Christmas Greetings

This is a picture of a Christmas ornament sent to me by Joan Pomeroy. Did you know that Santa or Sinter Klaus has already arrived? He goes down the chimney on Dec. 5 so the children get gifts on Dec. 6. The Dutch Santa rides a white horse and puts bad children in his sack and sends them to Spain.

Joan said that she bought the ornament when she was in Pella, Iowa. Joan is a fulltime RVer writer whom I met several times in the past years. This summer we toured Pella, ate at the Strawtown Inn Restaurant, and saw a Shakespeare play. She also accompanied me to the Ladies Birthday Tea in June. We met again in Ft. Worth Texas at my Camping World book signing and went to dinner at Red Lobster with her and Jerry.

The youngest and smallest member of our family is a new great grandson. He is the child of Jamie and Juan. (Jamie is the daughter of my son Steven.) Juan Jose Valacruz Junior was born by C-section Sunday morning Dec. 9. (His name is pronounced Wan Hosa Val a Cruise.) He weighed 3 pounds and 14 ounces. He is breathing on his own and appears healthy. He will remain in Houston Northwest Hospital until he reaches 5 pounds.

We are celebrating Christmas in Yuma, AZ. We went to a Living Christmas Tree where a church choral group of 80 persons performed a program entitled "It Happened in Bethlehem." Christmas dinner will be at the Clubhouse with Yuma Lakes Campground furnishing the turkey and ham, stuffing and gravy and each of us providing the other dishes.

Merry Christmas and may you receive the blessings of love, laughter, good health, good food, good friends, and good fortune in 2008!

Love,

Terry and Darlene Miller

Book Signings and Fun in Texas

I had three book signings at Camping World stores on our way from Iowa to Castaways RV Park in Willis, Texas. Pictured is one of my fans who wanted to meet a “real author.” The charming young man, who has a wonderful imagination, is showing me sketches of his “inventions.” Terry's cousin, Bill Miller, and wife Joann from the Ft. Worth area met us in Ft. Worth. We also met some RV friends and the six of us went out to eat at Red Lobster.

On Monday, November 12, Carol Weishampel and I went to the CARE-A-THON in Livingston, which was a fund raising for CARE. Besides setting up a book table and giving a portion of our receipts to CARE, we each donated two books to the auction.

Since arriving at Castaways, we have gone to a senior’s lunch, played Bingo and won a pie and some brownies. We went to a potluck supper and jam session at the clubhouse. Last night, we dined with Dick and Irene Madlung who grilled salmon for us as a pre-birthday celebration for Terry. I have played Sticks, Bingo, Skip-Bo and Crazy Rook. Yes, we are having fun meeting with friends that we have not seen for two years.

More RV Chuckles and Chuckholes

My new book has arrived! I am pleased with it and hope all of you like it as well as I do.
Did you know that if you click on the pictures, you could see them better? I realize that you still can’t read the reviews of the manuscript that are on the back cover because the print is too small, so I am copying it here for you. I did shorten the reviews to get all of them on the back page. (I apologize if I cut your words.) Now we are in the process of changing the web page to include the new book. Yes, I do have an isbn number but it has not been added to this proof.


Darlene Miller shares what the day-to-day life on the road is like for her and husband Terry. They search for the white (Kermodei) bear on their way to Alaska. She describes how she bonds with her grandchildren while traveling. Guest contributors write about the quest for New Mexican chilies; what happens when the windshield broke in the middle of traffic on the San Francisco Bay Bridge; or how to RV when you’re born with no mechanical genes. More RV Chuckles and Chuckholes is an instructive read for new RVers and a trip down memory lane for experienced travelers. Alice Zyetz - RV Traveling Tales: Women’s Journeys on the Open Road

Darlene Miller treats us to viewpoints on The Perfect RV Woman, "She is thrifty, gives a great back rub, and always dumps the black water." On The Perfect RV Man she states, "He still has a 36" waist and can fix anything with duct tape." Her humor shines! Yes, Darlene Miller is at it again, amusing us with smiles, laughter, and of course, chuckles along her adventurous journey. Joanne Alexakis - Penwheels

Like her first book, “RV Chuckles and Chuckholes”, the chapter Darlene wrote about the Escapees Boomers BOF (“Birds of a Feather.”) gives a delightful look into the versatile RV lifestyle. Escapees is an “inclusive” not an “exclusive” organization based on the principle of caring and sharing. Kay Peterson - Co-founder of Escapees RV Club

Darlene is back with another helping of good times and bad on the road, from being knocked off her feet by a tourist's car in Yellowstone National Park to gleefully getting 256 miles per gallon coasting downhill. A fun read for the newbie RVer and the veteran fulltimer. Nick Russell - Gypsy Journal RV Travel Newspaper

Safe Arrival in Iowa

We arrived in Iowa safe in spite of driving in “poor winter driving conditions” in Alberta Canada. In the first 1,250 miles, we only had 250 miles where the pavement was dry. Then we encountered rain, sleet and snow with icy roads in the Canadian Rockies. We left Alaska about two to three weeks late. Most of the tourist places that sold food and fuel were closed for the season. The salmon were not swimming in Fish Creek so there were no bears there. There was construction by Klune Lake so the Dall sheep were not there. It was too foggy and rainy to see mountain goats near Little Atlin.

