Now I can say...........................................

Here it is the first of December, and when someone asks when we are headed south, I can say, "Next Month!" We plan to head for the Valley of the Sun on the 17th of January. After the November snow crap we had last week, January can't come soon enough for me. We upgraded our motorhome about a month ago to a new 2008 Winnebago Journey 39Z. If anybody is interested in seeing what it looks like, google the make and model. It sat for 2 years at the factory in Iowa, so it is a "new" 3 year old coach. When we head south next month, it will be our first time driving it (other than driving from the dealership in Kent to Stanwood).
We've been busy lately with home improvement things like painting, putting up new window coverings, etc. We are contemplating putting the house on the market next spring, so we're trying to get the things done that need getting done! Not sure about selling the house yet, but if we decide that's what we want to do, we will be ready. We'd like to have a little more outside space, and a little less inside space. Best case scenario would be to find a big lot (about an acre) and have a house built to our specifications. It would be nice to have covered RV parking, a nice big garden space, and a big front porch for sitting & barbecuing.
Until then, I am just patiently waiting for next month..................Ernie

The Big Apple & The Windy City

Main hall Ellis Island where immigrants were processed.

Approaching the Staute of Liberty by boat.

Times Square - thousands of people!

Metropolitan Museum - NYC

View of Manhattan skyline from pedestal of Statue of Liberty

Patrice viewing Manhattan skyline from Rockefeller Center.

There is a reason Frank Sinatra sang about New York and Chicago. These cities are positively alive with energy. I enjoyed an adventure packed 10 day trip and got to share it with my sister, Patrice, in celebration of her 50th birthday.

I left Seattle Sept. 23 for Chicago. Patrice and I flew out of O'Hare Airport Sept. 25 for LaGuardia Airport in NYC. Our previous trip to NYC had been with friends who had lived there so we were on our own this time.

Stayed a block away from Times Square at The Hilton Garden Inn. Great place to stay, accessible to everything we were interested in.

To touch on a few of our outings:

- 2 Broadway plays ("Wicked" and "Lion King")

- To the "Top of the Rock" - Rockefeller Center where we experienced fantastic views of Manhattan and also took a tour of the NBC Studios.
- An entire day spent at The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Center.

- Lunch and a walk in Central Park.

- Rode the subway!! Took no taxis!

- Went to Trump Tower where Patrice managed to get a "Trump Tower" labeled umbrella when it was a torrential downpour - a nice doorman took pity on her.

- Bought 48 hour pass to ride a double decker hop-on/off bus to tour the island of Manhattan. We had the best time with great tour guides.

- Got off bus near Little Italy and had lunch at a sidewalk cafe - reminded me of Italy last year. Then we went to Ground Zero which is very moving despite all the construction. Across the street is a church built in the 1700's where George Washington worshipped.

- Took a night bus tour of Brooklyn and the city.

- Admired all the different architectural styles from modern buildings to 18th century buildings - it was fascinating to see how they all co-exist.

Headed back to Chicago on Sept. 30. Stayed with Patrice and Paul for 3 days which gave me an opportunity to see my nephew, Anthony, in a college play. The next day we took the train to downtown Chicago where we had lunch at Navy Pier, then took an architectural tour by a boat ride on the Chicago River. The next 2 days were spent going to some local areas and visiting.

Arrived back in Seattle around 10pm Sunday Oct. 3. All the flights , security and waits at the airport went smoothly. We had perfect weather while we were there (except for the 2 rainstorms we got caught in).

So here we are in mid-October and Fall has set in - there is a chill to the air, but we have been enjoying sun and for the most part blue skies the last few days. The trees, plants and bushes that turn colors are beautiful right now and it's really stunning when we have a sunny day.

