`````````Generation Z. Cruising in an RV.

Chillaxin' at Peace River in Wauchula, Florida OLA

2012-02-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

the amazing Lipizzans...miracle white stallions..mounted 'airs above ground'

Done with resolutions and the serious side of living! On with chillaxin’…chillin’ out and ...relaxin’…campin’ …at Peace River in Wauchula, Florida…

the Peace River in Wauchula...

The Peace River is a river in southwest Florida, 106 miles (171 km) long. U.S. Highway 17 runs near and somewhat parallel to the river for much of its course. It is a popular destination for fossil hunters who dig and sift the river gravel for shark teeth and other prehistoric mammal bones. A vital resource to the people in its watershed, today, it supplies six million gallons per day of drinking water to the people in the region.

the campground...

Our Thousand Trails campground on the Peace River was great for chillaxin’…until I found out that three alligators, the biggest being Stumpy at 9 feet, regularly kept us company. So I stayed mostly in the RV, watched a lot of TV, poured over tons of magazines borrowed from the library, cooked and baked, washed dishes and clothes, and did some writing, basically just keeping to myself and for once being hugely anti-social.

the gleaming Solomon's Castle

But once during this 2-week pause, we went on a sightseeing day trip arranged by the camp. In a caravan of about ten cars, first we all trooped to Solomon’s Castle in the city of Ona, Florida about 20 miles away. It is the home and galleries of internationally known artist and sculptor, 72 year old Howard Solomon, whose sense of humor and imagination soared through the grounds and echoed in our guide. The castle is big and shiny with a tower, stained glass windows and a moat. Built entirely by the hands of the artist, the gleaming exterior is made of the printing plates discarded by the local weekly newspaper.

Carol, 63 and 115 lbs., and Howard, 72 and 108 lbs.

Within the castle are the family's living quarters, a stained glass studio, a main entrance hall, and the extensive galleries, exhibiting Solomon's "found object" sculptures from all kinds of recycled materials such as ‘The Fish who Got Away’, ‘Venus Updated’ who won the Nobel-ly Prize, and other hilarious thoughts and afterthoughts. There are more than 80 interpretations of stained glass windows. We were lucky to find Howard, all 108 pounds of him, at his workshop!

Boat in the Moat (that doesn't float)...

And just beside the castle is the 'Boat in the Moat' (which doesn’t float), a restaurant on the replica of a 60 foot 16th century Spanish galleon. There we had yummy pot roast and sweet apple crisp for lunch with new friends from Prince Edwards Island in Canada. They had seen the other side of the Castle and enjoyed the magnificent nature trails in the picturesque setting of Horse Creek on the castle grounds, beautifully designed by Peggy Solomon. This is truly one of Florida's most unique experiences.

the fish...that got away...

Then we all trooped to witness the beauty and grace of Herrmanns' Royal Lipizzan Stallions in Myakka City, Florida, also about 20 miles away. Founded in the 16th century for the exclusive use of the Hapsburg Royal family of Austria, the Royal Lipizzans are unquestionably the rarest, most aristocratic breed of horses in the world. The pride of the Hapsburg Empire, the breed was first established by Archduke Charles at Lipizza (now part of Yugoslavia). Born black, they turn into beautiful white stallions by their 7^th year.

the kick!

Only a few hundred have ever existed at any one time. The Lipizzans in Florida came from those saved by General George Patton from the Russian advance during World War II. The celebrated escape was the subject of the Walt Disney movie, "Miracle of the White Stallions". Colonel Herrmann and his father, Colonel Ottomar Herrmann, Sr., assisted General Patton and smuggled the horses out from far behind enemy lines, riding at night and hiding by day.

the bow.....

Colonel Hermann and subsequent generations have created an American renaissance of the rare horses and continues the tradition of the art in the family’s 200 acre ranch. All ‘Airs above the Ground’, originally outlined by Xenophon the Greek, derive from defensive horsemanship created for war and predated the birth of Christ by some 400 years. These spectacular leaps and plunges were originally meant for use by mounted riders to inspire terror in the hearts of foot soldiers.

the castle grounds...

Solomon’s Castle and the Hermann’s Lipizzans are both a sight to behold! I was fortunate to have been mercifully extricated that day from my voluntary cave to rejoin human kind. What other adventures are waiting for me in this last leg of our trek through North America? I have to stay awake now to not miss a thing and bravely rise from my splendid stupor!

WOW: Transforming this Blog into a Book

2012-02-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

My fifth and final resolution for 2012 is to write a book.

When I retired about 8 years ago from the Philippine business landscape, I wanted to teach some, cook some, paint some, and write some. Well, my report card shows that I passed! I taught in three Seattle learning institutions in 2006-2008, married Bill in 2008 and have cooked our meals since (I am so glad Bill eats anything!), and have sustained this blog for almost 2 years, satisfying my artistic bent with photography and my literary desires by thumping thousands of keystrokes on my laptop. Looking back, this cruising lifestyle has been just a shade less hectic than my driven years. And, I have 3 options for the future: continue this, truly retire, or try something even bigger!

A bigger idea is to transform this blog into a book! Now that we have some 2 months left in Florida, I might find the time to come to a decision point. After all, I already have about 160 pages written into this blog. I just have to find a good thread that will weave the posts and tie everything together. As I reviewed the books on RVing that are out in bookstores and Amazon, they all fall into 3 types: a compilation of adventures and commentary, a personal story, or a ‘how-to’ book. You cannot depend on me about how-to’s (Bill says my mechanical IQ hovers around 28) so which of the first two will it be?

Just Compile the Posts or Tell the Underlying Story?

There are many things unique about our situation that can be a springboard for good weaving. I am a late-age immigrant from 10,000 miles away here in America in a late-age marriage. We both retired from previously very driven lifestyles into the American RV community that is 95% white with many constraints: cozy living (115 to 350 square foot cozy), few sustained friendships, constant changes, no consistent health care or ministry and the distance of family.

Will a straight compilation of the two different kinds of posts in this blog (1) our lifestyle adventures, OLA, with the vivid descriptions of places, people, and activities and the 2) wonderings on wanderings, WOW, which are candid commentary on the cruising lifestyle be a workable thread? Will our unique perspective prove interesting for the melting pot of an American audience? Judging from the mild reception to this blog, it may not be good enough!

Or would adding the personal story that is going on behind the scenes be a better hook? Does the excitement of RVing (seeing many interesting sites, learning about history, discovering great institutions, and good products, meeting interesting people, showing our children more of the country) compensate for the constraints of this lifestyle (health issues, immigration problems, emotional and social conflicts, financial constraints)? Will it make or break our quest for a happily married life?

But even if the personal ups and downs will make the book very exciting, shall our personal problems be too uncomfortable for me to share? More precisely, will Bill, a very private person, like my accounts of them? Do we have what it takes to write a book about the reality of our ongoing struggles behind the hoopla? The first option is definitely much easier to achieve! Maybe it should be somewhere in between!

Self-Publish or Seek a Publisher?

But the other dilemma is this: should I self-publish or seek out a publisher that will be willing to invest in the idea? Self-publishing will print a book faster but marketing will be more difficult. But then again, I really am not dreaming of producing a best-seller! Seeking a publisher requires patience and determination and may take months or years. But, then again, you get a lot of professional and expert advice and marketing from an established platform will be a lot easier. This is the decision point where I will be more stuck, I believe. It is a hard call to make.

Truly, this is one time that your comments shall be most appreciated! They may just get me unstuck!

WOW: Giving Back

2012-01-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

Bill discussing with the volunteers of a Habitat project in an ongoing build site in Ocala, Florida

We have been so fortunate. We are able to retire in relative comfort, our children are all doing very well, and the only thing we need to do is travel and be happy. The universe has conspired to provide us everything we needed as we were struggling to build our families and a life of our own: opportunities, resources, money, people, health, talents, and more. Now it is truly time to give back. This is our fourth resolution.

In the past I devoted my payback efforts towards helping my third world home country. The Philippines has, besides giving me birth, provided me with plenty of opportunities to excel. I also used to think being part of the Philippine Institute for the Deaf, the non-profit school teaching the deaf to speak founded by my mother and sister would be enough. But the school is in good hands now and doing well.

Then Bill and April, my youngest daughter, participated in Seven Fund's competition for projects that would increase livelihood for the Philippines. Bill entered GEM, Go and Experience Manila, a proposal to build a powerful tourism website, and April entered PinoySEEDE, Source for Executives and Educators for the Development of Entrepreneurs in the Philippines. Unfortunately both lost since the contest was primarily looking for livelihood projects.

Bill’s DU friend, Doug Miller, is founder of the EVPA, European Venture Philanthropy Association, and is now Chair of AVPN, the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network. Bill is helping him evaluate BKP, a non-profit setting up small libraries in the Philippines. Perhaps even without winning a grant or utilizing this connection, Bill and I can found a simple nonprofit that will provide a college scholarship grant to an indigent gifted student to help her bring her family out of poverty, much as my mother and I were helped.

But I should really get involved with social problems here in the US, too! We have been thinking about what we can do within our chosen cruising lifestyle. It has to be a cause that does not tie us to a particular place but also gives us the chance to impact the lives of not just a few! One idea was given to us by Father Jack, Bill's friend and pastor in the West SEattle parish: 1) the study of best Catholic parish practices in reaching out to its community. I have also read about Learning Camps on Wheels. We can also turn our RV into a Soup Kitchen on wheels!

When we were in Americus, Georgia, visitiing the International Headquarters of Habitat for Humanity, (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/11/ola-turning-wounds-into-wisdom-oprah.html), we found out that there is a group called Care-a-Vanners for RV travel with a purpose. We simply have to schedule our volunteer time at a build site in a preferred state. Volunteers park their RVs for a week or two and help build new homes. An ongoing schedule of build sites can be found in http://www.habitat.org/cd/rv/schedule.aspx .

We visited the nearest Habitat build site to our campground, the Ocala Ongoing Build Site. This is an experimental project, helping a low-income mom with a handicapped child rebuild her home. She gave the last of her savings to an unscrupulous contractor tor who was supposed to do all the repairs (her roof had caved in). But he ran away with all of her money without completing anything. The city government gave a small grant to Habitat which, in turn, provided the volunteers to work on her home.

As in every major decision we make, we built decision matrices for these options. We came up with the following criteria to include in our analysis: required skills, passion for the activity, ease of approach to a community, immediate need, and future impact. We have completed the matrices and the result surprised us…the simpler, the better. So, for the payback in the US, volunteering our efforts to Habitat bested the other two ideas. And for help for the Philippines, a simple scholarship fund would be the best!.

Thus even without a grant or connection, we may be able to start giving back. Not that we have not been doing tha but this time, it will be a collaboration between Bill and me. Then giving back should be doubly rewarding!

WOW: Focusing on Health

2012-01-23T09:43:00.001-05:00

getting prepped for the procedure

This post about my health issues was bumped off early in December because of Bill’s unexpected heart attack. Back then, superstitions come to my mind. Teresa, the ER nurse, said it is probably because it was a Lunar Eclipse that day (Dec. 8, 2011) and during such times, ERs experience a sharp increase in cases! I said that maybe I shouldn’t have scheduled writing about health issues! Look what happened after!

Stress Management

Well, Bill had his second coronary artery (75% blocked) worked on last Thursday and another stent was inserted. Technically, his heart is now almost as good as new! But through the ordeal, I was so stressed that I fell victim to several health issues right after. He jokingly said I just felt left out because he was getting all the attention! But stress has always been an issue. That is why I retired from the Philippine business landscape early and why I retired from teaching/counseling in Seattle after only 2 years!

After his first procedure, my sciatic nerve got inflamed and I could scarcely walk for a couple of days, practically leaving Bill to his own recovery. As soon as that was gone, a three week ordeal of hives, affecting different parts of my body, began. I went to four doctors but it still raged. When I stopped taking all that was prescribed, the hives subsided, only to reappear the night before Bill’s second procedure! Again, the culprit appears to be stress!

drinking water after the procedure

Consistent Good Healthcare

But the cruising lifestyle allows us a more relatively stress-free life. However, it also prevents us from getting consistent health care. Bill had to wait for our 6-week Indiana/Ohio leg in August to September before he could have arthroscopic surgery even though it had been recommended by his primary physician before we left for Manila in February! All that time I had several ongoing health issues.

When we were in Manila, I consulted my former cardiologist, stress management doctor, and gastro-enterologist. After all, health care costs are about a third of those in the US. I was told I had no cardiovascular problems but an endoscopy revealed that I had 3 tiny ulcers resulting in GERD. And my anxiety had everything to do with the very worries about these health issues! But despite the medication, the symptoms never really left.

