Such a Fall!

Since retirement, our fall seasons have included traveling and then arriving on South Padre Island in November. This fall, however, one of us has returned to school while the other one is continuing to enjoy retirement.

Chic was appointed Interim Principal of Gillette School in Long Hill Township, New Jersey. He opened school on September 5 and worked through December 23.
(our 21 year old 1990 Mazda Miata is in front of Gillette School)

 

As coincidence would have it, Gillette School is in Long Hill Township, where we lived for 15 years and our temporary housing is an apartment in Chatham, the town where we lived when we were first married in 1984.
Below are the three homes.



Our first home from 1984 to 1994 - 14 Lum Avenue in Chatham



Our Gillette home from 1994 to 2009



Our Chatham apartment for four months (only 1/5 of the house)
(this house is right next to the Chatham NJ Transit station) 

Returning to New Jersey for these past four months has provided us with such wonderful opportunities to reunite with our friends and colleagues, entertain family visitors AND enjoy many visits to the city that never sleeps. We've had a blast!

September Highlights

Our September highlights included: 
(besides a Board of Ed meeting and Back to School Night!)

New York City Ballet performance of Swan Lake - It was wonderful to return to magnificent Lincoln Center.

 

Later in September, we attended a huge RV show in Hershey, PA, had dinner with Joan Hazen, Caroline Hontz, and Becky Dembo at Garlic Rose in Madison, attended a 9/11 Memorial Service in Chatham, enjoyed a Chatham High School football game, experienced the Broadway Show Billy Elliott, attended the Bauschard Reunion in Erie, and put our motorhome under ground in a limestone mine in Pennsylvania. Below are pictured some of the highlights. 

 
 

Yep, we're storing it underground!

 

Robin's Aunt Yvonne and Uncle Dan and                     Robin's mom, Barb, and sister Yvonne

October was busy with highlights including:

Dinners with Tom and Rona Landrigan, Dianne and Brian Conti, Randy and Ed Raffo, Becky Dembo, Nancy Ebeling, Shawn and Bill Hogan, Fran and Jack Drew, lunch with the Close girls, an NJMEA Reunion in Hammonton, a Woodland School Reunion, house guests Tom and Lori to enjoy Avenue Q,The Mountaintop with Samuel L Jackson,Spiderman - The Musical, Newsies, Robin's cousins reunion, a Lafayette School retirees luncheon and a major snow storm!

 
               Tom and Rona Landrigan                                       Dianne and Brian Conti




Robin's cousins Barbara, Dianne, Aunt Jeanette, and Sandy.

 
              Randy and Ed  Raffo                                                      C & R with Tom and Lori

 

          Becky and Chic                                                Shawn and Bill Hogan



Past NJMEA Presidents - Tony Guerere, Joe Mello, and Chic Hansen

 

Robin and Becky                                        Jim Kelly and the Lafayette Girls



The Close girls made a visit to New Jersey




Jack and Fran Drew



Woodland School friends

and then the SNOWtober event that closed schools for a week!!

    

 

Chic enjoyed dressing as Frosty in the Gillette School Halloween Parade.
(He continues to tremendously enjoy serving as principal of Gillette School!)

November activities included four Broadway Shows, an Opera and a Performance by Chanticleer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, more house guests, a Robin birthday, biking, a visit to Ground Zero and tour of Ellis Island, a Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner at Nancy Ebeling's home, and Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad Holder in PA.

       


Birthday girl biking adventure

MerryJo and Cali visited us for a long weekend

Dave, Chris, Jocelyn and Jake visited for sights and shows!



Jocelyn and Robin at the 911 Memorial

 

La Boheme from our box seats at the Metropolitan Opera

We sure enjoyed our time with Mom and Dad over Thanksgiving

Our final month of December was filled with excitement including dinner in the Iron Bound section of Newark with Jack & Fran, Chic sold his beloved 1990 Miata then received a most thoughtful gift from Robin, a Christmas Concert at Drew University, dinner with Jonathan Sprout, dinner with Pete and Angie in York, PA, and a farewell weekend in NYC.



Look what my sweet wife bought me!

