After skiing in California and Oregon, in May we joined a bicycle tour of Austria’s Danube River paths, then split off on our own. We explored Budapest’s and Prague’s ancient centers, then savored 2 weeks on Spain’s beaches.
Summer makeovers kept us busy: both bathrooms now gleam with the latest styles and “smart” features; all interior doors were upgraded; and the exterior is freshly painted. Even our backyard pond got a full refresh and new plants. So much change! Hopefully we’re ready for life in the USA in 2025 (oy vey)! Read more...(244 words, 6 images, estimated 59 secs reading time)
Dan was inspired to sign up for the Zephyr Adventures Austria Danube River bike tour because it also gave us a chance to explore the historic city centers of Vienna, Budapest and Prague. We finished with two beach weeks in southern Spain.
After saying farewell to our fellow Zephyr cyclists (most of whom, unlike us, were on e-bikes!), we spent a couple of days getting to know the historic center of Vienna, Austria. We also met up with a boyfriend (and his wife) from Liz’s travels 48 years ago. Read more...(324 words, 1 image, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
You may have heard about last winter’s epic snow in California, allowing us a record 40+ midweek days on the slopes. We are grateful to still be aging gracefully — so far!
We continue to share the good life on our lovely Danville plot. To our never-ending delight, our agile little camper-van was the perfect solution for lots of California adventures in 2023. During a relatively calm travel year, our out-of-state excursions included an RV camping vacation to ski in Oregon and visit Liz’s nephew in Portland; a mid-Summer week to New Jersey to catch up with Dan’s daughter’s family and two great-granddaughters; and a Fall RV road trip to and from Texas to attend Dan’s nephew’s wedding and commune with all the Kiblers. Read more...(147 words, 1 image, estimated 35 secs reading time)
Knowing we needed to be in Plano, Texas for a Kibler wedding (and big family reunion), Dan got busy plotting our route down California, across Arizona and New Mexico and way out to Plano, Texas. His itinerary was stellar as usual — we saw great scenery, and reconnected with family and friends heading east.
On the more northern return trip we spent days getting acquainted with native American landscapes, cultures, history, and ancient dwellings. Our final week was spent celebrating Thanksgiving and a birthday with Jerry Miller, the Dad in a million, who turned 95. Read more...(159 words, 1 image, estimated 38 secs reading time)
Dan outdid himself in creating fun adventures after finally retiring in January. We started by flying to Canada for a four-resort ski trip in February. Then we RV’d our way up and down California to ski, hike, bike and/or paddle-board, stopping at Rancho Miller whenever we were in Dad’s area. The summer highlight was our exploration of three epic parks in Utah’s vast canyon lands. We wrapped up with a fall road trip to the wine country in Baja California (Mexico). Between trips, Liz whispered to all the new front yard native plants. Meanwhile, and thank goodness, Don managed the homestead, blessing us with a flower garden and pet lizards. Read more...(151 words, 3 images, estimated 36 secs reading time)
After a spring and summer of almost monthly 4-5 day RV trips, the opportunity to take a longer tour kicked off with Liz’s “Class of 70 Turns 70” COVID-delayed reunion. Camping at Dad’s gave us the opportunity to check out his organic garden and do our traditional morning hike on the beach. On Sunday morning, we waved goodbye and headed east to explore the national parks and monuments of Southwestern Utah we’d missed on previous trips. We learned that every national park in the region has its own distinct flavor of awesome that really must be seen in person to be appreciated fully. That said, here are the photo albums attempting to share our experience. Read more...(167 words, 1 image, estimated 40 secs reading time)
Despite lockdowns and pandemic surges, 2021 turned out to be a year of reconnecting to family and friends, thanks to having an RV. In addition to two multi-week road trips, we regularly used Sally (salir in Spanish means to go out) to transport our bikes or paddleboards to fun locations in the Bay Area and as our own portable bistro. In early December, we spent two weeks in Baja California for adventures on and in the Sea of Cortez. And on the home front, we finally installed a beautifully designed front yard with California native (drought tolerant) plants, just in time for the rainy (fingers crossed!) season. Read more...(134 words, 1 image, estimated 32 secs reading time)
Boy, do we all need to celebrate making it through 2020! We felt very fortunate to have skied through mid-March in 2020, including a trip to Japan — before the pandemic lockdowns sent us home for the rest of the year. Like everyone else, we adapted: biking, doing a lot of hiking, and exploring new places to go stand-up paddle boarding. In November, after months of research, we found and purchased a barely-used 2020 Winnebago Revel (Mercedes Benz) campervan! Our plans to visit Dad four hours south fell through due to high coronavirus numbers, but with vaccinations on the horizon, we expect to have plenty of RV adventures to share by this time next year. Read more...(526 words, 6 images, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)
The natives were restless after spending 6 months in home quarantine against the COVID-19 pandemic. When Zephyr Adventures announced their safety-adjusted Beartooth Hiking Adventure based in Red Lodge, Montana in August, we immediately signed up, and started planning a road trip to and from the location. Dan mapped out outbound and return routes that included two days in Yellowstone National Park and a first-time look at the incredible Leslie Gulch in Oregon. We wore masks around other people for the entire 2 weeks. Read more...(156 words, 1 image, estimated 37 secs reading time)
Dan had a dream, to ski the famous bottomless dry powder of northern Japan, known as “JaPow”! So he signed us up with a company called “Savour the Journey,” specializing in both skiing and food.
Liz dreamed of being able to communicate with the natives, so she immediately started working through the Duolingo Japanese lessons in order to master the basics: “Hello, thank you, where are the toilets? English menu please.” Read more...(99 words, 2 images, estimated 24 secs reading time)
After skiing in California and Oregon, in May we joined a bicycle tour of Austria’s Danube River paths, then split off on our own. We explored Budapest’s and Prague’s ancient centers, then savored 2 weeks on Spain’s beaches.
