Flickr Updated

We have corrected some permission issues so that more photos should be viewable by all in our photos on flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/, especially some of the Canada photos and the big fish caught by Mark and Gerry. We bet they thought we did not want them seen : )

We also added sets for our stays in Texas (Livingston and Rockport) and historical pictures from Clearwater Beach Florida.

Another blog update has been the recent addition of the visited states map. We are in Deming New Mexico now so we added another state. Stay tuned for changes to the visited states and other updates I have planned.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Our fifth wheel is no longer a virgin

Our Cameo now has its first scrape : (

We were pulling into a site yesterday that is about as wide as some of the pull thrus that we have been in but this one was for two RVs AND to make it even worse there was a tin sheet roof canopy. This is when the comedy of errors began:

- we saw how narrow and shuddered but did either one of us think to get the spotter out of the trunk, NO!
- as we got closer it was so narrow we collapsed the mirrors on the truck but did either one of us think to get the spotter out of the trunk, NO!
- Bob even made the comment that he could not see a dang thing but did either one of us think to get the spotter out of the trunk, NO!

Then we heard the scraping noise and guess what, we finally got out of the truck : )

We scraped the side of our Carriage Cameo and the bathroom window. Turns out Bob had not turned wide enough to navigate the turn. Bob backed up and with the aid of his very capable spotter was able to pull thru successfully. Now we get to figure out how to get it repaired.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Rockport 2009 Review

As we ponder our month in Rockport, Texas at the Watersedge RV Park we certainly have mixed emotions. Being new to the full-timing lifestyle we thought that a month in an area would be enough and it probably would except for the fact that two-thirds of the days were rainy, cold, foggy, cloudy, or all the above. The weather reports we got from friends and family up north, however, did put things into perspective though because when we say cold here we are talking about 40’s and 50’s during the day and near freezing over night, not the frigid temperatures in Iowa or Missouri nor the double digit snowfall totals. We really picked a good first winter to be gone from all that!!

We generally have a shortlist of things we want to do in an area before we arrive and then plan on getting more information from the other folks at the RV Park and from visitor centers. Because of the weather we were only able to do a few things on the sightseeing list. Although the sightseeing was disappointing and the weather was not what we expected we still had a great time. Our condo on wheels is comfortable to live in even if you have to be stuck in it for a couple of straight days due to rain. We are able to make all kinds of meals in our kitchen as we get used to cooking with propane on the stovetop and oven and a convection oven.

One thing we like to do is play games and we bought a new dice game called Farkle and have played that a couple of times while cooped in along with cribbage. The television in the living room is a great high definition LCD that is so bright we can have the blinds up and still see the screen. As early adopters of high definition television we had a rear projection screen that the room had to absolutely dark or the screen suffered. Having natural light, even if it was a cloudy dreary natural light, also helped us feel less closed in.

Not wanting to go anywhere when it was raining a few of the nice days were spent on errands, generally shopping at Wal-Mart. One adjustment we have had to make is grocery shopping. No longer can we buy mass quantities so we end up going to a Wal-Mart or a grocery store a lot. So by the time you deal with the Wal-Mart mess and eating out either before or after Wal-Mart and then putting the groceries up you have pretty much killed a day. On those days if the weather was nice we sat in our lawn chairs and read our books or walked down to the water and out on the 500’ fishing pier that the park has. We even have taken our books out there and just sat there and read, when the wind picks up though it can get quite chilly due to the water temperature in the low 50’s. We also do not like to cram things into a day, we prefer a more leisurely pace, and we are retired after all. So we probably could have done more on the few nice days but decided early on that if we cannot see everything in the area there is always the next time we are there.

This report will have one noticeable difference from previous and hopefully future entries; the list for next time will be greater than the list completed. This is such a great area we plan on coming back again in the near future, maybe not next year as we are contemplating a winter in Florida.

One thing we noticed right away about the restaurants in the area is that fresh grouper was hard to find. We have been on the gulf coast before in Clearwater Beach and fresh grouper was everywhere and it became one of our favorites. In Rockport fresh shrimp and fresh oysters were dominant so we ate a lot of both of them. A general recommendation for the area would be to find a place where you can get seafood fresh from the boats. We found Alby’s on Hwy 35 near our park and this place will also end up on the restaurant list below because some of the best po boys we have ever eaten have been from this place, along with fresh oysters by the pint (20-24 depending on size) and by the quart or gallon. Another recommendation is to stop at a roadside produce stand where you can get locally grown produce, especially grapefruit. We bought a lot at Jimmy Woods Produce also on 35. If you like fruitcake around the holidays there is no place better than the Rockport Bakery also on 35.

Top places to eat

* Charlotte Plummers – the numerous times we ate here we could not get past ordering the oyster stew. It must be the fresh oysters because this was the best oyster stew we have ever had. The shrimp quesadilla appetizer with fresh shrimp and a mild pico de gallo was wonderful and the salad bar featured fresh vegetables and salads.

* Alby’s – as mentioned above some of the best po boys we have ever had. We could not get past the po boys to try one of the platters which looked good. Alby’s boiled our shrimp for our New Year’s evening celebration continuing a tradition for Jo began many years ago. This is truly a dive with no indoor seating, just a couple of picnic tables in front of the building. Also have to consider it a grocery store also since you could buy already prepared items like crawfish fettuccine, shrimp scampi ravioli, and crab ravioli which were quite tasty when we took them back to warm up, along with countless pints of fresh oysters.

