What’s next?

In our last post, we hinted at the changes in our travel—and that we did in February. For the first time, we traded in our familiar RV setup for an Airbnb stay.

We found a great little place in the Queen Creek/San Tan Valley area of Arizona. It was about 40 minutes from Gold Canyon, where our friends spend the winter, and about 40 minutes from ABN’s sister’s home. Pretty much everything seemed to be 40 minutes away, which somehow worked just fine for us.

The house itself was a two-bedroom in a gated golf course community. It had everything we needed—fast internet, a well-equipped kitchen, and miles of walking paths right outside the door. The patio, complete with a fire pit, quickly became our favorite spot, especially for hosting “Tipsy Tuesday.”

People we passed on our daily walks were always friendly, though since we’re not golfers, we didn’t really get to know the neighbors. Still, it felt like a bit of luxury living for us—no waste tanks to deal with, laundry just a few steps away, and an upscale grocery store only 10 minutes down the road.

But the real highlight? Having the space to share with friends. And we made the most of it, starting with a visit from Captain’s high school classmate Don and his wife, Anne, who came to stay with us from College Station, Texas.

A lovely walk at Boyce Thompson Arboretum 

Since they had never been to Grand Canyon, an overnight trip was in order, staying in the historic El Tovar hotel. The views were as stunning as we remembered from previous visits.

Returning to San Tan Valley, we chose the gorgeous Oak Creek Canyon Scenic route, stopping for a brief visit in artsy Sedona.

On Tuesday we introduce them to our Colorado friends, Adele and Steve.

It was a wonderful week with wonderful friends.

Rex and Anna (for those who may not know, Captain’s brother and his wife) joined us from College Station for the second week. For the most part, they did their own exploring during the day, and we gathered around the table in the evenings. That’s when the real fun began—games of Texas 42 dominoes and the family's traditional Pinochle card game quickly became our nightly routine.

Hiking together in Catalina State Park near Tucson,  they had a taste of dessert scenery.

They happened to be here on a Tuesday, so———-

O.H.S.O Brewery in Gilbert, Arizona

We didn’t host overnight guests the third week, but did enjoy visiting with ABN’s sister Mary and husband Steve. We were so busy reminiscing and catching up we neglected to take many photos. We did, however, capture one memorable moment on a walk; an eagle nesting on top of an cell tower.

Later we learned three baby eagles had hatched.

At sister Mary’s suggestion, we made the drive to Scottsdale to visit ButterflyWonderland , home to the largest butterfly conservatory in North America with over 60 species of butterflies.

                    

As it turned out, our good friends, Nancy and Bruce from Washington State, who we met during Covid (affectionately known as part of the Covid Cronies), were camping nearby at Lost Dutchman State Park, so they joined us for Tipsy Tuesday.

The last week of our February stay, we welcomed our hometown friend, Roger, for whom “Roger the Pickup” got its name. It was a relaxing week mostly doing our own thing, which included a nice, easy two mile hike in San Tan Mountain Regional Park.

On Tuesday, Adele , along with good friends, Paula and Rick from Oregon, gathered on the patio to bid us adieu__ until next year.

As luck would have it, our good friends, Juanita and Greg from Maryland, along with their friends Anita and Tom, arrived in Phoenix a couple of days before we left. Since they were not there on a Tuesday, we improvised.

What a wonderful February! The weather was great and we gathered with some of our favorite people.

Returning home the first of March took a little getting used to—trading stress free days for a never-ending to-do list, along with cold, dreary weather and all those projects waiting for attention.

Still, there were bright spots. ABN dove right into preparing for the return of the butterflies and hummingbirds, while Captain settled in for March Madness.

Now, with spring just around the corner, we’re looking forward to longer days, blooming color, and gathering again for Tipsy Tuesday with our hometown friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End of an Era

 

A truly rewarding chapter has come to an end. We have now returned the keys to The Wanderer to its previous owner—our friend Roger—grateful for all it has given us over the past ten years.

Traveling the U.S. in a motorhome was our dream as we approached retirement in 2014. As luck would have it, Roger was planning to sell his small 2005 Lazy Daze at the same time. It was an easy decision to purchase it and see if that kind of travel was truly for us. Our thinking was simple: if we loved it, we could always upgrade to something larger.

On August 28,2015, we embarked on our first cross-country adventure in The Wanderer. After 12 weeks away from home—14 states, 6,078 miles, five presidential libraries and museums, 32 wineries, four football games, and nine Walmart parking lot stays—we were in love.

She became our home away from home over the past decade. Captain poured his heart and soul into upgrades and tweaks for comfort, while ABN added her signature bohemian touches. Of all the adventures we experienced on the road, the most meaningful surprise was the friendships we formed along the way.

M

As she pulled out of our driveway for the last time, we sent her off with heartfelt wishes—that she continues to bring joy to Roger and his family.

While we may have aged out of RV travel, we have no intention of slowing down. The Beast—our Yukon Denali—is now our primary travel companion, ready for the next chapter of adventures.

It's not the same.

 

We miss The Wanderer! While traveling in The Beast is quicker (3-1/2 days vs. 9 days) and one could argue a bit more comfortable, especially for Captain, we tired quickly of hotels and restaurants. And we missed meeting other travelers at Harvest Host stays.

One thing we have learned is, all Hampton Inns are not the same. Having made many trips over the past 30+ years to Captain’s hometown in College Station, TX , we were familiar with the one in Texarkana, AR, so that was a no-brainer. However the one in Las Cruces, NM and the one in Midland, TX (a TRU hotel) are on our Never Again list.

