Arriving in Hollywood,Fl

Well, we won't be moving for awhile, we got to my son's place in Hollywood and park our RV in his door yard, the door yard is too small you think, well, while we were here, our car motor home and 3 other cars were parked in his driveway and he came home with a tractor-trailer, park in the driveway, went inside and got a sandwich then pulled out without having to move anything, huge driveway, oh, did I mention it's in the high 80s during the day??? nice, we'll try and enjoy it.

Covington, La To DeFuniak, Fl

A road trip of 269 miles took us out of snow and out of Louisiana through Mississippi then through Alabama to set up in DeFuniak , Fl., this is a very nice campground and we decided to stay for two days before heading towards Hollywood and Miami. Bye the way, no snow here.
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A day in New Orleans

The day started with a ride across Lake Pochatrain on a 24 mile long bridge then another 6 miles or so on the Pochatrain causeway after  that it was on to the French Quarter for a walk around town and to a Kiosk that sells New Orleans tour tickets, we bought a ticket for each of us and spent the rest of the day on a tour bus checking out the home Fats Domino and the above ground graves, a little eerie I must say, the devastation Katrina caused and some of the rebuilding going on . The trip home was a bit scary, first of all Gee Gee, our Garmin, couldn't find a satellite and we didn't know whether to turn right or left, it was raining it was rush hour and it was dark out making driving  very difficult, eventually, she did get "connected" and got us home safely, till now, Gee Gee was short  for Goofy Garmin but now she's Glorious Garmin, good night.
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Another catch-up day

Today we did some shopping and Anne is using this time to wrap Christmas gifts and I used it to check things out on the RV. Tomorrow we move on to Covington, LA, near New Orleans and we will visit "the" city, send pictures.

The road from San Antonio to Beaumont

We took off from San Antonio at 9:00 in the morning, got through Houston with all of it's construction at 12:30, we had rain for most of the trip but the highway was well marked and even with the construction and rain, we made good time. Beaumont had allot of rain and the site where we set-up was went all around the cement pad but we're settled in for the night.

San Antonio Botanical Gardens

Today started slow and easy, first we had to pay for an extra days stay, not hard to take, then Wendy and Bob came over and took us to the Botanical Gardens, another really great place to visit in San Antonio. I should've said that the first night we were here we walked the "River Walk" and had diner on the edge of the river walk.
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The Alamo and Sea World

November 28
What a feeling, to stand there where people like Jim Bowie and Davy Crocket stood defending the Alamo against Mexico, what a peice of history, you can't help but be moved, our forefathers fought hard for what we have. Sea World was a testament to what animals can do, for food, we watched Shamu respond to signals and do tricks that where amazing.....ly wet. We watched seals do there thing, the theme was, yup you guessed it, Christmas, lots and lots of Christmas songs and plays, allot of fun.
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San Antonio's Parks

November 27
Today took us to a wild life park that had all kinds of African animals that came to the car to get feed, isn't that what life is about? Well, we went to lunch at a steakhouse that Bob was anxious to show us, great meal, from there we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns, a totally different experience from the Carlsbad Caverns, much of the trip was many low ceilings and steep trails, special sights all over the country.  
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Thanksgiving Day

Wow, what a treat to meet family, Wendy Walker is Anne's niece and she and her boy friend Bob invited us into there house for diner and what a treat we had, a great meal spent with family after 7 weeks on the road.After the meal we visited a Japanese tea garden, again Anne was in her glory.
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Road trip towards San Antonio,TX

November 24

Today we left Carlsbad, kind of a sad time because we really enjoyed the Caverns. Before leaving, we did join Passport America to get "better" deals while on the road. We made a stop at Kerrville, TX, just about 80 miles from San Antonio, easy trip to San Antonio. No photos but I can tell you that we spent the night at a very nice campground.

Sitting Bull Falls

November 23
Today we were going to spend getting the RV ready for the next move and shortly after getting started, we were told  about Sitting Bull Falls about 45 miles away, we went, we saw and there was no water, what's a waterfall without water, right a drop-off, beautiful ride though and we are happy we went.