* Big Fisherman – everything is big at the Big Fisherman in nearby Port Aransas. We each got a mini platter the first time we went there which was fried fish, fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, stuffed crab and brought back enough fish for another meal. The regular sized platter is enough for two and adds oysters and scallops to the mix. But the big draw at the Big Fisherman is Tuesdays where you can get all you can eat chicken fried steak or chicken livers or gizzards for $2.25! Yeah you read it right, $2.25!! Our second trip was for this special and let me tell you everybody, and I mean everybody, was there that day. This was not the manhole cover sized chicken fried steak but it was good, certainly well worth the price. The chicken livers were also not the best but certainly some of the better ones we have had.

* Alice Faye’s on the Bay – close enough that if the weather is nice you could walk to this fine place to eat. This is the first place we ate at and had the fresh oysters in the area for the first time here, actually oyster shooters instead of on the half shell. The po boys are plain, just seafood and bread, but the fresh oysters and shrimp still make it a good sandwich. Probably the best bargain at Alice Faye’s though has to be the 2fer breakfast, 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, and 2 pieces of bacon for $3.

* Landry’s – in Corpus Christi at the marina is one of the better seafood places to eat and being so close to the fresh seafood does not hurt. Jo got a tilapia special of the day and Bob got the pasta with shrimp and mussels and both were good. The same quality and freshness are there whether you are at Corpus Christi near the ocean or inland at Branson Missouri.

Also ate at

* Bar-B-Que Shack – reminds us of the shack which used to be at about 85^th and Troost near where we both worked in Kansas City except this one had no inside seating, in fact there may have been no seating at all nearby. While driving along Hwy 35 we kept seeing a line at this place at lunch time so decided to give it a try. Very good brisket sandwich and sausage was also very good. Beans were a little disappointing, just pinto beans with nothing else. If the beans were better it might have made the best places to eat list. It is located right next to the Rockport Bakery.

* China A – we decided to try this super buffet based on rave reviews from other park attendees and online. Although it was good, some of the best frog legs either one of us have had, we came away a little disappointed. We went for the evening meal because fresh oysters on the half shell were on the buffet. After all the great oysters these were not that good, maybe they sat out too long or something else but we just could not eat them. Most of the dishes were also too hot for our tastes. Other than the oysters what we had, avoiding the hot dishes which unfortunately were some of our favorites, was pretty good. The boiled shrimp was very good. We may try this again the next time in the area because neither one of us got a steak which is supposed to be good and we neglected to try the crab legs which were also on the evening buffet.

* Whataburger – got our first breakfast on a bun which had been recommended to us by a friend when he heard we were traveling to Texas.

* JJ’s Café – in Rockport serves a good country breakfast and good burgers.

Sightseeing

* Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – turns out the second time was a charm. We chose a day that was significantly cooler than our first trip to the “mosquito” National Wildlife Refuge. So instead of shorts and short sleeved t-shirts we were in jeans and jackets sprayed with repellent versus no repellent the first time. Being able to hit the trails and the elevated boardwalk really helped us see wildlife, especially the whooping cranes. Although the pair was too far for our camera we were able to spot them with our binoculars and the spotting scopes provide on the boardwalk. This was a real treat as there are only about 400 in the wild.

* USS Lexington - an aircraft carrier the same class of ship that Bob's dad served on that is a museum in Corpus Christi. It was an honor to walk the same types of halls and stairwells that his dad traversed. Speaking of the stairwells we could not believe how steep and how little head room there was. Make sure you stop at the library where a great collection of books resides and the volunteer we talked to there was very interesting. We took a lot longer than average because there is so much to see and read about.

* Fulton Mansion – built in 1877 we were surprised to see flush toilets, the first indoor running water in the area. The construction of the house was amazing, when a hurricane hit the area after it was built the house served as the storm shelter for the entire town. Part of the windmill blade is embedded in the tree behind the Fulton Mansion which we did not see due to the many mosquitoes that day.

* Big Water – There is something very soothing about being on the coastland of big water like the Gulf Coast so we took a trip to Corpus Christi and drove along the Gulf and walked around the marina. Rockport is on the Aransas Bay protected by the St. Joseph barrier island from the Gulf but still big enough water to have harbors at Rockport and nearby Fulton. Seeing the shrimp boats and fishing boats head out and come back with their catch is quite a site. Watersedge RV Park also had a private 500’ fishing pier that we spent some time on just watching the water and pelicans.

Next time

The first thing we will do the next time we are in the area is stop by the Chamber of Commerce and get the handout, “51 things to do in the area”. Here are some of the things we did not get a chance to do because of the weather.

* Rockport Historical District, Rockport Beach Park, Aquarium and Maritime Museum.

* Oysterfest in March

* Connie Hagar Wildlife Refuge

* Texas Aquarium in Corpus Christi

* Historical Walking/Driving Tour – pickup the CD at the Chamber of Commerce

* See the windmill blade that is embedded in the tree behind the Fulton Mansion due to a hurricane in 1919.

