Still at Robin's place

We are having a great time here in CA. Our present plan is to visit Hearst Castle on Wednesday and then continue on north, so we will be on the road for 2 nights and almost 3 days before reaching Port Angeles.

Here at last

We have finally reached Robin's place near Arroyo Grande in California. It is a beautiful place, very rural and full of horses. We are staying with him and his finacee, Virginia. They think it is very hot, but after 116 degree weather, we think it is quite pleasant (high 80s).

On the road again

Today we drove from Las Vegas to Bakersfield on the way to Robin's place. Seems like the desert will never end. The temperature in one town we stopped in was 116. The two ACs in the van could barely handle it. Gas prices have been as high as $3.69/gal., but the lowest we have seen here is $2.98. Tonight we finally got a motel with free wireless, but the name on the network was "White_Power_KKK" -- don't know why. To call us, use our cell number: 678 516 6907 or email: observer@islandnet.com Our Vonage phone is still alive, but only for messages, and we often have trouble checking them, so please stick to the cell.

Las Vegas still

We have extended our stay here in Vegas. The car had a blown seal on the automatic transmission. It will be fixed today, for $505. We will head for Robin's place in CA tomorrow morning (Wednesday the 21st). Last night we visited the Luxor (the boat ride is gone), the Excalibur, and MGM Grand (the amusement park is gone, so is the Wizard of Oz). There we saw the lions. Manfred and Bill are having lots of fun playing penny slots. So far, they are sort of "up".

5th & 6th Nights

On the 5th nite, we stayed in Williams, Arizona, where there was a biker's rally -- over 1,000 Harleys -- it was lots of fun, but the wireless at our motel did not work. On the 18th we crossed a whole lot more hot desert to get to Las Vegas. When we crossed the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam, there was a steep hill to climb on the other side, and the van was not at all happy about it. We got to Vegas and the 4 Queens Hotel, where we had a reservation, about 2 p.m. At 9:30 we went to get Bill Jones at the airport and discovered that the van was leaking transmission fluid. It is now (on the 19th) being repaired. We could not meet Chuck and Diane Fitsgerald in California, as we had hoped, so we are staying one more night here in Vegas, at the 4 Queens. It is incredibly hot, but lots of fun.

4th Nite

Stayed in a cheap motel (no WiFi) in Albuquerque. Gas in NMex is $2.85 to $3.19. Hit the road early, for a change and stopped at a motel with WF to post this... no time to answer emails. We have been having trouble getting the messages from both our cell phone (678 516 6907) and the Vonage internet phone (678 748 5806 for messages only). Please use email or put a comment on this blog when possible. We have just gotten text messaging on our cell, but don't know how to work it -- try texting us if you like.

3rd Nite

Did nothing but drive on Thursday, and not a lot of that. We spent the night in a tiny town called Clinton, Oklahoma. We had a coupon for the Clinton Inn & Suites, which is very nice, so we cut the day short. Driving west is not fun -- hot sun in the afternoon, sun in your face in the evening. Oklahoma is definitely "where the wind blows free". Gas is $2.69.

2nd Nite

We saw Graceland, and it was truly worth it --- we were impressed and moved and all that. Then we drove on and spent the night in Russellville, Arkansas, between Little Rock & Oklahoma City. We're using a McDonald's hot spot to write this. Gotta hit the road again. Gas prices in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas are around 2.65.

1st nite

Well, we didn't make it to Memphis (surprise, surprise) but we got as far as Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley was born. There's an Elvis museum here, which we probably won't see. We'll get to Graceland tomorrow, but we won't have a lot of time to see it. The good news is that the van gets over 16 miles per gallon on the highway, better than the 12 MPG we calculated. The bad news is that the fan for the AC, vent, etc. is so noisy that we hate to use it, but we must. We're in a different time zone now, but haven't set our watches -- going through 23 hours just to go back 1 hour is a chore, and if we do it each time, that's 3 times before we get to the west coast. We'd rather wait until then and set them forward 21 hours.

We're OFF!

Well, we are finally on our way, just a couple of days late. Headed for Memphis, Tennessee (and Graceland). We will be a little out of touch while we are on the road. There will only be our cell phone. We will be checking our email, hopefully every evening. The van is packed to the gills, and then some, even though we left a lot behind. We miss all our family and friends in Georgia. Will try to do pictures later.

Jonesboro GA

We and tons and tons of stuff are here in Tina and Steele's house in Jonesboro. We are looking after my mom while the rest of the family is on a trip to Denver. We are sorting through all the junk we seem to have accumulated in our year and a half here, and trying to pare it down to size to fit in the van. Also, helping Mom rearrange her apartment and do all those last minute things before moving on. So many good friends to say goodby to, so many things to complete. But somehow it will all be over next weekend, when we hit the road. You can call us at 770 472 3346 -- that's Tina & Steele's number, and we will answer if we are in the house. But if we're not, please don't leave a message -- we won't get it -- call our cell: 678 516 6907, if we don't answer, leave a message there.