Anthem, Arizona

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
 We said goodbye for now to Shirley at Towerpoint and went north to a small RV resort near Anthem, Arizona.  Our cousins are there and they were able to save the spot beside their RV for ours.  It was good to see them again as it’s been a while.
Our RV next to Susan & Wally’s RV.
 After catching up we went for a stroll around the resort.  We saw this beautiful shrub covered in red berries and had to take a picture, I have no idea what it is.
Red Berries
For dinner we went to the Road Runner restaurant.  It was all you can eat fish fry.  I just had to “make it right” after the disaster of a fish dinner I didn’t eat on Wednesday.  This fish was much better, so I’m happy now.  The large “Roadrunner” sign you see on the roof was left behind by a movie company after filming “Beyond The Law” (1993) starring Charlie Sheen.

Road Runner Restaurant
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Queen Creek Olive Mill

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
After doing a little shopping this morning, Shirley, Bernie, and I went to Ihop for stuffed french toast and brunch.  Then while Shirley went to a party at the resort, Bernie and I went to visit Arizona’s only working olive mill and farm.
Queen Creek Olive Mill
Queen Creek Olive Mill is a family owned company that grows and presses olives to produce extra virgin olive oil.  This was like visiting a small apple orchard in Minnesota.  A shop with many different flavors of olive oils, spreads, dips, wine, and much much more; and a cafe..del Piero, a Mediterranean bistro with a local and organic influence.  We enjoyed several of the free samples and bought ourselves an assortment of olives to sample at home.
The Store and Cafe
We did take the “tour”, although it was just sitting and listening to the tour guide tell us about the history of the place and how the olives are processed and pointing to some of the machinery that is used.  But it was interesting.
Outside the shop is a nice large picnic area under the olive trees.
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Desert Botanical Garden

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Today Bernie and I, along with my sister, Diane, and her husband, Paul, visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  They currently have on display giant insect sculptures “David Rogers’ Big Bugs“.   We followed a tour guide for the first 30 minutes and learned a lot about the different cacti and plants there.  Another blue sky sunshine day.  It was great.
Praying Mantis

Cactus
 While at the garden we saw some friendly quail looking for a handout.  There were also some birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and bunnies around.
Quail

Walking on the Desert Loop Trail

Saguaro Cactus
Joshua Tree

Boojum Tree.  I like this, it does not branch out.
We spent several hours there before returning to Towerpoint Resort for dinner.  We went to a nearby restaurant named Taylor Ray’s.  It usually has very good food but tonight the “all you can eat” fish fry was a big fail.  I sent back my dinner three times before giving up entirely.  Oh well, it was a good day spent with family.
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Superstition Mountain

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
First thing this morning was bargain hunting at a thrift shop and a Goodwill store.  We found some treasures and then went to McDonald’s for lunch.
Next we hiked up to the Superstition Mountain.  It’s such a beautiful day for a walk.  The trail was long but not too strenuous for us and the scenery was spectacular.  The only wildlife we saw was two ants, two lizards, and a few hawks.  
Superstition Mountain

Bernie

Me, Diane, Paul, Bernie

Random Lizard

Cowboy
On our way back to town we stopped at that same antique store we were in yesterday and this time we  purchased an axe we had spotted yesterday.

Then after that big day of hiking we went to Old Country Buffet for dinner.

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Goldfield Ghost Town and Organ Stop Pizza

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Big day today.  This morning we went for a walk around the resort, looked in Open House homes and checked out the new bocce ball courts, pickle ball courts, and horseshoe courts.
Bocce Ball Courts
 After lunch we drove out to visit the ghost town of Goldfield, Arizona, an old gold mining town from 1893.   There were some gift shops, restaurants, and a gunfight reenactment. If we had stayed longer we could have gone on a trail ride, or a wagon ride, or a train tour of the area.
The Bordello at Goldfield
Superstition Mountain
 After Goldfield we drove out to the Lost Dutchman State Park at the base of Superstition Mountain, hiked around a little before heading back towards home.  On the way back we stopped at an antique shop on the side of the road.
Antique Shop
Supper was at Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa.  What a great experience that was.  A very entertaining performance.  This organ has nearly 6,000 pipes and is the largest Wurlitzer in the world.
The pizza was ok.
Organ Stop Pizza Performance
 Then back to the resort.  It was dark by the time we got there and many of the Christmas lights were still on.
Towerpoint Resort at the Entrance

