Finishing Up Our Summer 2015

     Here it is August, 26, 2015.  Summer breezed right passed us, as it tends to do up here in Upstate New York.  For those of you familiar with this part of the country, you know that our summer is merely 8 weeks long, and it seems most people spend the time getting ready for next winter.  All around us we watched neighbors cutting and stacking wood.  They need a lot of it to stay cozy when it's well below zero for weeks and months at a time.  The most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching.....Back to School Day!  And although we have no dogs in the fight, we can see the glitter in all the mom's eyes as they daydream of those beautiful yellow school buses stopping at their front door in just a few short weeks.

      We'v made our arrangements to get the boat put away for winter before we start out on our travels.  Plans are being finalized for the winterization of the house. Decisions have to be made about which clothes to bring on the trip this year.  We'll be coming back to New York to spend Thanksgiving with MAE, so we'll need some warmer clothes.  I was doing some calculating the other morning, and it looks quite possible that we could be on the Journey Across America 2016 for nearly 9 months!  Getting closer to that full-time category every year.
     We haven't been completely stagnant this summer.  Upstate NY does offer some terrific summer activity, and we took advantage of Big Red sitting in the driveway a couple of times.  In July, we traveled over to Cole's Creek State Park near Waddington, NY, and had a terrific campsite alongside the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Construction of the seaway was authorized in the U.S. in 1954 and in Canada in 1951.  It opened in 1959, and is 2342 miles long, consisting of a system of canals, dams, and 8 locks between the Port of Montreal and Lake Ontario.  We stopped along the Seaway to view the lock at Massena, NY and were lucky enough to catch this yacht coming through.  We also watched a tanker destined for the Port of Montreal pass through the lock, and it's amazing watching it disappear as it's lowered down to the river level to continue on its journey,
     Of course a trip to the St. Lawrence also requires a visit to Alex Bay, and the 1000 Island area of the river.  Downtown Alex Bay is a typical tourist town with eclectic souvenir shops and restaurants.  But the river is the main attraction, and there are several boat companies running tours out to Boldt Castle and over to the Canadian side of the Seaway.

 Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection have a presence on the Seaway, but boats seem to travel at their leisure from one country to the next.  As long as you stay on the Seaway and don't touch land in Canada, there's no requirement to report for inspection, so the tour boats move tourists back and forth across the international border all day.  The Seaway and 1000 Islands are magnificent and a tour on the river is a must.  The summer homes and watercraft  of the rich and famous really are spectacular, along with the history of the area.  To get a full appreciation, jump on a tour boat and have a look.  I'll guarantee you, you won't be disappointed.

 Last week we ventured over into the Adirondacks and visited a state park my family used to camp at when we were growing up.  The Sacandaga Campground, located a short distance south of Wells, NY on State Route 30, is a vintage Adirondack campground.  Created back in 1920, the campground has 143 primitive sites with fireplaces, a picnic area with fireplaces, as well as hot showers.  The Sacandaga River flows by the campground, and as a child, we would spend all day jumping the rocks and wading in the river.

 At the beginning of the season when there was enough water flowing, we would float a mile or so down the river.  Today the dam has been removed and the former beach area is grown in, although the river seems to be deep enough for a nice swim.  Below the dam, it's much rockier, and a makeshift dam has been built by campers across the river, creating slightly deeper pools. Our first day visiting the river, the temps were well in to the upper 80's.  The rocks were almost too hot to touch.  Stepping into the river, we were amazed finding it so warm.  We would have thought that a running Adirondack River would be a little cool, but the water temperature was well into the 70's, possible 80's.  We spent a few hours just cooling down from the hot sun.  Campers are minimal during the week, but the campground seems to fill up on the weekends.  So Debbie and I enjoyed some nice quiet days.  There was no cell/internet service in our campsite (#6-riverside), but cell service seemed to return right outside the entrance.  But that just made it camping a lot nicer.  We went for some quiet walks and bike rides around the campground, and thoroughly enjoyed our few days there.

