... Ken & Fran's Travelogue - 2023
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December 2023 - Clickable Links
December 2023 - Clickable Links
Gulf Shores, AL (4 nights)
Gulf Shores, AL (4 nights)
1 - Driving Day, Arrival in "Sweet Home Alabama"
1 - Driving Day, Arrival in "Sweet Home Alabama"
It was an easy 3.5 hr drive from our last stop in Florida.
We are booked into the Sugar Sands RV Resort for 4 nights.
We were hoping to spend some time on the beach here but the weather is not expected to cooperate while we are here. Oh well, relaxation time is on the agenda!
2 - Rainy Day - Baking & Decorating
2 - Rainy Day - Baking & Decorating
It was an extremely rainy morning, so I got in some baking (love being hooked up for that) and then for part of the afternoon we drove to the beach to get an initial look and stopped at Big Beach Brewing before heading back to the trailer.
This year we decided to decorate the trailer for Xmas. Still need to either pick up a small Xmas tree or a Poinsettia for the table.
4 - Gulf Shores, AL - Beach Day
4 - Gulf Shores, AL - Beach Day
The weather cleared up a bit for us to check out the Gulf Shores Beach. The beach was so wide and the sand was almost "sugary"! We are here in the off season and as you can see there is almost no one here. The busy time is the summer months and I can see this place getting packed.
Driving Days - Arizona Bound
Driving Days - Arizona Bound
5 - Lake Charles, LA
5 - Lake Charles, LA
Made it through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and crossed the mighty Mississippi River before stopping for the night at Rikenjaks Brewing Company in Lake Charles, LA. They had a large lot beside the restaurant that we parked in but the busy road beside it did not quiet down for the night so it was not the best sleep. Oh well, you win some...you lose some!
6 - Mountain Home, TX
6 - Mountain Home, TX
Crossed into Texas and after a long day of driving stopped at a Boondockers Welcome location "Dancing Star Ranchita" in Mountain Home, halfway between Kerrville & Junction. It was a little closer to the I10 then I would have liked but overall we had a pretty restful sleep.
Another milestone...75,000 miles on the truck!
7 - Anthony, NM
7 - Anthony, NM
Yup you guessed it...another long day of driving and finally made it out of Texas! Stopped for the night just outside of El Paso, TX and just south of Las Cruces, NM at a Harvest Host location, "Public House 28 Brewery". They did not have food but the beer and wine were top notch and the locals were great to visit with!
8 - Arizona - Made it Home!
8 - Arizona - Made it Home!
Our first stop of the day was breakfast but before getting there we drove through miles and miles of Pecan orchards. A pretty impressive site even though they are dormant this time of year.
I know home is wherever we are parked, but nothing feels more like home than Arizona! Maybe because we know where everything is!
Stopped at the BLM camp just outside of Tucson for the night.
A quick visit with Andrew & Hayley for dinner and to meet the latest edition to their family, a 3 month old kitten, Sirius Black (quite the cutey, forgot to get pics!)
Family & Friends
Family & Friends
It was a quick drive from Tucson to Maricopa...even had time to get a truck & trailer wash at the Blue Beacon in Eloy. Yeah, we were clean once again!
9- Maricopa, AZ
9- Maricopa, AZ
Enjoyed a 2 day visit with Ken's sister, Leslie and husband Steve. Not much in the way of pics but got one with Ken & "George", one of their 3 cats.
11 - Peoria, AZ - State Trust Land near Lake Pleasant
11 - Peoria, AZ - State Trust Land near Lake Pleasant
And now we are really home, here in the desert on Arizona State Trust Land just east of Lake Pleasant, dirt and all but hopefully not much wind!
12-31 - Relax & Catching Up
12-31 - Relax & Catching Up
Looking forward to catching up with Matt & Melissa in Buckeye and Andrew & Hayley (when they come up for Christmas Eve) and seeing friends while we are here in the Valley. Plan on staying in the area until mid January as Ken's sister Rozalyn and husband Reynold are coming down and we want to see them before we head to Texas.
Not sure how many pics I will get but we'll see!
What fun to see most of the girls at the annual Christmas party, this year was even more special as it was 25 years ago that we started meeting. Not sure how much Bunco is even played anymore but sure is wonderful to call these girls "Friends"!
And it was a night of Euchre with Janice & "boyfriend" Mark. Looking forward to getting to know Mark more as time goes on!
We need a Jenga rematch with Bill & Robin Palmer!
Neighbors of 9212 W Marconi Ave...Diane & Gale & Sara (what a great dessert spread!) and Keller & Deb (thanks for staying up later than your usual!)
Our view out of our back window at Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye. Only about 10min from Matt & Melissa's place. Very convenient for Christmas.
Christmas afternoon with Matt, Melissa, Devon & stepdad Joe.
We forgot to get pics (oh no!) from Christmas Eve when Andrew & Hayley came up for the night.
Andrew & Hayley from Thanksgiving.
On Boxing Day (Dec. 26th for anyone not from Canada!), we took the opportunity to hike one of the local trails as we were in the staying in the park at spot D. Afterwards we visited with Diana & Greg and Ty at their new home in Laveen Village here in the valley (again no pics!).
The Harada family, Linae, Ty, Diana & Greg.
Not all visits with friends were fun as we took time to say goodbye to Susan Fitzgerald, who passed away after a long 4 year battle with Cancer...
Ended out 2023 with a campfire! Pretty smokey wood so not as enjoyable as it could have been...
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