Chic and Jonathan




Visiting with Angie and Pete




Christmas Concert at Drew University





The gift of love.
The gift of peace.
The gift of happiness.
May all these be yours at Christmas.

Love to you all, Robin and Chic

Since last reporting, we have traveled 919 miles bringing our total miles to 2588 since leaving South Padre Island on April 17. We are now settled in for the summer at the Shenango Valley RV Park but first, some details of our trip from Gatlinburg, TN to Transfer PA.

Since last reporting, we have traveled 719 miles bringing our total miles to 1669 since leaving South Padre Island on April 17.




Continuing with our inside the motorhome tour pictures, in this issue of the blog we are featuring the front cockpit area. Beside the basic bank of instruments, from the cockpit we have a monitor that displays camera views of both sides of the highway as well as a rear view camera. We also have constant tire pressure readings of all 12 tires (8 on the motorhome and 4 on the jeep we tow as well as controls dealing with suspension adjustments, engine break settings, a computer screen that provides current engine details, an automatic leveling system, and generator controls. Driving a 43 foot, 40,000 pound motorhome powered by a 425 horsepower Cummins diesel requires careful attention and a great co-pilot, and my co-pilot is the best!





The Alabama Civil Right Trail has become a major international destination. As we toured through Selma and Montgomery, we were able to follow in the footsteps of the civil right pioneers who triumphed in the struggle for racial equality in America. In Montgomery, we stood at the site of the bus stop where in 1955, Rosa Parks made her courageous and historic stand.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN! We sing that Willie Nelson song everytime we take off for the season and this time we did it in our new coach. This rolling home has 2 bathrooms, a HUGE improvement over our 1 bath model. Robin's full bath is also serving as the cat room for Emmy and Stanzy and our furry friends LOVE their new digs. Many friends have asked for interior pix so we will add a couple on each post.






We left South Padre on Monday, April 17 and went only 47 miles that day to weigh the coach. Why weigh the coach? Tire pressure is calculated by the weight on each tire and with a 40,000lb vehicle that has 8 tires, the weight on each tire can vary widely. Once the pressure is determined, it takes time to correctly inflate or deflate the 8 tires and we finished the job in the dark.

On Tuesday we drove 250 miles to San Antonio where camped at Traveller's World RV Park. There was a bus stop right in front of the park so we took the 42 route six miles into San Antonio. It was a great way to access the River Walk and we spent 2 days walking, exploring and, of course, EATING our way through this beautiful area. Unfortunately, Robin lost her cell phone but Verizon made quick work of having a new one sent to our next campground in Houston.




                                  (Eating at Casa Rio Restaurant on the San Antonio Riverwalk)

Friday, April 22 is our next travel day (218 miles) to the east side of Houston where we stayed at San Jacinto Riverfront Park. We LOVED our site! Right on the river and we had a private hot tub where we spent EVERY evening, favorite beverage in hand. This coach has an ouside TV so one night we sat in our jacuzzi and watched a movie! Don't be fooled - we are roughing it - HA


                                                  (Our site at San Jacinto Riverfront RV Resort)

We spent one day biking around The Woodlands area of Houston and were able to have lunch with our good friends, Dotty and Joel Kuhn. Unfortunately Robin took a tumble on her bike when a gust of wind blew her hat off - no broken anything - just a few bruises. Whew.

A favorite day was our visit to the San Jacinto Battleground and Memorial. This was the final battle for Texas independence from Mexico in 1836. Up to that point Mexico owned a third of what is now the United States including New Mexico, California, Montana, Utah and more. What would it be like today if Mexico had won?


                                                                               (San Jacinto Memorial)

On April 29th we began our 232 mile trek northward to Shreveport, Louisiana. Tall Pines RV Park is our home for 2 nights and we visited Barksdale Air Force Base where they have a great collection of war birds. We were motivated to visit after reading Laura Hillenbrand's nonfictional book  "Unbroken", the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and WWII POW. We were both so engrossed by the story that we added Shreveport to see a B-24 the B-29 airplanes up close in person.