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Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Such a lovely day in Mesa, blue sky and sunshine.  We went for a walk around the resort and looked in several “Open House” new homes just for kicks.  We are not ready to settle down just yet.
B Street, where we are parked somewhere about in the middle.
 This evening the resort had a little Christmas party.  Everyone brought cookies or snacks and they had a guest singer with karaoke.
Karaoke at the Community Center
 Mr. and Mrs. Santa were there but they were so busy with picture taking I didn’t get a picture of them.  However, I found their sleigh just outside.
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Towerpoint Resort

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
We arrived at Towerpoint Resort on Wednesday and were lucky enough to have an available spot to park right behind my step-mother’s house, so she is just a few steps away.   The resort is decorated for Christmas and many of the homes have decorations out too.  We live on “B Street”, Shirley lives on “C Street”.  There was a C Street party that began a few hours after we arrived so we went to that with her.
Our Spot Behind Shirley’s House
Mr. & Mrs. Santa
On Thursday Shirley took us to the Mesa Flea Market.  This is the largest flea market that I have ever seen. It was a lot of fun and I spent too much money there, but did get a few nice things for the motor home.
Our New Rug

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Benson, AZ

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
You know you’re in the desert when you start seeing signs like this at the Rest Areas.
Poisonous Snakes and Insects
Inhabit The Area
 We spent a few days visiting relatives in the area near Benson, Arizona.  They let us park in their yard.  We had a great time, but we can’t stay forever so we said goodbye and headed towards the Phoenix area.
Near Benson, Arizona
Tonight we are in Sunscape RV Park, a resort near Casa Grande, Arizona, not far from Mesa and Phoenix.  There are relatives near here that we would like to say hello to before we get to Mesa for Christmas.
Sunscape RV Park

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Arizona

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
We left Van Horn, Texas, early this morning and headed west again, still on Interstate 10.  Texas just goes on and on, and there’s nothing to see, no trees, no houses.  Finally we crossed the state line into New Mexico.  Now we’re closer to the Mexico border and we are beginning to see Border Patrol people.  Everyone had to stop at this check station.  They’re building a new on right beside it.  I took a picture of all the cameras and sniffers and equipment they had on the shoulder.  They just waved us through without stopping.
Sniffers and Cameras
 El Paso is much bigger than I thought it was.  It goes on for miles, not many tall buildings.  At one point I-10  parallels the Mexico border, you can see the border fence and the city of Juarez, Mexico, on the other side of it.

Behind the train cars is the border fence and the city of Juarez, Mexico.
 Then into New Mexico.  Some of the first things we see are huge dairy operations, one after another.  It’s a good thing you can’t smell this.
Big dairy operations on the other side of the road
Finally, we got to Wilcox, Arizona.  There is an RV park there that we had parked in last year.  It was clean, level, nice view, full hook-ups, hardly anyone there, and best of all, with our Passport America discount….cheap!  There will be free waffles and coffee in the morning.
Tonight’s View
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West Texas

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Texas is such a big state.  We drove almost 400 miles without seeing a tree or a house.  Somewhere along the way we stopped at a Rest Area only to discover that they had no water, so the bathrooms were closed.  Good thing we travel with our own.
Texas
More Texas

That’s all we did today.

We found a nice RV park in Van Horn, where we will sleep tonight.
Mountain View RV Park, Van Horn, Texas
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Luling, Texas

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Oy, 600 miles of Texas to go yet… and then there will be New Mexico.  This is the dullest part of the whole country as far as I’m concerned.  We’ve been trying not to make this a repeat of last year’s journey, but that is proving to be difficult at this point.  We want to stay on the Interstate with our big rig so that does limit our options.  
Buc-ee’s Tourist Trap
Last year we spent a few days in Luling, Texas.  We enjoyed it very much, saw lots of things and took lots of pictures.  This time we just made it a pit stop at noon, and then went on our way.  We just had to stop at Buck-ee’s and stock up on overpriced tourist snacks.  Then we took the car in to town and had lunch at City Market, which is one of the recommended Barbecue joints on The Texas BBQ Trail.  Good stuff!
Luling was once known as “The Toughest Town in Texas”.  It’s an old oil town, actually still is an oil town and you can smell the oil everywhere all the time.  But not inside the restaurant, thank goodness!!
The Texas BBQ Trail Info

This is one of the pictures I took last year of the pump jacks
the town has decorated up.
Tonight we are in Kerrville, Texas. 
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Texas

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
We thought we’d get an early start this morning, but right after we got on Interstate 10 the traffic came to a standstill.  We were stuck there for two hours due to road construction, an accident, and rush hour(s).  Finally, we got going and headed west again.  We crossed the Atchafalaya Basin.  This is the largest swamp in the United States.  It stretches nearly 100 miles from North to South, and covers nearly 1 million acres.  I’m not sure how many miles it was but it was a long bridge/causeway across it.
Causeway across the Atchafalaya Basin
About half way across the Basin is a very nice rest area and information center.  We stopped and watched a short video about it all.
At the Rest Area
More Sculptures at the Rest Area
The Atchafalaya Basin
 Not long after that we crossed into Texas.  Only 880 miles to get to the other side.  We are seeing cowboy boots and cowboy hats now.
880 Mile Marker
 The Texas Welcome Center is another nice place to visit.  Behind it is a boardwalk through a swamp restoration project.  The swamp was destroyed when the Interstate was built and changed the water drainage and it dried up.  So now they’re trying to restore it.  We did see an alligator there.
Boardwalk Behind Texas Welcome Center

Alligator
We’re staying in another Walmart parking lot tonight.  Tomorrow we’ll go through Houston and continue west.  Ugh, I am not looking forward to crossing this state.
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Gulf Beach Boulevard

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
The campground filled up with motor homes overnight, such a contrast to what we have experienced so far this whole trip.  But it is to be expected, the snowbirds can’t get any further south than this unless they go to Florida to the east or Texas to the west.  
Gulf Islands National Seashore Campground
We didn’t need to check out until noon, so we took the car for a little sight seeing before we left.  We drove up and down Beach Boulevard that goes all along the Gulf of Mexico beaches.  No people were on the beaches today, it was just too cold.  We were looking to see if anything had changed from last year when we were here, and nothing did as far as we could tell.  You can still see evidence of Hurricane Katrina from 2005. 
Beach Boulevard
This small lighthouse is Biloxi, Mississippi’s, signature landmark and one of the most photographed sites on the Gulf Coast.  It’s made of cast iron and was built in 1848.  It’s right in the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes.  They had the top decorated for Christmas. 
Historic Lighthouse
As we were leaving the area we noticed this landmark on the side of the overpass of Interstate 10.  A sign with a line on it that says Katrina High Water Level 2005.
Katrina High Water Level 2005
We only drove about 135 miles today, landing in a Walmart parking lot somewhere not too far from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  We are headed for Mesa, Arizona.  Only 1,500 miles to go.
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Gulf Islands National Seashore

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
374 = the number of miles we drove today, west on I-10 to Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Biloxi, Mississippi.  The trip was uneventful.  It was cloudy and cool.  The Mississippi Visitor Center is super nice, and they had it all so beautifully decorated for Christmas.
And a talking Elvis was there:
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Florida

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
We said goodbye to Savannah and started driving south on I-95 with no plan in mind.  There is a very nice welcome center just across the border into Florida.  Everybody gets a free sample of orange juice.

Florida Welcome Center
We heard about a big flea market near here, so we decided to check it out.  It was free and they had a parking lot big enough to accommodate our big motor home with car in tow.  There were three long buildings with loads of vendors.  Their web page said 750 vendors, but I’m not so sure about that.  We did purchase some fresh strawberries and some vegetables from one of the produce vendors.
Large Flea Market

Inside the Flea Market
In the parking lot near us was an interesting sight… how many times have you seen a dinosaur being pulled behind a pickup?
???
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Tybee Island

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
I took 70 pictures today, so it took me a while to decide which ones to put in the blog.  The first thing we did was drive the car out to Tybee Island, not far from Savannah, and check that out.  One of the lighthouses there is Tybee Island Light Station.  It’s been around since the 1700’s and is a museum now.
Tybee Island Light Station
 I was just thinking we have driven all along the eastern side of the US and had not really seen the Atlantic Ocean, other than Long Island Sound, but that doesn’t count.  So there it is, we saw it now.  There is a huge beach on this island and is a hot spot in the summer, but nearly totally empty today.
Atlantic Ocean
 On the way back from Tybee Island we drove past Uncle Bubba’s Restaurant.  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s one of Paula Dean’s and her brother’s restaurant.  Since we had just eaten lunch on Tybee Island we couldn’t eat again, but we did stop to have a look around and visit the gift shop inside.
Uncle Bubba’s Restaurant
Behind Uncle Bubba’s is an interesting view.  There is a large marsh with houses lining it, and each house had a really long boardwalk out to where their boats were docked.
View Behind Uncle Bubba’s
 When we got back to Savannah we parked the car and walked around one of the Historic Districts.  The homes and buildings are very interesting and very pretty.
In the Historic District of Savannah
We found the Occupy Savannah in one of the parks.  No tents, just a few people and a lot of signs.
Occupy Savannah
 And then we drove out to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge and drove through their wetlands.  We did see a gator!  I took a picture, it’s dark, but he’s in there.
Our First Gator Sighting
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Savannah 2nd day