750ft underground at Carlsbad Caverns

Today was an awesome trip to Carlsbad Cavern and an elevator trip to the underground depths of 750 ft on a self guided tour that was followed by a guided tour of the Cavern's King's Palace, absolutely amazing and we were treated to what it's like to be underground without light as Jim White was when his lantern was extinguished while he was exploring the cavern, wouldn't wanted to have been him, oh, he did make it out but always brought more matches from then on.
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The road to Carlsbad Caverns

November 21
Wow, that was a short stay, we have a commitment to be in San Antonio, TX to be with our niece for Thanksgiving and we also wanted to see Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, a small but needed detour so we took a 550 mile trip in one day to give us time to see the Caverns, we hated to leave the Petrified Forest and Painted desert after only a day, not our usual, but we did it, now at 6:30, we’re in Carlsbad, NM
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Petrified Forest, Day Two

November 20
The Petrified Forest, not what I expected, the are was free of trees but was a thick forest 250million years ago, the trees fell and were buried then impregnated by whatever mineral was around and the result was a rock hard “tree” that was crystallized, really beautiful. The Petrified Forest doesn’t end there though; we saw some hieroglyphics that date back 1000years, what a weird feeling to walk on the same ground as “them”. On the way out of the “forest” we visited the Painted Desert, absolutely amazing, can’t say more, just amazing.
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The Petrified Forest

November 19
We left the Grand Canyon in our “dust” and headed for the Petrified Forest near Holbrook, AZ. A short trip, of about 190 miles which gave us plenty of time to set up then do the laundry, shopping and find out about the area.

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Day two at Grand Canyon

November 18
Today was a trip to the east end of the south rim to vista points all the way to Desert View, approximately 25 miles with maybe 10 vistas. On our last morning in Grand Canyon’s Trailer Village we were treated to 3 elk roaming around the park right up close to RVs and while watching them, people were asking each other where they were from, met a couple from Star Lake, NY about 80 miles from home, small world.
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Day one at Grand Canyon

November 17
Bus trip to Hermit’s Rest in the west end of the Canyon and a nice pause at Mohave vista for a sunset photo op. there are many vistas and the day is not long enough to stop at all of them but how do you decide which to miss, they are all great.
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St. George to Grand Canyon

November 16
Another road trip, this on was from St. George to the Grand Canyon, about 275 miles and we got to Grand Canyon Village at 4:30 after a single stop at the Canyon’s rim, we needed to get set up but after seeing that one overlook, we signed up for an extra day, tomorrow we visit the Grand Canyon…
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The Temple of Sinawava

November 15
Today we did go for a hike from the Temple of Sinawava, awesome, great hike, not too taxing and really great sights and Anne got her hand in the river.

Zion day Two

November 14
Today started with a trip to Zion but the cloud cover and rain turned us to Kolob Canyon, you don’t want to miss Kolob Canyon, so far we’ve done car trips but we still had a great chance to see a lot, go through tunnels and made a lot of stops and maxed out the camera chip.
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Zion day One

November 13
Met with Annette and went to Zion, everyone needs to experience Zion, you don’t go see Zion, you go into Zion, just amazing, Annette had never gone to Zion and is now planning a lot of summer days in the Park.
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Trip to Las Vegas

November 11
Started the day with a trip to Las Vegas, “the strip” had a lot of construction going on so we didn’t find a parking spot that was anywhere near the casinos, maybe be a good thing, we saw a lot of people coming from one end of the strip so we figured that they had found a parking spot, we went that way and everything was full so we returned to the park and did the washing, all work no play.
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Yuma mining town

November 8
Sunday was spent on a walk in an old mine in California, hot weather but again very interesting, we saw thee cyanide tanks where the “dirt” was processed and, yup, a ride to Barney’s where we got more 44oz sodas, these guys know how to live, from there we finished the day with a square dance dancing to a caller we first met in Hungry Horse, more great people, we will have to go back on the road next year because of these people.
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A day with our road trip friends

November 7                           
Saturday’s road trip took Bernice, Hoyt, Anne and I to a different RV supply store where we found the controller we needed then went for more grocery shopping, no, we don’t always eat, remember I talked about the dancing, shuffleboard and we also played a game of 101 pool, went to a State Prison turned public park and Anne went to water aerobics
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Yuma Square Dancing

November 6
Friday started out with a run to the RV parts store to find a pump controller, no luck there but we went and did some shopping at Fry’s, a food store and put the controller on hold for now, not a vital piece of equipment. The campground put on a hamburger and hot dog feed, right up my alley, the evening turned into a square dance, if Anita and Ron Anderson have their way, we will be square dancers, really allot of fun.

