19/10/2008 - 09/11/2008 - San Francisco - San Diego

19/10/2008 -San Francisco. Well after a couple of days of some long drives, we finally made it to San Francisco. The RV Park we are staying in is about 5 miles from the city, so it's in a great location, however the way we drove in, the neighbourhood isn't exactly inviting and I don't think Mum will be venturing too far from the gates. One of the benefits of this Park is it has transport direct into the city and is just across the road from the 49ers stadium unfortunately for us there is no game on whilst we are in San Francicso.

20/10/2008 - We were all up early and ready for the 9:00 bus into the City. Our first stop was near Fisherman's Wharf Pier 39 were we headed straight to see the Sea Lions who have made themselves at home on several of the pontoons. We've booked ourselves into one of the Hop on Hop Off tours. We do find that these are really helpful to get the lay on the city and it gives us a good feel for what we would like to do with our time in the city.

Okay so after an exhausting morning, it's time for lunch, of course we head out to Fisherman's Wharf for some Clam Chowder, Seafood and a couple of glasses of wine. Lucky Mum and the Big Fella were with me because if they hadn't been, I would of settled in very nicely and probably spent most of the afternoon in the one restaurant. From here we just wandered around the Fisherman's Wharf area, before heading back to the RV Park.

21/10/2008 - Once again we were up and ready for the first bus. Dave and I spent the morning at Alcatraz, it was very eerie in some places especially the solitary confinement cells. They have a great Audio Tour which Dave and I both thoroughly enjoyed. So if you are in San Fran, I would say that Alcatraz is well worth the visit. Mum had spent the morning back on the Hop On Hop Off Bus so we met upwith her at 12:30 - yep just in time for some lunch. So once again we had another lovely feed of crabs and lobster on the Pier (not good for our Diets). After lunch The Big Fella and I caught the Bus over to the South Side of the Golden Gate, so we could walk over to the North Side and catch the Bus back. Wow, what spectacular views you can get looking back to San Fran from the city. Mum didn't join us (as we've heard a 100 times - she doesn't do walking unless it involves food or retail therapy) so we all met up again at Fisherman's Wharf. We had a small walk around and then off to the Cable Cars, this is obviously a huge Tourist Attraction has there was a line up that would take about 45 minutes, so we walked to the next stop and only had a 30 minute wait. Another thing off the list that Dave and I wanted to do in San Fran. We took the Cable Car to the top of Lombard St, which is known as being the crookedest / steepest Street in San Fran, but when you read the literature you find out that it is neither, but still a sight worthy of seeing. We jumped our first cable car with Mum getting inside and Dave and I rode the steps on the outside. (As you do...) So we were able to get Mum to walk down by telling her we were going for dinner. We stopped and asked a local for what Italian Restaurant he recommended (we were in the Italian District) and he gave us the name of one - so off we headed. When we first arrived at the Restaurant Mum and I headed straight for the Restrooms to freshen up. When we got back there was menus and water waiting for us. So of course after our lovely walk we were a bit thirsty - so we finished of the first bottle of water very quickly, the waitress (who was always hovering around, much to Dave's disgust) asked if we would like another bottle and of course I said yes (I didn't know that it was bottled still water (not the good old fashioned tap water) until Dave pointed it out to me - oh well how much can a bottle (not even a litre) cost. Well when we got the bill we found out $7.50 - I could of ordered a bottle of wine - last time I'm going to be good and order the water next time it's wine from the beginning. So after a lovely meal it was back onto the Cable Car to catch our bus home. I for one had a fantastic day and I realise that I could live in San Fran it has a spectacular harbour and great food.

22/10/2008 - Today we started our journey down the famous Highway 1, to the Santa Cruz area were we stayed the night in the State Park at Capitola on New Brighton State Beach. We arrived around 4:00pm so just in time for happy hour. So we've got ourselves all set-up, I've got my new bottle of wine out of the fridge, my glass and now Mum and I are trying to open the bottle - uh oh we broke the waiters friend (I normally have a spare (like any good drinker) - but this had got broken a few days earlier - and no not from overuse). So we have a dilemma - Mum to the rescue over to the next site with bottle of wine in hand. Of course she does the right thing and has a chat to the two gentlemen (who were both in wheelchairs) and comes back in about 10 minutes with an open bottle of wine - so after I stop hyperventilating, the glass is full. We are all sitting outside enjoying the park and the two gentlemen come wheeling over and introduce themselves (Russ and Nev and their dog Moby). Moby is a really lovely black Labrador, so I offer to take him for a walk. He his really powerful, I found out later that he frequently pulls Russ and Nev both at the one time in their wheelchairs. So being sociable we all have a few drinks, after about an hour Russ goes over and puts a chicken on for their dinner. So after about an hour after that we start cooking our meal as well (we do offer to cook dinner for them as well - but they insist they are going home soon to have their chicken) - well our dinner is all cooked and we are ready to eat, Mum just can't eat in front of them so gives them a small plate to share, well we've finished dinner and they still don't look like going back to their site for their chicken, so once again we offer to cook them something to eat and this time they say yes - by this time Russ and Nev have just about had as much as they can drink (apparently prior to coming over to us they had had several martinis) - so after a few subtle hints and Mum politely getting up and saying good night Russ and Nev still don't look like moving - so Dave and I say good night. It was a great night they were both very interesting men.

