LONG DAY BUT WE ARE HOME

I was too tired to post our final drive last night. I did get a couple of pictures on Facebook, that was about all I could do.


The total miles of the trip was 3430 miles leaving from Indio. We used 477 gallons of fuel with an average of 7.2 miles per hour, average speed 55 miles per hour and total drive time (engine running) 62 hours. Ed has this handy program The Glass Dash on a small computer that gives all statistics including other things like temperature etc etc... It really is neat and gives lots of information while we are traveling. Anyone who knows Ed, has to know he loves his techie toys.


We left Indio about 7:40 am, drove about three hours and stopped for breakfast at an intersection on Highway 58 we call 4 corners. It is a general stop on our travels through that area. The only other stop we made was at a rest stop in Turlock California. I was lucky, I could move around the coach, even take a nap but Ed was stuck in that driver's seat. I generally help with the driving but with the problem with the engine and may have to manually downshift etc. I was not comfortable with driving. Ed did the entire trip this time. Here comes the bad part. California has such high gas tax that is suppose to go to road repair. Highway 99 North is so bad, worst road we have been on this entire trip. The coach was rattling so bad, I am afraid to open the cabinets. The table I honestly thought was going to break from the vibration. The entire valance over our large window came clear off the wall. There is some construction on this highway but they really need to address this stretch of road. They are building overpasses and before those projects the highway needs a total resurfacing. If there was any other road we could have detoured to, we would have. I guess we are going to have to come home from Indio over Highway 395. It will take longer but it will be far safer. (off the soapbox)

We arrived home about 6:30 PM. Ed helped me unload the absolute essentials then hit the ground running. He had the front lawn cut and was blowing pollen off the driveway before dark. We both slept like rocks after that trip. Today was busy, Ed of course finished all the lawns including next door. The weed eater was going full blast as well. There were at least four things needed fixing on the coach. Ed managed to get the valance that houses the two shades back up. Not a lot of room to work. He got the slides working better and the panel that has all our information on tanks etc has been reset and hopefully working properly now. Ed will be calling to make an appointment for the engine at CAT tomorrow. With the device I talked about above the Glass Dash is able to store the error codes on the engine. Hopefully CAT will have a clue, after researching, Ed is confident it is the computer board in the engine.


I picked up Beau dog today, so glad to have him home. He adapts well, and is back to his routine here at home. Took him for a bath and brushing so he is looking good!! We will be busy with appointments the next few weeks, that dang calendar fills up quick.


Overall, we had a great trip, some adventures, enjoyed the wedding and visiting my niece and family. Visiting Robert and Carol and of course the trip to Southfork!! The next trip planned is to Yosemite .

So until next time.....  

END OF SEASON IN INDIO

End of Season in the Desert for us.  There are quite a few people already gone and by mid May it will be empty here.  Today was considerably cooler than our arrival yesterday about 85 degrees. I ran some errands today, hit a few stores, have to get that LAST retail therapy fix in. Ed spent the day at the pool. I think he overdid it again; he is quite RED tonight plus the raccoon eyes... Hope he can sleep tonight. I finally caught up with Sue R. last night; we have missed each other this entire season. Short but very nice visit. We had a very nice dinner with Alf and Sally at the club tonight. Monday night is Taco night and bar menu so it was just a relaxing evening. They are a very nice couple we recently met here at MCC and look forward to next Season. Bid farewell to the amazing staff at Top Of The Falls restaurant.  It was Art's birthday and someone brought in a cake to celebrate.  Art, Byron, Brenda, Jose, Oscar just to name a few are awesome and they take excellent care of the guests of MCC.  Hope to see them all back next Season.

 Ed did all the outside work that needed to be done; Casita is ready to lock up for the summer. Ed is planning to do a one day trip home tomorrow, 520 miles and since we are back in California with the dang 55 mile speed limit that is about a ten hour drive. The winds have come up tonight and a bit cooler so hopefully good sleeping weather.


Once we get home, Ed will be hitting the ground running. Steve said there were weeds coming up and we know what that means! We also have to clear out the coach more so than usual since it is going back to CAT to be fixed come hell or high water. They really need to get this engine problem resolved. This has been a very busy traveling three weeks and glad we took the time to do the Texas trip. It will be nice to be home for a while.


Safe travels for all leaving MCC and my RV friends from my RV message boards.


So until next time.....

