Finishing off Summer (09-20-23)

 After visiting Paul’s mom in Texas in August, we needed to get our rig to Fresno, CA.  I am flying to Boston to see family and Paul is going to wait for me with friends in CA. 

Tired of taking the same roads back and forth across the southwest, we detoured and headed to northern AZ, trying to stay somewhat out of the heat. It’s monsoon season in Arizona and we drove right into a storm.

We stopped for a couple of days to visit friends, north of Phoenix, where we did a lot of eating, a little bit of hiking, and spent a couple of hours at a small bar, listening to great music.

A few days later I was on my way to Massachusetts. Being on the red eye, I didn’t get much sleep, but I flew first class, so at least I was comfortable.

I spent the first couple of days at my brothers, celebrating my sister in laws birthday-which included lunch at a restaurant on the water in Gloucester MA.  

We liked the drink at the restaurant so much we bought the ingredients to make it at their house.

The following day, after lunching with some childhood friends, who I have known since I was two, I moved on to an Airbnb close to my son Stephen.

Having the Airbnb gave us a place to hang out, cook dinner, and relax. Of course, we also explored, and drove up to Gloucester for lunch. Without a reservation it was supposed to be over an hour wait, but to our surprise, they called us in 20 minutes and led us to one of the best tables in the house!

Reminiscing about his childhood and mine, we talked about our almost yearly vacations at the beach in New Hampshire. I started coming here when I was about 9, and the tradition continued until my kids were that age- Lots of great memories. We ended up booking a couple of rooms near the beach, so we could have two days to enjoy it.

Of course we had to buy books to read at the beach!

After spending a week with him it was time to move back to my brothers for a couple of days before flying back to CA. Along the way I met up with an old neighbor friend, her daughter, and her granddaughter.

The last hurrah before flying out was an afternoon with all my siblings.

One of my layovers on the way back to California was in Salt Lake City, which we flew into at sunset:

I thought it was hilarious that on the way to Boston, because of the time table, there were no meals served on either plane- but on the way back, for the same reason- we were served dinner on two different flights.

After spending another couple of days with our friends,  our plan was to move further north in California, to do some hiking, but Paul’s mom started having some health issues, so we turned around and went back to El Paso.

Spoiler alert- she improved and stabilized, allowing us to do some exploring- but not too far away. 

Late Winter, Late Spring (05/05/22)

You will notice that it is now June, and I am writing about February- April.  I am not a fan of blogging much when we are at the house, so I put it off, and off, and off, and here we are in June. The problem is, now that Paul and I are on the road for the summer I WANT to write about what we are seeing- but I have to finish other posts first. I also discovered part of my problem- ever since I got my iPhone Pro, I take most of my pictures with my phone.  That means I have a LOT more pictures to sort through in order to find pictures for my blog.  Very annoying, so, this summer I am back to using my camera. Anyway, to continue:

This year, winter lasted a very long time before springing into spring- the weather was cool, and windy almost every day.  That meant no heating the pool until later than usual, and very few days on the boat.

We did manage to have a good time though- here is what I remember of it:

February brought the fireworks extravaganza, back after a two year hiatus due to Covid.  We booked our usual RV site, and spent a lot of time watching the fireworks.

Our friends Debbie and Al, from Michigan brought their RV and visited for a while…

Our daughter Jess, who lives in L.A. has asked us for years to come to L.A. for her birthday but we hate driving in L.A. so much, we always put it off.  Well, this year I found an RV spot right on the beach, available for her birthday weekend.  We took the truck camper and towed the Jeep, which made it a little easier to deal with L.A.. Once we had our site, we told her the weekend was hers to plan and we would be up for almost anything. 

Our first night there, we went to one of her favorite restaurants (one with the strangest items on the menu, but then, I am not from L.A.) 

 

We shared several plates and had a glass or two of wine.

