Some great CA photos!

Good morning! I have no idea where we are when we wake up. Oh yes...we are in Page, Arizona. Here are some photos of the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo, Hearst Photos and some Carmel Photos. Hope that everyone is well. We are trying to be good about eating if at all possible, and poor Tim is stuck with food like roasted edamame, soy nuts, peanuts and ginseng teawhile we are traveling in the car! HA. We have seen a couple of McDonalds unfortunately because there was nothing else around, and we mean nothing!!

We are having a blast, but every so often I get excited when I am sitting on cracker crumbs in my shorts or having a hot flash in 101 degree weather. :) The scenery is spectacular, and all the towns and cities we enjoy show a different fabric of life in America.

Tim & Gail

ps. Did I mention that it's really hot here...wherever we seem to be? Carmel By the Sea (my favorite next to San Diego and LA) was the hottest weather they had ever seen, and pretty much that has been our whole vacation. For those of you who worry about us, we are using sunscreen. We look funny in our cowboy hats, maybe not so much out here but you will see in future photos. The hotels have been great, and some of the meals we have had have been wonderful. We even found a great Italian rooftop restaurant in quaint downtown Carmel that had the best salad, homemade bread, fabulous white wine and angel hair pasta with fresh tomatoes and scallops, shrimp and clams. Yum!!

Good Bye Sunny California, Heading East

The Riders have left sunny California and I do mean sunny. The temp hit a high of 112 degrees in the Mojave Desert but that did not discourage the riders.


Once we left LA, the first stop was San Louis Obispo to stay in the Madonna Inn. Our theme room was the DEZ Room at first I thought it was going to be Lucy and Desi Arnex until after much thought I realized it was the middle of Rendezvous. It was a nice room if you like red. The best part of the room was the heated toilet seat with other unique functions. It really enhanced this riders morning routine.


The riders then visited the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. It was big and full of stuff. The guide told us that the reason he needed such as big place was because he had so much stuff to show off. I think he had more stuff than anyone else but he still died. If the the one with the most stuff when you die wins, then my vote is for William Randolf Hearst.


Then we arrived to Carmel by the Sea. This may be Gail's favorite place of the whole trip. The riders were greeted most graciously by Ken Derrick a friend from the Canoe Club. He took us to his beautiful home and we drank some of his wine. Then we had dinner at the Mission Ranch which is owned by Clint Eastwood the towns leading citizen. It was great, the food the atmosphere the people ,the piano bar.


We met a friend, Phil ,who owns a winery and is also looking for a new relationship. Phil took us to the Cypress Inn for another drink. The Inn is owned by Doris Day who also takes care of rescue dogs which may be why Phil likes the Inn.. Anyway we met Thora, a very attractive Icdelandic Horse woman who is also the bartender. I have never met any one from Iceland especially one who pours a tawny port. After much clever banter the riders had to go to bed and left Phil to pursue his new friend.


The whole town is dog friendly, they are allowed to go just about everywhere, they reallly love the beach. On our morning walk along the beach they were many dogs and their owners having lots of fun. The riders miss Cricket.


The next day after a couple of Aspirins, the riders took the 17 mile drive. What a beautiful part ofthe country. Gail took lots of pictiurs whcih we will post later.


The next day we left for Las Vegas. It was a little scary because of the wildfires and we could both see and smell the fires. But the Riders pushed on through the hottest temperatures I have ever experience.


Once in Vegas we tried our luck at the Circus Circus. Lot's of people and kids, I thought Vegas was having problems but you could not tell it for Circus Circus on a Saturday night.


This rider has a special system for the $1 slots so off we went to try our luck. After about fifteen I won about $400, then Gail hit three 7's which would have paid $1000 if she had played the max bet but she was only playing one dollal. I gave her a hard time so she played the max bet and sure enough she hit again and won $1000. i think we are going to become slot consultants.


Well have to go will post pictures and more later.

Great photos of the California Coastline! We love CA!!!!

Hi! On Wednesday August 26th, we headed to San Luis Obispo. We drove through coastline and then mountain regions with gorgeous views. The weather has been perfect, sunny, clear beautiful skies with gorgeous puffs of clouds, temps ranging from the mid-80's near the coastline to 90 in the mountains.

