From the Beginning

November 30, 2007 ~ as I left for my last day of work Mike drove the motor home out of our driveway for the last time, heading to the Ventura RV Resort. We had reservations for the month of December, as there was now way we were going to miss Christmas with our kids and new grandbaby Chloe.

December 30, 2007 ~ we headed off to Yuma, AZ to the Las Quintas Oasis RV Resort where we planned to stay for the next few months. We were ready to just relax for a while before we started to travel. We met so many new friends and enjoyed the resort so much that we've decided spend next winter in Yuma as well. The best thing is, it only takes us 5 1/2 hours to drive back to Simi and Ventura to see the kids. In the 4 months we stayed in Yuma we saw the kids and our friends quite often.

As luck would have it, Yuma had a car show in March called Midnight at the Oasis. Our friends Scott & Debbie Campagne and Rich & Karen Mehas from Alta Loma brought their awesome cars down to enter in the show. We had a blast, we rode in a parade through town and went on the poker run with Rich and Karen and were able to attend the dinners and hang out at the show all weekend. It was a real treat for us.

Unfortunately we lost our dog Mandy while we were in Yuma. We were lucky enough to have her for 16 years, and she took to living in the motor home right off. She loved all the new friends she made at the dog run, and it was a great way for us to meet new people as well. Dog people are so friendly and always want to tell you all about their babies. We miss her so much and think about her all the time.

April 21, 2008 ~ we left Yuma and headed to Bullhead City, AZ. We spent the night at our Aunt Lillian’s house and left the next morning for CA to spend a week at Yucaipa Regional Park. We brought Aunt Lillian with us and dropped her off at her friend Ella May’s house in Beaumont. It was Ella May’s 95th birthday and Aunt Lillian didn’t want to miss that party!

We got to see the kids at Matt & Mandi’s house on Tuesday evening. Kimmy drove over from Simi and we all played with Chloe until we pooped her out and she went to sleep.

Saturday we attended Hailey Campagne’s 2nd birthday party. She was so cute and just loved every present she opened. It was wonderful to see all of our good friends, some that we only get to see about once a year. It’s funny how all of the kids have grown up and we haven’t aged a bit.

April 28, 2008 ~ we left Yucaipa and headed to Williams, AZ, which is where we are right now. It is very beautiful here, but we’ve had to get our winter clothes out again.
Cold and very windy, days have been in the mid 50s and nights in the high 30s. We’re not used to the cold, it was in the 90s when we left Yuma.

Tuesday we just messed around the city of Williams and went over to the Deer Farm to feed the deer and check out the other animals. It was pretty old and run down, but we had a good time.


Yesterday we road the Grand Canyon Railway. We boarded at 9:45am and it took about two and a half hours to get there. We enjoyed every minute of the time, besides looking for wildlife along the way, we were entertained by a Hopi Indian singer and a visit from an old west cowboy. We arrived at the Canyon at 12:15pm. We hadn't booked any bus tours, so we did a lot of walking, stopped for lunch, shopped and had an ice cream cone. The Grand Canyon was amazing, when we walked up to the edge, it was breath taking. We saw 5 Condors, two of them flying in the canyon. They are huge, some with wing spans up to 9 feet across.

We boarded the train again at 3:45pm to head home. Our entertainment on the way home was a fiddle player and what a crack up he was. He had people dancing and playing his fiddle. Then all of the sudden two masked cowboys came riding their horses along side of us and one jumped on the train. I guess the rest of his crew was waiting for him on the train because there were 3 of them when they came through each car to rob everyone. It was fun, but they did keep the bills and change that everyone gave them in the robbery, tip money I guess. With everything going on, we were still able to see Elk and Antelope along the way. It was a very nice day.