In the Maritimes

We are now in Halifax at my sister, Betty Anne;s, house. We came in yesterday when we had a chance to drive in the sun. The roads were well salted and clear. We did a little detour though, and had to retrace our steps back, as we forgot our wallet at my other sister's house in Jacksonville, NB. That took us an extra hour in our drive but we still got to Halifax in good time.
We arrived in Jacksonville last Tuesday and helped my sister, Jeannette, upgrade her kitchen as Gerhard took out the bulkheads from her kitchen cupboards and we put in a fresh coat of paint throughout the area. She paid him in a pair of slippers and a pair of jeans. Gerhard enjoyed working for a few days after sitting on his behind during our long drives.
Today, in Halifax, we are having snow and rain mix which is a bit messy but temps are around -10 and enjoyable.
Will try in a couple of days to add pictures in. Things will get a bit crazy here in Halifax with the joys of Christmas and all the children.
Love and happy to all at this time of year.
J And G
xoxo

Resting in Portland, ME

Yes, here we are in Portland, Maine and the snowstorm and the weather that has been dogging us has finally reached us. We had 6 inches of snow last night and so we have just been swimming in 85 degree water and lazing around the hotel room all day just reading and watching tv.
We left Myrtle Beach with sad goodbyes and drove into Fredricksburg, Virgina and stayed in a Hotel 8. The next morning we drove up, up, up through state after state - really easy with all the interstates - and drove straight through New York city in afternoon traffic. The Bronx was pretty easy to drive through. On another trip, perhaps a fly-in trip, we will stop for a visit in the big apple but it was exciting for Gerhard to see the skyline and drive through the city with all the other New Yorkers. We made it through to New Haven, CT and stayed pretty close to Yale University.
Our drive into Portland didn't take very long. Lots of toll roads to take our money but we got here in under 4 hours so we spent the rest of the day touring the pretty old town of Portland. We should be in Jacksonville, NB in good time tomorrow. I hope to be able to add in all the pictures to each entry of the blog when we get to my sister's house and use her computer.
Love to all.

Leaving Myrtle Beach on Sunday

We have had a great time here in Myrtle Beach. Thursday evening we went to a grand Christmas show that was close to an old fashioned Xmas celebration that we would have seen on an Ed Sullivan Show. The tap dancing group, called "All That", which danced on the show "Amercia's Got Talent" did 5 numbers. They were great. There were some good 'ole fashioned country Nashville-type numbers, comedy skits and lots of music. It was an outstanding performance.
Last night we were entertained by Dolly Parton's Dixie Wonderland full of horses, competitions, comedy etc. and included was a four course meal to be eaten without untensils. Just like down home country in the uncultered days. It was a lot of fun as well.
Today we took another stroll along the beach, sat for awhile and watched the tide roll in. We also spent 2 hours in Ripley's Aquarium which featured many unusual fish. It was awesome. To end up the day, we just got back from two hours of playing a Map Quest game in a huge facility where you run around trying to find elements in order to complete a specific quest and gain points to become a magi. Too cool, especially for kids from 9 to whatever. Most adults aren't very good at it but between Gerhard, who was watching me, and my quickly running around the castles and such, I managed to become a junior magi. I bought a magic wand with which I must return the next time we visit here so that I can continue to play the game. It was very intense but now that I know how to play, the next time won't be so crazy.
We are ready to leave tomorrow. We shall take our time heading north and hope that all the ice from the ice storms has melted. We've had a great time here with many new things to add to our learning about this wierd and wonderful world of ours.

Wednesday in Myrtle

Today we spent the day going to live shows. The first one was called "The Spirit of Ireland." It was awesome. Two tenors sang many Irish songs and played off each other well with the jokes. There were also 5 Irish dancers doing the Flatley dances. We walked to the Palace Theatre, which is an amazing place - puts our show theatres to shame - but then again, this is a town where things are over the top.
Tonight, just minutes ago, we returned from the show "Le Grande Cirque." We saw so many different acrobatic things, dancing, high wire acts, comedy, contortionists, dog acts etc. Gerhard and I even got pulled up on stage by one of the acts and he made Gerhard do some hip girations while he tried to swoon me with wine and kisses. It was very funny and lots of fun. At the end, Santa came out and confetti and gold pieces of ticker tape and also real foam and bubbles were blown all over the audiences. It was so worth the money. Both shows were.

