Happy Birthday, Anthony

What a great treat that we got to spend the day with him celebrating his 12th birthday.  His choice of what he wanted to do was to spend time at the Sky Zone.  Huge place that has 3 areas of trampolines, what fun, made me wish that I was a kid.  Wouldn’t work now, once I hit the mat it would be the end of story, no way could I get up from it.  But the kids got one heck of a work out, and loved every minute. 

   

Foam Pit

   

Basketball

Dodge Ball

After that we went to see the Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D.  It was okay, have seen them all and the first was the best to me, could be cause it was new….. ya think?

We have been busy spending time with our son, DIL and grandson with his ball games.  They are over now, but he did make all-stars, so we will try and get a fast trip in before practice for that starts.  Had thought maybe going to Yosemite as this year, because of the massive snow pack melt, the water falls are awesome.  But think that for a 12 year old that would not rank too high on his bucket list.  So Monterey and the Redwoods that a are near by, seems a better choice.  Also the aquarium there is amazing.  And the cherry on this sundae, I’ll get my ocean fix! 

Chuck has played some golf and got to see a lot of his buddies, he also went to his Lions meeting.  And yesterday I drug him to play bridge, but we won’t be doing that again.  Sad to see how that group has dwindled, bridge is a dying game, so many people had passed.  When my friend and I started playing 25 years ago they referred to us as the kids in the group, sad to say but there aren’t really any kids in the group now.

Last night some of our golfing friends had a cook out and we got to spend the evening talking about the good “ole days”.  Great time, and even though I had a camera in my purse and two in the truck, not one picture did I get. 

Time has been flying by, seems we are busy every day.  Staying on the base is not the ideal situation because of the distance to town, but the campground has been rated the 3rd best of the military.  And tend to agree, great facilities.  And the price is right.  Weather here has been pretty good, although it has been cool for California, and we have gotten rain about 4 times in the past two weeks, once again very unusual for this time of year.

Till the next time.

Life is Good.

Eat and Drink What You Like

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Thursday night was our grandsons ball game and we were excited to see him play.  His team was a winner, and he got some hits, and had a hand in getting a run down out when the runner tried to steal third. Just three more games before the season is over, then there will be all-stars if he makes the team.  He loves baseball, but not like his dad did. 

He lived it, dreamed it, even would be playing in his sleep.  There was many a time he would be sound asleep, hollering “I got it, I got it”, or “the plays at home”.

We met some of our good friends for dinner before the game, and that almost didn’t take place.  We had talked earlier in the day and decided on Mexican food.  There are 2 great places here and we were meeting at one, but talked about the other.  Yep you know what is coming, we were waiting at one they were at the other.  Tried calling, but no answer on their cell phones, but we got the number for the other restaurant and sure enough, there was a couple waiting there.  So finally got together, by then I had had a second margarita so not sure how the food was, but  our time together was great. 

Today we spent around the RV, gave it a good wash and just had as down day.  Even cooked dinner, well, I did a great job warming it up,  cabbage  rolls, veggies, ect.  Got them at Costco and they were so good.  As usual there was too much, so it will making its appearance again in review.  My word for left-overs.

Life is Good

Donner Summit

We laid over in Reno an extra day as a late snow storm was making its way through the Sierras.  The kids left Sunday during the tail  end of it, and took them 8 hours to drive the 125 miles.  Come Monday we had a short window of opportunity to make it over the summit, and we left about 9 AM, the sun was out, no wind, and dry roads. What a beautiful drive, with all the snow looking so pristine, wow.

Really late in the year for a storm of this size to come through.  The few ski resorts that are still open were very happy, along with the stores getting rid of the winter supply of tire chains, know because our son had to buy a set.  Two inches of snow is enough for them to require chains in California. 

California is known as the land of fruit and nuts, (and don’t think it is cause what grows on trees) but it sure is nice to see the price of bing cherries this time of year.  Makes up for it  with the price of gas.  Although gas isn’t too much higher than what we have been paying on the way out here.

Needless to say we bought more than enough cherries.  We made our way to Beale AFB, which is about 12 miles from our sons house, cause the park we usually stay at was full.  The park on base is great, one of the best, but just so far from everything and everybody.  Oh well, six of one, half dozen of another. . 

