February 28, 2011 Phoenix

Two nights in Phoenix.  We left Picacho on Saturday morning, after a lovely breakfast at the RV park we were so smittened with.  Breakfast was even better as we sat with folks who have spent months in that park, and returned trips year after year.  The park was just a off from Route 10, and we noticed the traffic noise.  The people we chatted with just enjoyed the park, their neighbors, the pool area, and other activities that the park had.  We all shared stories, which were very enjoyable, and they gave us suggestions of where we should stop on our way north thru Phoenix and then up to the Grand Canyon.  I had to ask if the roads were high and without guard rails, and they are so we aren't going on those scenic tours.  The park was so nice, we wish we could have stayed longer, but since we had reservations, we did not.  Moral of the story-never make reservations! 
So we arrived in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon.  Getting the camper backed in was interesting to say the least.  Russ managed as I knew he would, but without much help from me.  Oh well, he loves me anyway!  Phoenix is a big city, but doesn't have the skyscrapers like Boston or New York or Dallas.  And it seems to be completely surrounded by mountains.  Sunday, we went looking for quilt shops.  Love our GPS, but only found one to be opened.  One was sufficient-it was a nice shop and Russ is adding to my projects.  We drove down to Old Town Scottsdale, and walked through many, many jewelry shops.  Its always nice to walk in the sun and no snow and with my sandals on.  We found a place to dine, the 'Grapevine', so were able to dine out on their patio.  It was a nice day-and it was very nice to receive a phone call from Bruce & Cissy Furbish.  It was great to hear from the two of you and know that you are following our blog.  Its nice to know that friends and family are reading our 'babbling dribble'.  We are enjoying it ourselves. 
Today, we met up with the Browns-Ben, Donna, Alicia, Chris, and Jon.  They are staying in Scottsdale, so it was nice to see family from home and spend time with them.  We'll be heading north on Wednesday and they will be leaving on Thursday, so we hope to see them again.  If not, I know that we will get together at the island this summer.(Ben, we owe yiu a margureita)
Not much more going on now-or maybe I should pass it onto my humorous husband.  And here HE is!!!

Linda and Pete

I think I've lost her! Willie I want her back!!

One of the hundreds of orange trees in this park.

love to all-linda  well my bride has about covered it. she didn't tell you that she haqd her picture taken with "Wille Nelson" and Catus Pete today. she was good about it, even though she wasn't thrilled with the whole scene,   Tomorrow we need to g to MY store, Lowes as we need to get some RV antifreeze for our trip further north. It appears that it may be freezing and I don't want to get caught short.  I am looking forward to really shopping. She thinks I'm nuts. If you look at Phoenix on the map it look pretty big but it really doesn't show just how spread out it is. I have no idea where everyone work or lives but it appears that they all work at retail places just to support the huge amounts of people. kind of a big circle if youget my thought. I now also know that I wish I had invested in stop lights, they are all here! the travel lanes are marked out for tiny cars, not trucks, my mirrors cross the line when I am in the middle of my lane. Not complaining just triing to give you a feel for the area.  Hey are they talking about Charlie Sheen everywhere as much as they do here? It's all that is n the news.  IThey also are ravingf about the snow, they got a inch or so and it's like a huge deal. I guess you don't have much sympathy in New england.  Have we told you that we are enjoying our RV home(we bought it from 125 RVand Marine in Rochester, NH) and I am hoping that when we get home I can get some deals for parts if I mention their name . just kidding, we do enjoy the roominess, convience and it has become home to us. As Sweetie said ( i call her that when she isn't looking) it's nice to here from our friends and family that our ravings are being followd and that someone other than me are having fun with it.  Well I've added nothing to this so I will quit and try and add a picture of Linda ad Willie.  

picacho, az or pistashio as I call it

Hi,
 My lovely wife is getting tired of my Maineese. I call these places, with names that noone can properly pronounce, as I can. Picacho is pistashio, Huachuca is hiawatha, and so on.  Why anyone would pick these spellings is beyond me. What is wrong with York, dover and easy names?   we left Tomestone this morning and drove north thru tucson and landed here in pistashio right after lunch. The weather is great and we setup and went and started laundry and then sat by the pool, warm sunny and GREAT views of the mountian right behind the park. swam, hot tubbed, and relaxed until we were gettng red. we only have the free internet thru the park for 90 minutes every 10 hours so I must rush! yeah right.  we got one channel on tv that speeks english  and you can amagine me triing to figureout the news and weather on the spanish(mexican) speeking station. Again, Linda isn't impressed.  we hope to take part in getting some of the big breakfast the park puts on tomorrow morning.  We both used the parks showers tonite , as having unlimited hot water and room to really spread out is nice. not understandable unless you have showered in a small RV unit with < 5 gallons of hot water that cool as you clean. you can all come to our place this summer and try it if you want the experance'

Thursday, February 24

Good morning from Huachuca, AZ and its Thursday morning. I don't think that we have written anything since we were in Las Cruces, NM and Mesilla. That was such a fun spot but Russ wrote about that. On Tuesday morning we left Las Cruces and arrived early afternoon at Fort Willcox RV park in Willcox, AZ. I'm not sure if we mentioned it or not, but when we met the folks from Pelham, NH way back in Carlsbad, NM, they told us about Passport America. We have Good Sam's club for a discount at most of the parks we have stayed at (10%), but Passport America offers a 50% discount. It doesn not apply to all parks, but we signed up for it online a couple of days ago and already have saved the cost of the application. So, we like that. More margarita money!!!

