The Traveling Veritys

11/25 thru 12/3

2011-12-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

Day after Thanksgiving-Black Friday. Up early to buy lanai chairs and coffee table at Home Depot and a refrigerator at hhgregg. Arrange to pick up the lanai furniture on Tuesday and a Tuesday delivery of the frig, then on the road to Suwanee River. Spending the week end with Alan and Diane. Friday night we go to the restaurant/lounge for cocktails and dancing to Justine Case, fairly good music. Saturday we're off to Okefenokee Wildlife Reserve, our senior National Park pass gets us in for free (always a good thing). Most of the reserve burnt this past summer so we take a boat tour to have a look see, the water is very low so can't get as far down the channel as they generally go but that is okay as we saw lots of alligators but only one bird. Sunday morning we take a four mile walk around the RV park then head back to Sarasota. Figure it will take us X amount of hours but didn't count on a fender bender that had traffic backed up and slowed down for many, many miles. Took almost an hour to go ten miles.

Monday morning we get up, drive to our regular parking spot at Starbucks on Fruitville and Honore and then walk 4 miles to weight watchers. Surprise, after Thanksgiving and a week end out we both lost weight. Don't know how but very happy. Monday Al and Diane get into town and doug and Al go pick up our lanai funriture.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day. Started with a trip to Starbucks for coffee and to read the newspaper. Afterwards we drove to the Legacy Trail and did a 21 mile bike ride in two hours. Got home and after getting ready went to Todd and Shannon's for Thanksgiving dinner. When we arrived Amber and her husband Mark were there to visit and watch football on TV, also there was Aaron and his girl friend Adriana. Later Adan and his girl friend Samantha arrived and we all sit around visiting and watching football. Todd was outside preparing the deep fryer for the turkey, unfortunately the fryer didn't work. Aaron drove to Wal-Mart and bought another so the day was saved. Todd also cooked a turkey in an Infra-ray cooker and it was very good and a lot healthier than the deep fried (which was also delicious). Home now and getting ready for tomorrow when we will go to the Suwanee River to spend the week end with Doug's cousin Alan and his wife Diane.

Day before Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a complete relaxing day for me. Doug went with Amber for the inspection of the house she and Mark have put an offer on, Mark had to work. After they had lunch Doug went for a haircut and Amber came to our house for the afternoon. The three of us went to see Puss in Boots and to be truthful it wasn't that good but the popcorn made up for it.

Today it was up, drink coffee and read the newspaper afterwards we did 30 minutes of Bob Harper Boot Camp workout DVD. Went to the store and got all the items need to make a low-fat pumpkin pie, hope it taste okay. Tri County Air Conditioning and Heating was out for our yearly check up on our air conditioner. No problems so good for another season.

Doug has gone to Sam's to pick up his medicine and when he gets back he will BBQ some salmon for supper and I'll cook a butternut squash. Our day will then be ready to wind down and it will be early to bed as we will get up around 6 for a bike ride before dinner at Todd and Shannon's.

St Armands

2011-11-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful day in Florida, got up had coffee and read the Sunday newspaper. Decided that our exercise for today would be a drive to the Ringling Bridge, park under the south side and then walk over to St Armands Island. Every week end there is something going on at the circle in St Armands, today it was a Mustang Club Car Show. Was a fun way to spend several hours. Not all the cars were Mustangs, some Thunderbirds, Ford 150 Lightening pickups and one Mark VIII convertible. Yes, we know there were no Mark VIII convertibles, the owner told us a company took the car and customized 23 of them. We talked with the gentleman who had the first one that was customized, he paid $65,000 to have it did. Guess some people have more money than they can ever spend :) The walk to and from the island is around five miles, so good exercise for the day.

Need a new refrigerator so went looking for one on our way home, think we found what we want. Because our home is a modular we have to be careful looking for a certain size. Talked about taking down the cabinet over the old refrigerator but lucked out and found one we like that will fit.

Yoga

2011-11-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

Yoga this morning, feels good to stretch. Helps keep the body limber.

Walked over to the community center this after noon, nothing much going on.

Went to the mall and saw the movie Tower Heist, funny funny movie.

Siesta Beach

2011-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Coffee and newspaper at Starbucks this morning then seven-mile walk on Siesta Beach. Suppose to be in the 80's again today. Beautiful sugar sand, light breeze.

Next up to Home Depot to buy a couple palms to plant on both sides of the driveway. Also got two tomato plants to put in flower bed, the tomatoes in the grocery store are tasteless and sometimes just plain bad.

Day starting off pretty great. Todd and Shannon will be over tonight for Mexican Supper, tacos, refried beans, Spanish rice and chips and dip. Oh and good Mexican beer.

2011-09-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Met friends for drinks the other night and heard some good news, they are getting married!!! Congradulations, Karen and Paul. We're very happy for you. Had planned on leaving for Home2 on Oct. 1, but will stay around to help them celebrate. Leave the next day for Canada, Minnesota, Gettysburgh, Washington DC and them Florida arriving around Oct.30.

Labor Day was a labor day and we enjoyed every minute of it. Went to Kent and spent the week end with Bryan and family. Helped seal his new fence and it looks wonderful. Maggie can now run outside and not have to be on a leash. Came home on Monday and was glad we were headed for the Tri-Cities as the traffic headed into Seattle was backed up from the top of the pass back to Ellensburgh.

2011-09-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

Back into exercising, it's been so hard this summer to keep at it. We've been gone so much and so active working around the house that exercising just didn't fit in to our schedules. But now we are working out every morning with one of two tapes, Yoga one day and Weights the next. Plus we walk or ride our bikes seven plus miles after the work outs. Maybe we can take off some of this weight we've packed back on this summer.

When we first got home this spring had our fish pond remodeled and it turned out beautifully. Ended up with two ponds in the place of just one. One one side we have 13 gold fish and on the other 2 large Koi. Spent a week in Canada when Doug's step-father, Cecil, passed, on turning found a small fish on the Koi side. Wondering if they had a baby or if one of the goldfish somehow got to the other side.

Next had the area behind our bedroom screened in so we could sleep with our french doors open. Have a small table and two chairs out there so we can sit and have coffee and read our newspaper in the mornings. I admit we enjoy our life :)

Yesterday we walked down to the mall and saw the movie "The Help". I would recommend it as one of the better movies I've seen this year.

2011-08-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

So tired, been traveling so much. Seems like we just got back to Richland and already will be leaving for FL in a month. Weather has been cooler this summer, never making it into the 100's so the pool hasn't been used much. Over family reunion all the little kids spent much of their time in the pool but the adults just watched.

Has been a sad summer also as I lost a cousin to a heart attack, only 49 years old. Hadn't seen her in years and was looking forward to getting reacquainted at the family reunion but she passed the Monday before. On the day we were leaving for her memorial got the news that Doug's step-father had passed away. Had just seen him at the Minor-Dickinson reunion so that was good. All the grand kids but two were there as we celebrated Doug's Mom's 90Th birthday. I know they are glad that they got to see Cecil one last time and I know he really enjoyed being there and meeting all her grand kids. Last, just heard that a daughter of another cousin just passed away. Debbie was in her 20's, I believe, and had cancer since she was about eight years old. As I said it has been a sad summer. It can only get better. Things happen in threes and I've had my three....

OMG Snow

2011-04-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Valentine, NE and there is snow everywhere. Knew we left FL to soon. Shorts, sandals off and long pants and tennis shoes on. dang.

