Garcia Family East Coast

Well the vacation, yes had to end, but now we eagerly await Mommies coming home!!

Me and the kids, well more the kids really, throughly enjoyed our great time visiting family and friends in and around Santa Fe, NM. We spent just over a month being able to explore Northern New Mexico and visit with cousins my children rarely get to do! Everyone was soooo welcoming and loving, it really shows how family is oh so important in life.

It was a total whirlwind, from simple pool and trampoline time at my sisters home, to river fun in the Sangre De Cristo mountains!! Leaving as always was sad, and brought bouts of tears from my kids, but the memories made are priceless!

Our trip home was punctuated by a short visit to My Aunt CC and Uncle Duane, who cooked us a great home cooked meal and let the kids do some garden picking as well. Wishing we could have spent more time, but sometimes life throws certain curveballs that we have to just adjust too.

Drive home was very uneventful, which by the way is a GOOD thing! A lot of travel was done early in the morning, so the kids were asleep for a majority of it, but some of the drive through Arkansas, Mississippi, and even Alabama was gorgeous, all be it very hot!!

Now we are home again,and prepare to greet the Mighty Iwo Jima as she returns to port after an arduous 7 month deployment!! The kids are very excited, everyday they ask, “Is it Monday yet?” This will actually be my first time on this end of a coming home, spent so many times on the other end slowly waiting on the ship to make its way to the pier, I remember the time seems to crawl by as the ship moves at what seems like a snails pace through the channels and waterways, finally catching up to the tug and boarding the pilot. Then even more time as you slowly move toward your assigned pier, waiting inexplicably, excited and anxious, for first the call of “First Line, shift Colors.” and then much later for posting of the watch, and “liberty call, liberty call!” Now we get to be the one on the pier, waiting as patient as possible to see our family matriarch to walk off the gangway!

Well leaving family and friends is always hard, but the longer you stay, just makes departing that much harder. I wont say sorrowful cause there was nothing sorrowful about this visit/vacation!!! This was a rare opportunity for our slightly un-full family, and the kids had so so so much fun with all of their family! As i suspected, Angelica is taking it the hardest, much like she is taking her Mommy being gone the hardest. Have to patiently wait though short bouts of tears, but the thought of seeing her Mom soon helps, but she is only 5 years old, so it isn’t fully comprehended, and she just wants to see her cousins!!!

Words in no way can say or convey the appreciation to my NM family for the warm and loving hospitality they gave me, and especially, my two young kids. I know that they will remember this for a very very longtime!

We left early Friday morning, heading East for OKC to see our OK family. As is always the case, travel was smooth and uneventful until freaking Texas and Oklahoma!! Those damn crosswinds just suck as they pound the side of our 35′ home on wheels!!! Makes an 7.5 hour trip seem like 15 hours!!!!

However we made it unscathed and none the worse for wear. checked in at park and quickly got in the car and headed north to Perry, OK (passing as quickly as possible through enemy territory, Stillwater, OK!! I did everything possible not to VOMIT!!), to see our dear Aunt Cecelia and Uncle Duane. Auntie made us a GREAT meal and we visited as the kids ran rabid all around the house and Uncle Duane’s garden, picking tomatoes and squash! Wish we could stay longer but we have a schedule and of course they have one as well. Next Stop…. who knows, after a trip Norman, then its Eastbound and down again on Sunday!!

Well it was a long and good day again spending time with family, and of course the kids got to spend lots of time with their cousins!!

Started out the day at the Pork and Brew at Santa Ana’s Star center casino grounds. Sorry to report, overall it was a bit disappointing, and pricey too. There were less stands then I had envisioned both on the Pork side and Brew side. Plus it cost money for the small samples they gave… To top it off, none of the meat was anything special, nothing that made me stop and say.. MMMM!!

It started down-pouring on us midday and we piled into the Star center Auditorium, where the kids got to get a little of the bouncy fun in.

After that we headed a little more south to the Albuquerque Ballon Fiesta park to get a little of their Freedom 4th celebration, which turned out to be really nice. Weather was cool, sun was in the clouds and couple of pretty good music acts, Brett Young and Thompson Square! The grass was tall and lush and made for a perfect relaxing way to sit and wait for them Fireworks. Those fireworks didn’t disappoint, they were loud and, bright, and long, and punctuated a great end to a great day. NOW the downside as always was the traffic leaving! We always seemed to be in the wrong lane, and so more then an hour later we finally got on the highway home! Still it was a long day but we most certainly loved every minute of it!!

Northern New Mexico Mountains

Some of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in NM are the camping/hunting/fishing/picnics we had. Like those when Me, my Pops, Uncles, and cousins got on horse back, packed up as much as we could carry behind our saddle and a pack horse, rode up the Sangre De Cristo mountains for 3-4 days all while fishing in the little river that flowed alongside the trail. That and going up the Pecos river, finding a swimming hole and swimming all day long! So I definitely wanted my kids to experience that in some way, and with all the rain NM has gotten it was the opportune time to see some actual flowing water in the rivers, and so we did, up past Mora in Canyon Creek State Park!!