Till next time - Joyce

Home Alone

Just a short blurb to bring you up to speed about the goings on here. Joyce has been vacationing (without me!) since last Thursday. She's spending some time with her sister for a few days in Chicago, and a few days in New York City. She will have to do an update next week when she gets back.
The cat and I have been staying busy as we have had a crew here the past few days installing new windows and sliding patio doors. They will be finishing up on Monday. Our job has been to take down the window coverings, move all the "stuff" out of the way, then put everything back when the room is completed. To be honest with you, the cat hasn't been much help! He hasn't been letting me out of his sight.
Tomorrow and Sunday I will be at Keith and Sheila's to help with putting in new decking material on their front deck. I just hope that the weather holds up for the next two days. Sunday night Joyce gets home, and Monday the windows will finished, and Tuesday we will be back to normal(?), Ernie

Big Sky Country

Wayne & Tary and Joyce & Ernie in front of waterfall

This k's for you Kristin (this was in front a winery near Walla Walla)

Wayne and Ernie golf carting at White Sulphur Springs

Joyce on a 4 wheeler

Whenever we go to Montana I remember why I like it there so much. Wide open sky and spaces and very few people, plus beautiful land scapes. It took us 2 days to arrive in White Sulphur Springs (about 75 miles northeast of Helena). Our friends Tary and Wayne had invited us to park our RV next to their house and plug in to their electricity so it worked out well. They have a lovely new home a mile out of town set back from the main 2 lane road about 1/4 mile. From any window in the house was a view of expansive land and mountains - loved it!

On the first day we were there we drove to Bozeman (where I lived 30 some years ago). Sadly, it is not the charming small town I remember but an overpopulated town and an example of unchecked and uncontrolled growth at its worst. However, all 3 places I lived in are still there and basically look the same. I could see a small glimmer of what I remembered it to be, which is basically the older parts of town.

The following day we went to the Alberta Bair Museum in Martinsdale. Interesting history of a family that made their wealth in sheep ranching. On Saturday we rode ATV's thru the fields - fun! Ernie played his first round of golf on the course at White Sulphur with Wayne. Sunday we took a nice drive in the mountains and hiked up to a waterfall.

We spent many fun hours visiting, eating, and playing "Mexican Train Wreck" while we were there. It was a very relaxing vacation. Thanks Tary and Wayne!

Arrived in Stanwood last Thursday late afternoon. Unloaded the RV and headed home - pouring rain - welcome back to Seattle!

Will start packing for Chicago and New York City tomorrow. Ernie will be busy while I'm gone supervising the window installation and helping Keith with his new deck. The cat will keep him good company!

Hope to get some pictures posted along with this entry. - Joyce

September already

The view from the back of the speedboat

Paul at Yosemite
Yosemite Valley
Patrice and Paul at Lake Tahoe
Big trees

Today is Monday the 6th (Labor Day), the unofficial last day of summer. Officially there are about 2 weeks left, but the weather is saying Fall. I still have about 3 weeks left on my "Vow of Shorts" taken in Bakersfield California about the 15th of February.
Yesterday we were at Gail and Randy's for the Labor Day weekend BBQ. Must have been about 20 people there, and I had a couple of comments about the lack of blog postings. Apparently some people actually read this stuff! So, I will dilligently attempt to do a better job. If we start lagging again, blame Joyce!
We spent the last full week of August at Angels Camp California with Patrice and Paul. We had a good dose of summer there, as the temperature exceeded 100 degrees on 2 days (104 & 108), and the rest of the week was in the mid to upper 90's. But we returned to mid 60's, and that's where we're stuck. We had a great time on the trip. We put a little over 1000 miles on the rental car. We spent one day at Lake Tahoe, and one Day at Yosemite National Park, with the rest of the time poking around Calaveras County. We saw the Giant Sequoias and lots of neat little towns that sprung up just after the gold strike of 1849. We even rented a speedboat for a couple of hours one afternoon. We traveled a lot of roads that we had never been on before. The only disappointment on this trip was that the Ponderosa Ranch Tour no longer exists. We drove out there only to find that the ranch house is a private residence. I was looking forward to seeing the Hop Sing mannequin standing in the kitchen again. Everything is probably in a TV or Movie museum somewhere.
Tomorrow we are heading out on a short Motorhome trek to White Sulphur Springs Montana to visit with friends Tary and Wayne for a few days. There weather is about the same as ours, with highs in the mid 60's, and overnight lows in the low 40's. I've even got 2 pairs of jeans packed, along with several pairs of shorts. I'll definately need to bring a jacket along.
We will probably get home around the 15th-16th, which will give Joyce about a week to get ready for her trip (without me) to New York City with Patrice for an early birthday (Patrice's) girls getaway, for about 10 days. During that time I am hoping to get the new windows installed in the house and fire up the smoker a couple of times. I'm thinking it's about time to do a briskit again.
We are still looking at a 7 day Carribean cruise with Ron and Diane (Tulsa friends) on the 7th of November. It will be 2 years tomorrow that we met them on a similar cruise. I hope to get everything nailed down in the next couple of weeks.
Now that we are all caught up again, I will attempt to add a few pictures from the California trip.