23/10/2008 - 25/10/2008 - We are all about to head out down the track to the beach but before we go we wander over to say goodbye to Russ and Nev. Once again I get to take Moby for a run, this time we go to the beach. So after giving Moby back to them and we say our goodbyes again, Dave and I go for a long walk down to the other end of the beach. We pass an RV park which is situated right on the beach, so we go to enquire about vacancies (it is another State Park). The process is that they have a lottery for any vacant sites (normally you need to book 48 hours prior) you need to be there before 12:00 noon to receive a token and then at 12:30 they do a draw. To cut a long story short we ended up being able to book in for two nights. So once again we are sitting outside enjoying our spectacular view and we meet our neighbor (Peter), so being polite we all have a drink together. Peter is from Austria and has just received his green card. We find out that he is currently a baker and was previously a chef (along with a number of other trades). So as the evening progresses we start thinking about dinner. Peter has previously made a tomato based pasta sauce and says that he has enough for all of us. So after Mum and I prepare some salads and pasta we settle down to a lovely meal. After the meal Peter brings out his Schnapps, Dave being polite obliges with Peter and they both have a few Schnapps - of course then Dave brings out his Bundy and they have a few of those and to finish the night off they end up polishing a bottle of red off before going to bed. Peter also owns a lovely golden retriever named Mozart - so yet again I seem to be given the job of dog walker - which I love. It was great to meet Peter he lives in Denver, Colorado and has offered for Dave and I to go and visit whenever we want - fantastic. Peter has also booked in for two nights so the next afternoon we all get together and Peter has offered to cook us Beef Strogonoff (you beauty). Dave hadn't surfaced too much today and eventually makes an appearance with a can of Coke. So after a lot more subdued night we all head off to bed. Peter is going to meet up with his Mum and her husband in a couple of days time - so he has a night or two spare and has decided that he will head off with us down Highway 1 to the Hearst Castle. This has been a fantastic spot to settle in for a couple of nights. The wildlife etc out in the water just off the beach was just wonderful, we saw many harbour seals, dolphins and the morning we left I even got to see a whale migrating South.

We have been told by many friends the drive down Highway 1 is just spectacular. Unfortunately for us we picked a rather bad day to do this drive, the fog / cloud was really thick and you could not see the coastline except for a couple of small breaks in the cloud, it was more like flying in an airplane and looking down onto the clouds. Of course, Mum was in the back panicking she absolutely hates driving around cliffs etc, so when we parked the first thing Mum did when she got out of Stubbie was to kiss the ground. We spent the night in another State Park close to Hearst Castle - unfortunately we have been boon docking for a few nights and we have run out of water, our grey tank is full, our LP gas is low and our black tank is nearly full. Which means no showers - lucky Peter is travelling with us and has plenty.

26/10/2008 - This morning we wake up and say good-bye to Peter - I'm sure we will get to see him again, either on our travels or back into Australia. So we drive up to the visitor centre for the Hearst Castle and book ourselves into the next available tour. The Hearst Castle is really something to see. Hearst Castle is the palatial estate built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Invitations to Hearst Castle were highly coveted during its heyday in the 1920s and '30s. The Hollywood and political elite often visited, usually flying into the estate's airfield or taking a private Hearst-owned train car from Los Angeles. Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Calvin Coolidge, William P. Clark, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill were among Hearst's A-list guests. After visiting the Hearst Castle we drove a few miles back up Highway 1 to have lunch and to see all the Elephant Seals lining the beaches. So after lunch we start to our travels over to Las Vegas.

27/10/2008 - 30/10/2008. We spend the next few nights heading towards Las Vegas, doing a bit of shopping at the Outlet Stores on the way. Stopping for a few hours in Santa Barbara having some lunch, and a look around. Mum and I decided to spoil ourselves and shout ourselves a Manicure and Pedicure. After two hours and we pay the bill (I think we were ripped off - it was advertised as $45.00 for both, but then anything extra - like your legs being massaged - cost about $5.00 each (I thought the leg massage was included in the Pedicure) - oh well our nails are looking a lot better.

We also spend one night in the carpark at the first Casino in Nevada just over the California border, which is just like Heaven (for Mum and I anway) it has an Outlet Centre, a total of 3 Casinos and a Food Court.

