A Vancouver Christmas

Well it's been a week. Arrived in Vancouver last Sunday and have been having a fabulous time with Evan and Kyle. We have been spoiled and we are loving it. Visits by friends and visits to friends, shopping, making shortbread, wrapping gifts and eating. That about sums it up. More photos to follow. Only 2 more sleeps to Christmas. Today we are off to pick Kyle's Mum up who will be with us until Boxing Day. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE.

Dec 13-15 2012 relaxing/Texas wine tasting/packing

 We are just taking things easy, sorting out stuff we brought with us (and chucking more out!!!) Realized that we really did bring too much with us.. how many electric cords do we need... and we won't even begin to discuss clothes!!!!!
We have great neighbours, which is a bonus and we share our various equipment with each other. I am envious of his beautiful Harley!!! 
Thursday we went to a Texas wine tasting at the pavilion here.... take two bottles, one goes in for draw at end of night and one is opened for all to try. They had tons of great cheeses and snacks and a massive log fire (lit with a huge blow torch attached to a 20lb propane tank... quite impressive to watch!!)
We met many of the other 'residents' and exchanged stories from the road and recommendations for where to go and where to avoid. Had a blast.... Discovered how much they really like their guns in this area of the country.. not up for discussion.
Friday we spent around the site. 20 degree sunny weather. We are both stunned by the news of the school shooting in Newtown. There is nothing we can say. It is just too sad. The world grieves today.
Saturday we are doing a final pack of our cases to leave tomorrow morning for Vancouver and our much looked forward to Christmas with Evan and Kyle. Merry Christmas everyone... will try to update a little while we are away, but it may be put on hold for a couple of weeks. Sorry no photos to add ... couldn't find my camera for a couple of days. We are taking the truck to the airport leaving at 5am. Excited!!

12-12-12 Happy B'day Evan- Settling into Austin

Dec 12th 2012
First thoughts today are for our sweet Evan who celebrates hi birthday today.  We spent the day trying to get Internet that works. (the campground internet was not reliable ... to be complimentary!!!)
Tripped in to Austin to get a modem/router from Time Warner.... it works great.
We were surprised to see that all along the roads ...  people have decorated trees in the middle of no where.... we have no idea who does it or why... but it was particularly lovely to see. The brilliant sunshine made the decorations glisten... very festive.  Went to local Mexican restaurant for lunch... customer appreciation day.... WOW!! $7.99  for two huge Mexican meals.  The nachos and salsa they brought to begin were delicious...  (almost as good as that Mexican place in Peterborough Braden!!!)  couple of photos to follow tomorrow.

Dec 9-11 2012 - Dallas to Austin

Tuesday Dec 11th

Great Meal ... FABULOUS location

 Another cold night, but we were not beaten by it this time…. Electric blanket on!!! Met our new neighbours (on the other side) who arrived last night in the dark. They too have sold their house (Minnesota) and are traveling for a year or two, working as they go. The water lines did freeze again, but defrosted very quickly in the morning sun. Great day today. Went exploring in the truck and found an amazing place called The Oasis. It is a restaurant on 4 levels with 900 tables capable of serving 2500 people, high on a cliff, overlooking Lake Travis. We sat outside, basking in the sun with an outdoor heater as back-up. Wonderful Mexican Martini and fabulous food looking out over beautiful Lake Travis, which is a huge man-made lake formed by the Mansfield Dam across the Colorado River. The Dam is 265 feet high and about 1.5 miles long. The lake has low water levels right now, down about 25 feet from normal levels, and has some islands in the middle the locals call the ‘sometimes islands’ (sometimes you see them, sometimes you don’t). After two freezing nights we broke down and picked up an electric heater from Wallymart. Derek put outside Christmas lights up on a little tree on our site and we relaxed for the evening with cranberry and peppermint teas. By the way… WiFi Internet provided here for a fee (Tengo internet) is a pain …. Not great for us to keep in touch with family over skype… we may need to find alternative means of connection. Will update later on that issue. The American phone (T-Mobile) that we have works fine, but we cannot get the ‘unlimited browsing’ that we pay for on it to work in this area either, so that is another issue.

On top of the world

A Texan map of the US... we are at The Oasis

Pork Tacos.... and Blackened Tilapia

The Oasis from around the bay.

Monday Dec 10th

After a VERY disturbed night in the wind and cold, we chipped the ice off the water connection and packed up to head further south…. This is supposed to be TEXAS… sheesh it is cold. Austin next stop. The drive down was straightforward and we arrived at La Hacienda RV Resort early afternoon. Site is nice but not as picturesque as The Vineyards was. It was nice to be able to set up in daylight for a change. Janice is starting to feel the enormity of what we have done and getting a little homesick. It’s a dream come true doing this, but it does have a price in missing friends, family and familiar sights and sounds of home.
Quiet night watching Miracle on 34th Street… and oldie but a goodie. (and we put our miniature Christmas tree up) Also, thanks to some great friends (you know who you are) we also have some lovely battery lamps that change colours and look most festive either side of the TV. By the way, those who worry for our safety… fear not!! The guy in the next camper is in the military and apparently has ‘several guns’ ready to protect us with!! We must be in Texas.