DAY 14 BACK AT INDIO

Back at Indio and wow is it hot.  106 degrees today.  We had a nice short drive today, drove 153 miles in about three hours.  We arrived at Motor Coach Country Club about 12:15 and we were in the pool by 1:00.  We have the coach and car to be washed tomorrow at 8:00 am, and they really need it, I think we have every kind of bug from four States.  The coach will be serviced as well tomorrow and if all goes as planned we will be on the road to home on Tuesday.  I think Ed is going to try and make it home in one day, 520 miles, we shall see how that goes.  Been a hectic three weeks but we covered a lot of territory, had a great time seeing new areas and a very nice wedding.  I would love to travel all the way to the East Coast one day, however a longer trip without 4 continuous days of driving.  There is so much to see in our great Country. 

I am going to add more pictures of Southfork,  there was quite a bit to see there and may as well share.  The new Dallas starts June 13th on TNT.

Bobby's Room

Lucy's Room

Ms Ellie's Room

Portait of Jock Ewing

Until next time

DAYS 11, 12, 13 TRAVEL DAYS

DAYS 11, 12, 13 TRAVEL DAYS



Heading home is the agenda for the next week or so. We left Gun Barrel City on Thursday, drove 400 miles to Big Springs Texas, we stayed at the Whip In RV Park. Not much there except the best Internet connection I have had on this trip. I was able to catch up on TV shows I missed the last few weeks. I probably should have been putting the pictures on the blog but I have not edited them yet. We were pretty tired and stayed in for dinner that night.


Friday we drove a little over 400 miles to Las Cruces New Mexico, we stayed at the Hacienda RV Park, the same place we stayed when we were going east. We went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel again, Ed has to get his fix on the country cooking.


Saturday, ok so we pushed it today. First plan was to stay at Palm Creek RV in Casa Grande. We spend a month there with some of the RV group a few years back. Very active park with all kinds of things going on. When I called, they were closed on the weekends. What’s up with that? I realize “season” is coming to an end but there are still travelers on the road. Just as well, we made it Casa Grande about 1:00 in the afternoon, too soon to stop. Next plan of the day was Gila Bend, called the RV Park there and no problem getting a space. It was only 2:30 and so dang hot out there, not a tree in sight. Ed said he felt ok so let’s try for Yuma… Looked in our Big Rig and Woodall’s book and found Shangri La RV at exit 12, about another 120 miles, so we went for it. It is still HOT but at least we have a tree. We realized we stayed at this place a couple of years ago with George and Ed R. on our way to Indio from San Diego a decided to do a side trip to Yuma. Today was a 520 mile day in an 8 hour drive day. We stopped for breakfast and one other stop to plot out our plan. Guess where Ed wants to go to dinner tonight? Exit 2 is Cracker Barrel. Tomorrow should be a much shorter driving day and we hope to get to Indio by noon. These long days of driving are getting old, will be nice to stay a few days in Indio before heading home even if it is 107 degrees according to Gary; I read that on facebook ...

Until Next Time....

DAY 10 DAY AT SOUTHFORK HOME OF DALLAS

DAY 10 DAY AT SOUTHFORK HOME OF DALLAS

First of all, I want to wish my wonderful husband HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, love you a whole lot.


Ed and I have been Dallas fans for years. We have the entire 14 years and currently on season 13. The new Dallas starts in June and we will be sure to tune in. Ed has always wanted to visit Southfork, in fact he would love to buy Southfork Ranch. It is not for sale… Anyway it is a 360 acre ranch and at one time raised very expensive Quarter horses that sold for over a million dollars. It is now a tourist attraction; some live stock on there but not a working ranch anymore. Most of the filming of Dallas was the exterior of the ranch. There are a few similarities of the interior of the house but most of that was filmed in California. Was a very interesting tour for us, we really enjoyed all the memorabilia. We did a bit of shopping of course and this time it was ED doing the shopping. Years ago I sort of disposed of his poor worn out cowboy hat that got way to small for him. He was devastated so bought himself a brand new cowboy hat. Actually it sort of looks a bit like his old one!! He also bought a jacket, shirt, two license plates. He also bought me two hats, I could not decide between the black one or white one. Robert and Carol also made a few purchases, well come to think of it, Robert did not get anything but Carol found a beautiful jacket and white hat. Hmmmm we are gonna have to make it up to Robert. Needless to say, we had a great time, laughed a lot and now have Robert and Carol hooked on watching the series.


