Got my new ride!!

Hi Everybody!!

Today is a sunny but a windy day. It's about 55 out right now with wind gust up to 32 mph!!

Well this will completely update my blog......finally!

I got my new ride!!!!! I was able to get a new vehicle on March 16th. It is a Black 2003 GMC Envoy. It is a sweet SUV!! It's the sports edition, that has everything you could ever possibly want! I was able to get the new ride so quickly with the help of my brother, Wade. Thank you very much Wade!! (Pictures 1-5 are of my new SUV.)

I am planning on being back on the road no later than the first of June 2007. To finish this wonderful journey I have started. This trip has been a wonderful blessing for me. It has helped me in so many ways. I have met some really great people. Made a lot of new friends, reconnected with family, and saw old friends. I have also been able to see many amazing things along the way!!! I was very disappointed when my journey got interrupted, but I always knew I'd be back out there to finish it!!! Right now I need to replace a few things I had to leave out in New Mexico. This will take just a little bit of time. Until I leave the area, I will visit local states and post the pictures on here ( much like I did before I left for my walkabout), so everyone not from this area can see what New England looks like. For those new to the site you can view all older pictures - going back to February 2006 by clicking on the View Archives button (top right of this page). You'll then see a calendar on the right- It will tell you how many postings I made each month. ( For example if you look back to August 2006 you can see the pictures I took of Boston, Plymouth, and Cape Cod.)

So folks ...... keep checking back, and you'll still be able to following along in Panda's Great Adventures!! ( LOL ) Anyone wishing to leave comments- please do- I enjoy reading your feed back.

Now to address the remaining pictures above.... (pictures 6-11) This past Saturday at the new Dunkin Donuts in Rockland Plaza, they had a Boston radio station broadcasting live. They also had the Dunkin Donuts race car there. (If you wanted to pay a fee you could have your picture taken in the car! LOL) I took these pictures for all of my Caffeine Nuts- YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! .... and so do I!! :o) LOL

Ok I guess it's time to get going....Until next time- everyone please take care- and have fun!!! - Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #75:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

Tags: Massachusetts

Leaving Carlsbad 2/28/07

Hey Everyone,

On Wednesday morning (2/28/07) I headed out of Carlsbad. My first destination was going to be Alamogordo. Mom wanted to see if I could find her cousin that she lost touch with. I had to travel through the mountains to get there! It was great to see something other than desert!! LOL I actually got to see some snow- as you'll see in the above pictures.

I made it to Alamogordo, but couldn't find mom's cousin. After taking a break there...I headed north to Albuquerque. I arrived in Albuquerque around 5:30 p.m. As it turned out I should have stopped then for the night, but I wanted to get a few more miles behind me........

About 140 miles outside of Albuquerque is Gallup, NM., at about 8:00 p.m. I ran into a bit of a problem.

Was traveling west on I-40. I was doing the speed limit of 75mph when I came up on a dead cow in my lane- I swerved left to passing lane only to find another dead cow- which I hit. It sent me off the road and onto the median strip. It was a real mess out there. A pick up, and 18 wheeler hit them- got damage- then me, then a RV came along-same thing- then a SUV with 7 month preg girl in it hit them and tipped over on its side- she slide about 50 feet or so and came to rest on its side (drivers side down) about 2' from the back of my car- still the trucks and cars were coming- It took about 5 mins to get people to realize there was something wrong- but it seemed forever before everyone started to slow down!!! I don't think I stopped shaking until the next morning- guess it wasn't my night to die!!! LOL
The car was totaled. I had to ship some of my stuff home and get a flight back to Mass. I received a lot of help from the local Congregation of Jehovah Witnesses in Gallup and also from the Congregation in Albuquerque. A sister from Gallup picked me up Friday morning and brought me to get the boxes at the UPS store. We then went to the car and packed just what I really wanted to keep. She was going to find a home for the rest of my stuff. We then went back to UPS and mailed out 5 boxes for home. She later came back and got me to have dinner with her, her husband and two young daughters. The next morning the same sister was back to pick me up at 6:30a.m., so I could catch the Greyhound bus to Albuquerque. I arrived in Albuquerque at 10 a.m. When I arrived a Witness family was there to meet me - to take me to the airport for my 12:05 flight. I made my flight and arrived in Boston at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. My son Dave picked me up....needless to say I was totally wiped out by then. Now I have to re-group, get another vehicle....cause I'm not done with my walkabout yet!!!!!
I want to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who came to my aid in New Mexico. If it wasn't for your help I would have been in really bad shape. So....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU- VERY MUCH!!!! It is wonderful to belong to such a loving Christian family!
I'll be back soon with more of an update...Until then take care everyone- Love Donna
SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #74:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

Tags: New Mexico

Made it to New Mexico 2/26/07

Hi there.....

