February, 2018
Tuesday, January 30
The snow has been blowing and the temperature has been very low. It is time to be snowbirds and head south.
We got an early start, which is unusual for us, but we have a ten hour drive to get to Helena, Montana tonight. The road was clear the whole way, which is fortunate. I think the prettiest part of this leg of the journey is the drive through the Missouri River canyon, just north of Helena. The sky had interesting lines today. They appeared to radiate out from the sun like a daisy.
We have been listening to an audio book by David Baladacci, called "The Fix". It has been keeping us guessing, so we were speculating on who was the spy and the murderer. We each had a guess. Tomorrow we will find out who is correct.
We were in bed early, because we will be up early tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 30
We were up at 6 am and on the road by 7. We were up so early, we were able to gaze on the lunar eclipse. The moon was a super moon, very full. It is a blue moon, but was tinged red. I don't think blue moons have anything to do with the colour blue.
We had been driving for a while when both of us began thinking that we could have driven the little car. No sooner were these thoughts out in the open when the roads iced up and some flakes of snow were falling. We lost the snow on the roads at Pocatella, but had snow in the hills until south of Salt Lake City. There was an accident on the interstate, so we lost some time in the detour in Roy. It was amazing how fast the police cleared away the accident.
Part way through the afternoon, we ended the book. Pat was right. Our next book is called "Hell's Corner", and has been very interesting with all of the suspects being cleared by the time we reached St. George, Utah.
For dinner, we went across the street to Iceberg, a diner celebrating the 50s. Their specialty is a thick shake that is so thick they only give you a spoon. It overflows out the top and goes straight up. The shake was so big we could not eat it all.
The sunset was amazing this evening. Pinks, reds and oranges filled the sky.
Thursday, February 1
Today we were up and out the door by 7 am again. We need to be at LAX by 1:30 to pick up our friends Monte and David, who are flying in to spend the week with us at Oceanside.
Despite a stop for lunch at Peggy Sue's diner just over the California border in Barstow, we did leave it a little bit late. Monte and David didn't mind - they were enjoying the +28 degree weather. The freeway is something we will never get used to. It was a solid mass of vehicles all the way south to Oceanside.
We got checked in and headed over to the Sunset Farmers Market to eat at one of the food booths and to listen to music. It was getting quite cool, and we were all tired, so we headed back for farkle and an early bedtime.
Friday, February 2
The first order of business was to get our food. It was such a hot day we decided to spend the rest of the day at the pool and then walk to the end of the pier at sunset. What a beautiful sky!
Monte and David have a friend, Victor, who owns a house in Coronado. The house is an Art Deco cottage that he has renovated beautifully. After a lunch of sandwiches and fresh oranges, we hopped on Victor's beach schooners (bicycles) and did a tour of the town. We started at the beach with the most beautiful sand. The navy has a big presence with the base on one side of the island and the SEAL base at the other end. We then continued on to The Del, the hotel used in the old Marilyn Munroe movie, "Some Like It Hot" and then on to the marina and the sidewalk around it. We rode under the bridge that connects Coronado to the mainland, and then headed back to Victor's house. It was a great ride and so interesting. Coronado was a big tent city in the 1940s when tourists would come out to spend their summer vacation at the beach. At that time, they had to come out by ferry. The navy dredged the bay in 1942 and enlarged the beach area. It is now a bustling upscale community.
Sunday, February 4
There is an very large, outdoor organ in Balboa Park. Every Sunday, since the organ's installation in 1915, it has been played in a free concert for all to hear. Kerry and I had gone to listen to the organ being played the first time we visited San Diego. Today, we returned with Monte and David, to hear it again. The organ society has hired anew organist - a young man from Spain, who has a great passion for organ music, and a real talent for playing the organ. The 75 minutes flew by as he explained what to listen for, and then to play. I don't think I have ever seen such passion and enjoyment in the music by its player before. His fingers flew across the keyboards, and his head moved to the music. There is not much that beats Bach being played on an organ in the bright sunshine on a sunny Sunday afternoon in February.
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| Giant organ in San Diego's Balboa Park. |
San Diego boasts one of the best zoos in the world. We go to it every time we visit the city. The animals were all active in the sunshine, enjoying the heat in mid-winter. We have made the decision to write another book for our grandchildren. Now all we have to do is sort through all of our pictures of animals and birds to finds the perfect picture for each letter of the alphabet. I wonder what we will pick for the letter "x"?
