The last word

Here's Pop's sign-off:

"My comments are to finalize the blog which my grandson, Brandon, kept from Florida to California.

It was a thirty day trip. We took three Born Free motor coaches with Wanda drivng one, Brandon leading with the gps, and me bringing up the tail.

It was a wonderful trip. In each state we had a rally for owners and prospects to come view the three Born Free models we had on display. We also entertained them with a 'Taste of Iowa' pork barbecue. We sold a few units along the way and many more promised to buy later as has been the case this year, last year, and the previous year.

The Born Frees handled exceptionally well, getting great gas mileage. We travelled very safely inasmuch as each Born Free had three roll bars and has allowed us to advertise the fact that in over 42 years of production there’s never been a fatality to a Born Free owner or occupant.

We pulled our own barbecue which also had a deep freeze on it and carried along our charcoal and hickory wood to make it convenient for us to put on the noon barbecue in a centrally located spot in each state. We did two barbecues in Texas - one in Dallas, one in Austin - both very well attended.

We ended the trip in San Diego where we left our three Born Frees - a 22 foot rear kitchen model, a 24 foot rear bath model, and our new 27 foot rear side bed model. We left our units with Holland Motor Homes in San Diego who was our dealer a few years back. We intend to set them up as our factory direct outlet in Southern California.

We also plan to show our units at the FMCA Western Rally in Indio, California, January 12th through 16th. One of our owners, Bob Newby, is heading up the FMCA rally for the western area this year and due to his personal invitation to come and show and put on a barbecue we decided to do so.

Brandon had a gps which led us to the KOA campgrounds we stayed at each night and had our barbecue the next day or two.

All in all it was a fantastic trip. We travelled over 5,000 miles. the only mishap happening when i backed into an orange post out of my mirror sight at a Walmart.

We flew from San Diego to Omaha, Nebraska where we rented a car and drove to Humboldt - feeling very comfortable back home again.

I want to express our thanks to all those who came to our rallies in each state and extend our best wishes and happy camping!"

Gram's final 2 cents

Here's Gram's last post:

"Safe at home after 34 days on the road - thanks be to God!

And to you, Brandon for being our tour guide through thick and thin and always getting us to the right KOA on time. Thanks again, Bran, for being so gentle, loving, and kind with the two 'oldies' who accompanied you. We never would have made it without you.

It was a memorable trip with some good laughs! Thanks for saying 'yes' to Pop to go along if you didn't have a job. I only wish we could take each of our other grandchildren on a trip like this - but not as long!

Maybe Brandon will someday see some good and bad traits passed down and he'll say, 'uh-oh! look what we, the grandkids, inherited!'

Thanks, Pop, for taking me on "the ride of my life," for all the good food, and meeting all the new prospects. Love you, John!

Thanks again, Bran, for all the help you were to us and for answering all my questions and calming me down! You and I had fun shopping and cooking. Brenda, he's a terrific shopper. Love you, Bran.

I will miss Walmart, but plan to rent a motor home and stay all night in it at the Walmart parking lot very soon!

That's it!

From Gram."

Farewell

We're in frigid Humboldt, Iowa (my birthplace!) and it's time to stick a fork in the BF Trek Blog.

It's been a great trip! I'm really glad I was able to make it.

I've learned a little bit about myself - for instance, given enough fried food, I will order a salad and look forward to it!

I've also learned that I look and act more like my father than I ever realized. And I think that he, in turn, shares more traits with his father than he'll readily admit :) Coming back to Humboldt and Fort Dodge is always interesting because my family has pretty significant roots here. Going to the grocery store is a social event since we can't help but run into people we know. Or in my case, people who know me ... and whom I don't remember.

In the short time I've spent in Iowa, I've been told that I look like my dad so many times it's ridiculous. And Pop and Gram have never hesitated to let me know that I "sound just like Johnnie!" or that "that's something your dad would say!"

They say there are stages in the mourning process. I'm not to "acceptance" yet, but I'll get there someday ... :)

I've also learned a lot about Pop and Gram!

I've never really seen Pop in "go" mode before. He get's keyed up with an almost nervous energy. He's invigorated by meeting and talking with people. He's also a dedicated pitch player! We played at least two games each night, and I'm getting better - probably winning about half the time now!

Gram's sweet tooth is legendary in our family, but I never fully understood it's extent. She's drawn to pastries and sweets like a fly to light! I don't think I've ever turned down more candy and ice cream in my life! She's a good sport and we've had a lot of good laughs together!

I'm glad I had the opportunity to go on this Born Free Trek and spend this time with Pop and Gram. I also really enjoyed seeing the countryside that we traversed and meeting all the interesting people who came to see us.

I'd love to have another adventure and write about it, but I think it may be time to reinsert myself in the working world ... maybe ... :)

If you're sad about not having anymore Born Free adventures to read about (and I'm sure you are) you should check out Northern Exposure. It's a blog chronicling Bill Dodgen's 35 day drive (in a Born Free) from Tennessee to Alaska! Bill is, I think, my third cousin, so maybe this nomadic RV lifestyle runs in our blood. His blog is very well written - much more professional than mine. Check it out!

Thanks for reading!

The last day

Today was the last day of our Born Free Trek!

Hard to believe it's over. We're now in Humboldt, Iowa, a town Pop has been declaring all day to be "the best place in the world!" He and Gram are both excited to be home.

After checking out of our hotel this morning, we spent some time at Holland Motor Homes where we left the Born Frees. It was a little sad saying goodbye to my 24 footer. I'd really come to enjoy life on the road - the freedom to pick up and move whenever you want to wherever you want!

Gram and I grabbed some breakfast at Coco's Bakery Restaurant while Pop talked shop. And then the real adventure began.