So now that we are in Florida for several months, I have consulted with the Florida Center for Digestive Health. My medication was quickly changed to a stronger proton pump inhibitor. Dr. Ruderman also scheduled me for an upper right quadrant abdominal ultrasound, an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. Results are all good. Lo and behold, the issues are all gone! Even the lingering hives!

finally getting a much needed rest

Other Necessities

Superstitions and stress aside, Bill and I both just have to continue to eat well and exercise regularly. A national medical system of patient records would also help so a doctor in any state can see the entire history and our primary physician can still exercise overall stewardship. A comprehensive but affordable health insurance will also help me think less of costs. At 67, Bill already has all of these. I will have to wait 2 more years!

I also would like to become a more enlightened patient so I can discuss my case with doctors and even understand why I need to make necessary lifestyle changes. The PH Miracle (keeping the balance between acidity and alkalinity in our bodies) has opened my eyes to alkaline water, as my friend Jingjing has long suggested. I have also added more alkaline foods like green veggies, gelatin and avocado to my diet and minimized acidic ones like meat and sweets.

Although Bill agrees, he also thinks that I have to be careful of what I read and be sure there is good science and solid empirical evidence to support the recommendations. He thinks some of the best-selling health books are nothing more than a new version of the legendary “snake oil sales pitch”. Oh the travails of getting old! But Bill also reminds me that getting old is certainly better than the alternative!

WOW: Slowing Down, Taming our Bucket List

2012-01-16T07:27:00.000-05:00

a lovely park model by the sea, an option for Stage 5

When Bill suffered the heart attack (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-getting-scared.html), friends cautioned us to slow down. My children who were just here for the holidays also said so! Bill disagrees. We are younger than many we meet in the campgrounds and he feels the level of activity and stress will be as great or even greater if we settle into one place (especially with my propensity for boredom). But the arrival of 2012 has nudged us to look down the road and begin to think about Stages 4 and 5 (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/going-through-five-stages-of-cruising.html).

trade show goers lining up to inspect a $2 M RV

The choice of settling down in the US or the Philippines is a no-brainer because most of our children, all grandkids, and majority of siblings are here in the US. But it should be in a place where temperatures go only to lows of 60s during the day even in winter months (these old farts don’t do well in the cold)! The following cities make the grade: San Diego, LA, and Palm Springs for California, Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Lake Havasu for Arizona, Brownsville and Corpus Christi for Texas, and most cities in Florida!

a brand new Mountain Aire, $500K

To pin down the city, we can use the following criteria: proximity to children, local attractions, quality of healthcare, availability of Thousand Trails campgrounds (all free of charge up to 2022), availability of Ballys Fitness Centers (Bill has a free lifetime membership), proximity to water and/or mountains, and sales, income, and property tax structure (especially for Stage 5). If we construct a decision matrix, the clear winners are 1) Orlando, Florida, 2) Tucson or Phoenix, Arizona, and 3) San Diego, California.

the interior of the brand new Mountain Aire

This is what emerges as a strategy. For sunbirding in Stage 4, we should opt for Orlando, Florida or, alternatively, San Diego, California because these two have many Thousand Trails campgrounds. Ten years from now, we can proceed to nest in Stage 5 and choose Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona which do not have any. In fact, San Diego may make more sense than Orlando because during Stage 4 we will not be full time residents anyway and therefore not subject to the state’s higher tax structure. California is nearer our children’s homes.

an Italian villa for European sojourns in Stage 4?

Stage 4 means rotating among available campgrounds in the sunbirding chosen area as opposed to being permanently in one. When we nest in Stage 5, we may even choose a condominium complex with the same amenities and activities over a park model in a campground. We went to the Florida RV Trade Association Show at the State Fairgrounds last Saturday to look at options of brand new motorhomes and park models for these 2 stages. We found out that a brand new Mountain Aire would cost us about $500,000 (there was even a $2 M motorhome!) and a modern Net Zero 500 sq. ft. park model would be around $100 K.

an RV Resort for sunbirding in Stage 4?

To choose the specific location for nesting, we shall use the following criteria in another decision matrix: proximity to a supermarket, Ballys or another good exercise facility, a Catholic church, a good hospital, amenities, and activities. Most retirement communities have all these features. In the final analysis, beginning 2013 when we would have finished Stage 3 (sight-seeing/relaxing) in North America and we would be begin our extensive travels in countries abroad, we do have to have a slower schedule here as sunbirds for rest periods, staying around southern California, if not Florida, 3-6 months a year!

a 55+ condominium complex for Stage 5?

We have also decided not to cover countries outside of North America by cruising in an RV. We concede…we are already getting on in years and we need more conveniences in traveling. Besides cruising means a pace, not a specific means of transportation! For instance, renting apartments in central locations in Europe and making them bases for road trips to nearby attractions may be the best way to cruise Europe (even less expensive).

The rest of the world will be through the best hotel/flight deals. We will go out of the country for three months at a time, visit the children and siblings the other three months, and rest the other 6 months. This way we may be able to cover Europe in 2-3 trips, Australasia in another 2-3, Central America and South America, 3-4, and Africa, 1-2. This is how we can slow down and still cover the rest of the world! It will take us all the way to 2022 when we should be able to completely settle down. It is called taming our bucket list!

Being Closer to Family, an Orlando Reunion OLA

2012-01-09T06:53:00.001-05:00

an enchanting Loch Ness monster on Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney

New Year's Eve dinner at Giordano's, our treat!

"A thing is mighty big when time and distance cannot shrink it". Such is family. Just as 2011 was ending, the Aberions from Seattle, Washington (eldest daughter Trisha, her husband DJ and grandkids Yeye and Kenji) and the Vidallos from Calgary, Alberta, Canada (second daughter Claudine and her husband Arnold and grandkids Ashton, Andre, and Enzo) arrived to help us be true to one of our resolutions.

fireworks at the hotel parking lot!

Orlando is not a nice place to be if you are on a diet. New Years’ Eve Dinner was at Giordano’s (famous for their deep dish pizzas and pastas) near their hotel, the Maingate Lakeside Resort. Then, as is the Philippine custom, we greeted the New Year with some legal (not lethal) fireworks at the hotel. The frenzied exchange of delayed Christmas gifts ensued and the toasts of champagne completed the night!

New Year's Day pandemonium at the RV!

On New Year’s Day we brought a hearty Filipino brunch to wake them up. That was when we also distributed our gifts to everyone. Kenji so loved his 5 gifts (he turned five on Dec. 16) that he danced Happy Feet for us! At 5PM, after an afternoon of swimming, mini-golf and a round of horseshoes at the Orlando Thousand Trails’ clubhouse complex, we had New Years’ Day dinner at our ‘patio’.

lunch at Ichiban, Trisha and DJ's treat, on that cold Florida day!

The following day the Vidallos were off to a fun day at Sea World and the Aberions to Disney’s Magic Kingdom! Unfortunately, the following day turned out to be a record cold day in Florida, highs of 40s and lows of 30s (an arctic blast came quickly…but also left as quickly!). We all just went shopping at Downtown Disney, sandwiched by a Japanese /Chinese buffet at Ichiban for lunch and a Hibachi dinner cum chef show at Kobe Steakhouse. Kenji said it best, “Happiness is eating too much!” But for Yeye, it was shopping too much!

dinner at the Kobe Steak House, Claudine and Arnold's treat

The following day still started out cold but the sun raged and the day ended with high 60s so the two families enjoyed the first of their 2 Universal Studios sprees. It was fortunate that the next day was even warmer, inching up to the low 70s! In the tradition of eating too much, both couples opted to pay for the $20 for adults and $10 for kids all-day eat-all-you-can meals (with a lot more taken out for midnight snacks back at the hotel)!

right at the entrance of LegoLand, a fave dinosaur!

at the entrance to Legoland

Then the couples had their day of rest as Bill and I took the four little boys on a visit to Orlando’s newest theme park, LegoLand! Designed for kids under 9, the boys had a blast! Between the flying, driving, and boating schools and the build and test race cars at Imagination the little boys all voted Legoland the best theme park of their visit! They were all amazed at the millions of Lego bricks used to build Miniland and delighted at the safari, the Island in the Sky, etc.

mesmerized at Miniland's millions of bricks

The Aberions had to leave early. It may have been a short trip but we were definitely thrilled to be able to hold Kenji and Yeye in our arms and to behold Trisha and DJ’s animated faces as we talked. The Vidallos had an extra four days which they used well to scour every inch and corner of Disney World and its 4 parks. We had a final dinner on the evening of the 8^th,, very glad to have nice talks with Claudine and Arnold first hand and to squeeze the little boys in tight hugs. Enzo must have posed for me a hundred times with his Harry Potter smile, complete with glasses!

the little boys having fun with Arnold at their hotel room

It is definitely a wonderful start. But to be closer, despite the time and distance, will require much more than annual visits. Constant communication throughout the year will be necessary. Technology will certainly help. But fervent caring will always be the key. When the Aberions and Vidallos left to go back home, we felt like saying, ‘We will hold you in our hearts til we can hold you again in our arms’.

WOW: Making Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

2011 has been a great travel year for us. The top 3 destinations where we enjoyed ourselves the most are: 1. HongKong (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/ola-getting-excited-in-hongkong-hk.html), 2. Palawan (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/03/ola-marveling-at-palawans-beauty.html) which also won to become one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and 3. Mt. Rushmore (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/06/saluting-man-made-wonders-of-south.html). In 2012 we expect to be wowed by: 1. Nova Scotia, 2.Bahamas, and 3. Niagara!!! But what kind of a travel year will 2012 be?

This year has been predicted by some as a spiritually transformative and apocalyptic year! It will definitely see the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth on February 6 and there will be a total solar eclipse on November 13. It is also a leap year (men beware)! The fastest computers with 10 and 20 petaflops (quadrillion floating point operations per second) will also be launched by Intel and IBM, respectively, within the year. Many great happenings!

In our little corner of the world, however, the year will be what we make it to be. So these past 5 days after Christmas, we formulated one resolution each day to set the stage for our next phase of travels. This is how this week’s post got ready for publication, just in time! They are all interconnected and have arisen out of the lessons we have learned from our RV experiences in the past 2 ½ years. Here goes:

Dec. 27, Slow Down

Bill and I have to slow down and look at settling down a couple of years down the road. Let’s face it…we are both spring chicken no more. Bill had his big wake-up call early December (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-getting-scared.html) while I have been having issues since last year. We (most especially I) have to learn to remain true to the real definition of the cruising lifestyle (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/03/cruising-as-lifestyle.html)

Dec. 28, Get Healthy

We have finally established our health care team here in Florida. Hopefully, we can do the same next year in Tucson, Arizona and San Diego, California. This should help us choose the area where we could slow down and even, eventually, settle down. Besides we really have to take better care of ourselves in a more preventive and consistent kind of way. Obviously, we need more help than just our usual healthy practices of eating well and exercising.

Dec, 29, Focus on Giving Back

We have toyed with various ideas for payback. One that we have sort of begun is a very informal study of best practices in parishes all over the United States (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/01/opening-door-on-bright-new-year.html). 2 other ideas have come up this year: Habitat for humanity and a soup kitchen. Certainly, we should focus more on this. It will be better for our heart and soul Remember the Latin saying, Mens sana in corpore sano? Helping others will certainly enable us to help ourselves!

Dec. 30, Write a Book

There are already 112 posts in this blog in over 100 or so pages that can be transformed into a book. Only 2 questions remain unanswered: 1) What is the best way of weaving them together and 2) Do I self-publish or look for a publisher? Now that we are in Florida for the winter months, I may be able to wrestle with these questions, decide, and begin! Hopefully, this activity (which interests me a lot) will not encroach on a truly cruising lifestyle!

Dec. 31, Be with Family More

On December 31, at 12 noon the Aberions arrived from Seattle, Washington and at 8 PM, the Vidallos from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This is our third year of reunions. 2009 was during Thanksgiving in Mexico (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/02/touring-mexico-with-family.html). 2010 was during late fall in Spokane, Washington (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/11/staying-awhile-in-evergreen-state.html). Now we are starting 2012 with a bang! We had only one reunion with Bill’s children so far…in Yellowstone National Park last fall (please see

http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/06/converging-yellowstone-moving-to-mt.html). Hopefully, we can grow the closeness despite the distance.

That’s it! Five important resolutions to make our cruising lifestyle even better! Each will be written about in more detail in the next posts. Thanks for listening to (reading, technically) my many wonderings on wanderings! Pardon me, but it’s that time of the year! Or better yet, I hope you don’t mind that my emotional side is showing!

Finding Christmas on Treasure Island, Florida OLA

2011-12-25T08:03:00.000-05:00

the colors of the Holidays...on the beach!

This Christmas felt different from the others Bill and I have spent together. 2007 was white and freezing at -31 degrees C (-24 F) in Calgary, Alberta with Claudine and family! In 2008 we were with Trisha and family, wet and cool in Seattle, Washington. Then it turned sunny and warm at the Suwannee River Music Park in Florida on our first Christmas in the RV. Back in Seattle in 2010, it was unfortunately white and cold! This year, it was particularly hard to find the spirit, especially after Bill’s close call (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-getting-scared.html .

Bill and his glass of wine at the condo

So we went to find it in another new place but, this time, away from our everyday home, a vacation from the RV! We booked a unit at the Sand Pebble Resort of Vacation Internationale (Bill’s time share) in Treasure Island, Florida, one of thirteen beaches around the Tampa Bay area, the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay, almost 2 hours from Orlando. It is also known as the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated population of 4 M.

the quiet beach at the back

We had almost forgotten how comfortable condo living is! Our 1-BR unit was spacious enough for 2 couples and had a view of the Gulf of Mexico from the balcony. At the ground floor of the resort is a hot tub, heated pool, pool table, and bar. Every afternoon there was an activity: bingo, ice cream socials, count the shells, etc. But it is the quiet beach at the back that was the best of all!

Like the other years, we got busy looking for stocking stuffers for our Christmas Eve opening of gifts. Bill and I happily lost each other at the Mustang Florida Flea Market for an hour to hunt for the little treasures. Not satisfied with our haul, we went to the Tyrone Square Mall to complete our finds. Each stash was carefully guarded and closed tight so no intruder can take a peek until the proper time! I spent a total of $25; I hoped that Bill did not spend too much more!

another kind of White Christmas...at the beach!

The following day we went for a long drive…all along the Gulf Blvd that connects all the 10 barrier islands and 13 beaches, collectively known as the Tampa Bay Beaches. It was never-ending miles of beach homes, condo-resorts, and palm trees. The best of them all is to the north in Clearwater, Florida, just before reaching the Honeymoon Island State Park…Clearwater Beach, famous for white powdery sand (Boracay in the Philippines is pink powdery). We discovered a beach haven much bigger than the Keys, adjacent to a good metropolitan area, and a place where we could conceivably settle (we whispered to each other).

cigars being hand-rolled at Ybor City

Then the next day we discovered legendary Ybor City in Greater Tampa, Florida which became the ‘Cigar Capital of the World’ after Don Vincente Martinez-Ybor moved his cigar factory from Key West to Tampa in the early 1900s. Other cigar-makers followed, building their own factories. Immigrants from Spain, Cuba and Sicily came to work in them, Romanian merchants opened stores while German lithographers brought the latest in technology to print the cigar labels. Today it is a lively entertainment and arts district, complete with demonstrations of hand-rolling cigars.

at the condo's living room ready for Noche Buena

On Christmas Eve, Bill and I attended a joyous mass at St. John Vianney in St. Pete's Beach, Florida with a little pageant of kids as angels, shepherds, and the Three Kings around the Nativity Scene at the altar. Then we came home to our Noche Buena of maple/honey glazed ham, Dubliner cheese, fancy crackers, and Christmas stollen. At almost the stroke of 12, Bill got his new polar bear jammies, pristine white hankies, and a heart warmer for cold hands! He definitely spent more! I got new diamond earrings (to replace the ones I had lost), new fit-over dark glasses (to replace the one I lost) plus a little purse! Talks with my kids on the phone capped our Christmas Eve.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

After a light left-over breakfast, off we went to complete our drive to the south end of Gulf Blvd for a couple more beaches and the feat of engineering, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge! Back at the condo, a light lunch preceded our one last time at the hot tub and Skype sessions with Bill's kids. And to cap a relaxing vacation, we went to see Mission Impossible on the big screen and dined at Joey's Famous Pizza Kitchen in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida to spare me from more cooking!

Christmas tree among the palm trees

Christmas this year was surely different, reliving life in a condo. We found it in bits and pieces everywhere. But we found it most in us and in Him. We are a couple who found each other late in life but early in dreams. The Christmas spirit, after all, is the special kinship He has made possible and why we are here, together.

OLA: Finally Feeling @ Home

2011-12-18T22:04:00.001-05:00

from the hot tub to Mr. Snowman to greet you!

Honestly, it is quite difficult to call any of the campgrounds we stay in home, however nice. We simply do not stay long enough! But last week Bill had a heart attack (please see htttp://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-getting-scared.html). We were fortunate that there is a good hospital just 14 miles away from the Orlando Thousand Trails Resort! The Heart of Florida expertly handled the crisis, putting two stents to repair his damaged heart. Now Bill is doing very well. It is no wonder that this Resort has become our all-time favorite!

Disney World is just around the corner!

In my post on Classifying Campgrounds, I named this resort as a prime example of our favorite type, a country club (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/11/four-types-of-campgrounds-rv-park.html ). A country club is a campground that is in or at the outskirts of a city and has lots of amenities and activities. The Orlando Resort is just 14 miles from Disney World, nestled among residential subdivisions, just a stone’s throw from US 192 that is dotted by hotels, restaurants, and shops leading to the famous Park. That is one of the reasons we have liked this campground a lot.

adult pool and hot tub in front of the clubhouse...

It is also near everything else we need, just like a home should be: supermarkets like Walmart (and Redbox) 1.5 miles, Publix (1 mile) and Sweet Bay (0.5 mile), Cagan Crossings Community Library (1.5 miles), Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church (15 miles), Ballys Fitness Center (20 miles), the Florida Center for Digestive Health (20 miles), and downtown Disney, 25 miles. We would settle down here if only it were near our children’s homes (they are all in the West)! But it is a great place for them to visit and that’s what just some of them are doing this holiday season!

cool, shaded mini-golf course

While waiting for my children’s arrival, we are enjoying the famous Florida winter weather (highs of low 80s and lows of mid 50s), its daily sun and lush tropical green! I have bought a brand new swimsuit and matching wrap because every day we are in the pool or hot tub or both! Orlando Thousand Trails RV Resort has 2 heated pools, one for adults, the other for kids, and a hot tub! They have just upgraded the fitness center so we no longer need to go to Ballys that often unless we want sauna and steam baths.

a game of pickleball going on

As if those were not enough, the Resort also has all the following: courts for mini-golf, tennis, pickle ball, shuffleboards, and volleyball, a big hall for Friday or Saturday dances, concerts and karaoke (I love to sing and dance!), a big kitchen/dining room for a la carte food, a general store for many emergency requirements, an efficient mail room providing free services (this is a must for a good campground), and a complete game room for crafts, billiards, table tennis, puzzles, and board games. There are also notices and sign-up sheets to manage all kinds of activities: aerobics, coffee with the manager, bridge, bingo, pot luck, etc. My favorite, Texas Hold’Em, is on every night! There are at least 2 activities per day!

having fun at the Christmas Party

Last December 11th, there was even a Christmas Parade of Lights that ushered in the Season. A week later there was an early Christmas Dinner and Show. Other holiday events scheduled are a Christmas Eve Barbeque and a New Year’s Eve Dinner and Show. We were at the 2009 New Year’s Eve Party and there were must have been about 200 people who greeted 2010 with us!

There are actually about 800 sites in this campground all filled at the height of the season in January. And, since it is a popular Resort, some of our friends are here to enjoy the holidays with us: Jim and Pat and their jamming sessions and Chuck and Evelyn and their antique cars. And Dan, a former executive chef, and wife Bev are also just 20 miles away!

feeling @ home...

As you can tell, Bill and I are enjoying this campground (even with the brief interruption) like crazy! In fact, we do not feel we are on vacation here…we are, for all intents and purposes, home! So now that we are considering settling down, Orlando Thousand Trails RV Resort is at the top of the list!

WOW: Getting Scared!

2011-12-11T09:54:00.001-05:00

undergoing EKG at the ER

This was supposed to be entitled ‘Focusing on Health’ talking about my ongoing health issues. But events have overtaken that idea. Last Thursday after breakfast, Bill felt severe sharp pains in his chest. Then both arms started to get numb and heavy. Soon after, he felt lightheaded and dizzy. He still had the sense to get and use my blood pressure monitor. It read 166/98 (vs his usual 110/70). That was when we got scared.

his souvennir of the ordeal...

We quickly got into the car and proceeded to the nearest Urgent Care facility only 1 mile from the campground. We were turned away by the doctor who said we had better hurry to the nearest hospital, the Heart of Florida, 12 miles away! (Was I glad we were in Orlando and not some far away nature preserve!) Knowing that I was nervous, with little driving skills, and not really familiar with the roads, Bill drove us to the hospital (he said it was less stressful than watching me try and suffer).

Bill was supposed to be the healthier of us two! I was the one who was having all sorts of issues. He kept on reminding me about the promise to give each other at least 30 years even if we had found each other at this late age! We had just celebrated four years of being together. We had just started this cruising lifestyle 2 ½ years ago. And we have such a looooong bucket list to complete! In fact, we’ve only just begun!

echocardiogram at the ER

The ER staff jumped on his case right away. By about 1 pm, Dr. Siddiqui, the cardiologist on call, told me that Bill had had a heart attack, quickly transferred him to the ICU, and ordered a heart catheterization the following morning. My heart sank. That was an invasive procedure! Even if death was rare, there are complications in 1/1000 cases. All sorts of images raced through my mind. But Bill wanted to have it done, because not doing anything may be as deadly, if not more. Besides they do about 200 such procedures in the hospital every month! It is in fact routine. I told him that I was just simply scared.

I could not stay overnight with him in the ICU.That first night alone at the RV was tough. As soon as I got in, the tears fell unabashedly. After a small bowl of hot soup, I reached out to family and friends. I called each of my children, Bill’s sister Rosemary, Dan and Bev, our new camping friends, and Joe and Dottie, camping friends we met in 2009. Their voices calmed my very frayed nerves. I managed to get 4 hours of sleep. Unfortunately and understandably, Bill had tossed and turned more in his hospital bed.

before the procedure, a whole artery blocked!

The waiting room outside the catheterization lab was not a good place to be that morning. The courtesy TV was at a program that was discussing the stresses of a funeral with some grieving folks. But the procedure was over at noon and the doctor called me in. Bill had 2 blockages, one 100%, the other 75%. The cardiologist had inserted two stents to open the more damaged artery. He said it would have been too much for him to bear the procedure on the other one at the same time. So it has been scheduled for mid-January, to give his heart some time to rest.

The pictures of the before and after the catheterization showed the amazing opening of new blood pathways that are now feeding his weakened heart muscles. I was glad he had it done! We are now home at the RV and I am now an ‘experienced driver’ (I had to go back and forth between the campground and the hospital for three days!). Bill is a lucky guy...and not only because he is married to me!

the same area, after the procedure...with a full artery now serving the heart muscles...

Bill back to his computer...albeit at the ICU!

We both thank the Lord for giving us this manageable wake-up call and making it a quick recovery. Looking back at possible risk factors, it could not have been about eating bad foods or not exercising regularly. For Bill, they are genetics (his mother and grandmother both had cardiovascular diseases) and yes (now he has to finally admit it) age both of which he can not do anything about! Plus the few extra pounds (about 15) which he is now determined to lose.

There will definitely be some changes to our lifestyle. Prescription drugs will certainly help steer the course. We hope to continue cruising in our RV, maybe trim our expectations a bit, go a bit more slowly, and settle longer at a place more often. In other words, we may accelerate our progress towards Stage 4 of the cruising lifestyle (please visit http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/going-through-five-stages-of-cruising.html). It is, after all, a very good life that we want to continue living for as long as we can!

WOW: Preparing for the Holidays in Florida

2011-12-04T21:32:00.001-05:00

our Christmas Star, made of Philippine capiz shells, hanging from our RV dashboard

a fifth wheel spreads Christmas joy at the Resort...

In the Philippines preparations for the Christmas season starts as soon as the months turn into …ber (September through December). But America waits for the completion of another important holiday, Thanksgiving. So now that we are settled in Florida where we will be for another 4 months, I can no longer contain my excitement. My children, sons-in-law, and grandkids are coming on New Year’s Eve! So I have been maximizing what’s left of my brain power (if ever there was any to start with!) and Bill’s wallet to come up with décor fit for an RV, special holiday meals, and longed-for gifts!!! It was Thanksgiving 2009 when we last had a holiday reunion in Mazatlan, Mexico!

a motor home lights up the campground!

another brightly lit motor home at the resort

Décor fit for an RV

There is not a lot of space so my tree is a little one and it now houses our Christmas ornaments from our initial travels, before we shifted to refrigerator magnets. Those Christmas stockings for the surprise stuffers from Mr. and Mrs. Santa are also up! Little poinsettia plants are adding lots of reds and greens. Then a bit of the Philippines hangs as a bright Christmas star (it is made from Philippine capiz shells). A holly wreath filled with Christmas lights completes our dashboard counter top.

Unlike many of the RVs in this Orlando Thousand Trails Resort, this year all of our decor is inside because we spend Christmas at a Vacation Internationale condo in Tampa from Dec. 20-26. There will be no need to take down big décor outside the RV when we move it for storage and reinstall them for the family when they come for New Year..

another fifth wheel gives it all out for the campground...

Special Holiday Meals

From Seattle will come Trisha and Deejay and their children, Yeye and Kenji (Krishna is not able to join us because of work and school). Claudine and Arnold and their children Ashton, Andre, and Enzo will be flying in from Calgary, Alberta. They will all be staying at the Maingate Lakeside Resort Hotel some 6 miles from the campground. Sadly, April will not be able to fly from Manila this year because she is spending her first Christmas with a new beau.

That makes 11 mouths to feed and the RV kitchen is quite small (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/wow-cooking-and-eating-in-rv.html )!!! So for New Year’s Day brunch I will serve a combo of homemade American breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy and an authentic Filipino breakfast of longganisa, garlic rice and fried eggs plus the left-overs from the New Year’s Eve Party of Christmas ham, queso de bola, and ambrosia. As per Filipino tradition, I should also have 9 different kinds of round fruits for lots of good luck in the coming year (I will cheat a little and just have 9 different kinds of oranges-this is after all, orange country)! Then a standing rib roast and lots of roasted vegetables will grace our table for New Year’s Day dinner!

Christmas Gifts

Since Christmas gifts are placed under the tree, our gifts should all be pretty small (great for the budget, too!)! Kidding aside, we have asked Trisha and Claudine what each child wants. So, as requested, Bill and I will treat all of the kids to the newest theme park in Orlando, Legoland, while their parents do some R&R on their own! Anyway they already have welcome gifts of beige boots, hot wheels set, dinosaur T shirt, and remote control cars that we have collected from our various trips.

Unfortunately, Bill’s children and grandkids will not be able to join us (Suzanne and family in Denver, Colorado, Jim and family in Boise, Idaho, and Cristine and husband in Anchorage, Alaska). We have been searching on line for items on their wish lists for direct shipment. We are also sending the little items we’ve purchased over the past months as we remembered things they like while we were touring. We hope to watch them open their gifts via SKYPE so that we can share a bit of electric Christmas joy!

our complete Christmas dashboard from the inside...

we now come home to this at night!

But now that the plans are all set, we gleefully transition into the execution phase and spend some real dollars...then come home to a brightly lit M'A!!! Costco and Florida’s awesome flea markets and outlet malls…here we come!!!

Giving Thanks and Growing Older in Florida OLA

2011-11-29T06:25:00.001-05:00

the little cake for blowing...after the big cake was gone

Last Sunday the parish priest at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wildwood, Florida echoed the sentiment of the week when he said that we have a lot to be thankful for but that sadly…turkeys don’t! Everybody had quite a laugh. According to the National Turkey Foundation, the U.S. raised a whopping 244 million turkeys last year. Approximately 46 million, a high 20%, found themselves roasting in ovens across the country!

my birthday cake and the dessert spread!

Thanksgiving

This is indeed a big American holiday, dating from the Plymouth celebration in 1621. And at the Three Flags Resort (for Canada, US, and Mexico), the campground was guilty of providing the roast turkeys. Most of us campers contributed dressings, sides, and dessert! Since it was also my 63^rd birthday, Bill surprised me with a huge birthday cake to decorate the spread! I had an instant big party of about 80 people!

the turkey and dressings and sides spread

Three Flags RV Resort

The campground has a great clubhouse where we held the party. It is also equipped with a billiards hall and a card room. The campground also has a heated pool, mini-golf and horseshoe courses, free DVDs and coffee. But the reason many Eastern snowbirders congregate here for the winter is because of its weekly well-attended activities: bingo, Texas Hold’em, karaoke and jam sessions, great potlucks and ice cream socials. I classify it as an RV haven, an hour from Orlando with special amenities or activities.

Bill takes me out to TGIF near Universal Studios

My 63rd Birthday

The day after Thanksgiving was my birthday and it started with our usual session at Bally’s Fitness Center in Orlando, Florida (when we settle down after all this traveling, it will have to be where there is a Bally’s!). Then Bill took me to lunch at TGIF near the entry to Universal Studios. I finally got a smart phone on my fingers as Bill gifted me with the newly launched, most powerful, and thinnest Droid Razr! Afterwards, I had a taste of America’s Black Friday complete with crazy traffic jams and even crazier store crowds! Next time we will just do online Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday!

balloons and gifts

The Gift of a Cruise

I also got another perfect gift…a Caribbean cruise for birthday and Christmas leaving Miami on February 24…from my kids! They figured that since we are in Florida, we might as well. We definitely would like to experience this other kind of cruising...on water. It will give me plenty of juicy stuff to write about, comparing and contrasting the two! Maraming Salamat, my three lovely daughters: Trisha, Claudine, and April!

Bill and the 'plain-looking' Hooters girls

Hooters

The day before Thanksgiving we went to Hooters to watch the Nadal-Federer match of the ATP Finals in London. (We thought they would have it because they had the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on ppv the week before). I was so thrilled and even wondered what the kids will say when I tell them I, not Bill, want Hooters gift cards for Christmas! But alas! They didn’t have the Tennis Channel! And Nadal was trashed! Utterly dismayed, I vented my frustration on Bill! He had to deal with three plain Hooter girls!

the dance at The Villages

The Villages

As if the 3 day celebrations were not enough, on Saturday we still went with full timer friends Bev and Dan Johnson to an evening dance with live rock and roll music at The Villages and some chowder, nachos and chili at a bar nearby. We met them at Moses Lake last year. They own a Mountain Aire, too, and, like us, originated from Seattle, Washington! The Villages is a fabulous retirement community where, out of 77,000 residents, there are 40,000 golf carts plying around neatly manicured golf courses, sports/recreation centers, and shopping havens through special lanes, overpasses, and crossings.

music provided by the jamming campers led by Jim

Bill and I have a lot to be thankful for that we regularly include in our prayers. But this Thanksgiving 2011 we give special thanks for the opportunity to live this cruising lifestyle and the wherewithal to capture, in writing and photography, this exciting period in our lives. We could not have done it without the continuing support of our children and their beautiful families and the ‘company’ of our lifelong friends. Relative good health helps, too, as well as the new friends we meet on the road. And my birthday that always hovers around this great American tradition makes for a grand celebration for me each time!

WOW: Classifying Campgrounds

2011-11-22T07:27:00.001-05:00

Star and Vino at the Joshua Tree National Park, a nature preserve

RV camping is very much alive in the US. Out of 30 million RVers in almost 9 million households, about 1.3 million are full timers like Bill and me. We all have almost 2,000 campgrounds to choose from. Cost, location, and facilities may be hard to balance. Being members of Thousand Trails, we can stay at any of their campgrounds for three weeks at a time so it is not that hard. But those three weeks should be as enjoyable as possible so there is still a choice to make. I came up with the following system.

3 quadrants: RV Park, country club, RV haven, and nature preserve

Construct a chart with an x-axis and a y-axis. Let the x-axis stand for the location of the campground from city to country, going from left to right, and let the y-axis represent amenities and activities from basic to special, going from up to down. We can thus subdivide the space into four quadrants. Going counter-clockwise, at the upper left quadrant is the RV Park, lower left quadrant is the Country Club, lower right quadrant is the RV Haven and upper right quadrant is the Nature Preserve.

camping at the Docks' driveway

RV Park
This is an RV campground within or almost within city limits and has basic amenities or activities, often none. An example is The Oaks at Point South which became our jump-off point to Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Savannah for my friend Dittas when she visited us. But the best example of this category is a hotel in Hermosillo, Mexico which allowed RVs to park at their back parking lot. Another great example is the campground which was within walking distance of the French Quarter in New Orleans!

Walmart RV Park

Now Walmart is America’s best known RV Park! It is said that the average “campsite fee” is $45, the amount one spends for one night of stay. So other grocery chains have followed this excellent strategy. Canadian Tire even has dump stations and fresh water. Belonging to the same class are rest areas (a great number is being shut down due to lack of funds), huge truck stops, and even casinos. But the best example is the driveway of the Rosemary (Bill’s sister) and her husband Jack’s home in Pittsburg,

Country Club

Palm Springs Country Club

Close to a city, this campground also has many amenities and activities! Where we will be next week, Orlando Thousand Trails in Orlando, Florida is of this type. So is Las Vegas Thousand Trails in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are both just a few miles from great tourist spot and have all the musts: amenities like pool and hot tub, fitness center, mini golf, table tennis and billiards, tennis and other outdoor courts and activities like karaoke, dancing, Texas hold ‘em, pot lucks, movie nights with free popcorn, and concerts.

Nature Preserve

dry camping at the roadside enroute to the Arctic Circle

Far from a city, this campground may not have amenities or activities but there are fantastic views afforded by its special location. A good example is Kirk Creek Campground of the US Forest Service right at the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur! State Parks are the same. The campgrounds within well-known national parks of the National Park Service like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon are perennial favorites but require months in advance to book.

Bill relaxing at our campsite in Green Mountain, an RV haven

RV Haven
Farther from the city, this type of campground is also well equipped with amenities and activities. At Green Mountain Resort in Lenoir, North Carolina, each campsite has a large deck beside a little stream which makes soothing ‘music’ throughout the day. The park also has a lake for fishing and great hiking trails all around, a tennis court, a 9-hole golf course, a large clubhouse with pool and table tennis tables, and eature great concerts and parties. Because it is near the town of Lenoir, we could also use the community center’s gym and spa.

a nature haven in winter...

The statistics of RVers is up by almost 10 percent from 5 years ago! And although the 2,000 campgrounds may not all be full all year-round (northern ones are busy during summer while southern ones are cramped during winter), given the right time of year, they can be literally buzzing with activity. To maximize enjoyment, we need to choose the campground well. After all, it is our home for the duration of our stay. So I have found this classification system very helpful.

a country club in fall

We like country clubs and RV havens best. But we also take short breaks in nature preserves. M’A can comfortably dry camp only for 4 days max (constraints of fresh, black, and grey water tanks and battery power). On the other hand, RV parks are places we use to rest for a night (or as a jump-off point) as we make our way to our next campground. We usually try to limit RV driving to at most 6 hours a day. Driving longer can become pretty tiring for Bill (and really boring for me)!

We looooove the campground infrastructure in the US but we often wonder how it is in Europe or Australia/New Zealand? Can we RV there as well? Watch for the results of our research!

WOW: Planning and Mapping Itineraries

2011-11-15T09:11:00.001-05:00

OUR CURRENT ITINERARY
18 months, Phase 2 from Seattle to Las Vegas, May 2011 to Nov 2012

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

OUR PREVIOUS ITINERARY
16 months, Phase 1 from Seattle to Seattle, June 2009 to Sept 2010

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

Now that we are staying for a while in Florida, we will not be writing a lot about Our Lifestyle Adventures (OLA). We have covered the state extensively the last time we were here from January to March 2010. So I now write about some thought pieces on this cruising lifestyle in Wonderings on Wanderings (WOW). This particular post is about how we dream, plan, and schedule our cruising, including the attractions we will cover and where we will stay.

Actually deciding on those things entails many areas for consideration. But, really, after almost 3 years, it has become almost second nature to us! But Bill says it’s easy for him because I do all the research and planning; he just does all the driving. As for me, I would not want it the other way around. My driving the RV is definitely out of the question…if we both want to live long! Kidding aside, below are the factors we consider in planning and scheduling the trips that fulfill our dreams.

Climate

The number 1 thing to consider is climate. At our ‘young’ (67, 62) age, we have to follow the sun; cold no longer agrees with us (never did with me!)! Winter finds us either in Florida, Arizona, southern California, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia, or later, Australia/New Zealand. Summer, spring and fall will catch us in the Northwest, Northeast, Canada, Europe or northern Asia. Hopefully, the white Thanksgiving we experienced in Seattle in 2010 when I had to wait for my naturalization will be the last!

Family

The next thing to consider is visits and reunions with family. At least once a year we have to see each child and his/her family. If we or they really cannot make the visit, then we plan a family reunion at a mutually convenient place and time. My children and I have had reunions in Mazatlan, Mexico, Spokane, Washington, Glacier National Park, and this New Year in Orlando, Florida. We had one reunion with Bill’s children in Yellowstone National Park.

Friends

We also have to consider visits or reunions with friends. At this time in our lives, relationships are truly number 1! We take particular care in considering reunions with Bill’s beloved high school group, the DUs. First was in Sunriver, Oregon in 2009, then Crested Butte in 2010 and next, Nova Scotia in July 2012. Their 50^th year high school reunion in Pittsburg, Kansas is also in September 2012. However, 2013 or 2014 it will most probably be in Provence. So we will have to time our European cruise then!

Every time I visit the Philippines, reunions are a matter of course. This year WIT, our Women in Information Technology group, had our first out of the country meeting in Las Vegas with Ann and Jingjing. Next year it will be in April in Atlantic City, NJ. My other group, the Institute of Advanced Computer Technology (I/ACT) had a reunion in Chicago, Illinois near where Loy, Lea, and Watet live. The next one will probably be next year in Toronto where Marissa and Mon live.

Attractions and Fuel Expense

Those three areas pretty much decide which states (or countries) to visit. Now the route we take usually depends on what states or attractions we have not yet visited. And then the final area we consider, given equal alternatives, is which will give us the lowest expenditure in fuel. Please see our Phase 1 (Seattle to Seattle) when we started up to the time we left for the Philippines last February and Phase 2 (Seattle to Las Vegas) when we came back last May until next year when we get to Las Vegas which will be our springboard for foreign travels in the future.

Campground

Now for the final detail, that is, where should we stay? We are Elite members of Thousand Trails and Resorts of Distinction, giving us 81 and 92 campgrounds, respectively, to choose from for our campground at absolutely no charge! If there are no campgrounds available within those two systems in the areas we will be going to, we choose from Resort Parks International or Enjoy America systems which are much larger but charge $10 a night or 50 % off the first night. As you might have guessed, rarely do we use those!

Given equal alternatives, we decide the campground based on: 1) how far the attractions we want to visit are relative to its location, 2) which one has a hot tub or sauna, heated pool, fitness room, table tennis, billiards, mini-golf, 3) what activities are held, preferably Texas Hold ‘Em, karaoke, dancing, water aerobics, potlucks, 4) how well the campsites are laid out, preferably pull-thrus with 50 amp electricity, cable TV and wi-fi, with a deck, patio, or nice grass, and lastly, 5) whether our friend RVers will stay there, too.

Vacation Internationale

There are also times when we have used Bill’s Vacation International membership when we want to spoil ourselves a bit or there is no suitable place for a good reunion. Once we stayed at Clock Tower in Whistler, British Columbia. My family had a reunion at Torres Mazatlan in Mexico. This year Bill and I are spending Christmas in Sand Pebble in Tampa, Florida and Valentines at the Newport Resort in South Beach, Miami. When this happens, we use a storage facility for M’A!

Not really a rocket science but there are definitely many things to consider in making sure our trips are comfortable, affordable and loads of fun!

OLA: 'Turning Wounds into Wisdom', Oprah

2011-11-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

a giant Coke bottle stands as an ethereal symbol atop The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia

It was Oprah who once said…’turn wounds into wisdom’. And that is what Georgia did, judging by the many great institutions it fostered out of the ravages of war, years of division, and adversity for its people. As we visited the following in Atlanta and Americus, Georgia we were greatly inspired. It was truly a different kind of sight-seeing.

Centers for Disease Control

Bill in a safe suit at Center for Disease Control

The world will forever be grateful for CDC. It was created as a US federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta in 1946. CDC works to protect public health and safety. Successful efforts to avert two world crises, tracing contaminated poliomyelitis vaccine to a California lab in 1955 and tracking the massive influenza epidemic of 1957, positioned the agency’s future as a leader in disease surveillance.

The CDC also played a key role in one of the greatest triumphs of public health, the eradication of smallpox in 1977 through an "eradication escalation" technique. In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, it found the cause of Legionnaires disease and toxic-shock syndrome. In 1081 CDC successfully identified the fatal disease that was subsequently named acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). What a record in making the world a better place to live in!

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

Martin Luther King's Tomb in the MLKJ National Historic Site

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) is the iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. A Baptist minister, King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked by Rosa Parks and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. The MLKJ National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia includes the museum, the adjacent Baptist church from which he preached, his home just a block away, and his tomb and eternal flame. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. No other American is so honored, not even Washington or Lincoln.

Cola Company

Taste-It Room with over 65 flavors of Coke for free tastes!

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation. Its flagship product Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia. Then the formula and brand were bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. It now offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries and sells over 1.6 billion servings a day! It is the world’s best known brand.

The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. And there it operates the World of Coca Cola, a complete museum with a 4D Theater featuring ‘The Secret Ingredient’, a Taste-It Room where you can taste 64 different coke flavors plus concoct your own, a Red Room with memorabilia over the years, have your picture taken with the Coke Polar Bear, a Room of Souvenirs, and a tour of the manufacturing/bottling process. It was such a fun museum for little Bill and Carol!

the CNN Center at 1 CNN Center

CNN

When I spent many a night in various hotels as part of my globe-trotting career in computers, CNN was my constant companion. I felt some excitement as I saw the familiar letters on the façade of the CNN Center in Atlanta. CNN was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner, the first to provide 24-hour television news coverage and the first all-news television channel in the United States. As of 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million U.S. households, 890,000 American hotel rooms, and 212 countries. The proliferation of news channels over the years that followed CNN is testament to the service news channels provide.

the monument at Habitat's Global Discovery Center

Habitat for Humanity/Jimmy Carter

Habitat for Humanity is an international NGO devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing, a "Christian housing ministry." Its international headquarters is located in Americus, Georgia with the administrative headquarters in Atlanta, 1,500 US satellite offices and five area offices located around the world. Its mission is to "eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action." Homes are built using volunteer labor and are sold at no profit for affordable monthly payments.

Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains

I was general manager of MegaLink (the ATM consortium of banks in the Philippines) when my staff and I built a home for the Philippine Chapter of Habitat. Now, a Philippine nonprofit called Gawad Kalinga has become popular extending the Habitat vision to provide not just at cost homes but also funds and training for the establishment of livelihoods. I was inspired to see firsthand where Habitat started and to visit the nearby birthplace and boyhood home of Jimmy Carter who, at age 89, still goes on a Carter-Habitat project each year with a thousand or so volunteers to build homes.

the first Flatiron Building in America

These visits will keep Georgia in my mind…for a long, long time.

And we even found two bonuses in Atlanta. The Flat Iron Building, the city’s second skyscraper, was completed in 1897 on a wedge-shaped block, five years before New York's own version, placing it on the National Register of Historic Places. Then Margaret Mitchell ‘s home (she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for Gone with the Wind, one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 30 million copies) is very well maintained. The film adaptation of the book, released in 1939, became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood, getting a record-breaking ten Academy Awards.

Margaret Mitchell's home

Next Post: WOW: Planning Itineraries

OLA: Putting Georgia on My Mind (Attractions)

2011-10-31T07:59:00.000-04:00

a little portion of the massive oil painting at the Cyclorama

‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime’, Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad. This quote came to my mind when Bill and I took a 2-day trip to Atlanta, Georgia, only 2 hours from our campground. Our travels finally brought us to a hotbed of the great prejudice of the past and it is a chance to confront whatever remaining prejudice, if any, we may still have
.

Stone Mountain from across the other side of the lake in the Park

It has been a long road from the time slavery became commonplace in the American South to help landlords run their plantations. Georgia was the fifth of eleven states to secede from the Union in January 1861 on the eve of the sure election of Lincoln, an abolitionist, as president. Today, Atlanta is still largely black, 54% in the 2010 census versus 38% white, 5% Asian, and 3% Hispanic. As we went around, I found out that this demographic and slice of history shaped the city’s top attractions.

The ‘Battle of Atlanta’ Cyclorama

the entrance facade of the Cyclorama

Our first stop in Atlanta was the incredible Cyclorama. The painting is the largest oil painting in the world. If unrolled, it would measure 42 feet high by 358 feet long. Cheapskate Carol first thought the admission fee too high for one painting but this convinced me to temporarily abandon Budgeting 101! We viewed the cylindrical painting from the inside where we were seated on a cylinder that rotates slowly affording a 360 degree view, including the diorama which has been seamlessly built around it.

The painting brings to life the fierce fighting as Confederate defenders of Atlanta staged an unsuccessful counterattack on the Union army on July 22, 1864. Commissioned after the end of the war, it opened to display in Detroit, Michigan, in 1887, going around until the circus that owned it went bankrupt. Finally, the Atlanta Civil War Museum was built in 1921 to house it and, after a period of neglect, the painting and building were restored in the 1980s. In the end, I was glad that my frugality did not stand in the way of this unique experience! We had already missed the smaller one in Gettysburg!

the Confederate Carving bas-relief on Stone Mountain

The Stone Mountain Park

Just 45 minutes east of Atlanta is the Stone Mountain in the town of the same name. Much like Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, it is an igneous intrusion. A dome of quartz monzonite, 1,686 feet at its summit and more than five miles in circumference at its base, it has been erroneously dubbed as “the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". It is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the largest bas-relief (3 acres, 3 football fields) in the world depicting the three pillars of the Confederate States of America: Generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis.

the 732-bell Carillon at Stone Mountain Park

I felt the Confederate Carving, however, fails in comparison to the grandeur of Mt. Rushmore whose very sculptor, Borglum, resigned from this project. Disappointed , we spent the time driving around the perimeter road. We were rewarded with awesome sights: the view of the mountain from the golf course across the lake, the 732-bell Carillon off a promontory into the lake (the music that was playing when we arrived was Ave Maria), the grist mill tucked away almost hidden by the blazing trees, and all the trails and winding roads with the muted fall colors of the southeast in full regalia. The Park such a neatly ‘landscaped’ piece of nature. .

And we didn’t have enough time to meander around its museums, plantations, playgrounds, and marina, camp at its campground, and dine at its hotels, all imprinted with Confederate memories.

The Underground Atlanta

Bill did business in Atlanta before. He was nostalgic about a historic downtown area of about 6 blocks where he had many a good evening of entertainment (wonder with whom?)!

Underground Atlanta today

Underground Atlanta grew from the Zero Milepost of the railroad built to connect Atlanta and Chattanooga in 1836. Many significant architectural features survived from original storefronts, including ornate marble, granite archways, cast iron pilasters, decorative brickwork, and hand-carved wood posts and panels. The construction of the MARTA rapid transit line in 1980 led to its closing. 21 years later, at a cost of $142 million, through a joint venture between the City of Atlanta and private industry, it reopened.

the stairs going down to the first level of the Underground

It is sad that their investment has not brought back the bustling area it once probably was. Today it is largely a gathering area for African-Americans. But Bill treated me to dinner there, a fine way to end our day. He was the only Caucasian and I was the only Asian in the Georgia Peaches Restaurant at the bottom level, the entertainment level.

Andersonville National Historic Site

Andersonville National Cemetery

On our day trip to Americus, Georgia, we passed the town of Andersonville where the Confederacy had a large Civil War Prison and Cemetery. Called Camp Sumter, in existence for 14 months, the prison held 45,000 Union soldiers, almost 13,000 of whom died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, and exposure to the elements. The largest number held at any one time was more than 32,000 in August of 1864. The National Prisoner of War Museum at the National Historic Site is dedicated to the American men and women who have suffered as POWs. The cemetery is now a National Cemetery, continuing to serve as a honored burial place for modern-day veterans.

I am so glad we travel. Little by little, we see that remaining vestiges of prejudice is being erased all around, even within, us.

Next Post: Keeping Georgia on My Mind: Great Institutions, Great Men

WOW: Cooking (and Eating!) in an RV

2011-10-25T07:20:00.000-04:00

Bill likes to eat out!

