The Big D "A"

Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum is a treasure of colors. Thousands of chrysanthemums combined with 50,000 pumpkins, squash, and gourds are a treat for the eye. We spent a leisurely afternoon meandering down the paths, enjoying the wonderful gardens.

Aunt Mary's 95th Birthday

 
 
This post is quite late, as I've been having trouble with Java Script. I finally figured out a way to post via Picassa, rather than directly on Blogger.com. So. . . Happy birthday, again, Aunt Mary. We had fun getting those 95 roses to you! And Edward had even more fun getting them back home with you.

The Little Engine that Could

 

 

 

During our last few days here in St. Louis, we took a train ride along the Meramac River. The Wabash, Frisco, and Pacific operates a 12-gauge steam driven railroad every Sunday from May through October. With the beautiful weather and Fall colors, demand was high and all three trains were running to capacity. It was a family affair, with our granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law.

Jelly Belly Comes Camping

 
While here in Missouri, we had the pleasure of meeting the Jelly Belly team from California, here for a promotional at a local store. As you can imagine, they made friends quite easily and not just because of the samples they so freely shared!

Boo-Boo. Boo Hoo.

I guess after three years on the road we were overdue for a major mishap. We were all packed up and headed out of town when about 30 miles down the road the transmission guage started heating up. Then as we looked for an exit, we lost the speedometer. Then as we slowed for the exit ramp, we lost the air brakes. We DID make the truck stop and called our emergency road service for a tow. Once hooked up to the tow truck, we got in our car (which we were towing) and headed for the service center. We arrived ahead of the tow truck and were checking in when the motorhome arrived. Along the way, major damage was incurred to the front end and to the rear rock guard. A bad situation had become worse. So now we're back in the townhouse until we can get everything worked out. Anyone want to buy a used RV?

Playing Local Tourist

Drew's sister and her husband are visiting and we decided to take the tasting tour at Whetstone Chocolate Factory in St. Augustine. What a treat! Whetstone was a wholesale supplier to giants such as Nestle’s, Hershey and M&M Mars, but now only sells it's own brand. Our tour guide was not only informative, but entertaining as well. We got to "work the line" with a Lucy replica (remember the I Love Lucy episode where she couldn't keep up with the assembly line and was popping chocolates in her mouth to get rid of them?). A reaffirmation of the health benefits of chocolate, had us leaving with a bagful of delectable delights.

Home Sweet (New) Home

We've been busy getting settled into our new townhouse. Lots of furniture to buy, an outdoor kitchen to design, unpacking and everything else that goes into a move. But the big stuff is done and we have a little time to sit back, enjoy, and entertain a little before we hit the road again. We're proud to share a few pictures of our new place. Three-car garage, killer kitchen, no yard work, no painting, life is good. . .

NOMADing in St. Petersburg

Our blog's been silent as we spent time with family and friends. Now it's back on the RV road. We're with the NOMADS again doing volunteer work in St. Petersburg, Florida. The first week Drew redid a wood deck while I did some painting. Last week and this week we've been laying laminate flooring. It's our largest single project yet, covering a whole downstairs--living room, dining room, kitchen, den, foyer and hallway. We're pretty tired, but feel good knowing we've helped a very nice family here.

Christmas + Kids = FUN

Ah, what laughs when you get six kids under the age of 13 together to celebrate a family Christmas. We had a great time in St. Louis with the kids and grandkids. We wish each of our blog followers a joyous Christmas and a wonderful new year.

Snow Dog

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . . at least after today's snow. Our Florida dog wasn't too sure about it at first and didn't want to come out, but he was soon romping around having a great time. We're only one of two RV's in the campground here in the St. Louis area. Guess everyone else was smart enough to head south by now! We'll be doing the same right after Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Ice! in Texas

Well, it was INSIDE, but it was ice none-the-less. The Gaylord Texan has an annual tradition of presenting a truly spectacular 14,000-square-foot "ICE!" exhibit. This year it was a Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring a variety of magical holiday scenes and sculptures hand-carved by 40 visiting artisans from China. Walking through the exhibit, you feel as though you've been transported to the North Pole. You bundle up in warm parkas and enter a winter wonderland created with TWO MILLION pounds of ice and kept at a wintry 9 degrees. Charlie Brown and friends have never been cooler.

Missouri Wine Country

Autumn is a wonderful time to tour the wineries in central Missouri. We got together with Drew's sister, Kathleen, and her husband, Dave, and traveled the Missouri Weinstrasse from Defiance to Augusta. Lunch was at the Montelle Winery, on a deck overlooking the Missouri River valley. A spectacular setting.

A Family Affair

Our 5-year-old granddaughter, Sophia, is playing soccer this year. Coaching the team are her parents, Jill and Tony. What a hoot to watch! The girls take the game pretty seriously, but their attention span often wanes.

Pet Rocks

I developed a fascination with Michigan's Petoskey stones and couldn't take a walk without searching for them. I ultimately found close to 200 on the campground property. I only got around to polishing about half of them, since I don't have professional equipment to make the job easier. I kept the ones you see here and will be giving some to the grandkids and anyone else who shows an interest! Me and my Dremmel have been busy. The stones I polished but didn't keep are in the campground store and the unpolished ones will be given to a fellow rock enthusiast.

Leaving the Leaves

Our time in Michigan is drawing to a close, but not before we catch some early Fall colors. We don't have to venture far to enjoy. The campground and trails are resplendent with reds, oranges, yellows. It's time to go if we want to avoid all the raking!

Going U.P.

We made our first foray into Michigan's Upper Peninsular. Our destination was Tahquamenon Falls, the second largest in the U.S., second only to Niagara Falls, spilling over 3300 gallons of water per SECOND. We also got our first glimpse of Lake Superior, another one of the Greats. Beautiful country U.P. here!

Pudgy Fudgies

We went back to Mackinaw Island while my brother Robbie was visiting and indulged again in their famous fudge. Once you have, you become a "fudgie." Yum. Good eats.

Polish Cracker

What happens when a Florida Cracker attends a Polish festival? You have a Polish Cracker! So many festivals, so little time. . . This one was in Boyne Falls and was complete with a Polka tent and of course the required Kielbasa, Polish sausage, and kraut. An added attraction was the pre-1960 classic tractor pull. Ya think this is farm country?

Petoskey Rocks!

Both the town and the stones. We strolled the bay front park and looked at the immaculately restored homes and buildings near downtown and along the bay. You can see what was once a neglected church is now an impressive art center. The Petoskey Stone is Michigan's state stone. It is a type of coral from about 350 million years ago when this area of Michigan was a shallow marine sea. The "eyes" in the stone are actually individual cells where a small animal lived and harvested food. Lake Michigan beachcombers search for the stones, much as us Floridians look for sharks teeth. I've found some and am in the process of sanding and polishing them in hopes of them eventually looking like the sample in the picture!