Continuing our travels

On Monday, July 25th, Bill and I went to Crazy Horse monument.  We were very impressed with what we saw.  The entrance fee was $10 a person or $27 a carload and no parking fee.  So far they have the head of Crazy Horse head carved in the mountain.  They have a scaled model of what the final monument will look like.  This is worth while going to see.

On Tuesday we went to Mount Rushmore. When you first enter you walk through a row of pillars with the date each state joined the union and their flags flying above.  The monument is an amazing site.  We were as impressed this time as we were the first time.  There was a lot of walking to do here and we enjoyed seeing Mount Rushmore from many angles.  We had buffalo chili for lunch at the restaurant and we both liked it.  The fee to get in was $11 and good for a year.

We left Custer in the morning and went to Deadwood, S.D.  We stayed at Whistlers Gulch, which was one mile from town.  Bill and I walked in the first day.  There is a Trolley that you can take for $1.  We took it back at the end of our day in town.  It is a fun western town with gun fights on the street and a lot of small casinos and the usual souvenir stores.  Kevin Costner has one of the casinos with a restaurant.  I went back the second day and Bill stayed at the trailer to do some work.  It is a fun place to visit.


We stopped at Wall Drugs on our next travel day.  It is another fun place to stop.  It has a lot of great shops to go through.

On Sunday we stopped at Bonnie and Gail Quin's.  We had a great visit catching up, in their new screen room, on what each of us has been doing. 
We are now in Manitowoc, WI. at a Monaco Rally. Our campground is on Lake Michigan and there is a great walking, biking path that goes along the lake.  If it cools down we hope to do some walking .

Custer and The Black Hills of SD



We had another great day in Custer State Park. We started with a hike at 7:00 AM with Mike and Pat and Ron and Barb. We hiked around Sylvan Lake. Had coffee at one of the lodges and started on our 8 hour scenic drive through the state park. There is amazing scenery from rock formations, lakes and tunnels. Three of the tunnels when you drove through them framed Mount Rushmore. Thank you Ron and Barb for being our tour guides today and sharing all that you learned from your tours.

We saw a large herd of Buffalo and 3 smaller herds, an Elk first thing in the morning, two fawns running across the road, a lot of wild burros along the side of the road and prong horn deer. This was very exciting for me and the others too.

Some pictures follow to document the day.

More of our adventures

Here I am again.  Bill and I have had some great adventures since our trip to Roatan.  We went back to Retama for the month of April.  We were able to enjoy our new coach house and visit with our friends before we went back on the road.      First stop was at Beaumont, Tx. for one night at Gulf Coast RV Resort. The air conditioner is not working and it is 95 outside.  From there we went to Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis.  We stayed here for four nights.  They comped our 4 nights and 4 buffets.  The campground has sites long enough to stay hooked up if you wish.   On May 5 we arrived in Nashville.  We stayed at Jellystone because it had sites long enough for us.  We went to the Loveless Cafe which was built in 1950.  It was 45 minutes out of town, but the drive had many beautiful homes and country side to look at.  The cafe was famous for its fried chicken and biscuits.  For our dinner we had carmel sweet potatoes, fried okra, chicken, ham and catfish.  The 1 1/2hr. wait was worth it.  We did a little bit of shopping while waiting.  We went to the Gaylord Hotel.  What a wonder surprise when we walked into the lobby.  I think it is something everyone would enjoy.  The first thing we saw was a sculpture made out of glass.  It was different flowers and stood at least 6 feet high.  The colours were very vibrant.  It had starting blooms to full blown blooms to show the rebirth of the Grand Ole Opry and theatre.  They had a boat that took you around the walking and dining areas.  It turned out to be prom night and so we saw quite a variety of beautiful gowns.  Sunday was Mother's Day.  We went to the Cathederal for the 11:00 Service and then we left the truck at the church parking lot.  We walked downtown and there was music coming out of all of the bars.  We had a late lunch at Jimmmie Buffet's restaurant.  I had catfish and Bill had ribs.  Another great day.

