May 8, 2011 Happy Mother’s Day from Ozona, TX.

Just a short note for tonight. We are using a slow connection and I didn’t take any photos today. I didn't seem to have a lot of energy. I didn’t sleep well last night—a common occurrence in later life, smile, and we put in another long day. We covered 372 miles which takes a long time at 56 mph.

We are at the Circle Bar RV Park just outside of Ozona, TX. The temperatures were in the 90s for most of today’s ride. We aren’t complaining because we had a nice pushing tail wind that pumped our miles per gallon mileage from 12 to 14 mpg on two fill ups. I like to see those numbers!

Tomorrow starts our mini-vacation in Fredericksburg, TX. We have reservations at the KOA for Monday and Tuesday. I will post photos of town and a bit of the town’s history on Tuesday. In the meantime, if you are interested, here is the link to the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce .

Good night and Happy travels.

May 7, 2011 Another day on vacation…

We had a long day. Left Gila Bend at 7 a.m. and arrived in Anthony, TX (El Paso) at 4:30 p.m. We are home—in Texas. We just have a mere 900 miles down the driveway to our house.

We are spending the night at the American RV Park located just behind the Camping World store and RV sales. It is located at Exit 2, so you can tell how far we made it into Texas, smile!

We stopped for a quick break at Texas Canyon, one of my favorite spots on the trip. The rock formations are beyond description—and beyond my photography. One gets better photos traveling west along I-10. I couldn’t shoot photos of the precariously balanced rocks perched just west of the rest stops.The best displays were on Larry’s side of the truck. Here are two from the east bound rest stop.

It was our rest stop day. We also stopped for a short break just west of Las Cruces and I was able to get a shot of a desert friend:

Every time we go by the rest stop headed west, this roadrunner is waving to us. I wanted his photo!

Larry asked me if I went up close to get a photo. “No,” I said, “I love the mystique of seeing him at a distance and imagining he is real. I don’t want to know that he is constructed of a big collection of trash.” So, next time you are heading west on I-10, as you climb the hill out of Los Cruses and the Mesilla Valley, look to the left and wave at the road runner. He is waving at you too!

We are just ahead of a storm cell moving east. We have been trying to stay ahead of it’s strong winds. We took some hefty lane-shifting gusts just before Deming, NM. Tomorrow’s stop will depend on the wind. If it is gusty, we will stop early in Ft. Stockton. We are adding a short stop at Fredericksburg, TX, on our way home. I have wanted to look in the inviting shops and wander its streets for 15 years. This is the year! I am doing it to honor all those friends we have lost recently.

Remember: This is not a dress rehearsal—this is your life. So, on that note, go do something you have been putting off. This is your opportunity too.

May 6, 2011 – Day Two of Vacation—on to Gila Bend, AZ

I said Day Two—but I was also thinking Day One of the trip from Quartzsite, AZ back to Texas—it feels like a shorter distance to travel, smile.  Only 1,400 miles instead of 2,000 miles.

We left Barstow Flying J early this morning after a comfortable night dry camping in the parking lot.  We use the Fantastic Endless Breeze, a 12-volt fan, when we dry camp in warm, NOT HOT, weather.  It adds just enough breeze on us in bed to allow us to get a pretty good night’s sleep.

Once again I was dismayed to see the air quality about 50 miles east of Barstow.  The beautiful distant mountains were invisible—I just saw a a bluish-gray haze.   The air finally cleared up as we got closer to Quartzsite.

We picked up fuel at the Zip station at the intersection of I-10 and Vicksburg Road.  We were thrilled to see diesel for $3.91!  In January, we considered that price a disaster to our budget—now we are thrilled to see it.  How soon we forget—which is, of course, what Big Oil is counting on. 

We are at another favorite hidey-hole on our TX to CA trips, Holt’s Shell RV park.  During the winter months, he gives Escapees and Passport America members a 50% discount.  Today the fee was $23.64--$19.99 fee and $2.65 tax.  However, today I paid it with a smile. 

This is my list of leading indicators that just might say:

You are going the wrong way!!!!

#1.  Empty campground.  Those are worker’s rigs at the end.  We are the only visitor.  Why, you ask??

#2.  The bottom number is outside—the top number is inside.  And that is at 5 p.m.  It was over 100 degrees when we arrived—not a good sign.

