Toes

Hi! Everyone!
Jemima Jones Beck here.
Mom spent the day yesterday with Grandma Andrea at the Tall Grass Spa in Evergreen, Colorado where they both got a manicure and pedicure, and then lunch!
I went for a walk with Dad - it was way more fun then having my claws clipped and manicured!
Silly Mom and Grandma Andrea!
Love,
Jemima Jones Beck

At Dad's Feet

Hi! Everyone!
Jemima Jones Beck here.
Well, I am right back where I am supposed to be after our little trip, as you can see from the first picture included here (that's me sitting at Dad's feet, worshiping him for all of his Dad-ness).
Mom has been taking me for walks around Sloan's Lake every day, and spends the majority of her time that is not devoted to me either at the gym, doing yoga, reading Jane Austen (Jemima's Mom's Note: I have decided to reread all of Jane Austen's work. The last time that I read all of it was in 2004!) or cleaning.
This weekend Mom is going to spend some time with Grandma Andrea but I am not invited!
Can you believe it?!? I have been hoping to see Grandma Andrea for the last two weeks and I am not to be one of the party! Apparently they are going to some place called the Spa and this Spa just does not allow people like me (IE: dogs).
Oh well, hopefully I will get to see Grandma Andrea soon!
Love,
Jemima Jones Beck

The Last Day

Hi! Everyone! On Monday Mom and I decided that it was time to go home.
We were tired of camping, tired of cooler food, tired of driving, and we wanted to go home and take care of Dad and the kitties.
So, we took the longest drive of the entire trip all the way from Show Low, Arizona where Grandpa Al lives, through Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico into Colorado and home!
We left at about 6:00am and got home at about 7:00pm.
Along the way Mom listened to her favorite podcast, Cast On which she had been saving specifically for the drive on the last day.
I did not appreciate the Cast On because, as you can see in the second picture, it kept me awake!
When Mom and I got to the border of Colorado we stopped and Mom tried to get a picture of all three of us (Mom, Me and Tabatha), standing under the Welcome to Colorado sign - you can see her best attempt below (notice her hair? Yeah, that little lump on top of her head is totally hot!).
Mom and I did get home a few days early - the original plan was to be home on the 21st of June - but the drive that we had planned just went a little bit faster than we thought that it would, and there were some days when we couldn't find camping and had to go farther than planned.
Since we have been home Mom has been doing major cleaning on Tabatha and the house, as well as laundry and other errands. I have mostly been sleeping, as a pug should!
Love,
Jemima Jones Beck

Grandpa Al

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here.

Mom and I spent Father's Day with Grandpa Al, Mom's Dad.

It was really great to see him - the last time that I did was when I was 12 weeks old at Mom's college graduation!

Grandpa Al lives in Show Low, Arizona (which Mom and I both think is a very very pretty town) and is the Foreman of a construction company there.

While we were in Show Low visiting Grandpa Al we went to the Hon-Dah Casino and had a really great Father's Day brunch and Mom won $23 dollars on a slot machine! Woo! Go Mom!

We also went to an arts and crafts show and had a really great dinner that Grandpa Al cooked especially for us! Grilled roast (which Grandpa Al made well done just because Mom likes her meat really cooked), fruit salad and key-lime pie! I even got to have some roast - a very special treat for me (can you see me under the pick nick table in the second and third pictures waiting for dinner? That was such a nice cool spot!)!

Grandpa Al also had a comfortable guest bed for Mom and I to sleep on. I was glad because I was not sure that I wanted to go back to camping after having stayed at Bon's house for a few days!

Today happens to be Grandpa Al's birthday so... Happy Birthday Grandpa Al! We love you!

Love,

Jemima Jones Beck

Bon

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here!

I am sorry that it has been so long since my last post but it has been a few days since Mom and I have had wireless Internet. Thanks to everyone who commented wondering where we are and if we are OK! We sure appreciate the attention!

We spent two days last week with Bon (aka Great Grandma Velna). Bon is Moms Father's Mother; Mom spent almost all of her summers when she was a little girl with Bon and Grandee (Mom's Grandfather) in Durango, Colorado at their ranch.

Currently, Bon lives in Globe, Arizona in a very nice park there, and is enjoying an active retirement.

While we were with her Bon took Mom and I on a tour of Globe to see some family history, including the home where Bon lived when she was only four years old (sorry, our photos of this part of the trip were mostly corrupted), to the Roosevelt Diversion Dam, and to the club house to play pool. Mom says that no one should ever play pool with Bon and expect to win because she is VERY good...Mom is decent at pool and Bon beat her by five balls! Whoop!

Bon really is an incredible older lady (She is 76 years old). When not entertaining Mom and me she can usually be found fixing her own roof or deck, repairing lawn mowers and doing EXTENSIVE and beautiful landscaping to her lawn and that of her neighbors. Mom has always, and continues to, find Bon to be an inspiration.

Two of my favorite things about visiting Bon were her indoor water fountain which, she let me use as my own personal water dish, and her incredibly comfortable couch and spare bedroom. After camping for most of three weeks I was really ready to sleep on something other than the ground! And so was Mom who is rather remarkably bruised from all of the stones, tree roots, and grass clumps that we have been camping on.

Tomorrow, Grandpa Al!

Love,

Jemima Jones Beck

Disneyland

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here. Mom spent today at Disneyland and really enjoyed herself! She says that she prefers Disneyland to Disney World because Disneyland is much less crowded, is much smaller (and thus easier to navigate), and is much cheaper.




















Mom thought that this family was cute...the back of the man's hat says "Daddy".























This is where Mom ate lunch - the Blue Bayou .













Mom's dessert - three types of Creme Brule and an edible treasure chest filled with golden sugar cookies!















