Monday, 30 Jan 2012 - SPI

It was an overcast, rainy day today; just the kind of day to re-pack clothes, watch TV, and nap and that's just what we did. I never begrudge Texas or Arizona a rainy day as water is always an issue and there seems to be drought so often.

Wayne went to his gym and joined for a couple of months so we are almost back in our routine. I didn't leave the hotel room and 'napped' for a couple of hours and surfed the internet. Tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be hot and sunny and now that I've got some shorts and summer t-shirts, I'll probably head out to the nature boardwalk and reconnect with the 'Tilly's', which is what I call the birder's here. Some people come to this part of Texas just to birdwatch and they have got to be the friendliest people on earth...always willing to tell you what they saw last week, yesterday, and five minutes ago. I generally do, what Jen calls, that 'Corkum Thing', where I pretend I'm much more knowledgeable than I am so that if one of them goes into a state of rapture and tells me they just saw a Yellow Crested Boobie Warbler, I will say, "Mature or Juvenile?" and then quickly look it up in the bird book when they aren't looking.

We went back to Dirty Al's for supper. It's a very 'basic' fish place and I have to say...once we move into the condo I probably won't have fish for a least a month. The gulf has the best shrimp ever and I seem to eat it non-stop until I get my fill. I think I've had my fill for a while and certainly won't get my cholesterol checked in the meantime.

We went around to the little movie theatre to check times for tonight. The matinee was just getting out and clearly, going to the movie on a rainy afternoon is what the Winter Texans do (we nap instead, lol) as white hair and walking canes were evident everywhere. Given that we might 'look' like seniors but don't generally act like them, we are going tonight. All the academy award nominated films are on and for $6.25, it's a great night out.

That was our day. The blog is like a 'trip tick' for me and satisfies my need to jounal every day so for those who are following, I apologize if it starts to get boring. Hope all is well--I'm going to check the Ottawa weather now to mentally help justify the cost of wintering in Texas.

Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 29 Jan 2012 - South Padre Island, TX

We are finally here! We're staying in a beautiful hotel, right on the beach, with a HUGE soaker jacuzzi tub in front of the TV so very comfortable until we move into the condo on Wednesday.

We were staying downtown Corpus Christi at a Super 8 and it was really a Dud Zero! It was party night in C.C. and the bar behind went full tilt until 2 am so we were a bit blurry eyed this morning. We decided that Wayne would go and tour the USS Lexington while I went to the acquarium and we'd both get to do what we wanted. The acquarium was amazing...smaller than some I've visited but extremely well done. I could have sat and watched the dolphins (underwater viewing area) for the whole day! I got a wonderful photo of a little girl walking along the glass and one of the dolphins following her (see Facebook) and I almost cried as I was imagining how wonderful it would have been in that little girl was Gillian or Tori. Clearly I am missing them even though we've only been gone less than 2 weeks. Wayne loved the USS Lexington and he got to see the bridge and engine room and everything in between.

As we were done by noon, we decided we'd head for SPI and get re-acquainted with the place before we move into the condo on Wednesday. As soon as we drove across the bridge it was like coming home. We found all the 'new' buildings and commented on how the places that had been damaged by Hurricane Ike have now been renovated so everything is looking quite spiffy on SPI.

We had a 10% coupon for the restaurant at the Hilton and had a great meal. We're both tired tonight so I expect it will be a early night. There are some who would ask, "How can you be tired when you're on holiday and retired, to boot?" but we're all creatures of habit--and it happens. Besides, the pool is heated and I have to be up early to do some laps!

Our love to everyone...and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Saturday, 28 Jan 2012 - Corpus Christi, TX

It was another beautiful day in the Churchmobile and while we didn't go far, we saw lots.

I've always wanted to stop at the Whooping Crane Preserve at Port Aransas and we got to do that today. That was the good news. The water levels are 22 inches below normal and the cranes, that eat crabs and other water stuff, are flying elsewhere to feed, so we didn't see a hint of a crane. That was the bad news. However, we got to walk down some wonderful nature trails, see 100 & 500 yr old oak trees, hear some birds, and get some exercise so all was not lost. Some internet research told me that the endangered Cranes summer in the biggest numbers in Northern Alberta and there numbers are steadily growing....around 500 birds now.

We did a bit of a drive around Corpus Christi and it's very much like Galveston in size. We booked into a hotel right along the seawall. It's lovely and I went for a short walk after we checked in. There was a 'Homecoming' parade where schools in the area participate with the drill/marching teams...it was terrific. Some of the elementary schools had their marching teams in the parade and they were so cute marching to 'Who Let The Dogs Out! Texas A&M is located here so there were sorority floats...all in all very colourful and fun to watch.

