Such a quite blog... I'm so sorry folks, but I've been stupid crazy. The kids are on their final week of summer break and we're trying to push a few things in.
Not to mention that I'm working on some revision requests that Harlequin asked of me. Hopefully I'll have some good news to share with all of you soon on that front.
I do have a re-release of Soul Mate coming next week. I'll be blogging more then and will keep you posted of that schedule.
Stay cool out there and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Friday, August 12, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Home!
Sixteen days away from home, traveling this vast country in an RV... Yep, I'm crazy!
I didn't get online very much during my journey, at least not to blog. I did keep my facebook pics flowing, and a few bits of 'Where is Catherine Now" going on. Stop by my facebook page and glance at some of the pictures I sent along the way.
I'm a west coast girl. I was raised in Washington State and transplanted back to So. California after High School. Washington is a very green and wet state where California is very brown and dry. I take for granted the dry heat of So. Cal. and it isn't until I'm surrounded by humidity that I realize how lucky we in California are for our weather.
State by state... lets go over the highlights:
California - Needless to say driving through the California desert is as boring as it comes. And don't do it on an empty tank of gas, cuz the stations in places like Ludlow are really going to 'sock it to ya'! I read A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox and glanced up from my seat...
Arizona - We found the heat... dry heat, but things started to heat up in Arizona. Once you've driven Arizona... you've 'done' Arizona. I finished A Tale of Two Demon Slayers here and moved on to High Octane by Lisa Renee Jones. I figures since we were headed toward Texas, reading a Texas Harlequin would suit.
New Mexico - There is a little more to see in some places of New Mexico... but again, dry, hot and I've so 'been there - done that'!!!
Texas - Sorry, but I don't get Texas. Okay, it's big... but the humidity started to climb yet there wasn't as much green as you'd think. The drivers here were rude, sadly, and stayed that way throughout our journey. In fact, while on the East Coast when someone would cut us off, they had Texas plates on their car. The rest stops were huge, and amazing... and as we drew closer to the East of Texas, they doubled as tornado shelters. Which is weired for a California girl to see. The Alamo was an interesting piece of history, but I like the Missions of California better. The river walk in San Antonio was worth the stop. We ate Alligator, and yes, it tasted like chicken. LOL. We started to hear the Southern accents which made us smile. Read Taming the Texas Playboy by Crystal Green
Louisiana - OMG... what a green and beautiful state. Yes, the humidity stuck to your skin, but it was worth it for the landscape. Note to all RVers... Don't try New Orleans in an RV. There is no place to park. Fork over the bucks to stay in the only RV park close to the French Quarter so you can see that city. I wish I'd known before making it to New Orleans that the majority of the Plantations proceed the Big Easy on the 10 freeway. When the day comes to go back, I'll definitely book tours of the old Southern Plantations and spend the day in the city. We went on a swamp tour and learned a lot about the culture there. The bugs weren't even all that bad even though it was hotter than hell.
Alabama - Sneeze, there it goes... Beautiful state, but didn't see much of it along the 10. Fireflies! I know, those of you who live with them think what??? But we don't have them here so when I see them I go all mushy and watch them for hours. Read To Save the Devil by Kate Moore
Mississippi - I'm always in awe of the big river as we cross it. The swamp land is king along the 10. The bridges going over the bayous run for miles and provide plenty of pictures for the scrapbooks.
Florida - The pan handle is long and wet. We decided to move north on our trip instead of hit the Florida beaches. We didn't think this would be a problem... Oops!
Georgia - I was shocked to see the large clear cutting of trees throughout the south. And the drought going on has water levels in the lakes and rivers at a low. No, I didn't eat one peach in Georgia... bummer! Bugs! OMG the bites on all of us where crazy here. We visited Fort King George and just about lost a pint of blood each.
South Carolina - The Texas drivers are having a run for their reputation with the drivers of So. Carolina. We stayed at Hilton Head in an attempt to get to a true Atlantic Coast beach... what we didn't know is that the east coast beaches aren't a lot like those in California. There is a lot of marsh land that follows the coast and it isn't easy to access the sandy beaches in an RV. Still, this was a beautiful state even if they have road signs posted that you'll go to jail for 30 days if you speed inside a work zone. WHAT? Crazy that, huh?
