Brown's Christmas Letter - 2009

Christmas 2009

It is 7:30 Saturday morning, December 19 in Mesa, Arizona and I just got up in our Rv which is located in Silveridge Resort. It is cool this morning so I have the furnace on and a cup of coffee. Gail is still in bed asleep so the RV is quiet and I am bound and determined to get this Christmas letter done. Before you read the rest make sure you visit Lesley Ann'e Baby Registry just to the right of this picture.

Gail & Ron Brown
Silverige Resort
8265E. Southern, Site 666
Mesa, Az 85209

This past year has gone by quickly as we returned home in April to help Mom with her cancer treatments. Her death on May 21 really changed our lives as we had to adjust emotionally to this big change since she had been such a huge part of our life. June was a busy month moving back into our home on Jane Place which had been house sat by my long time friend Graham Howie. Graham was anxious to move into Mom's house on a long term rental so Alan and I decided to keep it. The summer was a wonderful time as we re settled in our home but it was different without Mom coming down for Sunday dinner. I became interested in gardening and golf. While gardening around the house I discovered we had great plants and shrubs that needed lots of care. I think my two months of hard work paid off with lots of compliments from visitors. As a child I golfed a lot with my Father but really hadn't played since I was 16. I started lessons with a great instructor, Dave Ewhart, at Mulligan's Golf course in Courtenay. Soon I was addicted and along with weekly lessons and daily practice at the driving range, I started to play about 3 times a week. Gail even started to take some lessons and got a game in at Longlands. So the summer was spent settling Mom's estate, moving back into our house, gardening and GOLF !! I had thought about selling our big house on Jane place but after staying there for the summer the memories and attachments are just too strong.

The last two weeks of July were a golfing holiday. We wanted to go to Cranbrook to visit our long time traveling companions from the previous year, Doug and Louise Perry. Our first stop was Vancouver for a game with Alan and Brendan, my future son in law. Lesley Anne was with us the week before in Comox so we brought her to Vancouver and dropped her off at her appt., but Brendan wanted to talk to me privately before we left. His question was, " Will you let me marry your daughter? ". My answer was an immediate yes and the next 3 days were a big celebration party at Alan & Kazuko's where we were staying. Yes we got a few golf games in and LA was glowing as she showed off her new ring. We left for Salmon Arm and played with Dennis Niebergal on some great courses before stopping in Kelowna to stay with Byron and Marlene Nate. They were great hosts and just told us about their new home they bought in Mesa. We had a great time with them and took all the information down on the Mesa location. Next stop was Cranbrook. We had a great week with the Perry's who traveled with us for about 6 months last year on our North America trip. They are good golfers and have a lovely home in Cranbrook. We made our way back to Vancouver for Alan's birthday and the August long weekend, but we were still excited about LA's engagement. We saw them once more before they headed off to Australia for 5 weeks in August. The last two weeks of July were hot so the yard needed some attention when we returned. In August we just relaxed and I played a lot of golf but still had emotional problems missing Mom. Sunday evening dinner were the worst as only Gail & I were home. My two best friends Dave Musgrave and Gordon Rose solved that problem by establishing a weekly event of golfing late Sunday afternoon followed by a dinner with the 3 families. It was great and seemed to help me adjust to life without Mom.