We arrived in Windsor on May 15. We had a great visit with our grand kids Kira, Hunter, Katherine, and Andrew. We were able to spend some time with Sharon before she went back to Roatan. Sharon, Katherine and myself went to Crock-A-Doodle to paint. Katherine chose a dog bank, Sharon a plate and Grandma of course chose a mug with Sharon's and Katherine's name on it. plus the date and Grandma. We celebrated Kira's 9th birthday while we were home. Our aniversary was May 20, 44 years. We drove out to the county and had a wonderful lunch by the lake at a place we have been to many times in the past called Kings Landing. On this stop we stayed at Heather and Paul's and put the trailer in storage. We watched the kids play soccer in the pouring rain. Bill and I went to lunch with my sister Margaret and Joyce. Did a lot of catching up. After lunch Margaret and I went to the casino. We had a great time. Katherine came in a few mornings at 6:00 and that was okay. Andrew is a great boy and gives great hugs. We spent a few evenings with Kira and Hunter and enjoyed being with them. They love to spend time with their Grandpa. Kira played her violin for us. Bill bought me a huge and beautiful arrangement of flowers for our anniversary. May 26 we headed for Berrien Springs for the GLASS Rally. We stayed at Shamrock Camp;ground, full hook up, 50 amp. gravel site. We would stay here again. We got some good contacts at the rally. The rains were coming in but we were able to pack up before they hit. We stayed an extra day because of the weather. A little out of order but here we go. We stayed at Linda and Jeff's overnight because she was in Napa and Jeff had a fishing tournament. We had a good visit with the kid's. Spent some time with Joyce and her family from England. We took them to Frankenmuth and they enjoyed the town and the chicken. We watched Katherine and Andrew while Heather and Paul went to London for a run for Scleraderma. Love my grand children. We worked two rallies in Goshen, Indiana. Spent some time with Ken and Kathy Adams and we also had dinner with Tom and Gail. It was great to spend time with friends. Ken and Kathy had a booth set up next to ours. After the rally we went to Bill's cousin Cheri and her husband Paul's for dinner. We figured we have not seen them in twenty years. It was great catching up. July 1-5 we stayed at Longhorn Ranch Campground. We are on site 42, which was on the river. This campground was big rig friendly. Would stay here again. Beautiful view out the back window, the mountains, and the dining room window was the river. We had two campfires while here. Brought back a lot of memories with the kids. One day we drove to Jackson Hole. The first view of the Grand Tetons was breath taking. It was surprising to see all the snow. The scenery was magnificent. You could never get tired of it. We ate lunch at Sweetwater Restaurant. Bill had an Elk Burger. His report was a little strange at first, but continued to get better. The best was on the way back to our campground we saw a GRIZZLY BEAR and he came right up to the road and grazed for awhile. Oh my gosh. It was strange to see people snowmobiling in July. We have seen Moose, Mule Deer and Pronghorn Deer. I can't explain how much I enjoyed this. At the campground we saw young children going horseback riding. We saw quite a few riders on our drives. On July 4th we went to Yellowstone and watched Old Faithful erupt. It seemed like a good place to celebrate. We had great weather all the time we were there. July 5-6 We spent two days with our friends and neighbours, Paula and Marvin Olsen. It was wonderful spending time with them. First night we had a steak barbecue at their home and spent a lot of time catching. The next day they drove us to Bear Lake. Their countryside is beautiful. We enjoyed seeing the mountains and lake together. We were very pleased that they shared their part of the country with us. That should catch me up. I wasn't sure if I was going to continue but I think I will try. Safe tavels to all our friends and love to all our family.

Our trip to Roatan

We found a campground five miles from the airport and one of the campers drove us the airport the following morning.  We were getting ready to start a great adventure spending time with our daughter Sharon.  We arrived in Roatan on Wednesday, March 23.  Sharon was there with bell's on to pick us up  and we started our great adventure. She was very excited to show us her home.  She purchased a new couch just before our arrival.  She had her place fixed up really cute.  When you sit on her deck, you over look the bay.   

On Thursday Sharon had to go to work  We went to the beach and sat there for awhile.  We saw the resort at the end of the road that had an infinity pool that was available to all the neighbours.  The view was unbelievable.  We sat there with our feet in the pool enjoying the view.  After dinner we went to meet Sharon's good friends and neighbour Margie and Tim.  They are originally from South Africa, but now live in England 6 months and Roatan 6 months.  We had a lot of good times with them.

On Friday we went for a swim in Margie and Tim's pool.  Very refreshing.  It was quite warm while we were there, so it was nice that we had a couple of options to cool off.  When Sharon got home from work we had our dinner on the deck and enjoyed the view.  Bill checked out a few of the jobs that Sharon wanted him to do.  After dinner, the neighbour who owns the resort had a party that we were all invited too.  There were about 200 people at the party.  There were singers and dancers from the Garifuna tribe.  They are all over the Caribbean Islands.  The entertainment also included two fire dancers.  It was another wonderful evening.
On Saturday we went shopping with Tim and Margie.  The first purchase made was two pair of shoes and the same for Sharon.  We went to an area called West End and enjoyed going through all the shops at the beach.  We had lunch at the Light House Restaurant.  We ate there last year when we were on a cruise with Bill's sister Wendy and her husband Mike.  It is on the water and the food was great.  Bill and  I had Mahi Mahi fish and chips and Sharon had a Lobster Salad.  We ended our shopping with Bill and Tim finding what Bill was going to need to do Sharon's jobs.  When we got back to Sharon's we went for a swim at Tim and Margie's pool.  Great ending for a great day.

