LOOK OUT ARIZONA, WE ARE ON OUR WAY!

Tuesday, January 17 – After a two week delay waiting for Paul's cardiologist to give him an “all clear,” we will finally be heading west tomorrow (Wednesday).  It will be nice to get back on the road, although we will miss spending time with our daughter, Carrie.

We are taking a different route across Texas. In past years, we've traveled I-10 numerous times and one time US-190 (a route north of I-10). This year we will take US-90 (a route south of I-10) from Houston through Del Rio and stopping in Langtry, TX our first night.

We will continue on US-90 to Fort Stockton where we will pick-up I-10 and continue on to El Paso. We plan on spending several days exploring El Paso before moving westward. We've passed through El Paso several times but have never stopped to take in the city and surrounding area.

After El Paso, we plan on spending time in the Las Cruces – Deming, NM, area and then move on to Yuma, AZ, were we have dentist appointments in Algodones, MX, while in Yuma.

After Yuma, our plans are to roam through Why, AZ, area and then head up to Tucson, AZ. Weather permitting, we hope to visit Sedona, AZ, before heading to Phoenix where number one on our list is Baseball Spring Training with the World Series Cleveland Indians.

We have other places in Arizona we want to visit before returning to Houston sometime in early April. Looks like a fun couple of months!

We've again enjoyed our stay at the Houston Elks Lodge. This past week we've had a bonus visit with long time RV friends Pam and John, Oh The Places They Go, as they passed through town heading west. Even though it was for a few short hours, we had a wonderful time. We hope to see them again in Arizona later this winter.

Bella, our cat, also had a visitor but one she was not necessarily happy to see hanging around the RV. There have been two hawks hanging around all fall. They haven't bothered Bella, but she has certainly been aware of their presence.

So we're on the road Wednesday morning. Stop back and enjoy our travels with us.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great time!

A FUN EVENING IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON

Friday, January 13 –  Our daughter, Carrie, was able to leave work a little early today so we headed to her apartment in downtown Houston to enjoy the evening. She lives in a very historic building called The Corinthian. At the turn of the twentieth century, it was not only the first steel structure in the city, but at an impressive eight stories was also one of the tallest buildings in the state - a skyscraper of its day! It is located in the Downtown Historic District.

We parked at Carrie’s place and headed the few blocks to Discovery Green and Minute Maid Stadium, home of the Houston Astros baseball team. This is also the area where many of the upcoming NFL Super Bowl events will be held.

We needed to walk through the Law District of Houston on our way to Discovery Green. Located in this area are the courthouses and many, many law firms.

Harris County Courthouse

Harris County Civil Courthouse

Passing by the Houston Astros Stadium.

Things were happening today for this weekend's Houston Marathon. It seems like something is always brewing in the big city. We made a stop at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Convention Center was set-up for the runners to check-in and for non-runners to get involved as a fan experience. There were hundred's of informational tents, freebies, and, of course, tons of runners gear for sale. One part of the NFL Experience for the Super Bowl will be held here also.

They have put new signs up all around town for the Super Bowl.

Marsha and Carrie having some fun with the Gieco Gecko.

They had a really neat mural of the Houston landscape. The landscape was made up of all the participants’ names. Carrie has a friend running in the Marathon held on Sunday. We found Holly’s name. Pretty cool idea.

There were photo booths just to add to the fun.

Discovery Green is a park next door to the stadium where many outdoor events are held. They were setting up for Super Bowl LI, so we just walked around and enjoyed the activity.

There is a huge section of Discovery Green dedicated to the arts. There is a section that has a different theme every few months. The Enchanted Promenade, ten colorful, giant peony bouquets, is the current display.

It was getting dark signaling the start of Houston Nightlife. We have never experienced a big city with all the restaurants and bars. There were thousands of people downtown enjoying the city after dark. I should mention that with all the people about, we never felt threatened or uncomfortable. Although, it is wise to be aware of your surroundings.

We visited several bars enjoying some craft beers and glasses of wine. We also played darts, and table top shuffleboard in a couple of the places. Of course, we enjoyed some snacks too!

One of the newest, hottest places in Houston is called Biggio’s. It is a two-level sports bar named after the former Astros All-Star Craig Biggio. This restaurant/bar is located directly across from the Convention Center.

If you visit Houston, don’t miss Phoenicia Foods. Phoenicia Specialty Foods carries more than 15,000 products with down-to-earth pricing from more than 50 countries. The also have a MKT BAR (short for Market Bar) that is beautiful.

One of the neatest bars in town is OKRA Charity Saloon. A group of independent restaurant and bar owners have launched a unique concept--a bar where 100 percent of the proceeds are donated to charity. The charities are all locally based. The charity with the most votes at the end of the month receives the next month's proceeds.  For each drink purchased, guests receive one vote that they may cast that night for one of four charities selected by OKRA’s members.

We gave our four votes to Main Street Theater.

Carrie could have gone on for hours but by 9 o'clock we were tuckered out and were ready to walk back to Carrie's loft apartment and head back to the Houston Elks Lodge campground. It was a very enjoyable evening with Carrie and fun to experience Houston after dark.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

ANOTHER YEAR GONE BY. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saturday, December 31 - With 2016 coming to a close, we are preparing to leave the Houston Elks Lodge and head West.

Marsha spent most of December in Ohio visiting family and friends. Canton had a very cold, snowy and icy December. Paul and Carrie only spent five days at Christmas in Ohio and escaped without having to slosh around in any snow. We celebrated a wonderful Christmas day with our family. Santa was very good to us all. Even though we had an enjoyable time with family, it was sure nice to get back to the eighty degree temperatures in Houston.

Our traditional Christmas photo.

Carrie, Dave and Kelly

Carrie and her date for the day.

The family showing how much fun we had on Christmas day.

The table is set. Let’s eat.

Time to open gifts.

Marsha always grabs a window seat when she flies. She loves taking photos out the window. She had a beautiful day for flying back to Houston from Canton.

Flying over Houston Medical Center.

Sunset over Houston.

We depart for points West on January 5, if all goes well. Paul has some last minute medical appointments we are hoping will not delay our departure. We hope to spend several weeks touring El Paso, Las Cruces, Deming, Willcox, Bisbee, Benson, Why, and Casa Grande before finally reaching Yuma, AZ, around the beginning of February.

We plan a couple weeks stay in Tucson, then up to Sedona, AZ, before settling in the Phoenix area for Cleveland Indians Baseball Spring Training for the month of March. It's going to be a busy and event-filled winter for us in the American Southwest.

We would like to wish all our family and friends a 2017 filled with love, laughter and adventure.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!