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April 28, 2009
My thanks to Linda and Ray......
April 28, 2009
So it’s cold and raining a bit, but I still wouldn’t trade this for Florida weather. Today is the day we where to meet our boss and area manager. But they had over 6 hours to drive and I can only imagine how tired they must be. So tomorrow! And then I hope to start work real soon.
Now in Miami I belong to a miamifreecycle.com and so I thought I’d join the sikiyoufreecycle.com and you have to post something before you can make an offer to take something, which worked out great. Because I have my African Candle Sticks I’ve had since about 1993 and living in an RV was not a thing for them for they are heavy and breakable. So I posted and WALLA I got a hit (in fact about 7 emails all together of people wanting them). Well, we where to meet them at the front gate for 4:30pm. Linda & Ray are the coolest people. They stayed for about an hour and chatted with us. She even brought me a book about Black Butte (Black Butte is a cluster of overlapping dacite lava domes, a parasitic satellite cone of Mount Shasta. It is located directly adjacent of Interstate 5 at milepost 742 between the city of Mount Shasta and Weed, California). They told us a lot of neat things about Mount Shasta and the surrounding towns. Now Linda is 4th generation to this area. So she knows her history. It was also neat to hear Ray’s families are Yankee’s and come from the Hartford, CT area and his family is of Poland background (I wonder if he’s a good cook – I love, love, love polish food – a major yummy in my book). They are Rvers too and traveled a lot and it was music to my hears when they discussed there dislike for Miami, Florida – so it’s just not me. They gave us some real great pointers on RV shopping and mechanics (like when your water stops working and before calling a mechanic to clean out the hose first because spiders get in there and build webs). We sure hope to bump into them many times over because they are good people.
So right now we are kind of stuck in doors for the rest of the day and Jorge is watching Cinderella Man – a wonderful movie. I’m taking a break from my Granny Square washcloths – lol yes, I’m the new Granny Square queen as some of my friends on campground_crafters would say. I just love doing them – I figured it took me almost 3 months to learn how to do the darn thing that I’m going to do Granny Squares until I’m blue in the face. We don’t have TV yet (we are waiting till the first check to buy a small flat screen) so we watch a lot of movies which is fine and dandy because we have over 200 of them and never go anywhere with out them – lol.
Not a whole lot to report for the week it’s been quiet and full of many walks and relaxing. Almost like the calming before the storm. We did finally buy a saw, a griddle, and a coffee pot so life is good. Well here are some picture the one is of the 3 African Candle Sticks I gave away to Linda and Ray and the other 2 pictures are of Upper Fall and Lower Fall in McCloud. Wow it was so beautiful there. And very well up kept and didn’t look all that old. Enjoy. Remember you can follow my blog by signing up (all you have to do is scroll all and click on this: Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) . I need a large following and need your help by signing up…. Thanks!!
April 20, 2009
We are here in Mount Shasta!!
So we see Mount Shasta and think, “oh my, how are we going to work under such conditions – lol with all that snow on the mountain”? Now we enter the park and this pretty little red head that goes by the name Sharon meets and greets us – however in a hurry because there are cars behind us. So Rodney leads us to our new home for the next 5-6 months. And we where expecting a bit of a dump because hey lets face it, employers do not treat their employees nice in the real wood – it’s about the flipping dollar and how fast you can make it. Not Lake Siskiyou Camp-Resort they gave us a spot that wowed us. OK and ladies you know how nervous I get meeting people so I’m going nuts in my own shell and worried about the crew liking me. Jorge as always does a great job calming me down and it works for just a little while. Then Gary the husband of Sharon and who is in charge of fishing area of the resort comes down. He’s funny and there is something about him that reminds me of Sue’s husband Bob. Can’t put my finger on it but I am most grateful. A little while late Sharon comes down and you can’t help but like her. DOWN TO EARTH! Really no line. So it’s about 6-7pm and Sharon says “hey lets go for a ride and I’ll show you the area” and the cool part about this is that there where about 6 deer and Sharon says “You can hand feed the deer” yeah right I’m thinking. But holly heck it’s so true.