                                   (Robin with the B-24 Liberator and Chic with the B-29 Superfortress)

We left Shreveport for the 187 mile trip to Vicksburg, MS on May 1st . Here we visited the Vicksburg National Military Park.


The Union army, under the leadership of Maj. General U S Grant and the Confederate army, led by Lt. General John Pemberton, were engaged in a hard fought battle for 47 days that ended with a surrender by the South on July 4, 1863. Because of this, the Fourth of July Holiday was not celebrated in Vicksburg until World War II.  The Cemetary in the park has 17,000 men buried, but only 4,000 have been identified.





 
Vicksburg is right on the Mississippi River and everyone here is preparing for the river to flood it's banks and to peak on May 18th. At that time it is to be at 57 inches above flood stage, the highest in recorded history.

Over the last 2 weeks we have travelled about 950 miles through 3 states. Tomorrow we move on to Alabama. Cross your fingers that we don't meet up with any tornados!!



As always, thanks for reading.  Godspeed.

C & R

Good grief, it's April, which for us translates into "it's time to pack up the motorhome and hit the road!" We have been embracing our beach life here on the island since we arrived last October wearing sandals to every occasion, breathing in the salt air, pausing for sunrises and sunsets, and drinking lime flavored beverages.

One of the many joys of living on South Padre Island is observing the amazing displays of nature, sometimes on the beach, other times in the air, always glorious.



       
 

OK, OK, we know it's been a LONG time since our last post but we've been so darn busy having fun that we just haven't forced ourselves to sit at the computer.

In our last blog, we reported that we had parked our motorhome in Shenango Valley RV Park where we would settle for 3 ½ months. In exchange for our RV site, Chic delivered firewood, escorted campers to their sites, cleaned the Rec Hall and it’s bathroom and was the camp photographer. Robin worked in the office and store.

During the summer months we had a great opportunity to spend time with family. Robin’s parents were regular guests to our campfire at SVRVP and playing cards and mowing lawns were common activities at their house. Our nieces and nephews went on a trip with “Uncle Chic and Aunt Robin” to various cities including Niagara Falls, Cleveland(with it's wonderful zoo!) and New York City where we got up VERY early to get onto the TODAY SHOW.  We also went to a preseason Pittsburgh Steelers game with Pete and his two girls, Abbey and Syndey (Go Steelers! - says Robin!)

              

    

(Above - Koala bear with joey at Cleveland Zoo, American Falls at Niagara, Ann Curry, Cass and Robin on the Plaza with the TODAY show, Abbey, Pete and Sydney at Heinz Field)

We traveled back to the Garden State to visit Jack & Fran Drew at their wonderful shore house in Manasquan, New Jersey along with Nancy Ebeling, one of our dearest friends.

                           

(Fran and Jack Drew and Nancy Ebeling)

In September, we took a 3 week, trip of a lifetime to Israel and Egypt with Dotty & Joel Kuhn. This adventure had us walking the streets of Palestinian occupied Bethlehem, Christ's childhood village of Nazareth, and Jerusalem where our hotel was located. We floated in the Dead Sea which is so salty that it is impossible to actually swim. Besides touring the haunting Holocaust Museum and viewing the Dead Sea Scrolls we also stood in Gethsemane among the olive trees and visited the 14 stations along the Via Dolorosa which is now in the middle of a huge local market.

           

(Standing on the Mount of Beatitudes along side the Sea of Galilee; Sign posted on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives entering the Garden of Gethsemane)

        

(The Via Dolorosa, or "Way of the Cross" is Christendom's most sacred route. On the right, the entrance gates into Jerusalem along the road traveled on Palm Sunday.)

Then we flew to Egypt which is truly a land of superlatives: the largest and most ancient temple complexes in the world ... the grandest, most inspiring pyramids ... the priceless treasure of Tutankhamun ... and some of the friendliest, most welcoming people. What we had only seen in books since childhood came to life on this trip. We gazed upon the Pyramids of Giza and the inspiring Sphinx, sailed down the Nile River, viewed the Aswan Dam, marveled at the antiquities in the Cairo Museum(which housed the famous golden mask of King Tut), stood before the mighty Abu Simbel, explored the Valley of the Kings, and even visited Karnak Temple (no sign of Johnny Carson, however!) 

        s with our Chic, Robin, our Egyptian guide, Hala and Dotty & Joel Kuhn. On the right, the magnificent Abu Simbel build by King Ramses II.

