Chateau Thomas Winery w Janet & Jerry

November 2008, Chateau Thomas Winery

Got a call from the Owen's, Bluebird RV friends, inviting us to join them at a winery in Indiana. It was fun and educational, learned a lot about Wine and Turkey. They had a wonderful gift shop, you can see Jerry holding the lady shoppers entranced.

How good of friends are they? Think about it, those of you that know us well. I am a Grey Goose/ Stohli's drinker and Bill drinks "Coke"and we went to a WINERY!!!!!!

We were there for a Wine/Turkey tasting. The owner, Dr Thomas,
offered information about his wines while we tasted turkey fixed a couple different ways..
He was a retired OB/GYN. ladies, do you think we drove him to drink????????????

Anyway, it was great catching up with the news with Janet and Jerry
and meeting her cousins. We plan to continue seeing them as often as we can at a way point. They are spending most of the winter in Indiana as we are in Illinois.

D & B

North Platte, NEB 2008

Forgot to share these. We stopped to see this train yard, Bill even had to buy an Engineer's hat, since both of our father's were Railroaders.
This was huge, the town had built a tower near all this action, so people could see it better. If you are ever in that area, it is worth seeing. Union Pacific is the name of the rail yard.

Lori's St Louis Bus. Trip/ Nov 2008

We drove to St Louis to see Lori and spend a few hours with her. She is fun. We had a good visit. Maybe took her mind off the business she had to deal with on Monday. She had a dinner meeting with the Company Lawyer that evening. WOW! My little Lori. Who would have thunk it?

Reno Trip Sept-Oct 2008

Sorry it has taken so long, but you know how busy retirement is. Any way, this is Joe Fanelli, Gina's friend. "Joey" to me because he is such a teddy bear. Bill and Joe went golfing one day, Joe beat Bill. "Is that a good plan", beating your girl friends Dad at golf? Gina is such fun to be around, Her sense of humor has no bounds. We had a great time getting to know Joe, he is a great cook also. Hope one day you will all get the chance to meet him. We all went to Reno for Gina's 40th BD, maybe we can all go for her 50th. Have a great Winter! So far we think we are staying close to home.

Home Again / October 19, 2008

We are home now. Short trip out West, but had a great time. We went out to Reno, via Rte 80. oohed and aaahed over the great scenery, came back via Rte 80, ooohed and aahed over the the great scenery. Don't believe we will ever get used to how beautiful this country is. Saw 100's of Antelopes, but never got a picture. Made a wrong turn , went 25 miles out of our way, but the scenery was gorgeous, came up over a rise and lo and behold between 7 - 10 wild turkeys we had to slow up for, taking a walk in the road.

Caught the devil from Gina, because I posted the Harley Boys pictures and none of her and Joey. Will get to that, I promise as soon as I remember to put them into my pc. Harley boys were cute tho, weren't they???

Must tell you about a great day in Iowa. We had the Bird in the shop, really, in at 7am, out about 3:30pm. I am thinking $$$$$$, but the manager, felt it could have been fixed quicker and more efficiently and soooo, charged us for 1 1/2 hrs labor, and was not positive the parts weren't harmed during the repair, so did not charge us full prices. What a marvelous stop that was, then as we were hooking up, saw an adorable little Class C, we went over to look at it, They invited us in, great people, originally from Canada. Then on our way. We stopped at Iowa I80 truck stop (Largest in the country)for Supper, and guess what, Our new Canadian friends walked by, we asked them to join us, talked for another couple hours. Then we were on our way. OOPS, made a wrong turn. we were on a lonely country road, found a place to do a ueee(SP), a little car pulled in and started saying something to Bill. He opened his little window, the lady asked if we were lost. We said we thought we knew where we were going now, she insisted, "Follow me, I will get you back to 80: SHE WENT A GOOD 10 MILES OUT OF HER WAY. I wanted to giver her a card and tell her to read my blog, as I intended to brag about her, but, when we got to 80, she stuck her arm out the window, waved to us and went on.
great day, right. its not just the beautiful country that makes me love this life style, it is all the great people we are meeting and the new friends we are making.

Wheew! Long winded? Ok, I will quit for now. have a great day, and KEEP SMILIN'

Reno Bikers

Reno, NV 2008

We had a glorious 2 weeks with Gina and her new fella. Hope you all get a chance to meet him, he is a cutie! Didn't do much but visit and eat it seemed, but it was great. We do miss that girl!

While we were there, there was "Street Vibrations" going on. What a hoot. There were over 30,000 motorcycles there, everywhere. Lots of leather and skin too. I was looking for some leather pants, but never did find them that I really liked, but I did find something else. If I can get some pictures posted to my blog, you will see what I found!!!!. OH MY!!!!

We have traveled mostly RTE 80 on this trip, no cactus and Joshua Trees like on Rte 70, but this country is amazing. I am sure I have seen some of these sites before, like 2 weeks ago, going West, but I am still ooohing and aaahing.

