Monday, April 30th - Gypsy goes to Tail-Wag-Inn

It was a bit sad but we took Gypsy and her bed to the kennel for a eight night stay while we fly to South Carolina. Later we drove out to the Portland airport to check out the parking logistics.

Sunday, April 29th - Nearing Portland

We left Newport this morning and drove 77 miles to Lafayette, Oregon where the coach will be parked for 11 days while we get a grandbaby fix in South Carolina. Tuesday morning we fly from Portland to Greenville, SC for a week, returning May 8th. Tomorrow we take Gypsy to the Tail-Wag-Inn kennel for the week.

Saturday, April 28th

This morning we found a very cute place for breakfast - Stephanie's Cafe - in Newport. We did a little shopping in Newport. Then we checked out the south side of the Yaquina Bay Bridge area. We found the Rogue Brewery and went into the pub area for a little beer tasting. For $5.25, they served you a tray of four large shot glasses full of your choice from among 20 pale, amber, dark & stout beers. Later MA and Gypsy went on a long beach walk along the coastline near the campground.

Later, for dinner, we returned to Kam Meng, the shack down on the Newport Bay waterfront. This time we asked them to cook something special for each of us...Mongolian Beef over pan fried noodles. GREAT stuff!

Friday, April 27th - The Oregon Coast

In 2004, on our way "north to Alaska", we drove up the Oregon coast, stopping to camp in two different Oregon state parks. It was a spectacular drive along highway US-101. Thursday evening when we ate dinner in the historic "Bayfront of Newport", MA thought she recognized a place that we had stopped and eaten lunch back in 2004. Most of the time I have a very good recollection of these events and can recall easily. I had a gap in my memory for this place. When MA had me drive up the hill and showed me where we parked the motorhome in 2004, everything clicked for me. I remembered the walk down the hill to eat at the "Whale's Tail" for lunch. So, today we revisited the Whale's Tail for lunch. We both had the Dungeness Crab salad on toasted English muffin with chowder and salad. Quite tasty although not very filling.

We drove north up to Lincoln City and MA took a long walk on the beach while I took a nap in the Jeep. On the way back to our campsite in Newport, we took the slower Coast road. We stopped several times for pix. This is a panorama looking south. The point of land at the top right is the Yaquina Head. That is the location of the lighthouse near our campground.

Thursday, April 26th - Back to the Pacific Ocean

We left Chiloquin, OR around 9:30 this morning and drove about 270 miles to Newport, Oregon, smack on the Pacific Ocean! The drive on highways 97, 58 and 20 were beautiful and good roads. No snow issues, We stopped at the Dairy Queen in Oakridge and arrived at Outdoor Resorts - Pacific Shores around 3pm. We can see and hear the ocean in our parking spot. Yaquina Head lighthouse, still active, is a few hundred yards from our campground. We are able to see its operation clearly at night.

We ate dinner at Kam Meng Chinese Seafood in historic Newport, right on Yaquina Bay. The place doesn't look like much but we decided to take a chance ... good idea ... the food was great!

Wednesday, April 25th - Crater Lake National Park

After breakfast at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, we drove 40 miles up to Crater Lake National Park. The Rim Road was still closed. Snowplowing has just begun for the summer season. It takes three to four months to clear the 40-50 feet of snow on the Rim Road.

We were able to get to Rim Village which is the primary overlook on the south side of the lake. The view is incredible! The lake is the deepest in the US and was created 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama blew its top and the mountain collapsed into the caldera.

Now we are back at the casino for the evening. Tomorrow we head back to the coast, Newport, OR to be specific.

Tuesday, April 24th - Goodbye to California

We got the coach worked on this morning. Several months ago Freightliner (chassis manufacturer) issued a recall on a bracket for the exhaust system. We also had a broken hanger strap for the exhaust pipe in the rear of the coach. Finally, when I had the Freightliner service center in Greenville, SC change the oil and filters last November, they failed to change out one of the two fuel filters at that time. After we left the area in December, I caught the error, contacted them and they admitted that they had failed to replace the second filter. I took this opportunity to get it changed out...it was not a simple deal because they had to go in thru the bedroom floor.


We drove past beautiful Lake Shasta and the spectacular Mount Shasta. After we turned onto US highway 97, we stopped at an overlook to take this pic. We also took a little nap and then drove into Oregon. We stopped in Klamath Falls, OR to shop for supplies at Wal-Mart and then put in for two nights at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino near Chiloquin, OR.

