Where've we been?

We've not posted lately due to lack of internet access for the past week or so. We stayed at a terrific RV campground in Canada that allowed us to easily visit Niagara Falls. The park also had a marina with WIFI at the restaurant. We were very busy with visits to Niagara Falls, however, and were not up to toting the laptop over to the marina at the end of our day trips. A couple of the nights were also chilly and we were back after the restaurant closed - necessitating working on picnic tables under the covered patio - brrr! We further were hindered by our AT&T air card service not being international. The charges were going to be really expensive, so we didn't use the air card or our cell phones until we were back within the US coverage.

From Niagara, we scooted across a section of Ontario to enter the US at Port Huron, Michigan. We parked at another terrific campground that has an even more terrific overnight rate - but no WIFI except at the office. We can use our air card with no problem, but will not load photos until we are using WIFI. We've not tested our limits on how many photos can be downloaded within the data limits, but don't really want to! We'll just wait for photos until later.

As long as we're talking about no photos, I can share with you our border crossing adventure. Not really that dramatic, but for those that are curious, we can share stories - but no photos!

The easiest way to cross the border into Canada - a very tourist friendly country, by the way is to follow a few simple tips:

1 - Travel light - don't take anything into or out of the country

2 - Travel without children - border crossings are monitored for potential child trafficking or kidnappings (including those nasty cases of divorced couples taking a child out of the country without the spouses' knowledge or approval)

3 - Travel without pets - no one likes the critters sharing germs across the borders

4 - Travel without firearms - border officials just get touchy about these things

5 - Travel without food or live plants - not sure the real reason behind this one. Supposedly based on health issues, but seems more likely to be a ploy to assure that you will purchase as much as possible from the country you are visiting (and pay their taxes while you're at it).

Here's our experience with our crossing at Lewiston, just north of Niagara Falls, NY.


1 - We're not travelling light. We're dragging a 7 ton, 40 ft. long, 13 ft. tall RV with about 1 ton of baggage and belongings with us with lots of nooks and crannies for stowing items that may or may not be OK with border officials.

2 - We're travelling with children. Minors must have identification such as a birth certificate, passport, or resident card. Both of our children have passports, but one of them is not a US passport. Our youngest child was born in Guatemala and has a passport that was issued after the completion of his adoption. Fortunately, due to the process we followed within the adoption proceedings, he also was granted US citizenship as soon as his feet touched ground in the country. Because his passport is not a US passport, we have to show his citizenship certificate as well. It wasn't a 'problem', just one of those things that gets your vehicle pulled over so that you can be interviewed inside the office rather than at the booth on the international bridge.

3 - We travel with our dogs. Proof of a rabies vaccination and the pet's age and breed is required. No one really checked this, but we were glad that at the dogs' last vet visit and updated shots, the vet's office provided a photo identification with all the information about the vaccinations, breed, gender and age on the card. We thought that was a bit over the top at the time, but were glad to have it when we elected to take them to Canada!

4 - We travel with a shotgun. We looked up information ahead of time for this issue. The
Canadian government provides a form online that you can complete in advance of crossing. We completed it online, printed three copies and had it ready at the time we crossed. Procedure requires that the gun owner sign the document in the presence of Canadian officials, so that part is left blank until you enter the country, there is also a $ 25 fee charged to process the form. Once completed and on file with the country, it is not necessary to do so again for 6 months. We had absolutely no intention of deliberately taking a firearm to Canada and hadn't given it a lot of thought until our plans were made. If making the trip to Canada frequently, I'm sure we would reconsider taking a weapon with us. Some blogs suggest not disclosing the fact that you have a firearm with you. Chances are, you might find a little cubbyhole somewhere where the weapon would escape detection, but then how do you look to those officials if you are found out? We didn't think it worth the risk and the review only took about 30 minutes. Once justified by our carrying a firearm for an inspection of our trailer, I might note that the officer prowled around pretty thoroughly with a flashlight. I later found that the drawers had been tussled around (we waited outside the trailer while he looked around). We were not concerned nor offended by the inspection. We're travelling as guests in this country rather than citizens and if they wish to be careful about who is allowed in, that's their prerogative.

5 - We deliberately didn't have a very full refrigerator. Stories are out there on the internet about some food items being discarded at the border crossing. Again, we checked the website for allowances and were sure that we remained within the allowable limits. The government is very clear about the authority of the border officials to use their discretion within the limits also, so we were prepared to let some items be thrown out if questionable (dairy and produce items seem to be the sticky issue).

If you're considering crossing the border and especially with your RV, we suggest perusing this website.


http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5082-eng.html#s1x2

Firearms are regulated by the Canadian Mounties and this link provides specific information for visitors bringing firearms:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/information/visit/index-eng.htm

Because we invested time in our homework online, we weren't surprised that we were asked to pull aside from the general flow of border crossing. The official at the booth indicated that the firearm was the initial reason for asking us to pull aside. Our child's Central American passport just added to their reasons for additional scrutiny. Everyone treated us with respect but had no room for humor or chit-chat. We, in return, treated those officials as people that were performing an important job and we're thankful that they are there to protect their country. Our suggestion to anyone travelling in another country is always to bear that in mind, rather than take offense when questioned.

Our crossing back into the US was uneventful. Possibly, it always would be the case when returning to your home country and having decent documentation to prove that is the circumstance. We also were travelling on a Friday preceding a big holiday weekend for Canada, Victoria Day. Traffic was backed up at the international border - at least 1 1/2 hrs of waiting and that was at noon. Traffic handlers told us that it would be much worse as the afternoon bore on. They also told us as they were routing us into designated lanes that no one was being pulled in. We're not sure that they were supposed to divulge that bit of information, but were happy that the 1 1/2 hr traffic delay was all we would have to suffer through to get back across!

Fast forward - Oklahoma!

We wrapped up skiing in Arizona and high-tailed it across New Mexico to Amarillo. After a quick detour to Abilene, we returned to the panhandle to find we had a lapse in judgment. We had left the trailer in an RV park during our trip to drop off Christmas decorations, etc. in the storage unit and celebrate a couple of family birthdays. During our absence, Amarillo had received 10" of snow and had had temperatures well below freezing. We had left the furnace on, but had not left the automatic switch over feature on the propane tanks - so the propane had run out sometime before our return. We also had disconnected the water hose, but didn't drain the lines. The housing around the water filter had completely exploded, incapacitating our water systems. Fortunately, Craig was able to handily replace it and everything else was fine. Whew! Lesson learned with a very inexpensive consequence - less than $20!

We also took advantage of an on-site RV tech to coat the rubber roof for continued UV and water protection. The techs scrubbed the whole roof, brushed on the coating and had it returned in one afternoon. We feel like we're in good shape to continue our trek to the eastern states.

First stop - Oklahoma!

This RV park is centrally located in Oklahoma City, but has an attractive appeal with the beautiful trees. We parked well out of the limbs' reach, however, with recent ice storms on our mind! No falling branches for us! The club house features a huge sitting area with a large fireplace and several large screen TV's, a pool table, ping-pong, game tables and huge puzzles.

The park is within a mile of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, so that was our first stop. We forgot our camera on this outing, but more than 1/2 of the museum doesn't allow photos anyway. We enjoyed touring thousands of square feet of paintings, sculptures and exhibits for the entire afternoon.

The next day was a much more sober activity with a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, paying tribute to victims of the horrendous April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal building.

The inscription reads 'Welcome here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort strength, peace, hope and serenity.'


The memorial is framed by the Gates of Time. Mounted over the former crosswalks on NW 5th street, completely destroyed along with the building, the monuments display 9:01 and 9:03 - marking the time of destruction 9:02 am on April 19.

The Reflecting Pool spans the width and length of the former street with a serene flow of very shallow water and gentle sounds.

The Field of Empty Chairs pays tribute to those killed in the blast and collapse of the building. Arranged in rows reflecting the 9 story building, smaller chairs represent the 19 children killed in the day care center.

Opposite the chairs stands The Survivor Tree, a 90+ year-old American Elm that withstood the horrific blast. The inscription for visitors reads 'The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated, our deeply rooted faith sustains us'.