Week end at Verl and Lynda's was great. Dustin in from Hawaii, Alex from OK, Brittany camping in the back yard and party all week end. Lynda threw a great party with lots of BBQ, potato salad, beer, wine and Marquita's. Verl is now a licensed preacher, a gift from the two boys.

Left Monday morning and made it to McPherson, KS. Just a long day of driving, did stop at one casino where Doug won $60.00 so we are up $20. WOW

Only made it 490 miles as someone took a nap without telling the driver to turn on HWY 83 so when "they" woke up we were 27 miles pass the turn off and had to turn back. There went almost an hour so we only made it to Valentine, but that is okay. Met up with my cousin Dean and his family in Grand Island, NE for lunch and had a very good visit. They have just returned from a vacation in Ireland. Their daughter Rita and her husband, Jeff joined us and we were able to see pictures of their adorable little boys. Hope they all can make it to WA for the family reunion.

Third day on the Road

2011-04-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Day one found us driving 515 miles and spending the night in Pensacola, FL, the city Todd was born in 43 years ago. Would have liked to drive by our old homes but can't remember the address. Stayed at the Comfort Inn because they have a fitness room. Asked if there was a Whataburger close and found out one was a mile down the road. Doug and I walked down, talking about the Whataburgers we ate as a young married couple and how Doug would have to fight to keep Todd and I out of the fries on the way home. Bryan always had more will power and could wait with his dad, but oh the good smells in the car. What we now realize that memories should just stay that...memories. So disappointed in the burgers not at all what we remembered. Next day drove about the same distance but it took almost an hour longer as we got on HWY 90 and drove along the gulf. Beautiful but slow going only 45 mph. Time to get ready to drive to Verl and Lynda so will continue later.

Busy week-end

2011-04-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Monday and a day to relax after a very busy week-end. Saturday was a pool party at the community center and what a lot of fun. Four hours of non stop eating, drinking, singing and swimming. Unbelievable the amount of talent in the community. Sunday we had a cul-de-sac party at our house and a great time visiting with all our neighbors. Everyone came and plans are already in the works for another next season. Didn't really relax too much today as we had to walk to our weight watchers meeting to let our leader know we are heading to WA on Thursday. Have to get serious about this weight loss thing, we've been partying way to much here. Tomorrow having Todd and Shannon and the grandkids over for pizza and a last good bye until in the fall. we'll miss them but looking forward to getting back to WA and seeing Bryan and his family.

Beautiful Saturday

2011-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Another day closer to leaving and know it will be hard as it has turned so beautiful here. Temp in the 70-80's. Went walking at Rothbough Park today, it is a nature animal preserve. Known as a deer park we've only seen the deer once, but seen alligator, armadillo, and tropical birds many many times. Had Todd, Shannon and Adam over for tacos tonight. Sent the left overs home with Adam tonight. Young man is always hungry and says he can always eat. Always enjoy spending the evening with family. Tomorrow Adam and some of his co-workers are throwing a BBQ at the beach at Nokomis so will spend the day with family and friends, looking forwrd to a good time.

14 days and counting

2011-04-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

April 1 already here and we are starting the process of closing Home2 for our return to Home1. Always look forward to changing our address every six months, we are just gypsies at heart. Guess it started all those years ago when Doug decided to go into management with the RR and it meant relocating. Thinking back on all the homes we've owned, cities and states we've lived in and realize we wouldn't change a thing. Know some have spent their whole married life in one city and one home and are very content. We on the other hand can't imagine not living the life we have. We believe we gave the boys a chance to see how other people have lived their lives and how customs change from state to state not just country to country. Hopeing by the time we reach Richland the weather has started warming up as Doug hates to wear long pants anymore. Much to do when we get there as the fish pond needs to be finished and the fish brought home from Dan and Marisol. We really appreciate them boarding them in their pond this past winter. Seems strange to be writing in this blog as it has been so long, hope to be better at it this time around.

3950 miles in 63 hours

2010-10-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Drive is finally over and we are now at home2 for the winter. Got in around 8 p.m. on the 27Th, unloaded the car and started unpacking. Next morning left for coffee at Starbucks and ran into Todd at the stop sign, he was stopping by for a visit before he left town on business. Spent a large part of the day grocery shopping (so we don't have to Starbuck it again for awhile:( and the rest working around the house. Doug has a problem going on with his left knee and is in quite a lot of pain. Pharmacist recommended Aleve, keeping it iced and a pain patch at night and it seems to be getting a little better. He's not limping as much and says it feels better.

Yesterday Adam stopped by for a visit and said he is thinking about talking with the Navy recruiter again and asked his grandfather to maybe go with him.

Amber was by for dinner and got us all caught up on the wedding plans. Find it hard to believe that the little girl who used to sleep on her granddads chest is all grown up and getting married.

The plan for this winter is to remodel the flower beds and lay a walkway in front of the house. Temperatures have been in the 80's since arriving and we're loving every minute of it.

Two days

2010-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Where to start, the last two days have been long and knuckle breaking. Rain, more rain, tornadoes, and more rain.

Yesterday left Jim and Claire's very early and went looking for Starbucks, couldn't find them so ended up with Caribou coffee. Not quite as good. Down the road we go, into the wind and rain and that was the way it was most of the day. Pulled into Effington, IL for the night and had a spaghetti dinner the early night. Up the next morning and on the road by 8 a.m..

All day we again fought the wind and rain, except this time we were watching the tornado warnings. Was going to stop in Nashville and take a tour but when you can't see your hand in front of your face..... All radio channels cancelled their programs and just did the weather. Doug was following along with the map and we were staying just behind the worst of it. Couldn't really believe it as at times, especially when the trucks blew by, we would just be blinded. Hoped to be further down the road tonight but stopped in Alexander City, Ala.

With luck will be home2 tomorrow.

Rain

2010-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday left Canada and headed for Prior Lake, Mn and the week end with Jim, Claire and the boys. Was at customs by 8:15 and didn't leave until almost 8:30. Custom agent wanted to know if we were driving a rental, said no, he checked our trunk, took passports into building and gone a LONG time. Doug said to keep watching the garage in front of us and if the door opened we were going in for the big check, luckily he came back and returned our passports and away we went. Stopped in Minot, N.D. for Starbucks and gas then headed out. Thank goodness Peggy packed us a lunch so we didn't have to stop for lunch as Mn is 600 miles down the road. Ran into bad weather late in the afternoon, it rained so hard we could only see the front end of the car. Arrived around 6:30, had dinner and then a nice walk around the neighborhood. Watched the movie Hangover and then time for bed.

Sunday has been a very relaxing day. Slept until 9 a.m. ,which is late for us, then up for coffee at Starbucks. Back home we had Belgium waffles then left and drove to a park for a three mile walk. Since it has been a wintery day Claire made Chili and Jim made Sliders and we have been relaxing, watching football and just taking it easy. Tomorrow we will head out early and finish our drive to Sarasota, hoping to arrive on the 28Th.