30/10/2008 - 06/11/2008 . We have arrived in Las Vegas and I'm sure this will be a surprise to everyone, but our first night we don't even go out to gamble. The RV park we are staying at is at the back of Circus Circus. With a bus stop just outside where a bus goes up and down the Strip 24 hours a day. We catch up with Rob, Handbag, Narls and Macca for dinner on the 2nd November. Narls and Macca casually mention that the have a couple of friends who will be joining us for dinner - they have just got married and are on their honeymoon - their names Brownie and Kylie. Anyway as we are waiting just outside the restaurant for them to arrive Narls and Macca see them coming, I look at Brownie and think geez I've seen his face before (probably from Wynnum) and then we get introduced to them as Jonathon and Kylie - and the penny drops Jonathon Brown from the Brisbane Lions. It turned into a really great night with lots of laughs and a few drinks - a few too many for some. The rest of the week was spent shopping, drinking, eating and gambling. Dave and I went to see Zumanity an X rated Cirque De Sol performance - it was a great performance - not quiet as good as the other shows we have seen - but Dave and I had a great night - we tried to catch-up again with the crew but we didn't get to Treasurer Island until after 1:00 and we couldn't find them anywhere. We did have a couple of attempts to catch up with Handbag etc. but unfortunately we didn't get to see them again. From the last time we were in Las Vegas until now the Strip has really grown - Dave and I both agreed that it seems to be getting too big and losing some of its character. However, that doesn't mean that we all didn't have a good time. Leaving Las Vegas is rather sad as I know from here we are making our way to Los Angeles for Mum to catch her flight home - it's not going to be pretty at the airport. We did spend our first night out of Las Vegas in the same spot we stopped at on the way in - it's free and we are allowed to boondock and put our slides and jacks down - it has 3 casinos, shopping and food court - but we didn't get a chance to use any of these facilities this time.

07/11/2008 - Los Angeles - Well the day has finally arrived when Mum leaves us. I know that she is really looking forward to getting home to see Bob and all the family, but I also know that it is going to be really hard to say goodbye. We arrive into Los Angeles and set up Stubbie in a State Park the RV site is only about 3 miles away from the airport and right on the beach front - what a great find. The RV park has approx 50 sites and we were lucky enough to get the last site. Well we thought we were going to have a peaceful couple of days for about 5 minutes and then we heard all the jumbo jets flying over - I don't think Las Angeles airport ever closes down. We order a Taxi to take Mum to the airport (nearly everytime Mum and I have looked at each other today we nearly burst into tears) - it's not going to be pretty. We finally say goodbye to Mum - it really was very hard to say goodbye - and yes it was like the flood gates had opened up. The next day Dave and I decided to make use of the 90 mile bike path right on the beach. We decide that we will ride to Venice Beach - which is about 10 miles away (that's far enough for us). We stop at Venice Beach for a bite to eat and to watch the crowds. Venice Beach doesn't seem to have changed since last time we were here. The crowds are still the same - basically anything and anyone goes - so after a few laughs we decide to make the trek back home. We are riding along at great speed (well we think so) we have just got out of the main area and BANG Dave's bike chain breaks - we are about 8 miles from home - and even though Dave is a great handyman, without any tools it just can't be fixed. So we start our very slow journey back home pushing and walking. We eventually work out (the bike path has widened) that Dave can hold onto my shoulder and I can cycle - well after a couple of miles and a few comments from some of the Male Cyclists - Dave decides that it's his turn to cycle with me hanging onto him - I knew that sham would eventually get to him.

09/11/2008 - 11/11/2008. Today we headed to San Diego - to try and get things sorted out for our trek to Mexico. We need to get insurance, vehicle permits, visas etc as well as doing some small repairs on Stubbie and a bit of shopping etc. Well Tim the Toolman (I know him as Dave) starts on fixing the TV - well we now need to go a do a bit more shopping for a few parts.

Look out Mexico here we come...

01/10/2008 - 17/10/2008 Texas - Arizona

01/10/2008 - Brisbane to Dallas - Well after nearly 3 months of being back home in Australia it was hard to believe that it was time to head back to Stubbie. It was really great to catch-up with a lot of our family and friends (however, we must apologise to our friends and family that we didn't get a chance to see, time just went way too fast).
Dave was a happy man when he found out that he was travelling in row 1. I was fairly happy as well, they had given Mum and I a Bulk Head row (which meant we had extra leg room). Well after we entered the plane and I gave The Big Fella a kiss goodbye at the front door; he proceeded to go up the front and Mum and I went down to the back of the plane, I was starting to wonder why we had only upgraded Dave (don't think that will happen again). One of the flight attendants made the long long trek down to Mum and I to say that they were going to upgrade me (unfortunately they weren't able to upgrade both of us). So I went up to the front with the Big Fella - had my lunch, ordered breakfast, watched a movie and then went back and let Mum have a turn (geez I'm a good daughter). Near the end of the flight once all the meals etc. had been served they let us all sit up the front for landing. So after we successfully negotiated Customs and Immigration (properly this time) we head on over to the Qantas Club for our flight to Dallas (here I learnt another lesson about travelling in the States). We are sitting in the Qantas Club and I'm keeping an eye on the Departures Board waiting for the status to change to Boarding. Well apparently they don't always change the status to Boarding at either the Gate or on the Departure Board. Yep, we watched our flight slowly pull away from the bridge. We did manage to catch the next flight - it was only one hour later.

So we got ourselves and our luggage out to Stubbie - we were feeling a bit anxious to see if she would start - but we should never have doubted her - first attempt she started roaring like a race car engine. We then headed off to buy a few essential groceries and then onto a really lovely RV Park in Dallas. The RV park was on a lake. At this lake they actually have like a huge carport shelter over the boats that are being stored in the berths.

