Somewhere in Time

Laundry Day

2012-01-31T06:50:00.003-06:00

This morning I got up and had coffee with Sherri. It is really nice to be able to sit down and drink coffee and have a conversation before she has to head out to work. Back when I was working with her we really never talked much in the morning...we were both too busy getting ready for work and then we went to work and were too busy to talk there.
Speaking of working I sure have noticed a lot of folks spending time work camping these days. I don't think that is such a bad gig if you get the right one. I have to work this coming Friday for one day...which is not all that bad and it gives us a little extra to help pay my SPEEDING ticket.
Today is laundry day. After Sherri left I washed the dishes picked up around the house and then gathered up the clothes. We will be going home Thursday night but I thought I would get a jump on some of the washing so Sherri would not have to spend her full time off in the laundry room.
Four loads later I was folding clothes and putting them away. It does feel good to have some clean clothes for back up in the closet. Last week we let the clothes get ahead of us and Sherri spent hours trying to catch up.
That was the sum total of my day. When Sherri returned home I jumped in the Jeep with her and we went down the street to pick up some BBQ. It sure was good and I have some left over for tomorrow.
Life is Good...

Somewhere in Time

Just Hanging Out

2012-01-30T07:03:00.001-06:00

Got up this morning and the bedroom was cold as ice! I guess the temps last night had dropped down some. I had to get up and turn on the heat for a while.
We had our coffee maker on auto! We had never used that function on the thing since we got it. What a novel idea. The coffee had brewed and was ready to pour as soon as we made our way into the kitchen.
We had several cups and discussed what we might do today. Well as things would have it we planned on doing nothing which seemed like the easiest thing to do. We did plan on cooking some pork chops on the grill and that was worth waiting for. I made some french toast for breakfast and then washed the dishes.
Sherri caught up on her work entries and played some games and before we knew it...it was time for lunch.
The pork chops were real good and Sherri made baked potatoes and green beans as a side dish. We had a green salad and she even made some ice tea. WOW can't ask for much more.
We took a walk around the park which we need to do more often. Sure felt good to stretch the old legs. When we got back to our site we relaxed and watched the weather. We will be having cold mornings and warmer temps in the afternoon. Maybe I can get some more things done outside when it warms up...
Somewhere in Time

Ticketed in Pine Prairie Louisiana

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000-06:00

Left out of Eunice with the intention of seeing some of the back country on my way back to Texas/ Now most town folks would be appreciative of travelers passing through their towns to spend money and help out the economy...but wait...every village has an idiot and I met the one in Pine Prairie. I wont mention any names but then you know it was a law man and I use that term loosely. The town jester was made highway guardian and placed at the entrance of the city. Just pass the sign if you looking real closely you can see the sign that says Speed Limit 45.
Upon seeing this sign I let off the gas and began to slow the MH down. Not fast enough Richard Petty! Barney tagged me at 53 in a 45! When he showed me the antique radar gun and the BIG 53 on the screen I almost laughed out loud but I was smart enough to hold a straight face. Only 8 miles over the speed limit and I was just at the 45 mile sign...but then I was speeding! Can't argue that and boy I sure am glad I was pulled off the road with all the locals out there passing me!
Well I got the ticket and went on my way. Then I got to thinking up the road that Marty Moron did not check my inspection sticker my tow vehicle nor did he check inside the MH to see if I had any contraband illegal aliens or smart bombs! I guess he got all he was sent to get...get some money to keep his job...or maybe this is his retirement income?
Who knows all I can tell you is be on the lookout for Pine Prairie Pete and slow down way before you come into town...

Somewhere in Time

Made it to Antique Capital RV Park

2012-01-28T09:10:00.002-06:00

We made it and got set up. Had to borrow Sherri's computer to post this so now it is her turn...

Somewhere in Time

Last Day in Eunice Louisiana

2012-01-26T07:44:00.002-06:00

This will be our last day here at Lakeview RV Park in Eunice La. We have enjoyed our stay here even though it was touch and go with the weather for a while.

Sherri once more left for work this morning in the rain. She really did not want to go but then she knew that she had no choice. Off she went hoping to return a little early today.
We have to pack up in the morning and head back to the Lake. We have not been there in over a month now and really need to see to things.
Sherri's Brother and SIL look after the place when they come up for the weekends so we do get a report once a week when they call us.
The drive back will be about 6 hours plus and I do not look forward to that. I do look forward to getting back to our barn and my shop where I can tool up for the next road trip...

Somewhere in Time

Another Foggy Morning

2012-01-26T07:25:00.001-06:00

WOE is me...
I woke up this morning feeling real good and then when the first sign of light peeped up from behind the pine trees I notice the fog and the dreary sky.
I was so hoping that the weather man had it all wrong but then I realized he was dead on. OK so I have to spend another day inside looking out at the world through rain spotted windows. It could be worse...It could be snowing !
I just have to find something to do today that will occupy my time instead of TV. I could plan a trip...yes that is what I will do...plan a trip!
I have all the means right before me to travel anywhere I like at no cost. This will take me most of the day and I will not notice the crummy weather outside.
The weather got worse as the day went on but then I was in southern Arizona and did not notice it. Well I was taken back to reality when a gust of wind hit the side of the MH and I realized where I was. It did not take me too long to return to my road trip, however...Soon I was back in Quartzsite looking for just the right spot to park.
By the time Sherri returned home the weather had got to the point that the rain was coming down harder and the lightning was non stop. We turned on the weather and saw where we were under a severe weather alert.
So here we sit in a MH in a RV Park...where tornadoes go for fun...and nothing we can do about it. It is not like we have never been here before. We have been full-timing for 5 years now and have been through many storms.
As things would have it the storm skirted us and we got some high winds and lots of rain but no damage to our home or the surrounding area.
I went out for burgers and we watched CSI and called it a night. Another day has passed...

Somewhere in Time

Finding Things to Eat

2012-01-25T06:53:00.000-06:00

Not having Sherri around all day means that I am in charge of putting meals together. I really have trouble figuring out what to eat for lunch each day. I am just going to have to learn how to plan lunch on my own. Sandwiches are my number one pick...bread meat and mayo...Tuna Fish...Peanut Butter and Jelly. No problem when it comes to sandwiches but any other things take too much planning.
I do like the dinners in a bag. Just toss them in the microwave and punch a button. In just few minutes you have lunch.
Today is one of those days that I need to come up with something new. I think I will search the Internet for a good crock pot recipe that I have all the ingredients for.
First I have to eat breakfast and that is easy because I have some French Toast left from yesterday. Pop that in the toaster and Viola breakfast is served.
Soon after breakfast was finished I had to head to the laundry to do a little wash. I want to keep up with the wash so I don't have too much to do all at once. That is when it started!

Rain...

Yes it rained most of the day and I was stuck inside with the TV and the computer. At least I have the computer so I can see what is going on. I chatted with Dee for a while and then read some blogs.I added some journals to my list and took some off that have not posted in more than 5 months. This made me feel more comfortable and cabin fever did not get to me.
Sherri arrived home about 4:30 and we had to decide whether to eat at home or go out to eat. We decided to eat out seeing as how Sherri was tired and really did not want to cook.
We found a Mexican Food Restaurant called Hacienda. They had the best food! We did not eat all of ours so we did box it up and brought it home. Now I wont have to worry about what I will eat at lunch!
The rest of the night went watching the State of the Union Address by the President. Many of the things he said I agree with but when you have a DO NOTHING Congress as we have you might as well have Mickey Mouse in the White House.
OK time to hit the hay and dream of another day...
Somewhere in Time

Weather is Great

2012-01-23T07:04:00.001-06:00

Setting outside in the sun was warming

This morning I woke up to the bedroom light shinning in my eyes. Sherri was up and getting ready for work and I was still in bed. I usually get up and have coffee with her before she starts her preparation for leaving but this morning I was still out cold? I must have slept hard last night.
Before I knew it she was out the door and I was alone at the computer just surfing around trying to find out what was going on in the world.

This is the swimming area at the park

Most all the folks I know are tucked away enjoying their stay and I must say I am right there with them. I have enjoyed our trip to Red Bay Alabama and the trip down south to Abbeville and now here I am in Eunice at a real nice RV Park taking in the sun and warm weather.
I spent most of the day today cleaning the inside of the RV. I waxed all the cabinets and vacuumed the cobwebs up that had managed to slip by us for some time. When you can open all the blinds and let the sunlight in you will be amazed at what you can see.

Looking south toward the lake...that is us on the right

The latter part of the day I spent outside reading my Escapee magazine and just enjoying the warm weather. A bit of a breeze kicked up every now and then which was a little cool but other than that it was real nice sitting outside.

Later in the afternoon Sherri pulled up and we both sit outside. While there Sherri asked if I had noticed the RV next door to us which happened to be a Tiffin. I told her that I had not seen it and did not even know that it had pulled in. Man am I observant or what!
We both walked next door and introduced ourselves to Ann and Wayne who were from Georgetown Texas. The had bought there MH in Ft Worth from Voght. They too had been in Red Bay getting their warranty work done and praised the service that they had received there. I have not met too many people that did not love their Tiffin and like the service given them at Red Bay.
We left and headed to McDonald's to get some burgers and returned home to eat. Monday night all our shows are on that we like and we spent the evening watching TV. When the weather report was over so was our day. We turned in for the night...
Somewhere in Time

Lakeview in Eunice Louisiana

2012-01-23T07:02:00.001-06:00

Lakeview RV Park Eunice La

We left Abbeville at 11:00 am Friday morning and drove the 53 miles to Eunice Louisiana. We had found an RV Park just north of town that would be a nice place to call home for the week. Upon arriving at the park we fell in line behind two other vehicle. But they had already checked in so we did not have long to wait.
Once inside we told the lady at the desk that we would be here one week and wanted either the week rate or the Passport America rate which ever was the cheapest. As it worked out the week rate was a dollar more for the week so we just went ahead and registered for the full week.

We got a site just across from the office and pulled in. Once on site we tried the jacks only to find out that our passenger side tire would be off the ground. Sherri does not like any wheels off the ground so we went in search of a more level site.
We finally found that site two down from where we were and that put us just across from the lake. The only draw back was it was on the main entrance road. This would be a little busy on the weekend when the city folks came in.
The city folks did in fact show up. We had gone to Wally World to get some supplies and when we returned sure nuff the park was crammed pact full of trailers. I will have to say these city dwellers were the nicest people that we have ever shared a campground with. Even the kids running around were polite and quiet when it was suppose to be so.

Saturday morning we did laundry which took some time being that one of the three washing machines were out of order. Kris played at the playground with all the other kids while Sherri and I did the laundry. It is good to have clean clothes and a nice place to live.

As fast as they had come in their exit was just as fast. We woke up Sunday morning to find most all of them gone and or leaving.

Sherri heads out Monday and I will try to wax some of the MH. The weather looks like it is going to cooperate with me and we can once again shine...
Somewhere in Time

Meeting Up With Dreamer Friends

2012-01-20T05:30:00.000-06:00

This morning Sherri left out at 15 minutes till 7:00. I drank another cup of coffee read a few journals and then turned my attention to cleaning up the MH. I can't understand how this small space gets so dirty after one day. I did the dishes made the bed and then started in on picking up all the dirty clothes.
After seeing how many stakes of dirty clothes I had collected I decided that we will need some clothes before we leave for Eunice La. The RV Park in Eunice has a great laundry room and there is where we will catch up on all our laundry.
Jim and Ellie contacted me on facebook and said they were staying close by and wanted to meet up with us sometime this week. I called them and set a day for us to meet up as soon as Sherri gets off work. Not sure what we will do or where.
Indeed we met Jim and Ellie and had a real nice visit. Kris is not a visiting type of guy but Ellie did turn him on to Angry Birds and that was all it took to get Kris to cooperate. Thanks Ellie.
We stayed and caught up on the time we have been apart and that was many years! Gee how time flies when you are on the road.
Jim and Ellie have a real nice home and are great host. I know it will be a long time before we meet again but we would like to return the favor and have them to our home...
Somewhere in Time

Organizing the Bays

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

This morning the alarm went off as it has for so many days and I was up and in the kitchen making coffee. Sherri came in and we both sat down and had a cup together. Soon she was off to get ready for work and I sat down at the computer to catch up with what was going on in the world.
The weather this morning was kind of iffy and I was not sure if I could get out to work on the bays as I had planned but after Sherri left I had a bite of breakfast and headed outside.

I had 5 more doors to organize and the back two I hit first. All my cleaning supplies are in the passenger side bay and my tools are in the back driver side. The pass through is just crammed pack full of what ever and it all had to come out so I could figure out what was in there and what to do with it.

I did some rearranging and managed to organize it a little better so I could find stuff when I needed it. Will I be able to remember where it all is...well no.
It is good to have that much behind me and tomorrow I will be able to finish up the last 3 doors and be done with it for a while.
Sherri got home about 5:00 and we decided to go out to eat with her co-workers. We met them down the street at Shucks. If you ever in Abbeville and you want some good Sea Food...Shucks is the place to go. It is located at the corner of 167 and 14. I had the gumbo and it was great. Rick and Sherri had the shrimp and it was out of this world. We will return to this place when the Sea Food craving strikes.
We returned home and got comfortable to watch our shows and then it was lights out. That alarm goes off
early...
Somewhere in Time

A Walk in The Woods

2012-01-18T06:35:00.000-06:00

Well they say that bad weather is on the way. I say bad weather I am talking about rain. I wanted to finish up cleaning my bays out this morning but if it rains...well I'll just have to cool my heels for a while.
I woke up this morning to the roof air blowing. Not the AC just the air. It is really warm here! I am not complaining by any means just can't sleep when it is too warm. I like 68 degrees or so and I can sleep soundly. Anything hotter I don't sleep good.
They have a mile hiking trail here and Kris and I walked it. One mile through the woods is a long way when you 're not real sure where your going. I was wondering for a while if I was going in circles but then I could see the park through the trees and felt a little better. I could see it now... man and young boy found wondering aimlessly in the woods. Stories like that you always hear about and wonder how anyone could get themselves into such a fix!

We did break out into the park and felt much better. I think we will stick to walking in the park where we can see the Motorhome at all times.
Getting back today I did get a chance to get out and work on the bays. You may be wondering why I am waiting until now to clean out the underneath. Well last summer was so hot I could not bare to be outside. Fall came and I was working more than usual and then winter brought more rain and I guess I just ran out of time. Now that I am not working and just looking after Kris I have time to dig out all the junk that has built up in there.
I still don't know how all that stuff accumulated there but it did and I need to find a place for it. I have more room now than ever before and that means more stuff that gets stored...
Somewhere in Time

Enjoying the Warm Temps Here

2012-01-17T07:34:00.000-06:00

This morning for the first time in a month the alarm went off on Sherri's phone! What the...I raised up in bed...thinking there was a prison break somewhere. Let me explain. Sherri has one of those new I Phones and the alarm sounds like the alarm in a prison when they have an escape going on. Well you have to hear it to know what I mean.

I got on up and headed into the kitchen to make the coffee knowing she would not be too far behind me. We have really enjoyed these days of just setting around for an hour or so talking and drinking our coffee but today we know that is over.

Sherri and I did have some time to drink a cup together but then she had to get ready to head on off to work. I spent a few hours reading some blogs and then started cleaning the house. The least I can do is make the bed and wash the dishes while she is out making a living for us.
Today I have to concentrate on cleaning out the bays under the MH. I have let this project go for some time and now I have to get to work on it. I have so much to do and with this good weather I really need to get it all done...

