Who Would Have Thunk It...Happy New Year!

January 2, 2012 was the day I started our blog, we never thought that a year later we would have 172 posts, over 18,000 page views and 68 followers.  I remember how excited I was when I saw that we had our first comment from Michael and Dee who also became our first followers.  I have to thank the two of you because I have to admit that I was starting to wonder if anyone was really interested in reading about our adventures, thanks guys!

Now a day doesn't go by that I don't check my blog, usually first thing in the morning before work to catch up on all of your adventures and to check out your comments, that I always look forward to getting.

I have to admit that I used to read the newspaper on the weekends, now I spend so much time on the blogs that I follow, I rarely have time to open it.  I suppose your adventures are much more exciting and motivating than anything that I could find in the newspaper.

You all have become my extended electronic family and I live vicariously through your adventures, because Tracy and I are 10-15 years away from retirement and being able to live them ourselves, at least on a full-time basis.   I have enjoyed getting to know you and your families, your pets, your homes, both mobile and stationary and I always keep you in my prayers for good health and safe travels.

I am really looking forward to meeting some of you face-to-face in the future and can't wait to connect at a campground as we are out on one of our adventures.

So, I want to thank each and every one of you who officially and unofficially follow our adventures, especially those who leave comments from time to time.  You give me something to look forward to each and everyday as I go about my busy life and think about the future.

Tracy and I are starting 2013 out camping and hope that you are enjoying it as well wherever you may be.  Thanks again for making this blog a reality and our wish for you is for a safe, joyous and healthy New Year!

Blessings,

Kevin and Tracy

Always Sad To Say Goodbye & Camping!

We have had a wonderful week with our kids, playing games, hiking, shopping, a trip to a brewery and lots of great meals and deserts.

This week, like every week has flown by and it was time to say goodbye as our kids are headed back to Oregon.

I knew that Rick and Paulette are headed south on Highway 5 to Palm Springs, so I showed them Rick's Blog and told them to say Hello from us if the happened to see them.

So Rick, if you see a young couple coming towards you and the guy is in black shorts and a beanie with a knit beard no matter what the weather is, those are our kids, so don't call the Police please:-).

Knowing that today would be a day for tears, I made reservations at one of our favorite campgrounds through New Years Eve. I figured packing up and heading out would take our mind off of the sadness and hiking couldn't hurt my Christmas bulge around the waistline.

So if any if you happen to be at the Cave Creek Campground, stop by Space #12 and say Hello!

We hope that your weekend is great, your travels are safe and thanks for the visit!

UPDATE: Made it up to the campground safe and sound. Had never towed our new to us toad for any distance and our motor home pulled it with no problems, didn't even realize that it was behind us. We are enjoying our time up here so far, can't wait for the s'mores!

Spot #12, Very Nice!

What A Wonderful Day!

It was such a blessing to have our kids and Tracy's parents with us for Christmas Day.

We all agreed at Thanksgiving that we were all going to do less in the gift department this year, but as you can see below, not everyone followed through on that agreement.

Everyone received great gifts, the big hit was a bearded beanie that Sarah made for our SIL Randy and our daughter Stephanie even liked it.

Our cat Midnight thought all the wrapping paper was great and paid more attention to it than his new cat toys.

So a great day was had by all, we are now going to enjoy the next few days with Stephanie and Randy before they head back to Oregon.

We are looking forward to ringing in the new year with some local camping and resting up as we move into 2013!

By reading many of your blogs I know that your Christmas celebrations were great as well. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week!

Lots of Gifts!

The Bearded Beanie

Stephanie Got Into The Act

Opening Gifts For Hours

Mid Had Fun!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior with family and friends.

We are so happy to have our kids with us during this very special time. Enjoy!

Done For Another Year!

Well I am happy to report that my business travels are done for another year, thankfully.  I was in Martinsville, Indiana on Wednesday and Thursday when a big storm started heading our way.  I had a 6:00pm flight and I was concerned when I started to see so many cancellations on the board.

Finally we boarded and the pilot said we needed to de-ice the wings, so we pushed back from the gate and the trucks started spraying deicer from a boom, wow, I bet that poor guy was cold.  The snow continued to fall and the wind was blowing like crazy, every minute that passed, the more concerned that I got that we would be called back to the gate and that I would be spending the night in Indianapolis. 

