Wine and Roses

Arrived before noon yesterday. Weather perfect but brain confused with 3 hour time difference.
Had a 2 hour stop in Las Vegas. I resisted the urge to capture on film the motley collection of characters passing thru. People watching in Vegas has to be about the best of anywhere.












We are staying at the beautiful Wine and Roses Inn just down the road from Mother's. This is our 3rd stay here and thru all seasons, it is lovely. Some of the rooms have a very contemporary feel but this time we are in a more Tuscan-inspired decor. The rooms are large and the bathrooms are even larger. It is in a vineyard and the restaurant is exceptional. We had Thanksgiving here last year.
We had a fun family gathering last night outside at Mother's. We have spent many many hours over the past 50 years in that lovely setting.

Location:Lodi, california

Back where we started.........

We're home after some long grueling hours ....we did over 500 miles on Monday , even driving after dark which we never do. Loading up the coach is kind of enjoyable, knowing that a trip is coming up, but unloading is a whole different ball of wax, especially when it is near 100 degrees and humid. How good the pool felt afterwards. The beast is at the repair shop for an undetermined time.

Here is a picture of P waiting for his lunch at the Biltmore. They have many restaurants, this one called "The Stables" for obvious reasons. They had up to 25 horses housed here as well as carriages. It was a huge room but converted nicely for the restaurant.

We spent a couple of hours enjoying the beautiful formal and informal gardens. There is a large conservatory, several water features with lotus and water lilies and koi. And roses and more roses and gorgeous lilies of all kinds. I'm not a gardener and only know the most common flowers by name. Tomorrow we will head to Sacramento for the memorial for Jerry. It will be good to see family once again.

If its not one thing, its two more...

We are currently going south from Virginia. "what you say??... SOUTH ?"
Life is never predictable,especially when it involves large moving parts.
We had a major mechanical issue last evening after we arrived ar a lovely campground in the middle if the Blue Ridge Mtns. With a flood of red hydraulic fluid, our slides ground to a halt part way out.......and it left one with an ominous sinking feeling. Luckily, there was some familiarity with this issue and along with a few choice words, the on-board mechanic was able to figure out a bandaide solution. We retracted them manually, after removing everything from drawers and closets, and will not be able to open them again. It takes specialized garages to do this andwe felt thebest place was the one at home.
(pardon my typing....we're moving down a rough road)

We are disappointed and frustrated and will miss being at the ANDYMASON campground especially. But, stay tuned......




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Location:On the road

It's always something..

............ luckily, one of us is very talented at fixing things. This time it was the waterpump. We can't blame anyone but ourselves for this stupid mistake. We can't say enough about the gorgeous weather up here. It has rained a bit , but mostly in the late day when we are done wandering. We've met several nice couples, and it's fun to share traveling stories.
This is a view I captured on the Biltmore Estates....I just hopped out of the car with my phone and it came out perfect and P hardly slowed down since there was traffic behind us. The rest of the pics are off the web as it was gloomy and overcast and they don't allow pictures inside.
And these are just a glimpse of the awe and wonder.

As we drive along the highways, we are greeted my masses of daylilies......mostly yellow and orange but occasionally deep reds. The rest stops are especially pretty. We thank you North Carolina for brightening up the already spectacular views.
We're changing our itinerary a bit and will leave here on Sunday, early, and head north to Connecticut to the ANDY MASON campground. Probably 3 days or so unless we get ambitious. On Thurs, we will fly to California to be with family and then back on Saturday.

One day, we headed over to Saluda, a historic little main street with nice shops and several restaurants. The Purple Onion was recommended and we had the best BLT ever.....on fresh baked bread with thick bacon and locally grown, heavenly tasting, by far the best tomato ever........we need to go back by but it is Coon Dog Days this weekend and we don't need to fight the crowds.

And, speaking of dogs, we are in the minority here.....almost every motorhome and 5th wheel has a dog or two. Next door is a feisty boxer and there is every color of shitsu....and several small white dogs of indeterminate breed. We see many many yorkies and mixes and they usually come in pairs. By far, the cutest is Riley, an adorable teddy bear of a Pomeranian. He has a great personality and I will get a picture next time he ambles by. Or maybe I'll just go to the store and pick me up one.......but then I'd have to find a new handyman.

Remembering....

Late today, we learned of the sudden passing of a warm hearted and generous man who left us with good memories of good times. Jerry was my sister Maureen's husband. This was on our cruise to Alaska a few years ago. He will be missed by his many friends , his family and especially, his dogs.
He was a great cook and king of the barbeque. We'll plan to fly west when plans are finalized.

July 4th

Just a quick note to let you know that we are here.......the beautiful mtns of North Carolina....we've been here enough that it is all looking familiar and comfortable. We are actually in Flat Rock, about 30 min or so from Asheville. Flat Rock is the home of Carl Sandburg and I've written about the area in the past. We are heading out to see the Biltmore Estate. The Scott's have chastised us for not exploring this in the past but we were saving it for another day, which is finally here......pictures at 11.

Last night we drove over to Brevard for their fireworks display. We had no idea where they were but planned to follow the crowd. We found that crowd at the Ingles grocery store parking lot. People were parked everywhere and sitting all around waiting. So we parked, climbed a small embankment, put down our chairs and had a good show. The parking lot lights remained lit but after awhile, they weren't noticeable. I'd show pictures but forgot my real camera and the iPhone didn't do them justice. There is a Starbucks inside the store and two ambitious barristers came out to serve iced coffees and lemonade and iced tea. It was cute with their rolling bar. I also had a pic of that but your imagination is better.

