Ready To Roll Once Again…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I performed routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th and I’ve been assisting her during her recovery.

She has finally reached the point that she is comfortable. I’ve programmed her phone so she can speed-dial one of her four nearby neighbors should she need a helping hand. I’ll depart here later this morning.

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 Yesterday was cloudy/sunny and 77 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 78 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

Kautz Ironstone Vineyards – Murphys, California

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I’ll perform routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th.

I want to assist her during recovery however I can. I assisted her with her left shoulder surgery in 2009. Whenever it’s convenient and I know that she is comfortable, I’ll make my future travel plans at that time.

 

Mary has finally reached the point that she is comfortable. I’ve programmed her phone so she can speed-dial one of her four nearby neighbors should she need a helping hand. I’ll depart here Monday, May 9th…tomorrow.

 

I first published this blog entry on March 17, 2014…

 

Yesterday I drove to Bronco the four miles to the Kautz Ironstone Vineyards Daffodil Show. In addition to their wines, they are also known for their beautiful flowers and art. Here are some of the photos that I took…

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read about today’s photo album location, click this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironstone_Vineyards

 

To see the other 69 photos that I took…

CLICK ON THE BELOW PHOTO. ONCE YOU ARRIVE AT THE PHOTO ALBUM, SIMPLY CLICK “SLIDESHOW” AND ENJOY!

 

Kautz Ironstone Vineyards – Murphys, California

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 

 Yesterday was cloudy with showers and 61 degrees. Forecast for today is partly cloudy and 68 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

CHALLENGES.

Blogging is going to be sporadic as I recuperate from rotator cuff surgery. Therapy once a week for a total of 16 weeks and remaining in a sling for those weeks necessarily hampers my activities, as in NO driving. Count down, 13 weeks to go.

I’ve been fortunate to have Jim take care of me, drive me around to my appointments and even give a private serenade on the side. He has taken up harmonica as you can tell from an earlier blog. Quite challenging for him. I face the challenges of getting well, obeying doctor’s instructions and limiting activities-hard for me.

One of the real treats of my “down” time was having Kathryn, my husband’s daughter, bring her husband Hank to meet me. Catching up with family matters, pictures mostly, since we have shared by email necessary dates and information for the family genealogy. A natural  interest in our respective ancestors is a fascinating subject. Now Kathryn has married into a large, active family with plenty of exciting new faces, including Hank’s mother who lives near them. She is 94 years old.

And we cooked. Hank knows his way around the kitchen and loves fixing breakfast. Here he is testing one of Kathryn’s waffles.  And I managed a couple of crock pot dinners with their help. We ate, and snacked and toasted a glass of vino or two. Hey, isn’t that what family gatherings are all about? In part, anyway. It tickled me to see Kathryn with her nose in the papers while eating, a habit she must have inherited from her dad. She loves crosswords and Hank prefers sodoko.

Kathryn has a friend in Angels Camp she and Hank are also visiting. Hank spent time in the Motherlode as a kid with his family, so the area is familiar to him.

Jim took our picture before they left. Her half brothers and sisters were working and unable to visit while here, but we expect to see much more of them in the future and fix that.

Kathryn’s children live in Southern California, and like all adult children, they have their own busy lives, too.  But, someday, we hope to all get together. Isn’t that cool?

 

Central America Trip #104

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I’ll perform routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th.

I want to assist her during recovery however I can. I assisted her with her left shoulder surgery in 2009. Whenever it’s convenient and I know that she is comfortable, I’ll make my future travel plans at that time.

 

Mary has finally reached the point that she is comfortable. I’ve programmed her phone so she can speed-dial one of her four nearby neighbors should she need a helping hand. I’ll depart here Monday, May 9th.

 

Recently I’ve been running blogs about my 2004 Central America trip. While here, I’m intending to continue those postings while also alternating with this area blogs.

Today, I’m taking you back to my…

2004 Central America trip…

This trip ended up being 343 days and 16,000+ miles through the back-country of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. 11 rigs started the trip, within a week we broke into three smaller groups for ease of traveling. Only myself and one other rig went the full, pre-planned route. All the others dropped out for various reasons. All returned safely to the United States. I’m planning to show these photos, more or less, 10 a day, whenever I’m not doing something else deserving a blog entry. FINALLY, it must be remembered these photos are prior to my switching to digital in 2006. The films were developed during our trip and the lack of quality control sometimes is plainly evident.