Somewhere in Time

Moved on Down South

2012-01-16T07:05:00.001-06:00

The trip south was uneventful and only took about 2 hours. The longest part of the trip was going the back roads to the Interstate. Once on Interstate 49 it was smooth sailing all the way to Lafayette. There we took Interstate 10 to exit 100 and proceeded south to Abbeville RV Park.
The park here is not a resort by any means but it is quite and we have room to move around. The sites are gravel and they are spaced far enough apart to extend your slides with no problem.
The electric is good and we do get good TV reception on antenna. We do not have our Dish Network installed yet so that is not available.
Sherri will have to head out to work tomorrow and she is not thrilled with that but then who would be. She only has until December of this year and then she can retire and not have to worry about getting up for work.
I on the other hand was put out to pasture by the company while Sherri holds a full time position now. They only use locals for the stores. This is their way of saving money and putting many of us out of a job...isn't that how it is going all over the USA!
Well I have plenty to do...just wont be bringing in any money. I owe so much back to the government now that I wont receive a SS check for 3 months! On top of that I will owe tax on my SS too! Wow what a deal I signed up for. Paid into a system for over 50 years and they are still taxing me and making me pay some of it back??
OK nuff of that. We got hooked up leveled up and slid out. Now we can relax...no wait we have to go to Wally World. We have never been to this one so we have to go! I wish we could collect stickers for Wally World visits. I would have many by now and maybe I could get a free cup of coffee if I traded them in?
Well better kick back and watch the Good Wife.
Tomorrow holds a list of things to get done...
Somewhere in Time

Down The Road To Marksville La

2012-01-12T07:13:00.001-06:00

The weather is not looking too good but we have to get going

We were both up early this morning getting ready for the trip to Louisiana. The weather was terrible and we wanted to get as far south as possible and as fast as possible so we could dry off. We have been wet most of the time in Red Bay and we were looking forward to some dry time. I have so much to do to the outside of the MH and wet rainy weather does not play well with that.

We did not get the early departure time that we had hoped for. I had to go over to the Service Office and check out and then walk over to the office to sign out. The Service Office did not open until 7:00 am so by the time I got out of there and out of the RV park it was going on 7:45. We finished up the last few things and then hooked the Jeep up.

We were out the gate at 8:00 and across the street at the gas station where we had to wait for a woman to fill up her car and pay the bill. This seemed to take for ever but soon she reappeared and drove off. We gassed up and headed down the street to the propane company where we filled up with propane…paid the bill and back on the road.

We had planned on stopping in Jackson Mississippi to spend a night with John and Bridget but the weather was so rotten we decided to go straight through to Marksville La. This would be about a 7 hour drive and with the rain and wind it seemed like 14 hours. We went to Vicksburg where we took Hwy 61 to Natchez Mississippi and then crossed the Mississippi to Hwy 15 that took us down the river to Hwy 1. Right on Hwy 1 and 20 miles later we were pulling into Marksville.

I have to tell you about Hwy 15 that takes you down the river side. You are driving next to the river on a narrow road that is in bad need of repair. I’ll have to say it was very interesting to see how people live in that part of the world. We could see signs of all the high water that had been there not too long ago.We could not see what people saw in living so close to the river like that but then I guess it is not too much different than people living on the coast.

It took us a little over an hour to get to Hwy 1 and needless to say Sherri was very happy to get on a good road. We pulled in and got settled in. Then it was time for us to go over to McDonalds for a burger. We then headed to where else…Wally World… for needed supplies and back home to relax for the rest of the evening.

It was a long day and we are thankful that we made it here without incident…

Somewhere in Time

Our Time Here is Over

2012-01-11T07:11:00.001-06:00

Sherri plots out our next move

We have come to the end of our stay here at Red Bay and it is time to head south. Sherri has to be in Abbeville Louisiana for her job so we will be heading that way.

We have enjoyed our stay here and appreciate the service we received there. We pulled into Bay 27 for our final work to be done. Other than a short break for lunch they finished up in record time and we returned to site 50 after filling up with water and dumping. Tomorrow was the trip to the plant

The tour through the plant was the high lite of our time here and we will never forget it. Being a wood worker I was amazed at the woodshop and all the specialty stations there!

Well Time to suck em in and head um out. See ya…

Somewhere in Time

Time at Red Bay

2012-01-10T14:18:00.001-06:00

I heard in on the roof and then when I looked outside I saw it…Rain. Yes it rains in Alabama.

Sherri and I are tucked away in site 50 here waiting to get our work done on the MH. We really don’t have major things wrong with it but they are some things that need to be seen after before they become major. I had called ahead and talked with the man in charge here and he assured me I did not need a reservation for work this time of year because they are not that busy….Wrong! The line getting in here was backed out into the street and more coming down the road. I guess everyone heard that this was the time of year to come?

Oh well as I said before I have taken the Mark Hall’s Service Center Techniques…or “How to bully your way into a service bay”.

Sure nuff no one showed up at our MH and it was going on noon. We have no water pump and they have turned the water off here for the winter months. So here I go on the first visit to the Service Office. I found Jimmy Oliver at his deck typing on his computer. “Jimmy”, I said… “I have a problem, we have NO water pump and my Wife needs to bathe”. “If your wife could not bathe would she be happy”?

Soon I was pulling into bay 32 which is an express bay to get my water pump fixed and what ever they could get in 3 hours with 2 men. I was amazed at all the work they got done. We only have a few items to complete and we will be all done with the list.

We backed out of bay 32 and made our way to the watering hole to give the MH a drink. I was surprised that we did not use that much water in two days. It was still a good idea to take on water while we were buckled up. Back to our site and got everything back out where it goes. Now this is one thing Sherri does not like is having to take down and set up each day.

If you can’t see what I am talking about look past Kris….

We made a run to town to see what there was to see. We found a Mexican Restaurant just down the street. We stopped on our way back and ate. Not bad Mexican food at that. The view while I was eating was not the best in the world but I did my best not to look. Other than that we would go back.

Red Bay is not long on things to see and do. We did scour the grocery stores for food. Being that we both work in grocery stores I have to say that they have the cleanest stores here.

Well that is a wrap for the day. We are just waiting for the next free Express Bay to open. I will be back up at the office…

Somewhere in Time

Comments on Red Bay

2012-01-09T21:24:00.001-06:00

I have heard all kinds of stories about Red Bay from all the Tiffin owners that I read about. One of the folks that I have learned so much from is Mark Hall. Mark or should I say Dortha gives me a play by play report of everything that they get done while at Red Bay. I know that Mark does not wait for something to happen while he is here. Mark spends all his time poking around the service center to see if he can get squeezed in somewhere.

I had many people tell me that they did not get good service when they got here but with Red Bay service center techniques 101 from Mark Hall I will see how much I have learned.

Sherri got her chair at a good price. It is nice that it matches all the other furniture and we have plenty of room! The chair alone was well worth the trip up here.

We have no water so we will have to semi-boondock while we are here. This means that we will have to close up every once in a while and go get water. This should keep us plenty busy.

Stay tuned tomorrow and see if what I have learned helps me get service here…

Somewhere in Time

Here we are in Red Bay

2012-01-08T06:54:00.001-06:00

Sherri and I decided to go ahead and go to Red Bay since we were already in Mississippi visiting Bridget and John. It was only another 4 hours north and we wanted to get our warranty work done before our first year is up.

As I had mention before Sherri wants a new chair for the coach and they have them there at the Service Center. I will be trying to contact one of the Techs to do some work off site to our kitchen counter top.

We left Jackson around 10:00 am and made the journey north. It was an uneventful trip until we reached the check in office at Red Bay. The line was out in the street and we had to park on the side of the road to wait for the Motorhomes ahead of us to pull up. Soon two coaches pulled on into the RV park but the Motorhome in front of us just sat there. We were too close to pull around him so we had to set there. While setting there waiting for him to pull up two Motorhomes passed us and pulled into line. Well needless to say I almost lost it…but Sherri kept me calm.

We soon got in and settled in site 50 to await our turn. The weather here is good and I hope to get some things done inside and out…

Somewhere in Time

Just Writing

2012-01-06T07:01:00.001-06:00

Here I sit here now with a Internet connection and nothing to write. I have to write something just to download it with this connection…what a waste it would be not to use it.

I posted last time with a picture of a fire place in my Motorhome that Sherri and I had bought at Lowes somewhere in our travels. We loved the way it looked and it did heat the entire house on wheels when we had it. One thing about it that lead to our taking it back was the noise that it started making. The little motor that turns the flame started squealing and like to have drove us mad! We hated to get rid of it but you could not stay in the room with the noise.

Now we are in search of a chair to go in it’s place. The chair in our motor coach is just too small and it does not recline. We hope to find what we want when we get to Red Bay. They have all kinds of furniture up there at the repair facility and across the street they have a warehouse full of used furniture out of rigs they have refurbished.

We will be going to Alabama soon to get our warranty work done and that will be a good time to get a chair that matches our leather seat. Sherri likes the one that is in the Allegro Bus and it will fit in our space we have. It is a recliner which means we do not have to worry with the foot stools. We did not want to have to find a place for the foot stools when we were not using it.

I will be looking for some wood trim that matches our cabinets so I can make Sherri some shelves for her linen closet in the bathroom. We would like to see how much it will cost to have another cabinet in the bath room made off site and installed.

Well this is our plan and we will see about getting it done…

Somewhere in Time

Yes We are Still Alive

2012-01-04T07:08:00.001-06:00

First of all Sherri and I would like to wish all our friends out there a Happy New Year!

We have been real busy traveling back and forth across the state. When my sister went in the hospital in Amarillo we traveled there to be with her and my brother in law. She was in a coma that she never came out of and soon died. I would like to thank all of you that sent your prayers and well wishes to me and my family.

The funeral was in Abilene 100 + miles south of Amarillo. We drove there and spent a few days with the family and then it was back to the lake for a short stay.

As you can see we have been on the move for some time now. We did get a break at Christmas to head down to Galveston to see my other sister and brother in law. It was a bitter sweet visit…knowing we were the only two kids left now makes you realize that life is short with no guarantees.

We did have some fun moments…riding the ferry and driving around to see some of the sites. The weather was not very good and walks on the beach were short. The wind blew and the rains came but we made the best of it.

I was disappointed that we did not get to do some of the things on the beach that good weather allows but we did have a good time. Kris enjoyed playing in the sand with his toys on the two dry days we had. He could not understand why we could not go out when it was raining…yes he is blond!

Kris and I did get to play on the beach some

The stockings were hung waiting for Santa

And sure nuff he showed up and left some great gifts

Our stay was short but sweet and we had to pack up and head north. Back to our refueling oasis at Lake Tawakoni. There was things there that needed seeing to and clothes to wash. These are things that you cannot put off too long.

We did have a great New Years eve fireworks show put on by our nephews and Kris. They enjoyed the light show and so did we. I hope that all of you did the same.

After the new years celebration we packed up once more and headed east to Jackson Mississippi to visit with our close RVing friends John and Bridget. We drove 6 hours to get there. They both met us at the Flying J where we were refueling and so we could follow them to their camp spot. We got the site across the street from them and set up camp.

Across Louisiana and on to Mississippi

Which way do we go from here?

Bridget had put a ham in the oven and they had us over for dinner. We had cabbage and black eyed peas with the ham and let me tell you…it was great.

Thank you John and Bridget for having us over…we sure enjoyed the food. They invited us to go the Bridget’s Mom and Dad’s house for a visit and a game of cards. They had us over just to beat the snot out of us…which they did! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

OK I know I have gone on too long. We will be back as soon as I can find another good signal to get on the Internet…

Somewhere in Time

Just Hanging on to a Signal!

2011-12-22T04:31:00.002-06:00

The Internet connection has been terrible and today is no exception. I have maybe one bar and it comes and goes. I need to beef up my system but then I would rather eat so I will just find a better area for my computer.

I have to start this post over twice so I will send it on and hope that it will get to you all...

Somewhere in Time

Sherri Came to Visit

2011-12-01T06:15:00.001-06:00

This morning I was brought out of my deep sleep by the silence. The park here has virtually emptied out and we are left alone in our section. They have 200 sites here and when we arrived last Friday we were surrounded by hundreds of RVs. Now the closest RV is five rows away.

This is a real nice park to stay a good while at. Being a Passport America park you have cheap rate and they offer it everyday except weekends. We will be here a week come next Friday.

I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to flip the switch on the coffee maker. I sat down at the computer to see if there was any word on my sister. No one has called so I am not sure how her surgery went. I will call this morning and find out. Thanks again for all your prayers and well wishes. It is good to have friends when times are tuff.

Yesterday I got several chores completed…vacuuming the house on wheels was one of them. It looked real clean when I finished and I was proud of my job. I wanted everything to look real nice…Sherri was coming to see me and take me out to eat this evening. She was coming with some of our friends from work and we were going to Roxie’s. Roxie’s is a 50’s and 60’s diner in the casino. They have real good food at a descent price. I had checked on the buffet there and they wanted $19.95! Now I don’t know about you but that is ridiculous!

They all arrived about 6:00 pm and we decided to take the shuttle over to the casino instead of trying to find a parking place there. It was not long when the shuttle showed up. We had to holler to get him to stop…by this time it was dark and he did not see us.

We had a great meal and then headed back to the MH for a short visit. They all had to leave about 9:30 so they could get back to the hotel and get some sleep. Tomorrow is their last work day and Sherri will come home. We plan on leaving Friday morning so we can be back at the lake around 12:00 noon.

We have a Plummer coming to run our water lines to the barn so we would like to be there before they arrive. I wanted to get this all done before our first freeze. Right now we have water hoses stretched out over the ground and that is not good in freezing weather.

OK nuff said for today. I will just have to see what this day has in store…

Somewhere in Time

Warmer Weather

2011-11-30T06:55:00.001-06:00

This morning I woke up and noticed the temp in the bedroom was not as cold as yesterdays. I had to assume that the outside temps were warmer and sure nuff I was correct. I have a weather alert radio that my son gave me several years ago and it has an outside thermometer that transmits the temp from outside to the monitor inside.

AHHH…all is good! I flipped the switch on the coffee maker and settled down at the computer. It is so good to have a good connection. I have enjoyed reading all of the journal entries from all our RV friends.

I have not heard anything about my Sister. I did find out that she had suffered a fall two weeks ago. Evidently this caused some bleeding in her head which caused the stroke like symptoms. They have her medicated and did an MRI which will be reviewed by the doctor today.

I want to thank all of you out there that sent your well wishes to me on Facebook. I will let you know how she is doing as soon as I find anything out.

Meanwhile I remain here in Marksville enjoying the warming weather and getting some things cleaned up outside. Not only the outside but I have some plans for straightening out some of my cabinets inside. You know what I mean when I say that they can get cluttered real fast. Things seem to get tossed in them rather than being neatly put away.

I did get the bay that my electric cord is stored cleaned out. After many times of storing that cord in wet weather…the mud and grass had built up in there. I got the cord wiped clean and the bay vacuumed out. Sure looks good now…don’t know how long that will last.

I have several bays to go so I guess I better get to work. Hopefully I will have everything looking sharp…

Somewhere in Time

Winter is Here

2011-11-29T08:15:00.001-06:00

Woke up this morning and found the temps in the MH cool to say the least. I came into the kitchen to turn the coffee on and checked the temps. It was showing to be 58! Wow…time to turn the furnace on and warm things up in here.

Soon the coffee was ready and I poured me a cup and sat down at the computer. I went to Facebook and before I knew it my good friend Dee was chatting with me. It had been some time since we had chatted. I told her that I don’t always have a good Internet connection. When we are at a park that has WIFI with a good signal I try to catch up on my reading.