Well on Monday, February 26th, I made it to New Mexico. So far it doesn't look much different than Texas!!! LOL

I pulled into a KOA campground around 6pm, in Carlsbad, New Mexico. This was a great campground. It even had a hot tub there (which I took advantage of!!!) It was cool to be in the hot tub at night, in the middle of the desert, looking up at the moon and stars, and hearing coyotes in background howling!!!

After a good nights sleep I went out to explore the area. I went to the Meteor State Park. Here they had a small museum with all kinds of info on meteors.....(As those who know me will tell you one of my favorite things to do is watch meteror showers) After looking around museum you take a self guided walk around the area where they found the meteor that hit many years ago.

Then I headed to the Living Desert Zoo. This park has a visitors center that shows about human, wildlife, and plant life from this area. You then take a self guided tour around the park. It really was great to see the plant life and wildlife for the area. There are many signs to inform you about everything you are looking at.

When I finished at the zoo I decided the day was still young and headed for the Caverns. This state park was really great too. These caverns were much bigger and deeper than the ones I saw in Texas. They go down 839 feet below the surface. It really is quite a sight to see these natural formations!!!

Well it had been a long busy day...I ended it with another trip to the hot tub!!! LOL The next morning I was moving on......I'll be back with more on that. Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #73:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

Tags: New Mexico

Leaving Texas.......

Hey Everyone.....

It was getting to the end of my stay in Texas.....and what a stay it has been!!

I want to take this time to thank EVERYONE who made my stay very special in Texas... To Leeann- THANK YOU VERY MUCH for allowing me to stay with you for those 2 months. It made things a lot easier for me. I enjoyed your company very much!! It was great meeting your mom Cindi too! To "My Army Brats" Jack, Will, Dave, Kody, Ricky,and Fernando- Thanks to you all for the laughs and good times....You are a crazy lot but fun loving group of guys!! To the North Killeen Congregation of Jehovah Witnesses- Thank you for making me feel right at home. I look forward to the day I can come back to visit you all!! To my friend Bud- Thanks for keeping tabs on me and giving me names of interesting places to visit! And finally to my cousins Dawn & Karen- sorry we couldn't catch up with each other- I'll keep in touch and let you know when I get back to TX, maybe we can get together then.........

On Saturday the 24th I left Houston around 3:00 p.m. and headed towards San Antonio. I landed there around 6:30pm and got a room for the night. I was online chatting with friends when my friend Bud came on. We had tried to meet up 3x's since I landed in Texas, but something always seemed to come up. LOL So Bud came over to the hotel and we went out for some coffee and dessert- it was almost 11pm by now. We had a nice time chatting....It was great to meet him in person finally!

The next day I was heading to New Mexico...had a long ways to go before I'd get out of Texas LOL- It's a very big state. Around 5p.m. I ended up in Stockton, Texas for the night. Stopped at a KOA for the night. It was out in the middle of the desert! I'll tell ya - you see a lot at night up in the sky out here!!! The next morning off to NM.

I went to Carlsbad, NM first. This area has a lot of state parks and natural wonders to see. I'll go and get those pictures ready...I'll be back soon- Love Donna

P.S. the pictures above were the last ones taken as I left Texas

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #72:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

Tags: TEXAS

Leaving Killeen- stopping by Houston

Hello,

I was getting ready to leave Killeen. On Thursday the 22nd Leeann invited my "Army Brats" over for dinner so I could say goodbye. We had great food and tons of laughs.....we ended up at Silverwings for some drinks and to play some pool. Then on Friday the 23rd, Leeann & I went to Silverwings to say my goodbyes there. After Leeann & I went out for a bite to eat.

Saturday started out stormy and extremely windy....tornadoes were being reported!!! I guess Texas wanted to say goodbye to me the same way it said hello!!! LOL

It was hard but I said my goodbyes to Leeann & Jack and off I went to Houston. It took me 3 hrs to get there. Houston is located south-east of Killeen.

Houston is a fairly young city- big & clean. But...much like Dallas I wasn't really impressed with Houston. There really much of anything going on there. I arrived around 2pm and there was hardly anyone around!!! Granted there was a rodeo in town, but I really don't think everyone in Houston was at the rodeo!!! I'm use to cities where there is always something going on- especially in the middle of the day! You'll see what I mean when you look at the pictures.

Well this will do it for now...I'll finish up the Texas & New Mexico pictures on Thursday. So until then take care of yourselves- keep safe!- Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #71:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

2/21/07 Fredericksburg & Hunt Texas

Hi again.....

Once I left the LBJ ranch I continued west. I was looking for Stonehenge II. Someone had built a replica of Stonehenge- out in the middle of Texas!! LOL

This part of Texas is known as Hill Country, and yes there are hills!! LOL It was good to see hills and ponds and trees....something except the open ranges I've been looking at these past few weeks!

