It figures. We left cold, rainy Alabama and went to Texas, where it was just as cold and rainy. So we left there and came to Arizona, where it was in the 70s, with plenty of sunshine. So guess what the weatherman says we can expect this coming week? Temperatures in the low 60s and up to seven inches of rain by the end of the week!

It’s that darned cloud that hangs over my head. I managed to outrun it for a few days, but it’s caught up with me. Like they say, I can run, but I can’t hide.

After having some of Miss Terry’s delicious homemade bagels for breakfast yesterday morning, we celebrated our anniversary by wandering through the huge Mesa Marketplace indoor swap meet. It took over two hours to see everything, though after the first row or two, it was pretty redundant.

There are a lot of vendors, but most of them seem to get their merchandise from the same wholesalers, because stall after stall had the very same things on display. The same sunglasses, the same clothing, the same CDs, the same kitchenware.

We were looking for a Pegs and Jokers game, having gotten hooked on the game when Ron and Brenda Speidel introduced us to it a few months ago at our Ohio Gypsy Gathering rally. There were a dozen or more vendors selling Mexican Train and several other games, all the same at every stall, but nobody with Pegs and Jokers.

Terry did wander through a couple of kitchenware booths and found a few things that she’s been looking for. I get bored pretty quick looking at spatulas and sifters, so instead I stood outside and watched the girls go by. But I didn’t complain, because I know an artist like Miss Terry needs the proper tools to create the delicious food she does, and I get to eat it. And besides, some of the girls strolling by were very pretty!

After doing a little more shopping at a couple of other stores, we stopped by Terry’s parents’ house and spent some time visiting with them. Then we went out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, and talked about all of the good times we’ve had together, and all the good times we look forward to sharing in the years to come.

We appreciate everybody’s e-mails and blog posts congratulating us on our anniversary. You all make us feel very special.

Today is the last decent day we’re supposed to have for a while, and we want to try to install the engine bay fire suppression unit and refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher we got from Mac McCoy at Fire and Life Safety. You’d be amazed at how many diesel coaches are destroyed every year by fires that begin in their engine bays, and in their refrigerator compartments. We want to prevent that from happening to our motorhome!

Thought For The Day – Life may not be the party we hoped for…but while we are here we might as well dance!

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If the Peanuts cartoon character would have been with us yesterday, he’d have believed that there really is a Great Pumpkin!

After dropping off the new issue of the Gypsy Journal at our printer in Allegan, Michigan Monday afternoon, we drove 60 miles further to Muskegon to visit with Rocky and Berni Frees, two of our favorite people in the world. We didn’t have much time, but we managed to have a nice dinner, and then go back to their apartment for a spirited game of Mexican Train that lasted until midnight.

Yesterday morning, after a quick visit with Berni, we started back to Elkhart and our waiting motorhome. For a person who doesn’t live in a house anyplace, I sure do miss my home when we spend a night away from it!

In Grand Haven, Michigan we stopped at the Green Acres Farm Market, which had the largest display of pumpkins I have ever seen. These are just a few of what they had to offer!

Who knew there were so many kinds of pumpkins in the world? There were huge pumpkins that must have weighed over a hundred pounds, pumpkins that were three times larger than a bowling ball, tiny pumpkins smaller than a baseball, and everything in between!

I’m not a big pumpkin fan. I’ll eat a half dozen slices of pumpkin pie in season, just to be polite, but I stay away from the whole jack o’lantern thing. Think about it – me with a carving knife and a candle. You just know that’s going to turn out bad! I’d probably cut my thumb off, and then knock over the darned candle and set fire to the motorhome while I was looking for a band aid!

But I have to say that I was impressed with the variety of pumpkins on display at Green Acres, and how many they had to offer. Sure, we’ve all seen the typical big orange pumpkin, but have you ever seen a Long Island Cheese pumpkin? They look like a roll of cheese, and their inside is a deep orange. According to the folks at the farm market, they make excellent pies, and can be kept in storage for up to a year!

Or how about these miniature varieties? The are called Circus Minis, because they look like a circus tent, and they fit into your hand. They are used more for decoration than eating.

The farm market had lots of other goodies too, including apples, fruit, pies, and cider. We didn’t buy any pumpkins, but we did get some cider and apples. Yummy!

Back in Elkhart, my pal Butch Williams stopped by to visit for a while, and then Jim Beletti from the Heartland Owners RV Club came by. Jim talked to the company, and has arranged for them to have a few Heartland fifth wheel units on display at our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally here at Elkhart Campground next year.

After Jim left, I wrote today’s blog post while Miss Terry logged in some orders that came in the mail, and then Bad Nick posted a new Bad Nick Blog called Close This! Then we watched TV and relaxed until it was time for bed.