We will be here for two more days so I have a lot to do before I leave.

It is so good to see where everyone is and what they are up to. I did find out that many of my RV friends are posting less and less as they travel. I can understand…the more we travel the less time I have to post. Oh well it gives me more to write about when I can.

Sherri is working in Alexandria while I hold down the fort here in Marksville. My grandson Kris is here with me and we have been exploring the park while he rides his bike. This has given me an opportunity to walk more…which I really need.

Today we are going to the movies here to see Happy Feet. They have a theater in the Hotel with three screens. This is nice when you bring your young ones with you and they need some entertainment too.

Yesterday I was going to clean out the bays on the MH but bike riding took a higher priority.

Just got off the phone with my sister…she was calling about our sister in Abilene Texas. She had what they believe to be a stroke. We are waiting to hear back from the family on what happened. I will sign off here and ask for everyone’s prayers…

Somewhere in Time

Sherri is gone

2011-11-28T06:40:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning and forgot that Sherri had left for Alexandria for work. Kris and I are here by ourselves having to make do with no one to lead us.

The weather here yesterday was rainy and we had to spend a big part of it inside. Today is suppose to be sunny and a little warmer so maybe we can go out and burn off some of this energy. I just don’t feel good if I stay inside all day long. Even when I get sick I have to keep moving around so I get better faster.

We do a lot of bicycle riding here in this RV park. They have concrete drives and parking areas so there is room to ride a bike. With the weekend crowd gone I don’t have to worry that much with traffic.

Hope the weather man is right about that sun shine today. I have plans for cleaning out the bays and it would be nice if it was not raining while I was doing so.

Better get to cracking this morning so I can get everything done…

Somewhere in Time

Marksville

2011-11-27T16:19:00.001-06:00

Sherri and I packed it up and headed east for Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner with our close friends Rick and Becky in White Oak Texas. Non of our Texas family was having Thanksgiving. The Kansas crew was a little too far off to visit so we just took the first invite we had! Brice invited us up to Kansas but being one day there and one day back leaves us with planning a longer time to do that. Last year we spent it with Dreamer friends in Aledo Texas. I guess as long as we don’t have anything going on here in Texas we will just go where we are invited…HA!

OK so we had Thanksgiving dinner which by the way was very good. We left around 3:00 pm and went back to the RV park. Our plan was to leave at check out on Thursday and head to Marksville LA. Before we leave Sherri wanted to go by Lowes and see if they had the Duro-Flame Fire place she has had her eye on. We have had a fireplace in the last two RVs and we sure miss them when the weather turns cold.

We struck out on finding the fireplace so she will have to check out the Lowes in Alexandria when she goes there.

Well I had mentioned that Rodney and Becky had bought them a Motorhome. They got a Winnabago Adventurer. I have some pictures we took when they went to see what they had. They ordered it…something we would never do…but it turned out OK for them…. so all is well. We like to see what we are getting before we buy it. I don’t like surprises.

Now what button was that I was suppose to push?

We got on the road and made one stop at the Flying J for fuel. I am real happy with my MPG so far and they say I should get better when we have more miles on the engine.

We arrived at Marksville, got our assigned site but found out that it was not very level. We had to raise our front tires off the ground about 4 inches before it was level. I don’t like my tires off the ground. I unhooked the Jeep and drove around the park until I found a site that was close to level. Then I drove back up to the office and changed.

We went back to the Motorhome and moved to the new site. We leveled up with no problem and got settled in. It was dark when we sat down to eat and finished the night off with a little TV.

Saturday morning we took a trip over to the Casino to see the Alligators and also to see the Christmas decorations. They have a theater there. Happy Feet is playing and Kris wanted to go see it. Later in the week we may just do that.

Saturday we decided to make our own Thanksgiving meal. Sherri had bought a smoked turkey with all the trimmings. She fixed it all up and we had our first Thanksgiving dinner in our Motorhome. Looks like Kris and I will have many meals on the left overs.

What would a trip be without a stop at Wally World. Yes we stopped to get some supplies for our stay here at the Casino RV Park. This turned out to be cheaper than I thought it would….which was a good thing. One thing I could not believe was the fact that this Wally World did not have any RV supplies!!! With a large RV park here across the street from the store you would think that they would carry RV supplies. Go figure. I will just have to do without until I get back to civilization.

When we returned Sherri took a trip over to the casino. This time she did much better and won enough money to pay for our stay here at the RV Park! She will give it another try tomorrow before she leaves for Alexandria. I hope that she hits the big one so we can retire and hit the road….

Somewhere in Time

Doing Nothing Here in Lafayette Louisiana

2011-11-16T12:31:00.001-06:00

Took another trip down here to Lafayette for the week. Sherri is working this week and I am just hanging out. It has been a while since I have posted so I thought I better get on line here and say a few words.

We don’t have a good connection at the lake so when we get on the road I have to take advantage of the connection we have and get out there to let everyone know that I am still alive.

Just want to let you know that my SIL and BIL are looking at buying a Winnebago Motorhome. They have one picked out but not sure if that is the one for them. They have a Carriage like we use to have. Like us they have decided to get something a little easier to set up and maneuver from place to place. I don’t have any pictures as of now but I will get some and put them on my journal.

Congratulations to Bridget and John Hatch!!! They are grandparents…Life will not be the same for you two. Grandkids are special.

We are planning on moving our home to Marksville La around Thanksgiving. We will stay in that area for a week or three and then head back to the lake for Christmas. We have to get out tree up in our new home (this will be our first Christmas in our new Motorhome).

It has been raining here for most of the day and the temps have fallen somewhat. I hear we got some good rain at the lake…which means my grass will grow some. This is not good because I don’t want to mow!

We head back to Texas Friday morning. I have a list of projects to get done at the barn. The weather is just right for getting things done there so I hope to accomplish a lot. I will have to post some new pictures of the barn and all the things that we have finished…

Somewhere in Time

Halloween in Louisiana

2011-11-01T06:27:00.001-05:00

We had Halloween here in New Iberia right after work. No we did not go Trick or Treating we just went out to eat at Duffy’s Diner.

Duffy’s is a 50’s Diner that serves all the food that is bad for you. You know like in the 50’s everything was bad for you but you didn’t know it until the late 70’s. It is a wonder we made it this long.

Other than working we just go out to eat and visit with all our co-workers. Not much excitement so I will go back to reading about those folks that are out on the road seeing the USA…

Somewhere in Time

A Trip To The Ft. Worth Zoo

2011-10-25T21:22:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning I woke up in my grandson’s bed trying to remember where I was and how I got there.

Sherri and I had made the trip to Euless to visit with our grandchildren. We had not seen them in over two months and we both missed him so much. The plan was to go to the State Fair but then after some thinking we thought that might be a little too much for us and the kids.

The plan switched at that point to go the Ft. Worth Zoo. We had heard that it was real nice and ranked as the 5th in the nation. I looked up the Zoo to see the cost of getting in and then pondered the traffic and the parking issues. I came to the conclusion that riding the train over to the ITC and then getting on the bus to the Zoo would be the easiest. Kris likes the trains so this would be a double treat for him.

Had to wait a long time for the train…due to my planning

Finally the train pulled into the station.

And we all boarded

We got ready and headed to the train station about 11:30. I had to figure out how to purchase the tickets from the automated ticket machine. Once I figured that out I had to choose what ticket to buy. While trying to figure this all out I miss read the departure time and found out that we were 1 hour and 30 minutes early. OK…then I noticed that the tickets are only good for one hour! These are the one time one way tickets…so I began to panic.

Everyone was excited about the train ride

The wait for the shuttle to the Zoo was not long at all

Soon we arrived and headed for the entrance

Not to worry we got on the train….NO ONE…even asked for a ticket. We sailed on down to Ft Worth and then boarded the shuttle to the Zoo. It dropped us off just out side the gate and we were soon inside viewing all the animals.

This fellow could not figure us out

This was a favorite

Sherri and I were really impressed with the Zoo. One of the cleanest I have ever been through. Nice walkways to all the exhibits and plenty of benches to rest your sore legs and feet along the way.

This guy was really working hard at getting him something to eat.

All good things must come to an end…and we headed back home

The kids really enjoyed all the animals and the they helped take some of the pictures. We all had a wonderful day….

Somewhere in Time

It Is About Time !!!

2011-10-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

I’m getting a raise!! I guess someone found out that gas and groceries have gone up and we old farts need more money to live on. I sure will glad to get some more money so I can buy some new clothes. These old rags I have been wearing now for three years are in bad shape.

I hope to get an increase on my VA disability too. It has been a long time with no increases. You know I knew that when election time rolled around they would throw us a bone! They get their raises and never go without.

This will make things better down the road…

Somewhere in Time

Headlines to Ponder

2011-10-18T21:43:00.001-05:00

Politicians are not good for this country. Candid shots of Politicians sometimes show what they are really made of. These two are showing their real self…

You better stop picking on me you big bully!

Have you ever noticed when one of these buffoons gets ahead in the polls they all turn on them and try to make them look bad. Sure doesn’t take much to make any of them look bad. Can’t we get a non-politician on the ticket for once and get rid of these morons.

Now here is another news worthy story we should look at real close.

A $3 million RV.

You know some body out there will really buy one of these things. Just makes you wonder if they aren’t the ones voting for the two guys above. Doesn’t say much for some folks with lots of money.

Not to worry I will not be voting for any politicians nor will I be buying this Motorhome…

Somewhere in Time

My Son and Grandsons Featured in Redbook!

2011-10-05T05:29:00.001-05:00

Brice, Evan and Brant pictured at the NASCAR races

I got an email from my youngest son today saying that he and the boys had made “Redbook”. Sure nuff I clicked on it and there they were (page two) in an article about stay at home dads.

http://redbookmag.com

I don’t think the boys would get a day out with Mom like this. Not real sure if they are having fun or just tolerating the loud noises as Dad looks on. I do know this, they love their Dad and enjoy hanging out with him. I too love him and wish I could hang out with all of them.

I know when Sherri can retire we will be hanging out with them…

Somewhere in Time

Back in Louisiana

2011-10-02T20:51:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I returned to Louisiana to day. We arrived in Lafayette about 4:30 and checked into our hotel room. We will be here for the week and then head back West to the lake. From there we truck off to Granbury Texas.

Our schedule looks full from now until the end of the year. We have several sets to do in Southern Louisiana this year and then next year we have many sets scattered all over the eastern half of Texas.

In the mean time we are working on our home base camp. We will have our water tap installed soon and then we hope to have the septic tank put in before Sherri retires. All these things we want to get done before we go on a fixed income.

I have another fence to install and then we are thinking about enlarging Sherri’s barn by moving my workshop out. I will have a larger workshop built of the side of the barn and Sherri will have a bath and sewing room built where my work shop use to be.

We have many plans and hope to work them all in before Sherri retires. This will give us a comfortable place to stay and rest when we come in off the road for a spell.

OK now I have a question for someone out there to answer for me. I have been trying to comment on different journals and found that my Google Account will not get me in. I am signed on and some of the journals I can comment on with no problem… but some say that I cannot access this page? I am sure something has been changed on some of the accounts that I cannot access but I don’t know what…and I don’t know what to do to comment on them. Maybe those people don’t want me commenting LOL. I don’t know but if you can tell what I have to do to access all my friends journal for a comment now and then I will be forever thankful…

Somewhere in Time

Fixing Up And Tearing Up

2011-09-27T20:43:00.001-05:00

This morning I was laying in bed wondering if I should get up or turn over and sleep for another hour. The turning over part did not happen due to the fact that Sherri made me get up. She wanted me to get up and make some phone calls that I had been putting off for some time. We also were going to go down to the water company and get our water tap.

While out we planned on going by the Stone and Gravel place in Terrell. We wanted to get some washed river rock for the barn. We had cleachy in the beginning but it causes so much dust and if it gets wet…well it is not pretty.

What is really nice about the rock is that fact that you can walk bare footed on it and it does not hurt your feet. We also got some Oklahoma Flag stone for a walk way and fitted them all together. It all came together nicely.. We had ordered 8 yards of rock and I thought that it would not be enough to do the barn. I was really surprised to see that we had enough to do more than just the barn. We will have enough to do the yard off the porch. I want to lay brick for the BBQ area and then put the rock around it.

This is the fixen up part of the story and now I have to relate the tearing up part. The Motorhome was in the barn while we were doing half of the drive. Upon finishing that side it was time for me to pull the Motorhome out. The remaining part of the rock pile was on the passengers side of the RV so when I pulled out the Motorhome listed to the side and the back bedroom slide awning roller caught the left side of the barn opening. Crash was the first sound I heard then it was Sherri screaming STOP! I jumped out and went around to the drivers side and saw the damage to the barn and immediately started looking for any damage to the Motorhome. There was none that I could see at that time and was thankful for that.

Corner of the barn on the left bent by the awning roller on the right

We left the Motorhome where it was and finished what we could behind it. I was not going to move it again until the pile of rock was cleared out of the way.

We finished up all we were going to do that day and slept in the Motorhome where she sat… half in and half out of the barn. We left all the slides in for the night and slept quite comfortably.

The next morning we were up early to continue with our rock spreading. Sherri had to leave for Home Depot to pick up some ground cloth and edging for the side yard. While she was away Rodney and I pulled the Motorhome out of the barn without any problems. We checked the bedroom slide and found it to be in good working order.

After getting our house parked in the alley behind the barn I finished up some more loads of river rock and called it another day…

Somewhere in Time

Good to be Back

2011-09-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

We left for the lake around 4:00 and took Hwy 80 all the ways to Wills Point. Traffic through the towns was light but the traffic lights still held us up. I just hate it when lights turn red and there are no other cars coming on the side roads! You set there for the longest waiting on no one and then it becomes your time to go and one car shows up on the side road and they have to wait for no one. There must be a better way.

We pulled into town and stopped at the Post Office located on 4th St. This Post Office has the worst parking lot of any establishment in town. The apron to enter on is so bad you cannot go more than 2 to 3 miles per hour coming in or you will be thrown from your vehicle (with seat belts on).

Being that we are out of town so much we accumulate quite a bit of mail over time. It takes a few minutes to check and see if it is all yours. Many times we get mail to individuals that once had this box many moons ago. We have to sift through all that and then sift through all the junk mail that belongs to us. This takes some time and then we pile it in the Jeep to take to the lake for further inspection.

Once at home we unloaded all our travel gear and took the dirty clothes to the laundry room for washing. It is nice to have our own laundry room here at the lake. We plan on adding on to the existing room as soon as we can afford it. Sherri wants a bath and small kitchen put in where my shop is now. This will allow me to build a little bit bigger shop which I will attach to the barn. This project may be coming up this Fall.

We settled in and made us some diner. I whipped up some sausage and eggs with hash browns and Sherri ate some left over pizza from lunch. We were both full and sat down to watch all the season premiers.

The Big Bang started off and the Mentalist ended it. We love Thursday night shows. This year looks like they will have some good ones on to watch.

Our new Motorhome is not wired up for two signal reception off of the Tripod. This means I cannot watch one show and record another at this time. I will have to run me another coax to the box from the antenna so this will be enabled. There is always something to do here…

Somewhere in Time

Traveling Many Places

2011-09-20T17:48:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I have been moving every day now for a week. We are here in Longview for the night and then we have to go to Hallsville. We work the day at each town and then move to the next.

We will be able to return to our Lake property this weekend…but then that means I have to work on my projects there. No rest for the wicked!

