Trying to Rise from the Blogger Blahs

I guess that’s what I’ve been afflicted with, the blogger blahs.  I see from some of my fellow bloggers that it does happen from time to time.  One of my followers informed me that I have been rather lazy lately (you know who you are and thank you for the proverbial kick in the rear).
We are winding down our winter stay in Florida.  At the end of February we moved from Panama City Beach up to Myrtle Beach.  My sister is here in a rental condo and we also really needed a change of scenery.  We will be heading home in about 3 weeks.
We found this 4 months VERY long.  We wonder if it’s because we have just moved into our new home and love it a lot or if we’re just getting tired of RVing.  Time will tell.  We had only been in the house for about a year when we left to go south so we are thinking that is why we are missing it so much, we are still having that newness feeling.
Some of our very best friends rented a condo in Cape SanBlas, which is near Port St. Joe Florida.  They were there for the months of January and February.  Actually 2 of our very best couple friends were there.  We drove over several times (it’s about 65 miles from where we were staying) to visit with them and we stayed over for a couple days each time.  It is one of the prettiest spots around.  What an absolutely gorgeous beach it has and so doggie friendly.  In fact we decided that next year we are taking a break from RVing and we have rented a condo there for January and February.  They all have also rented for the same timeframe. 

Jackie in the ocean in Cap SanBlas with his buddies, Brody and Tammi.

Jackie and his other 2 Cream Golden Retriever buddies, Clover and Magic.  What a beautiful sight they all are.

Jackie and I going for a walk on the stunning beach.

We had our friends over for dinner and I had lots of help in the kitchen from my Jackson and his friend Tammi.
If by chance we realize that our RVing days are done, we will sell both and 5th wheel and truck.  We will still continue to be snowbirds as long as we’re healthy enough to.  But we will not stay the 4 months any longer; we find that 2 would be better.  And the problem with the RV is our weather back home.  We have to leave before the snow flies and can’t return until it’s gone which is about 4 months.  If we could shorten that stay with the RV we would not contemplate ending our TV trips.
We are looking forward to getting home.  I am going to have some large trees planted on our lot.  The trees that the builder left when he cleared the lot are either dead or dying.  It’s been a long 4 months for us this year.  We were very happy and thankful that we could spend some great time with our friends in Cap SanBlas.  We had a ball.
Well I don’t think that was a bad start to my blogging.  No promises about keeping it up especially since I don’t usually blog once we’re back home.  As I mentioned in previous blogs I still do read all your blogs every morning with my coffee. 
Take care and all of you out there on the road, please be safe.

Wasn’t going to but…………

I said I wasn’t going to post any more blogs, that my blogging days were over but .. here I am.  I originally starting blogging so my grown children might have an idea what we were up to.  Turns out, they never read my blog, but I do have 50 + followers so I write for them, if they’re still interested.  LOL.

We have settled in very nicely in our new home out in the country.  It’s really nice to have the peace and quiet and we have great neighbours to boot. 

We’ve been here in Panama City Beach for 2 weeks now.  The weather has been great, except today, poured buckets.  The trip down was miserable, so much rain and when you have a large dog going in and out of the RV, well I’m sure there are many of you who know all about that!!

I haven’t had my camera out yet, but will soon.  There are parties planned here for the Christmas season, just bring a dish of food for 10 people.  I can do that.  Many recipes to try out.

More later..we are still here.  I do read all the blogs regularily, every morning when I log on, while drinking my coffee. 

Merry Christmas everyone.  Hope your Christmas is wonderful.

Big Changes

I know, I know, it’s been 7 months since I last blogged.  I usually don’t blog much once we get home from our winter south, but this year I was particularly negligent.  But I still check and read everyday, all the bloggers that I follow. 

Summer wasn’t the greatest in this neck of the woods.  Other than our Jackson whose was in almost everyday, our pool was only used maybe 6 times.  Grandkids are getting older and have other things to do in the summertime.  And the weather wasn’t really the greatest either.

