Steve turns 65!

Greetings from the happy travelers!  We are back in our favorite spot - Destin, Florida for a 3-month stay. We'll be here all through the holidays, leaving around Jan 15th. Our friends Carl & Carol from St. Louis, Missouri are here so we're in gooood company!

Our favorite beach -- @ Camp Gulf in Destin, Florida

Steve just turned over the big 6-5 on Oct 27th.  We had to celebrate with something exciting!  We thought a helicopter ride would fill the bill.  Steve had been in one at least once before, but it was my first time.  I couldn't stop saying "Wow.... wow... WOW!   It was breathtaking and exhilarating.

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Ready for takeoff

We flew up and down the coastline and saw sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and small sharks.  The water was so shallow and clear near the shore.  Pictures just can't do it justice.  It felt like we were flying so low and could see SO MUCH!

The beautiful Emerald Coast of Destin, Florida

Here is Camp Gulf - our fall/winter home.  We're parked in the center section
(diagonal to the shoreline) and roughly the 3rd row back from the shore. Kind
of hard to see our RV behind the palm trees. 

A pod of dolphins near the shore

Near the harbor at the west end of Destin

Catching up since our last post - while we were in Pennsylvania in early September, we visited the Sept 11 Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville.  What a scenic spot for such a horrific event.

The marble memorial wall where all the crew & passengers names are engraved

The debris field where the plane disintegrated.

Entering the long pathway alongside the debris field,
looking toward the memorial wall.

We also visited the small town of Somerset, PA and surrounding area where my ancestors first settled after emigrating from Russia and Germany. The town as well as this graveyard was teeming with "Berkey's" (my maiden name).  The land of my forefathers... very beautiful country.

Visiting graves of my ancestors who died during Civil War days in Somerset County, PA

Just before returning to Destin, we'd stayed for a month in Foley (just north of Gulf Shores) Alabama. We had a great spot in an "RV Resort" (lah-tee-dah!!) that was quite tropical and made for a very pleasant stay.  And the beaches (about 12 minutes away) were nearly as pretty as Destin's.

Bella Terra RV Resort - Foley, AL

Did I mention Life Is Good?!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!

We loved the tiny (inch-long) tree frogs!

The Northeast Loop

Since our last post, we've covered a whole lotta territory!  We filled in a lot of the great northeast - seeing New England for the first time.  Since we first set sail last year on our endless land cruise, we've now seen 35 of the 50 states in our motorhome.  

These are the 35 states we've visited so far - America the Beautiful!

After leaving Denver on July 5th, (for our annual summer visit) we headed to Nebraska. It seemed like the entire state was COVERED with corn fields!  But it actually made for a really pretty drive. We stayed in the small northeastern town of Pender, NE where we had our Blue Ox tow bar serviced. What a peaceful and pretty little town! Then it was on to Cedar Rapids, IA to see friends Don & BJ (Don being an old colleague of Steve's). We stayed in a cool place called the "Amana Colonies" which is a mostly German community with GREAT restaurants and shops.  And more corn fields! 

Next we headed through Illinois, past Chicago and landed in Sawyer, Michigan for a week or so on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan.  We stayed at the "Kamp Across from the Dunes" right on the lake. Wow - we really didn't know what to expect and did not have a mental image in mind. It was great!! Nice beach that almost felt like being on the ocean. The dunes allowed us to climb really high up for a great panoramic view. Can't believe I didn't have a camera for that one!  Duh!!!  Our VERY good friends Joe & Carolyn joined us there.  Good times!

Always ready for a good time!

This is Michigan???  Indeed. 

 

Carolyn & Joe enjoying a nice sunset with us at the dunes
on Lake Michigan

Next, we headed to Toledo, Ohio - really venturing now into uncharted territory - for us anyway. We visited our friends Tom & Eileen who are restaurateur's we met while in Destin, Florida. We had a scrumptious dinner at their restaurant that's been in their family for several generations. Mmmmm. Good food!! Thickening waistlines.  :o(

From there, we went to Niagara Falls.  It was fabulous! We've always wanted to see the falls and it most certainly did not disappoint.  On the first day, we explored the American side.  

Really close to the water!

This is taken from the American side of the falls

The American Falls (viewed from Canada)

The next day, we crossed the border to see the Canadian side where you really get spectacular views from across the way.  

