Thanksgiving Day - Beverly, MA

Friday, November 28 - the day after the "big meal".

Thanksgiving Day is always a big holiday here in Beverly. We always have lots of family, and occasionally some friends, at the dinner table. This year was no exception. The honeymooners (us) have returned for the holidays, and our eldest hosted the T-day dinner. Unfortunately I forgot to pack the cable which allows me to upload the pictures from our camera to the computer, so there will be no pictures to show you. Instead, I'll have to paint them verbally. Bear with me.

Robin and Roy stopped by on their way to Saugus to be with Roy's family. Aunt Gloria was the first dinner guest to arrive, bearing the spirits for the day (beer and wine). Mike and Lisa were next to arrive, and they brought a nice loaf of bread from a bakery in New York. Next, I believe, was Wendy and Jeff. Wendy brought her "famous" Jack Daniels candied yams, along with a nice bottle of Cotourri (?) Merlot, which was very good, and a wonderful bread she had made. Finally, Michelle and Scott arrived with their two adorable children, Anna Jane and "AJ". Michelle brought her "famous" squash soup, by popular demand.

After much socializing and "catching up", the turkey was just about ready. We sat down to soup and salad, with bread, while the "bird" was cooling. Chris and Jen provided the turkey and cooked it. Mom made the bread stuffing and her fantastic apple pie. Aunt Joanie made several dishes, including her "famous" cheese potatoes, meat stuffing, waldorf salad and a custard pie. While everyone was sitting around the table, Chris and mom went about carving the bird and getting the serving dishes ready for the table. Finally, it was time to get down to the business of eating this sumptuous meal. Wine flowed freely, though everyone remained sober, and quite able to drive, as some had a long drive home. The children had a wonderful time playing and running around the house. Just as we were finishing dessert, Grandma Linda dropped by and shared it with us.

After relaxing a bit, the guests began leaving for home while we showed films of our trip on the TV set. I never realized just how much filming I/we had done during our trip because we also took so many photographs.

All in all, this was a memorable Thanksgiving day, not only because it may have been the last one to be celebrated here in Beverly, but because of the absence of one guest - our youngest - who was celebrating out on the west coast. He was sorely missed by all, and we toasted him our best wishes this Thanksgiving day. I hope everyone had a nice a Thanksgiving as we did, and always do. I think that the closeness of our family is what makes every holiday special. Here's hoping that it continues for many years to come.

Back in Beverly, Massachusetts

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. So, it is with a bit of sadness that I write today's entry. Our 2-1/2 month long journey has finally been completed; we have come full-circle.

Here is the final tally for "the Trip":

We covered just under 9000 miles in the motor home, and an additional 4000+ miles in the car, for a grand total of almost 13,000 miles. Both the motor home and the car ended the journey in Florida, at Port St. Lucie. We were "on the road" for a total of 71 days, from the 2nd of September thru November 13th.

The "final leg" of the trip, from Port. St. Lucie to Beverly, MA, was driven in a brand new 2008 Honda Odyssey, which we purchased in Florida last Monday, Nov. 17th. We traded in the 2001 Honda Accord, which had just over 97K miles on it after the trip, and got a very sweet deal on the Odyssey. This was due to the fact that they only had 4 left on the lot (2008s, that is), and they really wanted to be able to say that they "sold" every last one of them. I put the word SOLD in quotes, because they really didn't SELL it to us, they practically PAID us to buy it! What with "factory incentives" and "dealer special pricing", it was a deal we really couldn't pass up.

So, sadly, our "adventure" is over. However, I will continue to post blog entries from time to time, just to let everyone know what we are up to. We will try to include photos as often as we can, just to make it more interesting. So be sure to keep checking in. I can't tell you exactly when, or how often, I will post, so check back often.

In Florida

Tuesday, November 18 - Port St. Lucie, Florida.

It's been several days since our last post, but nothing much is going on here. About the only thing worth mentioning is the weather. Last week, when we arrived at Port St. Lucie, the weather was hot and humid, and stayed that way through Sunday. However, yesterday the high temp for the day was about 71, and today we didn't see the temperature rise above 70 all day. It was sunny, though. In fact, we haven't seen a cloud since last weekend.