We spent one night in Willcox so didn't bother to unhook the truck from the camper. The park was a small park, but very friendly and clean. The laundry room was the nicest one we had used throught this trip. They even had waffles and coffee available in the morning.

I think I am getting my days, times, elevations and states confused, even though I am writing notes during the day. On our way to Willcox, outside of Deming, NM, crossed over the Continental Divide. I'm getting better with the heights as the elevation here was 4585 ft.

Okay, now onto our current place of lodging. Russ selected this park and he did a good job of it. Its right in the middle of nowhere-about 10 miles from Tombstone. We visited the town yesterday and it is alive strictly because of the tourists. Somehow we managed to get to a 'gunfight' in the morning and the shootout at the OK Corral in the afternoon. By the time we got to the second gunfight, it was getting colder, and I just wanted it to get over-I knew the results. The first gunfight was better as the 'actors' were having fun and adlibbing as they went along. We did make it into a saloon to have a margarita. Did they have margaritas when Wyatt Earp was sheriff? I don't remember seeing any when I watched the Wyatt Earp show with Hugh O'Brien. Boy am I dating myself.

HOLD ON----I have to move my chair out into the sun. Its getting a little breezy out here in the desert.

That is something about the desert, that we are finding out. The temperature really drops at night. It was 25 when I woke up this morning. Gets warm (but not as warm this year as normal). We keep hearing this from every place that we stay!

\We have done something which we haven't done all along this trip. We have made reservations for the next 10 days. Tomorrow, we are headed towards Phoenix and are staying in Picacho; then moving onto Phoenix for 4 nights and then up to Williams for 3 nights. Guess this isn't 10 days but close. We decided at the beginning of the week, that we would go to the Grand Canyon. We hadn't even mentioned going there, but I don't think that either one of us realized just how close it is. We will camp in Williams, AZ and take 'The Train' to the south rim; a bus ride tour of the area; and a buffet-then the ride back. I think I have written all this before, so I'm not going to continue. Just have to check this once I go online again.

Love to all-linda

Sorry friend-I typed this one sitting out in the sun, and hadn't realized that Russ had written about some of this time earlier.  Oh well, hope you don't mind hearing things twice.

Lina

Arizona

view fromour RV last nite overlooking Las Cruces

ARIZONA

We made it, we are now in Willcox, Arizona in a small park just off HWY 10. Got here fairly early, setup sat out in the sun, it was nice. We spent quite awhile doing the planning, scheduling, route figureing, and reservations thru March 4th. That is way to much for me. I get stressed out and cranky triing to remember from where to where and when to when and triing to find RV parks in Scottsdake was a total pain. I retired so I wouldn't have to do that stuff any more. We got it done so now to relax. We hardly ever make reservations as most places have had plenty of room, but in "these here parts" it's getting sketchy without them. We tried to cook on our little outside tabletop gas grill and it won't hardly even get warm.  Jess and Jason how did you ever use it for your tailgate party? I plan on leaving it here in the trash and stopping at Walmart and getting one that is useful. I did finish off the pork chops in the friing pan and they were pretty good.  we got more laundry done as this little park has about the best laundry room as we have found.
The park had lots of open spaces when we got here and it has filled up quite a bit. The people that we meet are very nice but not many are organized or know what they are doing. That's my opinion anyway. They guy that parked next to us dragged his leaking septic hose all over the place while hooking it up, hooked up his water nd it's leaking all over just because he didn't both to tighen up the connection, but he did ask if he left enough room bewteen us. He did do that.   Guys, you should see some of the sights at these parks, they are almost as good as the scenery along the roads.
did I tell you that you can "rent " tires.  I guess it's more of a loan, you pay so much each month for a used tire. I think it might make it up home.
Just rambeling so I will post  this and let Miss Linda do what she wants on here when she wants, so the spelling isn't fixed.  Russ
Tomorrow we are headed about one hour down the road to Tombstone.  It appears that there is quite a bit to see ad looks like fun. We'll let you know. I will have a new grill before we get there!!
feel free to make your comments on this site, we love toget your views

Las Cruces, NM

view over Las Cruces from our RV park

Where we ate in Mescilla

Our RV (linda left the lite on)

Looking over the city and one range of mountains that surround us

Hi all,
 Well we have had a good time in Las Cruses, New Mexico(just north of El Paso Texas). As linda said yesterday we had a blowout on the trailer tire as we were getting here on Sunday. This morning(Monday the 21st, I got up and called the local Ford dealership(it's HUGE) and they said come right over. I found my way there and had the oil and filters changed, the tires rotated and a general look over. They didn't have a trailer tire so while I waited I called a local Rv center and the gave me a number of "ONSALETIRE" and they had plenty and were only a couple of blocks from the Ford garage. Truck done, 15 minutes at the tire place, a quick stop at True Value for a bolt and fitting, and back to the rv park. Only gone for a couple of hours. Tire mounted as spare and Linda and I headed back to town to the AAA office for NM, AZ maps and tour books(have no idea why we missed those states when we got books at home). From there we went to the oldest part of Las Cruces called Mesilla(mes-ci-a) and walked arond where Billy the Kid used to roam and was actually tried and convicted there. The old stage coach building is now a great resturant where we ate. I had met a guy in the ford place that was origanlly from Massichusets and came up to me wanting to hear me talk as he has been away for 32 years. He knew about Rochester area from when his son lived in Milton. He raved about the green chilie sauce in this area so I asked the waiter for some, a the red salsa was to hot for me. The green is great flavor and not HOT. The margueritas were very good too. We walked around the commons and checked out the shops. We met a salesman in the rug store(well I bought a mexican blanket there) and his wife was originally from Hampton, NH. we chatted and he told us he even knew about "brookers"  Seabrookers that is. We all laughed and had fun . His wife never tells anyone that she went to Winicunniet high schools as she is embarassed about Pam Smart issues. After spending enough time shopping and site seeing we headed back to Wally world(Walmart for thoses that aren't familier) food and stuff and back to the park for supper. I actually made meatloaf last nite, used the rubber pan and it survived the oven. I guess it's some kind of synthetic stuff and I was concerned. We warmed some up, nuked a potato and put together a salad, what a meal.  We walked around the park, which is on a high hill overlooking town, we took some day and nite pictures and hope they will show better on a screen than they do on the camera.  tomorrow we are headed to Willcox, NM on our way to Tomestone. Route 10 most of the day  and I don't look forward to it, as it's usually 3 lanes and quite busy, but there aren't many roads heading west "arond these parts". Now I will hand off the my presious wife so she can "fix" my spelling, grammer and my mis-telling of events.   Russ  (Some spelling I just won't correct.  I can't tell him that I am his precious wife! Everyday I am just thankful that Russ and I are sharing this adventure.) love to all-linda

Carlsbad,New Mexico

Hi all,

 Just to let you know that we are alive and well but haven't taken the time to post lately. We are getting ready to leave this morning so we will try and update this evening. Off to Las Cruces by way of El Paso.

Well hello again,

Back to trying to get caught up with our trip news. We spent the last 3 days in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Arrived on Thursday. We got to the camp ground early afternoon and set up. That was after getting into town on fuel fumes. It's a pain when the fuel warning sounds and dashboard words telling you that it's 50 miles to empty and it's sooo smart it keeps telling you that you have 40, 30, 20 miles to empty. As if I didn't know it!!! Well we made it and for fuel for top $ and then drove 5 miles to the campground seeing at least six places for cheaper fuel. Just venting. We went to town and found a quilt shop and got some MORE fabric and had a great chat with the girls that work there. We found a pizza place that looked sketchy but had been recommended as being ok. They had a buffet special and it was awesome, we even had pizza dessert pizza, wow the cinnamon and sugar!! back for a quiet nite in our “house” Friday we moved the RV to a repair shop next door to the campground for them to do a brake, axle, and bearing inspection, while we went to Carlsbad caverns. The caverns were amazing. It's a big hole in the ground that you walk down into to 750 feet below the surface. Linda is quite nervous about heights and had a tough time on the ride into the cavern state park, as the road had some steep drop offs. She saw a lot of the front seat cushion. You all should be very supportive of my wonderful wife as she walked all the way down into the cavern by staying on the inside of me and hanging on to me and the railing, when there was one. SHE DID IT!!! I am so proud of her!!! My arm still has the grip marks but she did it. The caves were spectacular. We walked over three miles into the earth and saw all they had to offer.

Its Linda now. Yes, I made it, but the ride down, I just kept my head down and didn't bother to look at all the wonderful views that Russ told me about. I'm much better off that way.

Saturday, Russ spoke to some fellow campers in the campground who suggested that we go to Sitting Bull Falls. We had seen a little about it, and it didn't seem that interesting. Fortunately they recommended it. We drove approximately 35 miles outside of town, through nothing but range land, and mountains, seeing no people and some cows-and very few vehicles going either way. Got to the falls, and walked just a short way from the parking lot. Its a flume of water that comes out of the top of a high hill (low mountain) and just pours over the side creating pools of water in different spots, and just a very pretty place. The sun was out and it was beautiful so we just sat there for quite a while, enjoying the sun and the people around. Its been so much fun just chatting with different folks to find out where they are from and what places they recommend us going to. Of course we have our recommendations also.

When we got back into Carlsbad, we were looking for someplace for lunch. Unfortunately it was late for lunch and early for dinner, but one place was having wine tasting. Why not! We didn't stay long, but I tasted the wine and Russ & I laughed at some of the people. You know how I like my wine-with ice cubes when necessary, often times from the box and often. I really can't distinguish the oak, the pepper, the individual fruits, but this one guy had to get a larger glass for his nose. We left, but we are laughing about his nose!

Dinner was at Chilis last night and we've been staying away from places we have at home, but the town seems to close up at 4:00 PM.

