Go news and Bad news

I am not sure what you would like first but I will give you the bad news. It has not been a good week. We had a issue with the motor that lifts the front legs. We actually noticed it last Thursday. We called out a repairman and he installed a new motor on Monday. Jack noticed that when he lifted the front legs, it was blowing the fuses. So we again called Lance the repairman. Now one of the gears in one of the legs is damaged which means he needs to order a new one because it is not a normal part (of course not...why would we get that lucky). Unfortunately it has to come from Indiana. The part will not be here until Monday or Tuesday so we are here for another week. So it will not be until the 20th or so before we get home.

The good news is we get to enjoy the Oregon Coast for a few more days.

Washington & Oregon Coasts

The week at Pacific Beach, Washington provided us with a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We had access to the beach which we enjoyed only a few times because of the weather. The fog and chilly winds came in so often that we had to buy heavy jackets. One day we drove up to Quinault Rain Forest and strolled along the fern and moss covered canyon. The quiet trail crossed rushing streams and a waterfall. We took a ride to Ocean City which is a neat little town.

Fort Rilea which is near Astoria, Oregon was our next stop. We spent one very rainy day there but did have a couple of days to explore. Cannon Beach was picturesque with a view of Haystack Rock. What a great beach with this huge rock on its shore! We stopped in Seaside to have lunch and did a little shopping in the tourist stores....another charming ocean city.

Presently we are in Seal Rock, Oregon overlooking the stunning rocky shoreline. We have been luck with RV sites to have the opportunity to have ocean views. The ocean is just a short walk so we took the dogs down to the beach and let them run. They could be beach bums. Jack and I had so much fun watching them run
and explore. After an hour or so they were beat and spent the rest of the day sleeping. Other than the beach we went whale-watching in Depoe Bay and found a restaurant with great company, great food and a great view.....fantastic. We took a ride to Yachats and Waldport to see the rugged, undeveloped stretch of some of the most scenic ocean shores. Cape Perpetua has awe-inspiring views, crashing surf, tide pools and old-growth forests. I love the Oregon Coast.

Thursday we are leaving this great area to head home. We intended to spend more time but some areas we wanted to stop do not have RV parking available...so home we go. I am personally looking forward to wearing shorts and sandals again. Plus I really miss my Greeting Card Class and my Arizona friends. The plan is to be home next Monday, September 13. See you all then.

Whidbey Island & Fort Lewis

We had reservations at North Whidbey RV Park which was just outside of Deception Pass State Park. The island is filled with trees and bays....very beautiful. While we spent time on Whidbey Island, we took a ride north to Bellingham. We went on some back roads and found a great little manor that served the best crab cakes. We had great service and a view of the ocean. We found an oyster farm and learned how they harvest oysters....very interesting. Another day we drove up to Anacortes at the very north end of the island. We also took a trip midway on the island to Fort Casey State Park (an old army fort that guarded Puget Sound). We stopped in Coupeville to an Arts & Craft show which was right on the bay. You would have thought it would be cool but it was a very hot day for these parts. In the 90's so we did not stay very long. Just too hot for us with the humidity. Jack convinced me to go to a car show in Oak Harbor. This day was glorious as the weather was perfect. The rest of the time we just relaxed. The mornings were foggy but the afternoons were in the 70's and perfect to sit outside and have cocktails before dinner.

Our next stop was Fort Lewis just south of Tacoma. We had reservations at their RV Park which was really nice. We had a great private spot surrounded by trees. Our friends and neighbors from Mission Royal, Karen and Lance Thurston live in Orting which is about 30 miles from Fort Lewis. We were able to get in some golf with them. We golfed the 18 hole course at Cedar Creek and the 9 hole course. Karen and Lance live on this course in a beautiful home that overlooks both courses and Mt. Rainier. They were marvelous hosts. We had a delicious dinner that included fresh items from their garden. Karen was gracious and provide us with fresh green beans and blueberries and some home made blueberry muffins to take home. We also played the 18 hole course at Ft. Lewis with them. (For some reason I was another golfer that day as I hit the ball well....amazing.) We had a great time with our friends and wish we had more time there. We took a drive up to Mount Rainier which was incredible. We stopped at a waterfalls called Narada Falls which was one of the most beautiful site. What a great week!

