February 2012

February 2^nd was Mike’s 65^th Birthday and Marc and Brandon took
Mike to Las Vegas to celebrate.

According to Mike, a good time was had by all!!

We had a great Super Bowl at the resort.  Tailgating on the back of
our golf carts …….. hot dogs and beer ……. And, of course,
we watched the game too!

Mike and some of his buddies went to “The King of the Hammers” off roading race. 
They camped out for 2 nights and spent the days with 75,000 other
enthusiasts watching the races.

Pat and I ride our bikes 10 – 20 miles around 4 days a week …… We decided that we should ride our bikes to Palm Springs (25 miles) and get a ride back home.  We rode the 25 miles and were very proud of ourselves to pose in front of our favorite deli ….. Shermans.  Mike, his brother Chuck and Chuck’s wife, Eva met us.  We all had a fabulous lunch and then Mike drove us home!

We had a great visit from Mike’s cousin Gloria and her fella Len. 
It was fun to have some time to catch up. 
We hadn’t seen Gloria in quite some time.

One day, while off-roading in the middle of nowhere, we came across this wonderful vacation home.  No roof, windows, doors, water, electricity or bathroom but we got a kick out of the “For Sale” sign.  This house was about 15 miles down a trail from the nearest paved road.

The annual “Bethlehem” street party was a great success.  Hundreds of people all
bring potluck dishes …… they have live music and plenty of drinks.  Lots of fun!!

We had a sell out crowd for our Italian Feast.  The food was fabulous and everyone
was stuffed when they left.  We had a great night!

We end February on a good note. 
The month was wonderful. 
Great weather and great friends.

January 2012

We ended 2011 and started off 2012 with a great New Years Eve Party at our clubhouse at Outdoor Resorts.  The theme was Roaring 20’s and it was so much fun!

Mike continues to love off-roading in his Jeep and the crowd of off-roaders continues to increase.  On this trip, there were 24 Jeeps.  Around noon on the trip, we all stop along the trail, get out our chairs and enjoy lunch. 
It’s a great time to meet new folks.

Janet continues to love Tuesday’s ……… We call our sewing day - Thread Therapy – a great time to quilt and talk with all the gals. 
We share ideas, techniques and stories.  So much fun!

January has been a beautiful month….. a little windy but mostly beautiful.

This is the tee box of the 14^th hole …….. just a few feet from our patio.  There is quite a bit of water on our golf course!

Mike flew up to Portland, then rode with our son’s to Bandon Oregon where they met up with other fella’s for their annual golf weekend.  It is hard to imagine that the weather could be so nice on the Oregon coast in January……. But this picture shows it to be true.  He had a great time!!

December 2011

The end of the 2011 is upon us …….

We’ve already been off roading.  This was from a trip to Jullian (east of San Diego) 
Jullian is well known for their homemade cherry and apple pies. 
On this trip we all had lunch and of course …… pie!   YUM!

Outdoor Resorts is beautiful …… even at night!  It’s nice to be at “home”

December is the annual Tamale Festival in Indio. 
We love to sample all of the wonderful tamales!

Brandon and Karen have lost their Jack.  I have made a quilt
so they won’t ever forget him.

It’s been a year since we lost Stoli …. And I still miss him so much.
This is my Stoli quilt…. I know I’ll never forget him ….. ever.

Check out the sign ….. “Welcome Home”

We drove up to Sunriver this year for Christmas.  Marc, Maria, Brandon, Karen, Mike and I rented a house in and all met there for the holiday.  We had so much fun.  

We all went over to our lot (only about 5 miles away) and cut
down our Christmas Tree.  We made decorations and strung popcorn. 
It was a great tree…..sparse but great!

Christmas Eve, we drove up to Mt. Batchelor and all went tubing.  What fun! 
They even had a lift for the tubers ……  It was a great day!

Christmas Day was so much fun.  We loved spending time with the grandkids and
they really love spending time with each other too!
Notice the newest addition to our family ……Lucky (Brandon’s new pup)

The day after Christmas, the crew went ice skating…… that is
everyone except me.  I’m just not an ice skater!  I had fun taking pictures.

Here we are getting ready to enter into 2012 ……. Where is the time going?
We wish everyone a Happy and Blessed New Year.

November 2011

Our trip is winding down but not before a few great stops …..

In Paducah Kentucky, we went to the waterfront where there was a huge sea wall
that had been painted with the history of the town.
 It was a great tribute to Paducah.

Paducah is where the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers meet and at one time it was a
major shipping port.  We drove over the river and visited
Metropolis, Illinois, home of Superman.

The main reason we visited Paducah was to see the National Quilt Museum.  It was wonderful.  So many beautiful quilts, so much talent … makes me realize I have a long, long way to go.

Next stop, Nashville, Tennessee … home of country music.
We visited the Grand Ol’ Opry Hotel, the Grand Ol’ Opry Theater,
The Ryman Theater and we took a tour of the town.  