No. Carolina - Finally the heat started to fade and a few showers started to follow us around. We went to the Baltimore Estate. Home of the Vanderbilt's. Wow! This is a must do for anyone visiting here. The house was amazing, the grounds spectacular. The library alone is a place this author could stay for a month... or a year!
Tennessee - Dodging lightening and distant tornadoes.... Dorothy, where's Toto? When the weather is blazing hot one minute, and coat-worthy the next, I get scared. I felt relatively safe in the Great Smoky Mountains but as we started down them I started to stress. Memphis looks like it's a dying city. Sad, but so much of it was abandoned and boarded up. We took a 'riverboat' on the Mississippi and stayed along the banks of the muddy river over night. The Tom Sawyer campground had recently opened back up after the flood. Nice people everywhere! I'm not a big Elvis fan, so we skipped Graceland.
Arkansas - This is one of our favorite states. The people are friendly and the state is beautiful. My husbands family is from that part of the world so he has many fond memories of trips there.
Oklahoma - Big, flat, and full of lightening while we drove through. Oz started to look good. Read Ransom for a Prince
Then Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and home. Read In Good Hands by Kathy Lyon
So, that's six books and 5372 miles.
So, dear reader... do you RV? What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?
I didn't get online very much during my journey, at least not to blog. I did keep my facebook pics flowing, and a few bits of 'Where is Catherine Now" going on. Stop by my facebook page and glance at some of the pictures I sent along the way.
I'm a west coast girl. I was raised in Washington State and transplanted back to So. California after High School. Washington is a very green and wet state where California is very brown and dry. I take for granted the dry heat of So. Cal. and it isn't until I'm surrounded by humidity that I realize how lucky we in California are for our weather.
State by state... lets go over the highlights:
California - Needless to say driving through the California desert is as boring as it comes. And don't do it on an empty tank of gas, cuz the stations in places like Ludlow are really going to 'sock it to ya'! I read A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox and glanced up from my seat...
Arizona - We found the heat... dry heat, but things started to heat up in Arizona. Once you've driven Arizona... you've 'done' Arizona. I finished A Tale of Two Demon Slayers here and moved on to High Octane by Lisa Renee Jones. I figures since we were headed toward Texas, reading a Texas Harlequin would suit.
New Mexico - There is a little more to see in some places of New Mexico... but again, dry, hot and I've so 'been there - done that'!!!
Texas - Sorry, but I don't get Texas. Okay, it's big... but the humidity started to climb yet there wasn't as much green as you'd think. The drivers here were rude, sadly, and stayed that way throughout our journey. In fact, while on the East Coast when someone would cut us off, they had Texas plates on their car. The rest stops were huge, and amazing... and as we drew closer to the East of Texas, they doubled as tornado shelters. Which is weired for a California girl to see. The Alamo was an interesting piece of history, but I like the Missions of California better. The river walk in San Antonio was worth the stop. We ate Alligator, and yes, it tasted like chicken. LOL. We started to hear the Southern accents which made us smile. Read Taming the Texas Playboy by Crystal Green
Louisiana - OMG... what a green and beautiful state. Yes, the humidity stuck to your skin, but it was worth it for the landscape. Note to all RVers... Don't try New Orleans in an RV. There is no place to park. Fork over the bucks to stay in the only RV park close to the French Quarter so you can see that city. I wish I'd known before making it to New Orleans that the majority of the Plantations proceed the Big Easy on the 10 freeway. When the day comes to go back, I'll definitely book tours of the old Southern Plantations and spend the day in the city. We went on a swamp tour and learned a lot about the culture there. The bugs weren't even all that bad even though it was hotter than hell.
Alabama - Sneeze, there it goes... Beautiful state, but didn't see much of it along the 10. Fireflies! I know, those of you who live with them think what??? But we don't have them here so when I see them I go all mushy and watch them for hours. Read To Save the Devil by Kate Moore
Mississippi - I'm always in awe of the big river as we cross it. The swamp land is king along the 10. The bridges going over the bayous run for miles and provide plenty of pictures for the scrapbooks.
