. It was wonderful to have all of our kids together and get visit with them.

Our plan was to leave Ventura on Sept. 10th, go back to Pismo Beach for another month then to Yuma for the winter. Well, after a very disappointing meeting with our financial guy, we decided it would be in our best interest to skip Pismo and go to Yuma instead.

It's still very hot here, we aren't doing much of anything but waiting for the sun to go down. We jump in the Kawi, take a lap around the park then come back into the air conditioning. If a breeze is blowing we can sit outside for a little while, but if not, it's right back inside.

On Wednesday we took a trip to Tucson to have Zoe groomed, then went on to Phoenix to pick up a set of rims and tires for the Kawasaki. Zoe looks so cute, and the Kawi looks good too. We had to get new tires to be able to drive it on the street. You can license RUVs (Recreational Utility Vehicles) for the street in Arizona so Mike wants to make it street legal and drive it to the store and golf course.
All it takes is MORE money!

Speaking of money, since Mike can't live without his toys he's decided to get a part time job, something that will get him out of the "house" and make a little money. If you happen to go to the WalMart here in Yuma, you'll see him in the parking lot collecting carts. He wanted something that would keep him busy, with no stress, and he found it. We'll see what happens when the snow birds get here, some can be pretty vicious with their shopping carts. He always said that if he ever went back to work it would be as the Greeter at WalMart, looks like he's almost there. He still has to go through orientation, but should start soon.

We won't have a whole lot more to share as our travels are over for this year, but I'll update once in a while with new pictures and stories. We plan to do some off roading in the Jeep and Kawi, and of course go to Glamis.

Pictures:

Mandi & Chloe @ Chloe's Birthday Party in the park
Matt & Chloe @ Chloe's Birthday Party in the park
Kim and Tas @ the party
Zoe's new doo
The Kawi sporting new rims

Back in California

Hello

Man have we been BUSY. That’s my excuse for taking so long to
update once again.

Monday, August 8th we left Salmon Harbor for Santa Cruz.
We got to see our daughter Kimmy for the first time since April,
and that was wonderful! Kimmy and her boyfriend Tas came up to
his parents home in Santa Cruz and we all spent the weekend
together. Tas’ parents, Susan and Robert Szemeredi had a
wonderful weekend planned to celebrate Tas’ birthday and Mike &
I were lucky enough to enjoy it with them.

Friday evening before the kids arrived Susan cooked a great
dinner for the four of us. After dinner Susan and I went to
the Santa Cruz Boardwalk to see a concert on the beach
featuring the lead singer of Santana. We got there a little
late, so we only got to hear a few songs, and enjoy a carmel
apple. The guys decided to stay home and watch the opening
ceremonies of the Olympics. When we returned home the kids
were there so we visited for a few minutes and headed back to
the motor home.

Saturday morning started with breakfast at 8:00am. After
breakfast the kids went to play disc golf, then we all met
back at the house at 1:30pm to leave for AT&T Stadium in San
Francisco for a tailgate party and the Giants/Dodgers baseball
game. Tas’ brothers Robert and Zoley and Robert’s step son Sam
came too. Mike and I agreed that it was the best ballgame we’ve
ever attended. The tailgate party was awesome, with tons of great
food and the stadium was beautiful. We couldn’t believe how well
mannered the people wer, they didn’t even give us a bad time when
we were rooting for the Dodgers. Unfortunately the Dodgers lost
in the bottom of the 10th, but it was a great game. We all had a
ball. Susan even found a babysitter for Zoe, how nice was that!

Sunday morning Susan put together a wonderful brunch for Tas’
birthday. We got to meet a few of their friends and spend more
time with the kids. It was a wonderful weekend. It’s the busiest
weekend we’ve had in 4 months!

The next morning we headed to Pismo. Since it’s still so hot in
Yuma, we've decided to stay here for another month and go to Yuma
in October.

