For whatever reason and not that it matters, I didn't write a blog last year. Not that we didn't have any adventures down south though.
We ditched the motorhome deciding that renting from friends who have houses available for us was much better.
We drove our 2000 GMC truck down as JL wanted to buy new tires and rims for it and get it painted as well because the price was much better in the US.
Not too far into Montana the truck decided to quit, yes, just quit, while I was driving...
AMA to the rescue! In less than one hour we were in a warm tow truck driving back to the small farming community of Conrad, MT, where we spent from Saturday evening until Thursday afternoon at the Super 8 motel awaiting the fixing of the old girl. We explored the little town's Main street and ate at a couple of their diners.
The 2014/2015 Fall, Winter, Spring away was full of great travels with the highlight being 2 months (January and February) on the Island of Hawai'i.
We stayed at a really great accommodation on the Kohala Ranch. I must say that at the elevation we were at (1500 feet) it was surprisingly not tropical weather. Very different than if you stay closer to the ocean.
We had friends and family come to keep us busy and entertained.
Our good friends Jean and Vicki Sabourin and Vic's mum Marg were staying at the Waikoloa Beach resort for 1 month. We golfed and toured around the island with them.
My dear friend Rachelle Sparkes came to visit with us. Her vacation overlapping with the Sabs a few days. Then she and I headed off to see Kiluea and circumnavigate the island, with some fun snorkel trips along the way! We also did the night trip up to the visitor centre on Mauna Kea to look through telescopes.
A lovely fellow potter friend Beate and her husband Peter and their friend, whose name escapes me, also were on the "Big" Island for a bit and we had the pleasure of visiting them at their accom in Kona and then dining with them at the famous and delightful Blue Dragon restaurant that is located in Kawaihae, very close to where we stayed.
Our eldest son Roland joined us for 10 days. He really enjoyed renting a motorbike and driving all around the island. We also did a deep sea fishing afternoon which Roland was keen to try. He caught a 28 pound Wahoo. We ate a lot of fish over the next few days and gave some to our neighbours too.
I had some marvellous dives whilst on Hawai'i and really enjoyed diving with Kohala Divers which was only 10 minutes drive down the "hill". They looked after my equipment for me and they even took myself and two other divers for a night dive even though they had a minimum of 4 divers for a night dive. It was great!!
Then back to Mesa we went, where we spent March and most of April.
We traveled back to Thousand Palms to spend a few fun filled days with Erna and Derwyn Lowe. This visit we went to Joshua Tree National Park. Very lovely!
In Mesa we continued with the usual walking the neighbourhood desert path and golfing and visiting with our friends in the area.
I decided to try making limoncello due to the large number of lemons available. Very simple recipe that yielded a great result.
On our way home we stopped at Page, AZ and took the guided walk through Antelope slot canyon. So amazing! The local Navajo people do the guiding and tell how it was formed and a little about the history of the area.
Taking the scenic back hi way through Utah, we stopped in at Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, where we did a super hike in each park. I really love the landscapes and scenery in Utah and would like to spend more time exploring that state.
We then headed for home. As luck would have it we met up with Conrad and JoAnn Gaumont in Great Falls, MT where we stayed at the same motel.
Side story here. Just as we were heading to the motel a swarm of police cars were zipping past and seemed to be going to the same vicinity. We checked into the motel and found out there was a report of a person with a gun in the residential area beside the motel. We watched out the window for a bit and it seemed that the event ended without any harm to anyone. Thank goodness.
The next morning after breakfast was the dash to the border and happily no problem with Canadian customs.
Home safe and sound via hi way 39 through the heart of Alberta's agriculture.
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