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On August 11, 2016 Cash was transferred from Doeronbecher Children’s Hospital at OHSU to Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, Oregon. I understand that this is the hub for children with severe injuries. One major step for Cash!!! Inspiration for everyone!! After a few days to settle in Cash is on a daily routine doing therapy to increase his strength and healing. Roger has taken a leave of absence from work so that he and Cash can teaming up to get Cash on the road to be able to come home. At this time it is not known when this may happen.

The picture of Cash is the first time that I’ve seen him smile since the accident. Once again, Cash’s spirit and drive is so courageous that it is contagious!!

I’m so excited to share that your donations are at a current total of $1525.00. WOW!!! Thank you each and every donator. This money will go a long way to help Cash and his family. God Bless you for your donations, and for everyone’s prayers and encouragement! It’s so good to share good news!!!! Please, continue to support Cash in whatever fashion you can offer. If anyone would like to send cards, words of encouragement, etc. You can send them to the following address:

Cash Thomasson, Room 805
Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel
2801 N Gantenbein Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97227

I know that Cash would enjoy hearing from everyone especially while he is so far from home, family and friends.

Thank You and God Bless your generosity,
C
Susie Kelley for Cash Thomasson and family

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It’s 5:00am! We’re up making coffee and getting things in order for our hitch-up breakfast! At 6:30am it’s off to Timmy’s (Tim Horton’s) for doughnuts, muffins and bagels, and assorted fruit.

It’s Day 49 and all good things must come to an end.

As folks start preparing for their day

the campground fills with chatter, laughter and hugs. With coffee and food we reminisce about our trip.

Stories are shared, some embellished….

I promised everyone that I will send them a DVD with all my pictures that we watched last night. With much laughter and sadness

it was that dreaded moment to say, “We will see you again”, “Watch for us, we never know where we will be”.

The plan is working to never say “goodbye” even through the mist of tears.

As folks quietly leave our campsite

we can hear the familiar engines of our friends start.

Everyone waves that final wave as they pull out of the park and then it’s quiet again.

Until next time OUR FRIENDS!

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Mike and Susie Kelley #1

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August 29, 2013, Day 48

St. John, NB, Rockwood Campground

We started our day at 5:00 am (yes it was still dark outside) to decorate Roger and Sandy’s RV. This was their anniversary and we wanted to decorate before they woke up. And we did, the only one up was Al going for his daily walk.

At 9:30 our tour bus rolled into the RV Park and we all got onto it for the tour of St. John. Our first stop was the “Reversing Falls”. This is an area when the tide comes in and out two times a day, and you can see the water flow in two different directions. Seeing how the tide works was really fascinating. This is a picture taken about 9:50 am. – the water is really calm.

This is a picture of the same area taken 3 hours later. Here are some statistics about this area:

This is where the Bay of Fundy’s highest tides in the world rush into and up the St. John River, The river actually reverses in the face of the unstoppable natural power. The tides could go as high as 30 feet, rising about 1 foot every 10 minutes. It will be completely calm for 20 to 30 minutes before it changes direction. It flows about 30 miles an hour. The water is 150 feet deep on the river side, and 300 feet deep on the bay side.

Here is another picture of the rushing water. Three hours ago is was very calm. This is just amazing.

Next we did a bus tour around St. John. This is really a beautiful and modern city. There are several high rise buildings.

There are also several beautiful churches. This one is St. John Baptiste. It was one of the first churches in St. John. It was all wood until the Great Fire of 1877 destroyed it; the town then made a law that all buildings must be made of stone.

We also got to see the US Embassy. See Below:

One of our stops was the City Market. The roof is built like the inverted hull of a ship to reflect the city’s ship-building past! All I can say about that is “WOW, what a great shopping adventure”.

From there we went to the Carleton Martello Tower.

Built for the war of 1812, this tough little fort is a classic example of a Martello tower. The tower features a restored gunpowder magazine and soldiers’ barracks.

As we passed by the ‘Kings Square”, and the downtown areas, we saw several well-manicured areas with beautiful flowers.

We arrived back in the RV Park just in time to fix lunch and start preparing for the evening events.

At the 4:00 social we had a replay of pictures on our outside TV for the entire trip and spent time visiting with each other.

Then at 5:00 we all meet at the “Lily’s Café” for our Farewell dinner. This is a wonderful dinner. Jim had grilled salmon and I had the beef brisket.

After dinner a few of us sat outside reminiscing about the trip.

