Merry Christmas!

It has been awhile been posts. Not sure where the time went, but we have had a great relaxing time doing not much of anything! We had computer problems - crashed it again and had to rebuild it. Then Ralph decided that he was going to learn Linux so we could use it on the internet as it is much safer. He succeeded and we have learned how to use it now. Some things we still have to do on Windows, but most of our internet time is now on Linux. I have been wanting a mini-notebook computer but did not want to have to worry about all the security "stuff", so when he got Linux working I found a good deal on just what I wanted. Of course, that created another whole set of issues starting with a new air card so we could use a router and both computers online at the same time. From there, my computer did not have a cd drive, so we needed to find one of those at a reasonable price. We ordered one online and it took them over a week to tell us it was unavailable. Found one online and also at Circuit City, so off to Circuit City and they price matched - $20 off their price! Then it was a several day process with many people helping in chat rooms to get my computer operating on wireless with Linux, but it is now done and I love it! Our very old computer was pressed into service to experiment with Linux and of course Ralph had lots of help!We are spending Christmas in Indio CA. Cookie is very happy with all of her very special friends here. She is in love with a white toy poodle named Brutus - the world revolves around Brutus! She knows where he lives and all walks must go to Brutus's house! She met Brutus in Pahrump and he will be in the next park with us also. She will be a very lonely puppy after that! Chloe, a black toy poodle is also a playmate here. A beautiful gray standard named Sidnee is her other special friend. They take walks and play together. Sidnee lives with another beautiful black standard named Bridi and a cat Muffin. Cookie likes all of them and noses and licks with them, but Sidnee is her special friend. Of course Cookie meets all the dogs and we get to meet all the owners and visit! We all seemed to be doing the same park rotation this fall, so we have all had lots of time together. We wish all of you the very Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years.

We Are Alive and Well!!

It's been a while since our last posting - just not much to report. We had a great time in Pahrump and so many friends seemed to be there at the same time. We sure enjoyed seeing and visiting with Jim and Lorna, Rick and Pam, Jerry and Laura, Ray and Sue, Phil and Gayle and Mike and Carol. Then we were off to Las Vegas and again met up with Ray and Sue for lunch. Jerry and Laura were also in Las Vegas, but an appointment that took more time than they had planned kept them from meeting us for lunch. It was a relaxing time there - great weather and good food at the casino buffets. Now we are in the Palm Springs area moving between parks. Again the weather is wonderful - just so sunny and warm and we love it!!

PS So many people and we forgot someone we met up with in Las Vegas. We enjoyed lunch and seeing Howard and Sue's new home with a fabulous view of Lake Meade!

Sunny and Hot

We had a beautiful drive from Oregon through the mountains and fall colors to the desert landscape of Nevada. Pahrump is sunny and hot, but we are really glad to be back where it is dry. It did rain very hard last night, probably a years worth of rain for here! By this morning you could not tell it had rained - perfectly dry. We have a beautiful view of the mountains from our motorhome and those desert sunsets are spectacular. This area continues to grow with a brand new Home Depot that just opened the end of Sept. In driving around though, there are a lot of homes for sale, so the economy must be affecting things here also. We drove through the Escapees Park once again and still like it and the area. Our name may come up on their waiting list in a few years - it does seem to move slowly when you are the one waiting!

Sunny Eastern Oregon

After a great visit with Ralph's cousins Tom and Linda, we moved south out of the rain! We stopped at a place we had visited in 2002 and said at the time, if someone with a vision and money bought the park, it had great potential. That is exactly what happened to Lost Lake Resort. It is now a beautiful place with lots of amenities. They are selling RV and park model lots and own much more property to develop. For us, being under the trees with no sun and lots of pine needles was a deal breaker. Add to that the price of the lots and the monthly fees and we would not be interested - just wanted to see what they had done! We are now in LaPine OR at Cascade Meadows. This is another park that could be very nice if someone just cleaned up all the junk, fixed up the buildings and put some gravel in the sites. However, it is a good place to just relax as it is virtually empty - just a few full timers heading south. It is high desert and is 30 at night and 80 in the afternoons, with a breeze and lots of sunshine!

