On The Road With Marge and John

Summer 2011

2011-07-30T09:14:00.007-04:00

John & I decided not to drive our RV up to Jersey this year & we took a long cut up to Jersey. We decided to take the scenic tour along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I am so glad we drove the parkway, it was a very relaxing trip & the scenery was beautiful.

I got up here just in time for my girlfriends son's graduation. Frankie graduated from Stockton College. It is near AC. I got to see some good friends from yesteryear. Always good to catch up.

Cheerleaders of yesterday

Then we headed up to NY to visit with a very good friend of John's, Chuckie. It is always good to see friends. But now it was time for me to meet up with the gang. I just can't come up to Jersey without getting to see them. I have to thank Bob for having everyone over at his house.

The gang or at least some of them

Bob opened his house for us

Joey, Me & Marty

Of course I can't go anywhere without a line dance or two. I met up with the Jersey Girls & went to a workshop with Joey Warren.

Unofficial DJs

Official DJ

The Jersey Girls & Joey

Now it is time to head back up to NY & visit with my mother in laws side of the family.

We traveled up to Jersey this summer to be there for the birth of our new granddaughter. She was born July 20th at 11:30 AM. She is beautiful.

Congrats to the new parents, Jay & Daria.

Since we came up to Jersey we decided to visit with John's family in NY.

We are enjoying visiting with everyone.

Last night we went to a concert at Ft Montgomery in NY. The band playing was In The Pocket Band featuring Tommy Nicks on guitar and Joey Costanza on drums. Joey & Tommy are John's old friends from his Stony Point days.

Tommy is John's school buddy. Also on the drums was Joey Costanza, another friend of John's.

You can find them at http://inthepocketband.net/and they play some good rock & roll

In the Pocket Band

We have been visiting with John's cousins & friends. So far the summer is off to a good start. New granddaughter, visiting with friends & family and dancing, so far so good.

Winter 2010

2011-06-12T13:34:00.002-04:00

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We have enjoyed quite a few activities at our clubhouse this past winter. We have attended parties, bonfires, Christmas activities & also a classic car show. Just of few of the things we have done this winter in our clubhouses.

2011-06-06T09:48:00.001-04:00

May 2011, Here I am trying to stay under the shade at St. George Island in the panhandle of Florida. I know how hard I am working, but someone has to work hard.

2011-06-06T09:21:00.001-04:00

OK I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog. But I will try to be a little better at it. With FB, I don't have the time anymore. I am always on FB & I have to admit, I am addicted. Well let me try to tear myself away from FB this summer & try to update my blog & keep it updated as I travel up to Jersey to see my new grandbaby. Let's see how it goes.

2011-06-06T09:19:00.000-04:00

Sunday dinner at mom’s

2010-09-08T10:26:00.001-04:00

A typical Sunday Eating at moms

Hershey TT

2010-09-08T09:31:00.001-04:00

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Family visit Labor Day Weekend 2010

Brandy’s Baby Shower

2010-08-18T12:25:00.001-04:00

Cakes

My niece Brandy lives in Louisiana & came to NJ to visit her inlaws along with her husband & mother (my sister). While she was in Jersey her friend Kym threw her a baby shower. Well it was a good party. Her mother in law made some awesome cakes. The pink cake has a carriage on top & is made with icing. She is home already & I am sure she is looking through all her wonderful gifts.

More Time With Friends

2010-08-18T11:42:00.006-04:00

Rocking in Cape May

We spent some time with the gang or should I say part of the gang in Cape May at Jim & Deb’s.

The gang

The Guys

The girls

Bradley Beach with Joan

Joan & I went to out to eat at Bruno’s & then went to the boardwalk. Listening to the music & doing some dancing.

Yankee Fans

While staying in Bradley Beach we had a few visitors. We spent a lot of time with Johns mother & Johns brother. We went to eat at one of favorite places in the area…Pete & Elda’s and also went to Brunos. Brunos was a little pizza place last time we were here & now it is the new Brunos. It is huge & the food is awesome. I don’t remember how many times we went there. Any one in the area you have to check it out. They also do catering & huge subs. Italian food.

Out on the boat

Jay & Daria took me out on their boat. We went from Keyport to the Statue of Liberty. Then through Bayonne down the Raritan River back to Keyport. Long night. I got back to Bradley Beach at 2 AM.

Staying in Bradley Beach

We stayed in Bradley Beach (Jersey Shore) for almost 2 weeks. Just a few blocks from the beach.

Catskills, NY Our last visit with Bucky & Ruth and Chucky & Barb before we traveled back to NJ. We had a BBQ at Catskills Adventure Park.

Evan busting loose

2010-07-20T20:59:00.001-04:00

Jay & Daria’s Wedding

2010-07-20T20:57:00.001-04:00

First thing we met up with Jay’s new in laws.

Wedding rehearsal

Getting ready for the wedding

The Church

Time for photo shots

The reception

Visiting friends Summer 2010

2010-07-20T20:09:00.001-04:00

I had to do something with my hair. I am no longer gray. At least for awhile. Lynn on the right is responsible for making me look a lot younger. Thanks Lynn.

Chuckie had a little get together at his house. Joe Rod stopped by & Chuckie’s cousin Chuck along with his wife came by also. The boys threw a ball around for a short time.

After staying with Bucky & Ruth we went to Stony Point NY for a visit with Dave & Dolores.

There was a heat wave while we were visiting with the Lowes. Lucky for us the backyard had a wonderful pool.

7 Lakes Drive

John & I took a ride on 7 lakes drive. John used to hang out up here when he was younger. It is beautiful up there.

Cuz 2010

While we were with Dave, his cousin threw a big weekend long party called cousin weekend. He even had a band. It was a great party. Lots of food.

Everyone had to have the official cuz 2010 tattoo.

John & I went camping in Harriman park.

What a heat wave. We couldn’t run the generator but 4 hours a day. 2 in the morning & 2 in the evening. And now TV for us. That was tough.

Fourth of July with the Cacioppo’s

John’s mom & Aunt Ann

Cousins

At Richie’s

Connie’s house

Connie had a get together at her house. Another great night of food & bull sh*****.

Another get together with Bucky & Ruth & Chuckie & Barb

Of course it involved food. Pasta dinner & creamsicles.

Bradley Beach, NJ with the kids

2010-06-21T20:56:00.001-04:00

A really hot day at the beach. But we enjoyed walking on the boardwalk.

A visit to my cousins

2010-06-21T20:51:00.001-04:00

Sharon had a little get together for Fathers day along with visiting with friends. Debbie Lee came in from MN. & Mandy came down from Conn.

Mandy came down from Connecticut. It was really nice to see her. We haven’t seen each other in over 15 years. She looked the same, really great.

Mike & Donny. Donny is enjoying reconnecting with everyone.

My sweetie. We are having a great time. Look at us..eating lobster. Debbie & I had lobster twice this week. Watch out Dom, she may want some more when she gets back to Minnesota.

The mystery cups. What do you think we were drinking. Hints: They were white & creamy with some liquor from Mexico. Any guesses.

Yummy yummy yummy

Beautiful flowers in Sharon’s backyard.

Debbie Lee & Me. She left today for MN

Eating lobster

The grandchildren playing in the sprinklers.

