Happy Memorial Weekend!

Happy Memorial Weekend  to all...

We arrived in Sacramento, California on Friday.  The weather is beautiful this weekend!

Yesterday we visited with our friends Joel and La'le and went out for lunch.  We visited them last year in June.  I took some pictures last year so thought I'd reuse them since we look pretty much the same! 

Joel and La'le have a lovely back yard.  It is so pleasant to sit in their living room and look out and see beautiful green trees and to watch the squirrels play. On Wednesday we are going to go to Old Town Sacramento with them.

This weekend we are just kicking back and relaxing! Driving home from their house yesterday we could see the river and in just a very small area there must have been 50 boats! Crazy out there!

Thankful for our men and women who are serving and have served..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Enjoying Atwater!

Yesterday Billy and Vicky took us to the Hillmar Cheese Factory, in Hillmar north of Atwater.  They have lovely gardens, information on how the cheese is made and a nice lunch area and gift shop.  We had sandwiches for lunch and I think I was the only one with a grilled "cheese" sandwich!  It was a beautiful day and it was fun visiting the factory.  We bought some delicious cheese for snacking!

Today it was pretty cloudy in the morning and so our drive up near Sonora in the mountains didn't seem like a good idea so we played several games of Yahtzee and some good snacks instead, including some of the cheese Vicky bought yesterday!

This morning I took some pictures of the goats at the campground to share!

Tomorrow we leave here for Sacramento area.

Fun and games..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Moved on to Atwater, CA

Monday night we had dinner with Craig and Claire, Chip and Stephen and Marissa at Yukon Jacks.  We had a good farewell dinner and lots of laughs.  It became a Droid Tech Meeting because Chip and Craig got new Droid phones, Stephen has a Droid and Ted has a Droid.  Stephen was giving classes and helping everyone set up their phones.  Ted's had his since Missouri but mainly knows how to answer it and make calls!  LOL!  The kids learn everything so quickly!
We are up the road in Atwater visiting Ted's classmates, Vicky and Billy Whited.  We arrived at the Air Castle Campground (next to the Air Castle Airplane Museum) and found we had dead batteries in the RV.  They have only a few camping spaces here with full hookups so we are "dry camping" meaning no hookups! So we took off to the RV place to replace our batteries, another slap to our bank account!

Vicky and Billy invited us to a great dinner (and dessert of course) and a fun evening!   I took a couple of pictures of their huge Great Dane, Thor! 

Dinner with friends and their "big" dog..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Still in Fresno!

Last night Ted and I were on our own and had dinner at Famous Dave's Barbecue.  I REALLY enjoyed my St. Louis Spare Ribs!  I brought home my brisket and cooked apples because there four ribs, 3 slices of brisket, a delicious cornbread muffin and garlic mashed potatoes.  I wanted to try the green beans or the coleslaw but they sounded a bit HOT for me!  Ted had a Georgia Chopped Pork salad and he said it was also delicious!  It was a fun place with good food.

Today we met Chip and Haley for lunch at Chevy's.  Poor Haley still has papers to do and turn in for college but Chip's pretty relaxed since he's all done!  He's had a fun couple of "graduation" days so was happy to just kick back this afternoon.  We enjoyed lunch with the two of them.

During lunch Haley was talking about the Coke Halwell Center for River Studies.  Her mother works for the River Conservation Trust that is preserving and restoring the San Joaquin River lands of ecological, scenic or historic significance.  So after lunch we headed over there to check it out!  The River Center has restored an 1890's Ranch house that had been lived in until the 1970's.  The house was in a total state of disrepair and today is lovely inside and out with pretty gardens and a circular drive with a pond.

In the house they have some oil paintings that are available for purchase to help support the property as well as some birdhouses that are being auctioned to raise funds.  Some of the birdhouses were very original and I told Ted that the bird in one of the houses looked real, and then she blinked!  Looks like Mama Dove is sitting on some eggs!

Sunday afternoon with Chip and Haley and the wildlife..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Graduation Day for Chip!

This morning Andrew "Chip" Meredith (our middle nephew) graduated from California State University at Fresno with a B.S. in Geomatic Engineering!  Chip was one of twelve with this type of degree!  There were a total of almost 200 graduating with Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer and Geomatic Engineering and Construction Management degrees.  An Associate Professor of the Engineering School did a great job as "emcee" and the speeches were not too long! 

After the graduation we stepped outside for some picture taking with friends and family.

After picture taking, a group of family and friends had breakfast/lunch at Huckleberry's!

Proud of the new "graduate"..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Dinner with Stephen & Marissa

Last night we had dinner with Stephen and Marissa.  We had a great time and a great show at the "Japanese Kitchen" restaurant. 

Enjoying a great evening with Stephen and Marissa..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Dinner with the nephews!

We thought we were only having dinner with Craig and Claire because Chip and Stephen both have finals today.  We were happy to have Chip and Hailey join us for dinner and then we all met Stephen for dessert at the Cheesecake Factory!  By the way, the Caramel Royal Macchiato Espresso is delicious (my dessert) and the Warm Apple Crisp is large enough for 4, but apparently delicious!  We had a great time with the kids!

Stephen's girlfriend, Marissa, was busy with her Mom and Dad last night and couldn't join us but I think we will see her tonight!

Craig (oldest) just finished his first year of law school.  Chip (middle) is graduating from Fresno State with a Geomatic Engineering Degree!  Stephen is finishing his first year of college at Fresno State and plans to go to Pharmacy School after getting his degree.

Proud of these guys and their girls..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Fresno!

We left Vegas on Monday and spent last night in Bakersfield.  Got a little rain while we were there.  When we were in West Memphis, Arkansas there was a little bird with a nest in the rocks right next to our RV.  There was another one next to our RV last night and there were also 4 eggs!  The spotted eggs really blend right in with the rocks.  These are the pictures I took in Arkansas but bird, eggs and nest look the same!  I felt sorry for her in the rain but she just puffed out and stayed over the eggs!

We are now in Fresno and going to meet up with Craig (oldest nephew) tonight and his girlfriend Claire for dinner.

Seeing the nephews..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Ethel M's!

Today we went over to Ethel M's chocolates.  The factory is not far from our campground.  We've been there before but wanted to check it out again.  First we went in the M&M store.  The M&M's are really expensive there, two pounds were $33.00!  Yikes.  We didn't buy any.

Then we went to the Ethel M store.  Ted and I normally don't care for dark chocolate but we have found that Ethel M's dark chocolate is the exception.  Today they were tasting peanut brittle and chocolate "Las Vegas Slots" coins.  Both are delicious and the brittle doesn't even stick in your teeth! 

We bought a few pieces of chocolate and then took a look at the cactus garden.  There are a lot of varieties of cactus and today there were quite a few that were blooming!

Melt in your mouth chocolate..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Sam's Town

Yesterday Ted and I went down Boulder Highway a couple of blocks to Sam's Town.  We wanted to go see Iron Man 2 and they have 18 theatres inside the casino/hotel.  The movie was entertaining.  We didn't like it as much as the first Iron Man but it was okay.

Inside the hotel they have Mystic Park Falls with a 10 story tall glass ceiling.  There are several waterfalls that must be 20 feet tall and animated stuffed animals.  You can sit in the park and listen and watch the animals and drink coffee or  Margaritas!  We didn't stay for the water/light show that was later in the evening but did gamble for a little while.  Ted was just saying he wasn't having any luck when he hit a good one! We ended up with Ted doubling his money and I lost $6! Not a bad couple of hours. We ate at the buffet and then headed home.

Enjoying Las Vegas..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Former co-workers!

Yesterday we took Max in for a haircut and of course went to the casino for a bite of lunch and a little casino time while waiting for Max.  Not so lucky yesterday.  We both made a deposit to the casino :(

Today we met a former co-worker, Howard McVicker, from Ted's early days at the County of San Diego for lunch.  He was a mainframe software programer while Ted was in the teleprocessing side. They worked together for three or four years before Howard left to work for the City of San Diego.  It had been a very long time since they had seen each other but they picked up "work talk" quickly!  They updated each other on people they knew and the "state of the County"!

After lunch, the guys continued gabbing and followed me around from machine to machine so I could get in some "casino time!"  I played for a long time before making my deposit but Ted only played a little while and came out way ahead!