The Canadian Falls - picture taken from the top of a tower.
You can see the Maid of the Mist (boat) getting a close up look.

The view of the American falls from the Canadian side

Sweethearts enjoying life!

Underneath the falls - must have rain gear!

After seeing the falls, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through upstate New York.  We stayed a few nights in a gorgeous park near Schenectady (north of Albany).  Next, we drove through Vermont and New Hampshire (or as the locals say... New HAMPsha) and landed in Portland, Maine.  Steve had been hankerin' for some fresh Maine lobster so sure enough - we got our fill.  Steve loved the seafood, but me... not so much.  Never been much of a seafood lover.  The RV park wasn't our favorite either but we enjoyed seeing the sites in downtown Portland.   

Eastern Promenade - downtown Portland, Maine

The view from the deck of DiMillo's
restaurant (fabulous food!) & marina

 

Last week, we headed down to the Catskills in New York.  We stayed near the town of Catskill (apparently the name means something like "bobcat creek") and had a good time walking main street.  Charming little town. Not far from Woodstock, NY.  

The cat that ate the canary

Downtown Catskill, NY

And finally... here we are at Jonestown, Pennsylvania - near Harrisburg.  All in a days' work, herding cats 'n dogs. Life is good!

Near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Part of the daily routine having fun with the kids - Harley, Jimi and Willie.

Until next time... may the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields... 

and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Summer Land Cruising

Hi everyone!  The land cruise continues... recently we stayed for several weeks in New Bern, North Carolina.  This is a great little historic town on an inlet off the Atlantic coast, with many fun tourist-y things to see.

Touring the Tryon Palace was like stepping back into the 1700's - furnished with period furniture, clothing, pottery, etc. Surprisingly, it looked very similar to pictures I've seen of the very early 1900's. I guess things didn't change much before the industrial revolution. We're told that George Washington campaigned in New Bern and stayed a few nights in a local mansion.  

Tryon Palace - royal governor's mansion & gardens that was built and
 used before Washington's presidency... "where Governor's ruled and    
George Washington danced."                                                                          

New Bern was the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola.  Here's the very spot of it's humble beginnings - originally named "Brad's Drink".  This is located in downtown New Bern.

The architecture throughout the town was phenomenal and we visited a very cool old Civil War era cemetery.

After New Bern, we visited Greensboro, NC (where I'd attended a conference once) -- still as pretty as I remembered.

Then on to Charlotte.  We loved this beautiful city!  We visited the Billy Graham Library there. What an amazing, humble man of great integrity.  The library tour was fantastic and we'd recommend it to anyone. His life and legacy is captured with many photo's, candid videos and artifacts on display. And the gardens around the library were so peaceful - really beautiful.

Pictured here is the Billy Graham Library on the right (opened in 2007) and his childhood home on the left.  

Next we stayed for a spell in Asheville, NC just down the road from Charlotte in a more mountainous region very near the Great Smoky Mountains.  What a pretty little town surrounded by hills covered with deciduous trees. We'll probably return when the fall colors are at peak.

The photo's below were taken along the Blue Ridge Parkway just outside of Asheville.

Steve & Harley standing at the highest point in North Carolina

Then we headed to Chattanooga and then on to Nashville.  The weather was rainy for the few days we were in Nashville, so we really didn't get to tour the town like we'd hoped.  Maybe next time!

As we started to make our way back home to Denver, we headed through Kentucky & Illinois and on to St Louis, Missouri where we visited a colleague of Steve's. We drove right past the arch and stayed at a lovely KOA campground just outside of town.

We made a wrong turn in the Magic Bus (ughhh!!!)
 right in downtown St Louis by the arch, but quickly
recovered and made it safely to our destination!

Next we drove across Missouri and on to Topeka, Kansas.  I was fortunate to be able to say hello to one of my oldest friends, Allyn who lives in nearby Lawrence.  She's as sweet as always.

Pals since the 1st grade!

After a quick stop in my hometown of Russell, Kansas - we made it "home" to Denver for our annual visit with family & friends and doctor's appt's.

We had fun sailing with friends Buck & Janice who own a sailboat & live near Chatfield Reservoir which is one of the spots we stay each time we visit Denver.

My first time on a sailboat!  Steve's 2nd time.

Chatfield Reservoir

Janice & Buck on their boat

Until next time - so long and happy trails!!!