We would like to thank everyone for making this a ‘GREAT’ trip for us and we wish each a blessed and safe trip home.

Jim & Betty (Rig #2 Tail Gunners)

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August 29, 2013, Day 48

St. John, NB, Rockwood Campground

We started our day at 5:00 am (yes it was still dark outside) to decorate Roger and Sandy’s RV. This was their anniversary and we wanted to decorate before they woke up. And we did, the only one up was Al going for his daily walk.

At 9:30 our tour bus rolled into the RV Park and we all got onto it for the tour of St. John. Our first stop was the “Reversing Falls”. This is an area when the tide comes in and out two times a day, and you can see the water flow in two different directions. Seeing how the tide works was really fascinating. This is a picture taken about 9:50 am. – the water is really calm.

This is a picture of the same area taken 3 hours later. Here are some statistics about this area:

This is where the Bay of Fundy’s highest tides in the world rush into and up the St. John River, The river actually reverses in the face of the unstoppable natural power. The tides could go as high as 30 feet, rising about 1 foot every 10 minutes. It will be completely calm for 20 to 30 minutes before it changes direction. It flows about 30 miles an hour. The water is 150 feet deep on the river side, and 300 feet deep on the bay side.

Here is another picture of the rushing water. Three hours ago is was very calm. This is just amazing.

Next we did a bus tour around St. John. This is really a beautiful and modern city. There are several high rise buildings.

There are also several beautiful churches. This one is St. John Baptiste. It was one of the first churches in St. John. It was all wood until the Great Fire of 1877 destroyed it; the town then made a law that all buildings must be made of stone.

We also got to see the US Embassy. See Below:

One of our stops was the City Market. The roof is built like the inverted hull of a ship to reflect the city’s ship-building past! All I can say about that is “WOW, what a great shopping adventure”.

From there we went to the Carleton Martello Tower.

Built for the war of 1812, this tough little fort is a classic example of a Martello tower. The tower features a restored gunpowder magazine and soldiers’ barracks.

As we passed by the ‘Kings Square”, and the downtown areas, we saw several well-manicured areas with beautiful flowers.

We arrived back in the RV Park just in time to fix lunch and start preparing for the evening events.

At the 4:00 social we had a replay of pictures on our outside TV for the entire trip and spent time visiting with each other.

Then at 5:00 we all meet at the “Lily’s Café” for our Farewell dinner. This is a wonderful dinner. Jim had grilled salmon and I had the beef brisket.

After dinner a few of us sat outside reminiscing about the trip.

We would like to thank everyone for making this a ‘GREAT’ trip for us and we wish each a blessed and safe trip home.

Jim & Betty (Rig #2 Tail Gunners)

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August 28, 2013, Day 47 – Travel Day to St. John, NB

What began as a very foggy morning turned into a beautiful day and an easy drive to St. John, New Brunswick. Betty was making bets as to who would be the first to leave the campground after Mike – she was betting on Carl to be the first; I was betting on Jim and Terri.

Here is “Thumper” making his last check of the tires. From now on we are on our own!

Carl is getting ready!

And there goes Mike – Gentlemen, start your engines!

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But WAIT, what is happening here? Next out wasn’t Carl and Sandy, and it wasn’t Jim and Terri; it was Bob and Evelyn!!

The fog was so thick it was hard to see very far ahead. Carl thought he would try to follow the lights from the truckers, but we just couldn’t keep up!

This continued until we went through the $5.25 tollbooth and, voila, the sun came out magically and stayed bright and beautiful for the rest of the drive!

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With multiple locations at which to stop along the way, it wasn’t difficult for the first to leave Truro to be nearly the last to arrive in Saint John!

We have been amused at the location of Canadian welcome signs. After we left Saint Anthony on the way to Deer Lake we saw a “Welcome to Canada” sign. This afternoon, as we were approaching Saint John, was a “Welcome to New Brunswick” sign! Go figure. Where do they think we came from this far into New Brunswick?

Mike and Susie heaving a huge sigh of relief that their responsibilities are nearly over and their children are ready to venture out on their own. Along with Jim and Betty, they took us on an absolutely great caravan. Thanks to all four of you!

Sammy and Oscar totally agree!

This is our next to the last social with a group of friends we hope to meet again down the road.

Bob and Mark held up their end and don’t Betty and Jim look more relaxed?

We are all using up our snacks – let the dieting begin!

Safe travels to all as you continue on your journeys. We hope to meet you again someday.