Tomorrow we are going to tour the USS Lexington (aircraft carrier) which is docked here and perhaps the Texas Acquarium (Wayne may do the former while I do the latter). We've already booked tomorrow night here so we don't have to think about driving somewhere else. Frankly, we are both getting a bit tired of hotels and restaurants and really looking forward to settling in at the condo. I know that I'm going to be eating salads for a while and doing a bit more walking. There a growing 'muffic top' thing happening and I'm getting a bit unfortable.

Speaking of eating, we just came back from the Water Street Seafood Restaurant...we had rib steak for a change...and they had a vegetable that was delicious. It was steamed corn nibletts, chopped zuchinni, chopped tomatoes, and very finely chopped serrano peppers...so, so good! I'm not familiar with those peppers but they weren't at all spicey so I've got to find them when I go home.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day...and that's how we spent our time. Hope everyone is coping with the cold at home and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Friday, 27 Jan 2012 - Port Lavasca, TX

Oh the places we end up! Where the hell is Port Lavasca and who's ever heard of it? Me, now.

Did the normal routine this morning and while Wayne occupied the bathroom facilities, I went out to watch the shrimp fleet come back into the pier, right beside the hotel, and get some photos. The port at Galveston is a heavy working port and a wonderful place to sit and watch the boats come in and leave. At any time there could be a cruise ship, a cargo ship, fishing boats, or pleasure boats in the river. On the other side of the river is the ship yard that repairs, builds, redesigns the big oil rigs in the gulf. It's a busy spot and like a campfire, you can stare at the river and all the goings-on for a long time.

I wanted to get to the Boliver Penninsula which is just a short ferry ride from Galveston and became much better known after Anderson Cooper saw the single house still standing in Gilchrist after Hurricane Ike destroyed everything else.

When we were there in 2009, it was tragic as cars were still piled on top of one another, houses were flattened and virtually no cleanup had been done yet. Well, if nothing else, Galvistonians are optimistic people because except for the odd house showing damage, everything is re-built and cleaned up and looking awesome. The only thing missing is.....GILCHRIST!! If anything was rebuilt they didn't put up a sign saying so and it looks like the town has either incorporated with another small community or gone. Everything else is new and beautiful! The rebuilt houses are still on high stilts but I suspect they are now built to be hurricane proof...if such a thing is possible built 100 feet from the gulf! As I said, they are very optimistic!

We went back into Galveston so that I could cruise the streets and take a few more house photos. I don't know who lives in them but there certainly is an element of money involved as they are generally HUGE. A good majority of them are still being renovated and/or painted and whoever has the painting contract on the island has a job for life! I was tempted to go to a real estate broker and tell them I was looking for a home...just to get a peek inside a couple of these places as the wood detailing inside is rumoured to be awesome...but I figured if the agent saw our 1996 Church-mobile, all semblance of being able to afford one of these places would be quickly done!

We decided we'd head for Corpus Cristie and hopefully get to the Whooping Crane reserve near there. Wayne programmed his girlfriend..aka Gertie..to take us the 'shortest way' so we got to meander through some back country that we'd otherwise never see. We ended up here at Port Lavasca in a beautiful room in the local Best Western and just finished another seafood meal at the local restaurant.

I'm not having any luck in figuring out why I can't post photos here so Facebook will have to suffice for now. I'll keep trying though.... That was our day. It was 70 degrees and sunny, so nice to be able to drive with the windows down and smell that fresh, sea air. We did stop at a shopping centre for an hour to stretch and although I came 'THIS CLOSE' to buying my girls new tutu bathing suits, I decided I'd better tough base with their Moms regarding sizes for this summer. They may only be 2 yrs old but they are already growing out of size 3 clothes!

Hope all is well there. Take care and until next time, hugs and kisses to all.

Thursday, 26 Jan 2012 - Galveston, TX

Oh Happy Day - I'm back in Galveston. Except for the fact that a hurricane or tornado rips through the place every 10 years, and destroys everything in it's wake, I'd live here in a minute.

We got here just before noon and stopped at the visitor centre to get an updated map of the town (I know it's a city but it just doesn't feel like one) and ended up taking a tour on the back of a golf cart which was intended to give up a better lay of the land for tomorrow and some serious photo stops. The guy who gave the tour ran us downtown to get some lunch and I had my first taste of seafood gumbo, which I really loved. I ordered the small bowl and only got through a quarter of it before I have to give up...just too much. I did manage to get through all the shrimp, oysters, and muscles that were in it though!