02/10/2008 -04/10/2008 - Well after we all woke up Dave and I around noon and Mum around 3:00pm (she kept hiding under the blankets whenever Dave and I tried to get her up) there wasn't really a lot left of the day, so we just cleaned a few things up. That night we were all awake around 12:30am and didn't get back to sleep until after 3:00am - good old Jet Lag. On our way to Amarillo we stopped at a small town named Vernon - well this town was more like a ghost town. We arrived at Amarillo for Mum to do some retail therapy (she was starting to get the DT's 4 days without any shopping).

We went to a Texas Steakhouse for dinner, this is where Mum said that she like she was really in Texas. All the staff were wearing the Big Texas hats with the appropriate cowboy shirts etc. The dining room was decorated with all sorts of stuffed game animals. The Gift Shop actually had a live rattle snake - I wasn't going too close even though it was in a glass cage. At this restaurant if you can eat a 72oz steak and the four sides they give you - then it's free if not it costs you $50.

We then headed off to try and see a University Football Game - something that Dave and I have been looking forward to seeing. Well we needed to park Stubbie about a kilometre away from the Stadium - on our way to walking to the Stadium a very nice man stopped and gave us all a lift to just outside the gate (I still can't get over how helpful and polite the Americans have been). After settling it for about 10 minutes it starts raining and the wind gusts are really strong - at least half the crowd is packing up and leaving and as we didn't have any wet weather gear we left too (but not before we were looking like drowned rats). But after seeing the small amount of the game that we did (and the cheerleaders do a few flips) - we know we will definitely be going back to another game. All through the night the wind was howling and the rain didn't let up - so we woke up in the morning and decided to stay put for another night. As Mum and I were walking to the Office we passed a gentlemen who advised us that there was a small chance of a Tornado in the afternoon - oh great. Well the first thing Mum does is start looking for the Storm Shelter. Lucky for us that Tornado never made it to where we were staying.

05/10/2008 – 06/10/2006 – Roswell / Ruidiso. After we left Amarillo, Texas we headed to Roswell, New Mexico for our alien out of body experience. We arrive in Roswell right at lunch time, so we headed to the Red Lobster for a rather large meal. Even I couldn’t finish it all, but it was sure nice to get some fresh Lobster and Shrimp. When we drove into the centre of Roswell the first thing that we noticed was that all the lamp posts had an alien face painted on the globes, Mcdonald's was a space ship and the place was full of aliens. So we paid our money (1 adult, 2 x seniors, I’m loving this in many places their Seniors are 55 and over, so now Dave qualifies for some senior rates) and went into the Museum. It was really quite interesting reading about the events that have happened in Roswell. After Roswell we headed to Ruidiso.

Ruidiso is a small town at the bottom of a mountain range, from what we saw it is more like a skiing village set up mainly for the winter season. When we checked in we were told not to feed the deer as they were in their mating season, there were deer everywhere, just felt like being back at the Canyon House – I wasn’t game to try and hand feed these ones. During the nightwe got our first taste of winter with a sprinkling of snow on the hills.

07/10/2008 – 11/10 2008 – Albuquerque. Off to the balloon festival at Albuquerque. This is the most photographed event in the world and you could see why when we first arrived. We had booked a premium site to make sure we could reserve a place for Stubbie before we left for Australia. It was a good thing we did as there were 5,000 plus other RVs already settled in when we arrived. All the RVs were in three different areas and the RVs were parked Rally Style which is another way of saying we will park you all as close as possible. We got to know our neighbors very well as we could hold hands whist we were in our own beds. The good news was you had to be up at 5am any way so we all use to have afternoon nanny naps before happy hour and more balloon festivities. The balloon festival was truly sensational. We walked in an out of the balloons as they set up for flight. We were like little kids with big smiles and open mouths as we marveled at the sites. They allowed the public to be right amongst all the action. There were a number of take off and landing areas for the balloons with one of the fields right in front of Stubbie. The main field was about 500 meters away and it was the size of 5 football fields put together and it was wall to wall balloons. Make sure you go into the photo section of the blog to see all the different balloon photos.

11/10/2008 – The bad weather was beginning to settle in (there was snow on the mountains behind us), the balloon ascension had been cancelled so we decided to head into Old Town Albuquerque. We thought we have been getting good at packing everything up properly until when we were driving out one of the RV guides asked if we were going to watch TV – yep we had left the aerial up (again) but luckily no harm done.
Dave is excited we are going to the Atomic Bomb Musuem ……., Mum and I go in have a quick look around, watch part of one of the movies and decided we were having way too much fun – so we left the movie and decided to go and do the free walking tour offered by the Albuquerque Art and History Museum. This walk just happens to go past the jewelry stores where they sell all the Turquoise.

So after the tour Mum and I decided that it would be the right thing to do and go and help their economy. Instead of going back to the Balloon Park we decided to head on up to Santa Fe (the weather wasn’t getting any better, there were storms all around us). On our way to Santa Fe we stopped in this really beautiful little town called Madrid, which has some lovely little boutiques, jewelery shops and coffee shops. Well, Mum and I ended up buying some really lovely shirts from this little antique style boutique, whilst Dave is waiting in the coffee shop – oh well back to Stubbie and onto Santa Fe.

