Happy Birthday

HI KENLEY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

We cant be there this year so we wanted to sing Happy Birthday to you.

We Love You!!

Adios & Aloha!

Well, one week ago today, I celebrated my retirement w/a cake reception at work w/Tom by my side. The Hawaiian theme Lori and Sally came up with and the beach scene on the cake was perfect. So, even though I wanted to leave at 10:05, I actually walked out of my "home away from home" of 37 years at 10:45. TH and FR were pretty emotional but, once we hooked the camper up and headed down to Ramsey Lake State Park that afternoon, things were much better. But, then, once again, there were more tears when we told the Williams, Selvaggio's and Osborne's good-bye since, for the most part, we won't see them again until next April. I'm so grateful that all of this "adios" stuff was through "happy tears" as Tom and I started our "Excellent Adventure".

Now it's "aloha" as the fun begins in Hawaii! We arrived in Honolulu at 3:05 p.m. (5 hours behind IL time) but didn't get to our Waikiki Resort until around 5:15 due to one passenger not getting her luggage for over an hour.

But, we finally got checked in, enjoyed the beautiful view of the Pacific from our 11th floor room, had some good food, then walked along the beach. We got to see a band playing some very nice comforting Hawaiian music w/a guy and gal hula dancing. This old body knew it was time to shut down around 8:30 HI time since it was 1:30 a.m. IL time.

We're getting ready to go on a tour of Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona, etc., so we'll keep you posted throughout the week as we truly begin our "Excellent Adventure".

1 DOWN, 1 TO GO

Yep, I retired as of yesterday now we just wait until the 15th for Cheryl to retire. And the EXCELLENT ADVENTURE will really begin.

SANIBEL ISLAND DISCOVERY

We decided to check out Sanibel Island yesterday (WE) for something different to see and do. Afterwards, Tom and I both said we were very glad we celebrated our 40th anniversary w/the kids in Myrtle Beach 2 years ago instead of here. On the island and driving anywhere, you can't really see the Gulf anywhere.

We had lunch at The Mucky Duck (which was good food) on Captiva Island and I asked our waitress where a good spot to play at the beach was. She said we could stay parked in their lot since it's slow season and hit the beach there. It was very nice and not all choppy and sandblasting like the Ft. L beach TU. Valerie, thanks for the warning about brown, fuzzy sand dollars as there were a LOT of them...but we left them in the water!

After spending about 3 hours there, we decided to go to one of the actual beach areas where you pay $2/hour to park. Well, it took almost 15 minutes of our time just go get to the beach (actually a bout 5 or so minutes was watching an alligator swim in the swamp on the bridge crossing over to the Gulf. The water at this beach felt weird, kind of "muddy", and we both kept feeling like something was playing around our hands and feet. Somehow Tom even managed to get a big bruise on 1 of his feet. We did finally discover somewhat of a nice beach area closer walking distance, but it had signs all around saying "Dangerous current". So, we're glad we went there but won't go back...at least not anytime soon.

ITS STILL RAINING!!

We went to Krispy Kreme for breakfast this morning and Sophia went to battle with her first balloon.

Sunny Florida

NOT!! Well we got here yesterday evening and it was raining and has not stopped yet. But we are spending time with Sophia, Scott & Val. Sophia is becoming quite the crawler, commando style, and she and Chibi are really having fun together.

Crazy Summer!

Wow, I can't believe we're already into August as it has been a whirlwind summer. After returning from a wonderful trip to CO, WY & MT in June, we've had a full month of fun in July and are now into August.

It was wonderful having Micki here for Justin & Marissa's wedding and being here for 3 weeks. And, of course, it was SUPER FUN having our 2 grandbabies and their parents here. Both girls are such a joy to be around as they like getting hugs and kisses from Grandma and Grandpa B. just as much as G&G love getting snuggles back from them.

July was also a big turning point for yours truly who turned a magic number on the 23rd. It's a rather BIG number but...it's ONLY a number. I certainly don't feel THAT old. One of my dear sorority sisters made the comment that I've reached "adulthood" to which I promptly replied, "Who says I want to be an adult. It sounds boring!" She had GNO at her house for a "birthday pool party" w/some terrific food. Then, Tom and Val prepared a really great birthday dinner a couple days after that.

Now we're into August and today is the 42nd anniversary w/my Sweet Baboo. He's such a wonderful soul mate and best friend. AND...since it's August, we're down to roughly 2 1/2 more months before retirement. That's a BIG Woo Hoo!!!

We're back

Our last day in West Yellowstone. After the marathon road trip of yesterday we decided to kick off out last day in West Yellowstone biking and shopping around West Yellowstone. We all got moving at the crack of...... 11am. We pedaled into the main shopping area and hit a couple few shops then settled in for some good Montana pizza. Then we took in the IMAX show on Yellowstone, it was very good. We wandered around a little more and stopped at for some ice cream, I had Huckleberry! Then we went back to the trailers so the women could get the truck and go back for some major shopping. When they returned hours later we got together at the Casa Selvaggio for some of chef big-boy-r-dees pasta followed by a few games of Pegs&Jokers. Got up early Friday morning and headed for home planning 2 long days and an early arrival Sunday. Started off going through the park with a little Buffalo jam delay, there were 12 or so wandering down the roadway . Then we got into a Bear jam, we worked our way through the cars...we have already seen 4 or 5 bears, He He. Got to the Colter Bay area of the Grand Tetons and decided to eat lunch since towns were sparse after that. Somewhere along the line we saw another Moose. Filled up with gas and after taking off, the 'service engine soon' light came on. I opted to ignore it and CB quietly worried, it went off 2 fill ups later. Savagely attacked by swarms of mosquitos at a gas station near Laramie WY. Stopped for the night in Laramie at the KOA/mobile home park right on the highway. Road noise bad. Took off the next am, after lunch I took over driving and noticed that, according to my new tire monitor system, my right rear trailer tire was low. After watching it a while and seeing it get lower I exited the interstate looking for a service station. Went to Overton NE, the gas station didnt have a mechanic. Getting ready to crawl under and get the spare out a guy came out of the station and said that there was a tire repair place in the next town and he would call them for me. He did and said that they were on a call but if we got up there they would look at our tire when they got back. So, we aired up the tire and headed SLOWLY the 12 miles to Elm Creek. When the tire guy arrived he took off the tire and didnt find a leak so I put the sensor on and had him squirt it with his soapy water. When he did that some ran on the wheel and it started bubbling. Yep, the old recall on the steel wheels faulty welds struck again. He put the spare on and we were on our way. Only got as far as Lincoln NE that day. After setting up for the night we decided to have a drink and CB pulled out the ice cube bin and water sloshed all over. The freezer was now a thawer and most stuff had to be thrown away. Dont know what happened but assume the door must not have closed properly because its working today. We had a STIFF deink and went to bed. NOTHING happened today except we are sweltering in the heat & humidity.

Bison Elk Moose and Bears...Oh My!

