A Little Taste of Arizona (02-28-14)

When my brother Ray and sister-in-law Dawn arrived from Boston, they wasted no time shedding their heavy winter clothing and donning their summer attire.  And they were soon sipping on summer-time adult beverages.

Our week was pretty much divided into two themes- Fun in the RV Park, and Day Trips.

RV Park Fun

It would be hard to get bored at this place- there are so many activities, you could be busy all day, every day.

With great weather, we spent a fair amount of time outside enjoying the sunshine.  We tested out the bocce ball court and even played a game of Pickle Ball.  Ok, well, we didn't really play a game, we just tried to hit the ball back and forth to each other.  It was still a great work out!

When it was time for some relaxing, we played Rummikub or headed poolside for the live music every afternoon at Happy Hour.












There’s just something about the scooter that attracts guys.  Ray found many opportunities to go for a spin.

Day Trips

  Our first venture out was to hike the Blevins Trail. This is a 4 mile hike without too much elevation gain, so those in our group who have been housebound by sub freezing temperatures and constant snow storms weren't overwhelmed.  The trail was a great one for showing off the Sonoran Desert.

Although Sedona is 2 hours away, we decided it was worth the drive and hit the road early in the morning. On the way we stopped briefly at Montezuma’s Castle. There are actually numerous dwellings here that were occupied from about 1100 to 1400 A.D.

Although the structure itself is impressive, they don’t allow tours anymore so this is as close as we could get.  A little disappointing.

Sedona itself is beautiful, of course, and the weather was perfect for checking out all the rock formations. We checked out a few stores too, but sticker shock sent us out the door pretty quickly. After a great lunch and a few hours of looking at rocks with names like Coffeepot, Bell Rock, and Cathedral Rock, we started the trek home.

Having spent the previous day driving all day, the shorter trip down the Apache Trail was next on our agenda. Completely different, looks wise,from Sedona, the view from the Apache Trail is just as impressive in its own way.

   

Apache Trail is a mostly dirt road that meanders through the Tonto National Forest.  You can see the road in the picture above.  If it looks as though the road is cut into the side of a mountain, that would be an accurate assessment.

The trip all the way around is a very long one, and one that requires nerves of steel.  We elected to go only as far as Tortilla Flat, an old stagecoach stop that now houses a saloon, a small museum, and of course, a store. Soon thereafter we turned around and headed back to town.

Friday night, their last night here, was dance night at the RV Park.  Every Friday night they have a live band.  I like these dances because they start at 7 pm and end at 10- a reasonable time for us old folks. This particular week the music was mostly country, with some rock and roll. We all spent a lot of time on the dance floor.

Before we knew it, it was time for Ray and Dawn to head back to the cold.  Actually, they got out in the nick of time.



  The day they left we had torrential downpours all day long, causing such flooding that the water went up over the hoods of cars. The next day it was confirmed that a small tornado formed down the street from where we are staying.

Yes, More Lake Havasu (02-18-14)

  Yes, yes, I know that a week has passed since we were in Lake Havasu City, but I wanted to post some of this information.  Our final hike in the area was to a mine..of course. Just getting to the trailhead involved driving off road for several miles. Our truck, and it’s driver, like to drive off road.

I took this picture a few weeks ago, near Quartzsite, on one of our other off road adventures.

So, once we dropped the truck off,, we headed to Iron Gate Mine.  We weren't really sure what they were  mining for, but it was a decent hike to get there, so we enjoyed it. Total hike- about 6 miles with almost 1000 feet of elevation gain.

Once we reached the entrance, Paul walked to the back of the mine- about 600 feet or so, and I waited for him outside, just the way I like it!

That night was the final night of fireworks.  The moon decided to join the competition, and I must say, it was a worthy competitor.

Some of the displays were really unique and different.  The brightness on the ground that looks like a fire- well, it IS a fire, and several times they had to delay the display in order to put out the ground fires.

Sometimes it seemed that the fires were started because  they couldn't quite reach the height they were looking for and the explosion would take place too close to the ground- like in this picture.








It was all great though, and since we had no where to go, we could relax and wait for the show to start back up again:


    
























From Lake Havasu we headed to Mesa Arizona.  We spent 3 days dusting the rig and going to dentist and doctor appointments. We both got a clean bill of health and need no dental work so we get to relax for a while.

A few days after we arrived, my brother Ray and sister-in-law Dawn flew in for a visit.  Dozer wasted no time staking out his spot on Ray’s lap.

More on that some other time…..

Vacation Week (01-25-13)

Not our vacation week- my brother Ray and sister-in-law Dawn’s vacation week. They flew down from Boston to spend a week with us here in the Keys.  As I flipped through my pictures from the last week, I realized that they will definitely need to recover from their  “vacation”.  Oops. We certainly packed a lot of activities in a 6 day period. 

We started by eating lunch outside, at a restaurant on the water- It’s one of the things I like best about the Keys, eating outside whenever we want.  With the temperatures in Boston this week plunging into the single digits, they sure were happy to shed their jackets!

When Paul and I realized we wouldn’t have reliable TV reception, we scouted out sports bars to find one appropriate for watching the Patriots play in the AFC Championship.  We ended up back at the Sunset Bar in Marathon, where the beautiful view didn’t do much to take the sting away from watching the Patriots lose to the Ravens.

We took the glass bottom boat tour from John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  I enjoyed the trip out to the reef- I just love the water down here- the colors are so vibrant, especially when the sun is shining.