'Bobby' then took us on a 2-hr tour and given that he's a third-generation resident and former police officer, he had lots of good info to pass on and was more than willing to stop for pictures at any time. This city is in a constant state of renovation and reinventing itself. The last hurricane to come through, Hurricane Ike, pretty much filled every downtown building to the 4-ft level and flattened houses for miles outside Galveston proper. We were here a year after the hurricane and there were still areas along the coast with complete devastation--cars piled one on top of the other, houses flattened, etc. According to Bobby, it has all been cleaned up and one would never know a hurricane happened. I'm anxious to get out to Gilchrist, where the hurricane left one, single house standing.

Before we went on the tour, Bobby looked on expedia.com for a hotel deal and said the listed $99 hotel down in the harbour was excellent. When he drove us downtown for lunch, Wayne suggested he stop by the hotel so that he could reserve a room. "Oh you'll only get it via the internet", says Bobby, "You won't get it at the hotel itself." When Wayne went in to the hotel, I told Bobby that I'd be very surprised if he didn't get the best price. When Wayne came out, he got a kick out of telling Bobby that we were checked in, for $89!! It's a beautiful studio room, and we got a beautiful view of the sunset over the harbour.

Wayne lay down for a bit of a rest when we checked in and I headed down to the piers to take some photos. Galveston has the oldest shrimp fleet in the US and takes pride is saying that the fish you eat in any restaurant tonight, was caught by the fleet this morning. I met a couple of nice young fellows from Idaho and we talked for a long time about where we were each from. Coming back down the jetty, I met Wayne and we strolled through town and then went to Joe's Crab Shack for supper.

In the morning we'll head up the coast and take the ferry over to Gilchrist, perhaps visit the wildlife refuge there and then head back to do a street-by-street slow drive to take some photos of the most beautiful houses that have been restored back to their pre-1900 state. The historical society here is very active, and strong, and ensure that paint colour is taken back to the original and monitor renovations very closely. In the 1800's, Galveston was second only to New York to being the financial hub of the U.S. and millionaires were common here...and they built huge houses.

The sun is going to shine all week here with temperatures in the mid-high 60's...perfect.

That was our day...how was yours? Hope all is well at home. Until next time, love and hugs to all. An extra kiss for my girls (Gillian, Tori, and 'Scotty'), and my big boy Ty. xx

Wednesday, 25 Jan 2012, Livingston, TX

We are still in our hotel room in Livingston as the tornado and thunderstorm warning are covering the entire area we would be travelling in today. There are certainly worse things that lounging around, watching television, and snoozing off and on the entire day.

As soon as we woke up this morning, we could tell the weather had some power to it as the wind was really blowing and it was quite warm...which we've learned isn't good, at this time of year, in this location. As soon as we turned on the television, we could see that areas to the west of us were already in the 'tornado watch' area and it was moving our way. Given the incredible number of 18-wheelers on the road, driving in the wind and torrential rain just didn't seem to be a wise choice so we extended our stay one day. Tonight the news is full of damage that occurred in the area so although we didn't see anything dramatic, it was here.

It was very strange watching the storm coming over us and stranger still watching the clouds swirling around above us in a counter-clockwise pattern. I guess under different circumstances, a funnel would form that there's a 'tornado'. As soon as these black clouds passed, the skys opened and the rain poured down for a couple of hours. Flooding has been the biggest problem as Texas has experienced a long and severe drought so the ground just isn't able to absorb the water as quickly as it comes down. As well, a big portion of the older trees have died because of the drought so the high winds take them down easily. From the news reports, there's a whole lotta houses with trees on top of them.

Life in limbo is certainly easier to take with laptop computers, highspeed internet, e-readers, MP3s, etc. and once the worst of the storm passed over, we headed out to Whataburger for lunch. It's a relatively small town with only one main street through 'town' so finding your way around isn't a problem.

Other than that, it has been a quiet day and rather restful. Hope all is well at home. Thanks to Bob & Carol for calling on Skype...it was an excellent connection and good to talk to them. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Tuesday, 24 Jan 2012 - Livingston, Texas

Wayne and I have a great early morning routine, that doesn't usually change regardless of where we are (in the LuvMachine, home, hotels, etc.). He generally gets up early, gets dressed and goes off to have breakfast while I take my time waking up, getting up, and starting the day. Today, I woke up first and we went off to breakfast together. Today, I saw him smear peanut butter on his waffle. Today may be the last time we are ever up that early together again.