Still in Reno

There are 30,000 motorcycles here for the weekend. We are headed for down town, to see them and maybe get some pictures. This is unbelievable to me. There are bikes and leather everywhere we go. Big question is, should I get some leather pants or not?????
Having a great time with Gina and her friend Joey. He has the best smile. His father was a crooner, back in the Ratpack days. He was friends with all of them. We listened to a cassette Joe has of some of his songs, I actually think he was better than Sinatra. Do any of you remember Frankie Fanelli?
Bill has been working on Gina's car and RV. Today, all is well. What a mechanic I am married to!!!!

Keep Smilin'

Dorothy & BIll

Reno, NV

We are here, FINALLY, as Gina says. Got settled in yesterday, but today, we are moving around a little. Went for a bike ride along the Truckee River, the river walk I think it is called. The Truckee is a fast little river, lots of scenery along the way. Lots of people take advantage of it. Even saw someone older than me riding his bike. I usually ride for 45 minutes and it is 6 miles, so I think I rode at least that far today. Will challenge myself more tomorrow, maybe Bill will go with me, GOLF (The Ryder Cup) was on tv today. Tonight we are eating Mexican with Gina, have not hugged her since our family Reunion last year.

Keep Smilin'

Dorothy & Bill

Salt Lake City, Utah

We have been here a week and we still have not seen it all. What a beautiful city. The Mormon Tabernacle is so impressive, from the outside, and it sits on 35 acres in the middle of Salt Lake City. We walked around, met lots of very friendly, helpful people, and then went to look up our ancestors. What a hoot! In these 35 acres, are high rise buildings a HUGE conference center where the Choir practices and performs. We missed hearing them in person by one day, BUT we will go back. Lots to do and see in that city. The grounds are stupendous, great statues, flowers, trees, etc. If you are ever in Salt Lake, don't miss it. At night the Capitol Building is all lit up, with the mountains behind it. WOW!

The sign of the times, I am afraid, but we did see many panhandlers, so sad. A girl, about Gina's age was on a corner, back pack on her shoulder, big tears running down her face, when we gave her a little money.

Along the highway, of course there is all that salt on the salt flats, people make messages, their names, etc. out of rocks. I asked Bill to stop so we could make a heart with our initials in it. He wouldn't. Can you believe that, and he is sooo romantic usually.

Travelin' on to Reno, more tomorrow, unless we get just soooo busy again, seeing the sites.

Keep Smilin'

Evanston, Wyoming

Oh my Gosh, We had forgotten how beautiful Wyoming is. Takes your breath away. From Buttes, to rolling hills to high mountains. Saw 10 deer just hangin' out together.
We are at a campground that has been here since 1936 when gas was 19 cents a gallon. Yes they have upgraded. Very nice, clean with all the amenities, even WIFI. Like they would know about wifi in 1936. It is run by the 3rd generation, how cool is that?
Nothing goin on, we are veg'in out. All that drivin'!!!!! No we are not in a big hurry, just really easy drivin' I guess. We stop when Bill says. You know he is the BOSS!!

Did get great news today, Cocoa, 15 in February, has a clean bill of health. Blood work, and "Those" other samples we took in before we left, came out all negative. By gosh she may live to be 20 after all..

Keep Smilin'

Dorothy & Bill

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Have to tell this. We stopped at Walmart, were eating dinner, when we noticed 2 young boys trying to control a small dog. A lot of traffic, they were quite the heroes. As we watched, we could see they had water for the dog, but no bowl. So Bill walked over with a paper bowl. He didn't come back and he didn't come back. Here is the story. The boys were trying to protect the dog from the traffic, people kept stopping to see what was going on. Someone did call the dog shelter. All this time there was a lady sitting in the dirt, holding the dog. giving it water from her hand. As it turned out, the lady was from Toledo, Ohio. Since November, she and her husband have been "Riding the Rails". Her husbands $30.00 an hour job went away, they decided 'Heck with it', they would just take off for a while. She had a great smile, beautiful blue eyes, with tears in them for this pooch. When the Shelter lady got there, she "Cricket" knew what was going to happen. She just could not let that happen. They are going to stay around here for 3 days, if no one claims the pooch, they will take it with them, ridin' the rails, back to Toledo. Cricket told us she would name the pooch "Loosie". We gave her one of our Bluebird Cards, hoping she will keep in touch. Oh yes, Cricket has breast Cancer.
Anyone want to know why we love this life we are leading? There are wonderful people like this ALL OVER AMERICA, and we hope we keep meeting them.

Ft Kearney, Nebraska

We have stopped for the evening. We are at a really nice SRA in Ft Kearney. Ft Kearney has a history, way back in the Indian Era. It is in the same area as the Pioneer Village in Minden. The Village has one of the largest collections of Authentic Americana. For those of us old enough to remember. Some really interesting objects. When we went through the Village, of course, Bill recognized LOTS more than I. Before you ask, State Recreation Area. Looks like a fishermans paradise to us, 3 lakes. Landscaped very nicely tho. Lots of trees and bushes. Over 100 sites with 50 amp.

