Sunday - November 16, 2008

Just to let you know, the train traffic wasn’t bad last night, I heard a couple of trains during the night but they didn’t keep me awake.

This morning we awoke to bright sunshine and clear blue skies – gotta love it!! It was 10C (50F) when we pulled out of the park this morning just before 9:30 so we knew it was going to be a great day. Not only was it a great day weather wise but a WOW day for scenery.

Yesterday we could see the Rockies off in the distance but there was quite a haze so they weren’t very clear, this morning they were clear and majestic looking as we headed into Denver – wow!

The Rockies


The drive through Denver was good with very little traffic, just the way we like it! Once clear of Denver we really got into the mountains and what an absolutely gorgeous drive, with stunning scenery. Unfortunately, there are no scenic overlooks or places to pull off and enjoy the scenery so most of my pictures are taken through the truck window – not the best way to take pictures!

Nice Houses West of Denver


We passed quite a number of ski hills with lots of people skiing and went through a number of tunnels with the longest being at least 2 km (unfortunately we didn’t check the mileage but it was a long one). The highest point we reached was an elevation of 11,902’ and the temperature there was about 3C (36F) – too cold!!! At times there was water on the road from melting snow and we saw a lot reservoirs with a skim of ice on the top, but no snow on the roads. Coming out of Denver there are a number of chain lanes – lanes where you can pull over and put chains on your tires – we sure were glad that today was a good day and we didn’t need to worry about that (especially seeing that we don’t have chains - lol!!!).

The drive through the Rockies was one huge tourist area with lots of gorgeous ski chalets, motels, hotels, restaurants, white water rafting companies, ski hills etc. It is still early in the season so it didn’t appear to be too busy but I imagine winter time would be a real zoo. Interestingly, Vail is at a lower elevation and there was no snow there at all so it was fairly quiet going through there.

Some of the Scenery












On the west side we picked up the Colorado River and it ran beside the interstate for a long ways, surprisingly it isn’t very wide but we did see lots of little rapids.

We are stopped tonight at Grand Junction, which is home to many vineyards and wineries, and to end the day there was a beautiful sunset – what an absolutely wonderful day we have had.



And so ends a great gift of a day, please do come back tomorrow to see what kind of a day we had.

Saturday - November 15, 2008

As Ellie says, with this lifestyle plans are made in jello and easily changed, so, with that in mind, we decided to head straight west to Utah. After checking weather forecasts and campground facilities we figured it would be a good trip across to Utah and Arches National Park through Denver.

Our first thought on leaving this morning was to make it a fairly short day and spend the night in Ogallala, NE (ever read the book or watched the TV series Lonesome Dove?), but when checking my Interstate Exits book realized there was nothing in Ogallala so decided to head to Hudson, CO which is about 30 miles east of Denver. This would then be an easy shot into and through Denver tomorrow and a big city is usually a lot nicer to go through on a Sunday than a Monday, so here we are in Hudson.

The weather today was gorgeous, clear blue sky all day with a high temperature of about 52F (11C). The traffic was very light so all in all it was a good day.

The terrain was mostly flat through Nebraska and a bit more rolling in Colorado but mainly all farming country. We saw a lot of hunters out today and at one point there were a lot of them along a lake, we wondered if they were duck hunting, but, if so, the ducks were on the next lake. We wondered if there was a law against shooting a sitting duck, therefore, they were waiting at the next lake for them to fly over – lol! Once in Colorado we passed quite a few feed lots, could smell them before we could see them! There was also one long ridge off in the distance to the north and it had windmills all along the top. There weren’t any photo opportunities today, hence no photos.

For most of the day we could see trains off to the north and they looked like the usual long trains we have previously seen in the west, but we were never close to any of them. Lo and behold though, as we arrived at Hudson there were the train tracks right beside the interstate, and oh yes, right beside the RV park. Did I mention that this park was once a KOA, therefore, it has all the KOA amenities - interstate and train tracks!!! So far in about 3 hours there have only been two trains by, sure hope the train traffic doesn't pick up overnight!

And so ends another great gift of a day, please come back again to see what our trip through Denver and across the mountains was like. Hopefully we will get some nice pictures on the drive tomorrow!

Friday - November 14, 2008

It rained off and on all night but when we woke up this morning the sun was shining – yeah!! On the way out of town John decided to stop at Wal Mart again and buy some new windshield wipers (he refuses to buy them at home as they are about 3 times the price and crappy!!). With the new wipers installed we were on our way and after about 15 minutes it had clouded over and within half an hour it was raining – have I mentioned that I am getting tired of all this rain? At least we had the new wipers!!!

