On The Road

Christmas 2011

2011-12-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Family & Friends,

As Christmas fast approaches I am thinking about how blessed Ron & I are. We have 2 beautiful daughters who each have wonderful spouses. We have a gorgeous little grandson who is just a delight & another one on the way. What more could a person wish for.

We had a good year last year. After we returned home from Mesa in Apr., we had a nice, but short visit from our friends Donna & Vaughan. They were visiting their son in Campbell River & stopped for visit on their way to the ferry. Alan, Kazuko, Hanna & Amy came for the long weekend in May. It was Kazuko’s birthday so I made her the famous Brown birthday cake. I think that I have at last mastered the angel food cake.

I think the highlight of our summer was Lesley Anne & Sam’s visit for a month. Ron & I droveover to Vancouver to pick them up at the airport. Needless to say, we were very excited to see them coming through the door from the plane. While Ron was putting the suitcases in the car, Lesley Anne surprised us with the announcement that grandson #2 is on the way. Needless to say, we were very excited. It was so much fun to have them home, but the month went by too quickly. We drove them back to the airport in Vancouver & it was a very tearful goodbye. We had a 2 week rest, then Lesley Anne’s in-laws, Pam & Frank, arrived. They stayed for a couple of weeks, then went to a car show in Langley. We really had a lot of fun with them.

In between visits, we kept busy. Ron has taken over the gardening & he quite enjoys it. I didn’t do my usual pots, because the weather took so long to warm up, so I’m hoping to plant some pots next summer. Ron also had a job. He went back to working at the military base for a few months during the summer, however, it didn’t interfere with his golf.

I enjoyed golfing over the summer also. I golfed twice a week...on Wed. with Carol, Claudia & Dora & on Sun. we did couples golf with Gord, Carol, Dave & Nancy. I managed to fit in a bit of quilting & took a class at our local quilting store.

We left for Mesa on Oct 12 and spent a few days in Vancouver at Alan & Kazuko’s, then headed south. We had perfect weather on the way down & spent a couple of days in Redding to go golfing. We then headed down to Lake Cachuma where we met up with Larry & Ellen from Los Angeles. We had a really good time exploring the small towns in that area & meeting some of their friends. We then went to Ventura to visit with Kirk & Joyce & had a golf game with Linda & Frank. We spent a few days at Paso Robles at our favourite RV park Wine Country RV. The wine festival was on & we really enjoyed visiting the wineries & tasting wine. We managed to buy a few cases also to take with us to Mesa.

We arrived in Mesa on Nov. 1 & within a couple of weeks had purchased a home in Silveridge Resort. We are really enjoying having more space, although we really don’t have space for overnight visitors.

Jennifer & Dave have moved to Singapore where they are teaching at a Canadian International School. They are enjoying Singapore very much, although they miss their New Zealand friends. They are having a great time traveling around Asia during holiday times and recently went to Vietnam. Christmas for them will be in India this year.

Lesley Anne, Brendan & Sam are comfortable in their house in Adelaide & have recently made the spare bedroom into a room for Sam. They are getting ready for their new arrival in Feb. Lesley Anne & Brendan have made friends with a couple of neighbours who have children the same age as Sam & Pam & Frank don’t live far, so they have lots of support.

Next year, we are tentatively planning to fly to Singapore in Oct. & spend some time with Jennifer & Dave, then Jennifer had thought to come with us to Adelaide for a couple of weeks before we fly to Mesa.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Love,
Ron & Gail

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Picture #1- Samuel Thomas & Lesley Ann at our house this summer

Picture #2- Amy and Hanna Brown

Picture #3- Dave and Jennifer

Picture #4- Gail & Ron - Golfing at Sunland Springs - Mesa Arizona - November 2011

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Our New Address in Mesa

Ron & Gail Brown
Silveridge Resosrt
8265E. Southern Avenue Site #507
Mesa, Arizona
USA 85209 Phone - 1-480-373-7507

PLEASE NOTE OUR HOME PHONE 250-339-5900 IS CALL FORWARDED
TO OUR ARIZONA NUMBER. Just call home and you will get us !!!

Click on the Below links for Pictures.

Our New Home

Pam & Frank's Visit

Mesa 2011

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Brown's Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS 2010

Dear Friends & Family,

Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Cyber Monday have all passed & Christmas is almost upon us once again.We don’t have any snow, of course, here in Mesa or any terribly cold weather, but rest assured, the decorations are out in full force & the Christmas music has been playing in the stores since mid-November.

2010 was a good year for us. We had lots of fun & happy times mixed with some sadness. We had a good first winter here at Silveridge doing lots of things & making lots of new friends. We arrived home in mid-Apr. & I flew to Edmonton for a few days to see my mum as she wasn’t doing very well & we had a trip to Australia planned in June to visit our new grandson. Yes, for those of you who don’t already know, Lesley Anne gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Mar. 27. Samuel Thomas is his name & he is absolutely delightful. Do I sound like the doting grandmother??

I returned home from Edmonton & commenced cleaning out the RV while Ron worked on the outside. What a job! but we got it all spic & span, then we flew off to Australia for a month to see our new grandson & meet Brendan’s family. We had such a good time with Brendan, Lesley Anne & little Samuel. We managed to fit in a couple of trips with them. One, for just a weekend to see how Samuel would adjust to traveling & a different routine & the other trip, which was longer, was to the Barossa Wine Valley & the river lands. We met some family friends & had just a wonderful time. Brendan’s family showed us a good time too. We had chatted many times on the computer & by phone, so it was nice to finally meet them.

We then flew over to New Zealand to spend a couple of weeks with Jennifer & Dave. It was fun seeing where they live & meeting some of their friends. We also did a week long trip with them up the west coast to the northern part of the south island & down the eastern coast back to Christchurch. We managed to visit many wineries on that trip too. We had super weather in both Australia & New Zealand considering it was winter there.

We were home a week when we had a call from my brother in Sherwood Park that my mum had passed away, so we hopped on a plane & flew to Edmonton for her funeral. She was 96 when she passed away so she had a good long life, but I do miss her a lot.

We had 2 lots of company come to visit us. Paul & Gail Caracas from Kelowna, who we met in Mesa & Donna & Vaughn Rollins from Ont., who we also met in Mesa. Both couples spend their winters in the same park as we do.

It wasn’t too long before Oct. rolled around & on the Thanksgiving weekend we flew to Saskatoon to attend the wedding of Chad Nicholson, who is the son of long time friends, Ken and Gail Nicholson. When we returned home, it was time to get the RV ready for our trip back to Mesa. We left on Oct. 15 & spent 2 weeks getting down here. On the way we visited with family & friends. We also got in a couple of golf games on our way down.

We arrived at Silveridge in Mesa on Nov 1 & had a nice welcome from our neighbours Rick & Judy Winters & Byron & Marlene Nate. We have gotten back to our routines here in the park. I belong to one of the quilting clubs & we meet twice a week to sew & chat. I go to the gym in the mornings to work off some of the good food we consume & I golf once a week with Ron, Paul & Gail & Gord & Carol Rose. Gord is also giving me lessons & I think I am slowly improving.

Ron keeps busy golfing 4 times a week & fixing up the golf cart we bought so I can get my sewing stuff to the sewing room. We also enjoy going to a couple of different dinner theatres here which put on some excellent productions. And of course, there are the dinners & parties with friends in the park. Some friends from Nebraska are coming to visit in Dec., friends from home are coming for the month of Jan., we are planning to drive to San Antonio in early Feb. to visit our friends there, then some other friends from home are coming down the last 2 weeks of Feb., so we will be busy. Before we know it, it will be time to say goodbye to everyone here & return home.

We have Christmas lights on the golf cart & around the RV, so it is looking quite festive in site 666. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

With love from
Ron & Gail

Click on Picture to enlarge -- Picture titles below

egbrown48@gmail.com
rtbrown@mars.arc.com

Pictures - Top to Bottom

1. Samuel Thomas Reed at 7 months in Adelaide Australia

2. Our Site #666 at Silveridge Resort in Mesa. Note the lights on our golf cart

3. This is a party at our friends, Gail and Paul Caracas. They have a Park Model and just finished a renovation to their Arizona Room so we had a PARTY !!! Gail and Paul are first with their daughter Julie behind Paul. You can just see Gail and I but Byron and Marlene Nate along with Carol and Gordon Rose are behind us.

4. This is our arrival party organized by our good friends and neighbours Byron and Marlene Nate. Byron is on the right side with Marlene behind him. The other couple Rick and Judy Winter are from Edmonton and grew up just a few doors from Gail !!!! The Winters have become very good friends and just live across the street here. Rick, Byron and Paul are all part of our golfing group.

5. When I am not golfing I am usually cooking steaks on the BB

New Zealand Adventure 2010

2010-08-26T16:52:00.001-07:00

It is July 1st and we have just left Adelaide on our Air New Zealand flight to Auckland where we have a 2 hour stop before we do our short 90 minute hop down to Christchurch. The pilot announced a huge tail wind so our travel time is 3.5 hours instead of 5 which was amazing. Christchurch is about 700 miles south of Adelaide so we were preparing for colder temperatures. Our arrival at 10:30 PM was exciting as Jennifer and Dave greeted us at the airport and drove us to their home in Christchurch in their Subaru Outback. In preparation for cooler weather they had given us their bedroom that came equipped with a space heater, electric blanket, and lots of bedding. Their house was built at the turn of the century and is cute, centrally located, and great in the summer BUT COLD in the winter. Both Jennifer and Dave who teach in the Public School system had the first two weeks of July off. They had decided not to make any definite travels plans till we got there as we wanted to follow the sun. It worked and despite being cold and winter we never got rained on and every day for two weeks was sunny BUT cold !! We hadn’t seen Dave for about 3 years but Jennifer was home last Sept. It was a great two weeks with lots of good times and plenty of NZ wine.

We arrived on a Thursday so Jenn had one more day of teaching before her two weeks off. On Friday she picked us up at 1 PM and took us to her school where we were treated like Royalty.
We were swarmed by her students as we left the car to meet the principal for the official school tour followed by coffee in the staff room. Jenn had arranged for us to spend the afternoon in her class so the children could ask us questions about where we lived. It was one of my proudest moments to see my daughter, now 30, in command of 30 grade one students. We got questions on how many toilets we had in our house and lots of interest in bears !! Avon Head Elementary School has a mixture of children from different countries and backgrounds so keeping some sense of order in chaos with 30 high energy children is a challenge that Jennifer has mastered.
On the way home we stopped at a large grocery store called Countdown which had a massive wine section with reasonable prices which got even better with the 30% discount for the Canadian Dollar. I knew this was going to be a GREAT two weeks !

Dave and Jenn were happy to have the two weeks off and planned short trips for our first 5 days.
We did tours around Christchurch, Sumner, and Lyttleton in sunny weather despite the winter season. Kerri and Bevin Waterton, friends of Jenn’s, hosted two dinners at their home for us. These were arriving and leaving party's which enabled us to meet many of her colleagues and friends. These were enjoyable evenings with lots of conversation about NZ with long time residents. Life in NZ was different than I expected as prices were very expensive even with our exchange discount. NZ wine seemed to be the best value so we drank many bottles of Sauvingnon Blanc and Pinor .

On July 8 we packed up the car and headed along highway 73 through Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast. Our first stop was Punakaiki which is a National Park that has spectacular views of the famous Pancake Rocks as you look out into the ocean. We splurged and got an ocean view suite at the Punakaiki Resort which was a 5 star establishment. We watched the sunset with Jenn and Dave as we ate cheese, crackers, and drank NZ wine. Although we wished that moment would last forever, the dinner that followed at the resort was equally impressive. Day 2 was a long day, but interesting drive to Nelson where we rented a large 3 bedroom home right on the river. It was a great spot in downtown Nelson close to shopping and grocery stores. Nelson is on the North Coast of the south island so is much warmer that Christchurch and in the heart of Wine Country.
After 3 days of tasting wines at different wineries we left to go to Blenheim which was just east of Nelson and also a wine tasting area. We stayed for two days in a beautiful Villa called Vintner’s Retreat and again sampled some of NZ’s finest wines. With the car loaded with wine, we headed back to Christchurch under sunny skies and great weather. It was a long drive home and Jenn had a friend turn on all the heat to their house so it would be warm for our late evening arrival.
Monday was a day of rest, but Tuesday, we were off for a days drive to Lake Takapo and views of Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ. Please look at the pictures of this area on Flickr as it was the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen in all our travels. It was a sunny day with no clouds so the snow covered mountains provided an awesome backdrop for the dark blue waters of Lake Takapo. The beauty of this area is indescribable and not fully captured by the pictures but I will always remember that day as being so spectacular with Mount Cook in the background. Our last day in NZ was spent visiting Riccarton House which is in Christchurch and shows some of the early life before settlement.

Two weeks went by quickly and on July 15 we boarded Air NewZealand for the 90 minute hop to Auckland before our 13 hr non-stop flight to Vancouver. We arrived in hot sunny weather & Al picked us up at the airport in preparation for a fine dinner cooked by Kazuko. We drove home the next day and as usual our house was waiting for two tired travellers.

Jennifer and Dave were the ultimate hosts whose idea to follow the sun worked out perfectly. Although Christchurch was cold, we escaped rain, snow, and cloudy weather. I now know the much talked about beauty of NZ and have a special palate for NZ Sauvingnon Blanc and Pinot Noir. It was great to meet Jennifer’s colleagues and many thanks to the Watertons who hosted two parties for us. We were very sad to say goodbye as we knew it would likely be another year before we could give Jenn and Dave a big hug but that is how life unfolds. Both hope to move to Singapore in December of this year which has the same school calendar as Canada. This means they could come home for next summer. If possible, Lesley Anne and Brendan might be able to bring Samuel Thomas back to Comox and escape the July Australian winter. That is the happy thought that I am going to end this blog on. Lots happening before we leave for Mesa Arizona on October 15 so will update you on our next rainy day.

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Pictures from top to bottom - just click on picture to enlarge

1. Dave, Gail, Jen in Christchurch
2. Jen in her classroom at Avon Head Elementary
3. Gail , Jen, Ron - West Coast
4. Dave, Gail, Ron - West Coast
5. Jen & Dave- Nelson

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Below link is for our complete set of pictures on Flickr

NEW ZEALAND PICTURES

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Australian Adventure

2010-08-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

It is now August 8 and the first day of rain in the past two months. I finally managed to get all my gardening, endless paper work, and household chores done so I can sit down and work on our Blog.