#3.  When the knob on the air conditioner needs High Cool to make life bearable—you are in the wrong spot of the country!!

So tomorrow, in spite of knowing better, we continue on through Tucson, AZ and hopefully make Deming, NM or El Paso, TX by tomorrow night.  We are just ahead of a wind storm and hope to stay head of it!

Think of our poor truck laboring in the heat while we ride inside comfortable with the truck air conditioning on—heading in the wrong direction.

May 5, 2011 – Day One of Summer Vacation—Going to TX.

We are on vacation! If Larry can continue his good monthly lab test results, we don’t have to come back to see his nephrologist until November! He has stepped back another half-step from the edge of the abyss called dialysis. We will still be doing monthly lab tests and if the numbers go down, we will pack up immediately and head back to California. We are lucky that our HMO has email service to the physicians and even phone doctor visits for advice and non-urgent issues.

We are off to Texas for the summer. YES, we are out of our minds! We are going back to our cottage in the woods for a few months to work on the house, work in the house, do some healthy cooking and hopefully throw a lot of beautiful pottery bowls.

We drove from Bethel Island to Barstow today. Fuel is running $4.39-$4.45. The drive down I-5 was a disappointment. We feel so great, everything should be green fields, green hills and lots of wildflowers. Instead, everything was grayish and drab. If the poor visibility and smoggish skies are the result of the first hot weather in the Central Valley, they will need smog-cutters on the front of the vehicles by August!

I took this photo coming up the Tehachapi grade this afternoon—and you can see the smog has even crept up 2000 ft—notice the bluish hills.

We are camped back at our favorite dry-camp spot in Barstow. We got nice news this evening; I went out to take a photo and noticed the sign in front of the camper: Coming Soon—Denny’s!

Maybe Pilot isn’t going to sell/rent or lease this location as I was told in February. I sure hope so as it is easy to get in for RV fuel with two RV lanes and it just fits as a dry-camp spot on our trips. We may not have gotten our happy green-looking day, but we might get to keep one of our favorite camp spots. We would have gone in to eat at Denny’s just like we used to have the salad buffet when it was Country Market. Life is good—if one discounts the 94 degree weather when we arrived at 4:30. It is starting to cool off—our last reasonable weather until we get closer to Texas. Pray for us!

We considered going I-40 to Albuquerque, NM, and then south to El Paso, TX, but the highway hits 5-7,000 ft. in altitude, which is cooler and prettier, but Larry seems to have an issue with one ear failing to clear, and therefore causing him several days of pain. We don’t need pain! So, going to stay on I-10 and bite the heat bullet! This is our last dry-camp night—I NEED the air conditioning!

Last weekend, we drove to Benicia, CA to visit long-time friends and ex-neighbors, Jan Chappell and her sons. We took a short trip through Benicia and I had to take a photo of this house down on 9th street.

Isn’t it a hoot? That is a double-decker gazebo that looks out on the Carquinez bridge and the Sacramento River flowing to San Francisco. I just loved the idea that someone has so much fun in their life—to build something that tickles their fancy. Great job!.

Until tomorrow, the vacationers, Larry & Carol!

April 27, 2011 Enjoying Sugar Barge Resort

We expected to move back to the Contra Costa Fairground on April 25. Just before it was time to check out, we learned we could extend additional days here at the same rate. So we quickly paid for 11 more days to take us through Larry’s doctor appointment on May 4th.

I thought I would share some of the reasons we enjoy visiting Sugar Barge Resort.

Welcome to Sugar Barge Resort. You drive in and stop at the office down this road.

This is the office, laundry room and club meeting room. The pool is just to the right of the office building.

Sugar Barge Resort lies just below a levee in the Delta. The levee is holding back water, lots of water. Bethel Island is surrounded by Delta sloughs fed mainly by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Someone once wrote there are 10,000 miles of water ways in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area. It is easy to get lost out there if you don’t carry water-way map.

On top of the levee, boaters and campers shop in the convenience store and eat on the top deck of the outdoor restaurant located next to the boat launching ramp. The upper level cafe is perfect for getting a bird’s eye view of Frank’s Tract--a breath-taking water view.

I climb up on to the levee on my evening walk—to add a bit of hard work to my exercise—huff, huff! Some days the climb is easy---and some days it is a LOT of work. But the view from the levee makes the hugging and puffing worth it.