 
     

An additional item purchased a few weeks ago and a definite traveler is my Davey Crockett Pellet Grill   It's a portable pellet grill, capable of cooking steaks at high heat, or smoking ribs at low heat for several hours.  Warm up time is drastically reduced, and so far everything I've cooked, seemed to have come out quite well.

 Here's some lamb chops we grilled for about 6 minutes on each side at 550 degrees, and they turned out perfectly.  "Roughing it Smoothly" is a great little motto.
     We also had a nice visit from David and Sheri, high school classmates from Corinth.  Dave has a great looking Honda for traveling around in the nice weather, and Sheri seems to enjoy being the passenger.

 David took Debbie for a ride, and although she really enjoyed it, it's going to take a lot of convincing on my part, to get one parked in my driveway.  Also, we're a little limited on how many toys we can tow behind Big Red.  But it probably is nice not having to remember to put your feet down when you stop!!!
      We'll be hitting the road right after Labor Day, for California.  Well, maybe a few stops in Utah first.  There's a few more National Parks we need to visit near Moab, Utah, as long as we're passing by.  Then a quick stop in Monument Valley, where John Wayne and John Ford made some great Westerns.
     Of course, we have to get through a family wedding first.  Mark and Diane should be putting on a pretty good "shindig" for their daughter Katie, down in Saratoga, N.Y.  After that we're on our way west.  Hope we get to visit more of our friends during our Journey Across America 2016.
   

Summertime in New York

   

     Just a few days late getting this final post out and closing out our Going To See America 2015.  After crisscrossing our way down the east coast starting in November 2014, we completed our 10,000 mile journey right where we began, on Wednesday May 20, 2015.  We are about 10 days short of completing our 7th month on the road in Big Red.  Knock on wood, Big Red performed flawlessly, as we have come to expect from this great Tiffin product. To Debbie's great dismay, I couldn't seem to schedule in a visit to a barber, and except for a trim from Erika in Bonita Springs, I haven't managed a real haircut since March 2014 in Borrego Springs, CA!  I'll have to do something about that pretty soon.   I'm going to include some photos from our trip that have nothing to do with the story at hand, so don't get confused.  It's just an opportunity to include some photos at didn't make the cut previously.
     We worked our way across the heartland cautiously watching weather reports.  May is tornado season, so we have to be just a little bit careful.  Of course we have the advantage of being able to sit and wait if there's nasty weather in front of us.  Texas and Oklahoma were getting pounded with storms as we looked to the East, so our leisurely days spent with Randy and Retha actually worked to our advantage.  As we said our goodbye's, the weather window opened up, and we headed across Tornado Alley on I-40 and I-44, with clear skies and good road.  On Sunday we pulled into Akron, OH for a short visit with the in-laws.  The hospitality is always terrific, and Bob and Char love to sit and visit, which gives me a chance to rest up from several days of driving.  Kids and grandkids tend to show up when Aunt Debbie comes for a visit, and that's always fun.  

By Monday evening we were all caught up, and Tuesday morning we continued our push for home.  One more night on the road at a Passport America Campground for $16, and Wednesday afternoon we landed back on the Thompson Rd.        With just a small amount of trepidation, we pulled into the driveway and up to the front door of our house that we had closed up nearly 7 months previously.  As I calmly used to tell people all around the country, "we filled the pipes with anti-freeze, turned on the alarm, locked the doors, and drove away!"  Now we were back.  We wondered how the house and contents survived those many months of below freezing temperatures our friends talked about as we described our situations from the comfort of a sandy beach sipping a cold brew!  Debbie went inside, as I tended to the job of unhitching the toad and parking Big Red.  When she didn't reappear after quite a long time, I ventured in anticipating the worst.         

Amazingly, everything was fine.  Lots of dead ladybugs lying around, but that's to be expected.  After all, the house has been here since the 1860's, and ladybugs love the red brick as the sun warms it on those crisp fall days.  Our preparations were fine.  The grass was about a foot tall, and we had to figure out how to get the water turned back on.  But we were unable to locate any major disasters and that was fantastic.  We spent Wednesday night in Big Red, and the next 2 days we moved back into the house after draining the pipes and checking for any leaks.  Even the tractor started right up, and it seemed like I spent 2 days working on the lawn.  The outside temperature this morning is a crisp 39 degrees, and we're suddenly remembering why we left last Fall!  We fired up the pellet stove in the front room, and soon the house was nice and toasty.  I think we'll find an inside project to work on till it warms a little bit.