With fall approaching, we had to make some decisions on what we were doing. We decided to leave in our RV on October 15 and spend 3 months in Mesa before going on down to San Antonio. I contacted Silveridge Resort and they had a RV site right next to Marlene and Byron Nate, our friends from Kelowna. The wheels were in motion - as Rver's say. Before October 15 arrived lots was to happen. On Sept 25 Jennifer was arriving home for two weeks and we had not seen her for two years. Jennifer and Dave graduated from University in Christchurch with their degrees in Education and now are teach in the Public School System. Jennifer is a Primary school teach and Dave teaches high school. Both have completed their first year and their high evaluations helped them to make a decision to stay one more year. Lesley Anne returned from Australia at the same time Jennifer arrived so again, another big party at Alan's. After the hugs and kisses we opened the wine to toast Jennifer's arrival but Lesley Anne had water. Yes, LA is pregnant- more to come later. We had a great two weeks in Comox with Jennifer and LA. We decided to have an early Thanksgiving dinner and at the same time do one more thing for Mom. We set the Internment Service for October 5 at which time we would bury Mom's ashes. Since Jennifer hadn't been there for the funeral we thought it would help with closure. Ken and Gail Nicholson from Saskatoon came for the weekend and service. The house was full and we even used the RV for people to sleep. The weather was great and we got some golf in with Alan and Brendan. Unfortunately the two weeks went by too quickly and the next thing we knew the company was gone and Jennifer was on her way back to New Zealand. We only had 10 days to pack the RV and get on the road by October 15. We went to Victoria for Thanksgiving dinner and stayed with our long time friends Don & Norma Bays. On October 15 under overcast skies and a bit of rain we headed south to Victoria and on to Port Angeles.

The Blackball ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles is a great route and one we used last year. Easy customs and a 90 minute trip to Port Angeles on the ferry and a 10 minutes drive to Port Angeles Sequim KOA Camp ground where we stayed for two nights. It was our first night in the RV since we returned home in April and brought back many happy memories. We were glad to be back on the road but the rain started. Next morning we did some shopping and then headed to Dave and Sue Hildebrand's for a lunch, walk about, and great dinner. Dave's parents were there and as usual Sue cooked a great meal. We left Port Angeles the next morning in the rain and headed west on 101 since we wanted to go down the Oregon coast. I soon realized driving would be slow and in the rain and fog not much to see but made it to the Lewis & Clark Golf Resort in Astoria Oregon. This was a new RV park right on a 9-hole golf course in a town that needed lots of exploring. I could have stayed there a week !!!!! We had a schedule to keep so left in the morning with a little more sun and headed south on 101 along the Oregon coast. After 6 hours of driving I decided we were going no where fast. I wanted to get to California where it is warm and the wine is cheap ! We abandoned the Oregon coast and took 20 east to the Albany KOA before heading south on I-5 the next morning. The weather was good and the mountain passes clear as we dropped down into Redding California at the JGW RV Park. We liked the Park and the hot weather so much we stayed two days and explored Redding. We had lunch uptown and walked across the famous Sundial Bridge. The sun was hot and I was back being a happy person. I washed the the car and RV and got everything ship shape as the Oregon rain was heavy. Heading south on I-5 was easy as we turned west on 152 to get to Moss Landing KOA just north of Monterey. We wanted to come to the Monterey area and chose this park based on the great reviews on this site about KOA Moss Landing. The staff were very friendly and gave us a package with all the local restaurants that specialize in fresh seafood. We walked to Phil's Seafood Restaurant and had the whole Dungeness Crab ( 1.5 lb) for $21 and a bottle of wine for $11. We got to listen to Bluegrass music and enjoy one of best evenings. The park is about a 5 minutes walk from the beach and right in a small little town that has amazing food at a reasonable price. This is a KOA Express which I have never seen before. There are only back in sites but it is big rig friendly and there is lots of room to turn. If you do a KOA on-line reservation I would also phone the park and talk to them about the size of your rig. They are very helpful and will help get the right size pad for your rig. This is a great park in an area that has some of the most expensive real estate in the US so expect to pay a bit more. The next day we headed south on 101 to Paso Robles Wine Country RV Park in of course Paso Robles. This is a well designed multilevel park built on the side of a hill in a very famous wine growing region. The approach is easy as you turn off 101 to Hwy 46. You turn left off 46 onto Airport Road but this means crossing 4 busy lanes of a divided highway without any lights. Be careful on this turn and I am sure in the future they will have to put traffic lights in. The park is huge and well designed for big rigs but has no directional signage for the internal roads. There are different types of sites for different prices which really means how much of a view you have off the hill. We stayed at the top in site 144 which backs onto Hwy 46 and got a lot of road noise. Pick the sites lower down by the registration building and you will have a good nights sleep. Ask about their wine tasting card. It is free and allows you free tasting at 5 different wineries all about 10 minutes from the RV park. We enjoyed our stay and would definitely come back here but stay away from the back sites. This RV park was rated in the top 100 in North America!

