Seasons Greetings

The Christmas tree at Stone Mountain Village in Atlanta. Beautifully decorated on a cold night.


Our "little" Christmas tree on the dashboard. We were parked in the Pointes West Army Recreation Facility on Lake Thurmond outside of Augusta.



Our best wishes to everyone for a wonderful holiday season and a safe and prosperous 2009.

We're driving down to Houston today and fly back to Long Island on Christmas Eve. We'll be back in Texas on Sunday.

Till Then,

Gene & Laurie

Stone Mt. & Atlanta

The Fountain at Olympic Park.

The Coca-Cola Polar Bear.

Our new friend at Coke !

We climbed to the top, 1,683 feet. A cold and windy trip up ! But the view was worth it.

A View of Atlanta from the top of Stone Mountain.

The "carvings" on Stone Mountain, Ga just outside of Atlanta. The Confederacy is well represented !

More later.............

Recent Travel Pic's & Updates

The "Club House" at Rainbow's End.

Our site # 14 in the "trees" section.

Rainbow's End RV Park layout in East Texas, about 70 miles north of Houston.

We're in Livingston, Texas at the Escapee's RV Park. Founded in 1978, the Escapee's RV Club is a advocacy and support group for full time travelers. They have grown over the years and have RV parks in Florida, Alabama, Missouri,Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. The Parks offer reduced price parking, activities and other amenities in a "no-frills or rustic" atmosphere. The organization also operates the largest mail forwarding service in the US.

We're here for several reasons: First off, last July I needed to select a location from where we would fly back to Long Island at Christmas to see the Grandkids. Airline prices were going up and I wanted to try and get the best price. After much thought we selected Houston as a probable location and I booked tickets to LI on Southwest. Secondly, my brother's daughter is getting married on December 27th in Fairfax, Virginia. After Christmas we'll drive down to the wedding and fly back to Houston from Dulles airport in Washington, DC.

Right after the New Year, we'll head west. Not sure where, but hopefully someplace warmer than here. Temps today, BTW is 45 degrees.

More to come..............

A View From The Panhandle

Hello again. We've been in the Florida Panhandle for the past 2 weeks after a wonderful Thanksgiving repast in Augusta with family.

Our journey from Augusta took us down through Tallahassee and we stopped in a small fishing village called Carrabelle. Sadly not too many boats are left and the little town is starting to show signs of closed business and for sale homes. Perhaps in the warmer weather, things are busier but the area is somewhat depressed.

Our friends from Zephyrhills, Gene & Lynn drove up with their coach and we spent 5 days together. We plan on heading into Alaska next spring and the 4 of us spent many hours pouring over maps and books and the Internet looking at routes and places to visit.

We moved on to Pensacola and a visit with my nephew, Bryan & his wife Katy and her daughter Alexis. Bryan is a Chief in the Navy and we were treated to a wonderful campsite on the water with FHU's. A round of golf at NAS Pensacola, a tour of the Navel Aviation Museum and a few good dinners rounded out a 5 good days. Unfortunately, the weather here is not very warm and highs in the 40's and 50's with a good deal of rain surrounded our adventures.

Somehow, the warm sun and great weather of the southern USA have yet to be found on this trip and we are looking forward to Texas and the west for better weather. We'll be in Livingston, Tx on Monday nite and will stay at the Escapees' Rainbow's End Park till after the new year.

I'll get some photo's up on the site this week.

Till next time,

Gene & Laurie

Frost on the Peach

Hello & Happy Thanksgiving !

As the title suggests it’s been cold here in the “Peach State” and we’re not used to temps in the 20’s and 30’s. Yep, we’ve had a low temperature of 22 degrees in Atlanta. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. Average daytime temps went to the 40’s & 50’s.

Anyway, we are in Augusta at the Pointes West Army Recreation Center campground compliments of my niece Christine & Army husband Mike. Great location, right on Lake Thurmond (remember the senator?) and enjoying fabulous views and fun times with family. My nephew Brian who just returned from Afghanistan and his new wife will also be joining us at his sister’s for dinner. We’ll get in some golf, watch some football and on Friday, Laurie will host a dinner for 9 in the Coach !