What's Happening

We are enjoying our stay at Thunderbird Leisuretime RV Park in Monroe WA. The weather has been beautiful, sunny and 70's. Tom and Linda, Ralph's cousins are parked next to us and we get to see them after work and on the weekends - they will retire in two years and can then travel more. We went to see our youngest daughter Karen and her husband David at their new home. They are busy personalizing the house, getting the yard into shape and fixing all those pesky problems. It is a beautiful home, with a wonderful outside area. It will give them room for their growing family. They are expecting their first child, a girl, Jan. 13. We told her we would post her picture here for all to see how "big" she is now. And of course we have to post a picture of both of them!

Finally About Our Boat Trip

The pictures above are from Sucia Island State Marine Park, our first stop. This is a huge island with many bays for the boats. Many yacht clubs raised money to buy this private island in 1960 and it was given to the state of Washington for a park. Ralph was at the dedication. It is accessible only by private boat. There are docks available in one of the bays, which is where we anchor so getting to shore is much easier. This island was a limestone quarry and so has many left over roads for hiking as well as many trails. The only animals are otter and mice - the mice left the ships that came for the limestone and have multiplied over the years! There are many kinds of birds including bald eagles and a rapidly growing flock of Canadian geese - the eagles cannot keep up! We ended up staying here for a month - it is our favorite place!

Next stop for an overnight was Jones Island, another marine park known for its tame deer that like to raid the campsites. It is a small island, but has gorgeous views of the San Juan Islands. This deer had already gotten several other containers off the picnic table and had opened them. This container proved to be difficult and no amount of hoof pounding seemed to work.




Our final stop was at Garrison Bay on San Juan Island. This is the British camp from the Pig War of 1859. Tension was mounting over a boundary dispute between the US and Britain and ultimately the ownership of San Juan Island. A crisis came when an American settler killed a British pig. British forces grew at this location, while further south on San Juan Island the Americans had their camp. However, the leaders advised that they would not involve two great nations in a war over a squabble about a pig. A token force from each nation occupied the island for the next 12 years until a final treaty was signed and the boundary line was through Haro Strait and San Juan Island became an American possession. This will be long remembered as a military confrontation in which the only casualty was a pig. It is the only place in the US that a British flag is flown.

Two years ago when we were here we met fellow boaters Bonnie and Montee. They were here again this year, so we all hiked up Mt. Young to see the beautiful view of the Canadian Gulf Islands.












From here, we took our dingy over to Roche Harbor which had its start with the lime industry. John McMillin discovered the richest and largest deposit of lime in the northwest here and bought the property and claim in 1884. Starting in 1886, he began to build the town with the Hotel de Haro which still stands today and is operated as a hotel. The town was sold in 1956 to Reuben Tarte and Roche Harbor became a popular resort for boaters and vacationers. We have watched it grow over the years with many new docks, shops and condos. John McMillin built The Mausoleum near the resort ( within walking distance) to leave to posterity a memorial to the dreams and aspirations of the the things his generation believed in. The table represents the family table around which all the family would symbolically gather in the hereafter. There is a chair for all the sons and daughters of John and his wife, Louelle. The chairs are also the crypts for their ashes. The broken column represents the broken column of life and signifies the unfinished state of man's work when the string of life is broken.




Cookie learned all about boating and seemed to enjoy most of it. Here she is in "her" kayak, one of the activities she enjoyed the most. Of course, one of us had to paddle her around the bays so she could see everything.


It was a great, relaxing 7 weeks and for the most part good weather. We love the water and especially enjoy walking and seeing the beautiful scenery. We will leave you with one of the many gorgeous sunsets we enjoyed from our boat.

Boat Trip

We are back after 7 weeks and as soon as we have a fast internet connection, we will post about where we visited with pictures. Our connection is just to slow to do pictures! Cookie turned into a boat nut. She loved watching all of the activity and always was excited when we would take her in the kayak and paddle around the harbors! We are enjoying the liquid sunshine of Washington - we both will have our web-feet back real quick. Sure is not the usual August weather here. The lot we had rented in Casa Grande at Sunscape was sold, so we are now redoing our travel schedule for Jan. - Feb.

Boating

We will be on our boat until August 26, so we will not be posting for awhile. The weather has been beautiful and it is supposed to remain that way. If it starts all that raining again we will be back sooner! We watched the fireworks on the 4th here in LaConner on friends Bev and Harvey's boat.
They had a very good show for a small town. Even Cookie enjoyed watching it all!

