Transatlantic

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean--it will take seven days.

Madeira, Portugal

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal (on a island in the Atlantic) is a beautiful coastal city.

 Besides the Botanical Gardens, the cable cars, the statue of Christ, they have their own "Rock 'n Roller Coaster". Tradition says you ride two and a half miles down the center of a city street in this wicker basket (a local craft) with two white garbed men wearing shoes soled with tire rubber to guide you down.


Yup, it was fun! 

Barcelona, Spain

The torpedo shaped building is one of the new landmarks for the old city. We found Barcelona to be a beautiful, modern, fast, busy, colorful city and we have to go back!









The famous and flamboyant architect Gaudi has his fingerprints all over the city, this being the La Sagrada Familia church.

Florence and Pisa, Italy

One day in Florence is not enough time to see the tremendous artwork and architecture that abounds in that city, so after a morning of driving (with a driver) to as many spots as we could we stopped for a cup of cappuccino--more artistry--and the best cup of hot chocolate I have ever had!

Our late afternoon trip to Pisa was again filled to the brim and I tried to keep the Tower in an upright position!

Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii

It is amazing that when I thought  of Pompeii I didn't think of it as a city of 20,000 with shops and homes and people and dogs. But walking through the ruins was reality. Another fascinating story in our world's history. 

Mitch and I decided to visit the top of Mt. Vesuvius and were driven the narrow, crooked, steep road almost to the top, then we had to walk the mile and a half to the top of the still active volcano.

Rome, Italy

We did "Rome in a Day" with our private driver who took us to all the spots for an outside glance. It was spectacular--there was so much to see. However, this is Trevi Fountain and if you throw a coin over your left shoulder you will be back!!

Mykonos, Greece

The city Mykonos was a beautiful little city on the hillsides and edge of the ocean. The houses are almost all whitewashed with blue windows and doors. The streets are teeny (that's smaller than tiny) but abound with shops and restaurants.

Istanbul, Turkey

The skyline of Istanbul, one of the largest cities in the world, 14,000,000, was punctuated by domes and minarets. I can't believe we actually walked the streets!

We were "helped" by a nice gentlemen who eventually led us right to his cousin's silver shop and his brother's rug shop.

The Blue Mosque was closed for the time we were there, but its presence was magnificent.

Ephesus, Turkey

We spent a day in Ephesus and it is mind boggling to think of the time frame of this city--from the ancient Romans and their worship of gods and goddesses to the time of Jesus, still over 2000 years ago, to us walking the same streets they walked.

 There was so much to see and pieces of stone laying all over that it is hard to realize that 90% of the city has not been excavated.

This is a piece that shows the goddess Nike. Can you find the Nike "swoosch"?

This is the Great Theater, built to hold 25,000, and was the place that John preached to the Ephesians. We sat in those seats!

We traveled a ways up into the hills and visited the Virgin Mary's home, the place she is to have lived after Jesus died on the cross and told John to take Mary as his mother.

Athens, Greece

We had a couple days at sea before we docked in Athens and we kept ourselves busy. CHEERS to our BLUEWATER friends!

A trip to the Acropolis--an amazing piece of ancient history--the Parthenon.

Venice--The Beginning

We flew into Venice to begin the Grand Mediterranean Cruise. Although the days have been rainy, we have explored--and have found it fascinating!

 The highways (traveled by small boats and gondolas)









and byways (traveled by foot) of Venice and not a car to be seen.


We have walked and walked--it's amazing where the maze of streets and alleyways go. We were also surprised this morning when we went out that many of the "ways" were covered by up to a foot of water and discovered that from November to April the high water phenomenon (where the high tide exceeds the normal level) floods many of the streets and makeshift walkways are erected every morning so most streets are walking accessible. We also found out the locals all wear rubber boots and carry umbrellas!

Fantasy Fest at Key West--Gone to the Dogs!!!

We had a great week parked at Bluewater RV Resort on the ocean with a tiki hut and a dock in our front yard.  We snorkeled the reefs, we jet skied the mangrove trails, we ate well (Mitch was our private chef), had a little to drink, and spent some time in Key West. The sunrises were beautiful, the weather was great, and sharing good times with great friends can't be beat. Life is good!

(Don't know this lady, but I like her spirit!)

We're almost "down south"!

We left Minnesota when the frost hit the ground, spent a week with friends Jackie and Jerry in Tennessee, then spent money getting new batteries, new slide toppers, and new ceramic paint on the roof at Alliance Coach in Wildwood while chatting with other customers Tommy and Susan and John and Lulu--always fun to run into friends.

So look who we met when we got to Thousand Trails Orlando--

our western wayward friends--Faye and Ken and John and Pat. We've played a little pickle ball, a little "Hand and Foot", and had a little "happy hour". What fun to see them again!!!

August 2013

 Can't believe it is August already, where have I been?!

The first part of August felt like October then melted into the hottest ending we have had in a long time--but great for playing and that's what we did!

This is the Big Sandy Lake Tower of Terror--the old fire observation tower almost in our backyard.

A trip to the top with the girls and I wanted a cute picture, but Addy said maybe terror faces would be better. Great idea!!

So we've had breakfast cruises, dinner cruises, swimming cruises, done some tubing, some skiing, and of course eating. This is Shayne's birthday cake--the adults side and the kids side, six layers with six kinds of ice cream filling. Yum!

"Up North", Minnesota

We are finally "Up North" in the woods at the lake...

and on the lake! Yea!!!!

