Alabama

After leaving Jack and Laura, we moved northwest to Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama. Nice park with full hook up. Got a windy site on the lake close to the beaches. Getting some pesky cancer spots removed tomorrow in Pensacola then onward and upward to Red Bay to get our windshield replaced. Wouldn't you know it, the day after we left Red Bay in Feb., John washed the coach and found a stress crack. In view of recent bankruptcies and service depots closing, we are sure glad we have a Tiffin product. Bob Tiffin has already said they will look after the windshield even if we have someone locally do the work. However, our experience is that we get the very best service at the factory so the Allegro Campground will be home again soon.

Florida

We left DisneyWorld and travelled southwest to Fort Myers area to meet up with friends we haven't seen for almost 15 years. Had a really nice time with Ron and Claudia and enjoyed their rv park, Cypress Woods. They took us on a tour of the area as well as to Bahama Breeze for an excellent lunch. While there we went to visit Tony and Jo at Bonita Springs. Everyone is doing great, looks great and are very active. Then we moved our home to St. Augustine, FL where we hooked up with Jack and Laura from Stratford, Ont. Wonder what John and Laura are doing with that penny? Once again, great to get together and look forward to seeing all of these friends in the summer in Canada.

Florida

We enjoyed staying at the Disney World resorts for two weeks with Dione and family. The kids loved the new waterslide at Old Key West and looking over the balcony at the animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge was awesome. Did the Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom theme parks with the kids and really enjoyed their smiles, laughter and looks of wonder. Now the kids have gone home to Canada and the two of us are enjoying Saratoga Springs resort. For full timers, having a bathtub is such a luxury. Enjoy walking over to Downtown Disney to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. Woody and Nancy came over for a visit yesterday and enjoyed EofS as well. Great food. Friday we are back on the rv and headed wherever. Will look at map later this week and decide.

Florida

We have all our little aches and pains looked after in Red Bay and moved on earlier than expected towards Walt Disney World in Florida. Because we had some extra time, we stopped in Silver Springs to see Don and Scarlett and Bob and Evelyn. Had a great time with them Friday and Saturday. We even got to attend a concert by Mark Chestnut (country and western) at the Silver Springs Wild and Waterpark. Will keep the park in mind the next time in Florida as they have some good talent coming thru the winter and season passes are not expensive. We took a tour in the glass bottom boat and enjoyed the park as well as the entertainment.

We moved on the Deer Creek in Davenport to check out their rv resort. Very nice and may consider buying there. Looked for John and Charlotte but they had to make an emergency trip home to Canada. One of their two lots is for sale. Really nice resort although a little early for us to settle down somewhere. But close to Disney for when we are ready to work there (on our bucket list).

Yuma AZ

We enjoyed a fun superbowl party with our neighbours before heading east. Have established some really good friendships and are looking forward to staying in touch with this gang at the Foothills. We had a lot of healthy laughs together. But it was time to move on so Monday we set out travelling east on Hwy 8. Then we hooked up on I-10 and continued to Red Bay, Alabama by Thurs. Feb 5th. Feels like we're 'home' here too. We have a list of minor things we will have Tiffin complete on the coach before moving on to DisneyWorld to meet the kids. Life is still good to us.

Kofa National Refuge

We took a drive into the desert but apparently didn't go far enough. After travelling 10 miles on a gravel road and seeing nothing but sand and cactus, we turned around. In this picture we believe it is Ocotillo and Pipe Organ cactus in the background. Don and Pat said we should have continued to the mines where it begins to get much more beautiful. Next year. We left the desert and travelled north to Quartzsite. Enjoyed seeing the rv's in the desert, the flea market and the hustle and bustle of a desert city. On the way home we stopped at Paradise Casino for an hour to gamble. Candy won $16 and I won $8. Big win for us so we blew it on fish and chips at Parrish's Pub. Busy and interesting day.