Today we have a lot of chores to do, as well as winterizing our bus conversion for winter storage. Tomorrow we’re headed back to our printer’s to pick up the new issue of the paper and start getting it ready to mail out.

Thought For The Day – My idea of a well balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

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Yesterday we drove about 40 miles south to Holland, Michigan to tour Windmill Island Gardens, which features a 240 year old working Dutch windmill, shops with a Dutch theme, and beautiful gardens that are bursting with color in the early spring when over 150,000 tulips are in bloom.

Unfortunately, we were a little too late in the year to enjoy the tulips, but the trip was still worth our time. Out first stop was the Posthouse museum, an exact replica of a 14th century Dutch wayside inn. There we watched a short slideshow about windmills and the Netherlands.

The complex includes a beautiful 100 year old carousel that has been carefully restored, and children can ride free. I love carousels, and this one was a real work of art. Just watching one go round and around wakes up my inner child, who is always lurking just under the surface.

The shops offer all kinds of souvenirs, from authentic Delftware porcelain to delicious fudge, and wooden shoes! They even have wooden shoes you can try on, just to experience what they feel like. I’m clumsy enough on my own, so I passed on that opportunity.

The crown jewel of Windmill Island is the impressive windmill, one of a very few original Dutch windmills that exist outside of the Netherlands, where they are considered a national treasure. This one was given to the City of Holland as a gift from its home country.

We took a tour of the windmill, and our tour guide, a young girl in authentic Dutch costume told us about its history and operation. They still grind wheat at the mill, and visitors can purchase a bag of whole wheat graham flour at the souvenir shops.

During our tour, we learned that before World War II, over 10,000 windmills dotted the landscape in the Netherlands. Many were destroyed by the Germans when they realized that the local populace was using them to signal troop movements, and still others fell into disrepair and were torn down. Today less than 1,000 original windmills remain in the country. The windmill at Windmill Island, called  “De Zwaan” (meaning graceful bird, or swan), shows damage from gunfire from German fighter planes during the war.

We will have a feature story on our trip to Windmill Island in the next issue of the Gypsy Journal, with lots of photos and details about windmills I bet you never knew.

We have to leave Muskegon tomorrow, so we hope to get our kayaks in the water and do some more paddling today. And of course we can’t forget our nightly game of Mexican Train with Rocky and Berni! It’s been a fun visit.

Thought For The Day – When you’re old and fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.

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First of all, Miss Terry wants me to thank the many, many people who left birthday wishes on the blog or on Facebook or Twitter, and sent so many e-mails. You all really helped make the day special for her, and made her feel very loved.

After dropping the new issue off at the printer yesterday, we drove to Muskegon, Michigan to visit my cousin Berni Frees and her hubby, Rocky. Many of you will remember Rocky and Berni from their time on the road as fulltimers. Berni is a massage therapist who worked a lot of kinks out of the muscles of our RVing friends, and Rocky was an RV tech with many satisfied customers.

Unfortunately, it turned out that it wasn’t the right time in their lives to become fulltime gypsies, and they have settled down in Rocky’s old hometown. We miss sharing life on the road with them, but their trusty old Winnebago Adventurer is always packed and ready to go on a weekend trip.

There is family that you associate with because you have to, and then there is family you think of more as dear friends and would go out of your way to spend time with, and Rocky and Berni fit into the latter category. We always have a wonderful time with them, and it had been way too long since our last visit.

They greeted us with hugs all around, and we instantly fell into that comfortable teasing and banter we always enjoy together, like the many months apart never happened and we had just seen them last week.

Since it was Miss Terry’s birthday, we went out for a nice dinner, and then back to their place for cake and ice cream, and a game of Mexican Train that lasted well past midnight. Poor Rocky and Berni had to get up early this morning, but at least Terry and I could sleep in.

Just as I need my puppy fix every so often, Terry needs a kitty fix now and then, so she enjoyed their cat, Medora. We both love animals, though I’m a dog person and doesn’t like cats very much, and Terry is a cat person who is allergic to most dogs, but we have agreed that we will not have another pet as long as we travel. We spend too much time away from the bus chasing down stories for the Gypsy Journal, dropping off sample copies, doing speaking gigs, and working as vendors at RV rallies, and it is not fair to an animal to be cooped up inside alone for that much time. So we have loaner critters we visit with, scattered around the country. Think of it as furry grandkids – we get to come and play with them when we want to, and then we take off again and leave all the responsibility to someone else!

Thought For The Day – Whether you think times are going to get better or get worse, sooner or later time will prove you right.

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