Steph's here

Stephanie arrived on Wednesday to spend Christmas week with us.  She was ready for a break from her hectic schedule and we cleared our calendars so we could all just hang out together.

We did all sorts of fun stuff, went shopping in Tubac, hiked in the Tucson mountains, she and I went to yoga class three days in a row, (more about this in another post--yep I'm doing yoga now, too) and went to three different movies, went for sushi and Mexican food.  She is so fun to have around.

 That's snow on Mt Lemon--a view from the Tucson mountains west of town.

The valley floor from King Canyon trail

Newest Lia video

She is growing so much.  Settling in at her Shanghai home and doing well.  Mom and Dad took her for her first "baby massage."  Such a Shanghai thing to do.  They sent pictures of that too but will save those pics for later.  They rubbed her all down with lotion which she obviously loved and then put her in a bath of warm water with her head held above water with this funny little air ring around her neck.  She caught on quickly and cooed and kicked and enjoyed the stimulation.  I wanted to trade places.  She's 4 1/2 months old now.

Quail

We're enjoying an invasion of Gamble Quail!  Don't think I have ever seen so many in our yard at once.  The males trying to chase other males away and get a good spot at the feed block.  Pretty funny.  You'd think they were hungry.  They look pretty healthy to me.  This was right after a shower of rain so perhaps the block was wet and tasted extra good.

wall hanging

Newest tile wall hanging.

Christmas lights up

Its looking like Christmas around here.  Our neighborhood is really lit up this year.  We felt like we needed to get in gear and get ours up too.  Tree is up inside also, ready for Stephanie to come next week.  Christmas has gotten pretty low key at our house anymore.  We will be home this year but it will be a quiet one. 

Home!!

Spent last night in El Paso and then bombed on home today.  The sky was unsettled and the play of light on the mountains and the desert was amazing.  Loved driving across New Mexico and southern Arizona.

All unpacked, laundry started anyway, started my new to-do list--back into life in Tucson.  Wow, only 20 days to Christmas!!

We spent another day in Fredericksburg.  Unfortunately it turned out to be a cloudy and rainy day but we couldn't complain as the locals are thrilled with the moisture.  This part of Texas is still suffering from severe draught.  They have gotten some rain in last few weeks but not nearly enough to bring them back to normal.

We went looking for St Mary's Catholic Church.  It is one of Texas' "Painted Churches."  They are scattered around mostly east central Texas but there is one here in Fredericksburg.  They are famous for their ornately painted interiors that was inspired by immigrant craftsmen.

Will enjoyed the National Museum of the Pacific War while I did the shopping street.  The Admiral Nimitz Museum is here because he was born in Fredericksburg.  It is an amazing museum and one could spend days viewing all the exhibits--well worth the time. 

Another of the town's public art highlighting its German heritage.  So of course, we went to a German restaurant for dinner.

Hill Country of Texas

We got to Johnson City, Texas about noon and stopped at the visitors center in town to take a tour of LBJ's boyhood home.  He was 5 years old when his parents moved here in 1913 and the house and grounds has been restored to look much as it did in 1937 when he lauched his political career from the east porch.

On down the road a few miles near Stonewall is LBJ's ranch and his Texas White House.  An 1890's stone cottage forms the nucleus of the ranch's main house, which Johnson expanded into a showplace.  As president, lots of policy was decided here.  It has been open to the public since Lady Bird died in 2007.

When we were all toured out, we went a little farther to Fredericksburg where we plan to spend a couple of days before we make a bee-line for home.  The town has no shortage of shopping opportunities and is definitely lit up for holiday shoppers!   This 20 ft tall merry-go-round sits in town square and has full sized animated "people."  Its a huge replica of one I use to have--you lit the candles and the rising heat turned the little fan at the top and little bells jingled on mine.  This one is powered by something much bigger than candles and is the center piece of the square. . .

along with this 30ft Christmas tree!!

Another day in Southwest Louisiana

Sunrise on the Louisiana Gulf.  A gazzillion seagulls, pelicans, terns,

sandpipers on the wing with oil riggs in the distance. 

This may not have been the nicest campground we've ever stayed at but it was certainly one of the most interesting.  All kinds of ships going in and out of the ship channel all day and all night long.  Plus we got close up looks at support services for the deep sea oil rigs out in the Gulf

We spent the morning poking up and down roads birding looking for good views of waterfowl.  Scared up a few Glossy Ibis, White Ibis and a few Roseate Spoonbills--all birds that are rarities in Arizona.

Roseate Spoonbills and a Great Egret.

Its obvious that Louisiana economy is big in oil and gas.  These are all over the place--And amazingly close to pristine marshes teaming with wildlife.  Doesn't seem like that should work but, on second thought I guess it better work.

A day Birding

We slowed down today and only went a few miles in Louisiana.  Going to stop and do some birding--this was the plan all along.  Lake Charles, Louisiana means good birding opportunities so here we are.  Louisiana marshlands are favorites for winter birding as so many shore birds and ducks end up here.  It was a good day.

Snowy Egret

Snow geese

Greater White Fronted Geese. These amazing birds spend thier summers up on the Arctic Tundra and fly all the way down to the southern Gulf coast for the winter.

Louisiana has alligators too.  There was plenty of water between us--I used the zoom lens.

We worked our way south from Lake Charles to the town of Cameron on the coast.  We found a campsite at the Cameron Jetty Fishing Pier and RV Park.  It is right next to the Calcasieu Ship Channel next to the Gulf so we can look one way out into the Gulf of Mexico and the other way we get close up looks at petroleum and fishing industry boats and barges of all sorts as they glide out of the channel into open water.  Its run by the county (they call them parishes here) and is really a great facility.  We took the free ferry across the ship channel to check out more birding possibilities down the shore. There are also Bottle-Nosed  Dolphins in the channel.

Long day behind the wheel

Early morning on the Gulf Coast near Pensacola.  I took about 20 pictures this morning because the stormy sky and the heavy seas were so dramatic that every direction that I looked was a stunning photo.

The blacktop road into the Gulf Islands National Seashore  runs very close to the Gulf and subject to blowing sand.  It looks ominously like drifting snow on an Iowa road after a blowing blizzard.  The only thing that gives it away is the waves rolling onto the shore in the background.  It actually felt like an Iowa winter morning as we woke up to temps in the upper 30's.

We drove all day to get some miles behind us.  Continued to follow US90 along the Gulf coast through Florida, tip of Alabama, and Mississippi--three states behind us--and then hoped back on to I10 and got half way through Louisiana before we stopped at Lafayette.  It was cold and blustery so was a good day to keep going.  This is the bridge between Pass Christian and Bay Saint Louis in Mississippi.  It was built after Katrina took down the old one.

Mississippi River crossing at Baton Rouge

      Another picture of a bridge--Love the elevated interstate across the Achafalaya Basin.  It goes for miles and miles over the bayou, swamps and wet lands of Louisiana. 

      Will was driving and I was looking all day, he doesn't get tired of driving, and I don't get tired of looking--and snapping pictures through the window.

DeFuniak, Florida to Pensacola

Sunday morning.  Breakfast at a local family restaurant and then on to the Methodist Church for a very worshipful First-Sunday-in-Advent Service. Felt good.

Left DeFuniak and made a beeline south to the Gulf Coast and followed hiway 98 along the shore to Pensacola.  Unfortunately it was windy and we ran into rain but we enjoyed driving along and catching glimpses of the Gulf of Mexico.  We stopped for the night south of Pensacola at Gulf Islands National Seashore/Fort Pickens.  It is the western end of a barrier island with the finest, white sugar sand I have ever seen.  The campground is nestled in a live oak forest that amazingly protects us from the winds that are whipping in from the water.  Really a pretty spot.  This would be a dynamite birding area if it weren't November--and raining.

Sun was trying to come out but it never quite made it for long.

Heading Home

   It truly is over!  Loren and Rosella moved out of the RV and into their rental car and left for home (by way of Fort Meyers) early this morning.  We weren't far behind as we began to haul the RV back across the South toward Tucson.

   The Miller's were a pleasure to travel with and share in this adventure.  It is a huge credit to their gentle and generous spirit that we could live so closely for the last 6 weeks so successfully.  It awful quiet in the "house" without them.  Love you guys!!

   Rose's and my major problem all along was finding locations where we could get cable or just plain TV reception so Rose could watch Dancing with the Stars, and I could get my Modern Family.  Can't tell you the number of times we'd have perfect reception the nights we didn't care and only garbled reception on "our nights!!" 

We got onto I-10 to make a quick get away but soon pulled off the interstate onto quiet State Hiway 90.  It weaved on and off the previous bike route, and through Florida's small towns paralleling the interstate.  However, it was much more scenic and not so busy--we followed it all the way to DeFuniak Springs where we stopped for the night.

There is a lake next to downtown DeFuniak Springs with a park surrounding the lake.The city has installed Christmas lights on and between the trees all around the lake.  It really is quite a site, especially the lights reflecting in the calm waters as you gaze across the park.

St Augustine Beach - last day time line - 6 miles

There was no hurry this morning so they leisurely suited up and headed out for the last few miles.  Even left their camel backs home.

We followed shortly after and got behind them as they came to the last bridge over intercoastal waterway to St Augustine Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

We passed them up, honked at them and went ahead to wait for them at the beach.

Making the last turn

left into beach parking lot

2910 miles.  41 days 38 days bicycling.  End St Augustine Beach, Florida

Nov 25th, 2011

Still Smiling!!

Amazing to think that the whole thing is ended.  Was such a fun finish.

Off to celebration breakfast at the Oasis Restaurant.  Spent the rest of the day relaxing, repacking and putting bike stuff away, went downtown St Augustine for a few hours to walk the shopping streets and be tourists.