On Tuesday morning, Pat & Jane took Tom and me to Ennis, MT to pick up our truck which, according to the mechanic, was a problem w/our starter and the battery cables. Mr. B is skeptical so we'll cross our fingers and hope the guy is right and we won't have any more truck problems. After returning to W. Y'Stone, we headed over to the Mammoth Hot Springs in Y'Stone Nat'l Pk. We have had such great weather and have been able to see some beautiful creatures in these here woods. We saw a few elk, a wolf, more buffalo, a marmot, a small Pika (sp?), some huge raven hanging around their nest and a BEAR! Kim...just as an FYI, I am no longer a threat to cuddly Kenley when it comes to bears. GRANDPA IS! I haven't been taking my camera since he always has his and HE is the one who jumps out and takes these action shots (or still shots when the animals are just laying around). Mammoth Hot Springs is a neat area and we've seen lots of cool mountains, springs, geysers, etc. On to Wednesday...Tom has wanted to check out Beartooth Pass in upper WY/lower MT as it is the highest highway in North America. So, off we go around 9:15. We made a few stops while in YNP and actually started heading north around 12:30. OK, so there was some pretty scenery and we saw a large herd of buffalo moms and their calves. Neat! Came across another huge herd of dad buffalos and then saw 3 beautiful moose (the last creature on our list that we were hoping to see)! They were neat and we were all excited to see them. Onward and upward we went. Sidenote: We discovered that Pat Selvaggio does NOT like edges, especially when he's in the passenger seat. So...as we climbed higher and higher, we ran out of railings and there were some tremendous drop-offs. Talk about white-knuckled traveling! Mr. B stayed cool, calm and collected...thank God...as Pat and I were tired of the climb and the scenery. I enjoyed it up to the point of an area reminding me of what I would expect the Swiss Alps to look like. After that...I was ready to start descending. Nada...up and up we went and Tom and Jane were carrying on like this was the best thing ever. Oh well, to each his own! We FINALLY got DOWN to Red Lodge, MT where we gassed up, took a few deep breaths, then talked Tom into going back through Cody, WY rather than the way we came. Pat and I were ecstatic and you could certainly tell a difference in the mood in the car. We even ate at a really neat hotel w/the "Bill Cody's Irma" restaurant. It was named after his daughter and had all kinds of neat old west stuff for us to look at. Tom, Pat and Jane had some good meatloaf and I had some great prime rib. Then, it was on to the east entrance at YNP so we could get back to the cg. Right before getting to that entrance we saw several cars pulled over. We thought sure it would be more buffalo (boring)...but it was (ready for this Kimmie?), a momma grizzly bear and her cub!
They were beautiful and awesome and Grandpa B took not 1 but 2 movies of them. I actually got a little nervous when they started to come our way but then they turned back around and headed towards the stream. It got dark and eerie as we ventured on and we made one wrong turn but we finally got back around midnight. Whew, I almost got out of the truck and kissed the ground we were standing on! A very long day. I'm glad we did it, but that's one of those things where you say "Been there, done that, and don't care to do it again." Mr. B might have a different opinion...that's just my feeling. Like Jane said...there is SO much more in this beautiful country we live in that there's really no need to go back to a lot of these places. Of course, Tom and I are creatures of habit and do still have our favorite places we like to revisit ie Florida and Las Vegas.

The rest of our Monday

Well, the tow truck arrived. Its license plate was T MATER and it had decals of TowMater on it!! After the bad start to the day we headed to Yellowstone about 1:30. We passed the eagles nest and nothing was going on. Jane saw something in the high grass across a stream but wasnt sure what it was so we took maximum zoom pictures and it turned out to be A BEAR!
So this was our 2nd and the Selvaggios first bear sighting at Yellowstone.
Then we got stuck in our second traffic jam and it turned out to be just people slowing to look at 2 Buffalo(yawn).
Our next sighting was some very large birds, somone we met later told us that they were Sandhill Cranes. They looked Like Emu's. Next I was able to get a rare shot of a Buffalo calf nursing.
Next it was on to Old Faithful and the Lodge. We found a place to park and headed into the restaurant for lunch. We kept saying how much it had changed in just 6 years because nothing but the top of the lodge looked familiar. After eating we headed for Old Faithful but it wasnt at the end of the lodge where it was supposed to be so we went into the Lodge and walked through it to the FRONT entrance. AHA, now we knew where we were, everything that was new was behind the lodge and we had never been there. We went and got a seat for Old Faithful and waited for it to blow then walked a couple of the geyser field boardwalks then headed back to the lodge for ice cream. Then we were tired and decided to just head back to the campers but on the way we drove through Firehole Lake and saw a couple of real neat geysers and more wildlife that we later id'd as Marmonts. Anyway we left there we saw some people gathered at the side of a stream, suddenly Pat whipped into a side road and we got to see a
Yep, we got to see a wolf!! That is supposed to be even rarer that seeing a grizzley bear. Then on the last leg home we saw the male Bald Eagle perched in a tree near the nest.
When we got back to cell phone range I had a message that the truck was done so we will be heading up tho Ennis to pick it up in the morning. Sure glad I got Good Sam Roadside Assistance before we left on this trip!!