So they leave us to set up and get a grip on our baring and sure enough the deer come floating by and we feed them. I so am thinking of my Dad while doing this because he had his own pet deer when he was a child. I’m flashing pictures like crazy and even manage to get a video. So we are tired and head to bed.
So for the next week we get the chance to check out the town and OH MY. What unique people, that lives here. For Jorge is a walk back to the 60’s and for me it was “did I really just see that?”
I need to point out some really great companies. All of you know I’m a HUGE customer service person and I watch for good manners. So here are a couple that really and I mean really stuck out like a sore thumb and wish they ran all the business here in town. Because there is a clique among the locals and weren’t so nice to the visitor of their awesome town. http://www.sewuniquequiltshop.com/ they where pretty full with customers when we came in – but that didn’t matter because we where greeted by the workers and even the shoppers. Well, they assumed that I was the quilter and did a double take when I announced that indeed it’s my husband who is the quilter. This shop was so clean and it smelled great (lol you all know I’m an OCD victim). We will be taking classes there for sure. So be sure to check their store on-line when you can. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Now for the complete 5 stars has to go to http://www.thecoffeeconnection.org/ they are a restaurant – ok I know your thinking so what. But what makes these people different is that they give back. This is their story:
Ten years ago a few very special people felt moved by the Lord to pray over Mt. Shasta for guidance about a new ministry.
They shared a lot of very special time in prayer.
What developed was the overwhelming need and support of a Christian Ministry in downtown Mt. Shasta.
The Coffee Connection was created.
Opening its doors on New Years Eve of 1996, it has been a place for all to gather, share and worship the Lord through music and fellowship. People came forward, volunteered their time, expertise and energy.
We have been going and growing strong ever since!
We still depend on the wonderful board of directors for guidance and on the wonderful staff of volunteers to man us during our hours of operation. We are also supported by our local churches, monthly donors and wonderful musicians that share live music with us.
We all hope that you enjoy your visit with us and are as touched by the Lord as we are.
They give free jackets away at their front door entrance. Their location is set up with an atmosphere that is so peaceful. And the service is the best I’ve ever encountered. So this is why I give them my personal 5 stars.
There are a lot of cute shops and we made a point to visit them. There is a thrift store (I’m sorry I can’t remember the name) where this gal Noel works at. I liked her she is what most of the young people are like in this Mount Shasta.
There are many storied that belong to Mount Shasta that have everything to do with peace, love, UFO’s, Big Foot, Fairies, and other such things that I’m not sure I believe in but take it as a lot of fun learning about.
This is where I work so check out the site and let me know what you think. http://www.reynoldsresorts.com/ and http://www.lakesis.com/
I haven’t started work and I’m nuts about getting started. I want to give them my best and look forward to the many memories I will walk away with. God Speed!!
April 12, 2009
Happy Easter everyone! Jill and Harry – I sure hope you enjoy your brother’s visit. We are in Elko, NV and we have about 290 more miles to get to California and then add another 200 miles to Mount Shasta and wal-la. The drive thru this part of Nevada is not pretty. It’s a lot of open spaces with brown as far as you can see. The one thing we have noticed since this morning is all the butterflies that we are hitting while we are driving. I don’t know much about them but they sure are beautiful. Ugggg we have to call the in-laws later and that is always most stressful for us. They seem to be most disappointed in us. By the way we live. Now we have 3 meals a day – our home is owned and is clean – we have money in our pockets and have jobs – I think we are doing ok. To be able to see the things you want to see at a drop of a dime is freedom. Now while the in-laws are saying such awful things they sit in a house that has 3 mortgages on. They live in fear with more locks on their doors then a normal house would have. They don’t trust a soul because they live in Miami – ummmmmm I think my life is much more safer and much more productive and just plain a happy life. I don’t want to die with regrets of not living. OK, like I said speaking to the in-laws is so stressful it tends to bring the worst out in me. And for that I am sorry.
On too better things. We seem to be going thru the mountains again and the view is changing for us again. Must stop to see it..
So we are parked for the night at a rest stop just 30 miles from California. We’ll be in Mount Shasta tomorrow afternoon.
Well not much to report today – it was a bit quiet. We put on a movie for sound affect and to entertain me while driving. Made time go by real fast. Nevada has the some very dirty unfriendly rest stops. If you can help it don’t stop. No vending machine, no computers information just a pot to pee and with all the graffiti you can muster up to read.
Oh I forgot to post the pic of the strange art we came across in Utah. Let me know what you think of it…. Also the picture of the tunnel thru the mountain is for Jill & Harry. This was our 2nd one we went thru.
April 11, 2009
Utah Adventure
We are in one of the most beautiful states there is: UTAH. It’s where I meet my wonderful husband, Jorge. But that is not why this state is so beautiful. The mountain is where our hearts are. As you can see from the pictures it’s beyond breath taking. I’m looking for elk and have been for over an hour. Normally they come out at dusk so it could be a while before I get my chance.
We are taking a different route thru Utah so that we can see our ole stomping ground. Jorge worked for a cleaning company as a part time job (and he also held down a full time job at a car dealer – like me he was a workaholic) and I owned a cleaning service – and his boss hired my company as a sub contractor and I was to over see all of his accounts and his employee’s which in turn made me Jorge’s boss. Ahhhh those where the days lol – don’t get me wrong I am still his boss.
We are in Heber City right now – so I need to put my blog to rest so I can enjoy the view. Enjoy the pictures.
You know as you can see from the pictures the weather was getting bad – however we found it to be more beautiful that way. We got to see Bridal Falls, which is a land mark/site spot. The road was a downhill 7% grade so we where a bit on nerve to hurry down but at a very slow pace. Most of the pictures is from the Provo Canyons, one our most favorite drives. It was strange to see the new road finally done. A lot of new houses went up and the new and improved RV parks that wake up to the million dollar view for just $65 a night. And we passed where Lindsey Lohen went to rehab at the Sundance Rehab center (in which my company was used to clean at one time)
Now we are in Provo and now my tummy is getting excited for Beto’s my favorite fast food. Well, in the year and half we where gone they re-named the store to Mi Ranchito’s but the food was still the same – and I am most grateful. So I ordered the queso & the super nachos and OMG I don’t care about the calories. It was so good.
We are staying the night in Tooele, my ole town that I lived in while I lived in Utah. We don’t like to drive at night ONLY because of the fear of the RV breaking down so we are rushing to get to Flying J’s, which is over packed, with trailers. I’m looking at a lot of cowboys and cowgirls for there must have been a local rodeo going for they are still wearing their tags. I’m proud to say that I can Barrel Race and I’m good at it. I grew up on a small farm and had my own horses – my best friend was Sandy my BEAUTIFUL Palomino. I can side saddle too!! Can’t wait to see Jorge on a horse.
April 11, 2009
We are now in Nevada and I’ve made a new file for the pictures to be place. I really can’t tell you much about the picture that looks like tennis balls on a stick/pole other then a local artist did years ago – what a strange man.
Tonight we will look for an RV park to sleep at for Nevada has laws about overnight and so we will play it safe for the next 2 days. I can see the Wendover Casinos and I’m itching to lose $20.00 – yes I know I’m a coward. I just hate to lose wasted money that we worked so hard for. Let you know how it goes.
Well we lost $13.00 and only played $13.00. Now we are looking for an RV spot for the night. And we find one in Wells, NV. The price was $37 but we got it for $25.00. Really super cool people. The cutest old couple and I told them they where too clean. I could not find one speck of dirt at all in the rec room, shower room and etc…. I’m making them a gift of washcloth as my way of saying how great they are. The husband even took us into his office to watch a video on YouTube about the town a year ago had a 6. Something earthquake and it ruined ½ the business there in town. I’ll tell you more tomorrow! I’m so tired. I have a new watcher on my blog – the oh so WONDERFUL Dinah…. I’ve got to something about her real quick. Now you ask a favor of this wonderful person and she jumps on it. It was wonderful that she was one of the gals to check on Jorge and I and make sure we where ok during the crazy storms we where stuck in. So thank you Dinah with all of our heart....
