People Pictures

Hi All,

Carl's mom always chided him for not taking "people pictures". Guilty as charged😃. But, as we settle in for the winter in Barberville we conclude our trip blog with three people pictures.

Here is a proud Aunt Sandy with Phil and Dr Elissa.

We got to have lunch with Sandy's friend Mary .

We got to the Pioneer Settlement in time to help pull pork for the Jamboree. Thirteen staff and volunteers pull 500 pounds of pork🙀.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Shopping

Hi All,

While our coach windows were being repaired we went shopping.

Here's Sandy doing her Lily Tomlin imitation (if you don't get that, ask an old person😉).

While Sandy shops for clothing or jewelry, Carl sometimes entertains himself looking for silly signs or slogans. Here is today's collection;

Marriage is like a deck of cards. It starts with 2 hearts and a diamond. In the end you wish you had a club and a spade.

I kissed cat and I liked it.

Give a man an inch and he thinks he's a ruler

Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip!

Now we are off to visit Elissa and Phil

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

One Last Stop

Hi All,

From the Pensacola area we headed to Hudson, FL for repairs to some of our windows that fogged up. Since it was well over 400 miles, we stopped along the way at Manatee Springs State Park. 

This is yet another beautiful Florida State Park. Even though the manatees will not arrive for another month, the boardwalks 

cypress knees

and the crystal clear spring run was a great alternative to the highway. This is a first magnitude spring with a flow rate in excess of 100 million gallons per day!

After some hiking this morning we drove to the window place. While here we will visit niece Dr Pally and catch up with another friend, Mary Rees, who lives nearby.

We will be on Barberville Friday or Saturday.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Pensacola Area

Hi All,

We spent the last couple of days around Pensacola. Saturday we explored Gulf State Park in eastern AL. A very nice 400+ site campground, a Nature Center with great exhibits and 20 miles of hiking trails. We also spotted our first alligator of the season. Later we visited Bob Secours National Wildlife Refuge and hiked along the beach.

Today, with rain forecast, we visited the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola. A huge, bewildering aircraft collection.

We joined a guided tour that highlighted the history of particular aircraft.

This was a nostalgia trip for Carl. When he worked at Grumman from 1968-1974, they built this F-14 Tomcat fighter

the lunar module (many astronauts were naval officers so this counts as naval aviation)

and the E-2C Hawkeye (they only had four blade propellers back then).

During WW2, the Navy did lots of pilot training over Lake Michigan. Many planes were lost in the Lake and several have been recovered and restored. There is a fascinating exhibit and video about the recovery of aircraft.

Welcome to the Florida panhandle. We had tornado warnings all afternoon then flash flood warnings and lots of rain.

Tomorrow we move to Manatee Springs State Park.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

National Museum of the Pacific War

Hi All,

Last Wednesday Millie, Sandy, Sandy & Carl drove to Fredericksburg TX, an old German immigrant community that has grown into a fascinating tourist destination with lots of neat shops, vineyards and a great museum. Since Carl writes and photographs these emails, you get to see the museum.

It seems like an unusual place for a museum commemorating the war in the Pacific until you learn that this town is the home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of US forces in the Pacific during WW2.

Visitors are greeted by this submarine conning tower. It is not a replica but the actual conning tower and periscope assembly from the USS Pintado, launched in September 1943 in Portsmouth, NH.

Not visible in the photo is how the lawn undulates like ocean waves.

This is an extraordinary museum with a mix of static displays, videos, computer graphic sequences of major battles and actual pieces of equipment from the war.

Not surprising a large portion of the exhibit was devoted to Pearl Harbor. The centerpiece is this Japanese midget submarine that was part of the attack.

When the USS Arizona was sunk, her superstructure was salvaged. This hatch is an actual part of the Arizona.

There are several extraordinarily detailed ship models. This is the Arizona.

In early 1942 the Pacific war was not going well. To boost moral at home and give the Japanese a sense of vulnerability, a plan was developed to launch B-25 medium bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Sixteen of these planes took off on April 18, 1942 and most dropped their bombs on Tokyo.

