On the road

Departed Atlanta June 7, 2008, overnighted in Chattanooga, TN at Halesbar Marina & RV Park. Serendipitously met a couple that has lived aboard their numerous sailboats and told us of travels to the Caribbean, Venezuela, and beyond. Ventured into downtown Chattanooga for the evening. Fun city, lots of current art and sculpture.

Arrived in Nashville Sunday night, June 8 and spent the next 10 nights at Prevost Car. We had alot of work done on the bus, and it is now in prime condition. Caught up with transplanted Tulsalites David and Gerri Findley, and their great children, Greyson and Skylar. Visited the Basement for some local music, which was fantastic. They had a saxophonist that played with Bela Fleck. Toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, Opryland Hotel, and went to a Grand Ole Opry production.

Or is it just starting over? We’ve decided to sell the bus. This started as a one year plan and so it has become. We didn’t get to see the entire country in a year, just half. And we may move on to a boat to see the east coast. That sounds grand, but we need to move this bus first. It’s been well taken care of and is ready for a new owner. We’ve put together information here http://www.2000liberty.info so take a look. We’ll still stay in touch, right here.

May 26, 2008. Cruising along 300N towards Macon, GA, zooming past historic acres, picturing the Confederates of the Civil War, tall pines sprinkled with magnolias and mimosas, big oaks, a smattering of plantations, road names such as Egg & Butter Rd.

Macon has a very cool vibe. Historic architecture well preserved and restored. Lots of tree damage from tornadoes 2 weeks ago. Lots and lots of churches. We dry camped one night in a Walmart parking lot on Zebulon.

May 27, 2008. I-75 heading North out of Macon. Lots of dead animals on side of Interstate; bloated deer, coyote, armadillo. Surprised at the number of hitchhikers. Settled for two nights in Cumming, GA, north of Atlanta, at Twin Lakes RV Resort. A beautiful and inspirational area. Then moved the bus to Marietta, GA May 29-June 7. Highlights of our time in Atlanta: we had a great time catching up with high school friends that live in greater Atlanta: Melanie and husband Bob, John and wife Renee, Curt and wife Marilyn. Visited the Coca Cola Museum and Midtown, Raiford Gallery and Historic Roswell, Eddie’s Attic and the Rite Aide Beauty Fair! Jim spent many days analyzing then repairing the water fill shut-off solenoid valve. Another incredible repair feat by the master of puzzles.

May 18-26, 2008 Tallahassee, FL. Dry camped first night in truck repair parking lot. Grilled pizza and watched a beautiful sunset. Went to the Tallahassee Airshow. Tallahassee had huge, (small aircraft sized) dragonflies (not sure if that is the correct name for them). And “love bugs”. Put into the bug populace by the agriculture department of Florida to eat mosquitoes, which they do, but the authorities did not realize that what these bugs lived and died for was the act of reproducing. They are thick, everywhere, and always “in the act”. We had them doubled up on our windshield. What a way to go.

First 2 weeks of May:

See all our pictures here.

After leaving New Orleans, we spent several weeks along the “Emerald Coast”, that beautiful part of the Gulf that includes Mobile, Gulf Shores, Pensacola, Destin. See the pictures. Had to get out and head north. Way too much vacation.

December 16 through December 21, 2007.

We returned to Palm Desert for another week. Visited a Cuban restaurant’s grand opening in Palm Springs. Buena Vista Social Club-like band played. Great music, great groove. Visited the Living Desert, a desert zoo. Lovely weather most of the week.

Sunday, December 21, 2007

Drove to San Diego/ Chula Vista, CA
Made an attempt at visiting the March Air Force Reserve Base. We saw it from the highway. A tarmac full of vintage aircraft. Couldn’t find the entrance. Traveled through Escondido to Chula Vista, CA. Spent Christmas at the RV park. Jim decided he wanted to shave his head.
One day we took a long bike ride into town. Rode by the U. S. Naval Base.

Friday, December 28, 2007. Moved to Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego.
Drove to La Jolla, a groovey, toney seaside village.
Went to Bodies, the Exhibition. Real human bodies, dissected and preserved.
Attended the San Diego Auto Show.
December 31, 2007. We spent the last day of 2007 visiting Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo. With all of the overwhelming BIG DEAL choices and places to spend New Years in the San Diego area, we ended up having a low-key New Years Eve at our bus. Grilled a delicious salmon dinner, and watched Dick Clark and others bring in the new year. We also watched a great fireworks show over the bay. Are we old yet, or what?

January 2, 2008 We start our trek eastward. Boondocked in a rest stop just East of Yuma, AZ.