But finally we were cleared for take off and what a take off it was.  The captain raced down the runway with the engines going full boar and we took off into what looked like pea soup.  We were shaking side to side and up and down for what seemed like an eternity, but it was probably only five minutes and then we cleared the muck and it was smooth sailing all of the way back to Arizona.  I have to say that the flight attendant couldn't have gotten there with my adult beverage fast enough, it was so nice to finally relax.

So this weekend we are getting ready for our daughter and son-in-law to arrive from Oregon, they thought they could make the drive in two days, but I think it will be more like two and one-half, because they hit a snow storm and had to use their chains.

Our younger daughter is home from ASU and was happy to report straight A's again this semester, she is just so smart, just like her mother. :)

Today was yard work, so I am exhausted and ready to call it a night, but not before I welcome Speedy as our 65th follower.  I have been following Speedy's blog for some time and I am so glad to have him along for the ride.

With that I will wish you all a great weekend as you make your final preparations and I hope that you and those that you love have a very Merry Christmas!

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!

Well our trip to La Quinta over the weekend was great and now it is time to buckle down to what I know will be a quick and active week as we prepare for Christmas.  

As part of this eventful week, I had a dentist's appointment for fillings on two of my front teeth, thus the title of today's post.  My dentist's team are probably the most aggressive sales people that I know.  

I grind my teeth at night, so many of them are cracked and need to be replaced with crowns.  As a result, every time I open my mouth at the dentist's office, he sees dollar signs.  

I tend to put him off as much as possible during the year, but I had a few dollars left in my dental insurance plan, so I figured I better treat myself to a couple of fillings to not lose out on this money.  

As soon as I was done, the dental assistant started asking me about what I wanted to get done next, so we are off to the races for the new year...oh what fun!

I want to welcome Brandon Esparza of It's Time to Unwind as our latest follower, welcome aboard Brandon! 

With that I am going to carefully eat my lunch and hope that my numb mouth and lip gets its feeling back soon.  I hope your week before Christmas is going great and thanks for stopping by!

Wonderful Day In La Quinta!

Well we made the trek over to California with Tracy's parents last night , hitting some rain along the way.

Today Tracy and her Mom were off to a Baby Shower and my father-in-law and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood and beautiful golf course that works it's way between the houses. Below are some pictures from our walk.

We are having a great time and will be headed back home tomorrow and will continue making our arrangements for our upcoming Christmas holiday. I hope you are all having a safe and enjoyable weekend and thanks for the visit!

E Ticket Ride!

Growing up in Southern California, we made our every three to five year trek to Disneyland as our big summer vacation.  For those of you who are old enough and frequented Disneyland, you will remember the ticket book that you would buy and use to get into the park and get on the rides.  

The kiddy rides always took A-D tickets, but the wild rides like The Matterhorn took E Tickets and there were never enough of those available as I remember.    

Well many of you know that I made a quick business trip over to Southern California on Monday, which took me back to those days of the E Ticket ride.  I have to admit that I have been accused of having a heavy foot from time to time and I have a few tickets to prove it, but thankfully nothing within the last ten or so years.  But I rode over to California with a business associate, who will remain nameless, who is the epitome of the E Ticket driver.

As we flew across the desert on I-10 through garden spots like Quartzsite and Blythe, this individual relied on his brakes much more than I am comfortable doing, coming up at a high rate of speed behind trucks and then either slamming on the brakes or switching lanes, often going so far to the left that I could hear the tires hitting the lane bumps and I wasn't sure if we were going to end up down the embankment crossing into oncoming traffic.  

Lots of Rigs Out Here!

Well I probably am exaggerating a little, but you get the point.  I was never so happy to make it to our destination and then back home as I was this trip.  

I have to say that our time in Southern California was very productive and because the wind was blowing, the mountains were not hidden by smog that normally keeps them from view.  My in-laws lived in Rancho Cucamonga for a few years, so I stopped by their former house and took a quick picture to let them know how it looked today after 20 years.  

Look...Mount Baldy!

The In-Laws House Looks Pretty Good.

As I mentioned we did drive through Quartzsite and not surprisingly saw some very interesting individuals and rigs.  Below is one of them in the McDonald's parking lot.  

Very Patriotic!