We did see the bull elk in Jasper National Park that is in the picture. He had a harem of 31 cows.

Terry finally got the Internet going again. Sat 99 Transponder 1370 went bad. He did not know & was trying to setup the satellite Internet and did not get a signal. He was on the phone for 3 hours. After directions from 3 technical people, Terry was able to get Directway to connect us to a new Transponder 1110.

Sorry for the delay in my blog. Now you know why.

Raymond and Teresita’s Alaska Property

In May, Terry and Raymond are building a trench for the added foundation to the garage which now has an apartment over it. The duplex is in the background.

Terry and Raymond have the roof shingled, OSB board on the outside of the apartment/garage and foam insulation to cover the building. Most of the plumbing and gas and electricity are in. All the components of a home (cabinets, bathtub/shower, sinks, commode, stove, refrigerator, dish washer, washer and dryer) are in the apartment but are waiting sheet rock before being installed.

In September, both families moved from the duplex so work was done on relocating gas, electric and water lines to add a new bathroom and to change the kitchen in the duplex, which is pictured here. One apartment is in the lower level and one is in the upper level.

Autumn in Denali

We were surprised by the signs of autumn. There are a few golden cottonwood or birch trees in the park, but it is the low bushes and tundra that are shades of red, orange and amber. There are five to six hours of darkness so we were able to see white and green aurora borealis, and asteroids. During the day, it misted and sprinkled so we saw five rainbows. Because of the clouds, we were unable to view Mt. McKinley and most of the photos were in muted light. The caribou were on the road and decided to outrun the bus until they saw the bike riders so they decided to exit stage right. Here are pictures that Raymond took of these animals. On our way home, we picked several pints of wild blueberries that Teresita made into two delicious blueberry pies that we ate on Labor Day.

White coats in Winter

What the ptarmigan, fox and snowshoe hares have in common is that their coats turn white in winter. The ptarmigan is becoming white but the fox and snowshoe hare aren’t ready for snow yet. We also saw herds of Dall sheep that are always white but they were far away.

Bears at Denali

We went to Denali National Park over the Labor Day weekend and saw grizzly bears! Terry was the first person from the bus to spot a mother grizzly and two cubs when we stopped for a bathroom break. On the twelve-hour trip to Kantishna and back, we saw seven bears at a distance and two that were close to the bus.

Kodiak Bears

I had my picture taken inside the Baranov museum with Kodiak bears. The other bear was in the lobby of a bank. Even though we went to the end of roads and saw thousands of salmon return to the creeks from the ocean, we did not see any Kodiak bears. We may have seen a black bear if we stayed home since our son, Raymond saw one as he was shingling the roof of his apartment last week.

Miller Point

Since Kodiak Island is in a rain forest, misty rain and fog with streams of water falling from cliffs are prevalent on most days. The spruce trees in Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park drip with dark green moss. Miller Point has WWII fortifications, bunkers, a generator house and a small museum. Teresita and I are pictured here. We saw several black birds with bright orange feet swimming below us in the bay but could not see the orange beak that would identify them as puffins.

We saw an eagle perched above the area where small pontoon planes were landing and taking off. Along the road to Chiniak Point, sea otters and seals were swimming far below us.

City of Kodiak

Terry and Raymond are walking to the Russian Orthodox Church, which is a reminder of the Russians influence in the town of Kodiak. The inside of the church held many members even though it is small because the people stand for the entire church service.

The Baranov House Museum, which is almost 200 years old, is the oldest Russian building in Alaska. The industry in Kodiak is fishing. We had lunch at the Chowder House which served me delicious halibut. We slept in the Russian Heritage Motel where we had a great suite with two bedrooms and a kitchen area with a refrigerator and microwave.

Kodiak Island Trip

Even though Kodiak Island looks like it isn’t too far from Anchorage on the map, everything in Alaska is far away. We drove six hours to Homer and boarded a ferryboat for another ten hours to arrive in Kodiak.

Different moose were grazing along the road on both the trip to and from Homer. While in Homer, we drove the End Road with a view of mountains and glaciers above the town of Homer and the Homer Spit.

I felt like a bird as we rode the narrow road between seven to eight feet tall fireweed on both sides of the road. We spent the night in a campground before we boarded the Tustumena, a ferryboat under the Alaskan Marine Highway system. A few whale spouts were seen far out in the ocean.

Wild life and the Building Project

Last week, Terry and Raymond bought supplies and loaded them into the building. Sheet rock is being loaded inside in the picture with the backhoe. This week, they are finishing work on the plumbing and electric before they can put in the sheet rock.

