Yes, I found the laundry!!!

Vancouver

Aug 8

Yesterday we spent the day exploring. Today I spent the day doing 1 load of laundry. Yup, 1 load! Took most of the day. The dryer here at the hotel took 2+ hours to dry a small load of cloths! Grrr

Jack and Suzi took the car and went to Stanley Park and walked the park. I knew Al couldn't do that and he wanted to stay at the hotel and rest. I was going to go with Jack and Suzi until I realized that Al couldn't be left alone today. Not the best of days. We did walk across the street for lunch, but even that was a struggle for him.

Tonight we went to the Cactus Club Restaurant for dinner. Very good. I had the ribs and they were tender and moist. Then our treat, Dairy Queen.

It has been cold and cloudy all day. Not the most perfect day for exploring. Our room at the hotel is immediately above the Press Box Sports Grill…and faces a main street. Needless to say, last night we didn't get much sleep until early morning. We asked to be moved, however, the hotel is full up, matter of fact, the town is full up. There is a firefighter/police convention from all over Canada here this weekend. I feel pretty safe…the hotel is full of fire fighters and police.

Tomorrow is another day.

Skagway to Vancouver

I just wanted to post a picture of Hubbard Glacier on the blog. I didn't have my pictures downloaded on previous post. The glacier is pretty impressive...300 feet high and moves at a rate of about 12 feet a day. To hear it move is impressive as well...sounds like thunder. We didn't see any major ice breaking off (calving) but some ice did slide into the water.Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier up close

Aug 3, Skagway
Since we all have been here before we didn’t book any shore excursions. Jack, Sue and I went into town and walked around a bit. Had lunch at a cute little café, “Sweet Nothings”. We found a Starbucks and a quilt shop, so I was a happy camper. We took a carriage ride around town…the town is about 300 people in the winter and swells to 1,000 plus in the summer to cater to the tourist. Tourism is their only industry. Food is barged up from Bellingham, Wa once a week, so even the milk they get is 10 days old by the time they get it. I don’t think I would do well living here.
There are fires burning all over British Columbia and we are in the middle of a very smoky city. It has been hard for me to breathe at times. The smoke is very heavy today; makes it look like fog.
Dinner tonight was in the dining room again. Nothing special.

Aug 4 Icy Straight Point, AK
Still very smoky and we all are having problems from it. We elected to not go ashore today….nothing but a Tinglit Village and tourist trap. However, they do have a zip line and I think I might like to do that someday…it looks fun. Perhaps on our next cruise when I can talk Jenn, Bev, Melanie, Janet and Suzi into going with me!!!!
Tonight was formal night on the ship. The last one. For such a short cruise there have been 2 formal nights…2 too many for me. We really liked not having a formal night on NCL. Jack, Suzi and I went to the show last night, a very good Broadway Shows Review. Al wasn’t up to walking that far last night (to the front of the ship) so he elected to go back to the room. He enjoys cruising, but doesn’t partake in a lot of the activities any more. It is really hard for him to get around anymore.
Formal Night

Wed. Aug. 5 Ketchikan (ketch me if you can)
We arrived this morning at 7:30 a.m. to a beautiful day in Ketchikan. NO SMOKE! What a cute little town this is. The ship docks right downtown so there was no problem for Al to get to town. We did the Duck Tour today, we had never done one and it was fun. Jack, Suzi, Al in front of the "Duck"

Ketchikan is a town of approximately 8,000 people year round. Of course the main industry is fishing, then tourism and logging. In the summer the town grows to about 12,000 people to take care of the tourist that come on the cruise ships. The only way in to Ketchikan is by boat or plane. Speaking of planes, this is a very, very busy float plane town. We are seeing/hearing about one or two landing or taking off every five minutes. Ketchikan proper is built on an island and the airport is across the river and there is no bridge to it, so you have to take a ferry to the airport.
There were 3 other cruise ships in town today. Our tour guide said they usually have between 12-14 ships a week in town. One of the ships, the Holland American Zaandam lost a passenger in Juneau on Sunday. It was docked right next to us there. Apparently a lady from Arlington, Washington jumped overboard to commit suicide. One thing for sure, if you live through your jump to the water, you won’t survive very long in the icy water. If I remember correctly, the water temperature in Juneau was an icy 39 degrees.
Tomorrow is a sea day and then we arrive in Vancouver, BC early on Friday. We are staying in Vancouver for the weekend, leaving late afternoon on Monday. We are both anxious to get home…our puppies and kitties await!
Aug 6 At Sea
Our cruise has really been smooth water. Hardly a ripple in the sea! Amazing compared to some cruises we have been on. We cruised the inside passage today and it was foggy this morning and we couldn’t see a thing. Then this afternoon it cleared up and WOW…what beautiful scenery we were treated to. Before we got to Prince Rupert there were a few logging or fishing villages along the coast. From Prince Rupert on down the houses that are built along the coast are amazing. We also had a beautiful sunset.

We are all tired of the food on board and are looking forward to having choices tomorrow! Not that you don’t have choices on board, but they all come from the same kitchen and it is beginning to all taste the same. I will say our dining room staff have been excellent. Actually the bar staff has Al’s number…the attendant will come to the table each night to ask Al if he wants his “coffee”, which is actually a Bombay Sapphire Gin Martini, with lots of olives. Packing tonight….UGH!
Aug 7, Vancouver
We arrived at 7:00 a.m., and by 9:30 a.m. we were off the ship. It is cloudy and a little cool in Vancouver. We took a scary cab ride from the port to our hotel. Of course we couldn’t check in until after 2:00 p.m., so we stored our luggage and took another scary cab ride to Gastown to catch the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We toured the entire route today, and tomorrow we will go again (ticket is good for 2 days) and get off where ever we want. After we did the loop we stopped and had a wonderful Italian lunch at Al Polla. We watched the steam clock go off a few times as well. Then it was time to hail yet another cab for a very scary ride back to the hotel. That cab will have my fingernail imprints in its upholstery forever. I had to laugh because there were 4 of us stuffed into this Toyota Corolla, Al being in the front seat and he took up almost the ENTIRE front seat. The driver kept looking at him as if to say “Geez, you are big!”
After we got back to the hotel and discussed that we had already spent over $60 in cab fares just today and we weren’t done yet, we just might want to look into renting a car. I called around and got us a car for four days for $200; so another $20 later and one more wild cab ride, we now have a rental car. Thank goodness I brought my GPS with me! Jack and I will be drivers, and we are now free to explore. We would try and depend on the bus system, however, with Al not being able to walk very far (across the street tonight for dinner was agony for him) we knew that the bus option was out. At least this way he can see some of the sites from the car.
As I said earlier, we decided to just go across the street for Chinese food tonight…Al had a really hard time walking that far. We had to walk about a block uphill to cross this busy street we are on and he had to stop and rest twice; then after crossing the street he had to stop again. Glad we will be seeing the doctor next week.
We are all tired tonight and retired to our rooms after dinner. I took a short walk down the street to Starbucks, but decided not to get anything tonight. By the way, there are over 204 Starbucks just in Vancouver….I wonder how many are in Seattle? There is a Starbucks almost on every corner downtown and in some cases, Starbucks are directly across the street from each other. For people to lazy to cross the street????

Want to bore your self? Go to Alaska Cruise to see all our pictures!

Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

We left Seward at 9:00 p.m. aboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship on Friday. Smooth sailing all night, sort of "rocked" me to sleep. Up and at it on Saturday. Jack and Suzi spent most of the morning in the gym doing gym stuff. Al and I lazed around doing lazy stuff....just my speed. Our ship went to the Hubbard Glacier yesterday afternoon.....and the captain backed this huge ship just about up on the glacier...I was humming the theme from the Titanic by the time he was done. It was an amazing site however. The glacier is about 300 feet thick right now....wow. Lpts of big ice chunks floating in the ocean as well.

Today we arrived in Juneau early this morning and was on our tour of the city and Mendenhall glacier by 9:30 this morning. For some reason, I just wasn't all the impressed with the city or the glacier. Right now we are sitting out side our room on board watching the float planes take off and land...a lot more exciting than the tour this morning. The tour guide was about as exciting as an old sock! AND, we had taken the shuttle into town (about a half a mile) and then when it was time to return to the ship, a shuttle couldn't be found. That meant that Al had to walk the half mile....which wasn't pretty! Took us about 45 minutes to get back to the ship.

Tomorrow is Skagway...I doubt if we will even get off the ship. We have all been here and have rode the train, so don't think there is anything more exciting to do in town.

I have to say that so far I am not impressed with Celebrity Cruises. The service is not as good as NCL or Princess; the food definitely lacks something,primarily taste and it is just blah! And I am not the only one who thinks that...there are a lot of people on board commenting on how disappointed they are. Celebrity is suppose to be one of the best cruise lines available (unless you want to spend BIG bucks on some of the real top end cruise lines like Silver Sea's, etc.) and yet we have found so far that it is just average. On this cruise we have barely seen our cabin attendant...and the food service is something we have never experienced. You can't touch a piece of food or serve your self...even in the buffet. You can't get yourself a glass of water, salt and pepper or anything. Now, one might say that is great service, however, I beg to differ since you have to wait in line to get water, food, salt and pepper, etc. Either the line is very cautious about the Norovirus or they are cutting expenses this way. Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.

Tomorrow is another day .... hope all is well with everyone else.

Sailing, sailing.............

Anchorage
Tomorrow, at about this time, we will be sailing....yes! Our cruise leaves tomorrow night from Seward. Hmmm...Seward..poses a minor problem. Seward is flooded! They had 2.35 inches of rain in less than 24 hours and everything is flooded there. Hope we can get there tomorrow! Bruce is driving us down. Jack and Suzi got into Anchorage early on Tuesday..we had dinner with them last night. They were suppose to take the train (very scenic) to Seward today, however, the train was cancelled due to rockslides on the rails due to the rains...so they went by tour bus today.

We got back into Anchorage last afternoon. Rained on us most of the way until we got around Turnagain Arm. The news just came on and they are giving flood advisories for the Kenai Peninsula and Seward. I have to say that the river was very, very high when we left yesterday. And moving very swiftly. There has been a lot of rain up in the mountains, causing more snow melt and run off into the river.

We sent Jerry off today on a plane to Seattle and on to Spokane. We decided to ship all the fish instead of having him carry some...just too cumbersome for one person. We shipped about 80 lbs of fish...salmon. We also shipped about 40 lbs of halibut. Al and Jerry each limited out on halibut, but they were 20-30 lb fish. Once filleted they weigh about half.

So, until we next time...I AM ON VACATION...NO COOKING, CLEANING, MAKING BEDS, DOING DISHES, ETC. PAMPER ME, PLEASE!

Homer Alaska

Homer
We returned to the river from Anchorage on Tuesday of last week. I helped Bruce as much as I could with things that needed to be done in regards to Janice's death, then decided he probably needed some time alone to absorb all of it.

Son-in-law Dan and friend Tim got in from LA on Monday and were already fishing the river when we got back. They did pretty good, however, the fishing has really slowed down the last few days. Son Jerry got in last Friday and the fishing has been pretty slow since then. He has caught a few however.

I have packed all the items we are taking with us from our camp trailer at the river. We have sold it; and it is bitter sweet to say goodbye to it. We have really enjoyed in over the years, however, Al can't get down to the river to fish and I am tired of paying the lot lease on it and maintenance. We sold it to a good friend of Bruce's so we will still have the option to visit it if we desire to next year.

Right now I am sitting in Homer Alaska looking out at Kachemak Bay and the mountains and glaciers beyond it. The bay is as calm as I have ever seen it...usually the wind is blowing hard. It is very cloudy and rainy today, however, when we got here yesterday it was sunny and beautiful, albeit, windy and cold. We drove around and did some site seeing yesterday afternoon. Jerry is with us and we found a great place up on the hills overlooking town for some picture taking opportunities. I am also watching a pair of bald eagles circle right now...too beautiful for words. I kept trying to get a picture of them, but all I got was a blur. Al and Jerry are out on a halibut fishing charter as I write this. I usually go along, but decided to save my back this year. This is the first time I have had a day to myself in a long time and I plan on doing some laundry first; then hit the local quilt shop and bum around Homer until the boys get back late this afternoon.

Wosnesenski Glacier as seen from Homer

Homer and the Spit

I am still at the motel we stayed at last night and I am going to take a long, HOT, shower before I check out. I may try and drain all the hot water from their tanks....if you have ever had to shower in an RV you know what I mean. When you take as shower in an RV you have to get wet, turn the water off, lather up, turn water on and rinse quickly before you run out of hot water. At least its been that way in any RV we have ever been in. Needless to say, a long, hot shower is very appealing to me right now. It has been so darn cold up here that I need something to warm these old bones up.

One thing I mentioned to AL yesterday and he agreed, we haven't seen a cat since we have been up here. NOT ONE! I am really having cat withdrawals. Plus, I miss our kitties and puppies. And I am sure that Jennifer who has the dogs and Denise who has the cats are ready for us to come claim the spoiled brats.

We will go back to Anchorage tomorrow evening. Jerry leaves on Thursday afternoon. We will leave for our cruise out of Seward on Friday, so Bruce will take us to Seward on Friday to catch the ship. Friends Jack and Suzi Waddick will be cruising with us again....I don't think we could take a cruise without them...they are too fun to have around.

So until next time, hope this finds everyone living their life to the fullest...life is to short to do otherwise.

Will this year ever end?

Anchorage
Ever had one of those years that things just continue to go wrong? This is my year.

Sad day today...my niece, Janice Jo, who is Bruce's sister and Dicks daughter; died. She lived here in Anchorage and the police found her dead in her bed early this morning. still don't know the cause of death, there are plenty of speculations; however, I don't feel like going over them here. What matters is that she is finally at peace; she has had a troubled life, a lot of mental issues. Poor girl was a tortured soul. Bruce is, naturally, upset and both of us are trying to cope with all there is to do. I am just glad we are here to help him with what ever we can. Tomorrow I will go over to Janice's and start the great clean up and clean out. It is a mess, but someone has to do it and while I am here I will do what I can. Poor Bruce has really had an awful year. He is such a great person, and I am so sorry he has to go through all this.

Dan and his buddy are due in tomorrow and we will have him drive the motorhome to the river. I don't know if Al will go back with them or not. Jerry will be here late Thursday; so I may wait around for him and get some things done here. Then I will really have to get busy packing up our stuff so we can get it packed and shipped. ARG!