Quartzsite or bust

Our neighbours and friends have left us and headed to the desert for a few days. They will park together surrounded by thousands of campers who survive the sand storms just to enjoy the rv show, gem show and huge flea market. Waving goodbye to Wally and Connie, Don and Pat, Marv and Donna and Don and Marge. Terry left earlier as needed propane. We would love to have gone but John is in the process of joining the Elks Lodge here and has two meetings this week. So that will remain on our bucket list until next year. Just gotta say 'been there, done it'. We will, however, drive there in the car for one day with Candy and then again to meet with our friends, Tony and Barb.

Farm Smart Program University of California

We spent the day at the Farm Smart Program, El Centro and had the most interesting time. We toured the gardens on wagons in the morning learning about alfalfa infested with white flies and trees you squeeze for fuel for your car along with much more and then spent the afternoon in a classroom. Did you know that asparagus continues to grow after it is cut ? It is packed and shipped in boxes that allow enough height for as much as 3 inches of growth. Asparagus can be cut twice a day and each time it is cut it is 6 inches tall. The website for our tour info is desertrec.ucdavis.edu. We were very impressed with how well organized, fun and informative our day was. We were given saks to pick all the fresh produce we wanted. No doubt we will be eating veggie plates and salads for the next two weeks. John and I have a whole new respect for the work done by our nephew, Jamie, in Guelph, Ont. Canada. His research station is just north of El Centro in Brawley CA.

Tournament of Roses Parade January 1, 2009

We were so fortunate to have our friends, Tony and Barb, invite us to join them for front row seats at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. We drove their rv to a driveway along the parade route, backed it into the driveway and then placed our chairs out front along the road. The street was beginning to get full with chairs, make shift beds, bbqs, heaters and a lot of people. And it was only 4 pm Dec. 31st. Most slept in their spots in spite of the cold air so as not to risk losing the space. We partied into the wee hours and managed to get a few hours sleep before getting up early New Years Day to get ready for the parade. Tony spoiled us with tasty breakfast burritos and coffee. The Rose Bowl parade lived up to our expectations plus we had the added bonus of a warm sunny day. We had an awesome time.

Christmas 2008

Christmas with the grandkids was wonderful. We flew from AZ to Detroit where it is a short drive to their homes in Ontario, Canada. There was so much snow and, with winter storms, we were not able to make the trip to Owen Sound to see our moms. We had been looking forward to taking the kids there overnight to show them the display of lights along the river. It is one of the most impressive John and I have ever seen. We were able watch the boys skate and to see Ty win another shut out. Ty, Grace, Jack, Tate and Abby got Webkinz. Sarah will have to wait another few years for hers as she is too young. We were able to follow Santa's route on Google Earth and the kids made sure they left out lots of milk and cookies for Santa and his reindeer. John hurt his back while he and Michelle were shovelling on Christmas Eve but we were fortunate that Tim had a chiropracter friend who came to work Christmas day to work on him. He is in a lot of pain and we now know why we go south for the winter. We are so blessed to have our family to enjoy.

Home for Christmas

This is our star goalie. We have been busy driving back and forth between Baden and Belmont spending as much time as possible with the grandchildren. Papa has to pay Ty $5 for each shut out and is going broke paying his debt. Ty is so fortunate to have a coach who seems to know what he is doing because everyone on the team is playing very organized hockey. We are so proud of him and the entire Atom AE team from New Hamburg. 'Go Huskies !'

Yuma AZ

This is where we get our drinking water in the Foothills. We pull in, put $1.00 in the machine and fill up 5 gallon jugs of salt free water. Interesting.

Yuma AZ

We had a great day in Los Algodones, Mexico. Parked the car on the U.S. side of the border and walked across to a "Welcome Back Snowbirds" party. Pharmacies had free samples set out on tables for us to pick up and take home. Also had free samples of margaritas, beer and liquors. Lots of laughs, good food, interesting shopping and a little alcohol made for a memorable time.

