Staying with friends at Lake Havasu City AZ…

With another Vegas trip behind us we headed south to visit friends we met on the road in Quartzite several years ago. They RV’ed for long while before settling down in Lake Havasu City Arizona.

They invited to stay at their place as they have RV hookups behind their house and have had as many as four RV’s in their backyard!!! We made our way along the scenic river and finally pulled into the backyard of our friends Paul and Sue P. With Paul’s initials being PP they have called their home the PPPP or the Paul and Sue P. Party Place! We are so glad they invited us to visit the PPPP.

We set up and had a grand view out our front window where we can see a slice of Lake Havasu below. Paul and Sue invited over to the house for a great enchilada diner and happy hour. It was really fun catching back up with our friends.

They told us before our arrival that their daughter would be coming over to their house for the weekend. They assured us she loves their friends and not to worry. Their daughter, Jessie was as hospitable as they were and she is a great person as well. They offered to take us out for a boat ride on Lake Havasu since their daughter also wanted to jet ski behind the boat.

We donned our swimsuits and drove a few miles to the boat ramp. They have a really nice pontoon boat and once we got the boat and the jet ski in the water the fun began. What a great boat ride we had riding around the lake. We stopped at Havasu Springs for lunch before continuing our boat ride.

After a while we stopped at a BLM beach pullout where we enjoyed the water and took turns taking the jet ski out. Once I took the jet ski out and tucked my hat under my legs so it wouldn’t fly off. I had a blast out on the jet ski but when I got back I realized I somehow lost my favorite hat… sigh.

Sharon wanted to go out on the jet ski but wanted me to drive so off we went. When we were out in the middle of the lake I noticed something floating on the water and as luck would have it I found my hat. Snagging it with my toes as we rode past it my favorite hat and I were reunited. It is hard to believe how lucky I was to have found my hat!

Another afternoon Paul and Sue took us out on their ATV to ride out in the desert on some of the trails out behind their place. They took us to a hole in the rocks known as the dragon’s eye where we climbed up into the eye to admire the views. We had another great afternoon riding the ATV and it was the first time Sharon had ever ridden one so she had a few oooohs and ahhhs as we tackled some steep inclines

Well the time at Lake Havasu City passed by too fast and it was once again time to move on…

NOTE: We are now in San Diego CA for a two months before spending the rest of the winter

Enjoying a Boat on Lake Shelbyville, IL with New Friends…

With another weekend looming we were fortunate to find a cancelation near Sullivan Illinois at Bo Woods Campground, a COE park. We snagged three days there, filled up with diesel and drove the short distance southeast through the Illinois corn and soybean fields. When we arrived we found our large site with a slight lake view and set up camp. Man, we love the COE parks as the sites are always spacious and very appealing. Not to mention with the “old farts card” (America the Beautiful senior pass) we also can camp at half-priced rates!

Immediately after we set up I received a notification on RVillage. RVillage is kind of like a Facebook for RV’ers for those not familiar with it. Anyhow Rick and Sonya sent us a private message welcoming us to the area. We have received many of these types of private messages in the past from people in or near the campground after checking in on RVillage… but this one was different.

In this message, Rick and Sonya wanted to know if we would like to go on a boat ride with them since they were close by. How could we turn down such a nice and wonderful offer. So we said sure thereby making a plan to do what we always told our children not to do… go somewhere with complete strangers!

Well they came over to our campsite to get acquainted and chatted with us for a bit over an hour before they suggested we go for the boat ride. What super nice people they are. Locals to the area they grew up around here so they shared lots of stories and laughs with us as we meandered around Lake Shelbyville. Their two Shih Tzu dogs were experienced boaters who jumped in the water to cool off along with us. These two added to the fun because we both love dogs.

At sunset we arrived back at their slip and before we headed home they asked if we wanted to do it again the next day. Why, of course we did! Unfortunately the next day I had a bit of a stomach issue so we cancelled but certainly hope we run into Rick and Sonya again someday. Later that day my “issue” finally cleared up so we drove north so Sharon could checkout where I use to live near Rantoul Ill when I was in the Air Force there.

We toured the Champaign-Urbana area and took a long stroll around the University of Illinois. We have mentioned before how we love touring college campuses and the U of I was a very nice campus with lots of green space and interesting architecture. We stopped in at a local watering hole called the Blind Pig where we had happy hour before heading back to camp.

Our time went by fast and it was once again time to head further south and eastward…

NOTE: We are now at a COE park near Sullivan Ill and will stop to see friends of ours in Newton Illinois next before moving on to Indiana…

Urban Hike in Savannah Georgia…

One of our favorite southern cities is the city of Savannah Georgia. We wanted to revisit the scenic part of town with all the squares adorned with beautiful large trees draped in Spanish moss. Hardeeville RV Park is only about 10-15 minutes north of Savannah so from our site there we hopped in the CRV and headed into the city.

