May 23 - 30 Albuquerque, NM

What a rushed week this was. On Monday, we flew back to Albuquerque from Chicago. We had the roughest flight ever as we were coming into Albuquerque over the mountains. It was up down and side to side for about 15 minutes. I sure am glad those planes are put together so well.

Anyway, we finally got back to our home, the 5th wheel remember, and now had to get ready for our trip to Peterson Industries in Smith Center, KS for the Excel Family Reunion. Every 3 yrs., Peterson Industries, the maker of the Excel 5th Wheel, throws a "family reunion, for the owners. It allows everyone to get together, share stories, visit with old friends, make new friends, attend seminars and have fun. They also used this time to announce a new model, The Winslow, and a new interior wood, Hickory, to the market place. WOW!

We left on Friday, together with Joy, to Raton, NM. There we met up with Ralph & Kathy from RV Sales, the Excel dealer and friends, in Moriarty, NM. We stayed at a neat little park just off I-25 on the south end of town. The owner, Buddy, is a hoot. He and Ralph go back a ways and the stories they tell. Your right, we're laughing again.

Saturday took us all to the Air Force Academy FamCamp in Colorado Springs, CO. The weather was OK for travel but with little grey skies. While there we visited the famous chapel. This was graduation week so there were many weddings going on there. The cadets are not allowed to be married until they graduate. Something about being distracted with family affairs while going to school. It made me proud to see the new officers knowing that these are the men and women who will continue to help keep us safe and enjoy our freedoms.

Sunday we went to visit the Miramont Castle Museum. This was a fascinating place to say the least. The rooms just go on and on.

Then there was the experience in the Tea Room. A simple lunch took 2 hours. It was a lunch that I don't think we'd like to repeat. We had a Psychology student as our waitress who was new to the job and gave us the eating experience that will be cause for a lifetime of laughter.

While at the restaurant the rains started. Did it ever rain. Parks were being closed because of the flooding. We headed back to the FamCamp on base. Fortunately the rains had let up and quit during the night. We were able to leave Monday without rain.

The ride to Prairie Dog State Park was pretty clear except for the rare spotty shower. There were a few clouds that we paid close attention to though because of the shape and color. We arrived at Prairie Dog at 4:00 PM and the rains started at 6:00 PM and did not end until very early Wednesday morning. Something close to 2.5 inches fell in the 48 hours. The front support jacks on the rig were in water. I hate it when that happens. The best part though was we were going 60 miles west and they only had 0.1 inches in the last 48 hours. Everyone was happy about that. We had hoped to spend time with some of the other 30 Excel owners who came there with the idea to start the party early. Instead we all spent 2 days inside.

Then it was Smith Center, KS and let the fun begin. This was our first time attending a reunion so we were looking forward to meeting some new friends and visiting the "old" ones. There were around 310 rigs from all over the country attending. There was even a 1972 rig. We sure have come a long way since then.

It was also going to be our first Full Timing Seminar presentation to a large audience. We have been doing a Full Time seminar to small, 20 people max, gatherings for about 8 months now. It has been very well received thus far. This though was going to be a little larger crowd. We had about 50 & 80 attending the seminars and great reviews. The main comment was that the seminar was way too short. We couldn't cover it all in 45 minutes. Who knows, maybe this our new calling in life.

There was the food and more food. We had breakfast and dinner served most days. We sure didn't go hungry. That was really evident when I stepped on the scales. There was more than enough for us. There was the special chili cook off by the various state Excel clubs. The different tastes challenged our New Mexican palats and gave us a new experience.

The best part for some people was that is was an opportunity to buy a new rig. In our opinion, this is the ultimate setup. It has the power to tow a heavier load, go up the steepest of hills, stop a lot quicker and handle a large level of testosterone. The rig can store more fishing poles for Tim and carry more "stuff" to quench Roseann's needs. Oh well, because I can dream, I might as well dream HUGE. Who knows what tomorrow brings.

May 16 - Albuquerque, NM

This was a great week. We flew to Chicago to celebrate Roseann's mom & sister Mary's birthdays. Her sons David & Jason, with daughter in-law Jamie, took her & us out to a Greek restaurant in Chicago. Can you believe 3 + hours for the meal and drinks. Definitely a good time was had by all.

The food was the best Greek food we've had in a long time. It must have been an exceptional place to eat because when we were leaving at 10:30 there was still a line waiting to get in to eat. Way too late for us "old retired" folks to be out and about.

It was also a time when we were able to cherish the moments with Roseann's mom. As she matures, we realize more and more how precious our time with her is. We have been gifted with her presence for many long years and look for many more to come.

We were also able to visit with Roseann's aunt Ann and my aunt Florence. Longevity runs in our families. I just hope that we've inherited them.

Then there was the surprise visit from our niece Jennifer and her boyfriend during our dinner with my recently married sister Margaret & husband Paul. What a great time we had that night. I just hope that we didn't scare Paul too much with our stories.

May 9 - Albuquerque, NM

Here we are in Albuquerque working on the storage shed again. Wow I can't believe how much stuff is gone. We are working on having an estate sale to get rid of most of it now.

We stayed at our friend Joy's house this time. She has a full hook-up site and we are able to help her out with the things she can't do by herself. Besides she keeps us laughing with her stories. Laughter is great for the soul.

May 2 - Albuquerque, NM

We left Las Cruces on Monday and headed to Caballo Lake State Park, NM. What an awesome view. It's a real treat to wake up each morning and enjoy the sounds of the migrating birds, the local families of dove & quail and the sound of silence. How restful and comforting it is.

Some friends from the New Mexico Excel group joined us for a few days before heading their own seperate ways. Some we'll see later this week and others later this summer. It's always great to spend time, share meals and tons of laughter with them. Help keep my blood pressure way down.

I tried some fishing this week and got nothing other than good practice in casting with my new minnow lures. Had a few nibbles here and there but managed to only lose a few hooks in the rocks. Overall, fishing was slow for eveyone.

Friday saw us packing things up and heading for Albuquerque. It's back to working on ridding ourselves of so much stuff in storage. The big goal is the take thing down to a minimum kept long term in storage. So far so good. It's amazing how much "stuff" we thought we'd need to keep and when looked at a 2nd time we decided to let it go. It really is a relief to see the pile reduced to almost nothing.