Part of our city wide tour was a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  It was a
remarkable museum highlighting the history of country music.

One thing I learned ….. I thought the Grand Ol’ Opry was a building ….It’s not, it is a radio show.  We went to a recording of their show.  It’s live every weekend.  The night we were there, they recorded the Grand Ol’ Opry at the Ryman Theater.  

Moving along, we next stopped in Louisville, Kentucky.  We took a great tour of the Louisville Slugger factory.  It was very interesting and a lot of fun!

Churchill Downs was fantastic.  We toured the racetrack and the back side of the racetrack where the horses and their caretakers stay.  The Breeders Cup was happening while we were there and so the stables were full of beautiful horses.  We also went to several races as well as taking time to visit the Churchill Downs Museum.  One interesting point we learned.  Secretariat was an unbelievable horse.  He would run faster and faster the more time he was out on the track.  When he died, they autopsied his body and discovered that although most horses have a heart weighing about 7 pounds …….. Secretariat's heart weighed 20 pounds. 
He was amazing.

Next we traveled to St. Louis Missouri to see the Gateway Arch.  It was gigantic. 
630 Feet high and 630 feet from base to base.  We rode to the top
and also toured the museum underground.  

Branson Missouri – I love that place.  It is located in the Ozark mountains  (they are really hills but to those in the east, they are mountains)  We saw four shows ….. a tribute to John Denver, A tribute to Neil Diamond, Yakov Smirnoff and the Oakridge Boys.  It was so much fun!!

I just had to get this picture.  It was a the most unusual
overpass over the freeway.  Mc Donalds!

Now we are heading south and the scenery is becoming more what we are
used to.  Indio California is getting closer.

Back at Outdoor Resorts, we had a great
Thanksgiving dinner with our friends!

We went to the Palm Springs Follies and had an outstanding time. 
The guest was John Davidson and he had us in stitches!

On our summer trip, I finished hand quilting a motorcycle quilt for my nephew.

I also hand quilted this quilt …… it’s one of my favorites.

We end this month safe and sound – back from a once in a lifetime trip across this great country.  We have so many memories …… we had a fabulous time!
We want to wish a Merry Christmas to all of our dear friends. We hope the holidays
will be a memorable time for all of you.

Second Half of October 2011

                         We’re still on the road! ………

In St. Augustine, we visited Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of youth. 
I tried the water …… but it’s not working  J

Next stop – Miami Florida where we spent time visiting with our friend Sandi Space.  We have known Sandi for 44 years.  Mike and Ray were in the Marine Corps together.  Sandi introduced us to her birds ….. beautiful and colorful. 
We had a great time with Sandi.

Moving south, we went to Key West Florida.  We stayed at a
wonderful RV park right on the water.  It was tropical paradise.

Sunrise right out our front window.  It was so beautiful.

Key West is over 100 miles from the Florida mainland …. out in the ocean
and is only 90 miles from Cuba.

On Key West, we toured Henry Truman’s secondary Whitehouse.  We learned
that President Truman was quite a character.

Mallory Square at sunset …….. so much fun!  There were street performers,
folks selling their wares.  The cruise ships were in. 
It was so much of a carnival atmosphere.

Sunset was magnificent!

After we left Key West, we drove north on the west side of Florida.
After a few days of driving, we stopped in
Dothan Alabama to visit with our friends Tom and Linda West.   

We spent two nights parked at their house.  Mike and Tom played golf
while Linda and I checked out the local quilt stores.  

Then we drove to Panama City Florida each of us in our own motorhomes. 
We had a great seafood dinner and watched the fishermen on the
dock haul in fish as the sun set in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tom and Linda headed back to Dothan and we continued to the National Naval Air Museum at Pensacola Florida. 

Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels.  The air museum was outstanding.  

Moving on – we headed to New Orleans Louisiana.  What an interesting town.  The architecture is beautiful.  Many parts of the city are very old.  Many of the people live in areas that have no yard and their front doors open directly onto the very narrow streets.  We took a short ride on the Mississippi River.  We had beignets (French donuts) at the famous Café Dumond.  We took a great tour of the effects of hurricane Katrina and we took a horse drawn carriage tour of the French Quarter.

Heading north, we traveled through Mississippi and into Memphis Tennessee.  We toured Graceland……..the home of Elvis Presley.  The house is in the exact condition it was 35 years ago when Elvis lived there.  We saw his old cars ..... his old clothes …… his airplanes ……. A museum about his 1968 comeback (after years of making movies) ….. we toured the record company where Elvis recorded his first record…..

Elvis was a remarkable man - and what a voice!

After the tours, we went into the downtown of Memphis …… the famous
Beale Street.  There were some blues players on the street ….
 Many restaurants.  Quite the night spot.

Our trip continues …….. stay tuned.