Happy new year! Wow. Our 2015 was a great year, full of fun and adventures. We rang in last year with our friends Debbie and Bruce at Hidden Shores on the Arizona side of the Colorado River near Imperial Dam. We traveled through 17 states plus Washington D.C.

Our travels took us to Texas where we visited with my middle daughter, then up the middle of the country to Minnesota where Donna competed in the Senior Olympics. From there we went east through the upper peninsula of Michigan and down to the Detroit area to see old friends. From there, we headed to upstate New York where we spent a month with Donna’s family before turning south. We visited Gettysburg before going to D.C. to see my youngest daughter, then came all the way across the country to finish out the year in San Diego.

In addition to seeing friends and family and making new friends along the way, one of the biggest highlights of our year was crewing for the Hearts A’Fire hot air balloon team at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Also, along the way, we picked up a feline passenger otherwise known as Ozark the traveling cat who has added much joy and entertainment to our lives.

WordPress sent me a link to my blog stats for the year. Although I originally started this blog so my family and friends would know where we were and what we were up to, it’s grown far larger than I ever imagined. We had more than 68,000 visitors to the site from 111 countries – most were from the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Yesterday I took advantage of the nice weather and flew my quadcopter. I went to the clubhouse area where there’s a paved area enclosed by a chain link fence. I was alone in there and didn’t have to worry about hitting anyone with the ‘copter. I kept it at an altitude of eight to 15 feet above the ground and practiced moving it away from me and bringing it back and going side to side. I changed out the battery pack and flew for nearly 20 minutes. On the way back to the coach, I flew the ‘copter again at the grassy area next to the security shack. I wanted the security supervisor, Thomas, to see me fly it – he witnessed my failure with the first ‘copter.

I have three fully charged battery packs and plan to fly it again today. Once I’m fully proficient, I’ll try video or photography by linking my Samsung Galaxy phone to the ‘copter camera.

Last evening, Donna prepared an appetizer plate and we went to visit with our friends Kris and Tom Downey (Open Road 365). I carried the appetizer plate with a martini in my other hand to begin our New Year’s Eve celebration. Tom made bacon-wrapped cheese crackers on his Traeger smoker/grill. They were really tasty!

New Year’s Eve appetizers

Since Kris has limited mobility at present with staples and other assorted hardware in her ankle, Donna offered to cook dinner at their place. She made a kale salad using a recipe she got from Lisa McGuire (Metamorphosis Road). She served it with steamed lobster tails, curry roasted sweet potatoes, and eggnog bread and we enjoyed a delicious dinner. I switched to craft beers with dinner and after dinner, Tom poured eggnog and Irish Whiskey.

We played Yahtzee and watched the telecast of the ball drop in Times Square at 9pm our time. We had a great time and I completely forgot about taking pictures. We left Tom and Kris around 10pm and came home. I didn’t make it to midnight – I was in bed by 11pm. I’m sure Sea World had a spectacular fireworks show, but I missed it. It’s okay, we’ll see plenty of fireworks at Lake Havasu next month.

We have lots of sunshine on this first day of the year. I have the brisket I bought last weekend smoking on the Traeger. Donna is heading out for a bike ride. I’ll hang out to keep an eye on the brisket. We’re looking forward to some yummy sliced brisket sandwiches later.

Our plan for 2016 is pretty loose. We’ll stay in the western states and make a trip to the northwest to visit my oldest daughter and granddaughters. We wish you good health and much happiness wherever you are and wherever you go in 2016.