our first week
08/19/2013
12 Comments
Well kids we survived our first week in the woods.We stayed in Michigan most of the week.The upper peninsula is what they call this(up).Bay city rec area 2 nights,Hay Meadow in Hiawatha NF,Burned Dam,Ottawa NF.Our generator stopped giving us electric when we were in Burned Dam.We headed out of Mi then cause we figured they f---d with our Generator.What time is it? Oh yea and Michigan still SUCKS!We went to a campground in Wisconsin to try to figure out the electric situation.We called our good buddy Doug Breach and asked some Generator Questions.Sunday morning came and Jomama fixed the geneseerator. We went golfing in Wisconsin then headed for Minnesota.Some of our info on free camping was a little misleading so we ended up in a NF Chippewa at a place called Knutson Dam.We are here and there is no one any where.We are on a lake called Cass Lake.Karen went fishing today and I went along in case she drowned.We are clueless on this fishing thing.Some guy came over ,very friendly and asked K if he could show her how to use that thing.....the rod.We did not catch anything,we will try different bait Tuesday that must be the problem(bowling is so much easier).We are going to stay here till Wednesday might go get a boat tomorrow but if the guys name is Scamlet or there are no life jackets I'm out!I know only a few of you readers get that joke.I will leave you now have to go cook.Here are some pics!
This would be Karen relaxing in her new hammock. Jomama is somewhere probably cooking!
08/19/2013
12 Comments
Well kids we survived our first week in the woods.We stayed in Michigan most of the week.The upper peninsula is what they call this(up).Bay city rec area 2 nights,Hay Meadow in Hiawatha NF,Burned Dam,Ottawa NF.Our generator stopped giving us electric when we were in Burned Dam.We headed out of Mi then cause we figured they f---d with our Generator.What time is it? Oh yea and Michigan still SUCKS!We went to a campground in Wisconsin to try to figure out the electric situation.We called our good buddy Doug Breach and asked some Generator Questions.Sunday morning came and Jomama fixed the geneseerator. We went golfing in Wisconsin then headed for Minnesota.Some of our info on free camping was a little misleading so we ended up in a NF Chippewa at a place called Knutson Dam.We are here and there is no one any where.We are on a lake called Cass Lake.Karen went fishing today and I went along in case she drowned.We are clueless on this fishing thing.Some guy came over ,very friendly and asked K if he could show her how to use that thing.....the rod.We did not catch anything,we will try different bait Tuesday that must be the problem(bowling is so much easier).We are going to stay here till Wednesday might go get a boat tomorrow but if the guys name is Scamlet or there are no life jackets I'm out!I know only a few of you readers get that joke.I will leave you now have to go cook.Here are some pics!
This would be Karen relaxing in her new hammock. Jomama is somewhere probably cooking!
Santa kicked Karen out and is chillin
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Jomama did not read the sign, funny story we filled our fresh water tank with the water that you see in the picture! Thank God we saw the sign just as we were leaving. So needless to say we had to empty the fresh tank and then pull up and refill. Another 30 min I will never get back! Two simple letters in the English language UN and I almost killed us.
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Back at the site someone has to help me cook
North Dakota and a new toilet 08/23/2013
4 Comments
Hi kids... well when we left you in Minnesota we were trying to get the toilet fixed we now are the proud owners of an Aqua Magic 5 Thetford brand new flusher! Sorry no bidet. We pulled into Homme Dam Thursday night and the ranger almost shot me. I guess you are supposed to register first. I missed that sign will try to be more observant next state. The funny part was the guy asked me if basically I was homeless and was heading for the oil fields in North Dakota .I should probably shower and shave more! On the way to North Dakota we heard Santa bitching in the back seat so...we had to stop and do a photo shoot to shut him up! We golfed today and walked the course again. We are in such good shape now. We will leave you again with some amazing photos. We are writing this during Bonnie's party and wish so much that we could be there! Happy 50 Bon! Until we meet again have fun and do what makes you happy!!
4 Comments
Hi kids... well when we left you in Minnesota we were trying to get the toilet fixed we now are the proud owners of an Aqua Magic 5 Thetford brand new flusher! Sorry no bidet. We pulled into Homme Dam Thursday night and the ranger almost shot me. I guess you are supposed to register first. I missed that sign will try to be more observant next state. The funny part was the guy asked me if basically I was homeless and was heading for the oil fields in North Dakota .I should probably shower and shave more! On the way to North Dakota we heard Santa bitching in the back seat so...we had to stop and do a photo shoot to shut him up! We golfed today and walked the course again. We are in such good shape now. We will leave you again with some amazing photos. We are writing this during Bonnie's party and wish so much that we could be there! Happy 50 Bon! Until we meet again have fun and do what makes you happy!!
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Oh my North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming ...Sal that's 3 whole countries..(dog day afternoon)
08/30/2013
2 Comments
Well it has been a week since we blogged. We have been in the woods and mountains and I don't think these people care if they have cell coverage or internet? The toilet is fixed. We stayed at a place in North Dakota called Buffalo Gap 3 days at 6.00 a night. It had nature stone paths and pull in spots for the campers. The best part we were the only people in the park! We went to Theodore Roosevelt park both north and south and saw a lot of wildlife. Actually at first we only saw Buffalo crap and horse crap but finally at the end of the trail we finally saw actual BIG MF Buffalo, Wild horses and Antelopes now we know where the fruit comes from. We have made a few bad choices on roads to take. Some of the roads were really dusty and bumpy and have caused some issues with our water pump not to mention the dust that it brought upon our wagon. I call it our wagon now cause I think we are pioneers now. I keep telling Karen what it was like when the early settlers first came out here for gold and she should be happy that we are traveling in the Winnie and not in a covered wagon. I'm not sure she is buying it! We saw Mount Rushmore today and we can't believe that is what the Beatles actually looked like when they split up. We did take a picture! We are in Sturgis, South Dakota now...I hope I survive this one. We also saw Devils Tower National Monument and took some good pics, saw some girl actually climbing the mountain. We are in Sturgis but in a Town called Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok was shot over a card game and are going to see the saloon and chair where he was shot. We are having some water pump issues but we think we might be able to fix. Karen is still alive even though she won't let me take her pic. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and again we will leave you with some pics...stay happy and be happy Jomama and Karen.
08/30/2013
2 Comments
Well it has been a week since we blogged. We have been in the woods and mountains and I don't think these people care if they have cell coverage or internet? The toilet is fixed. We stayed at a place in North Dakota called Buffalo Gap 3 days at 6.00 a night. It had nature stone paths and pull in spots for the campers. The best part we were the only people in the park! We went to Theodore Roosevelt park both north and south and saw a lot of wildlife. Actually at first we only saw Buffalo crap and horse crap but finally at the end of the trail we finally saw actual BIG MF Buffalo, Wild horses and Antelopes now we know where the fruit comes from. We have made a few bad choices on roads to take. Some of the roads were really dusty and bumpy and have caused some issues with our water pump not to mention the dust that it brought upon our wagon. I call it our wagon now cause I think we are pioneers now. I keep telling Karen what it was like when the early settlers first came out here for gold and she should be happy that we are traveling in the Winnie and not in a covered wagon. I'm not sure she is buying it! We saw Mount Rushmore today and we can't believe that is what the Beatles actually looked like when they split up. We did take a picture! We are in Sturgis, South Dakota now...I hope I survive this one. We also saw Devils Tower National Monument and took some good pics, saw some girl actually climbing the mountain. We are in Sturgis but in a Town called Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok was shot over a card game and are going to see the saloon and chair where he was shot. We are having some water pump issues but we think we might be able to fix. Karen is still alive even though she won't let me take her pic. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and again we will leave you with some pics...stay happy and be happy Jomama and Karen.
This is about how high I was going with this one (he doesn’t climb well)
Nice legs Jomama!!
Nice legs Jomama!!
We had to explain to Santa that Buffalo are not like reindeer.
Some Lake in the United States....Hey K where are we?
This is how I will protect my family from those ferocious buffalo.
We are ready for Sturgis and all those bikers!
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These would be some of those big MF buffalo. We were talking about!!
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Okay now here are the Beatles! George, Thomas, Ted and Abe!
Yellowstone, Flintstone, Jelly stone, Keystone oh we saw them all!!09/05/2013
3 Comments
Hello kids when I last talked to you we were heading for Deadwood, South Dakota. We went into town on the trolley and yes we saw the famous chair that Wild Bill Hickock was shot and killed while playing cards so be careful Vlado( another joke only a few will get). We stayed at a campground because RV's are not allowed into the small town of Deadwood where all the saloons and gambling places are located. Lots of fun the casinos are not like Vegas we liked Saloon #10 the best. The floor was wood and full of sawdust and slots everywhere. The camp we stayed in had rodeos and a lot of horse people. I’m talking about tough guys that are bowlegged and where spurs and big belt buckles and white cowboy hats are custom. I guess the fashion is also Wrangler jeans, button down cream colored shirts and the sleeves are not rolled up but buttoned at the wrist. Oh yea and it's howdy not hi. We left Deadwood feeling pretty good that no one shot us at the casino .Our next mission...all those parks named after famous stones! Not one of these parks mention Mic, Keith, Charlie or Ronnie. We stayed at a free campsite on Deaver Reservoir. I know why it is not real populated, the mosquitos almost ate us. We left the gorgeous lake and went to the car wash because our camper" I mean our covered wagon" was totally covered in road dust. After the first car wash broke and was nasty with bird drop we went to the wash down the street. Washed up the wagon and went golfing .We headed for Yellowstone on US 14 and Chief Joseph "scenic Byway". OH my it was scenic and scary. Some of the stretches of road were 13 degree drop so Ed and Paul know why I was having issues. It was actually cold on the top of the highway and when we came down the damn mountain Karen stated how much hotter it got! I told her I did not notice because I had been sitting in hot crap for 6 miles anyway. We found a really cool spot in Shoshone National Forest. Best part ...no one around us, in the woods and only 7.50 a night! The camp host came down to meet us and give us the "rules" oh yea they got bears and they will use my grill cook me and eat me!!I showed him my knife and told him I was Okay..yea right. We got up in the morning no bears so I guess they knew I had a BIG knife. We are in Yellowstone National park and are here for two days. Finally found a shower! I think we are headed for Utah unless the princess changes that idea. I'm just the driver. The schedule is getting tighter cause we know we have to be in Napa by Tuesday. I think she wants me to drive her to Reno to watch the Browns/Miami game ...happy wife.. happy life. Okay so how do I get to Reno? We again will leave you with some pics but probably only funny ones the real "scenic views" can only be saved in your mind God did that on purpose so people would travel and look at what HE created HE is so smart!
Again with love......... Jomama and Karen
3 Comments
Hello kids when I last talked to you we were heading for Deadwood, South Dakota. We went into town on the trolley and yes we saw the famous chair that Wild Bill Hickock was shot and killed while playing cards so be careful Vlado( another joke only a few will get). We stayed at a campground because RV's are not allowed into the small town of Deadwood where all the saloons and gambling places are located. Lots of fun the casinos are not like Vegas we liked Saloon #10 the best. The floor was wood and full of sawdust and slots everywhere. The camp we stayed in had rodeos and a lot of horse people. I’m talking about tough guys that are bowlegged and where spurs and big belt buckles and white cowboy hats are custom. I guess the fashion is also Wrangler jeans, button down cream colored shirts and the sleeves are not rolled up but buttoned at the wrist. Oh yea and it's howdy not hi. We left Deadwood feeling pretty good that no one shot us at the casino .Our next mission...all those parks named after famous stones! Not one of these parks mention Mic, Keith, Charlie or Ronnie. We stayed at a free campsite on Deaver Reservoir. I know why it is not real populated, the mosquitos almost ate us. We left the gorgeous lake and went to the car wash because our camper" I mean our covered wagon" was totally covered in road dust. After the first car wash broke and was nasty with bird drop we went to the wash down the street. Washed up the wagon and went golfing .We headed for Yellowstone on US 14 and Chief Joseph "scenic Byway". OH my it was scenic and scary. Some of the stretches of road were 13 degree drop so Ed and Paul know why I was having issues. It was actually cold on the top of the highway and when we came down the damn mountain Karen stated how much hotter it got! I told her I did not notice because I had been sitting in hot crap for 6 miles anyway. We found a really cool spot in Shoshone National Forest. Best part ...no one around us, in the woods and only 7.50 a night! The camp host came down to meet us and give us the "rules" oh yea they got bears and they will use my grill cook me and eat me!!I showed him my knife and told him I was Okay..yea right. We got up in the morning no bears so I guess they knew I had a BIG knife. We are in Yellowstone National park and are here for two days. Finally found a shower! I think we are headed for Utah unless the princess changes that idea. I'm just the driver. The schedule is getting tighter cause we know we have to be in Napa by Tuesday. I think she wants me to drive her to Reno to watch the Browns/Miami game ...happy wife.. happy life. Okay so how do I get to Reno? We again will leave you with some pics but probably only funny ones the real "scenic views" can only be saved in your mind God did that on purpose so people would travel and look at what HE created HE is so smart!
Again with love......... Jomama and Karen
Were not in Ohio
Santa. I'll have to ask Karen where we are? 
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Rear view of MT. Rushmore
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When you gotta go... you gotta go Hey boss why am I on top of the bear box. I thought we just put food in this thing? |
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Napa ,CA or bust!!09/09/2013
4 Comments
Hello again kids when I left you we were headed for the Browns Game somewhere near Reno. Well the Princess knows me pretty good and knew I would be more comfortable in a smaller town .So we stopped in Elko NV and stayed at a Casino. We got a room and the girl saw we were old and upgraded us to special suite .One of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in! Nothing like a hot hotel shower! We left there on Saturday and headed for Sparks, NV. The city is 1 mile from Reno. Karen dragged me out of bed at 7:00 AM to drive down the street to see Reno's version of Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade. I will leave you with a picture of that for sure. We watched the Browns game at 10:00 am and I probably should have gone to the Dentist instead .We took off driving for CA Sunday afternoon. We are in Follsom, CA. and it is Monday..I think. We spent the day at an RV service place fixing a couple things on the" Wagon" .We are now ready to go forward on our trip. My compass tells me we are 90 miles out. Hey if you believe that compass part you need a beer. Karen TOLD me we are 90 miles from the dream house. Dave, Barb ,Bonnie and Ed are coming out so we will blog again when our good friends leave us...Again we only like funny stuff. If you laugh all day, every day will be good .Have you ever been in a bad mood while you were laughing? Love to all and here are some pics! Jomama and Karen.
4 Comments
Hello again kids when I left you we were headed for the Browns Game somewhere near Reno. Well the Princess knows me pretty good and knew I would be more comfortable in a smaller town .So we stopped in Elko NV and stayed at a Casino. We got a room and the girl saw we were old and upgraded us to special suite .One of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in! Nothing like a hot hotel shower! We left there on Saturday and headed for Sparks, NV. The city is 1 mile from Reno. Karen dragged me out of bed at 7:00 AM to drive down the street to see Reno's version of Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade. I will leave you with a picture of that for sure. We watched the Browns game at 10:00 am and I probably should have gone to the Dentist instead .We took off driving for CA Sunday afternoon. We are in Follsom, CA. and it is Monday..I think. We spent the day at an RV service place fixing a couple things on the" Wagon" .We are now ready to go forward on our trip. My compass tells me we are 90 miles out. Hey if you believe that compass part you need a beer. Karen TOLD me we are 90 miles from the dream house. Dave, Barb ,Bonnie and Ed are coming out so we will blog again when our good friends leave us...Again we only like funny stuff. If you laugh all day, every day will be good .Have you ever been in a bad mood while you were laughing? Love to all and here are some pics! Jomama and Karen.
Here is one of those geysers.. I thought a bunch of old guys would be outside just laughing it up but no!... it is a enlarged Dryer vent. So we renamed this spot Hells doing laundry today!
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These are those steep inclines that we mentioned to Paul and Ed
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To the left is mini grand canyon To the right is the parade I woke up for |
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The six of us and Sonoma09/22/2013
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Hi kids were back and writing again .Like we mentioned on the last blog we would write after our friends left. We made it to the Villa via the wagon on Tuesday. The winding hill to the top was unbelievable just ask Dave, Barb, Bonnie and Ed .We parked the wagon in the horse corral and unloaded .Karen did laundry all night Tuesday and myself and Santa well let's just say we had a photo shoot !Our buddies arrived Wednesday afternoon and had a rental van so now we could go into town. There was no way I was taking Minnie(the wagon) off this mountain till We go up the coast next week .So what do people from Eastlake do when they go to Sonoma wine country....we went to Murphy's Irish Sports bar and drank BEER and Whiskey! Before the week ended we did find out what those little grapes can do. The next few days are kind of blurry ....OH yea we tasted wine at several places. The problem with our crew is we put an Irishman in charge of the tour itinerary and ended up at a Beer brewery after the wineries .Good job Fitz no wonder I can't remember the rest of the week! Just kidding we had a great week. Another group of friends came in on Saturday and low and behold it was another couple of Irish people (Kathy and Bill). Monday came and it was time to head for San Francisco. No I did not see Karl Malden or Michael Douglass "on the streets of San Francisco". We did take the ferry to Alcatraz and no... we did not see Clint Eastwood either! Have some pics of Alcatraz it is a scary place. Not as scary as the bar tabs in San Francisco though. People out here must be rich or just stupid! I calculated the price of a 30 pack if I bought it in the Wharf. Ready for this $ 252.75 before tip. A one bedroom apartment $ 2000.00, Gasoline $4.27, Beef tenderloin $27.99...uncooked !no potato or salad either! The Villa with friends and a cooler of cold ones.....well you know "priceless". Well Tuesday came and we knew we only had one day left. Time sure flies when your with an Irishman. So what do you do when there is only one day left? Of course you go to some more wine tasting wineries. Wednesday came and we said our goodbyes. Karen actually cried (probably cause she knows she is stuck with me now). Memories are things you can not take pictures of. So for the six of us these memories are what are priceless to us and can only be attempted to be shared through our pics. Thank you friends for our treasured memories. We will leave you now with some pics and of course enjoy the moment now... yesterday is gone and can only be remembered not changed....Jomama and Karen.
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Hi kids were back and writing again .Like we mentioned on the last blog we would write after our friends left. We made it to the Villa via the wagon on Tuesday. The winding hill to the top was unbelievable just ask Dave, Barb, Bonnie and Ed .We parked the wagon in the horse corral and unloaded .Karen did laundry all night Tuesday and myself and Santa well let's just say we had a photo shoot !Our buddies arrived Wednesday afternoon and had a rental van so now we could go into town. There was no way I was taking Minnie(the wagon) off this mountain till We go up the coast next week .So what do people from Eastlake do when they go to Sonoma wine country....we went to Murphy's Irish Sports bar and drank BEER and Whiskey! Before the week ended we did find out what those little grapes can do. The next few days are kind of blurry ....OH yea we tasted wine at several places. The problem with our crew is we put an Irishman in charge of the tour itinerary and ended up at a Beer brewery after the wineries .Good job Fitz no wonder I can't remember the rest of the week! Just kidding we had a great week. Another group of friends came in on Saturday and low and behold it was another couple of Irish people (Kathy and Bill). Monday came and it was time to head for San Francisco. No I did not see Karl Malden or Michael Douglass "on the streets of San Francisco". We did take the ferry to Alcatraz and no... we did not see Clint Eastwood either! Have some pics of Alcatraz it is a scary place. Not as scary as the bar tabs in San Francisco though. People out here must be rich or just stupid! I calculated the price of a 30 pack if I bought it in the Wharf. Ready for this $ 252.75 before tip. A one bedroom apartment $ 2000.00, Gasoline $4.27, Beef tenderloin $27.99...uncooked !no potato or salad either! The Villa with friends and a cooler of cold ones.....well you know "priceless". Well Tuesday came and we knew we only had one day left. Time sure flies when your with an Irishman. So what do you do when there is only one day left? Of course you go to some more wine tasting wineries. Wednesday came and we said our goodbyes. Karen actually cried (probably cause she knows she is stuck with me now). Memories are things you can not take pictures of. So for the six of us these memories are what are priceless to us and can only be attempted to be shared through our pics. Thank you friends for our treasured memories. We will leave you now with some pics and of course enjoy the moment now... yesterday is gone and can only be remembered not changed....Jomama and Karen.
This was the view from the deck at the home the six of us rented. Sonoma in the wine country.
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Alcatraz Island
Up the coast with K
10/04/2013
2 Comments
Hi kids...we are back and writing again. Well our friends left for the airport and we went back into the villa only to be met by Maria the cleaning lady so now we know what time checkout is .So what took us two hours to unload had to be thrown into the "wagon" and done in 20 minutes. Not to mention that Karen, Santa and Jomama stayed up way past their bedtimes the night before. Santa kept serving up the cocktails and we kept the party rolling. So now the trip up the coast begins. We have labeled this journey the "Wet Cow". The Wet represents the fact that it has rained 8 straight days. Cow? you ask.. stands for California, Oregon, Washington. You can keep all of them give us Ohio! Oregon is actually beautiful and we did have some hours of sun and took some incredible pictures. Santa of course jumped in on some of the pictures. We took the route 101 up the coast. We stayed at a park inside the Redwood forest called Emerald Forest. I think it was a Rain Forest cause that is what it did. We managed to take the bikes down 2 miles.(yes we actually said 2 miles) to Trinidad Bay. The view of the ocean was incredible. We left and went to Patrick's Point State Park. We thought we would see a lot of Irish people again but not the case just tourist. It's kind of sad to see some of the towns along the coast. You can see that at one time it was probably really kicking and now just run down or worse just closed or for sale. We drove up to Washington AC (Obama is in the other Washington) which is obviously DC. The rain in Spain stays mainly in Washington! No wonder the Mariners and Seahawks suck they practice and play in the rain. We can't believe they even have golf courses in this state. We saw bars of soap on the street for the homeless to shower. So we made the executive decision(who am I kidding... the princess made the choice!) to head for Montana. I didn't even know she knew Joe. She told me there was some amazing National Parks there. God gave us a sign after the flood (Noah.. remember him )the sign was a rainbow so that we would know that HE would never drown us again. We drove through that flood and that rainbow. And for all you Irishmen out there on the last blog we apologize if we offended you !Not really...but also there is no free beer at the end of the rainbow only in Heaven so be good! Until we write again stay dry don't cry and only ask why? ...cause God loves you and so do we...Jomama and Karen.
10/04/2013
2 Comments
Hi kids...we are back and writing again. Well our friends left for the airport and we went back into the villa only to be met by Maria the cleaning lady so now we know what time checkout is .So what took us two hours to unload had to be thrown into the "wagon" and done in 20 minutes. Not to mention that Karen, Santa and Jomama stayed up way past their bedtimes the night before. Santa kept serving up the cocktails and we kept the party rolling. So now the trip up the coast begins. We have labeled this journey the "Wet Cow". The Wet represents the fact that it has rained 8 straight days. Cow? you ask.. stands for California, Oregon, Washington. You can keep all of them give us Ohio! Oregon is actually beautiful and we did have some hours of sun and took some incredible pictures. Santa of course jumped in on some of the pictures. We took the route 101 up the coast. We stayed at a park inside the Redwood forest called Emerald Forest. I think it was a Rain Forest cause that is what it did. We managed to take the bikes down 2 miles.(yes we actually said 2 miles) to Trinidad Bay. The view of the ocean was incredible. We left and went to Patrick's Point State Park. We thought we would see a lot of Irish people again but not the case just tourist. It's kind of sad to see some of the towns along the coast. You can see that at one time it was probably really kicking and now just run down or worse just closed or for sale. We drove up to Washington AC (Obama is in the other Washington) which is obviously DC. The rain in Spain stays mainly in Washington! No wonder the Mariners and Seahawks suck they practice and play in the rain. We can't believe they even have golf courses in this state. We saw bars of soap on the street for the homeless to shower. So we made the executive decision(who am I kidding... the princess made the choice!) to head for Montana. I didn't even know she knew Joe. She told me there was some amazing National Parks there. God gave us a sign after the flood (Noah.. remember him )the sign was a rainbow so that we would know that HE would never drown us again. We drove through that flood and that rainbow. And for all you Irishmen out there on the last blog we apologize if we offended you !Not really...but also there is no free beer at the end of the rainbow only in Heaven so be good! Until we write again stay dry don't cry and only ask why? ...cause God loves you and so do we...Jomama and Karen.
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.. We saw this today.... we are definitely not in Ohio!!
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St. Mary's by Glacier on the Indian Reservation
Who would have thought we would be in a snow storm!
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Surviving the snow and government shutdown
10/19/2013
3 Comments
Hi kids...back again and ready to share the next adventure. Now understand that Karen's objective is to stay in an average temperature range of 70 deg. Everything was going just fine until we left California. I mentioned the rain up the coast but I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would take the Minnie I mean the "wagon" into the Tundra from hell! I did a quick analysis of the temperature range and found our average is at about 45! On September 30 2013 I broke down and put on my long undies top and bottom. We made the decision to hurry and head for Glacier National Park. Hurry to us is 250 miles a day. We stayed at several places en route to Glacier and saw some incredible sites. Our heater works but we had to pull out the manual and read about why it doesn't work at temperatures below 36 deg. Thank God for propane!
We stayed at a park on a lake called Lake Five Resort. Ron was the camp host and was 3rd Generation owner. His grandparents opened the place in 1915. We were only 20 miles away from Glacier and we had fought off the elements mostly wind and cold. It had not snowed so I was happy but driving in the high wind was no fun. That's why we only do 250 miles a day! You have to save some time for cocktails you know.
Woke up on a cold October 1 morning and headed for the Glacier National Park. We don't watch much TV on the road and not too many channels on the radio come in when you are in the woods or mountains. So you know where were going with this story right? Yep we pulled into Glacier at about 10:00 am and the Government had shut the Parks down. We went into Browning, MT and stayed at an Indian Casino. We met a real Indian in the bar and he gave us some tips on driving through the reservation up to St. Mary Lake. I got the chief hammered and by the end of the night he wanted to give us some land. Karen said me and chief are now BFF.
Well we all know how well our House and Senate work together so we got up in the morning and headed for Utah.
The problem with only driving 250 miles a day is it takes a long time to get out of Montana. On October 2 we stayed at a park and actually got the Indians playoff game to come in on our satellite, too bad they lost. Woke up Thursday morning and oh boy it snowed! We had to get up on the ladder and shovel the snow off the slideouts because they wouldn't close. This was not in the manual! We thought that the roads would be ok because it was the first snow and it was 50 deg the day before. Wrong, wrong and more wrong. We drove in a complete whiteout for some 40 miles on Interstate 15. She "the wagon" handles pretty good. We stayed at another casino Thursday to watch the Browns/Buffalo game.
We finally got into Utah Friday (Aimee's birthday). Stayed at a real nice State Park but this shutdown is really messing up our forestry plans. Come to find out that the National Forests are also shutdown. The trickle down has begun. The displaced tourists that can't get into National places are now heading to State Parks and other camping areas. We managed to get one night at Kodachrome State Park, what an amazing area. We took the highway 12 scenic route after Kodachrome and it is the most unbelievable 100 miles you will ever drive. We are getting low on beer so we have to get out of Utah and head for some warm Nevada air. Our next mission is to get to south lake Tahoe and celebrate Karen's father's 80th birthday. Our pictures do not do justice for what God actually created. The best camera in the world is the human eye synced with the human brain. Oh what a wonderful gift we have. So until we write again ...Clouds come floating into our life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to our sunset sky.
Rabindranath Tagore
10/19/2013
3 Comments
Hi kids...back again and ready to share the next adventure. Now understand that Karen's objective is to stay in an average temperature range of 70 deg. Everything was going just fine until we left California. I mentioned the rain up the coast but I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would take the Minnie I mean the "wagon" into the Tundra from hell! I did a quick analysis of the temperature range and found our average is at about 45! On September 30 2013 I broke down and put on my long undies top and bottom. We made the decision to hurry and head for Glacier National Park. Hurry to us is 250 miles a day. We stayed at several places en route to Glacier and saw some incredible sites. Our heater works but we had to pull out the manual and read about why it doesn't work at temperatures below 36 deg. Thank God for propane!
We stayed at a park on a lake called Lake Five Resort. Ron was the camp host and was 3rd Generation owner. His grandparents opened the place in 1915. We were only 20 miles away from Glacier and we had fought off the elements mostly wind and cold. It had not snowed so I was happy but driving in the high wind was no fun. That's why we only do 250 miles a day! You have to save some time for cocktails you know.
Woke up on a cold October 1 morning and headed for the Glacier National Park. We don't watch much TV on the road and not too many channels on the radio come in when you are in the woods or mountains. So you know where were going with this story right? Yep we pulled into Glacier at about 10:00 am and the Government had shut the Parks down. We went into Browning, MT and stayed at an Indian Casino. We met a real Indian in the bar and he gave us some tips on driving through the reservation up to St. Mary Lake. I got the chief hammered and by the end of the night he wanted to give us some land. Karen said me and chief are now BFF.
Well we all know how well our House and Senate work together so we got up in the morning and headed for Utah.
The problem with only driving 250 miles a day is it takes a long time to get out of Montana. On October 2 we stayed at a park and actually got the Indians playoff game to come in on our satellite, too bad they lost. Woke up Thursday morning and oh boy it snowed! We had to get up on the ladder and shovel the snow off the slideouts because they wouldn't close. This was not in the manual! We thought that the roads would be ok because it was the first snow and it was 50 deg the day before. Wrong, wrong and more wrong. We drove in a complete whiteout for some 40 miles on Interstate 15. She "the wagon" handles pretty good. We stayed at another casino Thursday to watch the Browns/Buffalo game.
We finally got into Utah Friday (Aimee's birthday). Stayed at a real nice State Park but this shutdown is really messing up our forestry plans. Come to find out that the National Forests are also shutdown. The trickle down has begun. The displaced tourists that can't get into National places are now heading to State Parks and other camping areas. We managed to get one night at Kodachrome State Park, what an amazing area. We took the highway 12 scenic route after Kodachrome and it is the most unbelievable 100 miles you will ever drive. We are getting low on beer so we have to get out of Utah and head for some warm Nevada air. Our next mission is to get to south lake Tahoe and celebrate Karen's father's 80th birthday. Our pictures do not do justice for what God actually created. The best camera in the world is the human eye synced with the human brain. Oh what a wonderful gift we have. So until we write again ...Clouds come floating into our life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to our sunset sky.
Rabindranath Tagore
This is Chief
Cliff of the Blackfeet Nation |
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These are shots from inside Kodachrome State Park and on the route into
Kodachrome
Leaving Tahoe...back to the desert11/10/2013
4 Comments
Hi kids, back again and ready to blog .Who ever came up with the term BLOG? Well anyway we had a great time in Lake Tahoe .Thanks to Rosie and Josef we had a nice place to camp without even using our camper. We stayed for a week and even had a visit from Queen Gabe, she got that name cause she likes to queen(like clean...I make a funny). Cold mornings but warm afternoons,38 deg at 9:00 am... people in the pool at 2:00 pm.
We left Tahoe and headed for the desert. We traveled down ST 395 and stopped in Lone Pine CA, the place was called Tuttle Creek (named after a famous house painter from Ohio ask Fitz). I will leave some pics it was one of our favorite spots. We practically had the place to ourselves. We stayed 4 days at this spot the scenery was awesome even Santa got into the pictures. It was also a spot that scared us. While trying to level the wagon the levelers folded backwards and I thought I was going down the cliff. We gave up on that spot and moved to the site next to us. Like I said we had the desert to ourselves it was great. We actually tuned in" The" Ohio State game against Penn State a good one to watch we killed them.
Well now that we are back in the desert why not just head for the ultimate desert...DEATH VALLEY!
The drive into Death Valley was up and down we would be at 7500 ft and then 3000 or 2000 ft but eventually we dropped to 282 feet below sea level! The first night was probably Karen's scariest night of the trip. Of course I was as calm as a cucumber. The winds hit 50 to 60 mph and we thought the wagon was going to tip over in the middle of the night. We actually considered leaving first thing in the morning but driving in this wind is worse!
We stuck it out and the wind subsided to practically nothing. We golfed at Furnace Creek Golf Course. Elevation 214 feet below sea level the lowest golf course in the world.. Great scenic golf course ...we won't discuss scores!
