The Tour Begins

The nice, warm weather was a pleasant surprise as we entered the country of Montenegro. I guess that I packed for fall or winter. :) What a lovely day of wandering the cobblestone streets and peeking into the next narrow alley or street. We found a quaint little outdoor restaurant to order a wood fired pizza and a glass of wine before heading back to the ship.

Our next day was spent at sea which gave us ample time to explore the Legend of the Seas ship. We also took advantage of a little exercise and chose to support a cancer walk. Around the ship we walked and talked. We even chose to keep walking knowing how we would enjoy our dinner.

The island of Sicily was next with more beautiful sunshine! The town of Messina did not have much to offer, other than the famed church with it's large steeple that housed many statues and figurines. The crowds gathered as noon drew closer. As the clock struck noon, "Santa Maria" began to play and people started to point to the steeple. The lion began with it's roar, followed by birds flapping their wings, bells ringing, and the Apostles rotating around the path. Nancy and Ak hoped onto a bus as Rick and I walked. Our walk turned into miles as we got a bit confused with our curved path. But, we successfully found out way back to the ship.

Saturday was an excursion trip to Pompeii. We chose to follow our guide as we tried to imagine the life and living style of people so long ago. Many pictures were taken! John in the red hat seemed to have wandered from the group and got lost causing our tour to return a bit late.

Happy Birthday to Rick on Sunday! Yes, 59 years old :) Since Rome is a good hour away from where our ship docked, we chose to do another excursion trip. Our first leg was spent on a bus getting to a train which would take us to Rome. We entered the Vatican area, but were unable to tour as the Pope was preaching at noon. Rick suggested that we take a taxi four miles to the coliseum, and then walk back from there. Good idea, Rick!!!

Who said the economy is suffering? Who said that this was not tourist season? We stood in line for over an hour to get tickets to enter the Coliseum! Once inside, we wandered on our own as we took many pictures to help capture the ancient Roman history. The Roman Forum was a bit confusing, and we had trouble finding our way out! Once exited, we started our four mile hike back enjoying the streets of Rome.

Our last planned excursion was the next day to the town of Pisa, Italy where we ooohhhed and ahhhed over the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We walked the streets to find an ATM machine, and bought some pasta to take home. Our last treat of the trip was some more gelato! Yum! That pistachio flavor is marvelous. We hopped back onto the bus and headed back to our boat.

Summer Update

After  many months of weighing the pros and cons of, "Pet or No Pet" we started the looking process. We really did try to do the adopt a pet plan, but after searching many animal shelters, we decided that this was not going to work for us. While in Nappanee, Indiana we searched the Internet and ended up at some pretty scary puppy mills! I now understand all of Karen's concerns! The local vet steered us to a lady who raised Yorkie. We called and made the visit, only to be met at the door by Bailey! The cutest little 2.5 pound mix of Maltese and yorkie. That would be a designer dog :) Of course, we could not resist and ended up owning this adorable and charming guy! Little did Bailey know that he would become the Land of Memories Camp Assistant.

Rick and I started our new job of host and manager at Land of Memories Campground in Mankato, MN in April. We entered the park in a snowstorm! Cold and dark skies kept us company for a few days. When the weather finally broke, we started the clean up the park process. A little problem of NO WATER made it a bit difficult. But, the day before the camp was to open, a makeshift water system was in place. It was one busy day of cleaning restrooms! We were wet from head to foot! But, the bathrooms were clean! 

Our job had some definite benefits, and one of them was seeing Autumn, our grand daughter and family! I loved being on call to babysit and help out. Luke and Kendall were so gracious as to let us wash clothes and shower at their home. As we became familiar with the town, we found things to do and places to visit. Rainy days were meant for movie theatres. Other days Rick was busy with many situations. 

Our summer job was full of adventures! Drug deals to prostitution, car shows and Indian Pow Wow, and meeting many great families kept was on our toes. Our boss, Erik said the park has not looked so good in 25 years! 

We will hold fond memories of the college kids who worked for us. Vanessa and Rick had a few head to head disagreements, but in time became very close. Bryce was dependable and great to work with. He even babysat Bailey while we flew to DC to help Jess and Rob move into their new row home.

As summer became fall, the time came to move on. We left Land of Memories Campground mid October to come back to our home in Wisconsin. The renters have moved out and Rick would like to stay in our home or sell it. With one week home, we pulled out the few pieces of furniture that we had kept and cleaned the house! We purchased a couch, TV, and two beds. It was now time to pack suitcases for a preplanned cruise.

Cruising from Venice, Italy to Barcelona, Spain would be our next adventure. We left two days early as we were flying stand by with Nancy and Ak on Buddy Passes. Getting from JFK to Venice proved to be a challenge! So, we flew into Milan, Italy and from there took a train into Venice. Always remain flexible! 

Two days were spent exploring Venice and the island of Murano.  We even took advantage of a scalper giving us a free and private water taxi ride to the Murano Glass Factory. I am sure he had hoped on making big bucks on the Americans. We enjoyed the close up tour and oohhhed and aahhhed over the very pricey pieces of art work in the upstairs studio. But, we did leave empty handed and wandered down the street to buy some glass souvenirs. Rick and I really enjoyed this quiet laid back island as we sat and enjoyed our coffee near the water. 

On October 21 we boarded The Legend of the Seas cruise ship. This Royal Caribbean ship would be our home for the next 9 nights.

This is One Way to Stay in the South!

Rick decided that we had to leave Retama Village really early, so I stayed in bed and he started the drive to Gaffney, South Carolina. As we drove through Houston, Texas (my birthplace) I heard a strange, breaking sound. As I lay in bed I listened, but did not seem to hear of feel anything unusual. 

While having a Denny's breakfast, I mentioned the strange sound to Rick. He too, had heard a funny noise. We examined the tires and did not see anything amiss. So, off we drove. About ten miles east of Houston, the coach decided to act up! The engine light went on, the radiator overheated, and the coach came to a stop.  

Sunday is not a good day to break down! Rick limped the coach SLOWLY off of Interstate 10 onto a service road with a Ford dealership. Rick put in a call to Freightliner and talked with a very nice man named John. He would send us a tow truck in a couple of hours. I decided to enjoy the last of my southern weather. Relaxing in my lawn chair, listening to the music from the Ford dealership, and reading my book was making for pleasant late morning activity. Not a bad spot to break down. 

Rick laughed when he saw the little tow truck pull up in front of us! Allen had to agree that his truck was not going to be able to do the job. So, off he drove......... John was back to the drawing board. We now thought that we may be spending the night in our coach. So, Rick limped us to a mall parking lot. Finally, ten hours later a HUGE tow truck pulled into the lot. A nice young man who was suppose to take his wife out for her birthday spent an hour hooking up and hauling our baby to the Houston Freightliner shop. 

We are now spending time in the Houston Hampton Inn, and plan to fly home to take care of dear Autumn on Wednesday. Our coach will stay behind, get fixed, get its 6,000 mile check and be ready for us to fly back to it.

Moving South

We started our move to south Texas. We entered the state of Louisiana where we spent a few days eating crawfish and enjoying Cajun music! We even went to Cajun Field, home of LSU to experience some of the Marti Gras atomosphere. We enjoyed the bands and the parade where we were able to watch the, "Bead Fever." Our most memorable trip has to be the home of Tabasco Sauces. We had a great tour through the factory, sampled lots of sauces, had a cajun lunch, and bought a few goodies. However, the weather was much to be desired. It seemed to be overcast and raining  most of the time! So, we moved on into Texas.

We had been lured to a place called, "The Preserves" near Houston, Texas. Our free stay included a tour of the planned RV Resort, and as many days stay as we would like. The vision is out there, but the park has a long way to go! Spending time in the old, once upon a time campground with rain falling all around us, prompted Rick to say, "We are leaving!" So, off we went.

Our next stop was a two week stay at Tropic Winds in Harlingen, Texas. We soon decided that we were much too young for this RV spot. It seemed that the majority of the time was spent with the campers planning the next potato bake, hamburgers, or spaghetti supper. I did spend each day visiting the workout center with dusty and broken machines. We ventured out and discovered some interesting places.

The original Iwo Jima statue was right next door to the park with the Marine Museum. We spent an afternoon reading and looking at the history. We drove about 40 miles to South Padre Island where we had some very good seafood. We even ran into some Coon Valley friends who had camped next to us. It is a small world. But, the wind continued to blow! The overcast skies became depressing, and Rick decided it was time to take his poor, sad wife for a ride! Little did he know that he would stumble upon her dream resort.

We toured Retama Village RV Resort on a Saturday, and we were offered a 4 day stay to which I said, Yes!" I could hardly wait fort the day to arrived. We moved to the Mission area and spent three days at the resort. It is on the Rio Grand River with border patrol on duty 24/7. But, what a lovely park! the people were all so friendly, young, and active! The first day was an open house day, and we walked and talked about pads, casitas, and homes. The next day, we rode our bikes all around the Benson Rio Grande State Park known for bird watchers. With only minimal looking, we saw some beautiful birds. Rick is not sure that bird watching is for him.  The afternoon was spent at the pool meeting residents. The workout area was top notch and the club house was perfect. But, it was time to drive on and try to get to Gaffney, South Carolina to our Freightliner School.

Well, old blog............it has been some time! With little Wifi connection you have been left alone.
The month of January was spent in an RV Resort called, Three Lakes RV Resort. Our first impression was so so, but as we spent more time, met more people, and explored the area we found it to be an alright place to spend a month. 

Pulling into our lot, the neighbors came running over to introduce themselves! We found them to be lovely people and spent a few evenings taking turns making suppers. Pat and Barry, Pam and Michelle (from France) all now reside in Atlanta, Georgia. Rick tried to kidnap their dog, Diego with no luck. The dog had been rescued while the couple lived in Mexico, and was a sweet little curly haired black and white dog!  Rick tried so hard to kidnap him with no luck! 