We found a perfect spot for dinner, at Avila Beach. It was an older restaurant right on the edge of a wharf called the Old Port Inn. The fresh fish was perfect! Steamers with a broth that was great for dunking sourdough bread, and a great tasting marinara sauce with a pasta pesca dish that was wonderful. Enjoying cold glasses of white wine while watching the sunset over the water at our own table away from others was just a perfect end to the day. We also got some great shots of sea lions relaxing close to the wharf. After dinner surprisingly we still were awake and had some energy, so we drove downtown to San Luis Obispo to a great little town with all sorts of shops, galleries, restaurants and bars and headed to Starbuck's for some late night tea and some blogging and email catch-up. Plus I was continuing my efforts to write out the last of my thank you's from the wedding...I am almost done!!

Here are some photos! I also recorded the sea lions in the evening...Will try to post the video...Hope it works. You probably cannot see much, but you will be able to hear Tim and I chatting. We left Thursday am early to begin the treck up the coastline and Big Sur to head to Carmel by the Sea, home of Clint Eastwood.

Tim & Gail

Great Photos of Griffith Observatory

Hi! Tuesday August 25th we spent with Andrew in LA. We toured the Griffith Observatory- spectacular views of LA- and also spent time shopping along Rodeo Drive...well not shopping exactly because I was with both Andrew and Tim- but window shopping. We stopped along Rodeo Drive to have some wine at the Four Seasons outside at their cafe and watched the beautiful people. Everywhere we went, some time of filming was happening. What a great town for action!! We were happy to visit LA, get some time with Andrew, and then we were off to San Luis Obispo for an evening, then up the coast on Route 1 to see the Pacific Coast!

Tim & Gail

Having fun in CA!!

Good morning! Things have been so fun-filled and exciting, we often don't get too minutes to share some photos. Here are some great photos of the White Sands Memorial Park, right next door to the White Sands Missile Base. These sand dunes are just enormous and strikingly beautiful. Seeing Brittany and Reed was a wonderful thing, and our stop in LA was perfect! We stayed at the Sofitel Hotel in West Hollywood, about 2 miles from Andrew's house in West Hollywood. We share some great photos with Andrew at Griffith Observatory, as well as (of course!) the Hollywood sign which Andrew can see standing outside his home. We enjoyed a great breakfast the first morning at the Blue Jam cafe, and Tim was excited about blogging and checking email like everyone else here in LA. Everyone has an IPhone, and everyone is checking out their IPhones while they are walking down the street. Everyone is connected here, it's kind of unreal! We took Andrew and one of his roomates Jamie Hall out to dinner at a great asian fusion place called Woksana in West Hollywood. Tim, Jamie and Andrew had this great meal- Singapore noodles full of shrimp, chicken and vegetables- it looked and smelled yummy. That was a blast, and then we took Andrew out to breakfast the next morning before leaving for San Luis Obispo where we were staying at the Madonna Inn, a very funky hotel that has been around forever, and each room is decorated in some weird, mostly gaudy looking stuff. Here are some of our photos!! We are having a blast, relaxing, meeting great people, seeing exciting sites, having great fun! We stop at various spots to share wine, cheese, a fresh bagette and some wonderfully delicious fresh CA fruit. The views and vistas are spectacular!!

Tim & Gail

On to San Diego, Brittany and Reed

After leaving the man in Yuma Arizona, the Riders continued onto San Diego to visit Brittany and Reed. The drive took us through the Santa Anna Mountains. I have never seen so many rocks in my life.Piles and Piles of rocks. The whole mountains seemed to be made up of boulders large and small.
After cresting the range some small valleys began to appear and they were lovely. However I am convince that this is home to more than one cult. In fact if I were to start a cult this is where I would have my home base. If anyone is interested, please send me $100. We can figure out what to worship later. Gail says she will take care of the details.
We met Brittany and Reed and ate dinner by the San Diego Harbor. They both look great and are doing very well. We miss them both very much.
After dinner the Riders started off for Los Angles, the big city was calling. Gail will blog LA, but suffice to say Andrew also looks great and is doing well. He is making a lot contacts and getting some work, someday he may even get paid. It amazes me in Hollywood how many people work for little or no money. If we could get state employees in Connecticut to work like they do in Hollywood the budget crises would be over.