2 Years Yesterday

It was exactly 2 years yesterday that we set off on our "Big Adventure". I remember our first day out we landed in Hermiston, Oregon; the temperature was 107 and we discovered that the rear air conditioner was not working! To celebrate that anniversary, yesterday the temperature here was 97 degrees and we have no air conditioning! It's cooled off a couple of degrees today and should drop to the mid 80's tomorrow, then it will be back to the 70 degree range for the rest of the week.

Saturday we are flying down to Angels Camp California for 7 days in the California gold country with Patrice and Paul. The temperatures there should be in the 90's, but there is A/C! We will be approx 50 miles from Yosemite National Park. We've only been in that vicinity once before, and that was about 15 years ago, so it should be a lot of fun.

When we return we will be heading out for a 10 day motorhome trip to visit Wayne and Tary (and Auggie) in White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

Upon our return from the Wild West, Joyce will embark on a 10 day journey to Chicago and New York City with her sister Patrice. Hairold and I will be on our own and we anticipate an increase in smoke from the BBQ over the 10 days. We will also be getting all of our windows in the house replaced during that same period.

We are still looking into taking a 7 day cruise with friends Ron and Diane in early November. We're leaning in that direction but haven't made reservations yet. November is never a good weather month here and the Caribbean sounds good to me, so I think that it will be happening. We will also have to start looking at Arizona reservations around the lst of October if we are going back down for Spring Training 2011. So as you can see, the "Travel Director" is going to be getting busy soon. And on top of that we are looking at duplicating the "Big Adventure" in the opposite direction in 2011.
Ahhhh, retirement....Ernie

234 Years

Today is the 4th of July, and summer in Seattle is just around the corner. We're still topping out in the 60's, but the forecast calls for mid 80's by the middle of the week. Some of us will transition to that easier than others. We probably won't see daytime highs in the 60's again until October.
We spent 3+ days in Las Vegas last week where it was over 100 degrees every day. At night it "cooled off" to around 80! We haven't seen 80 for a daytime high yet in Seattle. It will be interesting. I don't like anything over 80, but it will be nice to see some sunshine in the morning while having that first cup of coffee and reading the paper.
Our summer plans have taken a change of direction as the job that I was scheduled for fell through due to permit issues. It amazes me that a government agency is unable to work with other governmental agencies to secure the neccessary permits to fix a section of highway before it has to be shut down because it is no longer safe!But that's life in Washington State. Or at least on the west side. But we don't seem to have any problem funding and spending for electronic signs up and down our highways. Yesterday we were heading south on I-5 to visit Pat & Steph in Shelton, and the traffic became stop and go around Fife. Lo and behold the overhead message sign showed up to advise me that traffic was heavy and I should watch out for slow moving or stopped traffic. I'm sure glad that the sign was there. The carnage could have been terrible. I don't know how we have managed to survive up to now without signs to alert us to the obvious. It used to be that it was the drivers responsibility to monitor the traffic and watch out for brake lights. I guess now we just have to watch the signs and hope that we read them in time to avoid rear ending somebody! I can't wait for the first lawsuit when somebody sues the state because the sign didn't warn them in time that the traffic was slow or stop and go, or that they rear ended somebody because they were distracted from driving while reading the sign! Electronic message signs are my latest pet peeve. (if you hadn't noticed)
Today we will be getting together wit friends for the annual 4th of July BBQ, and to celebrate the upcoming begining of summer in Seattle. So happy 4th to all, may we have many more, and lets blow something up! Maybe one of those damn signs!!
Ernie

