Down in the Southwest corner of the USA

Yes, that is where you will find us in Yuma, Arizona; over 300 days of sunshine each year; warm and arid…not too shabby for spending the winter!! Mid seventies most days, so life is pretty good.

We spent almost two pleasant weeks in Benson, AZ at the SKP Saguaro Park. A lovely park terraced upon the hills, with an amazing view of the Dragoon Mountains. Keith and Donna arrived a day or two after us and we spent lots of time enjoying the surrounding areas. We also got to spend a little time with Ken and Cindy and Doug and JoAnn, and Glenn and Sylvia which was a nice treat. We all drove down to the old mining town of Bisbee, which has become a delightful and modern little eclectic town in it’s own right. Breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club was great fun then we did some touring and shopping.

(Photo by Joann! We loved our bags!)

Tombstone is another fun, old west mining town of Doc Holliday fame. It is very much a step back in time to the old west and we visited Tombstone several times with different folks.

We left Benson around the middle of January, headed to Quartzsite, AZ to camp in the desert with a lot of other RVing buddies. Donna and I claimed the wheels, driving thru Tucson towards Q, so those rigs were driven by estrogen most of the way. We arrived in Quartzsite to meet Denny and Susie (and a bunch of other folks) at the Escapees Happy Hour site, where we played in the desert for many days, sharing campfires, stories and great meals everyday.

The desert and mountains surrounding it, provides such a wonderful respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Despite the dust that does wear on you after a week or two, it is one of the loveliest of natures icons, and we love spending time, off the grid there in the Arizona desert.

And it is a lot of FUN! Since I am remiss in keeping up with my diary (blog), please visit Dennis and Carol to see a few of the shenanigans from our weeks in Q. (or blogs from some of the folks above!) Just remember, what happens in the desert, stays in the desert!!

Hugs and love from sunny Yuma!!

A Texas holiday behind us

Tommie Sue planned a wonderful Christmas week in Texas with fine seats in the magnificent Majestic Theatre to see the original Tuna Christmas. We laughed until we thought our sides would burst! It was a picture perfect day, sunny and seventy or so and we had a Mexican brunch then walked the Mercado….

…and strolled along the River Walk as twilight fell….

to view the lovely yuletime lights. Indeed, we had to stop for dessert at one of the cafes along the walk….

…more yummy treats!

Then we strolled to the see the Alamo in Christmas dress…

…and the Cinderella-esque carriages frequenting the square.

TS hosted a nice traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas day…it was a wonderful day, but I did miss the kids. Tiff requested her reservations for next year already and we made a date!! I’m pretty sure it won’t be in Texas…but Rio would be nice too! :)

Later in the week, we trekked to Llano, Texas to Coopers BarBQue, with Ken and Jan Tilton and Jo and Pete Peters and few other Spring Branch folks.

Now, THIS is a barbque place! Bob had one of those two pound pork chops…it was fabulous!! They smoke EVERYTHING…brisket, sirloin, pork, chicken, sausage and even goat!! After stuffing ourselves with smoked meat, we had to stop at the Bluebonnet Café in Marble Falls for Pie Happy Hour. I’ve heard about this place for several years and it was everything we'd hoped it would be…every kind of pie you can imagine…I had german chocolate and banana crème (1/2 of each!)…delicious!! A few more fun memories were made!!

And we had a lovely lunch with Paul & Mary and Sandy & John in Boerne before we left Spring Branch.

It was fun sharing laughs and conversation and we’ll see them before long down the road a ways, I’m sure.

So, the holiday season is over and the new year is here…West to Benson, Arizona is where we’ll be for a little while!!

Hugs to everyone!

Feliz Navidad….

After almost three weeks in Red Bay, Alabama, we pulled out of the Allegro Campground and headed South last Friday evening.  Needless to say, it was a happy day!!  

The weather was a dramatic improvement….seventies over fifties and lots of sunshine….glorious!!

  We spent a great weekend with Keith and Donna, eating really good Mexican food and playing Hand n Foot….Donna and I finally got the groove back…we won four out of five games (we had to let the guys win one!)  Since there has been a major women’s losing streak for about the last six months, we were really happy gals to score a win. 

We hated to leave them, but needed to get on to Spring Branch and Tommie Sue and Harrell’s,  so Monday we drove deeper  into Texas….everything in Texas is a six hour drive….unless it’s more!  It takes at least a day and a half to get  into or out of Texas…unless you’re going to El Paso and then it takes THREE days!  So six hours later we arrived at TS and Harrell’s lovely place in the Hill Country.   This is one of our favorite areas and the drive over 306 is so pretty.   The peeks at Canyon Lake from Devil’s Backbone are so beautiful…maybe one day we will capture it in a photo, but not yet!

