Taking shots of 'Freshness' today

 Well, I'd like to say we are out of the "throes" of sickness but, ya know...I just don't know if we are yet. Last night was probably the worst of it yet. J' definitely caught some kind of stomach bug, he rarely ever gets sick and whatever he has is something of a whole different species! We are hoping the worst of it is over, but we shall wait and see.

The R.T.R. is officially starting today, Bob said he would hold a meeting this morning at 10. We were planning on attending until the Monster of Misery decided to have a slumber party in our fort! We left our spot at about 8:00 a.m. this morning to go get some medicine, take showers and do laundry. It was time to clean everything around us and put some freshness back into the van! We drove over to Ehrenberg and took showers at the Flying J. I have to say, we love those showers! They are always so nice, clean and maintained and you can relax and take as long as you want. They have so many showers that there is never a rush...even when it's super busy. We really like it!

[caption id="attachment_3209" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Clean cutie[/caption]

We looked at the washers and dryers at the Flying J but 1- there wasn't enough room in the small space they had to do what we needed to and 2- it was a little more costly $2.25 per wash and $2.25 per dry. 

We decided to just drive the extra 1/2 mile down the road to the mini mall in 'Downtown Ehrenberg'. The machines there are $1.25 per wash and $.25 for 8 minutes of drying...it's like we are back in Fresno prices, works for me! We were pretty much the only people there, so it was nice and quiet. It only took about an hour and a half to wash, dry and fold everything...then another half hour or so to make the bed.

[caption id="attachment_3212" align="alignleft" width="150"] In between...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3213" align="alignright" width="150"] Quartzsite[/caption]

 Then we were back on the road to Quartzsite! The nice thing about being in Ehrenberg, other than cleaning off the icky illness was, it was about 10-15 degrees warmer there. When we were making the bed, it was 81* and we were both in tank tops and I had my flops on.....salivating over warmer weather! ☼

We got back and noticed a couple of new campers had arrived. We talked to a few people about "the meeting" this morning...turns out the actual 'meet & greet' will be tomorrow morning, that way new people will have time to set up camp and all of that.

[caption id="attachment_3216" align="aligncenter" width="300"] RTR Camp[/caption]

So for the rest of the day it's going to be maxin' and relaxin' for this crew. We both want to be at our best for the start of things tomorrow...looks like DVD land tonight!

Until tomorrow my friends

PEACE

 

 

Happy Belated Christmas!

Merry Christmas

...I know I'm a little late, sorry! We were captured by hot running water and a super comfy bed at the Best Western here in Blythe. When we got to the hotel it only took about 5 minutes to check-in and then, it was on!

[caption id="attachment_3003" align="aligncenter" width="300"] So much room![/caption]

I think I was in the bathroom for like 3 hours, only coming out to grab something else to wash/clean. I scrubbed down everything: dishes, cups, silverware, underwear, socks, anything of Savannah's, our coffee maker, my rocks I have been finding in the desert...everything down to our bodies and Savannah's! What a night...I was exhausted by the time we got into bed. I think the mix of excitement, hot water over your muscles and all of the cleaning was a recipe for a good nights sleep. Well, it would have been if it wasn't for the couple next door having an extremely loud conversation until 2:30 a.m. ~Another reason we love being in the van...you rarely have neighbors you can hear. These people sounded like they were having a conversation on our bed that's how loud they were. J' slept through the whole thing and I ended up getting about 3 1/2 hours of sleep but I can deal with it...I'm pretty used to it. We were up around 7 a.m.-ish for a well-rounded hot brekkie! It was pretty amazing. They were serving eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pastries, bagels, three different kinds of bread, cereal, yogurt, fruit, O.J., coffee, and get this...WAFFLES! I was so excited, I couldn't hold it in, everybody that was working the front desk was laughing at me and J' told the lady that was helping me make my waffle how she just made my day...I love me some waffles!

[caption id="attachment_3005" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Brekkie of Champions![/caption]

I ended up making a second waffle and taking it back to the room...this girls' gotta get her fill!

[caption id="attachment_3006" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Extremely excited![/caption]

It was really nice to have some space to stretch out, get everything washed and clean, get ourselves scrubbed down and just chill out. J' was able to get a ton of work done. I was able to download a gaggle of pictures to Snapfish and videos to DailyMotion and Savannah was able to go potty on grass again...it's been a minute! I swear grass is magical...she knows exactly what grass is for! You know all of that time spent in the desert trying to get her to go potty? Well it took a whole 2 1/2 minutes for her to do her business...both numbers!

We lounged around the hotel room Christmas day, trying to watch something uplifting and Christmas-y but everything on the tele was either violence, killing, fighting or something that was negative. Anything we watched had this negativity surrounding it, so we would just look at each other and (in a funny and sarcastic way) say...Merry Christmas! haha I guess that's just what our world is, these days...sad.

[caption id="attachment_3008" align="alignleft" width="150"] Before[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3009" align="alignright" width="150"] After[/caption]

 Oh, I also finally got my afro cut back so I don't have bubble hair anymore...woohoo! After working and hanging out all day, we thought it would be nice to have a meal out of the room, I mean we can cook chicken any day of the week in the van...why not have a nice meal. The place we wanted to eat was closed, just a little mami & papi Mexican restaurant, so we went to Carl's Jr. instead.

[caption id="attachment_3010" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Merry Christmas![/caption]

It was a good time all in all. We got a lot accomplished...work, play, cleaning,

and Savannah was finally able to catch up on all of her rest! Poor thing! haha

So, now we're back in the van and ready to take on a week or so wherever we go and then onto Quartzsite. We may look and see where Bob and his crew are, he told us they were pretty close to us. J' wants to get a bunch more work done before all of the major festivities start, so we may also just go back to where we were for him to be able to do that. First things first though we must get gas so with that, we will be driving over to the Arizona side to the Flying J to do that.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I hope everyone got to stuff their faces with yummy food, put on their new threads, play with your new toys, got lots of hugs and kisses, were able to spend it how you wanted and just had a groovy time overall. Your happiness is most important!

We love you all!

PEACE

(155) Merry Christmas! by Ayevangabond

Driving to the end of the Earth

Today is the longest day of the year! Good day for lots of sunlight to drive. We've been driving forever, it seems. We drove from Bill & Beth's house to Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[caption id="attachment_1004" align="aligncenter" width="300"] So much hope![/caption]

We were going to get a hotel room for a night in Atlantic City but after driving the town, getting numbers, calling the hotels, finding rates and looking at our surroundings, we decided against it. First, the hotels we could afford were scuzzy and shady and they didn't accept pets, so Nana would have to sleep in Joon Van...uh, NO!

[caption id="attachment_1005" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Not in my worst nightmare[/caption]

Second, the hotels that had better parking and allowed pets started at $139.95+ tax + pet deposit a night, some even went up to $360...for ONE NIGHT! Plus the hotels that allowed pets don't want you leaving your pet 'unattended' (meaning leave it in a crate when you leave). Before making our final decision we thought we would walk the Boardwalk a bit to see if we would be missing out on anything really big. We parked at a meter, put in 4 hours of change and off we went. The weather was nice, we both had on jeans and long sleeved shirts...pretty windy, cold in the shade, nice in the sun. We walked a good 2-3 miles of the "Worlds Longest Boardwalk". I read in a' Fun Facts of New Jersey' Pamphlet, the Boardwalk is 4 1/2 miles long but then saw somewhere else that it was 6 miles...not sure which one is true but anyway ya slice it, it's long!

There is a ton of stuff going on; mini golf, bars on the beach, bars on the boardwalk, restaurants, shops, the beach itself, small and large casino's and even a little historical park.

