August 9, 2009, Sunday TO AMARILLO, TEXAS

OK…another excit’n day. That’s the way they say it here in Texas, excit’n. We drove all of about 250 miles because the wind was blowing and Ralph’s truck has trouble buck'n the wind…buck'n, hey, that’s another Texas word. I’m picking this up real fast! We stayed in an RV park in Amarillo.

August 8, 2009, Saturday TO OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

Only in Arkansas can you find a community park called “Toad Suck Park...” Makes you want to have a picnic there huh? Well this was an exciting day…just kidding! Drove over here just outside Oklahoma City in Yucon (home of Garth Brooks don't ya know) and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

August 5, 2009, Wednesday TO MEMPHIS
Oh my gosh, we just passed a sign for a turn off for a town called Bucksnort, TN.! Can you believe that?

August 4, 2009, Tuesday NASHVILLE
Went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. They have a lot of memorabilia there! They have some films playing that are from clear back in 1928 showing country music when it was just pick’n and dancing with fiddles and such. Mike’s favorite part was the gold Cadillac that was Elivs’ and he liked how they had a lot of the clothes and costumes that the stars had actually worn. They even had a pair of Elvis’ shoes! I liked the dresses the most. They had a dress that Trish Yearwood wore at one of the country Hall of Fame shows. The skirt and train were really puffy and covered an area of about 10 ft in circumference. We were really lucky to be there on the day we were ‘cause they were taping a TV show and we got to go to it. It’s a country music show (no duh, were in Nashville!) called The Crook and Chase Show. They talk about the latest country music and what’s happening in that scene. Today they had guests. They had Jimmy Fortune formally of the Stattler Brothers and a young country star named Joe Nichols. They both sang two songs for the taping and they were really good. I liked Joe more than Jimmy. Joe has one of those really low voices like Jim Reeves. It was neat ‘cause the second song he sang is not released yet but it’s coming out on his next album. It was about giving up alcohol and loving his wife who stuck with him through the bad times. They talked about how hard it was for him to give up drugs and alcohol. I hope he stays sober because he’s a real talent. Jimmy Fortune joined the Stattler Brothers after they had an opening in the band and they were looking for just the right person. One of the Stattler Bros. walked into a club where Jimmy was singing and knew immediately when he heard him that he was the one they wanted and hired him right away. After leaving the Hall of Fame we went over to the Grand Ole Opry and then parked and walk around some, and took some pics. It’s quite expensive to go to a show there and we all opted not to. On the drive home we stopped at Camping World to get Betty a US map so she can fill in all the states they have been to. Tonight we had a wild thunder storm and our trailer leaked, but not from the roof???

August 3, 2009, Monday TO NASHVILLE
Drove all day to get to Nashville. Had a “manufacturer defect” in our brand new tire and it exploded. Poor Mike and Ralph had to change it on the side the freeway. It’s so scary.

August 2, 2009, Sunday TO WINSTON-SALEM
Today we drove to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and stayed overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It’s so handy to have a Wal-Mart right next door in case you need anything! Tonight we needed ice cream. Don’t tell anyone!

August 1, 2009, Saturday FREDERICKSBURG, VA
Rest and recuperate. We have a really pretty campsite here. We look out our living room windows and see a beautiful lake. There are trees everywhere and it’s shady. There are 5 geese that live here and they are beautiful to watch. You've probably seen the pics from a couple of days ago. There are all these cute little boys and girls, mostly boys, fishing in the lake. They’ll do this for hours and never catch a thing. This one little boy comes down by himself every day for a few hours. He has his little tackle box and rod and he just fishes. It’s so cute!