We are now in Pacific Beach Park which is overlooking the Pacific Ocean. More on that later. We do not have a date when we are heading back to Arizona as the weather still looks too hot.

Photos: Mt Rainier, Narada Falls (if you look closely you can see a rainbow in the falls) and Carol at Ft. Lewis Golf Course

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

We spent a few days exploring Yellowstone National Park. We saw several hot springs which were very interesting but the best part were the waterfalls. I have a passion for waterfalls and we saw some that were absolutely amazing. We drove into Old Faithful just as it started gushing so we really missed that site. We did not want to spend another 90 minutes waiting for the next one. It had been a long day because of the road construction going on in the park. We did see some wildlife but did not see a bear which Jack really wanted to see. I am not sure his passion for bears but personally I like the stuffed cuddly ones much better.

We decided to pass on Glacier Park this year because I really wanted to see the Grand Tetons and "Wow". They were just awesome. After driving through the park we stopped in Jackson Hole and had lunch and did some shopping. It was a beautiful weather day so we got some great photos.

After several weeks of site seeing we were tired. We decided to spend a couple of days to recoup. We found a campground in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and did just that. Once we felt renewed, we called Russ and Carol Griffin (friends from Mission Royal) to see if they would like to get together. Russ and Jack decided to golf. While they played golf, Carol showed me downtown Spokane and Gonzaga University (I never knew that Gonzaga was in Spokane)...Really a neat old city and university. We had a late lunch and a nice visit. We sure enjoyed the day.

We are now on Whidbey Island which is about 85 miles north of Seattle. We are going to spend 10 days here relaxing and do a little site seeing. We just love the pine trees and bays that surround this island so it is a perfect spot for us to just chill out.

Everything is going well the summer other than locating RV spots this summer. There is a 30% increase of RV travel so it has been a challenge. We are enjoying our summer and will continue to keep you updated as we move on. Thanks to you that sent me a message. I do want to know how your summer is going also. Love to all.

Black Hills

It has been a busy few weeks. We finally put the rain and humid weather behind us after leaving Wisconsin and we actually are seeing a lot of sun. So now we start our touring of the northwest U.S. We arrived at Dickenson, North Dakota to check out the Theodore Roosevelt National Park where we saw prairie dogs, wild horses and bison. Wes topped in Medora for lunch and there was Stan and Karen Lubeck (San Juan Trial neighbors) sitting in the same restaurant. We enjoyed lunch together catching up since we left Casa Grande. What a treat.

Now onto the Black Hills.....We started our venture in Spearfish, South Dakota. We found a great RV park in the City of Spearfish Park so we did some relaxing there watching the deer in the Spearfish Creek which was out our back window. We spent a day viewing the beautiful scenery of Spearfish Canyon viewing the Black Hills and waterfalls. Another day we drove to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. We even took the walking tour around that large rock. Boy do we need the exercise after eating all that Wisconsin food.

We moved onto Hill City, South Dakota to see the attractions around this great country. We went to the Mount Rushmore National Park (breath taking), Crazy Horse National Park (unbelievable), Custer National Park (lots of buffalo, mules and deer), The Presidential Wax Museum (interesting) and took a train ride between Keystone and Hill City (history). The Black Hills are so beautiful winding through the roads connecting these sites. We went through one lane tunnels and saw a lot of wildlife. I feel so fortunate to be able to do these things. Life is so good to us.

Now we are off to see Yellowstone and and Grand Titons. We plan on spending a few days seeing that part of the country. I hope you are all doing well. Don't forget to send me a note. I miss everyone.

