Our New Winter "Home" - Aransas Pass Tx

Here we are at Aransas Bay RV Resort for the winter. Bill will be doing general maintenance and I will be working in the office, having aerobics 2 days a week and working with flowers.

Aransas Bay is only in its 2nd winter season and the park should be full soon as the Winter Texans filter in. Our site is towards the end of the first row. As you can see, the sites are well groomed.

Bill and Jim, another workamper, riding around in the golf cart, seeing what they can find to do.

The office and recreation hall are in the same building. This is where I will have aerobic classes.

We have a salt water pool. Doesn't it look inviting? Another lady has water aerobics everyday so I will have to try that out! I can't wait until she gets here.

DC, Florida and Back to Texas, Oct. 3-13

We drove into Washington, DC one day and toured the US Capitol building. It is a very pretty building and we had an informative tour. But I couldn't wait to get out of DC.

Two and a half days later we were in Melbourne, Florida, where again we parked in a driveway-Bill's moms. Although her eyesight is failing, she hasn't changed much in 3 years and still has that beautiful smile of hers. We all went to see "Dolphin's Tale" and enjoyed it very much. Also went out to lunch a couple of times. I was able to attend Bill's niece, Katie's baby shower while there and had fun watching her open all her gifts.

We drove to Aransas Pass and dropped off the little rv, then up to Kerrville to pick up our big rig. We enjoyed seeing some of our friends at Buckhorn Lake Resort where we spent the last 2 winters. Here Bill is chatting with Bill Cookson one sunny afternoon.

Baltimore, Maryland Sept 26 - Oct 3

A visit with Bill's son, Billy, in Pasadena, Maryland was a lot of fun. Here Billy is cooking ribs-were the good!!

We were also able to "camp" in their driveway.

Most nights the grandchildren, Emma and Donavin, here with Ceilidh were spent in the rv with us. It was so much fun to have the little ones around. It has been 3 years since we last saw them and they have grown by leaps and bounds.

Emma enjoyed playing with some dragons we gave to her and Donavin. There is also a board game that goes along with the dragons and a story book. We had fun playing even though they won!

Luckily we have bunk beds in the rv. Emma had the top bunk and Donavin the bottom. They had lots of fun in the rv.

One day we took them to a NASA space center that had lots of interactive things for the children to do, Bill included! They area playing with a space ship.

There are also space suits for the children in which to dress and good backgrounds for pictures.

Emma LOVES salmon patties so, of course, we had to make them for supper one evening. She got right in there and mixed them up then shaped them into patties.

Next it was Grandpa's turn to cook them on the grill with Emma overseeing the process.

On Saturday we went to the Baltimore Aquarium. Donavin liked the sharks and turtles. We all enjoyed the dolphin show.

The aquarium is located in downtown Baltimore in the harbor area. This seems to be the center of a lot of activities in Baltimore. The buildings are modern and there were lots of people "paddling" around in the dragons. Maybe we can do that another time.....

Sunday afternoon was picture time. Bill, Emma, Dana (Bill's fiancee) and Donavin were all smiles.

Once again, times goes by so quickly and it is time to head to Florida then back to Texas for the winter.

Nebraska, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Sept 8-25, 2011

Omaha, Nebraska Sept. 8-12

Some places you just never get tired of, like the Bohemian Cafe in Omaha. Every time we visit our dear friends, Bonnie and Ed, we have lunch at here. The food is to die for!

And a trip to Omaha isn't complete without a trip to the amazing Omaha Zoo. It is one of the very best in the whole world! Here Bonnie is interacting with one of the gorillas.

A visit to downtown Omaha brought us to the memorial to the early settlers. There are several life size likenesses of horses, wagons, and the early pioneers that passed through Omaha on their trek west. Downtown Omaha is a truly beautiful city.

Every night (and any free time during the day) found us playing some card or dice game. Here Ed thought he was pouring some money out of this cache, when in fact, he grabbed his juice bottle and dumped it in his hand. Boy, was he surprised! We had a good laugh over that one.

Leaving Nebraska and crossing the Missouri River revealed the river still in flood stage. These farmers and landowners have been flooded since June. Unbelievable!

Next stop was Greencastle, Indiana, to visit my Sister-in-law, Judy. One outing took us on a drive through the countryside to this picturesque "Cataract Falls" covered bridge. This area of Indiana has many, many covered bridges on little used back roads. It is always fun to come across one.