[caption id="attachment_1007" align="aligncenter" width="300"] La Playa[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1008" align="aligncenter" width="225"] A 'little bit' of History[/caption]

We even saw some hookin' going down...with no pants on...maybe that's why she was hookin' to go get some pants! haha

[caption id="attachment_1010" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Help this poor girl, she lost her pants![/caption]

We popped in a few of the bigger Casino's, like Bally's and Trump Plaza, to look at some tables and ended up walking out with a Starbuck's instead. We enjoyed the walk and the sights and decided against the hotel this time around. That night we found a Flying J to sleep at, we Love them!

 Seems like since we left New Jersey, that next morning, we've just been driving...oh wait, that is all we've done!

**Sidenote: If you are traveling Northeast, especially up to, around and through New Jersey, be ready to pay some tolls. I took note of every toll we paid in a day and a half and it came out about .15 cents under $30.00. So be prepared!**

[caption id="attachment_1013" align="aligncenter" width="300"] World's Longest Double Suspension Bridge~ Delaware[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1014" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Needing sunglasses on Sidling Hill[/caption]

We stopped in Ohio and we were going to find some parks to hang at for a couple of days like we did in North Carolina, but when we got out of the van to get gas, the heat and humidity was so overwhelming we chose to catch some zzz's and get on with it the next day.

Yesterday morning, we stopped at a rest area and got on the internet and made a plan of going to Roswell, New Mexico for the UFO Festival that's happening June 29-July 1. We punched it into the GPS and started on our way. Hours later we stopped for some ice and to make something to eat and it was at this time, sitting in an uncovered parking lot in the van with fans on and windows open, we changed our minds about going to Roswell...the middle of the freakin' desert in the middle of summer! If it was this hot here (Indianapolis, Indiana), we were sure to be twice as hot there. We got the map back out along with our trusty computers to look at temperatures across the United States...now we're thinking with our noggins! After looking and talking we put a finger on Wyoming~ the temps right now are mid 60's during the day and can get down to the 30's at night. We would definitely be cooler, no doubt. We know it's hot everywhere right now, so we thought this would be a nice change. So...we are driving. We have gone through two time changes already and are just at 740 miles for the day. We've driven through: Peoria, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa (where we stopped at the Worlds Largest Truckstop...don't be jealous), and Omaha, Nebraska.

[caption id="attachment_1018" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We have arrived, haha![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1016" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Got to sit in her...whoa nelly is she big![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1017" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Something out of King of the Hill[/caption]

Since it's the longest day of the year AND we are driving West AND we woke up not knowing of one time change and then hit another time change, it has definitely made this day never-ending. BUT we have gotten a large majority of our trip out of the way. J' is such a trooper, he's been driving 98% of the time, but I was able to give him a break today for a good solid three hours. I'm trying to help, I just get totally freaked out driving with these big trucks, high speeds and curvy roads that he usually can't stand to sit next to me "screaming" and going 10 miles slower than the speed limit...haha but I am still trying to help!

Until next time travelers...

PEACE

Approaching: St. Augustine

Our drive through Flagler & the other beaches gave us time to figure out where we wanted to (& could) park for the night. We had heard that all Flying J's are free and through prior-reading we found there was one in St. Augustine, so we punched it into the GPS and flew on over. We arrived in St. Augustine right at sunset, so we did a quick run through of the city to get to the Flying J. We would be back in the morning to do some  walking, sticker shopping, picture taking and simple, historical fun! 

[caption id="attachment_1765" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Our festive welcome sign[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1766" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Coming over bridge into St. Augustine[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1767" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Atlantic Ocean[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1768" align="aligncenter" width="300"] One of my mom's faves! This cemetery is hella old![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1769" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tourist Trap? Uh, yeah! haha but fun non the less[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1770" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Ole' Chain Gang[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1771" align="aligncenter" width="300"] St. Augustine @ Dusk[/caption]

 Off for the night. This Flying J was a great idea, glad we thought of it! Meet you back here different time, different place.

PEACE

73-Arrive in St. Aug by Ayevangabond