The weather has been real nice of late. We have enjoyed the cooler morning temps and the evenings have cooled off as well. I hope that this weekend turns out to be cool so I can get some outdoor chores done.

I have to go now and get something to eat. I have Internet as long as we are in the Hotel rooms. I still have not got the Cradle Point working. Maybe I will be able to get it fixed this weekend when we get back to our place…

Somewhere in Time

Dog Kennel at the Park

2011-09-19T17:07:00.001-05:00

I was awake this morning bright and early…well let me leave off the bright. It was still dark outside and I did not really want to get up. Get up I did and once again down to the kitchen for that morning fuel we refer to as coffee.

Sherri was not feeling well today and she had slept on the couch so that I would not keep her awake with my snoring and mumbling that I do. Yes I have to admit that I make a lot of noise while sleeping…it does not keep me from sleeping soundly and I wake up in the morning quite refreshed!

We turned on our computers and sipped on our coffee. Neither of us could get on line using the Cradle Point. Finally Sherri had to plug the Verizon Wireless Stick straight into her computer where she got on line without any problem. As for me I still can’t get on line. When I go to connect to our Hot Spot it does not come up as we had named it. It now comes up as another name and it is not secured? I will have to reload the Cradle Point I guess to get it back?

While trying to get on line we noticed the RV across the park from us had set up a kennel to house their dogs. Yes I said dogs (plural)! We sat there watching out the window counting the dogs in the kennel and then we starting the other dogs which they brought out of the Motorhome and they began to switch the dogs outside with the dogs inside and when all was said and done we counted twelve dogs!!!

Now I don’t want you to be mislead here. I am not talking about small dogs…although they did have 5 smaller dogs…I am talking about big dogs! About knee high dogs! And when these folks left to go to the casino all 12 dogs stayed in the Motorhome! I don’t see how there was room in there for the owners with that many dogs?

I am not anti dog by any means but 12 dogs is a bit much…and dogs the size of a grown man. I would have to have another income just to feed the dogs!

Well those folks moved out and took the dogs with them. Now it is quite here without the dogs barking at ever passer by. The man directly across from them was not at all happy with all the commotion that these dogs caused. They could not even set out without the whole kennel raising cane.

We will be here for a couple of days and then we are heading back to the Lake to rest and get some things done there.

The heat is letting up some and next week is suppose to be a great improvement over this week. I will be so glad when things cool down…

Somewhere in Time

Moving to Louisiana

2011-09-18T20:13:00.001-05:00

We woke up this morning shivering with the covers pulled up to our noses. I guess we had turned the AC down low last night and forgot to turn it back up. I just hated to get up but then I knew that this was a moving day.

We made our coffee and then went out to the patio to visit. Rodney and Becky came down when their coffee was ready and they joined in the conversation. We talked about our up coming retirement. Becky and Sherri will be retiring about the same month. Rodney and I have been retired for some time and we sure would like for them to join in our ranks.

We sat there on the porch until 12:00 when hunger over took us. We parted ways and wished them a good week. They wished us safe travel.

Sherri and I finished up our chores and got the Motorhome ready for travel. It was almost 4:00 when we finally hooked up the Jeep and headed off to the State Park to dump. Trash put out and black water tank clean we headed out the gate on our way to Louisiana.

We stopped at the station in town and filled up the tank. I checked the Jeep one more time and then pulled out. We headed out to the Interstate and turned East. We had been driving about an hour when one of our friends called us to let us know that there was a Wild Fire on I 20. They suggested that we take a detour when we get to Marshall Texas.

The smoke could be seen as far as 25 miles from the fire.

Residence lined the road waiting on word about their homes and property.

Soon we were past the traffic and back up to speed. Looking back at the fire

We stopped at a roadside park down the Interstate and took these pictures of the Sun behind the smoke.

We pray that lives were not lost…and pleas God let it rain…

When we got to the exit that we were suppose to take I was staring off in the distance looking at the plume of smoke coming off the fire. Sherri was taking pictures…watching the news on TV and surfing the Internet for information about the fire. Well needless to say I missed the exit and the next thing we knew we were in a line of traffic moving very slowly.

The news station said that a truck had wrecked on the Interstate and a fire ensued. Before the Fire Department could arrive it had spread into the pine forest on either side of the highway. It was so sad to see the burnt trees and under growth…but sadder yet was the people that had to be evacuated from their homes. As we moved on up the Interstate we could see the Highway Patrol blocking off side roads that lead to the fire area and see the folks that had been evacuated standing along side their cars and trucks waiting for word on their homes.

We were delayed for about 30 minutes and soon the highway opened up and we were on our way. It was only about 28 miles to our destination and the traffic was fairly light now.

We arrived at Diamond Jacks Casino RV park about 7:30 and got our site. Sherri dropped the jacks and found that the front wheels were coming off the ground. Not a good thing so we had to drive up on our leveling blocks and once again put down the jacks. Soon all was well and we were level.

We had some Steamers for diner and believe it or not we stayed at home and watched TV. No we did not got to the Casino!! Can you believe that..

OK I bet we find ourselves there…

Somewhere in Time

Fire Fire Everywhere

2011-09-09T16:50:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I woke up this morning to the scent of burning grass and trees. What a terrible thing to wake up to but at least it is not our yard or trees burning. We turned the TV on to see where all the fires were and realized that they were East of here. If we don’t get rain here soon those fires may be in our backyard.

Setting there drinking our coffee and thinking about all the people out there that have lost their homes. We just could not imagine the void in those people’s lives when they saw their homes burned to the ground.

We sat there the rest of the day planning our next trip. We have to work in Louisiana next week so we will take the house with us. You know we never leave home.

After reading journals and playing a few games on line we fixed us some diner and then sat down to a little TV. It was not too long and we were ready to turn in for the night. I have to dream about cool weather in another place…

Somewhere in Time

I Can’t Believe This Weather

2011-09-05T19:46:00.001-05:00

This morning I woke up trying to find the blanket on the bed. I am cold where is that darn blanket!? HUMMMM…why am I cold…said Joe? I know the AC is good in here but not that good. I got up to investigate where the blanket was and remembered it is summer time and we don’t have a blanket on the bed. I went to the bathroom and noticed that the sun was up and that is when I heard Sherri rattling around in the kitchen.

I went back to the thermostat and turned the temp up some. Then I went into the kitchen and fixed me a cup of coffee. Sherri said you wont believe the temperature outside this morning. We took our coffee outside and sat on the patio. I could not believe how cool the air was and the breeze was out of this world. We went from 105 to 65 overnight. That is Texas weather…one day hot next day cold.

I was going to hang the screen doors on my porch. I had planned on going to Home Depot to get some jamb material but after enjoying the weather and the cool breeze I just decided to put off the work. Sherri and I sat on the porch for some time and soon Becky and Rodney came over and we all visited for some time. Time got away from us and before we knew it it was 1:30. Becky wanted some of my special hot sauce so we headed down to here RV to put together some dip.

I mixed up the dip and we decided to head back over to our Motorhome and put together some chili and hot dogs. We had a good meal and then spent the rest of the day just reading journals and Facebook. We put Becky a Facebook page together so she could communicate with others. Sherri said she will be her first friend. You go Becky!

That is about it for today. We had a good Labor Day and hopefully a good week…

Somewhere in Time

Visitors

2011-09-04T15:42:00.001-05:00

The AC woke me up this morning. I had it set on Auto and when it kicked on I woke up. Now I know it must have come on several times during the night but not once did it wake me up. Maybe I was not ready to get up?…OH well…it was close to 7:00 am so it was time to rise and shine.

Jennifer…our youngest daughter and her three girls had spent the night with us and we got to use our bed in the living room for the first time. I had watched the guy at the dealership show us how to use it but I did not remember all he had showed us.

I did find the air pump and the valve to screw it into. That was half the battle but getting the cap to stay on the valve was mind bending. It kept popping off so finally I had to hold it shut while I pumped air into the bed. Low and behold the cap held as soon as I got some pressure behind it. I had the bed pumped up in about 30 seconds and soon all the kids were tucked in.

They all decided to sleep with their Mom. Now that had to be a feat in itself. I don’t know how anyone got any sleep but then I did not have to sleep with them so I did not care.

The next morning I took a picture of the flop house just to show everyone how many people could sleep in one of these beds.

They all stayed until about noon and then they all packed up and left for the Waterpark where they live. It did not take long for them to say good-bye…they were headed to a lot more fun than MaMa and Poppa’s house. Funny how grandparents seem to slip down the importance pole…

Somewhere in Time

Fence is Fixed

2011-09-03T11:42:00.001-05:00

The room was dark when my eyes opened…

If you’re older… you know you might get up one or two times a night so you’re never sure what time it is. Well this morning was no different from all the other mornings I have woke up in a daze. I had to wander off to the bathroom to check the time…that is the closest clock to the bed…and saw that it was almost 7:00 am!

I wanted to get up earlier than that so I could get started on putting my fence back up. I don’t know if you read the post about the storm that blew through here the other day taking out my fence. Word has it that it took my neighbors boat and blew it down to the back of his place. The neighbor directly behind me said that the wind did not last more than 3 minutes but in that time it took out a lot of stuff…to include my back fence.

That is the only damaged that I surveyed upon my arrival yesterday. Well I should add that the new carpet on the patio was blown around some but not much else was damaged.

OK that being said I drank a quick cup of coffee and then headed out to my shop to gather up some tools to get started on the repair. The fence had just been pulled away from the 4x4 post and was still intact. All I had to do was lift it back up and fasten it back to the post. This took all of about 45 minutes and then I was on to another chore.

Believe it or not weeds have grown up along the side of the barn and they were green! Can you believe that? The only water we have had around here has been the dew. I guess that is all a weed needs to survive. Once over them with the mower and back at them with the weed eater and that chore was also complete.

By this time the mercury had crept up the tube to about the 89 mark. I could feel the sweat starting to bead up on my forehead. Time to coast now inside under the AC. I felt good about the fact that I had got as much done as I had in a short period of time. I am sure that tomorrow morning I will have to complete some other chores that Sherri will think up…

Somewhere in Time

Time to Move on

2011-09-02T07:37:00.001-05:00

I got up this morning and found that Sherri was not in bed. I went to the kitchen to make coffee and found my bride on the couch fast asleep. She woke up when I started making the coffee. I heard a faint good morning come from her. She said that she got up a 4:00 am and started to make coffee but decided to lay on the couch for a little while.

We poured our coffee and then started to plan our move for the day. We are planning on leaving about 10:00. This should allow us to miss the morning traffic. We will have to drive through Ft. Worth Dallas area and that traffic can be real bad if you get there too early.

When we get to the Lake we will have plenty to do. I have a fence to fix and Sherri has a lot of wash to do. The Jeep needs an oil change so that will take up some more time.

I am not sure where we will take off to next but I am sure we will have an adventure there…

Somewhere in Time

Another Lazy Day

2011-08-31T15:46:00.001-05:00

We got up this morning and sat around drinking coffee and playing on the computers . Not much happening here so we are just waiting out this hot weather.

We have some jobs next week to go to but they wont take all day long. We are making enough to put up some money for future travels. That is what we are working toward and Sherri’s retirement date.

I wont bore you with much today. When we spend a quite day at home in our PJs we really don’t have much to tell you. We love our home on wheels and just sitting in it is a pleasure in itself. We do plan on going out to eat later and if it is an outstanding dinner I will comment on it tomorrow…otherwise you will not hear from me…

Somewhere in Time

Another Summer Day

2011-08-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

There is not a lot to post this morning due to the fact that it will be 103 today and maybe higher. We plan on staying right here all day and keeping cool. Maybe some computer games and a little TV.

We got up made our coffee and sat at the computers not saying a word to each other for some time. Then Sherri asked me If I wanted something to eat and a grunt is all I could afford as a reply. We ate a little breakfast then slumped back in behind the computers and were whisked away, once again into cyber space.

This went on all day until we looked up and it was lunch time at which point we found something to eat and back to the computers we went…OH I do think we might have watched a little TV in that time period.

We found the Babes here in town and that was in our crosshairs for dinner. We had a great meal and ever took some home with us. If you ever in this area Babes is located just off the square. You have to park around back and walk around the corner.

We long for cooler days where we can return to walking and exploring new places. The weathermen are calling for temps in the low 90’s the end of this week and we are so excited.

To save you from hearing the rest of this self centered day I will leave you now and return later…

Somewhere in Time

Get This New News Flash

2011-08-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

This is just one rant I had to let out…back to my adventure tomorrow!

I would like to share with you some of the garbage I found while reading the news stories on line. This senator Steve Southerland told a body of his fellow constituents that his $174,000 salary is not so much, considering the hours a member of the House puts in. OH please Steve! I can bet you your salary to mine that I worked longer hours when I was employed than you ever have.

He also said, "And by the way, did I mention? They're shooting at us”. Now Steveo I wonder why T H E Y are shooting at you? Could it be that you are crooked as the Mississippi? Maybe if you did something besides steal good people’s money T H E Y would not shoot at you anymore.

He added, that “If you took the hours that I work and divided it into my pay, the $174,000 salary would not seem so high." OK Steve lets do that but first we have to take all the days off you have on recess plus all the Federal Holidays. Then we have to figure in the money you receive from lobbyist…I know that figure has to be at least 6 figures. So you are working about 200 days a year…Time off on the Golf course and time off with other women besides your wife…OK so that leaves you working about 125 days…at lets say 8 hours a day…You would be making about $174.00 an hour. (not Counting the lobby money you take in the back pocket)…yes Steve we know about that.

Now if we take everything that you have accomplished and divide it by what you have made we would find out that you are overpaid by about $170.00 an hour.If I had performed at my job as you have at yours I would not have made it through the first quarter!

Southerland, a freshman, ran a family funeral home business in Panama City and earned about $90,000 before joining Congress in January. OH boohoo Steve. Went from $90,000 dollars a year sucking peoples blood out to $174,000 doing much the same job. Can someone please bring me a crying towel here!

Linda Sánchez another down trodden elected official says she is living from "paycheck to paycheck" , she said. OH PLEASE Linda…you have no idea what it is really like out here in the REAL WORLD.

Are times really so tough that even members of Congress are struggling to get by? The numbers suggest otherwise. A recent analysis of congressional pay found that members of Congress earn about 3.4 times the salary of the average American worker. Using that standard, members of Congress are among the highest paid legislators in the developed world.

This talk probably won't help Congress' approval rating. The federal government is the worst-rated industry in the country, viewed favorably by only 17 percent of Americans, according to a new Gallup survey. And we want to hand over Health Care to these Morons! What does that say about us

You know 90% of the people out there will go back to the polls and vote the same Morons in that where here last time and once again they will take our money and do absolutely nothing to help those that vote them back in.

For the last 6 big elections I have not voted for one politician that has ever held that office. And the ones that I voted for after 4 years were as crooked as the ones I voted out. That does not say much for the politicians that we have to choose from.

Maybe before they completely destroy this Grand Nation of ours we will wise up and get rid of all the lobbyist and crooks in government.

To all those poor Senator's and Representatives out there that just can’t make ends meet on your salaries…go home and find a real job and collect your Social Security benefits and Medicare etc. Then come back to us and tell us how you feel about living….

Somewhere in my Time

Headed to Granbury

2011-08-29T07:27:00.001-05:00

Time passes fast when you’re sleeping. It sure did last night because I just laid my head down and and bingo it was time to get up. We fixed our coffee and sat down to plan our travel day. We decided to leave about 8:00 so we could beat the incoming traffic to the casino.

