Asheville and Charleston--What Beautiful Places

We had a great time in Asheville. We spent two days at the Biltmore Mansion – walking up and down four flights of stairs, and then through some of the gardens – but what an amazing place it is. The grounds are huge but very beautiful. We also got a chance to drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and we ate at the most luxurious McDonald’s just outside the Biltmore. We stayed at a very pretty campground, but it was built on a pretty steep hill. All the sites were terraced and beautifully landscaped.

Monday we drove to Charleston, NC through a horrendous rainstorm. A trip that should have taken about 5 hours took 7 hours. But we made it safely and are in another beautiful campground. Jim sure did a great job of picking the RV parks for us so far.

We took a bus tour through Charleston (in the rain) but had a very interesting guide who told us a lot about the history of the city as we passed some beautiful houses and other points of interest. Charleston extends onto several islands, so there are a lot of interesting bridges to be seen. There are houses called ‘single houses’, unique to Charleston; they are a single room wide with a side ‘piazza’ (porch) where the entrance to the house is. The house itself may be quite large, extending quite deeply into the lot. Houses, churches, and other buildings have a lot of beautiful iron work as fences, balconies, or just as decorations. Of course, a visit to Ft. Sumter is a must. What an interesting place it is. Tomorrow we’re going back to some of the houses we saw on the bus tour and then to the beach so we can dip our tootsies in the Atlantic.

We have now been through 10 states!! Soon we’ll head up the coast to visit Williamsburg and beyond. Some interesting wildlife we’ve seen along the way include wild turkeys, skunks, turtles, egrets, white swans, deer, and Palmetto bugs.

Starting Our 2010 Summer Trip

Well, we’re off on our next adventure. This year our trip will take us through at least 23 states and 5 Canadian provinces and over 10,000 miles! We’re heading south and east, up thru the Maritime Provinces, to Quebec to meet some friends and to do some camping with them, then back west again to our family reunion.

Our first stop was in Brush, CO for a short visit with Jim’s Mom and sisters. As always it was great to see them. Mom is 92 years old and is doing pretty good for her age. Of course, she has her forgetful moments, but so do we!!

Then off to St. Louis to visit with Bob and Cathy Hall, long time friends whom we hadn’t seen for a long time. We had a great time with them going to wineries, driving the Great River Road along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and of course just catching up on old times. Now we’re in Nashville for just a short stop and then off to Asheville, NC.

We’ve seen some beautiful scenery so far – a lot of trees and greenery, and of course the humidity to go with it (something we’re trying to get used to). So far we’ve avoided any serious weather, although while we were in Brush there were tornado warnings one day and we got a pretty good thunderstorm. On our way though Kansas we even saw some storm chasers! But we are looking forward to our travels.

Off We Go for the Summer

This year we left Tucson in early June. We went from Tucson, with the saguaro and other colorful, high-desert plants, to Flagstaff where it was cooler and up in the pine trees (our first overnight), and then thru the Painted Desert, with all the oranges and reds with a hint of purple. What a wondrous country!! And that was just in Arizona.

We entered Monument Valley where it was cool and overcast with not many photo ops, but it was good for driving. We made our way thru Mexican Hat and Blanding on our way to Moab, where we spent our second night. We stayed in a beautiful campground with red rock spires on one side and high alpine mountain views (the La Sal’s) on the other side. The next day we decided to take a scenic road thru Castle Canyon on our way to Grand Junction. Castle Canyon was carved by the Colorado River and again we saw beautiful red rock formations, some with desert varnish, rafters and kayakers on the river, and a lot of nice campgrounds for small rigs – none of them big enough for us unfortunately!

We spent three nights in Grand Junction and visited with our son and family. It was so good to see them, even for such a short time. Then we were on our way to Breckenridge for the Colorado Model A club’s week-long regional meet. We got a chance to catch up with old friends and chat with some new ones too. We saw a lot of beautiful Model A’s from all over the country. It is also our club’s 50th anniversary this year. The banquet culminated all the festivities with very good food and a concert by the Queen City Jazz Band – what a treat!

Sara and her kids joined us for part of the meet and then we stayed an extra 5 days in Breckenridge to spend time just with them. We parked at the Tiger Run RV resort, so had an indoor swimming pool to use in addition to all the outdoor activities. The kids especially liked the Alpine Slide.