* More bird watching, Rockport is along the Texas Coastal Birding Trail and the Chamber of Commerce has a birding guide for the area plus there are guided bird watching tours every week.

* Goose Island State Park with a 1,000 year old tree that was called the Meeting Tree

* Schoenstatt Shrine

* Stella Maris Chapel; the first church built in Aransas County still stands

* More restaurants to try; The Boiling Pot, Bakery Café in Aransas Pass, Fins in Port Aransas, Spaghetti Works in Port Aransas, Bellinos, Pier 99 near the USS Lexington and Aquarium.

We have a couple of winter spots to check out before we come back to the Rockport area but we do plan on spending an entire winter there hoping for better weather.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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We tricked the weatherman!

Unseasonably bad weather seemed to follow us as we progressed from the Kansas City area to Branson to Livingston to Rockport to San Antonio to where we are now in Kerrville in the Texas Hill Country. We do know that we picked a great first winter to be away from the Kansas City area since that area got hit pretty hard nor would we have wanted to be in central Iowa where Bob's family lives because they got hit even harder. If the snow and cold was not bad enough now they are dealing with freezing dense fog that causes black ice in some spots.

So we know that we were fortunate for the 20-40 degree improvement but we did get a little tired of talking with fellow campers at each place we were at who said that the have been coming to this area for years and this is the absolute worst that they have seen. We got tired of record or near record lows for the area. But the worst part is that the weather for a time always seemed better where we came from than where we currently were.

As you know we planned to leave Kerrville yesterday on January 18th and continue our trek towards Phoenix. We had asked to extend our stay but the extension was from a week to a months stay and sites along the river were not available. Last weekend we asked just how long we could extend and found out it was for 5 nights so we jumped at the chance. The weatherman thinking that we were heading to Phoenix gave them highs only in the 50's, Phoenix was in the 70's while all the rest of us were dealing with record lows, plus there is rain in the forecast every day this week. Contrast that to Kerrville where we will be enjoying highs in the 70's and sun for the rest of our stay.

We know that eventually the weatherman will find us but for now it sure was good to pull one over on him.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Westward Ho!

We are working on our Rockport Texas review and hope to have that out shortly but it is taking longer than expected so we thought we would give this brief status update.

We left Rockport on January 4th for a week about 12 miles south of San Antonio. As we have mentioned before we like being somewhere a lot more than we like going somewhere so on our jaunt from Rockport Texas to Phoenix Arizona we decided to go some place and stay a few days instead of just heading out each day. After a week we headed to north of San Antonio about 60 miles in the Texas Hill Country in Kerrville where we are staying at our new favorite RV park, the Guadalupe River RV Park, http://www.guadaluperiverrvresort.com/ where we are backed up to the river.

The cats, JJ, Sandra and Tiger, really like the back in sites because we can leave the shades up a little in the back at night. This park has the most wildlife of any of the parks we have been, there are countless birds, squirrels, and about 20 deer roaming the park. For us humans there are walking trails and swinging benches along the river.

Traveling with cats has been interesting. Although they adjusted faster than we did to our new home they don't like moving day either. Any change of routine alerts JJ and he hides. We first had to shut the closet doors so he could not get to his secret room, the storage area under the window seat that he can get to from the closet under the washer dryer. We lock and block the sliding doors for travel and would not want him in his secret room for the whole day of travel. We struggled with where to put the cats during transit and so far have put them in bedroom after we put the slideout in. We always wondered where the cats rode out the trip, Tiger is generally on the window seat looking out or on the bed. The first couple of trips Tiger got herself caught between the shade and the window above the window seat. Jo does the indoor setup while Bob is doing the outdoor setup. Jo saw Tiger trapped and thought she was dead. It took an effort to get her out but she did it again the next time so now we put the shade all the way up. Sandra must be on the floor because we can never see her, and it wasn't until we go to south of San Antonio that we learned that JJ crawls under the bed. Since the bed slides in and out we now shut the bedroom door so he can't get under the bed until the slideout is in and then we have to wait once we get there for him to get out from under the bed. With no other hiding spots available JJ hides in the recliner so Bob has to get on his hands and knees and lift the foot rest and drag him out. JJ goes in first and then the girls, both of which know something is going on but don't try to hide. This last trip was so cute, slideout was in, JJ was put in bedroom and then Bob picked up Tiger. Sandra knowing where she was going walked into the bedroom on her own. By her posture and gait you could tell she was not happy about it but still we thought that it was cute that she did it on her own.

We do have to say we are now living the dream for sure, that full-timing is great. It feels like on vacation most of the time and when we have to do chores it does not take as long as the house and yard did. We still are a little pooped after the big house cleaning days but we can now do the entire place at one time. In the two months since we left the Kansas City area we have already seen sites that have been on our list of things to do for a long time like the Alamo in San Antonio, the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, and the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg Texas which is so good and filled with so much information it took us 2 days to go through. Luckily the entrance fee was good for 48 hours. Fredericksburg is a small town of German ancestry that has a really good German restaurant, Der Lindenbaum, that we ate at. We also have been in Branson which we have done before but never in an RV.

