10/15 - California, Here I Come!

Writing a final travel blog post is always bitter-sweet.  Bitter because another adventure is over.  Sweet because tomorrow I'll be sleeping in my own bed!  This is it - my final post for 2012 September Trails. 

I wish I had something exciting to report, but we spent the entire day in the car traversing the great state of Texas.  Good ol' Lexie carried us 825 miles from New Boston, TX to Las Cruces, NM. Less than 700 miles to go!  Other than gas and potty breaks, the only stop we made was to check out the now defunct Webb Air Force base in Big Springs, Tx. 

Tony was based at Webb from 1967 to 1969 when he was discharged. Tony has many stories and memories from this time and wanted to see where he spent two years of his life.  The base closed in 1977 and is now an industrial park and municipal air strip.  We were able to drive through the streets.  Other than the air hanger, none of the buildings were familiar to Tony.  Sadly, the only remaining residents are prarie dogs and inmates - part of the base is now a federal correction institution.

Within 45 minutes we were back on the interstate making our way to Las Cruces where we're spending the night.  Tomorrow morning is our final leg of this adventure.  We should be home for supper!

Here's a link to today's pics.

10/14 - Three States, Two Roadblocks, and One Welcomed Hotel Room

And suddenly, it's almost over.  We woke up this morning overlooking the Cumberland Plateau for the last time.  We are anxious to get home, but sad to see this part of our journey end.

Ron & Barb, Sue & Randy plan to travel with us as far as Cookeville, 45 minutes west of Fairfield Glade to see Erin (Whynaught daughter) & Stevie's new home.  So after a quick visit, tour of their beautiful home, and final group photo, Tony & I hit the road at 10 am.  Our goal is to get west of Texarkana this evening. 

The roads are quiet, it's Sunday morning (in the bible belt) and we make great time.  As we round a curve in Memphis a beautiful purple church bus merges onto the freeway and we hear a loud CRACK!  We got stoned in Memphis!  Yep, that beautiful purple bus shot a piece of gravel at our front windshield. The crack is sufficient,  inch with a tiny spider crack off to the side.  Bummer, but if this is the worst of our trip, we're not complaining.

On to Arkansas  We continue west on I40 and hit a couple of major road construction spots resulting in 30 minute delays at each spot - one east and the other west of Little Rock.  One observation since getting back on the freeways after Wisconsin is that semi drivers are rude and sometimes very dangerous in their road behaviour.  Those things are sooooo damn big!

We get to Texarkana before dark and decide to push another 20 miles to New Boston.  During a quick pitstop we 1) find the potty 2) pick up a pizza 'cause the hotel receptionist informed us there were few open restaurants around the hotel in New Boston, and 3) stop at a grocery store to pick up a bottle of wine for the evening.  OMG!!! We're in Boone County, TX!!!! It's a dry county!!! Now we have a pizza and no wine!!!  Ahhh, wait a minute, we threw a couple of beers into the cooler (with ice) before we left the Whynauchts.  Thank goodness for some advanced planning.

So we're tucked in in New Boston, TX.  We're still on target to get home on Tuesday.  Hopefully there are no squatters at the house!

Here are a couple of pics of the day.

10-13 Paddleboating

Today we woke up to the sun shining on the Cumberland Plateau.  After breakfast the guys took off to the swapmeet and the girls toke a drive around the neighborhood to admire the views.

After lunch we headed out to a local lake for a paddleboat ride.  Barb & Ron's daughter Erin, son-in-law Stevie, and granddaughter Madison joined us.  It was wonderful, the weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful and the two hours were up way to quickly.  After the ride we headed back to the Whynaucht house to enjoy their million dollar view and an evening of visiting. 

We also met neighbors John and Shelly and got a tour of their wine tasting room.  Ron built the cabinets AND the door.  Check out the pictures from today!

It'll be an early night.  Tomorrow we're heading home.

10-13.......Heading Home Part 2

10/12 - On Thursday morning we said good-bye to the Combs family and headed south.  On our way to Tennessee we stopped Mammoth Cave National Park and took a 2 hour tour through a very small portion of the 350 miles of caves and passages. 

The bus took us to a remote entrance in a wooded sink hole and we decended 250 feet on a maize of steps.  We then walked through different caverns and passes and ended up in an area referred to as Frozen Niagra.  The chamber was covered with stalactites dripping off the walls.  It was a fun, informative tour and a great break on the 7 hour drive to TN.  Here are a few pics from the tour:  Mammoth Cave Pics

After leaving the Caves, we headed to Ron & Barb Whynaucht's home in Fairfield, TN.  The Whynauchts were Sue & Randy's Wisconsin Rapids neighbors for 25 years.  We arrived around 7 pm and enjoyed a relaxing dinner with our hosts and headed early to bed.

10/13 - We rose to a beautiful valley view of the Cumberland Mountains.  Beautiful!!!  Our morning started out slowly.  After being in the car the day before we decided to take a walk around the hilly neighborhood of Fairfield Glade.  This area is  very new.  The majority of residents are retirees and the houses are as beautiful as the views.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, playing cards and visiting.  And in the evening Tony & I made fajitas for our hosts.  Again, it was an early evening.  Saturday we plan to go boating.

10-12 Heading Home........... Part 1

After three weeks we're heading home.  Right now we're in Crossville, TN visiting friends.  More about that later.  Soooo, let's catch up.

9/28 thru 10/8 - From Branson, we decided to drive directly to Sheboygan, arriving on Thursday evening.  Our timing was perfect!  The colors were peaking.  This is one of the things I miss about living in Wisconsin.  The fall colors.  We took the next couple of days to relax and access the "to do" list hanging on the fridge.  We also got some family visiting in including a visit with my sisters & families at the Estebrook Bier Garden in Milwaukee. 

We also got to attend the 5th annual Oktoberfest at Al & Al's in Sheboygan.  We stopped by on Friday night because my mother wanted to hear the Jerry Schneider polka band.  Mom, Sue & Stephanie were with us and we had a great time drinking beer and dancing to the polka music.  Check out the pictures!

The Sunday before we left we (Tony, Mom & me)  went to the Fall Fry for the Black River Advancement Association and Fire Department.  The Flight for Life helecopter landed and we got to see it land and check it out.  We have alot of helecopters flying over our house in San Diego.  But it rarely happens in Black River.  So it was exciting!  Here are a couple of pics of the fall colors and sights around the Black River area.

10/9 thru 10/11 - This past Monday we headed down to Hartford spending the night with my sister, Sue & Randy.  The next morning we were heading out on our road trip to Indianapolis to visit daughter Sandy for a few days.  We had a great time in Indy, more specifically, Fishers, IN.  Sandy & Travis were gracious hostesses.  While the kids were in school, the adults headed down to see Monument Square and the Canal Walk in downtown Indianapolis.  The weather was a bit nippy, but it was a wonderful, relaxing afternoon. 

After our sightseeing we headed back home to enjoy a great evening of Travis' home made pizza, games with the kids, and great table conversation.  Oh, yeah, and somehow Sandy managed to talk me into some quick alterations to her halloween costume and a couple of mending jobs.  Oh, and I forgot, I also got to stretch spider webbing across the ceiling in preparation for the 5th annual Combs Halloween party!

That catches us up to Tennesee which is where we are right now.  Will post a bit more later.  It's time for dinner!

9-30 Sheboygan

Enjoying being off the road.  Spent Friday settling in and catching up.  Saturday morning we ventured out to 1) take the trash to the dump 2) visit the farmers market 3) Meet family at the Estebrook Beer Garden in Milwaukee for Oktoberfest #2.  Make that "Bark-toberfest", a dog-themed Oktoberfest.

Don't miss the pics!

9-27 Destination Accomplished

Lonesome Pine

Last minute, we made some changes to our itinerary.  Originally we were planning to stop in Galena, IL, an historice town in North West Illinois.  But after looking at and comparing the route to heading straight up to Sheboygan, we realized they were nearly the same distance.  So we decided to head to our destination and 11 hours later we were turning on to Lonesome Pine Road.

The ride up was uneventful, nothing really to report or photograph. We've completed the first vacation portion of our road trip.  Now for some visiting and some chores around mom's house - she always has a "Tony" list of "To Do's". 

Anna & Brian are heading down to Wisconsin from upper Michigan.  Hope to see them somewhere tomorrow.

Thanks for following us on our trip.  I won't be blogging daily for the next week.  But check back periodically to see what we're up to....if you're interested.

26 = Branson - Day 2

We decided to spend another full day in Branson.  There's alot of things to see and do in the area.  So here's how we spent the day:

It was a sad day in Branson, Andy Williams passed away early this morning.  He build one of the founding theaters in Branson and up until last month was still performing, although on a limited schedule. 

We took our time getting up and ready for the day and this pace got us to the Duck ride at 11 am.  We didn't know what to expect.  Branson isn't like Boston, or San Diego, so where would we go.  Well, the tour took us out to the lake/dam/mountain area just south of Branson.  Our driver wove through the Ozark hills, providing history and trivia of th the area.  He then drove over the Table Dam, plunged into Table Rock Lake, and finally, up to the rock quarry where the lime rock was mined and used for the building of the dam.  If you're interested in learning more about the dam and it's lakes, here's a link.

After lunch we headed to the Titanic Museum. We really didn't expect too much from this museum.  But the outside was impressive, and Tripadvisor reviews were excellent.  We were given a boarding pass at the beginning of the self-guided tour and at the end we found out if we survived or perished. Tony was a 2nd class passanger named Sidney Collett (just like his granddaughters), an Irish pastor and he survived.  I was a first class passenger and perished.

The whole experience was great.  There was a deck room where the air was chilled to the temperature of the night, a display of deck angles as the ship tilted and we stood on to experience what the remaining passengers felt that night.  And finally, there was a display of water chilled to the temperature of the ocean water that fateful evening.  We put our hands into the water and it took only seconds to numb our hands.  A great experience and we're very glad we went.

Our final activity of the day was taking in another show.  We went to the Baldnobbers, the original Variety Show of Branson.  The format was very simular to the show we saw the previous evening, except that it was a bit more blue grass than the first show we saw.  Bottom line, a great experience!

Tomorrow we head north.  Let's see where we end up!

9-25 Branson

We made it - to the "Live Music Capital of the World" - by 1:30 pm. So we had plenty of time to check in to our hotel, grab a bite to eat, and take in a show.

We're staying at the Yellow Rose Inn, a small local hotel about a mile off the Branson "strip". It did take a little effort to find the place 'cause this area is soooo hilly. But after a few missed turns we finally found the hotel tucked neatly into the tree-covered hillside.

So we checked in and off we went to explore Branson Landing, a mixed-use land development area along Lake Taneycomo, one of the 3 man-made lakes surrounding Branson. (I only know what mixed-use is because my daughter is a city planner.) The development is beautiful, but it could have been Any Mall, USA. We did find a good local Mexican restaurant and the pomegranate margarita was delish!

Back at the hotel we freshen up by jumping into the frigid pool. The air temp is 87, but the water was like 65! It was refreshing, but not swimmable for any length of time.

We bought tickets for the Pierce Arrow Show which features a quartet singing a variety of music from gospel to pop. The show also included a hysterical comedian and concluded with a set of patriotic songs. It was an entertaining evening. BTW, if you're an American Idol fan, the tenor in the group was Luke Menard from Season 7.

Tomorrow we're planning to take in the Duck Tour ride and the Titanic Museum and if we decide to stay another night, perhaps another show.

9-24 On the Road Again

Today was a travel day so there's not too much to report. 

After saying our good-byes we headed northeast out of Alamogordo.  Our first stop was the Blue Hole (underwater sink hole) in Santa Rosa, NM.  We were planning to take a dip, but 64 degree water didn't feel inviting enough, didn't have towels AND we forgot to apply for our diving permits!  So we snapped a few pics and continued east on the Mother Road.

Our next tourist stop was Amirillo, TX.  We've driven past them numerous times, but have never stopped to see Cadillac Ranch - ten cadillacs nose planted into a field.  Over the years these cars have been stripped down to their frames and spray painted on a daily basis.  If you're unfamiliar with this piece of art, check this webpage out:  Cadillac Ranch

We're on our way to Branson, MO - yes, I said Branson, MO - and our driving  goal for today was Elk City, OK.  But there was still plenty of sunlight left when we arrived so we continued on to Oklahoma City.  That will shorten our drive tomorrow by a good hour!

So that's it for day 5. We're checked into our hotel, fed and sipping a glass of wine.  We hope to hit the road early tomorrow morning. 

Sweet dreams.

9-23 A Perfect Sunday

Today started with home made crepes by Tony. Then off to church with the family. After we drove up to the Alamogordo Space Museum to see the outside display of rockets and jetengine.  The museum was up the mountainside a bit so we had a wonderful view of Alamogordo and White Sands which we planned to visit later in the day.

Before we headed home we decided to continue up the mountainside to Cloudcroft , a quaint little mountainside village to have lunch. We stopped by Big Daddy's for lunch.  We were up over 8,000 feet so the weather was cool and the sky clear blue.  Tony & I could definitely tell we're in high altitude. Any around of walking left us winded and we always seemed to be yawning!   Luke wasn't the only one with napping in his future today.  So back home we headed for a little quiet time before we head to White Sands.