Yuma AZ

Last week Fran and Ian flew back to Canada and we got on the road again heading south. Thought we may stop in Quartzsite for a couple of months but, as we drove in and saw how baren it was, we decided to continue on to the foothills in Yuma. We had been to this area last year for a month and really enjoyed our stay. So we drove in, found a 'for rent' sign on a lot we liked and moved in. It's gated, inexpensive, clean and the neighbours are really friendly. The view of the mountains from our window is picture perfect. Hooked up with friends Bill and Doris (full timers) and Steve and Rene (Idaho) who come here every winter. Nice to see them again. We'll drive the car up to Quartzsite for the swapmeet in January. Have had a few rainy days so have had time to spring clean some cupboards. Met up with Tiffinrvnetwork friends, John and Bev from Ottawa, while shopping at Walmart the other day. They are on their way to the Baja. Will be interested to see how that goes for them as we have that adventure on our 'bucket list'.

Las Vegas

Took Fran and Ian to Hoover Dam with a quick stop at Lake Mead to get John's NP Passport stamped. We were surprised at how large the NWR was and had not planned on the time to explore. So added that to our list for next year. The tour guide at the Hoover Dam had told us that the water was down considerably but that, because of lots of snow this past winter melting into the Colorado River, it had gone up a foot. Hopefully this reverse in weather conditions will continue and the water in the lake will go back up to where it should be. Picked up some information on scuba diving as Dione and Bob are interested in doing an underwater adventure there one day.

Las Vegas

We were up very early in the morning to begin our long drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon. John and Ian took turns driving while Fran and Sheila watched a dvd of Death Valley. It turned out to be a perfect day for touring. The Hermits Trail route had been closed for upgrading but it appears it may have re-opened that morning. We were able to drive along the entire route, stopping to look over into the beauty of God's masterpiece. We expected it to be similar to Bryce Canyon or Zion NP but it was completely different. Next year we may consider taking the mule ride down to Phantom Ranch to stay for a few days. Even tho it was cool up where we were standing, it was in the 80s at the bottom of the canyon with a lake and beach to enjoy as well. Added that adventure to our 'bucket list'.

Las Vegas

We have seen so much of the beauty of nature since starting our touring two years ago that we could not believe we would continue to be so impressed as we explore new areas. But Death Valley was beautiful. It was so cool to walk at Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America. Fran and Ian were equally amazed at the variety of colors in the mountains. Artist's Palette accurately describes the red, yellow, orange and green colors reminding one of the minerals in the rocks and earth. This picture is of them standing at Zabriskie Point, the outlook over Gold Canyon. Furnace Creek holds the record for second highest temperature recorded on earth when in 1913 it reached 134'F. The most profitable and longest-sustained mining activities in the region centered on talc and borate. We didn't see much wild life except the cutest 'kit fox' who trotted up to the car and shone it's big brown eyes on us, looking for food.

Las Vegas

Fran and Ian flew in from Toronto this morning to spend a week with us touring the Las Vegas area. We'll enjoy gambling plus we'll do some touring as well. Found a coupon in the Motorhome magazine and decided we could splurge and stay at the Outlook RV Resort at the south end of the strip. Good decision as this resort is really pretty and clean. We are parked across from the pool, hot tub and showers and, because the park is not busy right now, it feels like the conveniences are there just for our use. After giving our family a few hours to rest and a good meal, we drove the strip to give them an overview of what to see and what to do stopping finally to enjoy the Paris, Ballagio and Ceasar Casinos.

Los Angelas California

We had a great time touring Hollywood Blvd with Tony and Barb. Saw the Kodak Theatre and the autographs of the stars in the sidewalk out front. We took a tour of Beverly Hills and saw the homes of the stars (didn't see any of the stars). Ate at our first 'In and Out' restaurant and that was a lark (and the food was decent). Another fun and interesting day with our friends.

Los Angelas California

How appropriate that we are spending our time with Tony and Barb, the same couple with whom we toured the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. We were in Selma where, in 1965, Martin Luther King led a march to the Capital Building in Montgomery demanding that African Americans have the right to vote. And last night, John and my first vote as U.S. citizens, we helped to vote in President Obama. Not just because of our options or because he is African American but because we believe he is smart, honest and sincere in his quest to make a difference. It is amazing and exciting to a part of this history. It is so sad that his gramma could not have lived just a few days more to enjoy the results of her hard efforts in raising this young man. We believe McCain's speach last nite was the best one we have ever heard

Los Angelas California

We spent the day at the Getty Center yesterday with Tony and Barb. What a totally amazing museum. It was so big and complex that we could not get all of it all in in one day. From the art collections, to the sculptures, plus the gardens and everything in between, it was very impressive. Web site it http://www.getty.edu/ if you want to take a look. If in the L.A. area, def put on your list for a 'must see'.

