Merry Christmas Everyone

First of all Merry Christmas to anyone who may read this. 

This Christmas we seem to have spent quite a bit of time, with friends, reminiscing about our kids, childhoods, parents, brothers and sisters and so forth.  It really makes us realize how blessed we really are to have our health, a great family, super friends, and the opportunity to do what we're doing.  To live the life most of us have here in North America.

Christmas makes us all think of Christmas's past and who we celebrated them with.  We were so blessed to have spent a couple of them with Thom and Dwaina Sprague.  You may remember from previous posts that Thom passed away last summer.  He's been on my mind allot and I know I'm only one of many people missing him this Christmas. 

RIP Bro.

Thom, third from the right, on a Dirty Dogs Tour, in Boise Idaho, summer 2004

 

For some reason this young lady has been on mind allot also.  She is the Afgany girl who was shot in the head by a Taliban "hero" because she was outspoken on wanting an education for women in her country.  She fooled them and lived.  I know  she doesn't celebrate Christmas but we do, and I hope you join me in keeping her in your prayers.

Malala Yousufzai, a real "Hero."

 

We had a fabulous Christmas eve with some of our friends from dancing.  Ron and Elaine O'Neil invited us to their home where we enjoyed the company of many good people and lots of great food. 

Guys enjoying O'Neil's (Ron in Red) patio

 

Girls inside, Elaine in green, with Bernie at the back

 

This link will take you to Ron's schedule.  If you're in the valley, like good music, and/or dancing, check him out some night.  For dancing we think he's the best in the valley http://wintertexaninfo.com/Bands/RonONeil_A-Party-Of-One.html

 

Christmas day we had a really great time chatting with all of our kids and grandchildren.  This year they were scattered more than usual.  We had a couple of them in Cabo San Lucas Mexico, one in Langely BC, and two in Winnipeg MB.  Getting in touch was easy but conections weren't great.  We use our computer for these calls as a few billion others do on Christmas day.  The connections were tough so we'll just have to do it again soon.  Not something we mind doing.  They were all having a good time.

 

In the afternoon we got together with good freinds Ken and Doreen Broughten at their home for our 5th Christmas dinner at their place.  They have three Broughtons there with their spouses, along with us, and another couple.  It has become a wonderful Christmas tradition here, one we enjoy and treasure.  Thank you Ken and Doreen.

 

As usual we ate way toooooo much.  As seems to be the case this year we spent a couple of hours reminiscing about our childhoods, parents, kids, and so forth.  Maybe it's us, mabe not, but either way it was fun to share stories with friends.

 

So now - well - today we were going out to do a bit of shopping.  In S. Texas they don't do "Boxing day" like we do in Canada.  That day is called Black Friday here and it happens at Thanksgiving.  They do have sales all over the place today but we just don't have the energy to take it on.  Bernie has her Kindle and a cup of coffee.  She's curled up in her recliner - I could be wrong but I think she's done for the day.  I made it to the computer and I think this is all I'll accomplish today.

 

So for now, I'm done, Merry Christmas.

 

Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.

 

Neal and Bernie

 



 

 

 

 

 

 





Something you won't see every day

In fact unless you are in this wee corner of Texas it’s unlikely you’d ever see one North of Mexico or Central America.
 

  “Black Bellied Whistling Ducks” sitting outside our RV.

 

 This guy seemed to be the alpha male, the lookout, maybe the “boss” duck, I don’t know but he always maintains an “I’m cool” stance away from the others.

 

We’ve seen them other years, sitting on telephone lines, resting in trees, exhibiting very un –duck like behaviour.  This year they have taken a liking to the empty lot beside us so we get up close and finally a couple of decent pictures.   They aren’t great shots because they’re through the window.  As soon as I go outside they’re outta here in a heartbeat.

Hope you enjoyed them.

Thanks for stopping by and please do say hi when you can.

Neal and Bernie

And Now - from Pharr Texas

Well we've made it to Texas and are settled in for the winter.  The temperatures are running in the mid 80's every day with the humidex hitting 100 twice this week.  We'll put up with it, somebody's gotta do it.

You know you've hit S. Texas when the bugs are messing up your windshield and everything is flat and green.  We love this part of the drive each year, on Hwy 281, the last 100 miles or so S. of San Antonio.  I sort of relax at that point, the drive is almost done, the bugs are destroying the windshield and the Rio Grande Valley is just ahead.  Friends and warmth are around the corner .................