We went to the school to pick up our grandson, and as he was expecting one of his parents cars it took a few minutes for him to realize who these people were that were waving and hollering at him.  He was so surprised, and embarrassed that he didn’t recognize us right away, it was so great to see him again.  Sunday is his birthday so we are planning a special day.  He also had requested, before we got here, that he wanted to go camping, so after school is out, June 5th, we will have to take care of that too.

During our first night here though, a raccoon got into the main electrical system and chewed half the base into a blackout.  Come morning they told us that it would be at least all day without power so we headed for town.  Got back about 8 last night and still no power, although it did come back on about an hour later. Finally got on the computer, awful how attached we get to these darn things. 

Life is Good.

Stuck in Reno

We are hoping to see Reno in the rear view mirror tomorrow, but have to wait and see if Donner Pass is open to high profile vehicles.  Kids left today, but we decided we would give it a day or two to calm down some.  Wind is really bad, and there is even snow falling……..where did spring go?  It was great meeting the kids here, but now wish that we had just gone the rest of the way into California.  Reno is not a place that we like to spend time in anymore.  It has gotten dirty and run down, and everything comes with a high price.  Besides can’t wait to surprise our grandson who still has no idea we are coming.  So excited.

Friday night we did go to see the Bill Engvall show, and it was very good.  He is one of the Redneck Comedy guys, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the cable guy, and there is a third, but can’t remember his name.  Anyway the show was so funny, you laughed from start to finish, and not a foul word in the entire performance.  So refreshing.  Did a little gambling, and just been hanging out.  Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow and we are out of here.  No matter, Life is Good.

Winnemucca Is the Place to Be

Rather long drive today, 370 miles, which for us is not something that we do very often.  However driving through Nevada does not leave you too many places to stop.  And as luck would have it we had a tire develop  a fast leak, thank heavens for Pressure Pro.  It was a beeping as soon as the tire began loosing air, so we were able to pull off safely And with the tire intact, and no damage to the 5th wheel.  However road service was to be at least 2 hours, but in a little over an hour we were back on the road. And we had a nice lunch, Chuck got a fast 40 winks, all is well that ends well. 

Today as we were zipping along at 60+ miles an hour, couldn’t help but think of the pioneers, in their wagon trains. 

                               What they endured crossing this vast country I can’t even imagine.  

    

Art on the salt flats.

Bonneville salt flats under water.

                              

Salt being extracted from  the water.

Tomorrow  our destination is Reno, where we are meeting our son and DIL.  They are there for the week end on a bowling end-of-the-season league party.  Will be great to see them again, but our grandson is not coming as he has ball games.  And he does not know that we are here so it will be a big surprise when we do see him, just can’t wait to give him a big hug.  He is our only grandson that we lived close to so we spent a lot of time with him in his early years.  Missed him a lot, sure will be great to spend time with him again.

Life Is Good

Salt Lake City

Easy travel day, little rain when we first got on the road around 9 AM, but once that passed. super travel day. Chuck decided to leave Springs one day sooner than we had originally planned due to weather moving in. And this morning I had to congratulate him on his fore sight. That hurt, to have to tell him he was right……..once again. Darn.

Wow, RV parks are sure starting to hold their sites at a premium. Last night we paid 35 and tonight 39, both with a Good Sam discount. Tomorrow have us going into a Passport America, 17.50. That will be in Winnemucca. Thank goodness for audio books, traveling through these desolate states. Not too much to take your mind off of mile after mile. Listening to one now that has 12 discs so should take us all the way in.

Decided to eat in tonight, stopped at the store picked up a few things and will save more than a few dollars. Well, not exactly. bought gas, which was 4.10 a gallon, better than yesterday at 4.21.

Life is Good.

Moving On

We left Colorado Springs this morning, heading for California. Decided that we would take a different route and by pass Denver. This was 24 heading west out of Springs. Two lane road, and hilly and winding, but beautiful drive.

Mapped it out and it read that the highest elevation was just over 9000 feet, but when we were at the top, signs were saying well over 1100. So much for map-quest. And yes that is a lot snow, but as you can see the sky was ever so blue. We did see a huge herd of elk and another of antelope. There were also quite a few deer along with a huge big horn sheep. And NO, I do not have one picture to show, there was no stopping as we just plain flew past them. Bummer.