So I am back home safe and sound, I do have to make the trek over to Palm Springs this weekend for a Baby Shower that Tracy is attending, but then I only have one more trip (by plane thankfully) next week and I am done traveling for the rest of 2012!

So that is all the news that is fit to print, I hope that you are all having a great week and staying warm as the winter weather finally has arrived.  Take care and thanks for the visit.

Christmas Shopping Done, Really?

This has been a weekend of Christmas shopping and it has been absolutely exhausting. Our oldest daughter Stephanie had sent us links to some clothes that she wanted at Target, unfortunately there were only a few Target stores here in Arizona that had them in stock.

So we headed to the west side of town to fulfill her list and we did great, they had everything that she wanted, so we were successful and the store wasn't even crowded.

We continued shopping until early afternoon and then we called it a day because we had a Christmas Party with the folks from Tracy's office which was fun.

We finished our shopping today with Tracy picking out a few things for me to give her.  We decided that we would shop for each other together this year, so although we won't be surprised Christmas morning, we are sure to get exactly what we wanted.

I am headed off to California tomorrow morning and decided to drive rather than fly, so I will be headed west on Interstate 10 right through Quartzite.  I know several of you are calling Quartzite home right now, so I will give you all a wave as I head west!

I want to welcome Paul and Marti Dahl of R Sanity RV Adventures as our latest followers.  I have enjoyed following their full-time adventures for months, so we are happy to have them aboard. 

With that I will wish you a safe and happy week and I hope that you are enjoying this wonderful holiday season!

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

This week has been an absolute whirlwind with many client meetings, work in the office and Holiday Parties in the evenings. It has been fun, but it has been tiring as well...I think I am getting too old for this!

I snapped these shots of the beautiful sunrise from our driveway and another one from the freeway as I was heading out to an early morning meeting earlier this week.  Arizona sure has some beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

View from the driveway!

Gotta stay in my lane!

I was thrilled to see that Sunny has joined us on this adventure.  I have enjoyed following one of Sunny's Blogs for many months and I would encourage you to give her a visit. 

Sorry for the short post today, but it is time to get back to work, so I will wish you well and I hope you are enjoying your week and this busy and exciting Holiday season!

All Hooked Up And No Where To Go!

Well I drove our new to us Suzuki Sidekick, which we have named "Tin Can" borrowed from the name of my In-law's Sidekick from years ago and all went well. I did notice that it was running a little rough when I stopped at stoplights, so I decided it was time to replace the air filter and the spark plugs.

The air filter replacement was easier said than done unfortunately, the screws that held the cover in place were stripped and frozen in place.  So I decided that I would have to cut the tops of the screws off to get to the old filter, thank goodness for my Dremel!

After about an hour of work, the cover was off and I discovered that the air filter had probably not been replaced in many years, it was dirty!  I pulled a spark plug and they looked like they had not been replaced for years either.  I would say the prior owner got his money's worth on these parts.

Dirty, Dirty, Dirty!

Thank goodness for Napa Auto Parts, they had to order the air filter but had it in the store by about 8:30 am, so I was good to go.  I replaced the old stripped screws with quarter inch screws with lock nuts, so the next time I replace the air filter, the job will be much easier. 

The clean air filter and new spark plugs made the Tin Can purr like a kitten, so it was well worth all of the work for sure.

This afternoon I decided it was time to practice hooking everything up and giving it a test drive. I kept my fingers crossed as I hooked up the lights because I did not know what to expect.  Everything worked perfectly thank goodness.  I drove around the block and although I knew the Tin Can was back there, there was no problem pulling it. 

In Position!

Ready To Roll!

Although I wish we could have headed up to a campsite tonight, the next few weekends are packed with getting ready for Christmas, so I will just have to wait until New Years. Tracy and I did get some Christmas shopping done today, unfortunately we bought gifts for each other rather than for everyone else on our list, oh well, its always easier to buy for ourselves.

I want to welcome Randy and Pam Warner of The Roadrunner Chronicles as our latest followers.  I have enjoyed reading their blog and we are happy to have them on-board with our adventures.   That's it for today, I hope your weekend is going great and thanks for the visit!

Solving The World's Problems!

Well actually I haven't solved any problems actually, but I do like to sit out on the patio at night under the stars with our propane table heater to keep me warm.

Nice on a chilly night!