Over the years we have been looking for a home out in the country with acreage and away from the city.  Our little town here is not so little anymore.  When we moved here 22 years ago, it was almost like being out in the country but not so now and we hate that.  So in late summer we starting looking in earnest for our country home.  We wanted it at least 1 1/2 hours away from Toronto, so that people weren’t commuters that live there thus it should be less busy.  We travelled several times to go look at homes.  We almost had one built but that fell through.  So we continued looking.  It was somewhat a pain because as I said it was at least 1 1/2 hours away from us.  Fortunately, we have a wonderful agent to kind of speck the place first and if she thought it met our criteria we’d drive down.  We saw some nice places, some not so nice.  And just when we had given up and were going to put it on hold until we returned in the spring, we found one.  Offers were written up and before we knew it, the place was ours. 

It’s just a few miles north of Belleville Ontario on a 2 acre lot.  Nice backyard for Jackie to check out.  It’s only 3 years old so is in great shape.  We will have a rec room/bathroom and a guest bedroom built in the basement during the winter.  We put our house up for sale and it sold in just over a week.  We are doing our own packing but having movers to do the furniture.  This Friday the house becomes ours and we will make several trips with a rented UHAUL trailer to bring all the smaller things and boxes down.  Our house here closes December 10th so we have a nice overlap.  We are knee deep in boxes right now. 

Exciting times, lots of work, but we’ll get through it.  We had to cancel our trip south to Panama City Beach this year.  We will have just too much to do to get settled, but we have booked for next year. 

There is room on our lot to park our RV, another criteria we had.  But we are not looking forward to our first winter back in Canada since 2008.  Jackson loves the snow, but us, NOT.

This is a picture of our new home….

 

I

Finally Home

I know, I know it’s been forever since I blogged.  Honestly, my fingers just wouldn’t co-operate and type anything.  I think you call that ‘lazy syndrome’.

The last month in Texas was a bummer for us.  The weather was nasty.  We were stuck inside for 3 days on one stretch.  Several of our friends and Jackie’s friends went home March 1st.  Although why, I don’t know because the weather wasn’t any better where they were heading.  We just wanted to go home, but the weather back home prevented us.  We are not ‘4 month’ snowbirds.  Three months is just perfect for us and of course maybe if we had had nicer weather we wouldn’t have been so antsy to leave.  Even Jackson was fed up.  So on the 24th of March we headed for San Antonio.

We had heard that the Alamo and the Riverwalk were a must see.  Since we were so close and would probably never get back down this way again we decided to spend a few days there.  It was worth it.  We really enjoyed both.  From there we headed home.  Texas sure is a large state and takes FOREVER to drive through.  But once out we made a beeline home.  We had a lot of rain on the way and our lovely clean truck and rig is absolutely filthy.

 

It is still quite chilly here at home and I really don’t want to winterize again so we will leave the rig sit in our driveway until the weather starts to warm and we are running the furnace which is ducted to the water areas of the rig and hopefully keep things from freezing.

We had a real scare with Jackson just before we came home.  He had gone to the dog park in Texas and played quite robustly with one of his buddies.  A very short time later after a nap when he got up he yelped and wouldn’t put his weight down on his back left hind leg.  We figured he had pulled a muscle.  He favoured that leg all day.  That night I put the heating pad on him, which obviously he liked because he didn’t move for hours.  The next day he seemed a little better and progressively improved over the next few days.  Then after we left and arrived in San Antonio he started limping quite badly again.  The heating pad went on again and this continued for a few days.  We were worried sick.  Contacted my vet and made an appointment for the instant we got home.  But the last couple days on the road the limp disappeared.  We think maybe being in the backseat of the truck all day kind of cramped up his muscle again.  But we took him for his appointment anyway.  Not a limp in site, AMEN.  She examined him in earnest and couldn’t find anything.  We suggested a x-ray but she said if he were her dog (she has 2 goldens herself) she wouldn’t.  But if he starts to limp again get him in immediately and an x-ray will be done.  He would have to be sedated for the x-ray and I know vets really don’t like to drug them up if not 100% necessary.  Touch wood!!!! he is ok.  She feels that he pulled a muscle.  We, of course, thought the worse, cruciate ligament or God forbid the dreaded ‘C’ word.  Retrievers have a higher risk than other dogs.  Having gone through 2 cruciates with our Lab, Maggie, I could have handled that.  And we were so pleased with all this walking and romping while we were away he lost 7 pounds.  Yipee!!!!

So we’re home, what an absolutely great feeling.   There really is no place like home.  I have little piles of ‘stuff’ here and there trying to figure out .. now where does that go?  We have to clean the rig inside and out, but that can wait until the weather gets a wee bit warmer.  I really want to get this puppy back into the storage lot.  She’s a monster size!!!

