Oh yes, I almost forgot I have a blog.......

 One of us has already been here over a week and the other is still trying to figure out where he is when he wakes up at night.    We pulled in last Tuesday evening.   Wednesday was unloading and cleaning the MH and getting it settled into storage and on Thursday, bright and early, he got the last seat out of Montrose and flew back to Connecticut.   ( I would have gone had the flights looked more conducive to pass riding).       He joined other North American Airline crew members to remember a colleague and friend who left all too soon.       He was able to spend time with Andy and Mason and then finally returned to Montrose on Sunday......tired, sneezy and a bit jet-lagged but grateful for a chance to reunite with old friends.  

 I meant to post a couple pics of our time at the Rally......but since that is so far in past history, here's just this one of the wagons round the campsite.   You can see the low clouds and gray conditions.  

 And this is from our drive over the mountains as the snow fell and eventually grew to a few inches
but the road remained wet.  

As soon as we landed in Cobble Creek, I joined an army of dedicated women in getting ready for a lovely English tea in the upper level of the Clubhouse.     Hope West Kids, a division  of Hospice, was the selected charity and two young ladies, all dressed in their finest  spoke eloquently about how the Good Grief Camp and support group had helped them.      I should have taken a pic of the flowers and tea cups and the crowd of women, young and old, in their tea finery.   It was all very lovely and very successful.    Right after this picture, it hailed for 20 minutes.   Luckily, just small bits but did cover the ground.  

 The weather has been wet and cold and the mountains continue to get snow.   The wildflowers should be spectacular when it all melts.    This was our view driving into Montrose.    The days start out chilly but sunny, 40+ and by noon the clouds roll in and the rains start.   But it doesn't stop the golfers or the builders (the place is busy with about 8 new homes going up) .  

It has been very welcoming to come back into the community.    I meet the familiar faces and their dogs on my morning walk and we are greeted warmly wherever we go.   Pickle ball is getting organized, Mah Jongg is growing to 3 tables, Ladie's , Men's and Couple's golf beckons and the hiking group is making big plans for the summer and fall and beyond.....   It's a very dynamic place and one we're glad we discovered.  
And, we have found that Gail and Lee have converted to Plant Based eating.    They are the couple who winter in Belize and moved here from Gunnison along with Buffy, the massive  buffalo head that greets all who enter their home.     She's not sure what she'll do with all the elk they have in the freezer !!    Now, if we can get our on site restaurant to offer some healthier food.......   We did go out the other night to a new Mexican restaurant and they had several items on the menu that fit our way of eating perfectly....oh happy day.!!

I'm enjoying the garden centers and their huge array of familiar flowers.    So good to see the hanging baskets of geranium, million bells, wave petunias, lobelia and the flowering shrubs and trees and hosta.    I have new large pots for the patio and am planning the arrangements.    The hummingbird feeder is up and we see a few.   We still need furniture out there before you can join us for a sunset glass of wine.    Hope you're thinking of stopping by once again.....

Back where we belong......

I'm posting the blog from my phone due to various computer issues.   And not sure I can add pics.  

We enjoyed our time in Denver with the grands and their parents and the dogs and the fish and the birds.  And we joined up with the Colorado Allegro group once again.  Despite cold and rain and generally miserable weather at the State Park, we caught up and made future plans with 18 of us in one coach living room.   Wine helped with the coziness.  

We braved sleet and snow and rain and made the trek westward yesterday.  It was slushy but no ice and the snow made for even more beautiful scenery than usual.  

It's so good to be here once again.   We found a nice welcoming wine basket at the door and it's good to catch up with old and new friends.   Lots of things going on this weekend.     

Talk later.......

Colorado

We did it !     And managed to glide thru the deadly tornado alley with only a few raindrops.    Once we left our  R&R in Alabama, we made tracks and did between 4-500+ miles each day.   ( Memo to Dean and Diane:   We had to maintain our reputation ! )        We saw ONE pronghorn antelope and a lot of cows.    We followed our usual trail and stayed at familiar RV campgrounds.    Aside from too much sitting, it was an uneventful crossing.     And now, we will stop and smell the roses and gaze at the beautiful mountains for a few days before we head over the passes to Montrose once again.

Last night we met the kids at Ted's Mountain Grill.   Ted Turner's vision of responsible and sustainable  environmental programs and his passion to preserve the Bison have been recognized and his restaurants are a testament to do the right thing for the planet.    So, even tho we ordered the delicious veggie burger, I approve of the menu of sustainable beef and bison and not the beef, pork and chicken from those violent and horrific factories.    End of rant.....I almost got carried away for a minute.........

Rolling right along........

We enjoyed our time at Bella Terra but did get out and explore other places to hang our hat, should we come this way again.     Gulf State Park, near Orange Beach, was huge with many amenities.    But the beach was across a busy highway so a car would be helpful.   The gulf beaches are powdery white sand and there are the high rise condos along the beach.    All in all, didn't do much for us.   We spent part of the day, based on a recommendation, over in Fairhope Alabama.    It is on the gulf as well with gorgeous homes,  luxurious landscapes and a lovely town of nice shops and restaurants  and magnificent magnolia trees, now in bloom.   

We decided to leave this morning, closely monitoring the weather.     We knew we'd have rain along the way but we were rather pleased to only have about an hour of heavy rain as we gradually headed 

Northwest. 

   

 Scenery was a non event .....roads were very good, not too much traffic and we finished up our day's 400+ miles in Shreveport.     We are about halfway and it looks like clear weather for the next several days.

Westward Ho.........

The preparations never get any easier but this time we felt more organized.   Despite not having any teenage kids around to do the loading , we managed to get it out of the spaces, into carry bags, out across the yard, up those annoying steps and into their assorted cubbies on the bus......My FITBIT recorded over 11,000 steps on Tuesday and that was without a morning walk.    And because we started organizing on Monday and brought the MH to the house that night, we seemed to have more time....enough so that we had an impromptu Happy Hour on the lanai, followed by dinner with our favorite friends.     AND, neighbors from Montrose were in TV for a family gathering so they joined us and filled us in on the latest Cobble Creek happenings.    A fun bon voyage party.......

We were on the road early Wednesday  morning and easily did our 300 miles to St Andrew's State Park on Panama City Beach Island.     We'd recommend a stop there with your tent or RV.    It's on the barrier island and quite a large park of long needle pines and palmetto.    We had a nice view of the Bay and just a short ride over to the beach.    BUT, this is what the beach looked like.....!   They are reclaiming the sand and the equip was huge and noisy.   We could have walked around it to the area near the jetty but we weren't that into sitting on the beach anyhow so did a quick tour of the area and came home to a cold drink.   

They have a nature trail of interest and a shuttle to Shell Island for more primitive beaching (no facilities except sun and sand and shells).   This large heron on the dock ignored us as he tried to get his wet feathers less disheveled.

 Our campsite was narrow but functional.   I was initially taking a pic of the Pickleball on the antenna when Mr PB himself entered the picture.

And so, this is our new home for 2 nights.     Bella Terra Resort in Foley, Alabama.    If you have the interest and the $$$, you can buy a lot and and build your own amenities on it.    We see casitas, hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, firepits and who knows what else.   The club house looks nice with a large pool and tonight is movie night.     We are close to the gulf beaches and we saw them setting up for a big Art show on the green in town.      We'll explore today and decide on our next direction.     And yes, we are keeping an eagle eye on the weather out there in TX and OK and the plains.    We'll make a dash across when the going looks good.