Motorhome Rally--Gillette, Wyoming

 We have spent the last two weeks in Gillette, WY for our motorhome rallies and have been busy, busy, busy. There were 260 motorhomes for the Monaco International Rally where Mitch is Vice President and was in charge of door prizes for this rally. That kept him on the move.

The FMCA Rally has 2,200 or so motorhomes so the place is really hopping. Although we don't have "work" to do, it seems there is always something to keep us going.

We took a day off to visit Devils Tower about an hour away. We hiked around the bottom of this awesome structure to get a view from every angle.

Dan and Cari were with us and we had a great little picnic lunch (with wine) and watched the prairie dogs.

Gillette is the Energy Capital of the U.S. providing over 60% of the coal for power plants and we took a tour to one of the many coal mines. The whole process is fascinating and it was a very good tour. This whole area is sitting on a bed of coal and they pit mine tons of coal 24/7. Check out the white van and you can get an idea of the size of the rest of the equipment.

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Mitch and I, along with Dan and Cari, spent a couple of days touring the Hills before heading to Gillette, WY for the motorhome rallies.

One of my favorite childhood places to visit was Dinosaur Park.

We caught a glimpse of Mt. Rushmore from the road. After visiting Stone Mountain near Atlanta and its carving also by Gutsom Borglum, I looked at the faces a little differently. This picture was taken really zoomed in from an overlook a long ways away. I never paid attention to the fact that the faces had all that mountain above them.

We also did the drive through Custer State Park and weren't disappointed. Besides being a beautiful drive, we saw a lot of wildlife!

We continued our drive on the Needles Highway, gorgeous granite spires rising to the sky. The eye of the needle gives the highway its name.

We stopped to visit Crazy Horse Monument and the visitor center and museums. It was a fascinating lesson.

Another childhood favorite was Sylvan Lake. It's just a beautiful little lake way up in the mountains.

We did stop to visit Mt. Rushmore and the perspective of the faces from "up close and personal" gives you a totally different feeling of the carving. There is definitely a grandeur that being up close gives to these faces. Go back to the first picture to compare.

Monaco North Central Rally--St. Cloud, MN

We hosted the Rally with Don and Janelle Z. and Gary C. Everybody worked hard as we were cooking the meals from Thursday evening to Sunday morning.

To get us all in the mood Mitch made ribs with his special Whiskey Smoke BBQ Sauce.

His specials included pancakes, Indonesian steak kabobs and Asian chicken, Ziplock omelets, and grilled pork chops. We also had bread pudding with a whiskey butter sauce one night.

I don't think anybody lost any weight at this rally!

Besides eating we also planned a few "field trips: a tour of the Third Street Brewhouse (and a tasting), a tour of the Sherco Power Plant, an evening at the Pioneer Theater with folk singer Peter Mayer, and rides in the POW-MIA Freedom Flight hot air balloon. Although the weather didn't cooperate and the balloon never got blown up, we all learned a lot from Luke.

Happy Sixth Birthday, Addy!!

We're finally in Minnesota, just in time to celebrate Addy's sixth birthday.

The kid's party was fun, just ask Macy.

On Saturday we celebrated with family. Addy wanted Big Grampa's ribs so we thought a picnic at the park would be fun. Well, at 50 degrees, wind, and even snow, we changed plans. But the ribs were great. What a crazy May!

OLC, Sevierville, TN

We spent 10 days in Tennessee with a bunch of our camping friends (36 coaches this year) from around the country--Texas to Toronto!

One night Mitch cooks ribs for everyone, they're always good and everyone enjoys them!

We keep ourselves busy--shows, scenery, eating, visiting, shopping, fixing motorhomes, etc.

This year we did Dollywood (great roller coasters!!) and the best variety show I've ever seen. Check out Smoky Mountain Opry (http://smokymtnopry.com) for a great show.

We also had a chance to spend time with Mitch's brother, Dan and Cari, and their family who came to visit, Mindi and kids, Masayda, Cassian, Joakim, and Mejella, and Mitzi and Greg, with new baby, Issac.

On the road--moving north.

First stop--Old Federal Campground on Lake Lanier in Flowery Branch, GA (just northeast of Atlanta). Great campground and we had a lot of fun with Jan and Marshal, Ken and Carlene, and Dave and Dorie.

 The guys went golfing and we gals decided to check out Babyland General Hospital, the place where Cabbage Patch Babies come from. It was quite amazing.

 We don't just run around, we eat and drink. Here's Jan with a jumbo Margarita that Mitch makes with his "secret" ingredient--tang!












We also visited Stone Mountain, a giant granite rock that has been carved much like Mt. Rushmore. The picture depicts three generals of the Confederacy. The picture does not do justice to the size of the mountain or the carving.

Easter at Ruth and Luke's Lake House

 We spent Easter weekend very busy with Caryn and the boys at her friends lake house. We ate Mexican and Cuban food that Ruthie prepared. It was the best. This was brunch of refried black beans and a fried corn tortilla, onion, chicken, salsa combination (I don't remember the name) all topped with Mexican cheese and absolutely wonderful.

 Of course we started our day with a Bloody Ceasar, then went on to drink our way through the day. Caryn and Ruthie had a great time picking drink recipes and trying them out. Mitch and I enjoyed drinking them.

Here's Ruthie and Luke, our gracious hostess and host. We had a great time at the Lake House.

 To make the weekend more interesting, Brayden lost both front teeth. We were wondering if the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny crossed paths during the night.

Not to be outdone, Rylan celebrated his April 2 birthday a little early. Happy third birthday, Rylan!!