Arrival Dinner -- Click on picture to enlarge

Our visit to Australia was made to see our 4 month old son, Samuel Thomas Brown who kept us entertained everyday with his smiling giggles and unconditional love for anyone that would pick him up and give him a big hug. We found Australian’s to be warm and friendly people with a great sense of humor which typified the Reed family. Pam and Frank Reed are wonderful people who made us feel like part of the family from our first encounter the day we arrived when Brendan cooked that outstanding Lamb Roast on the Weber. We were greeted with flowers from their garden at Victor Harbor and a warmth about them that made us feel we had known them for years. Brendan’s two brothers Damian and Simon live in Adelaide and were often part of the many family outings we attended.

We stayed for a month with Brendan and LA in their home in Adelaide but traveled to some of the many wine regions which are day trips. The second weekend was a special event and a annual gathering of the Reed Family at their home in Victor Harbor. While Pam and Frank live in Adelaide they inherited a large block of land at Victor Harbor which is about 2 hours from Adelaide. It is a beautiful piece of property with sloping meadows that look down on the historical whaling port of Victor Harbor. We arrived around noon hour to a huge feast of steak, lamb, salads and pie but most important was Pam’s Rabbit stew which was the first of 3 tasks on becoming an honorary Australian. The afternoon was spent collecting a large amount of brush off the property for the largest bonfire I have every seen. Brendan and his two brother’s hooked up a trailer onto Frank’s car and collected firewood for about 5 hours. After more food and wine we walked up to the back of the property and started the blaze which I am sure could be seen in Adelaide. It was a great time and one of our fondest memories especially my first rabbit stew.
Frank, Damian, Simon, Brendan

The following week-end Sue and Trevor Smith who are friends of the Reed's leant us their beach house for two days in Goolwa which is about one hour from Victor Harbor. This was Samuel’s first overnight trip away from home and a challenge to see if their car would take all the luggage. The Mercedes was a small car on loan that had a tiny back seat taken up with a large car seat for ST and two bucket seats in the front. We tried many combinations but Gail and I just would not fit in the back seat. I sat up front with Brendan and Gail and LA sat almost on top of each other in the back seat. We just managed to get the lid closed on the trunk and even were able to put in a few bottles of wine. Off we went on our first test run to Goolwa. Pam and Frank came down from Victor Harbor that night and we went out for dinner and then drove with us to Port Elliot the next day. It was a sunny weekend and we saw a lot of the Australia coastline. On our way home we drove to Cape Jervis and saw the ferry terminal over to Kangaroo Island which I am sure will be a destination on a future trip. Samuel Thomas enjoyed the outing and we thought we could try a longer holiday even in the overloaded Mercedes which was built in China!!!

On June 23 about a week later we loaded the car and set off for one of the most famous wine areas in the world. You have heard of Wolf Blass and Penfold wines, well they are part of the Barossa Wine Valley. It was about a 3 hour drive and we went by a massive Auto Assembly Plant that produced Holden’s which is owned by General Motors. The tourist information in Bethany - Borassa Valley suggested Sontag House which was a B&B. This is one of the nicest cottages I have ever stayed at. It was built in 1840 but the interior updated to modern facilities with preservation of its history. We had a great time in some very comfortable surroundings and Brendan and I even had time to quickly visit 3 wineries between 4 and 5 PM!!! The next day we spent drinking wine at some of the most famous vineyards in the world. Many of the tastings were over $100/bottle but it was all free and usually generous samples. One stop had self serve stations set up in the winery where you poured your own and these were expensive wines !!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven as it was a sunny day and very few people were visiting as it was not tourist season. What a GREAT day but after 2 days at Sontag house we sadly had to pack up and leave to travel north. On June 25 we arrived at the Reed’s friends - Maria and Phillip Martin - who live in Riverland just out side of Waikerie. They have a small farm and raise chickens but in their back yard have a old train car which was fixed up with two bedrooms for a B&B. They never got their B&B going but the accommodation was finished and free !!!! The next day we went to about 20 km down the road and all you could see was huge tanks that looked like the largest oil refinery I had ever seen. Tanks as far as the eye could see but not for oil but WINE. Berri is the largest wine processing plant in the southern hemisphere which encompasses 4.5 hectares and processes 18,000 tons of grapes per season. After tasting some wine we headed off for lunch at a very famous winery called Banrock Station which sits on the wetlands close to the Murray River. This is a combination winery, nature preserve, and famous restaurant which has a spectacular view over the Murray River. We spent the afternoon there eating and drinking wine while I had Kangaroo done in a wine sauce in a puffed pastry which completed my second task of becoming an honorary Australian. We met Yvonne and Jeff Drogemuller , friends of Pam and Frank, there for lunch who invited us for dinner in their spectacular home overlooking the valley. The next morning we left our train and said good bye to Maria and Phillip as we headed back to Adelaide along the Murray River. It was sunny and even had a ferry crossing across the river which is busy in the summer with lots of house boats. The overloaded Mercedes with tired occupants limped back home where we were all glad to enjoy the comfort of a house we called home. Samuel Thomas of course had a great time and slept in his car seat. He was ready to party and very upset when he learned it was bed time.

There are many more stories that you will see in our pictures that include feeding kangaroos at the nature park, visiting the Adelaide Botanical garden, and the many dinners and wine tastings with the Reed family. You will see pictures of Brendan and I building a fence and are wondering what that is all about. Brendan agreed to build a fence in Pam & Frank’s back yard to help separate the carport from the back yard to give them some more privacy since Frank runs his conveyancing business out of the garage/office. Brendan had the wood delivered before I arrived and asked me to help him. We found some of his old coverall's which looked like prison issue and brought up memories of Australia being founded by convicts. Brendan assured me these were from his mining job and in fact Adelaide was a planned community that was first inhabited by wealthy settlers from England which is why the Barossa region got off to an early start. Gail and La would often go off for the day so Brendan and I would show up for work just before lunch. Pam always made sure we were fed well and even had afternoon snacks before Frank brought our port at 5 PM. We quickly figured out there was no hurry to complete the project since food and drink were free. We managed to keep the project going for about two weeks and had lots of fun. Now many of you reading this are wondering what was the third thing I had to eat to become an honorary Australian. Remember I have eaten Kangaroo and Rabbit stew. It was a Vegemite sandwich. Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite. I never did eat it so will remain proudly Canadian for the time being.

After a month we were sad to leave but excited about seeing Jennifer and Dave in Christchurch We all got in the Mercedes and had a tearful goodbye at Adelaide Airport where Air New Zealand had a 5 hour flight to Auckland and then 90 minutes to Christchurch. There are many more stories and friendships that could be told and thanks to everyone that made our trip so wonderful. We will of course be returning to Australia in the future and yes I am sure a Vegemite sandwich will be had. Thank you to Brendan and LA for being great hosts . Our next blog will tell of a great adventure in New Zealand but will have to wait for another rainy day !!

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Pictures Labels from top to bottom

1. Arrival dinner with the Reed's and Brendan's Lamb Roast
2. The Reed Clan at Victor Harbor. Frank ( the short guy), Damian, Simon & Frank
3. Breakfast at park in Goolwa
4. ST talking with Grandpa Frank
5. ST enjoying the wine tasting
6. Memorable afternoon having lunch and wine tasting at Banrock Station
7. Building the great fence
8. Another Wine tasting
9. Samuel Thomas in a new outfit Jennifer sent

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AUSTRALIAN PICTURES

Click this link for our photo series of our Australian Trip June- 2010

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Hello from Adelaide - Australia

2010-06-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday morning in Adelaide and I have just got up. Gail was up about 5 AM and helped LA with Samuel as he had a gassy night and was unsettled. We have had no problem with jet lag
and made the adjustment to Australia much easier than expected. It seems a long time ago when we left Comox on June 1 and made our way over to my brother’s house in Vancouver. We took Gail’s car as it was smaller and would fit in Alan’s driveway for the 6 weeks we are away. Kazuko as usual had a great dinner for us and we had a leisure day on June 2 before Al drove to the airport about 5PM under sunny skies to catch our 8:30 PM flight to Auckland. There was hardly no one at the airport so checking in and security was easy. We had a bite to eat before getting on the Boeing 777 for our 13 hour non-stop trip to New Zealand. It is interesting this aircraft only has TWO engines and the total route is over water!!! We left 20 minutes early
and quickly got to 40,000 feet in time to start the movies and get dinner. The staff was very nice but the food wasn’t that good and the seats seemed more cramped and less room than when we had taken Singapore Airlines to Thailand 10 years ago. It may be I have just got bigger but it is very difficult to get comfortable and when the person in front puts his seat back ... Yikes !!!! My knees had no place to go. I took a sleeping pill and brushed my teeth which seemed like going to bed. Gail and I did get about 3-4 hours of sleep and we landed at Auckland at 5:30 local time or 10:30 Vancouver time. No customs as our bags were checked through to Adelaide. We felt refreshed and ready for our 4 hour flight from Auckand to Adelaide. It left at 7:30 and was 3o minutes early as we arrived in sunny skies at 10:00 AM local times. Brendan was there to meet us but NO Samuel or LA ... the suspense would have to wait. The luggage fit in the car and we were off. I just about had a fit on the first corner of the freeway as I grabbed Brendan’s arm because I thought we were going down the wrong way. Then he reminded me they drive on the correct side of the road... Left. Took a few turns to get the hang of it. We arrived home and were very impressed with their house, garden, and pool but big deal ... Where is ST and LA???? Off Brendan went to get them as Gail and I waited for the big arrival. I stood in the driveway the whole time as I wanted to be the first to hold ST. It seemed like forever but they arrived and I got to hold him before Gail. Yes ... The trip was all worth it for that one moment.

After holding Sam for a long time we gave LA a big hug and she looked great. We had a great afternoon and Brendan and I went to the “ Drive through “ to get some Coopers Pale Ale Beer. It is $2/bottle which is the same as Canada. It was a beautiful afternoon afternoon and Brendan prepared the Lamb roast for the Barby. We opened the large suitcase of presents for Sam and had lots of fun looking at all the interesting gifts. Sam says thanks. Brendan’s parents, Pam and Frank , cam over for dinner and brought a fruit basket and floral arangement from their garden. It was a great evening and we were asleep by 9 PM. Up the next morning feeling refreshed and minimal jet lag we decided to go on a wine tour. Fitting 4 people in their car with a car seat was a tight squeeze but we made it. Off we went for lunch at Woodstock winery and had a great afternoon touring wines in the Mclaren area. Many of the wineries sell “ Clean Skins “ which are excess wine that they bottled without labels. We found a great red for $5/bottle and bought a case. The same winery sold Tawny Port in bulk ... $8.00/Liter. Yes we came home with 2 liters of port, case of wine, and some coolers. This is a good as Total Wine in Phoenix !!! All our Mesa friends know my favorite store in Arizona is Total Wine. Last night we were not that hungry so ordered in in a Pizza and sampled the Port. Sam had a fussy night so Gail helped LA by getting up early this morning. I got to take him solo in the stroller as I went up to the local store to buy a paper. Was I ever proud as I wheeled my grandson down the sidewalk and even got stopped by an elderly lady who wanted to have a look at the new baby. She said, “ Are you the grandpa? “ Proud moment for me as I told her I was from Canada and Sam was my grandson.Sam is having a nap and then we are going to hit the road and do few more wineries today. Great Country! Just click on this link for a cute video of Samuel Thomas.

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Pictures from top to bottom

1. Brendan and Ron Adelaide Airport
2. Lesley and Brendan's home
3. Grandpa Ron with the first cuddle with Sam
4. Grandma Gail had to wait for the second cuddle
5. Samual Thomas Reed
6. Grandpa Frank with Sam

Click on this Link for more Pictures

Thoughts from Comox

2010-05-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

It is a rainy Saturday afternoon and I have finally sat down to update my blog. We left Mesa on April 5 and headed straight home heading West on I-10 then North to Needles. The weather was great and we always enjoy the trip across Hwy 40 and the Mojave Desert. It was early morning and the sun was rising in the East as we headed West to Fresno which provided a spectacular view of the desert and surrounding mountains. From Fresno we crossed over to I-5 and made our way to the JGW RV park in Redding. We always stay here along the river and that evening it was about 80 degrees F so we had happy hour looking over the river and watched the sun go down. The Truck and RV were spotless when we left Redding in the morning and Gail has some great shots of Mount Shasta as we start up the Pass and over the Siskiyou’s. Amazing the traffic was light with our early departure but by the time we reached Weed it had rained with a dusting of snow. RATS !!! My clean RV was now dirty- we almost made it home without rain. It rained through Grant’s Pass but we made it to the Phoenix RV Park in Salem in time for Happy Hour. It is always a big relief when you make it over the passes with good road conditions. The next day was sunny and hot so we went up 101 on the west side of the Hood Canal to Port Angeles. As usual we got lost in PA and had to get some help finding the KOA. After traveling all over the USA in Big cities with my GPS I don’t know why PA is always so difficult!!!! Anyway we got settled at the Sequim KOA and were off to see our longtime friends Dave and Susan Hildebrand. We always make this the first and last point of entry into the US and they have a great meal for us in their spectacular home overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca. In the morning we got up and were on the ferry by 830 to Victoria. The customs officer in Victoria wasn't very friendly but let us through without any hassles and we were back in Comox by early afternoon.

I turned on the water and everything worked perfectly. The house and yard weathered the winter well and we set about making the move from our RV to the house. It was interesting to go through six months of mail. Lesley Anne and Brendon had left all their furniture from their apartment in Vancouver in our house. We now found ourselves owners of yet another 50 inch plasma TV. After some shuffling around we accommodated our new furniture and now and have a sofa in our sunroom. I started working hard on the yard and gardening. It really was pretty easy since I had left it in good shape last fall. Gail made a short trip to Edmonton to visit her mother and family. We are both very excited about our upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand. I have been golfing twice a week and spending lots of time at the driving range and doing some video analysis of my swing. I'm really hitting the ball well and anxious to start playing in the 80s. Gail is taking golf lessons but spends lots of time sewing and sending clothes down to Samuel Thomas.

A longtime friend of mine, Brent Mitchell, phoned me form Calgary in early May and asked if I would like to be part of a golfing holiday in Bellingham. They meet once a year with a group of guys and play golf for three days at different courses. I jumped at the chance and spent four days with a great group of guys playing some interesting courses. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great but I did buy some wet weather gear. I returned home on May 20 and heard some very bad news on my return. Brent was returning to Calgary and spent the night in Kamloops with his mother where he suffered a massive stroke and was taken to the hospital. Brent is now at the foothills Hospital in Calgary and in good care at a rehabilitation unit.