At the entrance to the indoor museum is a precious wall, decorated with tiles created by hundreds of children in the aftermath of the bombing. One side of the wall is simple handprints while the other side reflects simple drawings and messages of hope and comfort - expressed as only children can!

Alongside the Survivor Tree, the Rescuers' Orchard was planted with nut and flower bearing trees to honor the thousands of helpers that rushed to aid the victims and their families.

We did not realize or remember that over 300 buildings were damaged within a 16 block perimeter of the Murrah building. Directly across the street from the blast stood a rectory for the oldest Catholic church in OKC, St. Joseph's. The rectory was so severely damaged that it had to be torn down. The church erected this statue, entitled 'Jesus Wept' in it's place. The church also sustained much damage, but has been restored.

As said before, this was a very sobering experience for us all - along the lines of visiting Mount St. Helens. This day was much more grievous since it was caused through human hands and the violence delivered with such callousness. We hold deep respect for the Oklahoma City community for their resilience and determination to recover from the tragedy and also to provide an appropriate remembrance of the victims. We can only hope that someday a fitting tribute for the 9/11 tragedy will be in place.

The sunny day did not stop a very cold wind from chilling us all, so after leaving the memorial, we sought out a Starbucks for coffee and hot chocolate at nearby Bricktown.

We enjoyed seeing the unique buildings and beautiful landscaping, but were not up for the water taxi ride!

Developed primiarily for night life, things were very quiet during our visit - suited us fine!

Warmed up, we returned to the RV for a quiet dinner - everyone seemed very reflective, as it should be.

Ski Arizona

That's right...ski in Arizona! Part of our family Christmas present was to take some time and some of our vacation funds for some playing in the snow. Flagstaff has the Snow Bowl, but we decided to seek out something with easier access and hopefully fewer skiers and snowboarders. So we left sunny southern California and the beautiful Escapee Resort to drive long and hard across the Mojave Desert to Williams, AZ.

We did well on the drive, although it was at least 150 miles further than we normally tackle in a days' journey. We even left CA a day early to try to miss the forecasted high winds across the desert. We did miss the winds and skirted an eastern-bound front with rain. Nine miles from Williams, however, the light showers turned to a fairly dense snow. At first, it was no problem as the temperature (38 F) prevented any sticking. As we climbed in elevation, however, the snow began to stick and eventually we found ourselves in a huge traffic jam. A couple of trucks slid in the slushy snow on the incline and jack-knifed ahead of us on the highway. We were stuck in the mess for 2 1/2 hours and were beginning to wonder how we could fare overnight. The most beautiful big snowplow arrived and finally worked its' way to the front of the jammed trucks and made a wonderful path for all of us to work our way up the incline, past the stalled trucks and one broken down car. We arrived at the RV park only 10 minutes later, thankful to be in one piece and able to hook up our connections for a warm night's sleep! With our early arrival, we took a day to do laundry, clean house, review lessons and prepare our snow clothes for a day of skiing. We had spied the Elk Ridge Ski Area, just 3 miles south of Williams during the spring trip to the Grand Canyon. Because of it's proximity to the RV park, we could leave the dogs in the trailer and enjoy the day on the mountain. We knew nothing of the ski area other than it's location and that it advertised itself as a family friendly, beginner friendly ski facility - sounded great for us and it was! The first chore was getting our ski beginner into his boots while our older son tested snowboarding boots. We signed the kids up for lessons with their respective snow equipment and found ourselves to be almost alone on the mountain. We paid for group lessons, but received private instruction!Cory's snowboarding instructor, Erin, was a former snowboard racing champ.Will's ski instructor, Nancy, had only recently joined the staff, coming from Park City, Utah.Of course, learning has a few tumbles...But, as you can see, persistence and determination has it's rewards...We didn't know until we arrived that the ski area had only one lift and it was a rope tow. We had a few tumbles figuring that out, but eventually everyone was gliding smoothly up the slope.Linda got a little skiing in on the first two days, but did so carefully. Only one serious tumble and it was on the tow rope!Another feature of the area is a couple of tubing runs...And even football knee injury Craig could participate in that activity.As a matter of fact, he was the long distance champ on those runs - outdistancing even the boys!On the first day, the tow rope was broken down, so we all got extra exercise by hiking up the runs in order to come down. Because the ski area was not busy, near the end of the day when we were quite worn out from hiking, the manager gave each of us a ride to the top of the run on the SkiDoo. He even took Linda up to the top of the mountain beyond the tow rope lift to see the view and take photos of the Grand Canyon. That far line of blue is the north rim. Magnificent! The owners of the facility hope to have a chair lift in place by next season to have better access to the blue and black runs from the top. We considered this place to be a gem and absolutely perfect for our needs! We loved not having crowds of more advanced skiers and snowboarders having to put up with our beginners and the staff was the most friendly we've ever seen!