More tomorrow or the next day when I have my head together.

THE RIVER

Kenai Penisula
The River
July 15, 2009

We arrived at our camp trailer here on Saturday. All my sibs came with us; so we brought Bruce’s motor home down for them to sleep in. Bruce drove his car down and I drove the motor home…I really like driving it, even though part of the highway is very narrow and winding. The drive from Anchorage to here is absolutely beautiful….mountains and streams and just the way you would expect Alaska to look!

We saw no critters on the way down with the exception of a dead squirrel! Our critter count is way low this year so far, unless you count mosquito’s….then there are too many to count.

After we got set up here at the Fish on Inn, my sister Jean, sister-in-law Mary and I took off for Soldotna to do some shopping. As Jennifer said, “Soldotna will never be the same!” Actually all we did was go to Fred Meyers for groceries and to the hardware store for electronic bug swatters! I am bringing a couple home with me and they took a couple home with them…they are great little gadgets and work well.

We have pretty much just lazed around since being here. I am getting some much needed down time. The fish (sockeye salmon) aren’t running strong yet; probably in a day or two they will be running good. The last escapement count was at 7,000 a day and we really don’t start fishing for them until the count is up in the 16,000 plus.

There are over 60 wildfires burning in Alaska right now and it has been very smoky at times. One fire, burning near Tustusmena Lake is about 25 miles from us and we can see the smoke clearly from it. As of last night it had consumed 15,000 acres and it is one of the smaller fires in the state.

My younger sib, John, left on Sunday to go home; yesterday my brother Bob and wife Mary and my sister Jean all left here for Anchorage and they are all on their way home today. It is really, really quiet here now and we miss all of them. It was great to be with them all again and even though it was a sad occasion, I really enjoyed being with them. We just don’t get together enough! We are spread from Colorado, Oregon, California and where ever I am, so logistically we can’t get together very often.

My cousin, Patty and her husband and two other couples have been traveling in Alaska for the last month and we had a near miss the other day. WE ALMOST SAW EACH OTHER! Sorry we had to miss them, however, they were on the Kenai when I was in Anchorage; and then they went through Anchorage and didn’t call me, so we missed each other. What they didn’t know was I was just a quarter of a mile off the main highway when they went through Anchorage…so it was a near miss. Oh well, maybe next time 


July 16, 2009

THE LAUDRAMAT
I am sitting doing what I do best up here….laundry. And you will notice the dog, GAGE in the back of the truck that I made friends with!

It is cool and cloudy today and VERY smoky. This is a picture of the smoke from the fire that I took last night. Really burning good.

The fish are starting to come in…80,000+ in the river now, so it is time to wander down (all 133 steps) to the river this afternoon. Al wants to fish and I don’t want him down there alone, so I will put a hook in the water as well. Our neighbors here limited out last night, so maybe we will get some fish today.

It is so pretty up here…it is hard to describe and pictures just don’t do it justice. You just have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate how beautiful Alaska really is. Yesterday was clear and warm, with white, puffy clouds floating by, that is, until the smoke took over!

Dan and one of his friends are due to arrive on Monday, so the fishing will be good for them. Jerry arrives on the 23rd and there should be plenty of fish in the river by then.

Our good friend in Florida, Judy Rahbar is in the hospital and that has kept me worried. She went in with terrible stomach cramps and found out she had a perforated colin! They did surgery on Monday (I think) and as of last night when I talked to her husband Randy, she was resting comfortably. Our prayers and thoughts are with her and her family as she recovers.

I miss my doggies and kitties so much. Even AL is saying he wishes the animals were here. I talked to Denise and Gordon last night and the cats are being spoiled rottener. I also talked to Jenn and the dogs are okay, Schuster is being a little pill….I figured this would happen as he is such a momma’s dog. He just won’t listen to her. Beau is Beau, if there is a ball in the area he is happy…he is happy anyway, but with a ball around he is really, happy!

Until next time we are a fishin'!!!!

Saying Goodbye to my Brother

Anchorage

Today was the memorial/graveside service for my older brother, Dick, who died last January. It was a full on military service...I made it through it, but it wasn't easy. It was hard to say goodbye, however, I know he is resting in peace. About 40 people attended the service at Ft. Richardson. I was impressed by the respect we got by everyone, while in the procession from the gate to the national cemetary, led by the military police, the on coming traffic would pull over and stop out of respect for the deceased. I haven't seen that in a long time.

All of my siblings are here. The older two, Jean and Bob and wife Mary, arrived on Monday and we have had a great time catching up with each others lives and all of our kids. Then yesterday baby sib, Johnny, arrived and the real fun began. He has a great personality and is so funny...we have been laughing ever since he arrived.

Niece Janice, Nephew Bruce, Brother Bob and wife Mary, Sister Jean, my, Brother John and Al at graveside, Ft. Richardson.

On Wednesday, we headed to Whittier Alaska for the day. Al and I haven't been there, and Bob, Mary and Jean hadn't either. We had to drive through the longest tunnel in North America (2.6 miles) to get there. Until 2000 you had to take the train to Whittier, or load your car on the train. They have actually built the road on the train track. It is a single lane tunnel, one way at a time, and on a schedule. Whittier is a nice, little town, on Prince William Sound, lots of boats in the marina.

Whittier

Tunnel Entrance/Exit

After returning to Anchorage, we had dinner at one of the many good restaurants, Henry's Alaskan Restaurant.

We have spent a lot of time visiting, just enjoying each other. Tomorrow we all will go to the river. Johnny will be leaving on Sunday; Jean, Bob and Mary leave on the 15th. We will stay at the river until the end of the month.

Rest in peace, my dear brother. I miss you.

MOOOOSSSE!

Anchorage, AK

HAPPY 4th OF JULY! Remember the reason for the holiday!

Greetings from the land of the midnight sun. And yes, it is still light out at midnight. Matter of fact, I haven't seen darkness yet. And last night I couldn't sleep (stupid cough) and was up most of the night and it was still light out.

We are staying at my nephew's house until the 11th when we will go to the river. Bruce has a very quaint, cute little house on the south end of Anchorage. I just love his house. Very rustic; he has lived here for 20 years and very much a bachelor place. It will be interesting when the rest of the sibs get here as this is a very small place. We have secured the downstairs bedroom as ours. Two of the other sibs and sib in law will stay in the motorhome; baby sib will sleep up stairs in the house. Very cozy. I don't think we have all been this close, ever!

We arrived on Thursday; layed low most of the day. Yesterday I did some grocery shopping and stocked up on mosquito spray. Thursday night a mosquito slept with us (we are used to cats sleeping with us and occasionally a dog, but NOT a mosquito) and the little devil must be very full as I have several bites. GRRRR As one friend put it he must be fat enough to put on the barby!!!

Bruce went down to the river last night after dinner for the weekend. Janice (niece) came over for dinner last night and we bbq'd some chicken...yum.

Today we have layed pretty low...I could get used to this. I fixed breakfast for us of Spam and eggs (quit gagging) and it was very tasty. Then after a while we decided to go out for a drive and some lunch. We were driving down a very busy, main road here in Anchorage when I noticed something to my right....a MOOSE! He was a young bull; and very calmly stepped out into traffic, bringing all traffic to a screeching halt as he meandered across the street. And me with out my camera and my phone buried in my purse! Damn! But that may mean it will be a good moose spotting season for me...as long as they don't chase me!

The cottonwood trees are shedding like crazy and I am -- achoo, achoo---reacting to them. It looks like it is snowing at times.....NOT! The weather is absolutely wonderful, in the high 60's, low 70's. A great summer so far. This time last year we had had nothing but rain.

We found Kincaid Park today as well....a very nice, large park in the middle of Anchorage. We drove around it...lots of people out. At one of the small lakes in the park a lady had 2 dogs, one being a white Schuster!!! However, this dog was a Beau in the respect that all he wanted to do was chase the ball. I MISS MY OODLES OF POODLES and my KITTIES!

Tonight we are going to meet my niece for dinner and then come home and do what we have been doing best for the last few days...relax. Fireworks here won't start until midnight or later, so we will just pretend we saw them....with our eyes closed.

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!

SWARMA...almost as good as the ones in Saudi

SeaTac

We are staying at the Holiday Inn at Sea Tac airport tonight....we fly to Anchorage in the morning.



We have had a great time in Seattle for the few days we have been here. And the weather has been absolutely glorious! We got to Seattle (actually Redmond) to Jenn's late on Saturday. We left Noxon, MT around 9:00 a.m.; did a quick stop in Odessa to trade cars with Todd and then on in to Seattle. Of course, we had to make a stop in Cle Elum for pepperoni from the sausage store and a few cookies from the wonderful bakery across the street! YUM.

Up Sunday and off to meet friends of Jenn's and ours, Mike and Nancy Tangen and their brand new baby Jack. Jack is 3 weeks old...birth weight was over 9 lbs...poor Nancy! However, he is a cute as can be and I got my "holding a newborn" fix. Then it was off to Ric and Janet's for dinner and to see Ashley and Cammie. Had a good, albeit, quick visit with them.

Monday was lab day...Al and I both had lab tests at 0'dark thirty Monday morning. Our doctors office had moved, so I had the added stress of finding the new office. After that it was a trip to Costco for ribs for dinner that night. Then we met friends Frank and Lynn Conger for lunch and had another good, but short visit. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for those "Off" mosquito fan's that have been advertised. NO ONE carries them. I looked in 10 stores and yes, they had heard of them, but didn't carry them. GRRR! Dinner that night was BBQ ribs at Jenns wonderful new condo. Speaking of her condo, it is so nice and she really is happy there. It is a tri-level and we were all worried how Al would negotiate the stairs, however, he did just fine. He just took it slow. Her condo overlooks a pond, which has a %$^&* bull frog that doesn't know how to be quiet. ALL NIGHT LONG he "croaks", if that is what you want to call it. I can't quite describe the noise he/she makes!

Tuesday was "free day"...no doctor appointments! We lazed around in the morning and met Jenn and her friend Heather for lunch. Then the great mosquito fan search was on again...and still can't find any. I give up...I will just resort to deet being my body lotion again while we are in Alaska...and everyone up there is telling me it is the worst year for mosquito's. GREAT!

Dinner last night was at good friends Row and Kathy Brasch. They have a lovely home on Lake Joy and we always enjoy being out there with them. We had a good visit, never long enough, but it was good to see them.

Up this morning and to the doctors for our appointments. The doctor here was very satisfied with Al's care he had received in Tucson and was only concerned about how high his blood sugar is. So new meds for that. His blood pressure was excellent and the doc was very pleased with that.

After the appointments we headed off to a restaurant we were told had excellent swarma's. Now, those of you that were in Saudi know what a good swarma is...and we haven't had one since Saudi days. We have tried several, but nothing to compare to the taste of the street vendors in Saudi. So off to the Mediterranean Kitchen in Kirkland. OMG...real swarma's. Or as close as we have had since Saudi. The only thing missing was the cold french fry in them! And the hummus was excellent as well. YUM...we will go back to this place when we get back from Alaska. For those of you in the Seattle area that are yearning for a good swarma, this place is on 124th NE in Totem Lake, right off I-405 and directly across from the Olive Garden.

Well, that brings you up to what is going on in our lives.....hope all is well with you. Next blog from the wonderful state of Alaska. Watch out moose...here we come!

Noxon, MT..a little slice of heaven here on earth!

Noxon, Montana

WHOA! I have found a new "roosting" place for summer! This place is gorgeous!

We arrived here on Wednesday a little after noon. We left Newport, WA and drove through some of the most beautiful country! I love NW Montana! We took our time and just wandered down the road. Some of the little towns are so darn cute. We stopped in Clark Fork and had lunch at "Moms" Cafe. A cute little place. When we pulled in to this RV park I told Al
"I think we are home!!" Denise and Gordon met us and helped us get set up, we are parked right next to them. Also Denise's brother is here with his motor home. And go figure, he works at Boeing and we know a lot of the same people.

We all had great steak dinner that night and sat around the campfire until way too late! I haven't done this in years--- reminded me of the times we would go to Lake Isabella in California years ago. Remember those days Ruby and Skid???

John (Denise's brother) and his girlfriend breed and show papillon dogs...how cute they are. They have six on them with them now and they are really, really cute. However, Beau and Schuster can't quite figure out just what they are!!

As I said, I have a fallen in love with this area. Yesterday Gordon and Denise took us up to their property...it is absolutely beautiful. The Clark Fork river and the Bull river run through Noxon and Al could barely contain himself...he wanted to fish so badly! We also stopped at "Toby's Bar" in Noxon...a landmark in itself. The inside was something to see. Dollar bills on the ceiling, different pictures, saying on the walls and gold dollar coins all over the bar and one wall. AMAZING. And I had to take a picture for Jennifer in there...you never know where you will find a flamingo hanging from the ceiling!

Gordon, Jo, Denise, John, Al at Toby's Bar in Noxon, Montana

Last night was spaghetti and afterwards we all sat around the campfire again. I am having a blast! We all swapped stories (lies) and finally the mosquito's and the cold drove us in.

Today was packing day. Have you ever had to pack for a 56 day trip? ARG! And throw a cruise in the middle of that. I have no idea what I have packed or if it will be right, but it will have to do. Tomorrow we will drive to Seattle for a few days stay, then fly to Alaska on July 2.

After I got done packing Gordon, Denise, Al and I drove around the area to see more of it. I am so enamoured with this area. We found some property for sale and we are thinking about it...it over looks the valley and river. I can't describe how beautiful it is.

Dinner was at "Herfords" Steak house. Very good! Friends of Gordon and Denise's joined us. Louis is a retired policeman from Chicago and his wife Chris is a retired flight attendant. We really liked them as well. I do have to tell a funny story tho...Chris had gotten up to get another pitcher of water for the table (there was 11 of us in all) and she was walking around the table filling up glasses...she was standing above me and I made the comment "I don't think I like you standing over me with a full pitcher of water"...just teasing her. Well, the next thing I know I have water running over my head! She had intended to make like she was pouring water on me, and didn't realize she was! We all had a big laugh over it...how to meet new people and impress them! They are a neat couple and we hope to see them again when we get back from Alaska. Also there were friends Mike and Louise who we had met before and really like. Great bunch of people.