The best part...the very best part...of this kind of trip is making plans, changing them, making new plans, changing them, etc. We are in the middle of a big change!

I spent lots of time on line, looking at the stock show/rodeo happening in Fort Worth over the next two weeks. There were so many things happening that really interested me...I'm a rodeo geek and love bucking bronco's, bull riding, and all the rest of the kitsch that's involved. However, when I went on line again yesterday, and got down to the part where I actually had to start making definite plans to be somewhere specific on a certain day, it turned out that just about everything I wanted to see was happening at a time where we wouldn't be there, ie, on the weekends. There were some lesser things going on but it seemed to be a waste of time & money to spend a couple of days there so we've decided to head on down to one of our favourite places, Galveston, and spend a couple of days there. The last time we were there was right after a hurricane (Ivan?) and we could not get over the devistation still evident a few months after it had happened. We'd spent time there the previous year and just loved it so it will be interesting to see if things have improved. There are a number of National Wildlife Reserves we'll have a look at while we continue down towards South Padre Island. A definite look at Gilchrist will be mandatory...the hurricane left one single house standing. Galveston is many old, restored, historic homes and I'd like to spend a bit more time looking at them as well as other old buildings in the city.

At 12:27 pm today, we turned on the van's air conditioning! The sun shone all day with a brief shower later in the afternoon. We've just come back from supper and it has clouded over and the temperature has dropped...rain is forecasted for the next couple of days I think.

As soon as we crossed the Arkansas/Texas border, the landscape started to change. Gone were the rolling hills and fir trees and the wide flat, scrubby plains started. It didn't take long to see the wrought-iron gates of local ranches...and it all feels like home! We really love Texas but the drive will probably force us to choose Florida for future winters. However, if we could find a nice condo in Panama, well........

I'm looking forward to start taking some photos. Winter at home is not my favourite time to be out so getting back to taking pictures every day is something I really am excited about. Hopefully, I'll soon find my 'cookies' and eliminate them so I can post a few here on the blog. Otherwise, it becomes Lynne Babble.

Hope you are all well. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Monday, 23 Jan 2012, Arkadelphia, Arkansa

It's been a busy day of discovering every, single thing Elvis ever did but we had a good time and very glad we've been one of the 7 billion people adding to Prescilla's coffers. Seriously, I'm glad we got here and saw it all...doing it in summer with thousands of people in the heat would have been awful but there were very few people so we had a chance to stand around and actually read some of the stuff in the display cases. It's been very well done actually.

The house itself is small, by today's celebrity standards and it's definitely a walk down 1970 memory lane...shag carpeting everywhere. I had to laugh when we went down to the basement where the 'rec room' and pool room was and it was wood panelling that had been painted...I don't feel quite so bad now. The tour does not go upstairs as the family wanted to keep that portion private...I mean, didn't he die in the bathroom? The big jet was quite interesting--I'm betting it was quite a showpiece when he bought it in 1975 but really didn't have much time to enjoy it. There were costumes he wore on stage everywhere and I tried talking Wayne into getting one (in a poor man's version) for $2000 in one of the gift shops. Overall, the whole thing made me kind of sad..what a waste of a life..he was only 42 and who knows where he could have gone had he not got caught up in the craziness he did.

We boogied on through Little Rock as we are anxious to get to Fort Worth/Dallas while the weather is nice...rain is forecasted for the next few days.

I cannot get photos to upload on the blog..I think it has something to do with updating my browser or eliminating cookies...sh*t, I say...I'll figure it out but in the meantime, I'll put them on facebook.

Take care, and until next time, I'm just TCB!!! (That's Elvis-speak for Taking Care of Business). Love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 22 Jan 2012 - Heartbreak Hotel, Memphis, TN

OMG...what a day...what a great day and we haven't even hit Graceland yet!

We were up and out the door by 9:30 this morning. We always stay at a Best Western but although this one was advertised as 'newly renovated', it should have been called the Worst Western. No details but I suspect the reno project has stalled and I was actually motivated to fill out the comment card. We ended up getting $10 off our coupon price of $49 and reminded ourselves this wasn't the norm for this chain.

Given that we are (supposedly) in the middle of a severe tornado warning area, we decided we'd better get to Memphis, hope the Heartbreak Hotel was made out of concrete (it is) and make sure we were off the highway.

We breezed by Loretta Lyn's Dude Ranch, hummed along to 'Love Me Like My Dog Does' on the radio and pulled into Memphis at 2:30 pm. Once again, God Bless the GPS as it brought us right to the hotel without any problem. I can't remember how we fumbled around a city pre-GPS but I know I'm never going back to that place in time. The only thing that scares the b-Jezuz out of me is that Wayne talks to the darn thing..."Thank you Gertie", "What are you doing Gertie?" etc. but the amount of stress 'she' has taken off me makes me overlook this little idiocyncracy.

We've only been here a few hours but believe me, Elvis Overload cannot be too far off! The hotel is advertised as a 'boutique' hotel so the decor is purple, zebra stripes, hot pink, and plexi-glass, but quite lovely. The girl at the desk was in a tizzy as Colin Farrell had just booked out and she still wasn't over the hot flash (I totally get it). She had to show us his check-in sheet...he was driving a grey Chevy Tahoe...along with his very messy writing. It's not too busy right now so we booked in early and went to our room. Every available wall space is...of course...Elvis pictures along with Elvis music in the backroom and televisions playing Elvis videos.

Our room is beautiful..king sized bed (what else) and a couple of Elvis photos on the walls. Needless-to-say, there is an Elvis channel on the TV showing all his movies. Outside our room is the heart-shaped swimming pool. Tomorrow morning we will go to the 'Jungle Room' for breakfast. We bought the package that gives us passes to every possible building, museum, or attraction currently collecting money for Prescilla on the grounds of Graceland, including a tour through The King's jet, a Lockheed JetStar, which is parked right beside our hotel. All of that awesomeness will happen tomorrow after we've had a good night's sleep. Graceland is directly across the highway from the hotel. It is all very well organized and I'm looking forward to seeing the whole thing.

Supper was fun. We picked up the pink, fluffy, bedazzled phone in the lobby which is connected to the (reportedly) best rib place in town, Malonnes. They said they would pick us up in 5 minutes and true to their word, 5 minutes later a pink cadillac limo pulled up and off we went! The ribs were absolutely the very best I've ever had..and I consider myself somewhat of an officiado of ribs and lasagna. Every table is covered with Elvis 'stuff' as well as the walls and the music was...what else...Elvis...supposedly being broadcast 'live' from Graceland on Serius Radio. Same ride home and a really fun way to end the day. I haven't personally SEEN Elvis yet but we Gilchrist girls have a bit of the old spookiness in us so anything is possible.

We were able to Skype with Colin & Jen and Gillian blew kisses so we got our fix for the day.

So that was our Sunday...how was yours? Hope everyone is well and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Saturday, 21 Jan 2012--Nashville, Tenn

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little Angel, Gillian! It seems hard to believe that two years has gone by so quickly and the amount of joy that she has given us in that time is immeasurable. Although her father likes to give us a hard time about never being with her on her birthday, we celebrate her every day of the year and she's in our hearts every minute.

It rained most of the morning and the trucks certainly made for hard driving for a while. The sun did peak through for a bit until we started to climb back into the Appalatian Mts and then it just became thick fog (which I slept through). We pulled into the hotel in Nashville about 5pm and I doubt we'll leave the room until morning.

After listening to country music on the car radio for the past two days, neither Wayne nor I are in a hurry to get to the Grand Ol Opry to listen to more...the pox on us, I know. According to the schedule, Vince Gill is performing tonight. Now, if Keith Urban was there...that would be a different matter! We are saving ourselves for tomorrow when we hit Memphis. Although I can't say I was a screamer for Elvis, I cannot go home and face Bob Scott without having visited Graceland. We are even going to stay in the Heartbreak Hotel for good measure and I'm anticipating buying a t-shirt for the kids that says 'my Grandmother visited Graceland and all I got was this t-shirt' or, even better, 'my Grandmother calls me her Hunka-Hunka Burning Love' (I just made that up...I like it)!

It's cool and damp outside, although we have left our coats in the car so that's some improvement. I'm not sure if they get snow..I'm guessing it happens sometimes..but there is no evidence of it right now and the elevation here is relatively high.

We've passed a few trailers heading South..less now that we've changed from the main interstate going to Florida to this one heading West. We have passed a few Roadtreks and my heart still skips a beat when I see one. The first major purchase from our mega-lottery win will go to the Roadtrek dealer! We are still seeing far too many huge 5th-wheelers with little old men peeking up over the steering wheel. I'm not sure how they manage those big rigs...it's a lot of work!