I had some misgivings about getting through security at San Diego's Lindbergh Field - not because of my recent run-in with TSA, but because it's been awhile since Pop and Gram have flown. It turns out my fears were not completely baseless.

Gram got pulled aside and frisked (as she always does) because both of her hips have been replaced with metal ones. "[S]he's more machine now than [wo]man ..."

Pop got pulled aside and frisked because he didn't empty his pockets. It's not that he missed an item or two - he just didn't take anything at all out of his pockets. Not his cell phone, pen, keys, pocket knife, nail clippers, deck of cards - nothing.

He's flown enough times that he should know better. Gram posited that he does it for the attention, but I have a different theory. I suspects that he thinks the pat down is like a mini-massage you get for free if you set off the metal detector! It's like a contest - you hide some metal in your pockets, lights and bells go off, and then you move to a special area where you claim your massage prize!

I did get slightly perturbed with TSA for two things. First of all, they wouldn't let him keep his pocket knife. I realize they have a strict no knives policy, but the blade on this thing was a half inch long at the most. It was a tiny little knife attached to a key ring that one of his daughters (my aunts) had given him as a gift. Pop also had some nail clippers, and that little thing that you clean under your nails with was longer than the "blade" on his pocket knife ... and they let him keep the nail clippers ... I agree that it's not a good idea to have people bringing knives on planes, but come on!

The other thing that was slightly annoying was that the only people I saw being pulled aside and frisked were old people. But I guess I shouldn't be too critical - someone has to protect us travelers from the 70+ crowd. And TSA is doing a good job - after all, when was the last time a plane was hijacked by a geriatric? Proof positive that their system works.

Once we got on the planes, we had good flights - nothing much to report. I will explain these photos, though. Whenever I'm killing time in an airport terminal, I take pictures of the people sitting across from me. No one has complained yet, so I keep doing it!

In Omaha, I picked up our rental car and after a three hour drive, here we are in Humboldt, Iowa!

Jenny suggested I keep a running total of our miles traveled - I should've, I just never got it done. But I do have a grand total for you! All told we've driven 4,627 miles in our 32 days together! We've been in 14 states! And I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how much we've spent on fuel :)

It was a great trip and we were able to meet a lot of neat people. I'm glad we made it!

Sometime this weekend, I'm going to try to get Pop and Gram to give me some of their reflections on the trip to share with you!

Goes to eleven

I made it through the night ... barely.

I can honestly say that I've never heard anyone snore as loudly as Pop. I had to put in my earbuds, turn on some Chopin, and crank it to eleven!



We spent several hours today at the Holland Motor Homes lot. Pop was talking with the salesman and I took th opportunity to look at some RVs. The Class A motor homes (essentially buses) were pretty impressive! They were huge and generally luxurious. They were also very expensive. My favorite has a slide out deck! It was $399,999. Yikes.

I just noticed that the RV Consumer Group has used a Born Free as their picture of a Class C! That's pretty cool.

I also got to look at some other Class C motor homes. I'd never really looked through any of the other Class C makes - I've always been around Born Frees. I'm definitely biased, but I was shocked by the poor quality of the materials and workmanship I saw! The Coachmen and Fleetwood motor homes just didn't seem as well put together - especially the cabinets. By comparison, they felt thin and insubstantial.

Yesterday, when Gram and I were at Borders, we were looking for a book for Pop. I suggested Philip Yancey's newest book, What Good Is God?. Pop read What's So Amazing About Grace? and Where Is God When It Hurts? on our trip and loved them both, so I figured this was a good pick. Gram, however, picked How Did I Get Here?: The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO, by Tony Hawk over my snickering objections. Yes, the Tony Hawk. I've got nothing against the guy - never really played any of his games, but it's impressive how he's built himself into a brand - I just figured it wouldn't be up Pop's alley. Plus, look at the cover - Pop's not gonna go for that.

Pop read the first chapter or two and decided it wasn't for him. "All he talks about is himself," Pop complained. I reminded Pop that it is sort of an autobiography, but he was inconsolable.

Well, tonight we went back to Borders to return the book. I honestly didn't think it could be done. But I should've known better - Gram can (and does) return everything! It's crazy. They took the book back, despite the fact that this kind of return policy could quickly turn Borders into a library! Gram has a gift.

As we were leaving the Born Free, Pop said, "well, why don't you pick me up a book by Yancey. He's one of the best writers I've ever read." On the way into Borders, I gave Gram a big "I told you so!!"

I was considering going to a movie tonight. It didn't pan out, but I did notice that one of the local theaters is playing 127 Hours - it's a movie about that guy who was hiking out in Utah, got his arm stuck under a boulder, and eventually amputated his own arm with a pocket knife. Just thinking about it makes me queasy! Anyway, I went to law school with that dude's sister! The bowling team and I used to pal around with her husband, Zach, quite a bit.

Tonight is our last night in California! Tomorrow we fly to Omaha, and then we're just a three and a half hour drive from Humboldt!

Sunny San Diego!

Before we left Walmart, we packed up our stuff and prepared the Born Frees for our departure.

As we were packing, a very tan guy (probably in his mid to late forties) with a baby perched in a carrier on his back kept circling and examining the Born Frees. I kept packing, but Gram sallied forth from her RV and started talking to him. He eventually came over to Pop's unit and they had a long chat.

His name is Rafael, and he wore the sandals, cargo pants, and thin, open throated shirt of your classic aging hippie. He, his pregnant wife, six kids, and two dogs are living in a conversion van (early to mid 90's model by the look of it). Talk about cramped living quarters ...

