Congratulations goes to my cousin Maria and her husband Fred for buying their new (to them) home in Lenoir City, Tennessee. Patience pays off!
They will be living under 10 minutes away from their daughters and their families.
Now the fun begins (moving their belongings and unpacking).
Here's the front of the house:
| Above, the battleship USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Back in 2016, I visited Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Prior to the visit, I got tickets beforehand. They included the bus rides to and from Pearl Harbor. Everything went smoothly.
There are mistakes that families make at Pearl Harbor. MSN lists five and how to avoid them.
They begin with:
Planning your first family trip to Hawaii can be thrilling. There’s so much to see and do, and one must-visit spot is Pearl Harbor.
It’s not just a beautiful place—it’s a site filled with history and emotion, marking important events that changed the course of American history.
Having been to Pearl Harbor and Oahu many times, I’ve picked up on a few common mistakes families often make when visiting this historic site.
I’m here to share these insights so you can avoid them and have a memorable, respectful visit.
To read more, go here.
| Above, my dad and I in 1993. |
The other day, it occurred to me that I will be at the same age as my dad next year when he passed away 25 year ago today.
He passed away from lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system. He had it for about two years.
That is why I decided to help the John Wayne Cancer Foundation with their Grit Series half marathons in Ridgway, Colorado. The first time I was there, I was talking with Patrick Wayne and mentioned that we both had the commonality of losing dads due to cancer.
In memory of my dad, I have also made donations to the Foundation. I have also done so in honor of Wellington "Bill" Wilson and Mike Hobbie, who also were casualties of cancer.
The John Wayne Cancer Foundation targets their efforts in cancer research and the training of oncologists. The JWCF funds novel and innovative programs that improve cancer patients' outcomes and save lives through research, education, awareness and support.
| Above, following my dad's funeral at Riverside National Cemetery. |
It is hard to believe 25 years have passed.
| Above, the pool deck aboard the Norwegian Sky. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The last thing I would want to put up with while on a cruise is brats running amok on board the ship. Many other people feel the same way. These are reasons why cruise ships have adults-only areas.
Fortunately, there are adults-only cruises available and USA Today has posted an article about them.
They begin with:
With swimming pools galore, entertainment and even child care on board, cruises can be an obvious choice for a family vacation.
But sometimes travelers want a getaway without the kids. That’s where adults-only sailings come in. A range of cruise lines and ships exclusively carry guests over 18, for parents looking for some “me” time to guests who simply prefer a child-free travel experience.
But not all those operators are the same. Some family-friendly vessels have spaces reserved for grown-ups, allowing passengers to get the best of both kinds of voyages.
Here’s what to know about adults-only offerings at sea.
To read more, go here.
| Above, Jeff Walz and Wife. Jeff Walz Facebook page photo. |
It has been said that nobody knows people better than their own immediate family members.
Such apparently is the case involving Gov. Tim Walz and his brother Jeff. Jeff is a strong Trump supporter and doesn't feel his brother's ideology is suitable to hold the office of vice president.
The Gateway Pundit reported:
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s own brother, Jeff Walz, has reportedly considered joining forces with former President Donald Trump, publicly criticizing his brother as “not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.”
The discovery was made by conservative journalist Laura Loomer, who uncovered Jeff Walz’s Facebook profile, which contains a series of posts highly critical of both his brother and the current administration.
One post, dated May 2023—the same day the Biden-Harris administration indicted Donald Trump in New York City—reads, “We’ve just become a third world banana republic.”
To read more, go here.
Currently, I am waiting to hear from the mobile RV repair guy to see if the door lock parts have arrived so he can fix the house door so I can get back on the road to New Mexico.
It has been windy since yesterday, but having a good time at Mitch & Holly Geriminsky's in Lake Havasu. At least I am making the most of things while being stuck in Havasu.
My cousin Maria sent some photos of the reception at the funeral home following my cousin Debra Ledoux's funeral services.
Here's three of them:
| Above, Debra. |
| Above, the bouquet of flowers I sent. |
| Above, cousins and my daughter Amber. |
| Above, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort was a favorite place to stay for Elvis Presley. According to an article in Travel Weekly, it is also a good place to stay if one has children in tow.
I have never personally stayed there, but I did wander around the resort's outside area and bought some ice cream at their ice cream stand.
Travel Weekly has posted a list of the best resorts in Hawaii for families.
