Well, we have to try this again!!!

I know it's been a long time since I did an update. Just seems I was always too busy --- no, that is just an excuse. I am retired so have all the time in the world, but it is just too easy to procrastinate and not do it. So today I decided to try to get it going again. I may only do one post a week or so and will only download a few pictures. Seems, at least for me, that placing the pictures into the blog takes the most time. If I try to put the pictures from my camera in the are far too many megabytes to place "as is" so have to re-size them before uploading them. Other wise the blog gets far too big and slow for people to open it.
Enough of that and enough excuses!

Now, what have we been doing since my last blog, I think it was when we were on our way home from Texas in the spring of 2014! Bad Bad Dennis!!

We spent the summer at home in High River, completing the rebuilding of our home there, after the devastation from the June 2013 flood. We had a very good local contraction doing the work, and he had been doing all the rebuild in our lower level during the months we were down south in Texas. When we arrived home only the final finishing touches were required like panting and completing the fireplace. We were very happy with all his work and we would sure recommend him to anyone in need of carpentry work. Also our Insurance Company, The Cooperators," were amazing! At first we were not sure how much coverage we actually had, but found we were 100% covered. Both contents and rebuild. The only thing not covered was anything outdoors, but the DRP, (Disaster Recovery Program) did help us some with that end. They still owe us a couple thousand dollars, and the latest we read, is that all payments will be made before spring. Hopefully!!

Then during the summer we headed to Alaska for a 2 month trip north. We had a great time up there travelling with friends Roy and Lynn Penniket from Granum. I guess that could be a whole installment in this blog, but I will condense that to something more manageable. We travelled all the way to 70 miles beyond the Arctic Circle, but left our motorhome in Fairbanks and did the bus tour up to Coldfoot, then flew back to Fairbanks. Then on down to Anchorage. and out to the coast at Seward. Started having motor home issues at Anchorage and need mechanics assistance there, But that is another story that would take a long time to fill in all the details. Suffice to say from there all the way home had many issues, (about $5000 worth), that rather put a cramp in our trip, but on the whole was a great experience. We arrive home mid September.

We had already decided not to go south this winter as we had most used up our 182 days out of Canada for 2014. We wanted to just stay home for the winter for a change, and then during the summer months head south-east to the north-eastern states that we had not visited previously. There are about 7 that we have never been in, and want to add them to our list of visited US states.

We had a good winter, with only a few cold spells, but by the time January rolled around, we had this itch that needed to be scratched, and the only way to get relief, seemed to be to get to a warmer climate for a few weeks. Costa Rica was our first choice, but by once more procrastinating, had left it too  late to get good tours and connections. Second choice was Cuba, but we had already been there, so will hold that for another year or so. Third was just jump in the jeep and head south to California and Arizona. That is a no brainer, and no planning necessary. Two days later we were on the road!