One thing keeps dogging us. Just today what should happen to pull up to our empty hotel but four busses full of middle school kids here for a convention. They will be staying in our hotel for one night only, thank goodness. Good thing we know kids - and of course L....o....v....e..... them too.
More info for you about tomorrow, tomorrow.
Love J and G
xoxo

Now in Myrtle Beach, SC

Got in around 6:00 this evening and left our hotel in Atlanta this morning at 10:45. We've made good time. We checked out the possibilities for viewing the city of Atlanta but the city is not set out to accompany the crazy wandering tourist such as we are. We would have had to bring out van, full as it is, into the city and try to park in the streets on a busy Monday morning. It's so large that we would have been driving and finding parking places all day. We've decided that Atlanta is another of those cities that needs a fly-in visit.
We've had it in our plans to visit either Myrtle Beach or Virginia Beach. We are so happy to have picked Myrtle Beach for our winter visit. It's lovely here and we are even more pleased that we are here in the off-season. We have a beautiful deluxe suite for $35 a night and it includes a deluxe spa/jacuzzi in the room. It's 1/2 the size of our house. There are so many things to do and see here. We will be going to Ripley's Believe it or Not aquarium, two Xmas shows, The Grand old Opry show, the Grand Cirque, etc etc. It's going to be a nice rest for us as we've been totally driving like banshees over the last four days.
I need a rest. G needs a rest. Sounds like we should stay. It's to be 65 degrees tomorrow and then 70 on Wednesday. No tourists, just us.
Later homies,
G and J

Outside of Atlanta, Georgia

We just pulled into Altanta and the sweet attendant in the hotel is letting me use his computer to update our blog. What a nice Atlantan. We drove straight through today from Louisiana where we spent a horrible night in a stinking and filthy motel room. What a mess so we left quickly today to get away from it as fast as we could. Still have beautiful weather although a rain storm has been chasing us. We are trying to get to Virginia Beach for a couple of days in the next day or two.
The road and travels has been fine and the van has been holding up well. We are really staying in hotels from now on as it's too cold to sleep in the van this past week. Going through a cold spell here in the south.
Let's see - drove from Ruston, LA, through Mississippi, and Alabama and then landed here today about 5:30. That's about 440 miles in one day. The speeds here are crazy, 75 m/hr. No wonder we can get so far so quickly.
Until next time my little lovelies.
Oh yeah, went to this wild place in El Paso, Tx where we had a wonderful time buying little carpets and things for the house. My favourite store now.
BBFN J and G

Leaving Benson, Arizona

We left San Diego yesterday and drove straight across the desert to Benson, Arizona. Weather is hot and dry. It's amazing how anything grows at all in the desert but yet all around are these flat washes that are provided for when it rains. The rains just run straight off the ground down towards the lowest place because the land is so dry that it won't allow the water to penetrate. So many different kinds of cacti but not a sign of animals, only the eagles and hawks.
On our last day in SD, we took the bus and then the train to the border crossing to get into Tijuana. We spent the day there shopping- or rather, being chased by shop owners. Very aggressive they are because they want our business so badly. Very poor place and rather depressing. The problem is that there's nothing there that I would even think about buying except for one or two things. It's all so poorly made or crassy. We did buy a table runner for our kitchen table and a poncho (soft and fuzzy) for me. You can't go to Mexico and NOT buy a poncho.
So, this morning, we head off towards Texas. Don't think we'll get through that state in one day. We were lucky to find this motel 6 last night that just, by chance, had a customer computer to use. They are becoming harder and harder to find lately as you are expected to have your own now and use their free wifi connections. What can I say, we are pretty old- fashioned.
More later, it's going to be hard to leave this warm weather.
J and G

