April 24, 2015

April 5, 2015

Happy Easter all!

We have been in Fresno, CA visiting my family for a week now and today we will head up to Calistoga to visit Joyce’s family. 

On Friday night Joyce and I along with my mother and brother attended Good Friday church services.  The church choir presented a program in song and readings that told the story of Jesus’ persecution and death.  It was very moving.

Speaking of Jesus, I watched the movie, Killing Jesus and if you haven seen it, I highly recommend you do.  The movie, adapted from the book written by Bill O’Reilly, was very powerful.

April 6, 2015

The run up Highway 99 and I-5 to Calistoga was easy until we got to Lodi.  We saw an advisory sign that said there was a travel delays on Highway 12 that we would be taking through Fairfield.  So, we pulled into the Flying J Travel Center to check out what was going on.

We got the CalTrans radio up and it said that one of the bridges on Highway 12 was closed and travelers were using an alternate route and to expect significant delays.  Since I know that area very well and being familiar with the roads, we didn’t want to drive our motor coach through there.

We decided to just go up I-5 to Sacramento and then take I-80 through Fairfield, reconnecting with Highway 12 in Cordelia.  If you have ever driven in the Sacramento area, you know that the highways are very, very congested most of the time, especially on holiday weekends.  And sure enough, we ran into bumper-to-bumper traffic almost to just past Dixon.  After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing to Calistoga.

Our friend Chris Herdell called to invite us to dinner at her sister’s home in Saint Helena so after getting settled in the Napa County Fairgrounds RV Park, we met Chris and her husband Bob at their home and then the four of us went to her sister’s home.  We had a wonderful ham dinner and some great conversation.

April 10, 2015

Yesterday we made the short run to Travis AFB.  We plan to be here for about ten days and hope to see a lot of our “old” friends while we’re in the area.

April 11, 2015

Yesterday Joyce and I met up with Rich Carter, Bob Fuchs and Mike De Castro at Miss Darla’s in Vacaville for happy hour.  There were a lot of stories told and we actually landed a few airplanes at Midway Island as well.  Of course, Bob had some very funny C-124 stories and even one about landing in a C-47 at Baguio, Philippines.

April 12, 2015

Yesterday we had lunch with Joe and Lori Martin in Vacaville.  We always have a good time when we meet up with them and yesterday was no exception.

April 13, 2015

Yesterday I attended the Old Retired Reserve Farts Association meeting at Huey’s Pub in Vacaville.  The Association meets every Friday at Miss Darla’s Pub and then at Huey’s on Sunday afternoons.  Not too many lies were told.

Joyce had lunch with her friends Linda and Nancy then she joined us at Huey’s.  After that Mike De Castro, Bob Fuchs, Joyce and I went over to Murillo’s Mexican Food Restaurant to supper.  Thanks Bob for picking up the tab.

April 14, 2015

Yesterday I had lunch with Jim French, Mikey Brouchard, Ray Suagi and Arnie Suvatne who all served in the 86th Military Airlift Squadron here at Travis AFB.  It was nice to meet up with some “old” friends again.

Joyce played golf with friends at the Travis Cypress Lakes course.  By-the-way, if you are in the area stop by the golf course and say hi to CMSgt (Ret) Jack Kitterman who is the Golf Pro there now.

April 16, 2015

Yesterday I had lunch with Joe Martin and his brother-in-law Mike at BJ’s in Vacaville. Good times!

April 20, 2015

On Sunday we left the Travis Famcamp, filled up with fuel at the Exchange and then made the run back up to Calistoga.  Nice easy drive except for the crazy winds in Jammison Canyon.

On Saturday, we spent some time visiting with Terry and Mary Carter from Williamsburg, VA. and admiring their 2012 Newmar Dutch Star.  They are both retired Army Colonels who travel about eight months a year and also take advantage of the Space A travel a lot.  Thanks for the great conversation y’all!

April 24, 2015

Yesterday we attended the 50th Anniversary Ceremony of C-141A/B 63-8088’s arrival at Travis AFB, CA.  My first assignment in the Air Force was with the 602nd Organizational Maintenance Squadron working on the C-141’s in the Minor Dock.  I remember working on the The Golden Bear and since it was one of the two Lead The Force airplanes, I especially recall urgency to get her inspected, repaired and back to the flight line for more flying.  When I cross-trained to flight engineering, I flew on her several times as well.  Joyce has some hours on her as well during her career as a loadmaster.

 Arrival, 23 April 1965

 In all her glory

 CMSgt Jack Pledger speaking at the ceremony 23 April 2015

More later.

Barry & Joyce

April 1, 2015

03/16/2015

As most of you know, our son Justin was selected last year as a General Wayne Downing Scholar.  Today we are very happy to tell you that Justin was accepted by Yale University to complete his education for his Masters Degree.  We are very proud of Justin.

03/23/2015

We have been staying busy since I last wrote.

On the 19th we welcomed our friends Ed and Cindy Kopic, who we volunteered with this winter in Surprise, AZ.  It was nice to see them again and we hope to meet up again in the near future.