Left bright and early the morning of Evan’s 21st birthday, January 3rd. Arrived in Tucson and parked it at Beaudry RV, a huge RV dealership with a huge RV park.
Did a short hike through Saguaro National Park, East. Amazing cacti.

In Tucson Jan 3 thru Jan 9, 2008.
Departed Tucson the morning of the 9th, at 7:00am. Arrived Kino Bay, Mexico 2:15pm. Parked it in the sand for the next 18 days. Left La Playa RV Resort mid-morning on the 26th, had to wait 45 minutes at border crossing. Made it to Diamond Back Casino parking lot (20 miles south of Tucson) before sunset. Drove to our storage unit and back to the casino that night.

To Phoenix/El Mirage, AZ the morning of January 27, 2008 for 10 nights. It rained. Then I got a cold. Parked it at the El Mirage RV & Golf Resort, a parking place for RVs and park models, over 1,200 of them! Had a woodworking shop that Jim used to create the ultimate refrigerator stand for a 2000 Liberty Vandermeer. We had to pull it out to clean an AC filter. Super Bowl and Westgate Village was happening just a few miles away. We visited the village and perimeter of the park. Quite a spectacle; so much going on. We attended the “The Best Damn Superbowl Party, Period” at a very exclusive estate in Scottsdale. Jenny McCarthy was the hostess and Ludacris entertained.

I looked up a friend I met over 9 years ago at an Albuquerque flamenco workshop. Yumi was teaching in a studio in Scottsdale and 8 months pregnant. I took 2 classes with her and then we all went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Had a lovely evening. I was so happy to see her, take her class, and meet her darling husband, Scott Brown.

Departed Phoenix February 6, 2008 for Bisbee, AZ and the Shady Dell, a historic RV campground that has a variety of vintage aluminum travel trailers for nightly rental. For information: www.theshadydell.com. Bisbee was delightful. It’s a mile-high historic copper mining town in the Mule Mountains, about 20 miles from the Mexican border. It has been revitalized by artists and old hippies. Sort of like Eureka Springs, but with a newer, hip-per vibe.

Dot’s Diner was a delightful part of the Shady Dell. Delicious diner breakfasts.

February 7, 2008. We celebrated our 12th anniversary on the deck of the Tiki bus with a Canadian couple that was staying in the 1949 Airstream.

Took a drive to Naco, AZ, a border town. Dined at Rosa’s, a very popular Italian restaurant, and took a miner tour.

February 10, 2008. Departed Bisbee, AZ and decided to dry camp in a Las Cruces, NM Walmart parking lot.

February 11, 2008 Alamogordo, NM. Spent one night. Highlight: got the Jeep’s oil changed!

February 12, 2008 to Carlsbad, NM. Spent one night at Carlsbad RV Park with a petting zoo, then dry camped at a deserted rest area just West of Carlsbad (2/13/08). It was a beautiful, quiet location.

February 14, 2008 we toured Carlsbad Caverns, then drove to Marathon, TX via Valentine & Marfa, TX. Jim surprised me with a quick stop in Valentine, TX for Valentine’s day. Romantic, no?

Had cocktails and dinner at the White Buffalo Bar in the Gage Hotel on the 15th. Has to be one of the coolest bars we have ever visited.

2/16/08 we ventured to Alpine, Marfa and McDonalds Observatory. It was snowing in the morning and cleared off for a beautiful, brisk afternoon. We parked at the spot designated to watch the Marfa Lights, a freakish mysterious light show at night. Never saw the mysterious lights, but had a great time trying!

2/17/08 we hiked the Lost Mines Trail in Big Bend National Park.

February 18, 2008 departed Marathon, TX and dry camped in Carrizo Springs, TX.

February 19, 2008 arrived in Port Isabel, TX and stayed at the Long Island Village for 4 nights. We had our own boat dock on the back side of our site. Too bad we couldn’t make use of it. We enjoyed the touristy sights, took bike rides and long walks. Drove to South Padre Island several times. On Saturday, we drove to Brownsville for an appointment at a recording studio. Jim had to do a voice over for the NCTA TV spot he “starred” in. The recording studio was in a junky field, inside a decrepit garage. Fun to experience the diversity!

Our last night we spent dry camping on the beach in South Padre Island. What a spectacular and private place we had!

February 24, 2008 onward to San Antonio for one night before landing in Austin, TX for the week. Thanks to our friend, Bill Kenyon, we were able to stay at the Pecan Grove RV Park right in the middle of town. Great location on Barton Springs Road, next to Town Lake Park and lots of fun shops and restaurants. One night we ventured out to the groovin’ 6th Street area. Landed in the Red Fez bar (209 W. 5th St.) for a rockin’ sitar, congas, violins, bass and lead guitar Arabic band. Our last night we drove out to Bill, Patti and Ben Kenyon’s very cool house in Round Rock, north of Austin, overlooking a river.