He's a really nice guy and we gave him all our food - a half drank gallon of milk isn't as bad as bullets, but I still doubt TSA would let me take it on the plane :)

When I offered him the contents of my fridge, he came over and we got to talking. He immediately started telling me about how hypocritical the government is for banning hemp production 80 years ago and then later employing German prisoners of war to manufacture hemp ropes for our troops during World War II. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud - not at him, but at the fact that he couldn't have chosen a more stereotypical topic of conversation!

To top it all off, he appreciatively said, "thanks, brother!" and then threw me a peace sign as he drove away. Don't get me wrong - he is an exceptionally nice guy. I was just taken aback by his eagerness to fulfill every stereotypical trait I was suppressing in my imagination :) I wish I had taken some pictures ...

After we finished packing, we headed south a couple miles to a hotel. We arrived at the Days Inn, and Gram was not pleased. She took one look in the rooms and decided this wouldn't do. I cancelled our reservation and sent her to find a place she'd like. Gram found a satisfactory room at the second hotel she visited. So, we moved two doors down from the Days Inn to the Best Western ... Gram insists there's a difference ... I gave up insisting there wasn't a difference, because in the end if, Gram's happy we're all happy ;)

In her defense, there was a tall stack of new mattresses (mattressi?) at the Days Inn waiting to go into some of the rooms. The Days Inn is doing some remodeling, which could explain the mattresses, but Gram loathes few things more than bed bugs and she was convinced that they were the reason new mattresses were needed. The conspiracy theorist in me is inclined to agree!

After lunch at Fuddruckers, Gram and I dropped Pop off at the hotel and did some shopping. Later, Pop's stomach was unsettled so Gram and I went to dinner without him. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory! Gram thought she had eaten at a Cheesecake Factory before, but when she asked, "it's a buffet, right?" I assured her that she hadn't been.

I like to think of myself as an aspiring foodie (I'm nowhere near the level of Jan Hulstedt - he can probably recommend a great restaurant in just about every major metropolitan area!) so it pains me a bit to get so excited over a chain restaurant - but, the food was excellent! And yes, we shared a slice of cheesecake. If you know Gram, you know there was no possibility of her resisting the temptation of that case full of beautiful cheesecakes they put right next to the entrance! We had a nice little dinner date and then headed to the hotel with a chocolate shake to soothe Pop's stomach.

And now, I'm sharing a hotel room with Pop and Gram ... for two nights ... pray for me.

The last, big drive

This morning we learned that our trip north to Lodi wasn't really necessary. Would've been nice to figure out before we spent 9 hours driving through insane traffic, but live and learn, I suppose.

So instead of continuing, we turned around and headed south to San Diego.



It was a long drive, but good. I finished The Waste Lands, book three of the Dark Tower series. It was good! Much better than book two.

Check out this joker. This is something that has become a pet peeve of mine over the course of this trip - cars that park in RV spots. What's this guy thinking? That he found an enormous and legendary parking spot - the most spacious spot of all, told of only in myth?! Come on! Park in a car spot, stupies.

This isn't the first time it's happened - I've run into it all over the place. These must be the same people who take a cart, full to brimming with groceries, to the self checkout kiosk. They're also almost certainly the same people who spend 30 minutes at the redbox browsing and reading every movie's description. Ugh ...

We ate dinner in Burbank at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse! I was excited because Nealy used to work at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Greenwood! This was the first time I'd been and I really enjoyed it. The parmesan crusted chicken (which I ordered on Nealy's recommendation) is excellent. Gram enjoyed a turkey club. Pop ordered the spaghetti, despite Nealy's advice to the contrary. He decided that the noodles weren't good, but the meat sauce was tasty.

We're at another Walmart tonight! This was our last big drive. We'll be in San Diego for a few nights and then we'll leave the Born Frees here and fly to Omaha Thursday afternoon.

Long day ...

Woke up at 4:22am, hopped in the shower, and then blearily climbed in Amber's truck.

We made it to the airport in good time - probably got there about 5:45am. The line for Southwest was out the door and down the sidewalk! It was incredible! I jumped out of the truck and asked someone what the line was for. They said it was the line to check bags and that the line inside was even longer. Fortunately, I didn't check any bags! Checking bags is for chumps - especially if you're just gone for a long weekend (ie Thanksgiving).

I skipped the lines, both inside and out, that were by now at least a block or two long and queued up for the security screening. The line was long and moved more slowly than I would've liked, but I had plenty of time.

I like to think of myself as an expert flyer. I don't arrive 2hrs early because that's ridiculous. I get to the airport an hour before my flight, and before I even get to the xray conveyor belt my shoes are off, my pockets are empty, my belt is in my backpack, and my laptop is out. I don't mess around, and I tend to get frustrated with people who aren't on their A-game. For instance, the guy who forgets to take off his watch, then has to go through the metal detector again only to discover he's left something metal in his pockets. Idiot.

So, you can imagine my chagrin when my backpack went through the xray machine and the guy operating it shouts "We've got a 29!"

Immediately, the entire security process shuts down. Not just my line - every security line in the airport ... on one of the busiest (if not the busiest) travel days of the year.

Two Dallas PD officers and a TSA supervisor come over, eye the xray, then reopen the security screening process. I put my shoes and belt back on and one of the officers approaches me.

"Sir, is this your backpack."

"Yeah."

"Do you have anything in here that you shouldn't?"

"... No."

"Are you sure? No weapons, no ammunition?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Do you mind if we look through your bag?"

I told him it was alright, and he began fishing through it. He couldn't find what he was looking for, and after what seemed like 20 minutes (but was probably only five) he started emptying all the contents. Eventually, his face lit up, and he pulled out a loaded clip ... In case you're as sheltered as my friend, the Princess (she knows who she is), and don't know what this is exactly, it's the part of a pistol that holds the bullets and inserts into it's handle.

