On the road Part 3, and final notes

We arrived home in AZ on the 20th of July after a trip of five weeks, 7100+ miles, going through 20 states, using 717 gallons of diesel and seeing some REALLY beautiful countryside.
From Niagara Falls, we traveled West to East through New York state to see friends in Warwick. Then the three of us turned North to Bar Harbor Maine. Suffering a lot of rain and cold weather, we turned south along the Appalachian Mountains. A brief stop to visit with Marie Gray and her daughter Hunter in Knoxville and then on the camp next (and I DO mean NEXT) to the Mississippi River with an moon lite evening watching tugboats pushing barges up and down the river. Probably the most relaxing part of the trip.
We really enjoyed this unforgettable trip. Seeing our beautiful country and states neither of us have been in. Visiting and reuniting with friends and relatives was fabulous. Meeting and learning about cultures/lifestyles within our states was amazing and educating. Casual encounters with other campers and locals was a joy. Sharing stories between us all was PRICELESS.
This will definitely be a trip that will linger in our memories for decades. I thank all who allowed us park our 30 foot camper in your driveway and in front of your home, and your warm hospitality to us wandering AZ Shells. Our guestroom is always open to you too.

On the road Part 2

Northern Ohio was beautiful with it's rolling hills, old farms and Amish/Mennonite culture. After visiting a Hertiage Center to learn about them and their history, we toured the area enjoying the scenery.
Leaving there, we went to Erie, PA. and enjoyed one of the five Great Lakes. Then on to Niagara Falls to be caught in the tourist trap and get WET! Maid of the Mist, Walk under the falls and watch the newly weds slip off for their honeymoon dream. Next will be the Finger Lakes region of New York State and wine country.

On the road - Part 1

We arrived in Springfield Missouri on Friday, June 19th, and camped in Sherman's side yard until the following Tuesday morning. I truly enjoyed catching up and talking about old-times as kids with Odell and Sherman. The girls just put up with us. We were lucky enough to see Sherman's daughter Kim and finally meet Odell's son Chad and his boys.
MJ is doing well after her arthroscopic surgery. We hope to see them next summer too, as we plan to drive my hot rod back for the NSRA show, but we'll see what next year brings.
Yeah, I am the good looking one in the middle of Odell (L) and Sherman (R).

2009 RV trip

Yeah, yeah. The oil companies are going to put it to us again. As soon as the economy gets a little bit better, they jack-up the pump prices. But I don't care! We have wanted to do this for years, so we are. A cross country RV trip from AZ to Maine and back. Few more miles and it would be coast to coast.
We leave the 17th of June and we be gone for about five weeks, seeing the beauty of this country. I'll post photos as we go. Here's the route.
PS. The alarm system is armed and the Pit Bulls are roaming freely, protecting the homestead.

Join WHAT?

Believe me, I am into modern technology.I have a couple computers (and have since '83), we both have cell phones, plus digital this and that. We both e-mail and use the cell phones, plus our land line, but ... Twitter, and FaceBook, and MySpace, and WHAT? HEADTIME? I don't get it. How much time do we all need to talk to friends and relatives?
I do not condemn anyone for posting their life in front of the whole world, but do not ask me to.
A couple years ago, while doing some work at a high school, I asked a kid who was between classes and talking on her cell phone, "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?" She replied, "MY FRIEND OVER THERE", as she pointed to another girl across the school yard. I am sorry, but that is pure lazy. Teachers have trouble with kids passing answers to tests by texting to each other. Classes are interrupted by ringing phones and people cause auto wrecks due to eating and texting while driving.
Now to my original point. More people are losing their identities because thieves steal it from sites like FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace. More people are stalked, scammed and been taken advantage of. In some cases, it has lead to an injury or fatal ending. If you don't believe me, read the June 2009 issue of AARP Bulletin with the story titled "FALSE FRIENDS".
This all may sound very grim and nothing but negativity, but it's meant as a caution. It is probably because one of the above happened to someone I know, and it was not pretty.
One last word...if you use these communication sites, always use extreme caution and be aware you have exposed yourself to everyone who is on the internet, not just your friends and family members. Be careful out there, and e-mail me when you get off the phone.

Don't argue, CHECK YOUR FACTS!