Patiently Waiting For Summer

This is the longest gap that we have ever had since we started this blog almost 2 years ago. My Mother passed away on the 24th of May. She was almost 95 years old, and had been in and out of the Hospital about 8 - 10 times over the last 2 years, so it wasn't a complete surprise. I only hope that I can stay in good health as long as she did.
Joyce and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary later this week with a short 4 day trip to Las Vegas. It will be near 100 degrees there, which will be a shock to our systems since it has only reached 70 2 or 3 times this spring! We have not seen 75 since we left Arizona in April. It's beginning to look like it may be "one of those summers" in Seattle. This is the only time that I can remember that it hasn't hit 80 at least once by now. And the long range forecast doesn't show anything above the low 70's. Maybe after the 4th of July our summer will start. That's been known to happen.
It looks as if I will be returning to the work force for about 10 weeks beginning in mid July. There is a small project that I have been approached about doing the inspection on. I have committed myself to do it, so unless something unexpected pops up to circumvent that plan, I will be working until the end of September. If for some reason it falls through, we will probably get in a road trip for a couple of weeks or so. Otherwise, we have a week scheduled in mid August at Angels Camp in the Sierra Nevada's in California. We are now in the "thinking stage" for a BIG road trip in 2011. It will probably be a bigger (more miles and more time) than the original "Big Adventure".
We are also in the beginning stages of figuring out where to hang our hats for the next stage of our lives. Now that we are both officially retired, except for my occasional transgressions, we are trying to figure out where we want to live. We know that we don't want to be too far away from Seattle, but would definitely like to get out of King County. We've looked a little in all directions over the last couple of years, but are now concentrating on heading north. We shall see. I'm sure that nothing will happen for at least a year. We're not in a rush, but don't want to wait too long either. So right now, we're just doing a little talking and looking. We have decided that when we do make a move, we will not go much more than an hours drive from Seattle. Almost all of our friends and family are in the Greater Seattle area, and we don't want to lose contact with anyone.
Today is Father's Day, and we are getting ready to head up to Keith and Sheila's for dinner. And now that our lives are back to normal(?), we will try to not let the blog slip again. Ernie

Hairold T.(the) M.(miracle) Cat

On Thursday the 29th, Sheila called to say that Chandler was pretty sure that he had spotted Hairold T. Cat while weed whacking around the house. So we drove up after dinner, and after about an hour of calling and whistling for him, he walks over to me. He was so light when I picked him up. that I had to check for the lack of front claws to make sure it was really him. After making his break on the 29th of March, he resurfaced on the 29th of April! He appears to be doing all right other than losing 1/3 of his body weight. That would be like me losing about 70 pounds in a month!! So, if you really want to lose some serious weight, just live out in the wild for a month or so and just eat what you can find. Guaranteed to lose weight in a hurry.
We had pretty much given up on him. I figured there was about a 10% chance that he would have been able to survive this long. He has no front claws, so that seriously cuts down on his hunting ability. And to take into consideration that he is 16 years old, who would believe that he could survive a month in the wild. But he did. He must have some damn good genes. He will be staying in the house for a few days to get some meat back on his bones before going out to take on the neighborhood dogs. He's probably not out of the woods yet, but so far so good.
Ernie

Home

Altering our plans, we decided to drive the 500 miles from Boise to Seattle and arrived Sunday evening. Managed to unload at least half of the RV when we got home. Yesterday we drove the RV to Stanwood and parked it back at its' home at Sheila and Keith's place.

People are asking us where we are going next...at this point it's Colorado for one week in August to meet up with my sister and her husband.

During the 2 1/2 months we were gone we also enjoyed visiting with a lot of different people we know which was a highlight of the trip for me. In all, I counted 20 people we know that we were able to get together with at some point on this trip - friends and/or relatives from Calif, Montana, Phoenix, Seattle, Tulsa, Salt Lake City, Boise, and Texas.