(The Pyramids of Giza.)

Robin and Chic in front of the Sphinx.

Upon our return we had a fun-filled week staying with Chip’s kids (Robin’s brother) and on October 4^th, we got in our motorhome and began a rambling return to SPI. 

The motorhome first took us to it’s birthplace, Tiffin Motorhomes in Redbay, Alabama for a tune up. We continued to Memphis, Tennessee where a visit to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital left us with awe and gratitude for this institute with such a big heart.

Our campsite was right on the Mississippi River. Watching the huge barges navigate their way on the mighty Mississippi was pure entertainment. The Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas was our next treat and the following day we arrived in Dallas, Texas. 

(Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock)

The Texas State Fair, the largest fair in the US, was taking place in the fairgrounds by the Cotton Bowl. WOW – it was mammoth and tons of fun.

(Behind Flat Stanley is the Texas Star, standing 212 feet high, it is the tallest amusement ride in the Western Hemisphere!)

In Austin we visited with Rick Cole and Linda Levine, childhood friends of Robin’s, and Linda’s husband Steve. Many years have passed but we all look great – of course, our eyesight isn’t so hot…..

(Linda, Robin and Rick - West Middlesex, PA buddies)

We’ve been back on the island for about 6 weeks. Our cats, Emmy and Stanzy, prefer the condo to the motorhome – many more hiding places – but we are just enjoying the entire experience. Always lots to do here on South Padre what with Sand Castle Competitions, Friday Night Lights at Port Isabel High School, College Basketball Tournaments here on the island, reading and walking the beach, and enjoying our beautiful sunrises and sunsets. How long can we live like gypsies? Stay tuned.

     

Please keep in touch – we’d love to hear from you! Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

As always, thanks for reading. Godspeed. R & C

Many of us more mature in age, can still remember the beatnik, Maynard G Krebs from the show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Maynard will always be best remembered for his response whenever anyone mentioned the subject of work. He would instantaneously shudder, and let out a plaintive cry of "WORK!?!?"

After nearly a year of retirement, Robin and I are heading back to work. WORK!?!?  But more on that later. Since we left South Padre Island on April 4, we have traveled 4500 miles and visited 12 states in our Allegro Bus motorhome.
 

                                     

  Ohio's rural eastern region is home to the country's greatest concentration of Amish settlements. Following the biblical admonition to "Come out from among them and be ye separate," the Amish avoid the ways of outsiders whom they call the "English". Ohio's Amish country is a rolling pastoral landscape of thriving family farms, one-room schoolhouses, plain dress, and black horse-drawn buggies.

          


                                      


      Located in the heart of the Amish country with a beautiful farm bordering the campground, we selected Evergreen RV Resort in Mt Eaton as our base camp location. The farms were beautifully manicured and maintained and easily recognized by the absence of power lines and the presence of a wind mill. (notice our motorhome is visible in the background)

   

                Their animals are respected and family life is revered.

    

      The peaceful clip-clop of the horses pulling the buggies echoes throughout the Amish countryside.

     

          A beautiful Sunday afternoon provided time for a peaceful ride both for the Amish and the visiting "English." In this case the visiting English is Robin on her bicycle.

     

      Our next and final drive for the spring led us from Ohio to Transfer, PA and into the beautiful Shenango Valley RV Park where we will spend our summer months. (Get ready for the "work" part!)

                                         

   As part of the workamper.com program, Robin and I are "working" at the park several hours a week in exchange for our campsite fees. Debbie and Dale Wilcox, pictured below with us in the camp store, are the owners and hosts of what has become one of the outstanding campgrounds in Pennsylvania.

    Here comes the "work" part:

   Robin works in the store while Chic escorts campers with their RVs to their campsites and delivers fire wood. OK, we're not directing the Lafayette School Chorus or serving as principal of Woodland School, but we're sure having fun!