Saturday was “the big day”. Her 32nd birthday, and the party that goes with it.  She wanted to have a bonfire party on the beach behind our camper. She invited about a dozen friends, and the original idea was that we would make dinner and margaritas.  As used to entertaining as we are, feeding 15 or so people  100 yards from our rig made no sense.  So, we did make the margaritas, but we ordered food from a Mexican restaurant.  The weather was perfect for a beach party and everyone had a great time.

The highlight of my weekend was meeting this guy.  Noah was 9 months old at the time, and SO adorable. He had never touched sand before, so I was fascinated watching him learn about it.  At first he tried to get it off his fingers, but within minutes, he was sifting the sand through his fingers and watching what happened.

He also enjoyed playing cornhole.

After sunset, Jess  and her friends left to go out and hit the bars, and Paul and I got to relax.

Sunday was a quiet day- we spent some time at her apartment, where Paul could handle some “Daddy Do’s” and then we had dinner at the camper before leaving for home the next day.

There is always something going on in Havasu, and March was no exception.  In addition to our usual outings, we attended the rodeo for the first time.  Quite fun!

We also attended Mustangs VS Camaros at a local restaurant.  The owner of the restaurant drives a 1968 SS Camaro and invites all Mustang an Camaro owners to come show off their vehicles.  

Of course we had to bring Thelma. 

Paul and I took the camper and Teryx to Alamo Lake State Park- its only about 3 hours from Havasu and has some really cool off road trails.  We spent a fun few days taking the Teryx through some slot canyons. 

At one point we got into a bit of a pickle, trying to head up a steep incline.  We had to back down, which put the Teryx on very uneven ground. So, it was time to get out the winch, to make sure we didn’t tip it.

When the canyons got too narrow, we explored them on foot.

In April we started making tentative plans for the summer, and it didn’t include heading to the east coast, so I flew out for a week to spend time with my son and my siblings. I do love flying into Boston.

Stephen and I took some day trips to our favorite places- including Gloucester- where we used to spend a lot of time when we had our boat in MA.

Easter Sunday was spent with my siblings- this was my first time seeing them since Covid.

Back home, it was Jess’s turn to visit us.  She brought several of her friends for a party weekend at the PPP.

We ended April with a trip to Fresno CA, where Paul went to college, and is still friends with many of his fraternity brothers.  We were celebrating 75 years of Sigma Chi, and 100 years of Sigma Tau, the original fraternity.   We had a great time celebrating with them.

And then it was May- but May deserves its own post.

New England- PATRIOTS (09-09-19)

Our stay in Boston was short, but exciting (for me, anyway).  Our first day or so was spent unwinding, and unpacking back into the truck camper, while it was at my brother's house.  Two days later we moved it to a campground.

We had lunch with my brothers and sisters and spent as much time as possible with our son Stephen, who is quite camera shy.

A couple of months ago I realized that we would be in Boston for the New England Patriots season opener. I looked for tickets- they are sold out-so all tickets are re-sale ones.  After gasping at the price, I put the idea of attending on the back burner.  For a week or so.  Then I decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to see the Pats, and Tom Brady, in person. So I closed my eyes and bought the tickets- 3 of them because when I asked Stephen if he wanted to go, "Hell Yeah" was the response.

Having never been to a professional football game, I didn't know when we should get there and what to expect, so I reached out to a cousin who has season tickets.  He put me in touch with his brother, who would be attending the game, and who happens to have a parking spot within walking distance of the stadium. People who live near there rent out their lawns for parking.  That made such a huge difference- close parking and someone who knew the ropes!

I realized after I got the tickets that they would be revealing the 2018 Super Bowl banner before the game, so it made it even more special.

The Reveal included live music accompanied by a synchronized light show from bracelets worn by the audience. Past players were brought onto the field, including Rob Gronkowski, who retired last year.

Our seats were exceptional, as we were able to watch the players on the sidelines.

We could see the entire field, although we had to stand most of the night because everyone in front of us was standing.

I really enjoy watching the game on TV and was nervous that being at a game in person might be a let down, but I worried for nothing.