We’ll still trying to figure out how we can only spend 3 months south.  Problem is if we wait until after Christmas to leave we risk the chance of nasty weather on the way down.  Been there, done that.  And of course we cannot come home March 1st, because home at that time of year, and the way home is a bigger gamble.  Ah the trials and tribulations of retirement!!!

All in all at least we didn’t suffer the winter that they had here at home.  We had cold, but no ice, snow or sleet.  Next year we are headed back to Panama City Beach.  Texas is just too darn far, especially where we were.

So until much later…take care and if you’re on the road, keep safe.

Pet Parade

Today they held their Pet Parade at the park.  We weren’t going to bother entering Jackson because I really didn’t have anything to dress him up in.  Then Ken suggested we put one of his Hawaiian shirts on him with a baseball cap and sunglasses.  So we did put a shirt on him and sort of got the baseball cap on him but we figured the sunglasses must might get damaged so we didn’t bother with that.  The proceeds go to the local no kill dog shelter.  That is always a  bonus in my book.  The shelter even brought in several adoptable dogs.  Oh so cute and I sure hope they find their forever homes soon.  I don’t know if anyone here adopted one.  Last year they said 3 were adopted here.  There was one wee pup there that I had my eye one.  But we’re not ready to adopt another dog at this time.  It’s a good thing Ken is there to give me ‘the eye’ when I say, Look at this one!.

I believe there will be several rigs pulling out at the end of the month.  Some head home, some head to another campground.  They say it gets very hot here in the month of March.  We have decided, depending on the weather, if it’s too hot we are going to head up to San Antonio.  The weather up there is a little cooler and we have heard such great things at that area.  For us to head home at the end of the month wouldn’t be a good idea.  It is basically still winter back home and we could run into snow either at home or on the way home.

This little bird comes to our suet feeder everyday.  Also his mate..does anyone know what it is?

We took a trip over to the Mexican side, Progreso a few days ago.  You park you car on the US side and walk over.  Oh my, dentists, dentists, and more dentists.  And Pharmacies, load of them.  I had 2 things I had to get.  This cream that everyone raves about Gelmicin, that can only be purchased in Mexico.  You can get it in Canada, but only by prescription and it’s expensive.  I got a tube for $2.50.  Check it out online.  Jackson had a sore on his tail that he had aggravated by biting it.  I put it on in the evening and next day it was gone.  And a bottle of single malt, 20 year old scotch that my son said he wanted.  But as you can buy anything there in a pharmacy without a prescription I picked up some Nexium, dirt cheap.  Even though I have a plan at home, they only cover so much for this product.  There is absolutely nothing you can’t get there. 

We make our own wine at home, have done for 22 years now.  Personally, I think we make some pretty darn good stuff.  Anyhow, this year we brought 4 cases (48 bottles) with us.  No issues at the border, and we told them.  It’s hanging on pretty good, and it will ‘almost’ see us to the end.  We will probably have to pick up a few bottles, but not a lot.  So glad because we really do prefer our own wine to store bought.

Well that’s it…until later..take care.

Window Screens

When we had our Class A I had window screens for the outside of the big front window and the 2 side windows made.  I could not believe the difference they made on hot, sunny days.  Of course they went with the rig when we sold it as they were custom made.  We have a ton of windows in our 5th wheel and sometimes when it’s very hot and sunny we have to close the blinds on that side so the A/C won’t work so hard.  I really hate my blinds closed during the day.  A few weeks ago while out riding my bike in the park I came across a fellow who has making customs snap on screens for a 5th wheel.  I stopped and talked to him and asked him to come over and give me a quote.  I had investigated purchasing the roll down sunscreens that you can buy at Camping World and for our biggest window it was around $200 for one.  And I wanted 5 of them!!!  This gentleman was in business for himself and he made them in his utility trailer right on site.  He quoted me $345.  for all 5.  And they are big windows.  He does a really good job and I like that I don’t have to worry about them becoming unfurled like the other kind, while driving down the road.  I just unsnap them, roll them up and put away.  If anyone is in the Rio Grande Valley area and is interested, I would recommend him.  He not only does 5th wheel windows but the big front windshield windows on Class A’s.  Just remember during the day you can see out but people can’t see in.  Not so at night, so close those blinds at night!!!!