8:00 rolled around and we were finishing up our chores. It was about 8:30 when we stopped at the gas station to fill up. About $100.00 later we were off down I35. It took us about 1 1/2 hour to get to Bennett’s RV in Granbury.

We found it to be a little tight but after talking with a couple of gentlemen in the park they pointed out a spot at the end of the row that I could back into without too much problem.

We did just that and soon were hooked up and ready to kick back once more.

We waited until the Motorhome started cooling down before we got in the Jeep and went exploring. We just had to check out some things around town before we settled in for the night. We had seen pictures of the court house in Granbury and heard that the town square was worth seeing.

We loaded up and headed to town to check things out. When we got down town we realized that we could not take the 111 temp that was hovering around so we just made a quick sweep of the area and then went home.

We fixed some gumbo that was out of this world. I boiled it outside in 100 degree temps but it was better than heating up the Motorhome. We watched a little TV after dinner and then went off to bed.

There will be more to come…

Somewhere in Time

Laundry Day

2011-08-28T13:02:00.001-05:00

This morning I heard Sherri up and about so I drug up too. We had a cup of coffee while watching the “Hurricane”. They hyped this one up so much that when it hit they had to dig to find something bad! I know it is not good to be in a hurricane anytime anywhere but they made this one out to be more than it was. I am thankful this is what happened but when they start stretching these reports out to hold their audience…it is a little much.

OK so we pray for those on the East coast and wish them God’s speed in recovery. Sherri and I will be doing laundry today. We have several loads to do before we leave out of here for Granbury. We will be down there a week and then from there I have no idea what path we will take. I do know that I have a fence to repair at the lake so that may be my next stop.

Sherri sorted out all the laundry and we packed it up and headed across the park. Once we arrived at the laundry we sorted the clothes into machines and fed them money. We got everything started when we noticed how warm it was inside. The AC is off!! My what a time for that to happen. We both found some benches outside to sit on. It was cooler outside than inside.

Sherri loaded up the machines and found out the AC was off.

We sat outside which was cooler…I took pictures of the Casino located across from the RV Park

It did not take long to finish the laundry and soon we were back in the cool. Sherri put the clothes away and I looked up our next park and got the directions to it. Appears that it will take about 2 hours to reach. We are planning on leaving early in the morning so we can get settle before it gets too hot.

We had a bite to eat and then we packed up and left for Gainesville. We needed some groceries for the next week and a few other odds and ends. It was only about a 15 minute drive to the Wally World.

We crossed the Red River

Back into Texas

Arrived at Wally World

Once again we crossed the Red

And back to the Casino

Again we tuned into the Weather Channel to see the progress of Irene. She is getting weaker and that is a good sign for the folks on the East Coast!

We switched from the Weather Channel over to a movie we had taped and watched it. It was getting late and we decided to head off to bed. Get a little sleep so we can start all over…

Somewhere in Time

Enjoying RVing Cheap

2011-08-27T07:19:00.001-05:00

This morning we woke up and got ready for the free breakfast at the Casino. Yes once again they have a free breakfast for the Seniors. Now I want you to know this is not a small breakfast…it is very good and there is so much to choose from. We had omelets and bacon…juice and sides to boot! WOW we are enjoying the casino taking such good care of us.

Many have commented that you spend more staying in a casino RV Park. We find just the opposite. We only take to the casino what we can afford to spend for entertainment for that one day. When that is gone so are we.

We have stayed at some Casino Parking lots for nothing. Now you can’t get any cheaper than that. If you know where the Casinos are and they allow you to stay on their parking lots you can save a lot of $.

We have been studying COE Park locations and routing future trips through these parks. All the ones we have stayed at are beautiful parks and would return to them. With a small retirement we will still be able to travel and enjoy ourselves by planning ahead.

If you have any money saving ideas feel free to share them with us. That is what we do…live cheap…have fun…

My BIL just called me and said that we had a big storm the other night out at the lake. He said that a section of my fence blew down! WOW it must have been a strong wind. It will be next week before we can go to the lake to assess the damage. Well at least I will have something to do when I get back…

Somewhere in Time

Exploring Some New Places

2011-08-26T09:13:00.001-05:00

We slept in this morning…well sleeping in to us is 6:45. I read where some of you sleep as late as 10:00. I never have been able to sleep that late even if I stayed up late. Anyway we slept in and when we both got up we realized it was free breakfast morning at the casino.

It did not take us too long to get dressed and drive over. We got a front row parking spot and hurried in to get in line. Much to our surprise there was not a line and we moseyed right up to the serving table and filled up our plates. Found a nice clean table and sat down to a delicious breakfast. You couldn’t ask for anymore than that.

To think tomorrow they serve breakfast again for us old geezers! You can bet we will be there with plates extended.

After breakfast we once again retreated to the gambling floor to increase our winnings…but as my journal yesterday was titled…We can’t retire yet!

We drove back over to the RV to freshen up and decided to head out exploring. We only spend a couple of hours a day gambling and after that we try to do other less expensive things. This time we planned to head north and take a look at some new COE parks we had seen on http://recreation.gov . Point Campground on the Lake of the Arbuckle's The drive up there was about 55 miles and took us through the town of Davis Oklahoma. On the way down to the park we saw the…

“We’ll catch this on the way back”, we said. I was a very large complex and appeared to be well worth the look see.

The park was about 2 miles from there and we found the signs leading us down into the camping area. I do mean down into… Like most of the lakes in Oklahoma this one sat way down in the hills that surrounded it. We could only imagine how beautiful this park could be if they had some rain. The trees and the grass were so dry that it looked like fall.

We drove around the camp sites that were large enough for our home and also had 50 amp with water. There was only two or three sites that looked out over the lake. All the other sites were back in the woods with no view or any breeze to speak of. Count this park out for us.

The views were nice and the lake is beautiful

The water was crystal clear and would be great for swimming but really no good access to the beach anywhere we could see. Oh well we can find other places later.

We went back up the highway to the Chickasaw Cultural Center to see what that was all about.

It had to be 105 and we went straight in to get cool

It was a beautiful complex

Very nice exhibit building

We learned a lot about the Chickasaw Indians

Then it was time to go back home. Sherri took some pictures along the way. It is a nice scenic drive back south to the RV park.

You will have to excuse the bugs on the windshield…seems that is the only thing that can survive in this heat.

This was taken on the scenic overlook off of I 35.

We arrived home and Sherri fixed a wonderful dinner. We enjoyed the day starting with free breakfast and ending with a fun road trip…

Somewhere in Time

Can’t Retire Yet

2011-08-25T05:52:00.000-05:00

Winstar RV Park is a great place to stay.

Really nice facilities

Plenty of room to park

This morning I heard Sherri get up and I just could not pull myself out of bed. She was in the kitchen making coffee and I just laid there for the longest. I must have fallen back to sleep because the next thing I knew there was light coming in through the shades. Time to get up for sure now.

Sherri was drinking her coffee so I poured me a cup and sat down with her. We had decided to get up early and head to the casino before it got crowded. We sat there for a while and then got up and started getting ready to leave.

When we arrived at the casino it was not really too busy. We found some machines to play on and soon we were moving to another and then another…well you know how it is. We stayed even for some time and then it started to dwindle away. At that point we headed to the buffet to get some grub and then returned to the machines and made up all our losses.

We sure felt better knowing that we can eat and pay our rent. To be honest we don’t gamble that much money. We did have a lot of fun and will return tomorrow with some of their money to play with.

Not much else to write about now so I will go and read some of your post. That will keep me busy…

Somewhere in Time

Fun Time at the Casino

2011-08-24T05:23:00.001-05:00

We arrived at Camping World at 3:00 pm just as instructed. We only had to wait about 30 minutes for them to finish another Tiffen Motorhome ahead of us. Then they pulled us in and started work.

Meantime Sherri and I wondered around the store looking for something we could not live without. Sherri has been looking for some step covers for the outside steps and also the inside. She found some but they were too short and really not what she was looking for. Our steps are 29 inches so we wanted something to cover the entire step. One thing I did think about too is that my battery box is located under the inside steps so I would have to be able to remove these covers to access it.

Well that gives us something else to look for. We are also on the lookout for a recliner. We never have like the chair that came with our unit and have been looking for a replacement for sometime. Sherri found one the other day at Big Lots that was real nice but it was too dark so we took it back. Maybe we will run across the right one later. The one at Camping World was sad looking and we neither one liked it.

They finished up our oil changed in about 30 minutes and we were on our way to the casino. We did not hook the toad up to the bus…instead Sherri drove the Jeep and I followed her the 50 miles up the road. We could not see spending the time hooking that up in the 107 degree temps just for a short trip up the road.

We arrived at the RV Park about 4:30 and checked in. They have a special going on where if you stay 3 days you get $10.00 applied to your card to play on. Well I’ll take that deal. So the plan is to stay until Thursday morning and then head back to East Texas….UGH! OK we are not going to think about that right now. It is time to catch the shuttle up to the casino to win that money!

We indeed caught the shuttle and road up to the casino….but the winning part….well that is not exactly what occurred. I did come out about $5.00 ahead…by the way that is good for me. Sherri on the other hand was not so lucky. We do plan on getting our revenge tomorrow when we once again return to the scene of the crime…

Somewhere in Time

More Roaming

2011-08-23T08:26:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning with my visit to the clinic but a mere dream. It is Sunday and Sherri and I are still here at Hickory Creek COE park. It is so beautiful here but the temps make you stay inside. It is such a shame wasting this visit here setting in our home on wheels knowing it is too hot to venture out for a walk.

While setting inside we decided to head north to the Windstar Casino as soon as we had our oiled changed at Camping World. I know you are asking why I don’t change my own oil? Number one I am not suppose to do any heavy lifting or straining for one full week…and secondly I tried to take the filters off last week and they are frozen on there so tight I could not get them off.

OK so the plan is made we head to Oklahoma come Monday morning and try our luck at the slots. I will have to call ahead and tell them that I am on my way so they can prepare themselves for my arrival. You see I am such a heavy spender there that they have to bring on extra security just to walk me to the shuttle bus.

I will update you all later to let you know if the casino has anymore money left for your late arrival…

Somewhere in Time

Go Lightly…Not Likely

2011-08-20T19:26:00.001-05:00

This morning I got up and had one cup of coffee with nothing to eat. Tomorrow is “T” Day…tunnel tour at the Doctors Office.
Sherri and I took off to several stores today to look for a recliner for the Motorhome. We found several but the one at Dillard’s was the most comfortable. Sherri said the price was a little too high and that they might be going on sale soon. So we are waiting until that happens.

We toured around and looked at many things…one being the Verizon Store where we tried to find our about our upgrade we ordered. Seems as tough the delivered it while we were on the road. We were not there to sign for it so they took it back. It… being a Wireless plug in replacing our old 3G. Now they are charging us for the device that we don’t have. We have to wait for it to be returned to the warehouse so we can cancel the order. If we get one it will be at the Verizon Store.

We returned home in time for me to start my regiment of Go Lightly. Actually you start off with 4 little pills and then 3 hours later you start a chug-a-lug contest with me being the only participant. I bet they could not come up with anything that tasted worse than that stuff! Now they have me drinking 1… 8oz. glass every 15 minutes. So here I am drinking this starter fluid and waiting for it to take effect. I found out this stuff is much more potent than starter fluid…I think it is what they fueled the Shuttle with.

Houston we have lift off!

I had in mind of just setting quietly on my computer and occasionally heading off to the bathroom to take care of business. At first I would go to the refrigerator and pour me 8 oz. cup of Missile Fuel and drink it down. Return to the computer and then 15 minutes later back to the fridge to reload. Well this worked OK for about the first 4 glasses. ….But then the chemistry came together and my fun little time on the computer came to and end.

On top of all this fun I have not eaten all day and I am famished! It will be noon tomorrow before I can eat and that will be a long wait…

Somewhere in Time

Moved to Hickory Creek

2011-08-20T19:17:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I woke up Monday morning and while setting out on our porch we decided to head West to Hickory Creek to stay while I go for my VA exams. I have to go and have a stress test…upper GI and the old Tunnel Tour done this week.

Staying at the lake in East Texas adds quite a bit of miles to the trip in and back from the VA in Dallas. We chose to get all our laundry done and pack up so we would be able to leave Tuesday for Hickory Creek.

We love the COE park at Hickory Creek. We have met so many of our “Dreamer Friends” here over the past years and have always enjoyed our stay here. I know that this time will not be so enjoyable due to the fact I have to drive to the VA Hospital for test but when we come back I have a nice quiet time here to relax.

We arrived Tuesday around 7:00 pm. We stopped by the dump on our way to the site dumped and set out some trash. Our site was waiting for us…thanks for Recreation.gov! Sherri backed me in without too much problem and once again we were settled. We now have a new view out the windows and what a view it is We have trees here and the shade is a welcome thing! As hot as it has been a little shade helps keep us cool.

Wednesday morning Sherri and I were up at 5:00 am to get ready for my appointment at the VA. We left a little late but the GPS said that we would be there in plenty of time. Sure enough we had time to spare when we pulled in and parked. We had to walk several blocks to the clinic and the temps had already gone up.

I checked in at the desk and soon was called into the clinical area to start my procedure. IVs…AHHHH I am not real high on getting stuck with needles but that was the only way this could be done. They jabbed at me several times and I soon realized this must be the first time Duggie Houser had ever done this. I really don’t think they ever got a good connection in my vein because every time they put more solutions in my IV it would hurt something awful!

Well 5 hours later Sherri and I walked out of the Hospital and headed to the house. On the way there we had an idea. Why not just keep heading north up 35 to the Windstar Casino? We had a little money left over so we did just that and spent the second half of the day up there playing and having fun.

We returned home after a quick stop at Wally World. Time to shower…relax and catch up on the computer. I have one day reprieve and then it will be time for the Tunnel Tour. That should be an interesting entry…

Somewhere in Time

Always Something To Do

2011-08-18T08:39:00.001-05:00

I was reading one of our good friends journal entry today and one of their readers mentioned that it was good to know what “Fulltime” RV ers do other than travel and sited see. That got me to thinking that we (Fulltimers) do have a lot to keep up while we are on the road.

Being on the road full timing is not all beautiful scenery. Some of the time you have to do laundry…wash the car…clean the carpet…wax the furniture and the list goes on. Yes we have to up keep our homes and transportation just like Stix and Brix folks do. I need to change the oil and filter on my generator soon. I have a list of things that must be done in a timely manner so as to keep things running smoothly.

I will have to say that many of us don’t have to mow the lawn or rake the leaves but we have other things that take up our time. No matter what we have to do this life is better than all the houses…apartments…condos and the like that others have. We get tired of the scenery out the front window we move and get a new view. You never worry about bad neighbors…most RVers are great people and you have so much in common with them.

I know that when we have stayed at parks in other states we have met the most interesting people. People that have traveled all over the USA and are so helpful in letting you know where to go and not to go. We have had many memorable travels due to a fellow RVer letting us know about trails or sites to see that we would have never know about just striking out on our own. Yes we have things to do... but doing them is much more gratifying living this lifestyle than when we had to keep up a house.

Keep in touch here and I will let you in on some of the things I have to do to keep us moving forward…

Somewhere in Time

AHHHH Rain

2011-08-13T08:01:00.001-05:00

How sweet the sound…

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the Barn roof. Yes R A I N….rain! Texas is getting rain this morning and I was just laying there enjoying the sound.

We are back in Texas after a two week trip to Arkansas. We stayed at the City Park in Pine Bluff…Saracen Park…which by the way is a beautiful park. They do not have 50 amp, however but if your there in the cooler months of the year you wont need it. Our site was number 48 which was total shade…no satellite…but great Verizon coverage. We could have chosen an open site for the satellite but with the extreme heat we opted for cool instead.