Still in Canada

2010-10-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today (Friday) is the first really nice day we've had since arriving in Canada. Hard to believe but a warm 43 F, sun shining and no wind. Tuesday we visited with Aunt Joyce and Cousin Joyce in the afternoon and that evening out to Cousin Joyce and Terry's. We've always had a hard time finding their farm as no street is marked out in the country and traveling at night made it even worse. Got lost, of course, and after an hour told Doug we had 10 minutes to find their farm or I would be turning back towards town. Finally found them and they wanted to know if we had been lost and I told them to "quit Moving" their home. Had a fun visit and I smarted up on the way back to town and wrote down the mileage on every street with the right and left turns, will find out next spring if it works.

Wednesday we had coffee with the Aunts Joyce and Doreen. Was such a good visit we've scheduled another for today, wine will be the drink of choice at this meeting. That evening had a get together at cousin Glenn and Pauline's home with cousins Alan, Diane, Barb and Dick. We've really enjoyed getting to know the cousins better the last few years. Glenn and Pauline won't be able to come to Florida this winter for a visit as they are expecting their next grandchild in January. Alan and Diane will be down so hope to get together with them occasionally as they explore the state.

Yesterday drove to Regina so Peggy could have her check up with the cardiologist. She had a good report and doesn't have to return again for a year. It was a long day of driving, three hours each way. We stopped in Estevan for shopping and dinner then home for coffee and cake with Gary and Merle. Bed at 11:30 and slept until 9 this morning, must have been tired :)

Canada

2010-10-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Another long day of driving, up at six on the road by 7:30 and arrived here before six. 600 plus miles with several construction areas to slow us down. We were to go with Peggy and Cecil to a Falls Dinner last night but got in too late. Peggy had dinner waiting for us ham, scalloped potatoes, and butternut squash.

Writing from the school library so no pictures until we get back down into the states.

Weather here in Carnduff is windy and cold brrrrrr. The sky is clear and it is beautiful a lovely fall day.

2010-10-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

Poor Maggie, at least her leg is starting to feel better.

Well here it starts

2010-10-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

First day and it was a long one 670 miles in nine hours. Went to Renton yesterday for Maya's birthday and what a party it was, nine little girls and I had forgotten how noisey we "ladies" can be. What fun everyone had, carving pumpkins,eating, singing songs, eating, presents, eating... Lots of good food as you can tell.

Left this morning from Renton and arrived in Bozeman, Mt around 7 p.m.

The travel is beautiful this time of year, the trees are turning. We live in a beautiful part of the world and I feel very blessed to be able to enjoy all of it.

Pictures will follow as soon as Doug gets them loaded.

Summer coming to a close

2010-09-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Been so long since I wrote on my blog not sure I remember how to do it but will give a try.

Little over a month before we close the Richland home1 and travel to Sarasota home2. Got most everything finished we planned on here so feel good about that. the only project that didn't get finished was the fish pond, our fish will extend their vacation next door until next spring. So very thankful the neighbors have a pond and willing to "pond" all our fish. Doug and I had decided to deepen our pond this summer and unfortunately while doing so the three pillars fell over (thank heavens Doug had gotten out of the pond as the biggest weighs 3200 lbs). Found a crane company that was able to come in, reach over the house, pick them up and reset them for us. It was a very involved process as we had another company come in at the same time to lay the felt and liner then cement the pillars in. We'll leave the laying of the rest of the liner and putting in the waterfall until next spring, that way we can enjoy the pond all summer.

Days Three, Four, and Five

2010-04-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Day Three we drove to Maude, TX and spent the afternoon and night with Verl and Lynda. We had a good visit and was up early in the morning and on the road. Day Three we drove to Exeter, MO and spent the afternoon visiting with my Aunt Phyllis and two cousins, it has been over twenty years since the last time we were together. Continuing our trip North spending the night (Day five) in Watertown, S.D. and hope to arrive in Carnduff, Sask., Canada tomorrow afternoon.

Day two....450 miles

2010-04-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

The day started with an hour in the exercise room, breakfast, into the car and off we went. While driving we got out the National Park booklet and found we would be about 100 miles from the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum so decided to take a side trip. What history!!! Also spent a short time at the Tuskegee University and it is a beautiful campus but a little run down, of course it is very very old.

We drove as far as Greenwood, MS and here will spend the night. Hope to be in Maude, TX tomorrow to spend the day with Verl and Lynda.

Day One...420 miles

2010-04-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

Had a great end of season party last night with all the family. Will miss them terribly but looking forward to seeing Bryan and his family.
Got up early, finished packing and putting the house in shape and was on the road by 9:30a.m. The drive was very nice until we got North of Tampa and for several miles it was stop and go, took a half hour to drive 7 miles at one point. In three hours we only put 115 miles on the car. At this time we decided to leave HWY 75 and take a secondary road which was slow but faster than the highway. We finally got into Alabama and spending the night in Dothan.

2010-03-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

2010-03-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Parintins, Brazil Feb 15

2010-03-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Parintins lies on the right bank of the Amazon on the island called Tupinambaranaa. This is the largest group of fluvial islands in the world. Parintins was founded in 1793 and has few landmarks or monuments, the people are what make it so special. In June they celebrate the Festival Folclorico which is second only to the Carnival in Rio de Janiero in numbers of attendees. The festival is called Boi-Bumba and tells the story of a scared ox which is killed because a farm workers pregnant wife has a craving for ox tongue. The townpeople are so upset that St John the Baptist brings the ox back to life. The Festival is a competition between two teams, the red and the blue, to see who can tell the story in the most spectacular way. Cocoa Cola sponsors the Festival and this is the only place in the world where you will see the sign in Blue

Manaus, Brazil

2010-03-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day Feb. 14, '10

Manaus is one of the largest cities in Brazil and until recently could only be reached by boat or plane. There are roads that connect with the rest of Brazil now but they are often closed in the rainy season.

Our ship is the Royal Princess, 355 cabins, 11 decks. A smaller cruise ship that is just right for the Amazon River.

Doug and I decide to take an excursion called Meeting of the Waters. This is where the brown Rio Solimoes meets the black Rio Negro and what a sight it is. The trip was combined with a journey to Lake January to see the meter-wide Victoria Regia water lilies. The water levels of the rivers can change up to 40 feet between the rainy and dry seasons. Homes are built on stilts or on balsa wood that float with the levels.

Back on board the ship sails at 7:30 p.m. Dinner the first night is open seating and we will meet our table mates tomorrow evening. Learn that of the 615 people on board almost 200 are doing what is known as a back-to-back, meaning they have been on board two weeks already and doing the return to Ft Lauderdale. Realize after dinner that with so little sleep the past two nights we are too tired to go to the welcome show that night. Couple glasses of wine, the rocking of the ship and we will sleep without stirring until the morning.

