Sunday at the Market in PS.

Sunday, January 25th
Up at 6:00 this morning and off to the Street Fair at the College of the Desert by 7:00amwith Glenda & Ken. Chilly until 10 am. Now we are off for a swim in the pool. This is the life!

Quartzsite & Palm Springs

Friday, January 23rd
We arrived in Quartzsite,at 5:30 just in time for a drink with our GMC friends the Engmans, the Youngs and our hosts, John & Hazel Sanders who live here in the winter and in Ranier, OR in the summer.

Saturday, January 24th
Norm took us in to the big RV show and en route we saw RVs parked as far as the eye can see. John tells us that there are estimated to be over a million people here at this time in January, many are Canadians and most of them, from Alberta. We left at noon for Palm Springs but we plan on returning to Q in a week or so. The trip to PS was two hours. We connected with Glenda & Ken Porter (she's a nursing classmate of mine)at the Tall Timbers Resort in Palm Desert. After getting cleaned up the four of us went to Mary & George Nagles for dinner and to watch the sunset from their patio. Shirley Atkinson came from Green Valley and joined us too. We four gals are all grads from VGH Class of 1959. It was a great evening!

Kingsley and the Snowbirds travel south

We spent Saturday & Sunday running back and forth between the house and the coach with everything we thought we might need for two months on the road. The weather was so nice and unseasonably warm. Sunday night we moved Kingsley around to the street in front of the house so we might make an easy getaway Monday morning.

Monday, January 19th – We leave Edmonton
After all the last minute details, we departed at 10:30 am. The roads were dry, the sun shone and Kingsley seemed happy to be moving again. Alan drove right through to Nanton where we filled up the gas tanks @ 81.9/litre. I took over and drove to Lethbridge where we somehow managed to get on #5 instead of #4. Not sure how that happened but it only delayed us about 20 minutes before we got back on track. Alan took the wheel again and we crossed the border with no trouble. I called my cousin, Ann, to tell her what time we would be arriving in Conrad. Twenty minutes before we were to arrive we had a blowout of the 3rd tire on the passenger side! What a mess!! It was dark and around freezing and we were on the busy I-15 highway just south of Shelby. I called the triple A and they were there within an hour. Alan took the bikes and the bike rack off the back of the coach so he could get to the spare. He also had the jack ready. It was dark and we were just on the shoulder of the interstate…not too safe but, we had just bought a special LED light flare/flashlight the day before and it worked well. We arrived in Conrad at 8:00pm after also getting stuck in their back lane ½ a block from our destination. It was such a relief to be there. Ann had a beautiful meal ready for us and we felt so welcomed. We got all caught up with the family news over a bottle or two of wine and didn’t turn in ‘til after 1:00am. It was a very long day!

Tuesday, January 20th - Inauguration Day
Larry made a great breakfast and the four of us got comfortable to watch the big event on TV. It was a wonderful experience made even more special when shared with our American cousins. Ann & Larry each received engraved invitations to the inauguration ceremonies in Washington because of their volunteer work organizing the Obama campaign in their area. We are so glad we took the time to watch it live with them. After, Alan went out with Larry to find another tire to replace the spare. Fortunately, Larry knows everyone in Conrad so it didn’t take too long!
We left Conrad at 2:30pm and drove as far as Butte, MT traveling in the dark through the sometimes treacherous Red Rocks pass south of Helena arriving at 6:30pm. We stayed at the Walmart overnight. The generator enabled us to operate the furnace and the ceramic heater so within an hour it was toasty warm inside. We were the only RV people in the parking lot…..I wonder why! It went to 25F overnight but we slept well and stayed warm.

Wednesday, January 21st
We awoke at 7:00am, made a thermos of coffee and were on the road by 8:00….a nice early start. It is a beautiful day with sunshine, blue skies and dry pavement all the way. We crossed in to Idaho at 10:30am and then Utah at 2:30pm. The scenery is breathtaking and there is very little traffic on the divided highway. I took the wheel just before we came to Salt Lake City so had to cope with the rush hour traffic through that whole area….very nerve-wracking!! We made it to another Walmart, this time in Payson, after a 400 mile day. This great weather is supposed to stay with us for the next few days.


Thursday, January 22nd
We awoke to the sound of rain on the roof! Not a good thing as the temp outside was at freezing. It didn’t last too long but managed to leave a film of ice on the coach and the pavement. We were back on the road at 8:45am and the ice had dissipated quickly. We stopped to eat at noon when we realized that we sort of forgot about breakfast so were starved!
By 2:30pm it had warmed up with the sun coming through the clouds. The view keeps changing ….really beautiful rock formations and colours. Dramatically, it warmed up as we approached Mesquite so we stopped to change our clothes and put away the mitts. I shed my long underwear and put them away until the return trip (or maybe next winter). We drove as far as Henderson where we stayed the night. We now have the water system working so finally got dishes washed. Warm enough to sit outside before dinner. Tomorrow will be an easy trip to Quartzite, AZ.

Almost "On the Road Again"!

Finally, we got our break in the weather on Friday when the temperature went above freezing. Tonight we are all packed up, the coach and all systems are operative and we are parked out front ready to head south in the morning. The roads look good thru Alberta, Montana, Idaho & Utah for the next few days so that's good! We are aiming to reach Conrad, MT tomorrow night. Wish us luck!

On the Road again in 2009

It's time to start packing up old Kingsley for another adventure on the open road. Destination....warm weather and shirtsleeves!