April 8, 2009
It’s 9am and we are heading to Wyoming. We are going a different route. We are taking Hwy 90 to 25 to Rawlins. Not sure why but it’s the route my dear hubby has chosen. We are seeing trees and it’s beautifully covered with white snow. And as we head by we can see the tracks from the animals and my husband is gleaming to see more dear. I say bring on the elk.
It’s almost to the end of our day trip and we are almost in Casper, WY. I just emailed our manager boss Yvette (beautiful name) to see if it would be OK to pop in Mount Shasta early since the trip is going faster then we planned. And what a darling she is. So we expect to be there sometime next week and we’ll be able to set up and then pock all around and site see and get Jorge to fish. He is in his glories about this. Me I’m more excited about getting to read the box of books we are carting in our rodeo that is weighing it down pretty bad. I can’t help it – I love books. I just seen the sign and it says 47 more miles to Casper and then it’s shower, laundry and dinnertime and then a good newspaper and a quick movie and off to la-la la-la la-la land we go – lol. I’m almost finished with my gifts that I made for Yvette and Michele who we will be working for. I sure hope they like it.
So far we’ve must of seen at least 300-400 deer and I am not kidding. It’s crazy. We have also seen a lot of antelope as well. Again I say bring on the elk. This day has gone by in a flash and our guess is it’s because the weather is nice. No sweater required today at all – which is a far cry from this morning, let me tell you. No whining from us what so ever. So I think this will close out the day and hope to report a more adventurous report tomorrow (that is, all good things). I want to thank Sharon & Janice for commenting on our happy adventure and following our blog. I couldn’t of done it without Janice encouraging me to do so. It will be so much fun a year from now to re-read my life.
Not much to report today. We are now in Rawlins, WY. This morning in Casper we got all 16 of my eBay orders packed and ready to ship. We head for the post office and then on our way to Rawlins. I did take a few pictures. We finally are here and the laundry is done and we are wiped out. Jorge is watching Wesley Snipes movie Passenger 57 (I’ve seen it before). I think it’s going to be early to bed so we can early to rise.
April 7, 2009
June Bug and Kricket Bee are doing well. June Bug still hides in the cat box when the RV is on and moving. Kricket Bee sleeps a lot during the trip and is comfy in her kennel. But when the day is done it pretty much means it begins for her. Wow at 7pm she is all about playing not sleeping.
Well I’m going to close now, and maybe pop back on later to give you an update.
It’s Friday April 3, 2009. And we are in Sioux City and it’s a bit cold. Last night was very cold in the 30’s.
So we trucked up to Madison to get our mail and picked up the applications for the South Dakota drivers license and drove around the little town that is now our home residence mailing address. It was very cute and very small. So we are now on our way back to Sioux Falls to the DMV. When we pulled up, I had to chuckle. There were only about 4 people there. Now in Miami when we went there, there were over 300 people.
Now we are looking for a campsite to hang at because we just found out there is too be a spring blizzard and up to 12 inches. And to no avail we do not find one and the ones that we did are still closed for the season. So we ended up parking at the Mitchell town Wal-Mart. We went inside to buy a space heater and we had to laugh and almost cry at the same time because they had all the space heater put away for the season and had their air conditioners out on display. So now what do we do? We ended up buying a super king size blanket and said our silent prayers and hoped to make it thru the night.
Well morning is here and it’s now Saturday. We made it thru the night with no problems except for when we had to go potty – and women we can stand and pee, and I recommend it highly on freezing nights. It had rained and snowed so the weather was not too bad but we expect the worst tonight. So we have decided to stay another night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. And it was a good thing we did because boy did it ever snow. And it is so cold out. I decided to do something about it and pulled out the rum and vodka out. And hey it didn’t work but it sure made the situation more fun. So we danced like monkeys and bounced around and did what we could to keep warm – thank gosh bedtime came and we could get under all those blankets and keep warm. Enjoy the picture everyone – and boy am I ugly when I am cold lol. June Bug loves the fact he gets to sleep under the blankets with us and he did his part by warming the bed prior to us getting in. Kricket Bee loved her kennel with all the blankets and we had a warm hot water bottle for her and she did very well. However she did not like to out side for her potty walks and Jorge did not enjoy taking her out as well.