Now we are back at the lake here outside of Wills Point. I have doctor appointments at the VA for my yearly physical. I am not one to go to the doctor for every ache or pain but I do get my physical once a year to see how many more years I have left. My doctor has told me on every visit that I should lose some weight and every time I return I have gained or stayed the same. I guess I need to do something different to try to lose weight but most of the requires not eating as much! Bummer!

OK so we are back at the lake and it is time to catch up on the wash and the chores that have been left undone. The yard mowing I do not have to worry about…the yard is dead! Both my new trees I planted are dead and what little remains alive is near death now. Maybe this rain will help but I doubt it.

Our next big adventure appears to be southern Louisiana. We may be going down that way for a month. I love the southern part of Louisiana but I know it will be hot. Maybe if they put it off long enough it will have cooled off by then. There are many places down there that I have not seen yet so we are planning some great adventures down there.

Until then we have to ride out the rest of this month in the Texas heat! This rain today gives us a reprieve for a while so we can do a few things here to get back on track. We plan on going into McKinney today to visit Sherri’s brother and see their new swimming pool. You would know the day he invites us over to swim it rains. Now don’t get me wrong we need the rain but really Mother Nature?

I guess I better shut up for now and get to those chores. I always find more to do when I get busy…

Somewhere in Time

Exploring the State Museums

2011-08-12T21:21:00.001-05:00

One of the many old homes we saw along the way.

A slight glimmer of light was coming in through a crack in the shade. I knew it was not headlights so it must be the sun coming up over the River. We are in Saracen Park here just north of Pine Bluff. Today we head out to Little Rock to visit some of the State Museums there. We have about an hour drive. We planed out the trip so that we would go to each museum in the order of there position we mapped out. This would save us some time and miles. The kids have passport books that the parks stamp here showing that they visited the park. They are excited that they will add 4 new parks to their list today.

We arrived in Little Rock about 2:00. It was 104 degrees at that time and it felt hotter as we walked from the car to the first museum. We were visiting the Little Rock War Museum. It is located in the old Armory located just south of town. There is a lot of Civil War history here in Arkansas. The Civil War…World War I and II as well as Korea and Viet Nam are all represented here at the museum.

We also visited the Agricultural Museum in Scott. Something I had never seen was how they use to Gin Cotton. The old equipment housed here in the museum was really interesting to see. It was a laborious process back in those days to produce cotton fibers for clothes.

From there we went to the old State House Museum and studied all the exhibits there. A lot of information about Arkansas and Little Rock was housed there…most of which did not interest the kids…but they got their stamp and they were happy. The gift shop set us back a few dollars but it was well worth the money.

It was getting late when we left the State House Museum so we headed out to find a place to eat. McDonalds topped the list of places to dine so McDonalds it was. After eating it was time to make the trip back to Pine Bluff and the RV park.

We really had a wonderful day filled with a lot of informative exhibits. It is amazing the amount of history you can find in places that most tourist never frequent. We have learned more about this part of the country visiting the smaller towns and out of the way places on our adventure…

Somewhere in Time

Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff

2011-08-07T16:13:00.001-05:00

After pouring our coffee we sat out on the patio with all our tourist information we had gathered up. There were several places in Pine Bluff that we wanted to visit. One of these places was the Railroad Museum. This was located just down the street from Serecan Park and it houses many of the locomotives from days gone by. Not only the old locomotives are stored there but many of the retired newer switch engines.

This car is marked with the year I was born

I tried driving one to see if it handled like the Motorhome

I would think the control panel would be a little more sophisticated than this

Kris finally agreed to stand on the front of the locomotive if Maw stayed close by.

This is the switching center for Little Rock to Texarkana.

The Museum was great but keep in mind…there is no AC!

We had a very enjoyable visit to this museum and it was free. They are open from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Monday thru Saturday. If you are in the area and like trains this is a must see.

Next we headed down town to see the murals on on the buildings. They have over 15 in town on the sides of buildings and they are something to see.

It was a fun day and we got to see so much of the town we never knew existed.

Next we headed over to the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame. This is located in the Civic Center around back.

Kris enjoyed playing on the stage…maybe he will be an entertainer…

Somewhere in Time

Serecan Park

2011-08-05T07:15:00.001-05:00

This is the airplane simulator which was fun to ride in

Kris enjoyed the Game Warden’s boat that he drove

They had many animals on display

And fish too

And last but never least the Souvenir store where the real money comes out.

Well I want to let you know that Arkansas is not missing out on the 100 degree weather this year. We were 112 the other day and I don’t see any cooler temps coming our way. We are fortunate that we have a shady spot here at the park and we do get a breeze off the river so not all is bad.

We are headed over to the Nature Center down the street. They have an aquarium and many other exhibits to see. This will be a great place to be while the temps soar into the 100’s again today. They also have a walking trail that you can view many types of birds and butterflies. I think the walking trail will be an early morning thing and then retreat into the Nature Center to see the inside things.

We arrived at the center and parked not too far from the main entrance. We walked about 100 foot of the trail and decided that it was too hot so we went straight to the entrance and went inside. They have many stuffed animals there and reptiles of all sorts. The aquarium is under renovation so it was not much to look at. They did have some very large catfish and carp.

One of the exhibits was an airplane simulator that took you on a flight over the Arkansas River basin. It flew over different areas and explained the changes that have been made over the years. Another simulator was a Game Warden boat that took you out on the lakes and showed you what the Wardens do everyday to preserve the wildlife.

Overall the tour was enjoyable and we stayed cool. That has been the key here lately is to stay cool and have fun at the same time. We have not been able to set out on the patio and enjoy the outdoors. They have deer at this park that graze in the open areas in the cool of the morning but you don’t see them after 9:00 am. I myself stay in the shade after 9:00!

Tomorrow is the Railroad Museum and that looks like a lot of fun. I don’t think it is in the AC so this will be an early morning tour for sure. Old trains fascinate me…being that I use to travel by train as a young boy. This will give me the chance to travel back…

Somewhere in Time

More Hot Weather

2011-08-03T06:26:00.001-05:00

I could hear trucks going down the road this morning as I laid there in bed. This was an indicator that it was late and that I needed to get up fix coffee and get something done before the sun gets up and heats everything up!

I did just that but Sherri had already beat me to the coffee fixin and she was in on the computer. I fixed mine and we both retired to the screen porch outside.

The porch is just about done and when I get the doors up we will put the carpet down and Sherri can buy her furniture. She is looking at buying a table and chairs and maybe some kind of bench with cushions. Our daughter in law had said we could have the one on their back porch but we are not real sure if it will ever make it here. It will be real nice when it is all done. We like to go out in the morning and set on the porch while it is still cool. We get a real nice breeze through there and it is comfortable until around 10:00 am and then it gets too hot to enjoy. We bought some roll up shades for the East end of the porch that we can roll down to block the sun off in the morning. I put them up and I think they will work well.

Not much happening other than that. We will be working around the barn some today. I need to weed eat the grass next to the barn and water my poor trees. They are just about to die from all this heat. I have not had to mow for some time and don’t think I will again until next fall when we might get some rain.

By the way sorry I have not given more information on where we stay….I will do better in the future.

Until next time I will sign off here and get to work…

Somewhere in Time

Enjoying the Cool Temps

2011-07-20T06:29:00.001-05:00

Sherri has her on desk for make-up

Really nice facilities here

We have room to back in the Jeep

No one can walk off with out picnic table

Woke up this morning rested and ready for the new day. I made the coffee and then took my shower. Got dressed and then sat down at the dining room table to post.

Really not much to tell this day…when you have the same routine over and over again. I will have to say that taking the Motorhome with us when we go like this is much nicer than just staying in a Hotel.

We have so much that we could do here at the lake. By the time I get off and get home it is too hot and I am too tired to do anything but shower and kick back in a easy chair. I need to wash the Jeep but that has been put off for some time. I will be off all next week and some of those things will get done then.

Sherri and I had planned on going to Kansas for our grandson’s birthday but things did not work out in our favor so we…once again…will miss their party. I do hope that next year we are in a position to be there. I know I have said that before but with us both working and all the other things that we have to do it is hard to make plans.

This is my two grandsons in Kansas

Better get this closed out for now. Tomorrow will bring some news which I will report…

Somewhere in Time

Almost Forgot to Post!

2011-07-18T22:02:00.001-05:00

Got to hurry up and get there…

We made it and this is the view out our front window

This was a work day for us both and we were up at 5:00. It was so nice waking up here in Arkansas setting beside a lake. The weather here has been hot but we are camped in the shade and it must be 20 degrees cooler.

Sherri Backs me in

I follow her instructions

She takes over the controls and levels us up

Sherri what do you think that is? I have no idea Joe. Should we park next to it?

We had our coffee and left for work about 6:30. It took about 12 minutes to get there with very little traffic. Worked until 4:30 and then went to El Sol for Mexican food. We met some of our co-workers and had a very good meal.

Sherri dropped me off and went shopping and returned home about 8:30. We had a good day and settled in for the night to get ready for tomorrow…another day

Somewhere in Time

Working on the Patio

2011-07-14T14:04:00.001-05:00

I know! I know!…I’ve been busy working around the barn. We have so many things going on that I don’t have time to post on here. Sherri went shopping this morning and I just finished the screen on the patio so I came in to fix me a bite to eat. While I was inside I decided to post. It has become hard to post every day but every once in a while I do get a chance to catch up on what has been going on in my life.

Sherri is leaving for Arkansas next week to work but I will not be going with here this time. I have some things I have to get done here and there was not anything for me to do there so I will stay here next week. I hope to get caught up on some of the things we have started but have not finished. The patio is one of them and then I have some things I want to do to the Motorhome. With all this it will be good for me to stay behind and catch up on some of my chores.

Week after next I will be going for my physical at the VA. Now it is so much better going to the VA for my health care. Where once it use to take half a day to see the doctor…I get a 10:30 appointment and I am in the doctor’s office at 10:30. I don’t mind going there…well except for the parking. You might have to walk a quarter of a mile to the hospital but you do get in on time.

So much for all that I have some pictures of the patio. Next time I send some I will have it completed. Also I have some shots of the fence in the back yard and the playground that I brought over from my daughter’s house. It is all coming together slowly but surely…

Somewhere in Time

Working on the Screened Room

2011-07-06T17:36:00.001-05:00

It was morning and I slid out of bed rather slowly. Sherri and I have been planning on screening in our patio cover…located under the barn. Yesterday I mowed most of the morning so this AM I am rather spent. I made some coffee…poured me a cup and headed out to the patio to see where to start. We have to get an early start on these projects because of the extreme heat we are having this summer. Already we have had 100 degree temps three days in a row. GEEE come on fall weather. I never did like summer.

Sherri joined me on the patio and we discussed where to start. We had gathered all the materials we needed to start and finish the screen process. The carpet and furniture we have not bought as of this date but then Sherri is still deciding on what she wants. We are using the “Screen Tight” System and it is really nice to work with. The best place to start is at the beginning. I got all the needed tools out of the shop and to work we went. We worked until about 5:00 PM and it just got too hot to even breathe.

We have about half the project done and it will be next weekend before we get back on it. We put all the tools up and retreated to the indoor AC and fell into the recliners where we remained until bath time. Sherri did put together something to eat and then we watched a little TV before we headed to the showers and got ready for bed.

We are back in East Texas this next week to work and then we will return to the lake to complete our screened porch…

Somewhere in Time

Working and RVing

2011-06-30T18:24:00.001-05:00

I drove back from Louisiana on Tuesday afternoon. It was a 4 hour drive and needless to say I was rather bushed by the time I arrived at the lake. Sherri was there with the slides tucked in on all sides and the jacks up it travel mode. We were headed back east to Tyler for a day of work. Our destination was the Tyler # 1 RV Park. We were only staying there one night and then off to work the next day. We told our host there that we would have a late check out due to our work schedule and they were kind enough to let us do it without and additional charge.

We like this park not only because of the good location but we are always treated well by our host. They don’t mind working with us when we have to work in Tyler and end up staying longer and sometimes shorter time than we originally planned. Those of you who work and RV know what I am talking about. It is not always easy to plan when you will be arriving or leaving some places coming from another location.

That night we did have some bad weather move into the area but no hail and no damaging winds to speak of. All was well with our stay there and it did run over till 2:00 and then we were on our way to Gladewater for a two day stay. The trip to Gladewater was short and before we knew it we were pulling in the front gate. I noticed on the electric sign out front in big red letters…”Welcome Pitman Family”. WOW how great is that. We stopped at the office and checked in for the two days. We got sight 40 right across from the office! That is a good site because you are close to the exit and laundry room. Before we lowered the jacks or put out the slides Sherri and I took off for the store to stock up on some groceries for the week. Here we work in the stores all week and then on our day off we go and buy groceries.

By the way I don’t think I showed you our new fridge we bought for the bay. We keep cold drinks in there and some overflow groceries. We are now looking for a freezer to set beside it. This gives us a little extra storage due to the fact we have the smaller fridge inside. It has worked out well so far.

We will be here for two days and then we are heading back to the lake for a few. After the 4th we head out again to work in east Texas. AHHH it wont be long and we will be going better places…

Somewhere in Time

Off to Work and Left Sherri Behind

2011-06-27T19:59:00.001-05:00

Woke up this morning with many projects facing me. One of the biggest was putting up the sun shade on the barn door. You see our door faces west and when the sun is setting in the afternoon it gets real hot in the RV. The windshield multiplies the heat 10 fold and it is all the AC unit can do to keep up with the temps as they rise. I decided to get a sun screen and hang it in the door of the barn so I could open and close it much like a shower curtain. When the sun comes up in the morning we don’t need the sun screen up but when 3:00 o’clock comes around we need something to shield it from the front of the MH.

I went down to Lowes and bought some wire and turnbuckles to stretch across the top of the barn opening. I have ordered a sun screen out of the Camping World book that I will put grommets in across the top and down each side. On the top grommets I will install shower curtain hooks to ride on the wire and the grommets on each side I will bungee to the metal frame. With the shade hooked to the wire I can open and close it much like a window curtain and then bungee it tight to each side when it is drawn closed. I hope this works for those hot summer months ahead.

I do hope that soon we will not be here in the hot summer so all this will not be needed then. My Direct TV box is located in the front cabinets over the passenger seat and when that sun beats down on the front windshield it over heats the box and it shuts off. For now I have a fan that I blow on the box to try and keep it cool but maybe the shade will keep me from having to do that?

OK that project is done less the shade which I learned yesterday is on backorder. We have to find some shower curtain hooks also to hang it up when it gets here.

I also bought a Flo-Jet for the dump…but I am thinking about taking it back. I think I can just use my Blueboy to haul off my waste and dump it in my BIL Septic Tank located next door. I noticed on the instructions for the macerator that maximum hose length was 50 foot. I had thought it would pump further than that? If anyone out there knows something I don’t let me know.

Just got word that they only need one person to work Monday so Sherri is going to stay home and catch up on some things she has been putting off for some time. I will pack up and head out Sunday and work two days and then get back home Tuesday night. We will then load up the house and take off for Tyler Texas and work there and then on to Gladewater. WOW traveling is one thing we still do…just not going to places we want to go to.

OK I have a lot to get done before I get on the road so I will sign off here and catch you later….