We stayed 3 days in Death Valley and then headed for Arizona by way of Laughlin we stayed just outside Laughlin at Katherine’s Point on Lake Mohave. It was Halloween but we did not get any trick or treaters in the park. We did some laundry and Jomama attempted to take a shower and after 2 trips back to the camper for more quarters the shower was finally complete (luke warm at best). Drove through Lake Havasu where some guy in 1962 thought it would be a good idea to bring the London Bridge over to America and reassemble it in Lake Havasu City. Now what I remember from my childhood stories was "London bridge is falling down, falling down ,falling down."So we took a picture before it fell down and drove on. We drove to a park on Golf drive called La Paz county park. The park is on the Colorado River and there was some spots that were on the river and unbelievable. The golf course was across the street and what a course it was! We did 9 the first day and 18 on day 2. Again we will not discuss scores .I will leave you with some pics of the course ...look for the lost balls in the pictures. Our next trip will be to Wal-mart for golf balls.
Off to a couple more boon docking sites close to Sedona. We stayed in Cottonwood on a National forest free site. Drove through Jerome a self proclaimed "hippy town". Population 500-600.The wagon almost didn't fit on the tight streets. Took the wagon in for repairs and after two different shops we finally got some repairs and the wagon is back on tract. I think we have rambled on enough about this section of the journey it covers almost 3 weeks and we don't want to bore you. So we will leave you now with our thoughts and pictures and another funny quote: Life isn’t a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, latte in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming ‘Woohoo WHAT A RIDE’! www.etsy.com/listing/70961400
Jomama and Karen
4 Comments
Hi kids, back again and ready to blog .Who ever came up with the term BLOG? Well anyway we had a great time in Lake Tahoe .Thanks to Rosie and Josef we had a nice place to camp without even using our camper. We stayed for a week and even had a visit from Queen Gabe, she got that name cause she likes to queen(like clean...I make a funny). Cold mornings but warm afternoons,38 deg at 9:00 am... people in the pool at 2:00 pm.
We left Tahoe and headed for the desert. We traveled down ST 395 and stopped in Lone Pine CA, the place was called Tuttle Creek (named after a famous house painter from Ohio ask Fitz). I will leave some pics it was one of our favorite spots. We practically had the place to ourselves. We stayed 4 days at this spot the scenery was awesome even Santa got into the pictures. It was also a spot that scared us. While trying to level the wagon the levelers folded backwards and I thought I was going down the cliff. We gave up on that spot and moved to the site next to us. Like I said we had the desert to ourselves it was great. We actually tuned in" The" Ohio State game against Penn State a good one to watch we killed them.
Well now that we are back in the desert why not just head for the ultimate desert...DEATH VALLEY!
The drive into Death Valley was up and down we would be at 7500 ft and then 3000 or 2000 ft but eventually we dropped to 282 feet below sea level! The first night was probably Karen's scariest night of the trip. Of course I was as calm as a cucumber. The winds hit 50 to 60 mph and we thought the wagon was going to tip over in the middle of the night. We actually considered leaving first thing in the morning but driving in this wind is worse!
We stuck it out and the wind subsided to practically nothing. We golfed at Furnace Creek Golf Course. Elevation 214 feet below sea level the lowest golf course in the world.. Great scenic golf course ...we won't discuss scores!
We stayed 3 days in Death Valley and then headed for Arizona by way of Laughlin we stayed just outside Laughlin at Katherine’s Point on Lake Mohave. It was Halloween but we did not get any trick or treaters in the park. We did some laundry and Jomama attempted to take a shower and after 2 trips back to the camper for more quarters the shower was finally complete (luke warm at best). Drove through Lake Havasu where some guy in 1962 thought it would be a good idea to bring the London Bridge over to America and reassemble it in Lake Havasu City. Now what I remember from my childhood stories was "London bridge is falling down, falling down ,falling down."So we took a picture before it fell down and drove on. We drove to a park on Golf drive called La Paz county park. The park is on the Colorado River and there was some spots that were on the river and unbelievable. The golf course was across the street and what a course it was! We did 9 the first day and 18 on day 2. Again we will not discuss scores .I will leave you with some pics of the course ...look for the lost balls in the pictures. Our next trip will be to Wal-mart for golf balls.
Off to a couple more boon docking sites close to Sedona. We stayed in Cottonwood on a National forest free site. Drove through Jerome a self proclaimed "hippy town". Population 500-600.The wagon almost didn't fit on the tight streets. Took the wagon in for repairs and after two different shops we finally got some repairs and the wagon is back on tract. I think we have rambled on enough about this section of the journey it covers almost 3 weeks and we don't want to bore you. So we will leave you now with our thoughts and pictures and another funny quote: Life isn’t a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, latte in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming ‘Woohoo WHAT A RIDE’! www.etsy.com/listing/70961400
Jomama and Karen
get your kicks on route 66,standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
11/24/2013
4 Comments
Hi kids I'm back again and ready to tease you and your mind. We left the deserts in Sedona and headed on Route 66. One of Karen's only wishes on this trip was to go to Winslow, Arizona. She wanted me and of course Santa to stand on some corner in Winslow, Arizona. We also had to listen to the Eagles song" Take it easy all day."We left there and headed for the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. So catch this one... inside the park they have "Indian Petroglyphs". It is hilarious these Indians write all over the rocks (in the hood we call this graffiti) and scientist bring in Indian specialist to read these "secret messages". So in 500 years all those bridges, buildings and railroad cars in our downtown should all be famous. Actually we did see some Santa sightings in Sedona and The Petrified Park.
We finally got out of Arizona and headed for a state called New Mexico. I think I figured out what happened. They took all the "old Mexicans" out of Mexico and put them in this new place and called it "New Mexico". Come to find out my brother Jim is moving to New Mexico, I hope Jim and Lisa are taking their Spanish lessons now!
Kidding aside we visited the nice gated community they will be living in and until Santa got out of the wagon and made a scene everything was looking very nice, then security decided we should leave.
We made a quick stop at a State Park in Blue Water, NM. Dumped the tanks filled up with fresh water and headed for some boon docking in Magdalena, NM. We found a spot in a place called San Lorenzo Canyon. After 4 miles of a dirt sand type road we finally picked a spot that the princess thought would be good to camp. We had miles and miles of land and canyon. We saw only two people in 3 days and they were only driving thru to pick up horses that were on the free range. I learned a new word scat it is used to describe an animal’s crap. Well I took a picture of a coyote scat and it's no wonder they howl like that! If that's coming out of me I am howling too.
Santa was getting restless so we took him shopping and decided to stay at another State Park. We went to Leasburg State Park in Las Cruces. What a great place! We had a nice little adobe right on our site. We will put some of those photos up for sure. Dumped the tanks, filled the fresh water and off to Guadalupe Mountains NP. We made the mistake of taking a hike a little too late and were almost left in the woods at dark .The only thing I remember reading before the hike was not to approach the mountain lions. After 5 miles of pure hell I finally got the princess back to the wagon. I actually think I saw a mirage of a beer tent while hiking..maybe not?
