Farewell Oklahoma -Day 2

Nobody wanted to get up this morning.  Nevertheless, we drug ourselves out of bed and started our long trip toward California.  But not before experiencing one of the worst breakfast of the century......

the room was great, but I was glad to get away from that breakfast and head toward Arizona!  It didn't take long either.....

Arizona always reminds me of the land of Dinosaur poo.  haha.  I know that sounds strange, but some of the rock formations hold no other explanation in my mind.

I have seen some rock formations that were more pronounced than these, but since we were at a rest stop, I took pics of these.

This may have very well been one of the few times I actually purchased coffee from a rest stop.  I had to mix three different coffees to get one cup to taste like something other than weak tea.  I guess  I have been spoiled by the french press that we have traveled with for the past 2 years.....:-).
 

Well, on the road again.  The temperature was getting noticeably warmer!

ahhhhhh!  Then we remembered that we purchased some coolant for the air conditioner that seemed to need a charge after all of these years of use.  We used our next stop to try to get it into the condenser; or whatever it is you call it in cars.

hummmmmm.........

uh oh......something just snapped.....

oh well, we will have to get another can when we get to the next stop.  Need to keep moving.  Hello California!

I didn't think to take a picture, but once we got to California, we found a K-mart and picked up another can of coolant stuff for the air conditioner.  Ours was blowing almost warm air.  He had to hook this can thingee to the hose thingee and then let it go into the thingee with the air conditioner on full blast.  I just about froze!  haha.......I was glad I had a scarf with me as it i had  to fun on full blast until he was finished.
  

On the road again.  And this time, it started to rain.  Not what we would call rain where I am from.  I really only spit for a bit.  The sky appeared to have a portal in it.......:-)

Travel started coming to a crawl.  You can tell from all of the dust that was previously on the road that they do not see rain much!

I thought it was going to rain longer than it did because of the way it started to fall.  But it didn't last but a few minutes and then it was over; sadly.

After a very long day; 12 hours, we decided to stop and eat since we were about an hour from our destination which in traffic will take much longer.  

We had both been snacking on jerky and chips in the car with plenty of water because of the salt content.  So, dinner was "light" for us.  I ordered fried artichoke hearts and chicken pot stickers.
Chris ordered a clam chowder sour dough bowl with some avocado rolls.  Both were not that bad....:-)

As you can tell, he is SERIOUS about his food.....haha

We were glad to be on our way again as both of us had been fighting sickness for most of the trip.  I good night's sleep was starting to sound pretty groovy to me! Does anybody say "groovy" any more???

The sun was starting to set and after being stuck on I-10 for what seemed like forever, we finally made our way to the 405 and on to our home for the next two nights.  It is time to settle in for two days....:-)

See you soon!  Stay tuned.....:-).

Farewell, Oklahoma....:-(. Preparations and Day 1

I really enjoy being in my home in Oklahoma. It seems that I am forever doing some kind of major work or repair to the house and never really staying around long enough to enjoy the expense of it all. So, the thought of returning to the great North Wet does not hold "warm fuzzies" for me.  This is me looking head to the next 4-5 months of mostly rain.  oh well.......:-(.

since we still had some time left, we decided to get our last time out on the town so to speak and decided to go out to one of our favorite restaurant for a meal.  I don't remember what I ordered, but I do remember the Cesar salad that we started with.
 

come to think of it, I think I ordered some tilapia in a spicey cream sauce with spinach and lots of Parmesan cheese.

The waitress kindly volunteered to take our picture........:-)

We eventually made our way to Lake Thunderbird near Norman, Oklahoma.  We only stayed long enough to take a couple of pictures.  Chris wanted to get a closer look out on the peer.

We didn't see the sign going it, but this shot was taking "backward" on our way out...ha.  So, there you go!

The Lord was painting a beautiful sunset again.  We got to enjoy that for a few minutes on the way back to Lawton.

Soon, time was drawing nearer for us to get things in order to be loaded into the car.

We were leaving most of the things we brought with us behind.

But you wouldn't think that were the case since the trunck was already full!

The morning finally arrived when we pulled out and started our trip.  I hate getting breakfast on the road, but when you get up at 5:00 am, there ain't much else going on!  Especially having been fighting what appears to be a terrible cold or a vicious flu bug for the past three weeks; fast food was not appealing.  Nevertheless, here we were.

We were clipping along pretty good until we got closer to Texas.  Then it got really hairy.  It was quite slick and I was glad we did not have the scooters with us or the trailer!

The temperature dropped to zero degrees with the wind chill to prove it!  We finally made it to New Mexico.  I had been so sick that I slept through most of the drive.

getting out of the car was quite the experience.  The wind was kinda high and biting and the car had these really weird ice formations on it that this picture does not do justice.

After gassing up the car, we thought to press on to Las Cruses, NM and spend the night.

But then Chris got a second wind and decided to push through to White Sands, and stop at the Visitor's Center for a coupon booklet.  Sometimes, you can get really good deals on hotels.

I am always so amazed at the color of the sand and the science behind the color.  I can't explain how it all happens, but it is quite a story for it to get that way. No wonder New Mexico is called the "Land Of Enchantment".....:-)

since Chris had his second wind and it was still going.  Then we got as far as Deming, New Mexico and decided to pack it in for the night.  It was a 12 hour day.  Time to get some rest.

 The hotel we checked into seemed almost deserted, but that was ok.  Better than a lot of noise!

The sun was setting and so was I at this point even though the flu bug and me sleeping most of the trip.

Here is my sweetie getting his last pictures of the day......

 
But once he got in the room and sat down, that was all she wrote!  Road fatigue set in.  Well, 6:00 am comes early.  Next stop, Los Angeles, California!
 

See ya tomorrow!

Time Is Winding Down

I am almost certain that this is the longest break I have taken from blogging since I started. Between learning how to pressure can food and home renovations, I have been very busy! It's hard to believe that we are getting ready to head back to Canada.  Time has moved much too quickly....:-(.  Anyway, here's hoping that everyone's new year has gotten off to a great start....:-).

The beginning of the visit was expensive!  It seems that every year for the past 6 we have had to have some major repair down on the house that was unexpected.  And just about every year, we have had to have "something: done in regard to our sewer line.  We finally fired our company that we had had a relationship with for the past almost 20 years and had the work done through someone else.  I figured when we follow their advice and every year is more expensive and still not fixed.... it was time to move on!  We have now replaced the entire sewer line from the clean outs to both bathrooms and haven't had a problem yet.

The good side of all of this is that the soil has been worked!  haha.  So, if I decide to put any bulbs in, it should be quite easy....:-).

The weather is starting to warm just a bit on some days.  It reached 70 degrees the other day and we pulled out some chairs and had a bit of a sit in the back yard for a few minutes.....:-).

Another project that we did was replacing windows.  You know it's time when the inside feels like the outside during a winter storm....haha.  This is one of our kitchen windows.  Looking good....:-).

Although the weather has been pleasant in spots, it's usually too cold to ride unless you have a lot of warm gear or heated stuff on your bike.  So, for now, Raspberry and Rascal will remain under cover in the storage area.......

 And Ruby will stay in my office complete with helmet and "Monkey Butt" powder.....

One of the things we had to deal with this year was ferrel cats using our flower beds as their personal toilets.  We didn't really notice until we made an inspection of the windows around the house and managed to track cat poo onto the front porch!  The war was on!  We called animal control who recommended that we obtain some "live traps" for the little creatures and that they would take care of it if we call them.  So, we did.  This came with a small and large trap in which we managed to catch 4 cats and a possum if you can believe that!  

Now maybe whatever the cat urine didn't kill can start to grow.   I think we have a large monetary loss of plants between cats, heat from last year, and lack of "know how" when it comes to caring for a garden.  Nevertheless,  hope springs eternal!

Sooo, there's the update.  Did I mention that I have been sick as s dog the last couple of days?  No?  Well, I have been sick as a dog the last couple of days and suffering with a toothe ache from the crown work of a crappy dentist that needs to be redone or the tooth removed.  Gotta like that....
Well, until I can get to the dentist; which I do not want to do with a bad cold; I will just keep taking my meds.    

with a lot of vitamin -C and hope to be rid of this stuff before hitting the road and heading back to BC! 

 
Stay warm, y'all!