As a matter of fact, we extended our stay so that we can enjoy the mountain for another weekend. El Nino rains are bombarding the west coast in a series of storms. In order to travel safely, we either had to cut our time short in Williams and high-tail it for Albuquerque, or 'hunker down' to ride out the predicted heavy snowfall until the storms have passed. Having successfully kept ourselves warm in the previous snows in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, we feel confident we'll be OK. If not, we can always secure the trailer as best we can and take refuge in a local motel. Winter is not a big season for this little tourist town and the RV park obviously has availability....

We'll keep you posted on how this plan works out! Hopefully, it will be enough snow to have more fun with snow play but not so much that we can't make it to the slopes!

Hollywood!

When we travelled through California in May and June, we promised our son that we would come back to visit Los Angeles when the weather wasn't so hot! Craig was born in Santa Monica and remained in the LA area until his early teen years. He didn't have any sentimental memories of his childhood there and I (Linda) have grown to generally despise heavy traffic, crammed parking lots and shoe-horned buildings of big cities. We could have skipped a visit to the city with no regrets; however, Cory's well-made point was that if the purpose of travelling the country was to experience different aspects, we shouldn't skip the big cities along the way. So, we made a short list of 'hot spots' and made our way into the city on a Sunday, so as to avoid as much traffic as possible. First stop - Hollywood Boulevard! We found parking very easily at the Hollywood & Highland Center - a large shopping center with restaurants and a large parking garage. We called ahead and were advised to talk to the garage supervisor for an adequate space for the big dually truck. We did so and were placed in an area reserved for oversize vehicles - no problem! Once parked, we were within easy walking distance to Graumin's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, the Walk of Fame and could see the big HOLLYWOOD hillside sign from the centrally located open courtyard of the mall.

Cory found one of his favorite actor's prints - Robert Downey, Jr. next to the entrance. Apparently the premier for 'Sherlock Holmes' had been at the theater and the prints were made then. The HOLLYWOOD sign is waaay in the background to the left of Cory's head. Here...we'll zoom in with a cropped version.... We browsed the footprints and stars for the various famous performers, took in the sights of the various downtown theaters, sidewalk performers and tourist buses, then found a nice little shop serving crepes. The weather was perfect for sitting outside and leisurely enjoying some delicious crepes. The architectural features of the multi-level courtyard were quite spectacular and a large fountain added to the ambiance of the very uncrowded setting.

The cafe validated our parking stub, so with only an investment in breakfast and $2.00, we continued our LA tour. A short drive brought us to Universal City where we took in a movie in a large (19 theater) complex within the shopping area bordering Universal Studios. We had to invest more in parking at this stop, but it was worth it. In addition to the movie, the boys spent some time in the largest Game Stop store they had ever seen. Again, the timing of this visit made for a relaxing time to simply window shop and enjoy the pleasant weather and unique features of the area.

We completed our tour with a drive over to Manhattan Beach Pier. After a few trips around the blocks near the pier, we found a metered parking spot on the street and hoofed it over to the pier and beach. We watched a few surfers and beach volleyball games, let the guys entertain themselves in the edge of the surf (icy cold water) and watched the sunset.

A much more pleasant day with few traffic snarls and truly enjoyable stops along the way, we all contentedly headed back to the RV park.