Once we got to I-70, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way into Grand Junction.

The roll is just too big for her little hand, but she figured it out just fine!

Think these two could wrap “Po” around their fingers pretty fast?

Roinn had his last track meet while we were there. Even in kindergarten they were running the 400. It was so inspiring as the kids were coming down the home stretch everyone would start cheering, and the coaches were there to run in with the last few. Very nice.

Tomorrow we are planning to make Salt Lake, not even 300 miles, so should be no problem, as long as we have no problems.

Life is Good.

We Have A Plan

Yes indeedy, we have a plan. While in the RGV we had planned to take our time getting to Springs, seeing some of the sights along the way, over a period of six weeks or so. Then we would have been here till the 1st of July and we would have headed toward Salt Lake and then made our way up to Idaho and Yellowstone. But that fell apart when I decided that my tumor problem should be taken care of here, although it turned out thankfully to be nothing, it did do in our plans. So we have decided that we would just make a run to California and see our son and his family. We did not get to spend too much time with him when we were there last year as he started work on a power plant and was working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, so it left little time for visiting. Feels good to have a plan.

Our time here in Springs has flown by, the weather has changed so many times, we could have been here for months. The last few days have been wonderful though. Spring has defiantly sprung. We did get to meet up with Jesse and Ginger, RV-ing in the Kram-a-lot-Inn for dinner the other night. Tried our favorite Chinese place, and we had not eaten there since last year, so little worried that it might not be what it used to be, but it was wonderful. Ever in Springs, The Coal Mine Dragon, well worth the trip. It was good to see these “youngsters” again. They are work camping not too far from here, till October.

Finally broke down and got a Kindle, although have not used it yet, it is being charged as I write. I’ve gotten a few new toys here, a bullet mixer, tiny camera, oh yes, then I stumbled onto Penezys Spices. Which caused me to take another trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond (darn) for the magnetic spice containers.

Since I had no metal in the kitchen I attached two cookie sheets to the end of the cupboard and they make a great storage area for the spices, plus they are very visible. Notice that the labels are extra large print, lol.

Roinn and Kylee. He is a wonderful big brother, where as she is a total princess. Pink is her color, wonderful kids, but they are growing up way too fast.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mothers Day.

Life is Good.

OH MY!!!

I finally figured it out.. As I was conditioning my hair in the shower this morning, I took time to read my shampoo bottle.  I am in shock!  The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my entire body says "for extra volume and body"!

Seriously, why have I not noticed this before?  Tomorrow I am going to start using "Dawn" dish soap! It says right on the bottle, "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove".  
It pays to read the warning labels my friends!

Playing Tour Guide

Our friends, Bob & Barb Williams, stopped for a brief visit on their way to Livingston.  They are doing a month of volunteering at the care center in the Escapees Park.  They were game to seeing a few of the points of interest here in Colorado Springs, so we were off.  Our first stop was the Air Force Academy to view the chapel. 

It is really spectacular, I marvel every time we visit.

The inside looking to wards the entrance,  a huge pipe organ in the loft.

The front view. Pictures do not do it justice by any means.

The pictures are of the Protestant chapel, below this is also Catholic,

Jewish,

Buddha chapels.

From there we went to visitor center and lunch at Subway, and then it was on to the Garden of the Gods.  Our grandson was married at the base of this rock formation, called “kissing camels”.

My all time favorite view on the drive through the garden, years ago, the first time that I seen these rock formations I was totally blown away.  But after our years of travel although they still remain impressive, there are other places that dwarf them.

Bob, on the Top of the World!

Balancing Rock

Same rock, other side

And that ended our tour, after a brief rest, we went out to dinner, and once back at the RV, the guys had to have another game of hand and foot, but they came up losers once again. 

Score: Girls 2, Guys 0. 

This morning they were off, hopefully the wind died down some as it was blowing early.  It is their third day of being full-timers, and we are so glad that we will get to see them once again in Cody come August.

Life is Good.

White Easter, NOOOOOOOO

It happens every spring when we are tempted to arrive a few weeks earlier than we should.  Just call us slow learners.  Snow!