Mom's

It has been a couple of weeks since I updated you on our travels. The reason there has been no update is that we have not moved in two weeks. We have been parked in the driveway of my Mom's in Edgar, Wisconsin. My Mom is 87 years old and still lives on her own. She is very healthy and is a real go getter but there are some things she is not able to do anymore. Jack and I painted her kitchen, caulked her tub and kitchen, washed windows and painted window frames, cleaned out the basement and other things that needed doing. Mom and I picked two crates of strawberries and spent a day cleaning them and making jam.

For the fun things we did was to go golfing and lunch with friends, Karen and Keith. We visited a friend of Mom's who she had not seen in 16 years. This was a big weekend for the Edgar Carnival that has been going on since I was a child. There was a big parade in this little town of 1500 people (When I lived here the population was 345). Mom had 17 people for blueberry pancakes and sausage (so good) Sunday morning and then we all went outside to watch the parade which goes right passed the house. We played Hand and Foot with Mom and Aunt Margret and I was always on the loosing end. Over the week I ran into some old high school friends and it was so nice catching up.

A sad note was attending a funeral of my ex-brother-in-law. He had been mugged about 1 month before and was hit on the back of his head. He was not able to recover from the incident. He was 67 years old and had lost his wife in January to MS. He took care of her for 35 years and now this happened. They had 3 children and 5 grandchildren. That was a sad day! He was such a good man.

We are heading to Sparta tomorrow for the 4th of July to spend time with my sister and her husband. We are taking Mom along for a short vacation. When Mom, my sister and I are together, we have so much fun so I am looking forward to the weekend. We are sooooo lucky to still have our Mother in our lives.

Once we leave Wisconsin, we are heading West!

Family

It has been some time since I updated everyone. It has been a busy couple of weeks. We spent Memorial Weekend with Jack's family. We were able to get a nice spot at the RV campground in Elgin, Illinois which is only miles from Judy's (Jack's sister) house. On Memorial Day Jack's nieces and nephews joined us at Judy's house for a barbeque. It was so nice to see everyone and to see how much the kids have grown in the past two years. Thanks to Judy for arranging the day as it was a lot of fun. Especially the old videos.
We decided to go to Wisconsin Dells as I had not been there since I was a small child. It happens to be an hour drive to Kathy (my sister) and her husband, Steve 's house. We drove to Sparta, Wisconsin to golf with them but we only got in 6 holes before it poured. We did get a great dinner and visit with them. The following day they came to The Dells to tour. I decided that this is a place for families who like water parks, not for us. We went back to the RV for burgers and had fun reminiscing about old times.

Our next destination was Sheboygan to go to my son (Craig's) house for Tyler's (my grandson) graduation and to assist with the after party which was on the 11th of June. It was a very busy week preparing food, making photo boards about Tyler, cleaning and attending a few sports events that Brooks (my youngest grandson) particapated in. I did not spend too much time with Lexi (my 16th year old granddaughter) as she was still in school, working at TJ Max and getting ready for a trip to Kentucky. I was able to golf once and Jack a few more times. Other than all the cold weather and rain, it was a great week.

It continues to be cloudy and rainy again today. It looks like it is suppose to continue off and on the rest of the week. I had to get out my jeans and long sleeve t-shirts just to keep warm. The shorts and sandals have been given a rest. We are now in Oshkosh to visit with Jeff ( my son) and Shelly (his girlfriend) for a few days. Also my aunts and uncle who live in Neenah.

We got stuck in the mud trying to park the RV. I so appreciate Jack and he was able to get out of it. I love him so.

On the road again

The winter is over and the temps are heading towards 100 degrees so it was time for Jack and I to venture on a new experience. We packed the RV and headed out on Wednesday, May 19th. We did not have any issues to our first destination which was Branson to meet our good friends Kathy and Dave. We took a new route which was supposed to be more scenic but I did not find that to be the case. So it was a pretty boring ride. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and were able to watch the “Sprint All Star Race” with Kathy and Dave which did not turn out good for my driver. We spent Sunday and Monday playing cards and visiting which was just great. The weather was in the 80’s but very humid.

Today we are heading to our next destination which is Elgin, Illinois to spend Memorial Weekend with Jack’s Sister, Judy. Plans are to golf on Thursday.