June 29, 2012

I can't believe it, but I forgot to mention in my last Blog, that our 13 year old granddaughter, Machaela, had her first book, The Clues, published.  We got our SIGNED copy at the Pig Roast.  We are SO proud of her:-)

Well, we have arrived in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada after being on the road 8 days and are VERY glad to be staying in ONE place for a while.

We still don't know what caused Rich's face to swell up, but after  2 days it was back to normal.  As far as the generator, Rich called a company in the town of Helena, MT to see if they could check it out.  They said they only service them but would call a shop in Great Falls and see if they could help us.  While waiting for them to call back, which they never did, Rich checked on the internet for any ideas as to what could be wrong.  Someone had suggested checking the rubber hoses for any kinks.  Well, we stopped at the first Rest Area, and sure enough that was the problem.  Rich did a little cut and paste and the generator has worked perfectly:-)  Because we got a later start than we had planned and Gene and Betty had decided to stay in Shelby, MT an extra night after getting their windshield repaired, we caught up with them at the Lewis and Clark RV Park in Shelby.  It was another WARM day of traveling but the clouds rolled in and the thunderstorm hit after we got all set up.  It was WONDERFUL!!  Lots of thunder and lightning and rain!

The Storm's a comin' to Shelby, MT

Lewis & Clark RV Park

Neat RV Park.  Everyone was parked in circles.

Now here are just some of what you see as you drive through Montana on I-15!  Pictures just CAN'T do it justice!!

Tuesday, June 26th, we, along with Gene & Betty, drove to Casino Lethbridge in Alberta Canada where we met up with Dave & Pam Cressman from Ontario, Canada.  The weather had changed so it was a much nicer drive UNTIL we crossed over the boarder into Canada.  Suddenly the dark sky got black and we had to pull off to the side of the road because of a hail storm!!  Finally, the hail let up but we drove the rest of the way in the rain!

Had a great time catching up with Dave & Pam and checking out their new motor home.  VERY NICE!  Once the rain stopped, we walked over to the Casino for dinner then back to the rigs for some much needed sleep.  However, the storm was not done!  We had WIND and rain and lightning.  Oh yea, did I mention WIND?!?!?!  It was SO windy, we were ROCKED to sleep in the motor home!  It was still VERY Windy when we left for Red Deer, Alberta the next morning.  Had a GREAT time in Red Deer with some DEAR friends, Eugene & Linda, but you will have to wait for those pictures until I write again.

So, HAPPY TRAILS to all of you, until the next time :-)

June 2012 The Asphalt Wanderers Have Hit the Road Again

Rich and I left HOT (110 degrees) Surprise, AZ.,  Monday, June 4th, for 2 weeks in California.  Our first stop was in Modesto for a 2 night visit with Rich's brother and sister-in-law, Ruie & Julie.  We got caught up on all the families doings and went with them to their monthly card game of Golf, where Julie and I came home with MORE money than we left with.  Just because the guys paid our way into the game, they expected us to SHARE our winnings with them, NOT!!

Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes with hugs and kisses, and headed on up to Napa to stay with my mom.  I had told mom that Rich likes to stay busy, so she and Nyrene, my sister, came up with a "Honey Do" list.  He stayed VERY BUSY hanging pictures, putting up 2 security doors, replacing her sliding screen door, just to name a few, while mom and I visited and played games.  It was a WONDERFUL visit  Saturday, June 16th, was the 31st annual Ellis Pig Roast where lots of family and friends get together, catch up on what everyone's doing, and EAT EAT EAT

Da PIG

Rich & Andy

Melissa, Brianna, Katie

Sandy's FAMOUS Cobbler

Sunday we had to wait around the house for the phone repair guy 'cause mom's phone and internet service died Saturday morning.  After working on it for 4 hrs the guy says someone at the phone company disconnected her line by mistake.  But because of his persistent effortsand mom's Life Line, he got someone to reconnect her line.  Early Monday morning Rich and I headed back to HOT HOT Surprise to finish packing up the motor home and closing up the house so we could leave bright and early Thursday morning and make our way to Alaska