The drive was good today traffic wise, but I-80 was the pits a lot of the way – very bouncy and lots or road noise. There were a lot of new wind farms going up south of Des Moines, but they are still installing them so very few were actually running. The rain lasted until about 1:00 p.m. then it quit and the sun came in and out for the rest of the day.

Todays Countryside




We changed our plans for today last night and decided to drive on into Nebraska then cut down south from there so tonight we are in Henderson, Nebraska. The park was a KOA but is now privately owned and the price was right for the night plus we have good wi-fi. It is quite cold out so John will be taking the hose off tonight so it doesn’t freeze. There is quite a good wind, we are being rocked by it while we are sitting here, but hopefully it will have calmed down by morning.

And so ends another great gift of a day and please come back again to see what other change in routes we have made tonight!

Thursday - November 13, 2008

The rain did stop overnight and it was overcast when we left Auburn and about 48F (9C) – at least it wasn’t really cold. We weren’t long on the road before the sun came out and we hit a high temperature of 55F (12C) so we were not complaining.

We cut across Indiana on 30 then decided to pick up 65 for a short hop up to 80 around Chicago, last year we took 30 all the way across to 80 an it was painfully slow so thought we would try the interstate this year. What a zoo it was around Chicago, we have never seen so many trucks at one time on the highway and boy they sure don’t drive slow. Fortunately, we lost most of them after about 15 miles but it wasn’t a relaxing, enjoyable 15 miles to say the least!! Sure wish there was a better way to get to Iowa!!

Indiana Farm Land


The weather was nice all the way to Iowa, then the rain started, not what we really wanted. We are now at Colony Country Campground in North Liberty, Iowa and the park has a good wi-fi system which is a real treat after the 4 weeks in Waterloo.

Crossing the Mississippi River


We stopped at Wal Mart and picked up a few groceries and because it was raining we decided to buy a cooked chicken for dinner – it was yummy and there is enough for a second meal so for $6.99 we aren’t complaining.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we are now one day closer to Arizona!

Wednesday - November 12, 2008

“On the Road Again” finally, it seems like a very long time since we have been on the road and we are looking forward to new adventures.

Yesterday we left Waterloo and headed for Can-Am RV in London to have them look at our door which had started to crack around one of the hinges (NOT GOOD!!). To make a long story short they put our trailer in the shop and started to reinforce the door – at 5:30 they came out to say it was about 80% done and they would finish in the morning – okay, this is not what we were expecting but the repair has to be done. Fortunately it is no problem to spend a night there in a RV so they put our trailer out in front for us to stay in with promises they would be there at 8:30 a.m. to put it back in the shop to finish the job. We decided a final dinner at Swiss Chalet before crossing the border would be in order so off we went for dinner, then had a quiet evening at home.

When we arrived at Can-Am we were informed that our friends Marion & George had been there and had waited for a while in hopes of seeing us but had left about 5 minutes before we arrived. They were heading for Frankenmuth for a couple of days on their way to Texas – darn, we were really sorry we missed them.

This morning, good to their word, at 8:30 they hauled our trailer back into the shop to finish work on the door – sure looks good again. By the time they finished and we were ready to head out It was 12:00 – a lot later than we had anticipated. Anyways, we headed out with a bit of sun and a temp of 8C (46F) with destination unknown. Crossing the border was a slow, painful process but we finally got across and ended up getting to a park just south of Auburn IN which we know is open year round (it used to be a KOA but they saw the light and it is now something else!!). The weather was good most of the way but about the time we crossed into Indiana the rain started, oh well, it could have rained all day

As we pulled into the park about 6 p.m. we could see an Airstream, what, could it be Marion & George? Sure enough it was, they decided to leave Frankenmuth in early afternoon and had arrived about 45 minutes before us – I think they were quite surprised when I knocked on their door. I enjoyed a glass of wine and visit with them while John got us set up then he came over and we had a good chin wag before heading home to make some dinner. We were really glad that we ended up connecting with them for a quick visit and will keep in touch over the winter.

It is now bed time and we are being lulled by the rain on the roof - sure do hope it quits before we head out tomorrow as we don’t mind the rain during the night but would prefer a dry day to drive. Oh well, I guess we get what we get!! Hopefully tomorrow will present some photo opportunities, there sure weren’t any today.