The next day we arrived in Ventura Beach RV resort where we would be staying for a week as we wanted to spend some time with Mom's sister Joyce. We had a great time and talked about the old days and adventures with Mom. This really helped me in the final closure of mom's death. My cousin Linda also lives there and had never met Gail !!!! It was a great week with lots of dinners and family get togethers but the week went by quickly and we had to be in Mesa on November 1. We wanted to meet our traveling friends Larry & Ellen Johnson and Rob & Diane Wilson who we met in Newfoundland last year. They both have Motorhomes and were in Tuscon for a conference. We met them in at Emerald Desert RV resort in Palm Desert.
We spent 3 days in Palm desert and really liked the area. The park was spectacular but as most things in California... Expensive !!!! We had a great 3 days renewing old friendships and had an easy drive to Mesa on the Sunday. I knew I had died and gone to heaven when we pulled into our RV park and there was a Costco next door.

We are in Site #666 at Silverige RV Resort in Mesa Arizona. We will be staying here till about January 21 when Doug & Louise Perry from Cranbrook will meet us here and we will travel down to San Antonio for two months. We have been here for 7 weeks and are right next to our friends from Kelowna - Byron & Marlene Nate. We have made many friends and know everyone up and down the street. I found a golf Pro, Craig Porter at Riverside GC that has really helped me with my weekly Monday morning Golf Lessons. Wednesday I play in a foursome from the park and Friday at Apache Wells with a Comox friend, Harold Stevens. The days I am not playing golfing I am at the driving range at Sunland East GC and have used up two $60 range passes. Yes I am getting better. Gail has taken a few golf lessons but really missed her sewing. Yes.. I bought her a new sewing machine and has now joined all the quilting and sewing clubs in the park. Our life here is busy and taking a more structured form. We like Mesa and found an adult Retirement Community called Leisure World that we just fell in love with.
We would have bought a house there this year but I hear the patter of little feet in Australia as LA's due date is March 27. Not sure what the future holds but this area is great and cheap golf. We went and saw a concert with BB King and have been to lots of dinner theaters. For a Christmas present we are going to treat ourselves to a trip to the Rose Bowl Parade. The bus picks us up at the park and we have two nights hotel accommodation in Pasadena with VIP seating. Dave and Tanya Hull came down from Fremont Nebraska and spent the American Thanksgiving with us. We had a great time going to the Arizona Opry and golfing.

Gail and I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. What is in the future for the Brown's? Well the most important event next year will be the birth of our Grandson in Adelaide Australia on March 27. Jennifer will be there from New Zealand and Brendan's family have been a great support. They have rented a 3 bedroom house with a pool and are slowly furnishing it. A big task when you start with very little. When we get back from Texas in April we will obviously be planning a trip to Australia. Our Comox home isn't getting much use but it still has a lot of emotional attachment so we will keep it for now. Both girls tell us they want to come back to Canada at some point in the future but our winter retreats may take us further south than Arizona or Texas. Gail and I are both in good health and very happy with our lifestyle. We have made many new friends and look forward to warm weather and great golf. My favorite store is called Total Wine and is a Superstore of alcohol. They have their own brand of wines at $1.75/bottle and it tastes pretty good !!! Most of our shopping for food is at a local chain called Fry's and it seems to be cheaper that Canada. Diesel gas is $2.65/US gallon and golf on a public course is about $18. Our RV site is $500/month plus power which was $64 the first month.

Pictures:

Silveridge Resort
Mesa
On the Road to Mesa
Comox- Summer-09

Pictures in the letter from top to bottom.