     Our Going to See America 2015 Journey has ended, but already preparations are beginning for the sequel Going to See America 2016!  We had a terrific time, and we're hoping this story will be retold to grandkids and great grandkids long after we're gone. We know we are very fortunate to be able to do this.  There were many highlights to the journey.  Topping the list would be the news of grandson #1 arriving in October 2015!  It's pretty hard to top that.  Although MAE did a pretty good job at surprising us with her unannounced visit to San Diego!  It's always great visiting friends and relatives across the country, and we hope we're not being too pesty with our visits.  We feel very fortunate having these places to stop.  
     Ben, Joanne, & Jamo have a new house in San Diego, and that's pretty exciting.  Looks like MAE is getting a big promotion and will be returning to Plattsburgh as the Office Manager in the U.S. Attorney's Office.  We are very proud of her! 
      Our plan so far is to do the trip counter-clockwise for 2016.  This will give us a chance to visit the North-West before winter weather arrives.  Our list of places to visit on our westward journey, which should begin right around Labor Day, is growing each day. Of course, we'll be awaiting the new arrival in San Diego and Grammie is pretty excited about that!  We are very curious to see how Jamo likes the new roommate!  We should be visiting several National Parks out west as we move up and down the coast as we give Ben and Joanne some quality time alone.  We're hoping to visit Big Bend National Park in Texas with Randy and Retha as part of our eastward journey.  Then there's Spring Training in Florida in April.  There's just so much to do and see.
     The map below shows you where we've been in 2014 & 2015.  There does seem to be a big hole up in the NorthWest.  But we'll be filling that up pretty soon.  
         
     

     
     We hope that everyone has a great Summer in 2015, and hopefully our wakes will cross and we'll see you somewhere along the highways and byways of America.
     

Go-Sit-Down-Jamo.....Good Dog

Getting Our Kicks on Rt. 66

   

     I can't believe it's been a month since my last post, and if any of you really enjoy following us as we wander around, I apologize for being so tardy.  We've spent 2 months in San Diego at the Chula Vista RV Resort.  Much longer than we had anticipated, and probably much much longer than Ben and Joanne anticipated.  But they tolerated our visits, and Grammie and I really enjoyed our time together.  Jamo even quieted down, and had a couple of sleep overs with us. Grammie certainly couldn't tolerate Jamo being left alone in that big scary house.
     Debbie and I did a lot of touring around SD as Joanne and Ben had to work.  I seemed to get a lot of enjoyment listening to them as they told their sad stories.  Debbie seemed to spend a lot of time reminding me to behave myself.

The move into the new house in Lakeside went quite smoothly, and I anticipate Ben and Joanne will be unpacking for the next several months. Gifts for Baby Do continue pouring in regularly, and I really enjoyed watching unpacked boxes accumulate everywhere!  Ben and Joanne assured me that all would be unpacked within a few days, but I would bet that they are still around when we return.  Jamo has a great big yard to play in with lots of grass.