So ... yikes. The Dallas PD officers and I had a discussion about why I was carrying a clip filled with five .380 caliber hollow points. At this point, I'm positive that they're going to "ask" me to accompany them to a small, brightly lit white room with a stainless steel table, two chairs, and a two-way mirror.

But, it actually went pretty well! I explained that it was an accident and that I didn't know it was in there and they didn't seem too incredulous. It probably helped that I didn't have the rest of the gun with me. They ran a quick background check on my name, kept the loaded clip, and the TSA agent took down my info.

One of the officers, who seemed to sympathize with my conundrum was asking the TSA agent if there would be a fine. He said that some administrative TSA agent would review the file and then decide on a fine from 0-$1500. I'm hoping for 0 :) The TSA agent told the officer that if you bring gun into the airport, loaded and with a round in the chamber, it's an automatic $1000 fine. It was at this point that I piped up ... In retrospect, I realize that (as Mike Birbiglia observes) what I should have said was nothing. But, I couldn't help myself and I said, "I suppose if you bring a loaded gun into an airport, a fine is gonna be the least of your worries!"

No one found this amusing ... even after I repeated it when one of the officers asked, "what?"

Start this video at the 3:30 mark!



But, they let me on the plane! Didn't even frisk me (though I had come through the metal detector so this probably wasn't necessary).

In retrospect, the surprising thing is that they didn't find the clip at LAX ...

I made it to my gate five minutes before the plane boarded. On both of my flights, I felt like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I felt like the flight attendants were keeping an eye on me the whole time :)

After arriving in Los Angeles at 10am without incident, I spent the next eleven hours driving ... Post-Thanksgiving traffic was so bad that we came to a dead standstill on interstate 5 several times! The good news, though, is that we had In N Out for dinner! I got an animal style burger and it was delicious! Way better than I remembered!

Pop and Gram eventually got tired of fighting the traffic and we pulled over at a rest stop about two hours south of our destination to spend the night.

Departures

Everyone left Waxahachie today except me. I fly out Sunday morning.

Check out this couch full of cousins!

After everyone was gone, around 1 or 2pm, the whole place was really quiet. The kind of quiet that demands you nap. I resisted however and watched a succession of dumb movies with the cousins! Dave and I watched Centurion - bad, predictable, cheesy. But we knew this going into it and enjoyed it all the same. I have a theory that you can enjoy even the worst movie with good company! Also, we had chewy Jolly Ranchers.

Dave left in the evening to go to a concert and Amber and I picked up with Jonah Hex. I expected this to be completely awful - it got lambasted by reviewers and it was only in theaters for a week. Probably because my expectations were so low, I didn't think it was terrible. By no means would I recommend it to you, but it really didn't seem that bad.

Tomorrow morning I fly out at 7:15am, so I'll be getting up around 4:15am to make sure we get there by 6. Amber has offered to take me to the airport! Guess she must like me or something ;)

Haven't neglected the blog - just need to find some AC power!

Sent from my Samsung B3310 :)

Black Friday

It's Black Friday, which means I'm avoiding legitimate shopping establishments like the plague! I'm sure that by the time I rolled out of bed, Andrea and her mom had already hit about six stores and finished all their Christmas shopping!

We do have a little shopping tradition here in Waxahachie, though. Whenever we're here for Thanksgiving, all the guys take an afternoon and go on a pawn shop tour of Waxahachie (the ladies stick to more reputable stores). This year, two of our regular stops were out of business. Guess this economy is hard on even pawn shops ... or maybe Ebay and Craigslist are squeezing them out. Probably a bit of both, I suppose.

After pawn shopping and lunch at Chick-fil-A, we came home and did a little skeet shooting! Turns out I'm a bit rusty. Joe and Tom were doing really well, which makes me wonder if maybe being under five feet tall is an advantage?

The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back. Amber studied for her physics class for several hours ... Somehow her study technique is surprisingly reminiscent of napping :)

No Nealy family get together is complete without a bowl of Grandmother's punch, so after dinner we drank punch and played cards.

Tomorrow everyone starts clearing out. Sunday morning, I fly back to LAX to meet Pop and Gram in Banning where they hopefully haven't been blown away by the gale force winds!

And don't worry - they didn't spend Thanksgiving in a campground. Jim and Roe were kind enough to host Thanksgiving the day after they moved into their new place!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope your Thanksgiving was great and that you were able to spend it with family!

I also hope you got to have some pie :) Cherry is my favorite, but I also enjoy a good Buttermilk Pie. It's waaay better than it sounds - trust me!

Dallas

I'm back in Dallas!

It was smooth flying all the way and I was actually able to sleep on the flight from LAX to San Antonio! On my flight to San Antonio, I saw a couple with a baby that I could've sworn I know from somewhere! I didn't ask who they were cause I was too tired to spend the energy required to convince them I wasn't a creepy loon. But nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I've seen them before ... Maybe this is the beginning of my own LOST type situation - a bunch of people's lives keep intertwining before their plane crashes on a deserted island that isn't really deserted ... Fortunately, I won't be flying over the ocean on my return flight!

I was greeted at the airport by a suburban full of relatives. We headed straight to LaserWhirld in Plano. This was my first time playing Whirly Ball and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Whirly ball is basically a combination of bumper cars, lacrosse, and basket ball. It's a blast - definitely do it if you get a chance!



After whirly ball, we played a couple games of laser tag! I love laser tag - always have. It was actually a pretty decent workout! My laser tag style of play is very similar to my Halo style of play - run and gun. My team lost both times, but I definitely pwned some n00bz!