Amazon River Pre Cruise

2010-03-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

Day one...Feb 12 '10

What a beautiful day, sun is shining, Todd and Shannon coming to drive us to Miami, but first Todd has to go in for a MRI on his left hip. The drive is very pleasant and we arrive in time to have a nice lunch at Tropical Pollo and then check in to The Miami Airport Hilton. Since we live in FL during the winter Doug has tried to get us out of this reservation but it is a package deal with the charter company that is flying us to Mansus, Brazil ... so here we are at the Hilton. Todd and Shannon leave us and they go on to Ft Lauderdale to visit with friends in their old neighborhood. After going to our room to leave our carry on bags we take a walk around the grounds, stop, have a drink at the outdoor bar and meet two couples that are on the cruise also. After a nice visit we go to the room for a nap before leaving for the airport at 10:00 p.m. From here on things get "interesting" for a few days. The 10 p.m. bus is loaded so we agree to take the 10:15 and find the couples from the bar also on this bus. We arrive at the airport at 10:30 and at checking find that they have us sitting in center seats, one behind the other. Doug tells them this won't do so they work their computers and get us two seats together. Arriving at Gate 17 we notice that our flight is "on time" but all the flights around us are several hours late, at 11:30 when we are to be boarding the plane the time changes to new departure time....1 a.m. Then to 2 a.m. Finally they make an announcement, flight has been cancelled as the plane is in Atlanta, Georgia and needs to be DE-iced but since this is a charter they have to wait for Delta to de-ice their planes so they will send us back to the hotel. We're informed that the hotel is sending buses for us, after 15 minutes our new friends form the bar ask us if we want to share a taxi to the hotel as they heard that no buses were coming. It is a mass exodus for the taxi stand where the airport has called in all available taxis. Everyone gets in line and things move along smoothly for several minutes until.......you guessed it someone at the back of the line hijacks a taxi then everyone jumps in the road hailing down the taxis. We were three groups from the front of the line at this time and the people in front of us were upset and the taxi dispatcher was trying so hard to make the taxis bypass the people and come up front without much success. We finally get back to the hotel, check back into our rooms, told to come down at 10 a.m. for a bus back to the airport. 10 a.m. we come down and are told no it will now be 1 p.m. After breakfast learn that the Atlanta airport had been closed all day and just opened back up for business that morning. We finally get to the airport at 10 p.m. wait around to leave at 12:50 a.m., exactly 24 hours after we were to leave originally.
Finally we arrive in Mansus and see a Delta plane has arrived first, also on the tarmac is an ambulance with their lights flashing. The crew informs us that Delta passengers are going through customs 50 at a time and we will have to wait on the plane until they have all deplaned and gone through customs. At this time medical personal come on board and check out a passenger who had been having chest/breathing problems. He convinces them he is okay and it is time for us to deplane. Do they let us off 50 at a time? No, everyone(350 people) off at once and into a room that is the size of our front room (okay a little bigger but not much)that has a turntable they can put maybe 50-75 pieces of luggage. People start taking the luggage off and placing it everywhere there is an open space so by the time Doug and I get there he has a hunting job tracking down our bags. By now all luggage is off the plane so Doug starts putting it back on the conveyor belt, finds ours and we start forward to customs. We had filled out custom forms on the plane but find out they need one more and it is passed out to everyone where we find that it is in Portuguese and no one can read it, guess work filling it out but do okay and finally pass through customs. Meet outside by the Princess people and bused to the cruise ship. We are informed that the ship will not leave at 6 p.m. as planned but later so the passengers that had side trips planned would be able to re-schedule them. It is now Valentine's Day and everything is turning around to be a beautiful day.

Verity White Elephant Christmas Party

2009-12-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

What a fun time.....Todd and Shannon had a great party this past Saturday. Great food, fun game (Doug and I tied with Harry for a three way win), surprised even us with what we know about Christmas. Of course we couldn't have gotten all the reindeer names without Amber, plus a few other questions. The white elephant exchange was a blast with me taking the best gift from Todd and then Shannon's Uncle taking it from me...darn. I still ended up with a beautiful three wick candle and Todd with a Rubik's Cube (snicker snicker, sorry Todd) Doug got a nice bottle of wine. Adam got glasses and a bottle of Bailey's Mint that I'm sure he will keep until his 21st birthday or regift it. And yes I still believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. The food was wonderful and everyone ate to their fill. Doug and I were worried when we went to Weight Watchers this morning but were able to show a small loss.
Packed and ready to leave for Washington on Wednesday. Doug's cousin Allen and wife Diane are here and will drive us to Tampa to catch our flight. Todd was going to drive us but is having a minor (we hope) procedure on his back that morning and we don't want him driving that far to mess anything up. We hope this will help and he won't have to have an operation, would like to see him be able to walk without pain.

Home2 Remodel

2009-12-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post and no excuse except we have been busy. First was the cleaning and getting home2 ready for some easy living, which we are still waiting to do. After all the dust was removed we decided that tiling the front room/kitchen, hall, guest bath and utility room would be our next project. Spent a few weeks looking at tile colors, sizes and talking with the "experts" at Home Depot and Lowe's before deciding on a medium sand color and mosaic center piece for the front entry way. The guest bath and utility will be our learning experience since the only floors we've ever tiled were two bathrooms in San Diego and Bryan's bathroom in Renton. Have taken out the washer/dryer and guest toilet and put down the backer board, we laid down a pattern in the bath and Doug has been tweaking it for a couple days. Today is the day we will lay the mud and set the tiles, we're excited to get our first room finished.

We understand that Doug has a cousin in the area and a couple more on their way, we are excited to have some company. Lots to do see and do here and around Sarasota so hope to have a lot of company plus it will give us a reason to put our tiling tools away and take a break so remember we have an exta bedroom and the door is never locked.

Home2 again, Home2 again

2009-10-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well here we are, and yes we did arrive on schedule. After leaving Locust Grove, GA we drove 476 miles in 7 hours and pulled into our driveway at 4 p.m. We drove 3788.5 miles with a total driving time of 64 1/2 hours. Since we were only in WA 3 1/2 months I told Doug it almost feels as if we never left. Doug stacked everything from the car in the middle of the front room so he could take these pictures. Everything is now unpacked, put away and we are starting to settle into home2.

Had dinner at Todd and Shannon's last night, and it was a very tasty low-fat spaghetti with salad. Told him the competition was back on and we would have them to dinner next Saturday. Now I have to come up with a delicious low-fat meal........any ideas????

Another Long Day

2009-10-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

Have to back up a bit here and go back to last night.......Doug and I had a nice dinner at a place called O'Charleys which is a knock off of Applebee's and Chili's and went back to our motel room and found that the lights we had left on were off. Tried all light switches and nothing worked, looked at the other customer rooms and they all had lights, so Doug went to the office and it took awhile but we finally got lights. The next morning we went to Starbucks for coffee, bagels, and a newspaper. We read the paper and found that a man had murdered his step-father two night before by stabbing him 40 times and big surprise they found the killer at the motel we were staying at. We decided that tonight we would spend a little more money and stay at a motel with a little higher clientele.

Today was a 8 1/2 hour 550 mile drive. Weather has warmed quite a bit, Doug put on long pants in Minot and took them off today, 10/22, he does not plan on putting them back on for a very long time. Still has a little color on his legs so not to bad.

Stopped in Berea, KY today to see the Boone Tavern Hotel which is on the Berea College campus. Berea College is for students who can not afford to go to college, they pay no tuition but have to work on the campus to pay their way. The college is over 100 years old and the buildings are beautiful, big brick structures. This is the second college that has no tuition we have visited, the first was in The Ozarks outside of Branson. What an opportunity for family's who can not afford to send their children for an education and to break the cycle of poverty

If all goes according to plan we will be in Sarasota tomorrow evening.

October colors

2009-10-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Long day today, 600 miles in 9 hours. Spending the night in Miamisburg, OH just south of Dayton. First 100 miles where in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was dark and rainy. We've been very disappointed in the fall colors on the trip, understand that it got so cold early that most leaves just froze and then dropped. We had a short detour on HWY 2 for bridge repair and lo and behold it was beautiful. The pictures don't show the true colors as it was overcast and raining, bright yellows and oranges, mellow greens, and muted reds. Made HWY 2 worth the frustration.