There always seems to be something going on in SD.  In Seaport Village, we attended a concert by The Cadillacs.  They knew every song ever written in the 50's, 60's and 70's and the "senior" crowd was out in force dancing away to the wonderment of the Millennials and Gen X wandering by with their cellphones in their hands.  I guess they're afraid they are going to miss the latest text or tweet or whatever they do. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and I can assure you that the "boomers" had a great time!
     The Coronado Island Big Band put on a 3 hour show along the shores of San Diego harbor on a Sunday afternoon, and that was very enjoyable also.  We attended a couple of Padre baseball games during our visit.  Petco Park is located in downtown SD, and Debbie and I jumped on the trolley near our campground and rode it right to the stadium.  We even got our senior discount and rode each way for $1.25!  Can't beat that!  I got together with some BP friends from my time at Campo, but unfortunately I forgot to bring along my camera.  The photographer in the group, Jerry Hjelle assured us that he would send along the pictures, and if they ever show up, I'll upload them into this story. The small get-together was hosted by Bob Grossett (CHP-Retired) and Spanky Hayden led the story-telling.  We reminisced about the good old days and told story after story of the antics of Walter Harwell, Teddy Hampton, Gary Young, Blue Mauldin and many others.  Amazingly I can't remember a single lie told the entire afternoon !!!
     After completing the task of moving, we reluctantly accepted the fact that it was time to start heading east.  On Sunday, May 10th, we pulled up stakes and started across I-8, destined for Phoenix, our first stop,  In Phoenix, Debbie worked her magic with Passport America, and we booked an overnight at the Sunflower RV Resort.  The Sunflower is one of the many Cal-Am properties located around Phoenix, and is usually extremely difficult to get into.  Then we remembered....it's summer, not winter.  No problem.  We checked in with the gate guard, and were escorted to our site.  Our visit on our way west found the Cal-Am resort packed and bustling with activities.  Now we found it nearly completely empty.  1092 sites, and nearly completely empty.  It was like staying in a ghost town.  Music was being piped out around the empty pools and hot-tubs.  The workout room was open, but empty.  We did see maybe 5 other people walking around, but that was it.  Really creepy!

          On Monday we headed out for Williams, Az to meet up with Retha and Randy from San Angelo, Tx who were just starting out on their summer adventure around America. Ya'll remember how we spent 4 days waiting out an ice storm with R&R on our way west.  But I guess they didn't have enough of us, cause the next day they amended their plans, (although they deny it) and accompanied us a hundred or so miles east on Old Rt 66 (I-40).  Debbie and I dropped our rig off at an eclectic old RV Resort in Sun Valley, Ca, and we jumped in with them for a tour through the Petrified Forest National Park.

We remembered our passport and got it stamped at the Visitor Center, and then persuaded R&R that they needed one for their journey this summer.  So now with both passports stamped, we headed out.  We didn't get to experience the full grandeur of the cliff colors since it was clouded over, but the views were still pretty spectacular.  These colorful mesas were formed by wind and water over 200 million years ago and make up what is now known as the Painted Desert.

   Most amazing were the countless "rocks" scattered about that looked exactly like trees.  They are actually fossilized remains of 50 million year old trees that are now rocks.

       After working our way through the park, we enjoyed a wonderful meal with R&R, said our goodbye's and wished them well on their journey.  The following morning, I snapped a few photos of our cozy campground interestingly called Root 66 RV Park.

 If you Google it, it will show on the Passport America website, and it is a bargain at $16.50 for an overnight stay if your traveling along Rt. 66.
     On Wednesday we continued our eastward trek, and our next stop along old Rt 66 was Tucumcari, NM and the Cactus RV Park, also a Passport America Park.

As we entered Tucumcari we were stunned to see a town that appeared to be hit hard from the recent recession.  But again we found an older RV park that was very clean with level sites and 50/30 amp service.  Debbie and I decided to go for a walk around town after hearing that there were numerous hand painted murals around town.  Almost across the street we found an antique shop that had been painted to look like a Texaco gas station.

 It was markedly similar to the Texaco station in Corinth where my Uncle Earl Vandenburg worked.  
     As we arrived back at the RV Park, we noticed an Allegro Breeze arriving that looked amazingly similar to our Wheezy, which we had traded exactly 1 year ago.  We approached the RV and there on the windshield was our old NY registration.  The new owners, were from Albuquerque and were headed for Texas.  We were amazed to find that they were 89 & 88, but still active enough to move an RV down the road.  We had a fantastic visit as we helped get them set up and explained some of the nuances we found during our time with Wheezy.  The neighbor next door, also driving an Allegro RV joined in and was able to temporarily solve their tv issues.  I pulled out the hardcopy of last year's journey and showed them photos of Wheezy covered in snow in 2014. We enjoyed a good visit and Debbie made arrangements to send them the original quilt from the bed. This morning, as we worked our way east to Oklahoma City, we passed them eastbound on I-40 heading for Texas.  We wish them the best of luck in their future journeys.