I first drove thru a town called Fredericksburg. This is a quaint town that has many shops lining both sides of downtown. If you are an antique buff- then this is the place to come!! Once outside of Fredericksburg it's mostly country side with occasional small towns. I came across something that I found funny. They have these "dip" signs every now & then....It is where the road goes dow into a gully. In these gullies they have measuring post- marked up to 5 feet high. This is so when you are driving along and you see a "puddle"- you know how deep it is, and then you decide if you car or truck can can handle the depth or if you should turn around!! LOL ****Suggestion if water is over 1' then PLEASE turn around!!!! Or you may float away!!******

I finally found Ingram/Hunt area and the Stonehenge II. It is on F.M. (farm road) 1340, in Hunt off Texas 39. This Stonehenge is an exact replica of the one in Salisbury Plain, England. It is 60% as tall as the original and 90 % as large in circumference as original. There are two Easter Island- type statues also at this same location.

Well I'm going to get more pics ready- see you soon- Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #70:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

2/21/07 LBJ Ranch/Homestead State Park

Hi there......

On Wednesday the 21st- I headed out early to Johnson City/ Fredericksburg area. This is located south-west of Killeen.

I first came upon the LBJ State Park. This is the preserve/ranch that LBJ left to be used as a park run by the State of Texas and the Federal Government. This ranch is where LBJ grew up and where many of his family lived. He and Ladybird raised their children here. This ranch is still a working ranch today!! Ladybird- who is still alive comes here 1-2 x's a year to stay for short visits.

You board a tram/bus at the visitors center. The tour takes about 1 1/2 hrs, and is narrated by a Park Ranger. The Ranger for my tour was Ranger Pelarski. He did a great job!!! You get to hear recordings done by LBJ, Ladybird, their children, Walter Cronkite- just to name a few. You get to see up close the house LBJ and his siblings were born in, and then you see where the family cemetery is (where LBJ is buried). Then you drive past the house where Ladybird still resides in whe she is in town. At this house is where you can also see some of the old cars LBJ had collected. The the tour takes you to the barn area of this working ranch. You also see the secret service buildings and the airstrip LBJ had put in.

The tour ends back at the visitors center....where there is a gift shop and a room to see a documentary video in.

The whole tour was great!! I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who is able to visit Johnson City!!

Ok now- im off to get the rest of the pictures from Wednesday up on site.....See ya soon- Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #69:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

2/19/07 Dallas, Texas

Hi Everyone...,

I'm back!!! LOL

After leaving Waco, Texas- I head northeast to Dallas. I wasn't overly impressed by Dallas. Most of it was run down. They are in the process of rebuilding, but there is much work to do. As I walked around I could visualize the grandeur of what the city use to look like. Many of the "Ritzy" hotels are now abandoned and boarded up.

I'm sure that the city does have things to offer but from again I wasn't impressed. I may take a ride through again in the future to see if any of the changes they are working on now will help bring life to this city (maybe in about 5yrs or so).

Well I'm off for now to get the next set of pictures ready......keep watching the site!!-

Take Care of Yourselves- Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #68:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

Feb 19th- Waco Texas

Howdy Ya'll.....

On 2/19/07 I went up to Waco, Texas. I went to see the Texas Ranger Museum. This was a very interesting place. It had a lot of memorabilia of the history of the Rangers. It was started by Stephen Austin and continues to this day. It was interesting to see the development of the Rangers over the years. Many of the displays were of the actual equipment that each Ranger used- donated by their families. One section of the museum was called the Hall of Fame. In here the walls were lined with portrait's of Rangers from over the years. Each portrait had a bio plaque that told about that Rangers life.

Another section was of equipment used over the years to combat crime.....and yet another section had displays of famous cases the Rangers had worked on. They also had a section dedicated to the Rangers depicted in Hollywood. Starting way back with the Lone Ranger- up to the present day Walker- Texas Ranger series. They also had posters of different movies that had been made about the Rangers. It was fun to walk back in time and view all these pictures, toys, and shows......

I would highly recommend a visit to the Ranger Museum if you find yourself in or near Waco Texas!!!

When I left the museum- I head to Dallas, Texas to check it out. So I'll go now and get those pictures ready to post...See ya again real soon- Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #67:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

It's been hectic!!

Hello Everyone....

Sorry that it's been awhile since my last posting.... When I first got back to Texas- was missing home...It was great to see everyone from back home at the wedding, but it made it difficult to get motivated once I got back to Texas.

I finally got myself together and visited a few more spots then I packed up things and headed to New Mexico....

So I'll be updating the web page today so that everyone is caught up with me!!! LOL

Off I go to put up the last of the Texas pictures...I hope you enjoy them- Love Donna