Met Denny and Crystal who lived next door, but moved away from the noisy road. While she worked on her computer from their RV, Denny visited and explored the area. We did stop to say, "Hi" when going to the brand new, small work out facility. I think that they enjoyed learning how to play, "Hand and Foot." We never did get or Pinocle lesson!

We rode our bikes around a State Park Preserve one sunny afternoon looking for alligators, but found none. The exercise was good as RV life can get to be a bit sedentary! The Publix grocery stores are too much fun to buy goodies to make back at the coach where we eat most of our meals. However, we did find some fun places to eat! Miss Vicky's is a bar/restaurant on the bay with local music to be heard. Another great eating place is The Freezer where the shrimp/fish boats come in and deliver tons of good seafood. We ordered shrimp to eat with our beer, and took some home because it was such a large portion! But, yummy!!!!!!!!! Our best fish tacos ever were at Sammy's at Hudson Beach area. I would highly recommend all of the above spots to eat.

We enjoyed our visit with Nancy and Ak when they came for a visit. All four of us drove to Tarpin Springs, Florida to eat Greek food after a sunset cruise and visiting the sponge culture of the area. We later drove to The Villages to spend a few days at their rented home. We drove the golf carts all over!

While in the area, Rick and I decided it was time to update our phones, as US Cellular just does not work in Florida. So, we now have our  Verizon phones and will see how that works as we travel around the country.

We are spending a couple of days in Leisure Days RV Resort near Zypherhills, Florida on a coupon that we picked up at the Tampa RV Rally. Susan and Duaine drove over from Olive Shores North for a supper, visit, and cards. It was fun to catch up with them, also. Our next stop  will be in Louisiana. So, stay tuned........................

Good-bye, Florida Keys

After spending 12 days in Marathon area of the Keys, it is time to move on. We signed up for a Newmar Rally being held at Sunshine Key RV Resort. We quickly found out that we were the youngest members of the group. It was fun to reconnect with Tom and Cheryl, another younger couple whom we had met a year earlier in Michigan. They have since become a married couple, and it was fun to catch up and find out where their lives have taken them. Apparently at the last minute, the rally had been handed over to a new couple to plan and they did the best that they could to plan in preparation. Being new to the role, activities were few. So, Tom, Cheryl, Rick, and Kathi ventured out. We went to a Christmas boat parade, followed by supper at Lazy Days Restaurant. We went on a 20 mile bike ride to check out the Turtle Hospital and the Dolphin Research Center. After a lunch, the decision was made to go back to the Dolphin Center where we laughed and enjoyed all of the "trained" dolphin acts. The weather was unseasonably warm, and even the locals commented that it felt like summer!

Movin on South Ya All

After spending an experience full weekend in Washington, DC with Jess and Rob, we have headed south. Our DC weekend started out with an Italian dinner with Jess and Rob. Our plan was to get into DC and then out before Hurricane Sandy hit! However that did not happen!  Saturday morning took us to the local vet.

Our cat, Winnie had been losing weight, urinating where she was not suppose to and starting to act sick. So, after spending a healthy sum for blood work, we got the news we expected. She had kidney disease and was failing. After all she is 16 years old, or 86 people years! Living in our coach, traveling, Jess unable to have more than one cat in their apartment, and flying trips home made this a unique decision. As we talked and cried, we came to the conclusion that our dear, sweet kitten had to be put to sleep. We signed the paper work and doubled our money spent at the vet! We still expect to see Winnie greeting us at the door! She was a wonderful companion and we miss her.

 The kids had now talked us into driving them to Rob's soccer game Saturday afternoon and then giving them a ride back home with their nephew, Jack.  We left them at that point and traveled back to our coach at Cherry Hill RV Park.

The storm was getting closer! But, we could not say no to the invite to Julie and Jay's home on the Chesapeake Bay to celebrate Julie and Rick's birthdays. It was fun as all of the parents were there, even Jay's who were not too thrilled that their flight had been cancelled due to the weather. So, after a grand tour, good food and birthday cake, Rick and I headed back to camp.

We woke our earliest morning yet! At 6:00 am we were running from Hurricane Sandy and headed south. We drove 8 hours and ended up in Beaufort, North Carolina. We had read that it was a quaint town to visit. We wandered and visited the Aquarium, had good seafood, and decided that the tourist season was over, and it was time to move on.

Our next stop was Wilmington, North Carolina. We both liked the feel of this town! After wandering the streets and shops, we drove to the U.S.S. Battleship North Carolina.  It is an authentically restored World War II battleship, a National Historic Landmark and a memorial to WWII servicemen. The ships is almost 2 1/2 football fields in size and Rick wondered how he would not get lost. It was fun to walk through and imagine what life must have been like living out at sea.

Now we are in Myrtle Beach. The temperatures have reached 70, and the sun is shining. After walking the boardwalk yesterday, we had a yummy bucket of seafood for supper. Corn on the cob accompanied the crab, shrimp, and oysters. Yum! Who knows what today will bring.