This is what it looks like inside.  It does make the side with the existing window screen look really weird though. 

Outside

The other side of the rig

This is his business card..

That’s all I have for now..so until later..take care.

Aren’t you going the wrong way???

Today we went for a pontoon ride on the Rio Grande River.  There were 4 couples aboard and the ‘captain’.

For the most part the scenery wasn’t all that spectacular.  Kind of boring really, but I always enjoy a boat ride of any sort.  There is just muddy banks on both sides really.  We did see some cars that they dump on the sides in the bushes.  Not cars anymore really, just rusted out hulks.  We were told they were put there to hold up the bank of the river so it doesn’t erode anymore.  Saw no alligators but was told there’s a big guy near the boat launch.

Rusted cars used to stop erosion

There was several buildings on the Mexican side but were all totally deserted.  In 2010 hurricane Alex (according to Bing) came through and the river rose about 15 feet.  We saw on some properties the water line mark.  Amazing.  The ‘captain’ doesn’t know for sure but thinks those buildings on the Mexican are still under repair from that hurricane.  Apparently our RV park here was under 3-4 feet of water from the river.

We saw several deflated, abandoned rafts on the US side.  These were used to escape from Mexico to the US.  The border patrol is very much in evidence, either by racing speedboat, foot patrol or helicopter.  And we saw something very, very interesting.  From the Mexican side this fellow sets off in a inflated raft with 1 paddle racing for the US side.  We’re thinking oh yeah he’s making a run for it.  Our captain called border patrol.  But…..he gets to the US side and picks up at least 6 people and transports them back to Mexico.  What the heck??? Hey buddy, aren’t you going the wrong way???  We find out later he is picking up people who have been transported to the US to distribute drugs and he’s picking them up so they can get more drugs and go back across again.  I think you call them ‘mules’.????  They had so many in that tiny raft I’m surprised the raft wasn’t swamped.  A few minutes after the phone call to the border patrol we saw them racing off in that direction.  Man have those boats got power.  I’m sure the border patrol does a good job, but that’s a might long river and I have to wonder how it is possible to patrol that especially at night.  The widest section we saw was about 1/4 mile wide, with most sections being about 500 across, an easy swim, or whatever they use.  We saw a discarded life jacket that the captain said was NOT there yesterday.  There are a couple Mexican communities close to the river which will give sanctuary to those that make it across the river.  It was interesting to see first hand the stuff you hear about on the news.
 

We are still planning a trip across into Progresso on the Mexican side before we leave.  We will leave our truck parked on the US side and walk across the border.  See what they have in the way of some good, cheap hooch!!!!.

So until later…take care.

Goodbye to one of Jackson’s Best Buddies, Koby

Today our dear friends, Tee and Lois had to say goodbye to their beloved Golden, Koby.   It’s such a very hard thing to do, saying goodbye and making the decision to do so.  It takes a deep, deep love for your friend to do that and not wanting to see them suffer any longer. 

Last year in Ocala, we met the 3 of them for the first time and we were supposed to meet up again this year here in Texas, but just a few days before they were to leave Koby had a nose bleed.  They made the decision to stay home this year as it appeared that he would need further tests and medical supervision.  As it turned out he had cancer and there was nothing they could do.

Tee and Lois, our hearts are breaking along with yours.  Koby was a great guy, gentle soul and a wonderful friend. 

Goodbye Koby, run free and happy my friend.

A Success .. I Think

Yesterday the campground held their very first Progressive Supper.

The campground here is laid out a little different than most.  There are 6 circles with a Palapa in the middle of each.  Our palapa has the pool tables, the next one over has the clubhouse and so on.  You can book your palapa for a private event if you like.  There are sites all around the circumference of the place too.  So this progressive supper was held in 4 of the palapas with the residents of each palapa (if they wanted to of course) would supply the course for that particular circle.  Circle 6 had the appetizers and wine, circle 5 (this is ours) had the salads and wine, circle 4 (the clubhouse) had the main course which was baked potatoes with ALL the trimmings and wine, circle 3 had the desserts and wine.  And the other 2 circles also contributed to the eats also.  It still amazes me what people can do with such limited cooking resources.  The food was fantastic.  We could have stayed at the appetizer table for the duration.  By the time we had consumed the baked potatoes with the sour cream, butter, cheese, chili, onions, and whatever you dumped on it we were done.  We didn’t even venture over to the dessert section.  I was very surprised that Ken didn’t because he just loves his desserts.  I probably would have had something and that would have been a big mistake as I was uncomfortably full already.  So it was a very wish decision to pass it up.  Too bad though cause the people here just out do themselves when it comes to the food.