Sunday Dec 9th

Longer bike ride today we headed across a type of causeway (Fairway Drive) past 2 lovely looking golf clubs (the Grapevine Golf Club and the Dallas Cowboys Golf Club). It was a windy ride and felt like it was uphill both ways. We only did about 16k, but really enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. Drove back into town for another look round and a couple of photos. While the temperature was beautiful during the day, and dropped like a stone about 30 degrees Fahrenheit and even further overnight (enough to freeze the water line. Winds became a bit scary… 

Grapevine RV resort is across bay.

Kodak moment.. love my new bike

AWW.... Had to push a few kids around to get on the bench!!!

Grapevine town ... another bench

Did you know Derek could sing???

Dec 6-8 Memphis to Texarkana to Grapevine (Dallas)

Saturday Dec 8th

Packing up bikes for the night

Lots of people decorate sites with Xmas lights.

Rain was forecast for late in the day, so after a bacon butty for breakfast we hopped on the bikes and headed in to town. It is a little bit like Niagara-on-the-Lake. All decorated for Christmas, lots of craft, clothes  and knick-knack stores and piped Chritsmas music throughout the town, Santa on stilts, Nativity scenes and Christmas trees. We walked our bikes up and down Main street and stopped for a cappuccino at an Italian Cafe, sitting outside to people-watch for a while. Back at camp we sat in the sun and read. It was about 22 degrees.. perfect. Cooked up some steak and veggies and just relaxed, walked and caught our breath. This is truly one of the nicest RV resorts we have ever been in. It is small and thoughtfully laid out with huge sites and beautiful views. Would definitely return if we had the chance.  Took lots of photos today, but somehow they disappeared form the camera... not a good thing... Oh well here's a couple from the end of the day. 
Friday Dec 7th
Quick breakfast and back on the road. While it is fun to travel,  I will be glad when we get somewhere and stay for a while. We really do need to sort out the trailer after our frantic packing last Friday. We split the driving down to Dallas, which started off on a more minor highway, through Northern Texas small towns and countryside . We were both struck by the level of poverty,  it is of a 'third world nature in some places and quite a shock to see the rudimentary living conditions that  so many people cope with. There were a multitude of Romney/Ryan support posters, didn't see any Obama posters. Quite the contrast in wealth between Romney and so many of his supporters. The level of housing and obvious wealth increased as we closed in on Dallas. The Vineyards RV resort is on the outskirts of Dallas in a small town called Grapevine. It is a gated RV resort on the edge of Grapevine lake and only a short distance from the town (the "Christmas Capital of America"). We have a fabulous site on the edge of the lake with lots of room and no close neighbours.  We arrived mid-day in 20 degree sunshine, so we set up camp and relaxed the rest of the the day and took a long walk around the campground watching the Ibis and egrets fishing in the inlet. Happy knowing we are staying here for 3 nights..... aaaahhh!!! Lovely

Cleaning the windows at VInyards RV Resort, Grapevine, Nr Dallas

Thursday Dec 6th
Packed up in the rain and headed out by 10am heading out of Memphis toward Dallas.. Stopped at Arkansas 'Welcome Centre' for maps and were advised to leave the highway in about 60km to avoid major roadworks and bad traffic. Glad we did because the route took us through Arkansas countryside and small towns.  We didn't stop in Little Rock Arkansas, en route as we thought we might, because the  highway went around it, and the area didn't look like anything special, so we by-passed the sign saying "birth place of William Jefferson Clinton' and motored on toward Texas.

cheers!! Shady Pines RV resort,Texarkana

Dec 2-5 Nashville/Memphis

Made it!! We are goin' to Graceland, Graceland, 

Wednesday 5^th Dec 2012  ---- Off we go to Graceland, singing all the way. It did not disappoint… as cheesy as we expected, but very interesting. I had no idea that Elvis was a twin. His twin brother was still-born. His lifestyle was very opulent, but the ‘mansion’ is not as big as I expected. It was originally a country property, but is now surrounded by houses and is not in a very pleasant part of town.After we were Elvised-out, we were going to head downtown, but traffic and hunger changed our minds and we headed to a restaurant that a lady at the post office said we shouldn’t miss…. Always listen to the locals. We went to Dales Restaurant in Southaven, Mississippi for some home cooked southern food… catfish, chicken fried chicken, lima beans, corn bread, purple peas, candied yams… the list goes on. Needless to say our wimpy northern senior appetites, couldn’t take it and we ended up carrying most of it in containers back to camp.. enough for the next few days!!!!! They sure know how to eat down here.

