What a week!

The Los Vientos Wind Farm seemed to go on forever.

It's Monday the 28th and we finally got to the wind farm.  We could see it from our RV park and from just about everywhere else.  Pat has been trying to find a way to actually get there and today we made it.  Los Vientos Wind Farm, by Duke Energy Renewables, is HUGE.  We've seen some pretty big wind farms but I think this is the largest. In 2013 it said it was the second largest wind farm in the U. S. and built in 5 phases. I don't know if that's true today. In 2019 they claimed to be able to power 60,000 homes. 

Christmas in our RV park

He did it!

It was in the 80's on the 23rd, winds up to 30 mph, and we needed air conditioning!  It changed Christmas Eve and it was 34° Christmas morning!   By noon it was up near 70°.

Merry Christmas! 🎄

I didn't bring many decorations.  This nativity set was given to me by my Mom on the first Christmas after we were married.

Our lights are up, stockings are hung, my favorite cookies (Spritz) are made,  "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is in the DVD ready for viewing Christmas eve, and a Zoom session is set up with our kids and their families for Christmas afternoon.  It's been an unusual year for sure.  We are so thankful for family, friends, and each other!  We hope that all of you are hanging in there and looking towards better days, because we believe they will be coming!

I'm ready to roll!

Strong, cold Winds made for lots of waves on South Padre Island..

We've spent the week in search of bikes.  It took us west to McAllen and Pharr (twice), and southeast to Brownsville.  From Brownsville we went on to check out South Padre Island.  

A pictorial tour of Tropic Winds

After you drive through the gate on the south end of Tropic Winds you will find the main office building.

Below is a mini tour of Tropic Winds RV Resort.  Notice the blowing palm trees.  The wind is always strong here.

Cruiser, hybrid, or somewhere in-between?

I'm so excited!!  Giving up our bikes was hard, but with a car that didn't have a hitch made for it, there was little else to do.  We sold the bike rack and one bike, and gave the other  bike to our grandaughter last Feb.  

What a thrill to see SpaceX SN8 after it launched!

SpaceX test launch on Weds. from our RV park! The actual rocket is at the tip of the arrow.

Tues. was a welcome relief from the north winds of the cold snap!  In fact it was a rare day period, we were told, with winds only around 5 mph.  Later this week they will switch to the south and become strong again.  Thanks to our planning our RV will block the wind from our patio and also provide nice shade. Took advantage of the high 70's and gave Krikkit a much needed bath and washed the RV awning.  So you don't feel too bad it was in the mid 40's last night.

Tropic Winds RV Resort

Tropic Winds RV Resort, Harlingen, TX

While at Eric's Pat was very busy!  He successfully used our new macerator, built a cover for the white box behind our couch and stained it so it blends in a little better, installed a car hitch, added carpet pieces to cover the floor area that was damaged when the old couch was removed, installed a new tank monitoring system to hopefully get more accurate readings (still waiting on parts to complete it) added an inverter monitor and inside control for the inverter and charging systems, washed and waxed the RV and did some maintenance. I'm sure I've left some things out!

"Grandchildren: my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye." Unknown

Toni makes very detailed, gorgeous cakes that are very delicious too!  Notice the seashells, campfire, sandals, rocks, life preserver rings and sand.  She placed our camper by my favorite spot, the sea!

Sat. we finally had our tea party.  Lilah got out the small doll table Pat's Dad had made and we got dressed up in our finery.  We served warm apple juice, water, cheese and crackers, strawberries, hugs (the chocolate kind), and pastry puffs.  The dolls were once again set up with the miniature tea set.  Lilah had been teaching Clara tea party etiquette, including how to curtsy.  We all had fun.  I enjoy the tea parties more each time, as I know one day there will be no more.  I was given a surprise birthday celebration on Sat. evening complete with a cute, and delicious, cake made by Toni.  

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!🦃

Thank you Toni and Eric for having us for Thanksgiving.  Our "feast" was outstanding!  We talked or zoomed with our other two sons, Chris and Josh and Josh's family, in the afternoon.  Later we all were able to zoom with Pat's Mom and his family.  We are so thankful for friends and family!!❤  I was stuffed and ready for bed early.

Week 2

All 3 of us were excited for Clara's sleepover.  Clara, "I'm tired.  I think I yawned.  I'm going to bed.  You can go to bed too."

Week 2 in Houston involved a trip to the park, France Day, baseball (including 2 tournament games), and just time spent together!

"The shitter's full!"--National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

I believe Cousin Eddie was actually dumping into the storm sewer, however, we were not!