In line for the appetizers

the good stuff

The management was wondering if it would be a success and I would definitely say that it was.  I think just about everyone here participated.  It was lovely.  Everyone brought over their lawn chairs to their own circle so people had somewhere to sit down, and tables were set up also.  They asked to spend no more than 45 minutes at each circle and then to move on.  It stated at 3PM and the timing was just right.  Sure hope they do it again before we head home, it was fun.

I bought myself a new bike.  The gears on my old one were shot and not being very handy people we didn’t know how to fix it and taking it to a bike shop would cost alot.  so I opted to buy a new one.  I love it.  It does ride so much smoother.  Now..what do we do with the old one.  I would like to find someone who wants a bike and is handy and could fix it.  Think I’ll ask the host here at the campground.  Maybe some organization.  Other than the gears it’s in great shape, it’s a Schwinn.

There’s a little bird that comes every single day and sits on our neighbours dish.  He will sit there for hours, literally.  Don’t know what he is, but I took this picture.  Maybe Judy might know.  He’s a fat little guy too.

Well until later..take care.

Meeting Fellow Bloggers

It’s really great to put faces and personalities to people whose blogs you follow.  I had put a comment on a blog I follow when one of their blogs said they had made it to the Rio Grande.  And of course, that is where we are.  I left a comment on Dee and Michaels blog Gone RVing! to the fact that we were very close.  They contacted me and said they were coming over to meet another fellow blogger who is staying at the same park we are.  I didn’t even know that.  They are Anne and Archie and I also follow their blog The Accidental RVers,  So we all got together the other day at Anne and Archie’s rig, which is just kitty corner to us.  I had met Archie at bingo one night but didn’t have a clue he was one of my bloggers.  Small world.  Unfortunately, they are heading out in a few days for more exploring.  We really hope to hook up them somewhere out there in RV land and Dee and Michael will be around for a little while so we will, for sure, get together again.  And their summer campground is only about 30 miles from us back home in Canada.  So we will definitely get together then.  All 4 of them are fulltimers.

We had an absolutely lovely afternoon, chatting, discussing other blogs we all follow.  I took my camera but didn’t use it.  Was so busy chatting,chatting,chatting.  But Dee took a picture and I’m sure she won’t mind if I attach it here.

That’s, from left to right, Anne, myself, Michael, Archie and Ken.  And of course our Jackson, and Dee and Michaels little guy, Timmie. 

It has been raining non-stop, literally, non-stop for 2 days now and the weather says this will continue until tomorrow.  We are all getting cabin fever and we have our life jackets ready in case we need to abandon ship!!  Some of the roads are flooded and you have to drive carefully through them especially if there are people nearby.  People still have to get out and walk their dogs and I guess just get out of their rigs for a bit.  Jackson is totally fed up, because he likes to sit outside the rig and just watch the world go by.  He does have a window that goes down to the floor that he can see out of, but it’s just not the same.

Well hopefully we haven’t all floated away and I can write another blog in a few days.  Take care…

Christmas Dinner

In one word..AWESOME!!  There was 22 of us, everyone brought a dish, some brought more than 1.  The food was outstanding.  I hear so much about the Green Bean Casserole that seems to be a regular dish at all of our US friends Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  Well I finally got to taste it and it was delicious.  There was all the stuff I love, whipped potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, turkey, ham, beets.  Now I know beets are something that some people would probably pooh pooh at, but I absolutely love them and don’t get to eat very often.  Ken is not a vegetable guy and beets, well, you can just imagine.  These were wonderful.  I ate far, far too much but oh it was so good.

Today it has been raining all day long.  But seeing as it’s the very first time it has rain in the month we’ve been here, that’s ok.  I do love the sound of rain on the roof of the rig.  So soothing and relaxing.  I was going to BBQ steaks tonight but of course Mr. Weber is sitting outside where it’s pouring but I do have a grill so I had to dig it out and literally dust it off and that’s what I’m going to use to grill the steaks. 

Jackson is a goofy guy.  Quite the comic and like several goldens, he ‘smiles’.  I sometimes have to tell people that he’s not baring his teeth, he is really smiling.  I finally got a picture of him in goofy action and actually smiling.