Alan and family came over for the long weekend on May 21. We had a great time and played two games of golf. May 21 always will be a special memory as that is the day that mom died one year ago. It seems like such a long time ago as so much has happened in the past year.

On June 2, next Wednesday we will be getting on the plane in Vancouver to fly to Australia and see our grandson - Samuel Thomas Reed. We will spend four weeks in Adelaide and then fly over to New Zealand to visit Jennifer in Christchurch. We hope to be home on July 15 and spend the rest of the summer here in Comox. Time will pass quickly and we will be on the road heading back to Mesa around mid-October. We have reserved the same site at Silveridge RV Park for five months starting November 1 of this year. We look forward to our return and feel it is really our home away from home. More pictures and Blog updates coming from Australia and New Zealand.

Pictures from Top to Bottom: Just click on the picture to enlarge

1. Our spot at the Needles KOA

2. The green Mojave Desert

3. Morning View of Mount Shasta as we left.

4. Brent Mitchell and Ron

5. Brendon and LA last summer

6. Samuel Thomas Reed in his Canucks outfit

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Just Click on the Below link for the collection of our Mesa Pictures.

There are lots of pictures but I recently uploaded some really good shots in the " Mesa March- Album". So Byron, Paul, and all our Mesa friends be sure and check them out.

Mesa Pictures

Return to Mesa & Homeward Bound

2010-03-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

It is a sunny Sunday morning, March 21 in Mesa Arizona. Today is a busy day as we have to get organized this morning and get to the driving range for a little bit of practice for our golf game this afternoon at Sunland Springs Golf Course. Gail and I are part of a group of 8 that are golfing at 3 PM then back to our place for happy hour and then off to the Super China Buffet, which is my favorite Chinese food place since they serve unlimited crab legs. It has been about three weeks since we arrived back in Mesa having left San Antonio on March 1. We had a pleasant ride back and the weather continued to improve as we left Texas. We are traveling with Doug and Louise Perry who have a Motorhome and were on the road 6 months last year with us. Our first night was in Alpine Texas which made for a long day but we had an early start. We traveled back the same way we came westward along Highway 90. This is much nicer than Interstate 10 as there was almost no truck traffic. As usual Alpine Texas was cold but at least it did not snow as it did on our way down. From Alpine we traveled along Highway 90 to Van Horn and then turned west on Interstate 10 and made our way to Las Cruces New Mexico. This is a favorite stop and we know the area well. The following day was a short one as we arrived Benson Arizona. We really wanted to go to Tombstone and visit the Ok Corral. It is about half an hour south of Benson so we quickly set up and made our way down to the old West town. You'll see some interesting photographs and we watched the live reproduction of the shootout at OK Corral. We returned back to Benson and had an early night in preparation for our return to Mesa. It was only about a three-hour drive from Benson to Silveridge RV Park in Mesa. We felt like we were coming home and were invited to a " Returning Party " , hosted by Paul and Gail Caraca. Yes, all our friends were there to greet us and we were now warming up. Since returning we have met up with our long-time friends from Comox, Gord and Carol Rose who are staying in Scottsdale. We have so many friends here that our days are always kept busy and I usually golf five or six days a week. I played an executive course last week and scored a personal best of 78. On full size regulation courses I am still getting in the low 90s. We of course are very excited about becoming grandparents. We are expecting a phone call any day now and usually talk to Lesley Anne every couple of days. Her due date is March 27 and Jennifer flys over from New Zealand to be with her for 3 weeks. We bought a flag that will be flying when the joyous occasion occurs and have lots of champagne which is building excitement in the RV park. Our time is running short now and we plan on leaving for Canada on April 5. I suspect it will take about a week to get home and will have to start to make our preparations for our trip to Australia in early June. I cannot understand where the past six months have gone. The mood in the RV park is great as the weather is starting to warm up and we usually have 80° weather with sun and it cools in the evening. We are looking forward to getting back into our house and connecting with our Comox Valley friends.

Our Phone till April 5 is 480-373-7528
Give us a call any time

Pictures from Top to Bottom
" Click on the picture to enlarge "

1. Dave Crucq and I golfing in San Antonio

2. Final Hockey Game - Canada/USA RV Park San Antonio

3. Returning to Mesa Party

4. Expecting Grandparents

5. Golfing Sunland East with Gail & Paul Caraca

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Just click on below links to see our photographs
If you use the slide show then go to options and choose " show captions ". This will show the Titles on the pictures.

San Antonio Photo's

Mesa March/10

Drowning in San Antonio

2010-02-11T06:31:00.000-08:00

It is February 9 and a sunny but cold morning at the Travelers World RV Park in San Antonio. As I look outside across the golf course the blue skies have now appeared after about 10 days of rain. The temperature is 42°F and it looks as though despite being cold it will be sunny for the next couple of days. Our weather since leaving Mesa has been horrible which has had a big influence on our decision to leave the end of February and spend March back in Mesa at Silveridge RV Park.

We left Mesa with bright skies and a lot of enthusiasm on January 25 and spent our first three nights in Las Cruces New Mexico. This is a very nice town which we have stayed in twice in the past. They have a great RV park and it was the site be picked to meet up with Doug and Louise Perry who are our traveling companions from Cranbrook. They spent six months traveling with us last year as we made our North America trip. It was a beautiful trip down to New Mexico and highway I-10 wasn't very busy. The Perry's arrived on day two and we had a great reunion party/gala dinner. Unfortunately the rain started and the bad weather. Gail and I took a side trip to the White Sands National Park. This is in the White Sands missile testing area and part of a large desert that is the largest military area in the United States. It was very interesting and quite spectacular as we did a tour of the base and the National Park. We also went to the McDonald Observatory and spent the day looking at the stars. It was very interesting and even saw my first Bobcat run across the road !! As the rain kept coming we made our way down through El Paso along the I.-10 but turned off on highway 90 toward Alpine Texas. Highway 90 is an outstanding route to take as there is very little truck traffic and wide roads. Alpine Texas was a three-day stop so we could make a trip to Big Bend National Park. This was truly spectacular and one of the most interesting areas we have ever visited. Fortunately it was on one of the few days where we had warm weather and sun. You will see lots of pictures on our site but they really don't do justice to the grandeur of the area. The following day it snowed in Alpine which put a damper on our enthusiasm. This quickly washed away by the rain and we left heading to Del Rio which is a resort area fairly close to San Antonio and sits on a large watershed. We washed the rigs and got all ready for our big grand entrance into San Antonio and the Travelers World RV Park. This is a fairly short drive as we wanted to be fresh as we tackled the San Antonio freeway's. Unfortunately the rain started in the morning and we ended up arriving in rain and dirty rigs. We have stayed here twice last year so we knew the area well and in fact Doug and Louise stayed one month. Our enthusiasm was soon dampened by the first week of cold weather and rain. I did get out to play two games of golf and was most disappointed with the golf courses. Both courses were municipal courses and it was apparent that San Antonio has not spent any money on maintenance. The fairways were basically mud and the greens barely playable. After the great courses in Mesa it was truly a big step down particularly since the reason for coming to Travelers world was the fact that sits on a golf course. So far most of the days have been rain and cold weather so I have only been able to play twice. The people in the park are very nice and trying to make us feel comfortable. We recently went to the San Antonio rodeo with Dave and Marlene Crucq, our friends from Comox who have a winter home here. This was very interesting and one of the top rodeos in the world. Dave was born on a farm so was able to point out the finer features of cattle and horses. We are trying to organize some sightseeing trips with them as there is lots to see around San Antonio. It's just hard to get your enthusiasm up when it is cold and rainy. We are playing lots of crib with Doug and Louise and so far the boys always win. Lesley Anne is doing well and we frequently talk to her through Skype as we have a very high speed Internet connection. We will be leaving here on February 28 and arriving back in Mesa on March 4. We are both healthy and excited about be grandparents on March 27. We have satellite TV with Shaw Direct so will be watching the Olympics on CTV as the rain continues !!!
Take care.

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Pictures from Top to Bottom

Gail making Pecan Pie as part of the Gala Dinner Planed for the Perry's arrival

Picnic Area- White Sands National Park

Big Bend National Park

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Just click on below link for Mesa to San Antonio Pics on Flickr

Mesa to San Antonio

Leaving Mesa

2010-01-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

It is time to pack the RV and and get ready for our trip to San Antonio. We have spent the last three months in Mesa, Arizona at the Silveridge RV Park. We are in site #666 which is next to our good friends from Kelowna, Byron and Marlene Nate. Last year we spent most of the time on the road traveling and seeing new places. This year we have stayed in one place and got into a weekly schedule of activities and socializing with friends. I found an excellent Golf Pro, Craig Porter at Riverview Golf course. My week is golf lessons on Monday morning, playing at Apache Wells with Harold Stevens on Tuesday and Friday then playing at different courses Wednesday with a group in the park. ( Byron,Paul,Rick). I usually do daily practice at Sunland East Golf Course which is only 5 minutes away and have gone through 3 range passes ( 30 buckets/pass). Yes I am getting better but golf is a challenging game. I have always wondered why all my patients went to this area for the winter. The dry desert climate is great. It is usually about 72 degrees in the day with a relative humidity at 25% and drops to 45-50 overnight so we use our electric blanket but have a great sleep. Food and alcohol are cheap and there are so many golf courses!!!! Our RV site is $500/month plus electricity which is a about $70/month. Life doesn't get better.

Gail has been busy sewing, quilting, and even has taken a few golf lessons. She has made lots of friends in the park and joined a Quilting club that keeps her busy on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Unfortunately for me the Bernina store is only 5 minutes away!!! Yes she got a new sewing machine. We keep in touch with everyone through Skype. For $12.95/month we can call any phone number in the world and have unlimited time. This makes it great for New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

We stayed here for Christmas and took a Guided Bus trip to the Rose Bowel Parade in Pasadena California for two nights and three days. The tour picked us up at the park and we traveled with a great bunch of seniors to the Hilton Suites in Irvine California. We met a great couple on the bus from Osoyoos who ran a B&B, Joel and Christiane Crocq. The parade was interesting but found 3 million people cramped into tiny bleachers just a bit much. The following day we went to Victory Park where you can see all the floats up close and talk to the people who designed them. It was great to get back to our home after 3 days of getting up at 4:30 in the morning. Next year we are going to watch the parade in the comfort of our home, with our own bathroom and no crowds.

Lesley Anne is in Adelaide Australia and will be delivering our first grandson on March 27. Jennifer is on summer holidays from her teaching job in NZ and is with LA now for 3 weeks. She plans on coming back for the delivery. We will be going to Australia for the month of June and then over to to Jennifer for the first two weeks of July. We hope to come back to Arizona for the winter but not much time for Comox.

We are excited about meeting up with our traveling friends Doug and Louise Perry who have left Cranbrook, Canada and are traveling south to meet up with us in Las Cruses New Mexico. From there we will travel together to San Antonio where we will stay for two months at Travelers World RV park. We traveled with the Perry's for about 6 months on our big trip last year so we have many great memories. Dave and Marlene Cruq are friends from Comox who own a house in Ciblo just outside San Antonio. They have lots of activities planned and will make the 8 weeks go by very quickly. The excitement of leaving is overshadowed by the sadness we feel about leaving all the friends we have made at Silveridge. We have spent a lot of time looking at homes as we would like to permanently winter in Mesa. Our friends from Calgary, Dennis and Cheryl Niebergal were here on a house hunting trip last week. We looked at lots of options and there are some great deals but we may be wintering in Australia.

Today is our first day of rain as this big front moves through flooding much of California, and dropping snow north of us. We will leave for Las Cruces on Monday, January 25 with sunny skies and plan a 4 day stay. The Perry's will meet us there and we will travel together to San Antonio as we are booked in at Traveler's World on Feb 1. I will update our blog from Texas.

The Wandering Canadians -- Ron & Gail.

Pictures From Top to Bottom
" Click on Picture to enlarge "

#1. Gail & I at the Broadway Palm Theater
Dinner Theater- " Meet me in Saint Louis "

#2. Palm Theater- " The Unsinkable Molly Brown "
Ron & Gail, Dennis & Cheryl Niebergal- Calgary
Byron & Marlene Nate - Kelowna

#3. Golfing Group- Leisure World
Ron Brown - Byron Nate
Paul & Gail Caraca - Kelowna - New friends met at the Park

#4. Christmas Day Dinner- Painted Mountain Steak House
Harold & Pam Stevens - Comox-
Ron & Gail
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Photo Links to Flickr - " Just double click on the link below "

Mesa Pictures

Rose Bowl Parade

Silveridge RV Park

Traveling to Mesa

Brown's Christmas Letter - 2009

2009-12-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

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 C amp 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

2009-04-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

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 !!!!