 

Flat and green with bugs on the windshield

 

Forty "flat" miles that way to the Gulf of Mexico

 

 

And Then The RIO GRANDE VALLEY

 

I'm not sure where it actually starts but for us the Palm Trees in the center mean we're in the Valley.  That's always good for a high five and that big smile on my bride's face.

And Then TROPIC STAR

 

The driveway into Tropic Star.  Right here, every year, a thank you prayer for another safe trip.  Feels like coming home.

 

 

And so winter 2012/2013 begins,

 

Those are orange trees outside our front door and a big old oak tree giving our rig afternoon shade.

 

This is home for the next three months.  We're back at Tropic Star but on a different lot this year.  They created a half dozen pull through lots for those of us with longer rigs and we decided to take advantage of the opportunity.  It lets us keep our truck with the RV which is a "big deal" to me.  I like the old girl and keeping her close is important.  :-)

It didn't take long for the "winter Texan" rush to set in.  Bernie and I sat down with a calendar yesterday to try and figure out how we'll fit it all in every week.  It turned out we will be going seven days a week with no down days.  Every year we say "it's going to be different" and every year we end up going seven days a week.

Each year we spend as much time as "our bodies will allow" taking dance lessons, going to dances, and enjoying the circle of friends we have around that activity.  This means two lessons, one or more dances per week, a lunch or two, and maybe a dinner with our dance buds.  Now - I can assure you - we won't be Dancing With The Stars anytime soon, but we do have allot of fun and the exercise is good. 

On top of the dance schedule Bernie goes to the gym three mornings a week, walks four or more miles a few times a week, I'm in the stained glass room three days a week, Sat. mornings I work with the Pancake Crew in the dining room, church on Sunday morning, and that's our regular winter schedule.  We also try to get together with friends as often as we can.  You can see why Winter Texans say they have to go home in the spring to "rest up."

Dancing The Night Away

 

 

Fun with some dance friends

 

 

A daughter comes calling
 



Once again, for the second time in two years, Amber came from Calgary for an extended weekend visit.  We had a great time and loved every minute of it.

There's something about dad's chair that makes a girl feel -  "comfortable."

 

 Of course a walk into Mexico for lunch is a "must do."  The food was good and the company - fabulous.

 

 Amber and Bernie hard at work
"Let's Twist again like we did last summer"
"Let's Twist again like we did last year"

 

Thanksgiving two

 

Being Canadian we get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice.  The first one at home with
family and the second one here with friends.  Doesn't get any better than that and we do have a lot to be Thankful for.  Once again for at least the fourth year Ken and Doreen hosted a fabulous dinner where we ate way way way too much - again.

 

 



Doreen (back left) and Ken (front right)

 

Bernie and Doreen, they act like sisters

 

 

And so now we'll get ready for Christmas where, once again, we'll eat too much.  Once again we'll say "never again" which really means - until next year.

And this is what happens at the end of a Winter Texan's day.  That's all folks nothing left.................and now you know why I don't post this blog as often as I should.

Bernie grabbed this one - no flash - at the end of a long day but I must admit it's a regular occurence........

 

Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.

 

Neal and Bernie

Loving It - In Oklahoma City

So we find ourselves, once again, enjoying Oklahoma City.  This is the fourth time we have set up camp in OKC and enjoy it more every time.  We enjoy visiting with friends here but beyond that this area seems to have just enough “red neck” to make us feel welcome but not enough to make you uncomfortable.  They just passed some kind of a new law that allows, those properly licenced, to carry their gun on their hip, just like in the good old days.  We didn’t see anyone carrying a side arm but apparently it’s now legal here.  Like I said “just enough” redneck makes one feel welcome.

Remember five days ago we were in Manitoba and 15 (F) degrees.  Here in Norman OK yesterday it was in the 80’s and today in the 70's.  It sucks to have to adjust to the heat but we’ll persevere.  Looking at the Weather Network, Pharr Texas is in the high 80’s to 90’s so we have some more adjusting to do.  I’ll take it.