Travel days

Its time to leave the rally and head for Yellowstone. I hopped in the truck and turned the key and nothing. I messed with the shifter a little and it started. We hooked up and headed out. Pretty uneventful day. When we got to Cheyenne WY we got on I-80 and headed west and started climbing, the truck pretty much stayed in 3rd gear until we got to the 'highest point on I-80 rest area' 8640 feet! And guess who else was there.....ABE.
Seems that I-80 was the first transcontinental highway and was named the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Highway. There was a big monument with his bust on it. The gas guage started acting up again so we dont know how much gas we have for sure. There were some tense miles when we discovered that WY is about as sparse as KS for gas stations. Finally we got to Rawlins to head north on state route 287 (the most scenic route to Yellowstone). Pretty uneventful but very scenic. There were some pretty steep hills to climb, I got down to 21 mph going up one of them. We also crossed the Continental Divide 5 times!! We stopped for the night at the Twin Pines campground in Lander, WY. Find that on a map. Next morning the truck wouldnt start again so I called Good Sam roadside assistance and while on hold beat on the steering column and it started. Got into Yellowstone park about 2:30 and were 23 miles from our destination when the traffic stopped. We sat there for over an hour before proceeding. An SUV had hit a motorhome in the side. Looked like it was the mh fault and didnt look good for the SUV passengers. We finally met up with Pat & Jane Selvaggio around 5pm and went to eat and explore the town a little.
The reason I have time to type this is because the truck wont start again this morning and we are waiting for a tow truck to come tow it to Ennis MT 2 hours or so away. Oh and also our water heater is acting up too. But West Yellowstone is a really neat (and expensive) little town.

Last Day at Colorado Springs Rally

Slept in a little this am, missed breakfast. Did we mention that we bought a stained glass window for the door yesterday? Today we bought a tire pressure monitoring system, some new step covers and some anti bad guy/wild animal spray. This has been the most expensive rally yet.
But anyhooo, after we got up and moving we headed for the Glen Eiry(SP) castle. The GPS took us through the Garden Of The Gods to get there so we stopped and took some pix of it. I was able to zoom in on Pikes Peak good enough you could see the visitors center on top.
Then we went on to the castle. The gate guard said that we could have a pass to the castle but couldn't get out of the car because we didnt have a hiking permit?? Since he told us that about 3 times I presumed he was serious. Of course as soon as I stopped the truck at the castle guess who hopped out. As we left the grounds there was a small herd of Bighorn Sheep grazing along side the road so we got some pretty good pix of them.

Then we went back to the campground for a burger & dog lunch. It was good and afterwards a retired cop gave us a presentation on personal safety for rv'ers. He was very entertaining and since I had been thinking of buying one of those 'grizzley bear pepper sprays' we decided to by the stuff he was selling. We'll have to get officer Selvaggios opinion on it. Cheryl went to a craft class and I rode my bike around the campground for a while to decide if I liked my new seat. It will be going back to WM. Then it was time to install the tire pressure system. The guy (Stacey Frank) I bought it from said that he would help me install it. So I stood there and handed him the parts while he crawled under the camper and truck and installed them. And while we were doing that his wife ( Gail) was programming the sensors into the reciever. Went pretty well but all my tires on the camper were low and my air compressor is in the shed. Stacey said that I could borrow his compressor if I wanted BUT it was happy hour/margarita party time so we headed for the big tent. Since they only had strawberry or mango margaritas I decided to go ahead and air up the tires. Then I went back to the tent for the evening meal Bar-B-Q again! Then they started drawing for door prizes and raffles. Won a power screwdriver on the door prize, looks to be pretty industrial like a nail gun but didnt get any of the raffle items I put tickets in.
Then I went back to the camper and Cheryl said that Micki had a pretty good meeting with the surgeon so we will be heading to Yellowstone tomorrow. Then we went back to the tent and watched the rest of the Rivoli Review. I think that this is the 3rd rally they have performed at and they were good as usual. When we left there we started packing some stuff up getting ready to leave tomorrow am after breakfast. We will be taking a different route north according to the GPS. A couple from Montana said that the flattest route from here was through Jackson WY and that is the way the GPS is guiding us.
More to come later.