Summer 2010 RV Trip

2010-06-18T12:37:00.001-04:00

Visiting with Family & Friends

We started our trip by staying in Little Talbot Island in Jacksonville Florida. Donny came up with his children for the day. The beach is awesome.

Our next stop was in South Carolina. We stayed there for a few days. We went to Russell Stovers. That was the big excitement there.

Next on to Virginia. Our microwave/convection oven went on the fritz there. John fixed it with ease. He did some research on the internet & found out the damper motor on this model goes and when it does the microwave/convection oven with only work in 59 second intervals. Well it cost $24 to fix it himself & if we brought it in, the cost would have started at $140. We got ourselves a deal there.

I finally met my new friend Faye in VA. I have known her through a good friend Suzanne. We kept in touch through email but never met. Well now we are friends. Faye introduced me to several people in the campground. She also taught me how to play pickle ball. It is such a fun game, but it didn’t play well with my body. My knee has been hurting me ever since. I thought it was getting better but right this moment, I can hardly walk.

Faye’s husband, Ken.

We finally reached New Jersey. It is so hard visiting with family & friends here as we are so far away. The campground is about 1 hour from John’s family & an hour & a half from my friends

& family. I am enjoying the visits but the ride is killing me. My cousin Tee has a shore house. She is right on the lagoon. We stopped by to visit with her & her husband. It was a really good visit. Of course no Jersey trip is complete until we see the Gang.

Now it’s time to do something with my hair. And who would I turn to but Lynn. No one is Florida does hair like she does. Lynn has been doing my hair on & off for 38 years.

I was in luck. They had the last union meeting before summer break. I stopped by to see some of my co-workers & friends. There was a BBQ. Lunch & a meeting along with visits. LaJoyce & I were such good friends at one time. I haven’t seen her in years. Good to see her again. Gloria & me. Back in the day we ran in the corporate sports battle together. Looking good Gloria. Retirement has been good. My cousin Joey, LaJoyce & me.

A really good BBQ. Ribs, corn on the cob, burgers, dogs, salads & chicken. It was a good day visiting with some good friends & co-workers.

Next I was off to see Donny. He & the kids drove up from Florida. I stopped by my younger son’s house to see them. I only stayed for a short visit. Then off to see the girls. We walked on the beach & then off for a lobster dinner with a spectacular view of the ocean. After dinner I ran off to be with the Jersey Girls in Pt. Pleasant. Wow what a busy day.

Winter in Florida 2009/2010

2010-03-22T17:58:00.002-04:00

Tampa Workshop in November

Bonfire in November

New Year’s Eve

Cruise in December with 20 friends

Polk City Christmas parade

Christmas party

MOSN Line dancers

New Years Eve

Disney

Cruising with Peter & Alison

MOSN line dancers

Valentine’s day dinner dance

Pasta pasta pasta

End of the year dance-St. Paddy theme party

Yankee spring training

Cruisin…To bad it we all got rained on

Our Trip to Fantasy Fest 10/2009

2009-11-02T11:13:00.002-05:00

Fantasy Fest in Key West

A waitress..wouldn’t you like to get your meal from her?

A tribute to our military. He looks just like a statue..then he whistles & gives you a lollipop.

Never a boring moment at Fantasy Fest.

I would like to post some of the more provocative photos but wouldn’t want to get anyone in trouble. But you don’t have to get painted to enjoy the fun.

Does he look tired? It was so hot there & the humidity was terrible. Don’t remember when I was that miserable from the heat.

Long Key, Florida

Sunrise at Long Key, Florida. Just resting..thumbs up!

Our view from the RV. Perfect! Million dollar view!

John Pennekamp State Park

Cannon Beach. Before going to Long Key we stayed a few days in John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida. We went on the glass bottom boat & saw some interesting fish. When we left Molasses Reef we saw a huge turtle about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long. While riding our bikes we came upon an iguana. He stopped to pose for us.

Sitting around by the water.

Sebastion Inlet

Peaceful. We sat by the water & watched the dolphins. There were so many of them frolicking in the water.

The water was so rough at the beach. A storm must have been coming in.

Sunset in Sebastion. A visitor.

Walking along the inlet. Great place to fish. We saw people catching snooks. One right after another.

The Summer of 2009

2009-10-02T08:50:00.011-04:00

This was a slow summer. We didn't travel this summer but we did go away a few times. A visit with a Jr. High School friend. I found her on facebook. What a great way to find old friends & aquaintences.

We went to several beaches in September.

Venice Beach

I was looking for shark's teeth. I didn't find any this time. But the last time we visited this beach I found a lot of them.

Siesta Beach

Siesta beach is only a half mile long. The sand is so white & feels like baby powder. The sand is fine mineral quartz. It comes down from a river from the Appalachian mountains. The sand is cool to the touch even on the hottest day.

It was extremely hot. 94 degrees & it was the end of September. The water was so warm that you could just walk right in and enjoy it.

John's Birthday at Epcot

Celtic Rock band in Epcot

On your birthday you get in free at Disney so we took advantage of it.

Calling everyone to let them know about the Disney free day :)

Happy Birthday John

Visit with friends at the TT park in Clermont

Visiting the kids in Jacksonville.

A visit in Boca Rotan

The Beach...Jupiter Beach, Florida

Getting ready to go snorkeling. The beach at Jupiter has some great snorkeling areas.

Transfer of the Marble

2009-05-09T23:13:00.003-04:00

Tranferring of the marble is a tradition between John & Frank. Every time they meet the marble gets transferred. This tradition started 4 years ago.

BBQ Party

2009-05-09T23:01:00.003-04:00

The Waitresses.

The bartender. Great Margaritas Doug.

Fooling around.

My cook.

My waitress

Cruising on the Inspiration

2009-05-09T22:34:00.006-04:00

May 4, 2009 we boarded the Carnival cruise ship Inspiration. We were supposed to go to Mexico but as we all know the swine flu changed our plans. We headed to Grand Cayman for 2 full days.

We took a walk outside the ship trying to work off some of that dinner. The food is non stop. But we sure enjoyed it.

Who is that with me? Is that John? He sure looks different without his t-shirt.

Oh Zuzanna, can you wait on me?

The 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman.

All dressed up for Captains night & lobster.

We are now on our way to Grand Cayman. We had to take the tender to the island.

The waiters & waitresses put on a little show for us. They were very entertaining.

Mr. Carnival

The beach. The water was so warm.

Cocktails!

Visit with Friends

2009-04-14T22:00:00.003-04:00

Still kids at heart.

MOSN First Annual Vehicle Show

2009-03-22T11:57:00.008-04:00

Our First Annual Car Show

Of course Madelyn & I had to test one of the miniatures out. Cool!!

We had some fancy golf carts!

Corvettes!

Bikes, but not John's. John is working on his bike.

Antiques, lots of them!

Miniatures.

Campers! I remember one of my friends had this camper and we were still in tents. Oh boy were those the days.

Wearing of the Green

2009-03-18T15:37:00.007-04:00

St. Patty's Day at MOSN
Doc

Erin Go Bragh

Time to party!!!

At The Hop

2009-03-07T07:10:00.006-05:00

The Pink Ladies

Taking a step back in time.