We got to see Matt, Mandi and Chloe this weekend. Matt and his
friend Brian came to do some riding in the dunes, and Mandi came
to visit her cousin Stacy. It was so great to see them, and of
course we were thrilled to see Chloe. She’s grown so much and is
walking now. When we left in April she was just starting to crawl.
Chloe will be a year old on Sept. 4th, so we have a party to attend.
She is such a little doll, we can’t wait to see her again in a
couple of weeks.

Lastly, those who know Mike well know how he is about his toys.
He just couldn’t stand being in Pismo with nothing to do, so we
bought a Kawasaki Teryx, a side by side. I’ll attach a picture.
We’ve actually been talking about getting one for some time now
because we can license it for the street in Yuma, and I’m sure
we’ll get a lot of use out of it between Pismo, Yuma and Glamis.

Zoe is growing like a weed and is having a great time everywhere
we go. She loves to dig in the sand at the beach, and doesn’t even
mind riding in the Teryx. She has a new friend here named Rocky.
Our friends John and Roberta got their daughter Hannah a black Lab,
he’s 14 months old and what a great dog. Zoe loves him.

Until next time…

Pictures:
Chloe – check out here beautiful blue eyes
Chloe – zooming around
Zoe – digging to China
Zoe – playing with Rocky
Teryx – Mike's new toy

Wyoming ~ Montana ~ Canada ~ Washington ~ California

We left Gillette, WY on Monday July 7th; our next stop was Emigrant, MT. We stayed at Yellowstone River's Edge, the campground was very nice but we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. It didn't matter that we were lathered up with Off; they just bit right through our clothes. So, we decided to forgo our second night there and move on to St. Regis, MT to stay at the Nugget Campground. The Nugget was very nice too, and the owners were really friendly. We stayed in St. Regis for 4 nights. Our last night before entering Canada was spent at a campground called Sun Country Golf and RV Resort in Cle Elum, WA. We were actually camped right next to the golf course, across from where the golf carts were parked. Mike didn’t get to play golf because we arrived late in the afternoon and left early the next morning. But we will remember it for the future.

We arrived at the Vedder River Campground in Chilliwack, BC on Monday, July 14th.
Jeff & Linda Marsh, our friends from Yuma live in Chilliwack and keep their trailer at the Vedder for the summer. We had a wonderful time! First we went on a tour of Vancouver; we took the dogs and a picnic lunch with us, and found a nice park for lunch.

We played Tap-In Golf one afternoon, now that’s my kind of golf. It’s a beautiful 18hole scaled down version of a regular golf course, but you putt only. It’s like miniature golf without the windmill. It was beside the regular golf course, and had ponds with beautiful water lilies and flowers. We all had a great time, with a relaxing lunch at the Clubhouse restaurant afterward. Mike and Jeff got a real game of golf in later in the week.

A couple of the girls at the Vedder planned a nice birthday dinner for Linda on Friday evening, she was quite surprised and the food was wonderful. On Sunday we went to a family gathering at Cultas Lake and got to celebrate Linda's birthday again. It was nice to meet Jeff and Linda’s children, grandchildren and many other family members.

We also had a girls shopping trip one day, Linda, Shawn (Linda’s neighbor at the Vedder)and I. We had lunch afterward at a lovely tea house, straight out of England. That was my first tea, and I really enjoyed it.

Zoe had a great time playing with her new friends Phoenix and Cooper. All three are Border Terriers, and we have Jeff and Linda to thank for introducing us to this great breed. They got Phoenix when we were in Yuma last winter and we fell in love with her. They took her home to Canada and neighbors Steve and Cathy fell in love with her, so there you go… Cooper and Zoe.

We did lots of other things and took great walks in the evenings after dinner. We really enjoyed the whole stay and would love to go back.

We left Canada on Friday, July 25th, stayed two night in Vancouver, WA then headed
down the coast to CA. We’re staying at the Salmon Harbor RV Resort on the Smith River right now and will be here until August 7th. Next stop Santa Cruz.

Until next time…

Pictures:
Mike, Jeff & family at Cultas Lake
Linda & Phoenix, Sally & Zoe, Cathy & Cooper
Mike & I on a walk at the Vedder

Gillette, Wyoming

Hello from Gillette!