Last Saturday, we went down to visit an old friend in Jupiter. When we called her on Friday, we found out that a drunk driver had crashed into her condo - right into her kitchen - about a week before. When we got there, the workmen were busy closing the hole in her kitchen wall. In fact, by the time we left, it was just about closed up. However, her kitchen was not, and probably will not be usable for quite some time.

We spent Sunday and Monday working on our lot here. We mulched the plant beds and put in a couple of new plants to add some color. On Monday, I had the motor home washed to get the road grime off from the trip. It's looking pretty good now. We had planned on having our concrete pad power-washed and painted/sealed to keep it from getting mildewed from the weather, but we found out that there is a moratorium on doing any work in the park until some issues have been worked out with the City of Port St. Lucie. Apparently, when the permit was issued to Outdoor Resorts of America to build the park, the covenants approved by the city only included the concrete pads, water sewer and electrical hookups. Since then, many owners have made enhancements on their lots, such as adding outdoor kitchens with water, refrigerators, stoves/grills, and lighting. None of the enhancements were completed with permits from the city, so the city has deemed them to be illegal!! We will have to wait until the city sees fit to allow the owners to go forward, but with legal work permits in the future.

So, we leave Port St. Lucie on Thursday morning for Massachusetts. We should be home by Friday night, if all goes well. We will remain in Massachusetts for the holidays, returning to Florida sometime after Christmas. Hope to see everyone over the holidays to catch up.

Movin' East - Day 71 & 72

Friday, November 14, Day 72 - at Port St. Lucie, Florida.

We finally arrived in Port St. Lucie yesterday at about 5:30PM. We made a stop in Tampa at Lazydays RV Superstore to have the body shop and our insurance adjuster look at the damage to the motor home (minor) for estimates to repair same. We left Tampa at about 2:45PM, headed east to Port St. Lucie., where we finally arrived at about 5:30PM, and got settled on our lot.

In all of our travels, I guess we never really found anyplace that rivals Outdoor Resorts at St. Lucie West. This resort is just gorgeous. Be sure to check the web album for pictures of this "garden of Eden" in Florida. We took these pictures today, since it was too late last night to do justice to any pictures we might have taken.

We will be leaving here next week, either Thursday or Friday, to return to Beverly for the holidays. Until then, be sure to check back daily, as we will probably have more postings before we leave.

I just came in from watching the space shuttle launch. Beautiful! I've never before seen the launch live - only on TV. Spectacular, is all I can say!

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDays7172FloridaFinallyPortStLucie?authkey=6YZiGzDjtQI#

Movin' East - Day 70

Wednesday, November 12, Day 70 (wow! day 70!) - travel day, not much to report.

We left the Walmart lot in Callaway, FL, this morning and headed north, back to I-10. After seeing what travel was like going down Rte. 98 along the Gulf Coast, we decided to opt for speed, rather than scenery. One thing we have found out during our trip is that, whenever we arrive at a destination after dark, we are far better off staying at a local Walmart than trying to get into a campground. Last night was only the 2nd time we arrived at our destination after dark. This time, it was the delays along Rte. 98 (lights, traffic, unfamiliarity with area) which caused us to arrive later than expected. The campground we had selected, another Passport America campground, in Mexico Beach, FL, was about a mile off of Rte. 98, in a wooded setting, and the sites were on very soft sand, even though we were almost 1-1/2 miles from any beach. So, rather than having another near-disaster here, we opted to go to Walmart.

Anyway, tonight, we are in Ocala, FL, in another Passport America campground. We arrived here before 4:20PM, and in daylight. This campground is quite nice - small, but nice, with grassy sites and paved roads. We have full-hookups AND cable TV!, all for $17.50/night! We are about 95 miles north of Tampa, FL, where we will be tomorrow noon. If all goes well, we will head over to Port St. Lucie tomorrow afternoon. If not, we will head over on Friday morning.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to find out what happens!