We are going up to Crater Lake National Park tomorrow. The drive around the rim of the crater is closed but there will be excellent viewing from the area of the park headquarters.

Monday, April 23rd

Drive up to Redding, CA today and parked at the Win-River Casino south of town. We have a 8:00am appointment tomorrow to have a couple of things fixed on the coach at the Freightliner Service Center in Redding.

We drove around Redding, the largest California city north of Sacramento. We drove to Turtle Bay Park and walked around and over the new Sundial Bridge. It is a pedestrian-only span across the Sacramento River and built so that time of day can be determined based on the shadow of the sun.

Sunday, April 22nd - Heading North

We attended church services with Don Stevens this morning...Chris is coming down with a cold so we drove by their home to say goodbye.

We drove thru Nevada City, CA looking for a place to park the coach and eat lunch. However, it was a beehive of tourists in Nevada City so we stopped in Grass Valley.

We drove thru the countryside to Oroville, CA where we parked at the Gold Country Casino for the night. Almost all California casinos encourage RV'ers to park free in their outer parking areas. They HOPE we will gamble (seldom) and eat at their facilities (usually).

Saturday, April 21st - A Rainy Day with Don & Chris

Yes, it DOES rain in California...not too often, though.

Don & Chris Stevens invited us over for the day. Chris prepared her wonderful chili for lunch and we got Chinese food for dinner. We all took naps in the afternoon...what better activity for a rainy Saturday?

We had a wonderful day!

Friday, April 20th - Gold Country

We drove about 30 miles south of Auburn to Coloma, CA, the site of the first discovery of gold that led to the California Gold Rush of 1849. James Marshall was working at his saw mill on the South Fork of the American River and was redirecting a flume for discarding water and discovered gold nuggets in the river. Once word got out, people from (literally) all over the world flocked to this part of California, coming overland, around Cape Horn or across the Pacific to the port of San Francisco.

This s a photo of MA sitting in a field of Lupines above the American River.

Is this our 15 Minutes of Fame???

I think it is.

MaderaTribune.com

Thursday, April 19th - Cleaning Day

In addition to sleeping late, today was the time set aside to clean the coach - inside and out. Chris & Don Stevens picked us up at 6:30 this evening and we went into downtown Auburn for Italian food & wine at Luigi's Little Italy. It was great food and drink with wonderful friends.

We first met Don & Chris in 1985 in Danbury, Connecticut at a soccer game. Berri introduced us to the parents of her new friend from school, Carrie, whose brother, Eric was on the same soccer team as Tony. We got to know Chris and Don well and even started attending Grace Community Church at their suggestion. What a terrific church that was / is (now Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, CT.

Since Don & Chris moved to Auburn, CA and we moved away from Connecticut, we have managed to get together every 3 years or so. Each time it seems like we pick up where we left off, hardly missing a beat.

Wednesday, April 18th - to Gold Country!

Slept late today, caught up on emailing pix to Jack, one of our rescuers at the Madera County Sheriff's Office. We also sent a letter to Sergeant Chuck Bump of the Bass Lake sub-station who called his crew out at 1:00am Saturday morning to rescue two fools off of a mountain. BTW, the deputies referred to the area where we got trapped as the Bermuda Triangle of Madera County.

We traveled today thru Sacramento to Auburn, CA where we are going to be for four nights. We are hoping to be able to visit with old Connecticut friends, Chris & Don Stevens while here in "Gold Country".

Tuesday, April 17th - to Merced, CA

This morning we left Coarsegold and drove about 80 miles to Merced, CA where we are in for the night at a Wal-Mart. Needed to do some shopping for supplies and we drove over to Coulterville to pick-up our mail. Had a box full! It has been almost a month since we collected our mail.

On the way back to Merced, we drove Hwy 49 down to Mariposa, along side and high above the Merced River.

Monday, April 16th - Yosemite National Park

This morning I took Gypsy down to the vet in Coarsegold to get her final shots so she will be able to stay in a kennel when we fly to Greenville, SC in two weeks. Cammy & Ceci...here we come!
I gassed up the Jeep and we drove up to Yosemite National Park. We last visited Yosemite in 1989 when we rented the Fleetwood Jamboree in Dallas and toured the West. Ashley and Berri were 14 and 12...what a great trip that was!

