HAVE MOTOR HOME, WILL TRAVEL.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET / Senior Columnist When Curtis Clifton retired last year after 28 years as a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County deputy sheriff, he and his wife, Susan, chucked it all and got away. They have always loved to travel but this time they set out in earnest. They were gone eight months, racked up 16,000 miles in their motor home and visited 22 states. At 56 and 55, respectively, they are in the enviable position of being young enough to tour many areas too rugged for older senior citizens, yet old enough to have all their children raised and out of the home. They are as free as the proverbial birds. To them traveling is not only a way of life. It is a study of history, geography and sociology and they thrive on the fun of constant discovery. They have it all down to a science. ``Planning is everything,'' said Curtis. He travels with a laptop computer and enters the demographics and personal impressions of every place they see. Wherever they go there is something new to store away in their memory banks to bring up and enjoy over and over again once they are home. Their wide-ranging interests have resulted in a kaleidoscope of databases to draw upon when choosing their next trip. In addition to what they accumulate in their computer, Curtis and Susan collect printed information on places to go and things to see. When either of them sees a brochure or an article on some subject or place that sounds interesting, they clip and file. They have items on a maple syrup maple syrup: see under maple. farm, an ice cream factory and a place where there is a genuine, old, cider press the press of a cider mill. See also: Cider for making fresh apple cider
Apple cider is the name used especially in the United States and parts of Canada for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from apples by a process of pressing. . ``We've seen all of those things,'' said Susan, a registered nurse, who fits working part time into their travel schedule. ``But there are still a lot more out there waiting for us.'' When they get itchy itch·y adj. Having or causing an itching sensation. feet, they pull out the files and begin to plan. ``We love to visit presidential libraries and tour old houses,'' Susan said. ``We especially like places such as Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a city in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. It is the home of Naval Station Newport, housing the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center. .'' Touring Civil War battlegrounds has been particularly interesting to the Cliftons, as have been their visits to the pre-Pueblo cliff dweller Anasazi ruins and other native cultures of Arizona, New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , Utah and Colorado. They like the fall months back east but they are just as interested in West Coast adventures. ``There's so much out there to see, even yet, that we just like to take our time,'' said Curtis. ``On a trip up Highway 101 along the coast to the Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound and the Hood Canal. , we were gone two months.'' ``Some of those days we traveled only 50 miles,'' added Susan. ``We stopped to explore and meet people whenever we felt like it. It was wonderful to do that.'' Susan pointed out that their friendships have also been broadened by their travels. Two couples they met last year in New Jersey and with whom they found instantaneous rapport have become friends. When the Cliftons visited the state of Washington recently one of the couples met them there and they spent a week together. ``When they come through here they'll stay with us and we'll show them around. They'll do the same for us when we go to their area,'' Susan said. `It's a lot more fun to share discoveries with other people you meet and like.'' When they aren't traveling they stay busy with other interests. She sews, quilts and tole tole also tôle n. A lacquered or enameled metalware, usually gilded and elaborately painted. [French tôle, sheet metal, variant of table, table, slab paints, and he woodworks. They both bicycle, dabble dab·ble v. dab·bled, dab·bling, dab·bles v.tr. To splash or spatter with or as if with a liquid: "The moon hung over the harbor dabbling the waves with gold" at tennis and are movie fans. They read a lot; she likes historical novels, he likes mysteries. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , their motor home stands ready to go on a moment's notice. LANCASTER - Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and Pearblossom have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk. Monday: Chili egg puff, chili beans, Italian vegetables, lettuce w/orange. Tuesday: Baked pork chops, mushroom gravy, rice pilaf, carrots, marinated tomatoes. Wednesday: Meatloaf w/gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, Jell-O w/pears, banana. Thursday: Barbecued chicken, noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. Romanoff, peas and carrots, garden salad, orange and grapefruit. Friday: Spanish rice casserole, refried beans, Normandy vegetables, lettuce-tomato salad, Halloween cake. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Susan Curtis and her husband, Clifton, record their travels. Bettie Rencoret / Special to the Daily News |
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