One of our favorite movies is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  We watch it EVERY Christmas season!  If you have seen it you'll recognize the above scene.  Our youngest son, Chris, deserves thanks for the surprise "Cousin Eddie hat."  It could not have arrived at a more perfect time either.  We certainly had fun with it!

Thank you to all veterans for their service!

My parents on their wedding day, December 17, 1943

Thank you to all veterans for providing our freedom and our rights.

Back in 2015 Emma and Alexa sluicing, or at least having fun playing in the muddy water at the wash station at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Crater of Diamond's State Park is near Murfreesboro, AR.  It is a fun place to go and, I would imagine, more fun if you found a diamond!  We were here with our boys when they were little,  Eric's family and his in-laws in 2015, and now with Krikkit.  We arrived Sun. afternoon and, after paying $10 each, went in search of our fortune Monday afternoon.  We were not successful today, but maybe tomorrow???  

Go west young man

Pat and his helper washing our diamonds Monday at Crater of Diamonds State Park, AR.  Story and more pictures tomorrow when we have internet!

We did reach warmer weather in West Memphis, AR on Saturday, although tomorrow night will be colder here.  Temperatures were in the 60's and the low tonight will only get down to 44°.  Last year we stayed in West Memphis at a casino on our way south.  This RV park is  right on the Mississippi. It is very peaceful and has a beautiful view. Krikkit and I sat along the shore this afternoon and watched a barge go by.  It was nice to have hook-ups.  Most of my day was spent doing laundry. Tomorrow we turn west.  

Headed south to warmer? weather

Just realized we haven't been updating our location--oops!

Well, we got to Wakarusa late Weds. afternoon and Thor got our RV into the repair bay bright and early Weds. morning.  They found the problem with the slide, ordered the part that they said was bad, and are replacing it, hip hip hooray!!  Most of Wednesday was spent on errands in Goshen.  Liemon wasn't ready to come back to us Weds. afternoon, but he will be ready Thursday morning. 

The roads all lead to Wakarusa, or so it seems!

New River Gorge where we should be staying tonight and Tuesday!

I'm bummed!  Lieman has a slide issue so we had to by-pass West VA today  to head towards the Thor Service Center in Wakarusa, IN.  Fortunately they can look at it Weds. morning. Appreciate Lowes in Chillicothe, Ohio letting us spend the night in their lot.

Thanks to the fog and a little tree color we saw some pretty scenery as we crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains.  See pictures below.  Some long climbs led to some slow going in the RV.

Historic Jamestowne

The remnants of the Amber plantation house built in the 1750's in Historic Jamestowne.  The house was burned in 2 wars, and after a 3rd fire in 1895 it was abandoned.

Historic Jamestowne was where the first English Colony was established in 1607.  Not to be confused with Jamestown Settlement, located 1 1/2 miles away, where for $25 you can see a re-creation of the settlement and ships.  I thought Historic Jamestown was run by the National Park system, and according to a website, free with a lifetime senior pass.  Not sure if this is a new development or not, but it's co-operated with a VA volunteer group and the fee is now $12.50.  We did come to see it on Saturday so I  coughed up the dough.

Our last day on the Outer Banks!  We went as far south as we could go on the OXB to Hatteras.  To go further we would have had to take a ferry to Ocracoke Island.  We received a warning on our phones regarding a 12:30 p.m. detonation of a WWII era bomb on the Seashore near the Cape Hatteras lighthouse today, and to avoid that area. 

"Let's go fly a kite, Up to the highest height!"

What a grand morning!  Sometimes it's the simplest or smallest things that bring the most joy, and in this case, also memories.  We went back to Jockey's Ridge State Park this morning, and yes, flew a kite.  We watched several hang gliders.  It looked like they each might have had an instructor that held on to a tether to keep them from flying away, so they didn't go far off the ground.  Several other people were flying kites and, like us, just walking around the dunes. The weather was perfect, upper 60's, sunny, and breezy.  We finished the day with the best smoothies at "The Spot."

"You don't spit into the wind." Anyone know the song this came from or who sang it?

Tuesday started out as a "task" day.  We love Krikkit but she sure makes everything stink.  Time to clean!  I thought I'd start on the outside of the car getting the bugs and tar off.  Like most RV parks, washing vehicles is a no-no, so then we headed out for a car wash.  By the time we were done at the car wash the morning fog had lifted, so we headed down south in the Outer Banks.  Not a lot of housing, both because it's narrower in parts and a lot is protected land.

Jockey's Ridge State Park

sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park, NC

The Wright Brothers National Monument in Kill Devil Hills, is about 3 miles east of our campground.  Four miles south of there is Jockey's Ridge State Park.  We visited both on Monday.