Catching up with old friends..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Arizona Charlies

Arizona Charlies is a small casino right down the street from us.  We had never gone there before but thought maybe it wouldn't be as crowded on the weekend as the one we usually go to.  We were sitting at a machine when the power went out and it was very dark inside!  They were able to get a few lights on quickly and were real quick to get the machines back up and sucking up money!  The food service places were the last to get lights. 

We found out that a power pole right next to the RV park fell over.  It was apparently leaning and the wind blew it over and at least two other poles are now really leaning.  We only lost power in the park for about half hour and fortunately today was cooler.  Yesterday it was mid 90's (but it's a dry heat you know) and today mid 80's and very windy.  They think it might have burnt up the RV Park's sign!  Just a little excitement for the day.

The good news was that we were lucky enough to pay for lunch and come out with all our money after about 3 hours!

Keeping your money..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Las Vegas!

We are now in Las Vegas and will be here for a week.  With all the problems we've had with the RV and truck we wanted to make sure we close early enough so we wouldn't have any trouble getting to Fresno for our Nephew Chip's college graduation May 21st! 

I was driving this morning on Interstate 40 about two hours after we left the Grand Canyon, and a car passed me (which is not unusual)!  After it passed, it pulled back in front of me and then put on the brakes and then got back over in the passing lane.  I had a semi behind me but slowed down because I wasn't sure what was going on.  The car waited for me to catch up and when I looked in the car, found it was a couple that we had talked to on the porch at the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon!  It was funny because they mentioned going to Zion (the opposite direction) after the Grand Canyon so we weren't expecting to see them.  They had not seen our RV or truck but knew the size and kind of truck (a guy thing -Ted and the man were talking about both our RV and truck), but saw us and figured it out!  It was funny!

Meeting interesting people..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Another day in the Grand Canyon!

This morning we headed back to the canyon and to the El Tovar Hotel for breakfast.  After a great breakfast, we took a walk to the shuttle (we definitely needed a walk) that takes you out to Hermit's Rest.  On the way we saw a few squirrels. They are so used to people that even when you pass them while they are eating dropped ice cream off the sidewalk, they don't even run from you!   We also visited the Kolb and Lookout Studios before getting on the shuttle.

We got on the shuttle bus and headed eight miles to Hermit's Rest.  We had not made it there the last time because the buses were too full!  There is a gift shop and snack bar there and a beautiful view of the canyon and the river.  On the bus the driver mentioned that the dead trees you see are caused by lightning.  He said that last July and August there were 81,000 strikes of lightning!  I don't know whose counting them, but I don't want their job!  LOL

After viewing Hermit's Rest, we headed back to the El Tovar porch for one last look at the Canyon. It was a bit chilly so I had the warm rum flavored cider, yum!

Tomorrow we leave for Las Vegas!

Once again enjoying the Canyon..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Grand Canyon South Rim

Today we took a ride over to the Grand Canyon.  We are camped about 1.5 miles outside the park.  We drove over to the Village where the hotels are and the main area of the South Rim.  We checked out the big hole in the ground and it is still there as awesome as ever!  We checked out the El Tovar Lodge and shops and a couple other shops. 

We took the shuttle around the park and returned to the El Tovar for a glass of wine on the porch!  It is a breathtaking view and the hotel is great.  Ted took me there for my birthday in 2000 shortly after we got married.  It is a favorite for us!

A glass of wine on the El Tovar porch overlooking the Grand Canyon..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Able to get on the road again!

Well after I revived Ted we decided we would go to dinner, what's a few more bucks!  At the campground, Black Bart's, they also have Black Bart's saloon.  They advertised a musical revue with singing waiters!  Oh boy we couldn't wait.  So we got cleaned up and I took too long and right when we got ready to walk over 3 bus loads of really old people show up!  Kid you not!  They apparently had been to the Grand Canyon (many had Grand Canyon jackets) and came to Flagstaff for dinner and a show!  Reminds me of our "bus trip from hell" a few years ago with some friends.  Ours was only $99 for 3 nights so we didn't hit the hot spot "Black Bart's"!

So I walked over to see what the wait would be for a table and they apparently have done this before and had them in a special section and we got right in.  We were both thinking it would be a little "country" and were pleasantly surprised when they mostly did music from broadway plays!  It was fun and they were really good.  After a show, dinner and two glasses of wine, Ted was feeling a little bit better!