The Texas Hill Country is interesting in the winter but incredible in the spring with the wildflowers and we wish we could stay longer at the Guadalupe River RV Park longer but no river sites are available so we are heading westward on January 18th for Pecos Texas. We are rapidly becoming aware that no matter how much time you allow for an area you could always use more time so we will always have a list of things to do the next time we are in the area.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Still in Rockport, Texas

We are still in Rockport, Texas and are finally able to enjoy the area. Of the first 15 days we were here 14 and ½ of them were rainy, cold, foggy, cloudy, or all the above. While it was raining we worked on the historical review of our many trips to Albuquerque, New Mexico but to be honest we were getting a little stir crazy. We began this journey we thought rationally knowing that every day was not going to be 70º and sunny but 15 straight days of YUK was beginning to drag us down. It got so bad that after a while that even looking at the freezing temperatures up north would not console us. That is the way this roughly 3 month journey has been, every time we start feeling good about this lifestyle change then something happens to pull us back.

But then the weather broke and we are now in our 5^th straight day of temperatures in the mid to high 60’s which we hear from the regular visitors to the area is pretty much normal for this time of the year. We have to say this has done wonders for our attitude and has allowed us to get out and walk around the park and along the bay. We went to a market day at the Rockport harbor and walked around the Rockport Historical District. Yesterday we went to the Mosquito National Wildlife Refuge, oops it was the Aransas NWR, but the mosquitoes were thick and we were without repellent. We got out of the car and immediately Bob’s legs were black with mosquitoes, it looked like he had pants on. We thought the mosquitoes were bad in Canada and although they are probably bigger they seemed more aggressive here. Remember the 14 days of rain while the entire area is one big swamp now. Needless to say this turned into a driving tour and although we saw an Aplomado Falcon which is fairly rare it was pretty much a bust otherwise. We wanted to see the Whooping Cranes which winter at Aransas but we would have had to gotten out of the car.

One thing the weather has not impacted and that is our ability to find good places to eat and we would like to tell you about a couple. We will publish a full review of the Rockport area after we leave but wanted to mention Alby’s which is a fresh seafood market that also is a carryout restaurant. The po boys are some of the best we have had and the fresh oysters are incredible. One meal was crawfish fettuccine and shrimp scampi ravioli which were both tasty. Surprisingly a very good southwest chicken salad is also available. The other place is Charlotte Plummers which served up a very good shrimp quesadilla and the very best oyster stew we have had.

We still have some sightseeing to do and it may be a stretch to work it all in since we had about a month of sightseeing planned out and now only 15 days or so to see it all, ah to be a full-timer.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Albuquerque (Historical 1980-2007)

Both of us have traveled to Albuquerque on business on a number of occasions so you might find it surprising when we say it also is a great place to vacation. The following is a compilation of all of our trips, both business and vacation.

The first thing we like to talk about in any area is generally the food and Albuquerque is no exception. Albuquerque is smack dab in the middle of “chile” country and the dominant cuisine is “New Mexican” a variation of Mexican but it is not Mexican or Tex-Mex or what we call gringo. “New Mexican” is a style all its own and our favorite of the numerous Mexican cuisines. That is not to say that other cuisines are not represented because they are, in fact one of Bob’s favorite Italian restaurants of all time, Vivace, is in Albuquerque.

When talking about New Mexican cuisine the first thing you have to mention is the chiles, either green chile or red chile depending on the stage of ripeness in which the New Mexican chile peppers were picked. Green chile has to be the defining ingredient of New Mexican food since you can order it with just about anything from the expected tacos, enchiladas and burritos to omelets, to cheeseburgers and pizzas. The prevalent New Mexican soup is a green chile stew that is a heavenly potato, meat and green chile concoction. Make no mistake we are talking chile with an E and not an I. This is also not to be confused with chile which is a red or green sauce that is used over tacos, enchiladas, burritos, in fact just about anything. If states had official questions New Mexico’s official state question would be ‘red or green?’ Green chile sauce is made from peppers not fully ripened that are fire roasted and red chile sauce is made from ripened peppers. Mixing red and green chile sauce results in a sauce the locals call “Christmas”.

A good question for you to ask when ordering is which sauce is hotter that day because it can vary tremendously from day to day and a good recommendation for a newbie is to get the sauce on the side so you can gauge the flavor and hotness because we are not talking gringo hot here. Consider ordering both so you can figure out your answer to the state’s official question. One question we have never gotten a satisfactory answer to how the roasters know the heat of the peppers. We have been at farmers markets when they are roasting freshly picked chile peppers and there will be choices of hot or medium or mild from peppers pulled from the same gunny sack. A good time to visit New Mexico is during chile roasting season which depends on the harvest dates but generally is in late August and September and this is a great time to vacation there with the temperatures being nice in mid to late September. Other notable differences in the New Mexican cuisine are the side dishes that instead of rice you get potatoes, generally papitas which are little cubes of fried potatoes, and instead of refried beans you get whole beans.

