Sunny California or Snow in the South

It’s Friday morning and we woke up to the news of snow in Louisiana. What’s up with all this global warming Mr. Al Gore?? Ok, it may be snowing throughout the south but here in Southern California it's a nice sunny 64 degrees.

Our House in South Louisiana


How about this view to wake up to?

Ok, we haven't done much since I last posted other than me spending a lot of time on the phone trying to get problems fixed and tracking our car that is being shipped to California. Now I could enlighten you all with our problems. However, they are all minor in the big scheme of things. It just takes a lot of time making telephone calls then waiting for someone to call you back for you to try something else. We were supposed to go to San Diego Wednesday to get the control board in our new inverter changed. However, they called me on Tuesday evening saying they did not receive the new board so they rescheduled my appointment to Friday. This caused a conflict with our move from the campsite that we are currently in. We made the decision to move to another site yesterday since we wouldn't be able to move on Friday. So we packed up our trailer and moved to another site only to be called Thursday evening informing us that the board had still not arrived and they would have to reschedule our appointment to next week. The other issue this week has been the lights in our living room. They just quit working.

Lights hanging down trying to figure out the problem

The issue with them is that somehow they lost their ground. This is not something I can fix so I have an RV dealership located in Arizona that will take a look at it once we leave California. Thomas's car has still not arrived and I want to get a base decal on it for him before we leave. Thomas will be in the field all next week. We are thinking that since we will not be able to spend any time with him we may just take the car and go driving along the pacific coast highway. I guess we'll be in California for a little while longer.

We met two young Marines who are brothers. Justin, is getting out in April and Brett, is leaving today for Afghanistan. We enjoyed talking to them yesterday and wanted to ask all our followers to keep Brett in your prayers as he goes in harm’s way. We also wish Justin the best of luck as he moves back to Texas and starts college. Gina and I are so proud of all the men and women who have served and are still serving our country.

Justin and Brett
Thank you both for serving our Great Nation


Brett (our Prayers are with you, your wife and daughter)


US Air Force C-5 Galaxy

Gina was able to capture this shot of the plane that will fly Brett to Afghanistan as it was flying over the campground.

Now this is a Big Aircraft

Finding a picture with a big truck just made it even more fitting. The cargo / troop area mearsures 17.2 ft wide x 13.5 ft tall x 100 ft long and can carry 180,000 pounds. Now that can haul some Marines.

Here are some pictures of the mountains on Camp Pendleton. I would like to say that we took them. However, Thomas took these as he was out working this week.

As you can tell we have not done a whole lot but we're still having the time of our life being with each other and spending time with Thomas. Life is GOOD!!!

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Ronald Reagan's Presidential Library

We woke up early this morning and had our coffee together. Then we hurried up and got dressed and loaded up the truck and headed north to Simi Valley. The one item that we wanted to see was the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The pictures below are just the ones that touched us.

We don't usually buy staged photo's but this one was just to memorable to pass up.


Ronald Reagan "Rawhide" statue at the entrance


A piece of concrete that he poured in 1952 at their first home as newlyweds


Air Force One (A beautiful Exhibit)

This plane served seven presidents. As we were walking through it we told one another, "if only these walls could talk what a story they could tell".

We are both fascinated with the Presidential Seal


The oval office

The quote on the desk states "it can be done". This is an exact replica of the oval office. President Reagan insisted on it. In order for it to be exact they had to dig down into the foundation to get the exact height. It was told to us that it was Ronald Reagan's desire to make it identical to the oval office in the White House since most Americans will never have a chance to see the real oval office.

After he and Nancy moved back to California from the White House he engraved this wooden heart. The one theme that stands out in all his letters and actions was his love for Nancy.

President Reagan loved sports too


An actual piece of the Berlin wall


Rest in Peace President Reagan

I will not talk politics in our blog. However, we both believe Ronald Reagan was and will be the best president in our lifetime. This is a must see if you ever come close to Southern California. In addition to the library they have the last Air Force One fully restored.

We spent the day there and really enjoyed ourselves. We will go back again if we are ever out here again. After we left there we drove around Simi Valley just to sight see and to get something to eat. Around eight o’clock we decided to drive back home.

Later in the week we went for a bike ride. The mountains around the campground are beautiful. I guess I needed a little adventure while Gina was looking for rocks.

Picture of the campground from the other side of the lake


Couldn't pass up this picture while we were bike riding


Of course Gina had to stop to look for rocks


My adventure, really the boy in me comes out


Ok, I did crash and Gina couldn't resist capturing it with pictures


Sweetheart, I'm OK no broken bones just a few scratches


I did make it down and Wow, was it FUN!!!

Now leave it to Gina to bring reality to the situation that it probably wasn't to smart of me to ride my bike down the hill. She gave me the lecture of having to leave me there hurt while she had to go get help which would have been over two miles away. Maybe next time I'll rethink my adrenline rushing adventures but then again maybe not, there will always be the boy in me.

Gina walking her bike through the water, look close at her basket it's full of rocks


Looking back at the hill that I rode my bike down


There are a lot of ducks here and this one Gina caught eating


After the bike ride we then went for a walk around the lake so Gina could search for more rocks

We haven’t really been going anywhere so our sightseeing has been here on base and visiting with some new friends we have met here.

Paul & Roberta, They were here for a Marine reunion

We really have enjoyed our time with Thomas. Orginally, he was told that he would be deploying at end of January. However, his schedule has changed and he should have at least six months here. With Camp Pendleton being so big and instead of Thomas trying to buy a car we decided to ship our car from Louisiana instead. I do want to thank Rickey my brother in law for meeting the truck with the car otherwise I don't know how it could have happened. Saturday morning we were awakened by Thomas surprising us with bacon and homemade biscuits. Breakfast tasted great and Thomas and I really thanked Gina for cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Thomas wanted to chill out for the day. So while he chilled Gina gave me a haircut. After she finished we decided to run a few errands today. The most important errand was to stop by a unique grocery store called Trader Joe’s. Our good friends Mike and Pat had asked us to pick up some stuff for them since we will see them later this month in Congress, Arizona. After we got home I grilled the last steak we had bought while we were in Kansas. Instead of baked potatoes Gina made homemade mashed potatoes. The steak tasted great and we’ll have to buy more when we get back to Kansas.

Sunday morning found us excited and on edge waiting for the Super Bowl. It’s amazing how all the Sunday morning political shows kind of put politics to the side and instead talked Super Bowl. Gina was going to make Gumbo but since no one was coming over to watch the game we decided to grill sausage and make dirty rice. Thomas fried chicken strips and Gina made Velveeta cheese dip. We’re ready for the Super Bowl. What a game and Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints!!!! WHO DAT

After our exhilarating evening watching the New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl we decided to just take it easy today. Gina made a ham and cheese quiche for breakfast then she bathed and groomed Angel and Zoey. From there we just sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Temperature was a fantastic 65 degrees. We are going to San Diego on Wednesday morning to get our inverter looked at. Everything works fine except the transfer relay which allows the AC power to be transferred through it. I hope it doesn’t take long to troubleshoot the problem. We really need it fixed before we head to Arizona.

I would like to apologize since I forgot to add the link to Jim and Ellie's blog in my last post where she posted the recipe for the smore's brownies. Here is the link and we both agree that they taste wonderful!! http://www.justravelin.blogspot.com/

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Camp Pendleton, California

January 17th - 31st

We are now at Lake O'Neill, which is located on the base. Gina and I have decided to stay on base for a few weeks to spend time with Thomas and see if or when he would be deploying. Additionally, it will allow us some time to test out our electical system to see what it will allow us to do.

Looking down at Lake O'Neill Campground

It's real convient for Thomas in that we are only twenty minutes from where he is working. His buddy Jeremy gives him a ride to work in the morning and then drops him off in the evening. It's been alot of fun being able to spend time with Thomas. Plus he's really enjoying his momma's cooking.

In the evenings Gina and I enjoy a walk around the lake

We took Thomas out to a restaurant for his birthday. It was located at the end of a long wharf in Oceanside. The wind at the beach was blowing hard but we made it. However, when we left it was raining and blowing even harder. We got soaked and decided to head back home.

Thomas and Gina celebrating their birthdays together

Now after a week of heavy rain we moved back to a dry camping site. Our first attempt didn't go as well as I had to anticipated due to all the rain and no sun. However, even with that being said our batteries still gave us three days. Pretty good specailly with all the cloud cover.

Finally the sun came out which will really allow us to test our new electrical system. Especially the solar panels.

Thomas just got his gear issued to him and he brought it home for us to see.


Thomas showing his mom how heavy the flak jacket is along with the helment.


This is the area on Camp Pendleton that Thomas works on.


Of course he had to point out to us the mountain he runs up.

Camp Pendleton base is so big. It spans over 125,000 acres. Population is over 100,000. It's a beautiful base surrounded by mountains. Only it is way to big for us.

Another beautiful veiw of the mountains

This is a mock town that the Marines train in for urban warfare. I think they call it camera city since there are at least 4 cameras mounted on each tower you see in the picture.

Camp Pendleton's Air Station


One of the tanks on display at the Mechanized Muesum on base.

Santee Lakes located in Santee, California. This is a beautiful campground and is where Jim and Ellie have spent their winter.

Jim grilling shish kabobs for lunch. Ellie did a great job making them and with such bright colors. They tasted even better then they looked!!!

Now the real treat outside of getting together with Jim and Ellie were these smore's brownies. She posted the recipe on her blog and they were extra gooey and needless to say they tasted fantastic.

Gina and Ellie having a great time


Just food for thought: what did we ever do without cameras with timers??

Jim and Ellie, another couple enjoying the fulltime lifestyle and who we consider great friends and plan on meeting up with again down the road.

Thomas sitting outside enjoying his new laptop while his mom is cooking another one of his favorite meals of salmon cakes with macroni & cheese.

Thomas with Jeremy and his wife Brandi sitting outside relaxing.

This is what Gina and I do daily in the following photos. Listening to the sound of freedom. They fly helicopters around here 24 hours a day.

Two CH-46 Helicopters


A C-130 about to land


A Super Cobra


Twin engine Huey

This was the best shot I could get of this V-22 Osprey. It's a combination helicopter and airplane. The propellers tilt 90 degrees. This was the first time that I had seen one in flight. It was quite impressive.

Here's a Gopher. There are so many of them around here. Gina and I sit outside and watch them dig and just play around with eachother.

We did get a treat with this Great Blue Heron. At least that's what I think it is. He just stood around about 4 hours. I think it was sleeping since it never moved.

We did have a surprise to top off the month of January. We found out that a friend of ours from our hometown of Denham Springs was here working in California. We decided to meet up at Starbuck's Coffee in Dana Point for a quick visit. It has been over thirty years since we had last seen her. We had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing past times. After a few hugs and goodbyes we headed back home.

Gina and I with Lu Ann

That wraps up the month of January and it feels good to now be caught up. Thanks to our family and followers for being patient with me while I got caught up. I know it wasn't much writing. However, thought I would let the pictures do the story telling for me. Hope you like them.

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.