Beeeeep...

Krikkit's tether

Beeeeeep!  Heard it momentarily when Pat was getting gas, and then again when we started driving.  As with all sounds that are unusual, it's short and then silent when I get up to look for it.  

Surfside City had some good waves coming in.  It was our first stop on Weds. and not nearly as many people here as other beaches had on the previous days.

We have toured so many beaches this week, maybe 16?  Monday we went from Sunset Beach, NC down to Myrtle Beach, SC.  Tuesday found us starting at Holden Beach, NC and going up to Wrightsville Beach, NC.  Weds. we started at Topsail Beach, NC and ended the day at Emerald Isle.

I won't get one (just the lots are over $200,000 ) but I love the colorful beach houses.

I love the colorful beach houses.

 On Tuesday we went up the coast checking out several beaches.  Next week we will be staying at a campground in northern North Carolina.  Monday we traveled south from our campground and we began checking out some beaches in northern South Carolina, as well as the lower to middle beaches in North Carolina.  Why are we spending so much time on these beaches?

 

Over the weekend our 9 year-old granddaughter took an unconventional route out of their treehouse.  Found out today her arm is broken.  It doesn't require a cast but she will be in a splint brace for 6 weeks.  She's a little monkey so it will be a hard 6 weeks for her.  According to her, the worst part is she can't participate in P.E. class.  Fortunately it's her left arm and she's right-handed.

 At the end of this month we will finally go to Topeka, IN and they will install our theater seating.  My back can't wait!  At the same time, our RV seems much more spacious without anything in that spot, particularly when we are traveling and have the slide opposite of it retracted.  The new seating will actually stick out 2-4" more into the hallway than the original couch, which will make walking through the coach with the slide in tighter.  With the foot rest out all of the way it will be tight walking through the hallway even when the slide is out. We feel comfortable recliners will make it worth it!

The sign at the visitor center before we went on our walk.  I'm thinking it should have been at 6!

Thursday we arrived at the Santee Koa in Santee, SC.  We are staying here for 2 nights, specifically to go to Congaree National Park.  To be honest, I wasn't very excited about visiting this national park.  First, the only camping is walk-in so we are staying about an hour away.  It's a relatively new national park, getting that distinction in 2003.  It protects the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States.  I wasn't sure if it would be very interesting actually.  I had read that almost 80% of the park lies within the flood plain for the Congaree River.  Would there be anything to see?

Drifting on up...

 

Driftwood Beach

Wednesday we moved on up to Georgia, another state I can add to my map.  Jekyll Island campground is our home for the night, and within walking distance to Driftwood Beach.  The driftwood has formed over years of erosion.  On the island you will also find Georgia's only sea turtle educational and rehabilitation facility, and lots of shops and restaurants (due to Covid and time we skipped these).  The island is mostly tourist resorts and attractions.

Good grief, we went from "Mount Rushmore" to an "orange" on our license plate!

We were able to stay at Harvest Hosts through Alabama.  Thanks to Corbin Farms Winery, in Calera, AL, for letting us spend Saturday night.  We appreciated their hospitality and wine!  They were also right off the interstate, making it easy to get there.

S'mores anyone?

We enjoyed having Zia, Cyrus and Samira spend time with us in CT.

 

Thank you to our Harvest Host, Goodwater Vineyards, Mosheim, TN for allowing us to spend Fri. night.  They have tasting rooms in Mosheim and Gatlinburg.  The hosts were super nice.  Coming in on I81 was very narrow.  We would recommend coming in on 321 (Parrotsville), the way we left.  It was secluded at the vineyard and a quiet night.  We woke to a beautiful view.

🎶Blue ridge mountains, Shenandoah River...🎶

Looking down from where we parked for the night is the lavender garden with the mountains in the background.  The store is on the left

Only we're in Virginia tonight, not West Virginia!  Anyone know who sang this song???

Chocolate always makes things better

An eastern trip took uscto Hershey, PA around 1990.  Despite the chocolate Chris doesn't look very happy.

A little longer drive on Wednesday.  We left Willington, CT at 8 a.m. and arrived in Hershey, PA at 3:30.  We had a little rain, but not enough to see if Thor fixed our basement. I can't remember asking for rain for a drive before, but I hope we get some soon.  It seemed like a good share of the day was spent driving out and around New York City.  We had no desire to go anywhere near there.  The scenery was was especially beautiful today as the trees are bringing in autumn.

Fall colors

Yom Kipper is a holiday in Cambridge schools so we finished off our visit with our son and his family with a 3 day weekend.  After 2 weeks in Cambridge we are headed back to our RV in CT, following a stop at a grocery store to stock-up.  Later this afternoon we will pick-up a very tired and, hopefully, clean dog.