They begin it with:
Considering that Hawaii visitors will be spending the majority of time outside of their hotel rooms, it's not always necessary to find a resort that caters to children and teens, or even has amenities they might appreciate. But there are some Hawaii resorts that do, and the kids love them for it.
Here's my short list of hotels where I've personally stayed with kids and that I would recommend for any families traveling to Hawaii.
To read more, go here.
| Above, my mom back in the 1950s. |
Today marks 14 years since the passing of my mom. It hardly seems that long.
Her passing has been on my mind lately, especially since friend and fellow G-fan Archie Waugh's mother passed away a week ago at age 94. She had a great run and essentially died on her feet. She was active and enjoyed life.
Archie seems to be handing his mom's passing about as well as could be expected. At least her passing didn't come as a shock as my mom's passing did. Well, one has to play the cards one is dealt with.
| Above, my dad and me in 1993. |
Today marks 24 years since my dad passed away from lymphoma.
While it seems like only yesterday, 24 years is nearly a quarter century long. That will come next year.
I've noticed a couple of things since I retired. I think of my parents more often. Time seems to go faster after someone passes on.
I still drive his 1989 Mustang. It was his last car. I have recently found things that he left behind: silver coins in a strongbox and guns in gun cases that I thought were empty.
On the night he died, I was taking a nap before I had to go to work during the night shift. I suddenly awoke with a gasp. It turned out to be at the same time he passed. Minutes later, my mom called to tell me that he died. I have since read that others have had this happen to them.
I will later pour myself an "adult beverage" and offer a toast to his memory.
My cousin Maria and her husband Fred are on the way to Tennessee to visit their daughters and grandkids. They stayed at the Albuquerque KOA last night.
Before reaching the KOA, they stopped at the Jamestown, New Mexico Flying J and we had a meal at Denny's there. To them, it was lunch. To me, it was dinner.
I introduced them to Russell Azbill at Denny's. He was there dining when we arrived.
We had a nice reunion and caught up with family and other things. While we were there, we saw a few lightning flashes to the south and we got a few sprinkles.
Of course, we had our usual photo taken. We do this whenever they stop by.
Contrary to what the photo shows, nothing was growing out of Fred's head.
Several days ago, I received an email from the John Wayne Stock & Supply Company of their holiday catalog offerings.
While perusing it, I noticed that they had infant onesies. Since this would be the first Christmas for my second cousin Chrissie's son Colt in Tennessee, I decided to get him a John Wayne Saddle Up Rodeo onesie.
Colt's older brother Gunnar is now six and I looked around the catalog and spotted a John Wayne "Made In America" puzzle. With his mom and dad's help, Gunnar should be able to while the time putting the puzzle together.
The items were delivered yesterday.
What better way to start kids off right than to get them some Duke goods? Ya gotta teach 'em right, Pilgrim!
To access the John Wayne Stock & Supply Co., go here.
My cousin Maria and her husband Fred are en route to Tennessee to see their daughters and grandkids.
They left California two days ago and stayed the first night in Needles where it was a cold 108° outisde.
Yesterday was an all-day drive from Needles through Arizona. When they entered New Mexico last evening, Maria called me and said they were approaching Gallup. We arranged to meet up down at the Flying J. They had reservations at a campground in Albuquerque.
We visited for about an hour at Denny's. Maria is enjoying the RV life on the road a lot more now that she getting used to it.
Before they departed, Fred took the photo below of Maria and I.
Last evening, while Clint was working on the Jeep's brakes, I was going thought some boxes in the garage and found one small box of photographs and negatives dating back to the 1970s. I haven's seen these for many moons. Some were in Fotomat sleeves (remember Fotomat?).
Some were of everyday things, travel and miscellaneous family shots. Some were badly faded, despite being kept in a box out of light. I took these photos, except where I'm in them (obviously).
I scanned a few of them.
| Above, my parents and I in Las Vegas, 1974. |
| Above, my uncle Ralph and aunt Rose, Thanksgiving 1975. |
| Above, co-worker Jeannie McDonald in January 1979. We did a photo shoot at her house. This was an outtake. |
| Above, my parents in Cedar City, Utah in 1975 on vacation. My dad hated this photo. |
| Above, Al Geriminsky and my dad working on a car (probably mine) in Hawthorne, California, 1975. |
| Above, yours truly at Grad Nite at Disneyland, 1972. |
| Above, Goodyear blimp over Long Beach. |
| Above, yours truly and Maria in a parting shot this morning. |
Maria and Fred are now on their way home to California.