03/26/2015

Yesterday we hooked up out tow car and headed north to the Indio Elks Lodge in Indio, CA.  The lodge has about fifty parking sites with 30 amp electric and water.  The parking is a tad tight but for $22 a night, we’ll take it.

RV parking at the Elks Lodge.

While in Indio, we took a drive up into the mountains to Idyllwild, CA.  We had a nice lunch at The Mile High Restaurant and then explored the town for an hour or so.

On the road up to Idyllwild.

Saw these guys in a gallery.  Beautiful!

03/30/2015

On the 28th, we made the run up to the Famcamp at Edwards AFB but there was no parking available when we arrived. 

If ever a military campground has hit the bottom of the sewer, this one is it.  First, there are several long-time “residents” staying there.  I counted 11 rigs that appeared to have been there for some time and I spoke to a gentleman who said most of them are DOD contractors who are working on Edwards.  I can’t verify that but I can say that there is junk laying all around and under several of those RV’s.  Secondly, the circle in the center of the park has weeds grown up to at least two feet high.  At one time the area was kept neat and clean but not anymore.

We were able to snag a parking site at the Sierra Trails RV Park in Mojave, CA, a Passport America park.  It wasn’t very fancy but at $13.25 a night, what the heck.

We’re now in Fresno, CA at the Blackstone North RV Park to visit my mother and brother.  We’ll be here for a week and then head up to Calistoga, CA.

Barry & Joyce

March 16, 2015

03/01/2015

We’ve been at NAF El Centro for a few days now and have seen several folks who were here lasts year.  This famcamp is a destination for a lot of military snowbirds and in fact, it’s busier now that it was all of last winter.

El Centro is the winter home of the Blue Angels, the Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron.  They come here every year from their home base at NAS Pensacola, FL, put together and practice their show for the upcoming season and then in March, they put on a full-blown airshow here.

03/04/2015

On Monday we drove over to San Diego to see the King Tut exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum.  I saw the original exhibit back in, I think 1980 and that was the real deal.  Since the Egyptian government won’t allow any of the original artifacts to leave the country any longer, and for good reason, this exhibit was created.  Even though the artifacts are not the original, the exhibit is still amazing.

03/15/2015

On Tuesday, the 10th we welcomed Chuck and Sue Svendsen from Oakridge, OR to NAF El Centro.  We were able to get them a parking space right next to us with 30 amp power, water and sewer.

NAF El Centro had their annual Open House and Air Show featuring the Blue Angels this past weekend.  The festivities kicked off on Friday evening with the Entertainment and Food Festival.  The entertainment was highlighted by the U. S. Navy Seals Parachute Team, the Leap Frogs.  Not only do these guy jump out of a perfectly good airplane, they do some crazy maneuvers as well.

The airshow on Saturday was outstanding with a lot of airplanes on static display and flying as well.  Some of the performer’s were:  Red Eagles Formation Team, John Collver, Greg Colyer and Spencer Suderman, just to name a few.  Spencer set the world record for inverted spins at 81 last year here at El Centro.  He plans to go for one hundred of those spins at an airshow in the near future.

The highlight of the show was the Blue Angels and what a great show they put on!  They are nothing short of amazing, doing things with their FA-18 Hornets that are unbelievable.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Chuck and Sue who are headed over to Yuma, AZ to visit friends and then up to southern Utah to see Bryce and Zion National Parks.  Thanks for coming to visit us.  We had a ball!

Barry & Joyce

February 27, 2015

02/21/2015

Yesterday we drove east on Highway 60 for a few miles to see Superstition Views at Canyon Vista Resort, a Cal-Am Properties which also owns Sunflower RV Resort.  The park is a combination of RV’s and park models and now they are in the process of selling “upscale” park models.

The company brings in the manufactured homes then the transformation begins.  First, they put the home on a permeant foundation and then the home is insulated.  After that is done, they completely stucco the home.

You can customize your home to include a covered RV pad, a roof top sun deck and other improvements.  As you can imagine, these things don’t come cheap and of course you have the association dues at $514 a month right now.

Later in the evening we had a prime rib dinner at the Elks which turned out to be just OK.

Saturday, Wille, June, Joyce and I made the drive up he Apache Junction Trail to the little town of Tortilla Flat.  This little town, if you can even call it that, used to be the last stagecoach stop back in the day.  Now, they have a store and restaurant and not much more.

On the Apache Trail

We had lunch in there and I have to say, it was all pretty darned tasty.  The walls are and some of the ceiling is covered in $1 bills and when sitting at the bar, you'll sit on saddles.  Pretty cheesy if you ask me but this is a tourist destination.
More:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla_Flat,_Arizona

02/24/2015

On Sunday we hooked up the towd and headed down to the Gila Bend Famcamp on Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field just south of Gila Bend, AZ.  Nothing fancy here but for ten bucks a night you get good 50 amp electric service, sewer and a reverse-osmosis water system.  Also, there's free laundry and all the ice you need.  If you ever want to come here, make sure you bring plenty of food as any good shopping is an hour north in Buckeye.  There are a couple of convince stores and a 99 Cent Store in town.