Sorry to say, there are NO PICTURES today.

Movin' East - Day 69

Tuesday, November 11 (Veteran's Day), Day 69 - driving from Louisiana to Florida.

First of all, I want to apologize for some of the pictures last night. I inadvertently posted unedited pictures, so some of them were dark and unrecognizable. So, to make up for that, I am posting the edited pictures which you were probably not able to see last night. For the pictures we took today, see today's web album.

This photo shows the center aisle and altar at St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square, New Orleans.
This is a close-up shot of the Altar in St. Louis Cathedral.


This is me, standing at the corner of St. Louis Street and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA - aka, "The Big Easy".

Today was a "travel day", driving from New Orleans to Callaway, FL, which is just south of Panama City. We actually made it further south, about 20 miles, to Mexico Beach, where we had reservations at Rustic Sands Campground. However, it was dark when we got there, so we decided to find a Walmart to overnight at. So, we turned back north to Callaway and are now in the parking lot of Walmart.

After we arrived, we fed the pooches, then walked over to a Papa John's Pizza shop and ordered a pie. While we waited for the pizza (25 mins), we went next door to the Guadalajara Mexican Grill and ordered Margaritas. As luck would have it, it was "Hapy Hour", and small Margaritas were 2 for 1! We drank and had tortilla chips and salsa (free), and when we got the check, it was for $3.98!!! We really felt bad (for about 2 seconds), then we paid the check and went to get our pizza. The pizza was just "OK", nothing to write home about (although we ate "the whole thing"!).

Tomorrow, we will continue our journey south toward Tampa, FL, and Lazydays RV Supercenter. I doubt we will get there tomorrow, as we seem to be "dragging our feet" at this point, sad to believe that our journey is coming to an end.

Tune in tomorrow for details on our progress.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay69LouisianaToFlorida?authkey=3ZTNr4ROag8#

Movin' East - Day 68

Monday, November 10, Day 68 - driving to New Orleans.

We awoke early (6AM) so that we could get to New Orleans in daylight, and have a little time to sightsee before the place got too crazy after dark. The above photo shows the sunrise in Ajax, LA this morning. We took several pictures on the road to New Orleans, so b sure to check out the web album.

This photo was taken at the entrance to the RV Resort we are staying at tonight. We have received several mailings from this resort in the past couple of years. They built this park in 2006, just after Hurricane Katrina. In fact, the day before Katrina is when they broke ground to begin building the resort. It is small, about 52 lots (sites), but each site is paved with paver bricks, with grass between the pads. There are NO trees anywhere on the property, so shade is a problem. However, it is only two blocks from the French Quarter, which makes up for the lack of some amenities. Walking from the resort into the French Quarter is easy, and, since there is not much parking , except for lots @ megabucks, recommended.

Here I am, at the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon Streets in the French Quarter. I have never been to New Orleans, so I really didn't know what to expect. All I can say is, this has to be the Honky Tonk Capital of the World! If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist!

Our walking tour began with looking for a yarn shop Kathy found on-line. They carry the yarn she is looking for, so we HAD to find it! Fortunatlely for me, it was on Chartres Street, right off of Jackson Square. After making her purchases there, we headed over to St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square for photographs. Next, we were both a bit hungry, so we decided to have dinner in the Quarter. Kathy had asked the woman in the yarn shop for a recommendation, and she directed us to a little restaurant called "The Gumbo Shop", where, she explained, "all the locals go" because it's not expensive and the food is excellent. Based upon her recommendation, we went there for dinner and we both enjoyed the food very much, and we didn't "break the bank" for dinner, either. Kathy had the "blackened catfish", with creamed spinach, and I had the "combination platter", which consisted of creole shrimp, jambalaya, and I substituted the crawfish etouffee instead of the "red beans and sausage". I was a bit worried, since I had never eaten crawfish before. However, the food was delicious. I tasted Kathy's catfish dish, and that was excellent. My combo platter was even better, if that's possible. The dish was not too heavy on the cajun spices, but was spicy enough to give it that extra little "kick". I will not be downing any TUMS tonight, if that gives you any indication. Kathy wanted to go to "Brennan's" for breakfast tomorrow morning, but I don't think my pocketbook can afford it, not to mention that we have to be out of here by 11AM, and Brennan's doesn't start serving until 9AM. Still, she says I have to take her somewhere for breakfast, soooo, looks like an IHOP morning!

