Day 21:

February 4th 2010:

Today we spent the day in Yuma, AZ. First we had some work done on the truck. Oilchange, Fuel and Air Filter changed, Transmission Fluid Change. After that and a quick lunch we checked out historic Yuma. Especially interesting was the Old Arizona Prizon. It was closed in 1909 and had running water and electricty. Pretty good for that time.

Day 20:

February 3rd 2010:

3:10 to Yuma....Spent the morning at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. We then moved on to Yuma, AZ. We didn't know that Yuma is the retired people's paradise. We checked 10 Campgrounds before we found one. The Lady on the phone asked me: "Are you over 55?"...Well, at least we found a place to spend the night and to empty our holding tanks. We didn't have that opportunity last night at the Dropzone. Tomorrow we are going to spend the day in and around Yuma. What’s next? We are going to spend the weekend in San Diego, CA before we cross the border to Mexico on Monday.

Day 19:

February 2nd 2010:

Another long day on the road. We drove about 350 miles from Las Cruces, NM to Eloy, AZ.
After spending 3 weeks on the road now - mainly in the South and South West, we are speechless how people live out here. I love the US but it sometimes feels more like a third world country out here. The only sure thing are Micky D, Burger King and all the other well known Fast Food joints. I have to apologize for the missing substance in our reports but there is not much out here other than desert, some desert and then a little more desert.
We arrived at the Dropzone in Eloy at around 4pm.

Day 18:

February 1st 2010:

Ahhh nice..a slow day. After breakfast we broke a sweat in the Campgrounds gym. Marissa was finally able to enjoy a playground. In the afternoon we did some grocery shopping and some sightseeing. We drove to the small village of Mesilla . A typical New Mexico Village.  Little Adobe Houses and friendly people. Mesilla is known for its past. Billy the Kid spent some time of his 21 years here - robbing trains and killing people. He was sentenced to Death and hanged here.

Day 17:

January 31st 2010

Only driving today. Over 500 miles from Junction, TX to Las Cruces, NM

Day 16:

January 30th 2010

After a sleepless night ( Railroad plius Railroad crossing 100 feet left of us) we needed a big cup of coffee. After that we drove down to San Antonio, TX and the Alamo. About 5 miles before San Antonio the Interstate was closed and we were stuck in traffic. People in front of us began to cross the median to get to the Service Road. We did the same - at least we tried. The ground was very deep and wet - basicly mud. We had to stop in the middle of the median and got stuck. Olk, no problem, we got 4x4. Didn't really help. The mistake was the stop and our weight of over 8000 lbs did not really help. Great, we were sitting there in the middle of the median between Interstate and Service Road and I was working the gears when a Dodge Ram slid by, stopped in front of us and backed up. A guy in a Shirt, Jeans and Cowboyboots stepped out of the truck, did not say a word but started to pull a heavy chain from his truck bed. He connected it to his truck, dropped the loose end in front of ours and got back in his car. All without any words spoken. Ok, Cityslicker Lothar in his white Nike Sneakers 
and clean Jeans got under the Ford, connected the chain and got back in the truck. The guy pulled us out, got out of his truck, took the chain back and threw it on the bed of his truck. I shook his hand and thanked him. "No problem" were the only words he spoke. Real TexaN - no talk, just action. Quite the opposite to New York. There its more talk and no or little action
 ;-)

We finally made it to San Antonio and The Alamo.

Originally named Misión San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as home to missionaries and their Indian converts for nearly seventy years. Construction began on the present site in 1724. In 1793, Spanish officials secularized San Antonio's five missions and distributed their lands to the remaining Indian residents. These men and women continued to farm the fields, once the mission's but now their own, and participated in the growing community of San Antonio.

In the early 1800s, the Spanish military stationed a cavalry unit at the former mission. The soldiers referred to the old mission as the Alamo (the Spanish word for "cottonwood") in honor of their hometown Alamo de Parras, Coahuila. The post's commander established the first recorded hospital in Texas in the Long Barrack. The Alamo was home to both Revolutionaries and Royalists during Mexico's ten-year struggle for independence. The military — Spanish, Rebel, and then Mexican — continued to occupy the Alamo until the Texas Revolution.