In the pink!!!

Go Steelers!!!!

2009-02-22T16:18:00.000-05:00

Steelers!!!

How many superbowls?

Record setting game. WOW!!!!

New Jersey with Family & Friends

2009-02-11T20:30:00.008-05:00

Of course it had to snow while we were in NJ. Boy do I miss the snow, but I can do without it. I love the sun more.

Family together first time in a very long time.

Tough guys!

The original 3!

Me & my boys and Daria

Jay, me & Donny

My Jersey gang with a few missing. It is always nice to get together with friends.

A Sad Time in My Life

2009-02-11T20:20:00.005-05:00

I lost my mom on January 27, 2009. This is a sad time in my life. I will miss my mom. She lived the last 8 years in Louisiana. Before she moved to Louisiana she lived in NJ only a few miles away from where I lived. We traveled a great deal together & our last trip together was to Scotland. She really enjoyed learning about her heritage. My last visit with mom was in October but we talked every weekend.

In Motion on the Ocean

2009-02-11T19:51:00.013-05:00

On January 17th, I returned from my line dance cruise with Peter & Allison. Wow!! What fun!! It was the best cruise ever. Peter & Allison really do know how to entertain a crowd. We had so much fun with them & we learned quite a few new dances choreographed by them & others. We did do some pole dancing. Looks like we were having some fun!!

Cocktail Party

Rose & I really enjoyed the cruise, but I think we were dead tired. Here we are in Belize.

The dancers from dancing country with D&M

A Sea of purple

Formal Night

Christmas with the Kids

2009-02-11T19:19:00.006-05:00

I am a little behind on updating my blog. Well I will try to catch up a little. The grandkids came down for the Christmas holiday & they kept me busy. The weather was great so we got to enjoy the pool. They also enjoyed riding in my new car, one at a time of course.

My New Ride

2008-12-19T08:23:00.008-05:00

Just love my new ride!!!

Well we are home & enjoying all the fun activities here at MOSN. Maybe a few to many activities. Just a small sample below:

Went to Disney!!

A progressive party!

A visit with Santa.

John had a visit with his brother & sister.

John even got out of the house for a party with his brother.

On Our Way Home

2008-09-24T16:04:00.004-04:00

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Well we are on our way home. Right now we are in Lake Texoma. What a park! It even has a paintball course. Imagine that! Picture John & I doing that...funny!
The above map shows our route from Washington State. Click on the bubbles to see the stops. You can move the map around & magnify it also. The map below was the beginning of our trip from Florida to Washington.

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South Dakota

2008-09-08T21:04:00.030-04:00

The Badlands
Land of Stone & Light

The Badlands stretches 60 miles from Kadoka west towards the town of Scenic. Wind, rain, and freeze/thaw action have gradually worn down the badlands.

While staying in the Badlands, I went to a ranger talk about the stars. It was the best ranger talk I have ever gone to. Large telescopes were set up to view the stars & planets. The ranger said here in the Badlands is the darkest skies in the USA. When visiting, take time to go to the talk about the stars, it will be well worth it.

The Road to the Wind Cave-16A
Check out this tunnel we went through. The bus just fits through the tunnel. At the entrance it tells you to sound your horn to warn drivers on the other side. It is a two way tunnel. OH NO!!

Mount Rushmore

On the way back from Mt. Rushmore, we saw 2 mountain goats just hanging out on the side of highway 16.

Jewel Cave National Monument

Looks like the map of the US.

Jewel Cave was discovered about 1900.

It became a National Monument in 1908.

It is the second longest cave in the World.

Jewel Cave has Calcite crystal, dogtooth spar & nailhead spar which makes this cave different from most caves. Nearly all the of the cave chambers display collections of calcite crystals. When the light hits it...it looks sparkly. I liked this cave the best out of the caves we have gone in. John prefers Carlsbad Cavern the best so far.

Deadwood, SD
Today we spent the day in Deadwood & Sturgis. The town of Deadwood is a national landmark in 1964. It was the first community designated a National Historic Landmark. Deadwood got its name because of the dead timber on the surrounding hills. It was established in 1876.

Mt. Moriah Cemetery-Wild Bill (James Butler Hickok)& Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Burke)were both buried here. Her dying wish was to be buried next to Wild Bill.

Around Jane's monument are little trinkets left by mourners...coins, flowers and liquor bottles. John & I left a trinket too. (You'll have to guess what it is)

If you watched the Deadwood series on HBO, you have heard of this name. Seth Bullock was the first sheriff of Deadwood. Seth & his partner arrived in Deadwood the day before Wild Bill was murdered.

Gambling ended in Deadwood officially in 1947. Gaming resumed in 1989. Prostitution establishments closed during the years of 1950-1960. (look closely & you can see the prostitutes in the windows upstairs)

Wild Bill was murdered Aug. 2, 1876 at the No. 10 Saloon.

Calamity Jane & Bill arrived in 1876.

Crazy Horse

Crazy horse looks the same as it did 4 years ago when we were here.

Wind Cave, South Dakota

A strong wind blows through this cave...hence its name...Wind Cave. The wind is created by differences between atmospheric pressure in the cave & outside the cave. You can still feel the wind by the entrance of the cave.

This picture is the most prominent feature in the cave...Box work. It is a thin honey comb shape structure.

We had to do some ducking as we traveled through the cave. It was a very interesting and different than other caves we have explored.

Outside of the cave in the park, you can enjoy the wildlife. While we drove through we saw a coyote hunting the prairie dogs. The prairie dogs barked out a warning. It sounded like a lot of screeching. The coyote didn't find any prairie dogs as we were watching....maybe later he found some food. We saw several herds of prong horns and buffaloes.

Wildlife @ Wind Cave National Park

2008-09-08T20:44:00.001-04:00

A Few Waterfalls in Glacier NP

2008-09-08T11:37:00.001-04:00

Wildlife Adventure @ Glacier

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

2008-09-07T22:08:00.014-04:00

This National park honors Theodore Roosevelt. This was his first cabin (Maltese Cross Cabin) in the badlands of North Dakota. It wasn't up to his standards & he had a second cabin built in a different area in the bad lands. It was called the Elkhorn ranch.

A quote from Theodore Roosevelt "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

Prairie dogs have their own villages. They are very common in the park. You can hear them bark, more like a screech when you approach them.

Roosevelt came to the North Dakota badlands to bag a buffalo. When he arrived the herds of buffalo were vanishing. He fell in love with the area and conservation became one of Roosevelt's major concerns.

John got a new toy. Next time we see a grizzly bear we will be ready for a real close up.

Wild horses were plentiful. We enjoyed watching them. Although I don't think they liked it too much.

Glacier National Park, MT

2008-09-07T21:04:00.025-04:00

We really enjoyed our stay in Glacier
National Park. Although we had too few days with good weather.

http://www.nps.gov/glac

The views were awesome.

We arrived in the park in the rain. We didn't want to sit around, so we took the shuttle up to Logans Pass then onto St. Mary. It was so cold at Logans Pass. The fog was so heavy, hanging over the mountains, we couldn't even enjoy the views.

As the fog lifted we were amazed at the beautiful views.