Check back tomorrow for further details, as we head eastward into Florida (finally!).

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay68DrivingToNewOrleans?authkey=wYSFxk5tdO4#

Movin' East - Day 67

Sunday, November 9, Day 67 - eastward into Louisiana.

We left Lewisville this morning at 8:30AM, driving south through Dallas to I-20 East and a fuel stop on I-20, before heading into Louisiana. We did take a few photos of the Dallas skyline as we passed through on I-35E South. Check the web album for those shots. The trip into Louisiana was uneventful, although the scenery along the way was very much different than the parts of Texas we had already driven through. No more flat, wide-open spaces, but, rather, lots of trees, evergreen, mostly, and rolling hills. In all, a nice, easy-on-the-eyes type of drive.

As we crossed into Louisiana (above), we had planned on stopping at the Visitor Center at the first Rest Area, however, it was closed for renovations - they were completely rebuilding it! So, we got off at the next exit, where there were two truck stops, a Love's and a Flying J. We normally stop at the Flying J, but, since Love's had a "Sonic" Drive-up/Eat-in restaurant, we decided to stop in there for lunch, and to walk the dogs. After lunch, since we would not see another Flying J until Baton Rouge, I decided to go across the street to "top off" the tank before continuing.

We arrived at our destination, the "Country Livin' RV Park, in Ajax (or, as our GPS has it, "Marthasville"), LA, at approximately 3:30PM. After getting settled, we immediately got down to doing the laundry, since this WAS a LAUNDRY STOP!! This is a very nice, quite campground, with full hook-ups, free WiFi, laundromat, for only $15.05/nite (Passport America), including tax. We paid $9/nite in Lewisville, but only had water/electric hook-ups.

Tomorrow morning we will continue southward to Baton Rouge and I-10 East. From there, we will head for New Orleans, where we will stay two blocks from Bourbon Street, at the French Quarter RV Resort (another Passport America campground). We have received mailings from the French Quarter RV Resort, and it looks quite beautiful in the photographs, so we are anxious to see it "in person". Also, I have NEVER been to "N'awlins", so I'm anxious to see that city.

Check back tomorrow for any possible photos of our trip to, and landing in New Orleans.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/ThrTripDay67DrivingIntoLouisiana?authkey=54eD1HzsfIg#

Movin' East - Day 66

Saturday, November 8, Day 66 - enjoying f amily.

The above picture is the sign at the entrance to the campground where we are staying in Lewisville, TX, which is the next town to the east of Flower Mound, where Brian and Kara live.

Our Saturday began with a visit to Brian and Kara's home in Flower Mound. Their home is located in a development of beautiful homes with meticulously landscaped and manicured grounds. Brian met us outside and invited us in, where Kara was waiting. We were also greeted by Holly, their golden retriever. After some "catching up", they took us on a tour of the house, which was as beautiful inside as it was outside, and very spacious.

Next, we all got into Brian's car and drove into Dallas for some sightseeing. Our first stop was at the JFK Memorial, which is described by the architect as a place for "quiet contemplation". It is a concrete structure, 50 X 50 feet square, with 30 foot high walls, with openings in both the North and South walls. See the web album for photos.

From here, we walked west to Dealey Plaza, where the assassination of JFK took place 45 years ago this month. The Plaza, itself, is undergoing some repair work, so we did not shoot any photos of it. To the immediate north of the plaza stands the former "Texas Book Depository" building, from where the fatal shots were fired. The building is no longer a book depository, but the 6th floor has now been preserved as a museum. We toured the museum, and found it to be a very sobering reminder of that day in history. Brian and Kara had not been born when the assassination took place, nor had they visited the museum prior to today. They were both quite moved by the exhibit. From the museum, we walked down Elm Street to the spots where the shots hit, and fatally wounded JFK. In the web album, some of the photos show the spots on Elm Street, marked with an "X", where bullets struck and killed him. The spot of the fatal shot is about 50 yards from the spot of the first wound. The next shot, after the "X"s, is of the 6th floor window, from where the shots were fired.