I crashed hard and early when we got home. My laser tag workout combined with very little sleep wore me out.

I'm in Waxahachie now! I'll be here for a few days before I head back to California!

Greetings from LAX

Yesterday was a quiet day. Only a few people came by. Could be due to the weather. Banning is a constant wind tunnel and, as it was overcast yesterday, it was very cold.

I had the chance to chat with Eve (or was it Eva? Sorry ...). If I've got my story straight, she's German and came to the States from Poland. She looks and sounds like Edna Mode from The Incredibles! She's a lot of fun and quite the talker! She, Gram, and I had a spent a good hour or so in my 24ft Born Free talking ... Well, I mostly listened. She and Gram had the conversation well under control without my help.

Gram and I hit up the outlet mall again and I got some new Reeboks! I love Reeboks. Assuming it was going to be warm in the south, all I packed in the way of footwear was flip-flops (or thongs as Gram calls them ... but that doesn't sound quite right ...). My feet have been freezing, so I'm glad to have some new kicks!

After dinner at Sizzler (where Pop claimed he was going to pass on the sundae bar, but I knew better - should've put some money on it!) I headed to LAX to catch a flight to Dallas. On the way, I stopped to see Jim, Roe, and Briell in Santa Ana!

The California Dodgens (as they've come to be known) are moving today. I have the dubious distinction of interrupting their last night of sleep in their Santa Ana home. But they were good sports. After Jim and Roe retired to bed, Briell and I went out grabbed a quick bite ... Two hours later, at 1:45am, I was back on my way to LAX. I told Briell that if she gives me whatever malady stole her voice, she's done.

I spent the night in Lot C (gotta remember G15 ... gotta remember G15 ...) at LAX. You were right Jim (Downing, not to be confused with Dodgen)! It was Lot C.

After a solid (read with exhausted sarcasm) three hours of sleep, I got up, threw my things in my duffel bag, and went to wait for the shuttle. I got to the shuttle stand at 5:30am because I've been to LAX before. Getting through security here can be a nightmare, and I figured that the Weds before Thanksgiving weekend would be no exception. I stand corrected! I don't know if it's because I arrived two and a half hours early or if it's because LAX beefed up their staff for the holiday traffic, but it was a breeze! From the time I left the RV and went to wait for the shuttle, it only took me 35 minutes to get through security! Well played LAX ...

Now I'm at Southwest's gate 14. I've got Matt and Kim playing on the ol' Zune (yes, I'm one of the 14 people who own a Zune) to drown out the inane phone conversation of the woman with dyed-so-red-it's-purple hair sitting to my right. We'll be boarding soon and and an hour from now we'll be taking off.

I'm spending Thanksgiving in Waxahachie with the Nealy clan, so the blog's narrative will bifurcate here. I'll have to rely on Pop and Gram to give me updates on the state of affairs in California!

Oh - I almost forgot! There's a map in the blogger program that shows me in which countries people are reading my blog. After my post about submarines, someone in Russia started reading the blog! KGB maybe?

And speaking of subs, one of the people who came to visit us yesterday is a former submarine captain! I'm beginning to think that by the end of the trip I may be able to recruit an entire crew.

Banning

Greetings from a town that's exactly as exciting as it's name makes it sound.

Had about six people come to visit us today. They all came at once. A guy named Charlie chauffeured five ladies all the way from San Diego!

While the ladies browsed, Charlie and I had time to chat. Really interesting guy!

Charlie joined the army in 1964 and went to Vietnam. He decided that army life was his cup of tea, but after 6 years, 10 months, and 23 days, he was discharged. That's when he started working for a Navy shipyard. For the next 30 years, Charlie worked as a submarine repair mechanic.

He told me that after the US military decommissions a sub, another country buys it. Evidently, there's a waiting list, and the only country that isn't buying our subs is China - according to Charlie, they don't need to since they're building two subs for every one we build.

Russia builds (or built?) their own as well. Charlie told me that he recently had the opportunity to tour a Russian sub. Every essential system in a US sub is redundant - there are two just in case one fails. Not so in Russian subs. He also noticed that little consideration was given to the crew in the sub's design. There was one toilet for 45 crew members, and only the officers had bunks. The rest of the crew slept wherever they could find room.

Retired, Charlie now enjoys travel and photography. He offered my this bit of trivia from his visit to Germany - if you get a DUI in Germany, you're barred from driving for the rest of your life. Interesting approach.

(This is a picture of Gram icing her noggin after banging it against a side mirror.)

We had a great visit with the whole group and enjoyed sharing lunch with them. After they left, we did some shopping at the local outlet mall, grabbed a tasty dinner at Johnny Russo's Italian Kitchen, and then caught a show at the Fox Cineplex. It was a surprisingly nice theater for only having three screens. And get this - prepare to have your mind blown - we paid $12.50 for three tickets! I've paid that for just one ticket in Chicago!

We're still in Banning tomorrow if you'd like to come see us!

California at last

Hello, camping fans!

Today we left Phoenix and headed to Banning. We had crazy winds all day! Really crazy - especially once we made it into southern California on interstate 10. We got into Palm Springs California and the wind was particularly bad - it came tearing right through the valley like I've never experienced before! At least they were making good use of it - there appeared to be several hundred windmills in the city! I've never seen this many windmills all in one place! The picture doesn't do it justice, but this place makes the windmills on interstate 65 north of Indy look like child's play.

The countryside now is less sandy, but still very arid. The mountains seem higher and closer and there are a few snow caps visible. Fortunately, the cacti seem to have thinned out if not disappeared completely. Here in Banning it's extremely windy. It never lets up. And it's quite cold! Right now it's 41 degrees (34 after wind chill)!