A day of retirement

Anne and I got together with 4 other couples and played shuffleboard, Anne and I didn't hold our own, we barely scored in all the games, oh well, back on the road....  These guys sure know what retirement is about, we get up do a little something, go to get a 44oz drink, then relax, then go see some local sights then go get a 44oz drink then go home, I don't know if I can keep up to this.

Lazy Day

November 4
Today was truly a laid back day, we had the RVs oil changed  and did a little shopping and spent the rest of the day with 2 couples that we met "on the trail" in Hungry Horse, you don't have to like camping to have an enjoyable time out on the road not to mention the sights, a real fun trip.

Yuma and Mexico

November 3

Today was a pretty full day, we had the RV washed, Anne got her flue shot, we took a trip to Mexico were Anne was in her glory, she was able to do some "Christmas" shopping and got her hair trimmed. While in Mexico we watched a local guy paint a desert scene on a rectangular green bottle using newspaper for a brush.

Going to Yuma Prison

November 2

The day started with Anne taking a water aerobics followed by a line dance lesson and I worked on the RV checking some electrical connections and covering the tires to keep them out of the sun. Our thermometer saw 101 degrees but the air was dry so it was not too hard to take. We were taking to the Arizona State Penitentiary State Park by Ron and Anita, friends we met in Hungry Horse.

Yuma Day 1

November 1


We toured around a bit and ended at a square dance that was called by the same person that called in Hungry Horse, he and his wife were very surprised to see us, lot’s of fun, the night ended at the Dairy Queen

On the road to Yuma

October 31

We left Newberg Springs, on route 66, to o to Yuma, Arizona, a long rough ride, 314 miles later and we turned into Cactus Park in Yuma none the worse for wear

Route 66 and Calico

October 30


Today we drove down route 66, what a hoot, and then we went to Calico, California, an old ghost town that had a lot of silver mining activities in the 1880s. While in Calico we rode an old narrow gauge railroad and went into two of the original Calico homes and peeked into the entrances to some of the mines.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/Route66Calico#

Going to Barstow

October 29

Today was a road trip through Yosemite’s west gate and out the south gate, the first option was to go over Tioga Pass but at an elevation of 11,000 feet and 32 degrees at the 5000ft, it’s was a sure bet that the pass was closed so we opted for a sure thing and went to the south gate, we had a great trip and ended just east of Barstow, Ca.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/TripToBarstowCa#slideshow/5406001554467758578

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/Route66Calico#

Yosemite's South Entrance and the Sequoia

October 28

Today, day 3 for our stay at Yosemite and we made a trip to the south entrance where we strolled through a stand of Sequoia trees, these guys are big and old, very interesting to see, pictures cannot capture the enormous size of these tress, absolutely awesome.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/YosemiteDay3#

Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchey

October 27


Yosemite National Park, day 2, we keep being surprised by this country, we see new sites that make it hard to go back to the RV and today was such a day, we actually drove 85 miles to a new view that we may have missed had we “followed the group”. The day started with a site seeing trip to Yosemite Valley, we spent a good portion of the day hiking to places like Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and the Yosemite Valley then, with Anne looking at the Park map, found a spot in the northwest corner that was really something to see, especially for me, a hydro dam that also provided fresh drinking untreated water for San Francisco, we did get back to the RV.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/YosemiteDay2#

Yosemite's Glacier Point

October 26

Today was a road trip day, we left Petaluma and our last look of the Pacific Ocean in our rearview mirror and 238 miles later we are sitting at Yosemite’s door. We took advantage of an early arrival to visit the park as we were told that it may rain in the lower elevations tomorrow, that means snow in the higher elevations and we should see the Avalanche point vista today, we did, WOW.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/YosemiteDay1#

Trip to San Francisco

Today we went on a guided tour of San Fransisco, we had a great time, stopping at all the great spots, the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight Ashbury, Chinatown, The Presidio and the list goes on, if you get to Petaluma, you need to do the tour.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/SanFransisco#

The trip to Pentaluma

October 24

After talking to some people we left Golden Rule Campground headed for the Petaluma KOA, we usually try to avoid the KOA campgrounds because of budget considerations but we had a good reason for going to this one, it had a tour trip into San Fransisco which meant I didn't have to drive and I could look around, we made to Petaluma and reserved our spaces on the tour bus.

