Ralle and Company

Sunday morning walk along the Pacific Ocean.  Now THAT is a great start of ones day.
After a yummy breakfast prepared by Ray we pile into the car and drive to the beach.

Oooh the smells!

Aaah all the dog friends to meet.

Weee kids and big kids.

Water and wind.

Surfers and girls in bikinis.

Sunshine and sand dunes.

Came upon the house where Kim Novak once lived.  Jisses.... it is for SALE!  Too bad we could not afford even 6 months worth of the property tax:-(

Seabirds and seals.

Pelicans and Seagulls.

An absolutely PERFECT walk!

The Trip Back Home

I had some expectations.  They were all wrong.

The term we used to describe the long driving journey is "Flat-Buttage".  It is a descriptive phrase.  Nice sounding and very true words.

Stopped in a small town and saw this on the outside of
a main street building.  I could not resist.

Branson was...well...I'm not sure what to say.  Here are some photos.

Unbelievable just about describes it!
There were many churches driving through Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.  Is this what is called the Bible belt?

Much of the landscape here was also "Flat-Landage"

Coors Field in Denver

Early morning in Downtown Denver

Railroad work shop.

The beginning of the Rocky Mountains. 

Seeing this country gives one a whole different perspective of how tough it must have been for people trying to travel through and live in this type of landscape.

It was a great and fun trip.  When I saw this VW bus I thought to myself how grand a trip it would have been in one of these.  "Flat-Buttage"

The Long Trip For A Gem

While the peaches were at their perfection, juicy globes of sunshine, there was a dog to pick up in Memphis, Tennessee!  Isn't that just the way it happens?  We "divvied" up the canners and the drivers.
The photographer, the picture taker took on a dual role as a driver and "historian".  Went along with the girls to pick up the little nine month old Gemma.  She is so named as yes, she is a JEWEL!

Gemma taking center stage in Memphis.

We, Ray and I stayed behind to make jam, ice cream, sorbet and chutney and filled the freezer with loads of juicy fruit.

Johnson and Wales University campus in Denver, Colorado

Our future Chef who is seriously considering a transfer from her University in Rhode Island to a campus in Denver, Colorado wanted to check it out during this journey and so they did.

This long trip involved a LOT of driving and the crew suffered from "flat butt syndrome" but returned to us safe and sound a week later!  We are one little Gemma richer!  Also made a big dent in the peach harvest.

The long 2016 mile trip from Hollister, CA to Memphis, TN was an adventure.  These pictures speak for themselves........

The bridge over the Mississippi river from the Memphis side.

We found Him.

B.B. King

A happy couple.

A loyal Elvis fan at the front gates of Graceland.

The girls leave their mark on the stone wall at Graceland.

More of the return trip on the next blog.