As I stated above ever since I was a kid I have said to myself, I will take some extended time off and travel. I begin these thoughts when I was a Senior in high school just after I decided I really needed to continue my education beyond high school.
Before I made that decision to continue my education I went through some troubling times. After basketball season my senior year of high school I thought that it was a waste to finish high school so I contemplated dropping out of school and going my own way (working on the farm). I always found school a big challenge except for basketball and now that that phase of my life was over I was lost and floundering . All I could see was working on the farm the rest of my life. Not what I really wanted to do but saw no other way forward. If this was my destiny then why not get on with it. With these thoughts I did not see myself furthering my education or felt any need for it. I did not feel I could succeed at a higher level (college) of education. Then one day shortly after that I did make a decision to quit school. I was afraid to tell my dad so I took the bus as I did every school day and went to school as usual . Upon arrival I went to my Principal to tell him I was quitting. He was not there so I left a message and preceded to go down town. About lunch time while setting at the local cafe, in walks my principal. Now you have to know their were 2 big men in my life that I had a lot of respect for, one was my dad and one was this man, (Rex Ebrite) my Principal. He ask me what I was doing so I told him how I felt. We talked for awhile, mostly I listened. He had some pretty strong words for me that day . Wisdom I never dreamed he had. Words that changed my life for ever. He said he did not see any reason to tell my dad as long as I was back in school the next day. I did go back to school and did finish and even went on to post secondary schooling. As a result of some success I have been going to school ever since in one way or another (strongly believe learning is a life long adventure). I am a strong example that if you don't like your situation educate your way out of it (some of the wisdom I received from my High School Principal)
That brings me back to when is the right time. The rest of that school year I kept saying to myself, when I graduate I will take some time to travel. Of course it never happened. A few years later when I graduated from college I said the same thing. It never happen. Over the years when I would move or start thinking about changing jobs I would say the same thing. But for the next 55 years life never allowed me to do what I had always said I would do. Finally at the age of 73 my wife and I decided to sell out place and travel for at least a year. Our decision was based on the idea to simplify our life and stop using our money to buy things and put it toward experiences. So on February 18th 2016 we closed on selling our house and hit the road in our mini van with the idea we would rent condos and stay a month at each place and do day trips as we work our way around the US.
The day we sold out place we said we were going to do a blog and share places of interest with our friends as we move around the US. Of course here it is the middle of June and I have not found (or taken) the time so far to share. Mainly because I do not like to write (grammer/spelling yuck) but I do love to take pictures. I love the idea of digital. I have a little Nikon CoolPix camera with a 30X zoom that also does video and is small enough to carry in my pocket. You will find it in my pocket about every where I go. So now that I feel this is the right time here goes!
Our intention is to share from time to time some of the best of what we do and see. We love the outdoors and will spend a lot of time going to natures best, and will be hitting as many National Parks as possible as well as many other natural wonders. Sharon is an Artist and we both love many aspects of Art. This means we will be seeking as many Art functions along the ways as possible.
It is our thought that we will keep you up to date with what we are doing and at the same time we will bring you up to date with what we have already done over the last four months.
We started our adventure the day we sold our house by renting a Condo near where we lived before we sold our house. This was to give us some time to bring closure to 9 years of living near the Beach in Foley Alabama. Our first rental was on the Beach (Gulf of Mexico) at a place called the Plantation in Gulf Shores. After a few weeks there we journeyed to Placida Florida (south of Sarasota Florida). Our Condo there would not be available for another 2 weeks. We were invited to stay with friends (who I taught school with at the University) who had sold their home in Normal Illinois and was waiting on their house to be built there in the area. On April 1 we moved into our rental ( a full size 4 bedroom house with a great lanai, pool, and on a canal with a fishing and boat dock). The message here for anyone to take away from this is that their are a lot of good deals out their where one can rent a house with all kinds of amenities for a reasonable price. It beats the hick out of Motels. The key is to do it off season when the demand is lowest. Just go to homeaway.com or airbnb.com and find the deals then hit the road. If you can't go for an extended time rent it for a few days and bring the whole family. Much better and cheaper than renting hotel rooms.
On May first we left Florida and headed to Carmal Indiana where Sharon's farther is in a assisted living facility. We spent 2 weeks there staying with her sister and family. From there we headed to Branson Missouri staying in our time share for a few days. I grew up near there and most of my family lives in the area. I have two brothers and sister who live in the area as well as my daughters. My siblings and I had decided several months ago to all make what might be out last Howrah as a family. We are all getting older and are all still in reasonably good Health. We range in age from 70 to 80 years of age so if we are ever to do a tip like this the time is right. So on May 22nd all of us with our significant others boarded an Airplane in Springfield Missouri and hit out for a 14 day land and cruise trip to Alaska. We have returned now (June 6th) and all had an experience of a life time. And we are all still speaking! LOL!!!! The first 2 days back we spent time at my younger brothers house in Nixa Mo recovering from the trip. We then adventured to Lebanon Missouri where we spend 2 days with our daughter Tracy and her family. On Thursday the 9th of June we started to our next adventure place of Colorado Springs. We arrived here on the 10th at our Condo where we will be for 30 days before we head further west (New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Organ, Nevada, and California)
The only set back we have had so far is Sharon came down with the shingles while we were in Indiana. Being the strong person she is she was not about to let the shingles stop her from going to Alaska. The trip did take a toll on her as she took a cold the last few days of the trip. Upon our return we went to a walk in clinic and they suggested that she needed a lot of rest as well as strong medication. So that is what she has been doing ever since we returned. She would tell you, do what ever you have to so you don't get the shingles.
That pretty much brings us up to date on our travels and sets the stage for a lot less writing and lot of pictures. I will only put up a limited amount of what I take which might be a challenge in its self. But I don't want to bore you to death. I have over 700 good pictures from our trip to Alaska (took over 1500) that I want to share but will only share a few of what I thought were the most breath taking.
From early in my life I had a dream of going to Alaska someday. We felt this adventure had to be one of the first of our bucket list places to see. Now that it is over I can say it is one of the most awesome experiences I have ever had in my travels (measures right up their with my travels to Germany and Japan in the late 80ies). Encourage you to make it a must in your travels it will not disappoint. If I were to do it over I might do some things differently. If you are contemplating a trip to Alaska and are interested in what those things are let me know and I will share my thoughts.
If you have been to any of the places we are headed and know of some must see places we would appreciate it very much if you would share those places with us.
The next few day I will be putting up some pictures of our trip to Alaska along with some from our day to day experiences here in Colorado Springs.
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| Open view Train we took on Land tour |
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| By older brother and his wife (Dolan and Shirley) |
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| My younger brother and his wife (Joe and Karen) |
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| My older sister (Peggy) |
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| Sharon and I with Mt McKinley in back ground (highest Mt in North American |
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| Lodge where we stayed for a few days |
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| The great Alaska pipe line (Hawkins sibling) |
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| Hawkins clan |
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| A Moose we saw along the way |
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| A rare clear shot of Mt McKinley |
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| The largest river in Alaska on the edge of town called Talkeetna with Mt McKinley |
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| The princess cruise ship (Princess Star) we took from Whittier AL to Vancouver |
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