12/10/2008 – 13/10/2008 – Santa Fe. Okay it’s time for some serious retail therapy off to the Outlet Stores. Dave has decided that he needs to spend some quality time with himself and fix up a few things on Stubbie. So Mum and I grab a taxi (the driver give’s us a general history / geography lesson on Santa Fe, which is more than what we get back home) and off we go, well after a few hours and few bargains we decide to head back to the Big Fella (we thought he might have been missing us – but he lets us know that he was happy having some quiet time). Whilst in New Mexico we thought we better go to a Mexican restaurant for the night – once again Mum made mention that she once again felt that she was in New Mexico (for those of you who know my Mum this wont come as any surprise).
We have booked ourselves on a Horse Trail Ride in the Wild West Country. We arrive at the Ranch and are introduced to our horses – Mum has Dollar, Dave has RC and I’ve got Cowboy. Mum is a bit apprehensive and keeps threatening to chicken out – but as she is a trooper she gets on and off we go. The trail is rather quiet rocky and for the first hour we tend to stay on the Ranch and go over / around one of the mountains. Mum (and her body) has decided that one hour is enough and calls it quit. Dave and I soldier on for another hour. We go outside the Ranch and along the road to a old Western Movie set where the likes of John Wayne and Kevin Costner have shot some films. The Lead says that you normally get a horse with a personality that represents the rider. Mum’s horse Dollar wanted to stop and have little snacks all the time – just like Mum. My horse Cowboy didn’t want to stop as often, but when he did stop he wanted to eat a lot, and he also wouldn’t let Dave’s horse RC pass him no matter how hard Dave tried – so competitive (okay a bit like his rider). Dave’s horse RC was dithering at the back, taking it all in and pulling up the rear, and then once he found out that Cowboy wouldn’t let him pass, he kept trying to pass us – a bit like Dave always trying. It really was a great way to start the day. It had been awhile since either Dave or I had been on a horse but luckily for us some of what we had been taught came back to us – well we thought so anyway.

13/10/2008 – 14/10/2008 – Taos. On our way to Taos we have a quick stop at Chimayo to visit the El Santuario de Chimayo. This is a church that was built between 1813 – 1816 and is believed to have healing powers the US equivalent of Lourdes. So off we go say a few prayers and then back to Stubbie to Taos. The bad weather seems to be following us. The next morning we all woke up and got out of bed, very gingerly, as we were a bit wary to see if our bodies were going to talk to us – after our horse ride – but luckily for us all bits were in working order).

So we go to see the Taos Pueblo which is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA. When we arrive the rain is really starting to come down, so mum decides to stay in comfort and keep Stubbie company. Dave and I have decided that we have come this far, so we are going in. Well whilst we are waiting to purchase our tickets a few snow flakes start falling, so Dave and I have decided it is going to be a quick visit. We’ve had to make a few stops at Walmart etc to buy some extra blankets for Mum and a heated blanket for Dave and I. When we first arrived in Dallas, we were hot in our shorts, now we are cold in our tracksuits and gloves.

15/10/2008 – On our way to the Grand Canyon we stayed the night at the SKY City Casino at Acoma, which was a great little park at the back of the casino. For Mum and me it was just like being back at Wynnum with the Leagues club at the back door. So off we went to make our fame and fortune. Unfortunately it was a cold, cold night in the desert and when we got up in the morning we had no water. Our outside water pipe was frozen. When Dave went out side to see what could be done he noticed our sewerage pipe was also frozen. Nothing is worst than a frozen poo pipe. After flushing the pipes with hot water and making sure we got as much sun on all the pipes we managed to clear out pipes. What a relief…. Now it is off to the Grand Canyon.

16/10/2008 – Grand Canyon. We checked into the RV Park, which is the National Park right at the top of the Grand Canyon, within a 1km walk to the rim, or a two minute bus ride. I had read that if you are visiting the Grand Canyon it is best to see the Sunrise and the Sunset. So the alarm goes off at 5:30 and Dave and I are up getting ready. Well Mum has got up made a cup of tea and gone back to bed, she said she will see the Sunset. So off Dave and I go and we arrive with about 5 mins to spare. So we are standing there along with a hundred other people, the silence is just amazing, waiting for the Sun to Rise. Well the moment finally comes when you can start to see the tip of the Sun, it sure was worthwhile getting up to spectacular site. (Okay I probably owe Dave an apology; yes it is more than just another hole in the ground).

It’s great to have Mum travelling with us and sharing some of our experiences. Dave is a bit worried as we are certainly stopping more to do some retail therapy, Mum really can’t go to long without some shopping and of course I go with her and normally end up buying something, so Stubbie is getting more and more packed. I think Mum will be buying another suit case to get some of her gear home – so for those of you who thought you would be getting some presents think again, she has no room left to bring anything back, after she takes a few of my little bargains back with her.