Los Angelas California

We change our minds daily. As it ended up, we left Gilroy Garlic Farm and their aroma therapy to head south the Pismo Beach. We arrived at Pacific Dunes RV Ranch and Resort in Oceana overlooking the sand dunes for two days. Met up with friends, Bob and Sharon, for dinner at Jockos in Nipomo for the best steak we have had in years! Money is spent on the food, not the ambience. We toured Pismo Beach, Avilo Beach and the area. Pretty but haze and cool. Today we decided to go the Bakersfield, CA for a few days then on to L.A. Well, as we drove south on hwy 101, we changed our minds and continued on to hwy 126, over to hwy 5 and straight south thru L.A. to Orangeland RV Resort in Orange, CA. Took us 4 hrs and John just took it slow. Was not nearly as overwhelming as we expected (not any worse than driving in Toronto) and, as 4 lane hwy driving, we were fine. This is a nice resort. Nice sites, heated pool, patio table and chairs (instead of picnic table), paved site with some grass and a small exercise room. We are next door to the Honda Center so hope to take in an Anaheim Ducks hockey game. Disneyland is just down the street. Will go to the Crystal Cathederal Sunday for service and then over to our friends, Tony and Barb, for a visit. And the beaches. So will be a busy week. Hot and sunny. Friday will be a down day to enjoy the resort.

Pacific Grove, California

It is difficult to see the thousands of monarch butterflies in this picture. They migrate to Pacific Grove in October and stay until March. On a dull day, they clump together on the branches and look like leaves. This was a really pretty stop on our tour of Monterey Bay area today. We also stopped at the Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast. The building, lenses and prisms of light are all original and this lighthouse's beacon has shone since February 1, 1955. We drove from Santa Cruz to Pacific Grove along the bay and enjoyed some more of California's beauty.

San Francisco Area

The tour of the Jelly Belly factory was 'sweet'. I like the jelly beans we get at Fran and Ian's better but the fruit candy from here was excellent. Lots of free bees. Love it. Then we went on a tour of the Budweiser bottling plant and enjoyed that as well. I tried two new beer that I would never have bought. Would now buy the Mic Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit for me.

San Francisco Area

Spending a beautiful day touring some of the 400 wineries in the Napa Valley was impressive. The first one we visited is owned by the Andretti Family. The one that looks like the castle is the Costello di Amorosa. Absolutely beautiful. The one seen from the gates is Darioush. I think Sterling was the most impressive to us. We caught a cable car up the side of the mountain to the winery. The buildings, grounds and views were breathtaking. We spent some of our children's inheritance (what's left in our mutual funds that is) on a $45 bottle of wine. You can bet we'll be saving that for a special day. We tasted some wines that we would never have bought so it was nice to try something different. We did buy another bottle of wine that compared to the chardonnay but was lighter in taste. Even for non drinkers, this was a tour well worth our time.

San Francisco Area

Alcatraz was an interesting tour. The first buildings we saw when we docked housed the employees working at the prison along with their families. Above and behind those barracks we could see the remains of the warden's mansion. We were surprised at how many families lived there including up to 60 or 70 children. They tell us that living on the island was peaceful, beautiful and quiet. They took a boat to school each day, never saw the prisoners and believed living at Alcatraz was amongst the best times of their lives. Former prisoner, Darwin Coon, has written a book on Alcatraz and was holding a book signing at the gift shop. He was in Alcatraz in 1962 when three prisoners escaped inspiring the movie 'Escape from Alcatraz". Definitely would recommend this tour to any one visiting the area.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Seven miles beyond this marker is the Bonneville Speedway. 80' wide and 10 miles long. Due to the curvature of the earth, it is impossible to see from one end to the other. The first record was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats Sept. 3, 1935 at 301 mph. The fastest record was set by Gary Galelich Oct 23, 1970 at 622.4 mph. This looks like ice behind John but is actually salt. We couldn't go to the track as they had a storm last week and it was under 1/4 inch of water. We stayed at the Flying J campground in Battle Mountain Tues nite but the next day saw that the Flying J cg in Winnemucca NV would have been nicer. Now in Reno at the Grand Sierra Casino RV park and it is nice. Will spend the week here and tour the city, gamble a wee bit and do some major shopping. Weather really nice and park provides lounge chairs to enjoy the sunshine. Up at 5 am this morning as not getting use to these time zones. Looking forward to a fun stopover.

Salt Lake City, Utah

It was a pretty site to wake up to this Sunday morning, however cold it was. Went to the live broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Have enjoyed this area but time to move on. Today we are on the road to Reno. Just passed the south side of Great Salt Lake and heading into the desert area. Mountains are beautiful.

Salt Lake City, Utah

This big guy wasn't moving for any old rv!
In hindsite, we would have booked a campsite on Antelope Island. Not in this section mind you. Plus this site (#9) was taken. There is another section on the water that is really nice that was lots big enough for our rig. No hook ups but a nice spot. Next time. We enjoyed this island tour for the day and think it may have been a good spot to view their Buffalo Roundup the last of October. We thought it would be smaller and a nicer viewing area than Custer SP. At this time, the island is more of a peninsula. The water in the Great Salt Lake disappears more each year.

Wyoming

What an amazing time of year to be traveling in this area. The weather has been great while we were at Yellowstone NP. When we got up to leave Monday, the park had been closed due to snow. So we were a little later getting away but it was so beautiful.
Going south thru the park, around Lake Yellowstone (which was really big) and thru the mountains as we drove on hwy 89 was breathtaking. We were in awe at the beauty. Stopped at a koa in Montpelier, Idaho (nestled in the mountains) overnight and then continued on around Bear Lake still staying on 89, Would def recommend this drive in Autumn for any travellers. Destination Antelope Is. Utah.

Yellowstone National Park

http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/stream/stream.htm?parkcode=yell

We were so glad Denny & Sandy from BC told us about the live web cam at Old Faithful in Yellowstone. We phoned Candy, Dione, Michelle and Fran to go to the site and see us waving at them. They could see us really clearly and the grandkids loved it. This park is amazing to tour to see so many geysers, hot springs, paint pots, mountain steams and peaks as well as the wildlife. We saw a herd of elk invade the downtown lawns at Mammoth Hot Springs, mule ear deer, of course buffalo, and a wolf. It was neat to see so many men and women fishing in the streams. It was interesting too to see the natural restoration after the destruction from the 1988 wildfire. The weather has been great and we are glad we booked in here for the 5 days to see everything. We look forward to bringing the grandkids here someday.

Black Hills of South Dakota

This Pronghorn Antelope had his picture taken last week at Custer State Park, however, we are seeing many of them on either side of I-90 as we travel thru Wyoming to West Yellowstone. Will stop at Flying J in a few minutes to top up gas tank. The Buffalo Roundup yesterday morning was fun. We got up early and took an employees entrance into Custer SP. Dusty but fast and easy. Believe there may have been about 200 buffalo stampeded thru the valley and into the coral. The fun was watching them refuse to go in and doubling back towards the cowboys. Turning, spreading out and rushing like crazy to get away. We met two really nice couples from Chicago who were touring on their motorbikes. And we enjoyed wandering down to the corals after the roundup. Warm and sunny so washed the car when we got back to the cg.

Buffalo (Bison) at Custer State Park

Someone asked us what sound a buffalo makes and we concluded it was more like snorting. Certainly were a lot of them.