 

 
                                      

    Of course, one of the true joys of motorhome living is the evening campfire with friends and family. In our next installment, we'll share more details of this life style as well as pictures from our planned summer side trips and excursions. As always, thanks for reading. R & C
                   
  
  
 

Greetings friends, as you can see from the impossible to read map below, we have traveled over 4,000 miles since leaving South Padre Island and are now freezing in north western Michigan along the shores of the great lake with the same name.         


                                        
 
Following Robin's harrowing driving experience along the Shaffer Trail in Utah, we aimed the motorhome east along interstate 70, across very windy Kansas and into Missouri. Along the way, we toured an absolutely magnificent Masonic Temple in Salina, KS, (Chic is a Mason), visited the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abiline, KS and the University of Missouri in Columbia MO(Go Mizzou!!). BTW - they call their stadium "The Zou."


                                 

Even with all of the excitement and thrill from the above, we knew that the wonderful aroma of hops and barley brewing was just a few hundred miles away!

As we entered St. Louis, the massive Arch seemingly loomed around every corner. More than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, soaring 630 feet above the Mississippi River, the gigantic stainless steel arch commemorates President Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. "The Journey to the Top" was an interesting ride in a little tram car, a very little five passenger tram car. The view from the top included a shot into Busch Stadium where the Cards were playing the Reds. (Everyone was wearing red!)


       

                                               

                                (Here comes a pictorial hint regarding a most exciting visit in St. Louis!)

                                                

   The world's largest brewing company, Anheuser-Busch, got its start in St. Louis in 1860. The tour includes a visit to the Clydesdales who live in grandeur amid polished wood and stained glass in the 19th century Circular Stables. (These horses are really huge! Every day, each of these high-octane creatures consumes 50 pounds of hay, 25 quarts of mixed feed, and 30 gallons of water but NO beer.)

                                              

   Three of the A-B buildings are on the National Historic Registry including the ornate Brew House with its gargoyles, decorative trim and 19th-century wrought iron.

      

   But what about the product? At the end of the tour is the Hospitality Room, where samples of Budweiser and other A-B brands await.

                 

   In the first picture, our taste tester is carefully considering traditional Budweiser, King of Beers, on the left, and the all new and exciting Bud Light Golden Wheat on the right. Even after numerous test rounds, this tester had difficulty reaching any kind of logical conclusion. As a matter of fact, the testing proved so exhausting, that Robin had to drive the car back to our motorhome.

  Following a full and complete recovery, we motored to the Petoskey, a little village in north western Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Here we found an absolutely magnificent location for our motorhome, Hearthside Grove Luxury Motorcoach Resort. A family of geese and Stanzy our cat enjoyed walking around the park.

      

                                         

 For a day trip in the jeep, we headed north into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and besides an occasional snow shower and 29 degree mornings, beauty abounds here above the 45th parallel. The trip across the Mackinac Bridge was awesome.

                                          


   Well, that just about brings you up to date with our adventures. Next we plan a visit to the Amish country in central Ohio afterwhich Robin and I will be reporting for work. Yes, work! Details in our next posting. Thanks for reading. R & C




    

Utah is just filled with National Parks. We left the majestic Zion and Bryce corner of the state and headed to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in the east where we found a great campground in the town of Moab. What a difference a day of traveling makes.
    
                          


                                Suddenly we are surrounded by a real town and people going "jeeping" and ATVing". Off road excursions are the things to do - jeeps with huge tires and high suspensions are ubiquitous as are trailers hauling multiple All Terrain Vehicles. We tow a jeep behind the motorhome but boy, were we out of our league!