We have had a great time here at Robert and Carol’s beautiful home. It is so pretty and peaceful here. Robert and Carol have been so gracious taking us all over during our time here, thank goodness for that because the drive through Dallas would have been brutal in the Smart Car… They are truly good friends and awesome company, thank you both so much for an amazing time. We are going to miss you until we see you in the Fall.


Tomorrow we will leave and head WEST. We have enjoyed our time in Texas except for some of the weather, we are so glad we made this trip. Our first stop will be Big Springs Texas and stay at the Whipin RV Park. We have had some laughs over that particular RV park name…

Southfork Ranch

Front Gate

Every Euing BBQ someone ended up in the pool

Robert's turn

 

Maureen at the pool

Ed and Maureen on JR's balcony

Carol and Robert on JR's Balcony

Ewing Pool

Looks like we could live here

Until Next Time……

DAY 9 Touring the Area with Robert and Carol

DAY 9 Touring the Area with Robert and Carol



We had a very peaceful night, nice cool temperatures a good night sleep. When we woke this morning and looked out on the Lake, just so pretty. I can see why Robert and Carol enjoy this area, waking up to spectacular views every morning. We drove out in the country to a little town called Edom to have breakfast/lunch at a place called The Shed. Very good food and one thing about the restaurants here in Texas a lot of food for a very reasonable price. There were a few antique shops we walked through and one very interesting store that built unusual bird houses. Eventually I will get pictures on these entries and you will see how neat these houses are. They were a bit pricey almost $400.00 so passed on that purchase. This is beautiful country here in Northern Texas, some very nice ranches and I could see Ed getting antsy. I am sure he could find another ranch but the commute would be brutal.


We stopped in town for a bit of retail therapy at a store called Beals. A few items were acquired and we headed back to the house and Motor home in the late afternoon. A bit of rest then out on the Lake in Robert’s boat. The shoreline has many homes of all different, docks and may types of boats. What a pleasant ride, Ed and I enjoyed it very much.



We went to a little country diner tonight we all had the chicken fried steak, the small one! Quite enough food and I sure could get used to this southern country cooking. Robert and Carol have been so gracious taking us all over and we are really enjoying their company.

Tomorrow is the big day…. Ed gets to go to Southfork!!! For the young folks, there was a series called DALLAS which ran from about 1978 to 1991, one of Ed’s favorite shows and he has always wanted to see Southfork Ranch where the Ewing Family lived. We have been watching the series from the beginning and on season 13 right now with one more season 14 to go. Tomorrow is also our anniversary so sort of a neat way to spend the day… more to come on that tomorrow.

Maureen and Carol in Edom Texas

Robert, Maureen and Carol

The Shed Cafe in Edom

View from our coach

Our coach

Captain Robert

Carol and Maureen

Lounge Dock

Boat dock

Robert and Carol's place

Maureen and Ed on Robert's boat

Until next time……

DAY 7 AND 8… LAST DAY IN MARBLE FALLS AND TRAVEL TO GUN BARRELL CITY

DAY 7 AND 8… LAST DAY IN MARBLE FALLS AND TRAVEL TO GUN BARRELL CITY



DAY 7 WHEW, WHAT A NIGHT!!! As I mentioned the winds kept us awake most of the night, but we woke up very late to beautiful blue skies and calm weather. We were trying to connect with Mimi off and on all day but she was so busy back and forth to the airport in Austin several times, returning tuxedo’s and just getting everything cleaned up, we decided to stay at the motor home and get things ready for travel the next day.


DAY 8 TRAVEL TO GUN BARRELL CITY. We left Marble Falls and had about a four hour drive to Gun Barrel City to visit Robert and Carol. We drove through some very pretty country and arrived in the late afternoon. We are staying on their property and we have another amazing view of Cedar Creek lake, waterfront site and it is so pretty. We visited out on the dock in comfy swings and really enjoyed the view with good friends. We had dinner at a BBQ place in town and totally enjoyed the food. Very good ribs and fixins. We will be here a couple of days. We have some plans and will get to that later. I really need to get a faster connection to get pictures on here to share some of these beautiful places we have visited. We are enjoying Texas now that the weather has settled down and hope to have more adventures to write about before we return to California..


Until next time….

DAY 6 Brook and Robby’s Wedding Day

DAY 6 Brook and Robby’s Wedding Day



Woke up to more wind and cloudy skies. I am thinking, pleaseeeeee weather cooperate since this is an outdoor wedding. Ed and I decided to stay at the Motor home most of the day until time to go to the wedding. The clouds would come and go and the winds were still going strong. I decided to just have faith that things will stay dry and clear through the ceremony. We arrived early as instructed and at that point worried a bit if all would be ready by 4:00. They had a huge tent up for the reception and the company had to come out at the last minute to add more sides to the structure. The wind was not cooperating and making it difficult for the caterers to set up. The girls were getting ready and there was time to get some pictures before guest arrived. The girls looked amazing; they wore black cocktail type dresses with black trimmed in apple red heels. I give Brook credit that she picked dresses that absolutely can be worn for other occasions. The bride was stunning, Brook was a beautiful bride. It occurred to me, Brook was the first of that cousin generation to be getting married.


The ceremony was delayed about half hour and it started to sprinkle just a bit. After all the last minute details were done, all involved in the ceremony arriving this wedding finally was going to start. Paula the mother of the groom was escorted down the aisle to her seat, and then Mimi mother of the bride was escorted down the aisle. Richard (father of the bride) and Brook walked down and it was quite an emotional moment for him as well as Mimi. Brook being their only child there were tears and of course I joined in with that also. The pastor was interesting and it was a very lovely ceremony. The weather cooperated for the ceremony and was a bit windy during the reception but I don’t think anyone really noticed anymore. The groom wished to participate in the reception and started at 8:00am smoking and BBQ all the meat served at the wedding, chicken brisket and sausage, the rest was catered by a good friend of Mimi’s. Many good wishes were shared by the guests. The band members are friend’s of Robby the groom. It was very touching when the bandleader wrote a special song for the bride and groom first dance. I think dancing is one of their favorite things to do and they looked so good out there. The band was awesome and a lot of dancing going on for the rest of the night.


Ed and I left about 10:00 pm and on the way back to camp the wind was really picking up. By the time we got to bed it was really bad, all night. We even checked radar but there was no wind warnings but there had to be gusts up to 50 to 60 miles an hour. I think it was about 5:00 am before we got any sleep at all. Not liking these Texas winds at all…


All in all, I am so glad we did travel to Texas for this wedding, I wish Brook and Robby all the happiness and love in the world….

Maureen and Mimi

Wedding cakes

Bridesmaids

Groomsmen

Richard walking Brook down the aisle

Mr. and Mrs Robby Stanley

Richard and Mimi doing a toast

Brook and Robby about to cut the cakes

Reception Tent

Until next time….

DAY 5 VISITING IN MARBLE FALLS, TEXAS

DAY 5 VISITING IN MARBLE FALLS, TEXAS



We are all settled in at the Sunset Point RV Park. As I said yesterday this is a very pretty park and the view of the water is so relaxing. We drove out to Mimi’s to see if there was anything we could do to help out with the wedding preparations. All of the bride maids were at the house, some flew in from California, they were working on decorations and actually no room for anyone to pitch in. Some of the gals have not seen Brook for a while so a lot of catching up to do and they were all having so much fun. We went down to where the wedding was to held, the huge tent was partially up but was promised to be finished in time. By this time the winds were starting up and I was getting concerned, however Mimi my lovely optimistic niece was not worried, I think by this time she said it was “All in God’s Hands” and whatever happens so be it. Lisa, a very good longtime friend of Mimi’s had arrived also and she was a huge help in keeping things calm and moving. We visited a bit then went back to town to tour around a bit. The weather was getting nasty so we found a place for dinner, Doc’s Fish and Steakhouse, not far from our campground. Excellent steak dinner, the rib eye was awesome. Back to camp for a relaxing night, that is until the wind really whipped up. The lake was looking more like the ocean… A good night sleep and hoping for better weather the next day for the wedding.

Sunset Point RV Park

Awesome site

Sunset view from our site

Ominous skies

Until Next time….