RV Site: Our site at the Silveridge Resort in Mesa
Ron on Green: Wearing the Black's Shirt Jennifer brought me as I beat Andy Crouch golfing
LA & Brendan: Lunch at Kingfisher in Comox
Jennifer Golfing: Great afternoon as Gail,Ron,Andy and Jen played at Longlands
Thanksgiving Dinner: LA, Jen, Judy Williamson, Ken Nicholson and Ron
Dinner on Dodger Hill in Port Angeles
Lunch at Solvang California- Kirk & Joyce Kirkpatrick ( Mom's Sister)
Golf- Dave Hull, Byron Nate and Ron Brown off to golf
Mom & Ron at Mom's 90'th Birthday

Back in Canada- April 4-09

The Desert in Mesa

Good morning to everyone. It is April 23 and I am in Victoria at an RV park called Fort Victoria while mom is having her radiation treatment at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. We arrived back in Canada Saturday, April 4 which put our final mileage on the truck at 65162 km. Our trip for total miles traveled was 44985 km or 27952 miles.

To pick up after our last blog was where we left Apache Wells ,Arizona and traveled to Lake Havasu for one night before meeting up with our friends Laura and Laury Haines in Las Vegas. We really liked Mesa and Apache Wells RV Park so will likely make that a fall destination later this year. The scenery was spectacular as we left Mesa and traveled N. On Hwy. 60 then across the desert on Highway 60 and 72 to Parker and then Lake Havasu. This is a very beautiful area and certainly not as busy as Mesa. We spent one night there and then it is a short 3 Hour Drive to Las Vegas. We stayed at Sam's town RV Park which is associated with the casino next door. You can get many good RV sites at a very reasonable rate when they are associated with casinos. This was a large park that was well run and could use all the amenities of the casino. We stayed two days and had some great buffets and the Haines showed us around old Las Vegas at night. As we left on Highway 15 heading west we realized this area needs more exploration at a future date. Highway 15 through Barstow is really spectacular as you cross the Mojave National Preserve. It was a long day of driving as we made our way through Bakersfield and over to Interstate 5. I was glad to pull into a RV Park at Coalinga as the wind was starting to get bad as soon as we started north on Interstate 5. The Almond Tree RV Park is a nice park and gave us a opportunity to get a good nights sleep before heading North on I-5 for another long day. Our trip took us directly north on I-5 through Stockton and Sacramento to Mount Shasta. This was the start of the Cascade Range and our major mountain pass to go through before getting into Washington. We stayed at a nice KOA Park and again had a good nights sleep before leaving and heading into Oregon. Unfortunately the weather was typical West Coast with overcast and rainy skies. Gail and I had to put away our shorts and get out the long pants and socks. I think my body is suited to warm weather as everything started to ache. We continued north through grants Pass and Eugene. The road was excellent but could see how this would be a big obstacle if it was winter and there was snow. We made it to Brookhllow RV Park in Kelso Washington. This was a great spot that we found off the highway and had not researched our destination. The next day was a short trip to Port Angeles where we had planned on spending two nights to rest up for our big reentry into Canada. We stayed at the Elwha Fam RV Park and had a great afternoon and evening dinner with our long-time friends Susan and Dave Hildebrand. They built a beautiful house on Dodger Hill which has a spectacular view of the street. Bob and Janet Ketching came for dinner from Victoria after a three-hour wait to go through border customs south of Vancouver. The next morning we slept in and got the RV down to the dock to catch the Coho to downtown Victoria. It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning for the short 1.5 hour crossing to downtown Victoria. It took us about two minutes to clear customs and another 15 minutes to get to our RV Park in Victoria. This was the first time we had used this Ferry but it is clearly the preferred route to get to Washington as customs is easy, and you bypass Seattle as you head south. We certainly will use this route in the future instead of taking BC ferries across to Vancouver and then having to deal with long waits for southern border crossings. Our return trip from Texas was hurried with long hours of driving to make it home for Easter for Mom who was in the hospital at Comox. This completes our year long trip and 45,000 km later we have only scratched the surface of future adventures. We thought we would find Utopia but only saw more territory to explore. We plan on heading south to Mesa in October of this year depending on mom's health. We also have been thinking about upgrading our traveling rig to a class A motorhome and have fell in love with the Endeavour by Holiday Rambler. It is a big purchase but our future years will be " On the Road ".When I have all the financial data in I plan on doing one final chapter on this blog to outline our financial costs for the years. It is not as expensive as you may think and my goal is to encourage people to follow their dreams while their health is good.

