I don't know what else to say. Woke up in VanHorn Texas as the sun was just coming up--what a beautiful place surrounded by mountains.
Headed up into the Guadalupe Mountains (wonderful-I intend to ride them one day) to the Carlsbad Caverns. As the guide says--maybe not the biggest or longest cave in the world--just the most beautiful. Absolutely jaw dropping from end to end and we were able to enjoy it with no crowds--you only saw a few people in 2.5 hours of hiking in the cave.
Drove in to Mayhill, NM up at around 7,000 feet. Arrived to 8 deers in our camp--they stayed all evening and after about 40 minutes 22 wild turkeys also arrived to entertain us-the cats were in heaven.
Next morning drove over the pass at 9,000 feet and continued our drive to Tucson. Stopped at the White Sands National Monument--wonderful miles of gypsum sand-took a hike thru the dunes and then spent the rest of the day trying to get gypsum out of the motor home.
Arriving in Tucson on saturday and stay with our friends the Bodines' for a few days before heading back to Yuma in time for Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
TEXAS
After crossing a southern state in less than a day we reached Texas where we have now been for 10 days. Stayed 8 days in Fort Worth visiting my grandson Sam. Then we headed West.
The theme of the trip west is "C's". You ask what? Central/West Texas is filled with "C" things:
Cactus, Crude (oil), Cotton, Critters-(prarie dogs again and giant Texas sized ones), Coyotes--if I see more "C" things I will let you know.
Stayed one night in San Angelo which is a beautiful small city with lots of lakes and desert/prarie like terrain.
Now we are in Van Horn heading in the morning up to Carlsbad Caverns.
The theme of the trip west is "C's". You ask what? Central/West Texas is filled with "C" things:
Cactus, Crude (oil), Cotton, Critters-(prarie dogs again and giant Texas sized ones), Coyotes--if I see more "C" things I will let you know.
Stayed one night in San Angelo which is a beautiful small city with lots of lakes and desert/prarie like terrain.
Now we are in Van Horn heading in the morning up to Carlsbad Caverns.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Riding on the Oregon Coast
I've been home a week and have managed to do a couple of casual rides. On Wednesday I rode with my women's group (the BOBs - Babes on Bikes) and managed to get in a beautiful 23 miles on what was the warmest November day in Oregon's history.
Today the sun was shining this morning but with predictions of rain. I almost didn't wear my rain gear but am glad I did! About halfway into the ride (yes, that means I was about as far from my car as I could be) it started showering. It only lasted about 20 minutes but I got wetter in that 20 minutes than I did the entire ride across the USA (I only got drizzled on for about 45 minutes on our last day into Yorktown, VA); and the rain today was truly only a shower! We were so VERY lucky on our trip! Today's ride was only a little over 15 miles (I cut it short as I saw a very dark cloud heading my way), but it felt good to have a relaxing ride.
Today the sun was shining this morning but with predictions of rain. I almost didn't wear my rain gear but am glad I did! About halfway into the ride (yes, that means I was about as far from my car as I could be) it started showering. It only lasted about 20 minutes but I got wetter in that 20 minutes than I did the entire ride across the USA (I only got drizzled on for about 45 minutes on our last day into Yorktown, VA); and the rain today was truly only a shower! We were so VERY lucky on our trip! Today's ride was only a little over 15 miles (I cut it short as I saw a very dark cloud heading my way), but it felt good to have a relaxing ride.
GEORGIA, ALABAMA & LOUISIANA
Well traveling quickly now to get to Fort Worth to see grandson Sam. Went to Plains, GA home of President Carter. A tiny dying town--one of the things we saw all across America--that unless a town was of a certain size they were all dying. Had breakfast at a wonderful local diner and bought some fried peanuts--I have never had peanuts this good in my entire life--saw the Carters home and headed out.
Made it to the middle of Alabama where we stayed at another Corp of Engineers campground. As usual beautiful on a massive lake.
Next day headed on to Vicksburg, Mississippi. The entire town is a living museum to the Civil War battlefield. Fun fact--since the city surrendered on July 4th they never again celebrated the 4th of July until after WWII. Stayed at a beautiful RV park connected to a Casino on the Mississippi which is very broad here--wonderful dinner and free breakfast.
Still moving on--the south is wonderful--everyone is so much kinder than even in the west--they are not Yankees down here.
Made it to the middle of Alabama where we stayed at another Corp of Engineers campground. As usual beautiful on a massive lake.
