"Oh, the places we will go" - Zippo & Zion National Park #atozchallenge

Zippo, in Bradford, PA, is very near and dear to my heart. Having lived just "up the hill" from Bradford for three years, this is where my Klondike Mystery books are set.

Zippo Lighters have been around for a long time and even though they aren't used much in the US anymore, they are overseas and they have a HUGE collector base. They are located in Bradford, PA and the tour is free. But even if there were a small charge, it would be worth it to see the collections and displays.

The first time I visited Zippo, my late husband and I were living just outside Bradford. In fact our first ever motorcycle poker run started out at Zippo. But back to the tour, this was around 2001 and the main display was WWII and Korea based as well as a movie section. Amazing display.

When Stu and I visited in 2008, the movie section had been expanded and the war display updated. It was still amazing and worth the time to visit. Oh, and did I mention that it's FREE?

BONUS: Zion National Park

"Oh, the places we will go" - Yucatan & Yellowstone #atozchallenge

Yucatan, Mexico is a peninsula , in southeastern Mexico, that separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. It is famous for the Chichén Itzá ruins as well as the tourist destination of Cancun.

Shortly after Stu and I got together, we flew to Cancun for a week in our timeshare. I had only been to the border town of Los Algodones and wasn't sure what to expect in Cancun.

Royal Solaris was a great resort with no need to leave for anything unless you wanted to. We did a couple of excursions. One to Señor Frogs and one to Isla Mujeres. We had a great time although I admit we were fairly isolated due to staying at the resort. Oh, we did take a bus to Walmart. LOL!

BONUS: Yellowstone (I really wanted to be able to put Yosemite here, but our attempt to visit after our Rt 66 ride was thwarted by the government shut-down. Sigh...

"Oh, the places we will go" - Xtraordinary, Xtreme, Xciting, Xhausting #atozchallenge

X is the toughest letter, so I'm cheating a bit. I'm going to write about an event we participated in back in August 2011.

We participated in the America's 911 10th Anniversary Ride to Remember. This ride was to commemorate the 2996 lives lost on that fateful day. We rode in special honor of those First Responders who gave their lives without a second thought... fire, police and EMS personnel.

The ride started in Shanksville, PA then progressed to The Pentagon and finally to the World Trade Center in NY. It was a completely police escorted ride with a maximum of 2996 riders.

It was Xtraordinary, Xtreme, Xciting, and Xhausting and will never be equaled. You can read our entire account http://ourprimeyears.blogspot.com/2011/09/10th-anniversary-ride-to-remember-911.html and see our photo albums HERE.

BONUS: Xhilarating! I can't top the above!

"Oh, the places we will go" - Wyoming & Washington #atozchallenge

Wyoming, where the W stands for wind. It's also a very special place to us since it's where we met - at an RV rally in Gillette, WY.

It's home to our favorite national park - Yellowstone. Together, we've been through it several times and I've been through it several more. It's also home to the Grand Tetons. We had one particularly notable visit to Wyoming. We boondocked not too far out of Jackson Hole in Moran, WY. Talk about a view! The Tetons greeted us on one side and down the hill on the other we watched the elk come to the river for water.

For motorcyclists, Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways are the way to approach Yellowstone from the northeast side.

Here are some of our Wyoming photo albums.

• Grand Teton National Park & Moran WY area
• Visiting Jackson, WY
• Yellowstone National Park
• Travel from Moran WY to Casper WY

BONUS: Washington - Mt. Rainier & Mt. St. Helens

"Oh, the places we will go" - Virginia & Valley of the Fire SP #atozchallenge

Virginia is for lovers. Must be true, it's where we got married. But other than than, the most time we have spent is traveling through on our annual trip between the north and the south east coast.

One of our favorite stops is the Lee-Hi Truck Stop, just off I-81 on US 11. They have a campground but with our solar, we use the HUGE parking lot for the night. But we always take time to have dinner in Berky's Restaurant aka peddle car heaven!

BONUS: Valley of the Fire State Park (NV)

"Oh, the places we will go" - Utah & Universal Studios #atozchallenge

Utah is AMAZING! I don't know if this is right but I swear Utah has the greatest number of amazing National Parks in the US.

I've been to three of them: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches. When Stu and I only had time for one, and planned to do it on the motorcycle, I told him Zion had to be it. Amazing scenery, especially on a bike!