Driving Throught the Desert

If you like the color brown and dirt then I recommend the drive from Tucson AZ. to San Diego Ca.
The temperature was between 100 and 110 degrees, I have never seen it so hot. Getting out of the car was like stepping into a furnace.
The mountains were impressive as was the catcus. There are many warnings about rattlesnakes and letting livestock out of your truck at rest stops is discouraged.
There was one minor incident along the way. The Riders met the man. Apparently going 90 mph in a 65 zone is not considered proper behavior on the Arizona highways. I just think it is another example of the Obama Government to limit our freedoms. Fortunately the trooper recognized that the Riders were defenders of the right to express themselves on the highway and only gave us a warning. It also seems that he was going to Connecticut in November to Foxwoods for a convention. Gail immediately gave him my card and told him to call if he needs anything while he is in Connecticut. She loves to make people feel welcomed.

Greetings from California and some updates!!!!

Good morning! I hope you all are enjoying our blogging! I know that my husband, now lovingly called the Clark Kent of CT is having a heck of a time sharing our vacation!!

A couple of quick updates/clarifications: The UFO museum was amazing, and really spoke to what lengths the federal government will go to cover up something that the american people need to know. Also, the funny comments about my ancestors stem from me often saying that I thought I was an alien from another planet..because I can hear the quietest sounds and am very sensitive to light and sound. :) Even my mother, when told we were visiting the UFO museum laughed and said I was going to see my relatives!!!!!! (Thanks Mom!!!) The picture above left shows hieroglyphics depicting rocket ships. Santa Fe was wonderful, and Tim's comment about Gib Singleton was true. He didn't mention that at first, Tim waited in line for me so that Gib would sign the poster, then realized "what the hell was he doing?" and we traded places. Tim then wandered off to check out the other shops while I waited in line, and when he tried to re-enter the gallery the security guard said his name wasn't on the list. We had wandered in from a side entrance. Ha! The artist was an older gentleman and the people chatting with him in line were purchasing $35,000 works of bronze. Not us! I was in line to buy a $20. art poster and waiting patiently for him to sign it. When it was (finally!) my turn I tried to speak quietly to Gib, but lots of people were around and it was loud, and as I mentioned, he was much older and couldn't quite hear me when he asked who to dedicate the poster to...I kept shouting "Tim" and he kept saying "JIM?" and finally he wrote down Tim, but couldn't hear my name Gail so consequently this beautiful poster we will have framed of this moment and day in our vacation history is dedicated to Tim and Dale..

Tim & Gail

Santa Fe and Roswell

Here are some pictures of Rosewell and Santa Fe. The front of the International UFO Museum and Research Center.

A Rider receiving one of his many medical exams.

Gail with her cousin Zmiwicz on her father's side.

The Church on the square in Santa Fe and the Riders with a piece of art.

Sante Fe, Aliens,White Sands, cont.

After leaving Santa Fe ,The Riders headed to Tuscon Arizona by way of Rosewell New Mexico, to visit Gail's relatives at the International UFO and Research Museum. I am not sure how you research things that you cannot identify but that is only one Riders opinion.
The museum was interesting, if you like press clippings and pictures of strange people saying strange things, but Gail loved it and that is what is important. I actually believe in alien life forms how else do you explain liberal Democrats.
After our first and probably last experience at a Sonic drive in restaurant, we headed out to Tuscon, on the he way the Riders were treated to a wonderful experience. The White Sands National Park, which is next to the White Sands missile base. This is the area where the first atomic bomb was tested.
The park was very impressive, lots of white sand and dunes. You can even buy sleds to slide down the dunes. We took a nature walk and enjoyed the dunes and the flora. The Riders would not enjoy sliding down dunes that glow in the dark. Gail said that I have enough aches and pains without hurting myself on purpose.
Arrived in Tucson late and night but stayed in a great resort ,the Golf Villas at Oro Valley. We were able to do our laundry and that is about it. Left the next morning to head for San Diego.
We will post a bunch of pictures later.