It was so beautiful and green, the weather was cool to cold at times, the river was a little chilly but not for my kids and there cousins!! Didn’t take long before they made a bunch of little friends amongst the other campers!!!

Made a feeble attempt at fishing a little, and trying to fish whilst telling my kids NOT to throw stuff in the river or pulling and jerking on their high speed Princess and Spiderman fishing rods proved to be not very fruitful….

There was lots of river playing, even a little swimming, much running amuck the green forest, and of course the campfire and s’mores was a huge hit!! We dodged almost all the rain, and it was nice to get a cool breeze flowing through the RV at night,and having to blanket up a bit!!

The real test of a good day for the kids is two-fold.. first being the black ring of dirt that came off their bodies at night before bed, and the deep long sleep the had every night!!

It was the best of times with one exception… They still miss their Mommy and several times mentioned how she would love this or that, or tried to save some stick or leaf to give to mommy!!!

You know, it had been some 20+ years since  I had been to a Santa Fe rodeo, and of course it seemed all so different from this “experienced” age. BUT i was pleasantly surprised that it was a very good event and I actually enjoyed it more then I thought i would. Kids, well I think they enjoyed it a bit, but there was a ferris wheel in the distance so they were somewhat distracted… Although Angelica definitely wants to do some Muttin Busting!!!

We did make it over to the carnival side a couple days later, and it was one of the cheesiest ones i have ever been to, but again it wasn’t about me, and the kids, and their cousins loved every old dilapidated rusty ride!

 

Kids loved the lake so much we made another venture up to Abiquiu lake and took some of the awesome hospitality of one of my Mom’s oldest friends and HS classmates, even ran into and old schoolmate their as well!! small world sometimes! Not only did they get to swim in the lake again but they got Jet Ski rides as well, even MOM got a ride with her son-in-law, which was AMAZING, but of course her old friend was their and she had to impress ya know!!!

 

Then in was up tot he Northern New Mexico mountains to a place called Canyon Creek north of Mora, NM!! Wanted kids to experience a little of what we used to do as kids in the Pecos river. The ride was absolutely awesome, I sometimes forget the beauty of my Home state. It was nice riding up the little NM highway alongside the Rio Grande and actually see water in the river!!! The windy little roads through Velarde, Dixon, Penasco, and Mora brought back soo many memories of my youth, a time when I definitely did not appreciate any of it. It was something beyond words to describe, and traveling in an RV, slow, made it all that more awesome!!

It has thus far been a whirlwind of excitement and memories, memories these kids hopefully will remember forever!!! Now I don’t know how much Cruz will really remember but kids can certainly surprise you but Angelica will really miss hanging with all her primos, AJ, Aaden, Katelyn, Eden, and Jaylyn. I get such joy in my heart seeing both of them with their smiling faces running around with their cousins!!!!

Now don’t misconstrue this as to believe they don’t miss their Mommy, nothing could be farther from the truth, but it certainly has bridged a HUGE gap in their lives, it was very fortunate for us to have this chance during a trying time for my wonderful children.

Recently they got to experience the joys of Lake life, zip line in a very dear friends yard, Rodeo, and mass pool time with cousins! And what does the short future hold ahead… well maybe a little more lake life, maybe some river life as well, some fireworks, and we still have to visit more old friends and FAMILY!!

New Mexico Family…
The great summer of 2015 vacation continues, and it has been just about perfect, except the big fact that Mommy isn’t with us, but other then that it has been great!!! The kids are just loving all the time they are getting with there Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and of course their cousins!!! My 2 Sisters, MICHELLE AND ESPERANZA are nothing less then AWESOME, without even batting an eyelash they take BOTH my children and have been giving them the time of their life!! In fact they ask me constantly to take them and leave them!! Which in tuen has provided me with a littel child free time to get some good old, BAD, golf in!!

Angelica has been just overjoyed to spend time with her cousins, especially Katelyn, as shes the girl cousin for her, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t wait on baited breathe to see AJ and Aaden. She actually has taken a fancy to her cousin Aaden, she always wats to sit by him, go in the car with him….

Cruz on the other hand thinks of AJ as his buddy, and at Espys house he get way more spoiled as he is the only boy there with all the girls, whereas Angelica is the only girl at her Nina’s house.

Tis past weekend we got out to Cochiti lake for some camping with Aaron, Michelle, AJ, and Aaden. Unfortunately we went on the HOTTEST weekend of the year as we saw triple digits over the weekend. This dry air is way different then the humid weather of Florida, in a sense if you put a fan out it cools down a bit in FL, here it is dry dry air so your just blowing hot hot air, no relief. We were fortunate enough to get my Dad to come out for Fathers day, a rarity for me, as many of my brothers and sisters in the military know, we don’t get to spend a lot of holidays with our extended family, in fact i cant remember the last time i actually saw my Dad on FathersDay.