I had been feeling a little puny on Sunday morning but when we got here, the bug hit me like a ton of bricks.  Chills, runny nose and a low grade fever.  Yesterday, I felt somewhat better but stayed around the coach for most of the day.  Today I feel about the same as yesterday so the plan is to some of the same as yesterday.  Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow for the move to El Centro.

02/26/2015

We’re now parked at the Palm Oasis RV Park on Naval Air Facility El Centro, CA.  The run over from Gila Bend was easy, taking us about 3.5 hours counting a stop for fuel in Yuma.  We got diesel for $2.68 a gallon there, a lot better here than in the Peoples Republic of California.

More later.

Barry & Joyce

February 20, 2015

January 31, 2015

Joyce has been looking at vacuum cleaners for sometime now and yesterday Costco got in the exact make and model she wanted; a Dyson DC59 Motorhead.  The thing is very compact which is important giving the space we have for storing stuff and very powerful.  Joyce said that I don’t any any excuses for not keeping our floors clean.  LOL!

Yesterday we drove down to Gila Bend, AZ to checkout the Famcamp at the Air Force Auxiliary Field.  The base, if you want to call it that, is pretty darned isolated and the RV park isn’t anything to write home about, but at $10 a night for full-hookups, what the heck.  I wouldn't call it a destination park but it’s good for a few nights while enroute somewhere else.

On the way back through town, we stopped to check out the Gila Bend Elks Lodge.  The Lodge just finished a $1 million dollar renovation of the facilities and I can tell you that it’s beautiful.  We met the gentleman who designed and was the general contractor for the remodel who gave us a complete tour.  He is very proud of the work as he should be. 

Where does a Lodge get that kind of money?  Well, the state took three acres of land for the new freeway exit and paid them $1.2 million for it so they put that money to good use.  Did all of those bucks pay off?  Time will tell but they are initiating 28 new members at next weeks meeting.

The lodge has a very large open parking lot where you can park your RV for $5 a night donation.  Plans are in the works to put in electrical and water hookups in the future.

February 1, 2015

Last night the park threw a dinner/dance for the folks who have been residence of Sunflower for twenty years or more.  Eleven of the attendees have been here since the park was first built back in the 1970’s.

February 7, 2015

Yesterday we took a drive down to Oracle, AZ along with fellow work campers Ed and Cindy Kopic to see the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 facility (Biosphere 1 being planet Earth).  You might remember that between 1991 and 1994 several Biospherians were sealed inside, the first group for two years, to measure survivability.

Our tour started with a short film about the facility’s history and present ongoing projects.  We were then lead on on a guided tour by a very enthusiastic docent who told us more about the facility and what is being done there now.  I took a lot of pictures but here is a great site to see more:  https://www.google.com/search?q=arizona+biosphere&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=MzHWVIrYKYGZNsiVgMgK&ved=0CDsQsAQ

 The Lung

February 11, 2015

Last week Rick and Patty Stills returned to the the Phoenix area from Yuma and are now in an RV park in Goodyear.  We all went to Patty’s sister, Judy Boone’s home in Sun City the other day for a great BBQ supper.  It’s always nice to spend time with good friends and to make new ones too.

Yesterday Patty, Judy and Joyce did a girl day and drove up to Cave Creek and Carefree.  From all reports, they had a great time.

Things have gotten busier here at Sunflower with the arrival of a lot of new folks.  We can definitely tell the difference in the Tiki Bar as our business has picked up in the past week.

Gettin' Back To Tulsa Time

February 16, 2015

Last week was very busy for us here at Sunflower.  Several events were scheduled and then we have had a lot of new snowbirds show up.

02/20/2015

After a lot of thought and talking, Joyce and I reluctantly left Sunflower RV Resort and made our way southeast to Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction.  I don’t want to use this forum to bloviate (how’s that for a great word) about why we left early, but suffice it to say the BS got to be way too much.  Rest assured, we will not volunteer in a park that big and with that many workcampers again.

Jim and Jeanne Glaspey came to Lost Dutchman the day before our arrival and it was great to see them again.  I think I mentioned a while back that our friends Wille Beck and June are volunteering here so after we all spent some time catching up, we drove down to a joint called Filly’s for supper.  After supper we sat around a nice campfire for a couple of hours.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jim and Jeanne, who are headed up to northern California to visit their kids.  Joyce and I hated we only had a short visit but we will see them the last week in April.

After goofing off for a couple of hours, we drove down to the Apache Junction Elks Lodge to check out their RV parking and to see what they had going on for the next few days.  The lodge has several dry camping sites and tonight they are serving Prime Rib for supper.  The parking there is only $10 a night so we will be moving down there today.  No idea at this point how long we will stay but we don’t have reservations again until the 25th so we’ll just wing it for a while.

Last night we went to the Hale Centre Theater in Gilbert to see a production of My Fair Lady.  Before the play, we had an outstanding meal at Joe’s Real BBQ just a block away from the theater.  The food was very good there and we highly recommend Joe’s if your in the area.

Well, that’s enough for now.  Until next time.

Barry & Joyce