Dales... good

For anyone heading to Memphis in an RV I would recommend Jellystone RV park. It is unbelievably clean. Large concrete pads with picnic tables on the patio area and a fire pit.  It is a city type RV park, so not secluded, but perfect for a trip to Memphis or for just an overnight passing through.

Back at camp I managed to attend my book club via Skype… that was great fun and quelled a little of the homesickness that is creeping up on me occasionally. I was surprised that Patt E made it there without my expert navigation (albeit at the wrong time!!) Well done girl!! Derek decided to put a wash-load in as the camp laundry is quite impressive (and so is he!!!).

Gold and platinum records .. everywhere

And everwhere

Lounge with Music room at the back.

Tourists in the Jungle room.

Red Wine? White Wine?

Private jet (he had 2)

At the head of the headstone

Eileen had some stories to tell..

His Mom's Pink Caddy   

Tuesday 4^th Rain … made packing up a little less relaxing. Headed down toward Memphis and took a longer route so we could drive about 30 Miles on the Natchez Trace which is an old Indian/trade route through the forest. The road runs parallel to it and we were fortunate to stop at a rest stop where the trace crosses the roadway. The terrain is beautiful, but not quite as awe-inspiring as parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Pennsylvania. To its credit though, there is very little commercialism and tourist traps to be found along the way, which is refreshing.

Back on I40 for the rest of the trip to Memphis, Tennessee. Actually camped across the State Line in Mississippi at Jellystone RV park… fabulous spot to drop by for a couple of days; clean, concrete and modern and only 7 miles from Graceland which is the main reason we are here. Hopped out for some groceries and wine and noted that Canadian Club Rye is only $10/bottle.. less than half the price that we pay in Canada. Bought some Mississippi-style Egg Nog as a festive treat… $8/bottle.. and holy moly it is fabulous!!!!
Monday 3^rd December really was a camp day… much needed rest and relaxation and one sorted cupboard. Lovely day to sit in the sun and read. As Derek said, it felt like the first real day of retirement. Missing house and family a little.



Sunday 2nd Dec 2012
 Spending the day gathering our senses and basking in the warm weather (70 degrees today)..  Went  to see the Grand Ole Opry complex.  While we are mostly drawn to mountains, rivers and lakes, I must say that the gargantuan Opry Hotel complex is impressive. It took us close to an hour to wander round, click a few photos, point, stare and generally act like the tourists that we are.

Bad asses I met in the Opry Hotel

Also, it is all decked out for Christmas, which brought the best out in me. The ‘condo’ has one, measly looking ‘Merry Christmas’ sign up, which was all we felt we had room for. I may be forced to buy something a little more festive over the next few days.  We took the obligatory photos at the Grand Ole Opry

Yes they are real poinsettias

getting in the Christmas spirit

No Derek... not yet!!!... HUGE TREE!!

Air Guitar at the Grand Ole Opry... a Star is born!!!

Holding up my end of the music

BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS!!!!!

Shoes in Opry Mills... my Friend Hillary would love this store

and headed back to the condo to grab some food before heading out to see The Who in concert at the Bridgestone Arena….. Cab driver from Somalia gave us a lesson in African politics, which was most enlightening. He said he would wait for us after the show. We loved the show… Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend were both great and obviously having fun together, as were we!!! Well worth the price of admission. It was packed and after the show our trusty cab driver was waiting outside, fending off dozens of people who were desperate for a ride… another lesson in international relations and loyalty won him a big tip.

The Adventure Begins - FRI NOV 30TH/SAT DEC 1st 2012

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ONCE UPON A TIME……..

 

 A mad dash to put stuff in storage, clean up and leave … amidst a snowstorm that threatened to prevent us getting out the driveway of a house that was no longer ours!!! With amazing help from our son Braden we left with no chance to say much of a lingering goodbye…. Maybe a good thing. Emotions are still high but we are starting to convince ourselves that we never left our home of 35 years… all we left was a house… our home is with us, wrapped in memories and future plans. But despite all that self talk…. we still feel somewhat shell-shocked and homesick only 2 days later.

Drive down and border crossing in Sarnia basically uneventful but tiring. We decided to drive down in one shot to Nashville, stopping at 3:45am in a truck stop in Monroe Ohio, for a 3hr nap (freezing cold and wrapped in anything we could find). Drove throughout Saturday through Ohio, Kentucky and into Tennessee, and after major traffic delays we made it to the Two Rivers Campsite in Nashville at 5.59pm (closes at 6pm)… Exhausted… RV Campsite is a great ‘city’ campsite 2 miles from Grand Ole Opry and 15 minutes from downtown.