We are now back on "schedule".

Family Pictures from Canada

2009-10-20T18:03:00.001-07:00

Cousin Ray

Aunts Joyce and Doreen (sisters who married Verity brothers)

Ray's wife, Joan, and cousin Joyce's husband Terry

Doug's Mom

Uncle Ken and Aunt Ruth with Doug

Day 4, Tuesday

2009-10-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

419 miles today, not making much in mileage but we did get to Norway today!! Norway, MI that is. Lots of little towns that slow us down to 25 miles an hour, and two lane road that doesn't want you to go over 55, think NOT. Of course have to keep it down some as each of these little towns does have it very own cop sitting in his patrol car with the radar gun trained on traffic. We're almost 100 miles behind schedule but keep remembering we are retired and really not on any schedule.

Spending the night in Manistique, MI, a cute little resort town right on Lake Michigan.

3rd Day on Road

2009-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Had a great visit in Carnduff, Sask., Canada, arrived on Wednesday as the roads were so bad we had to spend an extra night on the road. We got to visit with all Doug's Aunts, Uncle and cousins. Had a nice surprise as a cousin he hasn't seen since he was in high school was home on his way to winter in Arizona. Doug's Mom put on a great dinner and they were able to have a good visit. Some of his cousins will be visiting us in Florida this winter and we are really looking forward to it.

Only 492 miles today starting at 8:30 a.m. and driving until 6:15 p.m.
No snow, thank heavans, clear skies all the way.

Had to stop in Minot, N.D., put two new tires on the car. One was all the way down to the core in four spots and the other not much better.

Not much excitment today, spending the night in Grand Rapids, MN the birthplace of Judy Garland.

Leaving Canada

2009-10-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Re-marriage of Bryan and Michelle

for Maya's 8th b'day

Minot, N.D. 10/15/09 woke to 2" of snow

Starbucks in Helena, N.D. 10/14/2009 it was snowing!!

Maya, flowergirl and maid of honor for her 8th b'day at

Dad and Mom's re-marriage

Peanut, Uncle Jack (90 years young) and me last visit before leaving for Florida

Day 2 and Not In Canada yet

2009-10-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

What a day we have had. Got up and on the road in good time this a.m. and then things slowed way down. It was snowing when we left Helena and the road was covered with compacted snow. Highway 12 can best be described as a narrow two lane country road that twists and turns so you can never go the posted speed limit. Doug and I decided it was best not to push things and would spend the night in Williston, N.D., but not one room was to be had! The oil business is booming, and the workers have reserved all the rooms. We had to drive on into Minot and arrived at 9:55 p.m. just in time to watch the restaurants turn off their lights and lock the doors. 650 miles in 11 hours, time for bed. Tomorrow can only be better.

Here we go again

2009-10-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

What a tiring day, 500 miles and 9 hours,but it really started last Friday. Took off Friday afternoon after signing rental papers with Windermere and went to Wenatchee to see the siblings. We all got together at John's for a BBQ and had a really good visit. Got up early Saturday and drove to Shelton for a fast visit with Jackie, Fred and Uncle Jack. That afternoon a we drove to Renton and stayed with Bryan and family. Next day was really fun, they had Maya's 8Th birthday party early so we could attend. Bryan and Michelle had a re-marriage so Maya could be a flower girl and how beautiful she is. They rewrote their wedding vows and the guests were in stitches as they were so funny. Later Doug will download some pictures that I will add to the Blog.
Arriving home Sunday afternoon we finished our packing and cleaning, and didn't get to bed until after midnight. Up early this a.m. washed the bedding and finally out of town around 9:30. Drove Highway 12 most of the day through Walla Walla, Clarkston, Lewiston on to Helena, MT. For most of the day it was two lane, twisting, turning road that was under construction. We thought we would see some changing beautiful colors but NO.... maybe too cold.

Having a glass of wine and then off to bed.

91 miles, 1 1/2 hours and we're HOME

2009-06-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a long trip..4260.4 miles driven in 73 hours and 36 minutes...that is driveway to driveway. Have enjoyed every minute of the trip and now is the time to get home1 into order and relax a little. Doug is outside visiting with neighbors so think I'll go join them.

Good bye until once again we go traveling back to home2

Pam

Almost

2009-06-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Almost home...just 70 plus miles to go.

510 miles today. Spent last night in Idaho Falls and what a beautiful town. Unfortunately we arrived so late that we couldn't walk the riverwalk but this morning walked over to have a look at the falls. Drove through Twin Falls but didn't stop as we wanted to get as close to home1 as possible.

Tonight we are in Pendleton, Or at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino and will soon go down and donate $20 each, we feel that the government was so crooked with their Indian ancestors that we have to somehow make up for it.

Our tenant move out today, rug cleaners will be in this afternoon and we will take over our home tomorrow. Doug has talked with our friend Barry and he and his wife Rocky may be over tomorrow for drinks and a good visit. Looking forward to seeing them and all our Northwest friends and relatives.

Yellowstone

2009-06-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

While in Yellowstone we saw few animals but one was up close and personal...A buffalo was eating right outside our car window. ........center picture is of three elk laing in the grass next Firehole River.

Long Day

2009-06-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

Up at 6:30 a.m. and on the road by 8:30. Arrived at Cody, Wyo and spent several hours at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. There are five museums under one roof and we went into some thinking we would spend just a little time but end up spending at least an hour. On the road again by 4 p.m. and drive to Yellowstone Park. When we arrive Old Faithful is not scheduled to go off for an hour so we walk to the BeeHive Geyser and soon it goes spouts. A Ranger tells us that this geyser goes higher and lasts longer than Old Faithful, plus we get to see a rainbow that keeps growing as long as the geyser is spouting.

This has been a long day with short mileage, only 410 miles. Got good news today, we can be in home1 on Monday so will cancel out trip to Salt Lake City and head straight there.

Down Memory Lane

2009-06-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a trip down memory lane and let me tell you it is sooooo changed. Started yesterday with Deadwood and continued with Mt. Rushmore today. If not for Presidents I wouldn't have recognized the area. It is improved and includes more history. Leaving Mt Rushmore we drove past the Flintstones Village where our boys played so many years ago and went down to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Don't know how we missed it all those years ago, they have been working on it since 1937. I don't think it will be finished in my lifetime, they've been working over 70 years and have his face finished plus the upper part of his arm, when finished he will be sitting on his horse. We started early and by 3 p.m. had only put 100 miles on the car, spending the night in Sheridan, Wyo only 300 miles total, hope to do better tomorrow.

Out of Canada

2009-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are on the road again. Spent eleven days in Canada, had only planned on a week but things change. Really enjoyed our stay as we were busy, pressure washed Doug's Mom's garage, scraped the floor and painted it, took almost a week. Visited with all his relatives that live there plus a cousin who was visiting from Australia.

Left this morning and drove 430 miles to Deadwood, S.D.. Was here in the late 70's and has it changed. Back then the buildings were almost museums, now almost all are casinos, several are hotels and motels. Not sure what is happening in Sturgis, since they only have three motels this town is packed with the motorcycle riders. We were lucky to find a room and it is out of town but not too far as we were able to walk to town and back.

Doug was finally able to download some pictures so I'll add some of the places we've been so far.