Atlanta was fun and we got to see some neat sights. A tour of the CNN studios, the Coke museum and Olympic Park filled one date. We also had tickets to see the King Tut exhibit which was not as thrilling as anticipated; nice but not awe inspiring. A trip out to Stone Mountain and their Christmas shows was cold but kicked off the early holiday season. We climbed the 1,683’ to the top and since it was too windy for the cable car to run, we hiked back down too !

We’ll leave Augusta on Tuesday and head south to Apalachicola on the Florida Panhandle where will meet up with friends. We’ll start the planning process for our Alaska adventure next spring. Then off to Houston.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a truly blessed holiday season.

Till next time,

Gene & Laurie

Meandering Through the South

Hello and Greetings from "chilly" Atlanta, GA. The temps are in the low 30's at nite but do warm up during the day. We've been here since last Tuesday and plan on staying for 2 weeks.

As the title says, we are meandering through the south-land and taking our time to see the many sights and attractions. Our visit to Chattanooga was quite nice and it is a great little city with much to do. They have a pretty nice art museum, located on a bluff overlooking the Tennessee River. They've converted an old river bridge to a pedestrian overpass ( see pic) and surrounded it with parkland and fantastic views of the river. They developed their waterfront into a pedestrian and bike friendly "river-walk" and offer lots of opportunities to enjoy the scenic beauty while being close to the downtown hub. Ruby Falls, a 160' waterfall located 1100 feet inside Lookout Mountain is an incredible sight. If your intimidated by small confined spaces, I don't recommend it. Rock City over looking the Tennessee Valley is acres of beauty and the fall foliage was at it's peak (see pic). Being able to see 7 states from one vantage point is a unique experience. Of course we got to visit the Chattanooga Choo Choo !

After 10 days (we extended our original planned stay of a week) we headed south toward Huntsville, Alabama and got to marvel at the fall foliage throughout the Valley and were rewarded with majestic views. We spent 5 days in Rocket City, aka Huntsville and learned much about America's space program from the early days of Werner Von Braun through the current Space Shuttle Program. We stayed at an Alabama State Park at the top of a mountain range overlooking Huntsville and the surrounding area (see pic).

We're actually in Norcross, GA just east of Atlanta but at a reasonably priced park and just off I-85. We spent yesterday at Stone Mountain Park and climbed the 1,683 foot granite mountain. Tough walk both ways but the views of Atlanta were worth it. The Park is all decked out for Christmas and offered some good entertainment and some fun.

We'll be here till the 25th and then move east to Augusta and spend the holiday with my niece and her family.

Till next time,

Gene & Laurie

A Window on the Past

As promised, I've attached a few pics from our trip overseas. The first pic is the four of us in north west Ireland on the "Giant's Causeway". Dee & Allen are old time friends. Dee grew up with Laurie and Allen & I lived across the street from each other in Jamaica, Queens. The "Giant's Causeway" is a section on the northern coast of Ireland that legend says was created by giants. The rocks are mostly hexagonical and are stacked perfectly in line. Steps for the Giants ??

The second photo has yours truly standing in the fairway of # 18 on the "Old Course" at St. Andrews, Scotland with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club building the background. I had played the "New Course" earlier that day. Great memories.

We're in Chattanooga, Tennessee and it's cold. We'll ride the Choo-Choo and see the Ruby Falls.

More about that, later this week.


Gene & Laurie

Country Time !

Hello and Greetings from Nashville. We are in the heart of country music land and already have tickets for the 'Opry this coming weekend. Believe it or not, this is the first "campground" we've been in since we left Long Island earlier this month. We've been able get free camping so far. Of course, we spent a week at the Newmar factory in Nappanee, Indiana get a long list of warranty repairs completed. Nothing really major but lot's of minor annoyances.

The RV industry is really in a downturn and Newmar is not exempt. They used build 16+ units a day, now they are down to 4 units (must be ordered, no spec's) and only a 4 day work week. The Monaco factory shut down in July and laid off 1400 folks in Elkhart alone. Tough times.