Being a week-day and springtime, not summertime, Yosemite was not nearly as crowded today as it can be. This is a panorama I took showing El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the far center and Bridal Veil Falls on the right.

We drove thru the Yosemite Valley and stopped at the Ahwahnee Hotel, built in the 1920's, for lunch (delicious). This is a pic of bridal Yosemite Falls.

Sunday, April 15th - Day of Rest

After the adventure of past two days, we just lounged around the coach today with a quick trip to the casino for breakfast and a short drive to the grocery store. It has been raining and it is a great day to do nothing.

Two Unforgetable Days

This has been two days that MA & I will NEVER forget!

Friday morning we went to Starbucks in Oakhurst, CA and then to the Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the area and see what adventures were out there. We do need to be careful what we ask for. The lady told us about a beautiful drive on Beasore Road out from Bass Lake. She said that they do not plow the road in winter but there had not been much snow this year. So...away we go...beautiful drive! And lonely, I might add...not a single car passed us in either direction. We did hit a spattering of snow in the roadway at about 6,000' elevation. But, the Jeep mastered all snow deposits. There was slipping and sliding and very bumpy in the snow pack. Anybody with a semblance of good sense would have turned around as soon they hit snow. But, noooo...we wanted to make it to Grizzly Meadow Rd and head back that way.

We turned right onto Grizzly Meadow and immediately plowed thru a large snow drift...made it thru but, I made the executive decision that this might not be a safe drive. I was absolutely right, just 4 miles too late. After we turned around and hit the same snow drift, we high-centered, meaning none of the four wheels were getting any appreciable traction. WE WERE STUCK! And NOBODY knew we were there. It was 12:30pm, plenty of daylight to either get ourselves unstuck or get someone to tow us the 10' we needed to go forward to get free. Did I mention that we had seen NO other cars? Did I also mention that there was not a sniff of cell phone service?

From 12:30 to 2:30, MA & I did everything we knew to get free...not even a hint of success. There was a house nearby that was boarded up but, a garage area was open. MA found two shovels with no handles...no luck using these tools either. We are 14 miles from Bass Lake, the nearest community. So, at 2:30, I decided that I needed to walk to Bass Lake or until I got a cell signal. MA knew the exact route I would take and she would stay with the Jeep, go nowhere else.

The first 2.5 miles were all uphill, to the summit (7,200'), thru snow. VERY slow going and a time of great prayer. I actually remembered how the say the Rosary from my Catholic days. After the summit, I had about one more mile of snow pack and then the snow was gone. Periodically, I would try the cell service...no luck. After walking about 6 miles, I got my first cell signal at 5:30! I called 911 and they put me in contact with the California Highway Patrol. I had taken a map from the Chamber of Commerce with me on my trek. Good thing! I was able to give specific directions as to where I was and where MA (and the Jeep) were. It took them until 7:00pm to arrive...had to get the 4WD Durango from another town. I was SOOOO glad to see Mike, the Highway Patrolman!!!

So, away we go, shotgun and rifle rattling as we took each bump in the snow pack. About one mile after we pass the summit and start downhill, Mike gets the Highway Patrol SUV stuck! He has a shovel and we get him out of that mess. Then he gets it stuck again, this time for good! Mike calls for the heavy duty, go anywhere, retrieve anything tow truck from Doc's Wrecker Service.

I knew that MA must be worried sick so, I leave Mike and walk 1.5 miles back to MA and the Jeep. No MA in the Jeep. Then I heard MA call me from a small camper that is under a shed (the camper inserts into a pick-up truck bed) about 50 yards away. It is now almost 8:00 and very little light. I crawl into this camper, very musty and dirty. I tell MA the good news that the California Highway Patrol knows we are here and where we are! I must also tell her the bad news, CHP is stuck too. However, the mother of all tow trucks will save us. So, in absolute pitch blackness, we cuddle up on a 3/4 size table/bed, fully clothed with jackets, hoods, wet shoes & socks. We wait for the tow truck that never comes.

We are in someone else's tiny, stinky camper with no toilet or heater, no cell service, 29 degrees, worried about Gypsy back at our home, haven't eaten since 10:00am, grateful that at least someone knows we are here...trying to pass the time by sleeping...not gonna happen. Everything in my mind centered on Plan-B...what do we do if they can't get to us? My Plan-B involved both MA and I retracing my walk of Friday, getting to a cell signal and then waiting. Even though MA acted the trooper and said she would do it, I knew her achilles tendon and knees would be problematic.