We have enjoyed our visit, even with lots of rain, wind, sunshine, wind, wind and more wind. The friendly and helpful staff members make this place extra special. It feels like home away from home when we need to stay close to Antioch for a month or two. Thank you Sugar Barge Resort!

Last weekend we celebrated Easter with my dad, sister, Diane, and her husband, Roger. Easter just isn’t Easter without happy-looking dyed eggs. I have too many years of egg-dying experience to quit now—so I did the Easter eggs. Notice the cute colored cups—they sure made the job easier. Pour out and toss—no washing up needed!

The Easter bunny even left a basket for Larry this year. He looks so cute carrying his Easter basket. Yes, I said “his” basket. He didn’t want to share his delicious Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs with me.

(But he did—even if it was under duress, smile. Thanks Sweetie!)

Larry skipping down the Bunny Trail with my dad (Bill) and Roger cheering him on.

We cooked a ham and baked potatoes for dinner and I made our now-famous Argo-cornstarch lemon meringue pie. It tasted even better than it looked.

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We have been in the Antioch/Bethel Island area for almost 7 weeks. We plan on heading back to Texas next Thursday, May 5th, after Larry’s appointment with his kidney doctor. After sitting here for so long--with so little to do, we are going to be very busy for the last week.

We are helping with my dad’s yard sale on Friday, going to visit long-time Benicia, CA, friends Saturday, and on Sunday, we are looking forward to company joining us at Sugar Barge Resort for a few days—Don & Sharon Del Rosario. They are passing through on their way to meet up with Dennis and Carol Hill for a trip to Alaska this summer. They will have lots of great things to write about—so be sure to check out Sharon’s blog this summer: Gypsy and the Mariner's RV Adventures.

Stay tuned for the shock of going back on the road. You can follow our travels back to Livingston, TX, as we deal with high-priced diesel and a dramatic weather change. We will be driving from cool, spring weather smack dab into heavy, hot summer weather. How will I survive? I don’t do HOT weather!

April 10, 2011 Sugar Barge Resort, Bethel Island, CA

After two weeks at the Contra Costa County Fairground, we moved  to Sugar Barge Resort--during a “knock you to the ground” rain and windstorm.  We picked a site with a gravel pad to avoid sinking slowly through their lawn into the underlying mud and just backed in and plugged in electricity to hunker down until the storm passed.

Here is our view out the door the next morning:

We decided to stay in this spot, # 113, next to the entrance gate because we can use the cell phones here—a miracle since they don’t work in other sites—and we receive regular digital stations on the TV—three different PBS stations, so I am a happy camper!  One even has CREATE TV—which is filled with the PBS craft, cooking, travel and wood shop programs we enjoy watching. Life is GOOD!

The weather hasn’t been good.  We have had a few days of beautiful spring weather up to the low 80s, but then winter returned in full force—rain with winds shaking us for hours.  Snow levels are the highest in over 40 years up in the Sierra Nevada mountains—with Interstate 80 closed days on end due to snow. Hurry up Spring, we are anxious to have you back!

I enjoyed a bit of drama the first few days.  The gate and old guard shack are visible through the side camper window.  I was looking out and noticed a pretty Siamese cat strut out the gate and peer down the road for a few minutes.  He looked and looked.  And then….

he took off down the above road like he was on his way to work—tail high in the air and headed straight down the road. The nest few mornings, he and another cat peered down the road and then trotted down the road.  I wondered what they saw and where they were going with such determined strides.

And then one morning, the fog descended all the way to the ground.  The Siamese and the black cat came out of the gate and stood about where the tree is in front of the photo—and looked down the road—and couldn’t see beyond the guard shack because the fog obscured everything.

They looked at each other—then down the road and kind of shook their heads and looked at each other as if to say:  Where did IT go???  What ever IT was—it couldn’t be seen that morning.  They waited and looked a few more minutes and kind of shrugged their shoulders and reversed direction and came back inside the park gate and wandered back to their homes.  It was a hoot to watch.  I know, I am easily amused with cheap entertainment!

Yesterday, Brentwood’s Farmer’s Market opened for the season.  It was an opportunity to get in a bit of walking as well as add some fresh veggies to our diet.

 

To Larry’s dismay, the tomatoes won’t be ripe until we leave the area, but we did buy some Brussels' sprouts and cauliflower from this booth.