This afternoon we got a call at 1:00 p.m. that the truck was ready.  Much earlier than we expected.  It still cost a fortune but appears to be fixed.  So we left Black Barts at about 2:30 this afternoon and are camped just outside the Grand Canyon in an RV park since we had to give up our reservation inside the park.

A working truck..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Flagstaff, Arizona

We are now in Flagstaff, unfortunately we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon.  About 20 miles east of Flagstaff the radiator started leaking enough so we called a Ford Dealer and they directed us to a campground, we dropped off the rv and got to the dealership.  They just called and said we needed a new radiator and fan belt and won't be ready until late tomorrow.  We will need to pay both arms and legs (since we won't be having a first born to give them).  We only had 3 nights at the Grand Canyon so we cancelled that part of the trip.

Yikes the guy just called again and told us the spring that keeps tension on the belt broke and will cost us two more arms and legs!  The truck is almost to 100,000 miles so these things happen but it's just been two repair months of hell!

I will sign off now because I think I need to give CPR to Ted or at least a big glass of wine to calm him down!

Guess we still have our health (knock on wood)..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Gallop New Mexico

Yesterday we left Amarillo, Texas and made it to Gallop, New Mexico.  It was cool and clear skies for the drive.  This morning it was 29 degrees when I took Max out.  We changed time zones so it was light at 6:00 a.m. so Max decided it was time to get up!

This morning we will travel to the south rim of the Grand Canyon where we will stay until Friday.  Not sure if we will have Mifi or not.  The temperature at the Grand Canyon is expected to be 25 tonight and 70's during the day.  Looks like it will be mostly sunny!

Looking forward to the Grand Canyon..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Amarillo Texas

Today we made it from Afton Oklahoma to Amarillo Texas.  It was so sunny with blue skies until late this afternoon I thought maybe the bad weather was over.  Fortunately the bad weather kept going around us and we only ended up with a little rain.

We stopped this morning at a Flying J for fuel and yummy sweet cream pancakes!  Diesel fuel is sure going up in price again.  It's now up to $3.15 per gal. here in Texas.  

The "missing" problem we had with the truck seems fixed but we are still experiencing a small amount of the black smoke which was the head gasket last time.  Also we have a radiator or overheating problem.  It is always something! :(

Tomorrow we will try to get across New Mexico before stopping on our way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!

Hoping for sunny skies..."Ain't Life Grand!"

In Oklahoma!

We spent a nice week with our friends Bill and Ginny.  We took our truck to Springfield to get worked on so they drove us around to dinner and sightseeing in between having contractors over to work on building a really cool barn.  The barn is going to have a wood shop and a "pad shop", an apartment and a turret with office space and sitting room!  Bill owned a bindery shop and kept some of his equipment when he retired.  He makes dental pads that the dentist uses to mix the epoxy for glueing the cap on your tooth.  He has enough clients that it gives him some extra income and doesn't take too much time!  The barn is really going to be nice when it gets finished.  It is just in the beginning stages.  We will still have plenty of room to park the RV!  The house area is on 10 of their 300 acres!

One day we went to Bennett Springs State Park.  We had gone their last year.  It's a beautiful spring on the river that has shades of greens and blues and produces 71 million gallons of water per day!    They have a nice lodge and we had a nice lunch there.

We visited Verizon one day and we are now on Mifi instead of Broadband for internet.  It took us a little time to figure out the installation but it's working well!

We got the truck back on Friday.   They replaced 4 more injectors so now there is only 1 original injector.  Fortunately they were still under warranty.  They also found our electrical problem!  They only charged $80 for that (we had a bid of $600 by another Ford Dealer in Arizona)!  They changed the oil/fuel filters also.

Last night a storm hit the area and fortunately we were far enough north to miss the really bad stuff!  Just had some rain, thunder and lightning.

This morning they took us to the Lion's Club Trail Ride breakfast before we got on the road.  We are spending tonight in Afton, Oklahoma, just west of Missouri.  We will only spend one night here before continuing west toward California.

Visiting the Missouri rolling hills..."Ain't Life Grand!"