Category travel with B

We go a lot. Come with us!

Whine Suppression

SimplyB 4 Comments

The temperature outdoors was 49 degrees when I got up today. The furnace came on several times during the night. The date? July 18, 2025. Yes.

I should explain that I was waking up on this particular day at 9800 ft elevation in beautiful Colorado.

And sadly, on that blissful cool morning we would pack everything up in our RV and head eastward toward Kansas. Man, it’s always painful to leave the mountains and go back home every summer when we vacation in Colorado.

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Fancy? Hardly

SimplyB 4 Comments

It is a snowy February day here in the South of Kansas. Snow makes me think of mountain peaks, which makes me think of Colorado, which makes me think of a gorgeous historic castle in Colorado Springs, which makes me think of the word “fancy”.

Every December for the past several years, my husband and I go on a short Christmas outing. Just the two of us. Generally we stay at a hotel in the Plaza area of Kansas City for a night or two.

This past December, however, we opted to go to a Christmas Madrigal show and banquet at Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs.

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Mad Skillz? Nah…??

SimplyB 6 Comments

Our retired life plans involved RV life and travel. The opportunity to combine that with volunteer work at various faith based organizations across the country presented itself shortly after retirement. And it seemed like the perfect fit.

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Hills, caterpillar, and unexpected nostalgia.

SimplyB 4 Comments

In the “sense of adventure” spirit that my husband is so enamored with (and so am I), we decided to take a scenic drive on our way to Topeka yesterday afternoon. A map of gravel road utility type vehicle trails in the Flint Hills has been hanging on our fridge for months. I printed it from a VisitEmporia.com website in hopes that one day we could explore the beautiful area that is so visible from I-35 turnpike through the Flint Hills. So yesterday, at the last minute before leaving the kitchen, the hubby pulled that map off the fridge and said “let’s do this!!”.

Continue reading “Hills, caterpillar, and unexpected nostalgia.” →

Comfort and Joy

SimplyB 6 Comments

Just a little preface to this post. You’re not going to find anything that even vaguely resembles what you might read in the headlines or hear on the news these days. My motive is simple stories and encouraging words. No politics, no controversy, no mean stuff. This is Simply B keeping it light and simple. Finding the good. It’s there to be found.

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Wintering Elsewhere

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If you’ve experienced winter in the Midwest, you fully understand the appeal of going South during the cold months. We decided a few months ago to make late January and all of February our month to head for the warmth of Texas.

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You’re wrong

SimplyB 14 Comments

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. Words like “mind-numbing terrain”. “It’s so boring”. “There’s nothing to see”. “Longest drive ever”. Any guesses what these words are describing? Well I’ll go ahead and give the answer: Western Kansas. I-70 in particular.

Continue reading “You’re wrong” →

‘Sup? oh my….SUP

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My oldest daughter has an SUP. Stand up paddleboard, in case you need to know. Her mother-in-law also has one. They rave about how fun they are, how easy they are to use, how great the muscular work-out they provide.

Continue reading “‘Sup? oh my….SUP” →

Yaks and Origami

SimplyB 4 Comments

For most of the month of November we’ve been volunteering at a faith-based camp on the Texas gulf. Palacios by the Sea is a lovely little spot in the universe. So low-key and friendly. About 4600 folks call Palacios home. It’s bordered by a lovely bay that connects to the Gulf of Mexico. By the way, for those of you word nerds who need to know how Palacios is pronounced: Puh-lash-us

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There’s a Lighthouse….on a (really steep) hillside

SimplyB 4 Comments

After a long period of time with no volunteering trips with our RV, we finally finally are able to get back out there and go. As I mentioned in my blog post titled “Purpose and Plans”, everything kinda stopped in 2020 for us due to Rotten Rona. In 2019 we began the volunteering plan, in 2020 it screeched to a halt. Only two projects total for us and BAM, done.

Continue reading “There’s a Lighthouse….on a (really steep) hillside” →

Traveling south; Gene, Blake, and Olive Ann

SimplyB 8 Comments

Did you know there is a national park in south central Oklahoma? Well there is! Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

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Long in the (Blue) tooth

SimplyB 6 Comments

Today I’d like to just share with you some observations on aging, really growing up a lot, becoming long in the tooth. It’s hard to come up with a palatable description for, uh, getting old. We’ll stick with the “tooth” phrase for my purposes today. You’ll see why later.

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Embracing embraces. And the number 28.

SimplyB 4 Comments

Are you a hugger? I wasn’t as a child. It wasn’t our family’s “thing”. That’s okay, I suppose. Pretty sure all you non-huggers are tolerating the COVID-19 restriction policies better than us huggers. Though I’ve grown into being a hugger (with a few limits), during these pandemic days I truly treasure all the human interaction I can get. Smiles (that you can actually see on an unmasked face), hugs, elbow bumps, conversation. Anything, I tell ya. Growl at me even.

Continue reading “Embracing embraces. And the number 28.” →

Purpose and Plans.

SimplyB 4 Comments

We’re retired. It’s been two years now. Since we love to travel and have a fifth wheel, we looked into ways we could incorporate both of those into our life plan. Doors opened for us to volunteer at faith based camps while living part-time in our fifth wheel and in the fall of 2019 we had our first stint in eastern Oklahoma. After the first month we loved it so much that we quickly signed up for another month.

And it seemed we’d found our purpose.

Continue reading “Purpose and Plans.” →

Would you like some whine with that cane?

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Unless you are blind, you are fully aware that my husband and I do not have athletic looking bodies.    No one looks at us and concludes that we must work out many hours each day.

We don’t look like we would be hikers.  We look like walking to the fridge is our exercise of choice.  (oddly enough, as I typed those words, the hubby strolled by from the fridge with a nice bowl of ice cream in his hand) Continue reading “Would you like some whine with that cane?” →

Texas, the final chapter. For now.

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tyler state park hiking trail.jpg

Tyler State Park.  Our final campground in Texas.  This picture was taken on a hiking trail near our campsite.

There’s no end to Texas.  I’m certain of that.  It is vast and so diverse topographically.

Our stay in Texas was initially going to be 6-8 weeks.  Due to various circumstances we were only there a bit shy of 4 weeks.  But even if we’d spent all 8 weeks touring Texas we could never have seen it all.   We shall return.  I want to see more. Continue reading “Texas, the final chapter. For now.” →

Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.

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bluebonnets.jpgTexas in the spring.  This was our first experience with camping in Texas, and oh my it’s been so very nice.  Bluebonnets rule the fields.  And sometimes Indian paintbrush rule the fields: Continue reading “Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.” →

Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?

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Fort Worth has never been a place I dreamed of going.  On this particular extended trip to Texas, I assumed it would just be our first stop on the way to somewhere better.

I was wrong! Continue reading “Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?” →

Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.

SimplyB 3 Comments

For the last several springs and summers we’ve taken frequent camping trips to local lakes.  And the Mr. worked remotely from our RV. While he worked, I did, uh, very little. Mainly spent time outdoors in exquisitely beautiful surroundings, hanging out with the Creator. Continue reading “Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.” →

Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.

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With the hubby’s retirement date approaching with alarming swiftness, I opted to travel with him this week on what will be most likely his last travel trip to a luxurious location.  No offense to St Louis, where his current project is, but Huntington Beach California appears to be decidedly more appealing.  Because of one word:  ocean.  Continue reading “Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.” →