5. Ryans the first of the Mckenzie boys to do this.

I promise I won't post updates everyday but this is worth posting.

This has been on Ryan's must do list for the past 2 years. For some reason he wanted to wait until we got to Austin to get it done.

A TATTOO!!

He woke up this morning and said lets go today!   I suggested we go in to talk with them and then decide.  He asked a few questions and then said, lets go for it! He was pretty determined it was going to get done today and well, it did!

His tattoo means "STRONG" He wanted it on his hand so he could see it.

I am actually surprised he went through with it. He didn't even flinch.  The guy was very nice and patient and talked Ryan through it. When he got done he said to Ryan, "Thank you for coming in today, you made my day ".

4. We are in Austin!

WE ARE IN AUSTIN!  

We so much enjoyed our few days in Abilene with our friends Mark and Karla, their youngest daughter Lacey and her husband Aaron. 

Mark, Karla and their 3 newest babies 

Some friends you can go years without seeing, yet when you see them again its like it was yesterday. That’s Mark and Karla. We were stationed with them in Missouri and I spent many summers babysitting their 3 girls.  I should say hanging with the girls. Jake and Ryan were babies and the girls pretty much entertained them for me 😊 I loved that I got to see their youngest Lacey and her 2 little ones. So strange to see those you babysat now grown and having kids of their own. Time goes by way to fast.

We left Abilene with our hearts full and yet a little sad. Not knowing when we will see our friends again. They tried hard to convince us to move to Texas! I think they have Ryan agreeing to it, they went above and beyond to make him feel comfortable. I don’t think it would take much to talk Jeff into either. He was like a little kid sitting at their kitchen table watching the deer roaming their backyard. 

Jeff is flying home tomorrow, so he can go back to work, someone needs to support our adventures. Ryan and I will be hanging out in Austin for 2 weeks.  We’ll see what we can find to do. Any suggestions?

A little story that touched this moms heart.   Lacey’s little boy, Evan is 3 years old. He was fascinated by Ryan’s chair, the different buttons and how Ryan could make it go up and down. When Ryan drove his wheelchair up the ramp into the back of the van he thought that was the greatest thing! Later that night when Lacey was putting him to bed, he said “Mom, I think Ryan is a Super Hero and he has the coolest chair!”  LOVE the childlike innocence. Most children are curious about Ryan’s chair. I wonder what happens to adults that cause them to go from the childlike curiosity to being afraid of ,or turning away from someone in a wheelchair.

Childlike curiosity, what a beautiful thing. He didn’t see the wheelchair as being a disability but a means of Super Hero ABILITY! 

3. Texas!

SNOW IN TEXAS?

I thought it was warm in Texas instead we were meet by snow!! Crazy huh? Even so, we crossed the border into Texas yesterday, spent the night in Lubbock and today arrived at our first Texan destination. 

We will be staying here in Abilene with our good friends Mark and Karla. We met them while stationed in Missouri. One great thing about the military is you make fast and longtime friends!  We will be here until Sunday, then onto Ryan’s bucket list destination Austin. If you know any “must see" or “good eats” in Austin let us know! I’m ready for some good Mexican food and BBQ!

I guess we can’t complain too much about the weather. It looks like we were just in time getting out of Tacoma since they have had rain/ice/snow for the last few days. In fact, we managed to stay just ahead of a few winter storm systems. Today was the only day we didn’t have dry roads and for that I am thankful.

We are ready for a few days of rest and to give our bodies a chance to catch up to the 2 time zone changes.  It will be nice to not have to get up and on the road bright and early tomorrow.  

Everything has gone as expect and uneventful.  Jeff worked hard to prepare the RV for our trip. And for that I am extremely grateful. 

2. My maiden drive of the RV. Day 2,3 and 4

Day 2: Yep this happened! If only I would have put on an extra layer of deodorant first! 

