We are traveling again, but not in our RV. As I am sure anyone reading this blog knows, we are in Tokyo visiting Brian & Vanessa and baby Brianna.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Starring Brianna …

The photos I have posted so far were taken with a new Panasonic Lumix F-150. I wanted to try out the video mode, so of course, Brianna was my subject.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

On the road to Tokyo…

After a questionable start, and the delaying of our trip one day, we found ourselves at the American Airlines terminal at JFK Airport at the much too early hour of 7:00 AM on Friday, September 18. Never knowing what traffic will be like, we left for the airport early, and arrived early — and our flight wasn't until 11:40.
Once airborne, we spent the 13+ hour flight on American Airlines sleeping (Only a little), watching movies (Ever see the Hangover? Really well done and very funny.), reading, and eating at least part of the three meals that were served (I bet if we were in business or first class we would have enjoyed everything that was offered to us).

The flight was smooth as we followed daylight over northern Canada, Alaska (covered by clouds), northeaster Siberia, Korea and finally, Japan.


We breezed through customs (no stories to tell), and the only thing of note was the sight of some Japanese people wearing face masks as they go about their daily lives. It is difficult to figure out if they are wearing the to protect themselves (I read it really doesn't work) or to protect other people.





When we exited customs Brian was there to meet us. He looks great and it was so good to see him. To get to the airport, Brian took the bus from Camp Zama, his duty station. Unfortunately, on weekends (having crossed the international dateline, it was now Saturday afternoon) the next bus wasn't until 5:30 PM, so we had a two hour wait before we could make the 2 1/2 hour trip to Zama (it is appoximately 80 miles). The bus ride was very long, and the Tokyo traffic was as expected. Traffic on the LIE cannot hold a candle to Tokyo traffic.

Finally we arrived at Brian & Vanessa's quarters and we met our precious granddaughter. After 4 1/2 months of photographs, seeing Brianna in person was so special. She is such a good baby and a joy to be with, and we are so happy to be spending time with Brian and Vanessa. We are loving every minute.

More to come…

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Home at last…

We pulled into our driveway at approximately 9:00 P.M. on Mother's Day — after a very long day on the road. Boy is it good to be home! We left Bowling Green after my last class Saturday morning, and stayed that night at a KOA in Buckeye Lake, Ohio (about 30 miles east of Columbus, off I-70). Sunday we hit the road early and made excellent time. Eddie does all the driving, so you can imagine how tired he was. The most difficult part of the trip was getting over the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey into New York. As soon as I have time to work on the photos I took, I will chronicle the ordeal in pictures!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Another Life on Wheels

For anyone who is checking in, we are in Bowling Green, Kentucky at another Life on Wheels Conference. We drove here direct from our winter home in Florida, after five days at the happiest place on earth...Disney World. We camped at Ft. Wilderness, which one of the nicest campground. Quiet, peaceful, lots of tress, and large campsites. The only downside is no WiFi. Although being out of touch for five days wasn't all that bad!

The conference lasts until Saturday, and then we are finally heading home. It has been a long time away, and we are looking forward to being home.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Back where we started…

Just a quick update — without photos for the time being. We arrived back at Travelers Rest in Florida late last Friday afternoon. The weather has been great, except for a monsoon on Sunday. What we thought was going to be scattered showers turned into torrential, non-stop rain. Other than that it has been sunny with temperatures in the 80's. No complaints. I'll try to update this post with the last of the trip photos over the weekend. Then we lay low until the end of the month. Cheers, Linda

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Posting from Fort Davis, Texas

It has been a few days since I posted — we have been staying at parks without internet access.

Tuesday, March 25

Yesterday we finally left Tucson. We spent a couple of hours at La Mesa RV while they worked on our coach leveling system. Eddie was feeling better, although far from 100%. The antibiotic was doing its work, but his allergies were still giving him a hard time. Interestingly, for the last few days there seemed to be a haze over Tucson and we saw on a local weather forecast that the pollen count was through the roof.

We left Tucson at about 2:30 and drove to an RV park halfway between Huachucha City and Tombstone. By the time we got there Eddie was breathing better. Today we drove the back roads from Sierra Vista to Columbus, New Mexico and Pancho Villa State Park.

Just after we crossed the border from Arizona to New Mexico we stopped in the very tiny town of Rodeo. Last year we had lunch at a café there, and we decided to stop again. A burrito at the café and a visit to the local art gallery were nice break from the open road and endless desert.

The campground, with electric and water, is set in a desert botanical garden and is a beautiful spot — except for all the dust. Everywhere dust! The sunset over the desert was beautiful!