I don’t know if you heard about the terrible ice storm that went through Ontario.  It was very, very bad.  It started last Friday, the 20th, and there are some people that still don’t have power.  My nephew being one of them.  Fortunately his father-in-law had a generator which he brought over for them.  The storm covered a huge area and thousands of people were without power, my son was without power for almost 2 days, and fortunately again, he has a generator.  My daughter and our house (we live only a couple miles apart) was only out for about 6 hours.  We were sooooooo lucky.  My next door neighbour took a couple pictures of our house.  I think our birch tree is toast.

Well it’s another rainy day here, (I started the blog yesterday).  Dull and gloomy day. 

Until later..take care.

This n’ That

That’s about what we’ve been doing too.  This place has lots of activities going on.  We don’t do all of them, it’s just not us, but we do some.  And we’ve had alot of fun doing them. 

On Wednesday night, they have Margarita nights,  for $1.00.  People bring appetizers to share and they have a 50/50 draw.  Last week we won the draw and it was $63.  Thought that was pretty cool.  Then on Saturday night they have bingo.  I’m not a huge bingo fan but this is different.  You play in groups of 4, and you deal out a deck of cards between you.  You need 3 nickels, 3 dimes, 3 quarters and a $1 bill.  First 3 rounds you each put 1 nickel in the cup.  Next the dimes and so on.  When you get down to your last card you stand up.  When bingo is called the money is collected from all the cups and goes to the winners.  I won one shared by another person for the nickels and I won one round all my myself of a round of 10 cents.  There was about 40-50 people there.  It is actually quite good fun.  We’ll be back.

Today there was a very brisk wind, with gusts up to 40 MPH.  I guess because it’s so flat when it’s windy like that it picks up all the dust and there’s a haze in the air of dust.  We had gone out to run some errands and left the windows open because the temperature was lovely.  Big mistake, everything covered with a layer of dirt when we got home.  Out came the Swiffers and the windows got closed and the air came on.  What a mess!!

The park is still relatively empty.  I’d say maybe 1/2 full.  But I expect over the next week more and more people to arrive.

We had a little visitor this morning under the rig.  What an interesting little guy he was.
  

And I thought this was such a great shot of our boy..had to include it.

Until later..take care and for those of you on the roads..be safe.

Here and settled

We arrived here on Sunday around 3 PM.  I got us all checked in and we were escorted to our site.  We got ourselves level because once in that would be it.  We had to put some small levels under one side of the rig.  Last year we neglected to do that and we found that our heads in the bed were lower than we liked.  So I had to buy a couple pillows and put them UNDER the mattress head.  I swore that was never going to happen again.  Besides it is imperative that the fridge is level as you fellow RVers know.

Side view, Ken still washing roof …

We have been very busy since arriving, getting settled, putting stuff away for 4 months.  Doing a weeks worth of laundry.  Yesterday, Ken washed the truck and today we both washed the rig together.  After hitting that snow squall just before we left Ontario, both vehicles were a mess of dirt, sand and salt.  Now they’re both beautiful.  We just got back from a shopping trip to Walmart. 

Ken washing roof…

We met some people and were invited to their fire pit last night.  It was a beautiful night to sit out for awhile.  Tonight we’re going over to some other peoples for happy hour.  Appears we’ll be kept busy.  They have alot of activities here, unlike where we stayed last year.

Jackson has met lots of new friends.  It’s funny the older he gets the less he’s interested in other dogs.  But he’s very interested in people, just loves them.  He does love our friends golden, Koby, though.

Tonight I think I`ll break in my new Weber.  Have some bratwurst. 

Until later..take care.  Drive safe if you`re on the roads.

Day 5 of travelling

After our little respite in Texarkana, Texas, we were ready this morning to head out again.  We packed up and were on the road by 7:30.   Today we drove on state highways as opposed to interstate highways.  Biggest issue is finding a place to stop for Jackie.  He needs to stop about every 2 hours just to get out and stretch his legs and perhaps have a piddle too.  They have a few ‘picnic’ stops at the very side of the road, barely enough room for us to pull over. 

We are in a little campground in Rockdale, Texas.  It’s very adequate, full amenities, great cable, so so wifi.  The owner is very helpful.  We asked him a good gas station to stop because we needed some air in our 5th wheel tires.  He said, no problem, and brought over his huge compressor and Ken was able to top up the tires.  Nice long pull throughs, don’t have to unhook the truck. 