So, almost no sleep for either of us, hoping that each sound we hear would be help arriving. At 4:20, we both hear talking! Jack from the Madera County Sheriff's office had arrived - with a blanket, water, Gatorade and FOOD! Raisins and Snickers bar never tasted so good! He told us the the CHP guy, Mike, was still stuck and that Super Tow Truck broke an axle bouncing on the snow pack! Jack scouted out the downhill Grizzly Meadow road and told us that a team of three Search & Rescue 4WD's would be coming up that way. Also, several additional SAR's were on their way up the Baesore route.

Jack started a fire and we exited the camper and stood by the fire. We visited with Jack and learned that all they will rescue are people...vehicles will stay behind. Around 7:00am a young man named Nigel drove past the intersection and they stopped him to warn him about the stranded tow truck and stranded Durango. They asked Nigel since he was handling the snow pretty well in his 4WD pick-up, would he go back down and take us out to them. Nigel came back to our area and said that we thought he could pull the Jeep out with his truck. Jack said to give it one try and if that doesn't work we would leave Jasper Jeep on the mountain (for who knows how long). One quick tug and Jasper popped right out!

So, from worring whether WE would ever get off the mountain to worrying would Jasper Jeep ever get off the mountain, we DRIVE Jasper up to the summit and down to Bass Lake and on to our home parked about 15 miles away.

As you can imagine, Gypsy was delighted to see us AND we cannot find a single potty spot!

MA & I REALLY appreciate the efforts of Jack, Chuck, George and Tim of the Madera County Sheriff's Office, and of course Nigel and Mike of the CHP (Chippies, for short).

Of course, the Sheriff's deputies just HAD to get a pic of them towing out a California Highway Patrol vehicle. CHP (and poor Mike) may never live that down. Nor will MA & I. This has been one of the MAJOR life lessons learned! We were very fortunate to be here today writing the story of this saga. Without God's help, we would still be on the mountain.

Thursday, April 12th - A Minor Change of Plans

Our plan for the past several months was to go to a private campground near Yosemite National Park today and stay for seven days. Yesterday afternoon, I was perusing literature on the entire Yosemite area. The private campground was northwest of the northwestern entrance to the park. That meant that to drive the backroads on the southern side of the area would require day trips of 200-250 miles each. I read about the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino near Coarsegold, CA, on the southern end of the interesting area. I checked and this casino definitely allowed overnight RV parking. So, here we go - to Coarsegold.

Enroute, we stopped at the Mariposa Wine Company in Madera for a little tasting. Most of the wines were were quite enjoyable and we ended up purchasing a blended Pinot Noir. After the tasting, we went "pistachio tasting". That's right! Pistachio tasting. Hickory smoked pistachios, jalapeno pistachios, red chili pepper pistachios and severl others. We ended up buying five pounds of ordinary roasted, salted pistachios.

We got to the casino around 3pm and got a primo parking spot, in a corner of the large parking area, overlooking the valley below. We both took a nap and then we headed to the "trough" at the casino...the California Market Buffet. Now we are back in the coach watching Survivor - Fiji. Come on Yao-Man!

TV watching is interesting. With our satellite, we get CBS, NBC, ABC & Fox from both Atlanta AND San Francisco. So, if we start watching early, we see all the prime-time shows before 8:00pm California time. If we go out we see them at the regular time, 8:00pm - 11:00pm.

Wednesday, April 11th - One Year on the Road!!!

Today, we celebrate one year of full-time RV'ing. It was on April 11th, 2006 that we sold our Monroe, Louisiana home and hit the road in Blaze, our 40' rolling home. It has been a great experience and adventure! MA committed to one year on the road. But, in December she came to me and said that she wanted to do a second year. Of course, this was great news to me. We celebrated by trying Swedish Pancakes for breakfast in the town of Kingsburg. We ate at the Dala Horse, named for the Swedish town, Dalarna, where the wooden horses originated. The pancakes, similar to crepes, were covered in butter and powdered sugar and came with a side of ligonberry preserves. Ligonberries are native to Sweden. The breakfast was very good, especially the pancakes.