With time to pass, we have been doing some cooking.  Arlene taught me how to bake a lemon meringue pie at Q. She uses the Argo cornstarch recipe with five eggs; I found it on the internet.  Oh, Oh, Oh!  It was sooo good, I am baking another one for Easter dinner!

The one thing we learned is that you need a mixer to make lemon meringue pies.  Luckily I was able to borrow my sister’s because you need a mixer to get the rich meringue topping with the toasty peaks!

We are staying here at Sugar Barge until the day after Easter when we return to the Fairground for our last few days in the Antioch area.  We would love to stay at Sugar Barge until May 5th, but the exorbitant diesel and gas prices are impacting our campground choices and we have to cut where we can.  

Gas prices topped $4 this past week and the diesel prices are quickly closing in on $4.50.  We will cut where we can in order to fund our travels.  Like the rest of the country, we will tighten our belts as well as count our blessings.  If we concentrate on the things we can still do, (instead of the “cant's”) we will feel rich and powerful.

So, take a moment to remember all the things you can still do—even when funds are short.  And then make your plans to fulfill your dreams!

March 18, 2011 – Back in Antioch, CA

I am not sure what happened.  Last time I looked, we were headed back to Quartzsite, AZ---and now we are back in California???  Where did that month go? 

I can’t even claim the weather in Quartzsite was so wonderful that we were too busy to write.  The weather was nice; much nicer than other parts of the country, but quite windy.  NOW that we are gone,  it is in the 90s—but was in the 60s and 70s when we left.

During the missing month, I remember visiting two great one-day craft shows  at the Q. Senior Center and at the Q.I.A. Center.  These shows are more fun than the flea markets; the vendors sell stuff they created.

It is amazing to see all the beautiful work that can be done while living in an RV.  Where do the crafters store the supplies and their equipment?  Darn, I haven’t found a way to carry my pottery supplies with us.  Think maybe I need to learn a more mobile skill? 

In the photo above, notice the camper just to the left of the crafter’s shoulder.  It is a Big Foot Camper like ours, and they camp at La Posa North too.  We were pleasantly surprised to see so many different truck campers this year, some days as many as 6 or 8.  Maybe we are on the leading edge of a new trend, smile.  Larry fell in love with this little beauty:

It is a Host with TWO slide outs.  Just imagine all the room inside—and outside storage. However, it is WAY too heavy to ride on a one-ton truck.  Upgrading our truck to a Ford 450 or 550 is the sticking point for us.  After wiping the drool from Larry’s chin, we drove back to our one-ton baby and patted her on the hood and thanked her for her great service.

Remember I mentioned the range of RVs represented in Quartzsite?  This unique hand-made RV falls in there somewhere.

The sign says Florence, Angels Camp, CA. While it wouldn’t appeal to most Rvers, I love the whimsy.  Isn’t it great that someone’s  artistic need was so compelling they were willing to spend the money and time needed to build it.  I give them a thumb's up for creativity!

And then, we headed back to California on March 8.

Here is just one of the “welcome to California signs:

  

Yikes, $4.13 cents for diesel.  Talk about sticker shock!  From $3 a gallon in January, up $1.13 in just 60 days.  As we filled, I patted our Chevy on the hood again and thanked her for giving us a steady 12 mpg.

Driving down the steep Tehachapi grade into Bakersfield, we saw GREEN.  After months of brown, our eyes feasted on the beautiful green velvet covering the hills.  It was like coming home after a long trip.

Beautiful to behold.

And then, the real measure of spring:

Miles and miles of trees wearing their white, pink and purple blossoms.  The dreary, gray days of winter are behind us.

NOT!  We had a few sunny days, and then Mr. Winter returned full of anger.  He’s spittered and sputtered for 8 days now and show no sign of leaving.  We have to stick around the area until Larry sees his kidney doctor on May 4th.  I had plans for wandering around California, but the “welcome to expensive California” sign put the kibosh on those plans.

We have a month’s reservation at Sugar Barge Resort starting this week.  I had picked that beautiful resort because I wanted to resume the walking program Arlene and I started at Q. I may need a bigger umbrella and goulashes if I want to walk in this weather.  Maybe I am going to have to come up with a small-space craft after all.  Any suggestions?

Happy Spring to you.  May you have enough rain or snow to keep  summer droughts away, but not so much to keep you from planting your Spring garden.