I don’t know what the wild life thinks about the building but I know that they have been checking it out. Teresita was looking out the window of their home around 7:30 one morning when she saw this mother moose and her baby in their yard. She ran and got the camera and took this picture. The moose pruned the mountain ash tree for her breakfast. A black bear likes Fridays to visit our area since it is garbage pick up day. Terry photographed bear tracks 30 feet from our RV. The building is 22 feet from the steps that lead to the lake so the loon must have seen the building progress but all I’ve seen him do is continue to fish. The huge dragonflies float on iridescent wings and eat insects. They do a good job because we rarely see an insect.

Fishing Fun

We went to Homer and Soldotna so the guys and Teresita could go fishing. Terry, Teresita and Raymond took a charter 1/2-day trip on the ocean for halibut. They each caught their limit of two but Terry caught the biggest halibut on the boat. (There were 20 persons fishing on the boat.) As Alaskans, Teresita and Raymond can go fishing on the Kenai River with dip nets. They caught 11 salmon. Yes, the fish will make delicious dinners.

Reenactment Memories

Meanwhile, I had a wonderful breakfast at Spit Sisters in Homer and met Kenneth Altergott at the campground in Soldotna. Ken reenacted Alexander Hamilton Willard at the reenactment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 2004. He was the Pilot and Captain of the keelboat. When we returned to the RV, Terry found the pictures that we had taken of the reenactment which included a picture of Willard and myself in front of the keelboat he piloted. (Yes, I am sun burned.) These experiences will make wonderful stories for my new book,” More RV Chuckles and Chuckholes - More Confessions of Happy Campers.”

Apartment Progress Continues

Progress is being made on the apartment even though the weather is not co-operating. It has rained almost every day during the past week. The temperatures are in the 60’s during the day so it isn’t too hot to work. Now Terry and Raymond are building the truss system for the roof.

Apartment Progress

The progress that you see in the apartment that Terry and Raymond are building happened in one week. They worked a half-day on the 4th of July.

It was raining when David and Anita visited with their sons Daniel, age 15, and Stephen, aged 11. But we had a dry place to eat because Teresita brought the wonderful meal down to the gazebo overlooking Upper Fire Lake. When the weather cleared, the boys had fun in the catamaran and the larger boat with the electric motor. It wasn’t just the boys; us adults liked our exploration on the lake too.

Crowds do not gather for big firework displays Alaska. It just doesn’t get dark enough. We saw fabulous firework displays on Presidents Day weekend in February in Arizona Hope your Independence Day was good.

Making Memories

I sent Barbie doll clothes to Iowa for Christmas for three –year-old Mercedes Druliner and seven year old Angelina McCoy. Mercedes did not remember the grandma that made the clothes. She saw me at the graduation party, the graduation and at the two Little League ball games where her brothers were playing baseball. Shelly said, “This is the grandma that you don’t see very often.” Mercedes emphatically responded, “ Yes I do. I know her.” When she saw me at the tea party, she run to me with arms outstretched and said that wonderful word, “Grandma.”

Birthday Tea

My sisters, Clara Klein, Angie Rheuport, Joy Block, and I have birthday # 65, 62, 60 and 50 years old this spring and summer. Since I have been Rving, I have not given a party for more than a few people. I missed it. My daughter, Karol, agreed to let me use her house for a birthday tea. Unfortunately, my sister, Clara, had already left in her RV for a trip to Alaska. Pictured l to r is Angie, myself and Joy. I invited my mother, sisters, sister-in-laws, nieces, grand nieces, daughter, daughter-in-laws, granddaughters, and great granddaughters. Joan Pomeroy, who is an RV friend visiting Pella, took photos of us.

Twenty-two women and girls wore hats to the tea on June 16. The preteen girls were also given necklaces, gloves, and hats to wear. Their dolls even had hats and tea sets. The tables were decorated with tablecloths, flowered napkins, lace placemats, clear glass dishes and real flowers. Guests enjoyed a variety of flavored teas or iced tea. A silver tray held assorted cookies. Trays held cucumber, ham and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I enjoyed the party and I hope that I have made another memory.

Tea Sandwich Memories

My granddaughter, Kari De Joode, remembered the time she went to the Tulip Tearoom with my mother and mother-in-law. Since she was only five or six years old, I discouraged her from attending but she said, “I will not be bored.”

She wasn’t too enthusiastic by the menu which included Dutch spiced beef and chicken salad with walnuts. The proprietor said that she would make special peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her. When they arrived, the sandwiches were shaped like tulips.

Kari is now 13 years old. She agreed to help me with a Birthday Tea while I was in Iowa. She suggested that we serve the little girls fancy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I agreed. We could not find tulip cookie cutters so she chose teddy bears, a rabbit, a chick, and a heart. The little girls loved them and some of the big girls too.