Next day headed on to Vicksburg, Mississippi. The entire town is a living museum to the Civil War battlefield. Fun fact--since the city surrendered on July 4th they never again celebrated the 4th of July until after WWII. Stayed at a beautiful RV park connected to a Casino on the Mississippi which is very broad here--wonderful dinner and free breakfast.
Still moving on--the south is wonderful--everyone is so much kinder than even in the west--they are not Yankees down here.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
LESSONS ON LIFE YOU LEARN FROM YOUR SEAT
On the long drive home there is a lot of time to reflect on the lessons of life you learn after days and hours on a bike--here they are as best I can do:
1. DON'T WORRY IT WILL CHANGE. If you don't like the direction of the wind, road surface, terrain--don't worry it will change--maybe for the better or for the worse--but--it will change.
2. DON'T JUDGE A CLIMB BY ITS ELEVATION--OR A PERSON BY THEIR OUTWARD APPEARANCE. The easiest climb we had was the 2nd tallest and the hardest climbs were in the Ozarks with only a couple of hundred feet. Well the same goes for the people--you just can not tell their character by outward appearance.
3. YOU WILL GET THERE WHEN YOU GET THERE You can not hurry up the process--you will arrive once you arrive--you might as well enjoy the journey.
4. THE WIND IS NOT ALWAYS IN YOUR FACE. Everyone notices when times are tough and the wind is in your face--but we seem to take for granted when the wind is at our back--we attribute that to our fitness--when in reality the wind is really pushing us along. Maybe we should pay more attention and be thankful for the breeze at our backs more--and worry less about the wind in our face (see #1 & 3 above).
5. HAVING SOMEONE TO RIDE BEHIND IN THE WIND IS REALLY GOOD. As in life when times are tough--having someone to pull you through is as good as it gets.
6. RIDING UPHILL IS SOMETIMES BEST WITH A COMPANION AND SOMETIMES BEST ALONE. How can it be both?? Well that depends on the companion. If you are both evenly matched then you draw strength from each other and you seem to push each other up the hill--if not then the weaker person will struggle more--as in life.
7. CATS MAKE REALLY GOOD ALARM CLOCKS. They are up with the sun--cause they do not want to miss any of the day--so why should we?
8. DON'T BE A YANKEE. In South Carolina where they take being from the south very seriously if someone if rude or inconsiderate they simply say--"well they must be a Yankee". Nuff said.
9. LIFE IS BEST IN SLOW MOTION. Watching every plant go by--talking to every cow along the side of the road is truly wonderful. Why be in a hurry to have life pass you by--time is short you might as well enjoy it and slow it down. Believe me 6 hours on a bike are much longer than 6 hours in a car--and way better.
10. GOD WAS JUST PRACTICING UNTIL HE GOT TO UTAH AND THE GRAND CANYON.
If you have not been there to see what I mean--do it. You will get this--and understand "Be still and know that I am God".
1. DON'T WORRY IT WILL CHANGE. If you don't like the direction of the wind, road surface, terrain--don't worry it will change--maybe for the better or for the worse--but--it will change.
2. DON'T JUDGE A CLIMB BY ITS ELEVATION--OR A PERSON BY THEIR OUTWARD APPEARANCE. The easiest climb we had was the 2nd tallest and the hardest climbs were in the Ozarks with only a couple of hundred feet. Well the same goes for the people--you just can not tell their character by outward appearance.
3. YOU WILL GET THERE WHEN YOU GET THERE You can not hurry up the process--you will arrive once you arrive--you might as well enjoy the journey.
4. THE WIND IS NOT ALWAYS IN YOUR FACE. Everyone notices when times are tough and the wind is in your face--but we seem to take for granted when the wind is at our back--we attribute that to our fitness--when in reality the wind is really pushing us along. Maybe we should pay more attention and be thankful for the breeze at our backs more--and worry less about the wind in our face (see #1 & 3 above).
5. HAVING SOMEONE TO RIDE BEHIND IN THE WIND IS REALLY GOOD. As in life when times are tough--having someone to pull you through is as good as it gets.
6. RIDING UPHILL IS SOMETIMES BEST WITH A COMPANION AND SOMETIMES BEST ALONE. How can it be both?? Well that depends on the companion. If you are both evenly matched then you draw strength from each other and you seem to push each other up the hill--if not then the weaker person will struggle more--as in life.
7. CATS MAKE REALLY GOOD ALARM CLOCKS. They are up with the sun--cause they do not want to miss any of the day--so why should we?