On May 2 we will move the RV up to Mom's house in Comox and live with here until she moves into the new Comox Valley Seniors Village on June 1. Our long time friend Graham Howie who has rented our house for the last year will move into Mom's house for a long term rental. We will then return to 69 Jane Place by July 1 and start the preparation for Jennifer's visit in September.

It will be about one month before we get all the final pictures uploaded and the financial data analyzed so expect " The Final Chapter " about the end of May.

Pictures from Florida to Victoria

Homeward Bound

Picture- Luchenbach Texas

Good morning,

It is April 2 and a sunny morning in Mesa Arizona. We are on our way home and left San Antonio about two weeks ago. We headed to southern Texas for about 10 days to explore the Brownsville area. Our first stop was Rockport. This is just north of Corpus Christi and discovered a wonderful RV Park called Lagoons RV Resort This is owned by a man from British Columbia and it is a gorgeous park in a small town like Comox. We are continually looking for utopia and a place to return in the winter months. This certainly may be the area as it is on the beach and in a wonderful location. We explored the area and the bustle of Corpus Christi. We left and went south to Brownsville where we stayed at the Tropical Winds RV Park in Harlingen which is just north of the Mexican border. We stayed there for three days and went down to South Padre Island. This area of Texas is extremely windy, the relative humidity was 90%, and it was about 95°. Needless to say Gail was not impressed and I doubt we will be returning to this area on a regular basis. We left Harlingen and traveled back to San Antonio for two nights and stayed at Travellers World RV Park. On my return I had a blowout on my fifth wheel about 20 miles south of San Antonio. This was huge bang was a lot of smoke. Fortunately everyone was safe and the tire changing people came after a call to the good Sam road service insurance. This delayed us for 24 hours while I got a new tire put on our rig. We said a teary goodbye to our friends Doug and Louise Perry and pulled out of San Antonio Sunday, March 29. It was a nice drive west through Fort Stockton to Balmorhea. Balmorhea is a gas station in the middle of the desert. They have an RV site there but it's usually used as a stopover for people transiting the area. The next morning we were about to leave when we saw a rig's pulling in at nine o'clock in the morning. We quickly discovered there was a sand storm coming with high winds and all high profile vehicles were to stay off the highway. We are glad we stayed as the sandstorm was amazing. Anyway this left us stranded in the middle of the desert for an extra day. We met some interesting friends and had happy hour as usual with more stranded travelers. The next day is probably one of the most beautiful drives of my life. The sun was behind us as we moved in the morning West along I- 10 towards Las Cruces. The desert with the backdrop of the beautiful mountains was simply spectacular. We arrived early in Las Cruces New Mexico and stayed at the Sunny acres RV Park. Las Cruces is an interesting town with a lot of history. I barbecued some great steaks that evening as I couldn't eat anymore Mexican food. There was another wind warning that was coming up at the end of the day so we wanted to get on the road early to make Mesa Arizona our next stop. We continued along I 10 and then turned north at Lordsberg on highway 60. We drove for hours in the middle of the desert without seeing anyone and thought it would be a good idea to always travel with another vehicle as the area is so remote. It was very beautiful and after eight hours of driving we finally made it to Apache Wells RV resort in Mesa. We plan on staying here for three days and are enjoying the company of longtime friends, Harold and Pam Stevens.

Most of you are wondering how my mother is doing. She finally has a diagnosis of a malignant lymphoma starting her abdomen and has metastasize to her pelvis. This is the reason she's having a hard time walking. She has been in the hospital for the past two weeks and went down to the cancer clinic on Monday for some palliative radiation. Alan went over with her and met the radiation oncologist at the Cancer clinic. As usual mom was her delightful witty self and impress the doctor so much that they decided to offer her a more aggressive treatment with a possible cure in the range of 30 to 50%. This was good news but it does mean she will have to go down to Victoria for three weeks of treatment. This will start on April 14. Our plan is to return to Canada about that time and leave the RV in Victoria to be close to mom. We are not sure what route we be taking home yet. This is something that we work out over the next couple of days and let everyone know. Thanks for all the people who have gone to see mom as she really appreciates the company. Her cell phone is 250-650-0793 and she usually keeps it on also time. When we get our final itinerary updated I will let everyone know.