It looks as if we will be able to get into our home a little sooner than planned so have changed the itinerary and hope to be there this Monday the 29th

Day Four

2009-06-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Short day today. Got on the road by 9:30 and drove 230 miles.

Had to start the day by going to a pharmacy and picking up some medicine, I got laryngitis on the cruise and while that is almost gone I now have a sore throat and bad cough.

Christian has a good turn out for his graduation, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a college friend of his mothers here. Everyone has gone to the ceremony. There will be parties all week end and we all will leave on Monday.

Monday we will be in Canada and since that is roaming for my computer will not blog again until we're back in the states the following Monday so see you then.

Day Three

2009-06-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that it has only been three days seems we've come so far and seen so much.

Up and on the road by 8:30 a.m. and drove 480 miles.

Sorry to say but the section of Illinois we drove through was so flat and boring, we were anxious to get to Wisconsin. Wisconsin is also flat but we kept seeing signs for Wisconsin Dells so decided to stop and what a surprise! Reminds us of Leavensworth and DisneyWorld put together. Bills itself as the worlds biggest theme park and is full of quaint little shops, restrurants, and Mom and Pop Hotels. We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around and had dinner in a nice restrurant overlooking the river.

Tomorrow we will drive into MN and arrive at Brother Jim's in time to congraduate Christian on his graduation that evening.

Day Two

2009-06-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today was not as long as yesterday. On the road by 8:30a.m. only 430 miles. We stopped in Chattanooga, Tn and spent three hours touring the Chickamauga Battlefield. This was the battle that opened the way for Sherman's March to The Sea.

Decided not to Stop in Nashville as we want to be in Mn in time for Christan's graduation. Today we crossed Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and spending the night in Marion, IL.

Doug has taken pictures that I will include later.

Day One

2009-06-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here we go again...
Up before 7a.m., finished the packing, closed home2, Starbucks for coffee and on the road by 8:30a.m.. 5p.m. and 560 miles later here we sit in a hotel in Cartersville, Ga (just North of Atlanta), took a half hour walk, a dip in the pool, and just finished the food we brought from our refrigerator.

Beautiful countryside, lots of greens. Atlanta was the only large city we went through and the traffic was terrific, at one time I was traveling with the traffic going 75 in a 55, looked over and three motercycle cops were passing me.

Tomorrow Nashville where we will spend a couple days looking around and relaxing.

Dinner

2009-05-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

The son and wife did it again........Supper last night was great, Todd BBQ'ed four different flavoring of ribs, two dry and two wet. All four flavorings were soooo good. Shannon made her mouth watering cold slaw and homemade macaroni and cheese mmmmmm. Once again ate too much. The evening ended with a noisy game of Bull S--t.

Almost time for Aaron's graduation, our cruise and then the traveling verity's will be at it again. First stop will be Jim and Claire's in Minnesota, Mom and Cecil's in Canada then back to home1, we're getting anxious to see our lawn and home.

The Rainy Season is here

2009-05-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Middle of May and the rainy season has started. Last three days mornings are hot and in the afternoon the rains come so hard you can barely see across the street, it cools down but then becomes humid.
Have started the good byes with new friends we've made here. Some have already left for up North, others planning on the move in the next few days and Doug and I will be heading out in less than a month.
Aaron will graduate on the 29th and we take him on a cruise the 30th. We're looking forward to our time alone with him before he starts on his "grown-up" life, into the "real" world. Like his siblings I know he will do well.

Doors

2009-05-07T05:16:00.000-07:00

It has taken a while but we finally have our doors painted and the new screen doors on. Thank goodness the weather has cooperated as we had at least one door off for three/four days at a time while they were being painted. Turned out pretty good although even with putting on a primer coat it took three coats to get them the way we wanted.

Had a very nice Saturday with Todd and Shannon. They took us to Clearwater and then to Tarpon Springs. Visited with Shannon's Grammy and then had a seafood lunch, she-crab soup (of course being the seafood lover, NOT, I had a sandwich). Tarpon Springs is a very fun place to visit, it's a Greek Sponge Diving village. We had supper there and the food was great, every one tried a different Greek dish.

Pictures from Sunday drummers

2009-05-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

It was a wild and fun night!

Birthday

2009-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

What a week this has been. Started with another project here at home2 and ended with a wonderful dinner last night , hosted by Todd and Shannon, at Cabrera's.

Monday evening met Todd and Shannon to buy the supplies needed to put up a trellis between the house and work shop. We"re looking for honeysuckle to plant there.

Next project was to Lowe's to purchase screens for our doors. The contractor picked them up the next day and planned to have them both installed that afternoon, but as with most things it didn't quite happen that way. Mike, the contractor, had never worked with this manufacturer before and had a hard time following their instructions so it took him and his assistant four hours to put in one screen. They came the next day and finished the job. He needs to come back and tweak them a little before we will sign off on them.

On Friday Doug and I went on our first "old people" bus trip, went with a group from Camelot East to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. It was fun, the cost was $20 each and the casino gave us $25 in free play and a $5 coupon towards lunch. Doug played the time on their money and walked away with $17, I played with their money for over an hour before dipping into ours.

Saturday was my birthday and it was very nice. Heard from several friends via Facebook and then a wonderful dinner. Today will be desert over at Todd and Shannon's with all the grand kids, this has been a very good week.

Dinner Flop

2009-04-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

Had Todd and Shannon over for dinner the other night but......... I had bought a new crock pot and cooked up , White Beans and Ham Soup, well even soaking the beans overnight and cooking on high in the pot for four hours the beans were HARD. So everyone dined on salad and cornbread. Needless to say the crock pot was returned to the store the next day.
Last night was wild, we've heard the last two winters about an event that happens every Sunday night down at Siesta Key so decided to go down. Drummers get together and play for hours. These are drummers of all ages and every type of drum, they stand or sit in a group and just beat on their drums. People come from all around and you can either sit and watch or get up and join in. Children were given hula hoops to play with, a very small woman dressed as a belly dancer gave out flowers and then she danced, a gentleman was there dressed all in black with a white hat on who gave blessings with bird feathers as he danced around. As I said it was a wild night but very interesting. After the sun went down and the parents took their children home it got even wilder, young people moving their bodies as if they were in a jungle dancing around a wildfire or maybe placing a curse on someone. Later I'll post some pictures that Doug took after he gets them loaded on the computer.

Day before Good Friday

2009-04-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

It may be spring elsewhere but here it feels like summer, temps in the 80's, this is what we winter in Florida for. Invited to Siesta Key for an afternoon to sunset picnic, had a great time and met several couples so live here in Camelot East. The food was wonderful, everyone brought their favorite dishes (mine was my spaghetti salad) and I tasted everything, including the three 3-bean salads. We understand that it is a standing joke to count how many bean dishes show up.

Saturday was spent driving around just visiting interesting shops and getting new ideas for things to do in home2.

Granddaughter Amber called to let us know that her fiancee, Mark, has gotten a promotion to Assistant Manager with Publix. We're very happy for them.