Oh, I also highly recommend US 89 for a wonderful, scenic ride.

BONUS: Universal Studios 

"Oh, the places we will go" - Tennessee & Texas #atozchallenge

Tennessee is our new home state, the place where we will eventually hang up our RV keys. A moderate climate, a good cost of living, an abundance of natural wonders, and friendly people. What more do you need for retirement.

Two months before he passed, my late husband and I moved from Florida to Tennessee, believing that is where I would stay. That was 2004. In 2007, I sold the house and everything in it and bought a used Class C motorhome. I hit the road as a full-timer in October of that year, now believing I wouldn't return as a resident.

Fast forward to 2009, a remarriage and in October of that year, we bought 5 acres of land about an hour from my previous home. We spent several seasons parked on the property after getting it prepped with utilities. Fast forward again, and in January of 2017 we closed on a house and 2.5 acres for our final home. (Know anyone looking for a nice piece of land in TN, all set up for an RV as well as room to build a house? Contact us)

We've gone on many motorcycle rides, visited Dollywood, rode the Smokies (and the Tail of the Dragon), gone to the CMA Music Fest twice and have barely touched the surface of things to do in the eastern half of the state.

BONUS: Texas - Paris, Frontiers of Flight and Audie Murphy Museum

"Oh, the places we will go" - Saint Islands & Sturgis, SD #atozchallenge

Saint islands - St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Kitts and St. Maarten. Beautiful Caribbean islands that we've been privileged to visit.

I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves.

High up in the rainforest of St. Lucia


St. Thomas port view


Port shopping at the terminal in St. Maarten


St. Kitts greets us with a little rain


Our full photo albums:

• St. Thomas, V.I.
• St. Kitts
• St. Maarten 2015 & 2017
• St. Lucia

BONUS: Sturgis Bike Week

"Oh, the places we will go" - Route 66 & Roatan #atozchallenge

Route 66 is the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, and was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. Stu's family took a vacation along Rt 66 and it had long been a dream of his to travel it.

Loving the western half of the US, I was more than game. It took us over three years to actually ride it thanks to delays for family and medical reasons. In Sept-Oct of 2013, we left from our property in north central TN and headed to Chicago. When we had ridden as much of the road as we could find, we turned around. Due to the cold, we took a southern route back home, arriving seven weeks after we left. Stifling head, frigid cold, vehicle tipping winds and an injury to me - but we made it; TN to IL to CA and back. By motorcycle...what an adventure!

• Route 66 - the start
• Rt 66 - the first few days
• Friday the 13th, Birthdays and Rt 66
• Riding NOT so rapidly through MO - Rt 66
• Riding through Kansas, stopping in Miami OK - Rt 66
• Short day to Tulsa, OK - Rt 66
• Oklahoma, Texas and into New Mexico - Rt 66
• Fast and Slow through New Mexico - Rt 66
• Madrid NM, home of the "Wild Hogs" - off Rt 66
• Back on the road in New Mexico - Rt 66
• We made it to Arizona - Rt 66
• Blown Away and Freeze Dried in AZ - Rt 66
• Baby burro bites back and more fun in AZ - Rt 66
• California here we come...and stay...and get blown...
• Santa Monica CA - THE END - Rt 66

BONUS: Roatan, Honduras

"Oh, the places we will go" - Quartzsite & ??? #atozchallenge

Quartzsite is small town, well, most of the time. Every January it becomes home to RVers, from pop-ups to million dollar motorhome. Nine major gem and mineral shows, and 15 general swap meet shows attract over 1.5 million visitors annually.

It's the essence of quirky, with a dash of flea market, a splash of RV dealers and a splosh of RV/camping vendors all mixed with thousands of RVs either in the local RV parks or boondocking in the desert.

Everyone needs to experience it at least once. Most either love it or hate it. I loved it and couldn't wait to introduce it to Stu.

Here are some blog posts and photo links from my visit as well as ours.

• Addicted to Dust (2008)
• My kind of town....Quirksite, AZ (2008)
• Full moon over Quartzsite (2008)
• Who said it doesn't rain in the desert? (amazing sunsets)  (2008)
• We made it to Quartzsite (2010)
• Quartszite Round-up (2010)

BONUS: {sniff - got nothing for ya!}