The castle at the center of Fantasyland...



















King Arthur's sword, which a cleaning man valiantly attempted to pull out of the stone for the benefit of Mom's camera.


















Mom's fortune as told by Esmeralda







The one bummer of the day was that a few of the rides were closed including Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as Mom's favorite ride - It's a Small World which, is going to be closed until November 29th! Mom had planned on riding Small World at least 3 times since Dad would only let her ride it once at Disney World...

Mom did get to ride her second and third favorites - The Teacups and The Haunted Mansion!

About halfway through the day Mom realized that her face was really sunburned and was forced to buy herself a hat - don't worry, she is aware of just how AWESOME she looks in that totally NOT DORKY hat and is going to take appropriate action soon (IE buying some sunscreen and finding a dumpster for the hat - Mom says that she thinks that she looks like one of the Witches of Eastwick on vacation in that hat).

And this is what I did all day! Tomorrow, we are leaving Anaheim for Sedona, Arizona! Love, Jemima Jones Beck

Oooops...Sorry San Francisco

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here.
When we did our post yesterday Mom and I forgot to mention that we drove through San Francisco in the morning on the way to San Juan Bautista.
Mom loves San Francisco and really wanted to stop there for a few nights, but it turns out that finding a hotel that has parking for Tabatha and will accept me for less than $300 per night is harder than you might think.
So, Mom and I just stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge and took the scenic route through town, and Mom will come back to San Francisco as soon as she can, probably without me or the car, so that she can take advantage of some of the wonderful hotel offers that are out there and see some of the sites!
Love,
Jemima Jones Beck

San Juan Bautista and a Lemon Tree

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here.

Yesterday Mom and I visited the San Juan Bautista Mission. It was sooooo hot that we spent most of our time hanging out in the shade by the huge cacti and other plants.

As we were walking down main street a nice man popped out of a restaurant and invited both Mom and me to the patio to eat lunch...Mom had a wonderful lunch - chile relanos and iced tea (her favorite drink) but I had an awful time thanks to a little girl named Olivia.

Now, I normally adore children. Love them, can't get enough of them, but little Olivia really stretched my love to it's very end.

As I was laying under the table tied to Mom's ankle, Olivia came up to Mom and asked her for a tortilla chip to feed me. Mom obliged and handed Olivia a chip, Olivia gave me the chip. I, not liking tortilla chips, politely took it in my mouth, and then spit it out. Olivia picked it up, and put it in my mouth commanding me to "Eat DOGGIE"!!!!!! I spat the chip out, Olivia picked it up and put it in my mouth, I spat it out. This continued through Mom's entire meal, through Olivia's Mom calling her away, through Mom telling Olivia that she thought that I might be full and didn't want a chip, through Olivia's parents leaving Olivia with Mom for "a few minutes" so that they could look at a nearby liquor store, it continued for so long that the chip became soggy and deformed. It only stopped when Mom handed Olivia an ice cube which Olivia promptly wedged into my forehead wrinkle (along with about 20 other ice cubes which Mom continued to hand Olivia despite my piteous looks at her).

Anyways, about the time that Mom paid her bill Olivia's parents came back and took her with them...I was so relived and so glad that the tortilla torture was over.

Currently, Mom and I are in Anaheim, California staying at the Lemon Tree Hotel.

Mom really likes the Lemon Tree. It is Australian themed, air conditioned, and only about 3.3 miles from Disneyland, where Mom will be spending the day tomorrow. Their wireless Internet is a bit spotty, but that is only because Mom and I are staying in their brand new building that is a little further from their main office (and thus their wireless transmitter) than some of the other rooms.

Love,

Jemima Jones Beck

Sonoma, Napa, and Some Jelly Beans

Hi! Everyone! Jemima Jones Beck here. Today Mom and I drove through Sonoma and Napa, into Fairfield and finally to Petaluma, California where we are currently camped.
Mom absolutely loved Sonoma. She thought that the whole Sonoma/Napa area looked like Colorado but with neat California twists (such as vineyards and palm trees).
Mom and I did stop at one vineyard on our little tour through the area. I had to stay in the car so Mom just ran into the tasting room really quickly and tried several white wines (the weather was so warm today that Mom felt uncomfortable leaving me in the car for very long).
After driving through Sonoma, and then Napa, we drove to Fairfield, California which is the home of the Jelly Belly factory headquarters.
Mom says that if she was being honest she would tell you that the Jelly Belly factory tour was a bit of a bust. She wasn't allowed to take pictures, had to wear a hat to keep her hair from getting in the Jelly Beans, couldn't understand the guide who did not speak English very well, and the factory wasn't running so she didn't get to see much Jelly Bean action anyways. BUT the Jelly Belly factory does provide a dog walk for their four legged visitors which Mom and I both enjoyed after her tour.
Currently, we are camped in Petaluma, California at a KOA there.
Mom says that not only is this the most expensive KOA that she has ever stayed at, but it is also the dirtiest (Jemima's Mom's Note: Scott, you might remember this campground from our road trip...We tried to stop here on July 4th and they asked us if we were insane trying to get a campsite on the 4th, remember that?). As you can see from the pictures we are literally camped about 15 feet from cows (can you see the cow in the background of the second shot of our camp site?). This is only the second campground that we have stayed at so far that has had other tent campers, and it is no wonder...Mom couldn't find any other camping within about 100 miles of here!
Tomorrow, Mom and I are planning on driving through San Francisco and heading to Santa Margarita, California, where we will camp before heading to Anaheim and Disneyland on Tuesday.
Love,
Jemima Jones Beck
PS: This was our 300th post! Go us!
Love,
Jemima