     As we journeyed east on I-40, Debbie received the amazing news that Ben and Joanne will be having a little boy in October.  I told everyone I didn't want to know, but Debbie was so excited that the secret lasted about 2 minutes.  We only want a healthy grandchild, but we're both pretty excited as we anticipate the arrival of our grandson.  The next great secret is our grandson's name, but I think Ben and Joanne are keeping that pretty close to the vest.  We'll just have to wait till October.
      Tonight we're settled in at the Twin Fountains RV Park in Oklahoma City.  Tomorrow should find us over near Springfield, Mo. as our journey home continues.

San Diego and a visit to Balboa Park

     Our visit to San Diego continues with regular meetings with Joanne, Ben, and Jamo, as we work around our visiting schedule and their working schedule. Naturally Debbie complains that we're not seeing enough of them, but I remember those days when I was working the midnight shift, and my body never really understood what it was doing. So we eagerly anticipate Ben's morning visits when he's on his way home. Mom gets to cook "little Benny Booters" as MAE calls him, a breakfast, and then he's on his way home for a few hours sleep before Joanne gets home.

And through it all, Jamo quietly guards the front door. And that absolutely amazes me. As much as that dog needs to be touched by someone, anyone, he leaves Ben alone when he shuts the bedroom door.
     Prior to Easter, the Princess and her mother upheld the family tradition of coloring eggs, and spread out across the picnic table, completely monopolizing the lounge area.  And even though the coloring concoction had been meticulously formulated at least 26 times previously, they still managed to screw up the ingredients.  Amazingly though, they were completely successful in coloring the eggs, and the egg salad sandwiches that resulted from this scientific paradigm, were delicious.  Easter Sunday, we had a delicious ham dinner up at Ben and Joanne's, made almost exclusively in a crock-pot.

  Everyone, including Jamo, joined in for a family picture, and I really think that dog enjoys getting his picture taken.  Is he smiling or what???
     On Wednesday night, MAE experienced an extremely frightening plane ride from San Diego to Philly, as they pushed through a pretty good storm taking aim on the east coast.  The Princess didn't get the sleep she anticipated flying the "red eye", and mom had to do some fancy talking just to get her to get on the next flight for Syracuse.  But our brave little traveler stepped up, and the flight home from Philly was uneventful.  Although it may be a while before she steps onto an airplane again.   As we paused on the shoreline of San Diego Bay overlooking downtown, Ben and I made several attempts at capturing the many colored lights.  I guess I've got to get a little better camera lense if I want to get fancy.

   
     This past Sunday, Debbie and I ventured over to Balboa Park to take in the organ concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.  In 1914, John and Adolph Spreckels donated the Spreckels Organs, one of the worlds largest outdoor pipe organs, to the city of San Diego for the Panama-California Exposition.

     This unique organ includes nearly 5000 pipes, ranging in size from a pencil to over 32' in height. The organ and pipes are housed in a magnificent building and stage in Balboa Park.  The city of San Diego has had an organist since 1917, and there have been free Sunday concerts for nearly 100 years!  There is a 20 horsepower motor which provides the necessary wind for the pipes, and the volume of the organ is controlled completely by louvers that open and close in front of the pipes.

  As you can see, there were colored umbrellas available for rent for $2, which I would highly recommend, to shield you from the San Diego sunshine.  And although it does limit your view of the organist, it certainly doesn't diminish the magnificent sounds of this 100 year old pipe organ.  

The artwork along the gables of the of the pavilion certainly don't show their age, as the San Diego climate has been very accommodating to the organ and the structure.  There are several more museums in Balboa Park that we intend on visiting before we depart San Diego.  The Air and Space Museum is close by, along with the Museum of Man.  I was hoping for a Museum of Woman, but alas, there isn't one.  

     The weather has made our stay very enjoyable, and we're even seeing that the temps at home are starting to normalize,  We still see a strange white powder on the ground as we view photos on Facebook, but it seems that people are starting to wash their cars and open up their porches in anticipation of Spring's arrival.  We have a few more weeks here, as we agreed to help Ben and Joanne move into their new house.  Baby Doo and mom are doing well, and "Grammie" is busting with anticipation.  All the Doody men are proceeding ahead calmly, knowing that complete chaos could explode at any time.   