Today we went out to a fabulous car show.  There was a really nice collection of cars there and even one “BIG” truck.  Now, we all know Bernie’s not very tall but this picture clearly shows this is a “tall” truck.  Yes – the owner does drive it on the street, and it is street legal here.   Just enough redneck, I love it. 

 Bernie and the street legal pick up

 

 

I took these goofy pictures for you Ed (my brother.)  These were both spectacular Galaxy 500’s, 63's I think.  They had your name on them, for sure.

A fabulous 55 Crown Victoria

So tomorrow we pack up and Monday head off South for a while.  We have no particular goal in mind, just working our way South to Pharr and our winter hangout.  We have a place just North of San Antonio we really enjoy so we might hang out there for a few days.  A decision we’ll have to make when we get there.  The RV Park is really nice and we like to go to a small place outside of New Braunfels, called Groene, for lunch.  Time will tell, we’re going to decide on the road.  I tend to want to drive, 6 hrs, 8, 10, 12, who cares, let’s get er done.  But I know that’s not what we’re supposed to be doing out here and Bernie keeps me on track.  Slows me down when she can.

So that’s it for tonight.  Next update will be from someplace South of here, and N or Pharr but where????????  We’ll see.

Thanks for stopping by, please say hi when you can.

Neal and Bernie

Time To Head For Someplace Warm

It's ging to be -9C (15F) tonight and that's cold enough for us.  Time to be "on the road again," Texas - here we come.

The park's almost empty, most of our freinds left a couple of weeks ago, work is finished for the year, the forecast is for some snow, and despite my Nov. 1st goal, we're headed out in the morning.  The park has had to shut off the water becuase everything is frozen - so - Mother Nature Wins - Neal looses.

There aren't many of us left here.

The temps, all the way through the Dakota's look fairly cold so it might be a rather fast trip for the first couple of days.  Bernie's maxed out at about 10 hours.  At 10 hrs I'm just nicely warmed up and ready to rock.  Hmmm - this could be interesting..... 

We loaded up Smartie, and hooked up the rv today.  We even considered a few hours on the road tonight but decided it was wiser to get an early start and be safe.

All loaded, hitched up, and ready to go in the morning.  I know - I know -  the Freightliner is embarrassingly dirty but I got caught up in a snow storm a few days ago and it's too cold to wash her.

 

We'll spend a few days with freinds in Oklahoma city, where the forecast is for some nice warm days.  Our routine in OC is a lunch or dinner at Toby Keith's "I love this bar" and to catch some r&r before the drive to S. Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.  We have come to really enjoy our time there each year.  Thanks to our freinds we have found a nice place to stay and have uncovered all the services we need, and a place to wash the truck.

So I'll post more from the road.  I have no idea what I can say about 3 days on I29 South, but we'll try.

Stay well, be happy, thanks for stopping by, and please leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie

THE END OF A PRAIRIE SUMMER

So What Do You Do With A Manitoba Summer? 

Manitoba is known to have some of the best summer weather on the continent.  We’re hot, but not too hot, we get some rain, but not too much rain, we get some bugs, "big bugs," but not too many (most of the time,) we have 10,000 fresh water lakes to enjoy, we have world class fresh water fishing, we have summer festivals everywhere, there are a couple of internationally recognized music events, and the list goes on and on.

When we’re in S. Texas every winter the decision is always – what do we want to do?  There is never enough time to do it all so, like everyone else, we have to make decisions on what we want to do.  This summer in Manitoba has been just the same.  There wasn’t enough time to do all of things we would want.

This summer was complicated somewhat because I decided to work on my bucket list and spent the summer driving big rigs.  It has been, and still is, a ton of fun.  I spent the spring months driving a water hauler for a local contractor and since July I have been driving for a local farmer.  He had over 14000 acres to harvest which kept me and a few other drivers, “off our feet busy.”  At one point we had 5 combines and 8 semis in the field.  The trucks couldn’t keep ahead of it but we had a really good time trying.  For any, non-agricultural person, reading this please just accept it as “HUGE, really, really, HUGE.”   After we finished the cereal crops it was straight into beans and now we’re finally intro the last 1500 acres which is corn.  We’re had some bad weather and are on hold for a few days.  We should, weather permitting, wrap it up next week.  I’ll be sorry to see it wind down.  Even though there have been lots of 12, 14, and even 16 hr. days, it’s been allot of fun.

