October 28, 2016

After leaving the rally in Las Vegas, we drove to Flagstaff and checked into the KOA there.  The weather was chilly, and we really enjoyed that!!  We toured around Flagstaff and got ready to go to Sedona the next day.

We loved Sedona.  It was definitely different than our usual terrain!

After leaving Sedona and Flagstaff, we began our trek home.  We stop at Tucumcari, New Mexico and stayed at a KOA there.  It was great seeing all the sites along Route 66.  That was a big part of our trip!!

This was a wonderful trip and the longest one that we have made!!  It was our last trip for 2016.  We are now waiting for our next grand baby to arrive!!

Amarillo and The Grand Canyon-October 2016

October 2016

We began our first real long travel trip on Monday, October 17.  We were excited to head to Amarillo, Santa Fe, Flagstaff (Grand Canyon and Sedona), and then on to Las Vegas.  We left on time and headed to Amarillo.  It is a long drive for one day, and on the way Tom noticed that the coach engine was running toward hot.  We called a repair shop for our RV engine, and they could take us on Tuesday.  We stayed at our RV park on Monday evening, but instead of heading for Santa Fe, we took the RV in for repair.  It was a long job, and we ended up staying in Amarillo in a hotel, and not leaving until Wednesday afternoon.  We went as far as we could and ended up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.  We left the next morning and headed to Flagstaff, Arizona.  We totally missed Santa Fe, but hopefully we will be able to stop on the way home.  We enjoyed our trip on the way to Flagstaff.  It was beautiful in New Mexico and Arizona.  We had never driven west except on a Young Life trip in 1969.  We were 16 and 17 at that time, so it has been a little while.  We enjoyed the trip, but were really glad to get to our KOA and set up the motorhome!!

The next day we drove from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon.  We went to the South Rim through Cameron, AZ, and really enjoyed the scenery and the chance to see the Little Colorado River Gorge.  It was part of the Navajo reservation, and we talked to a lady that was an artist at the Gorge.  Had a great time!

After the gorge, we headed to the Grand Canyon.  We loved the chance to see this beautiful natural wonder.  We started at the Desert View, and I believe it was my favorite view. We loved the Desert View Watchtower.  It was built in 1936 and was really amazing.

We went to several of the lookout points, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, and Moran Point before we drove 22 miles to the Main Visitor Center.

At the Main Visitor Center we went to Mather Point.  It was where you walked out on the rock, and could really see down in the canyon.  We enjoyed this view, but really enjoyed the others more since they had fewer tourists.  I read that only 3% of the people that see the Grand Canyon go further than the rim.  I am one of those people.  Don't plan to hike down in the Canyon.

After this view we drove to the older part of the park.  It is called the village, and you can see the train depot and the hotels, etc.  We found the cabins that we think the "young lifers" stayed in when we went to the Grand Canyon in 1969.  While driving to the village, we say an elk saunter across the road.  We also saw lots of deer while we were leaving.  It was a wonderful and beautiful day.  We had fun reminiscing about our first trip in 1969, and enjoyed the most wonderful day today!!

Las Vegas and Rally

October 2016

After our trip to the Grand Canyon, we headed for the next leg of our trip, Las Vegas.  We are headed to a Rally that is being held by National Indoor and Entegra Motor Coach.  We are staying at a great RV park in Las Vegas, Oasis.  We checked in on Saturday, and then we explored the city.  We loved going to the Paris casino and looking around the strip.

Our rally started on Sunday, and they entertained us well!!  We had a great time at the rally.  They had lots of activities for the guests.  We had a casino night at the RV park, we had a special dinner with entertainment with the Rat Pack, we also had dinner at the Hofbrau House.  It was a great time for us, and we met so many people that we liked!!

Galveston- September 2016

September 2016

We left on September 8 and headed back to Galveston.  We were so excited about having two weeks to explore this beach town!!  We have our spot on the beach that allows us to see the beach from our motorhome!!  That is the best thing ever!!  We started exploring almost immediately!  We hit Walmart first and got ready for the week.  Then we went downtown to secure tickets for the Texas Tenors that was held in the Grand Opera House.  We had a great day checking out the Strand and some of the Victorian Homes in the area.  The Texas Tenors were wonderful, and we really enjoyed the seeing the beautiful opera house.

Almost everyday we walked on the beach and enjoyed the beautiful weather, although it was still pretty hot.  We were able to look at some of the old cemeteries in the city.  One of the things we have both been interested in is the hurricane of 1900.  We didn't see any graves from that time, but did love looking at the very old markers.  

We loved being able to see the beach daily!!  It was a real treat.  The motorhome is a real source of joy for us.  We think of it as our beach house!!

During our two weeks, Tom fished once, but didn't have any luck due to lots of wind and waves.  We had a great time exploring the area.  We went to the Strand lots, and we also saw the outsides of many of the Victorian homes in Galveston.  We had lots of fun looking for the houses that survived the hurricane of 1900.  We learned from taking a historical tour about the plaques that show which houses survived which storms.  We enjoyed the tour and that information gave us lots of things to look for on our driving tours.

We also visited Johnson Space Center in Houston.  We had a great time while we were there and couldn't believe we had never visited it before!!

We also rode the ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula.  It was one of my favorite days.  The day was beautiful.  We walked all around a fort that had been on the peninsula for quite a long time.  It was a great day!!

Our last day in Galveston we found the oldest house in the city.  It wasn't Victorian but was beautiful.

Galveston-June 2016

June 2016

We have found a new beach spot!!  We spent a week in Galveston this summer.  It was a real treat!!  We have a park where you can sit in your motorhome and see the beach!!  It is wonderful!!  We are right on the beach, and I'm so excited!!  Tom spent lots of time fishing while we were there.  He caught several fish, but also caught one that was worth eating.  We could see the fish just jumping in the water.  It was lots of fun!!  I sewed while we were at the beach, and I could see the ocean as I sewed!!  There is lots to see in Galveston, and we will be back!!

Catch-up for 2016

April 2016

After our Arkansas trip, we went for a week to Port Aransas.  We love the beach, and we really love the RV park where we stay while we are there.  We just walk over the boardwalk, and we are at the beach!!  We had a great time while we were there.  When we go to the beach, we pack up the little CRV and go to our own little spot on the beach.  We take our chairs, umbrella and just have a wonderful time!!

2016 Adventures

March 2016

This year we have traveled to a different state, Arkansas.  We have only traveled to two states now, but Texas is like traveling to 2 or more states.  We have now been from one side of Texas to the other, from East Texas (Caddo Lake) to West Texas (Amarillo).

Our travel to Arkansas was wonderful.  We stayed at a fabulous camp ground that was run by the city of Little Rock and overlooked the Arkansas River.  We felt like our RV was right on top of the river.  We had a beautiful view!!  While in Little Rock, we had a great time exploring.  We went to the Grist Mill that shown in the opening of Gone With the Wind.  The dogwoods were just beginning to bloom, and it made us get to enjoy the beginning of spring.  We toured downtown Little Rock and went to the Capitol Building, Central High School, and many other historic places.  We also toured the Clinton Library which was the second presidential library we have been to.  We have been to the Carter Center in Atlanta, but we hope to visit lots more.

We also went to Crater of Diamonds State Park.  It was a little different than I expected.  I was so excited to get to search for diamonds.  We went late on Tuesday to check it out, so that we would be ready for the next day.  After 30 minutes at the park, I decided that buying a diamond would be lots easier.  We left, and we didn't come back the next day.  We did enjoy our time in Murpheesboro.  It was a great little town and we had fun exploring the area.