Altho the weather is cooler, neighbors around the camp say it has been hot and humid and we had arrived after the rain.

Hope your 4th was sparkly and cool.

And we're off...

It seemed to take forever to get going today. Someone was checking and rechecking tires and finally getting the pressure equalized while someone else had one eye on the Casey Anthony trial (yes, it is a very big deal downhere with practically 24 hr coverage) and carrying load after load of clothes, shoes, food, wine and electronics....... For "camping" we require: 2 laptops, 2 iPhones, 1 iPad, 1 Kindle, 1 DirectTV box, 2 Sonicare toothbrushes, 1 GPS, and various sensors and monitors. It's all a bit much if you ask me but what should we leave behind? Actually, we did leave the electric corkscrew behind and the can opener........so that will require some manual labor.


We saw this cute bus at a rest stop....it said Legoland and was filled with teenagers. The new Legoland will be opening this fall at the old Cypress Gardens site. ( click to enlarge)


P is wearing his souvenir shirt from the Clinton museum....it might be more tolerated outside of 'the bubble'.
We're somewhere in Georgia and the campground is resplendant in crepe myrtle blooming in many colors.

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Location:Perry, Georgia

Ready, set......

Not quite to GO yet but getting close. We'll head out in a day or so and go to Asheville. It's cooler there, we enjoy the mountains and the views and the art culture is appealing. We have no plans beyond that until about the middle of the month when we will head up to Andy and Mason's house. We also will go up to the Finger Lakes in NY for a meet up with camping friends for a few days. (Dean/Diane, come join us !) Because our travel plans are so fluid, we are packing clothes for all seasons and occasions. Add in bikes, golf clubs, and electronic must haves, we will be pretty full....and yet , we still call it 'camping'.

You remember this cute little dog that we enjoyed meeting at Jeff and Jen's.....Guiness. We'll, he has some issues ..... but cuteness will get you far. Anyhow, like so many dogs, he becomes psychotic during these days of fireworks. At my urging, they are trying out "The Thundershirt" on him and so far they have seen some results. Paul thinks its a quack and a gimmick but I'm hoping that Guiness will prove him wrong. All he needs now are some noise cancelling headphones and soothing tunes and he'll forget all about stress.

I'm aware that some bloggers don't like to advertise that they are not home......thinking that the local burglars are reading all of this dither and just waiting to invade. Well, since we are taking EVERYTHING with us, they are welcome to the rest. Plus we have old and wise and seeing- all neighbors that I wouldn't want to tangle with......and, the killer geckos are always in wait. The other night we left our garage doors open and got a call the next morning from Community Watch to see if we were OK. They should just have a universal door opener so they could just close them all since we are not the only ones. A bigger problem for our neighbor is a rodent that has taken a liking to hoses in his car. It cost him over $400 the first time and now he's finding nibble marks again despite traps and poison.

So, between rodents who can disable the thief's car and roving CW keeping on eye on the old people, we feel comfortable announcing our plans.

Definitely, maybe........

Any plans we had for travel are again up in the air. Not a problem but soon, we'd like to know which direction on the compass we are going to follow. The memorial service for Romayne has been postponed until fall. It will work out better for everyone.

We could stay with Plan A and head west.....or deviate a bit and head North....or combine them into one lonnnggg meander. We'll decide this week when P gets the FAA and simulators out of his brain.

Meanwhile, as I think about this weighty issue, I am sorting and cleaning and packing up Romayne's things. Most everything is being donated to Habitat for Humanity for their thrift store. A beautiful mink coat will go to the Humane Society to be used for beds for wild animal babies. China and silver is being packed up for a niece who is the beneficiary. This is my dining room table....first I had to unpack it after being in this box since the original move....and then I will repack into smaller boxes. Luckily, I don't have to polish this silver

And I'm learning that I know nothing about jewelry. She left some lovely rings, beautiful pearls, assorted pins. I thought I could figure out what was 'real' and what wasnt' but just to be sure, I took it to 2 jewelry stores for a quick appraisal.....well, most of it was plated gold , zirconia and fake ....even the beautiful pearls. But does it really matter? I'm sure that like me, most people can't tell the difference and the recipients will appreciate them regardless.

It's always fun when Jon snaps pictures with his phone as he zips thru the skies and various airports.
It's good to see these familiar colors once again.......yesterday in Tampa.

Transition......

Aunt Romayne gently slipped away this past weekend. She was 98, highly independent, enthusiastic and always with a smile and positive word. She lived in Florida near us for about 3 years, but always missed her Colorado mountains.

So we are in transition as well. Travel plans have always been a bit limited due to not wanting to leave her for more than about 2 weeks at a time. Now, we have a wide open schedule and I think we are finding it a bit daunting.

We'll load up the RV and begin with a trip west for her memorial service mid-July in Colorado Springs. We will probably continue in a westerly direction altho meandering around without too many plans is always more fun.

Weather has been very very hot and dry down here. The golf courses are hurting and restricted to cart path only which makes for a long , hot game. There is a good deal offered of $6 for 18 holes after 5 on the Championship courses. We played last week and it does start to cool off about 7 and with a cold one in the cooler, it makes for a fun evening with friends. I'm loving a new Ping 7 wood that works off the tee, on the fairway, in the rough and would probably do fine as a putter. I suggested that I need a matched set but no one heard me.

Paul is working a bit, making 2 trips this month to Miami for instructing. I hold down the homestead and ward off the geckos.