Back Home July 26, 2008

It was nice to get out and use the rig this last week. The fishing trip was a huge success, great potluck and fun was had by all. Thursday was a lazy day, a bit of reading and drove some of the ladies into town to pick up a few more items. Thursday evening we had a “leftover potluck” We all cleaned out our fridges and Pat, one of the fishermen, cooked up catfish. A great meal with great friends. One of the other fellows, Jack is an entertainer; he loves to sing and did a fine job singing along with his wife. They have a Karaoke business and also perform in plays in the community.

One irritating thing happened on this trip and as far back as I can remember, never had happened before. We woke up Friday morning to find George’s BBQ stolen. We followed the grease trail from the pan to down the road where they evidently threw in a vehicle and left. This type of incident just puts a negative on the trip. The gates are closed and locked at night so it must be someone who has been here before or still in the campground. Several of us had BBQ’s and quite a bit of fishing gear out and I guess we are lucky it was just one item taken, just a shame on the last day.

We decided to go out to breakfast the morning we were heading home and a party of 19 had a farewell breakfast at Black Bear Diner, one of my favorites. I followed the Contessa home in my Prius, another RV adventure behind us..

Another of my fur friends Max




Catch of the Day


Maureen relaxing in the boat

Ed obeying the law

Pruis and the Rig

A Day On The Water July 23, 2008

Below is a picture of Sugar Barge Marina and restaurant. We had dinner at the restaurant last night and it was slow service but good food. Evidently they had a huge 50's bash blow out party this last weekend and they were low on supplies but we still had a good time.

Today was spent on the water. Ed and I enjoyed a boat ride with our friend George and cruised through the different channels on the river. It was a beautiful day on the water.

George's boat

There are other critters on the river beside the fish that are avoiding the fish line and bait. Below is a picture of a raccoon peeking out from the reeds. Another picture of a crane sitting on one of the pole.

The guys in our group have been out fishing for three days and they have done very well. One of the couples has their two granddaughters here for the week also. Cute little gals 8 years old and 9 years old. They went out fishing with their PaPa this afternoon and caught the largest fish so far, put our fella's to shame.

The girls show up the guys

Tonight we had a great potluck dinner. One of the couples bought all the steaks and cooked them to perfection, along with spaghetti, and the rest of us brought salads, side dishes and dessert. We have so many leftovers we can have another pot luck tomorrow night.

Another great day on the Delta.... until tomorrow

Sugar Barge RV and Marina

We arrived at Sugar Barge RV and Marina, a nice park and marina on the Delta near Sacramento. We have a group of 8 rigs form our traveling group, and several of my fur friends. This is primarily a fishing trip and a few of the fellows went out this evening and caught a few catfish. Ed has not fished in many years so he is just along for the ride. We had a gathering tonight with great food, lots of laughs. Tomorrow there will be more fishing, some swim time at the pool, and for some of us gals, Retail Therapy.

Ed relaxing after the drive


A view of the Marina






Three of our fishermen

My fur friend Jake

My fur friend Shorty

I have several other fur friends that I will share during the week. Looking forward to a great week with good friends and good times.. Until tomorrow...

Wii Fit Madness July 20,2008

We have enjoyed the Wii games since the first of the year. Not only are they fun but they are good exercise. So, when the Wii Fit came out in May, I have been trying to get one. The marketing is they send maybe 5 to 10 to a store and everyone fights over the games. My friend Sandy stood in line this morning and was able to get two with the assistance of her S/O Vern. What a guy, I suspect he would rather be sleeping in than standing in line at the local Target store early in the morning. Sandy gave it to me as an early birthday present and I do thank her and Vern for the great gift (I think) after working out with it for an hour, I am in a wee bit of pain. Actually the games are fun, and you really do get a work out. Thanks Sandy and Vern for being so kind to give up sleeping in on Sunday morning!!!

The rig is packed and ready to roll at 8:30 am, I will be following in the Prius. We still have not set up to tow a vehicle yet. We are trying to get a Smart Car to tow and although it is on order, may be several months before we see one. The trip tomorrow should be about hour and half and meeting up with some of our group for breakfast and go on into Sugar Barge. I think I have over packed again, we are only gone for five days but it looks like a month. We are really looking forward to this trip, been too long.

Internet connection permitting I will update daily... until tomorrow!!

Two More Days July 19,2008

Two more days and we will be back on the road. A short trip just five days to the Delta about eighty miles from Sacramento. We will be staying at Sugar Barge RV on the Delta. This is a group trip and some of the guys are calling it a fishing trip, most of the women are calling it retail therapy trip. Living in Amador County, other than some small shops in the historic area's, Jackson, Sutter Creek, our retail stores are WalMart and KMart. Not a lot of shopping opportunity to be sure.

This afternoon I attended a BBQ for one of my ladies groups. We are planning a charity event at Christmas time to benefit Toys for Kids for the Amador County Sheriff Department. Last year was our first event and was such a success, the generosity of the women in this community was overwhelming. One of my jobs is to get "Santa" well I have a friend who's husband does Santa very well and she dresses up as a cute elf, they volunteer for various events around the county. Plans are moving right along for this year's event and sure the kids will have lots of goodies and toys to bring smiles to their faces.

Tomorrow I have to finish packing the rig. Since this is only a five day trip, should not be a problem although I seem to always forget something. I need to put together a list as some of the gals on the WW boards have done, one of these days.

Can't wait to get back on the road.. Until tomorrow.........

My Online Life July 16, 2008

Many years ago about 1994, I got my first computer. Ed introduced me to CompuServe the mini internet of that day. Ed was far beyond most people with computers at that time. Anyway, CompuServe was a great service before the Wide World Web. Forums for everything, technical, travel, languages, cooking, general chat, you name it, was part of CompuServe. I wandered into an area called General Chat at that time. Hilarious message boards and great chat and games. Eventually I was asked to be on staff and at that time was an honor as we had to pay for internet time and being staff, they covered my charges for that forum. We added another chat forum, Casual Chat, for those 18 and over, a bit more mature message boards and chat. This has been my online home for almost 15 years and I have met some of the neatest people from all over the world. Over the years with the Wide World Web, CompuServe has shrunk from 600 forums to under 100 now. There are some of us diehard that just won't give up

I have friends as I said from all over the world and we try to get together every few years. From Ireland, Canada , UK and all over the United States, when we gather, it is some of the greatest times. We have met in Canada, Las Vegas, California also several have stayed with me on their visits. Cherished and lasting friendships.

Casual Chat is a great forum, we have message boards from silly to serious, several scheduled chats and games throughout the week and just folks popping in the chat rooms to visit. I am a sysop in the forum and the staff works very well together and we do our best to keep it a safe place for our members. Please stop by sometime and see what is on for discussion or who is chatting.

A Nice Weekend July 14, 2008

Been a few days since I wrote, however I did not have an Internet connection for several days. Since my last postings, Ed and I along with my daughter and hubby, went to see American Idol concert on tour. I do follow the show every season and amazed at the talent that come from that show. As usual the show was great. All of the contestants have improved so much even from the finale, well with one exception Jason; he just acts like he does not care...

With all the smoke and 105+ temps in Amador county Ed and I decided to go to Santa Cruz Beach for the weekend. I was able to get a room on a Friday night and only two blocks from the beach. The weather was a bit cooler than we anticipated but I thought refreshing from all the heat and smoke. Ed has never been to Santa Cruz Beach and the Boardwalk so was quite an experience. http://www.beachboardwalk.com/ Santa Cruz still has some of the 60’d hippie experience and takes you back in time. We drove down the Monterey Coast and visited several State Beaches.




Today we drove up to the San Francisco area to attend a funeral of one of my older cousins. I was able to meet and visit with many family members that I have not seen for a long time. I come from a huge family of Aunts, Uncles and cousins and over the years we seem to drift away. We reminisced, laughed, cried and made commitments to stay in touch. I so hope we do, life is short and to miss out on family is a sad thing. I have one cousin Sylvia, who is so dear to me, she helped raise me as my mom was ill often in my childhood. One of the other cousins referred to her as the “HUB” of the family. The one that keeps track of us all, and for that I will always be grateful and love her.

Over the weekend, one of the gals on my WW board, husband lost his battle with cancer. Although I have never met this couple, the friendship on this message board is amazing. My heart goes out to her and her family, I think she is a strong woman and will go on and stay strong for her family.

We will be leaving on a RV trip a week from today, and I am so looking forward to that trip. We will be spending five days on the Delta with our traveling group. Better get out and get that rig cleaned and packed!!! Until tomorrow………….

Catching Up.. July 9,2008

Above is a picture of our home on wheels The Contessa.

I started the blog on the 1st of July, I need to get in the habit of posting something daily or at least every few days. Once we are traveling, I am sure it will be easy. Who wants to hear about dental surgery and how hot it is in Amador county because that is about all that has been going on. We are going to see American Idol tonight in Sacramento, so that is exciting.

The fires in Northern Calif. are affecting us with smoke, on top of the temps being 108 to 110 it is not very pleasant around here. Ed and I talked of maybe driving to the coast this weekend, would be nice to see blue sky and fresh air.

Our next trip planned in July 21st through the 25th as Sugar Barge on the Delta. Looking forward to getting back out and using that RV even if the fuel prices are outrageous. We have talked about how that is going to effect our trips, we just have to plan a bit better, putting off is really not the answer as life is short and if we can do it, DO IT! We will be traveling with a group on this trip and the activities and outings are in the planning stages.

Our trip after that will be to Mt. Rushmore, I have been reading Ellie's and Karon's blog about the adventures back there and so looking forward to it!

I better get some domestic chores done before it really gets hot.. cheers to another entry in my journey!

The Beginning July 1,2008

After reading some of the blogs of RV travelers, and to share in the travels and adventures, I decided to start a blog on the travels and sometimes just everyday life in our home.

We are part timers and probably will never move to the fulltime lifestyle although the adventures would be amazing. We do several trips a year with a group from Amador county in Northern California, and many small trips just on our own.

So here is to "our"journal of adventures~~~~~~

Maureen and Ed