There are four entrances to Glacier National Park. The two main entrances are at West Glacier (west entrance) & St. Mary (east entrance). Also on the east side there are 2 more entrances: Two Medicine entrance (East Glacier) & Many Glacier (aprx. 5 miles above St. Mary). From the east side of Glacier you can also travel north to Waterton NP in Alberta Canada (Aprx. 45 miles).

In Many Glacier area we were fortunate enough to see Grizzly bears. We visited Many Glacier area three times & each time we saw grizzlies. Each time they were further away. But we were able to watch at a close distance with our binoculars. The last time we saw a mother & her cubs. We have pictures but they kind of look like specks on the side of the mountain.

On the way up to Logans pass we met up with two mountain goats. We caught them scaling the walls, which was awesome to watch.

Also at Logans pass we saw a herd of long horn sheep. Lucky us. It was our day for viewing wild life.

I took a short hike up to the waterfall.

This is a view of a waterfall on the Going to the Sun Highway.

Looks like this hike took a toll on someone or should I say someones. Well, where is your walking stick John?

You just can't beat the views of this park.

Our traveling companions have now left us. They are heading home west to Simi Valley, CA and we are heading east to Fl. Hope to see you guys soon. Enjoy your trip home & be safe!

We also went up to Canada to see Waterton. It was a nice park, but we really enjoyed the park in the USA far more than the Canadian side.

When you travel to Glacier National Park & you want to see grizzlies, go to Many Glacier around the end of August the beginning of September. I have been told that is the best time for viewing grizzlies. If we ever return to Glacier, we plan on staying in Many Glacier as this was our favorite park of the park. Just before we left we had rain & fog again. As the fog lifted this time there was fresh snow on the mountains.

Washington

2008-08-06T20:42:00.012-04:00

Our route through Washington. The blue line is the route & the little bubbles are info on the stops through Washington. You can move the map by dragging on it. Click on the bubbles for info of the stops & maybe a picture or video. Enjoy! (Give it a little time to load) Newport, WA provided us with some warm weather. The campground was very nice in the woods. Finally some warm weather.
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Soap Lake, WA

We made a pitstop at Soap Lake, WA. Soap Lake contains 17 minerals. Cowboys & Indians bathed in this water for its healing powers. It was said to be a "God given body of water for the ills of mankind". It has a soapy feel to it and it has suds that form along the shore, hence the name Soap Lake.

Cresent Bar, Quincy, WA

Here in Quincy, WA, we are right on the Columbia River. What a beautiful place.

What a view from our campground.

Our Pitstop
John stopped for his pot of GOLD.

Randle, WA

The sun setting in Randle, WA.

Well today we had some excitement. John & I went for a ride to see the other side of Mt. St. Helen & the Ape Cape. On the way to the Ape Cape, a bear ran across the road right in front of our car. It wasn't a full grown bear, but not a baby either. Man was it in a hurry. It ran across the street so fast. I was so excited, I was screaming with excitement. I tried to get my camera up to take a photo, but I dropped it & picked it back up & dropped it again. I was too excited to get the darn camera up. John said he ran across the street so fast, I wouldn't been able to snap the picture anyway. But it was something to see. We were both very excited. So... no photos....

So we drove to the Ape Cave. It was discovered in 1947 by a logger who almost drove his tractor into it. It was named after the outdoor club he belonged to, the St. Helens Apes. It was a cool 42 degrees inside. Very, very, very dark. We wore our head flash lights. But it would have been better if we would have gotten lanterns. The flashlights just weren't strong enough. The cave is a pristine lava tube full of fragile formations. It is 13,042 feet long, the third longest in North America.

After the Ape Cape we went to the east side of Mt. St. Helen. The road up to Windy Point Observatory was closed due to a mudslide. The road will have to be rebuilt and may take more than one season. There are also major cracks in the road and sink holes so deep, your car will disappear. The view point is limited from this entrance to the park as you can only go up to the first viewpoint.

If you are planning to see Mt. St. Helen in the near future...take the west entrance. A must see is the view from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. There are 5 visitor centers coming in off of Interstate 5, all but one are open. Previous posts show the views from Johnston Ridge Observatory. (check Mt. St. Helen Post)

Mt. Rainier

Yesterday we went to Mt. Rainier. Four years ago we visited the mountain & missed the view from Sunrise view point. So we headed up there first thing. Lots of road contruction to get to this view point. It was very slow going. Sunrise is the highest point you can go on Mt. Rainier in a vehicle. Of course you can always hike and get much higher.

We stopped just below Sunrise to take in some breathtaking views.
Then we stopped for awhile at Reflection lake & watched an eagle fly by & drop down to the lake for his dinner. Again we were unable to catch this on camera, but we enjoyed the view. The eagle dropped down to the lake several times. Also on the edge of the lake was a deer grazing.

Next we stopped at Box Canyon. There is a 180 foot drop here from the top of the canyon to the water.
John stopped for a little dip in the water.
Ice cold water!
While we were in the park & driving back through the forest to our campsite we only saw one eagle & one deer (at Reflection Lake). After leaving the park, right in front of someones home right in the town of Packwood there was a herd of elk. There was about 20 of them. There must have been some good grazing at this house. Then down the road just a few blocks there was another herd of elk. So we were lucky to see them.

Mt. St. Helen, WA

2008-08-01T14:30:00.000-04:00

Well we enjoyed another day on the road. John & I visited Mt. St. Helen together 4 years ago & it looked a little different this time. First there was less snow on the mountain, but the main thing was...it had more trees than it did 4 years ago. On the way up to Mt. St. Helen we really had to watch for deer. They seem to enjoy running out in front of our car. It was the closest we have ever come to hitting one of them. Thank God we missed them. Today was finally warmer than the previous days since we hit Oregon & Washington.
Well hope you enjoy the above video of our day and yes I did spell barren wrong. So sorry. To late to go back & fix it.

Kites..Kites....Kites in Long Beach,WA

2008-07-26T23:32:00.001-04:00

Long Beach, Washington

2008-07-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

Well we finally left Oregon. We are now in Long Beach, Washington. While we were here in Long Beach we went to see the last 2 lighthouses we will visit on the coast. Below is a short clip of the lighthouses we visited in Washington & Oregon. We didn't see them all, I think we mixed 2 in Oregon.

We leave here tomorrow for Chehalis, Washington. Here we stayed right on the beach. Long Beach is on a peninsula and again we are in the fog. We are still chilly and need to find the sun. Once we head inland, it should get warmer, hopefully. John & I went to Cape Disappointment Light house. It is called Cape Disappointment because Captain John Meares sought refuge here from a storm but didn't receive any comfort. We also visited Northhead Lighthouse.

Kites....Kites...Kites...Kites seem to be the theme here in Long Beach. So many...they even have a kite museum. With all the wind here it isn't to difficult to keep those kites up.

Today we spent the day at the beach, while sand sculptures were being created. This is a sand sculpture contest and it is called SandSations. Indianas Bones won the first place award which was $1500. Not a bad deal for playing in the sand. Sweet Dreams came in 2nd place with a prize of $1000. Wow! Maybe I need to play in the sand too. Imagine a bedroom with all these ghouls. Oh my whats under the rug?

The 3rd place was Reptiles. This team of sculpturers came from South America & Paris. Imagine traveling that far to play in the sand. Congrats to all the winners!