Mendocino Gardens

October 23

Today was trip to the Botanical Gardens in Ft Bragg, the trip took us over route 20, I’m sure that at times we saw our own taillights as we came around a lot of hairpin turns in the 35 miles that took us an hour to travel. The gardens were pass “their time” but it was still a great couple of hours walking through the garden’s path that eventually brought us out to the ocean. While we were in the garden’s shop we heard that a blue whale had been hit by an exploration boat and the whale was killed and came to shore not far from the gardens the Tuesday before.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/MendocinoGardens#

South on Californias 101

October 22


Today was a road trip day; we drove down 101 to Willits, Calif. If your looking for it on the map, find Ft Bragg on the coast then slide your finger to the right, eastward along 20 for about 35 miles. We found a campground so far down in a canyon that we where considering turning around, we didn’t turn because we found no place to turn but we eventually found the place, nice and quite and for a very reasonable price considering the price of State Parks.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/GoldenRuleCampground#

Trinadad Coastline Trip

Today we first went to the Samoa Cookhouse and Museum. The Samoa Museum was a small bur nicely done museum featuring a large wooden ships wheel and name placards of some ships that went aground near Samoa, Calif. A hike was next up, we hiked to a lighthouse, a very nice and rewarding hike that we recomend to anyone who passes through the area, the view of the ocean and the seaport was great.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/CalifCoast#

Avenue of the Giants

Today was an short trip to the ocean and checking out another lighthouse right here in Trinidad, Calif. then a very nice ride down old route 101, a real cliffhangar, in some places the road was one lane, the side nearest the ocean slide away, Anne was not all that comfortable but "lived" through it. Once back on the new route 101 we headed south for the "Avenue of the Giants" where we saw the the giant redwoods driving a 20 mile long scenic byway. A little shopping and we're back home for the evening.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/RoadToAveOfGiants#

A day in Bandon, Oregon

October17

A slow day today, we got caught up on the washing and bought a few essentials for the RV. We visited the Bandon “Old Town” down on the waterfront and had a great clam chowder. I'm eclosing some sunsets.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/PacificSunset#

Route 101 to Bullard State Park

October16

A short road trip today, 127 miles to Bullard State Park we did a short trip for fear that we would show up at Crescent City, California to late and we would not have had a space and Bullard State Park offers a lot of sites to check out including the Pacific Ocean. We got to Bullard early enough to go to a lighthouse and get an ear full of Bandon history and how the lighthouse played a vital role for the town’s trade.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/Route101ToBullardPark#

A trip to Devil's Punchbowl

October 15

Today started out with a trip to Devil’s Punchbowl and while there we watched the Coast Guard doing some rescue exercises. We then went to town so I could get a hair cut and after we went back to the lighthouse we visited late yesterday and ended the day with a walk on the beach were Anne tried to outrun the waves coming in and lost, went back to the RV and she changed out her shoes and jeans, don’t mess with mother nature!!!

Oregon's Aquarium

October 14

Oregon’s Aquarium was at the top of the agenda for today, talk about a nice aquarium, we watched while trainers feed the sea lions and walked through an underwater glass tunnel and saw many exhibits of different fish. A short stay at a lighthouse with the promise of going back tomorrow, we just ran out of time today and they were closing the lighthouse for the night.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/OregonCoast#

Oregon Aquarium

October 13

Today was a short drive, 127 miles but it was raining and the wind was blowing all the way. We stopped in Newport, Oregon to visit the Oregon Aquarium and to more beach walking. Anne is ready to checkout the seals on the beach. We got to Beverly Beach State Park and no one was at the check-in desk, a sign read “go find a site that is not reserved and register for that site and for no more than two days” we did just that and settled in, went shopping for food, came back sat down to diner and someone showed up saying they had reserved the spot 7 months earlier, we went searching again and it’s 1830 and no one has kicked us out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/NewportOreArea#

Movin on out

October 12


Today is called the “day before” where we do the washing, clean the windshield and clean the inside of the RV to get ready to move. One week in the northwest of Oregon has brought us up to speed on Lewis and Clark, their discoveries, how and where they lived. Before the history lessons though the first thing we did was to head for the Pacific Ocean and the last thing we did today was to spend some hours at the ocean.

Seaside Aquarium

October 11
Nice easy day today, we went to Seaside, about 15 miles away, visited an aquarium then went back to the Ocean shores next to the campground and finished the day with a trip to the David Russell Battery

Tillamook and Cannon Beach

October 10


Today we traveled Route 101 as far south as Tillamook stopping at Cannon Beach for a couple of hours, the beach was beautiful, a stop at the Tillamook lighthouse view point was next on our agenda, we found the lighthouse to be about 1.5 miles out at sea so we were only able to look and take pictures. Once in Tillamook, we visited a cheese factory bought some cheese and had some ice cream, all in all, not a bad day.