They start early in Indiana. We had to be up, dressed, slides closed up and ready to turn over the rig at 6 am each day. The tech knocked on the door by 6.10 am and off the unit went. They bought it back around 2.15 pm and most folks were "napping" by 3 pm. Most of the workers are Amish and the community is filled with horse and buggy's.

While there we also had a nice visit with Steve & Linda Sanders. Steve & I worked on the LIRR and he's retired to the family farm nearby.

We took a quick trip up north to Charlotte, Michigan and had the chassis and engine serviced at the Spartan factory. Also had the coach weighed............whew ! we were under the gross figures !

Last weekend found us at the FMCA headquarters and their campground in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nice facility with full hook-ups and complimentary camping. While there we spent time seeing the Cincinnati Art Museum and some of the city sites and were able to visit with long time friends Dennis and Karen Conroy. Dennis and I grew up together in Jamaica, Queens and Karen lived on the next block. Two great dinners and some fun laughing and enjoying the memories !

I hope to get another post later this week with the promised Ireland memories.

Keep in touch, thanks for the comments.

Gene & Laurie

We're back ! Did you miss us ?

Hi Everyone. Well we're back from our wet travels around Ireland and Scotland. We left JFK on September 4th along with our long time friends, Dee & Allen and landed in Shannon in the rain. Of course it rained off and on (but mostly on) for the next 7 days and on the 13th the sun shone in Dublin ! Of course Dee and Al left for home and we left for Scotland. We landed in Glasgow in the rain and it continued to rain for the next 6 days !

At times we felt like we might need Noah's Ark during this trip but we persevered and did everything on our lists and more. I'll not bore you with all the details except to say that I had the opportunity to see the sun rise over the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews and then stepped up to the 1st Tee on the New Course for a wonderful round of golf ! An unforgettable experience.

We're down in Ocean City, NJ with the grand kids at a rental house enjoying some good family fun and Kristin has joined us for the week. We plan on leaving on Sunday October 5th and our appointment at the Newmar factory in northern Indiana.

Over the course of the next few weeks I'll add some pics and drawings from Laurie's sketches in Ireland and Scotland.

Keep in touch and comments are always welcome.

Gene & Laurie

A "Downeast" Respite

Hi Folks:

Well we had an exciting time on LI and moved over to the northern Pocono's and a visit with good friends Bob & Betty Sobek at their lake house on Harvey's Lake. This is an isolated mountain lake with fabulous vistas. Laurie got in some jet-ski time and I had a a couple of mountain golf experiences........I really enjoy flat surfaces better. But the company was good and we boon-docked for 3 days.

We moved onto Salisbury, Mass and a visit with friends from our Florida RV resort. We stayed at nice MA state park and explored the area with Shae & Marie who live just over the border in Seabrook, NH. The beaches were crowded but the weather fantastic.

We're up in Freeport, Maine and have been relaxing and enjoying some real peace and solitude. We've made the obligatory trip to LL Bean and the Maine Mall but the coach has all we need. We do enjoy looking though ! The weather has been cool but sunny and we had a great boat trip on Casco Bay today and a bike ride around Long Island ! Yep. LI, Maine is a great little vacation spot in the middle of the bay. About 3 miles long by 1/2 mile wide and 1200 year round residents that swell to 2000 in the summer. A picnic lunch and visit tot he local art gallery made for a great day.

This Wednesday we move on to Boston and a visit with Laurie's brother and then we'll spend Labor day helping our daughter Kristin move into her new apartment in Allentown, PA.

We'll be back on LI (NY) by 9/3 and fly off to Ireland and Scotland on September 4th for 3 weeks.

Stay well, we'll talk again soon.

Gene & Laurie

Long Island Visit

We finish up a six day stop on Long Island at our daughter & son-in-laws home and some great fun time with our 3 grand children and leave tomorrow morning. Having GrandMa & GrandPa "next door" in the driveway was fun for the little ones and they enjoyed playing in the camper and being with us. Getting to see the football and cheerleading practice was fun.

I spent 4 nites working the fire department carnival and got in some golf with old friends and fire house buddies ! We visited with some folks and overall enjoyed our time here. Probably ate way too much food !

We're off to the Pocono's and more socializing and then up to New Hampshire and Maine.