Rocky Mountain Hi & Lo

Tuesday, we went to the Royal Gorge with the Binns, a couple from Ohio that bought a set of wheel chocks from us on the SOITC forum and picked them up here at the rally. The park was a great starting place as we wound our way up the mountain tops. Once we got there, we walked across a long suspension bridge and looked waaaay down into the gorge. Boy, did the kayakers and canoers look teeny tiny and the train looked like a toy model, but it was a spectacular view of the gorge and glancing across the way at Pike's Peak. We got as far as the petting zoo then determined that, between the altitude making us all work hard to climb that mountain, it was time to head back across the bridge and head to Canon City for our Royal Gorge Route Railroad trip. The train ride was fantastic as we got a totally different perspective by looking UP the sides of the gorge. It was really cool when a helicopter zoomed down the valley past us. Unfortunately, it came upon us so quickly that there wasn't time to get a pix. However, Mr. B was ready the next time by taking a movie w/the camera. Yeaa!! As we rounded one bend we heard some people cheering at some kids (probably college age) who were rafting and stopped along the side of the river. The hooping and hollering was because we got mooned by a couple of the guys who had pulled their wet suits down. Too funny! After the train ride, we went back to the park so we could ride the tram up the mountain, which was a pretty smooth ride once we dropped off the platform. After getting off the tram, we walked down to see the HUGE white buffalo along w/the rest of the buffalo herd. There were also some big elk w/beautiful racks bigger than anything I've ever seen. Really cool. It was a gorgeous day w/more sunshine and terrific temps and the stars at night were big and bright....deep in the heart of...oh wait, that's another song. Yesterday afternoon, (WE), while Mr. B played in the golf tournament, I washed windows inside and out while doing a couple loads of laundry. After that, I grabbed "Breaking Dawn" and headed to the adult pool. No one else was there so I really enjoyed sitting in the sun and reading. When the golfers got back, Tom said his foursome won. They'll find out tomorrow night during the evening festivities just what they won but we don't think it's any great thing. Maybe a hat or a few bucks. Tom said the golf course was really nice and he had a good time.
This is the 1st time he's played in the tourney so maybe he'll continue to participate at future rallies. This afternoon, (TH), we ended up at the Chevy dealership to get the front passenger window's motor replaced. Only had to be there for an hour and wasn't as much $ as Tom thought it would be, so that turned out fine. From there, we went to Camping World (no purchases!), then on to a souvenir shop where Grandpa and Grandma did a little bit of shopping for a couple of special young ladies. Sorry moms and dads, but no souv's for you...kids rule! The highlight of the day today was getting together w/my cousin, Mark Eades, and his wife Debbie. We went to dinner at a microbrewery then came back to the cg to visit. Had a fun time reminiscing and hope it won't be another 3 years before we catch up together again. TTFN

Colorado Suites Rally PT 2

Here we go again, Monday its raining off and on so this afternoon we decide to go 'Up On Cripple Creek'. One of the Suite owners that used to live here said that it was pretty neat and had gambling and you could see gold mines in the mountails. So we loaded up our 2 big trucks and headed out for some exploring. It was a very scenic drive, when it wasn't raining. Lots of snowcapped mountains and cool valley lookouts. The person that had told us we should go there said 'when you get there you drop off the face of the earth and go down to Cripple Creek. We did, there was a scenic overlook then we headed DOWN. Really glad we didnt have the trailer with us. We drove the length of main street and discovered that it was about 90% casinos in old buildings and a few 'novelty shops' We parked off main street and walked up the hill( not an easy task for old people at 9000 feet elevation) to the entrance of The Brass Ass casino. So named because it had a large brass donkey in its window. Seems there used to be these romantic boat rides and after the couples got in the boat these mechanical brass asses would kick the boat away from the pier. ? So, after walking around some more of main street and visiting a couple of shops we headed back up the mountain to journey back to the campground. Oh did I mention that the temp was a cool 58 when we left the campground and was 39 in Cripple Creek? After driving in the SLEET on the way back we met in the giant tent for our catered meal. After we got the water cleaned off of our table in the giant LEAKING tent we sprinted through the rain to the building next to the tent to pick up our Mexican buffet and then back through the rain to the tent avoiding the half of the floor that was mud. The food was very good. The Ellewitz came over and we played pegs & jokers. And so ended day 1 of the rally