Since we were informed by the Jeep Dealer that our hard top wouldn't be in until at least July 21st, and that wasn't a guarantee, we gave up on waiting for it. We'll order it when we get back to Yuma.

The timing was perfect for us to be able to attend the Escapees Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming. We've been here all week, with tons of RVers and have had a great time. We've met some wonderful people and run into other friends that we've made along the way.

It was a busy week with all kinds of activities. A lot of work goes into these events, there are seminars of all types, vendors selling everything you can't live without, dinners, a talent show, and you can even get your motor home weighed. This was a great event for beginners as well as full time RVers. The Escapees Club did a wonderful job.

Yesterday was 4th of July and we saw some amazing fireworks. It's been many years since we've seen so many. Actually they have been going on all week because fireworks are legal here. Everyone kept saying "these people must have spent a fortune fireworks" since these were all from people's backyards. The Escapade took place at the fairgrounds and we are staying in their campground, so we had a front row seat to the fireworks show the city put on. All we had to do was sit out in front of our motor home.

We have a very exciting announcement to make. We have a new addition to our traveling family. Her name is Zoe, aka Tasmanian Devil, a 9 week old Border Terrier. We have always had a dog, and since losing Mandy last February, it seemed like something was missing. She is adapting to her new lifestyle easily and we're already crazy about her. We picked a smaller dog this time, she will probably be about 14-16 pounds full grown.

We will leave Gillette on Monday morning and head towards Canada.

Pictures:
Gillette at the campground
Zoe

Until next time...

The Sun is Out

I know, it's about time this blog has been updated! It's just that we can only share so much about our trips to Wal-Mart.

The good news is, the sun has been out for about 5 days in a row now. We're still getting rain, but it only comes in the middle of the night and early morning.

We've been able to do a little off roading, it's so neat because you can pick a road and off you go into the hills through the pine trees. We also found a BLM road through old Ft. Mead and saw some of the old Calvary training grounds.

Last Sunday we decided to celebrate Father's Day and my Birthday by taking a road trip to Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower. What a beautiful drive, but then every drive is beautiful around here. We had two close encounters with deer wanting to run across the road in front of us, that's pretty scary. The Tower was pretty amazing, we even got to watch a couple of guys trying to climb it. I don't know what the heck they were thinking since that rock is straight up!

We're still waiting for the hard top we ordered for the Jeep to come in, so we'll probably be in South Dakota for a couple more weeks. We are thinking about moving closer to Rapid City since that's were we ordered the top, and we seem to be driving there more often anyway.

Pictures:
Devil's Tower
Devis's Tower - climbers (hope you can see them)
One of the roads we found
Mike and his buddies

Until next time..

Oh Hail

We've decided that we don't know how to read the weather in South Dakota, the hard way!

We got caught in another hail storm and this time it was a lulu. Last Wednesday we decided to drive to Rapid City to check out Sam's Club then go to Wal-Mart for groceries. The day was beautiful, so nice that we didn't even take our jackets. We were just finishing our shopping in Wal-Mart when I heard the thunder. I'm thinking, "don't tell me it's happening again", the exact same thing happened last week when we went to the Wal-Mart in Spearfish. So we hurry out of the store, hoping to beat the rain, then bam the lightning seemed like it was directly over our heads and the thunder was so loud I about jumped out of my skin. Here we are with this big metal rack on top of our jeep, so of course I'm thinking the lightning is going to strike us dead.

We got the groceries loaded and headed home. No sooner had we got on the Interstate when the sky opened up and golf ball sized hail started coming down. All we could do was pull over to the side and wait. It was pretty darn scary, it sounded like the hail was going to come through the windows. It seemed like it lasted an hour, but in reality it was probably 15 minutes before we got to take off again. The streets and parking lots looked like it had snowed. (I got the golf ball size from the news that evening)

Our jeep really took a hit, we have lots of dings on the hood and fenders.

Pictures:
1. Mike loading groceries in Spearfish
2. Jeep damage in Rapid City
3. After the storm in Rapid City