After a "Texas BBQ" lunch, Brian and Kara took us to Grapevine, TX, which is a quaint town, with antique shops, eateries, and several wine tasting shops. We walked a bit, then stopped in at the "D Vine Winery" tasting shop, where we sampled some of their wines (at a very reasonable price, I might add - California, take a lesson from Texas). We did purchase a bottle of wine there, "Lone Star Blanc", a variety of Sauvignon Blanc, which we liked very much.

Finally, we returned to Brian and Kara's to meet with Kelsey and Tyler, before all going out to dinner.

This is a photo of the Fugere family, including Holly, their beautiful golden retriever. When we arrived at Brian and Kara's this morning, both Kelsey and Tyler had already left, Tyler to a math and science competition, Kelsey to swimming practice, then to her "volunteer" job at the local animal shelter. Time out here, for a hearty "congratulations" to Tyler for coming home with two trophies from the competition. Way to go, Tyler! Kelsey and Tyler were a delight to talk with. We totally enjoyed having dinner at Cristina's (Mexican cuisine) and we all had the chance for more conversation. Thank you family.

Brian asked us what, during our trip, was most impressive, and I answered "Yellowstone National Park". However, both Kathy and I agree that our favorite memories of this trip will be the time spent with "family" along the way.

Tomorrow morning we begin seriously making our way back to Florida. When we leave the Dallas area, we will head east into Louisiana. We will target Shreveport, but we hope that we might be able to get a bit further south, toward Alexandria. Our goal is to get to Tampa by Thursday or Friday, to get estimates on repairs to the motor home. I'm not sure what, if any, pictures we might have tomorrow, but be sure to check back anyway. You never know.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay66TheFugereS?authkey=IIXLBM6EycQ#

Movin' East - Day 65

Friday, November 7, Day 65 - Wichita Falls to Lewisville, Texas

Once again, I have to apologize, since we have no pictures to post again today. The trip was quite uneventful along Rte. 287. We passed through a few smal towns, and a couple of bigger ones, but, all-in-all, nothing worth photographing.

We left Wichita Falls at 9:30AM and headed southeast toward the Dallas area. Our destination was Lewisville, Texas. This town is the next town east of Flower Mound, Texas, which is where the Fugere's live. We are about 20 minutes from their home. We arrived in Lewisville, and made our way to the campground we will be staying at for the next two nights. This is quite a nice campground, located on Lewisville Lake. This lake is quite large, and this is a gorgeous spot on the lake. We are located in a City Park and are surrounded by: the Lake, a golf course, and several athletic fields, which are ALL lighted! There are soccer fields (8), a football field, and two baseball diamonds. The campground sites are all paved pads, with shade trees to shade the motor home from the sun.

Tonight, we just chilled at the motor home. Tomorrow we will spend the day with the Fugere's. Since we will see some of the more interesting Dallas sites, there will be pictures. So, be sure to check back tomorrow.

Movin' East - Day 64

Thursday, November 6, Day 64 - Wichita Falls, Texas.

Sorry, no pictures today. We left Amarillo this morning around 9:30AM, and headed southeast on Rte. 287 for Wichita Falls. The trip was uneventful, and there really wasn't anything to photograph along the way. All we saw were wide-open spaces, a few cows and horses, and what we guessed might have been wheat fields. We also saw lots of cotton fields along the way. About the only thing we might have photographed, but couldn't because they were too far off the road, were camels, yes, I said camels!! I believe there were actually 3 of them grazing about 200 yards off the road.