Here in the RV park tonight and for the weekend are a group of Mennonite's and I have to say I am impressed with them. They care for each other and are so nice and the children are all so well behaved. Beau has had several children over playing with him. I also found him in the middle of their campsite a little later on just making himself at home! Darn dog! Schuster has received a lot of attention as well.

Motorhome....Montana style!

So until next time, watch out for pitchers of water over your head...you just may wear it!

Movin On

Newport, WA

We are on the move again. After two weeks in Odessa, we are wrollin' again.

Odessa...where the only traffic light in town is attached to the Odessa Drive In! BTW, they make awesome some shakes and hamburgers! I found it funny that the town doesn't have a traffic light, just the drive in! We enjoyed out time in Odessa, however, I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been sick for a week of it! And the last week has been COLD. Our heater went out in the 5th wheel.....and we have been scrambling for blankets. BRRRR! Gotta' get the heater fixed.

Ric and Janet came over on Friday for a short visit. We had dinner at Chiefs Bar and Grill in Odessa. Claudia and Larry joined us and we had a short, but good visit with them. When Ric and Janet were leaving Jerry's on Saturday morning the saw this..........

Yup...it's a moose! I have seen it one a few years ago around Odessa as well. One never knows what you will see over here!

We are now in Newport, Wa on our way to Noxon, Mt. Friends Gordon and Denice live in Noxon now and we are heading over to see them and leave the 5th wheel while we are in Alaska. Gordon has practically been the only person do work on our trailer, and the only one we trust to do the work, so while we are gone, Gordon it going to do some repair/maintenance on it. We are also going to leave the cats in their care while we are gone. We are looking forward to seeing them.

We stopped today for lunch in Spokane with Gary and Jeannette. Jeannette and I wandered over to Penney's after lunch --- I NEEDED a new purse...no, seriously, you can ask Jeannette!! After that we headed up through Rathdrum, ID to Newport. This is a beautiful little town...first time I have ever been here. The RV park is situated above the Priest River and the view is great. It is also in the trees and the smell of the evergreens is great. We hoped to see Al's cousin who lives here, but his wife has the flu and since I just got well, we opted to see them next time around.

On to Noxon tomorrow....hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and well.

Voiceless in Odessa; The snake that wouldn't die and THE BIG CLEAN OUT

Odessa
Friday we met Ron, Melanie and Lori in Moses Lake. While they were renting their Uhaul trailer I ran over to pick up Cammie and boyfriend Ryan at Job Corp. We all met back up and headed to Golden Corral for dinner. Then back to Odessa. We dropped the UHaul at the house and then I took them all to Jerry's house where they were staying.

Up Saturday morning...met for breakfast at the only cafe in town..Chiefs. Pretty good too. After breakfast we all (well, except for Al) went to the house to start the BIG CLEAN OUT! Seems I have been doing this a lot in the last few years...first my brothers house in Anchorage, then his house in Tucson and now our house here. We started in the kitchen, as Todd and Jerry had packed up most everything else and it was in the storage trailer. By noon we were done with the kitchen and got the furniture that was going out moved. After lunch we hit the storage trailer and got about 25% of it done before I gave up! I will work on the storage trailer this week.

It seems as if I lost my voice somewhere Saturday. Can't find it either...I have one heck of a case of laryngitis. I thought my allergies were acting up, however, it has turned into one heck of a cold!!! I think everyone likes it that I can't talk!

Saturday night we bbq'd ribs out at Jerry's. Everyone was already out at Jerry's when Cammie, Ryan and I headed out. Cammie was driving Todd's Explorer for me as I didn't feel like driving. About a mile out of town on the road was the biggest, longest snake I have ever seen. I told Cammie to run over it. She did...again and again and again. This damn rattle snake would not die! FINALLY it quit moving. Off to Jerry's we go with me doing a high five! Another snake gone. While we were in Jerry's house, Cammie was looking out the dining room window and lo and behold, there is another snake in the bushes below the window. Oh, Jerry....yup, another rattler, a baby this time. Jerry killed it and Ron and Lori skinned it! AARGG! ICK!!! I made Lori SCRUB her hands! ICK, pooey, icky!

Yesterday we all met up at Chiefs again for breakfast. Still good. After breakfast Melanie and family took off for home. Sure glad they were here...they really were a big help; plus I really enjoyed our visit. I need to see more of them.

A little later in the day Jerry and I took Cammie and Ryan back to Moses Lake, where they are going to school. We got back around 3:30 and we took Alyssia and Austin (Todd and Vicky's children) for ice cream as I had promised them I would. Todd is such a hard worker....Larry and Claudia should be really proud of him. He is really a nice man, and Vicky is a lovely woman. So glad to have them around. I hope they will enjoy our house.

So now today I am resting. And probably tomorrow as well. Gotta' find my voice somewhere as well. I don't like not being able to talk!!! Imagine that! Al is not liking it either as he can't hear and I can't talk...no communication at all!!! And I can't call the dogs either! Frustrating.

We have had a couple of thunder storms here and we are suppose to have more today. Fine with me. It hasn't been too hot the past few days either. Right now it is about 75 with a nice breeze.

There was a golf tournament here this weekend and the RV park was full. And boy did they party on Saturday night...complete with a band! They asked us to join them (so we wouldn't complain!) however, we declined. We did enjoy the music however. I bet there were plenty hangovers yesterday.

That's it from this end of the world for now. Someday I will find my voice again, but for now it's texting and email.

Take care all...................

A Cracked Rib

Odessa
Okay, when Al took his little fall in Idaho Falls last week, he said he wasn't hurt. However, since then everytime he has to move he moans and hollers that he hurts. But Mr. "I'm not Stubborn!" said he didn't need to see the doc. Even in the ER the other night the doc didn't think it was anything but muscle strain. Uh huh.

After several nights of him moaning every time he moved in bed, I had, had it. So I called the doc here yesterday morning and amazingly enough, got him in to see her yesterday afternoon. After being xrayed and seeing the doc, I know why he hurt..he has a cracked rib! Now, there really isn't anything they can do for it, except he can't do any lifting for a month (as if he does anyway!) and no strenuous exercise (HAHAHA) for a month; basically he is to do what he has been doing for the last few months, sit and watch me work. Okay, that was uncalled for, but the truth. He has is pain killers and he is a happy camper. And I finally got some sleep last night.

There is a golf tournament here this weekend and our RV park is filling up. Of course, both dogs have had to meet everyone, and Simon was here last night and he had to meet everyone as well. Talk about social animals!

I am on my way to Moses Lake in a few minutes to pick up Cammie and boyfriend who are spending the weekend up here; along with meeting up with Melanie and family as they are also spending the weekend here to help me clean out the house. The Seattle crowd can't make it this weekend, so it will be just the 6 of us. Victor also can't make it as he has finals tomorrow. Everyone had an excuse except Melanie and I think she just couldn't come up with one fast enough!!! :-)

More after the weekend of cleaning out the house...if I am still alive.

Odessa...finally!

Odessa

We arrived here about 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Didn't take long to get the trailer set up and the truck unhooked. We had a light dinner and both of us crashed!! Here is the travel log from Sunday and Monday.

