Kansas State Flower

Hostess Twinkies are back with a vengeance!!   Nothin' missin' here...chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, Hershey kisses and lemon frosted NEW  Twinkies!

Nevada to St. George and beyond...

This part is kind of a blur because I just put on auto pilot (cruise control) and wound through canyons, saw people fishing at lakes and lots of BIG roadkill and lots of TRUCKERS!

My best shot in Yosemite

Whatever happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

No photos here.  I did leave something in Vegas and not without a little bit of adventure.  I locked up my car and lost my keys!!  VW keys are difficult to replace.  Thanks to Gpa Dean for calling the locksmith.  Thank my blessings for putting a spare in the center console.  I will need to deal with this issue in a little bit.  To fast forward, though, in February Auntie Terry was visiting Gpa Dean and I described my keys and she found them on a shelf in the garage just near the kitchen door!!  She returned to Hawai'i and eventually mailed the key to me.  Luckily, I elected not to re-key things at $350!!  Electronic keys..go figure.

Spectacular, uncrowded Yosemite

Yosemite was all that and more.  This time of year most of the tourists are gone.  There has been some snow but the pass that I need towards Las Vegas is still open and I'm hoping the roads are still good.  Hotel room was really Pricey and maybe I should have taken a camp spot instead..but I was glad for a hot soak in a tub and a large bed and room.  I'm so glad it's not crowded with cars bumper to bumper!  The views are spectacular.  I took some time here so as not to just rush--I saw some black bear bubs but didn't get a good photo.  There were many photographers in a field with very fancy equipment.  The air is nippy and I have my rubber slippers and capris on!!

California Dreamin'

Although I caught mostly rear ends of these Vintage jewels, it was most exciting to pass this by.  I also stopped in at a Costco for gas and had my first of their hand dipped ice cream bars...it was so HUGE, it was a meal for me!  I'm on my way to Yosemite!!

On the Road Again--Am I There Yet?

I was in Northern California near Sacramento and this is a cannon someone is dragging behind them on a trailer. Somehow I missed my exit and had to turn around.  I'm headed towards Yosemite and plan to take one of the passes out towards an eastern California border so I can head to Las Vegas.

My farrier friend Bob has been keeping tabs on me since I left home.  It is a comfort to talk to someone as I travel alone and with trepidation. Thank God for a good friend. Of course I have a lot of tunes and the radio and I sing my way down the road until my voice is hoarse!  I call my family in the evenings when I hit a motel room.  Somehow in all of the rush and packing and moving of stuff and lack of sleep, I'm also travelling SICK.  I find something simple to eat, get into a room and just crash.  I am so incredibly exhausted!!

G'bye for 18 months, Washington sweet home.

Passing through Portland, Oregon, about 3 hours from leaving home. Further through Oregon was Mount Hood.  I stopped in Ashland, Oregon to deliver a pottery piece to a friend of mine who is doing beekeeping.  It was a nice visit and I got to stretch my legs a bit.  And then traveled onward towards California.

I find it difficult to backtrack..it is now mid-March of 2013 and I should be doing my taxes..but I'm writing about things that happened the last week of October, 2012!  Well, better late than never

Missouri Independence Missionary Lady

I received my mission call (letter) the first part of October, 2012 and I had about 3 weeks to be in MTC (Mission Training Center).  We (Brandon, Noe and I) were still building at Chico Beach with the main part of the house completed and all of us moved in.  I am the downstairs apartment, with a bedroom and a couch in the living room area and my life's collection of stuff in boxes.

I left home on October 24 with my 2000 Beetle loaded and began the trek on my own..after bidding farewell to family and friends in the Bremerton, Seabeck, Crosby, Silverdale, Port Orchard area.