Finally... The end of the beginning of our RV journey, Part I

This is the final part of the beginning of our RV journey.  We are now caught up!  We really enjoyed New Orleans last Feb.  What a neat, historic, and fun city.  We took one day, shortly after we arrived in Louisianna, and toured the French Quarter.  It is known for it's  nightlife, and colorful buildings with cast-iron balconies (decorated for Mardis Gras while we were there).  We took a walk down Bourbon street which is filled with jazz clubs, Cajun eateries  and bars.

When the cat's away...

 

Fresh apple cider doughnuts from Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA

One of the things I enjoy about Boston is walking everywhere, whether it's to a park or area stores.  Because walking, biking, and even unicycleing is the norm, stores and parks are always nearby.  There is usually a "square" that is within walking distance, too.   Porter and Harvard squares are both around a 20 minute walk from our son's house.  Each has a variety of stores from restaurants, book stores, groceries, hardware, toy stores, pharmacies, clothing, etc.  In other words, about anything you could want in one direction or the other.

Grandkids reach for our hands and grab our hearts--unknown

The joy of grandkids is hard to explain!  Mom and Dad are gone this weekend so we are having a little fun.  Virtual school started this past Weds.  They both seem to have enjoyed it.  We made another trip to Lowell School Park, spent Friday at the beach, and visited Davis Farmland in Sterling, MA this afternoon before Mom and Dad left for their weekend.

Boston, we have arrived!

Only Pat's finger made it in the picture!

Shoreforest Campground in Hop Bottom, PA was a busy place over Labor Day weekend.  We stayed in our campsite to social distance.  On Labor Day we traveled to Moose Meadows Campground near Willington, CT.  We were only 1 1/2 hours from the Boston area. The first campground with recycling, and it was mandatory.

The Journey Continues, Part H, New Orleans area

We were excited to experience MardisGras while we were near New Orleans.  We did go to New Orleans and experienced a small parade one day (just happened to be going by) but we didn't make it to any of the major ones.  I could not believe how many parades there were all month long, both in New Orleans and neighboring parishes.  

The Journey Continues, Part G

The last day in Jan. we left Galveston, TX for Reunion Lake RV park in Ponchatoula, LA, which is about an hour North of New Orleans.  It was a great park.  Lots of retirees, many who return yearly.  Many come for several months  but we were there only for Feb.  I got out my machine and enjoyed some sewing.  We visited Sonic just outside our park almost daily for half price drinks, had fun at the socials, and met some nice people.

Lunch: courtesy of a Pennsylvania rest area

My brothers Mark and John, my Mom, and myself on an eastern camping trip in 1961. Once a whiner, always a whiner.  My Mom said, "my feet hurt."

Memories, from both when I was young and with our own kids, were stopping on camping trips to eat our breakfast and/or lunch at a rest area.  Everyone was tired of driving/sitting and happy to be out of the car.

Pennsylvania, a new state to add to our map

Mountains of western Pennsylvania.  Too early for the fall colors we saw last year, but the trees were still beautiful.

Thanks to Tim at Thor, as he took our RV in first thing Mon. morning.  We had 2 issues to address before we continued our trip east.  We were so appreciative that he had us on the road by 10:30.  We decided to go for a long day, over 400 miles, and make up for lost time.  We arrived at Woodland Campground in Woodland, PA at 6 p.m.  Krikkit got to try out her new braces today (picture at the end).

Last days in Iowa and The Journey Continues, Part F

Loved going out on Chris' jet skis on Coralville Lake.

Fri., Aug. 21

On Friday morning we finally got to see some skydivers.  It looks like a lot of fun.  Maybe someday when I win the lottery, which will be tough because we don't buy lottery tickets, I'll skydive!  

Leaving Iowa behind

Notice the flaslight durin our week without power!

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY to our daughter-in-law Toni.  She and the girls headed north to escape hurricane Laura but it, including the rain, fortunately missed Houston so she made it home today.  She missed #37 when Harvey hit!

A little more work to be done

Chris and Pat hard at work.

Sat., Aug. 22

We decided we were going to get theater seating, replacing the 3 person couch/bed that came with our Palazzo.  While we still had everything out of the RV, and we had tools (borrowed from Chris), Pat and Chris removed the old couch.  Well, it wasn't so much removed as demolished.  It involved redesigning the space and involved grinding and welding.  The trade off is a little less basement space in exchange for comfortable recliners.

Donuts, Parks, Donuts, Parks and repeat--The Journey Continues, Part E

First I'll catch you up on the last part of this week, then FLASHBACK day.