PS..Help ...get me out of here ...these women are driving me crazy!!...!!

21/06/2008 - /07/2008 - New Orleans and Texas

21/06/2008 - Biloxi, Mississippi - On our way over to New Orleans, Louisiana we drove through the town of Biloxi. Hurricane Katrina has certainly left it's mark on the casino town of Biloxi, however many of the Casinos have been rebuilt. The rebuilt Beau Rivage is king of the strip, it is to Biloxi what the Bellagio is to Las Vegas. And yes - I'm sure many of you will be surprised we did just drive through, no gambling and yes it did hurt.

Unfortunately there has been some schedule changes and Desrae and Steve are not going to be able to meet us in New Orleans.

21/06/2008 - 24/06/2008 - New Orleans - Louisiana. We really didn't know what to expect to see in New Orleans. Because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a lot of people have told us to give New Orleans a miss. But boy are we glad that we didn't listen to them, we just wished we had more time. We stayed in a terrific RV Park only a few blocks away from the French Quarters. The RV park was not in the safest area but the 24hour security in and around the park made us feel very safe. In fact one of the staff from the RV park would drive us (in a golf cart) within a block of the French Quarters when we needed to head out and they would also pick you up from the drop off point 24 hours a day. We started our day off at the Cafe Du Monde famous for it's coffee and beignets (similar to a doughnut without the whole). We then had a bit of a wander and shop around the French Market. From here we walked along the Mississippi and then hopped on a horse drawn carriage for a bit of a tour (this was a bit disappointing as we expected to hear a bit more of history of the area). We were getting a bit thirsty by now so we decided to incorporate a bit of history whilst quenching our thirst. First stop the oldest bar in the US - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. From here we headed down Bourbon St (with a plan to going home, freshening up and heading back in for a nice dinner and some live music at a few of the local hot spots) - well of course that was the plan. As we were walking down Bourbon St we decided to stop in at The Big Easy bar for another quick drink - well, one drink lead to another which lead to another,which - you get the picture. It really was amazing to just sit there and watch the people come in get a drink then head on back out onto the streets. It is illegal to have a glass liquor containers in the streets so all the bars dispense plastic 'go cups' to take out into the street and wander. The Big Easy bar had approx 20 pre-mixed frozen cocktails all set-up, these drinks are served in either 16oz or 20oz cups and cost from $9 - $12. Apparently Bourbon St and all the bars start to fill up by 10:00pm. Unfortunately (one of us - who happens to be over 6 ft tall) had the wobbly boot on, and I wasn't able to keep him upright. So we tried to have that meal (as originally planned), but after the entree that was all the sitting down that the Big Fella could handle so we decided to call it a night - it's only 7:00pm. As we were getting out of the Taxi the Big Fella thought he had lost his sunglasses, but to his surprise they were actually on his face over his eyes, not even just sitting on his head. We really had a great day and wished that we had more time to keep exploring New Orleans. The French Quarters area was exactly like I had pictured - we really did enjoy our taste of New Orleans.

25/06/2008 - 27/0/2008 - Fort Worth, Texas. We arrived in Fort Worth the night before the girls competition. It really is an interesting competition, each competitor's name is drawn out of a hat, then a horse's name is drawn out of a hat and that's the pairing. It appears to us as if a lot relies on the luck of the draw of which horse a competitor draws, at least everyone is in the same boat. Each competitor than gets 2 x 1/2 hour practice runs on their chosen horse. Lisa had her 1st practice session the night before the competition and all went really well. Unfortunately, Bec was unable to get a ride on her horse as the horse was still competing. So Bec had her 2 practice sessions before the competition started - Lisa also had her final practice before the comp started. Both the girls looked absolutely gorgeous all dressed up in their riding gear. Lisa was the first of the girls to go into the rink, unfortunately for Lisa the horse she was riding played up. Lisa handled the tantrums of the horse really well and placed 7th. Bec had a great ride and it was any one's race for the top 3 position - Bec placed a really well earned 3rd. Dave and I were both really happy and proud to see the girls compete.

27/06/2008 -29/06/2008 - San Antonio, Texas. Desrae and Steve joined Dave and I and we headed off to San Antonio. The first night we headed into San Antonio for dinner and a beautiful river boat ride. All along the banks of the river are restaurants and hotels - my kind of town.

The next day we headed back into downtown to visit the Alamo. On the way to the Alamo we watched a Street Rodeo. This was the first time that I had witnessed a Live Rodeo- it really gets the heart pumping.

Dave really enjoyed visiting the Alamo - it was one of items on our list of must sees. It was interesting hearing about the real history of the Alamo. From here we headed back down to the river area for lunch. We went to a place called Landry's for some fabulous seafood and wonderful cocktails.

Unfortunately the time went too quick and it was time to head back to Fort Worth to catch up with the girls on the way back we stopped off at the outlet shops at San Marco - recently voted the 3rd best place to shop in the world. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time. As much as I don't like shopping I would still like to go back and do a bit more.