BAKER CITY, OR
June 7, 2009
We arrived here last evening around 5:00 p.m.. after getting a late start out of Twin Falls. We just took our time yesterday morning and made a stop at Walmart for some supplies; so we didn’t leave Twin Falls until noon…our time. When we arrived here it was cold, cloudy and threatening rain. After getting set up I took the dogs for their exercise….ball! We were in a nice, grassy area and I looked up to see about 15 cows watching us over the fence! Schuster, of course, had to go investigate what these things that is bigger than he is.

Remember when you were a kid and you always had to visit every bathroom along the way just because? Well, I think Al has this going on with hospitals!!!!

About 9:00 p.m. Al started experiencing cramps..in his legs, hands, arms and abdomen. I gave him an extra potassium pill like the doctor had instructed me to do, hoping the cramps would go away. All they did was get worse, so at 10:30 p.m. I was out unhooking the trailer from the truck (never had to do this in the dark!!) and off we went to the local hospital Emergency Room. Al was really in severe pain by this time. Fortunately for us, the Hospital isn’t far away and we were the only ones in the ER!!! Imagine that! The nurses got him stabilized and finally around midnight the doctor comes wandering in and orders some blood tests. I am suspecting that he is low in potassium and I told the doc that, but what do I know??? Doc thinks he is low on magnesium, and wants to give him a dose to see if that will help. I asked about quinine tablets, which I was told, they can’t get as the pharmacy is closed. HUH? After the blood test results come back, yup, I was right…he is low on potassium. They give him another potassium pill and send us home (2:30 a.m.) Al is feeling somewhat better by now and by 4:00 a.m. the cramps have pretty much gone away. I will give him an extra potassium pill this morning to boost his potassium level; doc’s instructions. We finally got to sleep around 4:30 a.m. … yawn!
We are only 252 miles from Odessa, so I think we will try and make that today. At least if we have another medical emergency I will know where to go and what to do!!!!
More later…………….

Monday, June 8
Odessa
We arrived here at 5:00 p.m. The trip today was pretty uneventful, with the exception of that damn hill coming into Pendleton! 6 miles of a 6% grade…and for some reason, I always worry about that hill the entire trip and I finally relax when we are at the bottom safely. However, this trip we had worse hills and grades, but since I didn’t know about them in advance, I didn’t have to worry about them!!!!!
We found a good little restaurant in Pendleton….Roosters. Their specialty is the Chicken Noodle soup, and not being a big fan of chicken noodle soup (okay, so my mom fed me way to much of it when I was sick as a child…so I associate it with being sick)…however, this soup was outstanding. We even bought a half gallon of it and we had it for dinner tonight! Homemade noodles….it was yummy.

We are parked at the little RV park next to the golf course. We were set up and ready to relax in less than 45 minutes. However, I am still fighting with the %^&* satellite dish, so no TV tonight. Besides I am too tired to fight it tonight. Todd came over as soon as we arrived and helped me move a picnic table over to our site, then he brought over Al’s big recliner that is built up high so Al can get out of it easily and we switched chairs. Vicky and the kids came over as well. Those 2 kids are absolutely darling .. Alyssia is 6 and Austin is 4. Alyssia is so pretty and Austin is all boy!!! Cute, cute cute. Austin said to me tonight "I am living in your house!" I said, "You are?" He said "Yup, and I am staying there!!" So there!
So we are set up and will stay here for two weeks. Since Todd and Vicky are renting our house here and have moved our stuff into a storage space, I will have my work cut out for me in the next two weeks sorting through stuff and getting rid of it. Not a job I look forward to, but one that needs to be done.

Tuesday
I rested most of the day. Had a few errands to run in town, which took me twice as long as everyone stopped to say hello!!! Had lunch at the cafe and ran into a few people there, then at the Quilt Shop with Ardis a few more people came in. You know how it is in a small town! However, it kinda' felt good!

Jerry came over for dinner tonight and we figured out logistics for this weekend. Melanie and family are coming over and Cammie and boyfriend are coming from Moses Lake to help. I took a look at the storage trailer where 99% of our stuff is and decided I was not going to tackle that and let the kids help when they get here. I think Salvation Army or the Sr. Center will be very happy with me when I am done!!!

Had a nice rain this evening, didn't last too long tho. I still haven't gotten the satellite working and after a long conversation with Directv today I don't think I will try and set it up until we come back in August. We can always run over to Todds; Mandi's or Buds to watch tv. Matter of fact, Mandi will be gone for a week next week...hmmmm.

So for now, we are settled and happy to be so.

TUCSON TO IDAHO FALLS AND POINTS IN BETWEEN

Kingman, AZ
Thursday June 5, 2009

We left Tucson on Wednesday a little after noon and drove to Wickenburg, AZ that day. It was hotter than heck…some places our thermometer on the truck read 125!! Once parked in Wickenburg, at the ONLY RV park we could find, our thermometer on the trailer read 130 at 6:30 p.m!! Of course it was in the direct sun, but it had to be close to that temp! IT WAS HOT! It took the AC on the 5th wheel over 5 hours to cool down to 80 degrees! We have found hell and it is in Wickenburg!

Up the next morning early and on the wroad by 8:30 a.m. We headed towards Kingman on Hwy. 93, which we will travel until Twin Falls, ID this trip. We have never traveled this wroad and decided it would be good for a change. Let me tell you….good isn’t exactly how I would describe the wroad between Wickenburg and Kingman. Up one steep hill, then down, etc. You get the picture. However, I ran over 3 snakes…that’s 3 less snakes in the world and that is a good thing!

About 30 miles north of Wickenburg we are driving along at about 65 MPH when I hear a BANG, SHHHHUUUSSH. What was that? I slowed down, and luckily we were about 200 yards from a roadside rest area…so I pulled in. We got out and looked around the truck, trailer; under the truck, trailer; under the hood, etc. (as if looking under the hood made any sense to me…okay, the engine is still there and nothing looked obviously wrong..end of inspection!) Tires are okay, nothing leaking (my first thought was “oh hell, another transmission gone” after being on our 5th transmission) – well, things don’t go BANG, SHHHUUUSSH for nothing. We couldn’t find a thing. What to do? We decided to go ahead and see what happens. I get back out on the road and hmmm…I don’t have much power. Matter of fact, going up some of the hills I was in low gear and crawling along at 5 MPH and praying we would make it to the top of the hill!! Down the hill as fast as I can go, crawl up the next hill. This went on for over 80 miles…but Black Beauty (what we call our F350) kept going. Finally reached I-40 and we are 23 miles from Kingman, and there is a Ford dealer there. At a little after noon we crawl into the Ford dealer. I was positive Black Beauty was gasping her last breath! I was already looking at the lot to see what they had. However, the mechanic took one look as said, “You have blown a turbo boot.” Okay, what is that? It is the rubber thingy that is on a long pipe that connects the thingy to the whatchmacallit to the turbo. NOT the turbo itself, thank goodness. And yes, they have the part and we can be on the wroad in about an hour. YES!