Florida - The pan handle is long and wet. We decided to move north on our trip instead of hit the Florida beaches. We didn't think this would be a problem... Oops!
Georgia - I was shocked to see the large clear cutting of trees throughout the south. And the drought going on has water levels in the lakes and rivers at a low. No, I didn't eat one peach in Georgia... bummer! Bugs! OMG the bites on all of us where crazy here. We visited Fort King George and just about lost a pint of blood each.
South Carolina - The Texas drivers are having a run for their reputation with the drivers of So. Carolina. We stayed at Hilton Head in an attempt to get to a true Atlantic Coast beach... what we didn't know is that the east coast beaches aren't a lot like those in California. There is a lot of marsh land that follows the coast and it isn't easy to access the sandy beaches in an RV. Still, this was a beautiful state even if they have road signs posted that you'll go to jail for 30 days if you speed inside a work zone. WHAT? Crazy that, huh?
No. Carolina - Finally the heat started to fade and a few showers started to follow us around. We went to the Baltimore Estate. Home of the Vanderbilt's. Wow! This is a must do for anyone visiting here. The house was amazing, the grounds spectacular. The library alone is a place this author could stay for a month... or a year!
Tennessee - Dodging lightening and distant tornadoes.... Dorothy, where's Toto? When the weather is blazing hot one minute, and coat-worthy the next, I get scared. I felt relatively safe in the Great Smoky Mountains but as we started down them I started to stress. Memphis looks like it's a dying city. Sad, but so much of it was abandoned and boarded up. We took a 'riverboat' on the Mississippi and stayed along the banks of the muddy river over night. The Tom Sawyer campground had recently opened back up after the flood. Nice people everywhere! I'm not a big Elvis fan, so we skipped Graceland.
Arkansas - This is one of our favorite states. The people are friendly and the state is beautiful. My husbands family is from that part of the world so he has many fond memories of trips there.
Oklahoma - Big, flat, and full of lightening while we drove through. Oz started to look good. Read Ransom for a Prince
Then Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and home. Read In Good Hands by Kathy Lyon
So, that's six books and 5372 miles.
So, dear reader... do you RV? What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Summer time, and the livin’ is easy!
I’ve had some time to recoup from my ‘vacation’ with the family. Although RVing isn’t a vacation. I don’t care how you spin it, the RV is a place where you cram your family into smaller accommodations with less facilities to take care of their basic needs. Or, as the previous owners wife of our RV said… “It’s another place to cook and clean.”Our trip took us 4200 miles across the states. We visited 12 states in all, which may not sound like much if you live on the east coast, but having started in California you have to cover a lot of miles to hit that many states. We followed Route 66 until Arkansas than floated around there for a while. My DH’s paternal roots are there. We spent time headed North and crossed the Mississippi briefly while searching for an RV campground outside of St Louis. Then we found the 70 and headed home. Yep, a big circle!
So lets talk about the south. I’ve never seen a firefly in my life before this trip and those lil’ bugs are a marvel. Truly something I felt giddy about as they flew over the White River. I enjoyed those more on the 4th of July than the fireworks blowing off everywhere. In California, it’s illegal to buy, or set off fireworks in nearly every county. So when we found ourselves in Kansas on the 4th we enjoyed every moment of the celebration of our country’s freedom.
Now we saw a lot of historical places, crossed many large and lazy rivers. But one of the things that stuck out more than anything was the people. Friendly, helpful and smiling strangers happy to have crossed your path. You don’t have to have blown a tire outside of Winslow Arizona and have the Highway Patrol blow past you without even stopping to notice the difference when you arrive in a small town, but it helps. I’m not bad mouthing the two officers who couldn’t be bothered… nor am I giving a hunk of garbage to the strangers in California… but I sure did like the warmth of the people of the south. No, let me change that to the people in middle America.
Ohh… and the RV? It’s for sale. Next year, I’m gonna let someone else cook and clean. I’m thinking a Hawaiian cruise where all I have to do is choose my menu and lift my hand for that little drink with the colorful umbrella.
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