30/06/2008 - 03/07/2008 - Fort Worth / Dallas, Texas. Well it's not long before we head home for a few months, so we have been trying to get everything organised before we leave. We have found a nice safe place to store Stubbie and we are just trying to work out exactly what needs to be done to store her for the time we are away . We've been to the championships a few times to watch a few events and catch up with the girls.

Desrae, Steve, Dave and myself all took a trip into Dallas for a day to see the spot where JFK was shot. It was quite interesting learning the history and hearing some of the conspiracy theories of who shot JFK. With Desrae's insistence Steve, Dave and I trudged along to Pioneer Park to see some art work - to our surprise this has been one of the best city sculptures that we have seen, so Desrae after all out whinging etc it was worth the trek. Dave and I had been craving a good steak for awhile so after back tracking from where we started we finally found a place which served exactly that, it was a German Steak house. Steve needed to leave Fort Worth a week earlier than the rest of us to get back to work.

04/07/08 - 08/07/08 - Desrae being a great host took us to a full Rodeo in Dallas. Whilst this wasn't as big as normal - due to the fact that it was on the 4th July, Dave liked to tell everybody that Texas was putting on the fireworks for his birthday. We had a great night, a couple of the highlights was watching Cowboy Poker - this is like a game of Chicken except the Cowboys try to stay seated whilst a Bull is let loose into the arena, the last one seated is the winner. We also got another laugh out of watching the children try to ride the sheep, they come out of the same stalls as the Bull and Bronco Riders. The evening of the 5th of July was the last night of the World Paint Horse Show, we had a great night just watching all the final events and demonstrations. After the show the team and supporters all went to a Cajun Restaurant.
The night before Desrae and the girls had to leave we all went to 'Hooters' for dinner. This is were Dave finally found out that Light Beer isn't light in alcohol content - it's light in Carbs. Luckily he found out after the first couple of beers - so there was no need to spend the night in the carpark at Hooters.

It was to say goodbye to Stubbie, however we are looking forward to catching up with everyone.

05/06/2008 - 21/06/2008 Florida

05/06/2008 - 08/06/2008 - Juno Beach. Juno Beach is the Beach before Palm Beach. The park we stayed at was in a great location, walk to the Beach, walk to the shops and walk to the restaurants, it is really well maintained with a great swimming pool. So of course we headed to the Beach for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean. The water was quite warm (Simmy even you would get in - without any trouble), Dave said it was too warm but it was just right for me. Juno Beach is really dog friendly, everyone who seems to go to the beach had at least one dog. All the dogs are so well behaved, there is hardly any barking and they all seem to play really well together and of course there are plastic bag containers for poop scooping everywhere. The sea air was obviously having the right effect on Dave as he offered to take be to a Thai restaurant (or maybe it was a ploy with our weight loss regime - who knows, but I was in), as many of you would know Dave isn't a big fan of Thai.

Once again we were surrounded by some interesting animals. If either Dave or I walked outside of our motor home, the turtles from the lake behind us would come swimming over looking for a feed - so of course I had to oblige. The turtles weren't the only animals about, there was also this green large (interesting ok ugly) lizard and her baby that would hang around. I'm truly starting to love the outdoors and everything it has to offer - unfortunately still very frightened of those snakes that are also around. When I'm out doing my walking I would love to do some more of the nature trails but the fear of snakes keeps me away - unless of course the Big Fella is with me and I send him in first. Another good point about Juno was that there was a hair dresser in the shopping centre so I finally received a hair cut and colour.

08/06/2008 - 10/06/2008 - Long Key, Florida Keys. After such a wonderful couple of days at Juno Beach we headed off down to the Florida Keys. The drive from Miami to Key West is listed as one of the top drives in the USA. The route consists of a series of Keys (Sand Islands). The first major Key that we went through was Key Largo, not at all what Dave and I expected, it was quiet run down and from the highway the water was no where to be seen. (So much for the Beach Boys song...) After a while out of Key Largo the drive certainly improved and we could understand what people were talking about. The water is a beautiful greeny/bluey colour and really does look inviting. We had planned to travel all the way to Key West (the last Key), but as we were driving along the highway we noticed a State Park that had some camping right on the beach.

So after a successful U turn in Stubbie (Dave's becoming a pro at these now), we entered Long Key State Park and we were lucky enough to be able to get a site for two nights. What a fantastic location - Dave did mention once or twice while we were there that he could spend months here. The site is right on the beach, it is like 10 paces from the front of Stubbie and you are in the water. So we parked Stubbie head first, and our view from the front is just sublime, no shutting the curtains here. Each site is fairly private as well, as Dave would say it doesn't get much better than this. There is a coral reef just off the beach , but unfortunately for us we had no snorkeling gear. The only down fall (if you could call it that) was that in low tide to get into some decent (water depth) water you needed to walk out a fair way. The park reminded us a lot of Heron Island without the birds. Dave even managed to get stuck into one of his books - we are so similar I was reading a Joan Collins novel and Dave was reading a book by Alan Greenspan. I managed to get Dave to come on one of the nature walks with me and I must admit it was a bit disappointing it was just walking through mangroves and then more mangroves, so I'm not sure how many more of these I'll get the Big Fella on. Unfortunately, we knew we had to move on, this is one place that we will both remember.