We drove up to the Sun-Maid Growers headquarters here in Kingsburg. 93% of the grapes used to make the world's raisins are grown within 10 miles of Kingsburg, CA. Sun-Maid Growers is a co-operative, owned by the growers producing the grapes. Sun-Maid Growers is a processing, packaging, distribution and marketing operation. This is a pic of the largest Sun-Maid box.


In our driving around this area, we have been noticing that many of the older homes have these short wooden towers near the rear of the house. We could not figure this out so, we stopped in Orange Cove, CA at a hardware store and a local grower named Donna told us all about it. Turns out that these towers once housed a huge water tanks before underground plumbing was brought to this part of the valley. Many homeowners have converted them into mother-in-law suites, studios, etc.

Back in Kingsburg, this is a pic of their unique water tower near downtown.

Here is some useless information that may interest only me: in this past year, we have driven the coach 12,500 miles, driven thru 33 states, camped in 30 states, Canada and Mexico, purchased 1,828 gallons of diesel fuel, run the generator for 358 hours (= more than two weeks of continuous operation).

Tuesday, April 10th - Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks

This morning we drove up to Kings Canyon National Park where we ate lunch at the Grant's Grove Village. The turkey melts and the chili was very good in the cool air. We were around 7,000 foot elevation and there was snow in many places. On the drive up, we passed MANY fields and orchards of different fruits. Peaches, oranges, pistachios, grapes for raisins, etc. In fact, this area in the raisin capital of the world!

After lunch, we drove to the Robert E. Lee and the General Grant Giant Sequoias. These trees are the largest living things on the planet! They are not the tallest (under 300' tall) but they have VERY hefty trunks, sometimes over 100' around. We then drove south, on the General's Highway, into Sequoia National Park and saw the General Sherman Giant Sequoia, THE largest tree in the world!

There was a 30 minute delay for construction on the downhill segment. After that, MA spotted these black bears in a meadow above the road, about 300 yards away. This is a pic taken with the digital zoom which is fuzzier and more grainy than the optical zoom. But, it did bring the bears much closer in the pic.

Monday, April 9th - Kingsburg, CA

Packed up and drove the 30 miles north to Kingsburg, CA, the home of Sun-Kist Raisin Growers and, the world's largest box of raisins. If I see this box, i will take a pic, just for the blog. We stopped for breakfast at Denny's in Hanford, CA, a bustling little town just east of Lemoore.

I had previously talked with the owner of a Passport America affiliated campground here in Kingsburg who said he did not take reservations but, come on, there would probably be room. PPA parks offer 50% discounts for some or all of your stay. We arrived at his RV park, checked with him...yes, there was room...just pick one of the three pull-thrus and then pay. The trees were situated such that I needed to have the satellite dome (front of coach on the roof) where it had a view of the southwestern sky. That meant parking the coach opposite the normal way, such that the hook-ups to water, electric, etc. were on the passenger side and, therefore, I would have to route my connections UNDER the coach...something I have had to do in the past...never has been a problem. Well, this did not sit well with the campground owner who came out yelling, was rude to MA, and when I continued the parking process, was rude to me. I had enough of that and we left his place and located another, nicer park, about 5 miles away, still in Kingsburg.

Sunday, April 8th - Happy Easter!!!

Been kind of a quiet Easter Sunday, watching the Masters golf tournament while MA did laundry in the town of Lemoore. This is the 3rd night parked here at the casino. The security guards that patrol the parking lot are very friendly. We have eaten three meals at the casino but have not done any gambling. Website for Casino and Santa Rosa Rancheria

Tomorrow we resume moving, this time to Kingsburg, CA, sort of a gateway to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

Friday, April 6th - Heading Inland

We tried to get an extra night stay at the beautiful El Capitan State Beach but, Easter week-end reservations made that impossible. So we bundled up and left around 10:30am heading north and east.

We stopped to shop at Wal-Mart and eat lunch in Santa Maria and then drove into the San Joaquin Valley of California - "America's Breadbasket". After a short stop for a nap in Shandon, we passed thru the "James Dean Memorial Junction", very close to where the actor was killed in a car wreck in 1955. We stopped for fuel at Kettleman City as we crossed I-5. The price on diesel fuel was $3.29 at the Chevron, Shell and other regular gas stations. BUT, "only" $2.89 at the Valero Truck Stop. Guess where I filled up.

We are in for the night at the Tachi Indian Casino parking area...not much to look at...flat, dusty and uncared for residences but, is a safe place to park for the night.