Black Hills, South Dakota

We arrived here on Sat Sept 20th expecting to stay 3 days but have been here over a week now. Have toured Custer SP, Mt Rushmore, Badlands plus all the small areas around here. Has been great. Had decided to stay longer for the Buffalo Roundup on Sept 29th. Will be in the park by 7 a.m. along with ten thousand or more others to sit on the hills and watch the cowboys herd approx 1300 buffalo in to the coral. There they will check their health, vacinate, microchip and weed out some to cut the herd back to about 950. This is all the park can sustain along with the other mammals and the vegetation. The burros in this picture stop traffic in Custer SP and beg for food. One man, in a hurry to get by, unloaded a bag of chips out the window and then cut thru. We've had an excellent stay at a campground in Hermosa just outside the park. Tues we will drive northwest to Grizzly CG in West Yellowstone, Montana for 5 nites. Doing our WiiFit every day. Meeting some nice folks along the way. Life is good. Going on a 2 hr horseback ride in Custer SP today.

Black Hills, here we come

Just passed the Badlands of SD on way to Custer SP, Mt Rushmore etc. Beautiful countryside and looking forward to hiking and exploring. Booked into a Passport America campground in Hermosa where it looks like we'll have easy access to all the attractions. Will do a day trip back to Wall and the Badlands in the car so we can take scenic backroads and enjoy the day. Looks like we need to eat at Wall Drug Cafe. Today we switched over to Mountain tim

e but as of tomorrow we are on Manuana time. Coach is working good. Filled up at Flying J, Sioux Falls this morning for $3.72 but looks like we could pay $3.99 at FJ Rapid City. Oh well, that's the price of the Smart Team's fun and games. John is setting awesome records on the WiiFit making me look like a slump and forcing me to pick up the pace. Still my little Mii says I have the body of a 45 yr old so just wait until we leave here in a week after all our hiking. Picture her chubby, lifeless body with her head and arms down, dragging her butt off the tv screen. Nintendo makes the emotions on the Mii so animated.

On the road again !

We left Red Bay, AL Wed morning and headed north through Tennessee and into Missouri. Filled up with diesel at Flying J for $3.819 gal at exit 58 on I-55 north. Then went a little further north to a PA campground for the nite. Got up early this morn, did our WiiFit and then headed north. Just passing St Louis, MO where they have had a lot of rain. Hope to be in Kansas City tonight but that could be pushing it. Chris Berry at Tiffin extended my computer tray in front of the passenger seat so I can be on the internet and work really comfortably while we travel. Downloaded Skype and webcam'd my friend Barb in California. Will try it out and compare it to webcamming on Windows Messenger. I'm thinking if I hook up my external webcam, I may be able to use one camera with messenger and the second camera with skype at the same time. Will have to try it. Meantime sunny and bright for travelling, Tiffin fixed everything and more on the coach, love our new laptop and muscles are sore from using Wii. Life is good.

Red Bay Alabama

Well, it's Monday and we are still in Red Bay at the Tiffin Service Bays. This morning we found that one of our jacks would not work so they are replacing it now. One more issue set for tomorrow so hoping to be able to head to Mt Rushmore South Dakota Wednesday. But who knows. At least we're in a good place for things to go wrong and we're saving gas.

Red Bay Reunion

After the Bristol Nascar races we moved on to Red Bay, Alabama to get some warranty work done on the coach. While here we have found more items that are being fixed for us. Monday Tiffin had to keep the coach in the service bay overnight, so we drove to Don and Scarlett's new home in Manchester TN. Had a great time. Toured the George Dickel distillery which was interesting. Dry county so no free samples! Found my Wii consol at the Walmart nearby and then found the Wii Fit board at the Walmart in Russellville AL on the way home Wed. Had a lot of laughs setting it up today and guess we will need to do some work to get in shape! Coach is coming along great so hoping to be out of here and on our way to South Dakota by Monday. We are looking to start our western tour with Mount Rushmore and the Black Hill National Park. If the weather is decent (at least 65) we will move on to Yellowstone in Wyoming. If it is too cold, we will not go that far north but will drop into Utah. We haven't spent any time in Northern Utah yet. It's nice not having any definite plans so that we can just travel where the weather suits us.