Traveling the familiar route to Arizona, a lot of our conversations were about previous trips, so we revisited a couple of our past Harvest Host proprietors.

It was not the same as our memories were of sipping wine on the patio visiting with other travelers after the winery closed.

Our memory of this Harvest Host stay was sleeping in the parking lot, waking to a construction crew.

We did find an interesting brewery in Midland, TX.

On the other hand, there are pluses to traveling in a SUV over a motorhome, other than using a lot less gasoline; there is no worry about parking spaces; consistent high speed internet; and no need for dumping stations.

Even though we miss our “home”, in the vacation rental we enjoyed the full size shower, no laundromats and a full kitchen.

Our Airbnb in a retirement community was very nice with all the modern conveniences and many miles of walking trails.

We missed seeing the beautiful western sunsets, the view of the mountains, camaraderie of other travelers and the familiarity of our tailor-made creature comforts. But we were conveniently located near Fry’s grocery, Trader Joe’s and many other commercial entities. Most importantly, we were located midway between our friends in Gold Canyon and family in Chandler, and we had the opportunity to share our space with other friends and family.

To live life to the fullest as we age, we are embracing the changes.

Follow up,  February 28 - March 2, 2026

Our friend, Roger, joined us on for the return trip home which took us through scenic Salt River Canyon
in Arizona.

    

As I-40 follows the historic Route 66, we stopped for dinner at the iconic Del’s Restaurant which remains popular for folks passing through. We arrived just in time to avoid the long wait list.

We found the Fairfield Inns in Tucumcari, NM and Fort Smith, AK to be more comfortable and enjoyable  than the Hampton Inns we encountered on our westbound journey.

 

 

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Have you heard?

In case you haven’t heard, we had a “Winter Weather” event over the weekend. For us, that meant about 8 inches of snow followed with a bit of sleet and ice. Of course everything was closed, grocery shelves were cleared of bread, eggs and milk (it’s time for French toast) and children bundled up for sledding. (It didn’t matter that the temperature hovered near single digits.)

It was a great time to “chill.”

On Saturday, ABN provided the stage and played the role of sou chef to an aspiring 11-year old neighbor while Captain napped and watched basketball. Y’all do know the Texas A&M Aggies are leading in the SEC, don’t you? We are gloating while we can as next week they begin play against the tough teams.

While ABN enjoyed a pajama day in the craft studio on Sunday, listening to an audio book (Crossroads by Jonathan Frazen,) finishing projects, sorting and organizing stash,

and writing a blog post, Captain watched more sports, read the Wall Street Journal, worked on taxes, and, his favorite thing to do, planned a couple of  trips. No pajama day for Captain. (Someone had to keep the bird feeder filled and the sidewalk cleared.)

Enough of chill time! As our community braces for another round of Artic blast, we are headed to Sun San Tan Valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday greetings

 

from our family to yours.

We begin the New Year with hearts overflowing following a wonderful Christmas with our girls in  Florida. We can’t think of a better gift. Since many of you often inquire about them, we are happy to give you updates.

Holly remains in the Florida panhandle. In addition to teaching enrichment programs (Spanish and music) to preschoolers, she is a Professional Development Specialist for educators working on their Child Development credentials. She uses her gift of music by singing with the Northwest Florida Symphony Chorale and uses her experiences to advocate for other Gold Star survivors by serving on the Air Force Survivor Advocacy Council.

Alison continues to work in marine mammal conservation at UNCW. 

She uses her music talent to play trumpet with the UNCW Jazz Combo, the Wilmington Symphonic Winds, Wilmington Virtuosi Brass, and Costal Carolina Orchestra. In addition, as part of the GSTA team (Gold Star Teen Adventures,) she mentors and instructs Gold Star teens in scuba diving.

Camille is currently dancing with the St. Louis Dance Theater and teaches young, aspiring dancers.

Since we are on the route to her mom’s home, she stops by several times a year. (Wherever her career takes her, we hope we will always be on her route.) Grandma (aka ABN) loves spending time with her in the craft studio.

All three are accomplished cooks which made it fun to watch as they worked in the kitchen. We were reminded of the girls standing on stools as Holly taught them how to use the mixer, break eggs, measure ingredients and many other culinary skills. Needless to say, we ate well. The energy, laughter, music, and a little happy chaos made for a wonderful Christmas.

2025 is now history. It was rich with travel, friends, new experiences, blooms, butterflies, birds, and ended with wonderful family time.

The Wanderer is resting quietly in storage as The Beast (aka GMC Yukon Denali) steps up to justify his price tag. In September he took us on the bourbon trail, in October to Austin, Texas for the wedding of our niece. Okay, Claire is not actually our niece, but we love her as though she were. The Beast, and Captain, were honored with the distinction of being two of the most useful guests by transporting other guests as well as loads of wedding essentials. In December, the Beast made for a comfortable drive to Florida.

As a new year begins, we are reminded (well at least ABN is) of past New Year resolutions. They were usually the typical ones, get more exercise, lose weight, eat healthier, get organized, and the list went on. As we continue on our journey to age richly, that has changed a bit.

No longer are they resolutions, but more like goals. Eating well is not about losing weight but trying not to gain, instead of calories, we are focused on sodium and sugar intake, exercise means keeping mobile and instead of organizing, we plan to continue the decluttering. As we all know (okay some of you may be in denial) we will continue to age as long as we breath and there is nothing we can do about it, but we do have a bit of control on how we age. And that, friends, is our goal for 2026.