Catching UP

Wednesday, November 16th.  It has been a while since I have made a post.  Quite a bit has happened, but not so much from a trip standpoint.  I'll give a brief summary to catch you up.  On Friday the 4th of November we made it to Fort Stockton, TX.  Out in the middle of NOWHERE!!  There was a very nice, albeit dirt/rock campground where we spent the night.  Only grass was a 20' x 20' fenced area for dog exercise.  Buster was not impressed.  That night a big windstorm began and blew all the next day as well.  It was something, rocking the motorhome and all.  We got out of there early  the next morning (the 5th) for our long drive to Las Cruces, NM (finally out of Texas).  We got to El Paso, which is right on the border with New Mexico.  WE stopped at a rest area just into New Mexico and had lunch.  As we started out again, we noticed a hesitation in the engine like it wasn't getting full power.  We slowly (40 mph) made it to a truck weigh station just a mile down the road.  There as luck would have it a Cummins mobile technician was parked (our engine is a Cummins).  He was able to plug his computer in the back of the engine and run a diagnostic.  It turns out we had a turbo problem.  We slowly drove 16 miles down the road to Las Cruces, where we were going to stop anyway.  We found our campground and then found the Cummins repair facility.  It was closed, but we knew we had to take our motorhome there on Monday.

Long story short, between diagnostic, coordination with insurance and repair completion, we didn't get out of Las Cruces until Friday the 11th.  That day we drove to Tucson and found our campsite at the Catalina State Park.  This is a beautiful campground at the foot of the Catalina Mountains.  Very striking topography and vegetation.  We visited friends on Saturday, ending with dinner at Jim and Pam Pomeroy's.  They are Leavenworth friends who also have a home in Tucson.  It is beautiful and fun to be able to picture where they live now.

On Sunday the 13th we drove to Fountain Hills, AZ, where we will be camped until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when we'll head for Washington.  It was great to see my sister Joye, her husband Doug, their daughters Julie and Kelley, and their beautiful children Logan and Jake (Julies) and Nolan (Kelley's).  It was the first time we had seen Nolan.  He's a big boy now over a year old and is walking up a storm.  We're very happy for Kelley and Patrick.   Joye hosted a big spaghetti feed on Sunday night. Although Buster was pretty overwhelmed with all the kids running around, he was good and enjoyed being in a real house rather then the motorhome or a motel room.

Monday the 14th we got together with Kathy Savage for brunch and to wish her well as she leaves for Vegas the next day.  That evening we went to Skip and Sharons for dinner and laughs.  We sure did miss them and it was great to be back together again.

Tuesday the 15th we went shopping for a car top carrier so we can get the stuff we need home when we leave the motorhome in Arizona.  It's rather daunting to think of all the stuff we need to take.  But we'll get er done.  We picked Joye up from work and had a great Italian dinner.  A great ending to a beautiful day.

Today (Wednesday the 16th) was a laid back day.  We did laundry and caught up on paperwork.  The weather is beautiful (sunny and low 70's) and we're meeting some nice folks in he campground.  And we're only about 2 miles away from my sister's home.

Seguin, Texas

View across the river from campground

Guadalupe River

Thursday, November 3rd.  It's 880 miles across Texas.  And most of it is pretty boring.  We got up early to get a good start on the trek.  It was a very windy drive as a cold front was moving across the state.  At times the motorhome acted as a big sail, catching the wind and trying to send us to the next lane.  It definitely was not a leisurely drive.  We made it to Seguin, which is about 30 miles east of San Antonio.  We got there about 3:30...enough time to get set up and walk around the campground a bit.  As the cold front has passed, the temp is quite a bit cooler.  We're looking forward to getting to Arizona to warm up.

Henderson, Louisiana

field on fire

Wednesday, November 2nd.  We had a long drive today.  It totalled about 350 miles and for us that's a long day.  We got up and got going by 8:30 in the morning.  We're on I-10 all the way to Arizona.  So today we went thru Alabama, Mississippi and into Louisiana (pronounced "Lou zi ann a", according to Jan, who is an authority on southern speech).

sugar cane

pool area at campground

We got to the campground here in Henderson and were greeted by sugar cane fields being burned so a new crop can be planted.  It's thick smoke, but fortunately the wind is carrying the smoke away from us.  The campground is very nice and would be a fun family place in the summer.  But we're only here for the night and then it's off to Texas tomorrow.  We'll be in Tucson on Sunday and then up to Fountain Hills on Tuesday.