Today we travelled to Las Cruces, NM. Had to go back into TX and then the outskirts of El Paso. Took the 375N Loop around El Paso. That was as high as the elevation up to the Caverns. Fortunately, no severe drop offs so I was okay. We were about 35 miles from Las Cruces, just getting onto I-10 when we got a flat tire on the camper. It was on Russ's side, and there was no way he could change the tire out on the 'breakdown' lane of I-10. We drove a short ways to a parking lot and he changed it there. So tomorrow we are buying a spare tire and having an oil change on the truck. Good thing we are staying here two nights! Oh, and there has been a wind storm blowing all the sand around-and there's lots of sand. We are having fun-doesn't it sound like it!

Love to all-linda

Sam Angelo

Well we made it to the highlite or our trip. The "proud birthplace" of our great friend Jeff Allen. As you can see by the pictures, they even have it posted that Jeff was born here. The guys working in the visitors center must be related to Jeff, as they were so nice and very helpful and wanted us to stay and visit longer.   Jeff we miss you! My turn (Linda).  It was an interesting trip through miles and miles and miles of field, hills and moutains in the distance, oil rigs and a few more wineries.  We aren't stopping at them now-wouldn't have any room for anything else.  Travelling on the back roads as we have been most of the time in Texas, we aren't seeing much traffic.  Russ said yesterday that he thinks the roads have been built just so they can get to the telephone polls.  It still amazes me how far we can see in any direction.  I've also started to keep track of the elevation.  I have alot of free time!  When we were in Padre Island driving along the gulf shore, we were at 3 feet above sea level.  Yesterday we were as high as 2280.  It will be interesting to see where we will be once we get into New Mexico, which is where we will be today. 
As Russ said, we stopped in San Angelo and the gentlemen at the Visitors Center were very nice and interested in our travels.  Everyone likes to tell us about the cold spell we missed several weeks ago.  Russ told one that we had to delay our trip for a day as we had 14 inches of snow.  One gentleman told me that they've had 14 inches of snow, but it has taken 15 years.  He thinks we should move to San Angelo!  The downtown has four lanes of traffic going through it.
Passed through town and neede some fuel again.  Stopped at a gas station where we could walk over to the SONIC.  This was the first SONIC we have been to as the parking lots are not large enough for the truck and fifth wheel.  It was a treat.  A real cowboy with real spurs on his boots asked me, 'Maaaaam, what is it that you are eating'.  It was a grilled chicken salad.  I didn't know that real cowboys ate grilled chicken salads.  We have been seeing lots of dead looking trees along the sides of the highways all through Texas and haven't known what they are.  Russ went over to the cowboy, and said, 'You look like someone from around these parts'.  How original.  Well the trees are mesquite and they lose their leaves in the winter and don't leaf out again til there's no sign of front.  They are 'real smart trees'.
So we know what those dead trees are on the side of the road. 
Passing through the town and its outskirts of Sterling, we saw hundreds of huge windmills.  They were all aways away, but we never did see a sign regarding them.  We also starte to see a  bunch of oil wells along the side of the road.  One was larger than the others and said 'Nabors Rig #24' on the side.  That was in Garden City.  And we saw a sand mining pit in that same area.  Busy area.
Now we are in Midland.  This is the home of former President George W. and Laura Bush.  We thought we might spend a couple nights here, but we are leaving shortly.  Got a flat tire on the camper last night and the camping area we are in is right out in a dust bowl.  I think our neighbors are junk yards, and industrial facilities.  We will be leaving shortly and headed to Carlsbad, NM.  Getting out of Texas today.  But we'll be back.
Love to all-Linda

Early Evening on Feb 15th

Howdy folks-
We are sitting out on our patio plotting our trip for the next few days.  We are deciding whether to go to the Carlsbad Caverns, but I'm jus leery about any heights.  Right now we are planning on stopping there.  Russ is concerned with travelling along Interstate 10, but I don't want to take too many back roads going through the mountains of  New Mexico and Arizona.  I may have mentioned it before, but individuals have told us that back roads often times do not have guard rails, and have steep drops over the side of the mountains.  Not something I look forward to-
But we wanted to tell you what we did today.  I think Russ will add photos after I finish typing.  We decided to go to the LBJ Ranch which is a National Park in Stonewall, TX.  Its about 15 miles from where we are staying.  The national park naturally has a gift shop and we hd fun there.  The tour is a self guided driving tour with a CD to listen to.  Its a great tour.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was interesting also, as Russ and I both remember LBJ being president.  Probably my memory is clearer as I was a bit older.  LBJ was the President when I graduated from high school. 
Anyways, there is a 'working' farm on the ranch that the midwife who attended to LBJ's birth grew up in.  It was fun to see the furniture in the structures as we have both had similar pieces in either our grandparents homes.  The house where LBJ was born is no longer there, but they have reconstructed a replica.  The house is called a dogtrot house.  There are rooms on either side of an area which could almost be considered a porch.  We then went further onto to the show barn, airplane hanger and the 'Texas White House'.  LBJ raised herefords and there are still lots  on the ranch.  In fact, as we travelled the road through the ranch, we had to wait for them to cross the roads.  Interesting.  There were several  in the barn, all with 'branded' numbers in their horns and LBJ on the other.  I didn't realize this, but LBJ was the first president to conduct business away from the Washington White House.  The convenients of modern technologies.  Three major television stations and electric typewriters.  His office in the home had the same metal daily calendar that I had on my desk at work for 30 plus years.
The home has five rooms that we were able to go through.  These rooms have been redecorated as they were when he was president.  We really were glad that we went on this tour.
Coming back into town, we were amazed at number of wineries.  We passed six in the 15 miles.  Also, lots and lots of peach farms and orchards.  Much larger than the one tree we have in our back yard. 
Got back into town and tried out a Mexican restaurant-Mamacitas.  Very good food, I'm really beginning to like the charro beans.  I've been told that everyone needs to eat beans every day!  Isn't that right Tom King! 
Oh, lots of the structures around here are made of  limestone.  We've seen the limestone for sale  on the side of the road, but haven't seen any limestone quarries.  Something I'm going to have to check into.
Another thing we saw was a huge junk yard.  Neither of us had seen one of those in years.  Things that impress us northerners.
Another oh-Russ made a purchase today-he's a COWBOY now!  He has the Stetson to prove it.  I think my husband looks pretty darnn good in it.  So I guess we'll have to have a cowboy party when we get home.  Enough for tonight.  Love to all-hope you are enjoying hearing about our travels.  We are enjoying the travelling!
wait til you see me all "cowboyed up" I'm 6 foot tall now.  let Linda know that I also need boots.  RB

February 14-Valentine's Day-

first day relaxing sitting in the sun

Hondo,TX

view from campsite

Sisterville, TX

Fredericksburg street art

Hello-Happy Valentine's Day......
The weather was extremely foggy this morning so we stayed around Hondo until we finished a load of wash.  We noticed the other day that there seemed to be a number of turf farms in the area of Hondo, and when we left this morning, travelling in a different direction, we noticed several more.  Also, after the flat lands around Hondo, we had hills all around us.  We'd be driving to the top of a hill and be able to see forever.  And there would be nothing but bushes, some trees, and rocks, with houses in the distance.  There is so much land in the state.  No wonder we have been in this state for three weeks. 
We are now in Fredericksburg, TX,  but on the way over we stopped at two wineries.  Another passport.  Unfortunately when we went to two last week, they didn't give us one to have stamped, so we can't win a prize.  Might have been a BOX of good wine!
 We kind of ran out of steam last nite so I will try and pick up and tell you of our adventure.
The picutres are from our campsite in the Quiet Texas RV Park in Hondo, TX. It was very quiet, there was just open fields for miles, the only noise was the low hum from the windmils that help power the park. We stayed an extra day and just sat in the sun and vegged. We had to leave the park to take the neighbor to the Liquor store, as her husband had gone out and left her dry. She was a lonely lady from england that has all kinds of family issues and wanted to take the edge off.

This was the first time we just sat and relaxed totally. I played with, notice the played with vice played, the banjo  until the dogs in the park started howling.  We both sat out for quite awhile and soaked up the warmth and sun.    On Monday fore noon we travelled to Fredericksburg by a very indirect route, taking in back roads and winerys, the views were amazing , crest a hill and all of a sudden you could see what seemed like forever.  We found the Sister Creek Vinery in Sisterville, it origanally had been a cottonmill  from the 1800’s. David, the wine room guide and “talker” was a riot and we had a lot of fun there. I even found a couple of wines that I could drink. He sent us to the Comfort Celler’s winery in Comfort as they have a Jalipino wine. We made it and I even got the trailer into their lot and turned around(with Linda’s help). Most of their wines weren’t to Lindas liking but the jalipino was HOT!!!! I can use some as a meat marinade and hope the cooking mellows out the HEAT.  We then got to Fredericksburg, a tourist town with shops and eaterys. We stayed here last nite and today are going to tour LBJ’s ranch and maybe another winery.  I’ll close for now and try and update tonite. The” MAN”

Los Fresnos

Tom and Aggie(our friends and hosts)

Friday party with the neighbors

can you speak Mexican?  LOCO MUCHO

Loader clearing sand from road in So Padre Isl

20 miles and then this  Road just ends(expected)

shrimp boats

So Padre Island downtown 

Hi all,

 I must apologise for not keeping the blog updated, we were having so much fun and doing all kinds of things that by the end of the day we just quit. This may be misorganized but I write as I think. We made it to Los Fresnos, that is just inland from South Padre Island, and where our friends Tom and Aggie live. We are now in Hondo, Texas at a small quiet country Rv park that is really nice. When we woke up this morning ,for the first time, we both agreed that we will stay another day and get caught up with plans, blog and maybe even  get the banjo out for another test drive. So on to telling our story.

We were about 150 miles from our friends Tom and Aggie King and couldn’t not stop to see them so we drove  down from Corpus Christi  .   I had also had been hearing about So Padre Island(SPI) for a long time and wanted to check it out too.  SPI  is very close to them and Tom drove us to the island for a nice tour. I had expected a remote island with a national seashore that you can drive onto the beaches and park you camper right by the water, but what we saw once we crossed the bridge was very tall buildings and lots of motels, retail, restaurants, rv parks and a big looking city. We drove around and saw that and then drove a few miles and came to the beach access where we went onto the beach and there is nothing but dunes, sand, beach, and the Gulf of Mexico. There were a few campers parked here and there within feet of the water. Quite amazing that it’s free and anyone can park and live right on the beach. We continued up the road and after miles there was a large frontend loader clearing sand from the road, where it had been blown in by the wind. Further up the road, it just stops with a huge sign that says “road ends”. From that point it is a national park and no cars.  We had lunch at a authentic Mexican place and we were happy with the food and Marguritas!!

Aggie and I talked about computers and laptops and she decided that since her computer was in need of repairs that she would like to get a laptop so we shopped around and found a great deal  that she purchased and I tried to help get it up and running. I do hope that it stayed  that way , up and running and not to confusing.  Hang in there Aggie!!! Jeff S. wish you had been there to help and do it Right!!

We went to a coffee and donuts at the town hall where they live and met some of the neighbors and Linda won a door prize. On Friday Tom and Aggie’s neighbors  have a cookout and party so on Friday we went with them.  It was a ball!  Everyone brings something  to contribute and the food was amazing. The  beans(all kinds) , cabbage and kilbasi, and cakes were great and the neighbor grilled a mexican meat that is all spiced up and sliced really thin.  (It was a real Mexican party as the neighbors whose house we were at are Mexican).  I have to get the actual name and try it at home. Great food and friends. We played bean bag toss with folks from all over and it was neat to hear them go from english to spanish without even slowing down.  Lots of fun and laughter.  I tried the mexican hot sauce and as a “gringo” I survived. 

Saturday morning we packed up and headed northwest.  Along the route, about 50 miles from the mexican border there is a checkpont that everyone has to stop at. They have dogs that sniff around and guards that ask questions. We had never crossed the border so we were’nt to worried, but it’s still something different.  They asked if we were American citisins (I just love my husband’s spelling!)  and let

us right thru.  Driving thru Texas at this time of year it’s a lot of dry brush and flat barren fields, but the buds are starting to come out and the grass is starting to get green.

Linda now.  Russ is ready to post and right now I have nothing to add.  We are enjoying ourselves, and realize that we have been gone for a month tomorrow.  That’s along time to be away.  Met a woman yesterday, here in Hondo, who told us that she and her husband sold their home and this is what they do all the time now.  Just don’t think that I am ever going to want to do that.  We know where our home is and love it very much.  We thank  those who are taking care of it-we owe you a lot. 

Now, I think I’ll go sit in the sun!

Love to all-linda & russ

South Padre Isl /Los Fresnos Feb 8

shrimp boats

loader moving sand off the road

So. Padre Isl downtown

we made it and are having a ball visiting with Tom and Aggie King, our friends from PA. They took us down to South Padre Island , it was totally awsome. I was expecting sand dunes and barren beaches. Nope SPI downtown is tall buildings and lots of retail.  When we got to the beach, it becomes very seashorelike. dunes, waves and sort of like capecod. very nice! the wind was blowing and it was the first time I ever saw a big frontend loader clearing the sand off the road, to keep it open. we drove quite a ways and then the road just ended. it becomes a national seashore and no roads.

  posting this for now, to let you all know that we are well and having a great time. seems we get so busy that we haven't been very good on keepng this up to date.  lots more to tell

Tuesday feb 8,2011

we left Corpus Christi this morning and headed south to Los Fresnos. It was a heck of a trip, we battled headwinds for the whole trip. I had all I could do to get the rig up to 60 MPH. I kept telling Linda that we were going up hill all the way to Mexico. The trailer hauled very good but did take a beating in the winds. we went 148 miles on 22 gallons. I asked Linda if I had an extra house tied on behind.
 I had read about the "King ranch. one of  the largest ranches in the world and certianly the largest in Texas so i wanted to go there. One of my old horses had a bloodline from one of the Kings original sires and thought it would be fun. We took the exit and drove thru town, not finding anything but King museum, asked for directions and headed that way, drove alot of miles and decided we missed it so found an airport to turnaround on and finily found the place. the tours were sold out until later and we didn't want to wait for a couple of hours so i bought a tee shirt and a couple of postcards and we left. stll windy and we made it to Palmdale park and got a site and setup. Our friends Tom and Aggie King winter here  and came right over to meet us.  we went to town and got some needed items(i can't spell nesisities), wine, beer, and mixers. We then went to Golden Corral and had way to much very good food and deserts. spent the evening catching up, as it has been quite awhile since we had seen the Kings.  Back to the Rv and settling in for the nite. warm and windy.  plan to go to South Padre island tomorrow after a "mexican" breakfast,  whatever that might be.  There are actually oranges and grapefruit on the trees here.
got great news tonite that Dad is ok, little scare last week, and his Dr;s agree.  Love you Dad! You too Mom.   Thanks Joey(he knows what I mean)    Brian, Jeff, and Al  thanks for your help. Beers after the work are on us, be safe.  Linda says post , so for the Man and his bride, goodnite and wish you all were here sharing in our experances with us.