It’s now Sunday and the snow has stopped and the roads are awful. We went to Cabela’s to walk around for a good hour giving some time to the plows to go thru yet again on the roads. We decided to go site see. And we went to go see the World’s Only Corn Palace. Weird but it was cool to see. Really the inside building was just pictures of the entire years prior corn palace decorations and a really huge auditorium. It was too cold to walk around the entire outside building to see the neat way they decorate their building using cornhusks.
Now we are back on the highway and the roads are bad. So we are heading to the nearest rest station to wait out some more so that we can get back to the road. We did see a car go off the road due to him being STUPID for speeding in this stuff.
I am on the Internet looking for an emergency campsite to park ourselves for the night. The roads are very bad. We’ve now seen about 3 semi’s either belly up or on it’s side. We found a campsite called The Happy Campers. And the price is $22.50 for full hookups. So we pull in and we find out it’s an honor system, which is not a problem. The problem we do encounter however is we’re stuck in the snow. So we have to unhitch the rodeo and drive each car out and as we are driving out after re-hitching the car the owner comes in with his fancy tractor and lets us know he will plow the area for us so we can stay. What a sweet heart. He thought we were nuts to be in South Dakota – nahhhh we tell him, it’s part of our adventure. So we are now comfy (we ran to the local do dad store to buy a space heater) and warm and get a very much-needed sleep.
Monday April 6, 2009
We wake up at about 7am and decided to hang around till noon. So I send Jorge out to get our much needed and deserved coffee and the paper. I must have the paper I demand!! I need to know what is going to be with the weather. And it turns out in the next couple of days we will be out of the woods as far as the cold is concerned. YIPEEEE. Then I am saddened to find out UCONN men did not win but that Michigan State won (congrats to a game well played – but my UCONN women better pull it off).
We are on the road and the roads look great. We just passed the Missouri River (here’s a picture).
We are stopping at the Wall Drug. Holly heck. How neat. We could only stay an hour but we did get to see 70% of the pictures hanging in their dinning room walls. They had an outside exhibits but it was closed off due to the snow. I bought a post card and was getting ready to buy a sweatshirt but they scooted us out because the shops where closing – bummer. For sure if we pass by here again we’ll come earlier so that we can spend more in the shops. The history of how this little shop came about is sweet and a lesson on how a simple idea can be turned into a gold mine. Now we are back on the road. Heading for Rapid City to stay overnight. The view is just breath taking. I think it’s the Badlands. It beautiful hills with a slight powdered snow all over. Let me see if I can get a picture.
April 2, 2009
I had forgotten to add this picture to our 1st day travel.....
Ok, so I’m thinking its Thursday. I may be on the right day or I could be off or on a day. I can tell you this. We are in Iowa and we just passed where John Wayne was born and the Bridges of Madison County. We where suppose to get off the exit. But Jorge thought it was the following exit and so we kept on. We are in Madison County and boy it’s bare as can be. Could you imagine what it must have been like when the Duke was a child? Everything is brown and dull but still has certain prettiness to the area. We have been at the wheel since about 7:30am this morning and just starting to get tired. We did see some snow flurries but other then that the weather has been steady. The temps are about 35 degrees and so that means long pants and shirt followed by a sweater and well should have been a snow suite – lol. I don’t think we’ll make South Dakota today but should be there by mid morning tomorrow.
June Bug our cat and Kricket Bee are doing well. June Bug still hides in the cat box when the RV is on and moving. Kricket Bee sleeps a lot during the trip and is comfy in her kennel. But when the day is done it pretty much means it begins for her. Wow at 7pm she is all about playing not sleeping.
Well I’m going to close now, and maybe pop back on later to give you an update.
April 1, 2009
What a beautiful ride. Heading out of Florida gives you the allusion of expecting to see tropical sightings. Like alligators or mockingbirds. Well let me tell you, the minute I had seen three deer just standing on the side of the road was breath taking. Then a few minutes later I had seen a wild turkey. My husband had his own experience of seeing an opossum and was even taken in by a pair of squirrels playing at a rest stop. We felt like we where entering the wild again. But laughing out loud together we agreed we still have a long ways to go. I ache to see elk again – one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen. Oh and of course at a rest stop we had seen an eagle which is pretty common to Florida state.