For and old Saskatchewan farm boy this has just been a blast.  Things have changed a lot.  When I left the farm in the early 1960’s we could till about 50 acres, or a bit more, in a long day.  He had me on a machine this summer that did 50 acres an hour.   Yes – things have changed.

Bernie has had a nice summer as well.  She spent some time at home, which she enjoys, she spent a few weekends at Falcon Lake with daughter Leslie, John, and their girls, she had a nice week in Vancouver with daughter Colleen, Tim, and their family, and she spent tons of hours at the gym with her friends.  As usual she took great care of her “old fart” husband, which all by itself is a huge undertaking.

 

Bernie finding a few minutes for some sun and a good book

Adios Amigo, my good friend.

I had to say goodbye to very dear friend this summer.  He was one of the best friends I have ever had and I miss him tons.  Thom and I, along with others, spent many thousands of miles riding our motorcycles to far off places like Mexico, New Orleans, and almost every road “worth riding” in Western North America.  Although we didn’t see much of each other since Bernie and I left Vancouver, he was one of those friends that was just “there” and I knew it.  I can only hope he knew it as well. 

 From the left, yours truly, Thom Sprague (and his Blackbird), Ron, and Glenn leaving for Mexico in 2002

To remember, reminisce, and mourn the loss of our friend many of our motorcycle friends got together for the Thom Sprague, Memorial Ride.   Sons Brady, Rob and I rode from Manitoba to Washington State to meet up with the rest of the guys.  It was about 4500 kms but well worth the effort.  Ron rode Thom’s bike for the trip which was really good for all of us.  I spent thousands of miles listening to Thom’s “Blackbird” (motorcycle) growling though the miles and loved HEARING it again.  I always told him his sounded like it was angry all the time.  It sounded even angrier on this trip.  Maybe it was missing Thom as well.

 Rob, Brady, and I in Glacier National Park

This is the whole gang of us in the Canadian Rockies, gathered around Thom’s bike, missing our friend.  RIP THOM, WE WON’T FORGET.

It’s getting cold here and our thoughts are turning to South Texas and our friends there.  Last night we had mid 20’s F. (-6 C) and we’ve had two days of snow and wind.  Looks like we’ll likely head South around the first of Nov. unless the weather gets really bad and we decide to bail out sooner.

This year, since we’re leaving later, we plan to head straight South until the weather warms up a bit and then see what happens.  We want to make a stop near Kansas City to see a 5^th wheel I’ve had my eye on for a while.  We plan to stop in Oklahoma City for a few days to visit friends and after that follow the road wherever it may go until we end up at Tropic Star in Pharr, Texas.

More soon, thanks for stopping by.

 Neal and Bernie

Big Green Water Machine

Greetings from Sunny Manitoba.

Since our province (state) requires us to be here for at least six months each year I have to find something to do.  Sitting still for six months is NOT an option. 

Last year I set up and ran the pressure washing venture which was fun and made us a bit of dough.  Through that I met a fellow that has an agricultural spraying company, providing a custom spraying service for the local farmers.  The products include fertilizers, pesticide's, fungicides, insecticides and more.

When I met him, last summer, he asked if I'd be interested in driving his truck.  The sprayer goes through a whole bunch of water and he needs thousands of gallons at the edge of the field every day.  Since driving these things was on my bucket list I said yes and here I am driving the "Big Green Water Machine."  Obviously I made up the name and he'll likely make me delete this if he ever reads it.

Permit me to introduce you to the Kenworth I'm spending my summer with.  I just love loading her up with about 6000 gallons of water, a couple of thousand pounds of chemicals, and heading down the road.  The Cummins diesel and 13 speeds just hum along, working hard and loving the challenge.  Me to.

The Big Green Water Machine

She's got a few miles on her - but - so do I.

So we deliver the water and chemical to the edge of the field and his sprayer lays it out there.  I was born and raised on a farm but this kind of equipment wasn't even dreamt of back then. 

It's huge

100 feet of boom

So that's how I am keeping myself out of trouble for the summer. 

Bernie and I have been having tons of fun with our kids and grandchildren spending as much time with them as we can.  Sometimes we think they probably wish we'd just go back South - no such luck - they're stuck with us for the summer.  Seriously though, they are very generous with us and we enjoy every minute of it.

With a lot of pride I can tell you that Brady, my youngest, graduated last month with his B. Comm. from U of Man. (Asper).  Having your youngest graduate, now that tells you how time flies.  He was a baby just yesterday.

Brady, yours truly, daughter Amber

Bernie keeps busy with her friends at the gym a few times a week.  By the time we both get home from our respective days activities it's time for some rest.  So ends another day, and on that note so ends this post.

Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie

Back to the Prairies, Warm and Sunny

All good things have to end and so did our travels for this winter.

After a great month with daughter Colleen (Tim,) their family, and many old freinds we headed out of BC at the middle of April. 

The month in B.C. couldn't have been better.  We'll leave rain and cold out of the discussion to concentrate on family and freinds.  We got to see freinds we haven't seen in far too long, spend time with family we see far too infrequently.  It was fun to look at our places of work, our old homes and have another look at Vancouver.

We were thrilled to get to see Brendan (Grandson) play in two hockey tournaments and to spend a whole bunch of time with him and his sisters.  We even got to babysit which is always a thrill for grandma and granpa.

We got to spend some time with some of our old freinds and motorcycle buds although time just didn't allow us to link up with many of them.  Maybe next year.

So off we went, headed for Calgary.  As we travelled through the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains Bernie and I talked about how despite 8/9000 miles, 15 states, and 3 provinces, there is nothing we saw that has the splendor of our own Rocky Mountains. Pictures can never tell the whole story but these will give you an idea.
.

That snow is still more than 13' and it's been melting a bit

 Yes it's still snowing up here, our RV has never been this dirty

So we made it safely through the Rockies and pulled into an RV park just N. of Calgary.  They had the elecricity hooked up but the water lines and drain lines were still frozen.  It made for an interesting week in the cold and rain but we survived.  If it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger - well a week in that park certainly makes you stronger.  I won't mention the park name here but if you're interested send me an email and I'd be happy to share it.

Daughter Amber and husband Dallas treated us royally for a week of food and fun.  Sister Jan and husband Mel did the same.  Thanks to them we left Calgary fat and happy on our way to Regina for a couple of days with Brother Rick and his wife Norma.  Again we were treated like royalty and added yet another month of dieting to our itinerary.  I think we'll be on a diet all the way to our leave date at the end of Oct.

So we're back in Manitoba for the summer.  The weather is wonderful, the sun is shining and the fields are green. 

It was huge fun to get back to the Manitoba kids and the grandchildren.  They are all doing very well and the kids all grew about 6 inches.  Boy they change fast when you're away for awhile.  We hope to see lots of them over the summer.

Bernie is back to her gym, three times and week and loves to renew her freindships down there.  She's been a regular at that gym, with that trainer, for 7 years now and has some good freinds she loves dearly.  Her routine would have me dead and buried in about an hour.  She's at it three times a week plus a vigorous "off days" plan.  Amazing.

Yours truly, well since I can't sit still, I found a guy looking for a driver and I'm having a blast driving his water truck.  He has a custom crop spraying company that requires a lot of water at the edge of the field.  That's where I come in with up to 6000 gallons of water in three tanks on a 48' step deck trailer.  The truck is an older Kenworth with a Cummins engine and a 13 speed tranny.  Just a hoot to drive the old girl and it keeps my skills sharp for fall.

So thats about all we have for now.

As usual thanks for stoppping by and please leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie

Arizona to California and North to B.C.

Now that's a long drive...............

As usual our guardian angel sat in the truck with us and got us safely through an interesting (to say the least) ride from Mesa West and North.  This morning we're having coffee at a very nice resort called Eagle Wind here in  Aldergrove B.C.   http://eaglewindrv.ca/photo-gallery 

And did I mention it's snowing?  Yes it is.........

Our first day out was uneventful except for a killer headwind.  We normally get about 8.5 mpg when we're towing but I think we likely got about 5 on that leg of the trip.  :-(   By carefully planning our fuel stops the most we had to pay was $4.13 but we saw it posted as high as $4.79 in parts of California.  We had filled up in Arizona so we avoided buying any diesel in CA.