*Remember you can enlarge the pictures to see the details of the sculptures by clicking on them. You can also save to the computer by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Oregon Coast Update

2008-07-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

Seaside, Oregon
We are still on the coast of Oregon in a quaint little seaside town. (leaving for Washington on Wednesday July 23) It is still chilly & damp. The beaches are beautiful, but I don't know how anyone can go in the water, although they do. The natives of Oregon think it is warm. I am in long pants and a jacket, they are in bathing suits. I just want to see the sun again. The fog is beautiful over the coast, but I prefer the sun. Let the sun shine in!

At the end of the road in Seaside is this turn around. It ends right at the Pacific Ocean. This is the end of the journey of the explorers Lewis & Clark. So it is an historic site. The fort Lewis & Clark lived in, while here in Seaside is called Fort Clatsop after the Indians of the area. It burned down & they built a replica.

Astoria is up the road from Seaside, the last town before you cross over to Washington state. This column is a monument erected in the early 1900's to honor the explorers & early settlers as they played a critical role in the exploration of the Pacific coast area. Astoria was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The column artfully dispicts the conflicts, triumphs and turning points of the American Indians along with U.S. and Oregon history.

The movie The Goonies was filmed in this house. Here in Astoria, many movies have been made. Kindergarten Cop, Shattered, The Ring II, Point Break, Benji the Hunted, The Black Stallion, Teenage Mutant Turtles III, The Temp, Short Circuit and Free Willy are just a few of the movies filmed here. Many commercials and a few series have also been filmed here in Astoria.

Pacific City, Oregon

We traveled the 3 cape scenic route. The route started with Cape Kiwanda. Here is the only place on the Oregon coast where you can watch dory boat fishermen launch directly into the surf. (While we were here one of those dory boats ran right into a surfer and the surfer lost his arm. The waves were extremely rough that day & no one saw the surfer. I don't know how he is doing now, but last we heard, they found the arm & put it back on.) The next cape was Cape Lookout. There was several scenic overlooks on the route. We stopped at this beautiful beach for lunch. This man made entrance leads to a natural cave that takes you to the other side of the mountain to another beach. Very dark inside. I am sure when the tide comes in the cave is flooded. On the other side the beach is small. Our last stop on the cape scenic route was Cape Meares, which has a light house. It is the smallest lighthouse I have ever seen. The reason it is so small is that it stands on a 256 foot cliff. If a light house is up to high it isn't efficient because of the fog. So it is a short lighthouse. Look inside the lighthouse & you can see Candy, Marge & John.

*Remember you can right click on the images & enlarge them.

Newport, Oregon

Sea Aquarium Newport, Oregon- We visited the aquarium & we saw some weird looking fish. Do you know what kind of fish is in this fish tank?

Depoe Bay- A seawall runs almost the whole length of the town. The coast has many rock formations, the water is very rough & it is very windy. This is a great place to watch whales. But we didn't see any. I guess they were having lunch. The town was very cute with lots of shops. It is a great place to watch winter storms. Apparently that is a winter sport here.

Cape Foulweather- Winds can reach up to 100 MPH here. We enjoyed this spot 3 times during our stay. We spotted quite a few whales here on the first visit. Unfortunately, on our next 2 visits, no whales. Big disappointment.

Devil's Punchbowl-Devils punchbowl was a cave at end of a cliff. The ceiling of the cave collapsed creating this tunnel. It opens into the ocean. John & I went back here 3 times during our stay at Whaler's rest. He loved this spot. It was very windy.

A beautiful view of the lighthouse in Newport.

Ten Star Fish

2008-06-27T00:36:00.001-04:00

Sea Urchins in the tide pool

2008-06-26T23:33:00.001-04:00

Tide Pools at Yaquina

2008-06-26T22:25:00.001-04:00

Oregon Coast

2008-06-25T12:18:00.000-04:00

Green Sea Anemone- Sea Urgents & Ochre Sea Star fish at the tidal pool at Yaquina Head. The purple sea urgents are apparently good eating (raw). Yuk!
Yaquina Head Lighthouse-93 foot tall tower is the tallest on the Oregon coast. It stands 162 feet above sea level. The beacon came all the way from Paris, France and the light beams out 21 miles.
There are 9 light houses along the rugged coast of Oregon. As you can see from all my pictures of the Oregon coast it is very rocky, foggy and turbulent. Every light house has its own light code. Yaquina Head lighthouse lights for 2 seconds on 2 seconds off 2 seconds on & 14 seconds off.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse-Second oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Apparently it is also haunted by the ghost of Muriel, a young girl looking for the way out of the locked doors.

Cape Perpetua-an awe inspiring view in the Siuslaw national Forest.

Heceta Light house has the most powerful lens on the coast. (in the distance) It sends a beam 22 miles out to sea.

A view from inside the cave.

We stopped at a Sea Lion Cave. We took an elevator down to the sea level in the Worlds largest sea cave. Inside you find...guess what? Yes you got it ....Sea lions. Outside the cave you will see many of them on the rocks sunbathing with their young.

Time for Another Update

2008-06-18T19:09:00.000-04:00

A snowy hello to our kids from Lassen Volcanic National Park. Well we just parked ourselves in Florence Oregon. We are staying 8 days at South Jetty Thousand Trails park. But first lets talk about where we have been for the last few weeks. We spent some time in Lake of The Springs, Thousand Trails Park. It was in a small town called Oregon House, California. We spent 2 weeks resting up, getting ready for some dry camping in some state & national parks. Of course there was some line dancing, 5 days a week, which was great. After our 2 weeks of just relaxing, we decided to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Candy & Frank went to Shasta Lake. We met up with our friends again in 3 days.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
This park was breathtaking. There was so much snow.

The ride through the park was awesome. It had some of the same characteristics as Yellowstone National Park, but on a much smaller scale. There was some thermal hot springs, boiling mud,

sulphur works and cauldrons. There are 4 types of volcanoes in the World & Lassen has all 4 of them. Lake Helen was still frozen over. You can see where the thermal springs are. The lake has these little circles where the intense heat melts the ice.
Emerald lake also has some thermal activity creating thin ice areas. After all the fun in Lassen we headed to Lake Shasta to meet up with our friends again.

Lake Shasta
We met up with Candy & Frank at Lake Shasta. Below this lake used to be boom towns. They were mining towns gone bust. The area used to experience floods & drought. A dam was built & flooded out the boom to bust cities and now it is a beautiful recreation area. The pollution was bad from the smelting mines. The historic California-Oregon Trails also lies beneath the water of Lake Shasta, even some of the railroad and Indian tribal territory (Wintu's) lies beneath the lake. A town called Bully Hill (under the lake now) used to produce flat copper ingots and they were shipped to NJ.
Shasta is also the home of California's largest population of Bald Eagles. I have never seen so many eagles in my life as I have here & in the Redwoods. John & I drove up to Mt. Shasta. It was a pretty view. There was still some snow on the mountain. Then we drove over to Lake Siskiyou.

