New York New York

New York is the city that never sleeps. We had the time of our lives. We took the subway into the city from West Point Military Academy. It was about a 45 min ride that took us along the shoreline of the Hudson River. We arrived at Central Station then walked down 42nd street to 5th ave. We walked up 5th ave to Central Park, arriving there we took one of those carriage rides through the park. Then we had a hot dog in the park, fed the birds and enjoyed watching people walking and jogging enjoying sunshine and the warm beautiful day.

Leaving Central Park we proceeded down Broadway passing theathers and arriving in Time Square. Checking out the location of CBS news studio and the location where the ball is dropped on New Years Eves. We then continued down 38th st., stopping to take pictures of the Empire State Building. The view from the top of the Empire State Building was something to see. The weather was perfect this day and you could see forever. We also were able to see the filming of two movies and two stars, John Travolta and Clive Owens. They were each making a movie. I was able to get a snapshot of them during the filming. My wife is about the biggest fan of the stars I know. She was blown away by these sightings of the two of them. We did some shopping and returned to Central Station for the ride back.

A few days after that we took off for Liberty Island. This time we drove and that was a very interesting adventure. We did make it to Liberty Park and took the ferry to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. We looked up our ancestors to find when they arrived and on what ship they were on, very surprised to find that information. To see the pictures of what they went through just for the chance to be free and enjoy what we take for granted. We need to stop and think of the unknown they faced, not knowing what was going to happen but knowing they wanted something better than the had.

This Thanksgiving be sure to thank them in your prayers for their courage to start over in a country which they had little knowledge.

VOTE

Even if you don't like any of the candidate's for president we have a responsibility to the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We need to Honor their names and sacrifice and exercises our privilege to vote for president of the United States.

It is not always easy to voice our opinion but just remember it was not easy for our fore fathers ether. HONOR THEIR SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

D.C.

Everyone should take the time to visit the capital city of the United States, Washington D.C. It is one of the most exciting cities to visit. When you experience the museums and monuments that honors our war heroes, the sacrifice they made for the freedom we enjoy today, should be respected.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our capital and the home of our first president.

Christmas

We had a wonderful time in Foley, Al during the Christmas holidays. The town was just like a Dickens's novel. The city park was turned into a Christmas wonderland. They had snow made from a snow blower and the kids had a ball having snowball fights and just making snow angels. The High School Band played under the bandstand and the smell of different types of food filled the air. You could feel the spirit of Christmas everywhere.

Gulf Shores, Al

Gulf Shores, Al is an area still healing from hurricane's Ivan and Katrina. The tree line of the shores tells the story of the salt water damage to the trees. The commander's houses and administration building at Ft. Morgan is still standing after the number of hurricanes they must have experienced. The history of the Fort's Morgan and Gaines was very interesting.

During Christmas week we toured Bellingraff Gardens which is the Bellingraff Family home. They were the ownes of the local Coca Cola Co. They donated it to a local organization for public tours and special events. They had over three million lights lit up which depicted the twelve days of Christmas. It took us an hour and a half to walk the grounds.

The walks on the beaches and the Navy Blue Angels demo team practicing was exciting to watch. You could watch them as they performed their maneuvers over the gulf waters. I would walk and check for hidden treasures with my metal detector I received for Christmas. I did find about a $1.50 and a lot of pull taps from cans on the beach. It was a lot of fun just thinking about what I might find just in the next few feet. My wife would walk the beaches and collect the sea shells.

South Bend Indiana

It seemed that every time we've moved from one place to another the weather has been less than accommodating. When we moved out of our house after selling it, it was raining, making it more difficult in getting things done. Oct is not the warm rain that you would experience in the summer time. During this move we left the motorcycle in the garage at the house to keep it out of the weather. So when the time came to take it to the campground, I had to ride it in the rain. My wife was driving the truck behind me and boy the rain drops were hard against my hands.

It remined me of the time I bought a motorcycle in New Mexico and road it back to Indiana, hitting rain twice.

We did make it to South Bend, Indiana 8 hours later. It was raining when we arrived and pitch black. I tried to set up the camper but I could not see what I was doing. The site was not even level and I had a hard time trying to get the camper level. The ground was soft and the wheels were sinking into the ground. I was tired and it was late so we just went to bed. The next morning we needed to level the camper. We looked around and found another campsite that worked better for us. Someone was in the spot we wanted, so we stayed until they left and we moved over to the new spot. The campground was beautiful with the changing of the trees and their colors. I did get a quick education of how to set up the dish net system.

These experiences are eye-opening. The number of full timers living on the road was surprising. We have met people living in everything from travel trailers, 5th wheels, motor homes, tents and sail boats. People we've met travling the world have the same things in common, they just want to have the peace of mind to do it their way. When you feel that relaxed, you can just enjoy the time and space you are in. It does not get any better than that. Life is just as simple as enjoying each second. That is the only one second you will ever have and you will never get it back. The price you pay for the time you spend should be worth what you pay for it. If it is not, then maybe you should re-evaluate the cost of your life. If you can't afford it ,change it and enjoy what you are paying for.

There are times we would like to see our friends and family, but also know that the time we spend traveling is time well spent, making memories.

After the Thanksgiving holidays in South Bend, Indiana, we were off to Gulf Shores, Al.

Who we are

Hi

My wife and myself are retired and decided to sell everything and travel this country of ours. We have a 5th wheel with a F250 pick up a motorcycle and two bicycles. We started our adventures one year ago today the 14 Oct 2007. We started in Evansville Indiana and our first stop was in South Bend Indiana. Then we were off to Gulf Shores Al, Pensacola Fl, Washington D.C., New York, Cape Cod Ma, Niagara Falls, Niles Michigan, Denver Co, Flagstaff Az with our winter stop in Tucson Az.

I will be writing every once in a while with the adventures we have had during our trip. I hope you enjoy the trip as much as we have so far.

Tom

A to Z

We are in Tucson Az now and will be here for the winter. We have had nothing but bad luck so far in Az anyway. We stop ed off in Flagstaff Az before coming down here to Tucson to tour the Grand Canyon. While there someone took the license plate off our motorcycle trailer. Then we arrive in Tucson and someone takes our bikes. We now lock everything up and keep a look out for anyone that does not belong out here. We also had the AC go out on the 5th wheel.

We are now starting to meet some nice people that are coming in to stay for the winter and are enjoying meeting all the new friends. We are at the Desert Trails RV Park and really like it here. They have all kinds of activities and planed and unplanned events. Here are some of the pic's we have taken from here, hope you enjoy them. Later.

Tom