San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Martín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.

On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to nearly two hundred. Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help fading, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — all except one did. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.

The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo's walls. Cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks. Regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound. Once inside, they turned a captured cannon on the Long Barrack and church, blasting open the barricaded doors. The desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed. By sunrise, the battle had ended and Santa Anna entered the Alamo compound to survey the scene of his victory.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

Later in the afternoon we drove to Junction, TX were we spent the night.

Day 15:

January 29th 2010

The only thing we did today was trying to find some warmer temperatures. That means we drove almost all day long and still ended up in 39F Weather. We are in New Braunfels, TX. Its an old german settlement and the german roots are stll very obvoius today. We had a nice Dinner at "Oma's Haus". Tomorrow we will explore the city of New Braunfels a little more. After that we will drive further south to "The Alamo".
More info about New Braunfels here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Braunfels,_Texas

Day 14:

January 28th 2010

Not much going on today.  We did some grocery shopping in some town in Arkansas before we drove further west. This country is so big. Will we ev er make it to Mexico? The little one was a little  cranky today so we didnt get the miles we planned. We stopped at a Campground in Mt. Pleasant, TX. The only thing pleasant was the owner. He gave us a bottle of red wine for free when we asked him where we could buy one. He explained that that campground is located in a "dry county". The sale of alcohol is not permitted in those counties. Now we are definately in Texas. Can't buy wine but it's ok to carry your semi automatic... 
I doublechecked on the map if I am really in Texas or if we drove in a big circle. Its only 40 here. And it is raining. We have to go further south.


Day 13:

January 27th 2010

The radio is only country music only, roadside signs tell you that you go to hell if you don't go to church and those churches are bigger than WalMart Super Centers - must be Americas Heartland. We are in Little Rock, Arkansas tonight. Before we drove the 2.5 hrs from Memphis to Little Rock we bought a new mattress. The old one didn't really work anymore. Also, we went to visit Graceland. Elvis Presley's House. Amazing ! Unbelievable. The House itself is not that big but very impressive.  Elvis bought it in 1957 for 100k. Nicole and I are too young to remember Elvis but after visiting his home and learning more about him we can understand why he is still the single highest selling artist in the world and why the ladies went gaga back then. The guy sold over a billion Records....And I guess the saying is true: Only the good die young.


Day 12:

January 26th 2010

It is cold here...We had mid 70s 2 days ago in FL. Here ist more like high 30s. Anyway, we drove to Memphis to see Graceland. CLOSED. Tuesdays closed. Ok, we will be back tomorrow.
The rest of the city was ok. I still compare every city I'm in with NYC. Gotta stop that. BUT they have the best Oysters here.  I had a dozen char-grilled Oysters...so YUMMY. We were back on the Campground late afternoon and turned on the heat in our camper. Tomorrow we'll need a new Bottle LPG.

Day 11:

January 25th 2010

We drove all day, today. Over 500 miles through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. Around 8pm we reached Memphis and went straight to bed.

Day 10:

January 24th 2010

I was hoping to get some jumps, today. But it was a little overcast and way to windy....30 miles a hour wind is not fun to jump. So we just hang out at the dropzone and chatted a little with old and new friends. At around noon we took off and drove back north and west. We stopped at the Four Points Hotel in Tallahasse, FL. NFL Playoffs !!! Unfortunately, both of my teams lost. Good thing is, I don't need to find a TV on Feb 07 to watch the Superbowl. Tomorrow we want to reach Memphis, TN.

Day 9:

January 23rd 2010

Home Depot, sweet Home Depot. Here we are again.  Today I bought a new faucet and installed it with the help of Nicole. After that we drove back to DeLand, were we spent the night at the dropzone, again.

