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