Carl and Sandy (Rig #18)

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August 27, 2013, Day 46

We awoke this morning to a dark, cloudy sky with the sound of sprinkling raindrops on our roof. Around 7:30am it started to rain a little bit harder, tears from heaven, and we noticed our neighbors from Saskatchewan, Gary and Sharon, were hooking up to leave and say Good-Bye to all of us. Here’s hoping they have a safe trip west. We will miss their bubbling personalities!

About 8:45 as we were hooking up, the sea gulls seemed to be really excited around us. One of them even dropped a crab it was carrying in his mouth. Butch thought he may have seen an eagle that might have disturbed them. The rain had stopped by then, though the sun was still not shining through.

Today we are traveling to Truro, Nova Scotia. It was a very scenic drive with several quaint little towns along the way. We went through or near the towns of Guysborough, Antigonish, Franksville, St. Peters (this was my favorite), and others.

We had to go through construction area where we were stopped for about 20 minutes by the flagman. It was a rough patch of road. However, we were behind Roger and Sandy and we were able to see the rough spots they were hitting and missed some of them. As Roger said, “The area tested your Newfie driving skills.”

Around 11am the sun started peeking through the clouds and sent the rain away for the rest of the day! We saw this “Smiley Face” on the side of the road and it really helped to brighten the day.

We even went over a “swing bridge”.

After crossing the Canso Causeway (we saw no whales), we stopped at the Irving station and had lunch and got fuel for the RV. We had stopped at this same station on our way up and did see either whales or dolphins while we were eating lunch. After lunch we were back on the highway and low and behold about 30 miles later what did we see? No, it wasn’t a Moose or a caribou or even a deer. It was a NEW road with no bumps!! It might have been red clay colored but who cared, it was smooth. And divided too.

The road to get to the Museum of Industry so, as far as I know, no one went to visit it on this trip. Several of the group had visited it on the way up and said how they had really enjoyed it. Oh well, maybe next visit.

Finally, we arrived at our Exit 12 to Masstown and Glenholme and followed directions to Elm River Park, our home for tonight. We were really made to feel at home as our park manager individually led us around to our site describing the amenities the park had to offer. The sites are really spacious and we have water, sewer and a 50 amp hookup for tonight.

After we set up the RV, Gerald and I went back to the Masstown Market up the road. Here we were able to obtain a few needed groceries and some we really didn’t need but they looked so good we couldn’t pass them up!

At 5pm, Mike had our driver’s meeting and informed us that John and Jean were in the process of having their RV towed to have it repaired. He said he is not sure if they will be able to catch up with us before the end of the trip. We will miss not seeing their bright shiny faces.

After the meeting we stayed and enjoyed hot dogs, bush pie meals, bush pie desserts, or s’mores.

Barry and Judy showed us how to make the Bush pies and furnished eggs and ham.

Our staff made sure we finished off the hot dogs and had apple and cherry filling and chocolate for the bush desserts. They also had the fixin’s for s’mores. We enjoyed it all!!

Just as we were finishing supper a group started to gather around Barry’s fire and Bob and Joyce drove in! He had experienced RV problems and was able to get the RV fixed in Louisbourg.

A group of us there went out to meet them. Everyone was happy to see them!

After the meeting Al and Barb went over to watch the tidal bore and returned just after Bob and Joyce were parked. Barb said it was a different experience than actually riding the tidal bore.

We returned to our RV and prepared things to leave tomorrow to our final RV Park in Saint John, New Brunswick. Gerald and I want to say thanks to the staff for bringing us together with this group of great people. We have made many new and lasting friendships. If you are ever in our area we hope you will call or email us and we will try and show y’all some Cajun Hospitality! Thanks for allowing us to get to know each and every one of you.

Laissez le Bon Temp Rouler,

Let the Good Times Roll!

Gerald and Sarah (Rig # 14)

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August 26, 2013, Day 45

Today started out with Bob’s birthday. Here’s to you Bob and have many more. Bob was also having problems with his rig this morning.

Our campground is located by the water’s edge. It is very pretty here. As I walked out on the boardwalk I was able to see a star fish, a crab, and some small fish feeding close to the edge of the dock.

A crab. The brown spot on the bottom of the pic

star fish

Schools of fish all around the pier feeding.

Shark just hanging around.

Go ahead John you can touch it, it is dead already.

There was much feasting and partying here over the weekend, of course before we got here, celebrating the birthday of some dead king who was ruler here many many years ago from across the pond. One of the fun things they did was have a shark fishing contest. And this guy was the only shark caught.