                  

  Chic & I have an understanding - he drives the motorhome and I drive the jeep.  So early in the morning I am the wheel of our not-so-souped-up jeep out to explore the must-do Potash Road. We've been told that plenty of non-allwheel drive vehicles make this trek. First we amble on an underwhelming yet enjoyable drive on a slightly curvy paved road. Then without notice the pavement ends and we suddenly slow to negotiate this much rougher, dusty, not so clearly marked "road". But hey - we see a car ahead of us - how bad can it be. The Colorado River is next to us at many points and as we are climbing higher and higher we realize the river is now journeying well below us. We found the spot where Thelma and Louise careened over the edge of the cliff into the Colorado River so we pull over to peek over the edge - however, easier said than done. I'm not afraid of heights but my stomach jammed its way into my chest the closer I got to the edge. As we continued our journey down Potash Road, our path is less defined and bumpy with stones, rocks and holes. We travel at about 15mph for miles into the remote back areas of the county.  We are cursing our way slower and slower to not have our brains rattled into mush. Suddenly at the side of the road is a restroom (2 porta Johns) and campers! I call myself a camper but they are the TRUE campers - those that need NO amenities but a tent pitched in the dusty terrain and, of course,  beer.  The campers tell us that what we have seen is nothing compared to what lies ahead.  Hmmm - I'm not so sure this is good news.

A mile later we come upon Shafer Trail. This road will be forever etched into the terror center of my brain. On Shafer Trail our average speed was 5mph. The word "trail" is an overstatement. This path is FULL of rocks and ruts and the further we go the narrower it becomes. Looming in front of us is an enormous mountain and Chic says to me, "I think we have to go up there" pointing to the very top. NAH!!! I don't believe it. As we continue I realize that a series of swithbacks is built into the side of the mountain.

         
Not only that, the path is barely wide enough for one car to travel, let alone 2.  Seconds seem like hours. I'm white knuckling the steering wheel and leaning forward with my nose practically on the windshield as if this would help me stay on the road and not carreen over the edge of the cliff. After 15 minutes of this stress, I say "I am NOT enjoying this - are you scared?" I take a second to look his direction and he is smiling ear to ear and retorts "Nope, not a bit" (Divorce is now an option.) I am constantly looking ahead to see if there is a car heading toward me and trying to figure what in the world I will do if there is. Luckily all the drivers are doing this and one of us will  pull over to a wide spot so that 2 cars may pass safely. Back and forth on the one lane switch backs has given me a headache. After what seems like hours we reach the summit where the following sign is posted for those heading down the mountain on  Shafer Trail.

                                     
We have to be in Denver on April 23rd for our flight to Newark, NJ so with impending storms in the forecast we leave Moab - which we vowed to return to despite my now gray hair - a day early and begin our journey to Denver. It is a 400 mile trip today but we've done 550 in a day so this should be fine. What we don't realize is that crossing the Rocky Mountains is not a walk in the park. They are majestic, awesome and gorgeous but very very large. The motorhome has a 400 horsepower Cummins Diesel (I have no idea what that means but Chic says it to other guys so I guess it's something I should tell you.) but even it gets a bit hot going up and down the 7% grades. The fuel gage is depleting faster than anticipated so now I - the consummate worrier - get to fret about the uphills and the engine overheating, the downhills and the brakes doing their job, running out of fuel and just plain making it out alive. I've always been dramatic. No pictures - sorry - I was too busy biting my nails.

We make it Denver alive and make camp in a KOA just east of the city. It's my turn to drive again!! We check out Denver for the day and on our way back to the campground it HAILS. We're on an interstate and everyone  including the truckers - pull over. It goes on for half an hour and gets so thick that the plows come out.

                                    



Our flight to New Jersey to attend the Memorial Service for our dear friend, Art Ebeling, was uneventful and the Memorial Service was a great tribute and celebration of his life. Chic spoke so beautifully about his "buddy" - I was so proud of him. Nancy, his wife, will be in our heart and thoughts.

  We left Denver on April 26th and planned 2 days to our next destination, St Louis. Kansas was our next state along the way and all I have to say is WIND and GRAIN ELEVATORS. Motorhomes are "high profile vehicles" which give a large surface to catch the wind and act like sails. I watched as gusts would practically rip the steering wheel out of Chic's hands as he maintained control of our 34,000 lb vehicle. We decided to allow 3 days driving with all of the wind and today, April 30th,  we arrived in St Louis. Our next entry will be by Chic and I'm sure there will be something about the St. Louis Anheuser Busch Brewery tour. Happy Trails! Robin