Just for kicks and giggles, I cranked up the ol' aerial antenna tonight. I was shocked to find what was on! There are ten channels; one alternates between vacation commercials in some eastern European language and a Korean show that plays youtube videos, one is Korean, two are Spanish, one is a channel list, one is Japanese, two are Chinese, one is Italian, one is clearly a homemade slideshow set to bad elevator jazz (I mean even Kenny G would cringe if he heard this!), and the last was in some language I didn't recognize but from the script in the corner, I'm guessing Arabic ... Which raises a question ... Where are we?! What is going on with these tv stations?!

It was a fairly uneventful drive. I'm now on book three of the Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I'm liking it a lot. Book one was really good, but book two was kinda weak in my humble opinion.

To add a little variety, I'm listening to Matt and Kim's "Sidewalks" - which is fantastic! I'm also listening to Sleigh Bells' "Treats." The first three songs are especially good. Micah put me on to this album. It's high energy and fun - which makes it great driving music. I think the best way to describe Sleigh Bells is to say that they're Phantogram meets The Go! Team. I couldn't come up with a "vs" ... You wanna take a shot, Micah?

So I'm watching episode 7 of Band of Brothers and guess who I just saw? You'll never guess. In fact, closest guess get's a hat!

Come and see us in Banning if you're around!

We just crossed into California!

Cactus!

Today I had a run in with this little beauty ...

I remember the good old days when I could accidentally brush against a bit of local flora and come away unscathed. Not so in the desert! As best I can tell, this is a prickly pear. The main spines are roughly two inches long. After running into it, I learned that there are also a bunch of tiny spines that it leaves stuck in you.

I caught the thing with the shin of my left leg. One of the large spines stuck into my leg and then exited the other side after traveling about an inch!. I tried pulling it through, but it just broke off! So now I have a cactus needle in my leg!

For a few minutes, I thought about cutting it out. I even had my pocket knife out and ready.But if you know me and my pain tolerance you know how laughable this idea is. My current plan is to wait it out - see if by some miracle it works its way out. What's more likely is that Donna will probably have to cut it out when I see her over Thanksgiving ...

I also had a chance to meet with this guy. No idea what his name is - we didn't exchange names. I was wandering the campground and espied his dune buggy. I had seen it out on the road yesterday, and I came over to have a look.

He built this himself - he welded the frame together, put in a VW engine and transmission; added the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors from his Ford Aerostar (he hit an elk with it so it was useless); and bolted on some headlights from a snow plow!

This guy was quite the character. Sounded like a heavy smoker. He was wearing a shirt that had a picture of some Native Americans riding horses. It read "Homeland Security - fighting terrorism since 1492."

He's a semi-retired heavy machinery mechanic.For fourteen years, he worked for a copper mining operation near Butte, Montana. After awhile, he became the head safety officer, but he said it was too boring - he missed the hands-on work. Most recently, he's been driving the city bus in his hometown, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, during the winter - their high tourism season. He claims to have the best safety record of any of their drivers. But now he thinks he's getting too old to be battling with the cold weather. The new plan is to harvest firewood during the summer and then let a friend sell it (for a 25% commission) during the winter.

Towards the end of our conversation, he told me that he was probably going to spend some time panning for gold in the mountains north of the campground because "you never know when you might find a little color." Then he proceeded to tell me about "the Dutchman."

Here's what I learned: The Dutchman was a prospector in these parts. There are lots of myths, but he's real. He told lots of stories. He told stories for drinks - stories about the gold he found. But there are records in the Denver mint that the gold the Dutchman brought in was the purest raw gold anyone ever found. The Dutchman died in a flood and nobody knows where his gold is. Someday someone will find it - in the most unlikely place. They'll stumble, fall on their hands, and come up with a handful of nuggets.

There'a actually a wikipedia article on the Dutchman!

I've been watching Band of Brothers in the evenings (my second time). Fantastic show! Here's a bit of trivia for you - Jimmy Fallon makes an appearance in episode 5! I just saw him! Crazy ...

Tonight is our last night in Phoenix! Tomorrow we drive to Banning!

Welcome to the desert ...

Busy day today! We're all exhausted. It's one of those days when you look at your phone, expecting to see that it's 11pm, but it's only 7:30!

The landscape here is quite different from what I'm used to. We really are in the desert. There are more cacti than trees. The saguaro are especially impressive. The ground is flat and rocky as far s the eye can see until it suddenly shoots straight up at the the foot of a mountain or mesa. It's very beautiful.

And very dry ... my lips feel like I've been standing next to Lake Michigan in the middle of January!

We had a good turnout today, but unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have much time to visit. Chatted briefly with Virgil and Anne. Virgil is originally from North Dakota and Anne is originally from North Carolina and they met in DC! Pretty neat story.

I also got to meet Stewart and Katie. He's a hospital administrator, and she's from Gilmore City, Iowa - just a hop, skip, and a jump from Humboldt!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to chat much with our other visitors.

After things quieted down around camp, Gram and I ventured into the bustling metropolis of Apache Junction. I dropped her off to get her hair washed and did some exploring. Check out this funeral home I found! I had to take a picture!

We decided to go to Grand Buffet for dinner, because it was the only non-burger restaurant we could find in town. We were lured in by the crowded parking lot. It was rough. The chicken dishes were only distinguishable by their color and the size of the chunks. I ended up eating a lot of green beans and crab rangoons just because they had some flavor. I suppose when you're the only Chinese restaurant in town you don't have to try too hard.

Gram got a pretty crazy fortune - it said "If your cookie is in 3 pieces, the answer is no." Unfortunately, she didn't know she was supposed to ask a question or make a wish so it was all for naught.