Really Hot Now

Summer has finally arrived here - who knows for how long! Supposed to be in the 90's for a couple of days and then 80's. Sure brought out all of the families in trailers for the weekend. We have been busy getting the boat ready for our 8 week excursion - all depends on the weather however. Fuel prices are keeping us from Canada this year, so we will anchor for long periods of time in the harbors that we enjoy in the San Juan Islands. Cookie will be 10 months old tomorrow and is still such a good "velcro" pup - snuggles tight when she is unsure or scared! She has walked docks with no problem and was on the boat on the trailer yesterday as we worked on it. We'll see how she does when it is floating and constantly moving. We have just enjoyed relaxing and enjoying life!

The Sun Is Shining!

It has finally stopped raining and we are having a sunny afternoon. We are enjoying our waterfront site in LaConner. All the others now have cabins on them and we are sure this one will have a cabin next year when we return, so we are enjoying it while we can! We had a great visit with our two daughters and their husbands last Sunday. It is always fun to have them all together! We have done the dentist thing for this year - YEAH. Ralph is over doing his annual maintenance on his parent's computer - seems to always have more than its fair share of viruses and trojan horses. We are taking a lot of walks with Cookie and she loves that. It looks like maybe we have turned the corner and the weather will keep improving. Tuesday we move about 20 miles, but will be closer to the shopping, so we can get alot of that done next week and not spend a fortune in fuel.

It's Still Raining

We enjoyed a week in Seaside with friends Ron & Connie and her mom Bev (forgot to get their picture) and cousins Tom and Linda in picture. We visited Fort Clatsop where Lewis & Clark wintered in 1805-1806. It is the second reconstruction of the fort - the first was burned by an arsonist a few years ago. They are still working on finishing the project (chinking the chimney), but looks the same except for new logs and the wonderful smell of pine! We all went on a shopping expedition to the outlet mall and downtown Seaside. Unfortunately the weather remained cool and misty
We are now in Washington near Issaquah and it is still cool and wet and looks like that is the way it will be for awhile. Tom and Linda are next to us and she is driving to work in Monroe each day. There are still some people working - we all can't be retired and relaxing!

It's Raining

Sunday we left hot southern California and headed north. We just kept driving hoping to get out of the heat, but gave up after 12 hours on the road and stopped in Redding CA at the WalMart where it was a mere 102 at 5pm! Monday it was a little cooler as we made our way to Harrisburg OR and the Monaco service center - just 81 when we arrived to dry camp. By Tuesday, after a good rain, it was 60 and blowing. They finished up our work and we headed out Wed. to Seaside where we are now. Here it is in the 50s and showers - everything from light to heavy! We don't mind the cold temps, but boy this rain can stop anytime. It is pretty much a mud hole everywhere in this campground. Cookie was a great traveler, but she was ready to run and play by the time we stopped each day. The service center was a challenge as we were in the customer lounge all day and she had to stay in our laps - hard for a puppy when there are lots of people and dogs she wanted to meet. Tomorrow, we have 2 rigs joining us here, Tom and Linda, Ralph's cousins and good friends Ron and Connie. It will be great to see all of them and we will have a fun and busy weekend.

Panama Canal Cruise: April 21 - May 10

This is the Island Princess, our home for this cruise. We were in the bottom row of balconies, last stateroom in the rear on the right. It was a great place to view everything to the side and the rear. Disadvantage is that it is a bit rougher and we had the engine noise - not enough to bother us with sleeping. However, we did wake up when they reversed the engines to slow down and pick up a pilot. Needless to say we were always up to watch going into all ports. This cruise was round trip Los Angeles and we left on a beautiful, sunny afternoon.



Our first port of call was Cabo San Lucas. Since we have been here before, we decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the view. Cabo is known for these rocks and arch known as Lands End - the place where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez. It was a beautiful sunny warm day.








Next stop was Acapulco. Because we had heard so much about Acapulco, we were excited to visit here. It was very, very hot and humid, so we were the first off the ship as we had decided to explore on our own. Boy, were we disappointed. It was very dirty - garbage everywhere- and a very obnoxious odor. We walked to the main square and found this very unusual cathedral in this picture. We returned to the ship and enjoyed the views of the bay without the garbage and smells.





Huatulco was a refreshing change for Mexico. It is a planned resort that has 7 bays. We took a catamaran boat tour and visited 5 of the bays - all very beautiful and many undeveloped. The picture is one of the bays with a very fancy hotel. Then we went by bus and visited the resort hotel area. It is all very clean with beautiful beaches and landscaping. It is hard to believe you are in Mexico here!