Not much else happening today. Hopefully I will soon start having some photos to post as well. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Friday, 20 Jan 2012 - Radford, Virginia

Wayne and I both slept in this morning. I'm not sure if it was simply that we were relaxed and in comfortable beds or that the Nyquil Sinus horse pills we each took are really heavy-duty sleeping medication in disguise. I suspect the latter! Sleeping past 8 am is not all that unusual for me but for him, sleeping past 5 am is radical. He did get up before me though and went down for his big breakfast before coming back to wake me up.

Actually, it was the ray of sunshine peaking through the curtains...right into my eyes...that woke me up. It was a gorgeous day, still chilly but sneaking up into the 50's so I expect we will be shedding at least one layer by tomorrow. We need to look at the map tomorrow as we know we are going to swing onto I40 West and into the centre of Tennessee, which is a new route for us.

As we were driving along today, and my head was swinging around so I wouldn't miss anything (I saw a huge flock of wild turkeys and at least 15 beautiful hawks sitting in trees) I wondered why I love being in the car so much. I believe it's because I'm of the generation that did 'Sunday Drives' with my parents. Nearly every Sunday, my Mother would announce that it was time to pile in the whatever old car we owned at the time because, "we're going for a drive". We never asked 'where' or 'why' and I think it's because we learned that Sunday Drive also meant 'snack'. If the Sunday fell right after payday, the snack could be as good as a coke and an order of fries or if it was just before payday, the snack was a small ice cream cone. Either way, it was junk food and we loved it. I have no idea who picked the route we travelled; I suspect Dad got to be the boss of that one and only decision in our household but we'd miander around back roads for a couple of hours until we'd pull into the driveway. It's a nice memory. After Wayne and I got married, we'd still do Sunday drives, even when we lived in Germany. The only problem was that it was much harder, at that time, to find a place to stop and get Lynne a snack and Wayne would often make a sandwich or something to bring out when I got hungry. Another nice memory. Anyway, it seems as though being in the car has always been something I really enjoy so these long trips are always another adventure for me...and yes, I still love to snack.

This corridor South is a major trucking route and the 18-wheelers were out in full force today. When there are 8 or 10 of them in a row and they all start pulling out to pass one another in succession, the cars start backing up behind them for a long way. It's one of the main reasons we don't drive past 5 pm--there's just too many trucks and it's worse at night. All in all, it was a good driving day. There is no snow anywhere here, not even in the wooded areas. We normally see lots of it in the Pocono Mts but nothing at all this year.

Hope all is well at home. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx Bob--the 100 calorie snacks were awesome. The 500 calorie Turtles were better. xx

Thursday, 19 Jan 2012

We are finally on the road! It took us most of the Spring and Summer to decide where we would spend the winter but once the decision was made...well, the planning and excitment just continued to grow. Every snowstorm and temperature drop made the wait harder but time does fly.

South Padre Island really is beautiful and it's a small community that is easy to drive around, has an amazingly beautiful beach with more amazingly few people on it, and wildlife up the ying-yang. Add some magnificent kites in every colour and size with professionals that come from all over the world to make those things 'sing' and it's the place to be. There's quite an active Winter Texan group and my calendar already has a few things on it that is organized by this group.

We got to our usual first night stop in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania about 4:30 pm and went straight to Cracker Barrel for supper. They have a great gift shop and I fought with myself for a long time not to buy Gillian and Tori the most gorgeous chiffon dresses for 'a potentially upcoming special occasion'. I realized this was only the first day of a 12-week shopping opportunity and besides...there are thousands of other Cracker Barrels with the same dress...in case I end up losing that conversation with myself at a later date.

The highlight of the night was the craving for junk food that hit about 8 pm and how we solved it. Bob gave Wayne and I each a package at Xmas that was labelled "Do not open until you cross the border". I went down to the van and got them and when we opened them, each box was filled with goodies, salty & sweet, plus a can of pop which totally satisfied the craving. How sweet was that? I do love that man. xx

We had no problems at the border and by the time we got to Syracuse, it occurred to us that at some point the snow had disappeared. It's still cold perhaps a bit less than home and the top of our van still has a sheet of ice on it that, by Murphy's Law, will fly off just as we are passing/approaching a State Trooper vehicle.

The day went quickly even though we spent it on the Interstate and we'll stick to that highway until it starts to warm up a bit and we head West. This is our 4th trip going this way and as much as we love the route, we've decided to find a different route and see some different scenery. I'm looking forward to seeing some new things.

Have a great day. Love and hugs to all. xx