I started off my maiden drive at a rest stop, knowing the next one was only 30 miles away. I thought, I can do 30 miles, right? The road was straight and no mountains to climb so no time like the present to try my hand behind the wheel.

It wasn’t too bad. Even though I had to fight the wind I did manage to finally loosen my grip on the steering wheel, slightly. Until I would see a Semi truck coming up the side to pass then I once again had a death grip on the wheel. Those big ol' semi trucks made me nervous. They would pull up beside to pass  and you would feel yourself being pulled into them. And they are SO CLOSE!   That is when the extra layer of deodorant would have been a plus!

30 miles went fast and as we approached the rest stop, the sign said the next one was 30 miles. So, I decided to keep going. After all, I did 30, I can do another 30. All in all, I ended up driving 90 miles. Not bad for my first time out! 

The rest of the day went by fast. This part of California is miles upon miles of fruit tree groves. I am always impressed with the perfectly straight rows of the manicured trees. The trees were already full of  pink and white blossoms. 

Jeff and I both got a chuckle out of seeing a police officer pull off the exit road. Get out of his car, open the back door of the car to let his “partner” out for a little potty break!  His 4-legged partner that is! Not sure why, that made us both laugh. Guess you gotta go when "doodie calls"!

Day 3 and 4 are  blurred together. Uneventful which is good. The scenery went from lush green farm land in Northern California to dusty, dry ,brown desert in Arizona, then into New Mexico the dirt and landscape turned red and rocky   There was snow on the ground in the high desert mountain passes but thankfully the road were dry. 

Desert Mountains Arizona

Last night, Monday, we stayed in Needles Ca. Never heard of it? Not surprised. I think the KOA campground ( gravel parking lot)  was the only thing there.  Tonight, Tuesday, we were planning on stopping in  Gallup NM. But upon arrival in Gallup there was snow on the ground. The morning temperatures were predicted to be in the single digits so we gassed up the RV and headed a little farther down the road to lower elevation, hoping to find warmer temperatures.  We finally stopped in Albuquerque NM.  Still cool temperatures but a least we will stay above freezing.

These long stretches of nothing makes me extremely thankful we have an on-board potty! Cause the pit stops are few and far between on this stretch of highway.

1. On the road

Good morning from sunny Red Bluffs California!

Let me back track just a little.

We originally planned on leaving Saturday morning. Jeff was at work friday morning and checked the weather. Noticing a storm system was moving into the mountains late Saturday evening, about the time we would be going through them. So he called me from work and said, can you be ready to leave today!?!?

All the months, well years of planning and we were finally on the road! I had butterflies in my stomach as we pulled out. This has been a dream in the making for a long time!  The older Ryan gets the more Jeff and I were feeling the urgency in making this happen.

The first half day , Friday was spent battling traffic, pretty much all the way south to Eugene.

Yesterday was the first full day on the road. It was spent going through mostly mountain passes. The highest elevation was around 4,000. The roads were dry, which is what we were hoping for.

Southern Oregon and Northern California are beautiful. 

It was good to see that Lake Shasta is full of water again, When we drove through here 2 years ago this looked more like a little creek than a lake. 

Pretty uneventful first 2 nights in the camper.

Ryan is very happy with his little bedroom suite, all the comforts of home! This morning was a little chilly, so we went to turn on the gas heater and for some reason it wasn’t kicking on :( Jeff spent some time problem solving, finally you-tubed it and it is now fixed! Pays to be married to a retired airplane crew chief! The good thing about these RV is all the comforts of home. The bad thing is you have all the maintenance and issues as a home!

Today will be a shorter day on the road, and no significant mountains to climb. I might even get behind the wheel for a short time! pray for me, or should I say Jeff !! LOL!

Yesterday as we were pulling out of the gas station an RV passed us. I said look at that big dog sitting in the front seat, only as it got closer I noticed it wasn't a dog, it was a big white goose!! Crazy people!

Gotta go.. Jeff just came inside and I got caught! Am supposed to be getting ready to pull out.