California here we come!

First of all, before we leave Nevada - I just want to share one picture with you of our kids, Peter and Paige, in their home in Las Vegas -- what a great time to be with them again!

And now into California - we did thoroughly enjoy ourselves at Buck Owens Crystal Palace - the country music provided by his son, Buddy, and the Buckaroos was a delight...his museum is marvelous, all thru the Palace, with photographs, albums, awards, and larger-than-lifesize bronzes of ten country music greats.

Just driving through this state has been an "ecstasy overload" as we like to say in our family! There are so many variations in the landscape...I thought the drive from Barstow to Bakersfield was spectacular scenery..but then we headed north into the valley with all its agriculture, loaded fruit trees, nut trees...and today we were in to rice fields, and olive trees and almond trees -- simply amazing!

Yosemite National Park is not to be missed! We are so glad we were able to spend some time there. We hit the fall colors at their absolute peak - so we didn't get fall in the Ozarks but we were more than blessed by the fall colors at Yosemite. At both the Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias, we were fortunate to take the ranger guided tram tours - and it was the best choice ever...We learned so much.

The last two days we camped at the California Delta. Our campground was just west of Lodi, CA, on the river. We saw a glorious sunset the first night, but last night the sky was too cloudy. Today, Halloween dawned perfectly--with lots of fog, very spooky, and just right for this trick-or-treat day!

We spent time yesterday with Jerry's Aunt Roberta, his Mom's sister, who lives in Livermore. She is amazing - 92 years young...she and Jerry went from one family story to another! Jerry has been out to visit her several times in the last few years. We are so grateful we had this opportunity to visit her.

And tonight we are camped just outside of Redding CA. Mt. Shasta rises up just in front of us, and tomorrow we will be driving in the mountains heading for Oregon. We are excited about the beauties of God's world that still lie ahead of us as we head north. Its all new to us and we are constantly amazed by His creation.

Westward, ho!

The wagon (i.e. Itasca Suncruiser motor home) has begun its journey westward beginning on Monday, October 15th. On November 11, Jerry will begin an interim pastorate at the Sammamish Presbyterian Church in Sammamish, WA - so travel with us as we head west!

Our first stop-over was in El Paso, where we spent a couple of days catching up on our visiting with our cousins Bill and Wayne...I wish we could say we sat on their patio and watched the spectacular view of EP and Juarez, but unfortunately, the winds were horrible, which confined us to inside, but didn't slow down the conversation one little bit!

Fortunately, the winds had subsided when we left for Arizona, which is a good thing - I have always wondered about those roadside signs that say "Dangerous winds." I think I would have understood that better on this trip had the winds still been up! This is a beautiful time of the year to travel Interstate 10 and we were constantly marveling at the scenery. After an overnight in Tucson, we became squatters in front of my brother's home in Phoenix. Jim and I haven't changed a bit, have we? (see picture) We were able to visit with their two adult kids who live in the Phoenix area (Nancy and Steve) as well. Brother Jim's weekend was perfect with OU winning their football game.

Our next stay was Las Vegas NV - you will remember we spent two months there shortly after Jerry retired, with Jerry assisting Jim Houston-Hencken, pastor at FPC LV. The city continues to build and build - everywhere we looked, more construction. We spent the evenings with Jim and Kathy, and our "grandchildren", Peter and Paige...who also continue to grow ...I just wish we lived closer to them so we could see more of them...but we will take whatever time we can get!

You will see Jerry with our other niece, Sarah, in front of their new home...our "home" while in LV was the big driveway at Sarah's former home which is on the market presently..anyone want to buy in LV? What a treat to spend time with her over lunch at a great local Mediterranean restaurant..later on that evening, Sarah, her husband, Ray, and son, Ryan, stopped by--so we got to spend some time with all of the family.

Yesterday we left Nevada and entered California - destination Barstow. The drawing card was Peggy Sue's Nifty 50's Diner - and it lived up to all its advertising!! The place is an absolute museum of memorabilia from OUR generation - and we loved it. 50's music filled the dining rooms, with so many photographs and movie posters on the walls, it would take a week to look at them all. We toured Barstow this morning - its on historic Route 66, also a restored Amtrak train station, with a Harvey House museum (anyone remember the Harvey House?)

We watched the sun set last night through particles of smoke beginning to float in from the wildfires in southern California --and woke this morning to the smell of smoke as well as a hidden sun, sometimes barely visible through the smoke. What a horrible experience for all those folks!

Tomorrow we head for Bakersfield, so we can enjoy country & western music at Buck Owen's Crystal Palace located there, before turning north. We already miss our friends and family in the midwest, but are eagerly looking forward to living in the great northwest for a while and meeting a new church family. God is so good!

Love from the Gypsies

Fall in the Ozarks

It may have been the fall months in the Ozarks, but we certainly did not have fall weather - it was hot when we arrived, and hot when we left! But even tho we didn't see the fall colors or the leaves falling, we had a fabulous time being there. Jerry is seen overlooking the Kansas City skyline from the top of the Liberty Tower. Below the Tower, the WWI Museum has opened this year--and you don't want to miss visiting this fine display if you find yourself in Kansas City. One of the highlights for the fall was the opportunity Jerry had to work on his fiddle skills. You will remember that he bought a fiddle while we were in Wichita and has been practicing. He had the opportunity to participate in several "jam sessions" which were super learning experiences for him. Above you see Jerry getting a fiddle lesson from Violet Hensley--she is in her early 90's. and this is her 41st year at Silver Dollar City. Jerry remembers Violet being present in the City, where her skill was making her own fiddles--a gift she can no longer continue because of macular degeneration. But she can still fiddle a mean tune, and she was more than happy to give a lesson to an aspiring fiddler! Jerry and Carla are enjoying a great gospel concert during the Gospel Picnic at SDC - even in the rain...we sat through at least 3 concerts that week in the rain, but it didn't diminish our enjoyment of the music. We shared the Gospel Picnic with many friends--Spanns from Wichita, Carla, Garretts from Monett, Tim & Heather Garrett from St. Louis. And we were able to spend time with many other friends whose lives have crossed paths with ours, and we are grateful to God for ALL of you on this marvelous journey. It was a good time! We left Table Rock Lake on Oct. 7th for a trip back to Midland with an overnight stop with Jo and Scott...and a full and busy weekend at home before setting out on another BIG ADVENTURE....but more about that in the next blog.