     We continue to master the fine art of ice cube making.  We thank Uncle Bob for advising us of those handy little ice cube makers.  Those globes of ice fit perfectly in our Rondacker glasses, and if we drink quickly enough, they will last for more than one!  We hope all our friends have survived this wild winter, and look forward to seeing them upon our return.  

Hemet and a Surprise Visitor

          It seemed that most everyday of our visit to Hemet involved a little excursion somewhere.  We like to call it moseying, and Debbie thinks I'm doing a much better job this year than last.  No visit to Hemet wold be complete without a trip up the mountain to about 7000 feet, and a visit to the hamlet of Idyllwild.  Those of you who knew us in Campo, and those of you who have been forced to listen to my endless stories, probably had to endure some of our camping adventures to Idyllwild.  Back in the day when we had nothing, we managed to find a used cab-over camper for our old Chevy truck that I purchased new in NY in 1978 and drove with my brother Jim out to CA.

 In those days I only had a camper shell on the back which worked out pretty well I might add.  But Debbie and I scraped a few pennies together and upgraded to a cab-over camper, and on most days off we would travel up to the Thousand Trails campsite in Idyllwild to escape the summer heat.  Anyway....we headed up the San Jacinto Mountains to revisit some of our old stomping grounds.
     Our first stop was a visit to Thousand Trails campground, which graciously allowed us to drive through after I explained to the gate guard that we used to come here quite regularly.....30 years ago.  It really hadn't changed much.  It still had the beautiful pine trees that provided us with plenty of cooling shade in years past.  The sites were still unimproved, all dirt, and a little small by today's standards.

We were surprised to see a few RV's of pretty good size parked around the park, and we secretly wished we had been there when they arrived.  It's always a treat watching them squeeze through and around the trees that surround each site.  On our way up the hill, we passed this sign, and I just had to go back and take this shot.  Only in California do they try and teach the snakes to sit up, roll over, and get their belly's scratched.
      Over in Idyllwild proper, we found another "artsy-fartsy" town, with lost of charming little shops with merchandise from China for the tourists.  But we did find a great little restaurant with a sunny spot out on the front porch, and we enjoyed a great lunch while watching the tourists walk by.  Unfortunately I didn't write down the name of the place, and right now I can't come up with it.

     There was also an interesting brew pub close by, that seemed to have quite an assortment of craft beer on hand.  If we were staying longer, that may have been a location to investigate a little closer.  Also throughout the downtown area, there were 22 of those uniquely painted deer scattered around.  Not quite sure what the purpose of them were, but they did add to the unique ambiance of this mountain top village.  Thirty years ago we enjoyed coming up here, and it was very enjoyable to experience a return visit.
      On Wednesday we returned to the Chula Vista RV Park, and gave Ben and  Joanne a call to see what their plans were for dinner.  Ben was cooking a nice steak, and we hustled up to their place to see if we could get a cocktail out of Ben.  Debbie gently knocked on the front door, not wanting to get Jamo too excited, and suddenly the door pops open.

 Suddenly, Debbie's screaming..."Princess!!..."  To our complete surprise, MaryAnne had flown in from Syracuse the day before, to surprise her mother for Easter.  We had tried to talk her into coming out, but she lied to us, saying she had a trial in Utica.  Seems that the cold was just enough incentive for the Princess to work the deals and get a flight to San Diego.  We had offered to fly her out, but she stuck with the trial story, saying she couldn't come out.  Needless to say, we're both pretty excited to see her, and this Easter will be a special memory.  Today she is over at the pool, enjoying the wonderful 85 degree weather.  I don't think she's missing the snow and ice and 30 degree weather in Syracuse.
   

     Yesterday, Ben took his sister down to to San Ysidro and a viewing of the POE area where he works.  Traffic was backed up as far as we could see, which made Ben smile since he wasn't working. And of course, I started telling war stories about the border 30 years ago without a 20 foot fence.
     But then it was time to start the BABY SHOPPING!  As you can imagine, the girls hit the store with tons of enthusiasm.