We had a good time and saw a lot of interesting sights; of course, it's always good to be home, especially since it's Spring in Seattle. - Joyce

Idaho

Left Monument Valley Friday morning and stayed in Provo, Utah. We had a nice dinner and visit with Jandora and Tom - they had invited us to their home nearby. We left Provo Saturday morning and arrived near Boise, Idaho last night. I had contacted my cousin Linda who lives in Boise the day before so we had dinner with Linda and her husband Bill last night. It's Sunday morning 9:45 a.m. and we are just leaving the RV park we stayed in so it's 'on the road again' for us. We plan to overnight in Ellensburg, Washington and arrive in Seattle Monday afternoon. -Joyce

Monument Valley Arizona/Utah

We arrived at the Rv Park at Monument Valley Wednesday afternoon about 4:30. We drove the last 50 miles or so in a dust storm that at times cut visibility to about 100 yards. The wind gusts were hitting us from the side at about 40 to 50 m.p.h. Needless to say we were pretty well worn out when we got here. About 6:00 the winds began to settle down, and we were able to start to see the fantastic scenery. We are surrounded by huge red rock formations in the RV Park. Today (Thursday) we took a 14 mile drive out thru the rock formations. The sun was shining and the air was clear. It is hard to believe that places like this exist. The scenery is nothing short of spectacular. We took so many pictures that we ran out of memory. We had to download them to the computer to go back out to get a few more at sunset. This place ranks up there with Bryce, Zion, Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone Parks. We're glad we decided to take this side trip!
Tomorrow we will be heading out in the morning for Provo Utah. We should get in in the late afternoon. We will be getting together with Tom and Jandora for dinner. Joyce and Jandora are old high school friends. We haven't seen them since passing thru Salt Lake City on our original "Big Adventure" in 2008. Saturday we should be closing in on Boise Idaho. then on to the Hermiston Oregon vicinity on Sunday. We probably will be rolling into Seattle during Monday's rush hour. Then it will be back to normal (?) at least for a while.
Ernie Having trouble adding pictures. Will try again tomorrow. Still having problems! Got a few pictures up, but can't add captions. They speak for themselves.

On the Road

Before we left Lubbock, Texas we visited the Buddy Holly Museum which is housed in a refurbished 1890's train depot located in an industrial area. I was only 8 years old when Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, but Ernie remembers its well since he was an 'old' 13. I found it interesting as to how the museum put his music in to perspective regarding most of the bands that formed in the 60's.

We drove out of Texas in to New Mexico and are staying near Albuquerque tonite. We took a wrong turn along the way and couldn't turn around(small 2 lane country roads don't accomodate RV's that need to do that!) but we ended up where we wanted to be anyway and saved about 50 miles, so I suppose it was a good thing. We were in the flatlands of Texas and eastern New Mexico for a lot of miles but we are climbing in to high country again as we are at about 6600' here. - Joyce

Turning in a Northwesterly Direction

At The Texas Museun of History in Austin

At The LBJ Library in Austin

San Antonio River Walk

1700's era Mission in San Antonio

Hay Sculpture In San Antonio

Sunday Evening, and Back to Work for Kristin

Went to Marble Falls, Texas to pick up Kristin for the weekend on Thursday evening. Had bbq ribs and brisket at Coopers, one of many Texas bbq's, and definitely very good. That same day we had toured the LBJ Western White House near Johnson City. went to Austin the next day to the Texas Museum of History (very well done) and the LBJ Presidential Library on the campus of the University of Texas. Friday we went to a flea market and to a winery. Sunday we headed for San Antonio where we went to the Alamo, the River Walk where we had lunch and to a Mission that was built in the 1700's. Before we dropped Kristin off back at camp we had a late dinner in Marble Falls. The three of us had a fun visit and we saw a part of the country that was unexpectedly beautiful and very interesting. I was very happy that we took the opportunity to spend some time with Kristin.

This morning we left Johnson City and are staying in Lubbock, Texas overnight. We plan to stop at the Buddy Holly Museum tomorrow morning before heading out of town.

