Sun Fun Seeker

THE BASICS We woke on Tuesday to a light dusting of snow and very cold temperatures, but set out to continue our journey. We drove as far as Garden City, Kansas. Next day, we started toward Wichita but discovered the wind from the north as we were driving east-west was frightening. So we followed advice at a Dodge City visitors center and headed on a northeastward diagonal to I-70 to Salina. Our next day's short drive was to Abilene, where we toured the Eisenhower boyhood home and museum. Friday, on to Paxico, where we stayed two nights. We spent some time at Fort Riley but our main interest was to drive through the Flint Hills south of Paxico, to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, the largest remaining undeveloped stretch of prairieland. After a brief side trip ... read more

THE BASICS Linda flew to NH on April 2, and was able to spend some time with Susie between Korea and Colorado. On Friday, April 5, though, John and Linda's plans took a detour. Linda found a lump in her groin area, which caused cancelation of her return flight for the next day and led to outpatient hernia surgery on the following Tuesday. She rested very quietly and comfortably at home, and then took a flight the following Saturday, and now we are reunited in Colorado Springs. Just one week lost, but what's one week when you're retired. MEANWHILE, John had planned to pick Linda up in Denver on April 6 and they would go visit his cousin Donald and wife Nancy in Fort Collins. Instead, he went alone to his cousin's, stayed longer than planned, ... read more

THE BASICS Flagstaff to Winslow, including Meteor Crater and dinner at the fabulous Posada Hotel in Winslow. Winslow to Gallup with brief detour at Painted Desert. Car to Durango via Mesa Verde. Overnight in Durango. Pagosa Springs and Farmington en route back to Gallup. Gallup to Grants to Albuquerque. A day in Santa Fe. Easter in Penasco, on the High Road to Taos, with Mojo's mother and sister. A day in Albuquerque; Old Town, UNM campus. Linda on 6 AM flight to NH on Tuesday; John to Las Vegas, NM, en route north to meet L. in Denver on Saturday 4/7. THE FLUFF Meteor Crater is 4000' across and 550' deep. It is a certified meteor hit. It was a timely visit to that museum because there is so much in recent news about devastating consequences ... read more

Well, our desktop computer messed me up again. I wrote this blog for about two hours last night, but it has disappeared and I can't for the life of me track it down. Frustrating? Yes. Maybe I'll get the energy and spirit to rewrite later.... read more

THE BASICS We left the Palm Springs area and drove to the southern end of Joshua Tree NP. We spent the night on BLM land there, and the next night in Quartzite. Then on to my brother Johnny and his wife Katy's home in Phoenix, where we enjoyed a very nice visit. We stayed at a resort north of Phoenix briefly, then headed on to Sedona. Sedona is unbelievably gorgeous, and we enjoyed walks and meals there. And finally through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, and yesterday we drove the car to the Grand Canyon. We are having so many #10 days of clear, bright, sunny skies - we feel very lucky. THE FLUFF The joshua trees are in the northern section of JTNP, and we saw them last week. Otherwise, the southern end did not ... read more

THE BASICS We had a lovely time near the coast and now we have had a lovely time inland. The weather has been gorgeous, sunny, flirting with 80's but breezy enough to be delicious. Our new pocket pedometer is working well for us and we do aspire to get to 10,000 steps a day. Here in the Palm Springs area there are so many interesting things to do and see that we will consider returning someday. THE FLUFF California is in the national news a lot - we will henceforth notice that more. e.g., one evening we were headed out to eat and we saw a dark cloud in the distance which continued, and turned out to be smoke from a wildfire. When we got home, we found the NBC Nightly News pre-empted by live coverage ... read more

THE BASICS We did venture into Ojai and wander around the charming town. We also drove down to Ventura and enjoyed Ventura Beach. We walked around the Lake Casitas campground a bunch, and even had a campfire there one evening. Then on to Malibu, which has a 27-mile beach. Our campground was wonderful, terraced on a hillside with gorgeous ocean views. We drove to Santa Monica, then through a bunch of Los Angeles (Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Hollywood). A highlight of our Malibu time was dinner with Linda's cousin Howard and his wife Gloria; they drove from their Northridge home to join us. THE FLUFF Ojai is a small town full of sophisticated looking folk and fancy shops. We walked the streets and spent some time at a unique bookstore: it's like a courtyard full of ... read more

THE BASICS From Morro Bay, we drove to the Monarch Grove near Pismo Beach and saw a lot of butterflies. We also took a cliffside walk at Montana de Oro State Park and wandered around San Luis Obispo on a sunny day. On Tuesday, we drove to Ocean Mesa campground just west of Santa Barbara and spent three lovely days there. We left reluctantly on Friday and drove to Lake Casitas, near Ojai, where we will spend a few nights. We have had gorgeous weather all week - though cool overnight, it has been sunny and warm during the daytimes, even into the 70's. THE FLUFF John had been to the Monarch Grove near Pismo Beach many years ago, and he was disappointed that there were only about 16,000 butterflies there this day. Apparently there have ... read more

THE BASICS We drove to a campground just north of Monterrey and stayed there a couple of nights - spent time in Carmel, Monterrey, on the 17 Mile Drive. Then we headed inland (I couldn't muster the courage to face Big Sur, etc.) and after a night in King City, we arrived in Morro Bay. We like this area, and visited a good museum here as well as Hearst Castle. THE FLUFF In Monterey, we walked a lot in town. The downtown is a mix, "under development" after they tore down old buildings with plans to revitalize, then lost steam (i.e. money). Cannery Row is very touristy, but its history of sardine canning is quite interesting. And a delicious caramel apple made Linda's day! Back at our campground, we enjoyed a walk through the dunes to ... read more

THE BASICS Well, we are back with our RV and tow car, intent on enjoying some sun, warmth, and learning as we wander around California for a couple of months. We spent several days in Pleasanton, where the vehicles had spent a few months in storage at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Then to San Jose, where we visited the Tech Museum of Innovation. And now to the Coast, where our campground is in the hills and redwoods, and we strolled along the beach and in town in Santa Cruz. THE FLUFF The temperature read -4 as we neared the Manchester Airport early on the morning of the 24th - it wasn't hard to fly away from that. I had a cold which made the plane flights unpleasant and dozy. One interesting discovery: the attendants kept announcing ... read more