After our time in Breckenridge, we traveled to Brush to spend time with Judy and Bob, Sue, Jim’s other sister and his Mom. We had a great time with all of them; we hadn’t seen Sue or Mom since last year, so it was good to catch up with all their happenings. Mom is doing much better and she is now residing in the assisted living facility in Brush. Judy and Bob were such good hosts!

Now, we’re in Ft. Collins and were able to ‘hook up’ with our friends from the Bay Conspiracy, Ray and Chris. We’re staying at a very nice, and quiet KOA, where they have all kinds of activities available (paddle boats on their small lake, a nice swimming pool, a playground, fishing, and much more). There even is a robin’s nest with baby chicks in the tree, right outside our window and bunnies running around the grounds! We had Shannyn, our granddaughter, with us for a few days, so she had a lot of things to choose from to keep her busy. We really had a good time with her.

On a sadder note, we lost our last two ‘old ladies’; our cats, Frosty and PiLin, were 20 years old and finally their organs just started shutting down. We now are down to Callie, our 5 year old Tortoise Shell cat. She is a joy and a character!

Starting the Year’s Travels at Quartzsite Again

This now seems to be an annual start to our travels each year – the Bay Conspiracy and friends invading Quartzsite!! This year five rigs left from Tucson and then we met some other friends while we were there. Fortunately, we didn’t spend as much money this year as last year (no motor home purchases). As always we had a great time partying with our friends after a day of wandering around and shopping.

Since Quartzsite is so close to California, we decided to continue west to visit JoAnne’s brother and his family. We had a great, but short, visit with Dale and Debbie. Debbie’s folks were so gracious to let us park on their Christmas tree farm, just steps away from Dale and Debbie’s house. There we were among the pine AND palm trees and right next to an orange grove full of all the ripe sweet oranges we wanted. It was great to spend time with them and to get to know the kids again. It had been several years since we had seen them and they are all grown up now!

Visitors, Visitors, Visitors

Well, we have been telling everyone to come to visit, and this year several people did just that. And we were so glad they did. We so enjoyed a quick visit with our friends, the Yutzy’s early in the year. A few days later we finally got together with our friends from Green Valley whom we hadn’t seen for over a year.

Then a few days after our return from California, Jim’s sister, Judy, and her hubby, Bob came for a visit and to attend the Tucson Gem Show. We got to go to the show with them – what an eye-opening experience!! There are many venues all over town where the vendors display their goods. We spent about 6 hours and only visited two of them; it was overwhelming! Judy and Bob ended up spending more time in Tucson than they had planned – they bought a new-to-them motor home. They had some modifications made to it and a few needed repairs. Of course, everything takes longer than the dealer says it will, and several things did not work correctly the first time. It was a little frustrating for them at times but it was great for us having them around a little longer.

Our friends, Dick and Jane, also came to stay at the Voyager for a time. We had met them last summer in Denver. We had a good time visiting with them; they taught us to play Mexican Train, a domino game, and now we’re hooked. We look forward to meeting them again later this summer.

Sara and the kids came for a visit in early April during Shannyn’s and Sara’s Spring Break from school. We took them to the Desert Museum (one of our favorite places) and then to Sabino Canyon, where the kids had a lot of fun playing in the stream. We took a picnic lunch and spent several hours there. Sara wanted to visit with a friend who lives in Phoenix, so went met them at the IKEA store. It is a wonderland of shopping. Of course, there were visits to the pool, general playing, and dying Easter eggs. We had so much fun.

More Short Trips

In between our visitors, we managed a few shorter trips. In February, we traveled to Phoenix with our friends, Fran and Bob (Moochie’s servants), to see the Chihuly glass exhibit in the Botanical Gardens. If you’re not familiar with Chihuly, he makes amazing glass shapes and displays them in very unusual ways. In this particular exhibit, he placed his glass shapes all over the botanic gardens among the plants. It was spectacular!! The next day we visited our round dancing friends, the Chaffee’s.

In April, Fran and Bob, and Judy and Bob, and we travelled to Albuquerque for the Good Sam Rally. We had never been to a Rally, so since it was so close, we decided to try it out. We met in Truth or Consequences (Judy and Bob had left Tucson earlier), spent the night there and arrived in Albuquerque the next morning. We were parked on the Balloon Fiesta grounds, along with over 3000 rigs and new friends. They parked us on the grassy field, so it was very nice. The weather was very changeable, from overcast and rainy to fairly warm. Layers of clothing was required attire. The rally was 5 days of shopping at the vendors booths, attending seminars, looking at various RV’s, and eating. And every night there was entertainment. We saw Neil Sedaka (what a show he put on!!) and the Osmond Brothers (three of the brothers – another good show). They also had Rita Coolidge and a couple of 50s and 60s rock and roll/do wop bands. But, we were so tired, we didn’t get to those shows.

At the end of the rally, we parted ways: Fran and Bob headed back to Arizona and Judy and Bob and we went to Taos for a few days. Judy and Bob did some sight-seeing while we visited JoAnne’s uncle. Then Judy and Bob headed back home to Colorado and we came back to Tucson and started to get ready for our big summer trip.

Taos and a Quick Visit with Uncle Ralph

JoAnne’s uncle lives in Taos, so we wended our way south to see him for a few days. He is in his late seventies, living in, maintaining and improving his own home all by himself. Quite remarkable! We always have a good time with him. While we were in Taos we also went to the Indian pueblo and wandered around this ancient village. It was interesting to see how the Indians still live and work. Of course, many of them had all kinds of Indian jewelry, pottery, food, etc. for sale. After our visit with Uncle Ralph we headed home, stopping overnight at Deming, NM and finally arrived back in Tucson mid-afternoon the next day. It was good to be home and to see our friends again. A few days later we hosted a ‘show and tell’ with the Bay Conspiracy. Everyone got a chance to tell us about their summer travels. It was great fun.

So now we’re home for a while.

On to Grand Junction

The week of October 13, Jim and Carrie moved most of their combined belongings to Grand Junction. Jim asked if we would help them get settled in so we so we headed the bus over the hill for a couple of weeks to give them a hand. They have a really nice 3-bedroom duplex with a nice yard. We helped unpack boxes and gifts and whatever else Carrie needed. By the second day we were there, Carrie had most everything put away, and the house in order. We had a good time visiting and sharing several meals with them, and getting to know Carrie and Hailey even better.

Later on during our stay we took a day trip to the town of Gateway. John Hendricks, the man who started the Discovery Channel, has opened a resort and a car museum there. The museum alone is well worth the trip. It houses some beautiful and rare, and in many cases, incredibly expensive vintage automobiles. The drive to and from Gateway was through some beautiful scenery, including the Dolores and San Miguel River Canyons, and the weather was perfect.

During our stay, we fixed a barbeque for JoAnne’s brother, Marc, and our nephew, Alex. Jim, Carrie, and Hailey also joined us. Unfortunately, Alowetta, Marc’s wife, was under the weather. We enjoyed the visit with Marc and Alex though. Then, on Halloween weekend Jim and Carrie went back to Denver for a visit, so we headed to Taos.

Denver Visiting with Friends and the Wedding

We arrived in Denver the last week of August. Our time here was spent helping with the wedding plans, arranging for the rehearsal dinner, visiting with friends and getting some business taken care of. On Labor Day we once again joined our Model A friends for the annual picnic. Sara and the kids joined us for this event as well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and admiring all the beautiful varieties of Model A’s the club members have. Shannyn and Leo really like seeing the cars and some nice folks even let them sit in the cars. The following weekend, we attended our long time friends daughter’s wedding. It was quite a nice affair and of course, the bride was beautiful. It was an outdoor ceremony in Fort Collins. The next week we joined Jim’s sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Bob, and some of their friends for three days of camping at Chatfield State Park. We had never been camping there even though we only lived five miles from the park. We were very impressed with the facilities and enjoyed our time there. We even got a tour of the dam and an informative talk about its history by one of the Corps of Engineer guides.

We were able to entertain several of our friends in our new motor home, which has been really fun. Our dear friend, Jay Yoder has been hospitalized since mid-August, but is making great progress. Fortunately, we were able to visit him several times and are so glad to see his progress. We did go out to Brush to see Jim’s Mom and sisters several times also. The first Friday in October, we attended Sara’s concert with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra. We are so glad she is able to continue playing with them as she enjoys it so much. Of course, we got to spend time with the grandkids too, which is always special.

The following week we hosted the rehearsal dinner for Jim and Carrie and had a great time visiting with new and old friends. The BIG day – the wedding, arrived on October 11. It was a cool and rainy day but that didn’t dampen any spirits and everything went pretty much according to plan except for having five kids aged 5 and under as part of the ceremony (they don’t do things according to plan!). They were so cute, but as kids do, got bored with the proceedings and started playing. The reception was held at the Crystal Rose and was very nice. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, including some of Jimmy’s friends who, with the help of several libations, started break dancing at one point.