Our trip so far

We are amazed at our surroundings. Things are dry and hot here in the southern parts of the US. We spent four wonderful days in Anaheim going to Disneyland and then to LA and Hollywood and then one day to spend at the beaches. Newport Beach, Laguna, Santa Monica etc. What a blast. Walking in the sand and holding hands. People were surfing even. James, you would have loved being at Huntington Beach. Biggest waves this year.
We have had pretty good weather so far in CA. We loved Disneyland. Especially Gerhard who has never been to something like that before.
We are now trying to get our southern end of the holiday soaked in so that it will last us to the end of winter for the rest of the parts of the world that we will be in. So much to learn from our travels.
For instance. at this very moment I am panicked at how hard it is to type when I've only got 4 minutes left on this silly machine that is at the KOA campground to type to you folks. We hope everyone is okay and we are trying to keep you up to date but it is hard without having a laptop along. We are old (er) and slow (er) and don't have a laptop yet.
We are going swimming soon and then to sit in the hot tub here in San Diego. We will be heading east along the highway number 8 towards Florida soon.
No pictures from this point - cause this machine has me on the run and G is continually putting his credit card into his slot and then pulling it out. Haven't a clue what he's doing. Love to all. J and G xoxo

In San Diego After 4 days in Anaheim

Heh everyone,
Here in San Diego. Spent the day lazing around the campsite and reading in the hot sunshine. Finally. We will be heading out tomorrow for another jump off, jump on tour of the city and then the next day to the famous zoo and balboa park area. For Tuesday, we may head off to Tiajana, Mexico. We'll see. It's a Grey Line bus tour and we're not sure yet where to catch the bus downtown somewhere

Sea Lions at the Wharf

We spent hours watching these guys howl and push each other around on the wharf. It was free to stay and watch them and, being water lovers, we found them very entertaining. We then went for a very interesting lunch on the wharf side and each received a sun burn on our faces. Lots of cable car rides and walking. We are loving the warmer weather and are feeling better about the heat on our bodies.
Wish you all were here.
j and g

Here in San Francisco

We have had a wonderful time here in SF. This comes to you by way of our neighbours upstairs in SF. Actually, they are Helga and Kurt's neighbours and they were very nice to allow us to come upstairs and use their computers. Such lovely people.
G's cousin, Helga and Kurt, have been so kind as to let us use their apartment here in San Francisco. We have been very busy viewing as much as we can throughout the city - taking a large bus tour, taking as many buses as possible and talking to as many locals as we can. We went to Dim Sum today which was G's very first try at eating surprises of local chinese food. Chinatown is a huge marvel. So lively.
Lots of info and history to sink in for SF. We are very glad that we chose to take quite a bit of touristy things so that we could get a better flavour in a more quick way. It really worked. We now know how difficult and how exciting it is to live in such a large, busy and overly crowded place. Tomorrow we leave for Disneyland and hopefully we will be able to visit there but it's very close to American Thanksgiving and there may be too many visitors to stay there. We'll see.
Toodles jand g

Leaving Corvallis

We are headed for San Fran today after visiting with cousins in Corvallis, Oregon. We had such a lovely time here in the valley between the mountains. What a beautiful place and had a great time getting to know our new relatives on this side of the world. Very hospitable and I got new jammies from them as I've seemed to have left my nightshirt somewhere in the netherworld.
We took a trip up into the rainforest of Oregon at Silver Falls State Park and walked for a few hours through the dense wetness. Great exercise. Couldn't believe all the new vegetation and all the moss growing everywhere, as well as, numerous mushrooms we've never seen before. Today it is raining buckets. We will try to make it to San Francisco in about 2 days. We'll see. More later.
J

A great big goodbye to the girls.

