WE'RE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove all day yesterday, through the California desert and about 20 miles before we were going to get to where we needed to exit the 99 freeway, we kept seeing "road closed" and "detour" signs. So we chose to get off early in Kingsburg and come home the way we used to before the new freeways were built. We later learned that we were so lucky to not have come through earlier as there was a 100 car pileup on the freeway. It was our lucky day to have made several stops along the way (for diesel and lunch) in which may have possibly saved our lives.

Rachel, Jeff, the boys and the dogs met us at Academy & Shaw and we said our "hello's" and took Ben, the 7 year old grandson, home with us. We were anxious to see the boys and Rachel was anxious for us to relieve her of at least one of them for the rest of the weekend. She is spoiled by having us live so close to her as we usually have one or both of the boys on the weekends and she had them for the past 7 weeks. Plus, Ben is helpful around the house, so we figured he could come in handy in emptying the motorhome.

We started into the foothills and I actually got butterflies in my stomach as I looked at all the beauty we take for granted. It is so beautfiul in the foothills with the Sierras as the backdrop. That is why we moved here and we've come to appreciate just how beautiful it really is by visiting the 30 states we traveled through on this trip. We are so fortunate to live in such beauty. We got home around 3pm and I couldn't wait to see Scruffy, my pound puppy, that we had to leave home with his grandparents. Even though we knew he was well taken care of, we missed him. As soon as we pulled in, he came running down the hill from their house so fast with the dirt kicking up behind him as he ran. First he saw Lincoln and ran excitedly over to him and then he noticed me and jumped over everything in his way to get over to me. He almost bowled me over. (He's pretty big, probably around 70 or so pounds.)

We went up to Joe & Glee's for a quick visit. Mike's Aunt Emma Jo was visiting from Phoenix, so we got to see her too. Then, we couldn't put off the inevitable any longer.....we went back down and begun empyting the MH.

Ooooh, the house looked so good and so huge. We worked for a few hours and then were exhausted. Mike went to bed by 8:00, I was still trying to wade thru 7 weeks of mail. I'd only gotten through a little bit and by 9:30, I couldn't stay awake any longer. It will all be there in the morning. Mike feels it will take him a week to get the MH and the property back in shape and I think it will take that long to wade thru the mail and the bills, etc. Oh well, small price to pay for a once in a lifetime trip that we were so fortunate to have been able to make.

In looking back on the trip, we've asked each other what our favorite places were. I truly loved Macinac Island in Michigan. Next to that, there really wasn't anything that I would care to see again. Mike can't say that there is anything he really cares to visit again. When I pushed him for an answer, he said perhaps Bar Harbor & the Acadia Nat'l Park in Maine and the Blue Ridge Mountains. We both agreed that we are mountain people and will have to do our vacationing where mountains are in sight.

I hope everyone enjoyed our travels.....almost as much as we did. I'm going to miss writing.....perhaps I'll create a blog about something else...hmmm....what could I write about....real estate perhaps????
Love,
Jeri

California here we come...right back where we started from!

We're back....in California at least. Its Friday evening and we're parked somewhere between Needles and Barstow in the middle of the desert off of the freeway. We traveled alot today, leaving from Grants, NM this morning, going all thru Arizona and now we're in CA.

We were so excited as we entered California...that is until we pulled off the freeway in Needles to look for diesel and were welcomed by the highest diesel prices we've ever seen in our lives....$3.89 per gallon! Yikes! When we left, the prices were around $2.85 and everywhere we went they were higher. We called Ron Sustaric at home to see what the prices are there and they are indeed cheaper than $3.89, but we don't have enough to last until Barstow where the prices are hopefully less. So Mike just put in about 10 gallons and still kicked himself until we parked for the night. Never has he paid that much for fuel in his life.

On a positive note....the mountains are so beautiful and its dry and clear. I love it. I love California. I can't believe tomorrow will be 7 weeks that we've been gone. Can anyone believe it? We made it! And we're still speaking? Of course....there's still a full day of driving ahead of us.

I SEE MOUNTAINS!