Dinner today at Todd and Shannon's, smoked ham.
Hope everyone has a Happy Easter

Edison & Ford Winter Estates

2009-04-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, day off from exercising and we decide to take a day trip. Had heard about the Edison & Ford Museum in Fort Meyers so headed that way. The estate is over 13 acres and you can take a guided tour or just get the earphones and tours by yourself. We elected to go with the earphones and took our time wandering around. The homes are beautiful. Lots of history, we never knew that Edison, Ford and Firestone were such good buddies. In the museum is a Ford Van that Ford had converted for all the camping trips the three families took together.
Edison visited Fort Myers in 1885 and that same day purchased his property, the next year he built his two homes using materials shipped from his home estate in New Jersey. Ford visited for several years then in 1916 purchased the home next door. On the grounds are many trees and bushes. A four foot Banyan tree that Firestone gave to Edison in 1925 is now the second largest in the U.S., first is in Maui.
If ever in the area we highly recommend this as a must stop.

WII Fit

2009-04-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Well we've finally gotten serious about exerise! Started on the Wii Fit and work out every other day, talk about sore!! On the days we don't do the Fit we take long walks. What we are seeing is sore bodies, oh my goodness, backs, legs, feet ouch

Feb/March

2009-03-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Time seems to fly by so fast. Here it is almost the last of March and our snow bird neighbors are planning their trips home, Doug and I will be here at least three more months. Aaron is graduating the end of May and we will take him on a cruise to the Western Caribbean then start working our way to Home1. It was so busy while Larry was here visiting, a lot of work was a finished, we had a few day trips and one overnighter to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City. The men got out fishing a few times with Todd and spent relaxing days on the boat.

Our friends from San Diego, Bill and Nancy, stopped by for a visit one day and we had a very nice time catching up on all that has been happening at City Front Terrace. We do miss San Diego.

Suppose to get to 85 today, the wind is blowing so hard that branches from our king palm keep falling onto the roof. Hope there is no damage.

What a month February was

2009-03-04T05:59:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that February is over, it seemed to last forever. We stayed so busy with work on home2 and visitors. Bryan and family came from Renton for a visit, spent four days with us and a week in Orlando visiting all the theme parks. Their visit was pretty easy on Doug and I as Todd and Shannon had us to dinner for a couple of nights. Michelle had requested Todd's deep fried turkey and bacon wrapped green beans, we all came home that night stuffed. The next night they made pulled port sandwiches with potato salad, Todd is one for the few who can make my mother's salad. MMMMM Speaking of our oldest son, we're very proud of him as he has quit smoking (again) he's been smoke free for almost a month now.

We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary with Bryan and family at Magic Kingdom. A person never gets to old to go on the rides.

Our friend Larry arrived on the 24th and Doug immediately put him to work replacing all the windows in home2. They're finally finished and the house looks a lot better with white windows, now Doug and I need to do a little outside painting. Larry will be here for a couple more weeks and we hope to get some more work out of him but also get in some sight seeing. This Friday we will be going to a Strawberry Festival in Plant City. Larry, Todd, Shannon, Doug and I will drive down that day go to the festival, see Jeff Foxsworthy that night and come home on Saturday.

What we've been doing

2009-02-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

A few days ago someone said to me that they thought I should continue with my BLOG even though we were no longer traveling so here we go.... Home2 is finally becoming a home. The countertop is connected, sink hooked up and the microwave installed over the stove. The cabinets and free stand counter have been taken out of the house and installed in Doug's work shop. We feel a little proud that we two "old" folk were able to install both the microwave and cabinets onto the walls by ourselves and they haven't fallen off....yet!!

Had our first party on Sunday, it was a combination Super Bowl/Birthday party. Grandson Adam, who was born on a Super Bowl Sunday, is now 19. Fun time was had by all and Amber was the big winner of our foolball pool.

Work, work and more work

2009-01-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to retirement? Since our arrival we get up in the morning start working and don't stop until bedtime. Grandson Aaron was over yesterday helping out, washed cabinets with G'Ma and repair cabinet end piece with G'Pa. Aaron will be graduating this March, has finished all requirements for his senior year, and now is a TA at his culinery school.

Took a couple hours break today and went for brunch at son Todd's home. Amber, Mark, and Nick were over, Aaron had the day off from work (Publix) and Adam was able to come home from work (Publix) for a break, it was nice seeing all the grandkids. Afterwards back to home2 and more work, a house can amass alot of dust in six months.

Home1 to Home2

2009-01-07T18:02:00.001-08:00

75:44 hours

4591 miles

We have arrived!

Started work this morning on remodeling Home2. Doug has been under the kitchen sink most all of today hooking up the faucet and garbage disposal. Much to do and alot of time to do it.

Chillimobile

2009-01-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Arriving 01/06/09 lots of chilli in the Chillimobile. Number One Son this should keep you in stock for a couple months anyway.

On the road again and again and again

2009-01-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

Left Verl and Lyndia's at 8am driving the final leg of the trip. Drove through LA and into MS by nightfall. Weather cooler today - in fact down right cold this morning, but has now warmed up to the mid 60's. We stopped after crossing the Mississippi River, had lunch and done some gambling at a Riverboat Casino and then back on the road. Then drove in heavy rain most of the afternoon, arriving at Biloxi, MS around 5pm and called it a day. Plan to drive into Sarasota tomorrow night if weather permitting. Now it's time to relax and have a cold beer.

Waltz Across Texas

2009-01-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Another long day of driving but not as long as we thought, looking at the map we figured 10-12 hours, but the GPS showed it to be only a little over 8 hours. The temperature was 73 degrees when we arrived at Verl & Lyndia's, but heard on the radio that a cold front was moving in. During the evening we sat on the porch drinking wine. beer and fighting off the mosquitoes, yes, mosquitoes in January. (I forgot to mention that while in Andrews I dropped the lap top on my right foot. It was not broke but is very sore, swollen, black and blue and now I'm being eaten by mosquitoes).

We have some of the best cooks in our families and everyone has taken such good care of us, I'll be sending out e-mails to get recipes. Doug and I will have to get very serious about our diets once we get to Sarasota.

Andrews, TX

2009-01-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

Friday we drove from Gilbert to Andrews, it was long and unlike the drive so far, the country side was not pretty to look at. We've seen wonders of nature on this drive, but this land was barren and the closer we got to Andrews a certain odor developed, some say its the smell of money, but believe me it smelled more like oil and sulfur mixed. We already knew about the smell, as Dick had previously warned me before we started the trip. This has been our longest day driving, over 10 hours and 700 miles. Dick and Jenni had a wonderful meal waiting for us and we had a good visit. Heard more about their time in Dubai and Dick set us up with his special alarm clock "Call to Prayer". It is a Muslin alarm clock and when the alarm goes off if sits you right up in bed. That morning they fixed us another big meal and we got on the road for Maud, TX

Gilbert, AZ

2009-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

New Years day we drove back through the Grand Canyon and continued on to Chrystal and Bobs' in Gilbert. We had a very nice visit with them, they have a beautiful home and are very gracious hosts. They took us downtown Tempe to walk about and had supper at a nuevo Mexican restaurant. That night we all recessed back to our childhood and played with the WII, what fun.

Grand Canyon Pics

2009-01-04T13:35:00.001-08:00

It has been awhile

2009-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since last post and we've come a great distance. After arriving at the village of Tusayan and checking into the hotel we found out they had no satellite reception so were unable to get on line plus our wireless card did not work.

On New Years Eve day we went to The Grand Canyon, it is beautiful, colors unbelieveable, but so much snow that walking was dangerous. We started our walk at Mather Point, had lunch, (Navajo Tacos) at the El Tovar Hotel, then finished our walk at Bright Angel Trailhead. There we saw mules bringing people up from the bottom of the canyon.