Fortunately, there is a dirt lot next to the dealership that we can drop the trailer, which we do. In Black Beauty goes to the doctor. After they pull the pipe that has the turbo boot on it, they discover that not only did we blow the lower boot, but the upper boot is gone as well. And, of course, that part they don’t have!!!! It is on order and will be in tomorrow morning.
Now, the trailer is parked in this dirt lot, the wind is blowing a hurricane and dust is everywhere. I called Good Sam Towing Service and tell them our problem. They say “no problem, we will find you a tow to the KOA in town”…shoulda’ known it wouldn’t be that easy. All I can say, is Cortney, remember Toad River??? ARG!!! FIVE hours later, after several calls between me and Good Sam, and they claim they still haven’t found a tow truck that has a 5th wheel receiver on it to tow us (this makes no sense to me…) I am fuming mad. What good are they, I mean, the y are in the business to assist Rvers and TOW them, right? Now, remember, we have NO POWER and NO WATER. We also have no water on board in our fresh water tank (oversight on my part that I will never make again). Good Sam is saying that the only tow truck they can find that can help us, is in Las Vegas, 110 miles away and they can’t get to us for another 3 hours. That makes it 9:30 p.m. CRAP! After chewing out Good Sam (and a scathing letter will be written) we tell them to forget it. We said we would find a a tow truck and file our bill for reimbursement, but oh no, we couldn’t do that either. We finally decided to just stay here (not much choice) with no power or water and go to sleep. We had 2 gallons of bottled water, which we used to flush toilet, etc. Thank goodness it wasn’t hot, it was only 80 degrees and again, the wind blowing a gale. I think I may have gotten 4-5 hours sleep all together last night and I don’t think Al, the dogs or cats got much more.

So here we are Friday morning and the parts are in and we are waiting for them to finish the repair so we can be on the wroad again. It is 73 degrees out as I write this (10:30 a.m., Friday) and the wind is blowing strong. I wonder if the wind always blows in Kingman? The people here at the Ford dealership have been wonderful help to us. They tried to get us power, but it was just too far from their receptacle to the trailer and we kept blowing the circuit breaker. As for water, this morning they brought us 5 gallons of fresh water. I bet I drank 2 gallons of it already! They have ordered their shuttle to be at our disposal, however, there is a Golden Corral and I-Hop across the street so we have walked over there for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Al has managed to walk over there and back, with the use of his cane. It is about a quarter of a mile over and back. He has done fairly well walking it, but he is very unsteady.

To amuse ourselves, Al has read and I have walked, walked and walked, thrown the ball for the dogs so many times even Beau isn’t interested! Now, you know how many times I have done that!!!!! I have done all the crossword puzzles I had with me and I have finished one book and started another. However, I am resting!!!!

Noon, Friday and we are off. All of the power on the south end of Kingman is out, so we can only hope we can find a gas station up the wroad that has power so we can get some fuel!!

Friday, June 05, 2009 9:15 PM, Caliente, Nevada

To continue our saga, we finally found fuel just outside of Kingman and off we go. WOW…the truck has power. The wind is blowing like crazy and unfortunately it isn’t pushing us along, we are fighting a head/side wind. Traffic is light as we head up 95 towards Vegas. We decided not to take 93 out of Kingman across Hoover Dam as the wait to cross the dam is 2 hours long. We go through Laughlin instead.

We flew through Las Vegas….I was concerned as we hit Vegas at 3:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and I figured traffic would be awful, however, we were through Vegas and on I-15 heading north in 30 minutes.

Traveling up Hwy 93, which is called the Great Basin Highway was a surprise for us. For one thing, we figured we would see nothing but desert and more desert. Imagine our surprise to see Joshua trees alongside the wroad for the first few miles, then beautiful meadows and a wonderful, green, lush valley!!! HUH? This is Nevada, right? We are in the little town of Caliente tonight…4800 feet elevation, it was 70 degrees when we arrived…perfect! We figured this drive would be hot, so we are very happy it was 80 degrees in Vegas and cooler as we headed up 93! We are in a nice RV park, somewhat like Odessa’s RV park, lots of green and trees. Also lots of deer! One scared the heck out of Schuster tonight while we were playing ball! I don’t think he has ever seen a deer!

We have no cell service here..one place AT&T has forgotten! I have no idea when I will find a place to post this blog either. However, this has been a very pleasant drive today, very little traffic and as I said before, beautiful scenery!!

Saturday, June 6 Twin Falls, Idaho BRRRR…it’s cold! 59 degrees.

We had a very pleasant, if not wet, drive today. We left Caliente and enjoyed the scenery along Hwy 93. However, when we left Caliente, we had the discussion of should we get fuel here or not. We had ¾ of a tank of fuel and 168 miles to Ely, NV. Should be no problem! Besides diesel was expensive in that little town! So off we go. Apparently we were on the underside of the ¾ mark, as the fuel gage dropped to ½ in about 30 miles. Al is looking at the map and saying..there is nothing until ELY. Still…we should have plenty of fuel for 130 miles. Uh Huh! We kept going – again, beautiful scenery, in the middle of nowhere! By the time we made the turn onto Hwy 50/93 we were 30 miles from Ely and the “LOW FUEL” light comes on. GREAT! We are climbing over a pass at the time…so I keep going. The “Low Fuel” light stays on and we coast into Ely … we took 37.6 gallons of fuel in a 38 gallon tank! WHEW!!!!!

The rest of the day was uneventful….pretty drive to Idaho Falls, however, it has rained on us since Ely. And we have had wind the entire trip…my shoulders are sore from holding on to the wheel to fight the wind. Black Beauty is purring along just fine, happy to be well again. The dogs and I have managed to find somewhere to play ball every night, including last night during a break in the rain! Schuster has really been stretching his legs and running full tilt! He is so pretty to watch when he runs like that. Also, Al took a fall this evening trying to connect the water hose. He is okay, but it scared me! I don't have gray hair for nothing! And I keep blaming the kids for my gray hair...anyway, a couple of men in the RV park saw him fall and rushed over to help me get him up. I gotta' figure a way that I can get him up when he falls...anyone have any ideas?

June 7, 2009, Sunday Morning

After a night of pounding rain and I slept like a baby, we are getting ready to wroll. Depending on weather, we will probably go to Pendleton today and then into Odessa on Monday. Right now it is raining and windy, so it will be a slow drive today. More when I find another internet connection!

Al, Jo and pets,
THE WROAMIN’ WRASPIRS

WE ARE WROAMIN

Tucson
Last night here. I have the trailer 99.9% loaded and we are wready to wroll! FINALLY!

I had my cardio stress test yesterday and the ultra sound of the heart and all is fine. Very strong heart (I told him I had to have one....) Al and I have the same doctor and he agreed with me. He also said part of the problem is since last December when my brother got sick I haven't had any "down" time. What with Dick dying, our doctor dying and then AL getting sick and having a LONG recovery I am stressed to the max. I told him I needed a long vacation in Hawaii and if he would write a prescription for it I would go and take it off my income tax (don't panic Gary!! He wouldn't bite for it) Can't say I didn't try.

Then today I saw my GP and he gave me the green light to go. My pulmonary tests showed asthma (see, I knew it all along!!) and he prescribed an inhaler for me and wants me to see my doc in Seattle BEFORE I leave for Alaska. He also said I was stressed to the max (so, what are they really saying) and no, he wouldn't write a prescription for Hawaii either!! :-( He does want me to rest a little more...hello!!! HE knows what a position I am in. He didn't give me any idea's how to do that however!

Cortney was here tonight and helped me finish loading the trailer. Bless her heart! I have been working for two days trying to get the %^&*(^%^ satellite system to work on the 5th wheel and I finally gave up. Bob Grabow, who knows what he is doing on these systems is as puzzled as I am why it won't work. I will just have to call Directv when we arrive in Odessa. Most of the RV parks will have cable hook ups while we travel...I hope.