Kansas City

We're on the road again. Heading West, but 1st stopped to visit with our daughter, Lori and son in law Sam in Kansas. We golfed with them, it was fun, good thing cause none of us did well. They work too hard, I know their thoughts were on work tomorrow.

Leaving in the morning for wherever. Keep your eye on this blog, I will try to keep current on it.

Look what I found I can do. This is from Bemidgi, MN. And they tried to tell me Paul Bunyan was a myth!

Home Again / August 5, 2008

The Service on Sunday for Don, Bill's friend went well, emotional of course. A lesson for us all to be as good a person and friend as he was. We all felt it was a honor to have known him.

Monday we kind of vegged out, rather rainy, and then the biggest storm we have ever heard hit Ft Wayne. There were about 9 tents near us at the park, and God love them, they stayed there all night. I almost turned my lights on, but I knew I would NOT have had room for all of them, so I never let on I was awake. Poor Dears.

We headed home early this am, and yes, it rained all the away home.

We are here for a little while, we will be leaving for Utah in September, then if all goes well on out West.

Sooo, this blog should be a little sparse for a while, UNLESS something really exciting or funny happens. Keep checking, ok???

Barr Street Market/Ft Wayne

Since we are here in Ft Wayne for a Memorial Service for Bill's Best Friend Don, we seem to be dashed back in time with our memories here in Ft Wayne. Last night we got in the truck and drove around, looking and remembering, Bill's old neighborhood, now a vacant lot, Don's old neighborhood, much the same, old haunts and areas from years gone by.

Then today, we met Don's wife and 2 of his daughters and a friend at a little diner in downtown Ft Wayne, called Cindy's. "Don loved the place" The waitress is rude and we love her, the short order cook makes "garbage" and we love it. Out of 6 of us, only 2 could eat it all. Years ago, when I met Bill, and worked in a short order diner, I could flip eggs in the little skillet. Well, sometimes as you all know, when the eggs are really fresh, the yolk will just break. Anyway, Bill ordered eggs over easy, of course one of the yolks broke, and when I tried to serve them to Bill, He said "I did not order broken eggs" When we relayed this story to the waitress in Cindy's she looked him in the eye and said, "If I had waited on you, you would have worn them".

Then we went to the "Barr Street Market" . Years ago, my Grandparents had a boarding house across the street from the Market. I remember My brother and I playing hide and seek amongst the pillars. Of course now, the pillars are gone and there are mostly high rise buildings in downtown Ft Wayne. No sign of what may have been their boarding house. But there was plenty to look at and buy. Lemon zest cheese???? Home made no less. Did buy a bag with Barr Street market on it and a couple of pots of wild flowers to take home and plant in my yard in honor of my grandmother who really had a green thumb, her yard was always full of flowers.

Bill has been working hard on his "Memories of Don" that he will relate at the Memorial Service tomorrow. He is so much stonger than I could ever be.

Johnny Appleseed Park

We got up early to get on our way to Fort Wayne. Got the Bird packed, ready to go right? Remember the problems we have been having that are all fixed now??? Well, the Bird would not start. I think I heard Bill say a bad word! I set there quietly, he left the coach, then came back after a few minutes. There are 2 switches in the back, one with the batteries and one with the inverter, big switches. Any way "Someone" turned one of them off. Wasn't me and wasn't Bill, must have been all the help we have had lately, but anyway all is well. Coach running, no fuel leaks, no "stuff" all over the towed, we are happy.

We are here, in the middle of Ft Wayne, right behind the Coliseum, nice park, nice people.

Ready for what ever tomorrow may bring!

Catch Up / July1 - July 30

I learned to blog in MN and am just now doin' it. SOOOO, I am a slow starter....



7/1/08 Bill and I hosted a Vintage Bird Rally in Springfield. It was great, small, 9 coaches, but a comfortable group. We learned a lot more about Lincoln, and the area.



Then 3 coaches headed for MN, another Rally. Traveling in groups is such a hoot, you get to know each other, even better.



After that rally we went sightseeing with just one other coach, Janet and Jerry Owen. Full Timers. Do they know how to live or what?



Wasn't going to tell the good stuff, but here goes. Flood in our bedroom, stool overflowed. A tree hit our coach in WI. Aqua Hot (Heat not working right) needed looked at. Levelers quit working. Fuel Leak, yes, that would be Diesel.



7/25/08 Home and we are ok now, got everything fixed, weeeellllllll, Bill is going to work on the stool. He is pretty sure he knows what is wrong, Pray for no more floods, ok???



7/30/08 Bill mowed these 4 acres for 4 days, about 1 1/2 ft tall grass. Who has been praying for rain?????



7/31/08 We will head out in the am for Ft Wayne, IN
"Time for Family and Friends"