Hope to get some pictures posted tomorrow night. - Joyce

Howdy from Johnson City Texas

I will be your driver today

This looks very familiar

Too bad there was'nt some red in here also

A lot of Bull

Prickly Pear Cactus among the Blue Bonnets

More Color

This guy showed up in the road (2 lane 60 m.p.h.!)

We pulled into the Roadrunner RV Park in Johnson City Texas about 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. After getting set up, we went to the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce for information about the area. It's a pretty area in what is called the Texas Hill Country. It's cattle ranching for the most part. This weekend is the Wildflower festival, so things will be hopping. I think it is their big event of the year. We went to the LBJ National Park here, and took a tour of his boyhood home. It was very interesting, but we had the house tour to ourselves. After that we had a late lunch / early dinner at a cafe that advertised "Authentic Hill Country Cuisine". Seems like Chicken Fried Steak is the local specialty! Later we took a drive out in the hills on about a 40 mile loop to view the flowers. Unfortunately it was an overcast and sometimes rainy day. The flowers were quite spectacular, but if it had been sunny pictures would have been a lot better.
Tomorrow we are going to spend the day between the German themed town of Fredericksburg, and a Tour of the LBJ Ranch, also known as the Western White House. I wonder if they have any Beagles there?? In the evening we will head up to Marble Falls to pick Kristin up for the weekend. We will be going to a BBQ joint called Cooper's. It was recomended to Kristin, so we will see. The rest of the weekend will be consumed by Austin, San Antonio, and whatever else we decide.
See Ya Pardner, Ernie

Head em up and Move em Out

The real Batman

The Big Bad Kitty (for all you WSU folks)

The Big Bad Wolf

A tourist at the Sonoran Desert Museum

Saguaro facts

Wildflowers and blooming cactus

A tourist at Canyon Lake at Tortilla Flats

48 hours from now we will be on the road heading for New Mexico. Yesterday we took our last road trip from here (for this year), and went back down to Tucson to visit the Sonoran Desert Museum. Turns out that we had been there before when we stayed in Tucson for a week about 5 years ago. There were a lot more animals out this time then when we were here the last time which was sometime in January of 2004 or 2005. The temperatures yesterday were in the mid to upper 80's. The weather forecast has it getting to 90 by this coming Thursday. By then we will be in Texas. I haven't looked at the forecast there, but doubt if it will be quite that warm. 90 is outside of my comfort zone.

We will be heading out Monday morning and will be getting into the Austin area on Wednesdayafternoon. From there we will be spending some time in Austin, San Antonio, Johnson City, etc.

Kristin will be staying with us for 3 nights, and has a couple of Barbecue joints she wants us to check out. Texas is big on Beef Barbecue which is good, but I prefer Pork. The Salt Lick Barbecue is one that is on the list to visit. Thei9r menu has beef as well as pork, and chicken when in season.(???) I'm hoping to find a new sauce or two to bring back. You never know. Last year in Apache Junction is where I found Bone Suckin Sauce.

We will probably start winding our way N.W. on Monday the 19th unless there is more that we have to see around Austin. We haven't figured out the specific route yet, but I would like to go through Lubbock to see the Buddy Holly Memorial. He was right behind Elvis in my book, and as with Jfk and Elvis, I remember exactly where I was when I heard of the plane crash that took his life. We should be home around the 26th or 27th unless we get sidetracked, or if the weather is too cold at home for shorts!!

Wish us luck, Ernie

Our Last Week in Arizona

We arrived here 8 weeks ago today and plan to head out this Monday, April 12. We went to our last two spring training baseball games last week. The RV park we are in was totally full when we arrived here; now it's half empty with people heading for points north.

Friends Joe and Lindy, who live in the Phoenix area, were here yesterday for a brisket dinner cooked up by Chef Ernie. They brought Blue Moon beer and a bottle of red wine plus a salad. Add that to the brisket, beans that were simmered on the BBQ, and rolls - it was a yummy meal. We enjoyed a good visit, good food and good drinks.