We then headed to the Fortress of Louisbourg. It is a National Historic Site of Canada and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. We also learned the difference between a fort and a fortress. Fort is men only, Fortress where families living within the walls. The town was in the fort itself.

The original settlement was made in 1713. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress. The fortifications eventually surrounded the town. The walls were constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740. By the mid-1740s Louisbourg was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America.

This is a pic taken of the Fortress of Louisbourg from afar. I am wanting to show you just how big this reconstructed site is. They did a great job.

Fortress of Louisbourg stands proudly before us. It’s very scale gives us pause; no mere fort, our destination is a fortified town, alive with citizens and soldiers.

When we got to the fortress we were greeted by a tour guide. Here we are being informed. He did a great job.

We took all that information in and learned a lot about the history of this place.

This is a pic of a tavern/inn.

The white bag thing hanging out the upper window is a bed. You would throw this on the floor along with many others and you would all sleep together, about 15 or more and with lots of bed bugs.

Friends along the way

This is just one of the many gardens at the fortress.

It is a fascinating walk through history, with acting people playing citizens and soldiers from that time in history. We also found the self-guided tour of the ruins, with plaques explaining each building fascinating. This is a great place for a wonderful living history adventure.

The Fife and Drum Corps did a wonderful job, in getting the musketeers into position.

This was all in preparation for firing the canon.

The fortress in Louisbourg is huge so make sure you are prepared for lots of walking and have plenty of time. Actors are very believable and really add to the information and understanding of what it would have been like. The fortress is an interesting place to see and at the same time add to your knowledge of Canadian history.

The bedroom in the governor’s home, or how the upper class lived.

The kitchen in the middle class home.

Enlisted quarters. They slept three to a bed, two slept while one was on duty.

In the evening we went to the Louisbourg Playhouse where we were entertained by a group called, Getting Dark Again, three guys and a girl. They were wonderful.

The building where they held the performance was built by Walt Disney Studios in 1993 for the move, A Warrior’s Tail, that was filmed in Louisbourg. The filming required the construction of a timber style theater that was modeled after Shakespeare’s original Globe Theater in London. Disney donated the building to Louisbourg, but they had to move it out of the fortress because it did not belong in that time period or place in history. It is a great building and the show was great too. I will never forget the wonderful fiddle player. She was so great and the energy was beyond anything I have ever seen.

Roger and Sandy (Rig #11)

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August 25, 2013, Day 44

We left our campground in NFLD without John and Jean this morning. They had motor home trouble and will have to get it fixed before continuing on. Hope we see them again before the end of the tour.

We loved NFLD flies and all. We liked the fishing village along the shore, the quite of the island, friendliness of the island people and the fact that it isn’t crowded.

We left NFLD by ferry and the crossing was so smooth.

It was only about an hour wait for us getting on the Ferry.

The only hitch was Carl getting stuck on the elevator. Bet that was fun.

Barry saw a Humpback Whale, Minke and Porpoise while out on the deck of the ferry. The shore line was beautiful.

And we even got to see another Lighthouse.

The ferry made us feel like we were on a cruise. Betty’s having fun with the group, while Jim is doing a puzzle.

Barry is visiting with Garry and Sharon. They have been our best buddies during the trip.

After the ferry crossing we made our way to Louisburg and the RV park. The park is right on the water. Lovely.

Garry, Sharon, Barry and I went out for supper at the Grubstake restaurant. We had a very nice supper.

Barry & Judy (Rig #9)

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August 24, 2013, Day 43

Today was a free day in Grand Codroy, NL. A few of us decided to explore the Grand Codroy Valley!

Our first stop was at the Lunar Glassware Shop.

John (the owner) and his stain glass company.

What an interesting person. John does all the glasswork in the shop, beautiful pieces, he even crushes glass and mixes it with paint, paints the pictures and bakes them in the Kiln with beautiful results.

The Puffin was one of my favorite glass pieces.

Another favorite stain glass was the birdhouse.

We then set off to see the Cape Anguille Lighthouse.

On our way Jim thought again he spotted a whale in the St. Lawrence Bay!!

The Lighthouse wasn’t opened but ran into Roger and Sandy there, then Al and Barb drove up followed by Barry, Judy, Gary and Sharon. Nice views, but too many bugs!!

Here is a picture of Sandy, Roger, Jim, John and Chris near the Light house.

Several boats were in the waters along the shore line.

We then viewed the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. It was actually prettier than the light house!