Texas Adventure

It is 51° and raining in San Antonio which has been our home for the past month. They have not had rain for about two years and there is an extreme drought condition. Everyone is happy with the rainfall except us. We have had a great time in Texas with a lot of traveling. We arrived at our RV Park in New Braunfels on February 14 after leaving Rayford Crossing just north of Houston. This was undoubtedly one of the nicest RV parks we have ever been in. It is situated on the Guadalupe River as it passes right by our back door. The New Braunfels area is about 30 miles northeast of San Antonio and close to our good friends Dave and Marlene Crucq who have a house in Cibolo. There were lots of small communities in the immediate area which provided great entertainment and history of the area without the traffic in San Antonio. For the first week we did all the tourist visits and familiarized ourselves with the area. For the second week we left our RV and travel north. Our first stop was Duncan Oklahoma to visit Lois and Don Wilson. Wilson's had been friends of our family since we were growing up. We had a great four days with them and were able to see their daughter Lois Don as well. The weather was hot and sunny and we had a great visit to their local museum and surrounding areas. We left Duncan Oklahoma to head north to Wichita Kansas. My friend Dave Hull who lives in Fremont Nebraska suggested he meet me halfway since we were going to be in Oklahoma. This would mean about a four-hour drive to Wichita. As we approached Kansas the weather started to change and although it was sunny it became bitterly cold with temperatures around -10°C. We had a nice visit but most of the activities were indoor related such as going to the movies and dinner theater. We left and headed back south with the one night stay at the Wilson's and visited their daughter and family Zana. We were glad to finally make the trip back to our RV in Texas where we were able to warm up. The following weekend we headed out to see a classmate of mine Jerry and Ingrid Baskerville. They live on a ranch in Troy Texas. I have not seen Jerry since we graduated together a long time ago. They had us up to the ranch for dinner and an overnight visit. It was interesting to talk about how her life has changed and his career in Texas. The third week our friends Doug and Louise Perry arrived from Florida in their motorhome. It was great to see them again as they were our traveling companions that we met in Halifax. This past week has been a stressful one for a variety of reasons. My mother has had problems with her hip over the past six weeks. We finally were able to sort this out and unfortunately it looks as though she has a malignant tumor involving her pelvis. She has lots of support but of course is anxious to see us home. We have altered our travel schedule to be home in about four weeks. We are drawing up our new travel plans with dates as I speak.