We just have to mention a couple of dishes that are unique to this style of cooking. One of our favorite dishes is a chile relleno, what makes the chile relleno unique for this area is that the New Mexican chile pepper is used, not the poblano used elsewhere. A chile relleno is a whole green chile stuffed with cheese, dipped in an egg batter, and deep fried. One of the best chile rellenos we have ever had was at La Salita on Eubank. Breakfast burritos also have the New Mexican flair with potatoes & green chile in addition to the usual meat, egg and cheese. We have traveled all over the country but the only place we ever get asked the question flat or rolled enchiladas is in New Mexico. The traditional flat enchilada is covered with, you guessed it, chile sauce and cheese and optionally a fried egg and can be made with a blue corn enchilada. Huevos rancheros are a favorite of Bob which are fried eggs with chile sauce, cheese, papitas and tortillas. Carne adovada, pork marinated in red chile sauce, is also a local favorite. Finally we offer the sopaipilla, a piece of fried bread that is usually served with honey as a dessert. The corner is bitten off and honey drizzled throughout. But that is not the only use for a sopaipilla which is sometimes served with soup and can also be stuffed like a burrito.

New Mexican cuisine is so unique that we felt like the first timer needed an extensive overview. We apologize for the amount of coverage and in no way want to give the impression that food is the only reason to visit this area. The Albuquerque area is full of sightseeing opportunities with the perhaps the biggest attraction being the yearly International Balloon Fiesta in October. The Balloon Fiesta is not the only attraction though, in the city there is a nice Biopark (zoo, botanic garden, aquarium & aquatic park) that one ticket gets you into all, plus the zoo is reciprocal with a lot of zoo memberships across the country so we got in free for all attractions with our Kansas City Friends of the Zoo membership. Old Town is also neat to visit for old buildings, especially the old church, San Felipe de Neri, which has been there since 1793. No visit to Albuquerque would be complete without visiting the Sandia Mountains and taking a ride on the tram, which is the world’s longest aerial tram at 2.7 miles long. You can dine at the base of the tram at Sandiagos or at the top of the tram at High Finance but let us warn you as the tram goes higher so does your restaurant bill. Both places serve great food with excellent views. New Mexico is the 5^th largest state and has one of the lowest populations so there is a lot wide open spaces to explore. Bird watchers can have a great time in the nearby Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. A day trip to consider is to visit historic Los Alamos with the drive in the mountains there breathtaking. On your way back to Albuquerque from Los Alamos visit the cliff dwellings at Bandelier National Monument and continue past Bandelier and take the back way on Route 4 through the where you will see a huge caldera from a long ago volcanic eruption. Santa Fe is a day trip away but really deserves more time so a future blog entry will be about our adventures in Santa Fe.

Best New Mexican – there is no bad restaurants in this category, there are just some better than others. This is our attempt at the current list of the better than others but there are great places everywhere in town.

* La Salita – currently the place that if we could eat only one meal this would be the place. Located in a tiny place at the end of a strip mall on Eubank and a new location on Coors Blvd. everything on the menu has been excellent from the best chile relleno in town to the best sopaipillas. You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu.

* Hello Deli – to us the best breakfast burrito in town.

* Monroe's – been in business since the early 60’s so they must be doing something right. Had green chile meatloaf there one night that was terrific but not on the regular menu.

* Los Cuates – large menu but the huevos rancheros and carne adovada are the highlights.

* Cervantes – close to where the business part of our trip was but worth the drive even if it was not close.

* El Pinto – ambiance with outdoor seating is the draw here but the food is excellent too so best of both worlds. Only place we know of that offers mild green chile sauce in addition to the hot.

* Sadies – at one time, when it was in the bowling alley, it was our favorite place in town. Moved to a new location near the bowling alley and had some growing pains which unfortunately was during one of our trips. Understand that it has gotten better again so we shall see our next time in town.

* Taco Sal – truly a dive but some of the best New Mexican we have had, probably the best stuffed sopaipilla that we have had.

Best alternatives – sometimes green chile three times a day can get to you if you know what we mean.

* Vivace – as mentioned before this is a great little Italian restaurant, try the puttanesca.

* Tuscanos Brazilian Grill – a Brazillian steakhouse in downtown Albuquerque but not as expensive as others

* Christy's – a sandwich place only open for lunch, try the avocado BLT

* Pelican – surf and turf kinda place but we usually just get the turf. The blackened prime rib is excellent and Bob had one of the best rib eye steaks he has ever had.

* Lin’s Buffet – if you just have to have Chinese and a lot of it.

* Gyros Mediterranean – for a great gyro sandwich.

Chain Restaurants in the area – there are some that denigrate the chain restaurant and will not eat there if possible but for the full-timing couple the familiar food and surroundings that a chain restaurant offers is very appealing. Some of our favorites that are in the area

* Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen – try the pasta madri gras and oysters on the half shell are priced reasonably. If you know my friend malex then you need to call him when you are in the restaurant and let him know where you are.

* Rudy’s Bar-B-Que – out of Texas this place serves up some of the best brisket we have ever tasted. Like the fact that you can order your brisket extra lean. Love the t-shirt worn by workers and sold there that says, “I did not climb all the way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables” or something like that.

* Lubys Cafeteria – good homestyle cooking served cafeteria style at a reasonable price

* Landry's – ate with some friends in Branson and really liked so decided to give it a try in Corpus Christi and both times have been excellent, along with a long ago visit at the Albuquerque location.

* Cracker Barrel – breakfast served all day, great RV parking, this is a great chain and welcome sign for full-timers.