AL has been told NO DRIVING...don't know if he will obey it or not, we shall see. I plan on doing all of the driving...no problem. It may be a slower trip than usual, as I will take my time. I have driven the rig enough that I am very comfortable with it.

So, until we post from the wroad, we hope all is well in your world.

The Wroamin' Wraspir's are at it again!

Graduations, Rain and other nonsense

Tucson

Yes, we are still in "The Old Pueblo" as Tucson calls itself. It seems as we can't leave until June 3 after I get done with all the doctor appointments. They seem to be ruling our lives lately!

Not much has happened in the last 10 days since I last posted to my blog. When you are sitting around waiting to leave, time seems to go much slower. That is until you start to load your RV...then time speeds up. Go figure.

We have had two significant events in the past 10 days.

The first is Cortney graduated from high school last Tuesday night. We are so proud of her and she is soooooooooo glad to be done with high school. She has enrolled in Pima Community College to get her general education requirements out of the way. In two years she hopes to be going to the University of Arizona. Good thinking of her part. She is a very responsible, mature, young lady. Graduation night was held on the athletic field at her high school and it was windy and cool. So nice of a change from the night before when it was 95 degrees at 9:00 p.m. We gladly put up with the wind. Had a lot of big, black clouds overhead and it threatened rain, but fortunately the rain held off for a day or so. At any rate, it was a nice graduation and Holly and Bruce hosted a small party at their house after so we could all congratulate Cortney.

Cortney, Bruce (Dad) and Holly (Mom)....graduation from Ironwood Ridge HS

Holly's sister Christie and her fiance and her 4 children were there as well and it was good to get to visit with them as well. Her 4 children are so well mannered and pleasant to be around. Her daughter, Marina, reminds me so much of Sarah at that age. The Wraspir gene's are alive and well!

The second event is we have had RAIN! Honest-to-goodness rain. Unusal for us. I know, you folks in the Pacific NW think we are nuts; but rain is good when it rains gently here. We got over a half an inch yesterday and more early this morning. It smells so good when it rains here and it settles the dust and the thick pollen! I tell you pollen has been horrible this year. The mesquite trees are putting off a yellow powder type pollen that has everyone complaining about allergies this year. RAIN...whoopee.

I have finished another baby quilt, 3 down, 2 to go.
Sophie's Baby Quilt.

I have Natasha's quilt cut out (not really a baby quilt; but I put it in that class) and Ada's will be cut out tomorrow. Then I will take them with me so I can work on them this summer. I also have several other quilting projects I will take with me and hope to finish while we are in Washington/Montana/Oregon or where ever we wroam. I have taken notice that gas prices are up again...of course, it is summer time. But I am not complaining too loudly after the gas prices of last year. Diesel went up 10 cents a gallon over night this week though.

That's about all from this end of the world for now. Tomorrow we are moving the 5th wheel to in front of the house and I am going to start cleaning it and start to load over the next week or so. If the doc gives the okay (and maybe even if he doesn't) we hope to be outta' here June 3. Stay tuned for progress!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY EVERYONE. REMEMBER OUR TROOPS, BOTH THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES AND THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED AND ARE SERVING NOW.

Dang...a NO GO!

Tucson
In my last blog I mentioned that we were getting ready to head north to Washington, first stop to be Odessa and that we were waiting for Al's surgeon to give us the "go" or "no go". Well, we are on a "no go" status right now and not because of AL's doctor!!!

For a few months I have had a hard time breathing and I have came up with every excuse in the world for it, i.e., weight, asthma, allergies, etc. I finally made a doctors appointment hoping to get some relief for it in the form of an inhaler, pills, etc. WELL, the doc didn't go for any of my excuses, nor for my form of relief for said symptoms. Oh no, he has me going through a battery of tests, seeing all of the "ologists" in the process, you know, the pulmonologist cardiologist, and the Iknowyouhaveinsurancethereforeigetpaidologist. Soooo..we are on hold for travel until I manage to worm my way through all of these tests. Tomorrow I go for the pulmonary test, then next week is the stress test (I may have to study for this one) and for an ultrasound of heart and lungs, etc. Then, after all the results are in, I will see the doctor June 2. I hope to be outta' here June 3, but we will see. They have already ran and EKG on me (which was fine) and taken their gallon of blood and urine, so those tests are in the works. Geez....I am really out of practice being the patient.

In other not so exciting news, it is hot here! The last two days have been 106, but today we have a cold spell going through and it was only 98. I don't mind the heat too much, however, I must say I do love my air conditioner!!!! I have some work to do outside, and I have been tackling it in the early morning before 10:00 a.m. I am trying to get the 5th wheel ready to roll so when the doc says we can go we will go!

Al has had good reports from his doctors. We saw the GP on Monday and he is happy with his progress; saw the cardiologist today and he released him and told him he would see him in six months. Tomorrow is the surgeon and I am sure he will also release Al. So I seem to be the hold up for heading north. OH well, it must be my turn!

The cactus have been in bloom and they are absolutely gorgeous. I would send you a picture of them, however, I can't seem to get a good shot of one and I don't want to get to close!

Mi Nidito

Tucson
YUM, Yum, Yum! Mi Nidito Restaurant is probably the best Mexican Food I have had since El Patio days in Azusa! Why we have never been to this restaurant before, or even known about it, is beyond me. But let me start at the beginning.

Cortney is graduating from High School this year and since we won't be here to attend her graduation we told her we would take her and her boyfriend, plus Bruce and Holly to the restaurant of her choice. (I was hoping she wouldn't pick something like the Westin or Hilton!) She finally said she wanted to go to MiNidito's. HUH??? What's that? Where is it? Well, then the truth came out...she said it was only the best Mexican Food in the world. Hmmm, and why haven't we heard of it before? It seems as if it isn't in the best part of town, but it is worth the drive to South Tucson for it. First of all, we went early on Saturday evening (we got there before 5:00 p.m.) and there was already a wait of 25 minutes. Apparently, everyone else in town knows about this little secret. The minute we walked in I knew we were in for a treat. The food was sooooo good. Now, I can't wait to go back!

Not too much else going on in our world right now. Waiting for the surgeon to say "go" or "no go" so we know if we are heading north on the 15th. If he says "no go" I will probably put Al on a plane and the animals and I will drive the truck and trailer north. His appointment is Thursday. If it is a "Go" then I have to get busy and get the trailer ready to go. Our plan is to go from here to Las Vegas to Mesquite NV, then up Hwy 93 to Idaho. Just a different route for a change of scenery. And we will take our time. AL want's to be in Odessa for Memorial Day and family reunion on May 25, so that is our target. I have reservations at the RV Park in Odessa beginning May 24.

It is really starting to warm up here. Today is 95, tomorrow is suppose to break the 100 mark. Or as they say here, "The ice will break up in the Santa Cruz River"...hahaha! The only ice that river has ever seen is if someone tosses ice cubes in it...and it really isn't a river until Monsoons hit...and even then it is more of a torrent run off than a river.

And what is the big deal about the Swine Flu? Come on, it's a flu. Pandemic.. NOT! That must be our wonderful media blowing things way out of proportion AGAIN! Off the soap box Jo!