We put our little LED lights on the tiny tree that sits on the credenza…

…put on the Christmas music, lit the Christmas candles and then put on our SHORTS to enjoy the eighty degree weather!

The sunshine and warmth feel so good after the cold days in Red Bay!  

It was great to see TS and Harrell and we have been busy making Escapade plans and visiting.

On a sad note, Cathie called yesterday with the very sad news that Joe had suffered an aneurysm and the prognosis was not good.  What a great loss of a truly wonderful man, as he succumbed early in the afternoon.   As the co-founder of the Escapees RV Club, he showed us all how to be better people and to share joy in life with all around you.  He will be missed by so many people.   Keep them all in your prayers, please.

I find myself missing the kids very much, but not the cold and snow back home. How’d you like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?     I would love it…and it’s still one of my favorite Christmas songs!

We wish wonderful Christmas blessings to everyone as we remember the reason for the season.   Hugs and love you all!

Red Bay, AL

Eight degrees yesterday morning in Red Bay....too cold for anywhere, is what I think about that!

We have been at Coldwater Inn in Tuscumbia, AL for the last ten days, and with the frigid weather that has been a good thing! It snowed almost all day Sunday, but no accumulation, thank heavens!! What is up with the weather??? Cold everywhere except where we are supposed to be!!

Dennis Hill http://rvdrivingschool.blogspot.com/ arrived Sunday to enjoy the cold weather. It sure was good to see a familiar face! We've had custody of the now almost famous "Little Green Man" since we left Abbeville....

....so we decided to return the little guy to his rightful owner! He has recovered nicely from his recent 'turtle napping' and hanging at the rally in Goshen. He really needs a jacket though...it's awfully cold outside!!

As an update, they should finish with the MH in the cabinet shop today! Yay....in the last ten days, they have replaced much of the tile floors and done a tremendous amount of cabinet and wall work; all of the technicians have done a nice job and we are pretty pleased. Today they should move it to the paint bay and bring the cleaners in, to get all the sawdust and grit cleaned out.

So, if the creek don't rise, we hope to be driving out of here on Friday....oh, happy day!!! :)

I am one of those that LOVE travel days...it is always exciting when Bob fires up the engine and I climb in my seat and buckle up...I can't wait to see what's coming up around the next turn, especially if it's new territory for us. Not to mention finding warmer weather and good friends ahead...leave the light on for us...the countdown is on!

Where in the world….

…have we been? Well, it’s something like this…from the Escapade in Goshen back to Virginia…. then on to the Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY with Paul and Katie. En route we experienced our first-ever break down in a motorhome…

and the great big tow truck delivered us to Lee-Hy Truck Stop in Lexington, VA where they installed an emergency belt on the engine and we were on our way the next day, none the worse for the wear.

It was a lovely time to drive through the mountains to Kentucky; the leaves were turning and the nights were brisk. We toured the Bourbon Trail stopping at the Wild Turkey plant…

Paul inspects some bourbon barrels in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Only spirits processed in Bourbon County can be labeled as bourbon…otherwise it’s just a whiskey!

We spent a good deal of time with Tiff and Scott up in Catonsville and then flew to San Juan, where the Celebrity Summit took us all on a cruise.

Scott and Tiff…

Trunk Bay, St. John…one of the loveliest beaches

Dinner on the ship was fun and delicious…

A view of the ship in St. Lucia Castries harbor…

Leaving Warsaw, we headed South to Abbeville, LA where some of us got caught in Betty’s web for the Thanksgiving week…

Recognize any of these guys???

How about now???

Keith, Bob, Dennis, Denny, Bob and Chuck-Bob hammed it up a little…Boss Hawg and Don were MIA in this photo! The time spent at Betty’s went by all too fast…it was wonderful spending time and just having fun there in Cajun country. The girls got beat consistently by the guys in Hand and Foot (‘nuff said!) and then it was time for us to head to….Red Bay, Alabama where we will be for a little while (that’s Alabama time, you know!) and then we will head West to the Texas Hill Country to see our good buddies Tommie Sue and Harrell.

The days fly by so quickly, it seems…thanks to all of you who emailed or called to check and see where in the world we’ve been; it’s always wonderful to hear from you! Big hugs to everyone!