It was a very enjoyable to have them visit and showing them around Jamestown and Gallup, New Mexico during the past few days.
Before they headed back on the road, we had breakfast down at Denny's in the Flying J. While we were there, my ex-roomie Jessica called and she got a chance to talk to Maria a bit.
They will probably stay overnight tonight in Seligman or Kingman, Arizona before taking the final leg to California.
UPDATE (8:19 PM):
They are now at the Needles, California KOA and...it's 90° out! I bet that feels good. I stayed there in 2016,
| Above, Maria and Fred at the El Ranch lobby fireplace. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
After we took my cousin Maria and her husband Fred's motorhome into Gallup to the USA RV Park to dump their holding tanks, we headed back to the house for the rest of the day.
It was warmer than the day before, although windy.
| Above, Maria and Fred with Duke at the El Rancho. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I took them to the El Rancho Hotel last evening for dinner. They were impressed with the beauty of the hotel lobby as well as the hotel's history and the food in the hotel restaurant.
We did start off the meal with cocktails. They enjoyed their meals.
| Above, starting off dinner with cocktails at the El Rancho. |
After dinner, we headed back to Jamestown. I was thinking what movie I can show them that wouldn't put them to sleep. Then I came up with the John Wayne/Howard Hawks classic, Rio Bravo. Well, they both enjoyed the movie. They're not normally movie watchers
I scored two movie successes during their visit, No Time To Die and Rio Bravo.
They will be heading back to California today. I enjoyed having them visit.
| Above, Fred at McGaffey Recreational Area. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Yesterday, I took my cousin Maria and her husband Fred around the subdivision and then up to the Indian Market at Continental Divide. She bought a pretty wind chime for their patio while there.
| Above, not much water in McGaffey Lake. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
From Continental Divide, I took them up to McGaffey. They agreed that the McGaffey recreational area looked like Big Bear, California.
McGaffey Lake wasn't much of a lake. It was more like a mudhole. It didn't get much rain or snow water this year.
Following that, we headed into Gallup to do some shopping. We dropped off Maria at Walmart and Fred and I went across the street to Home Depot. We both had to pick up a few things there.
| Above, Fred and Maria at Indian Market. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
After that, we headed back home to Jamestown where I showed them the latest James Bond movie, No Time To Die on Blu-ray. They both enjoyed the movie.
Today will be more relaxed with the exception of taking their RV to the USA RV Park in Gallup to empty their holding tanks and dinner later at the El Rancho Hotel.
| Above, Maria and Fred's RV this morning. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
After a 467-mile drive from West Pueblo, Colorado, my cousin Maria and her husband Fred arrived in Jamestown, New Mexico last evening. They are the first family members to come to Jamestown.
They arrived at 6:00 and I met them down at Denny's at the Flying J. Besides being tired, they were hungry as well. This way, I could lead them up to the house after dinner.
After chatting for a while, they retired for the night, understandably worn out from the long drive. They showed me the inside of their Entegra Odyssey and it is vary spacious inside. The slide-out helped a lot. One can put up several folding chairs inside and still have plenty of room. They also have a lot of "bells & whistles" to it as well.
I ended up going to bed at 9:00. It appears to have rained overnight.
I will be showing them around Jamestown and the Gallup area today. I think they would enjoy a dinner at the El Rancho Hotel tonight.
| Above, Fred and Maria and their motorhome. |
Today (or tomorrow, but most likely today) I will be visited by the first members of my family.
My cousin Maria and her husband Fred will be staying for a couple of days while en route from Tennessee via Colorado Springs. They will be arriving in their new motorhome. I am looking forward to their visit.
I have all they need to plug in their motorhome (adapters, etc.). They are welcome to stay in the den/guest room.
My cousin called me yesterday to tell me they are on their way. They may have stayed at Route 66 RV Resort for the night last night (on my recommendation). It rained a little bit overnight and this morning. So far, it is sunny out with some clouds and about 40°. I am happy about the rain as we've been having pollen alerts. The rain should wash off things and keep the pollen from blowing about.
I am keeping watch on the storm that pummeled Southern California during the past couple of days. It may be headed here tomorrow.
A new third cousin arrived yesterday afternoon.
Congratulations to Christina and Ziggy!