8. DON'T BE A YANKEE. In South Carolina where they take being from the south very seriously if someone if rude or inconsiderate they simply say--"well they must be a Yankee". Nuff said.
9. LIFE IS BEST IN SLOW MOTION. Watching every plant go by--talking to every cow along the side of the road is truly wonderful. Why be in a hurry to have life pass you by--time is short you might as well enjoy it and slow it down. Believe me 6 hours on a bike are much longer than 6 hours in a car--and way better.
10. GOD WAS JUST PRACTICING UNTIL HE GOT TO UTAH AND THE GRAND CANYON.
If you have not been there to see what I mean--do it. You will get this--and understand "Be still and know that I am God".
Hilton Head & Savannah
Left Charleston and headed south to Hilton Head. Stayed at an RV Park on the water that had a hot tub and a tennis court out our back. The cats were able to run unhooked on the tennis court and mom and I enjoyed hot tubbing and getting massages. On Wednesday we headed into Savannah for the day where we did the city tours.
Thursday did a long drive to western Georgia where we visited Andersonville Prison and the POW museum--both very well done. Tomorrow since we are only 15 miles from Plains, Ga will stop in and visit the Carters.
Thursday did a long drive to western Georgia where we visited Andersonville Prison and the POW museum--both very well done. Tomorrow since we are only 15 miles from Plains, Ga will stop in and visit the Carters.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
HUNLEY & WINE WITH NEW FRIENDS
Had a great day monday enjoying downtown Charleston where I got to pose with "The Hunley" if you do not know the story about the Hunley and my personal story about the Hunley be sure to ask and I will tell you.
Upon our return to camp we greeted our new Canadian friends Peter and Lorraine. But before I get to the wine a story on how we met them. On the long ferry ride from the Outer Banks we started talking for a while. But when the ferry docked we went our separate ways. Imagine our surprise the following day when they passed us on the highway--but then again they were gone. But--when we stopped at the visitor center there they were again. So we booked reservations at the same campground in Charleston and happened to stay at the same park in Myrtle Beach--where we ran into them again.
After our return from Charleston--being good polite Canadians they had us over for a drink. Well it was a Canadian drink--I think we went thru 3 bottles (1 large one) of wine for 4 of us--but since our campsite was about 25 yards away we were able to make it home. It was a truly wonderful evening and one that we will all remember. Safe travels to you two!!!
Upon our return to camp we greeted our new Canadian friends Peter and Lorraine. But before I get to the wine a story on how we met them. On the long ferry ride from the Outer Banks we started talking for a while. But when the ferry docked we went our separate ways. Imagine our surprise the following day when they passed us on the highway--but then again they were gone. But--when we stopped at the visitor center there they were again. So we booked reservations at the same campground in Charleston and happened to stay at the same park in Myrtle Beach--where we ran into them again.
After our return from Charleston--being good polite Canadians they had us over for a drink. Well it was a Canadian drink--I think we went thru 3 bottles (1 large one) of wine for 4 of us--but since our campsite was about 25 yards away we were able to make it home. It was a truly wonderful evening and one that we will all remember. Safe travels to you two!!!
Home Sweet Home
I have not posted since our "victory day" of October 20, 2010 when we arrived in Yorktown. I have now had almost two weeks to reflect on our adventure, enjoy time with family and friends, and to drive home to Oregon.
As those of you who have been following this blog are aware, Gale, who started with us in Oregon had to depart in Nevada as she just did not have the time to do the entire trip. Lisa, Dana and I rode together until central Kentucky when Lisa headed south to visit her sister in Knoxville, Tennessee (after a "wonderful" visit with her sister Lisa rode via North Carolina to Virginia Beach, Virginia where she arrived on October 22, 2010. Dana and I rode the entire trip together from the Oregon Coast to Yorktown, Virginia but parted ways a couple of hours after our arrival in Yorktown. Dana and her mom (our faithful, wonderful, etc., etc., etc. driver of our support RV, "chief cook and bottle washer", moral support, etc., etc., etc.) took Donna (Fran's friend from Yuma who joined us in Kansas), Cali and Patches (Fran's cats who were our primary source of entertainment and alarm clocks throughout the trip) to Virginia Beach where they parked the RV, Donna, and the kitties for a few days so they could fly back to Oregon for Dana's brother's wedding. Donna has since flown home to Yuma, and Dana, Fran and the kitties are slowly working their way back to Yuma in the RV.