Tomorrow we arrive at our destination.  A week to the day we left home.  It will be nice to finally put things away, instead of stepping over bins and boxes of stuff that we can’t set up until we park.  I think Jackson will be happy too, not to have to spend several hours in the truck.  He has been a good boy though. 

Today the weather was WARM WARM WARM.  A very pleasant thing, I tell you.  

Until later…take care.  Drive safe.

Chilling Day 1

It was nice to get up this morning and know we could just laze around.  We sat at our computers reading email, blogs and catching up on the news.  It was nice.

Took a walk around the park with Jackie later this afternoon.  Still a chill in the air, but certainly warmer.  The back end of the park is for permanent residents in mobile models.  Didn’t smell any turkey cooking though, was hoping to.

Got the water filter in and checked the pump.  I can see where it’s vibrating, needs a little support.  A friend mentioned a pump silencer kit and I saw one on Amazon.  I’ll order it when we get to Bensten and install it. 

Guess there was alot of turkeys eaten today.  I’m not sure what Bensten Palms do for Christmas but I sure hope they have turkey.  That would be great.

Another day of chilling tomorrow too.  I certainly won’t go anywhere near a mall tomorrow, I imagine it will be like a stampede. Black Friday.

So until later…take care.  Drive Safe.

Day 4

I fully expected horrendous traffic issues today due to Thanksgiving being tomorrow.  But there were absolutely no issues at all.  We had a good run today. 

We are in Texarkana, Texas tonight.  We leave here on Saturday morning.

I’m sure you are sick to death of hearing about the weather as I am typing about it.  Just saying it was a very cold night again last night.

Our water pump is making very loud noises.  It’s pumping but vibrating alot.  I’m wondering if it’s come loose from it’s mooring.  I have to remove a few bins from the basement of the rig in order to open the compartment where it’s located to investigate.  Today it was just too darn cold to be outside to do that.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a nicer day so I’m going to give it a shot then.  Also have to install the new water filter. 

A wind came up rather quickly last night and kept waking me up, so I didn’t get a great nights sleep.  My eyes are very heavy right now and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stay up.  We are very close to the highway and it’s rather noisy.  Usually it doesn’t bother us too much so I’m hoping it doesn’t bother us tonight. 

I would like to wish all my American bloggers a very happy Thanksgiving. 

So until later..take care and be sure and drive safe.

Day 3

Tonight we’re in Lakeland, Tennessee.  That is just outside of Memphis.  Campground is probably one of the worse we’ve ever been to.  But it’s only 1 night.  We won’t be staying here on our way back home in the spring, that’s for sure.

Was very nice to have a warmer evening last night.  But alas, it was not to last.  Today’s temperature wasn’t too bad but tonight it’s dipping down again to the low 20’s F.  We put some water in our tank and disconnected the water hose. 

Tomorrow our mileage is a bit shorter.  Our destination is Texarkana, Texas and we are staying for a few days.  And again the weather is not co-operating.  Again it’s supposed to be cold.  The evenings especially.

Usually, this far south you can feel the difference in temperature, but not this trip.  We will be so glad to feel the sun and warmth. 

Until later…take care and drive safe.

Day 2

Shepherdsville, KY.

We were so tired last night and there was no TV so we retired at 8:30.  Don’t think I’ve ever gone to bed that early but I guess we were tired cause I slept til around 5AM.  I got, checked blogs, emails etc.  About 6 Ken got up, took Jack for his walk and we closed up the rig and headed out.  It was soooooooooooo cold we just wanted out of there.  It was –9 C for you Fahrenheit lovers (me included) that’s 16 degrees)  this morning.  We were warm though inside the rig. 

I got the water up and running today, so nice to turn on a tap.  But at tomorrows stop, Lakeland TN, they are called for a very cold night again.  We’ll be ok if we run the furnace and bring in the water hose.  I’ll put some water in the tank. 

We’re going to spend a few days in Texarkana, Texas, over the US Thanksgiving weekend and besides we’re not due in McAllen until the 1st.  I sure hope the weather improves.  It will be nice to have a little break from driving.

It was a good drive today, 3 stops for Jackie to stretch his legs.  As we have the extra gas tank in the truck bed we haven’t had to fill up since we left home.  Maybe tomorrow we might have to.