Hate to see that they are closed

* Ron’s El Camino Real – may have been the best carne adovada known to man.

* Carraba's – one of our all time favorite places to eat, the Chicken Bryan is divine and probably the best sirloin steak Bob has ever had.

* Rockfish – decided to try it the first time thinking it was a Bonefish that we always wanted to eat at but was very happy with the food no matter what it is called

Next time – from the above it looks like we have a lot of eating to do the next time we go to Albuquerque. Add to the list the following which we have compiled but never tried yet.

* Barelas Coffee House

* Weck's

* Dos Hermanos

* Eloys

* Ttrombones

* Monte Carlo Steakhouse

* Sophia’s Place

* Cecilia's

* Standard Diner

We know we have left off some great places to eat and places to see but hope this entry helps you decide to spend more time in Albuquerque rather than just passing through on I-25 or I-44.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Our first Christmas while full-timing

Although we have traveled to Clearwater Beach Florida before at this time of the year it sure is a different experience knowing that our stay will last longer than a week or so. But we are sure we will adapt as it is cold and snowing in our old stomping grounds of the Kansas City area right now while it is 72 degrees here. We are still at Watersedge RV Park in Rockport Texas and will be until January 4th and as you can see from the photo we are literally on the waters edge. We only had to walk a few steps to take this photo.

That is not to say that it has not been cold here. A couple of days after we got here the temperatures got to near freezing and we saw some snow flurries during the day. It snowed much more inland but we are so close to the water that it dampened the effect. No matter how much snow you get or don't get it still is very nice to watch it snow all day from the warmth of our new home and not have to worry about going somewhere. All day long we were using the furnace since it was too cold to run the heat pump. About 10p that night we started getting a little chilly and only then realized that the furnace had not run for a while. Bob made sure there was propane and tried a couple of things but it was not to be. For just such an emergency we had brought along a ceramic heater. We brought that heater out of the rear storage area but could not get it to work so we had to make a mad dash to Wal-Mart, by now it is close to midnight, and buy a couple of small heaters. They did the trick and kept us toasty overnight. While putting up the heaters the next day Bob discovered that the heater that we had brought along actually did work, the problem was the timer somehow got engaged and it was set to not work during that time. Once that was corrected it works perfectly. Now we have three heaters for the next furnace emergency. The good news is that the temperature got warmer the next day and we have not needed the furnace since.

For our first Christmas while full-timing there is one area that we already have seen an improvement in and that is we got Christmas cards earlier this year than we have for a long time. We also have decorated indoors for the first time in a while. We are not sure what to do outdoors so we may get ideas from walking around the park and wait till next year.

We will be doing a full blown review of the Rockport area later but we wanted to mention our dining adventures at Alice Faye's on the Bay which is a couple of blocks from our park. Oysters are in season so we have had fresh oyster shooters, not on the half shell here, and they are some of the best oysters we have ever had. So far we have eaten there twice and got the exact same thing both times; dozen oysters, shrimp po boy and oyster po boy. Not only are the oysters good both fresh and fried in a po boy but the shrimp fresh from the gulf is also hard to beat. They have lunch specials we want to try and they serve breakfast, we sense a shrimp omellete in our future.

As we plan what to see and do next in this area we are a tad bit overwhelmed by all that there is to do. We are 30 miles from Corpus Christi so a day trip there to see the USS Lexington (the same class carrier that Bob's dad served on in WWII) and the Texas State Aquarium. Another day trip to Corpus Christi could be for the Museum of Science and Industry and the Marina/Bay Front Park. Right in the immediate Rockport area is the Fulton Mansion and the Texas Maritime Museum. Just north along the coast is a National Wildlife Refuge where the whooping cranes winter. Along with the whooping cranes the area is known for the vast number of bird species that can be spotted since this is along migratory routes. We also like just driving along the coast or driving to a park on the water and sit and read a book, or look at the water and shore birds. At first a month seemed like a long time but a lot of our neighbors here are here for 3-4 months which is something we may consider the next time we are in this area.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Addendum to Livingston update

Some of the best advice we have received about this lifestyle has to be about what to pack first; your sense of humor, and boy did I need it tonight. As mentioned before we are heading next to Rockport Texas near Corpus Christi. Since we are leaving tomorrow we have some things we do the night before like dumping the tanks and putting up the sewer hose and king pin stabilizer. Our black tank has a spraying system and since Bob left the y-adapter back in Peculiar Missouri the city water hose needed to be disconnected so the hose used for connecting to the sprayer could be added. Bob relieved the pressure at the docking station and then went to disconnect the city water hose. Immediately there was a spray of water and Bob thought all he had to do was to loosen it more quickly so the back pressure could subside. All that accomplished was to increase the spray of water now soaking Bob's head and the side of the fifth wheel. Only then did Bob realize he forgot to turn off the water at the hydrant. By now Bob is thoroughly drenched but there is good news, when it began to rain shortly thereafter and Bob was still working outside he could not get any wetter than he already was. We are certain this is going to show up on youtube sometime soon.