My son Paul, who had recently returned from living and working in Europe for several years, and his girlfriend Yagmur, greeted us in Yorktown and the three of us stayed in Williamsburg for a few days visiting and enjoying the sights. Yagmur, unfortunately had to work for three of the days, but Paul and I were able to spend spend that time "catching up" and sightseeing.
On Wednesday afternoon after we arrived in Yorktown and had some lunch, Paul and I drove back to Yorktown to look around the town a bit and visit two museums. Yorktown is very small and really consists of some tourist shops, the "old town" which we never saw, and the Revolutionary War battlefield sight and museum. In the tourist area the only thing we really did was tour the Watermens Museum, a museum dedicated to "preserving the heritage of the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay", http://www.watermens.org/.
This was an interesting little museum that was worth taking the time to explore.
We then went to the Yorktown Visitor Center and Battlefield which is operated by the National Park Service. The Visitor Center does and excellent job of educating about the battle that resulted in the end of the Revolutionary war:
"On this battlefield, between September 28 and October 19, 1781, General George Washington and his allied American and French army of 17,600 troops surrounded and besieged General Charles Lord Cornwallis' 8,300 British, German and American loyalist forces, which were fortified within the port of Yorktown. American and French artillery crews fired over 15,000 rounds of siege artillery upon the British continuously for nine days. On October 19, Lord Cornwallis, surrendered, effectively ending the war." http://www.baygateways.net/general.cfm?id=55
On Thursday, October 21, Paul and I spent the day walking around Colonial Williamsburg. We were not able to get into many of the buildings because we decided not to buy tickets until after we had a chance to see what there was to see (we actually originally decided we would spend Thursday walking around and then buy tickets of Friday so we would have access to the buildings, but later decided to do something else on Friday). The weather was beautiful and we had a great day wandering around, which included a wonderful chicken pot pie lunch sitting outside on the restaurants patio. That evening we took Yagmur back into Colonial Williamsburg for dinner.
On Friday, Paul and I decided that rather than returning to Colonial Williamsburg we would take a drive paralleling the Jame's River and go to Berkeley Plantation (Fran and Donna had gone there and really enjoyed it). It is a beautiful drive from Williamsburg to the Plantation (Dana and I had ridden much of it on our bikes), and the tour of the Plantation was excellent. Berkeley Plantation was supposedly the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619, and was the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison.
http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/
Saturday, October 23, was a wonderful day. Yagmur was able to be with us and the weather was perfect. We spent most of the day at the Jamestown Settlement,
http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement.htm.
We spent several hours exploring the museum - they do an outstanding job of depicting the history of Jamestown dating back to the earliest Native Americans residing there. There was an especially interesting special exhibit entitled "Werowocomoco, Seat of Power" with artifacts dating back 10,000 years. http://www.historyisfun.org/werowocomoco.htm
After exploring the museum we took a tour of the replicas of the Jamestown and Powhatan Villages and then walked down to the river where there were replicas of the ships that brought the original settlers to Jamestown. Jamestown was the first English settlement in America that managed to endure for more than a few months.
Paul and Yagmur returned to their new home in New York City on Sunday, and on Monday morning I picked up my rental car and started heading west from Williamsburg. My first night out I spent in Lexington, Kentucky with my cousin Patsy. It was great to have some time with her and she surprised me with having made a delicious coconut pie. On Tuesday I managed to drive through a tremendous storm around Louisville, with tornado warnings blasting on the radio. Because the rain was coming down so hard and I couldn't see the cars in front of me I pulled off the freeway at the next offramp and waited out the storm (hoping not to be in the eye of the tornado); it was only about a 15 minute wait which I made the best of by eating a piece of Patsy's pie! Once the storm was over it was over! The wind died down and the skies turned blue. It took me 3 days to get to the Denver, Colorado area where I visited with my daughter's family. My granddaughters were exited about Halloween and I was able to attend some of their school festivities on Friday.
It took me two days to get home from Colorado and I arrived in Portland Sunday afternoon where Steve picked me up and I returned the rental car. On Sunday evening we went to our favorite Depoe Bay restaurant, Tidal Raves (http://www.tidalraves.com/) for dinner - I had salmon which I had been craving since the day we left Bandon!
Of course the day after I got home we had a torrential rainstorm! The next couple of days should be nice though and I am going to do a casual bike ride with girlfriends in Newport tomorrow. I haven't been on the bike since we arrived in Yorktown 12 days ago. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's ride (I may even sneek in a short ride this afternoon once the fog lifts).
It was a wonderful "adventure" which I am so very glad I did! After three months of being gone however, it is great to be home!
As those of you who have been following this blog are aware, Gale, who started with us in Oregon had to depart in Nevada as she just did not have the time to do the entire trip. Lisa, Dana and I rode together until central Kentucky when Lisa headed south to visit her sister in Knoxville, Tennessee (after a "wonderful" visit with her sister Lisa rode via North Carolina to Virginia Beach, Virginia where she arrived on October 22, 2010. Dana and I rode the entire trip together from the Oregon Coast to Yorktown, Virginia but parted ways a couple of hours after our arrival in Yorktown. Dana and her mom (our faithful, wonderful, etc., etc., etc. driver of our support RV, "chief cook and bottle washer", moral support, etc., etc., etc.) took Donna (Fran's friend from Yuma who joined us in Kansas), Cali and Patches (Fran's cats who were our primary source of entertainment and alarm clocks throughout the trip) to Virginia Beach where they parked the RV, Donna, and the kitties for a few days so they could fly back to Oregon for Dana's brother's wedding. Donna has since flown home to Yuma, and Dana, Fran and the kitties are slowly working their way back to Yuma in the RV.
My son Paul, who had recently returned from living and working in Europe for several years, and his girlfriend Yagmur, greeted us in Yorktown and the three of us stayed in Williamsburg for a few days visiting and enjoying the sights. Yagmur, unfortunately had to work for three of the days, but Paul and I were able to spend spend that time "catching up" and sightseeing.
On Wednesday afternoon after we arrived in Yorktown and had some lunch, Paul and I drove back to Yorktown to look around the town a bit and visit two museums. Yorktown is very small and really consists of some tourist shops, the "old town" which we never saw, and the Revolutionary War battlefield sight and museum. In the tourist area the only thing we really did was tour the Watermens Museum, a museum dedicated to "preserving the heritage of the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay", http://www.watermens.org/.
This was an interesting little museum that was worth taking the time to explore.
We then went to the Yorktown Visitor Center and Battlefield which is operated by the National Park Service. The Visitor Center does and excellent job of educating about the battle that resulted in the end of the Revolutionary war:
"On this battlefield, between September 28 and October 19, 1781, General George Washington and his allied American and French army of 17,600 troops surrounded and besieged General Charles Lord Cornwallis' 8,300 British, German and American loyalist forces, which were fortified within the port of Yorktown. American and French artillery crews fired over 15,000 rounds of siege artillery upon the British continuously for nine days. On October 19, Lord Cornwallis, surrendered, effectively ending the war." http://www.baygateways.net/general.cfm?id=55
On Thursday, October 21, Paul and I spent the day walking around Colonial Williamsburg. We were not able to get into many of the buildings because we decided not to buy tickets until after we had a chance to see what there was to see (we actually originally decided we would spend Thursday walking around and then buy tickets of Friday so we would have access to the buildings, but later decided to do something else on Friday). The weather was beautiful and we had a great day wandering around, which included a wonderful chicken pot pie lunch sitting outside on the restaurants patio. That evening we took Yagmur back into Colonial Williamsburg for dinner.
 |
| Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg |
http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/
 |
| Paul next to the James River at Berkeley Plantation |
Saturday, October 23, was a wonderful day. Yagmur was able to be with us and the weather was perfect. We spent most of the day at the Jamestown Settlement,
http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement.htm.
We spent several hours exploring the museum - they do an outstanding job of depicting the history of Jamestown dating back to the earliest Native Americans residing there. There was an especially interesting special exhibit entitled "Werowocomoco, Seat of Power" with artifacts dating back 10,000 years. http://www.historyisfun.org/werowocomoco.htm
After exploring the museum we took a tour of the replicas of the Jamestown and Powhatan Villages and then walked down to the river where there were replicas of the ships that brought the original settlers to Jamestown. Jamestown was the first English settlement in America that managed to endure for more than a few months.
 |
| Nancy, Paul and Yagmur in front of ship at Jamestown |
 |
| Lauren in her "batgirl" costume |
 |
| Kaley in her cheerleader costume |
Of course the day after I got home we had a torrential rainstorm! The next couple of days should be nice though and I am going to do a casual bike ride with girlfriends in Newport tomorrow. I haven't been on the bike since we arrived in Yorktown 12 days ago. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's ride (I may even sneek in a short ride this afternoon once the fog lifts).
It was a wonderful "adventure" which I am so very glad I did! After three months of being gone however, it is great to be home!
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