It was a very nice park with a beach on the lake and a campground. Redwoods National & State Park
After leaving Shasta Lake we headed to the Redwoods, tallest & oldest trees in the World. The temperatures range from 47-75 degrees year round with lots of fog. The ocean is numbingly cold with treacherous rip tides. There is something called a sneaker wave here in California & in Oregon, maybe Washington also. A wave will appear from nowhere onto the dry beach and actually pull people into the water. Once pulled in, your chances of survival are not good because of the rip tides & the temperature of the water.The sand was black with sea stacks. We saw some Roosevelt Elks, which were almost extinct in 1925. They were down to around 15 in the park & now they have over 1000. We also did some whale watching, which was pretty neat. We heard some seals along the beach but we never did see them. I guess they were hiding in plain sight. We took some small hikes through the Redwoods & found some awesome trees. We found one you could live in. It was hollowed out with a doorway in the front & one in the back with 2 windows. We had so much fun inside that tree. Another hollowed out tree. This one had a bigger room inside.Walking through the forest we saw some banana slugs and some turkey tails (fungus). We went to trees of Mystery and took a cable ride through the trees. You would think that we would see the tops of the trees but they are so tall, we still weren't on the top.

We still couldn't get on the top of most trees. We left the Redwoods and drove up the coast to Florence, Oregon.

San Francisco

2008-05-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Alcatraz & the Golden Gate Bridge

Street Cars

The cable cars carry passengers up the impossibly steep hills of San Francisco since 1873. A cable mechanism operates the system.

Sea Lions at play.

When you reach Pier 39 in San Francisco and head towards the water you can hear the barking of the sea lions. It is so loud. The sea lions are taking over the docks. They started coming to the area shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Some people can't get enough of the sea lions and others can't get far enough away. I personally couldn't get enough of them. I loved watching them fight over their spot on the pier. Biting each other & barking at each other, some even growled at each other. I could have stayed there all day, watching them play.

Sealing in San Francisco

2008-05-20T23:57:00.001-04:00

Congratulations are in order

2008-05-18T22:35:00.000-04:00

I just found out today my younger son got a promotion in the Navy yesterday. He is now an E-5. (petty officer 2nd class). Congrats Jay! Love ya!

Leaving Vegas

2008-05-17T10:23:00.000-04:00

Lake Mead We visited Lake Mead, an oasis in the middle of a dessert.

Hoover Dam

Artist Drive Death Valley National Park

We stopped at Death Valley National Park. It sure was hot! We took the scenic loop through multi colored volcanic & sedimentary hills called the artist palette. The colors of the rocks were awesome.

The Devils Golf Course Death Valley

The Devils Golf Course is an immense area of rock salt eroded by the wind.

Badwater Death Valley National Park

Badwater is the lowest point of the park. It is 280 feet below sea level. It a vast area of salt flats.

Zabrisky Point Death Valley National Park
The land here is a maze of colored badlands.

A view of our RV from Zabrisky Point

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Village

Mariposa Grove Yosemite

Sequoia Trees

Glacier Point Yosemite

Hazel Atlas Mine, Antioch CA

Coal mine & silica mine earth quake. Look at the gray lines in the picture & you can see where the earth moved during an earthquake.

Whatever Happens in Vegas

2008-05-03T19:54:00.000-04:00

Well here we are in the land of sin. So much going on here. We have been busy! I love it here. Of course I don't have to explain Vegas, everyone knows...what ever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It is very hot here, but very windy. Every day we are finding something or somewhere new. Well the guys had to crank up the motorhome...gas is getting to expensive. (HA HA). Not really it's an Italian slide out. Again with the jokes. Frankie's slide out got stuck & they manually cranked it out. I guess they will have to crank it back it. Find out later...

We have been strolling around checking out the casinos on the strip.

The Bellagio is all decked out for spring with some strange trees growing inside. Every half an hour they have a beautiful water show in the front of the casino.

Ceasars Casino

Wow what a shopping center inside. A woman's dream.

Excalibur

The Luxor

We had a lunch buffett here. Oh man was that good. Nothing to complain about there.

MGM Grand We watched the lions inside the MGM Grand. There were two lions inside a glass cage that is sound proof & smell proof. The lions can see you but they can't hear you or smell you. They are not even breathing the same air as you. See video below.

NY NY We found Elvis in NY NY. He is alive & well. He couldn't keep his hands off of me. Lucky me!

Paris Ny to Paris in a few short minutes.

Oops! Whatever happens is supposed to stay in Vegas. Oh well!

To much to much to do & see in Vegas.

Cowboy Up!

Vegas Lions

2008-05-03T10:59:00.001-04:00

Feeding the Burros

2008-04-30T20:01:00.001-04:00

Oatman Arizona

2008-04-30T12:59:00.001-04:00

Our visit to Oatman, Arizona was great. The town is a true ghost town on the famous RT. 66. It started as a mining town & when the gold ran out in the 1930's so did the miners. They left their burros behind & they became the true residents of the town.
http://www.desertusa.com/oatman/du_oatman.html

The gold mines produced two million ounces from its start in 1904. Carol Lombard & Clark Gable spent the first night of their honeymoon here at the Oatman hotel.

The burros became the main tourist attraction of the town. They come walking into town looking for the carrots that the tourist bring for them.

Then they return back to the mountains for the night. We patiently waited for their arrival. I wanted to share the carrots but they don't just take a bite, they want the entire carrot. The baby donkeys can only have small pieces at a time. It was really fun feeding them. When I walked away with some carrots still in my hand, one of the donkeys head butted me right in the butt! Twice! And once in the arm. As long as you have some carrots they will follow you around the town.

Each burro in town has been named. The day we arrived one of the donkeys just had a baby. They can sense where there is water & then they stomp their feet on the ground & bring up some water.

Visiting With a Friend

2008-04-30T12:26:00.000-04:00

John & I were in Verde Valley area in Arizona. Julie & Frank only live about an hour south of our campground. We stopped by for a quick visit. They were getting ready for a weekend of out on their quads. It was a good visit with friends. Last time we came out this way they drove up the mountain to visit with us. This time we drove down the mountain & what a mountain it is. They have a really nice house with a pool and a beautiful dog. See you next time around Julie & Frank.

The Beginning of our 2008 RV Trip

2008-04-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

We started out on our trip following I-10 across the US to Arizona. A long dusty trip. We left Florida in the rain and entered Texas, the Lonestar state, plagued with wind & dust storms. We hurried through 2 counties in Texas as we had tornado warnings. We made it out of those counties but hit a hail storm in the next county. John had a tough time driving through all the wind. The hail dented the hood of the car but not to bad. The roof of the RV is pretty dented from marble size hail. Well we made it through the weather woes of I-10. We are bound not to take that route on the way home.

Our first stop was at Colorado River Thousand Trail park. If you are interested in watching deer this is the place to go. They walk through your camp site with out a care that you are there. I enjoyed watching them.

Our second stop was Tombstone Arizona.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone%2C_Arizona

What a great place. The town really only lasted 9 years during its time back in the 1880's, but it is back as a booming tourist trap. The mines in tombstone filled with water shutting them down. The town also burnt down twice. With the mines going bust & the town burning down, the town died down. But it came back each time, giving it the name, the town to tough to die.
The main road of the town is shut down to vehicles but not to the horse buggies & stage coaches.