We will very much miss our two special little munchkins Jennifer and Jessica from Washington. You are great little ones. Keep growing!
Love Gerhard and JoAnne
xoxox

Seattle, Downtown

Hi guys, This is the downtown Seattle monorail building. Inside is a large mall with an eatery upstairs beside the doors to enter for the monorail. We took the monorail to the Seattle needle to view the city from up high. During the summer, all around the needle, are several rides and exhibitions to view. It's a great place to spend the day.

We also toured the downtown area where a place called "Pikes Place Market" is established and runs daily selling anything and everything you've ever wanted - not needed however. A very cool place. The people were so nice in the city.

We also spent a day touring Tacoma. We visited the court house, the art museum, the glass museum and the most favourite of all, the U of Washington's campus bookstore. On another day we went back into Tacoma to the Tacoma Dome to go through their beads and precious stones event.

The rest of the week we hung out with Darrin, Kristie (G's nephew and niece) and the girls. We had a great time visiting with the whole family as Laura, Gerhard's sister, came over to stay, as well as, Chris and Tanya (other nephew and niece). We had a great time loving up their dog and taking her for long walks. A huge family affair. Just like an early Xmas. We are headed today to Corvallis, Oregon to visit with Helga and husband, G's cousin. Hopefully we can get more family background stuff straightened out. We are holding off a bit to give the huge fires near Los Angeles time to clear of the smoke so that we can visit Disneyland, which is near to there.

Both of us are healthy and ready to be on the road again.

J

Sounds Like Fun

Hi Guys,

Well sounds like a wonderful journey, we've been having some west coast weather here at home as well. Love the coast,sounds like such a beautiful place. Jo and I are off to Calgary this weekend for a visit, both wishing we were on a journey through the states, with winter hovering over us. Great reading the news, have a blast. Waiting for your next update.

Trev Jo

In Washington, Lakewood

Change of plans again. Changes are constant - must flow with the wind. We are here in Lakewood, Washington, about 30 miles outside of Seattle. We stayed out first night in a campground and then came more south a bit to stay with Darren and Kristie and children in Lakewood. Will take a bus from here to Seattle for sightseeing either today or tomorrow. Still raining. Ahh, the west coast.

Outside of Seattle

Just landed outside of Seattle in a little city called Bellevue. We are staying at a campground, year round, near Seattle. Will take a bus into the city tomorrow to spend the day. Am now going swimming and to the spa.
Didn't make it to Victoria. Seemed no one was available so we will catch up with them another time. Onto the pool.

Today in Vancouver

Look at me. This is my first try at posting a picture. Paul, our nephew, helped me. He's great! Today, we visited Granville Island, a great place to visit for the day. All the markets, stores, cafes, museums that you want to shop at and more people to bump elbows with just like a sardine can. What a visit. Wally and Doreen took us downtown and even drove. Spoiled us terribly. This is downtown Vancouver. I've actually never been there before. Supper high apartment buildings with water busses that will take you back and forth to home and shopping. Never need a car if you live anywhere near to here. Wish you could be here - oh well, we're leaving. Next stop, Seattle. xoxo

In Richmond. BC

What's up with the weather? I guess people in BC are used to the rain - understatement of the year. We came out of the mountains Thursday evening - delayed a day due to a jack-knifed 18 wheeler on the Allison mountain pass and, of course, snow. Landed in Hope, BC, a small town of 8 thousand where the movie "Rambo, First Blood" was filmed. From there we took the number 1 highway into the coast. Our lovely little female attendant, Selena, our GPS device, decided to take us on a convoluted course which ended us in a 1 and 1/2 hour traffic stall. Jeesh! Gotta love that new technology.
Finally found Carl's place around supper and have been here for two days. Yesterday we took a drive around the whole of Richmond - a beautiful place and easy to navigate. We ended up on the seaside wharf tourist/shopping/dining place and stopped for lunch. Dipped our hands into the pacific for prosperity. Had supper with Carl, partner Anne and her parents and son. Lovely evening. Today we supper with Wally, G's brother and his family. Heading off to Granville island today some time. Could be the long weekend effect, we don't know, but there seems to be less traffic around.
It's like being in another world here with the weather. Green leaves still on plants, trees that I've never seen before, warmth that doesn't need a winter coat. Very strange. Even in the valleys of our travels lately, we've found such a diverse range of differences that astound and surprise us.
We have been away from home for a time now. We miss you all.
Hopefully, I'm not rambling on. If I do, just inform me. cheers!!