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
After our service and propane fill at Camping World this morning we drove to downtown Savannah and parked in the Visitor Center parking lot.  For $12 total they will allow us to stay there for two nights.  Good deal!
We went back to River Street to eat at one of the many restaurants there and browse the gift shops and candy stores.  Pecan pralines are the signature candy for this area.  We got some free samples, but were strong and did not buy any (yet).
We saw a sign saying something about a movie filming.  We asked around, the the locals didn’t know any more than we did.  We did learn later that the movie being filmed is When the Bough Breaks.  But nobody knows who the stars will be.  We did see some camera crews, but no actors.
Movie Filming
The Old Cotton Exchange Building
Shops in the Old Cotton Warehouses
Free Boat Shuttle to the Other Side of the River.
We took it, but there was nothing to see over there
other than a hotel and convention center.
Two River Tour Ferry’s Waiting for Passengers
Just a few blocks from River Street is the City Market area where a few blocks have been turned into a nice pedestrian mall with more restaurants and gift shops.  A block off that area is celebrity chef Paula Dean’s Store and Restaurant The Lady & Sons.  Paula wasn’t there.
Paula Dean’s Shop and Restaurant
The Lady & Sons is under the awning.
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Savannah, Georgia

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
Savannah, Georgia, is one of our favorite places, so we planned to see it again this year.  Bernie decided the RV needed an oil change and and we need to fill our propane tank again.  We have an appointment at Camping World near Savannah for 8:30 in the morning.  They are letting us stay in their parking lot over night.
We got here around noon so went next door to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  I found Marsha’s candy in their store; so, of course, I had to buy it.  It’s just peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate.  It tasted exactly the same as the chocolate dipped peanut butter balls that I have made myself.
Yummy

Hello

After lunch we took the car in to the Savannah Visitor Center, and then hopped on the free “Dot” bus and took that down to River Street in downtown.  This is a free bus that circles around the historic areas.  There are several restaurants and shops here in the bays of one-time cotton warehouses.  Just as we were getting started…it began to rain.  So… we hopped on the next free Dot bus we saw and went back to the car and back to the RV and watched TV.  We’ll return tomorrow if the weather permits.
River Street

Where we are Tonight

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South Carolina

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Marsha Brecht
No blog yesterday because I really didn’t have anything to say.  We left the campground at Williamsburg, Virginia, and started driving down Interstate 95.  By the time we got to Smithville, North Carolina, we were ready for a break so we decided to spend the night in the Walmart parking lot there.  We did some shopping too.  There were three other RV’s in the lot with us as well as two semi-trucks that spent the night.
In the morning we continued on down I-95.  Along the way we noticed many many signs advertising this place called South of the Border, which is just south of the North Carolina and South Carolina border.  So we bit and went to see it.  It was time for a break anyway.  It’s just a big man made tourist draw… cigar shop, gift shop, stylized restaurant, gas, and more.  It is the off season and early in the day and hardly anyone was about.  We walked around for a few minutes and then left.
You can climb up to the top of the Sombrero or take an elevator
up to the brim if you want.

The S.O.B. Water tower
 Well that was interesting.  So we continued on until we got tired of driving and ended up near the middle of South Carolina.   We’re camped tonight at Santee State Park on Lake Marion.  We’re the only ones here! Except for the campground host.  Nice place.
Santee State Park on Lake Marion in South Carolina
By the way, it’s 77 degrees here right now, and I see that it’s only 15 degrees at home in Minnesota. 🙂
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Grand Illumination Day

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Marsha Brecht

Today, in the historic Colonial Williamsburg, it’s Grand Illumination Day.  As soon as it gets dark, single  candles are lit in the windows of the Historic Area’s restored and reconstructed buildings and exterior garlands and greens.  There is musical entertainment on outdoor stages and includes performers from A Christmas Tale, Greater Richmond Pipes and Drums, and Colonial Williamsburg’s Fifes and Drums, and more, finishing up with fireworks.

We knew it would be crazy, so we got there in the morning and got a good parking spot and spent the day walking around, looking in the old shops and museums and restaurants.

Carolers
Camellia’s in Bloom
The Public Hospital of 1773 was a hospital for the insane.  It’s now a very nice museum.  Inside the hospital itself is all about the history of the hospital, but then you go down stairs and it leads you to another building in the back where there is this huge wonderful new museum with antique furniture, dishes, paintings, and folk art.
Public Hospital of 1773 for the Insane

Room or cell inside the Hospital for the Insane

Funny
What kind of garden plant is this??

Crowd Gathering for the Fireworks

The Street Lighting

Fifes and Drums
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
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