We are home

Back home

Once we left Oklahoma,we were ready to go home.  We drove through the panhandle of Texas, across New Mexico and Arizona in three long days.  We stopped in Williams Arizona and had lunch with some friends.  We missed seeing many things along the way and we made note of them for future trips.  On the evening of our 81st day on the road, we crossed the Colorado River and re-entered California.  We were very excited to be back.  Our last night in a campground was at a KOA in Needles.  We stayed at a Walmart in Tulare on Friday night and made it to Clovis to see Eric, Molly and the children on Saturday.  It was so good to see them all.  We parked in front of their house for three nights and brought Tumbleweed back home to Rocklin on the 86th day.

Route 66 in Williams, AZ

What an incredible journey we have had!  From one coast to the other and so many places in between.  We drove 9,000 miles with an additional 2,800 miles on the car when the RV was parked.  We went through 32 states.  Tumbleweed and Toad performed exceptionally well.  We learned a lot about this great nation and a lot about each other.  (And we're still married!)  We spent time with some wonderful people.  Some we knew well and some we were reacquainted or met for the first time.  All of them made us feel welcome and shared a little bit of their part of the country with us.  All have provided us with wonderful memories.


We have learned that 3 months doesn't begin to be enough time to see what America has to offer.  We saw so many different places and it's hard to say which one was our favorite.  We both loved Washington D.C. and the history that is there.  We also loved New York City and would like to go back sometime and explore.  Maine and New Hampshire were beautiful.  Each place we visited had something special.


Thank you all for your faithfulness in following our journey.  It was exciting for us to hear how much you were enjoying our travels.  And thank you, Bob and Pink for sharing part of our journey.  We loved the days and the miles we spent with you (and Clifford & Clyde).   We miss our chats on the Walkie Talkies.


We are already planning our next adventure.  Maybe something smaller, next summer.  But for now we are happy to be home and spending time with those we love so much.  Which includes all of you.

Papa, Cole and Kennedy

Cheers!

Oklahoma Gold

In addition to the Native American heritage, Oklahoma is also known for it's oil, or Black Gold as it has been called.  It is a precious commodity, world wide.  The 'gold' in Oklahoma for me, is my son Eric and his family.


We spent five days in Cushing and Stillwater, Oklahoma visiting and playing 'Where's Madison' with our granddaughter.


On Saturday, Eric gave us a tour of his worksite in Prague, Oklahoma.  It was fascinating to see and we were both amazed at how much he knows about the extraction and processing of the oil.  It was all very technical to me but he made it easy to understand.

Keen Energy Services Rig 14

Close up of rig 14

Eric and his mom

Pete and Eric had a male bonding day on Sunday by doing some target shooting, while I attended a baby shower for my daughter-in-law, Bobbie.  Eric scored more points than Pete, but Pete vows to get even next time.

Eric, Bobbie and Madison

We spent a couple of days exploring Cushing, which is considered the 'Pipeline Crossroads of the World' and Stillwater, the home of Oklahoma State University.  Our quest for finding a 'Barn star' ended in old town Stillwater.  We have been looking for one since the eastward leg of this journey through Amish country in Indiana.  

My Maddie

We left Oklahoma on Tuesday, headed for home.  It was very difficult to leave our family in Oklahoma.  It always is, for me.  But we are ready to head home and see the children and grandchildren in California.


Thank you Eric, Bobbie and Madison for making the last leg of our journey so special.  We look forward to seeing you all, plus one in March.  Cheers!

Goin' down the Music Highway

Our first two days after leaving New York State were spent driving.  We spent the first night in a Walmart parking lot outside Pittsburg, PA and the the second night in a Walmart parking lot in Louisville, KY.  The third day we arrived in Nashville, TN and stayed in a campground for two nights.  Wednesday, the 12th of October we drove in to Nashville to see the Country Music Hall of Fame.  I was here in 1977 but a lot has changed since then.  The Hall of Fame was exceptional.  It has three floors, with a Tammy Wynette venue on the third floor and a Hank Williams is featured on the second.  Even if you don't enjoy country music, the museum exhibits connect country music to the greater history of American popular culture.  There is an entire room full of plaques honoring the Hall's inductees.  Pete's favorite is the Statler Brothers.  Mine is George Strait.

The Statler Brothers

George Strait

You can also see Elvis' gold plated Cadillac and numerous musical instruments, dresses etc.  We drove out to Opryland but because of the flooding of the Cumberland River last spring, we were unable to get close to it.