The city of Osoyoos

Well we've been around the small town of Osoyoos and there are a couple of very special things to see here. The first and most interesting is a warehouse turned into a world of villages all made by hand which includes toy trains and the like. A family from Denmark moved here 30 years ago and began to build different worlds revolved around trains. It takes him about three years to complete one small corner village with tracks, homes, mountains etc. It is truly amazing.
The second most famous place, well not really famous, here is the Home Hardware store. All you handy men and women would appreciate it. Everyone else as well. It has just about everything you could imagine and it a replica of an old fashioned hardware store just off the sidewalk. Four floors, a million things and very friendly people.
So, now that we've seen the best in this city, we are going to try and leave tomorrow. The temps are supposed to be higher up in the mountains and if we time it right, about 2 up there, we should be able to cross over successfully.
Oh yeah, this is the very first time in my life, when we've come across a hotel that said "heated pool" that there has actually been a heated pool. It's body temp and so getting in is very comfortable. This is the life (as long as Jo doesn't have to live in the mountains).

Snowed in at Osoyoos, Bc

We're stuck in the valley between two mountain ranges. Can't get out due to icy road and snow conditions so we are in the hotel until the mountain passes are cleared and safe to travel. It is a beautiful town here so we will try to find some museums and things to do for another day to again check on the passes for tomorrow.
We left Cranbrook yesterday to travel several mountain passes which were all in the clouds and full of snow and ice. It was not a very good day for me. I just wanted to go home. Finally we made it over them going about 40 kms. It took us 7 hours to drive 400 kms. It's different than travelling in Europe in the mountains because it's so moist and when the clouds hang over the top, there is a constant snow fall.
We did have a lovely trip along the number 3 highway all the way into Creston - pretty flat and through the valley all the way. It was after Creston that the mountains start and we didn't know for the first mountain that we could have taken a ferry to avoid it but nowhere did we see a sign or info on the ferry.
We went through several orchard towns, all still with their leaves on the trees and so quaint looking. Very mild weather, hot, and laid out to look like little fairytale villages. Here in osoyoos, the wineries are plentiful, the weather is usually hotter and so we have rain today instead of snow. An odd phenomenon. Again, more delays - such is the way of the travellers.

Sounds Good you 2

Hi guys,

Glad your having fun and heading west. Hope the roads are as good as the company you've had. Have fun, thinking of you and watching for your updates.

Trev

Nov. 3 Medicine Hat, AB

Heh there ladies and gentlemen,
We have been busy seeing places/things and family/friends from Wpg to Medicine Hat. Visited the spa in Moose Jaw. Great place - we would highly recommend a visit. The town of Moose Jaw is a hidden jewel in the land of SK. Who knew SK was hiding such a quaint and lovely little place. Lots to see and do for such a small place. We stayed for a few days with G's cousins, Elmer and Phyllis, in Moose Jaw and had a lovely time - lots of laughter and many talks about the Sommerfeld family.
Stopped into Regina before that to see David - our soon to be family RCMP officer. Next on the road was Medicine Hat where we are staying with friends that we knew from our days in Elm Creek.
As is usually the case, set out plans are best left ready to be changed because we find that we having been staying and doing things a bit here and there and have changed our minds many times already. Such is the way the world turns. Tomorrow we will head out for Richmond BC and to Carl's place to stay in Vancouver for a bit.
Love to you all, J and G

Tuesday, 08

Setting out for Regina and then to the Spa in Moosejaw. Need to relax and destress before we start our trip. Does this sound a bit backwards? Don't you usually relax after a long trip? We didn't say that we were normal.