Day 8:

January 22nd 2010

The mechanic showed up at 9.30 am and tried to fix the remaining leak. He put in new connectors and clamps and everything else he got. Finally, he found out that the faucet itself was the problem. Apparently, the cold weather up north didn't go well with the wimpy faucet...... The mechanic didn't have a faucet with him but recommended a Home Depot were we could get one - the same HD we spent almost all of Day 6 at....
After that we caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom. Mickey and friends were waiting for us. We had a great day and lots of fun. But honestly....I have to say. After a couple of days all the Happiness can get a little annoying. All the "HOWDY", "Y'all having fun ? HOW ARE YA? could make some people a little agggggrrrrressiv.  It's nice and all but I thing they try just a little bit to hard to keep that "Happiest place on Earth" Image alive. Marissa had lots of fun and at the end of the day that's all that mattters.


Day 7:

January 21st 2010

First Day in Disney World. Nicole and Marissa went to the Animal Kingdom and I went - yet another time - to the friendly RV Dealer of our choice - 40 miles to the north. We still had the leak and we were not looking forward to driving around with a leaking hose. The Dealer was fully booked 'til the end of february but he gave me the phone number of a mobile RV Service. I called and scheduled a service for the next morning. I drove back to the campground and did some laundry and relaxed for the rest of the day, while Nicole and Marissa had fun at the Animal Kingdom.


Day 6:

January 20th 2010

WE ARE LEAKING....
The night in at the dropzone was pretty good. After breakfast I dropped off my rig for the repack and we were about to leave DeLand when we realized that something in the Kitchen was leaking. It was not Marissa - she had her diaper on. I, as "handy" as I am, checked the faucet, the sink and all the connection from the hoses to the faucet and discovered that the connectors where leaking. Great... Not even a week on the road and now this. We spent the better part of the day at the Home Depot in Lake Mary, FL where I tried to fix the problem. After six hours I gave up. I was able to fix one leak, but the cold water conncetion would not stop to leak. We left the Home Depot at 4pm and drove to Orlando, where we checked into the Wilderness Campground and spent the night between the MEGA RV of some Snowbirds.

Day 5:

January 19th 2010

Charleston, SC is a beautiful city. We loved it. We spent the morning walking through this great city. After lunch we packed up and were almost ready to move when we realized that the waterpump of our camper didn't work anymore. Not good, escpecially because of our plan to camp on the parking lot of Skydive Deland - no external water connection. We started anyway and found a RV Dealer and Service were we stopped. The Mechanic quickly found the problem - a blown fuse. He changed the fuse and we were on our way south. Lucky we didn't need a new water pump.
We arrived in Deland, FL at around 9.30 pm. I need to drop off my parachute for the 180 day reserve repack tomorrow before we drive a couple more miles south to Orlando. DISNEY WORLD here we come. In a couple of days we will return to Deland were I will do some jumps. I hope the weather stays that good (sunny & 70's)

Day 4:

January 18th 2010

What a difference a couple of hours can make. Sunshine and mid 60's today. We made it to Charleston, SC. So far everything went pretty smooth. We just can't drive as much as we had anticipated. The little one needs a rest from time to time. Tonight we will enjoy a real southern BBQ. Tomorrow we visit the City and after that we are going to drive to Orlando.

Day 3:

January 17th 2010

We woke up to pouring rain - first bad news of the day. Our 12V Coffee Maker sucks - second bad news of the day. Tons of german coffee on board and nothing to brew it. Initially we wanted to reach Charleston, SC today. But again, we took off late (damn you coffee maker...) We made it to Four Oaks, NC. We passed a  KRISPY KREME DONUT before we entered our campground. We gonna do something for our Cholesterol tomorrow and have breakfast there.
The plan for tomorrow is to visit the City of Charleston and the Battleground were the Civil War began.

Day 2:

January 16th 2010

After a long breakfast and a quick work out we hit the road - pretty late again. It was about 2.30 pm and we made it to Fredericksburg, VA. We would've made it to NC or even SC if we were alone. But we didn't want to stress out Marissa the first couple of days. After a late dinner we fell asleep to some raindrops.

Day 1:

January 15th 2010

We had to finish our packing, cleaning, car selling so we took of later than anticipated. At 4.30pm we finally left Long Beach. It took us almost 2 hours to leave New York behind and cross into New Jersey. Rushour, we will miss you...We took of pretty late so we only made it to Philadelphia. We stayed in a nice hotel and enjoyed a big bed and a hot shower - something we probably gonna miss in the the next 12 months.