Destin Explored

Life's a beach

looks like snow

What a beach

Tuesday, November 1st.  We awoke to another sunny day...although it was quite cool at 7:00 in the morning.  Buster and I took a long walk around the campground and to the beach, but not on the beach.  Later we took a drive into Destin proper and along the beach to see the town.  What a beach.  We got back to the campground early afternoon and once again left Buster in the motorhome and went to enjoy the beach.  We walked a long way and then sat and just enjoyed the site of the turquoise water lapping on to the white sand beach.  So beautiful.  We hated to leave.  But alas, we must.

Off to Destin

Monday, October 31st.  With road construction in front of the park, we would have had to make a hairy left turn to get on the road.  Instead we drove 2 miles to the right to the Costco to hook up there.  We timed our arrival at Costco so the store was just opening and I could run in to get a jar of Jelly Bellies.  Now we're well prepared for the rest of our travels.  We drove for about 3 hours (including a gas stop) to Destin. I'm so glad that Marty recommended this destination to us.  I have never seen such beaches before.  We got settled into our campsite.  The state park is very nice.  Each of the campsites is secluded so you can't even see the neighbors.  Paved streets, level gravel sites and lots of squirrels.  Buster was on guard the whole time we were there.  I was almost afraid he was getting obsessed about squirrels.  Oh well, he had a good time...especially since they wouldn't allow dogs on the beach.

Di and I went to the beach, leaving Buster behind to guard the motorhome.  The sand is pure white and very 'sugary' in appearance.  Probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  The water is 72 degrees. The only thing that kept us from swimming was a large number of stinging jellyfish, which were washing up on the beach.  But it was still great walking.

Marty's Multi-Modal Day

good to the last drop

waffle w/ chocolate syrup

Sunday, October 30th.  We started the day in a very special way.  Marty prepared breakfast of waffles and dope.  For those not familiar, dope is not an illegal substance.  It is a wonderful chocolate syrup, home made, that has come down to us through the Brastrom family.  Our mom made it for us all while we were growing up.  Marty has the recipe and it is the best thing to ever go on a waffle.  Sooo good!!!

Buster wanted to go too

We then went to Costco to replenish the liquor supply for the motor home.  We then went to the airport to see Marty's airplane.  It just had a new interior done and it looked very nice.  The engine was out of the plane as it was being rebuilt.  But it's a beautiful plane and I'm looking forward to a ride when we come back to Tallahassee.  We went back to Marty's and prepared to take a 'bike' ride.  Oh yeah, Marty has a beautiful Harley Davidson motorcycle.  We got dressed to go and took off for an exciting fifteen minute ride.  I had never been on a motorcycle before (except for a Honda 90 back in the late 60's).  It was exhilerating!!!  The wind in my face awesome noise the bike made were like nothing I've ever experienced before.  It was very fun!!

We then went to a great seafood restaurant where we started with plate of fresh-caught oysters and then moved on to a great Grouper dinner.  What a wonderful end to a great weekend.  It was great to see Marty and a true pleasure to meet Jan.  She's a true southern belle and taught us it's possible to swear without using swear words.  She's precious (and I mean that in a good way) and a great partner for Marty.

Tallahassee Tour I

Marty and Jan...aren't they precious

Marty's house

living room into dining room

Saturday, October 29th.  Game day.  There were FSU flags waving all over town.  Most of the other campers in the campground were fans in town to go to the game.  The campground hosted a breakfast that morning and it was nice to meet many of the other campers.  We then went to Marty's house to begin our day of sightseeing.  Marty and Jan drove us around the downtown and then through the FSU campus.  A very pretty campus.  We saw Jan's Sorority house and the house where the 4 girls lived who were killed by Ted Bundy.

We then drove down to St. Mark's Island, which is a wildlife sanctuary and the site of a lighthouse.  Besides lots of birds (and alligators) this was a stopping point for Monarch Butterflies.  There were literally thousands of them.  The sand on the beach was that very fine (like sugar) white white sand.  Marty said we would see more of that when we get to Destin.

We then went back to Marty's for a great steak fry.  Marty introduced me to his 'secret sauce' to marinate the steaks.  It was delicious.  We also had some of the best asparagus I've ever had.  Then Marty and Jan's friends, Mark and Candy came over for dessert.  Very nice folks.  Mark introduced Marty to Harley driving and has been a good friend since Marty moved to Tallahassee.  Candy made us a delicious batch of Chocolate Chip cookies and they will be accompanying us on our trip to Arizona.  It was a great day.