This picture is going to take a little bit of explaining. I found this drawn on the back of a bathroom door in a gas station in New Mexico. Did I feel a bit skeevy whipping out my camera in a bathroom? A touch, but it was a one-holer with a locking door, so it wasn't too bad. I have no idea what this is supposed to be or mean. So my idea is that I thought I'd have a little contest!

Tell me what you think this little bit of art is. I'll pick the best answer (read: my favorite) and the winner will get a fabulous prize - a hat just like the one Gram is sporting in the picture above!

We'll be here all day tomorrow, so come see us!

Gram's 2 Cents

[This time, Gram decided to write out what she wanted to say on the front and back of an envelope and then read it to me, because writing things down helps her organize her thoughts.]

Brandon is learning what his Norwegian Gram is like.

First, I repeat a lot.

Second, I ask lots of questions.

I'm sure after this trip, he will avoid dating a Norwegian girl. Pop and I are so grateful to have our grandson Brandon with us. He is so helpful, patient and kind to two old _______. [laughs] And they can fill in the blank!

Besides, he always gets us to our destination when we are on the road. Thank you, Bran.

I had a very close call when we stopped at a service station somewhere in New Mexico. Bran was on the left, Pop in the middle [pauses and asks me "and they understand that we were at the station getting gas, right?"] and I was on the right. So when Bran came over to fill my unit, I said "Brandon, I don't think I can make it to the store!"

He said he would open the side door to our unit (where we live) so I could get in fast. I quickly jumped out of the unit I was driving and made it to our unit in time. [instructs, "and underline 'in time'"] Thank you, Bran.

It is Friday the 19th and finally we are in warm weather. Brandon has been frying the pork burgers every time, plus helping to make whatever goes wrong, right - electronically or otherwise.

[Here, Gram goes off script briefly to relate something she forgot to write down.]

We went to the bed bug theater, which it wasn't, but they all know what I said about the bugs! Was it in Caddo Mills? Anyway it was somewhere in Texas. We saw Secretariat. It wasn't Brandon's choice of movies, but he said he did enjoy it. And of course Pop and I enjoyed it. [laughs] Pop cried - he said it was too emotional.

So that's been our only entertainment [laughs] except for driving, eating, sleeping. [chuckles]

My goal on this trip is to run the race ... for the triple crown! [Laughs]

That's it!

Love, Gram!

Into Arizona

Another day on the road!

Around 9am we began the trip to Phoenix, and the trip went off without a hitch! There is a surprising amount of traffic in Phoenix, though! It must be bigger than I thought ... Anyone? No? Ok, moving on.

Maybe it was the traffic or maybe it was KOA staff taking their sweet time and then hassling me about what direction I had to park, but by the time we got settled in, or maybe it was these things in conjunction with being tired and having a headache - regardless of the reasons, I was in a bad mood. On the scale of irritability, I was at "punch a lady in the face." This is clearly more irritated than "punch a guy in the face," but far better than "punch a kitten in the face." Even after getting some dinner at about 8:30, I was still out of sorts. But I found a cure!

The KOA we're staying at has a hot tub! But get this - the hot tub closes at 8pm!! What?! Come on!!



Seriously ... who uses a hot tub before 8pm? Even if you get in around 7:30 or 7:45, you're gonna want to stay in past 8. Not to be deterred by ridiculous rules or having forgotten my trunks, I popped on a pair of boxers and headed over to the hot tub around 10pm. The gate was locked.

I love hot tubs ... a lot ... In fact, I have never been more relaxed than after spending an evening in the geothermal hot tubs in Reykjavik ... they were amazing! All this to say that there is a very short list of things that will keep me out of a hot tub on a clear, cool night, and a five foot chain link fence is not on that list. Water Moccasins would be on that list ... also razor wire, more than one armed guard, drunk frat idiots, possibly John Travolta, and definitely the entire cast of The View (What? You would want to share a hot tub with them?).

So, after doing a semi-thorough perimeter sweep for security cameras, I hopped the fence and slid into the hot tub! The stress of the day, and my headache, melted away!

Chances are good that I'll be a repeat offender tomorrow night!

When I travel, not only do I enjoy trying new foods, I also like to sample regional candies. At a gas station in a small town in New Mexico, I found these - Chase's Cherry Mash and Annabelle's Big Hunk! And no, the latter is not named after me - I don't even know anyone named Annabelle ;)

The Cherry Mash was good. It consists of a cherry flavored coconut center covered in chocolate and nuts. But, it was just too much. It would be a lot better if it were about half that size - really just too rich.

Annabelle's Big Hunk, on the other hand was fantastic! It's chewy nougat with peanuts. It tastes very similar to the inside of a Snickers bar. Typically when I try new and exotic candies I'm not too impressed, but I liked this one enough that I would definitely have one if they're available back home! Worst case scenario, I can always get some on Amazon!

I hate to break your hearts, but Gram has again postponed contributing her 2 Cents. I'm going to hassle her tomorrow to make sure she finally does it!

I can, however, relate a story that may provide some additional insight into the mind of Gram!

Before dinner, we stopped at Walmart, and she purchased a cd by Jackie Evancho, a ten year old who sings opera like a 40 year old! She's nuts ... check out this video. Anyway, we decided to listen to the cd on the way home. Once the music started playing, something sounded off to me, and after flipping through the car stereo's menu found that the balance had been shifted all the way to the right - the driver's side speakers were essentially shut off!

I had noticed this once before in Gram's RV, so I asked if she had done it on purpose. She said, "yeah, I do it so I can turn it up louder." I hit the play button, but a few moments later, I couldn't take it anymore and I paused the song again.

"What do you mean you do that so you can turn it up louder?"