I will now condense even more in an effort to get this Blog up-to-date. From Austin we hit Dallas for some Prevost repairs and a very important, quite special reunion with Jim’s second daughter, Jennie, and her husband Charles. BIG, happy story. Also spent two very fun nights with sister Diane. We stayed in Norman to hang out with Evan before landing in Tulsa. We had a great time in Tulsa catching up with family and friends. We stayed for a month, then back to Norman for another Evan fix before heading east to Little Rock and into Memphis, TN. Next stop was Birmingham, AL for a family meet and greet with Charles’ family. Made our way down to New Orleans for the first weekend of Jazzfest. We attended the Jazzfest on April 27 and got drenched with a downpour, but we hung in and heard Elvis Costello, Delbert McClinton, Al Green, and many more greats. The night before we saw James Cotton and his blues band with a surprise guest appearance by Dan Ackroyd at the House of Blues. It was awesome. Onward to Mobile, AL for a few days, then Gulf Shores, AL for a week.

Soaked up the rays and mosquito bites, and watched out for alligators. We hooked up with Becky and Patrick Boyle who were here for a long weekend with Kerry and Gregg Carlson, who have a 52′ trawler docked in Bon Secour. Went to a Pirates Ball at Pirates Cove and viewed some beautiful wooden boats at the annual wooden boat show.

May 8, 2008 We are now dry camping on Pensacola Beach with the beautiful Gulf of Mexico at our door. Hope to upload pics in the near future!

November 18, 2007 we move to Ventura, CA. for 4 weeks. We love this beach town!

A big highlight for me was a Thanksgiving holiday visit from Evan for 6 days. Got to meet and spend some time with his friends he made while living here for 10 months. They are all very special and fun! Evan took me flying from Santa Paula to Ventura with the Channel Islands in clear view one perfect afternoon. We also took bike rides, visited the Santa Barbara Zoo, shopped and dined.

Jim traveled back to Tulsa to catch up with daughters, grandkids and family members, and catch a cold, too.

I found an incredibly brilliant flamenco instructor here. Ana Galindo has 57 years of music and dance experience. Her knowledge and teaching are unlike any other instruction I have ever had. And she embraced me with hospitality. Jim and I were invited to a very special evening at her house. A true flamenco juerga. Several flamenco guitarists, one from Barcelona, cantaores, lots of dancers, palmas and gipsy spirit. Ana is a unique and unforgettable personality.

Anthony Hopkins watch out! Jim and the bus were hired to be a part of an NCTA ad campaign. We took the bus to the TV spot shoot sight in the salt flats 20 miles east of 29 Palms, CA. The bus was the office, dressing and makeup room, with wardrobe set-up outside. Jim starred in a 30 second TV spot explaining the changeover from analog to all digital broadcasting beginning in February 2009, and he tells all cable TV subscribers that there will not be a problem with their old, worn out, outdated, last century TV sets; “they will work just fine”.

November 3, 2007 - The 5
Depart San Francisco and overnight in Lost Hills, CA. You probably wouldn’t know it by it’s name but this place was absolutely FLAT!

November 4, 2007 We head towards Mira Loma, CA with a stop at Castaic Lake Park for a football game break. So, we have a service appointment for service at Prevost Car in Mira Loma on Tuesday. We stay on their lot 3 nights and head out after $$$$ in service.

Arrival in an oasis.
November 7, 2007 Palm Desert, CA

Pulling into a palm tree lined, gated entry to the Emerald Desert RV Resort, we are incredibly impressed with the beautiful grounds. And the climate is divine (this time of year!).

Palm Desert is a walled/gated community mecca. Square mile after mile of walled neighborhoods and extra wide boulevards with 50mph speed limits. Palm Springs is just a short drive and has some awesome mid-century homes.

Stayed in the Palm Desert area, also known as the Coachella Valley, for 11 nights. Some of the highlights of this stay was an exercise room, beautiful whirlpool spas inside and out, and a huge swimming pool that was usually not in use by anyone else.

We visited a date farm and watched a movie named “The romance and sex life of the date”.

Took a hike in Palm Valley.

Saw the sun set on the Salton Sea, the largest lake in California, AND the most painful beach under bare feet in the world!

The beach is made of tiny seashells.

Took at rotating tram to the top of the San Jacinto? mountain.

Jim became obsessed with cleaning every single spot off of the windows.

Our only trick-or-treater was Dan. He came over for a visit to escape trick-or-treaters at his house.