Colorado Suites Rally

We headed out to Colorado about 1:30 Friday afternoon heading across I-72 to US 36 hoping for a more scenic route than I-70. Yes it was. We had planned to spend the first night at Wallace State Park at Cameron Mo but when we got there the host informed us they were full. He recommended a private park up the road called 'Pony Express RV Park' at Maysville. It was an acceptable overnight park with maybe a dozen campers there. It had a 'petting zoo' with 3 Llamas some goats and sheep. It rained all night and we hooked up in a light rain the next morning. We had planned on stopping at 'Prairie Dog SP' in Norton KS on Sat nite but got there about 3 pm so we decided to head on down to Colby on I-70. Our gas guage is acting up again so we fuel up after 170 miles max just to make sure. We found 'BOURQUIN'S RV Park' and I remembered that we had camped there in our Jayco Hawk when we left Colorado Springs SEVERAL years ago. Hadn't changed much except the restaurant had closed and the campground was a little larget but still grass & mud. Oh yeah it was now raining with thunderstorms and tornado warnings to the south. Hooked up Sunday morning while it was not raining and headed for Garden of the Gods Campground arriving about 3 pm. Oh yeah, it was 60 degrees when we left Colby and dropped to 40s on the way but recovered to high 50s at Colorado Springs with on and off rain. More to come....

And we had fun, fun, fun!!!

Wow, what a great weekend we just had in NE. It was SO great getting our grandbabies together for the 1st time and we can't wait for that to happen again in the not-too-distant future.

They are 2 "peas" in a pod. There's that word again, Momma L! Anyway, Sophia is so vibrant and bouncy and happy while Kenley is laid back and all smiles and happy, although she did throw her cousin a few "I'm not too sure about all this" glances. We didn't know at their young ages if there would be any interaction or not. However, we got some really cute pix of them holding hands and playing footsies.



The FUNNIEST thing was Grandpa corrupting these little tykes. We laid them side-by-side on the bed and Grandpa played the "Gummy Bears" video from his phone. They were mesmerized and totally absorbed in the little singing and dancing movie. Hmmm, I know the mommies and daddies don't let their little munchkins watch too much TV, but I'm sure they didn't mind Grandpa keeping the girls busy for a few minutes.Anyway, we had a super wonderful, albeit very short, time w/everyone and look forward to next time.


Speaking of short...Mr. B and I are down to 4 1/2 months before heading out into the wild blue yonder in our RV. WOO HOO!!!

Cheryl

6 Months To Go

That's right...count them...6 months from TODAY!

If all goes well, that is when my Sweet Baboo and I will "call it a day" and put the alarm clock in a drawer. We've got lots to do between now and then including various travels w/family and friends in May, June, August and September. It's starting to make my head spin as we start wrapping things up here at work but I know everything will work out.

Nervous? No doubt!

Excited? You betcha'!

Am I Pregnant???

OK, it has been 2 months and there are 7 more to go. I haven't been eating right and have gained a couple pounds recently. I have strange stirrings in my tummy and some anxiety. Could I be pregnant?

HA...NOT HARDLY, so you can relax Mr. B! It's just the countdown to retirement. Woo Hoo!!!

Happy Birthday to me

Well, I havent posted for a while. So, in a little over a week we will be moving back into the camper and I cant wait. I have been busy making plans for our retirement this fall. Reservations have been made for Hawaii, Alabama and Florida. That should keep us busy. I had a good birthday. I got to eat at my favorite restaurant and got some goodies I asked for. I also got birthday greetings from my 2 granddaughters!! I made a wallpaper of them for my phone!! Cant wait to see them again!

2 Grands!

Well, we've recently visited our 2 granddaughters and what fun they are! Sophia (4 mos) is holding her head up, smiles A LOT, coos and is starting to hold onto bangles, etc. Grandpa and I got to take several walks w/her in sunny FL a couple weeks ago. Those Floridians kept calling it unseasonably cold (in the upper 40's to low 60's) while us Illinoisans loved every minute of the break from the snow and low 20's.

Kenley (2 mos) is starting to smile and trying to hold her head up. We got to go on her first outing to a restaurant w/mommy and daddy. Daddy isn't too crazy about having her exposed to the elements and masses of people, but she did just fine and slept through most of our evening meal.

As our friends keep saying...aren't grandchildren GRAND? Yes indeed!

The 2 cousins

And just in case you are wondering what they look like. Here they are in their carseats. Kenley is napping and Sophia is checking her out.