Well until later..take care and drive safe out there.

Day 1

I have been watching the weather like a hawk for the past couple weeks.  All indicators pointed to cold, miserable weather when we were scheduled to leave.  And of course it was.  For the past few days it has been bitterly cold.  But we managed to get everything done and was on the road by 8:30 AM this morning.

First stop is Monroe, Michigan.  No problems crossing the border.  Why the heck do those border guards have to try and act so tough?  A smile now and then would be nice, but I think they are trying to intimidate us by acting stern.  Doesn’t bother me cause I had nothing to declare anyhow.  We did bring 4 cases or our own homemade wine with us, which we told him.  He wasn’t the least bit interested.  Yipee!!.  He was more interested in all my electrical gizmos at the front of the truck.  We have XM radio at home and I take the unit with us when we go, and plug it into the radios AUX port.  So we had that, we had our TPMS system (tire pressure monitoring system) and Gert the Garmin.  So there were alot of wires, antennas and he was very curious about those.  Weird.  Maybe he thought I was some kind of a spy.

We ran into a really, really bad snow squall for about 20 miles.  Cars in the ditch, road completely disappeared.  It was very bad.  Slowed to a snails pace.  Should have taken a picture but wasn’t thinking, was just praying to get through it in one piece.

It was very cold in the RV once we got here, I brought a huge jug of water which I put in the shower stall and it had ice crystals in it.  This place does have heated water pipes and I know as long as I run the furnace our pipes won’t freeze, but my concern is tomorrow on the road when the furnace isn’t running, they could freeze then as it’s still supposed to be very cold.  So for tonight, it’s handi wipes, water in a bucket, and paper plates.  We should be able to hook up tomorrow night and be ok.  Oh and even the handi wipes which were in the cupboard had ice crystals in them.

Supposed to be great TV via the antenna here but we can’t pick up a thing.  Doesn’t bother me much but I know Ken loves his TV, tomorrow there’s cable. 

So that’s it..we’re on our way.   Really looking forward to some warmer weather, even in the 50’s right now sounds darn fine.

Until later then..take care and drive safe all of you out on the road.

The Countdown is ON

Yes that’s right.  Another summer has come and gone and now the countdown has begun for our trip south.  Where did the time go?  It seems not so long ago that we just got back.

We went out for a few days in the rig around 3 weeks or so ago.  We had great weather, the evenings and nights were a little cool but with the fireplace on and when necessary, the furnace, we were all toasty warm.  It really did seem a little strange that Arthur wasn’t there in all his usually favourite spots.  We really do miss that little guy alot.

We will pick up the rig at the end of this month to start packing up for our trip to Texas this year.  I just finished mapping out the route and finding campsites to stop at for the night.  It sure is along way.  We found a couple minor issues with the rig so the dealer is looking into those.  Nothing too bad, one of the scissors support jacks at the very back didn’t seem to want to go down and one of the latches on the bins didn’t want to latch.  I’m sure they’ll have them fixed in no time.  As much as we loved our Class A rig we really are enjoying all the extra living space in this 5th wheel.  Like living in a small apartment.

The bathroom project that was started so very long ago finally got finished.  What a screw up with the vanity.  Ordered the first one, waited 4 weeks for delivery and when it arrived it really was a piece of junk.  All the doors and cupboards were crooked.  So that went back and we ordered from another company.  That was another 4 weeks, they arrived and they had screwed up the positioning on one of the cupboards.  That one cupboard had to go back and be reordered.  Another 3 weeks went by.  In the meantime, my son, who is a electrician by trade and a ‘can do anything, fix anything’ guy had installed the new vanity lights and ceiling exhaust fan and plugs.  The correct vanity finally arrived and my son and Ken installed them.  And my son did all the plumbing for me.  I ordered a granite counter top, 2 more weeks.  In the past couple days, I installed the backsplash and touch-ups of paint from some ‘boo boo’s’ of things being installed, mainly the countertop.  But I can officially say, it is done!!!  We wanted to do the powder room on the first floor before we left, but after this marathon job, it will now wait until we return in the spring.  Thank goodness this was only the guest bathroom or we would have really been in big, big trouble.

Well that is about it for now..blogging will pick up again once we start to head out.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy.  Be safe.

Until later then..take care.