We had a bad experience in Carlsburg, NM trying to find a campsite. We ended up at Brantley State Park another very nice place in the "New Mexico".
We are now going to head for Corpus Christi..sounds so religious !Well we got there and stayed in a Walmart parking lot cause we thought it was safer. I think some of those Mexicans from old Mexico moved to Corpus Christi.
Well we know we have to inch eastward... time is a running and we have to be getting closer to Ohio. We still only travel 250 miles when we do drive. We found a real nice town in Texas ,thought we were going to a state park but found out a private company took over the park .Now I just left an area with mountain lions and we pull in and are warned about the snakes and alligators. They actually have a sign "do not feed or harass" the alligators! Oh and by the way it states "stay at a distance". The funny part of this site was on Thursday we went golfing after a complete alligator check of the campsite and snake search. The temp 84 humidity 88%.The air conditioner was on we were hot! Friday we spent the day in the camper temperature dropped to 40 degrees we had the heater on. I convinced K the snakes all died in the cold and the alligators are eating the snakes. We are heading to LA that’s short for "Louisiana". So until we meet again we will leave you with some song and inspiration... There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.
Logan Pearsall Smith
11/24/2013
4 Comments
Hi kids I'm back again and ready to tease you and your mind. We left the deserts in Sedona and headed on Route 66. One of Karen's only wishes on this trip was to go to Winslow, Arizona. She wanted me and of course Santa to stand on some corner in Winslow, Arizona. We also had to listen to the Eagles song" Take it easy all day."We left there and headed for the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. So catch this one... inside the park they have "Indian Petroglyphs". It is hilarious these Indians write all over the rocks (in the hood we call this graffiti) and scientist bring in Indian specialist to read these "secret messages". So in 500 years all those bridges, buildings and railroad cars in our downtown should all be famous. Actually we did see some Santa sightings in Sedona and The Petrified Park.
We finally got out of Arizona and headed for a state called New Mexico. I think I figured out what happened. They took all the "old Mexicans" out of Mexico and put them in this new place and called it "New Mexico". Come to find out my brother Jim is moving to New Mexico, I hope Jim and Lisa are taking their Spanish lessons now!
Kidding aside we visited the nice gated community they will be living in and until Santa got out of the wagon and made a scene everything was looking very nice, then security decided we should leave.
We made a quick stop at a State Park in Blue Water, NM. Dumped the tanks filled up with fresh water and headed for some boon docking in Magdalena, NM. We found a spot in a place called San Lorenzo Canyon. After 4 miles of a dirt sand type road we finally picked a spot that the princess thought would be good to camp. We had miles and miles of land and canyon. We saw only two people in 3 days and they were only driving thru to pick up horses that were on the free range. I learned a new word scat it is used to describe an animal’s crap. Well I took a picture of a coyote scat and it's no wonder they howl like that! If that's coming out of me I am howling too.
Santa was getting restless so we took him shopping and decided to stay at another State Park. We went to Leasburg State Park in Las Cruces. What a great place! We had a nice little adobe right on our site. We will put some of those photos up for sure. Dumped the tanks, filled the fresh water and off to Guadalupe Mountains NP. We made the mistake of taking a hike a little too late and were almost left in the woods at dark .The only thing I remember reading before the hike was not to approach the mountain lions. After 5 miles of pure hell I finally got the princess back to the wagon. I actually think I saw a mirage of a beer tent while hiking..maybe not?
We had a bad experience in Carlsburg, NM trying to find a campsite. We ended up at Brantley State Park another very nice place in the "New Mexico".
We are now going to head for Corpus Christi..sounds so religious !Well we got there and stayed in a Walmart parking lot cause we thought it was safer. I think some of those Mexicans from old Mexico moved to Corpus Christi.
Well we know we have to inch eastward... time is a running and we have to be getting closer to Ohio. We still only travel 250 miles when we do drive. We found a real nice town in Texas ,thought we were going to a state park but found out a private company took over the park .Now I just left an area with mountain lions and we pull in and are warned about the snakes and alligators. They actually have a sign "do not feed or harass" the alligators! Oh and by the way it states "stay at a distance". The funny part of this site was on Thursday we went golfing after a complete alligator check of the campsite and snake search. The temp 84 humidity 88%.The air conditioner was on we were hot! Friday we spent the day in the camper temperature dropped to 40 degrees we had the heater on. I convinced K the snakes all died in the cold and the alligators are eating the snakes. We are heading to LA that’s short for "Louisiana". So until we meet again we will leave you with some song and inspiration... There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.
Logan Pearsall Smith
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A Mississippi Thanksgiving12/05/2013
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Hi kids back again and ready to write. So we left the fine state of Texas and went to Louisiana and stayed in a casino parking lot just so we could catch the Browns game on Sunday. Why we did that is beyond me and I think going to the dentist is cool too! The only bright spot was we drank all day pretty much for free and stayed in the parking lot for free too!
Well off to the woods again. We made it to Mississippi and realized that this would be where we would more than likely spend our Thanksgiving. DE Soto National Forest was going to be our home for the next 5 days. We stayed at a campground called Big Biloxi. We pulled in late grabbed a spot but could not get the satellite to work. So you know exactly what happened in the morning..oh yes the princess has to watch TV on Thanksgiving so we had to go find a site (same campground thank God) that had better reception and pack it up and move! It's a good thing were not in a tent like the old days. We had shopped on the way in so we were ready to do Thanksgiving in the woods. We also realized the weather was not going to get any better the closer we got to heading home. We decided to stay south and at least try to salvage a couple more warm GOLFING days. So at one point on this trip we decided to purchase new golf balls. Oh I remember it was right after I sent about a dozen into the canyons in Arizona. Karen washed the clubs and we took our "new balls" and went to do some Mississippi golfing... thinking new balls clean clubs we are going to score now! I think we need new clubs!!! we still suck.
We know we have to head toward Ohio now and the weather will be a factor in our approach schedule. I will leave you with our Thanksgiving pictures. Until we meet again friends..Thanksgiving isn't but a day.. but a way of life.
Jomama and Karen
0 Comments
Hi kids back again and ready to write. So we left the fine state of Texas and went to Louisiana and stayed in a casino parking lot just so we could catch the Browns game on Sunday. Why we did that is beyond me and I think going to the dentist is cool too! The only bright spot was we drank all day pretty much for free and stayed in the parking lot for free too!
Well off to the woods again. We made it to Mississippi and realized that this would be where we would more than likely spend our Thanksgiving. DE Soto National Forest was going to be our home for the next 5 days. We stayed at a campground called Big Biloxi. We pulled in late grabbed a spot but could not get the satellite to work. So you know exactly what happened in the morning..oh yes the princess has to watch TV on Thanksgiving so we had to go find a site (same campground thank God) that had better reception and pack it up and move! It's a good thing were not in a tent like the old days. We had shopped on the way in so we were ready to do Thanksgiving in the woods. We also realized the weather was not going to get any better the closer we got to heading home. We decided to stay south and at least try to salvage a couple more warm GOLFING days. So at one point on this trip we decided to purchase new golf balls. Oh I remember it was right after I sent about a dozen into the canyons in Arizona. Karen washed the clubs and we took our "new balls" and went to do some Mississippi golfing... thinking new balls clean clubs we are going to score now! I think we need new clubs!!! we still suck.
We know we have to head toward Ohio now and the weather will be a factor in our approach schedule. I will leave you with our Thanksgiving pictures. Until we meet again friends..Thanksgiving isn't but a day.. but a way of life.
Jomama and Karen
Home sweet home, things we've learned to be forever young.
01/01/2014
0 Comments
Back again kids hope I'm not boring you .For this trip this is our 13th and final blog. This was an amazing experience and we can't believe that it has come and gone. We planned for over a year to take this plunge and yet it sped by so fast. We look back and laugh at some of our experiences and realize how much we really learned out there in the world of travel .For instance the heater in the Winnie does not work when the temperature outside is below 34 degrees. So that takes me back to a Blog in the beginning of the trip when the princess said she wanted an average temperature of 70. How 's that working out for you Cinderella? I am freezing my pine cones off and Santa thinks it's funny as hell. He's used to the cold and loves it! Another little note... at night I don't care what State you are in when the sun goes behind the mountains and it's October or November the temperature is going to drop and yes you guessed right... to below 34 F. So that takes us back to Wal-Mart, the princess only packed shorts for this 70 degree trip.
We learned that there is a world out there that is so different from Ohio or the North Pole (Santa made me put that in there) that hopefully all of us someday can visit. We stayed in areas that were completely isolated from the world. We learned that propane is our friend, flashlights are a necessity and water..you can't live without. I will be the first to admit I went several days without a formal shower. We never really wanted for anything. We enjoyed nature we saw God's Art Museums.
I learned that the engineers at the Minnie Winnie plant must all be 70 inches or less tall. I say that with love in my heart for the Winnie but sleeping in the fetal position for 4 month's was definitely different. You see I am 74 inches and the bed is 70 inches!!The princess is a midget and had no problem.
We came to appreciate modern conveniences such as lights ,dvd players, coffee makers ,television, vacuum cleaners, ice makers, margarita blenders, jagermeister machine... Okay maybe not the last two items. But my point is that all those things that we just plug in and use have to have an energy source and in the woods or in the desert you have to create that energy source. Funny..the only thing I know how to do is cook so I knew we wouldn't go hungry but we almost froze to death...70 degrees my ass!
We learned what a check valve is and what it does and it has nothing to do with sex .We learned that too much bleach in the water tank turns your hair blonde. Obviously this did not affect me! Sorry about that princess. We learned that in certain parts of Texas people actually harass alligators and they have to post signs "do not harass alligators" and by the way stay at a distance!
I actually learned how to start a fire with a magnesium fire starter. We learned to just accept the Browns and wait till next year.
We learned that our friends actually do love us and missed us. Thanksgiving was fun but we missed the "group". We learned that watching TV is really overrated, playing cards is fun and planning the next day’s road trip is a necessity.
We learned that "home" isn't a place or an address but a state of mind. A place where you are with someone you love. It can be in a desert or in the woods or even in a parking lot at Wal-mart. Home can be somewhere over the rainbow where bluebirds fly, but it's always sweet and that's why it's called "Home sweet Home". Until we travel again remember..If you want to do something bad enough you'll find a way if not... you'll find an excuse. So just do it!!!
Love you all
Jomama and Karen (aka princess).
01/01/2014
0 Comments
Back again kids hope I'm not boring you .For this trip this is our 13th and final blog. This was an amazing experience and we can't believe that it has come and gone. We planned for over a year to take this plunge and yet it sped by so fast. We look back and laugh at some of our experiences and realize how much we really learned out there in the world of travel .For instance the heater in the Winnie does not work when the temperature outside is below 34 degrees. So that takes me back to a Blog in the beginning of the trip when the princess said she wanted an average temperature of 70. How 's that working out for you Cinderella? I am freezing my pine cones off and Santa thinks it's funny as hell. He's used to the cold and loves it! Another little note... at night I don't care what State you are in when the sun goes behind the mountains and it's October or November the temperature is going to drop and yes you guessed right... to below 34 F. So that takes us back to Wal-Mart, the princess only packed shorts for this 70 degree trip.
We learned that there is a world out there that is so different from Ohio or the North Pole (Santa made me put that in there) that hopefully all of us someday can visit. We stayed in areas that were completely isolated from the world. We learned that propane is our friend, flashlights are a necessity and water..you can't live without. I will be the first to admit I went several days without a formal shower. We never really wanted for anything. We enjoyed nature we saw God's Art Museums.
I learned that the engineers at the Minnie Winnie plant must all be 70 inches or less tall. I say that with love in my heart for the Winnie but sleeping in the fetal position for 4 month's was definitely different. You see I am 74 inches and the bed is 70 inches!!The princess is a midget and had no problem.
We came to appreciate modern conveniences such as lights ,dvd players, coffee makers ,television, vacuum cleaners, ice makers, margarita blenders, jagermeister machine... Okay maybe not the last two items. But my point is that all those things that we just plug in and use have to have an energy source and in the woods or in the desert you have to create that energy source. Funny..the only thing I know how to do is cook so I knew we wouldn't go hungry but we almost froze to death...70 degrees my ass!
We learned what a check valve is and what it does and it has nothing to do with sex .We learned that too much bleach in the water tank turns your hair blonde. Obviously this did not affect me! Sorry about that princess. We learned that in certain parts of Texas people actually harass alligators and they have to post signs "do not harass alligators" and by the way stay at a distance!
I actually learned how to start a fire with a magnesium fire starter. We learned to just accept the Browns and wait till next year.
We learned that our friends actually do love us and missed us. Thanksgiving was fun but we missed the "group". We learned that watching TV is really overrated, playing cards is fun and planning the next day’s road trip is a necessity.
We learned that "home" isn't a place or an address but a state of mind. A place where you are with someone you love. It can be in a desert or in the woods or even in a parking lot at Wal-mart. Home can be somewhere over the rainbow where bluebirds fly, but it's always sweet and that's why it's called "Home sweet Home". Until we travel again remember..If you want to do something bad enough you'll find a way if not... you'll find an excuse. So just do it!!!
Love you all
Jomama and Karen (aka princess).