On Sunday morning Bill started on his jobs.  We left at 12:30 to have lunch at Hole In The Wall.  It was a one hour drive.  The roads were ok until we got to the one that took us to where we had to take a boat taxi to the restaurant.  Bill said he has never seen a road like this.  There were many dips and bumps.  I did enjoy all that we got to see on our drive.  The island has it's own beauty. There was lush vegetation and of course the water.  We saw homes worth over a million dollars to homes that were third world basic homes.  The people on the island seemed to be happy and contented with their lifestyle.  At one point on our drive we could see both sides of the island.  Our water taxi held four people and the driver.  Fortunately the water was very calm.  We met Margie, Tim and Patrick at the restaurant.  They went by water on Patrick's boat.  We could have but we were a little nervous that the water was going to be too rough.   You could easily describe the restaurant as a hole in the wall.  It looked like a shack, but the view and being able to sit at the water's edge and enjoy the lobster buffet made for a great afternoon.  Another great afternoon.   Of course that night Sharon and I had a game of scrabble and guess what happened, Sharon used all 7 letters so you can guess how excited she was.  We played a few games of scrabble and upwords on our visit.

Monday we did grocery shopping and went through the shops at the cruise shop dock.
One of the things that Bill did every day was take Alfie for a walk.  Alfie is a very good watch dog for Sharon.  Sharon's other pet is Bobbie, a kitten that has the markings of an ocelot.  They are both very good pets.  Bobbie likes to snuggle.  We enjoyed Sharon's pets or as she calls them our grand  pets.

On Tuesday we were treated to a game of golf by Sharon.  It was a Pete Dye course and it had only been open for three months.  It was an amazing experience to play on this course.  It was the first time we had a caddy.  The caddies are just learning how to be one, but ours did a good job for us.  Bill had a very good game.  I enjoyed playing.  The views on this course were unbelievable.  There signature hole was an island green.  We gave it a good try.   After our game Sharon joined us for lunch at the course.  Once more we were treated to a magnificent view and also a very good meal.  Most evenings we went to Tim and Margie's
for a visit.

On Wednesday we went to Tim and Margie's shop so that I could do some more shopping.  They sell jewelry and many accent pieces for your home.  Oh what fun I had.  When we were finished there we went to meet two more of Sharon's friends Julian and Eileen.  They were managing three houses for the owners and lived in a tree house.  The houses were unlike any house I have ever seen.  They were remarkable mansion homes with an open concept with tropical designs.  Each house had it's own pool and everything could be open to the beautiful view outside.  We went to have dinner at Marble Farm where they make jams and jellies and grow most of the fruit that they use.  Most of us had fish dinner, which was very good.  One more great evening.

Thursday we went to Turquoise Bay. This is the dive shop were Sharon is.  A small resort, but very nice.  They have a very nice pool and beach.  We had lunch there and then Bill and Sharon went snorkeling.  I stayed back and enjoyed the pool.  Sharon gave us a tour of the dive shop and we got to meet some of the people who work there and some of the interns.  One of the fellows who works at the dive shop took us to see his home.  He built it himself.  Wood frame and then he covered it with clay bricks that he molded himself.  He was very proud of his home.  At the end of the day, of course, we had a game of scrabble.

We celebrated Tim's birthday with dinner at his home.  Bill barbecued and Sharon made the cake.
Bill finished the job's that Sharon asked him to do.  They now have an Ace Hardware Store on the island.  This was a great help for the jobs that Bill had to do.

Saturday came way too fast for all of us.   We started the morning with Sharon making us pancakes with strawberries and bananas.  After breakfast we went to and Iguana farm with Tim and Margie.  It was quite an experience.  There were hundred's of iguana's walking all over the farm and in the trees.  We brought bananas and mango's to feed them.  They also gave us leaves from  a certain tree that grows on the island.  As you can guess I did a lot of watching!!!  You will never guess what Sharon and I bought at the gift shop,  yep  we bought shoes.   We went back to Sharon's for lunch and Bill took Alfie for a walk.  We left at l2:30 for the airport.  We had one more stop to make.  We had to go to Tim and Margie's shop to buy some metal art to put in our coach house.  We purchased a spider, two iguana's and two butterflies.

The airport story gets it's own paragraph.  We boarded the plan for our 3:40 departure.  We were off the plane 20 minutes later, back on the plane again two hours later.  They finally decided that we were not able to fly out that night so they were going to put us up at one of the resorts.  It was one of the the nicest resorts on the island but guess who did not get a room there.  Six couples had to be bussed to another resort.  The only problem was that it was at the other end of the island.  We had a one hour ride to the first resort and then we had a 75 minute to the other resort.  The airplane mechanic on call in Roatan did not answer his phone but fortunately there was a United Airlines mechanic on our flight who determined the problem and arranged for the parts to be delivered.  We had to wait until the next day when they would send a new part and mechanics from Houston to fix the plane.  We had to be at the airport by 10.  The one thing wrong with that is the plane did not take off until 5:00. 
When we finally got to Houston the person that was supposed to pick us up was not there.  When Bill called him they said that the phone had been disconnected.  We ended up taking a cab.  They were very long days
We were very excited to have spent this time with Sharon and share her life.  She had a very cute house, wonderful and cuddly pets and very nice friends.   Thank you to my family for this wonderful Birthday Present.

We left Houston in the morning and arrived back at Retama in the afternoon.  We are settled in for the rest of the month and then back on the road.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our journey so far.   See you again next month.