Sunday AM in Corpus Christi

Saturday was a delightful day.  I'm using all the adjectives I can think of.  We had a wonderful day and found a perfect place.  Get to that later.
Russ suggested that we find some quilt shops to browse through.  We found the closest one, walked in, and were asked if we had our passport.  I was rather surprised at this comment as I thought we looked the same as everyone else in there, and we hadn't started talking yet, so I didn't know what she was getting at.  She explained that this is a Quilt Shop Hop weekend and we needed to have our passport stamped in order to win a sewing machine.  My kind of shopping.  The passport gave us the addresses for seven or eight quilt shops so we were on a roll.  We both also won a door prize and a gift bag.  See, we are easily humored.  Russ picked out a bunch of material, so I have one project to work on when I get home.  Onto the next quilt shop.  Another door prize and gift bag, and more material.  The owner at this shop told us which one's to go to first and which were the furthest away.  She told us which bridge to take to the island and since we had tried to get to the island on Friday, we just wanted to see what was on the island.  Friday, we had tried to get to Padre Island, but both bridges to the island were closed because of the ice storm.  We also had addresses for restaurants we wanted to visit.  Stopped at Kiko's, a mexican restaurant with a half hour wait.  That wasn't bad, but I wanted a margarita with Mexican and it was only noon.  So we went to Snoopis which was over the bridge.  Its a seafood place, right on the water, with outside dining.  I'm loving this area.  Russ had a cheeseburger and I had shrimp.  Sun and air were so great.  We got to Padre Island and travelled up the coast.  Found a few spots where you could go onto the beach and drove on.  We drove for a while, which is neat, and then stopped so I could get my feet wet.  Water was like York Beach-but it was salty and my feet were in it.  Driving in this area was like driving down to Key West or on Cape Cod.  Lots of dunes, and a hotel every once in a while, sitting there by itself.  Made it to our 3rd quilt shop.  Not a very large one, but great people.  Ths was in Port Aransas.  We found home away from home.  Its a tourist, but not real touristy, beach community.  Has lots of bicycle and walking areas; shops; a 'downtown'; and neat looking bars & restaurants.  We both said we think we could spend some time in this place.  Then, the best part, we were travelling on TX route 361, and it stops there.  We had to take a ferry to get back to th mainland!  It wasn't far, not even as far as the boat ride we take to get to our island at Square Pond, but we never see dolphins or pelicans.
There were even trucks pulling campers on the ferry.  We had heard people mention it, but thought that it was either the ferry or some bridge you had to take-didn't know it was only the ferry.  So island living.  So last night, I spent time on the computer finding RV parks in Port Aransas, TX.  Today, or tomorrow we'll be checking them out.
Oh, and we did get to Kikos last night for Nachos and Margaritas.  They were very good. 
We will be in Corpus Christi for two more nights.  I'm sitting at our picnic table and its beautiful out here.
Forgot, we did get to one more quilt shop, in Rockport.  More material-more projects. 
Hopefully next year, we'll be in one place for more than a few nights-we'll have a place for you northerners to visit.  We might just call it 'Brackredge Island South'.
Love-to all-linda & russ

Friday Feb 4th Corpus Christi

Hi folks,

just a picture from last spring picture to remind us all that spring is coming

 It's me instead of Linda.  We made it to Corpus Christi and as Linda said yesterday we got the furnace repaired and made it to the rv park. We got setup and were warm. The weather started getting damp and by 6pm they were closing the many bridges in the area and shortly after that they closed most of the roads due to iceing. The rv repair shop had said to saty off the roads as Texan's here will drive 80 and not even know it's icy or what to do if it is. We woke up this morning to 1/2 inch of ice over the whole park. I had to really hang on to the railing to get out of the rv. I was goinng to take pictures, but it's so clear ice that it just looked wet. The truck was totally incapsolated in ice, the tires looked like soneone had just "Armorall"ed them. We had left the water trickling in both sinks and am glad we did, as alot of folks were "frozeup" this morning. It's now 1pm and it's about 45 and the ice is melting and the sun is poking thru.  We hope to get out this afternoon and see something, not sure what but qwe do need to get out.  I have a list of GREAT restaurents, provided by the repair shop guys and we may just have to have a meal at one of them.  i met a guy from Looweeezannaaa, a guy from ontario-ay, and a guy that works for Home Depot and keeps transfering around the country to checkout different areas. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, that is if you WANT to work.  They all were sqwacking about the cold but say it's going to warm up sometime. We got the laundry done and are getting ready to visit something(food I hope).  Don't ever take your home comforts for granted, we have a wonderful rv and have been very fortunate , but when you lose heat and don't have a wood stove, it gets cold fast.  If your ever in CC and need help, Robby at Del Ray Air is a great guy and deserves a huge thank you.  For those folks that are making this trip possable by watching over our home and everything else, THANK YOU!!!! keep your gas receipts and you will be compensated!  Love you all, Russ
PS "the woman" will add more later.  OH, am I in trouble for writting that line.
THE WOMAN!  That's me and I'm not even going to correct his spelling.  We ended up going to Rudy's for barbeque, which was different.  Everything was cooked, but you had to add the barbeque sauce-which just seemed strange.  I like russ's barbeque more, but we'll have more to choose from.
Then we tried to go see the battleship Lexington and the CC Aquarium.  Couldn't get there from here!  This was late afternoon and the the huge bridge leading to that area of CC was still closed.  We drove along the beach road (Ocean Drive and Surfside Road) until we ran out of road just past the Texas A&M CC branch.  Went into the chain store at the end of the road and asked whether it was normal to see no one on the roads.  The CC Air Station and college had been closed due to the weather.  This weather has really affected this area.
Still don't know if we will go further south or head some other way-don't know which way that will be. We are here in CC over the weekend.  Its so nice not to have definite plans-something we have never been able to do.  I am so glad that we are doing this together.
Love to all-linda (and I will not respond to 'the WOMAN'.

