Added Google maps

We just added an interactive Google map on the left side of the blog that will show the route that we are currently on (just click the link below the map to see the entire map). We also added links to Google maps of our 2009 and the 1st half of 2010 travels.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Mimi's Cafe and Desert Botanical Garden

In case you have not noticed food is a very important part of a full-timers life, or at least these full-timers, and those that know us from before we were full-timers know that it was important then too. We try to work eating out around our errands and our sightseeing. The first question may be where are we going but the first or second question is always where are we going to eat as we sometimes plan our outings around where we want to eat.

We planned our eating out at Mimi's Cafe this time because of a coupon for free muffins with a breakfast entree. Mimi's has one of the best e-Clubs that you will find. We are always getting 'buy 1 breakfast get 1 free' coupons or '$5 off of a $15 check' or 'free muffins with a breakfast entree' coupons. We eat at Mimi's because the food is great, the pumpkin pancakes are terrific, three or four varieties of Eggs Benedict all of which are good, omelets and breakfast sandwiches are also good. With some meals you get a muffin and the carrot nut raisin is our favorite. All meals come with juice which is a nice touch.

After Mimi's we headed to the Desert Botanical Garden, a 145 acre site that provides education, research, exhibition and conservation of desert plants of the world with emphasis on the southwestern United States bringing to life the many wonders of the desert. We visited about 20 years ago and were amazed at how much more had been added. There is an additional 65 acres under cultivation and new exhibits planned so like the desert the Desert Botanical Garden is always growing albeit slowly. We really liked that a lot of the plants were labeled and we were amazed about how many agave varieties there are. This is a highly enjoyable, informative site that should be on everybody's list that visits this area.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Paradise Bakery and White Tank Mountain Regional Park

For those familiar with the Panera Bread Co. Paradise Bakery is like Panera on steroids. Same sort of menu and the food is as good or better than Panera but with one added bonus; a chocolate chip cookie with each sandwich. Our favorite sandwich there has to be the turkey cranberry; sliced turkey and cheese with a glob of whole cranberry sauce. Our favorite soup is the tomato basil. Paradise Bakery is mostly out west but there are locations in Indiana, Kansas and Texas. We highly recommend Paradise Bakery so if you get the chance do not hesitate to eat there.

We then went to the White Tank Mountain Regional Park which has a size of 30,000 acres and offers approximately 25 miles of shared-use trails. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains on the Valleys west side. The range, deeply serrated with ridges and canyons, rises sharply from its base to peak at over 4,000 feet. Infrequent heavy rains cause flash floodwaters to plunge through the canyons and pour onto the plain. These torrential flows, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or tanks, in the white granite rock below, thus giving the mountains their name.

We visited the Nature Center and walked the Waterfall Trail which is about 1 mile one way. There was some water from a recent rain but not enough for a waterfall which would have been here. There was another trail where some of the plants were identified. This park is so close we may go there again.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Time can get away from you

Time is relative, we do not care what anybody says. When were were kids the three months of summer vacation flew by but it was forever from one Christmas to the next. When we were working and as we got older time started to speed up. Then we retired and it sped up again but time really went into warp speed once we started full-timing.

Because time can get away from you when it is traveling so fast we are glad Bob is still task oriented. We got to think about this when we wished some friends of ours a happy anniversary and the friend replied we must have had that on our task list. Those that know may be surprised when they hear that it was not on his task list he just happened to see the event on his calendar. We thought about it more when Bob recently scheduled all the maintenance items for this new year.

What he uses the task list for is mainly the recurring maintenance items like the once monthly 'exercising' of the generator and the checking of the smoke and LP/CO detectors. When it comes due on the task list Bob swears that it was just done last week but that would be incorrect. Maintenance items that happen every three months like cleaning the refrigerator and water heater vented areas at first thought were just last month until the task list is checked.

Without the task list maintenance items that need to be done regularly would be done less frequently so the lesson learned is that there always is a place for a task list and calendar even when you are retired and full-timing.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Added current location to blog

To make it an easier experience to follow along with us as we traverse the country and to keep tabs on our current location we have added our current location to the left pane of our blog via an AccuWeather.com widget.

We hope everyone has a great and fulfilling New Year!!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo