Cross Country Adventure 2021

 Our Dave Koz Jazz cruise is happening!  So excited.  We leave on Wednesday 5/11/22.  We fly to Amsterdam and then a 7 day cruise to the British Isles.  So stay tuned for more adventures!

We are home and this odyssey is over.  It was a challenging last few days . . .  Las Vegas to Bakersfield, CA It was beautiful drive.  We lived in the Mojave Desert a few years ago and I had forgotten how beautiful the desert can be.  We arrived in Bakersfield early than expected and decided to go to camping world and Costco.  It was an expensive decision... We stopped at camping world to find a sewer pipe cap to replaced one that had cracked.  The cap isn't technically needed but I didn't want to see the inside.  It was an inexpensive cap so $6.59 later we were out the door and on our way to Costco for supplies. I gave Roy wrong directions and we turned into a residential area.  Roy found a small cul-de-sac and managed to turn around.  What we didn't realize until we arrived at Costco we lost our backup camera on the trailer.  Turns out we crimped the cable and we lost trailer running lights and backup camera.  We could drive durin...

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted. We left Doreen’s house on October 8th for Las Vegas to visit my sister Ramona. It was a nice drive.  Lake Mead FunPop  The lake is very low. We had a great visit with Ramona, Tom, Austin and Jeremy. Jeremy and Austin cooked us a wonderful German dinner - schnitzel, homemade butter noodles and mushroom gravy. They also made German yeast  dumplings with vanilla sauce for dessert. Very fat and happy campers. Jeremy (Austin's fiancée) Austin and Ramona. Jeremy is a great guy and glad to have him in the family!   Roy with Bella, the queen of the house. Nellis AFB has a beautiful campground. It’s nice and even with cement parking pads. Very good nightly rates too. We departed Las Vegas for Bakersfield,CA. Love to all!

 We had a very nice time having an early birthday celebration for Roy’s 72nd.  Doreen and Grandma  Doreen, Pepper and Grandpa  Grandma and FunPop  Avery, FunPop, Doreen and Jimmy (Buster) Roy trying to eat cake with a Very Attentive set of dogs. We had a great evening! Love to all!

We had a wonderful visit with Roy’s cousin George and Barbara. San Diego is an amazing city. The weather was perfect.  George and Barbara took us to the port to see Aircraft carrier Midway.  Why is this statute in San Diego? Bob Hope memorial. Our travel to Arizona on October 1st was uneventful and smooth. I love the desert. Interstate Highway 8 did not disappoint. Driving through the breadbasket- Imperial Valley- was also impressive. Hope the water holds up. Roy fixing decorative trim on the trailer. We pros now. Grandma resting with the pups. Roy hanging with the pups. Love to all! G.

 It’s been a couple of day since I’ve posted. Our stay at Fort Stockton was pleasant. While we were setting up the trailer an entire flock of quail sauntered by.  I didn’t have my phone so no photos. It rained like the dickens on Monday morning. It stopped raining right before we went out to break camp.  It was so cool outside and the smell of fresh desert rain was refreshing. Wh had an uneventful drive to Las Cruces NM KOA. It’s one of our favorite camps. Nicely landscaped, spotlessly clean and very pleasant folks. It drizzled a bit Tuesday morning to when breaking camp. Just enough to stop any dust. We drive to the Tucson KOA and the drive was beautiful. The Tucson KOA is a very nice campground. We did laundry in a clean facility that had a change machine. It costs a lot to wash and dry clothes. Homeless folks don’t have a chance of keeping clean clothes. We ate dinner dinner out at the BBQ place at the KOA. It was very tasty. I’m a new fan of brisket tacos. We are on o...

We departed Copperas Cove, TX. We had a wonderful stay with Robbie and Sylvia. I need to fast for eight days to lose the weight gain. My Sylvia can cook and we ate way too much every day.  We got the crown molding installed and Robbie is caulking. There were one or two corners that needed extensive caulking but most went in well.  In addition to interior design, Sylvia is also a gardener. There are butterflies 🦋 and birds everywhere. They enjoy the yard as much as the humans. Roy and I have acquired a new skill. Identifying dead squished animals. Today I-10 west was quite busy:  A fawn 😟 Deer Skunk Porcupine  opossums Cougar  And a large bird of pray - Harris’s Hawk. I had to look up that one. Love to all! Grandma and FunPop

Robbie and I like to work on home projects together. We decided to put up crown molding in the master bathroom was the next project for us.  Their master bathroom is the size of our living room and has about 20 corners to cut. Anyone who has installed molding knows that crown molding means "coping" the corners.  Not the traditional coping with a hard day but coping an inside corner.  There was lots of coping and we found using a Dremel was the easiest option.  Very dusty and messy but lots quicker. We have one last piece to cut today (September 24th) and then it's on to painting all the molding. Wednesday we all went to Austin to the Central Market.  It's a grocery store beyond all belief.  You want a radish.  Well Central Market had about 25 varieties.  The cheese section had Sylvia in a twitter and Roy wandered the wine section for 20 minutes.  The Ooos and Awessss were a bit embarrassing but he was in heaven. The radish section! Fresh herb...

 Well, it's been a week since I updated the travel blog.  While I am trying to forget some of the gloomy details I will write them down. August 14, 2021 The drive from Augusta, GA to Helena, AL was uneventful but the roads were a bit rough.  I found the campground for the night on line.  It appeared to be a good spot.  Well . . . . the site had everything we needed - water, sewer, and electricity but that was the only good thing.   August 15, 2021 When I awoke in the morning I notice something on the floor moving.  I didn't have my glasses on.  When I put them on I screamed for Roy.  ANTS!!   When all the lights were on they were everywhere.  We got dressed in a hurry and packed up the trailer.  First stop was Target for bug killer!  It helped a bit, at least for the moment.  We learned a valuable lesson.       1.  Never believe the internet reviews on campgrounds.   ...

 We had a nice home cooked meal last night with Andrew. Yesterday afternoon was hard, Grandma’s crown came off. Called my dentist in Washington who stated I needed to get the crown back on because there was no root canal on that tooth. I found a very nice dentist that took me in this morning. Tooth and crown was not broken so he glued it back on. Panic averted. We are on our way to Helena, AL where we’ll spend the night and then onto our three day trek to Texas.  Life is good, love to all!

  Roy on the Riverwalk in downtown Augusta. The Savannah river is gorgeous. Hanging out with James Brown. Roy, Doris, and Andrew Savannah river. Roy and Andrew. My girls in Chicago wearing Giants shirts- Victoria, birthday girl Avery, and Doreen. Avery and Doreen. More to follow!!