lindsay and gail

We arrived here last week in Sarasota and were at first a bit disappointed. This is a huge park, very densely populated. However, the pools, hot tubs, and other amenities make up for the tight un-landscaped sites. The people are also very friendly: we were warmly welcomed into the shuffleboard games held each morning. Our first venture out and about was to Siesta Key Beach, named the #1 beach in the country. The sand is indeed white and soft. Yesterday we visited the John and Mable Ringling estate, a beautifully landscaped 66-acre complex. We first toured his extravagant Venetian style mansion overlooking Sarasota Bay. All the furnishings are originals as John and Mable were the only owners. After their deaths the house was gifted to the State of Florida, so every thing we saw was as ... read more

A chain of five missions was established along the San Antonio River in the early 1700’s and became the largest concentration of Catholic missions in North America. By mutual agreement with the San Antonio diocese, these historic missions are now partially administered by (you guessed it) the National Park Service. So, when we went to visit the San Jose Mission, we found the gates shut. Despite being designated as a National Historic Park, four of these missions are active parishes of the Catholic Church. Thus, for a few hours this past Sunday, the gates were open and Masses were held as usual. According to local accounts, the priest presiding at the San Jose 10:30 Mass said, “Without people accusing me of politics, people who talk stupid should not be elected into office.” Parishioners applauded. San Jose ... read more

We took a really nice self-guided walking tour of Tucson today. Yesterday high winds blew in a cold front from California, so this morning it was quite chilly and cloudy. Therefore, the vivid colors of the architecture are somewhat muted in our pictures. The Spanish Colonial Revival style Pima County Courthouse with its bright cerulean mosaic dome is the centerpiece of the government buildings. In the 1770’s the Spanish built a walled fortress (presidio), marking the northwest edge of the Spanish frontier in Arizona. Parts of the 10 feet high adobe walls, as well as some adobe houses, still remain. Recent excavations under the wall uncovered remains of Hohokam Indians, circa 800 A. D. This provides evidence that Tucson is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in America. The St. Augustine Cathedral was begun in ... read more

We’re enclosing these pictures of Emerald Desert RV Resort for our own records. This RV park, like all the residential areas here is a gated community. We’ve been to so many places that it’s beginning to feel like “If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium.” Lindsay has been booking us at 10/10/10 (out of 10) RV resorts, which usually have paved streets, nice landscaping and lots of amenities. It’s easy to get spoiled. We are definitely off-season as we were the only ones in either of the two pools or spas. It’s still too hot here (over 90 degrees) for the snowbirds, who will start arriving on November 1st.... read more

We are here at Seven Feathers RV Park and Casino Resort, owned by the Umpqua Indians. It’s quite lovely, with paved streets, nice landscaping, plus an indoor pool with hot tub. Today we planned to visit Redwood National Park, but now with the government shutdown, that’s not going to happen. Lindsay has already written to Lindsey and Trey, but hasn’t heard back from them yet! We took advantage of a “sun break” this morning and drove to the Winchester Fish Ladder on the North Umpqua River. Windows allow visitors to see salmon swimming upstream. The station uses video cameras to record numbers and species passing through the structure. The salmon that we saw were about two feet long! We will leave tomorrow for Red Bluff, CA hoping to find some more sun and also to visit ... read more