And so ends another great gift of a day – stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures.

Sunday - October 19, 2008

It has been a while since I've blogged but we have had a busy time with lots going on. My brother and Ian arrived from Australia, via 4 days in Los Angeles, and we had a great visit and a very busy week. We picked them up on Sept. 30th at Pearson Airport in Toronto and went to Kitchener where my sister-in-law Carol had prepared a wonderful turkey dinner for us, my sister Pat and niece Serita, as well as our son and daughter-in-law were also there for dinner so we had a great family reunion.

On Wednesday we brought them up to Kincardine and of course the weather was cool and wet, much to their disgust as they feel the cold - oh well, can't change the weather! On the way up we stopped at a farm market outside of Kitchener and Ian was amazed by all the pumpkins, he also wanted to buy apple jelly as when he was a kid he read books that talked about peanut butter and apple jelly sandwiches so he wanted a jar to take home and try a sandwich (he says they are soooooo gooooood!).

On Thursday we took them up to Lions Head in the Bruce Peninsula as my brother had never been there and we think the Peninsula is a beautiful place. The weather was wet and cold but fortunately by the time we got to Lions Head the sun came out and it was beautiful. From there we went back to Bryan & Carol's cottage at Sauble Beach and Carol had cooked another wonderful dinner for us.

Lions Head Bluff



On the Friday Carol & Bryan met us in Kincardine and we all headed to Sarnia for the interment of mom and dad's ashes. It was a beautiful day and we left early enough that we could give Art and Ian a bit of a tour around Sarnia before we had to be at the cemetery. Everyone enjoyed the tour and Bryan and Carol learned a lot about our family's life in Sarnia (there is 18 years between Art and Bryan and Bryan was quite young when my parents moved from Sarnia to Welland). On the Saturday we had a memorial service for Mom in Brantford and then my sister had all the family back to her house, including cousins who were at the service. We had a wonderful family get together and it is always fun to see cousins we haven't seen in a long time.

On Sunday Pat, Serita and Bryan went to Niagara Falls with us as that was the one place Ian wanted to go. Our first destination was Niagara on the Lake but it was a total zoo so we just did a drive through. We stopped at all the major attractions between Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls then when we got to the falls Bryan, Art, Ian and John went on the Maid of the Mist as none of them had done it before. I didn't want to do it as I was afraid of slipping and doing something to my hip so Pat and Serita stayed with me just enjoying the falls as they have been on the Maid of the Mist many times. The guys really enjoyed it and probably got lots of good pictures.

Looking Back Towards Niagara on the Lake



Looking Across the Niagara River



Floral Clock



Whirlpool & Cable Car



Maid of the Mist



Falls and a Beautiful Rainbow



American Falls



After the falls we stopped at the Botanical Gardens but didn't have a lot of time there as they were just getting ready to close but as usual we did enjoy the gardens and beautiful flowers. Here are a couple of pictures I took in there:







On the Monday we did nothing but enjoyed the lovely weather then Tuesday it was time to take them to the airport for their longggggg flight home. We had a great visit and it is always so hard to say goodbye as we don't know when we will see them again.

Now it is time to start getting ready to close up the cottage and move back into the Airstream, so that was our chore for the next week. On Thanksgiving weekend our daughter Kel, her husband Tim and granddaughter Cara came on Saturday for the weekend but they had their tent trailer so weren't staying with us. Kel helped me move all the canned goods etc. up to the trailer as I am not able yet to lift heavy stuff or bend over to get into bottom cupboards so I sure appreciated her help as it was one less thing for John to have to do.

On Saturday night I cooked dinner and friends of ours, Mike & Margie, were also at the park for the weekend so we invited them for dinner so there were 7 of us. On Sunday Kel and Tim cooked dinner and invited Mike & Margie for dinner again and John's brother and sister-in-law stopped by about 5 so we asked them to stay for dinner so there was 9 of us Sunday night, thank goodness for the "cottage". It was a fun weekend and we really enjoyed it.

On Monday John moved the Airstream onto a site in the park and we moved in so we could turn off the furnace in the cottage and get it cooled down and ready for winterizing. We did one last load of laundry in our washing machine in the cottage and got it hung out and dried - now I am back to laundromats - sure will miss my washer and clothes line!!

