and while we were gone...

The leaves that were green...

turned to brown.

And many of them are 'gone with the wind'...

like the red sunset maples that line the driveway.

The window boxes were still looking good when we left home.

Now they are in desperate need of attention.

As is everything else...

from the office to the yard.

But first things first.

Family!

We missed four birthdays while we were away...

Micah, Emme and Spencer...

and Heidi.

And we missed everyone!

And so they all came for dinner this week.

I donned my new apron...

and spent some time in the kitchen for a change.

I quite like my made-in-Maine apron!

In Maine they really pay attention to detail.

They use fancy stitching on all edges..

and corners are all perfectly mitered.

And the apron comes in the cutest jar...

with a blackboard/chalk label.

I've waited a long while to thank Vee for the apron...

since I wanted to show you the jar it came in.

The apron flew home with me from the east coast at the end of August.

But the jar had to finish the entire road trip before it arrived here.

I love my new apron...

and the jar it came in!

Thank-you!

What else has all happened while we were away?

I have really no idea...

since we basically heard no Canadian news while on the road.

With one exception.

The mayor of Toronto seemed to be making the news on a regular basis...

no matter where the road led us.

Oye...

as my friend Ellen would say!

On our grape arbour...

the last of the season grapes are still waiting to be picked.

I'm leaving them for the birds though.

They may find them more tasty than we do!

Do grapes go wild?

It seems they are not the variety we started out with.

The lawn grew in our absence as well.

And so it got a trim yesterday.

The last one of 2013.

Did I mention that it is good to be home?

Thanks for stopping by...

and have a great weekend!

tales from the trail...

After several weeks on the road...

pulling up stakes every night...

we spent four most enjoyable days in Palm Springs.

We relaxed...

(just like these ducks that seemed to think they belonged to us)

and enjoyed the sunshine.

I read a few books...

including Blush...

Fifty Shades of Grace...

Choosing to Smile...

and Sycamore Row...John's Grisham's latest.

After a few days of  rest and relaxation...

we were more than ready to head for home.

We arrived home last night...

a good place to be!

Some of the kids and grands came for supper tonight...

the rest are coming tomorrow.

Over the next while I will take you back to some of the places we visited on our US road trip.

Today I'll just share a few tidbits from here and there.

On this leg of the journey we passed through eighteen states...

eleven which we had never been to before.

We began where we left off...

in Pennsylvania.

From there we traveled south along the ridge of the Appalachian mountains.

For the record...

I hiked the Appalachian Trail.

(Not too far though!)

We had wondered if we might have cold weather by the time we got to Missouri and Kansas...

but weren't anticipating freezing temperatures through the eastern states.

We had a bit of snow one day on the Blue Ridge Parkway...

and icicles hanging from the RV one morning.

We discovered that MacDonald's coffee is not bad...

and the price is right!

And so we often stopped for coffee-to-go along the way.

Not all MacDonald's are made equal!

The one in Asheville, South Carolina had a copper tile ceiling...

and a player piano providing music for the patrons.

Quite lovely.

In Dodge City, Kansas...

the booths were inside chuck wagons.

And we discovered that English was not necessarily spoken or understood there.

We ordered two coffees.

The 'associate' went in search of someone who could serve us...

since he had no idea what we were after.

How does one say coffee in Spanish?

Or maybe it was our Canadian accent that was the problem!

We spent most nights at KOA campgrounds...

and have only words of commendation for them.

They are accommodating and clean...

and easy to access.

And often in most interesting locations!

Near Tulsa, Oklahoma we stayed at a KOA next to a racetrack...

and awoke to watch the jockeys putting their horses through the paces.

In Arizona we saw work crews in 'uniform' cleaning up along the sides of the road.

I haven't worn my black and white striped t-shirt since I took that photo. :)

Through the desserts of New Mexico and Arizona the tumbleweeds continually blew across the road.

Who knew they were so hard to capture on 'film? 

After many attempts...

this was the only one that even resembled the rolling weed.

We crossed the border into British Columbia last night...

as it was getting dark last night.

Though the photo is blurry...

I just had to share the provincial sign that welcomed us on our arrival.

Beautiful British Columbia...

The Best Place on Earth.

I like that.

Home!

one last postcard...

As this Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day) draws to a close...

I am sending you greetings from southern Washington.

We will soon be home!

Just this morning we drove through northern California...

where Mt. Shasta reigns majestically whatever the season!

Tonight we are parked near another volcanic peak...Mt. St. Helen's.

We might just take a closer look before we leave for home in the morning.

To all those who have served our country throughout the years...

you are remembered in a special way today.

Thank-you!