So, anyway, we arrived in Wichita Falls at around 3:30PM, and immediately found another Wal-Mart parking lot to stay in tonight. We are actually less than 150 miles from Flower Mound, Texas, and we will travel that way tomorrow. After we arrived, we drove the car around Wichita Falls to see if there was anything interesting to see here. Around 4:45PM, we found an "On The Border" restaurant in a mall. We decided to stop in for a margarita and some nachos. On the way back to the motor home, the GPS was guiding us, but the roads here were so confusing because of construction (not the margaritas), that we had to make several course corrections before we finally got onto the correct roadway to get us back to the Wal-Mart lot. Good thing too, 'cause the dogs were waiting for their dinner when we finally made it back.

Check back tomorrow, as we might have some pictures to show you. Sorry, again, for the lack of photos today.

Movin' East - Day 63

Wednesday, November 5, Day 63 - traveling to Amarillo, Texas.

The photo above shows (somewhat) the decorative design of the overpasses in New Mexico. We thought it was limited to Albuquerque, but as we traveled eastward through New Mexico, we realized that all of the overpasses are decorated this way. Some of them are painted to match the RED dirt, with either a green or a blue stripe across the bridge of the overpass. Others are decorated like the one above. This makes for an enjoyable trip through the state by enhancing the visual beauty of the landscape.


Here we are, entering the "Great State of Texas". Interestingly enough, as we crossed into Texas, the odometer on the motor home turned 60,000 miles! I started to calculate the miles we have traveled since we left Beverly on September 2. We have traveled approximately 7000 miles (a bit over that, actually). In addition, we have put over 4,000 miles on the car! That means that our Honda has actually traveled OVER 11,000 miles! Speaking of the car, I had the oil changed in Flagstaff, AZ, since we had put on about 3,500 miles since the last oil change.

We arrived in Amarillo at about 3:45PM today. I made contact with Brian Fugere, and we will see Brian and Kara and the kids on Friday. We are planning on spending the day on Saturday in the Dallas area, leaving on Sunday AM. Tomorrow morning, we will leave Amarillo and head east to the Wichita Falls area tomorrow night. That will put us about 150 miles from Dallas, so we should be able to get to the campground and get settled by early afternoon on Friday, leaving plenty of time to spend with Brian and Kara on Friday evening.

The weather in New Mexico, when we left, was just beginning to turn colder and wetter. It had sprinkled a bit in the morning, before we left. However, the trip into Texas was dry, and we did get into sunny skies once we hit the Texas State Line. However, we have been helped (?) by a quite strong tail-wind since we left New Mexico. Tonight, here in Amarillo, in a Wal-Mart parking lot, the wind is really blowing hard. I'm not sure how hard it is blowing, but when I walk the dogs, Beasley almost takes flight, like a kite!

Don't know what kind of photos we might have for the trip tomorrow, but check back for the details of our trip. I promise we will have something to report! Hasta la vista!

Here's the link to today's web album (not much to see today!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay63TravelingToAmarilloTX?authkey=6ONcC-nJDcE#

Movin' East - Day 62

Tuesday, November 4 (Election Day), Day 62 - Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, NM.

We awakened to another beautiful day. I know, you folks back in New England don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. We have not seen any rain since we were in northern California (Klamath, CA, to be exact). We began the day with a trip to Old Town Albuquerque, again, to walk around and visit the many shops there. We did purchase a few Christmas gifts while we were there. We also met some very interesting people in Old Town. In all, our morning and early afternoon could be described as, in a word, delightful!

Next, we headed back to the motor home for a quick lunch, and to attend to the doggies. In case I have not mentioned this before, they would much rather be in the motor home than being dragged along in the car with us! Afterward, we headed out to explore the Petroglyph National Monument, just to the west of the city.

I have to say, to begin here, that I/we have never seen anything like what we were about to discover. Petroglyphs, for those of you who may not have any idea what they are, are etchings in the stones which represent what is believed to be religious symbols of the various tribes that inhabited the area. The stone surfaces here appear very dark, called "varnish". The indians who etched the drawings, discovered that, by using tools, they could carve images in the stone. Under the "varnish" coating on the stone, the color is much lighter. Petroglyph National Monument contains over 20,000 of these images pecked in stone - some recognizable as animals, people, and crosses, others more mysterious. Only the carvers know the petroglyphs' true meanings. Be sure to check the web album, as we took lots of pictures of these carvings, along with some pictures of modern graffiti, which, in some cases, has disparaged the petroglyphs.