First stop was at a place called Quartzsite Arizona.  This was something I was really looking forward to.  One of the RV organizations we belong to is called Escapees http://www.escapees.com  where I spend far too much time on the forum seeing what others are up to.  Quartzsite is a small town on the Arizona California border where people spend days/weeks or more camped in their RVs in the open desert.  Many have solar panels, others have generators, others just use a bonfire.  Trucks come out from town to bring you water and pump out your waste tanks.  It was fun to see but we quickly decided we'd stick to RV parks.  We spent the night just West of Palm Springs in Banning California.

 Quartzsite isn't a very big place

Out in the desert - no services.

There are RV's out there. 

From Quartzsite we were both looking forward to seeing the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area although we didn't have plans to stop or stay.  Neither of us had ever been there so all of our opinions were based on what others have told us and what we had learned from the movie theatre.  You could say we were anxious to see what all the fuss was about.  Now - I know one can't make decisions based on what they see from the freeway but about all we saw driving through there was the biggest wind farm I've ever seen.  Imagine the Bob Hope Boulevard sign framed by windmills.  I guess we'll have to go back but I certainly don't feel any particular urgency to do so.

Now the fun began.  We were travelling on I-10 West and wanted to connect to Hwy I-215 Northand then on to I-210 West to go across the top of Los Angeles through San Bernadino, Pasadena, and Burbank so we could catch I-5 North to B.C.  Well that's just what we did, no mistakes, no wrong roads, perfect drive, EXCEPT nobody told me how bad California roads are.  I thought we had some bad roads back home in Manitoba but they're smooth as glass when compared to this.

California has a law that requires all vehicles towing something, anything, including the heavy duty trucks, to use the right lane only and at 55 mph.  The result is unbelievable congestion in the right lane and all those heavy trucks have beat the right lane all to _____.  Sorry to be so blunt but it's the truth.  It's was brutal to have to tow our rig almost 1000 miles on roads this rough.  We talked to one fellow, from California, who said he was ashamed of the roads in his state.  I understand his opinion.  Our other option was to go further East which meant we had to deal with higher elevations, snow, and ice.  Note to self (again) "don't go North until you can stay East of California."

So now that I have that off my chest back to the trip.

We were now coming North out of L.A. and into the hills patting ourselves on the back for surviving the madness unscathed.  We stopped for our daily (when travelling) cup of coffee from McDonald's and "life was good."  Oops, oh no, we didn't know about the Tejon pass.  I still had half of cup of java when I started having to downshift hard and fast.  We were into a serious climb, some places at a rate of 6%.  This chunk of I-5 goes climbs from L.A., and close to sea level, to 4144 feet at the top.  We were down to 20 mph in places and at that I was passing semi's most of the way.  If you're Canadian this road reminded us of a super size Coquihalla Highway in B.C.  It's a road built on top of the mountains with dramatic climbs and descents.  If you interested this 10 minute video takes you through the whole road.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrSGw7Mosic  It was fun and we're really glad to have had the opportunity to drive it.

After the Tejon pass and descending "The Grapevine" we were into hundreds and hundreds of miles of agricultural heaven.  There was a big sign at one point that said "California feeds America."  That probably is an exaggeration but they sure do grow allot of stuff down there.  Many of the trees were blooming as we drove through and in places it was a sea of white or mauve, and always mixed with that beautiful green.

A few oranges on their way to ?

Trees in bloom

Mile after mile of perfectly trimmed orchards

We knew we were headed into some tough weather so we decided to spend an extra day in Red Bluff CA, at the Durango RV Resort.  The sun was shining, and a day off is never a "bad" thing. www.durangorvresorts.com/  If you find yourself in the I-5 on N. California this is a place we would highly recommend.  The place is very nice but the staff are fantastic.  They did everything they could to make our two days there a pleasant experience.

That was the end of our nice weather, from here to Vancouver it was wet, extremely windy, and thankfully, uneventful.  Beautiful country and much better roads.

Snowing in Weed California

We did get above the snow line for awhile but it wasn't snowing at the time :-)

From there we were into Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian border.  The Canada Customs officer was really good to us.  He asked a few questions and let us go without any search at all making it one of our best crossings ever.

If you follow this blog you may remember we stalled at the border last year.  It took seven hours and a bunch of aggravation to get out of there.  When our truck started this time Bernie and I were VERY relieved.

So we're here in B.C. looking forward to a month with our family and visiting some friends we haven't seen in far too long.

Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie