Westward Ho

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hi spooky relatives and friends, 

The day we left Chattanooga, TN  we were assailed by tornadoes but we stayed just ahead of them by hours.  Had some rain in MO but that was all.  I am so grateful we were not  a day later.  But that is usually the way it goes for us. 

We arrived in LA a few days later and visited with Ric's Aunt and Uncle.  We had a most delightful visit.  One of the places very close to them is Avery Island which we visited.  The tour was very informative.  I had no idea that making pepper sauce is so closely related to making wine.  Once the Capsicum peppers are hand picked they are mashed for their juices. The seeds are planted in green houses in January and then transplanted in April.  Then in August when the pepper is just the right color of red they are harvested. Some are raised there on Avery Island and more are raised in South America. They are then mashed with a little salt.  The mash ferments in oak barrels for 3 years.  (Sounds like wine) Finally the aged mash is mixed with a special vinegar, stirred for a month and then bottled. Avery Island is an island of salt , one of five salt domes rising above the flat Louisiana Gulf Coast which is 160 ft. above sea level. After purchasing several different kinds of Tabasco Sauce we left.  It was very interesting. 

After leaving LA we went into eastern Texas and visited our Texas home for a couple of days-Livingston which is where we have our mail sent.  We woke up one morning with hard rain but that has been it for rain. From there we headed northwest  to Lake Texoma which is a Thousand Trails Preserve and one we had not visited.  It was a nice resort and one worth visiting especially if you like to fish.  Just a few miles from there was Shephard Air Force Base Recreation Area which we drove to.  Just 2 weeks earlier the RV part was opened due to the bad flooding which we heard about in OK and TX.  They were really hit hard.  We finally connected to I-40 and came on across through NM and AZ.  

On Sat. and Sun. we stayed in Williams, AZ and drove to Sedona to the Unity Church there we like to visit.  After church, we drove on down to Prescott and visited my cousin, Joan and hubby Bob.  They have a lovely home snuggled in amongst the pine trees. We had a short but good visit.  

We have had a good trip and it will be nice to be home.  We plan a few days in Lancaster, CA visiting friends and then HOME.  It will be good to be back playing the organ at church.  I just hope I haven't forgotten how.  

It has been fun being in touch with you as we have crossed the country and come back.  Our next trip will probably be in January or February to Oregon and Washington at which time I will write again.  Be sure to keep in touch with us.  We do so enjoy hearing from each of you. 

For those of you who don't know why I write this, it all started in 1999 when we took our first long trip in retirement.  I wanted to keep a journal so just started writing  a travel letter to our children, grandkids and family. It grew from there.  I write it for us so when we stop traveling,  we can read where we have been and what we did.  It has just grown.

Take care, love and hugs from us both.

ric and jan

camino@ricandjan.com

Kentucky and Tennessee

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Hi Ya'all,

We left Ohio on schedule ( no we don't have one) and made our way south on I -75 down part way through Kentucky.  We have never taken this route so it was new to us.  We saw more color in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.  Kentucky was hilly and green with trees so that we could not see the countryside.  I saw one horse farm but I thought we would see a lot more. We spent the night south of Lexington in Brea.  Then we continued on south on I-75 to Chattanooga, TN where we arrived yesterday in time for lunch at Sticky Fingers. 

  

We had eaten in Sticky Fingers, a delicious barbecue restaurant only in the south, several years ago and we saw one as we entered the city.  So we got settled and went and had ribs for lunch.  They had a really good habenero sauce that we cannot buy in CA. Yummy.  We drove around Chattanooga and downtown to the visitor's center after lunch.  We decided we had better stay another night so we could enjoy the sights today. 

 As far as we know, we don't plan to return here.  We drove past the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) building downtown.  It was begun in 1933 by President Roosevelt.  Those of us too young to remember can look it up on the internet.  But it is still in existence and doing what it was designed to do.   

One big surprise to us both was the lack of traffic.  Very few cars on the freeway and downtown.  We are just not accustomed to such a little amount of traffic. It was the same today. 

We spent a great day here today.  This morning we did our favorite activity and went to Panera Bread and had a latte and read the paper.  We miss doing that when we travel.  After that we went to the Aquarium.  They have 2 large buildings and one houses an Ocean Journey and the other a River Journey.  We say lots of fish, otters, turtles, sharks, alligators, beautiful blue macaw, largest parrot species in the world, and butterflies as well as many other aquarium wonders.  It is not as large or complete as the one in Baltimore which is my very favorite, but it was very good and interesting. 

Along with our aquarium ticket we got an IMAX ticket and went to see Deep Sea in 3-D.  Was that ever good. All those fish and sea creatures swimming out right at us and even over us it seemed.  What a day. 

We saw a good portion of Chattanooga and it is a beautiful city. It is right on the Tennessee River and the north side of the river is very hilly and has some beautiful homes.  On the south side it is more level and it is the downtown part where we spent today.  It was fun to see and do all we did.  I have a picture of the Chattanooga Choo Choo on top of the Holiday Inn.  It's the only one we saw.  

Ya"ll take care and thanks for writing.  It will probably be a while before I write again.  If we do anything exciting I will write. 

Hugs to all, 

Mom, Dad, Grandmother and Granddaddy, Ric and Jan(ice)

ric and jan

camino@ricandjan.com

Fall in Ohio

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Hi family and friends,

Before we left New Windsor, 21 of us went out for dinner which was fun.  We had the host and hostess volunteers and the rest were volunteers from SERRV and two of those were from England.  Such fun.  It is so hard to say goodbye as they are family too. 

We are in Wilmington, OH getting ready to leave in the morning.  It has been hot and now it is cold.  The East has had record breaking weather this past week.  Last Saturday-Monday it broke records of more than 60 years for heat.  This morning it was in the 30's and now in the high 60's which is nice.  The sun is shinning and it is beautiful.  There hasn't been a lot of color so far for fall.  When we left Maryland a week ago Thursday, as we came west we saw the beginnings of color but there is less here.  It was a beautiful trip though as we came through West Virginia again on hwy 50 it was very picturesque.  We spent one night on the road and that was in Cooleville, OH just over the border from W VA.  Nice little, cool, town.  

We arrived here on Saturday morning a week ago and have had a week of down time which has been really nice.  We got things done in the motorhome which we needed to do after 3 months.

We drove into Cincinnati last Sunday and went to church and then down to Newport, KY to the movies.  It is just across the beautiful Ohio River so it was not far.  We saw Feast of Love which was a heart warning movie.

 

We visited with friends which we know from the Elks Club here and that was fun.  It is always nice to touch bases with ones along the way.  We still miss our "family" at New Windsor Conference Center. How are things?  

Today we drove into Dayton and saw the movie Michael Clayton.  No movies for months and now 2 in two week ends.  It was a good movie as I always like George Clooney.  He is so nice to look at!!

Tomorrow we will leave for Kentucky and then on to Chattanoga, TN Tues.  We will end up in LA to visit Ric's aunt.  Then we head west and towards CA.  It will be nice to get home. 

We trust this finds you in good health.  We love hearing from you.  Thanks for writing.  It keeps us from being too lonely.

Take care and hugs to you all.

Mom, Dad, Grandmother, Granddaddy, and Ric and Jan(ice)

ric and jan

camino@ricandjan.com