The draws of campgrounds are many: activities, amenities, nearby attractions. For the Southern Trails Resort where we now are staying in Georgia, the focus is FOOD! Every Tuesday to Saturday morning we can have free all-you-can-eat fluffy pancakes for breakfast! Every Monday they rotate the following all free and all-you-can-eat treats for lunch: cheese platter and wine, sinful funnel cakes, spicy soft tacos, and fresh crisp pizzas. Every other Saturday lunch is potluck! The alternate Saturdays are free all-you-can-eat sherbet ice cream! Shared food certainly makes for a fun family atmosphere!

a Saturday lunch potluck@ Southern Trails

Challenges in RV Cooking and Eating

Thus, I am inspired and compelled to write about RV cooking and eating in this post! At 67 (Bill) and 63 (yes, we admit that we are sexygenaians), our digestive systems and metabolic rates are not quite as efficient or as high as they used to be. We are retired and, although there are a lot of fun things to do around camp, sometimes it is only food that can feed my boredom. But we are watchful that it does not become an obsession for the consequences are, by experience and observation, usually difficult to shed!

Cooking in an RV can also be very challenging because there is naturally limited space (trust me, the microwave and oven combined in one unit can be a source of disasters and unplanned starvation!), the food supply is constantly changing (grocery outlets stock very differently across the country), and there are minimal utensils to use (you can’t really afford to keep that crepe pan, ice cream scooper, or iced tea maker!). The issues are plenty for a ‘young’ wife trying to make her man happy through his stomach!

our spacious RV kitchen!

We have to balance healthfulness, taste, freshness, economy, convenience, and variety, all hallmark values for good nourishment. For healthfulness, we try to reduce salt, fats, and sugar and increase fiber and manage portions. Comfort foods are increasingly becoming our favorites. However, it is quite difficult to achieve this for a couple from Kansas and the Philippines! For economy, we buy bulk to get best values but not so much as to decrease our mpg! We also watch out for farmers’ markets. So to get variety we have compiled a list of favorite dishes and divided them into two categories.

Favorite Foods

Everyday foods are those that are the easiest to prepare but are also healthy. For breakfast, our selection includes: American standards like oatmeal, cereals, grits, bagels, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal muffins, toast, banana bread, egg cups, and Filipino treats like champorado and congee. For lunches and dinners, we choose from this list: American dishes like grilled dogs and burgers, chicken noodle soup, chicken rice, chicken n dumplings, chicken tortilla soup, chicken macaroni soup, parmesan fish, baked fish fillets, fish poached in white wine, and Filipino/Asian meals like chicken ramen soup, chicken tinola, chicken nilaga, chicken adobo, arroz caldo, Hongkong steamed fish, and fish pinangat.

our dining room...always with a view!

For company foods mean dishes for weekends, holidays, special occasions and, obviously, when we have company! Special breakfast items include hot browns, biscuits and gravy, pancakes (or waffles) and bacon, French toast, scrambled eggs or omelettes. Lunch and dinner choices are: American regulars like beef stew, pot roast, spaghetti, shepherd’s pie, roast chicken, mustard chicken, oven-baked fried chicken, roast pork, grilled pork, and pork barbeque, and Filipino/Asian selections such as bulalo, mechado, kaldereta, Hainanese chicken, chicken afritada, chicken inasal, chicken asado, and chicken teriyaki.

Side dishes for these entrees, whether every day or for company, are any of the following: baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, whole wheat tortillas or bread, or whole corn. Of course, steamed brown rice is always available. Veggies can simply be steamed broccoli, green beans, or asparagus, succotash of green peas, carrots, and whole kernel corn, or simple romaine lettuce greens with an apple cider vinegar with honey and a little mayonnaise dressing.

You will notice that there is enough variety for a 2 ½ week menu without repetition! I have a terrible time dealing with monotony (just ask Bill!). We try to limit each meal to at most 4 ounces of meat with 1 cup of steamed rice or a medium potato or a small corn or 2 slices of bread or 2 tortillas, and as much veggies as possible per person. But when there is free food like we often do here in Southern Trails, we are invited to parties, or when we visit family and friends, we eat with mucho gusto! The sad part is that we pay for it dearly after! But soon we are able to wake up and get back to reality!

he view!

10 Commandments of RV Cooking and Eating

After 2 ½ years of RVing, we have compiled the following 10 Commandments of RV Cooking and Eating: 1) cook for two meals at a time, once left-over is ok, 2) stock up on staples to get best values but just store them in very light but air tight plastic containers, 3) buy from farmers’ markets for fresh in-season produce, 4) learn about spices (plus Better-than-Bouillon) and how they can make food taste better and different but healthy, 5) prepare everything from scratch as much as possible, 6) eat small quantities but frequently , 7) use applesauce or mashed bananas instead of butter or oil for baking, 8) boil, steam, grill, or bake only, 9) drink lots of water or non-caffeine herbal teas, and 10) have the best in ambiance, outdoors when the weather is great or with a great picture window when you have to eat inside!

Hopefully there are some ideas that you can find useful from this! And, remember, don’t ever forget to have loads of fun planning meals and hunting for ingredients, to enjoy cooking and eating with your loved one, to keep healthy and sexy, and to live long and well!

Next: Keeping Georgia on My Mind!

OLA: Driving the Natchez Trace Parkway

2011-10-18T08:51:00.002-04:00

Fall colors at the New Trace

Not only Bill drove. I drove 10% of the Natchez Trace Parkway!

Fall colors at the Old Trace

We were in Tennessee last year, making our way back to the Northwest from our first winter in Florida. We only visited its largest cities: Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis. This time around, we passed through in the opposite direction….towards Florida for our second winter! We found the drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina so memorable (and the blog post is one of the most popular) that this year, we chose to drive the Parkway. Besides we wanted to cover Mississippi and it leads there!

Falll colors at the lake in Natchez Trace RV Resort

The Natchez Trace Parkway (the Old was started in 1801 while the New began in 1930) gently winds among low hills from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, crossing Alabama at its northwestern tip. This All-American Road, like its sister Blue Ridge, is maintained by the National Park Service, to commemorate the original route following the ’traces’ of bison and other game. In essence, it was the original path of the earliest Americans on the move (much like us)! Parts of the Old Trace is preserved and an added bonus was the fall colors draping its sides (my favorite season!).

them ol' cotton fields back at Donnivan Slough

Improved communications (steam boats, stagecoach lines, and railroads) and the development of ports along nearby rivers made the route obsolete as a means of commerce. As a result, no major population centers were born or developed along it. Thus the Trace and its alignment between Nashville and Natchez come down to us today almost completely undeveloped and unspoiled as an unhurried forest lane, with the exception of the cities of Tupelo and Jackson, Mississippi which developed later.

native-American ceremonial mound at the Trace

There are many hiking trails in this quiet forest lane. Clear streams, little falls, shallow swamps, gentle meadows, pretty trees, and wild turkey are abundant. At Donivan Slough, I was fascinated by the cotton fields that almost look like acres of pock-marked snow. Then there were the native-American burial mounds, bigger and higher (though not in special shapes) than the ones we saw at the Mounds National Monument in Iowa. There was even a grave site of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers. And near the Northern Terminus at milepost 444, a 155-ft. double arch bridge commands the intersection of the Parkway and Tennessee 100 at Birdsong Hollow.

155-ft. double-arch bridge over Tennessee 100

Tuscumbia, Alabama

Despite being rendered blind and deaf from a high fever at the early age of 19 months, Helen Keller, through the dedication of her beloved teacher Anne Sullivan, was able to graduate from Radcliff, cum laude. She went on to write 14 books and was a sought after inspirational speaker until she died at age 88 in 1968. A moon tree, from a seed carried in the Apollo 14 space flight to the moon, is growing well on the grounds of Ivy Green, her birthplace and childhood home in Tuscumbia, Alabama, a short diversion from the Trace.

Helen Keller's birthplace and childhood home in Alabama

My mother was the Principal of the Philippine School for the Deaf and the Blind for years, having been sent by the government as its scholar to the Central Institute for the Deaf in Missouri. As a matter of fact, my sister Julie is now Executive Director of a nonprofit school called the Philippine Institute for the Deaf which we founded in her honor. Thus I was so interested to make the short diversion to the Museum of the First Lady of Courage. She was my mother’s heroine. And my mom was mine!

Elvis Presley's birthplace and boyhood home in Mississippi

Tupelo, Mississippi

Another draw to the Trace is Tupelo, Mississippi which is the birthplace and home of Elvis before he headed for Memphis and stardom. Gospel singing influenced the star’s music so much that the church which he attended as a boy and teenager was relocated to the site of the home and museum, only one block from its original location. We were surprised that the Elvis landmark had so many more visitors than Ivy Green. I guess pop music and rock n’ roll has a wider appeal than rising above one’s handicap! But I enjoyed holding young Elvis’ hand for a photo!

flock of wild turkey fleeing from Bill's camera

We were not able to complete the Trace. But we promised ourselves that when we cross the Gulf States again, plying between California/Arizona and Florida for snow birding, we will complete the southern portion around Jackson, Mississippi most especially to see the unique Windsor Ruins, the patches of red clover, and yellow wildflowers on a river bend!

Jack Daniel’s Distillery

the natural spring from where Jack Daniels comes from

Two weeks ago, I wrote that 95% of bourbon-making is in Kentucky. Well, a day when I was not feeling well, Bill went to Lynchburg, Tennessee to tour the only Jack Daniels Distillery. Daniels started working at the general store owned by the man that owned the still when he was only 7 years old. He bought it for $25 when he was only 13! One morning he went to work early. Not able to remember the combination to the safe, he kicked it in frustration, breaking his big toe. Gangrene set in and eventually resulted in his death. (The lesson is: ‘Don’t go to work too early!’ ) The company now has 400 employees in a town of 500 in a dry county in Tennessee!

13 gravesites of unknown Confederates on the Old Trace

Next Stop: Atlanta and Macon, Georgia

OLA:Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit Part 3

2011-10-11T08:32:00.000-04:00

the Thrilla in Manila!

Famous Kentuckians!

Kentucky’s Unbridled Spirit is kept very much alive by famous Kentuckians such as Muhammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Collins Foster, Duncan Hines, and as covered in the last post, Colonel Sanders.

Muhammad Ali center in downtown Louisville

Everyone must remember the thundering applause that always greeted the man as he walked into the ring introduced as ‘Muhammad Ali…from Louisville, Kentucky’! Ali is probably the greatest fighter that ever lived, a three-time world heavyweight champion in 15 years, interrupted only by his conviction for draft evasion. Although now I am proud to say Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino, is also making a lot of buzz. I had goose pumps watching the film Thrilla in Manila (which I watched live at the time it was held!), the third in the Frazier-Ali duel, at the Muhammad Ali Center right in the middle of Louisville. Many thought he should have retired after that fight. The Center features his core values on respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, charity, and spirituality. What inspiration!

Lincoln's Memorial in Hodgenville, Kentucky

We were also surprised to find out that Abraham Lincoln, 16^th president of the US who led the nation on the brink of dissolution by the American Civil War and signed the Emancipation Proclamation that effectively abolished slavery, was actually born in Hodgenville, Kentucky south of Louisville. His wife, Mary Todd was from Kentucky, too. His family moved to Springfield, Illinois when he was a young boy. Lincoln is ranked the best president the US ever had in almost all surveys. The memorial, erected at his birthplace with 59 steps representing the 59 years of his life, bears only one thing inside…the simple one-room log cabin where this great man was born.

My Ol' Kentucky Home

Stephen Collins Foster is known as the "father of American music". He was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century. Songs like Oh! Susanna, Swanee River, and Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair remain popular even after 150 years. Another composition, My Old Kentucky Home, became the Kentucky state song. It was allegedly written after Foster’s stay at the 19^th century mansion still standing at the State Park that bears the same name as the song title.

Duncan Hines Marker

Lesser known internationally is Duncan Hines of Bowling Green, Kentucky. He became well-known to many American travelers because he authored and popularized the first restaurant and lodge rating system in the country. He also invented cake mixes and the Duncan Hines cake mix is still popular today. Last week, we already talked about another Kentucky hero, Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky!

This spirit has its roots in the state’s history. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (also Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Constitutionally, there is absolutely no difference between a commonwealth and a state. Traditionally, however, the three states, hotbeds of the American Revolution, proudly stuck to the moniker that means ‘a nation or body governed by the people, not some king or tyrant’. (England was called a commonwealth during the time Cromwell and Parliament ruled instead of a king.) Kentucky kept the name when it was carved out of Virginia in 1792.