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| Flamingo |
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| Koala |
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| Orangutang |
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| Rhino |
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| Polar Bear |
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| Leopard |
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| Panda Bear |
We wanted to drive the coast highway, but have been too busy, so today is the day. The tide was in, so we sat beside the road at Torrey Pines Beach to eat lunch and watch the waves. We also took Monte and David to Solana Beach to wander the designer stores. Both had a great time and found lots of stuff admire. Kerry found a wood shop that had lots of wooden slabs from all over the world. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and went out to the end of the pier for our last dinner in Oceanside at Ruby's diner.
Wednesday, February 7
The boys had to fly out of LAX at 7 am, so we re out the door at 3 am to get them there. There was no traffic on the way there, but lots at 4:30 heading south. Back to the apartment for a couple of hours sleep and then the pack up and drive to Palm Desert.
We stopped at Cabazon to do some quick shopping before arriving at Lynn and Doug's house. It is always so good to see them and get caught upon all of the family gossip. We had dinner at their country club.
Thursday, February 8
The mornings are always lazy in the desert, but today Lynne had a few jobs for Kerry while she and I went to Michael's. After lunch and a rest, we drove to Palm Springs for the weekly street market.
We visited the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. What an amazing place. We watched cheetahs
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| Cheeta at the Living Zoo in Palm Desert |
We always have to visit the COD Market when we come down here. Today was no exception. We stopped at the jewelry stores and tried on the rings, and then bought an outfit at the American doll booth. Kerry always enjoys looking at the gadgets and so had fun. We looked for the Dole Whip booth, but it was not there :(. We always run in to someone we know, and this year was the same. Our neighbours, Henry and Helen were at the market looking for an orange picker. We had dinner at Lynne and Doug's country club this evening. The food is always so good there.
Sunday, February 11
It is hot and sunny again today, but we are busy getting groceries, etc. Because Lynne is hosting our neighbours, Henry and Helen, and cousins of Lynne's who we know, for dinner tonight. Pat is cooking - hope it all goes well.
Monday, February 12
Today was a cooler day, so we took the time to get a few errands out of the way before we settled in to watch the Olympics on tv. Go Canada!
Tuesday, February 13
This is travel day. We had a delicious lunch with our neighbours, Henry and Helen, before stopping at Shield's Date Garden for a shake. Then, it was off on I10 to Phoenix and the next leg of our journey with our good friends, Garnet and Jacquie. The traffic was mostly semis with the odd personal vehicle all the way. We hoping to get a picture of a quail, so we were on the lookout along the ditches, while listening to David Baldacci's book. The sad thing is that we have 1 disk left, so will have to wait until the next travel leg.
The sky was clear as we drove into Peoria, and we enjoyed arching five hot air balloon travel across the horizon. Last year, we did a balloon ride. Too bad it is not on the list again. Arizona is the best place to balloon.
We spent the evening watching the gold medal game for mixed doubles curling - Canada vs Switzerland. John Morris and Katelyn Lawes did us proud and the game finished early.
Wednesday, February 14
Happy Valentine's Day everyone. What does one do one Valentine's Day? Well, the boys went and did an oil change for our SUVW, and the girls went to two quilt shops. That evening, we went to a fabulous wine pairing dinner at the Trilogy Club House. Garlic Shrimp and noodles with champagne was the starter. Spinach salad and a Chardonnay for the salad course, and beef tenderloin with a Merlot blend. Dessert was creme brûlée. A DJ played all the romantic songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. It was a great night.
Thursday, February 15
Again we divided into gender groups for activities. The boys bought a dimmer switch and bought the ingredients for an adult root beer float. The recipe is - 1.5 oz root beer whiskey, 1 oz Kerry Gold Irish cream whiskey, 3 oz root beer, and 1 oz club soda. Put the Kerry Gold in after the root beer and the club soda, top with with wiped cream. They also visited several tool places and liquor places. Meanwhile, the girls were at the Trilogy Quilt Guild for the day, making a strip quilt called the "Jelly Roll Race" by Missouri Star Quilt Co. The ladies were delightful, as all quilt ladies are.
Since we are now writing the animal book, we went hunting quail and roadrunners in the wash. We were successful finding the two kinds of bird, but the pictures were not great. The roadrunner is pretty fast, and the quail like to hide under bushes and then run in twos and threes to the next bush. We did see a quail nest in a cactus base with several eggs.
Friday, February 16
We left the Goertzens on their own while we drove to Apache Junction to visit Kerry's cousin Merrill and her husband Ron. There was a pickle all tournament in another park, so we drove there to see how it is played. Then it was back to Goerzen's and the Trilogy Clubhouse for Friday night dinner and dance, featuring the Part Timers Band, with Garnet as the drummer. The music was loud and great.