We took a drive down a road to a Fishery, wasn’t opened but the men were working hard on a breakwater we watch a backhoe pulling giant rocks off flatbed trucks.

We drove on to 407 and found Chad’s Motors which was really cool. John and Jim were drooling at this place, because it was a treasure trove of things doing with the past, from old restored cars

They also had a restored Hearse.

They had all kinds of stuff from an old juke box that was playing oldies records to pictures and fun stuff. And I guess Elvis did not leave the building

Ivan the owner and curator for Chad’s Motors was a hoot, he loved showing off all his work and talking about it. And the name was very appropriate:

After pulling the guys away from Chad’s or should say Ivan! We went back to the RV Park for some lunch.

After Lunch we went to see the only Granite Lighthouse in North America. It was in Rose Blanche, and was about 100 miles round trip!!

It was on what they call the Neck of NFLD. But it was worth seeing, we had to hike a ways to the lighthouse but the view was magnificent.

Here is another view from the Lighthouse:

and the lighthouse had more character than any we have seen so far! Here was the bedroom for the Lightkeeper.

And this is the kitchen/family room.

Shortly after arriving back at the park, we met Annie, Charlie and Chaka, beautiful Newfoundland dogs. Very gentle giants. Just wanted alot of loving!

Then on to Drivers meeting and Hot Dog fast still questioning what that meant???

We all enjoyed all the food and hard work Susie, Mike, Betty and Jim did.

Several of us signed up for future trips.

Betty, Don, Roger, Sandy, John, Chris, Jim and I ended the day by playing ‘Double Hearts” and we sure had a lot of fun laughing.

Jim and I are certainly hoping to keep in touch with a lot of you and hoping to see you at future trips.

Jim & Terri (Rig #6)

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August 24, 2013, Day 43

Today was a free day in Grand Codroy, NL. A few of us decided to explore the Grand Codroy Valley!

Our first stop was at the Lunar Glassware Shop.

John (the owner) and his stain glass company.

What an interesting person. John does all the glasswork in the shop, beautiful pieces, he even crushes glass and mixes it with paint, paints the pictures and bakes them in the Kiln with beautiful results.

The Puffin was one of my favorite glass pieces.

Another favorite stain glass was the birdhouse.

We then set off to see the Cape Anguille Lighthouse.

On our way Jim thought again he spotted a whale in the St. Lawrence Bay!!

The Lighthouse wasn’t opened but ran into Roger and Sandy there, then Al and Barb drove up followed by Barry, Judy, Gary and Sharon. Nice views, but too many bugs!!

Here is a picture of Sandy, Roger, Jim, John and Chris near the Light house.

Several boats were in the waters along the shore line.

We then viewed the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. It was actually prettier than the light house!

We took a drive down a road to a Fishery, wasn’t opened but the men were working hard on a breakwater we watch a backhoe pulling giant rocks off flatbed trucks.

We drove on to 407 and found Chad’s Motors which was really cool. John and Jim were drooling at this place, because it was a treasure trove of things doing with the past, from old restored cars

They also had a restored Hearse.

They had all kinds of stuff from an old juke box that was playing oldies records to pictures and fun stuff. And I guess Elvis did not leave the building

Ivan the owner and curator for Chad’s Motors was a hoot, he loved showing off all his work and talking about it. And the name was very appropriate:

After pulling the guys away from Chad’s or should say Ivan! We went back to the RV Park for some lunch.

After Lunch we went to see the only Granite Lighthouse in North America. It was in Rose Blanche, and was about 100 miles round trip!!

It was on what they call the Neck of NFLD. But it was worth seeing, we had to hike a ways to the lighthouse but the view was magnificent.

Here is another view from the Lighthouse:

and the lighthouse had more character than any we have seen so far! Here was the bedroom for the Lightkeeper.

And this is the kitchen/family room.

Shortly after arriving back at the park, we met Annie, Charlie and Chaka, beautiful Newfoundland dogs. Very gentle giants. Just wanted alot of loving!

Then on to Drivers meeting and Hot Dog fast still questioning what that meant???

We all enjoyed all the food and hard work Susie, Mike, Betty and Jim did.

Several of us signed up for future trips.

Betty, Don, Roger, Sandy, John, Chris, Jim and I ended the day by playing ‘Double Hearts” and we sure had a lot of fun laughing.

Jim and I are certainly hoping to keep in touch with a lot of you and hoping to see you at future trips.

Jim & Terri (Rig #6)