Quoted From A Fellow Traveler:

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.

Monday, May 31, 2010

World War I Memorial Park

Was a really warm day so after a dip in the pool, we took a ride to North Attleboro WWI Memorial Park.
We want to socialize Casey with people and other animals.
Her and the Pot Belly Pig hit it off really great.
There's also a really nice memorial garden that you can stroll through or just sit and relax.
In memory of
Very nice area.
Some of the flowers were just starting to bloom.
There were ares where children can play.
Casey did pretty good by the time we were ready to leave but still needs lots of practice walking on the leash.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Short Ride To Plymouth For Lunch

During the summer we like taking a ride to Plymouth for Fish & Chips. The seafood is fresh from the boats and whereas we are only about an hour away, the ride down the back roads is relaxing.
We always eat at Wood's, which is right on the dock as you pull into town.
The fish & chips were delicious as always.
The restaurant across the street has palm trees and is a fancier place but the foods not as good.
After eating, we walked along the shore so we could take Casey down to the water.
We couldn't believe how much she enjoyed running and jumping in the ocean water. She totally went nuts running around, then she would lay down for a quick rest.
The water was just the right depth for her and the tide was low.
After a while, she was finally ready to move on.
So we found a spot on the grass in the sun where we could relax. That is the Mayflower II.
Then we walked on a little further to Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed.
This is where the Rock is located which is right along the main road that runs out of town.
And here it is, Plymouth Rock. It represents the rock that the Pilgrims stepped on as they landed in the new world.

Friday, May 28, 2010

The Jeep Is Broken, Part 2

Well, I received a call on the Jeep and the transfer case has been repaired. BUT.....while taking it for a test drive, there was still a little noise coming from the rear end so they are changing out the rear pinion bearings. I hope this is the end.

Had some friends stop by for the day. They used to be our neighbors but moved to Canada a while ago. They have a Winnebago Rialta and were camped at the Cape Cod Canal so he could do some fishing. It's always great seeing old friends.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Jeep Is Broken.....Oh No!

During our trip I noticed that there was some gear noise in the Jeep that seemed to be coming from the area of the transfer case. I brought it in last week to be checked just before I had my knee surgery figuring that I won't need it for a while.
Just got the call and found out that I had two of the four bearings that were bad in the transfer case. I am having all four bearings replaced, hey I can't complain because she has 137,000 miles showing on the odometer and another 50,000 in towing miles. The old gal still has some life left in her so it's worth having her fixed. Besides........we have had so much fun off roading we don't want to give it up and we can't afford a new Jeep.
On the lighter side, I wanted Casey to experience some of the finer things in life like eating watermelon. Mac, our last dog loved watermelon, I guess all dogs would love the stuff. Here we are sharing some.
Casey wanted her own slice so I just held on to it for her. Mmmmmmm what a treat!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Before & After

The time finally came to have my knee fixed. The Bursa in my right knee was injured and continued to keep filling with fluid. If I had it drained it would refill within three days. This all started back in October and I was not going to let it ruin our trip.
So now that we are home it was time to get things rebuilt. My doctor plans on removing the Bursa totally and told me that the body may create a pseudo Bursa to take the place of the one removed.

So here's the before picture.
And here's the after pic.
The Bursa was removed complete without draining it. The surgery took only about twenty minutes and I had it done under a local because I didn't want to spend an hour in the recovery room. The knee was numbed and I was given a light sedative so I would be conscious but not able to remember what happened. I will have to have the staples removed in ten days.
Now we just have to get Joyces eyes done and we should be all set for another year.


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers are the place that we call home.
On them we rest our heads and close our eyes.
There's no one else who grants the same soft peace,
Happiness, contentment, sweet release,
Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies,
Restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom.

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Weather Is Great, Wish We Could Go

Everything is in bloom and the pollen is killing me but at least the front lawn is coming back and looking good. We cleaned out the old mulch from the gardens. Next week I will pick up some pine bark mulch and freshen up the gardens.

The Jeep has been making a growling noise and I am afraid that it might be the transfer case. The old girl has 137,000 miles on her and things are getting tired. I'd like to get a newer Jeep but would rather spend our money on traveling so the Jeep goes in tomorrow to have it checked out.

Joyce went back to work for a week, they called and asked her to sub for one of the girls that was on vacation.

Casey has been under intense training because we want to be sure that she behaves us. Aussies are very active dogs and require a lot of attention and exersice so we usually take time at the end of the day for play. Here, she wanted to play in her water bowl. She enjoys watching the water movement when she pushed the bowl. Next, she realized that she could splash if she put here paws in.
Joyce had to get a bigger dish so she could get all four paws in.
The training is going better than we expected but whereas we will be on the road again soon, we have to keep at it.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Comments On This Years Trip

Our Winter trip lasted sixteen weeks, we covered 8,862 miles in the coach, and 3,647 miles in the Jeep as we toured the areas we stopped at.

We saw a lot of interesting places, met a lot of nice people, and traveled some of the most beautiful roads and scenic byways in this country.

When asked what we thought was the best place we have traveled, it was difficult to answer because there were so many that would fit into different categories.

An example would be Savannah Ga. as the most beautiful old city. In past trips I would have to say Utah for there National Parks which we would pick Zion and Canyonlands as the best, and if you enjoy the prairie and the old west, it would have to be Texas.

We do not enjoy traveling the highway unless we are in a hurry to get to our next destination. We'd rather take the back roads away from the big cities because those roads take us to the small towns where we get to see how a good part of the people in this country live.

The thing that surprised us the most is the level of poverty in so many of these small towns yet we found the people to be very friendly and happy. We passed through one town where there were people lined outside a soup kitchen, and as we passed these people waved and cheered at us. We were probably the first motorhome that ever traveled through their town, maybe they thought we were some rock group!

We also found that so many of the campgrounds in the south and west were populated with people living in their trailers with their BMW or Mercedes park outside. These people lost their jobs and homes but kept their high priced cars. We talked to one couple that had everything they could save packed into their van and were traveling in search of work.

Then there were the people of New Orleans. Most of us don't realize that so many of those people are still rebuilding there homes after the flood. We drove through the 9th ward and were so surprised that the people of this country are still in need of so much yet we see advertisements on TV asking us to give to the people of other countries in need. Am I missing something here??

And the one thing that Joyce and I both noticed is that the population in these poverty areas strangely seem happier and less stressed than the individuals living close to the cities and trying to hang onto their jobs.

There may be people that read this and think that I am putting down those that "Have not" but that isn't the case. The point is so much of what is going on in our country is not mentioned or shown in the news.

We live in a great country that should be taking care of it's people first before looking to the needs of others.

I guess I got off track a bit but our eyes were open to things that we knew existed but didn't realize the proportion of the problem.

Anyways.........we hope that you will all continue to join us as our travels take us to the upper portion of the States. We hope to depart in July unless fuel prices go through the roof.