The plan is to leave Edmonton one week tomorrow but , of course, the weather will decide when we depart. Here's what we are dealing with(see pictures). The temperature as we speak is -30C with a windchill taking it to -38C & the spare bedroom is piled high with all the stuff we brought in from the coach in October. Lots to do before we leave home for maybe two months. We are very lucky to have people living here while we're gone. It will be a challenge but, we are up for it. I will be posting every few days and I hope you have fun following along vicariously!

Westcoast Winter Wonderland!

I came home yesterday after five days in Vancouver visiting with Michelle & the grand-dog, Zephyr. Wow, It was -27C Sunday afternoon when I flew out of Edmonton hoping for some respite from the cold and snow. Vancouver greeted me with typical rain and atypical below zero temperatures. There was snow on the ground and much more to come over the next few days. Vancouverites were loving the novelty of it all and everyone seemed to be in good spirits, greeting one another, which is not the norm when the weather is the routine!

Michelle & I had fun. She lives in the West-end of Vancouver and we shopped, lunched and went to the Art Gallery, traveling mostly on foot as it was easier to get around walking instead of trying to drive on the ice.

I came home yesterday to... surprise, surprise...-27C! There were cars in the ditch all along the highway in from the airport. Winter in Canada, you gotta love it!! We have to get travelling south with Kingsley ASAP! We are aiming for early January. I will keep you posted on our activities.

P.S. Zephyr is modelling her new raincoat and snood!

Footloose in the "Big Apple" with Barbara Dundas (Sims)

This is the account of an adventure without Kingsley and without Alan..... a different kind of adventure!

We headed out on Friday, November 7th via Air Canada (Barb from Calgary & me from Edmonton) bound for NYC and a little holiday. This was a birthday present for me from eldest daughter Barb & hubby Keith and our third trip there. The first time was 20 years ago and a really exciting adventure for both of us in the big city. The second trip in the spring of 2003, there were four as daughters Catherine & Karen joined us. Unfortunately, Cath, Karen & Michelle were unable to get away from work to come with us this time.
Friday was a long day with a connection in TO but, we made it to our lodgings at the Westside YMCA about 6:00pm. The Y is a great place to stay in NYC...definitely spartan but, clean, safe, central and very affordable! The four of us stayed there in 2003 and Barb & Keith stayed there a couple of years ago when they ran the New York Marathon. It's a bit of a well kept secret.... and now I've let it out of the bag!! Anyway, it works for us and with the money we saved, we were able to do lots of other fancy things.We went for dinner to a great restaurant, Le Bonne Soupe, which we discovered the last time we were there and after dinner walked over to Rockefeller Centre where we bought tickets to the Top of the Rock. It was a beautiful night, warm & misty with a very fine drizzle up on the roof. What a view and what a beautiful Art Deco building! We spent over an hour up there and I took lots of pictures.

Saturday, after breakfast we headed thru Central Park and over to the newly renovated MOMA(Museum of Modern Art)where we spent over four hours. So much to see including a Van Gogh exhibition ...48 paintings from the Starry Night collection.
It was raining when we came out of the museum and several fellows were right there with $5.00 umbrellas for sale. We bought one and proceeded to walk over to the TKTS outlet in Times Square to buy same-day ½ price tickets for a Broadway show. The line-up was around the block and everyone was getting soaked so we decided to come back the next day. We saw a movie instead: ‘Rachel getting Married’. Barb wanted to see it in Calgary but so far, it hasn’t arrived there. It was very good. We walked to Columbus Circle after the movie and had curry in this wonderful place(Whole Earth Market)in the Time-Warner Mall. On the way out, we watched them setting up the Xmas decorations and coordinating the lights to the music. Awesome! It was even snowing from the ceiling of the four story rotunda…something new being added this Xmas season.

Sunday, after breakfast, we headed to Time Square to line up for tickets to the matinee performance of ‘Spring Awakening’, a musical which won the Tony award in 2007. We really enjoyed the show…a good choice. On our way back to the Y we passed the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of the David Letterman Show. A small sign outside said ‘show tickets available’ so in we went and signed up for a lottery for one of two shows being taped on Monday. After a glass or two of wine in our tiny room, it was back to see another movie at our movie theatre around the corner. We walked through the night streets to Barnes & Noble bookstore and café, bought some books and had a late meal.

Monday, we headed west to the docks and the East river..a beautiful day and a brisk walk. We discovered the USS Bataan, a supply ship and aircraft carrier on active service and just back from the middle-east. They were having an Open House for the public so we checked it out. It’s a massive ship and all the crew were so accommodating. They are in port for the Veteran’s Day parade through the streets of NYC Tuesday. The newly refurbished museum ship, the Intrepid, was at the next pier. The grand re-opening and dedication by George W. Bush also set for Tuesday. We were heading to the Harbour Cruise Pier for a circle tour around Manhattan when my cell phone rang. It was the Letterman show and we had tickets for the first show taping. It’s not every day we have the chance to see Letterman & company…the harbour cruise was off! The show did not disappoint. Dave’s guests were Ted Turner (CNN, Jane Fonda’s ex), Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef & cookbook author) & Taylor Swift (up and coming C & W singer). The band & Paul Schafer were terrific and it was fun seeing how the show is put together. Dave came out before the show started in his shirtsleeves and talked to us for about five minutes. It was one of those great New York minutes (well…hour)!! Back to our little home away from home for Happy Hour and then out for a chinese dinner.
Everywhere we went, we walked…so central to all the action!

Tuesday, November 11th - Veterans/Remembrance Day and our last day in NYC.
It was a long traveling day: first the subway and bus to Laguardia, then the plane to Toronto. Then we parted ways; Barb leaving for Calgary and me for Edmonton. We had a wonderful holiday and lots of fun. Hope you enjoy the pictures!