 

Today…Mexico (north-bound) 29…

 

We are still in Durango, Mexico.  A number of American Westerns were shot here at two different movie sets in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They haven’t been used since that time so they were in some state of disrepair. Many famous actors including John Wayne made famous movies here. Wayne’s last film Cahill was filmed here…

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Durango soon…

Here’s my trip website link…http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was cloudy with showers and 59 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy with showers and 66 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

Central America Trip #103

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I’ll perform routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th.

I want to assist her during recovery however I can. I assisted her with her left shoulder surgery in 2009. Whenever it’s convenient and I know that she is comfortable, I’ll make my future travel plans at that time.

Recently I’ve been running blogs about my 2004 Central America trip. While here, I’m intending to continue those postings while also alternating with this area blogs.

Today, I’m taking you back to my…

2004 Central America trip…

This trip ended up being 343 days and 16,000+ miles through the back-country of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. 11 rigs started the trip, within a week we broke into three smaller groups for ease of traveling. Only myself and one other rig went the full, pre-planned route. All the others dropped out for various reasons. All returned safely to the United States. I’m planning to show these photos, more or less, 10 a day, whenever I’m not doing something else deserving a blog entry. FINALLY, it must be remembered these photos are prior to my switching to digital in 2006. The films were developed during our trip and the lack of quality control sometimes is plainly evident.

Today…Mexico (north-bound) 28…

We are still in Leon…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We move on to Durango, Mexico, passing the 10,000 RV mile mark of the trip along the way. A number of American Westerns were shot here at two different movie sets in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They haven’t been used since that time so they were in some state of disrepair. Many famous actors including John Wayne made famous movies here. Wayne’s last film Cahill was filmed here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Durango soon…

Here’s my trip website link…http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was cloudy and 75 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy with a thunderstorm and 66 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

My New Hobby…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I’ll perform routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th.

I want to assist her during recovery however I can. I assisted her with her left shoulder surgery in 2009. Whenever it’s convenient and I know that she is comfortable, I’ll make my future travel plans at that time.

 

My new hobby…

My RVing lifestyle is changing. I started RVing part-time in 1964. In 1995 I started the full-time RVing lifestyle. In all those years. I have been to a great deal of the North American Continent. I’ve made six circumnavigations of the United States…the last one was a two-year affair during 2012 and 2013. I’ve seen many things and have met many interesting people.

During my time on the east coast in 2013, I told my son in Connecticut, I would not be returning. I no longer wish to experience the excessive heat and humidity to be found there during the summer. I’m planning to complete my remaining years west of the Rocky Mountains…staying as best as I can in 65-75 degree temperatures and taking maximum advantage of my Thousand Trails membership…primarily in the states of California, Oregon and Washington. This means running in familiar territory that I’ve been before and that means less exploring and more time on my hands. What to do with this extra time?

Three months ago today I was in Yuma, Arizona. I purchased a Hohner Special 20 Harmonica and since that time I’ve been studying and practicing about an hour almost every day bringing music into my life. I chose the harmonica because it’s small and requires no maintenance or lyrics to learn.

 

The Special 20 is a professional-grade diatonic harmonica…

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m finding the hardest thing to do is to constantly play clean separate notes. I’m told the more I practice…this more proficient I’ll play.

I signed up for lessons on the Internet and now its just a matter of more practicing. I’ve accumulated more 250 songs online which I’m now practicing.

 

Mary stopped by the motorhome the other day while I was practicing and took this photo…

 

 

 

Below are  some samples of my still beginner-level songs which I’ve recorded over the last couple of weeks. For this blog entry, I will play only the first verse of any song. Since I’m still a beginner, there maybe a slight little glitch here and there. I hope you enjoy them…just click an arrow on the left…

 

 

 

Amazing Grace…

 

Blue Danube Waltz…

 

Edelweiss…

 

Galway Bay…

 

I Believe…

 

I’m Dreaming of  A White Christmas…

 

I Love You For Sentimental Reasons…

 

Kentucky Waltz…

 

Molly Malone…

 

Music Of The Night…

 

My Country Tis Of Thee…

 

O Christmas Tree…

 

O Shenandoah…

 

Ode To Joy…

 

Oh What A Beautiful Morning…

 

Pagan Love Song…

 

Red River Valley…

 

Silent Night…

 

Streets Of Laredo…

 

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious…

 

Taps…

 

The Bells Of Saint Mary…

 

Vaya Con Dios…

 

Walking In A Winter Wonderland…

 

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling…

 

When The Saints Go Marching In…

 

Without A Song..

 

You Always Hurt The One you love…

 

You Are My Sunshine…

 

You Are So Beautiful…

 

 

 I hope you enjoyed the sounds.

 Yesterday was sunny/cloudy and 81 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny/cloudy and 77 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet – 2016