Driving 50-55 miles an hour is a reminder of how long our trip will take to get to California but we so love it. Driving at that speed allows my fist to relax and not grasp at the dashboard for dear life. Although it did take us 2 hours just to get out of Miami.
We did manage to stop every 100 miles to rest and pet potty walks. Speaking of pets OMG as the young generation would say. My cat June Bug did not do well the first day at all. In fact I think I cried more then he did. I’ve never in my 1 year of having him ever heard a wale like that. I was so stressed. And mad at myself for forgetting to get kitty knock me out drugs to enhance him in peace. Now my puppy Kricket Bee did very well in her kennel the entire day. The only thing with her was she didn’t eat much the first day.
Now as we neared our destination for the night our Mr. Crafty made a clink of a noise and giving us the idea of a rock hitting him. And just one exit from our destination we heard a bunch of rattling under the hood and knew we where in trouble. And we where! We manage to get to a rest stop in St Augustine and parked there for the night. It turned out we had broken 3 of the belts. So Jorge un-hitched the rodeo and drove off to the next exit to purchase the 3 belts. This was about 9am and he was back by 11am. And then for the next 4-5 hours he tried like heck to put the new belts on to no avail. Then we gave in and called for help to our Progressive RV insurance and they proved they are the best. They sent a tow truck and up went Mr. Crafty onto the tow lift and our heart sank. Be sure to check the picture out. So once we got to a RV center our hearts sank again – they where closed. So now what do we do? The tow man got right on the horn and his dispatch was able to contact someone from that company and they sent someone straight out. Now because it was closed we should have paid an extra arm and leg but because the mechanic Pete was from my neck of the woods and thought I was cute (lol) he cut us a deal. So now we are fixed and on our way – SO WE THOUGHT. Our battery went deader then a doornail. So off to Wal-Mart we went and bought this time a deep cell battery. And then after that we decided to say at the Flying J’s that we where suppose to stay at the night before. Goodnight all!! Oh and that night we where hit with the worst rain possible. Made for wonderful sleeping sounds – kind of nice minus the thunderstorms.
Day #3
Sunday 3/29/10
Our adventures where over for St. Augustine and now we are off to find another such adventure – NOT. We do however leave at 10am and heading for Georgia. Because of our adventure we did shorten this trip by 40 miles. As we where going thru Georgia we couldn’t help but noticed all the flooded areas and thanked ourselves for not getting there any sooner then we did or otherwise we would have been in knee deep in water and we didn’t have our floaters to get by. So we made our way thru Georgia all the way to our next nightly destination in Macon (which I would not recommend staying in – not safe at all). I could not sleep at all, I was so scared, but my darling husband as soon as his head hit the pillow was out like a light. About 1:30am another RV came thru and parked not too far from us which gave me some peace and finally manage to get a little sleep and only to be woken by a pair of truckers fighting loud and strong. This went on about a good hour. We decided to get the hell out of there and quick. And headed to the local McDonald’s for coffee and wifi.
We made it to Tennessee where we where in awe of the beautiful spring blooms going on. It is so far our favorite state to drive thru. Trees where of different colors. We loved the purple flowered trees the most. And what I have to say about Tennessee is that they have super clean rest areas, unlike Georgia where in fact they where disgusting and the women do not represent cleanliness at all. So I guess what I am trying to explain is I had to pee standing up because well lets not go into the details other then the fact Georgia has awful rest areas.
The pets are doing wonderful now. June Bug stays in the cat box while the RV is running and comes out on his own when we stop for breaks. And Kricket Bee is just Kricket Bee and growing fast.
We are now in Manchester Wal-Mart and wow super great place to stay for the night. They are clean and super friendly. We always make a point to ask customer service before assuming we can sleep there. In no way do we want to be rude or break any laws. It’s now 6:30pm and we know have time for a good game of cards – let you know who won tomorrow….