The town people all stroll around the town in the clothes of 1880's. We dined at Big Nose Kate's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Nose_Kate

An authentic saloon & restaurant with saloon girls. In the good old days it was a saloon & hotel. The entertainment was great there. Big Nose Kate was Doc Holliday's girl. She was the one who loved Doc Holliday & everyone else. In the basement of Big Nose Kates was a room where the janitor lived. They called him the swamper. In his spare time he dug a hole in his room down to the underground mines that are throughout Tombstone. He mined quite a bit of silver during his stay in that room.

On the way into the town we stopped at Boot Hill. In this cemetary lies the three men killed in the OK coral shoot out. Doc Holliday & Wyatt Earp were the ones that make Tombstone famous with the shoot out at the OK Coral.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ok_Corral
Here I am with Wyatt Earp, his brothers & Doc Holliday. Note that these were the good guys & they were all dressed in black.

After Tombstone we took a ride to Bisbee, Arizona. It was a booming old mining community, with the richest mineral deposits in the World. It was at the time the biggest city between St. Louis and San Francisco with its own stock exchange. Here we went into a old copper mine. It was cold down there. It was a cool 47 degrees. I haven't been that cold in quite some time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisbee%2C_Arizona

Catching Up Again

2008-02-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Daytona 300

John went to the Daytona 300 and had excellent seats. The crowd was over 200,000. It was extremely loud, but he enjoyed it. A friend of his took him for the day. What a friend! The cars whizzed by so fast they can blow your hat right off. 43 cars whizzing by within inches of each other at a speed of 189 mph.

Fashion Show

MOSN held its annual fashion show. I got to strut my stuff again this year. So much fun! I love doing this fashion show.

Superbowl Sunday

Above are the girls at the Superbowl party with one missing. The guys didn't get together for their pictures. Wow! What a game!

Big Blue all the way!

Visit from Jay & Daria

Jay & his girlfriend Daria came to visit us in MOSN. They didn't stay very long, as they went up to Jacksonville to visit with his brother. Well it was a good visit anyway.

Heeeeeere's Johnny

2008-01-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

Well John got home this weekend. I was so happy to see him, just like a little kid for Christmas. He arrived home at midnight to a house full of visitors. My buddies from NJ came down to Florida & visited me for the night.

Bill, Dianne, Lou (Linda's father) & Linda stopped by & enjoyed the community bonfire & cookout. Eat your heart out Jimmy.

I hope they enjoyed it.
Well we all managed in my small house. John & I stayed in the motor home for the night. We all went out to breakfast in the towns local cafe minus John. He was a little to tired after driving from 4:30 am to midnight. His daughter is doing fine & recovering well.

I am going to see the doctor Jan. 15 to get out my stitches (hopefully). Then I get a hard cast. The pain is pretty bad but I finally got rid of all the side effects that plagued me.

Again, I can't say enough about the ladies in this community. They came to my rescue. What a wonderful bunch of people that live here.
Thanks again ladies!

The New Year 2008

2008-01-10T07:50:00.000-05:00

Well the new year has been a bummer so far for me. I broke my arm & had to have surgery. I was in the hospital for 3 days. I had a plate put in my left arm. I fell backwards in my sons house into his sunken living room. No kids, toys or animals to blame. I just got my foot caught between the step & the wall & fell backwards. I am going to the doctors Jan. 15 to (hopefully) get my stitches out & have a hard cast put on. I decided to come home from my sons house in Jacksonville and stay in my own home. It is much easier here. The ladies all got together & have done so much to lift my spirits & help me in any way they can. They are just wonderful. You couldn't live in a better neighborhood.

The ladies here at MOSN came over to take down my Christmas decorations, brought over food & washed my hair. I can't thank them enough. They are great!

John is up in NJ because his daughter had to have surgery. Everything is going well with her. John should be home soon. She had her tonsils removed & it serious when you are older. So now she seems to be doing good. Hopefully he will be home in time to take me to the docs.

Hopefully as the year progresses it will get better, let's see. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-26T10:22:00.001-05:00

Well John is up north with his family & he left behind in sunny Florida. Hope it isn't to cold up there for you, John.

John went up to stay with his family. He will be home sometime in January. I don't know how much trouble I can get into without him, but I will try. I am staying up in Jacksonville with the kids for the Christmas week. I will be home for New Years eve.
Santa came here with a bunch of stuff. The kids all got new bikes, so did Mary & Don. Well where was mine? I wanted a recumbent bike, but Santa must have forgot I was here or maybe I am just not getting one. Could that be? Oh no!

Well here I am with the kids. I think Santa shrunk this year. Oh no that's just Evan.

The kids with Mom & Dad.

The kids

Time to Catch up

2007-12-04T07:17:00.000-05:00

The story below is the story about the Osborne family directly from the MGM Web site. It is a very interesting story & it tells how it all started & how Mickey saved the day. Remember it is directly from this web page http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/osbornelights.htm & is not my words of wisdom.

As the story goes, Arkansas resident Jennings Osborne and his family were very big on the Holidays. In 1986, Jennings asked his youngest daughter Breezy what her Christmas wish was. She replied that she would like to see their whole house covered in lights. They had quite a large house but Jennings was determined to make his daughter's Christmas dream come true. That first year the Osborne family covered their home with a modest 1000 red lights. With each passing year, the family wanted to do more. The Osborne's eventually purchased property adjacent to their own in order to expand on their newfound hobby.

The display grew to millions of lights. There were flashing lights, multi-colored lights, custom made light sculptures and a 75 foot Christmas tree adorned by lights. This drew onlookers from all over Arkansas. Displeased by the resulting traffic jams, the local residents asked that the Osborne family stop the annual display. Legal intervention was sought, and it appeared that the Osborne's beloved tradition was about to come to an end. When Mickey Mouse got word of this, he offered a venue where the Osborne lights could be shared with visitors from around the globe. In 1995, Residential Street at the Disney-MGM Studios became the home of this dazzling light show. Approximately 80% of the lights that are on display come from the original Osborne collection.

In 2003, Residential Street began undergoing a major renovation in preparation of the new stunt show scheduled to open in 2005. For the first time in 8 years, the Osborne lights were not displayed.
Fortunately, a new home was found for this magical attraction. The Streets of America (formerly New York Street) is now hosting the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights.

As in years past, once evening descends, this amazing display springs to life. Formerly drab buildings become twinkling light sculptures, while a host of angels fly overhead. Visitors are welcome to stroll through at their own pace. With over 4 Million Christmas lights, this is not to be missed. To enhance the experience, Florida "snow" flutters down while Christmas tunes fill the air.

MGM

We watched the Christmas street lights at MGM last night. They came from a family called the Osbornes. They used to decorate their home with many lights until the neighbors complained & Disney bought their lights. It is truly beautiful. Every 10 minutes the lights dance to the music. It also snowed in the street. We enjoyed it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I've got my tree up & I am pretty much ready for the holidays. Looking forward to the holidays.

My Christmas tree this year!

Well I have some catching up to do. Some of the main events since we've been home will now be documented. I have been very busy since we've been home. So many things to do and not enough time to do them.

Merry Christmas &

Happy New Year!