Finally, we sign off tonight with a magnificent shot of the New Mexico sky at twilight! See the web album for more shots of the New Mexico sunset here in Albuquerque.

Tomorrow, we once again pull up stakes and head east into Texas. Hopefully, we'll make Amarillo before sunset tomorrow (Wednesday). If we find anything to photograph along the way, be assured that it will be in the album tomorrow night.

One more thought before I sign off tonight: we would really appreciate ANY comments regarding the blog, the photographs, anything. Just to let us know that you are reading and enjoying our daily entries, or even if you are not enjoying following our adventures. Simply click on "Anonymous", if you do not wish to identify yourself. Otherwise, click on "Name/ID", and put your name in. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know you are reading and following.

Thanks!

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay62AlbuquerqueNM?authkeyf=cSz7j9Xlhok#

Movin' East - Day 61

Monday, November 3, Day 61 - Albuquerque, New Mexico (and the start of month #3 "on the road"!). We left Gallup at 10AM, destination Albuquerque, about two hours east on I-40. We did take some photos on the road to Albuquerque, so be sure to check the web album.

The above photo was taken as we crested a rather long uphill grade on I-40 East. We are about 7 miles outside of the downtown area of Albuquerque, but you can see how the city sprawls out in the valley below us. Just above and to the right of the highway, you can see the tall buildings of the downtown area.

Our first stop is at Enchanted Trails RV park, on Route 66, about 7 miles west of the city. After we got settled and had lunch, we drove into the city to visit the Museum of Natural History. This was a very good take. There is a fee to go into the museum, but it was well worth the money, as the exhibits are fascinating. We took pictures of some of the exhibits (mostly for Aaron, as he is "into" dinosaurs) in the museum, so check the web album.

Next, we drove to "Old Town" to walk around and take in the "local culture". The photo, above, was taken at Old Town Plaza, right across the street from San Filipe de Neri Church. There are photos of the church in the web album, as well.

From here, we went to see about taking a hot air balloon ride in the morning. I had made a couple of calls to different places, but one did not answer the phone, and the other one wanted $199/person for the balloon ride! We had one other brochure, for a business right there off the Plaza, so we walked over to inquire about balloon rides there. The girl behind the counter phoned the "pilot", but they would only take up a group of 6 people, since the balloon basket was a 6-passenger basket, and the balloon was extra large. Their fee, though, was $160/person. So, I guess we won't be taking a hot air balloon ride this time around.

As we walked around the Plaza area, we noticed that the shops were beginning to close for the day, as it was about 5PM. We decided to return tomorrow and spend the day. Next, we both felt like having a Margarita here, since the restaurants were all Mexican. We went into the bar at Casa de Fiesta (see pictures in web album), and ordered their "Fiesta Original" margarita - delicioso! We were informed that, in order to have just drinks, we HAD to order at least one appetizer, so we ordered the Chili con Queso, which was also delicious.

Tomorrow, back to Old Town, and whatever! Check back for the exciting details!

Here's the link to today's album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay61AlbuquerqueNM?authkey=oKvVSxnE57I#

Movin' East - Day 60

Sunday, November 2 (Happy Anniversary to Don & Toni - who forgot it was their 1st anniversary since renewing their vows at Sacred Heart Church in Manchester-by-the-Sea last year!) - driving to New Mexico.

The drive was quite uneventful for us! We left Williams, Arizona at 11:30AM, destination Gallup, New Mexico, about 20 miles into NM. Along the way, we had hoped to stop at the Painted Desert in eastern Arizona. However, when we got to where we thought the exit WAS, there was nothing there but wilderness! According to our atlas, it should have been around Exit 311 in Arizona, but there was nothing there. Soooo, we continued along and finally stopped at the Visitor Center in New Mexico. I have to say that, as Visitors' Centers go, this one was very good. There was so much information available there that it was hard to decide what to take. And the people, all Native Americans, were very helpful to me, answering every question I asked. I think that the Center was brand new, because eveything was in such good condition.