Speaking of the RV park, we must invest some space here in featuring this very amazingly pleasant resort. The Escapee's Jojoba Hills Co-op was our first experience in an official Escapee park. We arrived on Sunday afternoon when the office was closed, so we had to park in the boondock area. Without a generator, we're not well-equipped for boondocking but the moderate temperatures allowed us to stay for overnight with no problems. When the office opened the following day, we were assigned to a very lovely spot that was nicely landscaped and offered terrific views of the hills and valleys surrounding the resort.

A side benefit for our family were the ponds that dotted the development. Our oldest son happened to need pond samples for a biology experiment and this one came in very handy!

He was able to obtain some terrific samples for his experiment and was even coached by one of the neighbors, a former zoologist! Here's a glimpse of our one room 'school house' with both guys busy with their studies.

The nicest feature of the resort is the clubhouse which includes a very large meeting room, several sewing/hobby rooms, a well stocked library with tons of dvd's, an exercise room, a billiard room, a card room (with several game tables), saunas in the restrooms and this lovely pool with two large spas.

We truly enjoyed spending a little extra time in this lovely spot and felt very welcome amongst the many full-time residents. Every evening offered spectacular sunsets and we enjoyed many bike rides along the driveways amongst the park.

We'll close with one of our favorite views which will explain why the chaise lounge chairs were facing away from the pool in the photo above!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow - over a month since our last posting! We've been busy and will summarize our goings on with this post.

After the kids participated in the Christmas play in our old stompin' grounds in Corpus Christi, we drove back to Abilene to have the 5th wheel repaired. The passenger side tire had shown some odd wear. After much deliberation and crawling around at the RV repair place, the conclusion was that the spring suspension had sprung. After several days of conversations between the repair facility, the RV manufacturer, the component manufacturers and us, the end result was a replaced set of springs paid for by the component manufacturer and a new tire paid for by us. We will monitor the new springs more closely as we proceed on our journey. We took the trailer and weighed the total trailer and also just the rear tandem axles. The total weight was below, but barely below, the limit posted for the rig. The weight on the axles, however, was well within range thus the component manufacturer responsibility. We probably could have fought more diligently for the tire replacement to be paid by someone else, but were weary of the discussions and wanted to move on.

Then, both kids caught a nasty stomach bug. Poor guys...it took a couple of days for the older one to feel well enough for travelling. Finally, we hit the road and landed for overnight stays in Van Horn, TX and Benson, AZ. Unfortunately, we also heard that Linda's family caught the same stomach bug after our departure - so sorry guys! Somehow, Linda and Craig were spared the ick and were good to go! The weather was great and we finally arrived northwest of Phoenix at McDowell Regional Park for our holiday time. We stayed most of the time with Linda's sister in Phoenix as the park was at least 45 minutes of drive time one way.

The park was, however, one of our favorite places to stay due to the wonderful views and spaciousness for each site. The park provides electric and water, so using the dump station was necessary on our way out - but no problem. The staff and volunteers demonstrated great holiday spirit by decorating the entry as a gingerbread house.

We'll include a few photos of our site and surroundings - the vastness of the desert views is impossible for us to capture. The drive through Fountain Hills was terrific each evening with the Christmas lights accenting the beautiful suburb and landscapes.While in Phoenix, we were able to watch Linda's nephew play in two tournaments. His team won both tournaments and he played so well that he was named MVP both rounds as well. We were so pleased to be able to participate as this is his senior year of high school. The second tournament added another bonus - another nephew was the announcer, being available while on his college break!Our guys enjoyed the time with cousins and we enjoyed the benefits of big city life with terrific restaurants and shopping just in time for Christmas. We hiked a few times on the trails within the city, catching beautiful views at dusk a few times and trying to work off as many calories as we were taking in with the Christmas treats! We enjoyed worship services at Scottsdale Christian Church on the Sundays before and after Christmas.

Here's a view of our boys' favorite activity after opening gifts on Christmas day - play DSi, listen to Ipod and lounge in new pj's in front of a real fire in the fireplace!We stayed on at McDowell, leaving on New Year's Day to travel on toward southern California. Here's a few of our attempts to show you the glorious sunsets in the park:

We appreciate so much the hospitality of family that provides food, fellowship and rest in real beds in real houses from time to time as we are on this adventure. We are happy to continue our travels, but the visits provide a much needed respite from time to time!