Another reason for this addendum was that we forgot to mention the 146 Grocery and Deli which is close to the park. On the outside it looks like a gas station, which it actually is an Exxon, but on the inside is a grocery store, a deli that has daily lunch specials, and a small meat market that has great cuts of meat. A tip would be to get a cheeseburger from the grill because they get their meat right from the meat market. Also don't pass up the chance to get a pizza here too. The 146 Grocery and Deli has thick and thin crusts and about 10 ingredients. If you are ever in the Livingston area do not pass up the opportunity to eat at Florida's Kitchen which I mentioned previously and at the 146 Grocery and Deli on the days that Florida' is closed (Sunday-Wednesday)

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Review of Livingston Texas area

We had not planned on doing a review of our stay in Livingston since this was really a stopover from Branson on our way to Rockport Texas but we have had such a great time that we decided to provide an update. Livingston is a little town east of Lake Livingston which is the 2nd largest lake in Texas, almost 40 miles long and 7 miles wide with 450 miles of shoreline. We drove through Lake Livingston State Park and there are some neat camping sites right on the lake.

As mentioned before we are staying at Rainbow's End which is an Escapees park and also the location of the national headquarters of the Escapees RV Club where we have our mail forwarding service. This is a huge campground with home sites and camping sites. There is an activity center and a club house. There is also long term care facility onsite where patients can still live in their RV. But the best part of any campground is the people, your new neighbors for awhile. We met some very nice people and had great conversations about RV'ng, food, eating, all the great topics!

At the activity center is where we had our Thanksgiving meal. The park provided the drinks, turkey and gravy, which we agreed was the best turkey gravy we have had since our moms were makng gravy all those years ago. 199 of our closest friends joined us for this meal. We were broken into tables of 12 who coordinated the other dishes amongst ourselves. We brought mash potatoes and a sweet potato, apple pie filling, and cranberry mixture which was really good if we don't say so ourselves. Others at the table brought a green bean casserole, dressing, salads, rolls and pies. As good as the meal was the potluck the next night was even better. For this potluck all the leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal including the meat and gravy from the park formed a giant buffet line. We worked our way down the line and had some great side dishes.

The highlight of our visit to Livingston though was our visit to Florida's Kitchen, which is a family-run restaurant in a house that's been in their family for years. This place neatly fits into the 'joint' category of restaurants and has been consistently in the Top 40 small town eateries in Texas. We got the sampler platter of ribs and catfish. We have been eating great barbeque in the Kansas City area for years but these were some of the best ribs we have ever had, if not the best. One thing we are certain of is that the sauce was the best we have had. The catfish was lightly bread with a cornmeal concoction and was very good along with the pinto beans being the best we have ever had. Florida's is also known for its Italian Creme Cake so for dessert give it a try along with the very good pralines that we got there. If Florida's is any indication we want to find the 39 other small town eateries.

We are off to Rockport Texas in a couple of days, the next update will be on that area and hoopefully great seafood!!

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Bob is finally a TEXAN!!

Just a brief note to say that Bob finally got his driver's license and registered to vote, he is finally a Texan! We decided at the last minute to go to the driver's license station before we had lunch on Wednesday and that turned out to be a very good decision. Bob was the last one in the door and while in line the office got the call that they could close at noon for Thanksgiving. They immediately locked the door and the five of us in line were processed quickly.

We are settled in at Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas which is an Escapees park and their national headquarters. From Branson we decided to head north and west and go through Oklahoma instead of Arkansas. Our plans have always been to travel about 200-250 miles or about 4 hours or so. After traveling a few days we realize that we like being somewhere for awhile a lot more than we like heading somewhere one day a time. The first day to Checotah Oklahoma was a little longer than we would have liked but there was not a good stopping point until Checotah. The roads to Checotah were pretty good, a lot better than our shorter day the next day to Melissa, Texas.

When we got to Melissa it looked like a tornado had gone through our unit. The roads from Checotah to Melissa were horrible and all the stuff in the rear cabinets above the couch, including our printer, was strewn all over the floor and couch. Luckily the printer still works since it hit the couch and not the floor. Bob did some research and we bought some locks for child proofing a house for the cabinet doors that are together and the printer will be moved to the floor each time we travel. If that does not work we will look into bungee cords.

Luckily the road from Melissa to Livingston was much smoother so less chaos upon arrival. We will be in Livingston until early December where we will head to Rockport Texas which is on the Aransas Bay near Corpus Christi.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Our first adventure in Branson MO

We consider November 9th as the "real" starting date for full-timing since when we were parked in Peculiar MO it felt like living in a sticks and bricks because we were so close to our old home and our old routines. November 9th was our first departure for what we hoped was the start of the "vacation" lifestyle and boy was it ever like a vacation. It really was weird as the 9th approached both of us were still in the old pre-trip ritual; we need to remember to pack 'such and such' and 'this and that', only to realize that 'such and such' was already in our new home and 'this and that' was no longer needed. Our new pre-trip ritual is on a checklist that Bob downloaded and adapted to our needs and lifestyle. We dump the tanks the day before and put up the sewer hose and support and other outside duties. Most of the checklist though is done the morning of departure; not knowing how long it would take and since we were in a convoy with another couple we got up a little earlier than normal and had a quick breakfast. We went through the checklist and only had a minor issue with the fifth wheel hitch since we have only done this like 2 times ourselves. Our timing with the other couple was great though, they were turning right at our rendezvous point as we were coming towards it to turn left. We drove a couple of hours and stopped for lunch in Bolivar MO at Smith's Restaurant which is highly recommended; the meatloaf and tenderloin are can't miss items and the gooseberry and strawberry rhubarb cobblers were great!! There is a Smith's also in Collins MO that is the original but the new great road to Branson now bypasses Collins so not sure how much longer it will be open since although these bypass roads are great for travelers they can impact the businesses along the old road. There is a Camping World just east of Springfield MO that we went to next since it is a rule that all RVers have to stop at every possible Camping World.