Our first stop was at the Bonaventure Cemetery.  We heard from many readers that this 100 acre cemetery was a must see.  When visiting here make sure to stop at the Visitors Center and pick up a copy of their 16-page “Historical Society Guide”.  This  brochure has lots of info and it has an annotated map of where the Who’s Who are buried. Lots and lots of Confederate War heroes are buried there including several Generals.

It is a really scenic cemetery with all the large live oak trees draped in moss. The different styles of tombstones from the 1700’s to the more modern days is also striking. There is a sense of beauty and serenity in this cemetery but also a sense of despair with so many markers representing the untimely deaths of children. Sharon and I agree that we are pretty sure we will be cremated and not take up any space in a cemetery. Just spread our ashes in a beautiful place or in the ocean and we will be okay with that…

Our next stop was much less solemn as we stopped at the Savannah visitors center to pick up a town map. Our plan was to walk to all of the 22 remaining squares in town out of the original 24. Doing so required us to weave our way through the heart of Savannah and in doing so we walked about 4.5 miles. We weren’t finished though as we wanted to also walk along the trendy River Street.

A bonus find along River Street was that the city of Savannah offers a free ferry back and forth across the Savannah River. It stops at two of the major convention hotels and then back at River Street. The whole ride (if you don’t get off) takes about 30 minutes. What a score it was to have a free boat ride with awesome views of the Savannah waterfront!

After we exited the ferry we walked over to the Moon River Brewery and partook in some very tasty beverages. We found all the beers we sampled to be quite good! Upon finishing our refreshing beverages we walked back to the Visitor’s Center to get our car.

Packing up for the next move to Brunswick Georgia consumed the remainder of our day…

Boat Ride, Birthday and Hiking the Mountain Crack…

We traveled just three miles south into Lake Havasu City to yet another Passport America Park, Campbell Cove Resort. It is a nice little park with great views overlooking Lake Havasu. After setting up and cranking up the A/C, the temperatures were in the low 90’s, so we decided to head over to London Bridge to catch the ferry over to the Indian Casino across the lake into California.

We had no intention of gambling but simply wanted to enjoy the best deal in town… the $2.00 per person round trip ferry boat ride across Lake Havasu. Leaving Lake Havasu City we saw RV’s camped all along the banks of the lake on both sides. The boat ride took about 15 minutes and docked near the casino. We walked in to check out the little casino which does have great views from the bar but we weren’t intrigued enough to stay. We re-boarded the ferry and took the return leg back across to Lake Havasu City. We decided to walk along the lakefront and go across the London Bridge and back.  We felt it was a nice way to kill a few hours and we really enjoyed the ferry ride.…

The next day was Sharon’s birthday so I made her breakfast of choice – Whole Grain Huckleberry Pancakes from the frozen Huckleberries we picked in Montana. After breakfast we relaxed at home and then made her a birthday lunch of another favorite, Kale, Sausage and Chick Peas with the last of our Texas Slovacek sausage. Yummy!

After lunch we headed over to near Sara Park on the south side of town as I found the perfect birthday hike for Sharon. This just under 5 mile hike included some mild canyoneering through what is called the Crack in the Mountiain. We parked in Sara Park close to the gate near the Special Activities Recreation Area .  We started on the trail which basically followed the dry wash down the canyon. We occasionally switched over to the red trail which seemed to help us stay out of the harder to walk in sandy and loose gravel in the wash more than the yellow trail did.

After about a mile walking or slogging through the dry wash we started to notice the canyon walls becoming closer together and taller. The rocks in this part of the trail were very interesting and the geology was as well. Next as the canyon walls got closer and closer, we ambled down and over boulders into a series of dry falls through the crack in the mountain. Then we encountered the “seven-foot dry fall” which is more like 10 feet. I slid down it as the surface is much like a slide. The only caution was to make sure my footing landed on a couple of rocks below in such a way as not turn an ankle.

Sharon being more apprehensive required some assistance from me to ensure a much softer landing. Some basic canyoneering skills were taught to her and then she was able to handle everything else the crack had to offer. At the 1.4 mile marker we exited the crack and continued on down the trail to the 2.3 mile marker. Not knowing how far the lake was we opted to turn around at this point only to find out later we were just a tenth of a mile from the shoreline!

Near the 1.6 mile marker we ventured out of the wash to climb to what I was sure to be the blue trail (and it was). The blue trail bypasses going back up the canyon  so we took this trail as I was unsure if we could easily get back up the ten foot slide. This trail climbed in elevation as we scrambled along the hillside.  We were glad we decided to return on this trail since it offered some great views of the lake as well as the canyon from above.  We reconnected to the dry wash some 6/10’s of a mile from the parking lot at the trailhead.

Getting back to the car it was nearly 5:00 pm so we headed off to College Street Brewery for some nice crafted beers to fully celebrate Sharon’s birthday. We went back to the RV where I made her requested birthday dinner of Chicken Fajitas. While cooking we were treated to one of the best sunsets we have seen since full timing… a perfect ending to a perfect day!!!