BERNALILLO NM KOA

Everyone we have talked to says they haven't gotten any rain in weeks, but where ever we go, it seems to rain. Especially the day after we get the jeep washed. We left Carlsbad KOA in a rain storm, to travel Bernalillo New Mexico. Had reservations at another KOA since we really liked the one in Carlsbad. We visited three different casinos the first two days here. Couldn't resist when they all offer you free cash to come play. The Sandia Resort and Casino above is really nice and sits just at the base of the Sandia Crest. We also played the slots at the Santa Ana Star Casino where we both earned enough points on players cards for a polo shirt with the casino logo. Also played slots at San Felipe Hollywood Casino where we noted they have RV spaces available with electric hookups. My favorite was the Sandia Casino. We also checked out a state campground near the Coronado State Monument. We will definitely return to this area to see more of the local sites. This KOA is a nice park, but spaces are not as large and deluxe as the KOA in Carlsbad. We will be leaving soon to head west and back to Texas in time for the drag boat races. I hope to take the Rail Runner Express train to Santa Fe and ride the Sandia Peak Tramway, if not this trip next time. In the last picture, were we offroading with the jeep or not? Again as I am typing this blog it is pouring rain, lightening, thundering and there are flash flood warnings scrolling on the TV.

CARLSBAD KOA

The last day we stayed in Carlsbad a heavy thunderstorm came through the area. The wind turbine shown in picture three above was really moving. During the storm we heard loud booms. They were from air cannons that are shot off during storms, breaking up hail to protect the valuable pecan crop. Just north of the KOA was a large grove of pecan trees. This KOA park is really clean, has a nice community center, large laundry, and nice convenience store with just about everything you could possibly need. They also have lots of extras including adult only jaccuzi, koi pond, and very large deluxe spaces. We had our own swing on the paved patio. We will probably visit this park again, as there are several attractions in the area we would like to visit.

The first picture is of a pond near the end of our tour. Several young students were in the area taking specimens from the pond. There were lots of educational exhibits and volunteers working with the students. The second picture is a roadrunner in the Aviary. The last picture is a sleeping bobcat.

CARLSBAD NM MORE INFO

Our second full day in the Carlsbad area, we took the self-guided walking tour through the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens just a few miles from the KOA campsite. We saw plants common to that area, native birds in an aviary, several animals and reptiles native to the area, and walked through a nocturnal exhibit. Somehow we missed the bear who paints on canvas and the hoofed animal exhibit. The first picture represents an Arroyo, dry streambed typical of Chihuahuan Desert. The second picture was taken while approaching the zoo and gardens. The third picture is of prickly pear native to the area.

CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO AREA

We had a long drive from Fredericks burg, TX to the KOA just north of Carlsbad NM. Beautiful scenery seen on that drive. The first picture shown is a grove of pecan trees. I never saw so many groves of pecan trees before. Oil production and pecan groves are very important to the economy near Carlsbad and Artesia NM. Our first full day we drove to Roswell and walked through the UFO Museum, then on to Ruiodoso to check out the Inn of the Mountain Gods and Casino. Very nice hotel and casino, had a really good lunch in the hotel buffet. The winding road was part of the safety corridor drive along Lincoln State park.

SEVERAL DAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG TX

We arrived in Fredericksburg, TX, a beautiful German town, on Thursday and stayed until Monday morning. My brother and his wife met us there with their new motorhome. Enjoyed several really great restaurants, a Steak House west of town for dinner the first night, Altdoff Biergarten for lunch the next day, Mamacito's for great mexican food the next, and Kelly's Cafe on west Main Street for great dinner our last evening together. An Auto Swap Meet was being held near the local county fair grounds. A sudden rain storm chased us away from the auto swap show. The Gourmet Chili Pepper & Salsa festival was held at the Wild Seed Farm just east of Fredericksburg. The best part of the festival was watching the Balloon Glow on Friday night and walking through the Butterfly Garden on Saturday. Did not know the little girl who attracted the butterfly on her sleeve. We also stopped at a local winery for a wine tasting on Saturday. After leaving Fredericksburg, we headed toward New Mexico.

Ginger, her grandons Devon and Dru, and "aunt" Bev came over Monday 7/19 to fish, swim and visit for the day. We also called Dad and Nelda who came and enjoyed barbque lunch of burgers and hot dogs with potato salad and cole slaw. Dru says they caught 15 fish and he caught the biggest fish of the day! We all enjoyed the visit. Ted and Dorothy have volunteered to help with the Marble Falls 2010 Lake Fest (drag boat races). Hope to be assigned the job of T-shirt sales since it is under a tent. As a volunteer we receive a T-shirt and bracelet to get us into the time trials and races for free. We are volunteering for one 3 hour time slot on two different days of the race. We made reservations to return to this same RV park mid August for one week. We keep asking ourselves why we are in Texas during the hotest time of the year. We will be heading west and then north soon.

Arrived Marble Falls

We arrived in Marble Falls, TX just before 4:00 on 6/29. Really nice gated RV park on Lake LBJ. We drove through rain all day of arrival, and it rained for 3 days after. We were beginning to think we had arrived during monsoon season. Enjoyed relaxing for 3 weeks at this park. Visited with Dad and Nelda most days and went out to eat with them at most of their favorite restaurants, including Blue Bonnet Cafe, The Highlander, Doc's. Also enjoyed some of the best beef brisket at the Feed Store and Bar-B-Que in Burnet Texas. Dorothy's retirement plaque arrived, so her retirement from Social Security is official. Also finally tried out the new satelite receiver that was installed before leaving Michigan. Discovered it was quite difficult to dial in the dish to receive signals. Arranged to have new dish installed at Camping World in New Braunfels, Tx about 2 hours away from the RV park. That was an all day job, but we now can push a button to receive all channels available including local channels. Word to the wise for any other full time RVers. We discovered the trick to receiving local channels is to ask for a snowbird account and call in your new "physical" address each time you move to a new location. Otherwise, your dish is looking for you at the original address of your install. On 7/4 we met sister Ginger and her family, children, grandchildren and spouses with Dad and Nelda at Luby's Restaurant, Austin TX. Hope to see more of them the next time we return to the Austin area. Also enjoyed seeing the deer and bambi(s) just outside our RV park. At one time we saw five babies, but didn't have camera with us at the time.

More pictures from Florida and drive to Texas

These pictures are of Justin & Josh on the zip line. The zip line and bungee jump are part of an Adventure Park in the complex where Jeff works. He is a chef at the Smoke House BBQ and also works the Adventure thrills so the boys are having fun with free passes while dad is at work. We had lunch at Smoke House BBQ and enjoyed the meal prepared by Jeff. He has incorporated Ted's famous macaroni & cheese recipe with Jeff's own variation on their menu. We also had dinner one night at Mitch's Fish Market where Joe works in the kitchen as salad chef. Enjoyed some good food while we were there. The tar balls were not on the beach when we arrived but some were showing up by the en dof our stay. We left florida 6/28 and headed west on I-10. Crossed Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana borders to arrive at Isle of Capri Casino, west of Lake Charles, LA for the night. Interesting RV spaces provided electricity only, only 8 spaces available and all filled but 2 which were blocked by vehicles. Finally got space cleared and had dinner, gambled some and hit the sack. The casino was right on the river and near a railroad, so we heard the trains and boats at night. Not the best food we ever had and kind of expensive so will probably find another place to stay if we are in that area again.

DAY 4 - Arrived in Miramar Beach, FL

Arrived in Miramar Beach, Florida early, before 10:00 a.m. Short drive that day. Jeff & Lauren met us near Destin RV Resort. The boys were very excited to see their dad. They quickly off-loaded all their belongings and left for Jeff & Lauren's apartment. We set up the RV at a very nice gated park with beach access. Finally felt like we were on a relaxed vacation. Ted and I spent most days just relaxing and learning the area.

DAY THREE - 6/25 Rainbow at the end of our day

On day three, we crossed the Indiana/ Alabama border. We stopped in a Welcome Center for lunch and the Saturn 18 rocket was on display in the rest area. The boys enjoyed the exhibit, posters, and stickers on the space center. After making good time on the road, we had dinner in a Golden Corral, and made reservations for the night at Ozark Travel Park. On the way there we saw double rainbows. Unfortunately didn't get a picture of the double but did capture the single rainbow. Again the boys enjoyed the pool until it started raining. The boys are also learning how to help set up the motorhome when we arrive in a park and how to pack up again when it is time to leave. We are enjoying having them on this trip to visit their dad. One more day and we will reach Miramar Beach, Florida where we will stay a few days.

TRAVEL DAY TWO - Delay due to mechanical problems

The first day on the road we arrived at our planned destination. We had made reservations at a Yogi Bear Jellystone park in Scottsburg, Indiana. Nice park, but we were too tired to enjoy any of the extras except the boys enjoyed the pool and arcade for about an hour before they closed. Day two began after breakfast in the RV. We headed south on I-65 and had only traveled a few miles when Ted noticed the motorhome was over heating. We made it to the rest area just down the road where he discovered a broken fan belt. After several phone calls, we located Quick-Fix company who agreed to come to the rest area to bring the needed fan belt for repair. Unfortunately the service man discovered that bearings went in the idler pulley, so additional parts were needed. The Quick-Fix truck, however, wouldn't start, so the service man had to call for a tow truck to tow him and his truck back to their garage, and then drive (we thought) about 1/2 hour away to get the necessary parts. Luckily we were parked in the rest area, not on the side of the road. Thanks to the generator, we were comfortable enough with the air conditioner. Kids were entertained with card games, we had lunch, took a nap and finally at 4:30 the repair truck returned with the necessary parts and within 15 minutes, the motorhome was running and we followed the service man to the garage to pay for the repair. Five hundred dollars later, we were back on the road, we drove until 7:30 that night where we stayed at a KOA in Bowling Green. Again the boys enjoyed the pool after dinner. The boys thought it was a real treat to have White Castle burgers for dinner.

THE REALIZATION OF A DREAM

We sold a home in mid-Michigan on May 25, 2010, held an auction two weeks later where we sold most of our belongings (everything that would not fit in our 40' motorhome) and Dorothy filed for retirement effective July 2, 2010. After working 38 years, it was time to live our dream. The home, garage and large pole barn were all empty of our possessions, the motorhomewas packed, the Jeep Wrangler set up to tow, and we started our trip on Sunday June 20, with two grandsons. We were taking them to Florida to spend several weeks with our son Jeff, their father. Our friends who worked at the local Ponderosa Restaurant, insisted we stop by for breakfast to start our trip. We then headed south on I-75. A dear friend, Gloria Voss, made the decal "Ted & Dorothy, On The Road Again" for us. Thanks Gloria, it will be proudly displayed all across the country.