We left the Visitor Center headed for Gallup, which was about 18 miles further east. We had targeted the Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Gallup as our stop for the night. We are now parked in the Wal-Mart lot for the night. Since we got here early (4PM), we decided to take a trip into Gallup, since there seem to be a lot of interesting places to visit here. As luck would have it, everything is closed here on Sunday, so we just drove down "Historic Route 66" thru Gallup. If you've never driven on Route 66, you are missing something. We have had the opportunity to drive on parts of Route 66 in Flagstaff and Williams, Arizona, and now in Gallup, NM. We will be staying a couple of nights in Albuquerque, also on Route 66!!

Tomorrow, we will make the last few miles into Albuquerque, where we will spend the next two nights (Monday and Tuesday), before heading east again, toward Dallas, TX, and Brian and Kara Fugere's, where we hope to be able to spend a little time visiting before going on to Florida.

Tune in again tomorrow, as we hope to have lots of pictures of Albuquerque.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay60DrivingToNewMexico?authkey=Z5Di6eZ0vMs#

Movin' East - Day 59

Saturday, November 1, Day 59. A special "Happy Birthday" to Jeff Wilkins!


Jerome, Arizona....what can I say about Jerome? This is a quaint little town nestled on the side of a hill, located about 27 miles south of Sedona. Jerome was a copper mining town back in the 1800's, with a population of about 15,000 in its heyday. A walk down the main street in town will give you a sense that you are back in the 1800's, since some of the buildings do date back to when the town was built. Unfortunately, we didn't spend very much time in Jerome, for a couple of reasons. First, parking in this town is at a premium, and all the GOOD spaces were taken. Secondly, in order to get anywhere, it involves walking UPHILL, unless you go downhill first, but then you have to get back UP! If you happen to visit Jerome in the future, make sure to bring water, and good walking shoes, and be prepared to do some climbing.

We much preferred Sedona. There's plenty of FREE parking, and you don't have to do very much UPHILL walking. Also, the streets are wider, and less crowded. Also, Sedona has the ONLY McDonald's Restaurant which does not have "GOLDEN" arches.
This is a picture of the McDonald's in Sedona. Notice that the "Arch" is TEAL, not GOLD. The reason why the sign at this McDonald's has teal arches is that the "town fathers" thought that the GOLDEN arches would clash with the RED rocks which surround the town. As a result, the McDonald's Corporation suggested using TEAL arches. The "townies" bought it, so.... Anyway, now you know a bit of trivia which, perhaps, you can use to impress your company at your next gathering.

We spent the rest of our day wandering through the shops in Sedona, making a few purchases, having lunch, and talking with people who work there. A lot of the people who own shops there are transplants from other places. One woman we met, the owner of the "Dream Catchers" jewelry shop, hailed originally from Long Island. She and her husband relocated here about 5 years ago. She said the only thing she misses is the ocean!

After returning to the motor home to tend to the doggies, we drove into Williams in time for the 5:30 Mass at St. Joseph's Church. In contrast to some of the other churches we visited out here, this Mass actually started at 5:30PM!! We have noticed that, when we visit churches out here, they all do things differently. Back at home, in Beverly and the surrounding area, when you attend a Mass, no matter which Church you visit, everything is the same.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we will pull up stakes here in Arizona and head east toward Albuquerque, NM. I doubt that we will get to Albuquerque tomorrow night, as the distance is over 350 miles. Instead, we will try to make it to Gallup, which is about 30 miles into New Mexico, and spend tomorrow night there. On Monday, we will head on into Albuquerque for a couple of days before seriously heading east to Florida. We hope to be in Florida on, or about, the 15th of November.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay59JeromeAndSedona?authkey=nTd9kh9R_2w#