From our “fancy” campsite at the gas station in Kellogg, IA we headed for Illinois. We had had enough of IA and needed a change of pace. We had been having some really long days so we decided in the early afternoon that we would stop early today and find a place to just “chill”. You know you are at a breaking point when you are eating lunch at Arby’s…a sure way to send you to the nearest gastroenterologist. We found a gem of a place in Utica, IL. Hickory Hill Campground…it had a nice swimming pool, shaded RV site, cheap laundry and a store that sold the makings for smores’…we were in business and it was only 3:30pm. I even took a NAP! How sweet life is! Everyone got to relax and do something they ... read more

So we left Ogden, UT, almost five days ago and when we did we also said so long to Starbucks! I could write an entire entry on our coffee escapades but let’s suffice it to say that we have been dying for good coffee until today, Saturday, August 9th. Gas station coffee just isn’t cutting it for us coffee snobs! Anyway we left Ogden and headed north on our way to the Grand Tetons. We made one stop along the way at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. I had been to hot springs before but this one was different. The 4 pools ranged from 104-112 degrees F and were lined with actual rocks. Many springs put in swimming pool like structures but not this one. I cannot tell you how much I needed to sit in ... read more

Some of you may have been seeing California in the news with quakes and forest fires but you should rest assured if you were worried because we are all fine. We left LA a couple of days prior to the quake and the fires…well, we have decisions to make based on the fires in Yosemite. The last time I wrote we were leaving Carmel and heading to San Francisco. Actually I am not sure right now where I left off in my writing since I am not connected to the internet so I think I will talk about Carmel one more time. Have any of you been to Carmel? Well, what a lovely little seaside city/town. There was definitely a Newburyport feel to the place. We were there on a Sunday as the shops closed and ... read more

You know the story, what happens in Vegas.....you can rest assured that the college funds are still intact and that we have enough money to get home. We stayed three nights at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club Resort and what a refreshing experience. A one bedroom condo is what we had. Full kitchen, king size bed, great pools and many hot tubs. We did not do a lot. We slept late we ate breakfast by the pool and tried not to burn our bodies to a crisp in the 110 degrees weather. How in the world do people live here? The first night we made our way to New York New York for some food. It was great! It is so weird to see roller coasters inside of buildings. We walked for a bit..finding ourselves overwhelmed ... read more

Hello everyone!!!! I am not even sure where to begin this entry....the last time I wrote we were staying at Gunsmoke and getting out of Dodge, so they say. Well, maybe Dodge City wasn't so bad.... We hit the road on Tuesday morning and headed to somewhere in Colorado. We had an idea where we would stop but we had an unexpected situation occur. For those of you worriers...everyone is healthy, there was no accident involving wild game or pick up trucks:) While driving Tuesday they were a couple of instances where the RV seemed to exhibit signs of illness. Stalling or stepping on the gas with no engine response was disconcerting to us as we were to be headed over the beautiful Colorado Rockies so we stopped and called Cruise America. To make a long ... read more