Trim a Tree Party
The club house Christmas tree. The elves got together to decorate the tree. 20 elves this year. Sandy must be doing something right. Sandy threw her second Trim a tree party. Again a total success. Santa came to visit us all. What a surprise.

Everyone got to get a picture with Santa.

What do you have planned for next year Sandy? Mrs. Claus? Well you never know what she'll have up her sleeve. I am sure it will be successful.

Sandy & her elves

MOSN Bonfire

Nov. 10,2007

The organizers of the bonfire When I got back from The Tampa Classic we had a bonfire at MOSN. It's a great way to mingle with your neighbors & friends. The neighbors gather for a BBQ, some drinks, dancing, and of course the bonfire.

Tampa Classic-Nov. 1-4, 2007Rose & I went to the Tampa Classic Line Dance workshop for 4 days. It started on Thursday night at 7 PM. We left 12:30 AM. Our drive home was tough. An office chair fell out of a pickup truck in front of us & nearly came through the windshield. Oh my God that was scary. It was heading straight through my window & I don't know why, but it just swung over a bit & Rose swerved a bit & it hit right along side of the vehicle.

50's night at the Tampa ClassicWe headed back to the hotel on Friday morning at 6:30 AM. Man were we tired. But we were staying in the hotel for the rest of the workshop. Thank God. We had a 50's night and a lot of the guests dressed up, but not all. Of course I had to, you know me.

We met up with some friends from Dennis' class. ... and Sheila's class It was great to see some of our dancing buddies there. We also met a lot of new people. There were so many people from the Villages. They have line dancing there practically every day or maybe even every day. People came from all over the World for this event. This was our first time there & we enjoyed it so much. My feet are still trying to recover from all the dancing, from 9 AM to midnight & then some. I could hardly walk afterwards.

Rose & I danced with some great choreographers:

Robbie from Scotland, who choreographed my favorite dance, keep on dancing, although it is an older dance, it is still my favorite. Mr. Showcase from Kentucky- He has so much energy, which I guess that is why they call him Mr. Showcase. He was so much fun to dance with. I don't think he should ever have an energy drink.

Micheal from California-Rose & I both loved his dance Doors of Life, a beautiful waltz. I only remembered 2 dances from the entire weekend & this was one of them.

One night at 3:20 AM there was a fire in the hotel. Maybe it was a false alarm, but the fire engines showed up & the hotel was evacuated. Can you believe that some people were still dancing? After we were allowed back into the hotel, some went back to dancing. That's dedication.

The Keys

2007-11-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Something you don't see to often... a full rainbow.

A campsite right on the ocean. We stepped out of our RV & went right in the ocean to snorkel & swim. But the beach was within walking distant for us to enjoy.

A walk at sundown

We took the long way home by stopping in the keys. We stayed at Bahia Honda for 4 days. Pure paradise there. We stayed right on the ocean. Bahia Honda has the best beaches in all of the keys. It is known as the recreational treasure of the keys. It offers boating, camping, lodging, kayaking, concessions, snorkeling , bicycling, fishing, swimming & picnicking. Part of the railroad that Henry Flagler built is still seen in the park. Bahia Honda has many plants & animals in the park that are rare & unusal. The storms & hurricanes blow in tropical plants that are only found in the park.

While in the keys we took in some crazy time at the Fantasy Fest. The fantasy fest takes place at the end of October in Key West. Duval Street is closed to vehicles & the people walk up and down in the wildest costumes or body paint. It is a wild time for all to see. I won't be able to post the best pictures due to the costumes or lack of them, but everyone at some in their life time should experience fantasy fest. It lasts for 10 days, so you have plenty of time to experience at least one day.

The body paintings were the best, but I can not post them, so sorry, you will have to go there yourself to see what it is all about.

On the way home

2007-11-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

On the way home we stopped in Ormond Beach & the kids came down for the day. They enjoyed the pool & the swings. I think they really enjoyed themselves. The kids really enjoyed the pool. Man can they swim too.

Hannah spent the night with us & we had a very good time. She was an excellent visitor.

It's so good to have Donny back stateside.

Hilton Head, SC

2007-10-11T13:19:00.000-04:00

WOW!!!

That is what I have to say about Sun City, SC. What a place. An adult community with everything & anything you can think of. Woodworking, sewing, art, dancing (of all kinds), shows, pools, huge gym etc... I was totally amazed at this place. What a wonderful place to live. Two of my good friends (Joyce & Reade) moved there & John & I went to visit. We both loved it!

We had a wonderful visit with our friends & hope to see them soon. I hope they enjoy their new place and wish that they get more visits from their friends.

We also got to meet up with Melanie & Dan for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in SC. I forgot to bring the camera so no pictures this time. All in all SC was worth the trip.

Leaving Hershey PA

2007-09-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

Well, we spent time resting in the Hershey area and we are ready to move on. We are heading home to Florida now. Our next stop will be Gasburg, VA at Lake Gaston.

While we were here in PA, my son stayed for a weekend with his friend, Daria. We had a nice visit. A little to many white russians though. We roasted some marshmallows & sat by the campfire, typical camping weekend.

If you visit the Hershey area, you must go to Shady Maple.
It is the largest smorgasboard I have ever seen. The food is endless. Too much to chose from. The gift store in the basement is like shopping at a mall. http://www.shady-maple.com/ Check it out.

So we are moving on. See you in VA.

Visiting With Good Friends In NY

2007-09-19T12:39:00.000-04:00

Woodstock NY

We took a trip back in time to the 60's. Remember the Woodstock concert. Three days of music. August 15, 16 & 17, 1969. 500,000 people gathered on the lawn of Max Yasgur's farm with traffic jams of up to 20 miles long. Just imagine that. There was lots of rain, not enough food, plenty of drugs and lack of bathroom facilities. The music of the decades. Man I wish I was there then. John and his friends were planning on going when he heard Arlo Guthrie on the radio say "the NY thruway is closed man". We spoke to a man from Texas that was at Woodstock & he told us the thruway was never shut down. This man came to Woodstock & never left. He was sitting there with pictures of the historic concert & the new museum. Now they do have outdoor concerts there every year. Behind this monument was the Woodstock concert. The bowl was where the bands played & the hill was filled with the fans. We went to a Harvest fest on the Woodstock grounds. The band reminded me of the Janis Joplin or Gracie Slick times in the 60's. It was a beautiful day, a little crisp in the shade.
Hanging with friends

We had a wonderful weekend with our friends Chuckie & Barb and our RV buddies, Ruth & Bucky. Again it is all about the food.

Chuckie the chef!

Lazagna by Ruth!

Lake George, NY

2007-09-07T20:35:00.000-04:00

Well we spent some time in Lake George, NY. We had some really bad weather before the girls came up we were lucky the rain stopped the night before they arrived. It rained for 3 straight days.

We took a walk down by the Schroon River

The girls sat around a bonfire & enjoyed roasting marshmallows.

We had a nice visit with the girls. We went for a bike ride around the lake .

The lake was beautiful.

Lake George Antique Car Show

Antique car show at Lake George, NY. Wow!!! Busy town today. At night the road the main road through town was blocked off for a of parade of cars. I have never seen Lake George so busy. So many beautiful antique cars. The streets were lined with antique cars. Parked on the roads, in the parking lots, at the hotels, everywhere a car could park there was one.