The US mounted a huge submarine warfare campaign to cut off Japanese supplies and sink warships. This is the actual #2 Torpedo tube door from the USS Seahorse. Every time a torpedo from this tube sank a ship, a flag was painted on the tube door.

Carl spent over three hours in the museum. Sandy x2 and Millie reported that the shopping was also excellent.

Just as we got back to Austin we were greeted by this awesome sunset.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Surprise in Austin!

Hi All,

Two days of driving from Santa Fe brought us to Austin Tx to visit our dear friend Millie. Much to our surprise she went off to do an errand and came back with Sandy Shapiro, another dear friend from NH. (The "errand" was to the airport). We toured the Texas History Museum and then went to the State House.

A beautiful statue of Stephen Austin.

and a 250 foot high dome.

The senate chamber has the original wooden desks from when the building opened in the late 1800's.

Next stop was the Oasis, a bar and restaurant perched on the shore of Lake Travis.

The lake is a wide spot in the Colorado River behind a tall dam.

Sunsets are very popular at the Oasis.

Great fun and perfect margaritas.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Santa Fe & Taos

Hi All,

We have spent a delightful two days exploring the area. The plaza in the center of the Santa Fe historic district is surrounded by very nice shops and galleries.

It's a lot like the park in Jackson, WY except they have chili peppers instead of elk antlers.

The entire north side of the plaza is the Palace of Governors built in 1610. It claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited building in America. For years the front sidewalk has been reserved for native craftspeople to display and sell their work.

It is a bit of a gauntlet to get to the entrance of the History Museum but Sandy didn't mind. 

Behind the Palace is the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

On the way to Taos we stopped in Chimayoy to visit the Santuario. This chapel is described as the Lourdes of the Southwest. A tiny room in the back, called the "Holy Dirt Room" has a pit in the floor exposing the sand underneath. Thousands of the faithful have reported relief from physical, mental or spiritual problems resulting from contact with the Holy Dirt".

In the south end of Taos is the stylized adobe San Francisco de Asis church.

After more retail therapy, we drove about ten miles northwest of town to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Described as the second highest cantilever bridge in the country, the span is 1,280 feet and the bridge deck is 565 feet above the river.

Here's the Gorge with the river far below. Carl joked that, if the Rio Grande looked like this in Texas, even President Trump would not need a wall!

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Inside the Canyons

Hi All,

There are dozens of companies that offer guided Canyon tours. We hit the jackpot with our driver Ben. He was born in the canyon nearly 80 years ago and still lives in the small cabin behind him in the photo.

With Ben we saw and learned about the canyon rock art, the ancient dwellings and the Navajo history.

Hands are a common art theme 

This section recounts and capture and hanging of Utes in the canyon.

The "Antelope" House gets its name from this nearby painting.

As the US Army departed the canyon in 1868, they were accompanied by a priest. Note the cross on the middle saddle blanket.

Navajo ancestors lived in the canyons for several centuries prior to their departure around 1300. Though most structures have been destroyed by seasonal flooding, a few built into protected locations survived.

This multi-story dwelling is the centerpiece of a small community. 

In the mid-1800's, greedy settlers thought there was gold in the canyons and convinced the Army to remove the Navajo. Most Navajo had their houses burned and were relocated. A small band retreated to the top of "Fortress Rock" and withstood repeated attempts to dislodge them. Most were still there when the Navajo treaty of 1868 returned the canyons to the native peoples.

It was a wonderful three hours. Thank you Ben.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Canyon de Chelly from the Rim

Hi All,

There are a total of ten overlooks at Canyon de Chelly. At most overlooks there is a few hundred yard trail across the slick rock plateau to access the edge. 

This is a representative section of canyon with rows of Cottonwood trees outlining the river.

The black streaks are mineral deposits called varnish. Look closely below the varnish

and you see ruins at the base of the wall. These dwellings were occupied in the 10th to 13th centuries.

Erosion patterns like this makes it easy to imagine water rushing through the canyon and around the rocks.

Another dwelling, this one called Antelope House.

This is Tunnel Canyon. All the trees grow where the rivers meet.

Another set of dwellings called White House.

This chimney called Spider Rock stands at the junction of Monument Canyon and Canyon de Chelly.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for a Jeep tour along the canyon floor.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502