Many times the action was right in front of us, and we could hear the players yelling (when the crowd wasn't going nuts).  The game sounds completely different in person than on the TV.

To say I thoroughly enjoyed myself would be a gross understatement.  I had so much fun, it went from "Once in a lifetime" to "When can we go again?".

The icing on the cake was that The Patriots beat the Steelers 33-3.

Being in Boston for such a short time, we didn't have much time to visit, but we did squeeze in a pot luck dinner with my childhood friends. We have known each other since we were 2-3 years old, and we all grew up in the same neighborhood.

The only one of us not in this picture is Sharon, probably because as she likes to point out nowadays, she is the youngest of us!

Massachusetts (07-27-18)

Our two weeks in Massachusetts were a flurry of activity.  It started the morning after we arrived, when we saw a lady sitting at our picnic table, with her back to us. We speculated that perhaps she was lost, since she had a map and was using her phone. Two seconds later I got a message from my cousin Robbin, asking if I was up.  She had been passing by the campground and decided to stop in. I had great fun catching up on all her news!

With Facebook a “thing”, many people knew we were in town and reached out. We had dinner with my brother and his wife Dawn one night, and another night we met up with an old next door neighbor, Maryellen.

Soon after we arrived, our daughter Jess flew in from CA for a few days.  She spent a couple of days with friends before being dropped off at our place so she could visit family. She hasn’t been to MA in 5 years.

We spent one awesome day at the beach with my family.

(pictured from L-R: Jess, me, my sister Deb and brother Ray)

We all love the water and had a great time playing in the waves.

On the way home we stopped at Hampton Beach, played in the arcade for a while and had an awesome dinner. (Jess in the foreground, L-R: Ray, Paul, Debbie, Richie, me)

Paul had his first of many lobsters.

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We were lucky enough to see our son Stephen quite a bit, and even got the kids together for dinner before Jess left.  Of course, I forgot to get pictures so I had to steal the goofy one they took together.

There are 4 women I have known since I was about 4 years old. We try to get together whenever I get back to town and I managed to see them twice while we were in MA. One of them turned 60 and her daughters threw her a surprise party- a 3 hour lunch cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Not only did she not know about the cruise- one of our friends came all the way from California to be there-surprise! Rita and her husband Ed just bought a teardrop camper and raced across the country to get here in time.

-From old friends to new: I had lunch- twice, with some new found relatives. The woman in the middle, Elaine, is my 2nd/3rd cousin. She was adopted and isn’t sure who her biological father is. I was the first person she ever met who was biologically related to her. Really cool! She brought her daughter Michele with her. We also had lunch with a man named Ed, who is my 3rd cousin.  We all met thru Ancestry, and exchange information when we find it.

I managed to see my aunt Tish twice while I was in town. She and I have been friends for a very long time. She was married to my uncle until he passed away in May.  Paul and I dropped by with Jess on the way to the airport- Tish and Jess hadn’t seen each other in about 10 years and had lots of catching up to do. Tish babysits for her grandkids, so all catching up takes a back seat to little kids climbing everywhere!

Just because we aren’t at the house, doesn’t mean we don’t have projects!  While we were in Massachusetts, we ordered two new things for the camper- A slide topper for the slide was first to arrive. It was a little tricky because it’s so big- 12 ft long and we had to make arrangements to get it since the delivery company couldn’t get into the campground. Paul is very happy that he doesn’t have to go on the roof to  brush the slide off every time we move!

We also had to borrow a ladder and a step stool from my brother to put it on!

Being somewhat spoiled, we also replaced the so-so Fantastic Vent with one that is thermostat controlled, and rain sensitive, so we can “set it and forget it”. If we leave for the day, and it rains, the vent will close,until it senses no moisture, then it will re-open and pull air through it again.

We don’t need it in places where we run the AC, but it comes in very handy if we have no hook-up and have to leave the cat in the camper.











Although we didn’t get there as often as I would have liked, we did get to the gym a couple of times before we left town.  This is the original gym I joined two years ago when we were in Massachusetts.