Okay, so it wasn’t like we had to shovel or anything, but considering we don’t do winter in any form  it was shocking. 

We have been enjoying our down time here, spending time with the kids, although their time is limited as their daily life of work goes on.  Our little great grand babies are still a little leary of these strangers that have come into their lives, although Roinn is comfortable with us.  Klyee, not so much.  Visiting only once a year is not quite enough.

                               

We spent Easter with them and it was fun to watch them go through their baskets,

and then outside to hunt eggs.  Sure brought back a lot of memories.

                              

Had a great dinner of ham with all the trimmings, and after the golf tournament was over we had a few games of pegs and jokers.  Girls were losers both times….

Wednesday we went to the Country Club for “chicken and bingo”.  Lovely club, and the food was wonderful.  The kids have a trail membership and are considering joining, but probably won’t at this time.  The manager invited Chuck out for a round of golf, and that made his night.  He also won at bingo. They only played about 10 games and for me that was just about the right amount. Watching paint dry and playing bingo have about the same appeal to me.  Could be because don’t think that I have ever won.

My week was ruined when the Cowboys got eliminated off the Amazing Race.  Feel that the other teams all cheated and  were rewarded, when the Cowboys played fair and were penalized for it. Think that is the last time I watch it, Yeah….sure!

 

The deer in our daughters front yard, they can grow nothing outside, unless if is hanging 10 feet in the air, it is unbelievable the way the deer invade the neighborhood.  And they truly do eat everything.  And they are not the least bit afraid of humans, I took these right next to them and they just continued to eating the lilac bush. 

We have two more weeks here and still have not made a decision on our next destination.  Sure that it will come to us, “ain’t no way” we can just wonder, not with these gas prices. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Life is Great.

TEXAS to COLORADO SPRINGS

Due to a medical miscue we made the decision to arrive in Springs earlier than we had originally planned. Thankfully all was a false alarm, so we will enjoy the snow when and if it comes, and it probably will. So nice to see our daughter and SIL. Also, our grandsons family, especially those two babies. Roinn who is 6 and Kylie 3, they are so sweet, never sitting still. Sure would be nice if we could buy that energy in a store. What you can buy in a store here is marijuana, and there are stores all over, on the main street that runs through Old Colorado City, there must be 15 of them. 1/8 for $25.00. They soon will be having a price war between the legal and illegal pot.

Saturday we met the kids for breakfast as the little ones have karate, and our daughter and SIL have made it into a time they set aside to spend time with the kids, which is great. From there we went to the arcade and ditzed around for a bit with them. In the afternoon we attended a performance of The Thorn. It was amazing. Put on by the New Life Church in there mega building, which holds 5000 people. It is a round building with the stage in the center, so there is not a bad seat, although ours were some of the best. They have over 500 people in the cast, truly truly amazing. Then we all went back to the house for dinner and a few games of pegs & jokers. Guys lost, not once but twice.

Today Chuck is out on the golf course, and I’m going to walk over and get my nails done. The campground that we stay in here is nothing to speak of, the price is good, 500 a month includes cable, electric and there is wi-fi if you want it. Plus it is in walking distance of shops and restaurants. And our daughters house is but 6 blocks away, which is the main reason we stay here. Choices are rather limited in this area. The campground at the Air Force Academy is nice, but out of the way.

Glad to be back on the blog, even thought there probably will not be to much to write about for awhile. Just thankful that all is well and

Life is Good.

MIDNIGHT TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!

Yes it is, staying up till midnight so I can make reservations for Defeated Creek for “the gathering”.  And wouldn’t you know it, but I have a doctors appointment for 8 AM.  Have not had to be any where that early for months! 

We have been doing the mundane, getting things ready to move on down the road.  Jacks are fixed.  Had the carpet shampooed today, and they were so fast, but did an excellent job.  The best part they were right on time, so we didn’t have to worry that they might not show, after we had moved everything out side. So there are still businesses that try to please the customer. 

The past few days the weather has been so hot, yesterday broke records when it hit 103.  Now it does not matter that the humidity was only 14%, it was HOT.  But about seven last night the cold front came in and it was wonderful, and today just heaven. 

Jack and the Beanstock comes to mind.  Hope that it blooms before we leave.

That’s all for now, Life is Good.