Costa Rica is beautiful and lush. We did a bus (15 passenger to navigate the roads) tour through 4 eco-systems before arriving at our destination in the tropical rain forest on the Caribbean side of the country. This place was a paradise with flowers blooming everywhere and the Toro Amarillo waterfall in the picture surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. We enjoyed a Costa Rican lunch on an open veranda while watching the hundreds of hummingbirds up close and listening to the howler monkeys. On our way back to the ship, we stopped in Sarchi where they started painting their ox carts a century ago and of course it has made them famous for tourists. We finally saw howler monkeys just before arriving at our ship.


This was the big day - our transit of the canal. We were up at 4:15am local time and we had dinner at 8:00pm after we had reached our anchorage for the night. As the sun rose we sailed under the Bridge of the Americas and in full light we approached Miraflores Locks in the left picture. It takes much longer than one thinks to lock through. This is two locks up and you change mules (right picture) between the locks. The cruise ships have two mules in the rear and one mule in the front. We always had two tugs escorting us into the locks and two new tugs to escort us out of the locks. Only once did one of them actually have to push us. After Miraflores is Pedro Miguel which is one lock up to Gatun Lake level. We then cruised through Galliard Cut and into Gatun Lake. We turned around at the Gatun Lake anchorage (where the freighters anchor to wait for passage to the Caribbean) and cruised back to the locks on the Pacific side. Same process again, Pedro Miguel lock and then Miraflores Locks, but this time at night. The shoreline and all of the locks are lit at night and it is beautiful. As we locked down in Miraflores, we were able to touch the canal wall. There is very little clearance on either side of the ship. The cables hit the side of the ship removing paint and the ship scraped the sides of the canal a few times. After this transit and the tire marks from the dock in Costa Rica, they were busy repainting the sides of the ship. This day was long but awesome! But, we were anchored so no engine noise this night and it was much to quiet!


Panama City is a city of contrasts. We did a bus tour and drove to the original site from 1513 that is stone ruins. They are trying to restore this area which is very large. You can see the new skyline behind the ruins. Then we went to the area where the city was moved in the 1700's called the Viejo. They are restoring this area slowly and what is done is beautiful. The buildings and narrow streets (right picture) would remind one of the French Quarter of New Orleans or a bit like Charleston. Again the new city is visible in the distance. The new skyline (left picture) is huge and the highrises are mostly condos with commercial in the ground floors. Next to this are some of the worst high rise tenements we have ever seen. We drove through Balboa which used to be the American area when we ran the canal. It is still very nice.

We docked at the commercial dock in Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua. This is a fairly new port and we shared the dock with freighters unloading. We walked into town and visited the flea market which is mostly for the cruise ship, but also locals shop here. It is set up on the streets and has lots of vendors and inexpensive prices. They would barter, but it took a good amount of time to find things in the piles in each tent. It was very hot and humid and again very dirty with a terrible odor. We did find a few things, but gave up as we were overheated.

Our favorite place was Antigua, Guatamala. It was very clean with restored buildings and cobblestone streets. Of course there were many shops displaying their beautiful woven fabrics(right picture). Many of the buildings are gorgeous hotels and we found one of them for lunch on an open veranda surrounded by gardens, fountains and enjoying the music of a marimba band. Santa Domingo is a restored convent that has been turned into a hotel and restaurant. The gardens and walkways are beautiful and extensive. Macaws live throughout the gardens. The restoration is continuing on the church and altar. We spent an hour exploring the grounds and just sitting and enjoying the surroundings. The focal point everywhere in this town is the volcano, but it remained in the clouds for our visit. Antigua is 1 1/2 hours by bus from the commercial dock where they put the cruise ships.

Zihuatanejo was a typical Mexican town catering to cruise ships. Prices were high and they refuse to barter. It used to be a sleepy fishing village. They still fish and have a market selling their catch.

Last port was Puerto Vallarta. This was the only port we found another cruise ship - a Carnival ship had arrived ahead of us. It was a tight port with the other ship there - we entered and then turned and went to the dock. That was fun to watch! Across the street from the dock was a Wal Mart and Sams Club - the ship staff were all off to shop. We did a horseback ride here, so did not get to see any of this town except at the dock. The horseback ride was at a Hacienda outside of town and was a lot of fun. Yes, Ralph got on and rode a horse!