Santa Fe, Aliens, and White Sands

The Riders arrived in Santa Fe on Saturday after a long long drive thru Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The drive was beautiful with prairies, deserts, mountains, cows and an antelope. Well I just described all that is there so now you don't have to go.
The Riders decided to treat themselves to a resort so we found some native Americans and booked a couple of days at the Buffalo Thunder Resort. It was great, beautiful room and pool and they served strawberry daiquiris which as everyone knows is the Riders favorite resort pool beverage.
It was Indian Market weekend in Santa Fe, I guess Native American Market just takes too long to say. I have never seen so many exhibits of beads, dolls, turquoise jewelry and great art.
On the recommendation of Jose our parking lot attendant we tried a breakfast place named Tia Sophia"s. It was great , Carl was very friendly and provided great service,. The Huevous Rancheros were tasty and spicy.
Then we just started to wander around and ended up crashing an private art opening. The smell of Bloody Marys drew us in, The Riders cannot pass up free drinks. The featured artist was an old cowboy named Gib Singleton, who grew up in Westport Connecticut.
His art was beautiful but $15,000 is a little more than the Riders can afford to pay for a statue of Billy the Kid even thought Bill is one of our heroes. Who doesn't love a 21 year old killer who liked to have his picture taken? Instead we decided to get a $20 poster and have it signed by the artist. Gail,of course ,learned all about not only Gil but also everyone else in line. Hve to go heading for LA will finish later

Dodge City Kansas Visiting a Cow Town

The Riders stopped by Dodge City on the way to Sante Fe. The town is dedicated to the old West and a TV show, Gunsmoke. Here are some pictures of the museum we visited.

Gail in jail, I thought I was the one breaking into jail.

Gunslingers having a shoot out in the street. This was Dodge City's version of road rage.

Tim traded in the BMW for a new method of transportation. He did receive cash for his clunker.

The Riders

Catching up with some additional photos!

Here are some more pictures, Gail at the Lincoln Presidential Library, The Lincoln Home and Lincoln's tomb., plus a photo of our Indiana picture! I think Tim and I both posted the Lincoln Tomb photo! Great minds think alike!

Tim & Gail

Here are two pictures from the Hayes homestead. One is a bust of the Pres, the other is Gail next to a tree where a maiden was tied to the tree and was ready to be burned, but was saved by her hero.

Aunts, Cousins and Gail at the lake house.

Gail and Mary Coppage at Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob's house on the Grand Lake in Celina

Kansas and Dodge City

Hi There!
Friday August 21st
Well, the drive through Kansas took FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you can fit about a million CT's into Kansas. It was hot hot hot driving through the state, and when we stopped at Dodge City, I thought we were going to fry on the sidewalk. Tim will post the photos in a blog shortly. That visit was fun, but we really wanted to push on and try to make Santa Fe by Friday night. Kansas is beautiful and the skies were perfect as was the entire day. The only problem was we were driving forever. We decided to try to make it to Santa Fe and we had booked a great hotel right outside of Santa Fe called the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. The best part of this really long long car ride was watching the sunset over the plains of Kansas, past the grain elevators, and the stock yards, and herds of cattle, windmills and towns so tiny they are just a dot on the map. Tim was an expert driver, because those towns are really cagey! We are traveling along at a great 65 miles per hour, and suddenly up pops some grain elevators, suddenly we are in a town, and the speed limit drops to 30 miles per hour with the nearby sheriff just lurking at that very exact spot. The vistas of the land coupled with the most beautiful skies I have ever seen, bluest of blue and huges puffs of clouds with the most exotic of shapes coupled with the most perfect sunset into twilight made that whole ride wonderful even though we were really pooped by the time we arrived at the hotel close to 11pm Mountain time. Who knows what time is it? We are lucky if we can remember what city or town we are in when we wake up in the morning!! We are having a blast of a time, enjoying each other and the people in the cities and towns around us, having great dinners, breakfasts and snacks and deciding where to stay each night. Tim will post our Dodge City and Santa Fe photos.
I fluctuate between thinking we brought too much stuff and then I cannot find a sweater to wear at night when it cools down because I didn't pack it. Ha. We cannot wait to see Brittany next and then visit Andrew and then head off into the sunset up the Pacific Coast Highway.
Tim & Gail

Mark Twain and Hannibal Missouri

Hi! We did make it to Hannibal and the town is adorable! It is a small community with a great vintage old downtown close to the banks of the Mississippi River, which by the way was very very brown in color.

Tim took some great shots!!

All the people were very friendly, and we keep running into people who have some relationship to CT, which is very strange! At one of the art galleries in town, the woman owner grew up in Nowayton. In Topeka, our adorable waitress was heading to Yale for her first year. And we have a funny story about our day in Santa Fe regarding CT too!!

Tim & Gail