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Green Acres, Kincardine and moved to Green Acres in Waterloo where we will stay until Nov. 12th at which time we are planning on heading south. We have come to Waterloo for the last couple of years so I could spend some time with my mom before heading south, so it is sad not to be able to go and visit her now but there is lots to do here so we won't be bored. Guess next year we will have to rethink our fall plans.

I will try to do one more post between now and heading south, just hope the weather doesn't get too cold between now and then.

Thursday - September 25, 2008

It has been ages since I've done a post but most of the time there is nothing exciting to write about, every day is just a normal day in a normal life. The last little while has been a bit different but I just haven't had time to do a post but here goes.

In August we went to my brother's cottage near Sauble Beach and had a delicious dinner on the deck overlooking Lake Huron and were very fortunate to have a beautiful sunset to enjoy. Here are a couple of pictures of the sunset over Lake Huron









On August 26th I had surgery to replace my right hip and it went very well, I was supposed to be in the hospital 5 days but because I was doing so well they sent me home a day early - I sure didn't argue with that as hospital is the last place I want to be!! And, oh how wonderful it is to be without pain!!! I had an epidural for the surgery then they just put you out enough that you don't really know what is happening - I remember hearing the surgeon hammering in the spike but didn't care, but what a wonderful way to have it done, there is no having to recover from the anaesthetic and I feel my recovery has been much easier this time than 4 years ago when I had the left hip replaced.

My mother lived in a retirement home in Kitchener, so I decided that I would go there to start my rehab until I got my staples out , we figured it would be easier to me to get around there at first, plus I wouldn't have to do a 2 hour drive home and then back to get my staples out and I would be able to spend time with my mom. It worked out very well, I was there 11 days and was able to spend lots of time with mom in her environment, it was heart warming to see how much the staff loved her and they were always so good and kind to her. They kept telling me what a sweetheart she was (she really was) and one day on the way out of the dining room I said to that the staff all thought she was so sweet - she stopped walking, looked at me and said "you mean they don't know what an old bitch I am", I laughed and said no mom, you have them completely fooled.

I got my staples out on September 11th and we came back to Kincardine, then on the 15th John had to go to Kitchener for a doctor's appointment so I decided to go with him and see my mom - again we had a good visit and played double solitaire which she really enjoyed - we actually won our last game. On Wednesday, the 17th we got a phone call in the morning that she was not well and we should go down, John and I managed to get there and be with her for about 1-1/2 hours before she passed away surrounded by her family, fortunately my brother & sister-in-law were with her all day and my sister and niece had arrived an hour or so before we did. We will miss her terribly, but she was ready to go (91 years old) and went very peacefully - what more could we ask for her. One day when I was there, during lunch she had said to one of the women at our table that she prayed every night that she would not wake up in the morning, then when she did wake up she said she figured God didn't want her last night but maybe tonight - how can we be sad when it is what she wanted.

Now we are in the process of cleaning out her room etc. My older brother lives in Australia and he is coming home next Tuesday for a week to attend the interment service (both mom & dad were cremated), so we are having them interred together in Sarnia next Friday, then a memorial service for Mom will be held next Saturday at my sister's church in Brantford.

So, although most of the summer has been very quiet the last few weeks have been a bit busier. I am doing well, 4 weeks after surgery I am walking without a cane except when I go out and yesterday I drove the truck for the first time. The physiotherapist was here on Monday and thought I was doing exceptionally well so I was glad to hear that - have to be ready to head south in mid November!! And I am looking forward to being able to play golf this winter.

The next couple of weeks will be busy and then it will be time to close up our park model and move to Waterloo for a month before heading south. I will try to get a couple of posts in during the next couple of weeks, but for sure will start on a regular basis when we head south.

Sunday - August 3, 2008

Here it is with another couple of weeks gone by since I last posted my blog, where on earth does the time go!!

Last Saturday our daughter Nancy and her husband Carl came and stayed overnight and we had a great visit with them. Late Sunday afternoon after they left John and I went to Kitchener to our sons for dinner and to stay overnight as I had an early appointment on Monday morning with the surgeon re my hip - the good news is that I am having my right hip replaced on August 26th so the good lord be willing I will be good to head south in mid November.

I had my left hip replaced four years ago so know what to look forward to and it is amazing how fast you recover, I just hope that this surgery is as successful as the last one was. Between now and then there will be lots of running back and forth between doctors, pre op etc. so it will be a busy few weeks. I will be in hospital for 5 days then I am going to the nursing home where my mom is for between 10 days and two weeks. They have rooms set aside for people recovering from surgery so it will work out good for me for the short term so that by the time I get back here I should be reasonably mobile.