For those of you aware of the 14 quail eggs in the nest across the street from us, I'm sorry to say, none of the eggs hatched.  Mommy quail sat on them diligently but I think the AZ heat was just too much for them.  We had several days of 110 and higher.  I checked them twice a day from May 1st until we left for CA. Incubation is usually 17 to 25 days depending on the species.   At one point 8 of the eggs had disappeared.  It was like they were picked up out of the nest. When we got back from CA, mommy quail wasn't around so I took the nest down and opened up one of the eggs.  There was a fully formed baby quail in it.  Sorry, Millie, I guess I wasn't meant to be a surrogate mother for the eggs.

If you look real close, you can see the top of momma's head

Thursday morning, June 21st, we left Surprise, AZ, 9:30am and already 97degrees, after filling the motor home up with diesel for $3.439 per gal at Sam's Club.  Our first stop for the night was supposed to be Las Vegas, NV.   When we stopped for fuel in Las Vegas ($3.719 per gal) at 4:00 it was 112 degrees.  Needless to say we decided it was just too HOT to stop so we kept going, looking for cooler weather.  We were running the generator for the air in the motor home and still could not get the inside temperature below 94 degrees. At one point we stopped in a Home Depot parking lot for a bite to eat and the generator stopped working when I turned on the blender for my smoothie.   After a long day, and 500 miles, I was HOT, TIRED, and VERY CRANKY and suggested we stop for the night.  So we pulled into a truck stop and looked for campgrounds in Beaver, UT.  We called to make sure they had a space available, plugged the address into our GPS, and I was somewhat "Happy" again.  However, we found ourselves on a narrow dirt road, no place to turn around, AND no campground in sight. We had to disconnect the car, Rich had to do about a 5 or 6 point turn in the motor home, and find our way back to the main road in the DARK.  By this time we realized the headlights and turn signals were very weak.  Once we got back to the main road, we saw a campground sign, not the one we were looking for, but we went for it anyways.  It was 9:00 pm, the office was closed but we drove in and found a site and settled in with a " Not A Happy Campers" attitude.  After a good nights sleep we hit the road the next morning hoping for a cooler and better traveling day.  NOT!!!  After stopping for diesel, ($3.739 per gal) and driving another 400 to 450 miles in the heat, we pulled into Snake River RV Park in Idaho Falls, ID (7:30pm 85 degrees) for 2 nights.

Well, Rich woke up at 4:30 Sunday morning with his upper lip and jaws VERY swollen. Not sure what caused it, but it got worse as the day went on and we drove up to Helena, Montana.  I finally gave him some Benadryl which seemed to help the pain in his VERY swollen lips.  I wanted to share a picture of him but he wouldn't let me take his picture. Another WARM and WINDY day of travel.  Arrived at Lincoln Road RV Park about 3:15 and 100 degrees.  We hope to have someone in town check the generator first thing in the morning.  If all goes well, we will be meeting up with Gene & Betty Smith in Lethbridge, Alberta by tomorrow evening.   

The air bags Rich and Gene installed on the motor home are WONDERFUL.  I really noticed the difference when I was driving:)  It's just like Rich said it would be, "like driving on air" :)


So until next time, stay safe and love life!!

Waltham, MA

Sorry, WI-FI Internet service and Verizon cell phone service in Canada is the pits!  We are NOW in Lower Woodstock, New Brunswick, and I FINALLY have reception good enough right here, right now, to work on the blog. I just hope it lasts!!

Ok, in my last blog, we were visiting and reminiscing with my cousins, Patsy & Art, in Marlboro, MA.  They had taken us all over Boston by way of the Freedom Trail.  The next day, Monday, July 11th, we went to Waltham, MA to see my dad's old stomping grounds.  What a THRILL that was!!  We got pictures of the apartment building my dad grew up in.  Dad lived in the 2nd floor apartment on the right.  Patsy pointed out what room had been behind each window. 

Patsy’s parents had bought the house next door and that’s where Patsy grew up and lived when her & Art first got married. Another uncle had bought the house on the other side also.