Thursday, April 5th - Leaving Malibu

Reluctantly, we packed up and left this beautiful campsite. Before leaving, I thanked Cheryl, the campground manager and told her how much we liked the beauty of this camp and, BTW, the interesting people here. Remember I mentioned in Sunday's post that Matthew McConaughey camped just three sites away? Well, I learned from Cheryl that he is not the only person of fame here. Without mentioning names, she said that there are a number of famous people living at this campground or regular visitors.

We stopped for lunch in Carpinteria, CA at Cabo's. We were fortunate to find a place to park the rig (with Jeep connected) along the main street, just a few feet from the restaurant.

We are in for the night at El Capitan State Beach, just north of Goleta, CA. Due to the holiday, Easter week-end, we are only able to stay here one night. They said to check tomorrow morning to see if a second night would be possible. Otherwise, we will head north and inland toward of next major stop, Kings Canyon National Park.

Wednesday, April 4th - Hollywood!

We drove up Sunset Blvd into West Hollywood where we had arranged to have lunch with Joe Tremaine, a friend of MA and her family for over 40 years. On the way we drove by the former Rockingham Drive estate of O.J. Simpson. OJ's house has been replaced with a new house. I am not sure but, I may have seen OJ lurking around, still trying to find the real killer.

We met Joe at Cafe Med, an Italian restaurant with outdoor seating which we chose. Joe has had a terrific career dancing with the June Taylor Dancers (Jackie Gleason Show), Jerry Lewis's Variety Show, and many others. He has owned Tremaine Dance Conventions for many years and his company conducts about 25 dance conventions and competitions each year nationwide. www.tremainedance.com

MA had not seen Joe since 1967 and they had a lot to catch up on. After lunch, Joe drove us around Hollywood and Beverly Hills. On the way back to Malibu, we drove on Mulholland Drive above the city. Back along Sunset Blvd., we saw one intersection after another with cops...at least 75 cops over a space of 3 miles, guarding the intersections. At one stoplight, we asked one of them what was going on..."The President" he replied. Turns out that president Bush was in Brentwood for a fundraiser and was about to be traveling on Sunset Blvd.

Monday, April 2nd

Today we drove up the Malibu Canyon to the 101 and then north to Newbury Park. Two o0f our friends from Highfill Associates moved over to a Newbury Park sale from the Montclair sale where I was. We met Linda and Randy Lincoln in Montclair. Not only did we get to see Linda & Randy but, Patsy and Peggy, friends from two earlier sales were also there. It was great to visit with the four of these fine folks.

At Randy's suggestion, we went north to Camarillo and ate lunch at Wood Ranch - terrific! We both had tri-tip roast.

After a stop for groceries in Oxnard, we drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway to our home.

Sunday, April 1st - to Malibu & Seeing Stars

This morning we packed up and said goodbye to Chino, Prado Regional Park and the Civil War Re-enactment. We drove 70 miles west to Malibu, CA.

We arrived at the Malibu Beach RV Park too early to check-in so we parked the coach along the Pacific Coast Highway, detached and drove south a couple miles to get lunch at Googies. Sitting across from us was the male actor who played in Reba and Murphy Brown TV shows, Christopher Rich. He was eating lunch with his wife and young twin daughters.


After lunch, we drove the Jeep back to the RV park, checked in and scoped out the parking spot, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I walked down to the highway, drove south a mile, turned the coach around and returned to park the coach in our campsite. After MA helped get me parked, she stuck her head in the door and said that I wasn't gonna believe what she just saw in his Airstream trailer...actor Matthew McConaughey parked three sites away! MA just had to walk Gypsy in that direction and she had a short conversation with him about dogs. The pic below shows our coach on the left and our new best friend, Matthew McConaughey's Airstream trailer on the right.

Saturday, March 31st - Battle of South Mountain

We medicated Gypsy with some herbal cream that Connie Wehmeyer gave us last summer. It is supposed to help with doggie stress. And boy, will she have stress today with all the cannons firing.

After eating lunch in the sutlers area, we took our lawn chairs and sun screen over to the battlefield to cheer for our boys. The battle started at noon and lasted longer than we did, broiling sun and all. I don't see how the soldiers handled heat and humidity in wool uniforms. It was interesting and LOUD! There were about a dozen cannons on each side, firing several rounds each.

The 5pm battle started on time and that was our signal to go out for Chinese food, which was very good and QUITE "out of period".