This was a trip of a lifetime. We saw so many unique sights and have now visited all the Central American countries except El Salvador (don't want to go there).If you have ever wanted to transit the canal, do it! One downside is the weather - it is very hot and usually very humid. This causes the air to be very hazy so pictures are difficult. The other downside of this trip is the constant time changes - it seems like we were either moving ahead or back an hour every day (we lost track of how many times), but it was so worth it. There was a nice mix of sea days and port days so you did not get to tired and had time to relax and yes, do your own laundry after finding out what the ship charges. We will leave you with a beautiful sunset over Costa Rica.

It's Hot

We are south of Riverside CA and the heat followed us from Arizona - 99 today! Here we can run one air conditioner, at least until they have a blackout due to high power useage. We were going to replace all of our coach batteries in Oregon, but found out they did not have what we needed up there. So instead of leaving a day early to go up there, we stayed in this heat another day and replaced them all here. At least when we dry camp for two nights, we won't have to worry about them. We have finally finished all the pictures from our cruise, so will now do a post with pictures about that.

We're Back

We arrived back in Arizona late yesterday. Cookie was so excited to see us and now we are not allowed to be out of her sight - guess she is afraid we may leave her again! It is a little warm here - 101 inside the motorhome to be exact. We may be forced to run the generator for a few hours tonight to cool it off just a little. Tomorrow we will be in California where it is a bit cooler.

Our Panama Canal Cruise was a trip of a lifetime. We saw so many countries and beautiful places. The weather was very hot and humid, so this dry heat is not as bad for us. We took over 800 pictures that have to be sorted and labeled before we can post any. Once the pictures are done we will post about our incredible journey!

Panama Canal Cruise Begins

We left Arizona City yesterday and drove to San Pedro California. We left our black fur ball Cookie and our motorhome with our friends, Barb and Roger. Cookie will be very spoiled when we return. Thank you so much, Barb and Roger. We stayed at the Doubletree Hotel next to the Cabrillo Marina, so enjoyed a nice walk yesterday admiring all of the boats. This hotel has quite a deal for cruise ship guests - place to leave your vehicle, bottle of champagne or sparkling cider, cookies, newspaper and a full buffet breakfast all for a very reasonable price that is less than leaving your vehicle at the cruise ship port. The hotel is a 10 minute walk from where our daughter Karen used to live. We will catch the free shuttle to the cruise ship terminal later this morning and board our ship, the Island Princess. We leave on the ship at 4:00 this afternoon and boy are we excited - we managed to get an upgrade from interior to a balcony at no additional cost and we will really enjoy sitting out and watching everything, especially the transit of the canal which will be an all day affair!! We will not have any computer while on the ship, so we will post again soon after our return on May 10. Enjoy.............

Back to Valley Vista

We moved back here on Wednesday and were welcomed by everyone. The management and staff here are some of the most friendly people we have met at any park! It is at the close of their season and they are cleaning out the refrig and freezer, so meals are inexpensive as long as you like what they have left! Unfortunately, it turned cold (for this time of year - 60's) and windy for yesterday and today. However, tomorrow the warm up begins with highs in the 90's by the first of the week. Saturday is a campfire and the fire department requires you cook food to get a permit for a fire - so hotdogs and smores it is. No one is complaining about that. It will be a fun and relaxing week here with time to read up about our upcoming cruise.

Seven Mile Move

Yesterday we had a major move down the road to St. Davids RV park for a week. It is quite empty as the season down here is coming to a close. Cookie likes it with all the new walks and smells and it gives us new walks for our exercise. Here is a picture of Cookie on the day she turned seven months old.

Tuscon Adventure

Yesterday we ventured out of Benson to Tuscon. Since we did not plan ahead, Pet Smart was our first stop for dog food! We are not used to having a dog again. Then we were off to Beaudry RV for their 50's Celebration. We met friends, Ray & Sue and George & Dianne, there. They were both on our first Alaska tour. Beaudry serves a free lunch - if driving 90 miles round trip is free - and they have music. Of course, you are supposed to look at all the RVs and choose your new one. Compared to last year when the place was packed with people, this year it was virtually empty - says something about RV sales. We chose to visit alot and look a little! We are enjoying the beautiful weather with sunshine and high 70's here in Benson.

Pam & Ralph's Adventures

We have been in Benson, Arizona for a couple of weeks now enjoying the peace and quiet and our new poodle puppy. We are enjoying sunshine and warm temperatures and frequent walks as demanded by our well trained puppy. This is a picture of Cookie at 6 months. She is now almost 7 months old.