2009-01-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

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:

Brown's Christmas Letter

2008-12-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Well here we are back in Comox, but only for a short time. Ron & I having been traveling in our 5th wheel since Apr. 28th. We traveled across Canada as far as Saskatoon, visiting friends & relatives along the way, then headed south. We motored our way through North & South Dakota, then into Nebraska to visit some friends in Fremont. We left our RV at our friend's place for a couple of weeks at the end of June & flew home for Mum B's 90th birthday, then were back in Nebraska in time for the July 4th celebrations.
We left Fremont & drove through Minnesota & Wisconsin & back into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie. We made our way through Ont. stopping to visit friends along the way in Sudbury, Lakefield & Ottawa, then we headed for Newfoundland where we spent 5 wonderful weeks. What an absolutely amazing province! While in Nfld., we met two lovely couples from California, Rob & Diane & Larry & Ellen. We did a bit of traveling around with Larry & Ellen & came back to NS. with them where we parted company at Truro.
Ron & I stayed in Halifax for the month of Sept. & while there, our friends, Judy & Bruce from Campbell River flew out & we toured around NS, Cape Breton Island & PEI for 2 weeks, staying at B&Bs. We had a lot of fun with them & were sad to see them go.
While in Halifax, we met the couple parked next to us, Doug & Louise from Cranbrook. We were heading down to the states a bit before them, but had agreed to meet up in Bangor, Maine. We traveled together through NH & VT, where we parted company once again. Ron & I proceeded through NY into PA where we joined up with Doug & Louise again. While in Gettysburg, we decided to have a Canadian Thanksgiving complete with turkey & all the trimmings. We cooked the turkey on the barbeque, put Canadian flags up all over & invited a couple from Victoria, Ed & Diane, who Doug & Louise had met somewhere & happened to be in Gettysburg too. We then traveled with Doug & Louise over the Blue Ridge Mtns. to Cherokee, NC where some friends of ours, Brad & Sheri, from Florida joined us.
We said goodbye to Doug & Louise & proceeded through North & South Carolina to Charleston with Brad & Sheri. They had to head home then, so Ron & I made our way to Florida stopping to visit Savannah, GA along the way. We arrived in Sarasota, FL Nov 1st & we will be there until the end of Jan. Doug & Louise & Ed & Diane arrived in Sarasota a few days before we left to fly home for Christmas. We will see them when we get back & probably do some traveling around FL with them, then I think they are going to come with us when we leave FL at the end of Jan. We will be heading up to the FL panhandle & will stop to visit Brad & Sheri, then we are going to make our way to TX & will visit some friends in San Antonio & do some traveling around TX, before we start for home up the west coast. Hopefully we will see our new CA friends & also visit Ron's aunt & uncle. So far we have had quite an adventure & hopefully the second half of our adventure will be as eventful & carefree as the first half.
We are now home for Christmas & staying with Mum B as we rented our house out to a friend while we are gone. We will be going over to Vancouver on Dec. 23 to spend Christmas with Alan, Kazuko, Amy & Hanna. We will have a little Christmas celebration with Lesley Anne & Brendan on the 23rd, then they are going to bring my car back to Comox. They are hoping to go skiing with friends (no snow on the mountains yet) & tour around the island a bit.
Jennifer & Dave are in NZ. Dave has finished university & has his teaching degree & will be starting his job in Christchurch & Jennifer has one more semester. The school has hired her for the last 6 months of the school season & they have said that if she has the time, she can do some substitute teaching for them while she finishes her degree. We are planning to visit the in NZ next fall & while there, will probably make a trip to Australia to visit Brendan's parents.
My mum is in a nursing home now, but is doing well. She seems to have settled in & seems quite content & is well looked after.
Ron & I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Love, Ron & Gail Brown

PS: If any of you have computers & wish to follow our adventures & see our pictures just go to:

http://69janeplace.blogspot.com/

Returning to Canada

2008-11-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 20 we get on a plane at Tampa for a flight home to Comox. We are of course happy to be heading home to see Mom and all our friends but sad to leave our home ( and sunshine),
and friends we have made in Florida. Since October 28 we have been at Windward Isle RV Park and will leave the rig here till February 1-09. It has been a restful 3 weeks. I have been able to get out on the beach and bike ride every day. Gail gets up early and goes to the exercise room in our Park. Our friends Don & Norma Bays arrived a week ago and stayed in their new home in Lakewood Ranch. It is a mansion in a large development about a mile from here. VERY NICE !!! It was great to see them again and had a wonderful meal at their house. Don’s brother-in-law , Rob was down from Ontario to help with the finishing touches of the house. Gail & I went to the Ringling Museum and Art Gallery which is a huge complex in Sarasota. Very Nice and impressive even for a couple of Comox. Most of our days are spent around the pool and off exploring in the truck. Thursday our plane will touch down in Comox at 5:30 PM and Graham is picking us up. Dinner at Mom’s who has been counting the days for the past month!! We will be staying at her house (339-6082) until December 23 when we go to Alan’s in New Westminster for Christmas. We look forward to seeing everyone prior to our return flight on December 27.

Florida Pictures

Ron & Gail

We made it to Sarasota- Florida

2008-11-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

We made it to Florida !!!!

It has been 6 months of traveling, 29564 km (18370 miles), $6900 in gas, countless bottles of wine and we made it to Sarasota Florida. As we pause to reflect on what we have done, it is by far the greatest adventure we have taken in our life and we are only half way there. We left Luray North Virginia and traveled to the south end of the Great Smoky Mountains and stayed at a KOA Campground in Cherokee. The Perry’s were still traveling with us and this is where we rendezvoused with the Whitman’s who were coming up from Atlanta. It was great to see Brad and Sheri again who live in Crestview Florida. They had come up to Atlanta for a band competition so we arranged a weeks camping with them and came to Charlotte and Charleston with us. Our next stop was one night at Camp Wilderness Resort in Charlotte NC before arriving at Charleston SC in the James Island Country Park. The Perry’s left us at Cherokee and will see them again in Florida. James Island is a huge Park like Stanley Park in Vancouver with a large RV park in the center. A city tour along with a boat ride out to Fort Sumter ( The shot that started the civil war) gave us a overview of the area. Great seafood dinner at the world famous Hymens along Meeting Street. Brad and Sheri left after 3 days but we stayed 5 before traveling south to the Hardeeville RV park just next to Savannah. Sherman’s army didn’t burn Savannah so the historical area is intact and best seen by their Trolley Bus Tour. We only spend two days there as we were anxious to get to our final destination. It was a long day driving to reach the Breezy Oaks Campground in Busnell just south of Ocala. This was a great spot to overnight as we only had a two hour drive to Sarasota. In February of this year we had been to the Windward Isle RV park and arranged for a 3-month site so it was like coming home. When we made a right turn off of I-75 into the RV resort I had a big sigh of relief !!!!! WE MADE IT. We traveled 30,000 km safely and in good health. A perfect adventure that is told on the many previous posts on this Blog. The picture you see is our RV permanently set up on out site. We have bought some patio and Christmas lights as we want to make this feel like our home. We are glad to be in one place for 3 months and look forward to returning to Comox on November 20 for Christmas.

Thanks for everyone's email. We really appreciate hearing from you.

Pictures

The Whitman's Visit - Cherokee-Charlotte NC- Charleston SC

Savannah

Florida

Our Mailing address is:

Ron & Gail Brown

1 Catamaran Dr,
Sarasota, Florida
USA, 34233

Vermont to North Carolina

2008-10-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

It is a cool morning with fog over the trees and the sun coming up at the Fort Chiswell RV park in Max Meadows, Virginia which nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. It has been a busy two weeks as you can see by the updated destinations on our trip itinerary. We left Vermont on a sunny day and had a spectacular but long drive through the rolling hills of New York to the Nittany – KOA Campground just outside Williamsport Pennsylvania. After rainy Vermont the warmth of the sun and the beautiful campground made our two day stay a wonderful stop. We visited the bustling town of Williamsport and took pictures of my Aunt’s old house and had a good lunch at RedLobster. We were anxious to get to Gettysburg where we were going to meet up with our travelng friends Doug and Louise Perry who went to Boston. It was a short drive to the Drummer Boy Campground in Gettysburg where we had prepaid $70/night for 5 days in a campground that was supposed to be #10th in North America. It was difficult to get a reservation because it was Apple Festival and Columbus Day Long Week-end. When we arrived and found out campsite it was 10 feet from a busy Interstate Freeway. The noise was horrible and made sleeping and conversation difficult. It was otherwise a great 5 days in a area steeped with so much history. We found another Canadian couple from Victoria and decided to have a Canadian Thanksgiving. I got out the large Canadian flags and draped them over the RV’s as we cooked a Turkey on the barbeque with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies. The six of us talked “ Canadian “
and thought about our families in Canada. What a Feast !!!! BUT.. The next day we had to catch a bus at 5:15 to Washington DC for a tour of the Nation’s capital. We had two hours to look at the Smithsonian Institute but could only scratch the surface. The place is HUGE. Dinner was included before we arrived back at 7 PM. The next day was a tour of Amish country with lunch in a small town called Intercourse just beside another small town called Bird in Hand. We had a great 5 days in Gettysburg under sunny skies but the noise of the freeway was horrible. We decided to use a site called RVParkReviews to better evaluate sites before prepaying for a reservation. I now do evaluations for the site and would highly recommend it plus it is FREE.

From Gettysburg with the help of RVParkReviews we found an outstanding park in Luray Virginia. This is at the beginning of the famous 500 mile Skyline/Blue Ridge Mountain trail. It starts in the Shenandoah National Park at a town called Front Royal and traverses the Blue Ridge Mountains like the Banff-Jasper highway. We started the trail which was approved for RV’s but quickly became uncomfortable with the narrow roads and big inclines. At about mile 40 we got off and drove down to Luray RV Park which has easy access from Interstate 81. We decided to use the Interstate to move the Rigs and just take the car up to enjoy the sites. The mountains go up to about 5000 feet but most are lower and now snow so far. From Luray we took Interstate 81 down to Fort Chiswell which is about mile 250. Tomorrow we leave for Cherokee which is at the south end of the trail and will meet up with Brad and Sheri Whitman for the next week. We really enjoy traveling with the Perrys and they seem to have the same ideas on where to go which makes for good company. It is getting close to November 1 which is when we reach Sarasota and will park the rig for 3 months. We both are looking forward to more structured day where we can get into a little bit of a routine.

Thanks again for all your E-mails. Pictures are coming.

Touring New Hampshire & Vermont

2008-10-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday- October 5
Pownal- Vermont

Picture to right- Taken by Louise Perry from their RV
" Back end of ours travelling the New Hampshire Road "

Good Morning. It is Sunday morning in sunny Vermont. We left Bangor Maine Sept 30 and drove through spectacular fall color to Littleton New Hampshire(NH). The brilliant reds and yellows just are not seen on the west coast and are as a result of the Sugar Maple Trees. It was mostly a sunny day and we were travelling with Doug and Louise Perry from Cranbrook who are a fun couple that are going to Florida in the same direction. The scenery was breath taking as reflected by our hundreds of pictures of foliage. We arrived at the Crazy Horse Campground in Littleton New Hampshire. It was large and owned by the most hospitable couple we have met on our whole trip. They gave us two large sites that had just been cut out of the trees this year. Unfortunately the next 4 days were rain which turned our campsite to a sea of MUD. This really spoiled a lovely setting as the temperatures dropped to about 6 degrees C and snow fell on the mountain tops. We still managed to get out every day for some interesting drives with Doug and Louise. We had dinners at each other’s RV and named our sites “ The Swamp “. Maine is very flat but the White Mountains of NH make this area a very scenic destination. After 4 days of rain we left and made our way to Pownal which is just outside the scenic town of Bennigton on the Vermont/Massachusetts boarder nestled in the Green Mountains. We lucked in to Pine Hollow Campground. It is a small but the jewel of Vermont and a favourite of locals. You will see a picture of our rig across the pond in a setting that couldn’t get better. The weather has cleared and it looks like a sunny day. We have finalized out plans for the next 3 weeks. From here we will go to Williamsport, PA for a couple of days then down to Gettysburg for 5 days where we will meet up again with the Perry’s who have gone to Boston. We plan on doing a day trip to Washington DC on a bus tour as it is very close. From Gettysburg we will get on the famous Blue Mountain Parkway and travel south to Atlanta. It is about 500 miles long as was built in the 1930’s. It is supposed to be a spectacular drive and have to finish on October 19 in Atlanta to meet Brad and Sheri Whitman. They have rented a camper and will spend the next week travelling to Savannah on the coast before making our way down to Sarasota by November 1. As we go south it will be nice for warmer weather and sunshine. Please keep the E-mails coming as news from Canada is always welcome. Remember to click on the map picture to expand it to full screen. Picture are coming as we finish labelling them. Lots of work !!!!

Our Campsite in Pownal, Vermont

Pictures:

New England States

New Brunswick

PEI

Cabot Trail

St.John NB & Maine

2008-09-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Where was Stephen King’s fictitious town – Derry supposed to be? To read about our latest travels our Blog update.

The answer to the question is Bangor Maine, the home of Stephen King, Gail’s favourite author. It is a rainy Saturday morning as we wait for hurricane Kyle to pass. I chose a campground on a hill so flooding shouldn’t be a problem. We left Halifax Sept 22 and made our way to Rockwood Campground in Saint John NB. The weather for that week was spectacular with sun,sun, & and more sun. Rockwood campground is part of a 2200 acre park in the city that is mostly inhabited by tradesmen working on new mega projects. You can not make a reservation and with limited sewer sites all that is available is power and water. The have a pump truck that will empty your tanks for $20. I had a long discussion with the campground director and sent a e-mail to the mayor ( No reply yet) about the lack of sewer sites. With tourism being down 50% they made a decision to fill the campground with permanent trades people to keep the revenue up. It is too bad because it is a spectacular RV park right in the middle of Rockwood Park. The city bus comes right into the campground twice a day and will take you on a city tour for $18. While there are many other campgrounds in the surrounding areas this is the only one in the central city. We had a good time because the weather was so great. Now they should rename St.John to IRVING. Most of us from the west have no idea how big Irving Oil is with diversity in refining,trucking,petrochemical plants, Nuclear Power, Pulp & Paper etc. While the down town harbour is pretty with a lot of old buildings the view from our campground on the hill tells a different story.

St.John is a massive Irving refining plant that stretches for miles. They are currently building a second refinery and a Nuclear Power Plant. All of this energy is exported to the USA and NONE is sold in Canada. I feel sad for St.John as I think it has lost its beauty with pollution.

We left Bangor Maine and crossed over to the US at Calais. The boarder police were really nice and didn’t put me in jail for the lemons and limes Gail forgot to throw out. They didn’t even ask about booze or meat. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day and colors had just started to turn as we took the south route- Highway 1 to Bangor. Originally I had planned on staying at Bar Harbour but Hurricane Kyle changed my mind. Thought we would find some high ground to be safe. We are in a nice campground called Pleasant Hill. It is just on the outskirts of Bangor but there were lots of choices. Yesterday we toured Bar Harbour , which is part of Acadia National Park and found it spectacular but crowded with lots of traffic. This is in the off season with all the huge hotels empty. I have no idea what happens in the summer. There is a KOA campground in Bar Harbour that has waterfront sites for $78/night. Not sure what we are going to do yet. The weather for the next week is not great even after the storm passes. This afternoon Doug & Louise Perry are arriving in their Motorhome. They parked next to us in Halifax and are from Cranbrook so we had two BC plates side by side. We are having them over for dinner tonight and will talk Canadian !!!!! Some facts- Diesel is $3.86/gallon, 2 liters skim milk $1.81, 5-liters of Mountain Chablis in a box- $14.99, two salmon filets wrapped in crab meat $3.99 each.

Keep the Emails coming and will work on uploading some more pictures.

Touring Nova Scotia & PEI Sept 22-08

2008-09-22T04:29:00.000-07:00

Touring Nova Scotia & PEI
Sept 22-08

It is a frosty Tuesday morning and wanted to update this Blog before we leave for St.John, NB and on down to Bar Harbour. It has been a very busy 2 weeks and as I write this our friends Bruce and Judy Williamson ( B&J) should be getting on their WestJet flight bound for Comox. They are long time friends who arrived in Halifax on Sept 9 to tour the Maritimes with us. Lots of interesting people and places with specific dates being in the itinerary section. B&J stayed at a B&B at the entrance to the Woodhaven Campground just outside Halifax. It is an average campground with its greatest asset being close to Halifax but right next to a major shopping complex. Costco, Staples & Future shop. Yeah !!!!!!
We left our RV parked at Woodhaven and did two trips ( 3 days each) with B&J staying at B&B's. The first 4 days B&J stayed in the B&B and we did day trips around that included a city tour of Halifax, Grafton Dinner Theater, and brewery tour of Alexander Keith's. Peggy's Cove and Lunenberg were spectacular as we had calm sunny weather. The horse drawn carriage ride through Lunenberg was a highlight that narrated the old buildings interesting history. On Sept 12 we headed for the Cabot Trail and made out first stop Glenora at the Glen Breton Distillery. Now many of you might think that the reason that we stopped here is that it is a single malt whiskey distillery. NOT SO !! They had some cottages on the side of a big hill over looking the valley. After drinking the bottle of Scotch ( only 250 ml) we went to the main lodge for a great supper and local music. The drive around the Cabot trail was misty and overcast but very beautiful. The second night was spent at Baddeck in the Inverary Inn with a tour of the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. Great scenery as we drove to Pictou and stayed at the Braside Inn which was a old turn of the century building that has been renovated to a B&B. Great dinner in a formal dinning room that had elegance with its old wooden floors and large picture windows of the harbour. We had lunch at the Chatterbox Inn in Pugwash which has great historical interest. In 1955 Cyrus Eaton arranged to have the leading scientists of his time get together to discuss nuclear disarmament. This led to a series of conferences at Pugwash that laid the ground work for the current nuclear disarmament treaties. Back to Halifax for 3 nights before going to PEI. Bruce and I took the bikes into Halifax and rode all over Point Pleasant Park and surrounding area. They really have some steep hills. Lots of cruise ships including the Queen Elizabeth 2 today.
We left for Charlottetown on Sept 18 and booked the Bagnall's B&B for 3 nights which was right downtown next to the shellfish festival. Confederation Bridge is an amazing structure that was completed in 1997 at a cost of one billion dollars. It only cost is $41.50 to cross both ways and NO FERRY. You can only appreciate how great it is to avoid ferries if you live on Vancouver Island. The first night we ate at a neat restaurant called the WaterPrince. Bruce had Lobster and we all had seafood. Day 2 was a trip to Anne of Green Gables and a visit to the Shellfish Festival in the afternoon. Day 3 we went to St.Peter's Bay and Greenwich and on the way stopped at a Vodka distillery. They make it out of Blueberries or Potatoes. That evening we had a lobster dinner at the New Glasgow Lobster Supper. The restaurant has been in business for 50 years and can sit 500 people. Dinner was fish chowder, mussels- all you can eat, Lobster, and pie with ice cream. I had the 1.5 lb lobster and about 3 buckets of mussels. It was probably the BEST meal we have had since we left Comox. It is a MUST if you visit PEI. The B&B was made special by the owner Nora. She was a lovely lady who cooked great breakfasts and spent many hours educating us about PEI. Bruce and I did a great bike ride around the city and waterfront. Only 30,000 people live in Charlottetown and about 140,000 on the whole Island. It seemed that they all left while were there as the roads and beaches were deserted. Sunday we sadly left Nora and PEI which left with a magic experience that only PEI can do. We vowed to return and spend more time there. We went back across Confederation bridge and took the south shore of Nova Scotia to Truro and back to the Airport Hilton where B&J stayed before leaving this morning. What a great two weeks and it is had to believe it is the end of September. Where has the time gone? We are now busy planning our trip to Florida. We will meet up with Brad and Sheri Whitman. Brad was best man at my wedding and have known him since we were 3 years old. We will catch up with them on October 19 in Atlanta for a week of camping together before arriving in Florida November 1.
Today I am getting the oil changed and tires rotated before we hit the road tomorrow for St.John NB. Thanks again for all your E-mail. It is always great to get news from home.

PICTURES:

Western Pond Boat Tour Newfoundland

Codroy Valley Newfoundland

Louisbourg and Glace Bay Nova Scotia

Halifax

Peggy's Cove and Lunenberg

Cabot Trail

Off the Rock

2008-09-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

The seagulls are calling and the sun is rising as I look out over the water from our Spectacular campsite at Point of View RV park in Louisbourg Nova Scotia. We didn't stay here on our last visit but found they had a special on for $89/night. That included your full service camp site, Lobster dinner for two - with all the fresh crab you could eat - , and breakfast the next morning. WOW !!! Guess where we are staying for the next 2 days. There are 3-4 nice RV parks at Louisbourg so would recommend a visit.At dinner last night we met a 95 year old man , Mr.Cote who was the mastermind and planner of the reconstruction of Louisbourg. He was delightful and a great story teller who worked for PM John Diefenbaker as a high ranking member of his staff. He was visiting the fort with his daughter and are both from Ottawa. Great evening and must have ate 3 pounds crab !!! Lobster was just the appetizer. Picture of evening From Left to Right. Larry Johnson, Gail, Ellen Johnson, Linda ( Owner of resort), Mr. Cote, and Ron. Larry and Ellen are from California and became good friends and travelling companions in their Monaco Motor home.

Yes we left Newfoundland yesterday in a horrible thunder and lighting storm with lots of rain. The good news was the ferry left on time at 9AM for a smooth 6 hour crossing to North Sydney. It was about a 1/2 hr drive to Louisbourg and Happy Hour started on time at 4 PM. We were sad to leave Newfoundland as our 5 week stay will likely be the highlight of our trip. Tomorrow we will move to Halifax where we will park the RV for 3 weeks. Our friends Bruce and Judy Williamson from Campbell River arrive Monday for a two week maritime tour. We will do B&B's with them and use our Halifax location as a home Base. The last week in September we will leave Canada for Bar Harbour Maine and viewing the fall colours. We have to meet up with Brad and Sheri Whitman the 3rd week in October in the Atlanta region and be in Florida - November 1. Even though our trip is a year we never seem to have enough time. Gail & I are well and appreciate all the e-mails you send us. Our home for the next two weeks will be Woodhaven RV park in Halifax.

Vikings, Basque Whaling, & Dr.Grenfell

2008-08-31T04:14:00.000-07:00

Vikings, Basque whaling & Dr.Grenfell
[ click on map for larger image]

We just arrived home ( our RV) after a 3 day trip to Labrador and L'Anse Aux Meadows. This is called the " Viking Trail " as a result of archaeologist's Dr.& Mrs Ingstad's finding in 1960 of a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. This is a modern day discovery that documents a Viking expedition leaving Greenland and landing on the shores of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland in the year 1000. Under the leadership of Leif Ericksson, a group of between 70-90 people established an encampment that served as the base for exploring south throughout the Gulf of St.Lawence. This predates Cabot and Cartier's exploits by 400 years and is probably the first European exploration of North America. A very interesting story that can be found on the Parks Canada Web Site. We stayed in a Great B&B right in L'Anse Aux Meadows called the Viking Village which I would recommend for a stay. Be sure and get Thelma (the owner) to cook you dinner. We also ate at a restaurant called Catch of the Day and was entertained by a Viking telling Viking Sagas of past. He looked just like Matti, an old friend of ours. In 1978 L'Anse aux Meadows was designated a World Heritage Site and Parks Canada has a large Interpretive Site with guided tours and reenactment of the Viking Times. We than drove to St.Anthony and went to the Grenfell Museum. Dr.Grenfell was the first Doctor in the area and responsible for bringing health care to people along the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland. He was knighted for his life long work and was an impressive museum. After 2 nights at the B&B we drove to St.Barbe to take the 90 minute ferry ride to Blanc Sablon Quebec where it is a 15 minute drive to our hotel in L'Anse-au-Clair- Labrador. We spend the afternoon driving up to Red Bay which is the end of the paved road. Another interesting story about the work of Selma Barkham, a archival researcher, who in 1970 was able to study the archived records in the Basque region of southern France. Here research showed the Basques carried out large scale whale fishery during the 16 century and established 16 shore stations along the southern coast of Labrador. Red Bay, or Butus as the Basques called it became on of the largest and most used of these stations. Underwater archeologic work at Red Bay revealed the remains of four 16th Century galleons. The Viking and Basque discovery are modern day finds that were not known before 1970 !!!! We had a beautiful sunny day to explore the rugged coast of Labrador before returning to Gros Morne the following day. After two night at a B&B and one hotel Gail and I were ready to come home. When I say home I mean our RV. We have now been away 4 months and have made the adjustment to our Rv which we consider our cozy home. Sept 4 we return to Nova Scotia and look forward to our long time friends Bruce and Judy Williamson arriving for 2 weeks to explore Nova Scotia and PEI with.

Pictures:

Viking Trail
Gros Morne & Area
St.John's & Area

Yes I know the video is the wrong way up but you can not turn a video. My mistake.
Listen to his voice.

St.John's and surrounding area

2008-08-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

" What type of dog is this? " --- It's a Newfoundland !!!!

It is Monday morning August 25 and the time has quickly passed. Since our last pdate we traveled to St.John's from Eastport a day late because of torrential rain and wind. Many of the roads were washed out and the TC was closed. Saturday the sun shone and we had a lovely trip to Pippy Campground in Central St.John's. In the sun Newfoundland is a very pretty place with many rivers,lakes and views of the ocean. Pippy is part of a large park next to Memorial University and the University Medical Center. A great spot but some sites are pretty tight to get into. They have a large area mainly for caravans called " Loop 4" which are pull through sites with Wi-Fi and would suggest you ask for this area if you have a big rig. Our site was heavily treed and couldn't get my broken satellite dish to work. No Olympics- Rats !!!! Called Starchoice and got a Tech to come out and fix my broken receiver and bought a spare one so I wouldn't have any more problems. It was nice being in a city as my cell phone worked and they had a Costco !!!! We visited Signal Hill and learned about Marconi's first wireless signal. Spectacular views of the very protected Harbour and spent time at the Interpretative center. Drove out to the most easterly part of Canada - Cape Spear. This was a hot sunny afternoon and the whales were along the cliffs. What a performance but no Icebergs. We visited " The Rooms " which is the Provincial Museum and overlooks St.John's Harbour. It is a very spectacular building which I thought was a hotel when we first past it. " The Rooms " in Newfoundland talk is a place where the fisherman store the nets. Stopped off at Quidi Vidi ( a small harbour in St.John's) to sample the Iceberg Beer at the Quidi Vidi Brewery. We then travelled north to Torbay where my father flew in the War. Dad never talked about his time in Torbay so was determined get some history. Torbay is just 20 km north of St.John's and is where the British Landed to march by land and retake St.John's. The Torbay museum was in the city hall and closed for renovations. The staff were working and very helpful as I explained my reason for coming. I thought I would be a celebrity but they get many history seekers coming in. The base at Torbay was just next to St.John's airport and was been torn down two years ago. The museum had no pictures of the base so we drove up the road and took some pictures of the footings where the barracks were. It is sad not more has been done to preserve the memories as many pilots escorted convoys never to return because of fog and bad weather. We then travelled north through Flat Rock to Pouch Cove where we stopped to admire the typical Newfoundland fishing village. As we sat on the bench looking at the sea an old man stopped and sat down next to us. After a brief introduction he told us the history of Pouch Cove over the next hour and will be one of the most memorable experiences on this trip. He was born there and worked as a carpenter all his life. Many people from Europe and US and even BC are moving to Newfoundland and buying homes in small communities like this. Other day trips were to surrounding areas like Brigus and Conception Bay. Friday- August 22 we left Pippy park travelled with Dave & Donna Bridges ( New friends from BC) back to Grand Falls. Sanger RV Park is a great spot and an easy 5 hour drive. The next morning we parted and travelled under sunny sky's to Gros Morne National Park on the Western Coast of Newfoundland. We are in a nice KOA campground and will leave the RV here for 10 days as we do some day trips.
Note: " Just one click on the map will give you a larger version "

Pictures:

St.John's & Area
Bonavista
Botwood & Twillingate

Play video for some Newfoundland Music

" This land is my land from Bonavista to Vancouver Island "

2008-08-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well where is Bonavista? It is in Newfoundland and is where John Cabot landed in 1497. Yesterday we left Eastport for a day's drive through Tera Nova Park up to Bonavista. The sun actually came out a few times and we had a great day. The drive up was mostly along the water and we visited some very interesting communities. Bonavista is a town of about 3500 people and still relies on fishing and most recently tourism. They have a replica of John Cabot's boat the " Matthew " and found it amazing how small it was and NO Compass. Took about 6 weeks for the voyage across the Atlantic. There was a National Heritage site called Ryan Premises that told the history of the fishing industry and had some local musicians playing Newfoundland music. Lots of fun as we had lunch and a trip out to the historic lighthouse. On our was back we stopped at a small fishing village - Trinity - that has been kept as it looked back in early times. Made it back to the RV and gassed up ready for our trip to St.John's today. This morning the rain and wind started to blow as the ruminants of a hurricane hit Newfoundland. We made a wise choice to delay our trip till tomorrow as it would be unsafe to pull the RV on the highway. Lots of roads washed out as 40 mm of rain came down in a very short time. My satellite dish blew over and broke !!!!! Spent the afternoon trying to fix it but will order a new one in St.John's. Gail is starting supper and I thought I would quickly update the blog. No pictures as we have a slow Internet connection. Thanks to everyone for your E-mails- always like to hear from home.