"Well, if I don't adjust it like that it's too loud. If I turn it all the way to the right, I can turn it up louder."

" ... Can't you just leave the balance in the middle and turn it down so it's not too loud?"

"No."

"Oh ..."

And at a loss for words, I pushed play.

We're in Apache Junction all day tomorrow, so come and see us if you're in the Phoenix area!

We just crossed into Arizona!

Albuquerque

We had a good turn out in Albuquerque today! There were about ten people who came out to see us. Some from literally hundreds of miles away (but this isn't unique to this stop).

The people who came to see us, however were unique.

The first person who showed up was a Mr. Barnhill. Great name, right? Sounds like a hobbit name. He's an ear, nose, throat and shoulder surgeon. He drove up in his 1994 Built for Two, and it was immaculate! After admiring Born Frees for 25 years, he finally purchased this one used and is loving it.

I also had the chance to visit with Darrel and Marilyn Weybright. Darrel is a biologist, and works for the New Mexico conservation department where he oversees their deer and elk program. He told me stories about chasing down desert mountain goats in Mexico and capturing them with net guns ... from a helicopter! They then transplant the goats to New Mexico to bolster the population here. The stories got even better.

In his tagging and tracking of the deer and elk, he also used a helicopter. He rode in a helicopter and shot deer with tranquilizer darts and net guns - just can't get over that! Anyway, he said that sometimes a deer will hide near some brush or a tree to hide from the helicopter. When this happens, they bring the helicopter down real low, he steps out onto skid, and jumps down onto the deer! I was incredulous and said as much, but he swears it's true!

Darrel is the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation.

Over lunch, I got to know Bill and Linda Scott and their son Will. Very nice family!

Bill started and owns Dion's, a chain of pizza restaurants! After college, Bill and a buddy of his came to New Mexico from Detroit and started a pizza place called New York Pizza. One day, Bill related, a gentleman came in, ordered a slice and sat watching them work for awhile. He did this a few more times until one day, he approached the counter and informed them that they were doing it wrong! Even at 23, Bill had enough sense and humility to recognize take sound advice when given. And so for a little while, Tony taught them about pizza. Tony was from Florida and had just sold his own pizza restaurant so that he could travel the country.

Bill said he'd like to do the same for someone else someday.

Now Bill's pizza place has grown into seventeen Dion's restaurants across New Mexico and Texas! He generously gave us some gift certificates and we headed over to their location on Central (old Route 66) for dinner.

The food was great! We started off with a family size Greek Salad, which Pop declared one of the best salads he'd ever had. It was fresh, tasty, and well seasoned. Dion's even makes their own salad dressings!

The pizza was fantastic! Their pizza menu is a nice blend of classic and more unique offerings. We ordered a fourteen inch pizza - half Napoli and half Duke City. The Napoli was a classic combination of Italian sausage, kalamata olives, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, provolone, and parmesan. It was very good - but what really excited me was the Duke City. The Duke City is turkey, green chile, cheddar, and parmesan. So good! The green chiles give it a nice, spicy flair, and though I don't think I've ever had turkey on a pizza before, it really worked!

Pop was a fan of Dion's the instant he walked through the door. They have an area where you can stand and watch the pizza being prepared - he was sold! (In fact, I'm convinced that the reason he loves the WaHo so much is that you get to watch the chef!)

Thanks, Scott for the pizza! We all loved it! Unfortunately, there aren't enough leftover slices for all of us ... this could get ugly.

Tonight is our last night in Albuquerque. We're headed to Apache Junction tomorrow, so if you're in the Phoenix area, come and see us!

Oh, and I know this will be disappointing, but Gram's 2 Cents won't be ready until tomorrow.

Shoulda taken a left at Albuquerque

Today was another driving day. After a tasty breakfast at Cracker Barrel (which I'm realizing is Pop's favorite place to eat while on the road) we bid Abilene adieu and began our trek through the vast emptiness that is West Texas. Did you know there are actually tumbleweeds out there? Honest to goodness tumbleweeds that skitter across highways and parking lots. Turns out they're not only in cartoons :)

The driving was a bit rough because we had a 30mph headwind all day! That kills the gas mileage! Born Frees are very aerodynamic for RVs, but every now and again, we'd catch a crosswise gust that would would wake us up and make us grip our wheels a bit tighter!

There's also a lot of cotton grown out there. The cotton fields, punctuated by giant windmills and oil drills, are actually quite beautiful. We saw a few of the cotton picking machines at work (not sure what they're called). It was pretty fascinating - being from the midwest I've never seen a machine like this before. And the most amazing thing was that they piled this cotton into enormous bales that are literally the size and shape of semi trailers!

While this country is desolate, there's something about the wide-open plains covered in scrubby trees and cacti and the distant buttes that beckons. Makes me want to get on a horse, ride toward the horizon, and go see what I can see. And I don't like horses ... I suppose it's not that I don't like them ... it's that I don't trust them. Every time I've ridden one, I've been very cognizant of the fact that if that horse wants to go somewhere I don't (or worse, wants to scrape me off on a tree), I couldn't really stop it.

Before we left this morning, I spent a good half hour plotting to see if I could find a way to take us through Roswell, NM, but alas, I couldn't do it! The ufo stories intrigue me! Guess I'll just have to add it to my list of places to visit before I die.

At a Travel America truck stop in Santa Rosa, NM, I was waiting in line to pay for our fuel, and a tall skinny cowboy looking guy walked past, talking on his cellphone. I use the word "talking" here very loosely. This guy literally sounded just like Boomhauer from King of the Hill!



I have good news! Gram is threatening to make another post - so look forward to that tomorrow!

We're in Albuquerque tonight and we'll be here till Thursday morning. Come and see us if you're around!