Oregon's Lighthouses

Today a trip to lighthouses was in order and so we started our lighthouse tours in Washington State. A tour of North Head Lighthouse was our first stop, we were able to go to the top of the lighthouse and we meet a Host who gave us more information than we asked for, very interesting. After visiting North Head, we went to a second lighthouse, Cape Disappointment lighthouse, there we watch a presentation on Lewis & Clark’s expeditions in the years between 1804 and 1806 then hiked to the lighthouse itself where we weren’t aloud inside but what a view of the Pacific coastline. We had some extra time so we stopped off at Fort Columbia, also in Washington State.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/LighthousesFtColumbia#

Astoria Oregon

October 8

The order of the day was a trip to Astoria where we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum and we saw some exhibits of some old ships and videos of US Coast Guard rescue boats on a training mission. The last thing we did at the museum was to board the lightship Columbia and get a feel for how the crew lived for two weeks at a time Just after lunch, we left for a climb up the Astoria Column, 164 steps to an observation deck 125 feet above Coxcomb Hill which is 600 feet above the Columbia River, really breathtaking.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/AstoriaAndFortClatsop#

Fort Stevens and Area

October 7

Today was a mix of a trip into history and an afternoon watching ships come into the Columbia River. We started the day with a short trip to Fort Stevens, a civil war, WW1 and WW11 coastal defense fort that was fired upon by a Japanese submarine, nine shots and nine misses, the only time the continental US was fired upon. One of the features of the fort was the use of “hidden guns” that recoils to a hidden position after firing. Standing in an observation tower overlooking the Pacific Ocean was a really great experience, we watched ships entering and leaving the Columbia River, much like we do on the St. Lawrence River, it was great.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/FortStevensAndThePacific#

Road to Fort Stevens

October 6

Road trip, today we left Aurora for the Astoria area, we took I-5 north to route 26 then it was on to route 101 to Fort Stevens in Oregon’s North West. The drive took us around the city of Portland with some hectic driving but we managed, going through some very pretty forests on route 26 quickly made the drive around Portland a distant memory. The weather is holding for us, the sun is shinning and all is well for the rambling-roys.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanneroy/RoadToFortStevens#

Oregon Gardens

Well today really was Anne's day, we started by going shopping at an outlet mall, she manage to find some clothes she needed, then we went to the Oregon Gardens and spent the rest of the day there, I have to admit, even at this late date, the gardens where well worth the trip.
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Today was kind of cool and gray so we used the time to go to an aviation museum that houses Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose and a lot of other vintage aircraft along with the US space program’s Titan’s launch room, orbiting and lunar modules. We where able to go aboard the Spruce Goose and get some neat pictures, even though the camera can’t really show the actual size of the airplane. Anne took some lessons while we were there!!!

Champoeg State Park

October 2


We where told Champoeg State Park is a beatiful campground,this is a great understatement, we where however, aloud to stay just Thursday evening as the place was booked for the week-end so we will have to move tomorrow.

Fort Klamath, Or.

October 1


Well, the weather caught up to us last night, we woke up to a frozen water line from the outside bib to the RV, I disconnected and we used the water from our storage tank to get cleaned up and do dishes, we headed out to McMinnville, Oregon, home of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose.

Crater Lake

September 30

Today weather was worst than yesterdays, the rim road was mostly ice and for a smart driver, was a no-go. A trip to the Lodge was in order so we did just that, there where a lot of sites to see from the Lodges trails and we took advantage of them. As we left the Park a hail storm came through so we decided, enough of this New York weather, let’s head down the mountain, 23 miles away the weather turned in our favor.

The Pinacles at Crater Lake

September 29

What can we say? Crater Lake access road is covered with snow and the Ranger at the Kiosk asks “can you drive on ice?” not what I wanted to hear but went forth and took the trip around the RIM and we ended up seeing the lake, there where a few moments when the fog and snow cleared and we where at the right place. After a few side trips and listening to the video presentation we headed back to the RV for the day happy that we did get to see the Lake. We lost the camera's battery power so the Crater Lake pics will come later, these are the pinacles near the lake.