Somewhere in Time

Back at Work

2011-06-26T18:30:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I both bounced our of bed at the same time. We both were wide awake… and I use that term loosely. We started off real slow but picked up speed as time to leave grew closer. We are headed out to work today much to our dismay but it is what we have to do for now. Sherri had completed the laundry yesterday and packed the the bags. All I had to do this morning was get the house on wheels ready for our absence.

I always undo the water and turn off the HWH. These are precautions I take to keep things from going south while we are gone. I surely don’t want the RV to flood while we are not there to catch it and no need for hot water if we are out of town.

The yard is mowed the house is secure so we are off for another week of work. I hope we are safe going and coming this week so I can enjoy more time off at our little place on the lake…

Somewhere in Time

Wheelbarrow Makeover and a Repaired Windshield

2011-06-23T22:07:00.001-05:00

I did not want to open my eyes this morning because I knew that the sun would be up. That means that I need to get up and start my day. Not that I am lazy but I just did not want to get up now. You know you get in that comfortable position and you just hate to leave it. Well my eyes did open and the sun was up and I got out of bed.

Sherri was already up and she had the coffee made. I poured me a cup and sat down to ease into this day. As I sat there waiting for my computer to load up I heard the thunder. At the same time the rain started coming down and it was so loud on the metal roof. We dodged the hail that they were reporting on the news. I was glad of that…and the rain…WOW we so needed that.

I finished my coffee and ate some blueberry waffles. I walked outside and the cool air was so refreshing. Sherri joined me on the porch where we sat and talked about what we needed to get done. Tomorrow we head out to work again so we really need to get some things done before we leave. Sherri had to get all the wash done and pack our bags. I had to wait on the glass repairman to show up and fix our windshield. Sherri was out shopping a few days ago when a rock flew up and put a ding in the windshield. Gary did show up and before I knew it the windshield was fixed. Not only did he fix the windshield he cleaned all the windows and offered to vacuum out the inside. I told Gary that I did not need it vacuumed but I sure appreciated his offer.

I pulled the Jeep back into the barn and headed out to my shop to work on refinishing my benches that I got from my son and his wife. They are getting new patio furniture so we got their old benches. These benches will be part of our new look on our patio. After I got some of the bench sanded I started rebuilding my wheelbarrow. I was going to buy me a new one but when I priced it I decided to just make me some new handles. They turned out real good and now I have a close to new wheelbarrow. I am having to learn to live lean. If I can make it then I do and save those $ for better things down the road.

Sherri has some pork shops cooking and I am going to go eat them. I’ll be back…

Somewhere in Time

Too Hot to Move

2011-06-21T21:34:00.001-05:00

Here we are at the Lake hanging out in the Motorhome under the Motorhome cover…port…barn…or whatever you call these things. It is hot out side and I just can’t get motivated to get up and get started this morning. We have several projects that we want to get done during this lull in our work schedule but it is so hot I just don’t think I can get started out there.

We got up and sat down to drink our coffee and plan out what we wanted to get done and what we would have to pick up at the Home Depot. We did come up with a list of items to work on and I made a list of things to get started.

One of the projects that comes high on our list is a sun shade on the front of the barn that will knock off the afternoon sunshine. Between 4:00 and 7:00 pm the sun sets right in front of the RV and dumps all that heat in our windshield. It is all the AC can do to keep up with the cooling. We have decided to get us a sun shade that will go across the opening of the barn and block the sun off and help keep us cool. We had thought about pulling the RV in front ways but that puts the door on the wrong side which is not acceptable.

The sun shade is on order from Camping World and will not arrive soon enough for me. Until that time we will just have to put up with the extra heat.

Another project is our walk way to the porch from door of the RV. We have put stepping stones in which has helped a lot. We have a gravel drive so the dust was becoming a problem being tracked in. We plan on putting in more steps and then putting river rock around them to trim out the walkway. It should all look good when we get it done. The only thing between starting and finishing is the tremendous hot weather we are having. When it cools down some we will be back at it and hope to finish it up before we get busy again at work.

It is about 7:15 and my stomach is telling me it is time to eat. Sherri and I are looking for some food so I will check out here and join back up with you…

Somewhere in Time

Time off

2011-06-20T19:02:00.001-05:00

This morning I woke up to the alarm once more. We have this last day of work and then we are off. We found out that we are not working but two days next week so we have almost a week off with no work. I am just broken hearted about that. We are planning on doing nothing for the most part. We are going to pack the RV up and return to the lake. We have a lot to do there and we want to get it done while we have the time to do it.

We had our breakfast and then took off for work. The day went fast and before we knew it we were back at the RV getting things ready for our morning departure. We told the camp host that we would be leaving early and they told us that we could have some passes for return nights in the future. I thought that was real nice of them to do that and we will for sure use them. We love this park and will return here often.

That is about it for this day. Tomorrow we head back to Texas and our little hid-a-way. I know I will have to mow the yard…UGH! We will have some down time that we can kick back and relax for a while…

Somewhere in Time

To Answer Many Questions

2011-06-16T17:55:00.001-05:00

Up this morning after a good night sleep. Last night I chatted with several of my friends…Dee…John Brown…Deb…and Molly. It was so nice getting back in touch with all them. We chatted for some time and then I just had to turn in. I did get to bed early enough to get plenty of sleep so I am ready for the day to begin. We have to work 4 days this week to make up for a shortfall in help. We have several people out working other stores…leaving us short here on the store set. We have many categories to set and with fewer people we get behind.

We had a great day and all went well.

I have had many folks ask me how I like the Motorhome compared to my 5th wheel. I had to stop and think this one out because I have never really compared the two since I got the MH. We have had all kinds of campers and believe me we have enjoyed them all. I have always said, “It is not what you go in that makes you happy…It is the fact that you go”. So that being said I had to ponder the question how does it compare.

1. The Motorhome is easier to drive and when you get to the park it is easier to back in if you have to.

2. Setting up…Well you still have to hook up the same things…but leveling the Motorhome has that one beat.

3. Unhooking and Hooking up… We have the towed so we still have some of that to do.

4. We find it easier to stay in a parking lot or Road Side park when in the MH because you don’t really have to get out and make your presence known. We can stay without putting out the slides or setting the jacks.

5. Traveling down the road we don’t have to stop for the potty…or Sherri doesn’t.

6. I have in flight meals served to me by my stewardess. A fill up on Coke or water when needed.

7. Sherri can do some of the driving which is a real help to me.

These are just a few of the things I compare to the 5th wheel. Don’t get me wrong we loved our Carriage and we both could not figure out why we traded it in other than Sherri could drive the MH and she could not drive the 5th wheel. I feel more comfortable driving the MH. We love it and will keep it for a long time. I just would like to be able to go to where I want to go and enjoy it. I know that will come…

Somewhere in Time

Back to the Old Grind

2011-06-15T10:02:00.001-05:00

Sherri walking around the lake….way ahead of me…I was trying to take pictures.

\This morning I heard the alarm go off and it scared me! I have not had to get up this early in some time and I was not really set on getting up this time. Having said all that I got up and stumbled to the bathroom and took a cold shower. I could not figure out how to get the hot water to come on…you know these one handle faucets they have now days. Well I guess a cold shower is what I needed and that is what I got.

Sherri was up next and in the shower. She had hot water because she knows how to work the darn thing. I was awake for sure by now and that was what I had set out to do.

Then it was time to head down stairs and grab some breakfast. There were several folks in the dinning area fixing their food and I had to wait for a short bit to get my biscuit and egg. It sure was good once I got it heated up. Had a little milk and I was ready to go to work.

We arrived on time for work and had a good day. We finished up about 4:30 and before we left the store plans were made on where we would meet for dinner. We decided on the Log Cabin down the highway from there. We all met there about 30 minutes later and had a good time visiting and eating some good food. This would be a typical day in the life of a working couple striving to make ends meet in this flat economy? I laugh every time I hear our reps up there in DC tell us that everything is great! That should tell you that they are not in the least bit connected to what we all go through day after day. I say we just keep on electing those morons and keep them off the street.

OK this day is about done. I am in my Hotel room now typing out this entry. I hope that the rest of this weeks goes as good as this first day and before I know it I will be setting around that lake…

Somewhere in Time

Another Day of Doing Nothing

2011-06-13T05:38:00.001-05:00

I am not sure what woke me up but my eyes came open and I was trying to see if there was any light coming in around the shades. This is how I know if it is morning. Out here in the woods we have no street lights and when the sun goes down it is D A R K. If there is any light at all coming in around the shades then it is almost sun up. I did not seen any signs of light so I knew it was early. I got up anyway and stumbled into the kitchen to make our coffee. Got the coffee going and by the time I got the cups out and all the fixens to go with it I noticed a hint of light coming through the pines. It was time to get up. Sherri must have heard me banging around so she too got out of bed and came in to have coffee.

We sat outside for about an hour sipping coffee and making plans for our trip to Kansas next August. The two grand boys in Kansas City have birthdays…same day…no they are not twins. I guess my son has a knack for planning? Anyway we will be traveling to Kansas City for their birthday celebration. We will be taking their cousins…Kris Sarah and Franki along with us to help celebrate.

Planning a trip up there is not hard but finding a campground in that area is impossible! They live South of Bonner Springs and the only campground in that area is Cottonwood RV Park. It is a campground that the NASCAR group uses when the races are going on in Kansas City. Not much to look at but it is only 6 miles from the kids house and we wont have to drive far. There are campgrounds in that area but they are 30 to 40 miles away and we do not want to drive that far everyday to see the kids.

Oh well we planned our route up there and found some places to stop and stay on the way up and some different ones for the return trip. We are excited about getting to see the family and spend some time with them in their beautiful home. We don’t get to see the boys but maybe once a year and then it is only for a day or two. Having to work keeps us from spending more time up there and planning more than one trip a year. We both know that this work thing will soon be coming to an end and things will change.

We spent the rest of the morning inside looking at campgrounds and reading journals. We did get out for lunch and found a great Mexican Restaurant called La Jurita… spelling may not be right but close…food was excellent. We then made a trip to Wally World and bought nothing!!! Now that is something. Back to the lake and back into the AC. It was so hot out today…you could not enjoy the outside at all. I laid down and took a nap and before I knew…it was time to get up and meet some friends of ours for dinner. No that is not all that I do. I do other things beside eat and sleep…when I am not eating and sleeping.

By the way I did not get the boat out yesterday. It was so hot for so long and I just could not muster the strength to pull it out and put it in the water. I might get it together next week end…we will see…

Somewhere in Time

Somebody has to do it

2011-06-11T13:10:00.000-05:00

I laid there for the longest wondering what time it was. You know the older you get the more you wake up during the night thinking it is time to get up and then find out it is 2:00am. Well this morning it was not 2:00 am but 6:30 am so I reluctantly got up and went in to the kitchen to make me some coffee. Sherri was a little slow in following me but soon I heard her rustling around in the bedroom. She appeared right when I poured her cup and we both proceeded outside to sit and admire the view.

While sitting out back we noticed an increase in activity around the lake. It is Saturday so we figured it was just the weekend crowd showed up. Then we noticed groups of runners coming around the bend down by the lake. I am guessing that a school track team was in the park working out. Young kids spending their Saturday running around a lake? No it had to be a sports group. I remember my Saturdays when school was out…Spent lots of time at the lake…I was running around but not for the same reason.

OK so we watched the kids get in shape while we sipped coffee and talked about how we should be down there walking and getting in shape. I am in shape…even if it is bad shape I am in shape. Shape as in FROG shape…you know skinny legs and a large upper torso. I will have to work on that later.

Today is going to be spent indoors until the heat goes away. Yesterday the heat about did me in. I did some chores outside and the humidity took all my strength away. I have decided to take it easy until 7:00 pm and then I will venture back outside to finish up some chores I started this am. I will have to tell Mark Hall that I got the tags off all my awnings. He had pointed that out to me several weeks ago when he came to see us at the lake. I just have not had the time to do much to the Motorhome having to work on all the building projects that Sherri had lined out for me. I have most all of them done so I will have more time to spend on fixing up the house on wheels.

I had thought about getting my boat out and spending some time out on the lake paddling around. Being that it is soooo hot I just could not bring myself to get the thing out and put it in the water. How lazy is that? I should be ashamed but this heat and humidity is unbearable! It does not take much to make me sweat when the humidity is up this high. Maybe I will wait until this afternoon and get it out and make a few rounds on the lake…

Somewhere in Time

What a Wonderful Weekend

2011-06-11T10:44:00.002-05:00

Sherri and I woke up this morning…late for us. We normally get up around 5:00 am and head down to the lobby of the Hotel around 6:00 am to eat breakfast. This happens about 3 to 4 days a week and then we have a long weekend to work at the lake or like this weekend do nothing for 4 days! Now we really like weekends like this one and hope that we have more of them in our future for the next 18 months.

Sherri got out of bed and headed to get dressed and I went to the kitchen to make coffee. While at the kitchen sink I looked out the window and could see the lake and the pines reflecting in it. No wind was blowing and the lake was like a mirror! I could not wait to go outside. Sherri was dressed and the coffee was made and we went to sit at the back of the Motorhome which was facing the lake. We sat there for some time and watched the squirrels and the birds and many folks walking on the path that followed the shoreline all the way around the lake. How peaceful…I would love to spend more time doing this.

We finished two cups of coffee and then decided it was time to get some chores done inside. It did not take long to do them and soon we were sitting at the computers reading about some of our friends and where they are and what they were up to. I don’t mind reading about folks having fun traveling if I am doing the same so today I am pleased with all that is going on in the journals I am reading. I know that next week I have to return to the old grind but then having our house with us and being able to come home to it and being parked next to a beautiful lake as we are makes working so much easier to do.

Later in the day we decided to walk around the lake and see what all we could see. It is such a beautiful place and the scenery is so easy on the eyes. There is a concrete sidewalk all the way around the shoreline of the lake. We just went down the hill to the walkway and headed on our adventure walk. It was about 6:00 pm when we started out…the sun was down far enough not to make us too hot. Not much breeze was blowing but as we walked briskly along we created our own breeze which was really nice. I am not sure how far it is around the lake but the time past fast and before we knew it we were back at our campsite.

This is our campsite from across the lake

Looking back toward the swimming area

Sherri took the lead

This is the swimming area with a sandy beach

This is the boat launch…maybe I will use this tomorrow

We got back to the Motorhome and made some pork chops outside. They sure were good…Sherri put some special sauce on them she got back when we all went to the spice shop last Thanksgiving. Needless to say I ate all of my share and can’t wait for our next outside feast…

Somewhere in Time

All is Well With Writer

2011-06-10T15:38:00.001-05:00

AHHHH…It worked. I have got to catch up now on all that I have been doing since I have been away from the keyboard. I miss typing out my journal everyday…and having to gather my thoughts and write about things that happened a week ago…I can hardly remember yesterday much less a week ago.

Sherri and I have been busy not only working our job but we have been making improvements to our home base at the lake. We put a deck on the barn…built an RV port…put a fence up and then a porch was built under the RV Port. This porch will soon be screened in but we have to get the money for that addition. We will be putting in a rock walkway and many other improvements while we have a job to pay for them.

We have been busy for the last two weeks traveling all over. Last week we traveled to Louisiana and took the Motorhome. We found a real nice park just outside of Ruston LA that is located on a small lake. We backed up to it and are really enjoying the view. We will be here for two weeks and then we move on further East where we will be for two more weeks. Our travels will then take us North from there into Arkansas. We are not sure but we might be there for a month. I guess we will survive being on the road that long. We are practicing to see how we will do when we really get to go where we want to.