Ron & Gail

Dildos, Flying Boats and Capelins

2008-08-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

Dildos, Flying Boats, and Capelins What do they all have in common? They are found in Newfoundland. Got your attention eh???? August 5-8 we stayed in Grandfalls Windsor at a city campground called Sanger Campground. We were there about 5 days and have started to make friends with other traveling RV's as we see them again at a different camp site. We traveled to Botwood and visited the Air Museum. In 1936 Charles Lindbergh flew to Newfoundland to look for refueling sites for a new commercial trans Atlantic air service for BOAC ( British) and PAN AM ( American). Since the world hadn't built airports yet the aircraft were super flying boats. The were very large amphibious aircraft and Botwood (next to Gander) was chosen as the refueling site for Newfoundland. In 1937 the first test flight of these aircraft was flown from New York to London being refueled in Montreal, Botwood, and Ireland. These were very large planes and provided passenger service for about 7 years on the Tran-Atlantic Route while Gander Airport was being built. Fascinating story and have included a link for more information along with their festival site.We then drove up to Fortune Harbour and looked and the remote fishing areas. August 9-11 we have been in Twillingate. This so far is the highlight of our Newfoundland trip and left a little bit of our heart here when we departed today. The community is a small rural area that has changed their economy from fishing to tourism. We went to dinner theater called " All around the Circle " put on in a town community center. There were about 7 members in the cast who took tickets, made dinner, and did the show. It was sold out and hilarious. These were all amateur actors who got together for some Newfie music,comedy and food. They have created a very popular event that is usually sold out every night. We met some new friends at out dinner table and will keep in touch as we travel Newfoundland. Last night we went to a Musical called Smallwood which was written and produced locally. Wonderful music that told the story of Joey Smallwood and Canada's entry into Confederation. The actors were local high school and University Students. WOW.. It was great. Yesterday we went down to Dildo Run Provincial Park. No idea how they named it??? On our way back we stopped of at Pike's Arm and walked up to an observation area called Bridges Lookout. What a spectacular View. We went Whale watching and saw some Humpback Whales who are quite close to shore eating the Capelins which are like small herring. No Icebergs as they have all melted buy late July. Lots of Cod dinners and many more stories. It is time to move on and will be traveling about 3 hours to East Port which is just above Tera Nova Park.

Botwood and Twillingate Pictures

Cheers Ron & Gail

Central Newfoundland

2008-08-07T03:51:00.000-07:00

Good Morning from Central Newfoundland - Grand Fall- Windsor

This our second RV site in Newfoundland and are staying at the Sanger Memorial Park which is run by the city. Great spot with full service sites. One of our main objectives was to meet up with Dana Burry & Fam as they were having a family reunion in Pool's Cove. Dana is a physician who I worked with at the Cumberland Medical Clinic for 10 years. I didn't call her before she left Comox so communication was difficult as both our cell phones didn't work. Her sister-in-law Michelle Burry ( a long time friend) helped and gave me the best advice ever!!! Don't take your RV to Pools Cove !!!! I would have had to back it up 35 KM just to turn around. Pools Cove is a tiny fishing village and her cousin lives in Turnip Cove which is just in the next bay. It was had enough turning my truck around. THANKS MICHELLE !!!!!! We decided to leave the RV at Grand Falls and stay at a hotel in Harbour Breton for the first night and then stop by Pool's Cove the next day. This is a interesting drive in areas where tourists don't normally go. You probably will not find it on a map so have put the pictures on a map for you. Use the Map feature in Flikr. We are staying here for a few more days then going toEastport on the east coast.

I have had many e-mails woundering if we are broke yet with the gas costs.

Some interesting Facts: Miles traveled so far: 13,975 KM
Cost of Gas to Newfoundland : $3,308.09
Diesel Fuel - Cheapest- FlyinJ Kamloops - $1.25/l Most expensive Harbour Breton $1.58/l
RV Sites- Full Service about $30/night cheaper in Newfoundland- about $23/night

================================================================

PICTURES

Ottawa

http://flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606329037268/

Please note that I have linked the below pictures to a MAP.
When you go to the below links click on the " MAP " link on the title bar at the top of the page. This will put the photos on a map.

Quebec to Nova Scotia

http://flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606556614257/

Louisbourg

http://flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606556536457/

Newfoundland

http://flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606557115757/

Central Newfoundland - Newest Pics

http://flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606588669888/

Cheers.

I'se The B'y - From our RV site in the Codroy Valley

2008-08-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

Newfoundland

I'se The B'y - From our RV site in the Codroy Valley

WE MADE IT !!!! August 1 st at 3:30 we set sail on the MV Cariboo ( 2 hrs late because of fog) from North Sydney to Port aux Basques. This is a 6 hour ferry trip that I booked in March so missed the last 3 fuel surcharge increases and saved me 100's of dollars. It took 2 hours to load the ferry because each car has their wheel tied down to the deck in case of bad weather. Our crossing was clear and water flat. We had supper on board and was already for a BIG feed of Cod BUT they ran our so had to have a hot dog and fries. Imagine a Newfoundland Ferry running out of Cod..... We made it to the Grand Codroy Resort which is about 1/2 and hour from the ferry terminal. It is a GREAT campground so will stay 3 nights
and get our Neufie Legs organized. Yesterday we drove to Rose Blanche on the south coast and were treated to the BEST fish and chips I have ever had at theFriendly Fisherman Cafe.
When I was washing our RV, Eg Walters came over to meet me. He lives in St.John's and spent about an hour helping me plan our stay here. He has a boat and invited me out fishing!!!
So far Newfoundland is exactly as people say -- People very friendly, Scenery spectacular, and food outstanding. Diesel fuel $1.55/l Just a short note to update every one.

Pictures Coming.....

Ron

This is a video take at Louisbourg

Louisbourg Nova Scotia- July 30-31/08

2008-07-31T03:34:00.000-07:00

Louisboug - Nova Scotia

It is Thursday - July 31 and I woke to the smell of salt air and the Seagulls making their usual noise but thought I was dreaming and really in Comox. As the sleep cleared I remembered we we in Louisbourg Nova Scotia. Sunday- July 27 we said good-bye and THANK YOU to the Hartley's for a GREAT time in Ottawa and headed up 417 to get through Montreal. I planned to hit Montreal on Sunday about 10 AM so there would be little traffic. On our whole trip this would be the most difficult drive as you have to go through Montreal unless you go a much slower route through Maine. There were so many horror stories of taking the wrong turn and ending up in downtown Montreal in a huge Motor Home. We were prepared with two GPS's, maps and much rehearsed local knowledge. Lynne Dixon, our Sudbury Host used to live in Montreal so helped plan our route. We rehearsed it over and over again. We wanted to take the highway 20 bypass which is a LEFT hand exit off the freeway. Lynne gave us great info and said when you get to the IKEA store on the right start moving into the left lane for your exit. THANKS Lynne in worked and we made it through Montreal unscathed and made every correct turn. Traffic was heavy but when I put my turn signals on people seemed to let me in. It was a long day as we continued up highway 20 past Quebec city to Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraskaiere. This is a small town just before Riviere de Loup and we stayed at the
Camping le Rayon de Soleil . They spoke some English- Were Good Sam Rated- and had English option Web Site. It was a GREAT campground and would recommend it as a stop. I walked around the campground and EVERY car was from Quebec. I tried to make some conversation to our neighbours but NO ONE spoke English. Interesting !!!!!

Monday we got going and headed up the Gaspe on Hwy 20 to Mont Joli then turned right and took 132 to New Bruswick. I really liked this area and it reminded me of France. Our destination was Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick. I made a on-line reservation ( Cost $10.50) plus $28.50 for a no-service camp site. By the time we checked in to our site and loaded up with water it was another late day. The Park was nice but too much money for no services. We left for Port Hawkesbury and made the mistake of taking some back roads that we though would be scenic. In Nova Scotia the Freeways are great but back roads horrible for big rigs. We stayed at a really nice place called Linwood Campground just outside Port Hawksbury. Wesnesday- July 30 we made it to Louisbourg and are staying in the Louisbourg RV Camground right on the water. Yesterday afternoon we made our first visit to the Louisbourg Fortress..WOW. Yesterday evening treated ourselves to a Lobster Dinner the went to the Louisbourg Playhouse for some Celtic Music and comedy. It was GREAT.
Today we are spending the day at the Fortress and will have Lunch in a Period restaurant on site. Tomorrow August 1 we board the ferry at North Sydney for our 6 hour trip to Port-Aux Basques and Newfoundland. Hey.. WE MADE IT !!!!!!! More to come from Newfoundland.

Note: The blue words are links to sites. Just click and you are there....

Ottawa July 20-26/08

2008-07-25T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ottawa

Good Morning from Ottawa. It is 8 AM and we have just got up after a rainy night. I wanted to update the Blog before I do my bike ride down the Rideau Canal and by the Parliament Buildings. Our campground is called " Rideau Heights Campground " and actually in Nepean which is a suburb of Ottawa. It is 10 minutes from our friends house and central to the city. Ottawa is the " Biking City " with lots of routes to explore. I have known Stuard Hartley for about 20 years when he was the regional manager for Clinicare. Stuard and Janell have been great hosts and both took a week of their holidays to show us around. This afternoon we are going on a boat trip down the Ottawa River. Early Sunday morning we will leave travelling through Quebec to Nova Scotia. It will take 3 days to get to Louisborg which is about one hour from the ferry terminal to Newfoundland. We will spend July 30 & 31 at Louisberg going through the Huge reconstructed fort. We have a RV spot reserved right on the water. August 1st is the big day and at 12:30 we take a 6 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland where we will stay for a month. This is a new experience for both of us. We are still in good health and really enjoying travelling. I wish I could say I was homesick but that is not the case. We talk to our parents daily on Skype and our Telus Aircard was the BEST investment we have made. It keeps us connected to high speed Internet.
Cheers.. Must go for my Bike Ride.

Sudbury Pictures

Lakefield Pictures

Ottawa Pictures

Lakefield July 13-19

2008-07-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Cool Morning in Lakefield

Well we arrived in Lakefield just out side Peterborough after a great stay in Sudbury. Lynn and Keith were great hosts to Sudbury which we found to be a beautiful city EXCEPT for the terrible roads. Thanks Lynn, Keith and Colin ( Keith's son and a GREAT chef) for your great hospitality and wonderful dinner at your home . We are in a great RV site in the city campground right in Lakefield. Since we came from BC they gave us the VIP site which is right on the water with no one around us. It is quiet and the view spectacular. We met Steve and Barb Jordon who are the parents of Dave Jordan - Jennifer's longtime partner. We are enjoying Lakefield and the Jordan's are wonderful hosts. Yesterday was a cruise on Stony Lake followed by an open air concert in Peterborough. I uploaded most of our photos. There are some more from Fremont. There is the On the Road Set which outlines our travels around the lakes. We are off to Ottawa Sunday and then get ready for our trip to Newfoundland- August 1.

Mom's Vancouver Birthday Party
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606159480854/

On the Road
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606217730654/

Sudbury
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606217506176/

Lakefield
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157606217456602/

2008-07-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Champion – Michigan & Sault St.Marie

Tuesday- July 8

It is Tuesday morning around 7 AM at Michigamme Shores www.michigammeshores.com and we are up early to drive through Marquette Michigan on highway 28 to Sault Ste. Marie. Marquette is a small town on Lake Superior that is supposed to be very unique and picturesque . We left Fremont Nebraska Saturday July 5 after spending just under a month with Dave, Tanya, and Jake. They were great hosts who opened their home for two Canadians on a long venture. As we headed north on I-29 toward Fargo I realized how much we enjoy the excitement of seeing new places. It was the longest day I have traveled clocking just under 800 KM as we pulled into Forest Hills RV park in Audubon Minnesota – just before Detroit Lakes (www.foresthillsgolfrv.com) It was the Saturday of the July 4- Long weekend so was worried about the traffic and distance we had to travel. That is why we stayed on the Interstate and to our amazement were almost the only ones travelling. Easy drive- No one on I-29 and it goes straight North to Fargo. Forest Hills was a great RV park but soon realized we were in Mosquito territory. This is the first time in our trip they bothered us so closed the windows and doors and fired up our air conditioner. BANG-BANG-Bang..... Not sure why it is making an awful noise but something isn’t working.. Another maintenance problem! Restless night but we had good screens on all the windows which helped even though a few got through. It was a beautiful sunny morning when we left for Duluth Minnesota on Lake Superior. Our destination was Lakehead Boat Basin & RV Park
( www.lakeheadboatbasin.com ) in downtown Duluth on the waterfront next to the famous bridge over the lock. The RV site was just a parking lot but an excellent location. Most of you who travel in RV’s understand that many ( almost all ) RV parks are situated next to a railway line and have “ Train Noise “. Well we thought we were safe on the waterfront until 3 long blasts of a horn were sounded before the bridge is raised. It is raised over 30 times a day !!!! So much for a quiet stay. It was about 39 degrees on the pavement so decided to invest in a fan since the AC wasn’t working. Punched in Wal-Mart to the GPS and off we went. Drive for 25 minutes only to find it had been converted to a Sam’s Club. ( Exactly like Costco including the $40 membership fee). We left with a Sam’s membership and fan for about $ 100. (Membership $40 + Fan $60). Cooled us down and we had a great evening walking around the boats. Monday Morning- July 7 we took highway 2/41 to Michigamme Shores campground. No Internet so couldn’t post this Blog.
Today- Tuesday - July 8 we made it to Sault St Marie in the Aune Osborn Campground right on the locks on the US side. Found it in Woodall’s Directory but didn’t know it was the city campground. Great spot which is normally full all July & August but today was only 30% occupied. That is the inevitable result of high gas prices. Gail & I decided to treat ourselves and went out for dinner after looking at the Soo Locks. Great whitefish dinner at a popular restaurant on the waterfront. Tomorrow we will re-enter Canada and make our way to Carol Campground on Richard lake in Sudbury. Long time friend Lynn Dixon and Keith will be showing us around.
Pictures are coming but just haven’t had time or a high speed connection to make it happen.
Updated Itinerary on right in red.

Mom's Birthday- July 1st-08 90 Years Old !!!!!

2008-06-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

Comox - June 22- July 2-08

It is a bright sunny Sunday morning in Comox. Gail,Mom, & Joyce are getting ready to go to church and I am updating our Blog. We had a uneventful flight from Omaha-Denver-YVR. Left Omaha at about 4 PM and arrived YVR at 8 PM. The flight was full but Denver-YVR was only 3 hours so it seemed to go quickly. As we went down the stairs to the Customs hall my heart sank. About 1200 people waiting to go through and only 5 CUSTOMS officers. They were on some sort of job action which took almost 2 hours to get through customs. Arrived at Al's in our rentedHyundai Sonata at about 10:30 PM. They had just got home from Hanna's concert so we saw her all dressed up. The next morning we caught the 10:30 ferry and were in Comox at 2 PM. Mom was so glad to see us and cooked a roast pork for our first dinner. Made the rounds around town and said hello to everyone. Joyce ( Mom's Sister) arrived Tuesday evening. Our FavoriteRestaurant - Red Ruby was closing for good on June 30 so we decided to have some friends together Wednesday evening for a get together. RR Pictures include Graham, Donna- Carol,Gord- Dave,Nancy- Mom,Joyce- Gail, Ron. Thursday afternoon was the reception at Mom's house for her 90th Birthday. Donna Johnston did a GREAT job catering the event for about 70 people. The weather was cool but everyone had a good time and mom was very pleased !!! Friday was a resting day as the weather gets hotter. A great Halibut dinner at Mom's as we are craving fresh fish. Saturday was dinner at our very good friends Chris and Val Little's. Our house looked great with Graham's meticulous care. Paid my $6000/ Taxes to the Town of Comox and got the sprinkling system fixed. Today is Sunday and we are getting ready to leave for Vancouver tomorrow. Al has a party for Mom on July1st and we return to Fremont on July 2nd. It will be 4.5 months before returning home the end of November. We look forward to the new leg of our adventure.

Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605876820142/

Visit to Comox June 22- July 2

2008-06-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

Fremont Nebraska

Tomorrow June 22 we get on the plane to fly back to Comox for Mom's 90th Birthday. We have been in Fremont since June 12 visiting our long time friends Dave and Tanya Hull. The weather has been great and we have made many trips to Omaha to do shopping and go to their world famous Zoo. We fly from Omaha to Denver then on to YVR, arriving in Vancouver about 8 PM. Have rented a car and will be staying overnight at Alan's then on to Comox Monday. Mom is excited about our home coming and we will be staying at her house. Phone: 339-6082. Her Birthday is July 1 but we will be having a reception for her on Thursday - June 26 from 2-5 at her house. Her sister Joyce is coming from California so it should be a great visit. June 30th we will head back to Vancouver with Mom and Joyce for a birthday party at Al's on July 1st. July 2nd we return the car rental to YVR and catch the plane back to Fremont. Pictures are coming.

A long time friend of ours Lois Wilson lives in Duncan Oklahoma and reads our Blog. She is travelling north to Alberta and realizes she can route herself through Fremont. Through Internet and cell phones we connected and had a nice visit. Technology is GREAT.

Fremont Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605626977615/

Fremont Nebraska June 12- July 6

2008-06-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

It is a sunny Saturday morning in Fremont Nebraska. It was an easy drive from Mount Rushmore to Fremont with one stop in Valentine Nebraska. Valentine was an interesting town and the full service campground only cost $12.50. This made up for the $60/night at the Palmer Ranch KOA site. The town is named for E. K. Valentine, who as a Congressman from Nebraska, was chairman of the house committee on Agriculture during his six years in office-1879-1885. He was instrumental in getting the settlers grievances redressed by the Government. As the "Heart City" of America, Valentine is the site from which thousands of Valentine's Day greetings are mailed each year. Visitors and residents alike find that Valentine's Day greetings bearing the Heart City's postmark adds an extra special touch to the annual lover's holiday. The largest building in town was a very modern Post Office which is about 4 city blocks.
We arrived about 4 PM in Fremont and will be here for about 3 weeks. Dave and Tonya are long time friends who live on a lake. They bought the empty lot next door so that is where we have our RV. Our back window views onto the lake and we have power and water. We are getting excited about our trip home June 22 to July 2 for Mom’s 90th birthday. We leave next Sunday and will arrive about 8 PM. I have rented a car and will drive to Comox on Monday with an overnight at Alan’s house. Thursday is an open house for Mom then will drive her over to Vancouver on the weekend before we leave back to Fremont on July 2.
Pictures are coming so just be patient.

Fremont Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605626977615/

Mount Rushmore - June 8-19-

2008-06-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

Mount Rushmore- North & South Dakota - June 7-10

Good Morning. The coffee is made and it is a cool morning at the Mount Rushmore KOA campground in South Dakota. We left Saskatoon on June 7 and made our way south on highway 6 then picking up 35 at Weyburn. Our Boarder Crossing was at Fortuna where we picked up 385 and down into Williston North Dakota. It was a great sunny day and saw the grasslands of southern Saskatchewan. Traffic was light and I doubt we saw more than 6 cars on the road all day. The boarder crossing at Fortuna was easy as we were the only vehicle there. The Customs Officer asked us the usual questions and had a look through our RV. He opened a few cupboards and wanted me to open the truck boxes. We had left all the fresh fruit, meat and diary products in Saskatoon as it is always unclear what to take. With our passports stamped we made our way to the Buffalo Trails Campground in Williston ND. We arrived about 5 PM and checked in .. $23/night minus $2.50 for my Good Sam Discount. Settled in and even got my Satellite TV to work. Off to the Wal-Mart Superstore which was just down the road.
Great evening and got up to a late start the next morning.

Sunday- June 8 was a LONG day. We went from Williston ND to Mount Rushmore. Traffic was light but it was very windy. On the Edmonton-Saskatoon Leg it was FLAT and had a 20 knot tail wind. Conditions were perfect and got about 13.5 miles/gallon. I was really pleased with this as fuel is expensive and the Class A Motorholmes are probably getting between 2-4 mpg. The rolling hills and strong winds dropped my gas mileage to about 9 MPG. The scenery was spectacular with interesting rock formations. Lots of Buttes and crossed the Badlands working our way down to South Dakota on 385. Weather is a mixture of Sun- Rain- and wind. Went through Bell Fourche and on to Interstate 90. It is now about 6:30 and the GPS wanted to take me to Rapid City and over to Mount Rushmore but we wanted to stay on 385.. More scenic. BAD Decision as we SLOWLY made our way through Deadwood and the Black Hills arriving at our KOA Campground about 8:30. I was exhausted, the truck was low on fuel and was glad I made a reservation for a nice spot.. OR so I thought !!!!! There are 100's of campgrounds in this area but there are a few very large ones. I made an on-line reservation for $43/night at the Mount Rushmore KOA campground. The Palmer Gulch campground also calls itself the Mount Rushomre KOA campground which is misleading and $60/night !!! I was too tired to drive to the other one we had a reservation at as it would mean re-fuelling and a 30 minute drive. So our 3 night here are $180 plus a $40 cancellation fee at the other campground making it about $70/night for camping !!! We went into Keystone, a little town next to Mount Rushmore and saw many nice hotels for $39.50/night with breakfast included!!! Oh well I still like our RV

Yesterday we went to the Carzy Horse Monument, Mount Rushmore, Keystone and the Needles highway. Today was are off to Sturgis and Deadwood and will do a little shopping in preparation for our final leg to Fremont Nebraska. We will be there Thursday for about one month. In two week we will be back in Comox !!!! Wednesday night we will stay in the Wacky West Campgound in Vallentine as we travel on Highway 20 down to Fremont.

Dakota Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605611405389/

Saskatoon May 31- June 7

2008-06-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Saskatoon - May 31- June 7

The week has zipped by and we are getting ready to leave for Fremont Nebraska tomorrow. What a GREAT time we have had in Saskatoon hosted by Ken & Gail Nicholson.
The friendship started with our parents so have known Ken all our lives. Gail is an OR nurse and Ken works with Investments. Both took a weeks holidays to make sure we were well looked after. We parked our 5th wheel in their driveway and hooked up to power and water. We arrived on time last Saturday around 5 PM. Easy drive from Edmonton as the highway was twinned all the way to Saskatoon. They had dinner waiting and we settled in to some great Saskatoon hospitality. Sunday we met a long time friend and colleague Dr.Bill Haver for a tour of his Clinic and dinner at his place. Bill and I have been involved with Clinicare ( Computer Software) for many years and have done a lot of travelling together. Bill & Patty cooked an outstanding meal and included Russ and Corrine Pastorchick. Russ heads up the Clinicare development team in Saskatoon and has also been a long time friend. It was a wonderful dinner on a sunny Sunday evening. Thanks so much Bill and Patty.

Monday we visited Wanuskewin http://www.wanuskewin.com/visitors/history/ just outside Saskatoon. This is a National archaeological site with history going back 5000 years of a buffalo jump. Very Interesting. That evening we got dressed up and went out for dinner to celebrate Gail's birthday. We ate at Carver's Restaurant in the Sheraton Hotel... 5 stars!!!! The Gail's, and Ken had steak Diane prepared at their table. Great evening with lots of pictures.

Tuesday we left for Meota on Jackfish lake. This was a very nostalgic trip as I spent most of my childhood at the lake. Both our parents regularly took their summer vacations at Jackfish lake as it was a great place for kids. Later my parents bought some waterfront property which remained in the family until last year. We stopped at North Battleford for a tour of the Fort. National Historical Site so could use my Park pass!!! Very interesting tour. Off to the lake and stayed overnight at Ken & Gail's cabin. Gail's parents, Lionel & Val cooked a great dinner and made breakfast the next morning . Great Meota Hospitality!!! Back to Saskatoon for a dinner cruise on the North Saskatchewan River Wednesday evening.

Thursday we got up early and headed off to Moose Jaw. They have some very famous tunnels with an Al Capone connection http://www.tunnelsofmoosejaw.com/ . Lunch in Moosejaw and a visit to the Gadiner Dam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner_Dam on the way home. Dinner in Outlook and home by 9 PM. Today is going to be a day of rest. Ken & I are going to do a bike ride this morning and the to the Berry Farm for lunch. This afternoon we will get the RV ready for travel tomorrow and have an early night with dinner at the Nicholson's.
This has been an action packed week guided by our very BEST friends Ken & Gail Nicholson. THANKS!!!

Saskatoon Pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605403673879/

Edmonton

2008-06-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Edmonton May 18- 30

It is a cloudy day in Saskatoon as I update our Blog. We arrived at Whitmud Creek Campground http://www.whitemudcreek.com/ in Edmonton on May 18 for two weeks. We stayed here last fall for two weeks so we felt like we were coming home. WCC is on the very south end of Edmonton and associated with a golf course. It is full service but lacks cable TV and Internet services. They started a new policy of charging you for your total stay when you make your reservation. This meant a credit card charge of $420 in March when I made the booking. It is usually full in July and August so you would need a reservation. Overall I would recommend WCC with the above concerns. It is very close to the Alex Hendy Freeway so it makes travel around Edmonton Easy.

Our first night we had Clayton & Lorna over for dinner. I cooked a fine steak dinner on the grill and the next day we visited Peggy ( Gails mom) at Hardisty Nursing home. On our way home we stopped in and visited Maureen and Bryn. We were able to see a long time friend Paula Whitman who was just leaving on a cross Canada driving trip. I got some good tips for our Ontario leg of our travels. Paula dropped by after work and then for lunch the next day. Larry Fowler is a long time friend who worked with me at McBain Cameras 35 years ago. We
had him over for dinner and then the following day went to our favorite lunch place... Britts Fish and Chips. Clayton and I went on many bike rides through Edmonton's spectacular River Valley. Saturday Clayton had a family barbecue for the whole family. The sun was out and we had a great evening. You will see some pictures of the campground followed by more biking pictures. No trip to Edmonton is complete without visiting Fred and Jean Whitman. They took us out to the Petroleum Club for a wonderful lunch followed by a visit to Allison ( Their granddaughter) and RJ ( Great Grandson). Final Pics are of Clay & Lorna with Gail and I going for dinner at Dejagger Golf Club for Gail's Birthday dinner. It was a spectacular evening with great food. The next day we left for Saskatoon.

Visiting Edmonton is always like coming home since Gail and I were born and raised there. Our neighbours for two weeks were Dave and Genny Harbour. A new friendship and home to meet them in Newfoundland. As we left Edmonton it felt like our adventure had begun as we crossed new territory to Saskatoon.

Sunny Oliver

2008-05-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

It is a cold windy evening in Cochrane Alberta and Gail is finishing the dishes. We watched 2 episodes of " 24 hours " and had a Great Pasta Dinner. Lots to update. It was an uneventful trip from Kamloops to Oliver. It seemed like going home as we arrived at the Desert Gem Rv Resort. http://www.desertgemrv.com/ We have stayed there for the past 3 years as we passed through. It is a great park located centrally in Oliver and Gail likes to walk uptown. We spent 5 days there doing our usual activities. Most people don't realize that there is a lake in Oliver called Tuc-El-Nuit-Lake. There is a Lakeside Rv resort called Desert Lake RV Resort. http://www.camping.bc.ca/Desert_Lake_RV_Resort_1095MID.aspx This park is on the lake and is a spectacular location. We were told that the owners are trying to just rent to long term tenants rather that transients however it is worth a look and is listed in Woodall's.

Oliver is great for bikers. My favorite trip is Twin Lakes to Oliver. It is about 40KM to Twin Lakes which has a Golf Course. Gail and I drive up for lunch and I ride back. Yes !!! I let Gail drive the truck. The trip from TL to Oliver is all downhill through rolling hills and some steep drops. Breath taking scenery but not much exercise. It takes about 2 hours. The second trip was to ride to Osoyoos. There is a paved trail to Osoyoos and I always wanted to ride it. It was day that the temp went to 33 degrees. Off I went around 1 PM with the thought of a Peanut Buster Parfait at Dairy Queen. I got within 2 KM of Osoyoos and the trail terminated. Rats !!! I rode back about 5 KM and crossed a bridge and went down the other side of the river but ended up it Indian Land with a" DO NOT ENTER" sign on the road. By this time my I was hot and my DQ stop not going to happen. I called Gail and she drove the truck down from Oliver and picked me up. We then drove to the DQ in Osoyoos and had a treat.

No visit to Oliver is complete without a Pizza from Yum Yums. 250- 498-4039. We think this is the BEST Pizza we have tasted. A trip to our favorite winery, Tinhorn Creek, is always fun and this year we went to Osoyoos and visited the Home Hardware Store. This won the title for " Best Hardware Store " of the year. It is amazing what they have in it. If you pass through make sure you stop and check it out. Friday morning came and we left Oliver under sunny skies for Nelson.

Saturday afternoon we arrived at Birch Grove RV Park .http://www.camping.bc.ca/Birch_Grove_RV_Park__Marina_1074MID.aspx . This park is located 30 minutes past Nelson just 2 km before you get to Balfour. Got a site right on the water. We decided to take the ferry from Balfour across the lake bypassing the Kootenay Pass. This probably saved me $100 in gas and the ferry trip is FREE. It is a big ship holding about 120 cars. We visited Gail's Uncle Bob Dunn who is always a gracious host and had a tasty supper for us. Picture perfect weather. We got up early to catch the 8:10 ferry as it was the long weekend. Arrived 45 minutes before sailing but there were only 3 cars in the lineup!!! The ferry was only 20% full as we went across the lake for a 30 minute trip. Windy road around the lake and made it to Fort Steele Campground around 2 PM. http://www.fortsteele.com/ . We were at the fort last year so just spent the afternoon lounging in the sun. Nice Park in a beautiful setting. It is interesting that I paid $1.20/L for diesel in Kamloops but $1.45 in Nelsen. A search of the Internet revealed Nelson had the highest gas prices in Canada !!!