July 31, 2009, Friday FREDERICKSBURG, VA. Today we drove 45 min to the Metro and then took the Metro into the city. This was Ralph and Betty’s first experience on a Metro and it can be a little nerve wracking, but they learned fast and we were off and running (Ha! Like us old people could run!) We were very tired and it was very hot, and we don’t have a lot of time here in Virginia. So we skipped Arlington and Mt. Vernon and just went to DC. While on the Metro, we met a family from Richmond who were going to the Smithsonian. We got to talking and found out they were LDS and we had a really nice visit all the way into town. First we went to see the White house. We took pics and saw the place where they do the press conferences on the lawn. They had photographic light equipment and mic stands, etc. They had part of the sidewalk around the Whitehouse blocked off ‘cause something was going to take place, but we didn’t know what. Then we walked for blocks to get to the National Mall. It is truly a beautiful place. Lots of ponds, a reflection pool (which I wanted to get in, but it is not all that clean with ducks and what not) and of course the Washington Monument. The 2nd World War Monument was beautiful with its pillars and fountains shooting into the air. The most impressive memorial and the one I wanted to see the most was the Lincoln Memorial. When we got there Betty and I had to stand in the shade for quite a while, eat an icy, and rest before we could climb the stairs up to where Lincoln is sitting. It’s so hot! Then we started the long walk to the Metro Station and rode on it 15-20 min and then got in our car and headed out of town on a Friday night in DC traffic and it took us about 3 hrs to get back to the CG which was about 40 miles!

July 30, 2009, Thursday TO FREDERICKSBURG, VA
Drove all day and got a spot in a CG in Fredericksburg, VA. Such a pretty campground.

July 29, 2009, Wednesday BOSTON, MA
Mike bought a couple new tires at Wal-Mart after checking the ones we have on the trailer, and after seeing Ralph have that nasty blow out. Did laundry and cleaning, etc.

July 28, 2009, Tuesday TO BOSTON
Today we took a train into Boston. It was a very hot and very humid today. We took a boat ride around the harbor and it is really beautiful for a working harbor. The water is clean and clear and the views are spectacular. We got off and walked on the USS (something, I can’t remember the guy’s first name) Young. Ralph, having been in the Navy, explained some of the things on the ship. I think it would be so hard to live in such close quarters. The room where the regular guys slept had bunk beds that were three high and very narrow. We got to see the sick bay, the communications room, the captain’s quarters (he had a little bunk all his own), the galley and the guns. It was interesting. We rode a trolley around to some of the sights and stopped off at Faneuil Hall which is called the” cradle of liberty” because many a meeting was had there when the decision was being made to fight the British for our freedom. We watched a street performer who was great! He did juggling with knives and several other things including a toilet plunger while standing on a board that was balanced on a ball! The architecture in Boston, like all of New England, is really beautiful. The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) had a fire a few years back so it was closed for repair. Did you know that Old Ironsides was actually not made of iron but just had really thick wood sides and the cannon balls would just bounce off. We rode the train back “home”.

July 27, 2009, Monday TO CAPE COD
Today Mike and Ralph bought some tires and changed things around a bit. It is very humid today, more than in Maine, but luckily without the mosquitoes! Then we took off for Cape Cod. We were a little disappointed because here we are driving down a narrow peninsula with ocean on both sides and you can’t see it because of all the trees! All you can see is trees, very tall trees, on both sides of the road! We took off on a side road for awhile and parked once and walked down the 6 foot wide beach and stuck our toes in for a minute. They have literally thousands of rental cabins along the beach front. It would be fun to rent some for a month and have a family reunion or something there. We drove clear to the end where there is a beautiful warf and pier with lots of sail boats. This town is called Provencetown. Busy touristy spot.

July 26, 2009, Sunday TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Well we woke up this a.m. to a lot of fog, then it started to rain, but we have a long way to go before we get home, you know? So we skipped church and started on our journey and before too long…we had a flat tire. Maybe someone is trying to tell us something.

July 25, 2009, Saturday TO BRUNSWICK, AGAIN
Today we start our journey (with a few stops along the way) back home. We did the first 100 miles today, only 2300 to go! We stayed the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but we got to have dinner with Mark, Sue, and Aunt and Uncle again. It was very enjoyable. Such nice people. Mark and Sue’s daughter Darcy was there also so we got to met her. She is a Latin teacher at a boarding school. She has lived in Boston before, and since we just happen to be going there next, she gave us some fun ideas of what to do and see and directions on how to get around.

July 24, 2009, Friday IT’S RAINING IT’S POURING THE OLD MAN IS SNORING!
Can you believe this weather??? We had rain all day long. We watched movies and rested, etc. Happy 24th to all the people in Utah!