     Ben and I found a couple of rocking chairs that needed thorough testing, as the girls worked their way through the largest conglomeration of baby paraphernalia I had ever experienced.  Kinda like going to a Super Walmart of baby accessories.  It really is quite exciting watching Joanne and Debbie trying to figure out how to open and close the various strollers.  Finally MaryAnne stepped in and showed them how to get it done.  Seems that she has several friends with new babies, and finally her babysitting experience is paying off.  Looks like everyone survived Day 1 of Baby Shopping.  I'm quite confident there will be a few more.

     

Visit to Hemet, Pomona, and Redlands. CA

   

     We left our cozy little spot at the Chula Vista RV Resort to do a little exploring to the north.  Ben and Joanne are both working all week, which gives us plenty of free time to wander around CA and see what there is to see.  We traveled about an hour and a half north up to Hemet, a city we are very familiar with.  Thirty years ago, Debbie and I used to pass through Hemet on our way to mountain village of Idyllwild, most every weekend we were off.  Thousand Trails used to have a great campground up there, and it was much cooler in the mountains than down in Alpine or Campo.  We camped in our old Chevy truck with a cabover camper which worked out just great for us.  We even had the rear window removed so Debbie could get back in the camper and make us a lunch or grab a road soda if I got too hot.  But that's a different story and I digress....
     Ben, Joanne, and Jamo stopped over for dinner a few nights before we left on this excursion, and we had a nice visit and dinner.  Jamo had a little trouble settling down though.  Seems like there were lots of people around the park that hadn't met him yet, and he knew they were dying to.  He'll go for a walk with Grammy, but he doesn't like to get too far away from Ben or Joanne.
     Yesterday we ventured up to Pomona and the Los Angeles Fairgrounds for the FMCA Reunion.  We had never been to one, and since we're thinking of attending the rally in Burlington this summer, we thought we'd check it out.  The fairgrounds are in a beautiful suburb of Pomona right off of I-10.  We wandered through the display buildings, and picked up a few item for repairs to Big Red.  We would have liked to visit the RV's, but the temps were pushing well into the 90's, and it was just too hot out on the tarmac.  If we had been attending the rally, there were several seminars which Debbie would have attended, but that just didn't work out.  I carried my camera all day, and never took a single shot of the fairgrounds.  Sorry about that...
     Today we drove about 30 minutes from Hemet to the city of Redlands, Ca.

 Long before Palm Springs became the location that it is today, Redlands was the winter getaway of the 1890's.  By the mid 1880's, Redlands was known as the "navel orange capital of the world."  Developers designed tree lined streets throughout the village, surrounded by orange groves.  Today the orange groves have diminished, but the tree lined streets and beautiful mansions still welcome today's visitors.  Orange grove money created libraries, parks, and the Redlands Bowl amphitheater.

Murals decorate many of the buildings around a bustling downtown area.  Today, one of the downtown streets was blocked off as the residents celebrated the day with an art festival that included live music.
     Our first stop in town was a quick visit to the A.K. Smiley Public Library, built in the late 1890's.  Alfred Smiley was one of Redland's winter residents, and he and his twin brother Albert, worked to bring a library and park to fruition.

     Behind the library, we found the Lincoln Memorial Shrine, a memorial to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War period.  It includes a Research Center, and houses the largest collection of Lincoln Memorabilia west of the Mississippi.

The collection includes manuscripts, books, and artifacts donated by Robert Watchorn in 1932.  The collection has grown to thousands of volumes on Lincoln and the Civil War, and are available to scholars and students.
     One of the mansions that is available for public tours is the Kimberly Crest House and Gardens.  Mr Kimberley was the founder and President of the paper company Kimberly-Clark.  He and his wife purchased the home in 1905, and for the next 75 years, this family maintained this home.  Mary Kimberly Shirk, the youngest Kimberly child married in 1905, but her husband died in 1919.

She returned to Redlands in 1920 and remained in Kimberly-Crest for nearly 60 years.  She was a strong advocate of education, serving as a trustee of Scripps College, as well as its President for 2 years.  Unfortunately, I was unable to photograph and of the interior of the mansion, but it is full of furniture and relics that were present when it was owned by the Kimberly's.  It is well worth a visit and the admission price.