While sitting outside, I can contemplate my day, week and year, while watching for shooting stars, which normally are just planes flying overhead in route to Sky Harbor Airport.

Not as nice as sitting around the campfire with s'mores, but it will do until our next camping trip, which is scheduled over New Year's.

Not much to report for this week so far, just busy at work and trying to recover from all my chores last weekend.

Tracy and I were off to Yoga again tonight, the instructor had us work on Chaturanga in slow motion, because she wanted to make sure our form was correct.  I could have told her that mine wasn't and she really didn't need to have us go through the torture of doing it in slow motion, I just would have admitted it and we could have moved on. :)

I want to welcome Paul Barton as our latest follower.  According to Paul's profile, he lives in Chula Vista California which is close to where I grew up in La Mesa and has one of our favorite spots, the Chula Vista RV Resort.

If you ever get a chance to stay there, do it, you won't be sorry.  Thanks for joining us Paul on our little adventure.  And thanks to all of you for the visit and I hope you are having a great week!

A Whirlwind Weekend!

I look forward to long weekends because I can get alot of the chores that have been on the back burner done and this long weekend was no exception.

It started off with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my In-Laws and the installation of the new soft top on the Suzuki. 

Then Tracy and I were looking through the Black Friday ads and found a 7.5 foot artificial Christmas tree at Home Depot that was pre-lit for $59.00. I told Tracy that if I happened to get up early I would head down there and see if there were any left.  So at 6:30am my eyes were wide open and I could not get back to sleep, so off to Home Depot I went. When I arrived, there was an employee who was helping to load the trees in people's carts and there were three left.  So I had him load one up for me and I asked him if they had a display, which they didn't.  So I took a chance at an unseen tree and headed home. Below is the tree, we are pretty happy with our $59.00 purchase.

A shot without decorations

Shot with decorations

After my big BF purchase, it was time to put up the outside Christmas lights, since my neighbor Gary had already put his up three days earlier.  Here is a shot of the front of the house with the reindeer that purchased at Big Lots right after getting the tree. 

Once that was done, it was time to wash Tracy and Sarah's cars and change the oil in the Suzuki.

Once the oil was changed, I decided to degrease the engine and detail it.  I always forget to take the before picture, but here is the after, not bad huh?

I finished the day by mowing the lawn and cleaning up the lawn.

Today was housecleaning and wash in-between the college football games because Tracy was out with her Mom to see the three tenors at a dinner show. 

So Sunday will be church and a trip to Sarah's house in Tempe repair a flat tire on her bike so that she is ready for class next week. 

Boy I am tired and that is enough for this weekend, I hope yours was great and thanks for stopping by!

Flipped My Lid!

Well I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, ours was great and we ate way too much as you can see.

Prior to going to my in-laws for a great afternoon of visiting and eating, I decided that I had time to install the soft top that I purchased on eBay for our new to us Suzuki Sidekick. 

So flipping the lid on the Suzuki was not an easy job, I let it sit out in the sun for a few days and that helped to stretch the material a little.  The old soft top was white vinyl and the windows had fogged up and the zipper in the rear window had broken, so it was time for an update.

Old White Vinyl Top

Half Way There

New Top Installed

The new soft top is made of a denim material rather than vinyl and once I got it installed, it looked great.

Well I have about five or six more projects this weekend including getting the Christmas lights and decorations up for this year. So I will sign off for now and I hope your long weekend is great.  Thanks for the visit!

Tracy, Sarah and I

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already, the days and weeks have been flying by and Christmas will be here before we know it.

Here are some pictures from the Gaylord National Hotel from my time in Washington DC last week.

Christmas Tree at the Gaylord National

View of the Potomac

View from our room

There are lots of projects on tap this long weekend and I will share those with you as the days progress.

I want to welcome Rod and Loyce Ivers of Retired Rod as our most recent followers.  I have enjoyed following Rod's Blog for many months and I would encourage you to visit his Blog as well.

I want to wish you and yours a very safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday and thanks for the visit.

Visiting Family In Charlottesville!

Meetings were finished in DC so I headed to the airport for a rental car and it was down the road to visit Tracy's brother and family in Virginia.

Tracy had been there since Thursday, having a great time. So I was headed down the road amongst the beautiful fall colors listening to Christmas carols on the radio.