Saturday, February 17
It was a very early morning - we were on the road at 06:04 hrs for San Antonio, TX. Along the way, we admired lots of pecan trees, in Las Cruces. The name means "the crosses" and was the burial place of many during the Indian and Spanish wars. It was a busy port because it is on the border of Mexico. El Paso is on the border, with Juarez on the other side of the Rio Grande River in Mexico. The difference was very obvious. Las Cruces has the Organ Mountains as its backdrop.
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| What a GREAT view as we approach Las Cruces from the west. |
After the stop at the HEB grocery store, we walked down to the River Walk and enjoyed looking at all of the buildings.
We also stopped and toured The Alamo mission and long barrack. In December, 1835, during the Texan war of independence from Mexico, 200 volunteers, including James Bowie (the famous knife fighter), and Davy Crockett (frontiersman and senator from Tennessee), occupied the fort called The Alamo. On February 3, 1836, General Santa Ana, Mexican general and president, began a siege of the Fort to get it back. The Texans held on for thirteen days before falling to the enormous Mexican army. All of them were killed. Sam Houston was able to avenge them later, shouting "Remember the Alamo" as a motivator. More info can be found at www.history.com/topics/alamo. We finished the day by stopping at the San Ferdinand Cathedral to have a quick look.
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| A small part of the Riverwalk in San Antonio! |
We toured the city on the "Hop-on-hop-off" bus today. We stopped at the Pearl Brewery, now an upscale shopping and restaurant area. We had lunch and a look at the Emma's Hotel lobby, before stopping at the Mexican market to see all of the kitsch.
Tuesday, February 20
The weather is quite iffy - thunderstorms are forecast - so we are going to drive north to Stonewall to tour the LBJ Ranch and park and a stop or two at quilt shops. LBJ was president after John F Kennedy, and then a term on his own. He spent a quarter of his time at his ranch, so it was dubbed the Texas White House. He died in 1973, while his wife, Lady Bird (her real name was Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson), lived on at the ranch until her death in 2007. See https://town.texas.gov/state-
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| The Texas Whitehouse |
Wednesday, February 21
A weather front is moving in to San Antonio, so we headed south to the Gulf Coast for the day. The temperature there is to be 82 degrees. The drive is interesting because of the change in vegetation as we head south. Once there, we drove through Corpus Christie and then on to Port Aransas. To get there, we chose to take the ferry across. It was a short ride, with gulls along on the deck
This area was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in September, along with Houston. The difference is that Houston was the bigger story. We could see lots of evidence of damage. Many houses and small businesses still had no roof. There were some boats and trailers in odd places. The nature reserve had a very short Boardwalk left. The majority was in pieces.
The birds were back. We saw Pelicans flying low over the water. They are so graceful when in the air, and so awkward on land. There were lots of ibis and spoonbills. We also saw piping plovers on the sand. A few great blue herons were on the shore, as well.
Thursday, February 22
We have an appointment this afternoon, so we stayed in the Riverwalk area today. We took the river boat up and down the Riverwalk area to see the buildings and hear the history. It was then a quick walk to an Irish pub for Irish coffee and soup to warm up. Yes, it was cold.
Friday, February 23
We drove to Austin today to visit with our friend Josiah and his children. We met at a Texas barbecue place for brisket, sausage and turkey with all of the fixings. Delish. Josiah and the boys showed us the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue where Garnet and Jacquie took pictures.
Saturday, February 24
This is travel day. Back to Phoenix and warmth. On the way, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Casa Grande. Very authentic. The enchiladas and fish tacos were really good. So were the margaritas and the beer.
Sunday, February 25
After several days together, we went our separate ways. Yes, the girls went shopping at dress and quilt shops, and the boys went to liquor and tool shops. It was a great day.
Monday, February 26
It is our last full day in Phoenix, so we hit two hot spots in Phoenix - Chompies for the best breakfast in Phoenix, and then the zoo. The good news is that we were able to get some great pictures of vultures and quails, so we have only the "N" and the "Y" animals left to find.
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| Vulture a tough picture to get! |
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| Quail .... finally!! |
Tuesday, February 27
It is hard to believe, but it is time to head back north. Our first night is at Monument Valley. We stayed in "The View" hotel that looks out on the sacred monuments. It took us 2.5 hours to drive the scenic road around the monuments. What amazing views. The best part is that it is cool and there is very little tourist traffic, so we had the road almost to ourselves.
Wednesday, February 28
It is a travel day. We got as far as Dillon, Montana.
Thursday, March 1
This is our last day of travel. We are heading ahead of a storm that will cover most of the plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, the Dakotas and Michigan. The prediction is for lots of snow. We have been lucky with weather this trip. A great month is over.