In the past, I have been referred to as a Liberal, and/or a Left-wing Democrat. I AM registered as a Democrat, but, I consider myself as a middle-of-the-road Democrat. There are some topics I agree with Democrats, and some I agree with Republicans. I DO NOT consider myself as hard-line in either party. I vote for the best person (in my point of view), and I come to that decision according to their platform and views that meet with mine. This is like most people, I believe.
Lately, some of my Republican friends, and relatives, have sent me their highly bias views in the form of forwarded articles. I don’t condemn them for their views, just that they don’t do the research before the open their mouths, or forward something. Just because a person is Republican or Democrat, does NOT mean they are ALWAYS right. Our first President did not have any affiliation with either party, so he was a non-party President. From there, the parties changed in believes and names.Now, I can not speak for all the Presidents in our history, so to save time, I am going to talk about the Presidents in my lifetime (1946 until the present). And if you really want to check; these facts are from www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/presidents of the united states.
In my life, there have been five Republicans and six Democrats. Both parties have their good and bad points in their term. In general, Republicans have been generous to big business, and Democrats have been generous to labor. More wars, or conflicts, have arisen during a Republican terms, and more peacemaking and human rights movements have come about during a Democratic terms. The deficit has grown bigger and faster during Republican terms, and been (generally) balanced or reduced during a Democratic term. Democrats have served more multiple terms than Republicans. Assassinations (or attempts) have taken place during both parties’ terms. Both parties have been embarrassed by impeachments. The Korean War spanned three Presidents. The Vietnam War spanned three Presidents. The conflicts have spanned six Presidents, but few American lives were lost in the Middle East until both Bush Presidents were in office. More than 5,000 service men/women were killed invading countries that posed NO harm to the. Both parties have raided Social Security and somewhat reformed Medicare, and done a poor job in both cases. We have more homeless today than in the Great Depression of the ‘30s. The deficit is the highest than ANY time in our history. There are thousand upon thousands of home foreclosed because the FED said lend,LEND, LEND to people who could not afford the mortgage. Both parties have had their blunders, mis-management episodes, and poor decision making. Like some of my friends and relatives, they are bullheaded, stubborn, and open their mouths before they check the TRUE facts. They listen to bias talk radio, bias news networks or bias newspapers, and take that as gospel. They believe the party in control is out to get them, and plotting to take their right away from them because some dummy on the radio says so.
No matter what you preference is...check your facts first, and then, recheck them.
And lastly, keep your opinions to yourself. I invite and enjoy a good debate, but DO NOT push it on me! I am old and stubborn too.

The Media did it

Just listen! Do you hear it? SWINE FLU, ILLEGALS, POOR ECONOMY, PIRATES, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS. If you did not recognize it...it's negativity. The media feeds on our response to negativity. We panic and that beings on more negativity. How about telling people about the positives in the news. The people who saw a robbery being committed so they joined together and caught the guy before he could run away. Or, the little 4 year old boy who called 9-1-1 cause his Mom was having a breathing problem. Or, the little girl who organized the making of care packages for the troops in Iraq. These are positives, and we need more of them broadcasted to us INSTEAD OF all the negatives. I do not mean hide the negatives, but, do not blow them so far out of shape they over shadow the good things. We all know there is plenty of bad to go around. But there is always a lot of good going on that we do not hear about.
Let's take the most popular topic today, the SWINE FLU. O-M-G! It's an epidemic, right? The last epidemic was in 1918 and thousands died. So far, the world has seen one person die from the present Swine Flu. Typically, there are 250,000 to 500,000 die each year from the flu, no matter which of the four strains. This flu was thought to have come from Mexico. The government is on this "illegals" thing about Mexico. So naturally Mexico is at fault. Do your homework...most of the world's pigs are grown in the US and most recent strains of the Swine Flu originated in the US.
Now to the economy. Have you watched the Stock Market lately? It's going up, slowly, but up. Many small towns have reported an increase in business profits. We hit bottom folks and now we're going upward. Spend it if you got it. And if you don't want to, put it in the bank for others to borrow upon.
Listen folks, President Obama is not a magician. He can not make the economy better in a day, and neither can the Congress or Senate, but they are trying hard. We elected these people to do their things. If you do not like what they are doing, then vote them out next term, but don't sit there and complain, help them. Be financially responsible and support the economy.
We are a GREAT country, maybe the greatest (but let's be humble). The American people are strong and always come up with a way the survive the hard times. We will this time too. I have seen third world countries and we have NOTHING to complain about.
Think positive, DO the positives, TALK positive and pass it forward.
One last thing...turn the news off. If it's something you need to hear, eventually, you'll hear about it.