The drive took over two hours, but I didn't care because the surroundings were great and the music got me into the season, even if a bit early.

My reward for the drive was to have a great lunch at one of my BIL's Baja Bean Company restaurants, boy was it good!

We are sadly heading home tomorrow morning, but it was great to spend time with our east coast family, boy are the kids growing up fast!

Hope you are having a great weekend, thanks for the visit and here are some pictures from our visit.

Up On The Hill Today!

I am President of a large Human Resources Association in Phoenix and each year HR leaders from all over the World gather for training and networking.

Part of that process includes a visit to Capitol Hill and to the offices of our respective Senators and Congressmen to talk about HR related issues. Today was that day, and about 300 of us visited the Hill.

The weather was overcast and cold, but thankfully there wasn't any wind or rain like last year.

What was like last year was that none of our State Representatives were available, so we met with their staffers. Surprise!

Below are some pictures of my day, hope yours was great and thanks for the visit!

My MVD Experience!

It was time to head down to the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) to register our, new to us, Toad and I have to admit that I was really dreading it.  Yesterday was the observation of the Veteran's Day holiday and the office was closed, so I figured today would be absolutely crazy.  

People Making A Run For The Door!

Even though I had fear and trepidation, I bravely headed down to the MVD Office in Scottsdale, arriving at 8:45am.  The women at the counter, who looked like her best friend had just passed away asked me why I was there.  I thought for two seconds that I should maybe say something witty like I had nothing better to do, or I stopped by to see your smiling face and experience your engaging personality, but I thought better of it and just said I was there to register a car.

I went and took a seat amongst the sea of other people who looked like they would much rather be getting a Colonoscopy than waiting for their number to be called out on the big red board.  

Waiting For My Number To Be Called!

It was fun to see the dads and moms with their young (they really do look very, very young, the older I get) sons and daughters waiting nervously for their driving tests. Some of those parents looked like they had actually had a Colonoscopy and had not yet came out of the anesthesia. Could just be a reaction to their new insurance rates now that they have a 16 year old driver.

Anyway, I sat mesmerized by the flashing numbers and the computer generated voice that appeared to come from the heavens.  I kept looking at my little scrap of paper each time a number was called out and held back shouting out BINGO on a couple of occasions.    

Come On J995!

I had packed my mid morning snack, a thermos of coffee and my lunch, remembering the days of old at the MVD.  My number was J995 and as I watched and listened, I heard I, S, O, A, etc., etc., etc., but no J's.  Could the lady who so warmly greeted me have read my mind and gave me a number that would never be called?  Would I eat through all of my survival supplies and still be here with no dinner to consume?

But then it happened, J989 was called and flashed on the big red board, the tension grew and I held back a scream of excitement.  Then almost immediately following, I heard J990, J991, J992, I couldn't believe it, I was only half way through my box of Krispy Creme Donuts and then it happened, J995...BINGO!

I jumped up, gathering my cooler and supplies and headed to window 18 with a big smile on my face and a "good morning" to the women who appeared to be the twin sister of the greeter at the front door.  As good morning was partially out of my mouth, she said your number?  J995 of course and I held it up in self defense, so that she didn't leap over the desk and choke me into unconsciousness.  

She then said, why are you here?  I learned from my earlier experience with her twin at the front desk to only give her a very brief and precise response, which I did.  She said Title and Driver's License, which she very efficiently ripped from my hands and then she was off to the races.  

Her hands were flying all different directions, she was keying stuff into the computer, stamping papers, running things through her printer, all while talking to her co-worker on the telephone and then she said, that will be $24.68 and your registration is good for 15 months.  Hot dog, no emissions test until February 2014, shiny new AZ License Plates, Registration and Sticker, Title and we were out the door at 9:15am!

Wow, only 30 minutes out of my life and I was free to go.  I didn't even get time to start in on my lunch or play the electronic trivia game next to the big red board, but maybe next time...NOT!

No Time For Trivia!

I want to welcome Joe and Betty of Joe and Betty's Adventures as our most recent followers.  Stop on by and visit their blog to catch up on what they are up to. Welcome aboard you two, it is great to have you along for the ride!

Well I am off to Washington DC for meetings tomorrow and I hope to have some pictures to share with you later this week.  Until then, be safe out there and thanks for the visit.