DAY 4 MARBLE FALLS TEXAS

Day 4 Marble Falls Texas



What a difference a few hundred miles make. We left Fort Stockton Texas about 9:30 am going East on I-10. The winds were blowing this morning and we settled in for another 5 or 6 hour drive day. It seems so destitute out there in that Desert without anything is sight for miles, after a while the terrain changed and was getting greener and entering the hill country was such a welcome change. I am getting to like Texas again. We are staying at Sunset Point on Lake LBJ. A very nice resort and we have an amazing spot with a spectacular view of the Lake. Talked to my niece Mimi, she was going to meet us in town and follow us out to the lake however guests for the wedding are arriving at different locations and times so she was on her way to the Austin Airport. We will probably go over to her place tomorrow and was assured we would be put to work. We will probably tour the town a bit in the morning, there was a really cute shopping area coming into town. We drove through Fredricksberg on our way here and it reminded me a bit of Solvang in California. I wish we had more time to spend here, now that we are here. I will be looking and editing pictures tonight and will add to the blog hopefully tomorrow. The internet connection is not all that great here I had a heck of a time getting the first part of this trip on the blog. If not I will add pictures when I get back to Indio, I have a great connection there. Gosh the view I am looking at now outside the window is so spectacular, Ed is taking pictures I hope.

Finally some GREEN getting in the hill country

So until next time…..

ON THE WAY TO TEXAS....

On the Way to Texas



Ed and I arrived in Indio on Wednesday April 4th to sunshine and clear skies. We had a busy schedule to get ready to leave for Texas the following week. A bit of maintenance on the property, getting the coach ready for travel. Carol and I also did a bit of retail therapy at the outlets, of course Chico’s being the main attraction. We enjoyed several meals at the MCC restaurant. The weather was nice enough to spend several days at the pool. The resort had several Easter festivities going on but we passed on them, just spent a very quiet Easter. I thought about all our family Easter festivities over the years and decided that we will be home for the holiday next year for sure.


DAY ONE…Ed and I, Robert and Carol left Indio on Monday April 9th, heading for Texas. The first evening we stayed at the Lazydays RV Campground in Tucson Arizona, a very nice large campground, very clean and nice wide spots. This was about a 380 mile travel day. They have a restaurant but was closed that Monday so was recommended to the CattleTown steakhouse. Very good food and reasonable. We did have breakfast at Lazydays the next morning which was very convenient before traveling.

DAY TWO… on the road again heading for Las Cruces New Mexico. This was a travel day of 287 miles, a bit shorter and that was nice. We stayed at the Hacienda RV and Rally Resort. Another nice place to stay, very clean and easy access to the freeway. We have to thank Robert for choosing the places to stay, he did an excellent job. There was a Cracker Barrel Restaurant nearby and that is where we had dinner. Cracker Barrel is one of our favorite places to eat when we travel out of California, good southern home style cooking. Unfortunately they will never open in California because of the unfriendly business climate in California, what a shame….

Maureen and Carol Old Town Las Cruces

Robert and Carol Las Cruces

Maureen and Ed Las Cruces

Baloon flying over the Hacienda RV Resort

DAY THREE… On this leg of trip is where Robert and Carol will eventually head North and we head South. They were up and out of camp early on their way home. We encountered some nasty winds and some rain on the way to Fort Stockton Texas. I have not driven on this trip yet. First of all the coach is still acting up, we had some bad fuel which made taking hills a huge challenge, we finally were able to refuel and that has helped considerably. The coach also has a problem that no one can figure out yet, it will lag on any incline but eventually makes it to the top, well at least so far and dang better keep it up. Not knowing what kind of roads we would be driving came into play also. The plan is I will drive on the return trip to Indio now we know the condition of the roads… We arrived at Fort Stockton RV park about 3:30 in the afternoon. We went through two time changes so that has me confused, hey it does not take much ya know! We had dinner at the little café here at the campground, limited menu but very good. We get back to the coach after dinner, this woman is pounding on the door yelling to take cover at a building at the back of the campground, a TORNADO is coming. I immediately go into panic mode, Ed on the other hand grabs the Ipad and goes to the radar on his great weather APP. Yes there is a tornado in the area but it is going away from us. We go back to the designated area and was trying to explain to this woman it has passed us by but she is still insisting and in this building of showers and bathrooms, a concrete building she had half the guests at least and their animals in the building. It was chaotic for a few minutes. Now I am ready to head back to California right now, then heard on the news Stockton California near our home had a dang tornado. What the hell….. So we are in the middle of gawd awful nowhere, tornado watch is over, and find out there is no FOX station here and I am missing American Idol!!! NOT a good night!!!! We will be on the last leg to our destination tomorrow, Marble Falls Texas where our niece Mimi will meet us and check in the campground. Looking forward to staying in one place for a few days… So until next time…… 

Fort Stockton RV Park