We left Camping World and it was off to the Branson Lakeside RV Park which is right on Lake Tanneycomo and within easy walking distance to the Branson Landing and the old downtown. The location is also great because you can get to it without getting on 76 Country Boulevard and a grocery store is nearby. We got checked in and found our lot and setup for a fun filled week. After a day of travel we went low key the first night and we ate chicken salad sandwiches and chips that Jo made prior to our departure.

If you have never been to Branson Landing just plan on it soon. Although it is new and a lot of the stores and restaurants are chains it is a great experience. There is a fountain area that has an hourly 'fire and water' show to music each night. On the lower level you can walk right by the water past the White River Fish House which was so good we ate at it twice and were not disappointed either time. We liked the fried catfish sandwich and the venison meatloaf. The upper promenade is where the other stores and kiosks and restaurants are. If you get the chance get an aqua massage where you lay in a tube face down and water jets massage your entire body up to your head. After a morning walking around Branson Landing we went to one of the other main attractions of Branson, the shows. The show we picked for the four of us was SIX which has six brothers that perform all the noise you hear, from guitar to drums to horns and musical voices. They were incredible and funny, especially Jak, this is a can't miss show if you come to Branson. They really picked on Wayne Newton who tried and failed at a theater in Branson. Another great show is the other show that we saw and that was the Twelve Irish Tenors, although it was only Eleven since one of them dislocated his shoulder playing flag football and was not there. We hope he is not out for long because it could very easily be the Eleven Irish Tenors, they were that good.

As you can tell we like Branson, from the shows to the old downtown and the Branson Landing. There is a wide range of shows from Country Western to Andy Williams to Irish Tenors to a Japanese fiddler the range and talent is amazing. There are great museums like the Roy Rogers and Veterans and Silver Dollar City is nearby along with lakes and trout streams. If you are coming to Branson check the shows ahead of time because a lot of the theaters will have special guests throughout the year and when you get there get a good map and use the alternate routes to avoid the traffic.

We are also liking the lifestyle, the first morning we woke up in Branson MO with the thought that last night was in Branson but the night before was in Peculiar MO and that all of our stuff came with us making the first night adjustment a breeze. Both of us love traveling but before RV'ng neither one of us slept very well the first night we went on vacation or slept in a strange place; now it is our bed and pillow each night. We also think our cats have adjusted faster and better than we did.

After Branson we are off to Texas which will be the subject of our next post.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Update on Kansas City is NOT Boring!

We are saddened that a couple of our favorite places have closed; 40 Sardines & Il Trullo.

We have been following a place called Cupini's that started out in one location and now has multiple locations across the metro. Cupini's serves Italian and it is great, we had a sweet potato ravioli that was excellent.

We have updated a couple of lists from the earlier blog entry.

Best Italian - Il Trullo-CLOSED, Lidia’s, Carmen’s, Milano's, Garozzo’s, Cupini's-NEW

Overall Top places to eat

Tatsu's

Bryant's

Main Street Inn

Stroud's

Il Trullo-CLOSED

Rheinland

Lidia’s

40 Sardines-CLOSED

Jack’s Stack

Cupini’s-NEW

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Ready to head out on our first big adventure!

We actually may be having fun! We are getting used to living in our new home and we finally got everything from storage and organized into our living space and plastic bins. The last milestone was the books we plan to read over the next six months that we just finished this week.

We do not mean to gloss over the tremendous adjustment it was. When you move from one place to another you take a lot of appliances with you. Here we were dealing with a couple of new TVs, two new DVRs, a new convection/microwave, washer/dryer combo, etc. There were manuals that needed to be read and maintenance info to put on our checklists. The last major thing in this area was getting the surround sound from our DirecTV DVRs working. Doesn’t this lifestyle sound rough? It is not your father’s camping that is for sure : )

We also had to first find the best place for the pots and pans, dishes, silverware, baking dishes, etc. The best place mind you may have been the second or third place that we tried it in. We bought a lot of plastic bins that was mentioned above and some drawer organizers that help keeps the items segregated so we will know where stuff is. Knowing where stuff is and going right to it has really helped our adjustment.

Next week we are headed to Branson for a week. After that we will head to Rockport TX (on the gulf coast near Corpus Christi) for a month taking a couple of weeks to get from Branson to Rockport. The driving lesson that Bob got from a friend who has a travel trailer really helped, Bob just needs more practice but on the way to TX and for future trips we will try to get as many pull thru sites as possible.

We plan on living on the road for six months and then assess what we might need from storage and then donate or garage sale what we do not need. We plan to be back in the Kansas City area in April 2010.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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