My father always used to say that persistence pays off. And so it did. On 8/12/16, at 8:15 and 77 degrees we made our fourth attempt to see the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In years past it was always hidden behind a thick curtain of fog and just driving safely through it to the other side was a challenge. This year it was sunny and clear and we saw it in all of its glory. The mountains, which do not rise above the tree line, are covered in a lush bla...

With 520 miles to cover today and an hour to lose with a time change, we got up early and were out at 7:10 AM and 79 degrees with the car pointed east. We jumped back on I-64 and joined all the truckers who were monopolizing the road. No exaggeration, there were at least twice as many 18-wheelers as cars, probably 3-1. And so our journey was managed largely by the speed of these trucks and how much real estate they would allow us to have for ourselves. At one...

We were in Salina, Kansas last night. Again we got upgraded to a double sized room with a living room and a bedroom, each as big as most hotel rooms. And it had a huge Jacuzzi in the living room, but we didn't use it.   The room was comfy and so was the bed. We both slept well and got up refreshed. We hit the road at 8:25 this morning and 79 degrees and got back on I-70 moving east. Soon the landscape changed from prairie to rolling hills of lush green ...

Today marks the first day of our return home. It was a major moving day eastward. Because we were losing an hour today, we got up early and left at 7:00 AM and a very chilly 45 degrees. Knowing it would get very warm before the day was over, we were in shorts. Thank goodness for seat warmers. I will say, it didn't take long for the warm-up to begin. By 8:10 AM it was 70 degrees (of course we were moving out of the mountains during this time). By 9:15 it...

Ah, the air here in Colorado, like in Maine and many of the northern states, is fresh and invigorating. It's great to sleep with the window open, something we never do in Florida. So it was a lazy morning. No need to jump out of bed and get on the road early. Beamer started the day sleeping on the sofa. That would be his usual routine after guarding us all night as we sleep. He may be small, be he takes his self-appointed position in the family very ser...