This morning we left for Cochrane Alberta going over the Crows Nest Pass. Traffic was light and easy driving as we missed the BIG Kootenay Pass. We turned left onto Highway 22 and came north to Cochrane. This is one of the most scenic drives in Canada. Today there was not a cloud in the sky. Just sun- rolling hills- with a back drop of the Rocky Mountains.
Arrived in Cochrane and are staying at the Bow Rivers Edge Campground. http://www.bowriversedge.com/ . A great resort right on the Bow River. Off to Edmonton tomorrow where we will visit family and stay for two weeks.

Thank you - Kamloops

2008-05-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

We have settled into our favorite RV Park in Oliver and it is a cloudy day with some rain forecast so I am updating our Blog. However the weather forecast for the next 4 days is up to 33 degrees. Wow !! Going to have to try out the Air Conditioner. We had a great time in Kamloops and found everyone so friendly. We stayed at the Kamloops RV Park about 10 km east of Kamloops on High1-East. http://kamloopsrvpark.kamloops.com/ It is part of the Kamloops Wildlife Park. The staff were friendly but I got the feeling the park has been neglected over the past few years. There seems to be an effort to correct this and they seem to be putting more money into it.

When we owned a boat we used to put into port for repairs. Well Kamloops was our Repair Center and did we got lots of support. I noticed a leak under our Rv and correctly found the problem as a leaking water pump. I didn't winterize the trailer as it was stored indoors but suspect that was a mistake. Likely the pump had some water in it and froze even though we drained the lines. BIG PROBLEM. On our way in to Kamloops I noticed South Thompson Rv http://www.souththompsonrv.com/ and dropped in to talk to their service dept. Donna was the service manager and was very helpful. She understood it was a huge problem to move our RV and offered her head Tech.. James to come out that evening and put a new pump in. A " House Call from a RV dealer " ... James came out that evening and put a new pump in. He left with a fine bottle of wine and lots of thanks. Now we still needed to deal with my back bumper. On my bicycling route I noticed a welding/ fabricating shop just two blocks from our park. I stopped in and met the owner.. Darren. http://www.4-dwelding.com/ . He
offered to come down have a look at my bumper. A welder doing a house call??? He quickly found the problem which was two loose bolts on the bumper that needed tightening. No Major welding needed. He helped my level the bumper and tighten the bolts. Problem solved. Darren as well left with my best bottle of red wine as he wouldn't take any money. Kamloops was a great place thanks to people like Darren & James.

Gail's cousin read our Blog and realized they would be going through Kamloops to Nelson. Sherry and Norm dropped in around 10 AM for a nice visit. Friday evening we went to Phil and Jill McVie's for dinner. They are long time friends from Comox who we have kept in touch with over the years. We had a great dinner with Julie's potatoes.. a big hit. Spent the evening discussing the children and family. They have a wonderful house with a great view over the Valley. They have done some upgrading over the past few years and it is really nice. On Saturday Brent Mitchell arrived about 3 pm and sampled my scotch. Brent is a long time friend from Clinicare who was coming to Kamloops to visit his mother who lives at Berwick Place.
We went over for appetizers at 5 PM and met his mom, Eileen. We then went to Ric's Mediterranean Grill for dinner. Great evening with both Mitchell's being gracious hosts. We said good bye and made it back to our RV for a good nights rest before moving on to Oliver.

The trip to Oliver was about 4 hours and uneventful except it rained most of the trip. This is always a pain in the butt as it involves 3 hours of washing the RV when we arrive. We are safe in Oliver and will be leaving this Friday.

Bloging.. Our long time friends Don & Norma Bays are travelling in Italy and read our Blog at a Internet cafe. They sent us an E-mail from the other side of the world. Isn't Internet great !!!

Kamloops Pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/sets/72157605017191228/

Kamloops

2008-05-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

Kamloops BC

It is a rainy Wednesday afternoon in Kamloops so Gail is making Tea and I am updating the Blog.
We had a great 10 days in Vancouver and it was sad to leave. Alan and Kazuko are always such good hosts and Mom enjoys having here two sons around. When we arrived Kazuko had arranged dinner for the first couple of days. You will see pics of us leaving Vancouver Island and lunch on the ferry that Mom bought. Burnaby RV is a great place and consistently rated #1 in Canada. I went about connecting all the RV lifelines like sewer, water and Satellite TV. All worked just fine. Tuesday evening we drove over to Lesley Anne's office and had the Royal Tour.
You will see pics of her office and dinner at our place. The week passed quickly and Saturday morning LA had us to her appt for a Gourmet Breakfast. Blueberry pancakes and Maple syrup !!!! We then left for a walk around False Creek where LA's company had built an Island for Habitat Compensation. We did some shopping and back to our place for dinner. We had Alan & Crew over as well. LA spent the night in our RV and I cooked Scrambled Eggs in our new " Magic Bullet ". Lunch on Main street and then some shopping before saying a farewell goodbye to LA.
Sunday evening back to Al's for great steak dinner on his new deck. For our send off Monday Mom took us all out for dinner at Boston Pizza. You will see her paying with her credit card. It was good by to Burnaby Tuesday Morning.

As we left Vancouver I felt a little home sick. Leaving Mom is always a difficult decision but will be flying back to Comox the end of June for her birthday. It was a sunny Tuesday as we made our way to Hope and over the Coquihalla Highway. Just after the Toll Booth we stopped at the summit for lunch. Disaster Struck!!! The bike rack on the rear of our RV was too heavy and despite being welded to he frame bent it. The caused a bold to pop through the fiberglass on the rear bumper. Now this was a huge problem as I had to move the bikes off the back stand and into the RV. My nice orderly RV was now filed with dirty bikes. I new there would be challenges as left for a year but not our first week out. Not sure what I am going to do. We will see if a welder can strengthen up the bracing.

We are staying about 10 km east of Kamloops at Kamloops RV park. http://kamloopsrvpark.kamloops.com/ It is OK but a little run down but OK. We are next to a mountain so satellite TV is unavailable and cable TV is only available on the other side of the park????? Gail and I might have to talk to each other!! We are meeting long time friends Phil & Jill McVie for dinner at their house Friday Evening. Saturday- Brent Mitchell is arriving from Calgary and we are going to meet his Mom for dinner. Then Sunday we are off to the Desert Gem in Oliver.
http://www.desertgemrv.com/ This is a first class RV resort that we have stayed in many times before.

We are both exercising daily. I bike ride for two hours on non driving days and Gail does Yoga in the RV. The Pictures of our discussed above can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/collections/72157604941300131/

Burnaby RV Park

2008-04-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Burnaby- Vancouver B,C.

We left Comox Monday morning for the start of a year long adventure. I had just got up and had to go out to the RV to get some clean clothes when there was a knock of the door. It was a long time friend, Butch Montreuil, who droped by with a fine bottle of wine for our first night out. Thanks Butch...We had reservations on the new BC Ferry at 10:30 so figured a 8:30 departure time would get us to Nanaimo on time. When we left last year for 3 months we left the front door of our house open so I was determined to have an organized send off. Mom was on time and picked her up at her house at 8:10 in Gail's car as my truck was already connected to the RV. 8:30 came quickly but had to take a few photos. Gail locked up the house and set the alarms but as she got in the truck I realized I couldn't close the garage door because I had given Graham ( Our House sitter) the remote control. I quickly jumped out of the truck and went in the garage to close the door and exited through the side door which immediately set off the alarms. Now the alarms had to be reset and the alarm company called. Departure time delayed to 8:45. I thought I would have some sad feelings as we left Comox for a year bit I didn't. Seemed like just another trip. I suspect this will change the longer we are away. We made it to the ferry terminal by 10:02 BUT the whole Departure Bay area is under construction. There were huge lineups with no traffic control so we missed the 10:30 ferry and got an older one at 12:30 arriving at Burnaby RV parkaround 3 PM. We had a choice of 3 different sites. We chose a site that was private and had a grass area. Mom was interested as we showed her how we set up the RV and the Satellite TV system. I got the satellite aligned perfectly and now have over 300 channels. The highlight of the day was my friend Brad calling from Florida to see if we got here safely and to wish us the best in our travels. We will be meeting Brad & Sheri in October as we make our way to Florida. We then went over to Alan's for supper and got mom settled in for two weeks. This morning its overcast and a little rainy in Vancouver. Not sure what we are going to do today. Thanks to everyone that sent emails wishing us a safe trip. I will try to update "our Blog each time we arrive at a new place. Burnaby RV park is a great place and voted " Best in Canada" each year. It is next to Costco and about 10 minutes from Alan's.
http://www.bcrvpark.com/.

Ready to Roll

2008-04-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

We are ready to go. Starting Mileage- 20177

Tomorrow at 8:30 we will be leaving Comox for one year with our 2007 GMC truck and Kustom Coach 36' 5th wheel. This is a dream Gail and I have had for the past few years and after a 3 month test run last summer we are ready to hit the road. We will be catching the new Coastal Renaissance Ferry and travelling from Departure Bay, Nanaimo to Vancouver.Our house has been rented out for a year to our long time friend Graham Howie. I retired last year but have worked at our Walk-In-Clinic on a regular basis. Last Sunday was my final shift for a year as Gail wants to return by May1-2009. We have said good-bye to our friends and are ready to tackle this trip with excitement and enthusiasm. We have loaded most of our worldly possessions into our 5th wheel along with enough food to last a Year !!!!! Mom will be travelling with us to Vancouver and staying with Alan for two weeks. I hope to use this Blog to keep in touch with everyone as we make our way across Canada to Newfoundland. If I have left anyone off my distribution list please let me know.

Jennifer and Dave in New Zealand

2008-03-16T09:14:00.001-07:00

Time to go back to being students.,
originally uploaded by Jennifer's On-line Album.

This was taken March 16 on Jennifer's Birthday.

Belize- February

2008-01-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

February 2 we will be leaving for two weeks in Florida then on to Belize where we have chartered a 42 foot Sail Boat. Details Below.

Designed in collaboration between Alex Simonis, Robertson & Caine and the Moorings, the concept of the Moorings 4200 is the maximizing of space and value. Built in Cape Town, South Africa, and named Sail Top Ten 2002 winner by Sail magazine, the 4200 features 4 air conditioned double cabins*, each with private head and shower,two single berths in the forward bows, a modern galley-up design with panoramic views and a large aft swim platform with walk-through access from the cockpit. and is equipped with complete electronics and high power engines, giving great performance under power as well as sail.
*Air conditioning is shore power only, available in Caribbean, South Pacific and North American destinations, not available in the Mediterranean.

Travel Plans - 2008

2007-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

We will be leaving Comox the end of April for a year long adventure. With our 36 foot 5th wheel in tow Gail & I will start our trip across Canada. We will be in Nova Scotia in Avelugsut and Newfoundland in September. In October we will travel along the eastern USA to Florida where we will winter for 5 months. In the spring we will travel to Texas and up the west coast arriving back in Comox sometime in May. The details are being organized now and will publish our schedule as time gets closer and the details worked out.

Christmas Letter

2007-12-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2007

Dear Friends
Merry Christmas to everyone! For my first year of retirement Gail has assigned me the task of writing our annual Christmas letter. I jumped at the opportunity since we will be leaving in April-08 for a years travelling in our RV. If you are a relation, close friend or past acquaintance you can expect a visit this year.
This past year has seen many changes. We started with our usual trip to Hawaii for the last two weeks in January. Our friends from Nebraska, Dave & Tanya Hull met us there for a great two weeks. In February Gail went to Edmonton to visit her family as her mom is now 93. The end of April came with a visit from Ken & Gail Nicholson from Saskatoon. Ken & I were able to do some cycling with the two Gails shopping . May 31 was my retirement date and saw the closing of the Cumberland Medical Clinic where I had a Family Medicine Practice for 29 years. There was sadness to say goodbye to all my staff and patients but excitement about our new freedom and challenges of starting a new career – Retirement. I continued to work at our walk-in Clinic until the 3rd week in August then ceased practice. Gail and I left Comox August 28 and travelled in our New 5th Wheel for two months returning November 1. Our goal was to see if we liked the life style and could live together in relatively close quarters. In the two months we travelled Western Canada visiting many of you. We stayed in Oliver B.C. for three weeks and had a great time at the wine festival. Alan & family came for a few days and Mom for a week. It was a success and we now can hardly wait to get started on our across Canada trip.
My mother will turn 90 this year and keeps very busy leading an independent lifestyle in Comox. Jennifer and Dave Jordan (her boyfriend) finished their teaching contract in Japan the end of August and travelled to Thailand and Nepal before returning to Canada November 12. They are staying at our house until February 3 when they
will both fly off to New Zealand for two years to get their teaching degrees at the University in Christchurch. Lesley Anne is working in Vancouver for a environmental consulting company and just came back from a two week Australian holiday with Brendon (Her boyfriend). This year will be a special Christmas with both girls home and lots of family time that goes with retirement. We are very fortunate that both sides of the family remain healthy and happy.
On February 3 we will say good bye to Jennifer and Dave at YVR as they head for New Zealand. We will fly to Florida to visit Brad and Sheri Whitman before our 10 day sailing adventure in Belize. Three couples have chartered a 42 catamaran and will be navigating the waters around Belize. We return March 1 and will immediately begin preparation for our big adventure. We will leave Comox the end of April travelling across Canada to Ottawa – late June. We will stay there for about 3 weeks and fly back to Comox for July 1- My mother’s 90th birthday. From Ottawa we will spend August in Nova Scotia and Sept in Newfoundland. The fall colors will be spectacular in Maine as we travel south along the eastern US to Florida where we will stay for about 5 months. We will leave the rig in Florida and fly home for 6 weeks at Christmas then return to Florida Mid-January (2009). In March we will travel across Texas and up through California arriving back in Comox early May. We hope to see old friends such as Blaine & Sue Cruickshank in Ontario and Jerry & Ingrid Baskerville in Texas. Our trip is in the early planning stages and our schedule and travels plans will be posted on my Blog.
Important Contact Info:
E-Mail: rtbrown@mars.ark.com
Phone: Home (250) 339-5900 Cell: (250) 338-3465 Our Home phone will be call forwarded to my cell and in service until we start moving into the US early October. – Roaming charges expensive and not sure what I am going to do for communication. E-mail always works
Blog: I have set up a Blog that will have our updated schedule & Plans
http://69janeplace.blogspot.com/
Pictures at below Fickr Site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbrown/
Please keep this as reference as it will have our updated travel schedule.
Merry Christmas to all.