Rich took a picture of me on the front porch and I THINK it's very close to the same view of the house in a picture my mom has of herself with my Grandma & Grandpa when dad was away in the Army.
I have to say, I really felt at home.  I could almost hear all the family laughing & talking. 

St Charles Boromeo Catholic Church

We saw the church dad attended but, unfortunately, the school was no longer there.  I remember growing up and mom & dad ALWAYS had a plastic Jesus on the dashboard of the car, and, as long as I can remember, Jesus was missing one of his hands.  Well, NOW I know why!!!

This is a statue, next to the Church, and He is MISSING a hand!!

 We went to the cemetery, saw the family plots, and since Patsy is working on the family tree, we went to the National Archives & learned some very interesting things. Like, WE never knew our grandpa had been in the service! 

We stopped for lunch and I had toasted raviolis. UMMM UMMM GOOD! From there we went to Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, where I was able to buy the book, Tales of a Wayside Inn by Longfellow.

Patsy & Art have been going here every New Years for the past 20+ years!!

 At the end of the day, AND a WONDERFUL visit, we had to say our goodbyes and give our hugs & kisses, since we were moving onto Ellsworth, Maine the next day to begin our Nova Scotia tour.

Boston, MA

We left Plymouth a LITTLE disappointed but still enjoyed our time there. The campground was NICE and the weather was PERFECT!! On the 9th, we drove about 80 miles to Littleton, MA to Boston Minuteman Campground. GREAT Campground!! Large pull-thru spots, clean, VERY FEW BUGS, great place for kids, and very friendly people!!

Later that day we drove to my cousins, Patsy & Art, in Marlboro, MA for dinner, catch up, reminiscing, and to make plans for the next 2 and 1/2 days. The good times NEVER stopped!

Rich, Patsy, & Art

After a couple of adult beverages, a LOT of catching up and reminiscing, Patsy & Art treated us to a great 5 course dinner on their back porch overlooking their BEAUTIFUL back yard!!!
Our first plan of action was to go to Boston and follow the Freedom Trail to see ALL the history. NO WAY can you do it ALL in one day!!!

The trail you follow

Paul Revere & the Old North Church

 It's awesome how they have kept the history while modernizing around it.

Old Church & buildings amongst
Modern High Rises

We COULD have walked the Freedom Trail all the way to the marina where the USS Constitution is, but we DIDN'T!!!

Patsy & Art showed us a GREAT time in Boston!! 

OF COURSE, we did take time out to enjoy some Italian Cuisine, too!

Would you believe,
Italian salad with TOMATOES?

After the FULL day in Boston, back to Patsy & Art's for a couple of relaxing drinks, more reminiscing, and then back to the motor home for some much needed  REST!!! 

Plymouth, MA

The 1st adventure by ourselves was to Pinewood Lodge Campground in Plymouth, MA. It's really a very nice park!

Man got NEW toy, so
Man READS manual 

View behind the motor home

We even got to sit by the camp fire one night...

Of course it rained all that night and the next day, so the rest of the wood was too wet to burn before we left... 

It is a large campground with LOTS of kids, but still very quiet!

While there we HAD to go see the infamous Plymouth Rock. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. Apparently, so many people have chipped away at it over the years, it is now a "pebble". Unfortunately, they waited WAAAAY too long to protect it by enclosing it.

The sign

The Protector of the "Rock" 

The "Pebble"

They also have a replica of the Mayflower. Luckily they have been able to keep the tourists from "chipping" away at IT. Actually, you can't get close to it unless you PAY to get on it!!! 

Mayflower II

After being underwhelmed with Plymouth Rock, we took a drive to Cape Cod. I've heard so much about it through family stories. We didn't drive ALL the way to the tip, but we did stop at a couple of the beaches and got our feet wet.

The initial shock of it being COLD

Actually, after the initial shock the water wasn't that cold, BUT the waves are pretty strong and can bring in some good size rocks that HURT when they roll next to your ankle!! All and all we had a good time in Plymouth, but I was anxious to move up the road to Littleton, MA.