It was an easy way to see some underwater wildlife on a beautiful day, although the actual method of viewing left a little to be desired. We were some of the last to arrive at the glass windows, so the view we had mostly consisted of other peoples’ heads, and we had to shuffle around quite a bit to be able to see anything. 

We took a day trip up to the “mainland” to Everglades National Park, and walked the Anhinga Trail, where we saw tons of alligators, and many species of birds, including the Anhinga, after which the trail is named.

  I have always heard that this trail is great for wildlife viewing, so I’ve wanted to walk it for a long time.  It did live up to it’s hype!

After seeing wildlife in the wild, our visit to Alligator Farm was a bit ho-hum,  but we did learn more about alligators and crocodiles, got to take a ride on an airboat.



movie of our airboat ride



resident Panther at Alligator Farm

We also got to visit with the resident Panther.  Apparently panthers are common in this area.  The first time I saw the “Beware of Panthers” sign, I thought it was referring to a local football team or something, but nope, there are Panther Crossing signs all around the Everglades. It turns out that the Florida Panther is a sub-species of the cougar, and is the State Mammal of Florida. Their numbers are dwindling, which is creating genetic issues due to inbreeding.

In keeping with the wildlife theme, we stopped in at the nearby Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center. This center is run completely on donations and works to rehabilitate birds that have been injured.  If the bird cannot be reintroduced into the wild, it can  live out it’s days at this sanctuary. I enjoy seeing the owls, hawks and shorebirds up close and personal.

No visit to the Keys is complete without a visit to Key West (so says me), so off we went.  We elected to spend the night there because it’s a 2 hour drive from Key Largo. Our first stop was the Truman Little White House on Key West. The house was originally constructed as housing for Naval Officers.  It has been used by 6 presidents, but more by President Truman than any other. After only three months as Vice President,  Truman was thrust into the presidency by the sudden death of President Roosevelt. The stress of handling the added responsibilities took a tremendous toll on his health and he was told by his doctors to spend time someplace warm and sunny, to regain his composure.  He chose Key West, and over time spent 175 days of his presidency at
“the Little White House”.



sunset at Mallory Square



Sunset at Mallory Square is pretty much a required outing on Key West.  Watching the sun go down over the water is a relaxing way to end the day.  Except, of course, the day doesn’t end at sunset on Key West. 

After sunset we ate dinner at Margaritaville before hitting the  bars.   Drinks at Sloppy Joe’s was followed by more drinks at Hogs breath Saloon.  I love wandering the streets of Key West.  Everywhere you turn, there’s music!

Back home after our adventure, we spent a quiet night relaxing with some frozen Mudslides. I love Mudslides but I can’t drink the whole bottle myself,so having Ray and Dawn here was a good excuse to make some!

On our last day together we rented kayaks at Robbie’s on Islamorada and paddled our way out to Indian Key. I have no pictures of the kayaking, since I didn’t want to risk bringing my camera.  Ray and I snorkeled for a little bit, but with the wind blowing, it was a bit rough, and we didn’t last long. It was Ray and Dawn’s first time kayaking, and by the time we were headed back from the island, they were paddling (not rowing!) like a well oiled machine!

We ended our visit as it began- eating a meal outside. The weather was perfect so we headed to Snapper’s Seafood Restaurant.

After an awesome dinner we sat and listened to some great music for an hour or so before heading home. 

We had a great visit!

Boston, MA- visiting

    Not much is going on right now that is blog-worthy. We are settled in at our very nice RV park in Foxboro MA, one of the best (and most expensive) we've been in. We spent Sunday with my brothers and sisters, out to lunch at a restaurant, then we went back to my brother's house and watched the Patriots win. 
   Our son Stephen spent the weekend with us in the trailer, so he got to see his best buddy, the cat. Part of the reason I wanted to head to MA right now is because Stephen is transitioning into a new job, and a new apartment, and I wanted to give him a hand getting set up at the new place.



my family-(from the left around the table) my brother Richie, son Stephen, husband Paul, me, sister-in-law Dawn, brother Ray, and sister Debbie

 


the two boys, reunited





  Today is a quiet day- we are hanging out this morning, then doing some errands before meeting up with Stephen again.

Stephen and I at Ray's house

and the visiting begins....

Today is Saturday...we arrived in Gloucester yesterday after spending 2 days with Stephen in Sturbridge..it was really hard to say goodbye to him- the only thing that made it easier is that he should be able to spend a couple of days with us in Gloucester. The ride here was uneventful and easy, unusual for a Friday in the summer. Usually the traffic would be a killer, but I guess when they are predicting hurricanes, people don't head to the beach....Go figure. Our first day here we spent cleaning, shopping, etc. and just walked to Wingaersheek beach, a mile or so down the street. Its sooooo awesome to be here where we can see so many friends/family, and be near the ocean. We can't wait to get the inflatable out on the water. Hopefully the weather will clear eventually. No actual hurricane here, but tons of rain and wind today. Gloucester is having a problem with the water- there is potentially bacteria in it, so everyone has to boil their water. We had water in our tank so we have been using that up, and haven't had to use the town water, but it won't last much longer. We really don't want to put that water through our pipes if we can avoid it. Hopefully they get the situation squared away soon. This afternoon, my brothers Rich and Ray, and my sister-in-law Dawn came over. We ate lunch here, then went bowling this afternoon. It was actually pretty fun, since most of us (except Rich, who bowls in a league) haven't bowled candlepin for years. We went to dinner at the Gloucester House, a well known restaurant, afterwards. Tomorrow more friends will be here. The next week or so will pretty much be visiting, although there is a schooner festival this coming weekend that should be interesting...