10/06/2008 -12/06/2008. The Big Fella is back in the game with a couple of wins in the battle of the bulge the score to date is Lisa 5 Dave 2. I think I could be in a bit of trouble - time to buy some more chocolates. We finally made it all the way to Key West. We drove Stubbie right into downtown Key West and what a place. Narrow streets, mopeds everywhere, designer Golf carts, electric cars all roaming the street and pushbikes for rent that came with a holder for our beer. We negotiated our way out of downtown and found an RV park on the beach where we could catch public transport into town. Key West reminded us very much of Bali with people roaming from bar to bar, restaurant to restaurant and the streets lined with locals spaced out on drugs or alcohol. The Island is a real mixture of the wealthy and the extremely poor. We made our way down to the most southern point of the US which is an easy 90 mile swim to Cuba.

We did what all the tourists do we bought the tee shirt had the lobster, drank mango and strawberry daiquiri's whilst watching the beautiful sunsets. It was a great time however it is time to move on, so we both got into Stubbie and tried to move forward - ooops we forgot to retract the Jacks - luckily no major damage.

We have also booked our flights back to Australia for Karleigh's 21st birthday so we will be back 11 July and returning back to the US on 1 October so we look forward to catching up with everybody and I know Dave is looking forward to a game of golf or two.

12/06/2008 - 15/06/2008 - We made our way back to Miami to go to the Beach's where all the beautiful people supposedly live. Miami is not very RV friendly so we took Stubbie downtown for a look see. It is amazing where you can take a big RV.. We found an RV park out of town that had public transport at the gate so it was back to buses and trains. These turned out to be really good. Miami has toll booth after toll booth so it is very expensive to drive around. On the other hand the public transport is very cheap and they have an above ground mini train system that just does the city and that is free.

The Beach's were white (imported sand apparently) and the place looked very much like Venice beach in California. The Big Fella was once again very happy, G-Strings and topless bathers everywhere. Unfortunately, the day we went to the Beach an afternoon thunderstorm hit, luckily we had an umbrella and a lovely yellow rain coat for Dave to wear. One other thing about Miami is that the main language (around the suburbs we stayed at anyway) was definitely Spanish. There are a lot of Cubans in the Keys and in Miami - time to get those CD's out and start practicing for our Mexico Trip at Christmas time.

15/06/2008 - 17/06/2008 - We made our way across the state of Florida from East to West. We took the Alligator Alley freeway and it certainly lived up to its name. Alligators every couple of miles. Lucky for us they had fenced most of the highway so it was hard for the Alligators to get onto the roadway. Not a good place to have a flat tyre or engine trouble. Oh and I must thank Ross and Liz for some of the music that I have had to endure / enjoy, I've gone from listening to Wham (which was one of the better tracks) to listening to James Darren (I had never heard of him or his songs).

We made it across the state and onto an island called Sanibel. Oh yes another RV beach resort so it is time to kick back and enjoy a bit more sun and surf. (I use the term surf very loosely - We are in the Gulf of Mexico and there is barely a ripple on the ocean. They don't have much call for surf boards.) The weather is quite similar to that of Cairns, hot and humid with lots of on again off again rain.

17/06/2008 - 19/06/2008 - Fort De Soto is famous partly for it being having North Beach which was named no. 1 Beach USA 2005 and 2008 by a Travel Magazine. So of course that's where we headed. The park we chose to stay in is once again a State Park. The State Parks have been fantastic they are normally good size sites with some privacy, Dave struggles a bit with the roughing side of things at these parks as they normally don't have Cable TV or WIFI. After a little bit of trouble trying to get Stubbie into the right spot, I not very brightly said it would once again be nice to have Stubbie facing the water - not my best suggestion, so after a few attempts and a few misses with the trees etc. we decided that it wasn't to be - the site was definitely made for reversing in.

After checking into the park and getting our water view site, we learnt that there was no swimming in the camping grounds and we also learnt that it was approx 8 k's to the famous North Beach - so once again time to get the bikes out and reacquaint ourselves with those bike seats. The bike paths are great they are about 12 foot wide all through the Park. North Beach was really lovely and set-up extremely well for families and for gatherings. There were numerous large picnic areas all undercover and in shady spots between the trees, lot of facilities showers, toilets (oops restrooms) etc. Dave has been a bit disappointed in the fact that he hasn't been able to find anything more than a ripple so. I finally asked a local if they had any surf beaches around here and they said you really need to go to California or Hawaii.

19/06/2008 - 21/06/2008 - We are making our way across to New Orleans, Louisiana to catch up with our good friends Desrae and Steve. Desrae and Steve are going to meet us in New Orleans and spend a couple of days travelling with us (whilst Rebecca and Lisa are back in Fort Worth, Texas practising). I'm really looking forward to seeing all the Gant family and especially watching Lisa and Rebecca compete in the world championships.

One of the aspects of Florida that has really impressed us is how well environmentally preserved their water ways are. They really love their boating, swimming and fishing. When they fish they normally walk out into the water until their belly buttons are wet, from here they cast their line out.