On The Road Again (almost)

10 days from now we will be somewhere in Oregon with a little bit of luck. Hairold T. Cat will be vacationing at Keith and Sheila's in our absence. Hopefully he has better sense than last year! We've been working on getting ready to go. We have some of our stuff in the motorhome, and I've been going over the operator manual so we don't have any surprises (I hope). We should be pulling in to Apache Junction the evening of the 20th. I am hoping to make it to the Barrett Jackson car auction in Scottsdale on Saturday the 22nd. I've watched it on TV, but seeing it live will be exciting for me.
The day before we leave is Grandaughter Monica's 16th birthday. So we will be there for the day, then bring the Motorhome back down here Sunday evening for a quick escape on Monday morning.
When we return around the 20th of April, we will have about a week to get squared away before Ron & Diane (Oklahoma friends) get here to spend a few days before cruising to Alaska. We're all looking forward to the visit, and I'm sure that they're looking forward to the cruise. Then in May, the big event for the year takes place on the 22nd, when Josh (son) and Brynn (future daughter in law) get married! And on the 28th of May, our nephew Anthony is graduating from college in Chicago, which we are planning to attend. Somewhere in all of that I need to be able to work on my new pastime of golf. Then to top it all off, in the late summer or early fall we will either be embarking on a"around the country" motorhome trip, or a trip to Europe (not by motorhome). So there you have it. We've got plenty to think about. Ernie

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