THURS., AUG. 20

🎶We packed up the babies (actually doggies) and grabbed the old ladies (I'm not sure I think of myself as old--most days anyway) and everyone goes...🎶, and left Ely, IA for our home on wheels, Liemon (pronounced "Lee-maun") still in Indiana.  Thanks to Chris for giving us and our stuff a place to stay.  We ended up being there longer than we had intended.  Hopefully, we left him with his sanity! Oh, and he still has our stuff.

It's DONE

Thor finished our RV yesterday.  A couple of items we still had concerns about and they let us know this morning that they were taken care of.  Tomorrow we are off for Indiana!

Birthdays

 August is a big birthday month in our family with 4 of them on two consecutive days.  Josh and Alexa are on the 12th, Pat and Cyrus on the 13th, with Toni to follow later in the month.

Storms, honesty, family and friends

The Little Red Shed Honesty Stand near Ely, IA

Last week we walked up to Dan and Debbie's Creamery.  It's become a much too regular visit, especially for a dairy intollerant person.  The banana Cream Pie ice cream was worth it though.  How about Sweet Corn ice cream?  Yep, with real corn.  I haven't tried it...yet.

The Journey Continues, Part d

What happened to part C?  I think I just skipped that letter!  We continued January with the Chinese New Year at Luckyland.  It was a wet but fun day. We had fun at the elementary school Bingo and Pizza night, where Clara and I shared a card.  I was lucky to be able to attend the elementary school awards for Alexa and Lilah.  That night was so fun because I had the first of two sleepovers with Clara.  Nothing like waking up to "Grandma, Grandma" and as soon as I moved, "Grandma, the sun is up!"

Slowing down...

We are going to reduce our posts to 2 to 3 times a week instead of every day.  It may vary some weeks.  Our site will be updated with our location all the time.  We will still be sharing our adventures, just not everyday. 

Have a fun weekend!

Ann and Pat

Fixes and Fails - Fire pit

There is nothing better than sitting around a campfire on those cool nights, but it is not any fun having all your clothes smell like smoke.

Cooler temperatures

It's  interesting seeing all of the techie things Chris has in his new his house.  He has a touch faucet and I keep forgetting and turning the faucet off. 

A town that celebrates it's local talent

When we visited Nappanee last spring the corners downtown were occupied by "Junkyard Dogs" made with basicly junk.  I enjoyed the display and wanted one more look.  We're expecting, or at least hoping, that this will be our last trip to Thor.  

Almost feels like home?

Quilt garden in downtown Wakarusa.  The 900 sq. foot garden, comprised of 3,774 plants, is a community effort.

We  have spent so much time in this area it almost feels like hone!  We finished emptying out our RV so we went on a road trip Sun. afternoon.  Have you been to Nappanee, IN?  If not  it's a great place to visit.  It is in Amish country and the entire area, including several towns, has a lot of neat things to see, do and eat.  When we've been to Wakarussa previously we have had plenty of time to check things out.  Prior to Covid-19 you could spend the night in your RV, they would come get your R  at 7 a.m., and return it to you at 3.

The Journey Continues, Part B, January, 2020

Happy Birthday Krikkit!

Pat said her birthday is probably later in the month, but since we really don't know when it is, I celebrate it on August 1st.

We met Deb and Al, from the Chicago area, at Lucky Girls Brewery and The B52 Winery Friday night.  They are also new to Harvest Hosts and they too are former sailors!  Hope our paths cross again when we aren't social distancing!

I bet you didn't know I always wanted to skydive!

Well, I haven't. 🙂  Thursday was our first Harvest Hosts overnight experience.  We appreciated Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, IL letting us spend the night! 

Fixes and Fails - Storage improvements

Storage is at a premium in most RVs, so anything we can do to improve the usability is a good idea. We have two overhead cabinets that are 20" tall with no shelves and another two that are 16".  Since we have very few things that tall, we are either wasting a lot of space or piling stuff so deep that it is difficult to find anything.  So, how did we attempt to fix this?

National Chicken Wing Day!

Wings from Quinton's in Cedar Rapids and beer.

I got prescriptions filled, just a few groceries, did the last laundry until we get back next week, washer ran through a clean cycle, AND we got to share National Chicken Wing day with Chris!

Empty RV

Thanks Chris for helping us unload, store (in garage and 2 bedrooms), taking a picture (I was totally negligent in my duty all day), and maybe reload in a couple of weeks?  I think taking it out was easier than it will be putting it back in.  The RV is really naked.  Nothing  much in the basement, under the bed, dinette seats, or in the fridge.