Another day, Judy treated us to a boat ride on a near by lake. In a couple of weeks the area will be wild with fall colors.

Saturday afternoon found us having a picnic in Judy's back yard with some of the nieces and nephews. My how big the young ones have grown!

Judy has always had a love affair with Golden Retrievers. Here she is holding Rocky. Her other dog, Tigger, is with a handler and has earned several "points" towards his championship.

Next stop, Meadville, PA, where my daughter, Lisa and Kevin, informed us they had gotten married! What a wonderful surprise. They have been together over 10 years. I am so happy for them. We had just enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Montana Chop and Steak House, a new restaurant in Meadville.

We parked the rv in Bill's sister Sue's front yard and enjoyed visits with many of our friends from work and neighbors. Sue had fixed ham and eggs for breakfast this morning. It was good to see her after almost 3 years.

On Sunday we stopped in Pittsburgh to visit Bill's boyhood friend, Mark. They have been friends since they were in grade school. Mark is a special friend to us. We had a late lunch together before heading further east to Maryland.

Custer South Dakota with Guy and Judy, Aug 20 to Sept 7, 2011

Custer, South Dakota is a quirky little town with painted buffalo on almost every street corner. It is quiet here now that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally of 2011 is over.

We came to help our friends, Guy and Judy finish the remodeling of their new home just outside of Custer. We met them at Buckhorn Lake Resort in Texas where we all spent the last 2 winters.

Guy had a full hook-up site, including cable, ready for us when we arrived. Behind our rv are Guy and Judy's 2 rvs.

Other than doing a lot of wiring and hanging light fixtures, Bill installed a new railing on the deck off of the loft area in the back of the back of the house.

Ceilidh celebrated her 11th birthday while we were there. There was birthday cake on "Princess" plates and Ceilidh wore here Texas denim skirt and pink top. She was much more excited about the cake than the dress! Schuster, in the background is her "long distance" boyfriend.

Our main reason for visiting Guy and Judy was to attend their wedding on Labor Day weekend. The evening before the wedding they hosted a dinner at Crazy Horse Memorial. Everyone had a great time and we were able to watch the laser show after dinner.

Sunday, Sept. 4, was a gorgeous day for the outside wedding in their front yard. Afterwards we were all treated to a sit down dinner and lots of good food and conversation. Some guests were Guy's Air Force buddies, Judy's childhood friends, her children, and of course rving friends like us. People were there from all around the country from California to Maryland. A great time was had by all, but all too soon it was time for people to leave. We enjoyed seeing Nancy from Buckhorn and other rvers we know.

Sept. 6th brought the "Blast on the Mountain" when charges are set off on the mountain after dark. Guy and Judy always have a tailgate party in the parking lot.

Guy was the grill master. He also made buffalo chili.

Grilled cheese and chili-doesn't it look yummy?

Finally it was time for the laser show, the the blast. What a beautiful sight.

All too soon it was time for us to say "so long for now" (never goodbye) "we'll see you down the road somewhere". Actually, we will be working just a mile from Guy and Judy next summer at a Big Pine Campground. We are so blessed to have them as friends. Thank you so very much for your friendship and hospitality! We love you both!

Rapid City, South Dakota, Aug. 14-19, 2011

After leaving Devil' Tower we headed to Happy Holiday Campground south of Rapid City, SD to catch up with our friends, Syd and Jen. They gave us the "grand tour" starting with all you can eat pancake breakfast at Fort Hayes.

To walk off some of the pancakes, we toured the buildings at Fort Hayes.

Our next stop was, of course, Mount Rushmore. What an awe-inspiring sight!












Next we drove through Custer State Park and found this huge herd of buffalo coming down from the mountains to the watering hole.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch under a huge old oak tree in the park.

We stumbled across this "begging burro". It is probably one of the descendants of the ones we saw many years ago while visiting South Dakota. They still "beg" for food at the same place. He doesn't look too hungry, does he?

The next area to visit was the "Needles Highway" with its huge spires of gray colored rocks reaching skyward. Yes, they actually drive tour buses through this narrow crevice in the rocks.

Last stop was a late afternoon walk around Silven Lake. What a perfect day! Thanks, Syd and Jen.