Later that afternoon we went to the IMAX theater and saw the movie "The Grand Canyon", it really doesn't show the true colors of the canyon.

Sorry to say we didn't celebrate the "New Year" that evening - as we were still full from lunch and pretty tired, so early to bed as we wanted to get an early start the next day.

More pics

2009-01-02T19:54:00.001-08:00

Searles Lake, Death Valley, Grand Canyon Pics

2009-01-02T19:34:00.001-08:00

On To The Grand Canyon

2009-01-01T18:26:00.001-08:00

What a way to wake up, beautiful suite with his and her bathrooms, after Starbucks we’re on the road again. Scenery not as nice as yesterday, but interesting. Up the mountains and down the mountains with not a tree in sight with rock formations that are unbelievable. We had no idea that CA, NV and AR had so many mountains.
As we got closer to our destination we realizes we had no telephone number or address for our Hotel, as we booked our reservations through a on-line booking agent. Also no info on the GPS, so Doug called the tour company, surprise, they have no information on the hotel. Now we’re wondering if the hotel even exists. Next problem is that we are losing our cell phone connection, but finally got through to 411 and they provide a telephone number. When Doug calls the hotel they explain that they have no physical address and the town, Tusayan, isn’t even on the map. Finally arrived, the hotel is nice, very rustic but after checking in they put us in a smaller room than we had reserved, the hotel is full, but someone else hasn’t checked in yet and "First come, first served" so they gave us their room. Hope they weren’t too disappointed.

What a drive to Las Vegas

2008-12-30T08:26:00.000-08:00

What a drive to Las Vegas

2008-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

What is nice about being retired is that you can change your mind and yesterday we did just that. What was going to be a straight 300 mile drive to Vegas turned into a twisting, turning, 450 mile drive,but glad we did it . While visiting with Ken and Jeanie, Jeanie mentioned we should drive through Death Valley so Doug took his map out and plotted a new course. What looked like a straight road, CA 155, turned out to have so many twists, turns, hairpins curves and up and down the mountain took 2 1/2 hours to go 110 miles. But what a beautiful drive.

The drive took us through some interesting places and some desolate places. Death Valley is a real wonder of Mother Nature and I wished we had longer to stay and explore.

Arriving late in Las Vegas we were surprised to find that Treasure Island had upgraded us to a suite, so SWEET!! Wish I could add that we won big, can only say truthfully that we both still have some of our money left.

Pictures

2008-12-28T19:53:00.001-08:00

Into California

2008-12-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

What a couple of days we have had. Left Suzie's around 8 a.m., got our Starbucks coffee (thanks family members who realize that is the best gift you can get us) and left Vancouver. Rainned all day, what fun passing the 18 wheelers, so bad at times you could see NOTHING. As we neared Medford, OR, we remembered we have a couple nieces that had moved there within the past couple of years, so made phone calls, got their numbers and arranged to meet them for coffee. Meriah's husband, Jay was unable to meet with us, but she brought their three children, Renetta, Jonathan, and Jacob. Julie, our eldest niece, was also able to make it and we had a nice visit. We especially were amazed by Jacob, he has just turned three and is a ball of fire, couldn't take our eyes off of him as he was either trying to crawl up the wall or undress. Keeps his Mommy on her toes.

Leaving Medford we continued on to Etna, CA where we spent the night with Ken and Jeanie (Ken is Doug's Mom's cousin). What gracious hosts they are, they gave us their bedroom!!! Arlene, Ken's sister, came over and we had a great visit and a wonderful dinner, Ken BBQ chicken and Jeanie made a salad, potatoes, peas, and brownies. Etna is in a beautiful valley off of HWY 5 and if you don't know to look for it, it is easy to miss, which I'm sure the residents don't mind.

Today, Dec. 28, has been uneventful, we got up, had coffee with Ken and Jeanie, went out for breakfast, then got on the road. Lots of snow, slush and traffic. Coming over Mt Shasta was exciting and scary. We had planned to spend the evening in Bakersfield but Jeanie told us of another way to Las Vegas that would take us through Death Valley, so change of plans. We're spending the night in Visalla, CA and will head out in the morning for Seunota Natural Park and Death Valley and then Las Vegas.

Below I will add some pictures that Bryan sent us of the day we left Renton, you can see why Doug keeps saying if someone wants to gives us something say NO, but Jeanie gave me two jars of Sweet-N-Spicy Red Pepper Jelly that I couldn't leave behind.

I want to thank everyone we've stayed with, we have so enjoyed your company and know how fortunate we are to have you as our friends and family.

Love you all

Vancouver

2008-12-26T21:03:00.001-08:00

Arrived in Vancouver around 3 p.m., Mike and Suzie have most of their family home for the holiday's. Nephew Mike had just flew in from Korea, he teaches English - his wife, Yejin (also a teacher), was unable to accompany him as she has training classes to take over winter break. Nephew Paul is home from Japan, he was teaching English, but now is a technical writer. His friend Kayo (pictured with Paul above) arrived this a.m. Only one's missing are niece Kari and her baby Madison, they'll be here tomorrow, but we'll miss seeing them as we'll be leaving early on the next leg of our trip. Next stop Ken & Jean's.

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

Woke in the morning to more snow, we all wanted a White Christmas,but enough is enough. Michelle's parents arrived around 6 a.m., from Tacoma, and soon after everyone was awake and eager to get on with the big event. Maya and Evan were very excited and Santa, as usual, was very good to them. Dinner that afternoon was excellant, Michelle lit a candle for every family member we lost this past year. Maya and Evan said a prayer from Evan's preschool and Maya sang a Bahan'i prayer. Later that afternoon we watched a couple movies; Fred Claus and Smoke Signals. Smoke Signals is a movie produced by a WSU alumni concerning the Couer d'Alene Indians (very good a must see). It was a long day and everyone was tired so early to bed as we had plans to leave early in the morning for our next stop - Mike & Suzie's.

Holiday Tradition

2008-12-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to almost 4 inches of new snow, but that did not stop the Veritys from continuing our Christmas Eve day tradition of going to downtown Seattle. Last minute shopping, riding the carousel, viewing the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton Hotel, and dining out at P.F. Changs. This year we added a new tradition of riding the Monorail to The Seattle Center and back. Returning to Bryan and Michelle's home we rested for a couple of hours, watched the Polar Express movie, and then Santa called and talked with Maya and Evan (they had been very good).We then piled into the car and set out to view the holiday lights. Once back home we visited the neighbors for holiday cheer then home and off to our beds because Santa was near.

The First Day-Renton

2008-12-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

First day started with a busy morning; finish packing, wait for the rug shampoo company to come clean the rugs, then in the car and off we go. The worry about road conditions was wasted as the roads were clear all the way to Renton, even the pass which had NO restrictions for tires. Arriving in Renton we found our granddaughter, Maya, setting up a chocolate stand where she made $7 to donate to the Childrens Hospital in Seattle. Needless to say we're very proud of her.

Bryan and Michelle had invited our other granddaughter, April, her fiance, Michael, and our great- grand daughter, Kloe, over for a dinner. We had a nice visit with them. Dinner was homemade lasagna and homemade minestrone soup, thanks Michelle and Bryan. After dinner, most of us went sledding and had a great time. We opened the gifts from April and family and they opened ours to them (just a little early Christmas).

Great start to our trip.