Thursday, February 3

Its February and cold in Texas.  I heard on the news today that it is warmer in Alaska than in Dallas, and I also heard that it is warmer in Green Bay and Pittsburgh than in Dallas where the two teams are playing in the Super Bowl.  I'm writing that for myself, since I probably won't be watching the game. 
It has been too cold to do much of anything.  Tuesday, was a big day....I had a pedicure, so now I am ready for sandals.  Yesterday, we went to Cibolo to spend the day with the Balls.  Ben (Russ's nephew) and Allison (his wife and I may not have spelled that correctly) came back from their weekend away, so we went to visit.  Allane & Steve were still there, as well as their cute kids (Elijah, Jacob and Allyssa.)
It was fun, so to get together and chat.  Allane & Steve have plans to fly back to Maine today, but with what we are hearing for weather, they may be delayed. 
fter the day, Russ & I went back to get the camper ready to leave San Marcos for Corpus Christi.  Everything seemed to okay, and since we were headed further south, we were hoping for better weather.
I woke up sometime early morning (oneish) and Russ had already been outside-the furnace had decided not to work and it was in the 20s.  Russ couldn't get the furnace to work and the temperature was 54 in the camper.  We snuggled back in to get some sleep.  A while later it was 46 in the camper.  We both got up by 7:00 and were headed out by 7:45.  I was sooooo cold, with two pairs of gloves on, but Russ had to get us unhooked and all that stuff that I don't like to think of.  The furnace was still not working, but we headed for Corpus Christi with plans of finding an RV repair facility in CC.  Russ called Good Sam for their assistance in finding a dependable place, and they connected us with one company who would take care of us next week.  The second contacted, didn't even speak to us, but the third place told us to drive there and they would fix it.  Three hours later and with the company closing early due to the weather, we now have heat. 
We think that the weather here will be improving within the next two days.  We can't get much further south in Texas and aren't going any further than that.  They are expecting freezing rain and everything is closing down.  We've been travelling for 3 weeks and have found sun & warm weather for parts of 3 days.  Oh well, we are still laughing!  Couldn't head north, we'd run into snow in about an hour!
We're thinking of you-love linda & Russ

February 1 in frigid Texas

Good morning-its Linda. 
I know, no sympathy.  We heard the weather reports last night for up north and we do not have any snow, but the temperature is 39 at the moment and Russ had to pull out his winter coat.  We woke up around 3:00 this morning to the camper rockin & rollin and nothing that we were causing.  We had opened the window at the head of the bed, very small window, but you could hearing the wind howling.  We didn't think that there had been any tornado warnings, but we don't know much about those.  We went back to sleep.  We were glad that we had done so much yesterday as today won't be a walking around Austin day. 
Yesterday we took off and headed for Lockhart, TX, a town east of us in San Marcos.  We had barbeque at the Chisholm Trail Lockhart BAR-B-Q.  There were 3 or 4 barbeques in town, but this one is supposed to be the best.  It was very good and like going through a cafeteria line.  I think we were the only non-Texans, so that was a good sign.  Russ wnated me to say that the beef brisket tasted like pot roast.  I had a half chicken which was great.  Choice of three sides, but damn, no okra.
The town was just a neat old time, and while driving back through it, I saw a quilt shop.  First quilt shop I've manage to get into.  The owner could talk your ear off, but I bought a few pieces of fabric-cactus material, which I'm sure I would never get anyplace else! 
Then we went looking for Duchman Family Winery in Driftwood, TX.  I think Lockhart and Driftwood were names of towns in some old cowboy movies I've seen.  I participated in the wine tasting, but Russ did not.  Found several I liked and an of course bought 4 bottles.  Didn't want to go too overboard as this is the first winery.  Oh, and our wine pourer (for lack of a better word) was from NJ.
Then we drove back into Austin.  We are both amazed at how hilly the area around Austin is.  The area in Mineola seemed flat and you could see forever, and even Dallas when we visited there while the Lents were living there, but here is different.  Still seeing lots of beef. 
Well, back to Austin, it was late afternoon, so we hit a 'Happy Hour' at the 'Hanger'.  The deck was on the 3rd floor of the restaurant and here the bartender was from Syracuse.  Stayed for a drink and went walking again.  Russ had read about STUBBs and their barbecue so we walked to Red River Street (or Road) just off from Sixth Street.  Some of these 'hot spots' really look like dives and this was just a little above that. 
Heard a little live music on Sixth street, but understand that music doesn't start until 10:30-much too late for us.  We headed back, but stopped for ice cream at a DQ.  There are DQs everywhere and they are open.
We thought that we had to leave this camping area tomorrow morning, as there were reservations for this spot, but we don't.  This works well for us as Russ's nephew and his wife will be returning to their home in Cibolo, and we will be able to get together with them and not have to worry about finding a 'home' for the night.  We are looking forward to seeing them and their children (Allane & Steve are tending to them) again.  Then we'll head for South Padre Island-which will take a few days.  Oh, well, we are enjoying the travelling. 
Know y'all are getting snow and cold weather, but it is February......and February is a short month.
Enjoy!  Linda