When we left Nashville, we drove down to Memphis.  We have always wanted to see Graceland, Elvis Presley's mansion.  It is quite an operation.  For one ticket you are able to tour the house, including the Meditation Garden where Elvis and his family are buried, his two jets and a museum display of some of his vehicles, including a pink Cadillac!  The mansion has been kept exactly as it was when Elvis died.  The upstairs, which includes his bedroom and bathroom are not open to the public.  The whole experience made us feel very sad for him.  For all of his fame and money, he seemed to be a very lonely person.  It was really quite moving to stand before his grave and contemplate the life he must have led.  And yes, Carol I cried too.

Graceland

Livingroom at Graceland

Some of his costumes

Meditation Garden where Elvis is buried

Elvis' grave

Pink Cadillac, one of Elvis's many cars

We stayed one night in Memphis at an RV campground right next to Graceland.  We didn't even unhook the car.  We both wanted to visit the National Civil Rights Museum, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated but we were anxious to move on.  We plan to return to the South at a later date and will see it then.

We drove straight through Arkansas (with one stop for groceries) and entered Oklahoma.  We will spend 4 or 5 days here visiting my son, Eric and his family.  We are both very excited because we haven't seen them in almost a year.

The weather has warmed considerably from what we had in the North.  We have put away our sweaters and long pants and taken out the shorts and sandals once again.  Good thing we packed for two seasons.  Cheers!

Family, falls and farewell

Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls

We spent two very nice, relaxing days (and nights) with Pete's cousin Deanna and her husband, Ernie.  They live in New York state about 15 minutes from Albany, the capitol of New York.  With the exception of one brief visit a few years ago, Pete hasn't seen this cousin in over 50 years, but you never would have known it.  The family bond was just as strong as if they'd seen each other yesterday.  Deanna and Ernie's home is beautiful.  We were given the entire upstairs and although we missed Tumbleweed, it was nice to have all the room for a change.  Deanna made a wonderful dinner our first night there and invited her son, John and his wife Michelle for dinner.  Her daughters', Julie, Nancy and Wendy came for dessert.  It was very nice to meet this extended family and hear about their lives.  Pete feels very good about knowing that he does have cousins on the Keeslar side of his family in addition to his cousins on the Hackett side in Indiana.  He and Deanna did a lot of reminiscing.  We were sad to leave, but look forward to seeing them again.  This time we won't wait so long.

Cousin Deanna & Pete

Cousins Deanna & Ernie

While we were visiting Deanna and Ernie, Bob and Pink went to Cooperstown, New York and visited the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Bob was quite excited about that because he is an exceptionally avid baseball fan (especially the Giants)!  We met up with them at Niagara Falls on Thursday, October 7th for our last sightseeing tour together before going our separate ways back to California.

Niagara Falls was another one of our major goals for this trip and we weren't disappointed.  The falls were spectacular!  One can't help but feel the power of the falls just by standing and watching them.  We took a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist, and were able to see both of the falls 'up close and personal'.  The boat ride also gave us our second shower of the day.

Maid of the Mist

Ready for our shower on the boat

American Falls as seen from Canada

American Falls.  So much power!

Horseshoe Falls as seen from Goat Island

Pete and I drove over to the Canadian side of the Niagara River and hoped to explore a little bit in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  The view of the falls was so much better than on the U.S. side but the town reminded us of a carnival.  There were wax museums, video arcades and a 'Castle Dracula'.  We decided our time was better spent enjoying one last meal with our friends before we parted ways, so we drove back to the U.S. side of the river and met Bob and Pink for an enjoyable dinner.

We parted ways the next morning.  It was a little sad after spending the last 4 weeks together and seeing so many memorable things with them.  Bob was a wonderful tour guide in Washington D.C.,
and it was fun exploring the places where none of us had been.  And Pink and I had no trouble spending money together.  We will miss their company as we move on, but know that we have more exciting things to see, as do they.  Safe travels, our friends.  We will see you back in California.  Cheers!

The Hills are Alive . . .

Welcome to Vermont!  I think our entire trip has been focused on seeing Vermont!  It was the first state we requested information from and the state we thought of when thinking about fall colors.  We arrived on Sunday, October 3rd and stayed at a very nice campground on an island in Lake Champlain.  They had gotten a lot of rain like the other New England states so the campsites were quite soggy, but we had a nice view of the lake, so we were happy.  Our first night there was spent exploring the island of South Hero and Grand Isle.

Our rigs with their 'lake view'

On Monday, the four of us drove to the little town of Stowe, which sits at the base of Mt. Mansfield.  It is the highest mountain in Vermont.  I had this vision of Stowe being the perfect New England town, with the church steeple peaking out of the fall leaves.  It wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, but it was quaint.  Stowe is also home to the Von Trapp Family Lodge (of The Sound of Music fame).  The original lodge was built by the Von Trapp family in 1950.  They fled Austria in 1938 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1939.  It is still owned by the the Von Trapp family and is quite beautiful.  You can almost hear Julie Andrews singing.

Church in Stowe, VT

Von Trapp Family Lodge

The last place we wanted to visit in this area was Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Company outside of Waterbury.  They have tours, a gift shop and sell ice cream.  We got there around 3 in the afternoon and were amazed at the number of people waiting in line.  We would have had to stand in line for a couple of hours just to take the tour and have an ice cream cone, so we decided against it.  We did find some nice things in the gift shop, though.

Crowds at Ben & Jerry's 

The cows at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Company

Sadly, the peak of fall colors had passed by the time we got to Vermont.  There were still some areas that were beautiful but the colors in New Hampshire were much more vibrant.

We left Vermont on Tuesday, October 5th and headed for upstate New York.  We are excited about seeing Pete's cousins, Deanna and Ernie, and sleeping in a bed that doesn't have wheels under it.  Cheers!

We've Arrived!

New Hampshire

One of our primary goals on this trip was to see the fall foliage in the New England states.  The peak time for colors, we were told, is the first two weeks of October.  We arrived in Lancaster, New Hampshire on Thursday, September 30th in the middle of a torrential downpour that was the remnants of Hurricane Nicole.  Apparently the entire eastern seaboard was flooded.  We found a very nice RV park in Lancaster called Mountain Lake Campground.  It looks like a wonderful place for families during the summer, with kayaking, swimming, board games etc.  Right now it is quiet and they will close for the season on October 15th.

Mountain Lake Campground, Lancaster, New Hampshire

Our campsite

Pete and I took a drive on Friday.  It had rained all day Thursday and Thursday night and was just intermittent showers on Friday.  We had talked to a moose hunter in a laundromat who told us of an area just north of Lancaster where we were sure to see moose.  So armed with our camera, we went moose hunting.  Sadly, we didn't find one, but we did find some beautiful fall foliage, covered bridges and quaint little villages.  

Covered bridge in Groveton, NH

Church and cemetery

We also found Canada . . . We had no idea we would be that close to the Canadian border so we didn't have our passports with us.  We did stop at the border and an armed U.S. Border officer escorted us to the Canadian border office where we asked if we could take a picture of the Canadian sign.  A very nice Canadian Border officer said in a heavy french accent, 'yes', as long as we didn't take a picture of her or her office.  We assured her we would not.  And to think, we could have had dinner in Quebec!

The Canadian border

The U.S. border

Our last day in New Hampshire was spent with our friends, Bob and Pink.  We took a drive through the White Mountains on the Kancamagus Highway.  "The Kanc", as the locals call it is often referred to as the best fall foliage trip in the United States.  And it really was beautiful!  There were stunning vistas of trees in every color from yellow to bright red.  It really looked like the post card pictures.  We saw rushing creeks and waterfalls . . . and people.  This being the first weekend of October, the local 'leaf peepers' were out in force.  But we didn't let it dampen our spirits.  After the rains of the previous two days, a cold front had moved in and it was quite cold up in the mountains.

The White Mountains of New Hampshire

The waterfalls were really rushing after the storms

Omni Mt. Washington Resort,  one of five Grand Hotels in New Hampshire

We left New Hampshire this morning and are in Vermont.  Our campground is on South Hero Island in Lake Champlain.  Lake Champlain is 120 miles long and extends from Canada through Vermont.  The Vermont/New York State line is in the middle of the lake.  The lake briefly became the 6th Great Lake in 1998 when President Bill Clinton signed a bill declaring it.  The bill was rescinded less than three weeks later.  More on Lake Champlain in the next post.  Tomorrow we will head in to the little town of Stowe, where the Von Trapp family of 'The Sound of Music' fame built a lodge and to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory.  What could be better?  Cheers!