Spa Tables at the Resort!

Loads of Fun!

But, after all the seriousness of these musings, I should also write about the loads of fun we had from our own Kentucky home, the Diamond Caverns Golf and RV Resort. First of all, we had 5 spa tables and a complete exercise room! Too bad the hot tub and sauna were out of order! One Saturday we went with some camping friends Margaret and Walt and Agnes and Cecil to the ‘My Old Kentucky Barn Karaoke’ off a dirt road in Park City, Kentucky. It was packed with cowboys and cowgirls and I sang Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight and Buck Owens’ Act Naturally with much gusto! That was a good night.

My Ol' Barn Karaoke in Park City, Kentucky

M'A getting TLC

Remember our flat tire? We discovered that the headquarters of Camping World is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky! They referred us to S&R Tire Center which became our home for three nights as they took care of our tire problems! But we also found a great breast cancer awareness sculpture there!

breast cancer awareness...Bustin' Out!

red penguins at the performing arts center in Louisville

We also found this funky performing arts center in Louisville, Kentucky that is adorned with red penguins! On the sidewalk in front of the building is a car body propped up by tens of feet! I was trying to look for miniature tea sets for some of my friends at the dozens of antique stores that dotted the scenic byways. So during our last weekend when 300 miles of these byways was converted into the Annual Roller-Coaster Yard Sale, I was ecstatic!

We were sad to leave Kentucky, really, but winter can no longer be postponed! As a matter of fact, fall has already brought temps down in the 40’s Fahrenheit, quite cold for my small tropical body. So our trek to Florida must continue…through Tennessee then Georgia!

OLA:Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit Part 2

2011-10-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

giant chairs used as obstacles in horse shows at the Park

Made in Kentucky! I didn’t realize this would be a theme of a post as we made our day trips through the cities of Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green, Kentucky. We discovered that the state is home to several great products. Not surprising for a state whose slogan is Kentucky’s Unbridled Spirit!

the winner of the Arabian National Show
posing for his family picture
at the Covered Arena of the Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky’s most famous product is the thoroughbred, a horse breed, considered "hot-blooded" and known for their agility, speed and spirit. These beautiful animals were developed in 17th and 18th-century England. All modern thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three imported Oriental stallions. In turn, they were imported into North America starting in 1730. They were all over the horse farms in Lexington, Kentucky, the horse capital of the world. The city is also home to the famous Kentucky Horse Park where you see the most beautiful show horses, the fastest race champions, or the best trained for dressage. I gasped at the majestic Arabians who were part of the National Arabian Show at the Covered Arena.

Cigar!

Then I was so pleased to meet Cigar, the horse known as the leading moneymaker in racing history in 19 wins, 16 of them consecutive in 1995-6, at the Hall of Champions. At the entrance to the Park is the inspiring memorial to Man o’ War, who won 20 of 21 starts, sired 65 stakes champions, and is known for having the longest stride (28 ft, Secretariat’s was 25 ft.)! On the other side of the entrance is Secretariat, the first US Triple Crown champion in 1973 after 29 years, including the Kentucky Derby where his time of 1:59 still stands unbeaten today. When he died it was found out that his heart is 22 pounds, almost 3 times larger than an average horse. What inspiring beauties!

Memorial to Man o' War

white warehouses in Heavenly Hill

On the road to Lexington through the famous Bluegrass Parkway, we spotted the Bourbon Trail. It leads to the bourbon making district and to the town of Bardstown, Kentucky where the annual Bourbon Festival is held every second weekend of September. But we ran out of time so Bill toured the Makers Mark Distillery and visited the Heavenly Hill Bourbon Heritage Center another day. Distinct black (for Makers’ Mark) and white (for Heavenly Hill) buildings that you see from the highway are actually bourbon warehouses. 95% of all bourbon is produced in Kentucky. The name bourbon, which is derived from an area known as Old Bourbon which was named after the French House of Bourbon, is reserved for whiskey produced in the United States (like scotch whisky for Scotland). In practice, almost all bourbons marketed today are made from more than two-thirds corn and have been aged at least four years.

vats of sour mash (corn, barley, and red wheat) at the Makers' Mark distillery

5-story Louisville Sligger in front of the museum/factory

The favorite sport of most Americans is baseball and the best bat comes from Kentucky. The Louisville Slugger has sold more than 100M in 120 years, making it the most popular bat brand in baseball history. 60% of all Major League players currently use the Louisville Slugger. It all started when 17-year-old Bud Hillerich, whose father owned a woodworking shop in Louisville, Kentucky, watched Kentucky’s major league team Eclipse’s game one afternoon in 1884. The team’s star, Pete Browning, was mired in a hitting slump and broke his bat. Bud invited Pete over to the shop where he handcrafted a new bat from a long slab of wood with the star by his side, giving advice. The next day, Browning got three hits with it and the rest is baseball history.

A 5-story bat stands in front of the Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky. We had a hard time getting all that bat into a photo! An artful extension is the Walk of Fame featuring 50 baseball greats like Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth who are enshrined with bronze casts of the Louisville slugger model bat each used.

corvettes awaiting delivery ceremonies at the museum

We were also surprised to find out that the Corvette, the distinctive American sports car, is made in Bowling Green, Kentucky! Not that we will ever be able to afford one ($55-130,000 list price)! Now in its 6th, the next generation is expected to hit the market in 2012. The car is named after the type of small, maneuverable warships called corvette. The GM plant, highly focused on quality, currently produces 8 Corvettes an hour At any one time there are over 400 such cars in the plant (I loved the yellow ones), The National Corvette Museum featuring 80 dream models through the years lies just across the street.

photo mural of The Colonel on a Louisville building

About a year before the corvette was introduced, the household byword in fried chicken, KFC, was born. Colonel Sanders first served his fried chicken in 1930 in the midst of the Great Depression at a gas station he owned in North Corbin, Kentucky. The dining area, named Sanders Court & Café, became so successful.. However, when Interstate 75 bypassed the town of Corbin, he sold the business and traveled across the US, selling his chicken recipe. Together with Pete Harman in South Salt Lake, Utah they opened the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" outlet in 1952.

Great products are borne out of the spirit of hardworking people. They in turn were inspired by the examples of great men. Part 3 will be about the Kentuckians who kept Kentucky’s unbridled spirit alive!

OLA: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit

2011-09-25T08:20:00.000-04:00

an RV flat tire on I 71, just 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky

I looked up the meaning of ‘unbridled’ (from this state slogan) in dictionary.com; it has two. The second meaning says: free from restraint.

As soon as we left Cincinnati and, as we were approaching Louisville, the right front tires of M’A ‘turn blew out (she has 8 in all, 2 in front and 6 at the rear, on 2 rear axles!) It was such an unfamiliar booming loud noise and I got really scared (for once?). Luckily, Bill was able to steer the 20,000-pound rig to the shoulder of Interstate 71. In about an hour, our Good Sam road assistance was there to ‘unbridle’ us and we continued on to Diamond Caverns Golf and RV Resort further down in Park City.

The original meaning is: horse bridles removed. Kentucky is where majestic horses run 'unbridled' in fertile pastures.

grass with a tinge of blue...

Churchill Downs, where the annual Kentucky Derby is held,
shown on its 360 degree screen

It is known as the ‘Bluegrass State’, literally because of bluegrass that is great for livestock especially thoroughbreds native to the state (saddle bred) who run ‘unbridled’ on the fields. Bluegrass is a perennial species native to Europe, north Asia and Africa, but not North America. Colonists brought the seeds with them and native Americans call it white man’s grass.. I spent many hours foolishly looking for grass that’s blue (so what else is new?). The name derives from both its dark green blades and blue flower heads which appear only when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of 2 to 3 feet.

the entry to Churchill Downs guarded by Barbaro a Kentucy Derby Winner

This land makes the breeding of high-quality racing horses possible. Churchill Downs, now a World Heritage Site, is in Louisville and is North America’s longest operating horse racing track. The famous Kentucky Derby is held there first weekend of every May and this year saw its 137th. We toured the grounds and imagined Derby Day when 120,000 people spill out of its 54,000 seat grandstand, with its famous twin spires and millionaires’ row, onto the grass lawn inside the mile long dirt track. $150M is wagered through its 3,000 windows. We toured the back barns where 1,500 future champions are being trained and stood in awe at the many testaments to past and current champions and the sublime walkway of those who have passed on. A showcase miniature horse named Winston and a retired champion named Risen Warrior bid us goodbye.

Winston, the miniature horse, and Risen Warrior, retired champ

Frozen Niagara in Mammoth Cave National Park,
longest cave system in the world

North central Kentucky is famous for the Downs, the Derby, and many horse farms. But in the south central part of the state is the world’s longest cave system in over 50,000 acres of the Mammoth Cave National Park. 394 miles of connected underground passageways were formed by the ‘unbridled’ waters of the Green River. If you remember, in Rapid City we saw the second longest, Jewel Cave National Monument (154 miles), and the fifth longest, Wind Cave National Park (135 miles). The third longest is Optymistychna in the Ukraine (144 miles) and the fourth is Sistema Ox Bel Ha (139 miles) in Mexico.

Carol sanitizing her shoes on 'foam-ations'

The System was formed about millions of years ago under a ridge of sandstone and shale, making it very stable and dry, though not as gorgeous in formations. We took the easy (I can’t do strenuous tours anymore!) Frozen Niagara tour, so named for the waterfall that comes through a hole on the cave roof and alternates between a trickle and a downpour depending on water activity above. A huge flowstone with draperies looks like frozen falls. Unfortunately, I was singled out (not for being pretty, sigh) but for having been in another cave system only 2 months earlier, wearing the same pair of shoes! White nose syndrome has killed millions of bats and I had to be sanitized through the ‘foam-ations’. At the end, all of us had to go through it.

one of the one=car river ferries

Driving through the scenic byways of Kentucky was also pleasant. The Cordell Hull Scenic Byway goes down to the border of Tennessee at Tompkinsville where we found an Old Meeting House that was built in 1773 during the religious upheavals. Every day the old game of rock marbles is still played at a unique ‘Marble Dome’ in town. The Duncan Hines Scenic Byway goes around and inside the Mammoth Cave National Park, crossing the Green River on 3 points via small ferries, through pretty treed landscapes, many historic cemeteries of families who once lived on the park, and antique stores full of treasures.

the old Marble Club Super Dome, still in daily use today

Next: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit, Part 2

OLA: Taking Me Home, Country Roads, WV

2011-09-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

the tallest capitol dome in the US is in Charlesto, West Virginia

We kept on humming John Denver’s ‘West Virginia, my old momma, Take me home, country roads’ while we drove to Charleston (3 hours one-way) from our campground in Wilmington, Ohio. We had decided not to take our RV there but take the most direct route to Florida (our home this winter) instead: through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. After all gas prices are still up and at 20,000 pounds, M’A guzzles gas at 8 miles to a gallon. Besides the Thousand Trails System where we are a member has no campground there.

the Mothman Statue

the Silver Memorial Bridge built in 1969
to replace the one that collapsed in 1967, killing 46

At the border of Ohio and West Virginia we crossed the shining Silver Memorial Bridge on the Ohio River to the little town of Point Pleasant. Paul, a new friend we met at the Wilmington Resort (he owns a Newmar Mountain Aire 1997 exactly like ours!) lent us a DVD of the 2002 movie, Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere, Debra Messing and Laura Linney, which was based on a book by John Keel about the town’s legend. We also met Robert, caretaker of the Mothman Souvenir Shop, who was a great story-teller.

town memorial of the bridge collapse
that killed 46 during the rush hour on 12/15/1967

Paranormal enthusiasts flock to the town in search of Mothman, a large creature with 10-foot wing spans and red glowing eyes, said to inhabit an abandoned TNT factory from WWII. It is believed to be a harbinger of imminent disaster, now being seen around the globe before great tragedies. The legendary creature was reportedly seen from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge, an I-bar chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint, collapsed during rush hour. All reports of sightings mysteriously stopped after that day when 46 people met their tragic deaths.

the small town amphitheater by the Ohio River
with the railroad trestle at the background

For a town with a current population of 4,600, 46 deaths meant that almost every household was affected. A marker was erected on the site and the new Memorial Bridge was built in 1969 a few miles away. And Point Pleasant eventually recovered. Looking out to the old railroad trestle above the Ohio River is the amphitheater which the residents use for community events. The wall separating the little park from downtown is painted with many murals of the town’s history.

