Trip is over

On Saturday we arrived in Saginaw to visit with our daughter Marci and husband Gene, son Steve and wife Bonnie and great granddaughter Braylin. We had diner and got home around 9, exhausted.
Sunday brought Dawn, Marci and Gene, Andrew, Taryn and new great granddaughter Kailyx. Marci & Gene made a big taco salad and we watched the Steeler's beat the down and out Colts. It was not a pretty game, but we won.
We are so fortunate to have such a loving family, both on the east coast and in Texas.
Or friends, Jim and Dixie ask us if we wanted to go to Alaska, again, next summer. What do you think we said?
Until then, I sign off and thank you for your comments.

Back in Texas

Today we are camping in BEAUMONT, TEXAS. A GREAT CAMPGROUND. THEY SERVICE A CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. TOMORROW WE HEAD TO SAN ANTINIO TO VISIT Jim and Dixie. HeADING FOR HOME ON SUNDAY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE WE STARTED THE TRIP, THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE WIFI. LIFE IS GOOD.

Sept. 19, 2011

We are in Slidell, LA, and heading for San Antonio, Wednesday. Sorry about the lack of pictures. This is the first time in a week we have been able to download and use email. It is raining and humid. While we have a chance, Gene is doing a load of wash.
Hope some of this rain went through Dallas.

Sept. 14, 2011

Brailynn’s 2nd birthday is today the 14th of September. I don’t know if I mentioned Andrew and Taryn had baby girl, “Kailyx” last week. Family life is hectic in there home.They are both going to school and having to take care of 2 kids.


We decided to stay at the campground and relax and hike on Friday. Hiking up King Mountain was very good exercise with the weather at 56 degrees. On top of the mountain we got some cell phone service so we called Jim & Dixie to let them know when we will get to San Antonio. In the afternoon we drove to the Town of King Mountain and made some phone calls. There is no cell phone service at the campground.
Hope to drive to the west side of Atlanta tomorrow

Another blowout

We got on the road after a large breakfast and went only about 50 miles when we had another blowout on a trailer tire. The left front tire broke the gas lines, so no refrigerator, stove, hot water heater, etc. Gene quickly turned the propane off and changed the tire himself. We have road service but they said it would take almost 2 hours to get someone to come. It was the first really hot day we had experienced in a long while. So Gene changed the tire and we were steered to the first campground with electricity so we did not loose our food in the frig. It happened to be Kings Mountain National Military Park and State Park, in Blacksburg, SC. Come to find out it is an American Revolutionary War park.

“By 1780 the northern campaign of the war had been fought to a stalemate and England turned its military strategy toward the South. The tactic seemed simple: re-establish the southern royal colonies, march north and join loyalist troops at the Chesapeake Bay, and claim the seaboard. But a sudden battle in the wilderness exposed the folly of England’s scheme and changed the course of the nation”.

Neither of us remembered the Revolution coming this far south.
The visitor center and museum was very informative but we got there an hour before it closed so, we could not walk the grounds and hope to go back tomorrow after Gene fixes the damages on the trailer.

The Ponderosa Pines in the camper ground and park are massive, about 100ft. They had a tornado in this area in the spring and it knocked over some very large trees.large trees

Gene has been working all morning and we are late into the afternoon. He is replumbing the gas lines routed them so they are not near the wheels. Rain is coming this evening and he hopes to finish before the rain. If we had to break down we could not find a better place.

New Jersey

After leaving New Jersey we drove to North Carolina to see friends Kermit & Priscilla Nabors and stayed overnight. The Nabors where are neighbors 30yrs ago in Texas. It felt like we just picked up a conversation with out time passing. They have had a great tragedy in their lives. We felt being there gave them support. It was a good visit. Pictures will not up load.

September 14, 2011

Since last I posted, we were going to leave Becket, after a wonderful 2 months with family, on Wednesday, the 7th of Sept. Well, plans are meant to change and that we did. There was torrential rains onWed. & Thurs. and more flooding so we did not leave until Friday. We drove to New Jersey and met our friend Lorraine and spent the night with her and saw her African Safari pictures. Backing up a little, we got a call from our friends Jim & Dixie asking us if we would like to plan a trip to Africa. After much discussion, we all decided to go on a tented safari on the Serengeti. So, Lorraine’s pictures had much importance to us. We leave in Feb. and should see the mass migrations of wildebeest.