Texas Pictures

The Road to San Antonio- Feb-09

Feb-11/09 Rayford Crossing- #1 RV Resort in North America

It is February 13, a foggy morning in Spring Texas which is about 30 miles north of Houston. We are staying in an RV Park called Rayford Crossing which was voted the number one RV Park in North America. On January 31 we said goodbye to our friends in Sarasota and with a tear in our eye left under sunny weather to head north to Perry Florida. This was about a four-hour drive and is situated just before you turn onto the Panhandle in Florida. We stayed two nights at Perry KOA as I wanted to be there for the Super Bowl game on Sunday, February 1. (Picture at KOA)In the morning they had a free pancake breakfast and we were entertained with a buffet dinner and the Super Bowl party all free of charge. Perry is pretty rough around the edges and was the first time I went bike riding that I didn't feel safe. We chose a very safe and well run KOA campground that got excellent reviews. We had a great two days there before leaving to Destin on highway 98. We had been this route twice before and it is a scenic drive along the water. It took us about it for hours to get to the Destin Beach RV resort. This was a small high-end 30 site RV resort which was actually on Miramar Beach. (Picture at Destin).It was a bit on the expensive side as you'll see from the pictures but a lovely place to spend a week. Brad and Sheri came down for dinner from Crestview. On Friday we went up to their house for dinner and stayed overnight so we can take full advantage of the week which they had off. It was a great time and we were able to use our new waffle maker which we treated ourselves to. The weather was hot and sunny and we had a great walk on the beach with its pristine white sand. On February 9 we left for Biloxi Mississippi and found our way to the Cajun RV campground. Biloxi Mississippi was about a four-hour drive and is home to many casinos which were destroyed by recent hurricanes. ( Picture at Cajun RV). They have been rebuilt inland slightly and the grandest of them all is the Beau Rivage. We settled into the RV park and decided to treat ourselves to their very famous buffet. We dressed up in our fancy duds and went to the casino buffet which was impressive. It was $22 per person but that included all the wine and beer you can drink. It was famous for its fresh dungeoness crap and had a pot of crab the size of my RV for the taking. Needless to say there were about 500 people including myself gorging themselves on many plates of crab and wine. Unforgettable night so the next morning we decided to stop at Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Cajun RV resort owner had recommended it as they had a great casino called the Isle of Capri. This sounded interesting as I could still staste the crab and wondered what gastronomic delight I would be in to ,so phoned ahead and reserved a RV spot at their campground associated with the casino. ( Picture of Isle of Capri) I thought Lake Charles would be a beautiful setting with a nice casino. As we approached the bridge over the lake we were able to see nothing but petrochemical plants and toxic waste dumps as far as the eye could see. It was truly the ugliest part of the United States I had ever seen. We exited I 10 which had been extremely busy and easily found the casino. The RV spot at the casino was nothing more than a power stand in the middle of a busy parking lot. They had no sewer or water but I knew that so had filled the tanks up. Well we got settled in and went over to try their buffet which was $32 for the two of us. It was okay but certainly nothing like the Beau Rivage. On the way out I said to Gail, let's put a dollar in one of these machines and see if we win anything. I took out a paper dollar and pulled the lever only to find I won $60. This is great and payed for our dinner and RV site. Not being a gambler I cashed out and collected my winnings. We left early as we were anxious to get to Spring Texas where we were staying at Rayord Crossing RV Park. This was rated the number one RV Park in North America. When you see the pictures of this you'll understand why it has such a good reputation. They were polishing off the lawn furniture and barbecue as we pulled our RV in. It is a beautiful setting about 30 miles north of Houston. I have not tackled the Houston traffic as we took a northern approach to bypass going through all the freeways. Tomorrow we leave for San Antonio and will be staying for a month in a small town called New Braunfels close to some friends from Comox. Our traveling companions Doug and Louise Perry are still in Naples Florida and will catch up with us the first week in March. Gail and I are both doing well and enjoying being back on the road again and seeing the new sites of our adventure. It was interesting as we approached Texas to actually see some hills. It is being so flat for the past four months. Hopefully you enjoy the pictures which will be attached at the bottom of this letter.

Pictures:

On the road to San Antonio

Florida- January-09

Key West Trip

Inter coastal Waterway


Watch this Video- IT IS NOT US SO DON'T PANIC This occurred in July 2008 and the RV is a Large Everest- Like Laury Haines's This is why you have to be careful on your approach to gas stations. Gail always gets out and directs me in. Any RV er would have night mares after watching this !!!!

Good Bye Sarasota, Florida

January 29-2009

Picture: Boat tour of Inland Waterways- Sarasota to Venice Left to right: Doug Perry, Gail, Louise Perry,Diane and Ed Lippin, Ron. Doug & Louise Perry from Cranbrook have traveled with us since Halifax. Ed & Diane are from Victoria, and met in Pennsylvania .