For many years John and I helped out our Airstream dealer at the big RV Shows in Toronto and London, we would talk to people about RVing and Airstreams and always enjoyed doing the shows. On Thursday friends of ours who we met through Can-Am, as George also helped out at the shows, arrived at the park and are here to partake in the Old Boys Reunion being held in Kincardine this weekend so when John saw them in the afternoon he invited them down for a drink. When they were ready to leave they said they were going into town to the Erie Belle for dinner and invited us to join them so we had a really good visit with them.

The couple we bought the "cottage" from are here for two weeks holidays so on Friday we did our annual trip to Tobermory and Lions Head with them. When we first met we found out that we all had spent summers in Lions Head, John and I had our trailer there in a little park out on Isthmus Bay for 20 years and Mike and Marg had rented a cottage there for many years so the four of us now do an annual day trip up there - always lots of fun.

Little Tub Harbour - Tobermory



John & Mike By the Docks



Looking Across Little Tub Harbour



A Different Use for Tums



Mike & Marg at Isthmus Bay in Front of Our Old Trailer Park



John and I at Isthmus Bay



A View of Isthmus Bay Looking Towards Whipporwill (This is a view we enjoyed for 20 Years But There Was No Long Grass Then!!)



Lions Head Lighthouse




Lions Head



John's Father's cousin owned this cottage and John, our girls and I stayed there 42 years ago



Lions Head Marina with Beach Park Campground in Background



Yesterday I did a load of laundry and that was about it as my hip was wiped after all the walking on Friday!

This week is a busy one, on Tuesday we are planning on going to the Keady Market, Wednesday we are going to my brother's cottage at Sauble Beach, Thursday we are going to Kitchener to visit my mom and bottle wine and then Friday we are having company for the weekend. Will have to try to find a bit of time each day for a nap!!

Till next time!

Thursday - July 17, 2008

Today is our grandson Brent's birthday, happy birthday Brent!

John has got the railing on the deck done and it looks really good, it's funny everyone says the deck looks a lot larger now (I thought it looked lots big before the railing went on!) and everyone compliments John on a job well done, which I agree with.

The deck with John's railing:





On Tuesday we took a drive down to Goderich (about 50 km south of here) as I thought there was a Home Depot there, wrong! Oh well, it was a nice day for a drive and we stopped at the Goderich Home Hardware, which is a huge store with a furniture section, Food Basics and Wal Mart so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Yesterday the park had people in spraying for gypsy moth caterpillars as some parts of the park have really been infested with them, fortunately they didn't make it down to our part but they sprayed anyways to be on the safe side. About the time they were ready to start on our section we headed out and went to Carmel's, in a little burg north of here called Tiverton, for breakfast which was very good. After eating we browsed through an antique shop then decided to drive on up to Port Elgin which is about 35 km north of Kincardine. There is a place there that does truck upgrades that John wanted to check out but the fellow who owns it is on holidays so no luck there.

This is the first time I have been up there this year and I couldn't believe the number of windmills that have been erected around the area of the Bruce Nuclear Plant, there are also a couple of large windmill farms south of us, wind power has really come to this area of Lake Huron! The windmills we saw today are not running yet, there appears to be a lot more to be installed before they start them up. These are windmills beside the hydro transmission lines:



We also passed this field of canola and the colour is so pretty!






We drove around town, checked out the municipal park - not our idea of a place to stay as it is very crowded and the sites are VERY close together, then down by the marina and beach. There is a little train that runs by the marina and through a park by the water and for the first time we saw the train go by yesterday, we weren't even sure if it still ran but now we know it does.

Port Elgin Marina (you can see the sailboat heading out!)



And another area of the marina



The train with lots of passengers



And the beach was very busy



We drove by this home and I just loved the walkway up to the house!



We saw this Argosy motorhome in the park in Port Elgin, I think this is the first time we have seen one.



And this is way too crowded for me!



Today is another gorgeous day, we have been having beautiful weather for the last couple of weeks (finally!!!) so I hopefully will be off to the pool again today to enjoy adult swim. Tomorrow I have an appointment for acupuncture at 4:30 so will miss my swim as adult time is 3:30 - 4:30 and Saturday we are having company for the day so best enjoy it today while I can.