Ernie had to restock his supply of "Bone Suckin' BBQ Sauce" today so we went to the specialty store in the little town where he found it last year. Then we decided to take a drive up a winding 2 lane road that we had gone up before which is set among enormous rock formations. There were wildflowers in yellow, orange and lilac colors set against the spring green of the grass and trees.

Tomorrow or Friday we plan to drive down to Tucson to go the the Sonoran Desert Museum which has plants and animals of the area and it's all outside. It's been recommended by several people we know.

The weather has been just perfect the last few weeks. Blue skies and sunshine - it does lift your spirits to wake up to sun and know it will actually last all day. - Joyce

Easter in Sedona

What can you say?

I haven't said "wow" this much since 1969

Tourists

Joyce and the giant chicken

4' long bunches of red chili peppers

Colorful Pottery

Yesterday (Easter) we decided to make the trip back up to Sedona for lunch and some poking around. It was about a 3 hour trip to the restaurant where we ate with Ron and Diane. We were impressed the first time there, so decided to go back. It was a little more crowded than last time, but we got right in just before 1:00. The food was good and the service was excellent! After lunch we drove around and checked out several of the shops. The weather was very nice, around 70 degrees and clear skys. We drove down a couple of back roads and took a lot of pictures. It's hard not to get carried away with the camera there. We got back to the RV park a little after 6. The Amazing Race comes on at 7:00 here, and we made it back with time to spare. It was about 320 miles round trip. Kind of like our Sunday drives to Ellensburg for ice cream.
We will be heading out from here on Monday the 12th. We will be heading east about 1,000 miles to hang out with Kristin for a few days in the Austin, Texas vicinity. She has the following Friday, Saturday, & Sunday off. It even sounds like she will be staying IN the motorhome for the 3 nights!! She's even become fond of Barbecue!!! What is the world comming to??? We will probably start winding our way northwest on Monday the 19th. We don't have a plan for that leg yet, and we may do some visiting on the way home. It looks like we could be home around the 26th. We're hoping that the weather will be in "springtime mode" when we get home. I'm holding true to my word not to go back to long pants before October. As long as it's in the 60 range I'll be good!
Enjoy the pictures, and for any of you who have never been to Sedona, they don't do it justice!
Stay warm, Ernie

P.S. We are having company tomorrow, and I,ve got a 10# Briskit going in the smoker tonight for a 16 hou cook.

The end of a busy week

2 Dodger fans and 1 Mariner fan at the game

Ron and Diane in their matching Dodger's shirts

2 room house built into the rock at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Along the trail in the Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Reminder sign to stay on the trail!

We all survived a very busy week, and now it seems kind of unusually quiet. We dropped Ron and Diane off at the airport this morning, and as I write this they should be at the Tulsa airport waiting for their luggage. Just as I wrote that the phone rang. It was Ron, and he said they were at baggage claim waiting for their luggage!! We must have put about a thousand miles on the cars over the past week. We went to Tucson, Sedona, Tonto National Monument, and 4 Baseball games! It was a full week and then some. We've got them thinking about an Alaska cruise with a little extra time to hang out in Seattle. Ron said he wants to catch a flying salmon at the Pike Place Market.
Back on the home front, Hairold T. Cat made his break from Keith and Sheila's. He was lurking by the door, and when it opened he headed out and hasn't been seen since. He has now been AWOL for a week, and it's not looking too good for his chances of returning. On the bright side he's 16 years old and had a pretty good life. All cats should be so lucky.
We are seriously looking into making a side trip to see Kristin in Marble Falls, Texas. It will add about a week to our adventure, and cover an additional 2200 miles. If we do that, we will get home about the 26th or 27th of April. Otherwise we should be home about the 21st.
This next week we will try to get tickets for a couple more Baseball games. Most of the games we have seen this spring were sold out or close to it. Not sure what that's all about, but the Dodger's Mariner's game that we saw yesterday (Saturday) set the attendance all time record for a Cactus League Spring Training game. Things are begining to wind down, and the temperature's begining to crank up. It's supposed to be in the upper 80's by mid week.
I'll be adding some pictures shortly. Ernie