Now a couple days visiting with old friends in Albuquerque, then back to SF for some Rodeo and swimming!!!!

The kids are having such a blast, and it helps distract them from missing their Mommy, but they still miss her, they ask about her all the time, and always say”I wish my Mommy was Here to see this…” just breaks your heart a little every time, but we are getting closer and closer by the day to seeing her again!!!

On the first day of my summer vacation…….

Well its not our first day, but it is our summer vacation, and being with Family has been great for the kiddos!! they are so loving hanging with their cousins, AJ and Aaden. Oh and not to mention their Auntie, uncle and Grandma!!! But you know kids, its all about the ones they can play with!!! Good for Daddy too, already had my breakfast Menudo and Posas Tamales, so I am well on my way to gaining 50-100LBS of New Mexico cooking weight!!!!

Weather is sooooo nice here, well comparatively speaking, once the sun goes down it gets soo nice and cool, not even a need for AC in the evenings. Of Course its that dry air so the chapped lips and stuffy dry nose are back too!!

So as we move on in our journey, think we will go even more North today and see Grandpa and their other cousins today, girls, so Angelica will no dou

bt be in heaven!!!

Still missing Mommy but being around family does help, and again it will be hard to leave when that comes about as well, but for now, its happy smiling kids, and that makes a happy smiling DAD!!!!

NM we have arrived!!!

Well last day of travel was supposed to be the easiest and shortest, and it ended up being just as long and the hardest really. We got up early but took our time with breakfast, some walking, and just relaxing a bit, then headed West for our 2:30. AND that plan worked out great until we gassed up in Tuccamcari.

Then about 12 miles down the road, DEAD STOP!!!! Accident somewhere about 10 miles up backing us all up to a stop. So there we stood, or sat, for some 45-50 minutes. BUT the beauty of RV travel is we put in a movie, cooked up some lunch and just waited it out. finally we got on the move, and went about 20 miles, just got up to traveling speed and traffic spaced itself out a bit, when…. you guessed it, DEAD STOP again, and right outside Santa Rosa, and this time apparently for construction, not sure why it stopped us, but there we were for another 30 minutes and now moving…. BUT eventually we got going, hit our exit at Clines corners, made the turn onto 285 and then fought the crosswinds that you can only really appreciate in a big flat moving home for then next 20 miles….!! Lo and behold, after at least 40-50 Angelica’s “Are we close to my Nina’s yet” we rolled into Santa Fe, at 4:30 in the afternoon!!! Nice 4 hour trip turned into 7 hours!! but we arrived, safe and sound and no less for the wear, although the trip didi finally get to the kids and they passed out in the chairs, with there computers in hand right toward the end!!

So now is time for some qulity Family time, and more iportantly the kids some cousin time they never get being that a Military family is always deprived of such luxuries!!!

Day 2

Early rise, early go! Had alarm set for 0445 and still woke up at 0400, which is really 0500 my east coast time. Anyhow, un-hooked and gassed up and on the road by 0500!! Pretty smooth ride right through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and finally into Texas. Nice 10.5 day, although plenty of stops long the way, with the inevitable, “DADDY I NEED SOME HELP!” from the bathroom…. We really have ruined these kids from any extended road trips without an RV.. They will never know what to do without a bathroom readily available along the way, or the joy of getting up out of their seat to move around!!!
Angelica’s only worry the whole way is how close we are to NM!!! sure i heard that question at least 2-dozen times yesterday!!!

Made it to Glade Water Texas and parked it at a quint and very nice little RV park called shallow Creek. Run by a couple retired Navy folk who reminisced about days in Norfolk. Kids got some splash park and pool time to burn off some road energy and Sandy got some leg stretching in as well.

Day 3

Another early rise, but I slept right till the alarm today, still got unhooked and on the road by 0510 though. Few more stops today, as the coffee was flowing right through me, so it was a Rest Stop to Rest stop kinda morning. Eventually got through the hell that is Dallas traffic and road construction, with only a hand full of cuss words from yours truly!!
Got to Amarillo relatively early, 3pm, making it another 10 hour day, although less milage covered, and NEVER left the state of TEXAS!!!
Made it to the Big Texan, as we always do when passing through Amarillo, and had to have me the Nice 27oz pale ale brew they had, to go with my 12oz steak!!! Kids got their hats and of course dessert and all were happy, as we got back to the Amarillo Ranch RV Park and they pestered me incessantly until i broke down and took them to the pool!!!!

Got here to Amarillo a day earlier then anticipated so not sure what tomorrow will bring, see if we can get in a day early at our Santa Fe abode, if not we will shoot from the hip and plan something else out….