Friday, 28 May 2010
I've been traveling for 12 days now, and I'm finally finding time to write something on my blog. Many of you know that I left Morehead City on 17 May for a 5 week trip to Colorado, and I arrived in Estes Park, CO today! As I'm typing this I'm looking out my window at some snow- capped mountains and they are breathtakingly beautiful. I fell in love with Colorado at the age of 15 when my family and I came here on vacation. I can't tell you how many times we recalled our excitement at seeing the Rocky Mountains for the very first time! And I feel that same excitement every time I see them even after all these years!
I started my trip with a visit to Gary and Della Foster for two nights in the NC mountains in Maggie Valley. Della and I worked in the Headquarters Building together at MCAS Cherry Point for many years. They have a lovely home and we had fun catching up. Gary loves to cook and made some delicious meals. While he was at home making his own pasta, Della and I went shopping in Waynesville, a great little town with lots of 
neat shops and galleries. We also made a stop at the Steeplechase Olde English Toffee Shop. They have the best toffee ever!
After leaving Maggie Valley, I spent one night in a campground in Tennessee and then spent two nights at Doug and Patti Workman's in Bartlett, TN, a suburb of Memphis. When we moved to NC in 1978, Patti was a young Navy nurse and Doug was in the Marine Corps. We visited them at some of their duty stations including San Diego, Hawaii, and Bethesda and have made several visits to their Memphis home. Those of you who followed my blog last year may remember that I went to their daughter's wedding in Scranton, PA as part of my trip. Although Doug wasn't home, Patti and I had a good time visiting, and we even went to see a movie.
After another night in a campground, I spent two nights with my sister, Cheryl
, in Rowley, IA. She and her husband. Buck, have driven a truck for many years and are only home two days a week, so I planned my visit to coincide with those days. When I left there on Tuesday morning, we were all headed in the same direction, so I met them at a truck stop on the way to Council Bluffs, IA where we had a late breakfast. I'm attaching a picture of them by their truck. Cheryl has a brace on her foot since she broke it several weeks ago. She says it doesn't hurt but it's just awkward to walk and sleep with it on.
neat shops and galleries. We also made a stop at the Steeplechase Olde English Toffee Shop. They have the best toffee ever!After leaving Maggie Valley, I spent one night in a campground in Tennessee and then spent two nights at Doug and Patti Workman's in Bartlett, TN, a suburb of Memphis. When we moved to NC in 1978, Patti was a young Navy nurse and Doug was in the Marine Corps. We visited them at some of their duty stations including San Diego, Hawaii, and Bethesda and have made several visits to their Memphis home. Those of you who followed my blog last year may remember that I went to their daughter's wedding in Scranton, PA as part of my trip. Although Doug wasn't home, Patti and I had a good time visiting, and we even went to see a movie.
After another night in a campground, I spent two nights with my sister, Cheryl
, in Rowley, IA. She and her husband. Buck, have driven a truck for many years and are only home two days a week, so I planned my visit to coincide with those days. When I left there on Tuesday morning, we were all headed in the same direction, so I met them at a truck stop on the way to Council Bluffs, IA where we had a late breakfast. I'm attaching a picture of them by their truck. Cheryl has a brace on her foot since she broke it several weeks ago. She says it doesn't hurt but it's just awkward to walk and sleep with it on. Next stop was to visit my other sister, Jeanette and her husband, Joe, in Council Bluffs, IA. She took a day off work and we did a little sightseeing in Omaha which is right across the river. The
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re's a new pedestrian bridge that you can walk across .jpg)
from Iowa to Nebraska and I've included a couple of those pictures. You can actually stand in both States at the same time! There are some beautiful bronze sculptures in downtown Omaha depicting the pioneer life era. They are incredibly lifelike! One of them was made to look as if they were stuck in the mud and a little boy is behind pushing it. Jeane
tte insisted sh
e take a picture of me pretending to push it, too, and I can't believe I'm going to attach it here. A rear shot is not my best image, but what the heck! We also went to an upscale Mall in West Omaha, ate at a nice restaurant, and rode the ferris wheel that's inside a sporting goods store called Scheel's.Last night I was at a campground in Ogallala, NE and it was terribly windy with nothing but open prairie and nothing to break the wind. The speed limit is 75 but I could only go about 62 because this Roadtrek does not handle well in the wind. I got new shocks before I left and that did made a big difference, but the way it's built is not conducive to strong winds. In the midst of I-80 across Nebraska in all that wilderness and wind, a car from Florida passed me with two surfboards on top. I can't imagine where they were going unless it was to California!
This ends my first posting and the next one won't be too far behind! Saying hello to everyone from the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains!
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