Later that evening we all loaded into the RV and headed out explore White Sands, sand sled and watch the sunset. I'm not sure what I expected, but stepping out onto miles of pure white sand dunes in bare feet was one of the strangest things I've ever experienced. It looked like snow! The kids tried to sled but it wasn'tslippery enough. Tony decided the sleds needed to  be waxed.  Even though the sledding ended up a bust we still had a blast walking around, knocking around a soccer ball, and just sitting around on the firm, cool sand. What fun!

Soon after the sun set we were all back in the RV ready for the 20 mile ride back home.  It was a great finish to a wonderful day.  Tomorrow morning the girls head off to school, Tony reports in for his first official day as an instructor and we head out for Oklahoma,OK.  We're going to miss them all!  Thanks for the new memories!

9-22 Oktoberfest - Alamogordo Style

Today's headliner was attending Oktoberfest activities on base. PBut first some errands. 

After breakfast the guys headed out to Holliman AFB for haircuts.  Getting a civilian on base is no longer an easy process. It took the guys quite some time to get a pass for Tony.  While the guys were doing their errands, the girls headed out for a quick trip to Lowes the hardware store and then to Lowes the grocery store.  After regrouping at home Juan suggested we drive back over to the base to get myself added to the base pass.  That way we wouldn't have to deal with it later in the day when we attended the Oktoberfest activities. Good suggestion.

We head over to Oktoberfest around 3:30 leaving the kiddos home in big sister Ali's care. Getting on base and parking is a breeze. But it takes about a 1/2 hour waiting in line to enter the grounds. Picture ID's and purse searches are required while passing through a metal detector.  Oh my, times have changed. But once we're on the "other side" we pick up our souvenir beer steins and head over to the beer hall where the ompa band is playing.

Now I'm not sure if  I'm getting old or if an air hanger isnt the best acoustic venue for a band, but the music and the echoing made conversation difficult. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the beer, bratwurst and company.  We had a great time meeting Tony & Darah's friends and coworkers.   We were so happy to share this time with them.

Tomorrow we're off to White Sands Nat'l Park for some family time.

9-21 Alamogordo

Not a whole lot to report today. We started our day slowly, leaving the hotel by 10. We didn't have any sight seeing scheduled today. Good thing 'cause there's not a lot to see between Tucson andAlamogordo!  

Our goal today was to make it to Tony's place for supper. Goal met.  So after a glass of wine and a delicious dinner we headed out to Calichi's, a local frozen custard stand. Now I must say, coming fromWisconsin, I consider myself a frozen custard snob.  It was delicious. Thanks Ali for the dessert selection. And we have a date Sunday night for the banana split special!

The Torres clan has adapted well to their latest move. Ali and Sydney are enjoying their new school. Ali is on the volleyball team which keeps her quite busy. Sydney is in the school choir and is trying out for State choir. She has a beautiful voice!  And Luke is an adorable 2 year old who is chatting up a storm. Nana & Lito need an interpreter occasionally.  But insure we'll have his lingo down by the time we leave. Darah is enjoying the slower paced life of small town living and has created a warm and welcoming home here. Tony  loves the area for motorcycling and has found a new hobby of dirt biking (sans motor).  He announced tonight rhat he has become an official flight simulator instruct today. We miss having them in Las Vegas, but love seeing them enjoying their new home.

Sorry, no pics today.  We were too busy catching up. Tomorrow we're off to Octoberfest and I promise to have an entertaining picture or two!

9-20 The Journey Begins

After months of anticipation we finally hit the road.  We were up early this morning (4 am) to get Anna & Brian to the airport.  They flew to Chicago and will be road tripping around Lake Michigan.  Our vacations will be overlapping in Sheboygan during the first week of October.

So Tony & I officially hit the road by 6:15.  Traffic was light and we made good time even though there was quite a bit of road construction getting out of San Diego County. 

We grabbed breakfast on the road and made our traditional stop in Dateland for a date shake, then headed over to the  Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, the great house of the ancient Sonoran Desert people.  The grounds and museum are small and within an hour we were back on the road heading for Biosphere 2. 

For those of us old enough to remember back to 1991, eight volunteers were sealed in $200 million, privately funded Biosphere 2 to measure survivability in the closed environment.  According to our guide, socially, the experiments were considered failures.  But many scientists consider it a success because of the environmental knowledge gained during the missions.  The facility is now managed by the University of Arizona and used for Earth systems science research.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Alamogordo to spend the weekend with Tony and family. 

Don't forget to check out our pics!

Hitting the Road

Time to hit the road again.  This time we're driving the southern route.  We're planning to leave on the 19th of September, head to Tucson to check out the Biosphere.  Then on to Alamogordo to visit Tony & family in their new home.