On January 31 we will be leaving Sarasota and traveling north to Perry Florida for two nights before arriving in Destin the next week. Our three months at Windward Isle mobile trailer park has been a great experience and we have met wonderful people who have made us feel like this is our home. There will be a tear in our eye as we pull out of here Saturday morning. When we arrived back here after Christmas we attended the Tampa international RV show and just dreamt about some of the new motor homes. The following week we left for the Florida Keys with our friends and traveling companions Doug and Louise Perry. My truck was having a small dent repaired at the auto body shop so we used their car for our three-day adventure. We stayed at Florida city which is just before you start down into the keys. We had a wonderful drive down and stopped at the interpretive center in the Everglades park to see all the alligators. The following day we made it down to Key West and had lunch at Jimmy buffet's famous restaurant, Margaritaville. We spent most of the day walking around Key West and seening people in long pants, hats on their heads, and mittens on their hands. We happened to be traveling these three days when the Arctic cold temperatures pushed down into southern Florida. You will see pictures of frost on our car in Florida city. This certainly was an unusual sight in Key West as it is usually hot and humid. We had a great time and ended up back at Ed and Diane's for a hamburger dinner. They are our other traveling partners from Victoria who had moved their RV down into the Key West area. It was a long drive home to Florida city in the dark. The following morning we spent touring Miami on a bus and then a boat tour to see the homes of the rich and famous. I was looking forward to seeing the sights on South Beach but no one was there because it was cold. What luck! Returning to Sarasota was uneventful and over the past week we have been exploring the city and all it has to offer. I still do my regular bike rides down to the beach and back and Gail gets to the gym in the morning. Yesterday I had a new awning put on my RV and the propane tanks filled. Everything is finally fixed and ready for travel. My job today is to see how we are going to pack everything away for travel. This is difficult as we have accumulated items over the past month. The details of our travels to the west are outlined in our last blog and will be updated on our trip itinerary page. I have enclosed copies of our pictures of Florida at the bottom. Both Gail and I are anxious to start moving again after a three-month rest in Florida. We will be keeping you posted with more blogs as our travel continues.

Pictures:

Florida- January

Pontoon Boat Ride- Intercoastal- Sarasota to Venice

Key West

Back to Sunny Florida - Bye Ice & Snow !!!!

January 2-2009 Picture is with Lesley Anne in Hamilton's Steakhouse-Vancouver

Since we returned to Sarasota I have been riding my bike to Siesta Beach which has reaffirmed how much I hate BC in the winter !!! The weather in Florida is just perfect – not to hot – not to cold.

Having said that we really had a good trip home and stayed with Mom from November 20 to December 23. Our time in Comox was busy as we caught up on banking, medical and dental appts, and of course dinner party's. It was nice to see our house well looked after and how good mom has done since our last visit in July. We were able to help her with Christmas preparation and house maintenance issues. Thanks to everyone who supports her in our absence. Unfortunately about one week after our arrival the arctic front arrived which meant SNOW!!! This meant daily snow shoveling and chains on the car. Despite the good time we had there was a little voice in my head that said, “ You should be in Florida “. We got a Christmas letter out by E-mail and Canada Post so every one is aware of our travels. We left Comox on December 23 with the threat of snow. I had chains,blankets,candles, and food for emergency supplies. The trip was uneventful until we got to New Westminster and found no roads ploughed which involved putting the chains on just to get close to Alan’s house. Christmas was wonderful as Kazuko is an excellent cook. I spent most of the days shoveling the huge daily snowfall. We were happy to leave on December 27 from Vancouver back to Sarasota.

We have been working on our travel plans with an estimated return to Comox Mid-May. We plan on going to the largest RV show in North America in Tampa mid- January which will be followed

by a trip to Miami and the Florida Keys. On Feb 1 we will leave Windward Isle RV Park - Sarasota-that has been home for 3 months and make our way to Destin for one week and a rendevous with Brad & Sheri. As we travel west we are going to make San Antonio a 3-4 week stop. We have friends in the surrounding areas and will do small day trips to visit. Our traveling friends Doug and Louise will be staying in Naples until the end of February. We both are going to the Good Sam Rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 15-20. So mid-Feb to Mid March will be San Antonio then head south to Brownsville and southern Texas. We will slowly move north through Phoenix and on to Albuquerque. From there we will say good bye to the Perry’s as they head north and home. We are going to travel west on I-40 and come up the coast. It will take about a month to come up the west coast and be back in Comox by Mid-May. The details of these plans are still being worked out as there are lots of friends we want to stop and see.

Pictures:

Sarasota- November

Christmas- Comox

Christmas- Vancouver

Sarasota- January