Such is the charm of country roads and captivating legends.

Renaissance Village

Charleston, on the other hand, looks very much a charming metropolis (population, 350,000). From the campus of the University of Charleston across the river, the dome of the state capitol, the nation’s tallest, is elegantly crafted with 24-carat gold leaf and strikes a grand shimmering pose among the verdant trees,. The statues of Stonewall Jackson on its side and Abraham Lincoln at its front guard this magnificent building, underlining the fact that the state was formed in 1861 out of Confederate Virginia as a symbol of the Union’s victory early in the Civil War.

colorful bridge shops

Even the town market, The Capitol Market, is like a little Granville of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. The upscale shopping district on a tree-lined street is called the Renaissance Village. And from the central town bridge, up on the hills where the rich live, pretty colorful Bridge Shops abound.

But we did not get to the parts of the state on its really scenic routes, extensions of John Denver’s ‘Almost heaven West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River’. Sometime in the future, we will get another chance. In the meantime we are content with our little magnet for our collection from the souvenir shop. It reads, ‘Dreaming of heaven, West Virginia’. Anyway, the small town atmosphere of Point Pleasant and the distinctive sights in Charleston were enough to fill another wonderful day in our wanderings in the meantime.

Next Post: Riding on Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit

OLA: Leaving Las Vegas

2011-09-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

the Fremont Experience in downtown Las Vegas

with Ate Tesing and Kuya Ute at the famous Welcome Sign

This is not about Nicolas Cage, it is about me! On a plane headed for ‘home’ in Ciincinnati, I am already nostalgic about my several days of escape to the Sin City! On Friday Sept. 2, Bill got a clean bill of knee health. After cooking some food and putting them in the fridge, I was off to Vegas on Sept. 5, worried the supply was not going to be enough, earning the title of a negligent wife. As it turned out, Bill was hungry for

pizza, chili dogs, chips and salsa, anyway! He had his own escape!

Ann , Jingjing and me in front of VDara Hotel

My first day was a shopping spree with my cousin Ate Tesing and husband Kuya Ute. I bought my first pair of skinny jeans!!! They also took me to the small Welcome plaza which now has a parking lot for tourists like me who would like her photo taken there for a souvenir shot. Then my first night was spent getting updated with each other’s goings-on...up to 3 in the morning!

no photography allowed inside, so just this pic!

Excalibur at night

Then off I went to the very first mini-reunion outside of the Philippines with gal pals Ann Gatmaytan and Jingjing Romero! I picked up Jingjing from her son Doc Oliver’s apartment. We were booked at the newest hotel on The Strip, the VDara which also belonged of the MGM Group. The concierge told us that Wednesdays and Thursdays are The Strip’s lean days. So we had only one choice for a 9 pm show (we knew Ann would not make it to the 7 pm)… ‘Thunder from Down Under’, Australia’s Chippendales at the Excalibur. Anyway, ‘Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’!

the funky garden inside Bellagio's Conservatory

Afterwards, however, we thought that it was a relatively tame show. All we got was a kiss on my cheeks, a touch on Ann’s thigh and a hand on Jingjing’s arm. But we relished the thought that finally we were able to watch this that we had all wondered about for a looooong time. Later we rode the tram back to VDara and walked through the summer flowers in Bellagio’s Inside Gardens but, sadly, missed the Dancing Lights because it was past midnight.

buffet at Palace Station with Angie and Wendell

The next night was truly a treat from a friend, Angie Manchester and her gentle giant of a husband, Wendell. They took us to the buffet at the Palace Station then to the Gordie Brown Show (comedic impersonator of Obama, Bush, and Cheney and a host of celebrity singers, including all my favorites) at the Golden Nugget.

Gordie as Elvis, courtesy of Angie

After the show we stepped right into the Fremont Experience in downtown Las Vegas. This original Strip is two blocks of 1940 casinos renovated through the years. On the middle of the street (no cars) were bands and sax players on several stages, different artists demonstrating and selling their crafts and tons of side shows. The highlight, however, was the hourly light show coordinated by about 300 computers on the long high roof that covered the strip! There was even a zipline that ran below the roofline (riding fees during the light show was
double).

one of the side shows at the Fremont Experience

We had shrimp cocktail before midnight at The Golden Gate, and passed by the White Wedding Chapel where Elvis got married before they took us back to our hotel! I am now on this plane, leaving Las Vegas, thinking my gosh, I didn’t know there were so many other things to see in this infamous city besides The Strip! Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, a plane tide through Grand Canyons, and the Red Rocks just outside are also must-sees! Next year I will return, with Bill and M’A ‘turn, and stay for three weeks at the Las Vegas Thousand Trails RV Resort!

the Little White Wedding Chapel where Elvis fot married

Next Post: Taking Me Home to Country Roads (West Virginia)

OLA: Digging into Ohio's History

2011-09-05T15:07:00.000-04:00

Santa Maria, the ship Columbus sailed from Spain in 1492 to land on American shores

Staying three weeks in one place affords us some time to get to know it. We could have gone on to visit many historical sites but we also had to take care as Bill was just recuperating from his arthroscopic surgery. So we did a little digging (not the archaeological kind) of the state's history, especially about the two historical contests she has found herself in.

First, there have only been 44 presidents in the US and 8 came from Ohio! William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Harding all made Ohio their home or were born there. We enjoy visiting presidents’ homes. Walking where great men walked is one thing; to be where they lived is quite another! So we visited both the Harrison homes.

home of William Howard Taft on Auburn Hill

It also happens that the home of William Howard Taft is right in front of The Christ Hospital. Taft was the first Governor-General of the Philippines, laying the foundation of the country’s public systems and infrastructure. With a background that is deep into the US judicial system, this gave him the administrative experience for the presidency. And his strong judicial background gave him the unique opportunity to be the only president who later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

home of Benjamin Harrison in Indiana

But it is a different state which is dubbed the “Mother of Presidents’. 8 US presidents, most of them soon after the 1776 Revolution, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson, either made Virginia their home or were born there. Two years ago, we visited Washington’s Mt. Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello and Poplar Forest (his summer home), Madison’s Montpelier, and Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland.

William Henry Harrison's Tomb in Ohio

Thus the title that is given Ohio is ‘The Mother of Modern Presidents’. It is interesting to point out that William Henry Harrison is in both lists. He moved to Ohio from Virginia (his grandson Benjamin moved later to Indiana) and his grand tomb rests there. He served the shortest presidential term ever, dying of pneumonia just a month after his inauguration.

Second, Dayton, Ohio is the birthplace of Orville and Wilbur Wright but it was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where the brothers succeeded in first flying a plane (a glider). Thus North Carolina is called ‘The Birthplace of Aviation’. Ohio, on the other hand, carries the title, ‘The Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers’ and it is well deserved! Huffman Field, where the Wright Brothers tested and launched the first practical plane, is called the First Airport in the World. And John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, pioneer astronauts, were born in Ohio!

Huffman Field, World's First Airport, where the Wright Brothers launched the first practical plane

Ohio's Pride!!!

Because of the tremendous contribution of the Wright Brothers to aviation, the outstanding National Air Force Museum is in Dayton, Ohio, the best flight museum in the country. It boasts of the most comprehensive exhibit of military aircraft (about 300 planes) used in all the wars the US has been involved, from WWI to the Cold War. I was especially moved by the early dirigible, the bomber Bockscar which delivered the 2nd atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Enola Gay that bombed Hiroshima is in the Smithsonian), and the collection of missile heads. Bill loved the bombers, fighter jets, and stealths.

Lucius Quinctus Cincinnatus with Big Mac Bridge behind

Third, this is the uncontested part! Ohio has inspired many great works of men (for a time, the state had the highest inventions per capita) and many great men have also inspired the state! Cincinnati is proud to be named after the Roman general, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. He was forced to work on his own small farm after his son was convicted in absentia and condemned to death. In 458 BC, Rome called on him to quell an invasion by rival tribes as its dictator, an office he immediately resigned after achieving victory.

This has been an oft-cited model (Washington’s?) of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, and modesty. But Cincinnati is not the capital of Ohio. It is Columbus and there we found the most authentic replica of the Santa Maria, the ship Columbus sailed from Spain in August of 1492, arriving on American soil two months after, changing the world forever. A giant statue of him stands in front of the City Hall, a gift from Genoa, Italy, the town from whence he came.

Voice of America Relay Station

Fourth, this is the coolest part! Taft was not the only connection to the Philippines. En route to the Cincinnati Tennis Open we also chanced upon the National Voice of America Museum in West Church, Ohio. It was the relay station of the significant radio of the WWII. VOA became quite prominent in the Philippines even after the war because it became the country’s most reliable source of foreign news. These little connections to Philippine history were particularly heartwarming for me.

Next Stop: Flying to Las Vegas

Getting My 'Fixes' Around Cincy.....OLA

2011-08-29T13:35:00.000-04:00

Ohio Barn Quilt

I am a tennis fan-addict! Bill cannot quite understand why I passionately stay awake up to the wee hours of the morning to watch the rounds of the majors. Finally in Cincy (cute nickname of Cincinnati, Ohio) I got the chance to go to my very first live ATP Masters tennis tournament: The Western and Southern Open. It is part of the US Open Series prior to the US Open which just started today in Flushing Meadows, New York. The Cincy tourney has been running since 1899 and is the only one still playing in its original city. The Lindner Family and Tennis Center in Mason, a suburb of Cincy, is one of the country’s major tennis centers.

Blake-Baghdatis encounter on Opening Night

You cannot imagine my excitement as I waited in line for the gates to open, toured the many exhibits and kiosks, gobbled up many souvenir items (for our grandchildren and myself!), took countless photos, and watched #1 woman player Caroline Wozniacki and #2 men’s player Rafa Nadal practice at the side courts! I was frozen many times while watching even just the early rounds. My eyes followed the living ball whizz to and fro during the Blake-Baghdatis, Harrison-Chela, and Roddick-Kohlschreiber matches. Now, watching at least one of the four majors is a definite addition to our bucket list!

a section of Highway 127 in Ohio

Just like any other female, I am also a shopping fan-addict! But, retired and without the income I had before, it has evolved to become more of treasure hunting. Last year I was just reading about the World’s Longest Yard Sale in a travel magazine. It’s all of 625 miles along Highway 127, from Gadsden, Alabama to Hudson, Michigan on the first weekend of August. I ran into It when I took to bring Bill home from his surgery. On its last day, I dragged Bill, still in crutches, to get my ‘finds’: ‘Hot Wheels’ for my other grandson, Kenji who lives in Seattle, some bake ware, and other bargains!

the Great American Ball Park

I am also a fan of Paul McCartney who chose Cincy as one of the venues for his 8-city ‘On the Run’ tour. It was a sell-out crowd of 41,500 at the Great American Ball Park. Unfortunately, we were not one able to go because of Bill’s surgery. Later we were able to go to the famous home of the Cincinnati Reds (although they may not be playing well nowadays)! I thought…wow they indeed got the best name for a ball park even if it is not ranked as one of the top 3 (Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, Wrigley’s Field of the Chicago Cubs, and Fenway Park of the Boston Red Sox)!

the family with Bill, catching a small one

Admittedly, another addiction of mine is to entertain! The Wilmington RV Resort had a family centers basketball/volleyball/tennis courts, indoor pool and spa, mini-golf, horseshoe pits and shuffleboards, and 3 fishing ponds! Former I/ACT colleague Lea, husband Jimmy and children, Miles, Patrick, and Mathew visited us there during our first weekend. Matthew had long wanted to inspect RV living up close and personal. So in our Chicago reunion, Lea decided to visit us in this Ohio campground, just 30 minutes away from her home. I had a lot of fun watching the family catch three fish in just thirty minutes, enjoy the ‘ride’ on the RV slide-out going out, and take a nap on the dinette turned bed!

how can I bring home this chair???

And the biggest addiction of mine…the color yellow…got fed as we explored the farms around Clinton County. There we found more barn quilts (56) than the collection in Houston County, Minnesota! Wilmington is also the home of the first banana split in the world and the site of the annual Banana Split Festival in mid-June. But the most special find of all is the biggest chair I have ever seen, probably about 10 feet tall…and it’s all in yellow!

We are having a lot of fun but soon I have to fly to Vegas for a mini-reunion with gal pals Jingjing and Ann and a visit to my friend Angie and cousin, Ate Tesing. Finally, Bill might be able to have time for his own ‘fixes’…sans moi!