October Happenings (10-2018)

Very soon after arriving home in October, Paul's  brother Tom and his wife Sue stopped by for a few days. They are now retired and have a motor home. We look forward to meeting up with them along the way!


Of course we made time for a trip to the Desert Bar before they left....

Our daughter Jess moved into a new apartment in Los Angeles, in October, and needed some of her household items that were being stored at our place, so I took a short road trip and met her about halfway,  where we transferred her stuff from my car to hers. There may have been some shopping done as well, haha.

Back at home, the hummingbirds were hungry enough to eat from the handheld feeder. Pretty cool.

The weather wasn't great in October in Havasu... we did manage to take the boat out, and hike a few times, but it wasn't too long before we decided to go on a road trip.

We loaded up the truck camper and headed to California.

The  route we chose was fairly remote, with few campgrounds along the way. In fact, most of the towns we were going through didn't have any television reception, which we considered vital that particular night. We called places until we found a campground that had cable (only in the clubhouse, but that worked) so we could watch the Red Sox win the World Series.

Our first stop was  Giant Sequoia National Monument, where we walked the Trail of 100 Giants.













This wasn't a particularly long trail but it was an interesting one.















Our second stop was Sequoia National Park.  Here we spent several days exploring and hiking. We found it astonishing that neither of us had spent any time here!

We couldn't have asked for better weather, and one of the perks of traveling in the truck camper is that its easier to fit into campgrounds that are IN the national parks, which really adds to the experience.

Many of the trees and groves here have been given names...The Senate, the House, etc. And of course, General Sherman tree....the Largest tree, by volume, in the world.  Note the car in the picture of this tree.

As impressive as the trees were, the trail with the best view was the granite dome called Moro Rock.

This trail wound around the granite, all the way to the top. Or, at least I assume it goes all the way.  The trail got a little narrow for me, and the railing was a little low for my taste,  so I waited for Paul just below the crest.

Even driving around the park was interesting...

 After a few days of hiking, we moved on to our final destination- Fresno, and the fraternity brothers.

Kirk was building a hot tub shack at his cabin in the mountains, so the guys got together to help, while the girls played Rummikub and provided the men with refreshments.

 Once the weekend was over, we headed back to Havasu.

Luxury Living in Tucson (10-20-13)

Ah, the good life.  We’re staying in a resort (Voyager) in Tucson that has everything you could possibly want.  Because it’s not quite their “season” yet, we get half price using Passport America, a discount club that we belong to.  So, for $25 a night we get:

the Billiard Room

   Indoor pastimes include a Poker Room, Sewing Room, Lapidary, Silversmith, Billiards,  Stained Glass Workroom, Library, Quilting Room, Woodworking Room…..and that’s just a few of them.

Paul plays Pickle Ball

For staying fit, there is a great fitness room, Pickle ball courts, Tennis, Bocce, Shuffleboard, Horseshoes, and a 9 hole golf course. And there are all kinds of fitness classes to attend, if you want.  Afterwards, you can get a massage at the Massage Center.









Of course there are the usual pools.  Two outdoor pools and hot tubs, and one indoor pool. The only thing that’s missing is a pool bar, but there IS a restaurant onsite. And a health center.








So, life has been somewhat lazy this week, but not totally.  We have gone on two killer hikes (separate post).  The temperature has gone up from a high of 84 when we got here, to a high of 91 today, so I don’t think there will be any more hikes for a bit. Paul has gotten some work done on the truck, and discovered an issue with the exhaust, so we’ll have to get that fixed as well.  Tomorrow we head to Costco to get our eyes checked for new glasses.  We’ll have them shipped to our daughter in CA, where we’ll be in two weeks.

We had to extend our stay by a day or so because we’re having a few things shipped to us, and not everything will make it here in time for us to leave as scheduled.


Tonight we are kicking back, watching the Red Sox hopefully beat the Cardinals in game one of the World Series.

Boston/home (05-28-13)

Having lived most of my life here, there is no such thing as enough time in Boston for me.  There are so many things to do, and so many people to see, I could spend the whole summer here.  I said that to one of my friends, and she perked up, thinking we might decide to stay.  But no.  We did extend our stay another 5 days, so the stress of trying to squeeze in as much socializing as possible in a short time has lessened, but not by much.  But we are determined to spend the summer in Canada, so leave we must.
A few weeks ago, before we got here, Paul and I discussed the fact that since we’ve been on such a history kick lately, we should approach Boston from a tourist standpoint and explore all the historical sites.  Well, that plan has fall pretty much fallen apart, since we haven’t really had any time to go exploring yet.  Maybe we will, before we head out of town.  We’ll see.

So, what have we been doing?


We’ve been hanging out with our son Stephen.

We celebrated my birthday with my family at my brother’s house-and even face-timed with my daughter Jess on my ipad, so she could be with us too.  Of course, since then she has booked a flight, and will be with us in person in a little over a week!

We took the “T” in to Fenway Park with my brother Ray and his wife Dawn, to watch the Red Sox play the Cleveland Indians:

We had great seats to watch the action on the field.

I love the saying “it’s not over till Big Papi swings.”   Although David Ortiz didn’t hit his signature home run, he’s still one of my favorite players!

 

When a man as big as Ortiz steals third, it’s quite an accomplishment.  And although my brother says it’s called “Defensive Indifference”, I still call it stealing!

The game wasn’t the most exciting game ever, with the Red Sox down by three by the bottom of the 9th inning. Typical of Boston fans, though, the stands were still full and very few people had left.  Good thing, too! 

 

By the time there were two outs in the 9th, the Sox had scored another two runs, and Terry Francona, (who used to manage the Red Sox, but now manages Cleveland) was on the mound, changing pitchers. The game was  pretty exciting by that point, and ended in a win for the Red Sox when Jacoby Ellsbury drove in two runs when he hit a line drive with the bases loaded.  Now, that was fun!

It was very touching when the Yankees fans sang Sweet Caroline at the Yankees game after the Boston Marathon bombings, and it made it more emotional for me to hear it at the Red Sox game.

 

My clever sister-in-law Dawn had the foresight to make reservations at nearby Jerry Remy’s Restaurant for after the game, and dinner was delicious!










We spent a day out on the water with some old boating friends.  Their son bought a boat and we went out with them all on the shake down cruise.  It sure did make me miss boating on the ocean with our friends!










  
  Paul got his chance at the helm. 













We couldn’t have asked for better weather for lounging at anchor and zipping around the islands.  They keep their boat in Danvers Mass. and we took it out to Misery Island, off the coast of Beverly, MA.

So, that’s the short version of what we’ve been up to for the last week or so, with more craziness to come.