The adventure continues.

Gene & Laurie

The Move Is Complete !

Well it took 2 long days but we've finally moved out of the townhouse and into the coach. Wednesday was devoted to getting the final items into the coach; moving the food from one fridge to another, the final few clothing items and computer, etc. We also had lots' of visitors and conducted a bunch of "tours" of our new home. Many of the guys from the fire department stopped off to say goodbye and get a look at our new toy ! It was a nice touch and I appreciated their efforts and time spent visiting.

We moved the rig over to it's temporary home: a spot in the campground where we have stored the rig(s) during the years we've been in PA.

This morning was an early wake-up and we went back to the town home and finished packing the last of our stuff for storage. The movers showed up on time about 10.30 and it took till 2.30 to fill a 26' truck to the brim ! It then took another 3.5 hours to unload it and stuff it in a 10 x 15 x 12 storage unit. It was on the 3rd floor of a climate controlled building but thankfully the elevator was huge and they had lot's of carts.

We'll go back over the weekend and clean up the town home and move Kristin's stuff out on Saturday. We've got some other housekeeping chores in town and closing is scheduled for Monday. We'll leave for Long Island and the grand kids on Tuesday.

We're tired; we're excited; we're having fun; It's the adventure. We'll keep you posted.

Gene & Laurie

Hello and welcome to our World. This is the start of our new adventure: to see as much of this wonderful country and the world as possible in the next few (could be more) years. We'll be leaving notes of interest and thoughts on our travels. We'll tell you some things about ourselves and we'll look forward to reading your thoughts and comments as well.

To begin, it is the end of July, 2008 and we have been on a hectic whirlwind of activity for the past 90 days. It is winding down and we leave here on Tuesday, August 5th. A brief synopsis of how all this came to be.

As many of you know we have been "campers" or RV'ers for the past 35 years. Our first truck camper came around 1974 and we've had many since. In November of last year we purchased a new 2007 Newmar Ventana coach. It's 40' and has 4 slideouts. It also has all the "bells & whistles" that anybody could ask for, including 3 flat screen tv's, full washer & dryer, sat tv, etc. etc.

After buying this we thought long and hard about our current lifestyle and realized that we now had the perfect opportunity to fulfill a longtime dream and travel full time. The coach comes with a 5 year, 100k bumper-to-bumper warranty package and it seemed foolish to leave the unit parked for long periods of time and watch it depreciate.

So by late December, 2007 we agreed to put our town home up for rent and travel. We have owned a fabulous (those of you who have been here will agree) 3 story townhouse on a golf course in suburban Philadelphia. The community is called PineCrest and has a championship par 70, 7300 yd golf course and about 325 homes. Montgomeryville is an eclectic community with major shopping, an abundance of restaurants and just about every convenience a person could want including access to the wonderful city of Philadelphia. We were also only 135 miles to our eldest daughter and 3 grandchildren on Long Island. Our youngest daughter also had moved close by and we had an idyllic place to live and we traveled. I joined a brand new volunteer (combination) fire department; Laurie joined the Arts Alliance and Red Hatters. We made friends; retired life was good.

But we're still young and there is so much more to see and do and we said it was time. When we returned from Florida in the spring of this year we put the place up for rent. Well, that was not what we expected. It became a bidding war of folks looking to get this place. It also quickly became obvious that we couldn't limit the size of the family that might rent and what the eventual wear and tear was going to be on the home and its' facilities. We'd be "absentee" landlords and it would be costing big dollars to keep the maintenance up. Our profits would be used up in costs. Plus the worry and legal hassle's all added up to a NO.

So, we scheduled an open house for June 1st, put as few signs up and a couple of ad's in the paper and Wow ! the house sold in an hour ! We've been packing ever since and it's getting close. We've had 2 garage sales, the last one today and we've unloaded lots ! The new owners have bought quite a bit of furniture and we've given our daughters more.

We'll still have have a storage unit in Bensalem and maybe someday we'll have another "brick & mortar" home but for now, we're off on this new chapter in our lives.

We'll move into the coach this Wednesday and the movers come on Thursday.

More to Follow:

Gene & Laurie