And that makes me very happy! We are camped out again in the Walmart parking lot; this time in Grants, New Mexico. We're not too far from the Arizona border.

It was once again a very long day of driving. We left Texas this morning shortly after 8am and got here tonight at 10:00pm. It was a very uneventful day.....Mike driving and me reading and sleeping. Oh....yes...I'm very relaxed. I can't say as much for Mike though.

I perked up as we neared Albuquerque when I started to see the mountains. Ooooh, I them them so. The humidity is back to what we are used to and my hair is back to normal and I also noticed that the rings on my fingers are loose. My fingers apparently swell when its humid.

Tomorrow will no doubt be another long day of driving, unless we find somewhere we'd like to explore. I'll keep you posted.

Ben, the Protector

So, I finally found out what happened at school that would make such a passive kid get into a fight....Apparently a kid was pushing a friend of Ben's around and he couldn't run away because he has braces on his legs. So Ben came to his defense and got into a fight with the bully kid....who Ben had thought was also his friend. He was able to go back to school today, but I think he should be praised instead of punished and the other kid should have a serious talking to.

Just thought I'd update ya'all (Texas talk) on what happened.

Still in the Lone Star State

We left Conroe, TX. late this morning and headed North and then West. It was a long day of driving...nothing exciting. I got to read the book I bought yesterday and Mike got to drive. Sounds pretty equal, doesn't it?

We're camped out in Walmart again in Wichita Falls, TX. and so we should be in New Mexico tomorrow....probably another day of driving. Sorry there's nothing exciting to report! Happy Halloween.

An enjoyable day with Fred & Beth

We spent the day with Fred & Beth just hanging out. We visited in the motorhome for a while and then went to lunch. We requested Mexican food (of course) and they said there are alot of good Mexican restaurants around, but took us to one of their favorites called "Chuys". It was delicious!!!! Mike thinks it was better than the Elko, NV. restaurant, but I don't agree. Either way, it was a great lunch.

After lunch, we went on a hunt for a book store as I was looking for a particular book. We eventually found it at Barnes & Noble. I wanted a good book to read on our long drive home thru the deserts!

We came back to the MH and visited until dark and then they had to leave because Fred worked all night and only slept 2 hours this morning. He really needed to go home to sleep.
We had a very enjoyable, relaxing day. It was a nice visit. We hope they come out our way to visit in the near future.

Right after they left, I got a call from Rachel saying that Ben got kicked out of school today! My perfect Ben! I cannot believe that. I wish I was home to talk to him. Apparently he was in a fight at school....which doesn't sound like him at all. I can't wait to hear the details as Rachel learns them. She just found out as she left work and got the messages on her cell phone. (She's not allowed to have her cell on at work.) He is going to miss out on all the Halloween parties tomorrow at school. So being kicked out of school during this particular week is extra bad. He can go back on Thursday. Stay tuned for details....

We're in Conroe, Texas

We made it to Conroe, Tx. by mid-afternoon after about a 3 hour drive from where we were camped out in a Marshall, Tx. Walmart. We found a nice campground near Fred's house and chose a private spot that they call "a premium lake front lot". We laughed when we saw the spot. It was very nice, but the lake is really a pond. Oh well, it looks pretty.

We quickly set-up the MH and then spent the rest of the day at Fred & Beth's home. Lincoln went too. It was the first time met his Texas dog relatives as they have two large dogs. Of course, Lincoln thought he was big and tough....but they all got along fine after the initial nervousnes of meeting new dogs.

It was good to see Fred & Beth. They are both looking good, Fred as thin as always. Mike commented that you can't tell they're related! Fred barbequed rib-eye steaks and made garlic bread from the bread that he personally made. He works at a large Texas supermarket in the bakery dept. Dinner was good as well as the Texas ice cream called Blue Bell. We left their home late and headed back "home". We planned to meet tomorrow and spend the day together. Fred has to go into work tonight at 11:00pm and work until 7:30am....so we'll see tomorrow what time he's ready to get together. While we wait for them to call us, we'll sit and enjoy our "lake views".
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