New Mexico route 9, which we drove from the New Mexico/Arizona border to Columbus, runs very close to the Mexican border. We must have passed half a dozen border patrol cars along the route, and a three different places we passed outposts of some type that we presumed were manned by the infamous Minutemen "protecting" our border. The photo I took through the window of the RV is blurry, but you can see a tower, tent, and porta-pottys. The towers looked pretty high-tech — wonder who is bankrolling them?

Wednesday, March 26

A nice day of driving — but then it is easy for me to say as I "drive" the right seat. We continued along New Mexico 9, which run along the US/Mexican border, until just before El Paso, Texas. In El Paso we got back on Interstate-10 to get through the city limits. Once through El Paso we cut down to Texas route 20 for about thirty miles — the same route we took on the way out. When we turned onto 20 Eddie suggested we stop to share a burrito. He had an uncanny knack for picking places to stop for indigenous food — he can always spot a place that is local, busy, and serves excellent, and usually inexpensive food. Our medium sized burrito was delicious, and cost $.99 plus tax. Can't beat that!

This afternoon we arrived at Davis Mountain State Park in Fort Davis, Texas. The park is located in the southern reaches of the Rockies Mountains, and is at an elevation of 5,000 feet. It is sixteen miles south of the McDonald Observatory, an astronomical research facility of the University of Texas. We have stayed here twice before, once in our RV and last year we stayed at Indian Lodge, a beautiful, adobe WPA era hotel in the park.

The park is in a valley surrounded by mountain peaks. Tomorrow night I have to go "up" and take photos at sunset. Our plan is to stay here three nights, which means we will be here for Eddie's birthday on Friday. We are also planning to go to a Star Party at the observatory on Friday night, when telescopes are available for viewing.

As we were setting up camp site, we had company. These deer are very scruffy looking, and definitely look different than the deer at home on the east coast, but they are not the least bit skittish. After they walked away from our site, one of the deer practically walked up to an irish setter who was being walked.

Thursday, March 27

I am online at the Fort Davis Public Library. A small, but well stocked library in the town of Fort Davis, Texas. Eddie is also online, and has work to do, so as soon as I finsih posting I am going to take a walk in town, and visit the original Fort Davis fort! We've been here twice before, but I've never visited the fort. The next time I post I will add some photos of both the town and the fort.

Monday, March 24, 2008




Today is Easter Sunday, but it wasn't much of a holiday for us with Eddie still sick. This afternoon I drove over to the Mission San Xavier del Bac on the Tohono O'odham reservation. The first time we were in Tucson, in 2004, we were staying here at Beaudry for a Country Coach rally, and we rode our bikes to the mission. I wanted to go back and take some photos, since most of the photos from that first Arizona trip were lost in a hard drive crash.


Yesterday I read on a website that there has been renovation going on at the mission for several years, but during March and April the scaffoldings would be down, so it seemed like an excellent time for a visit. Unfortunately, the website was wrong! The afternoon light was not good for photos of the mission anyway, but I did get some interesting shots.


I was surprised at the number of people visiting the mission on Easter Sunday. Some were obviously tourists, but the majority appeared to be Mexicans or Native Americans visiting the church for prayer. The sanctuary is adorned with a statues of saints, and features a relining statue of St. Francis laid out as body in a casket.
Pilgrims come to venerate him and ask him to answer their prayers (prayers can also be submitted via the web at www.sanxaviermission.org/Saint.html).


On the grounds of the mission is a courtyard with craft shops and a row of booths selling Indian Fry Bread. The craft area is in disrepair, as it was during our visit four years ago. Two stores were open, and there was a Native American artists working in an outdoor booth. I asked him if I could take his photo, and he was most obliging. While he was working he told me that he was a modern Indian (his words) as he was using an electric drill and not traditional tools. I told him he was a modern man!

He said I had to see what he was working on — a silver piece with the Mission San Xavier del Bac etched on its face. A complete series of photos of the artist, Joe Begay, are posted on my Photo Blog.



After talking to Mr. Begay, I bought a fry bread taco and found a shady spot in a courtyard to eat it. Delicious, and way too much for one person to eat. Eddie and I always share snacks, and I missed not being able to share it with him.




Several very friendly dogs always seem to be hanging around the mission, and one of them followed me and stayed very close while I was eating. When I finished, without sharing it with him, he just wandered away.


The Tohono O'odham Reservation is sandy, desolate land. It covers almost 4,500 square miles, and there are three tribal casinos. Unfortunately, the casino earnings have not done much to improve the lifestyle of the residents of the reservation.