Well it is so good to be back on the journal again. I hope that you follow along while we travel from job to job…

Somewhere in Time

I Have Writer Back

2011-06-10T13:06:00.001-05:00

Alas! I have retrieved Writer from the WEB and I can download much faster and I don’t have to worry about using Blogger again! It has been over 2 months since I lost it and now that I have it back I feel like writing again. I had lost it when I caught a bug a while back and I rebooted and reloaded all my software but Writer was not in the batch I downloaded. SOOOO I tried to reload it from the WEB and found out that I was now lacking some Windows updates and it would not load. I worked for the last month downloading and messing around with it until I finally got the right stuff loaded and here I am back in business.

OK I don’t want to get too cocky here. I need to down load this post and see what kind of trouble I might have doing it. This is the new version and I have not ever used it so it might not work at all.

I am cutting this post off here just so I can check it out. If it does not come out right on my blog page I will have to work on it…and if that is the case then I will be back….

This is just a test picture to see how it comes out.

Somewhere in Time

Back on the Road Again

2011-05-31T21:09:00.002-05:00

Sherri and I are back on the road again...working. Once again we got up early this morning and got everything ready to head out to our next job. We got loaded about 6:30 and arrived on time. Not much to say about the days events other than it was not as much fun as walking up and down the beach early in the morning watching the sun come up over the Gulf.

We are planning on taking some time off here as soon as there is a break in the action and we will have some neat things to write about. Things that you will enjoy reading about and I will even have pictures to boot.

Stay tuned for the upcoming adventure to get better when we break away from the hum drum day to day work. By the way I finished a few of the projects at the lake and I will have to post them as soon as I return home and down load them to the computer. I left my camera at home this week so next week I will get everything loaded and let you see my progress.

Until that time Sherri and I will say so long for a while...We will return...

Somewhere in Time

Good Weather at Last

2011-05-23T20:30:00.002-05:00

Sherri and I spent our last day off at our lake property. We woke up around 7:00 and enjoyed coffee together on the deck. We planned out some more improvements to the place and tried to project ahead and see when we might be able to afford the additional work. Time we always have been able to come up with...but money...that is a different thing.

We have to travel today but before we do we have to complete our wash and packing up all our clothes for the week. Sherri would not trade her new laundry room for anything. We have it all fixed up and we almost have all the stuff situated so she has room to work at her desk and relax in her TV room. Not much more work in that area and we will be done.

We made it to our next job and are tucked away in our Hotel room. Spending some time on the computers reading journals and Sherri playing her games. We have to go to work in the morning and hope to get off early. After work we plan on eating at Chuys...which is just down from us. Well that is about all the news from this side of town. Hope everyone is having fun...I will continue to read about it each night when I settle back here at the desk...

Somewhere in Time

The Storms Came and We Remain

2011-05-22T20:40:00.001-05:00

We got home late last night and after we got the coach all set up we turned the TV on to see what the weather was doing. While driving in from Louisiana we had heard that East Texas was in the path of some real bad weather so we were concerned about high winds. Seems like we are having a lot of that lately.

Sure nuff we had some real bad weather Friday. Down town Wills Point had some straight line winds that tore off some roofs and pulled down some power lines. We are about 12 miles north of town and had some real strong winds but no damage to our property. Thank you Lord for sparing us one more time this Spring Season!

I have several projects to complete this week end and with the rain and the wind I was afraid I would not get them done. I was in luck...Saturday the wind did not blow and we got our deck finished and almost completed our rail around the deck.

We have this year to get our home base completed...while we still have income. Sherri will be retiring 18 months from now and we wont have enough income to build and travel so....we will finish all these home projects so when we come here to stay for a month or so we wont have to work.

Everything is coming together nicely and as soon as I have a chance I will put some pictures up of our progress. A little every weekend and before long it while all get done...

Somewhere in Time

Addition to the new Barn

2011-05-14T08:32:00.004-05:00

Sherri and I heard the alarm go off this morning but did not move. She did turn over after several minutes and turn the thing off. We did not need to get up this morning so we just laid there for the longest time. Finally her phone started beeping...the battery was running low. OK we both decided to get up and start our day.

I went in and made the coffee and Sherri wrapped up in a blanket on the coach. It was actually cold this morning. After getting the coffee started I went over and turned the heat on. The thermostat said it was 60 inside so I put it up to 68. As soon as I hit the button it came on and before I could get settled in my chair with my coffee it was HOT.

I'll have to say one thing...we have a good heating system in our new home. Mater-a-fact we have two heaters in here. One heater in the front and one in the back and if they both kick on it gets hot fast.

This morning we are waiting for our man to get here to add some front panels to our barn. This will close the front in about 10 feet leaving us a 20 foot opening for a door. We will have to wait on the door but it will be ready when ever we come up with the funds to do it. Also on the back for the barn we are getting the gable lowered about 3 feet. This will block some of the morning sun off of us in the summer months if we are here.

If we are here is really what we don't know...We are not sure what months we will be staying here. I am not partial to staying in the summer because of the heat! The spring months you have the bad weather...maybe the fall months will be our best time to stay?? No mater what months we choose we will have to stay here at least 4 or 5 months a year to replenish our money for travel time. It is 9:03 and still no one has showed up to do the work? Hopefully they will show up...

Somewhere in Time

And they did...

2011-05-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

Well we are back in Louisiana again! I think I just might move over here as long as we are coming here every week. We have several days here this week and then next week we are scheduled to come back here for one more week.
Sherri and I both were up early this morning but did not get off as early as we had planned. We had several items to get done before we headed this way. Clothes had to be washed and packed in the Jeep and that took some time. We had to have a cup of coffee too and then before we knew it was 10:00 am.
On the way to Louisiana we had to stop off in Longview and get the title for our truck and send it to Florida so the new owner can get his plates. It did not take long for them to sell the truck and trailer down there. Well I hope the new owners enjoy it as much as we did.
We stopped along the way to get some gas and eat a snack. We only took 30 minutes out of our drive time to complete this and then it was back on the highway.
We arrived here about 6:00 pm and hooked up with some of our co-workers for dinner. We ate at the Outback Steak House and enjoyed a real good meal. We left there and returned to our hotel for showers and some quality time on line.
Soon we climed into bed for some well needed sleep...for tomorrow will be back to the old grind...at work...

Somewher in Time

Our Kansas Family

2011-05-04T22:47:00.001-05:00

Our Kansas family...

After working all day here I returned to the Hotel room to read some emails and visit some of my friends traveling around the country. One of the emails we received was one from our Son and his family in Kansas City. Brice and Jodi have two boys Evan and Brant. These boys are very special in our lives but we don't get to see them as often as we would like.

Brant was born 2 years to the day and just a few minutes apart from Evan his older brother. Now that is what I call family planning. We have not been able to attend the boys Birthday's due to our job schedule but this year we have made it our goal to get to Kansas for their Birthday no matter what comes up.

Brice did get to come down last year for a family get together and he brought Evan with him. We enjoyed their visit and it was good for Evan to meet his southern family. Evan is the same age as Kris so they had fun playing with each other. I hope that they will remain close over time. Family is real important to us and we all spend as much time together as possible.

My boys and my special little girl

Gruesome Twosome

Dad keeping watch out as kids go wild...

My boys take a break from the action

Thanks for the pictures Son...keep them coming so we can follow our boys as they grow...

Somewhere in Time

Storms Storms and more Storms

2011-05-03T21:19:00.001-05:00

Several times during the night the weather alarm kept going off telling us about storms coming in from the West. One line after another would come by and drop some rain and the wind would blow the lightning would split the night and the thunder rumbled all around.

It was quite a night of alerts...and when it was time to get up we both made our way into the kitchen to fix some coffee. We sat down and enjoyed our first cup and looked out the window at the low hanging clouds and the rain that fell off and on for some time.

Soon it was time to get dressed and start our day. We had several projects to get finished before we packed up and left for Louisiana. Yes today is the day we drive back to work. We really did not want to go but we knew that we had to. Sherri finished the wash and I finished cleaning the Jeep and loading all the luggage.

We went ahead and ate some lunch before we took off. It was a 4 hour drive and we planned on eating dinner in Monroe when we arrived. A little lunch before we left would tied us over until we arrived...

Somewhere in Time

Easter Egg Hunting

2011-04-26T21:28:00.001-05:00

Visions of chocolate bunnies were dancing through my head as I was coming out of my coma. Easter is here and the Easter Bunny has dropped off some good stuff for the grandkids that are staying with us. Sherri and I tried not to disturb them when we got out of bed. I made the coffee and then pour it so we could enjoy a cup while we let the kids get a little more shut eye. Really we knew that when they woke up there would be no rest for either of us.

Wake up they did and Sherri made them aware that they had some candy in the kitchen that the bunny had left. Frankie our 3 year old wanted to know why a bunny would come by the house and leave eggs? Have you ever had to answer this kind of questions? Sherri did rather well with answering the question and it seemed to satisfy Franki for the time being.

Yes we had a great Easter Egg hunt and everyone had a chance to hide and find. It took a while for the kids to calm down but they did and we got to eat some of that good food Sherri had put together.

After we ate the kids played some more and we got to visit some. We love to watch the little ones play and make be leave. We all stayed together until it got late and everyone had to call it a night. Tomorrow we all have to get back to the old grind. Sherri and I have to head out to Monroe for the week. The kids have to head back to school and their Mom has to get them ready for that time.

Sherri and I hope that all of you out there had a blessed Easter. Travel safely and come back to see us...

Somewhere in Time

Plenty of Work to be Done

2011-04-25T21:48:00.001-05:00

Here it is Friday morning and I am trying to get up and make coffee. Knowing that making coffee will be the easiest thing I do all day... still does not make it that easy to get up and get going. We drank coffee and made the plan for the kids coming over. We talked each other up on how we would handle the two for two days! Our fears soon subsided and we were prepped for the coming event. Beds made ready and menus planned out. I think this will work out OK???

I built a fence around the side of our barn and came up a little short on the pickets due to a design change...some of you guys can associate with that so on the way home from the RV service center I had picked up enough to finish the fence and also some more 4 x 4 post for the barn's walls. I put an 8 ft post next to each upright in the barn 2ft in the ground with concrete to help sturdy them. This will help to cut out some of the sway in the gale force winds we get here in March and April. I still need 10 more to complete that part of the project. Digging all these holes with post hole diggers has been a daunting task.

Almost looks like I knew what I was doing.

The fence was a little easier to complete and I think it came out real nice...being this is the first fence I had ever built. It provides us with more privacy from the road. Now we can set out and not feel as though we are on display for the passer bys. Now that we have got this much done to our place we do not dread coming here for the weekend. Before we dreaded coming out here but now we really enjoy our own little campground.

I have to get everything in order today because tomorrow we have our two star borders coming for a two night sleepover. They will stay with us until Sunday and hunt Easter Eggs. Their big sisters and Mom will be over about noon time to eat lunch with us and then take the two little ones home.

Sherri and I both look forward to them coming but know that two night sleepovers can wear us down and leave us feeling sapped...

Somewhere in time

Back to Hays RV

2011-04-25T21:14:00.001-05:00

We got up this morning and went down stairs to have some coffee. We are headed to Hays this morning to pick up our break system for the Jeep. they did not have the correct switch for it so we had to wait until today to get it. Not real sure how long it will take to get this installed but I am hoping that we will be in and out. I have several projects to complete at the Lake Lot and I would like to get started today.

Not much breakfast in the hotel but at least enough to get us started. We had coffee and visited for a short time and then it was off to Longview.

We arrived there a little late so we had to wait for the Tech to finish up someone that slipped in a head of us. He did get to us and we now have a break in the Jeep. They at first said that it would not work due to the fact the Jeep does not have a plug in that stays on when you turn the key off. We leave the key on when we tow...I guess to release the lock on the steering wheel? The book says we should undo the battery but I can't do that because the pump wont work on the break? I guess I will need to contact Jeep and see what I should do.

Well that is about all that happen on this day. We are back at the Lake parked in our new port and getting ready to relax for a while. Tomorrow I have to finish my fence and my patio cover. We are really settling in here and enjoying our place more and more each day. It will be a good place to come for free rent when not traveling on life's highway...

Somewhere in Time

Good Sam's Club Come Through

2011-04-19T18:10:00.001-05:00

Sherri and I got up early this morning so we would have time to drink our coffee and visit for just a little bit before we had to pull out for home. We sat in the living room and sipped our coffee and recanted some of the stories we heard last night and laughed as we retold each story. It is so good to attend these reunions and visit with all the family once a year. I hope that next year some of our kids can go with us and meet some of their kin folk here.

While visiting with some of the family I learned that one of our cousins had called Good Sam's to get a tire changed. I am a member but never had to use them so I was curious to see how fast they came to the rescue. It was about 45 minutes and here they came. The guy pulled up to the MH and got right to work. In no time he had the tire off and the new one put on the wheel and back on the hub. Man I will have to say that it was very professionally done. Some papers were signed but no money changed hands and he was out of there as fast as he had arrived.

45 minutes and the guy was here to change the tire

Wham the tire was off and on the ground

Did not take long and the job was done.

I hope that I never have to have them come out for me but if they do as good a job for me as they did for our cousin then I will keep on paying for the service.

We stuck around until about 10:00 and then packed up...dumped...hook up the Jeep and we were on the road home. It was a 4 1/2 hour drive to the Lake and the wind almost drove me over the edge. I was so glad to pull into my barn when we got there. I was exhausted and ready to rest. Well the rest did not come about. I had to park level and load up the Jeep so we could head off to Tyler Texas for the week. This would be another 1 1/2 drive.

We arrived in Tyler late and checked in. Before we even unloaded our clothes we went out to eat. We then returned to the hotel and unloaded our stuff...shuffled up the elevator and unpacked. I took a nice hot shower and got ready for bed. I could not hardly hold my eyes open after such a long adventure...

Somewhere in Time

Last Night at Grand Bayou

2011-04-18T21:50:00.001-05:00

Once again we woke up to quite. No sounds what so ever. The temps outside had dropped over night and it was real cool inside the coach. I had to get up and turn the heat on so I could warm up some. I then went to the kitchen and made my coffee. Sherri wondered in about the time the coffee was ready to pour and we sat down and went over the menu for the days meal. This would be our last night here and we wanted to cook out some.

It was not too long and Sherri's brother Richard came knocking at the door. He came in to visit with us. We sat there for some time talking and then realized what time it was and we had to break up and get ready for the day.

I went outside and cleaned the patio for the first time today...knowing that I would have to sweep it off several times before the day was over. The wind has been blowing here ever since we arrived. All the little tassels off the pine trees have blown off and fell all over everything everywhere.

We spent the day visiting with family and the visiting turned into story telling that night. We tell all the stories from the days when we were young and when some of our love ones...who are now buried in the cemetery... where here with us. We hope that the younger generation will continue this tradition and tell their children these stories so we wont be forgotten. Our history is important and I want my children and my grandchildren to know about the family.

Here are some pictures of the older generation setting around the camp fire relating the history and telling the stories about how all this came about...

Somewhere in Time

Memorial at the Cemetery

2011-04-18T05:42:00.001-05:00

This is all of Sherri's brothers... Richard, Danny, Randy and Rodney...Oh and that is me in the middle

I woke up to the sound of nothing outside. No sounds what so ever was coming from outside. It is so quite here that if a mosquito was to run into the window I would hear it. I pulled myself from the bed and went to the kitchen to make coffee. The tile floor was cold and by the time I reached the kitchen I was good and awake.

Sherri was not too far behind me and I fixed her a cup and we both sat down and enjoyed a cup together. She too was amazed at how quite it was here. Soon the fishermen started coming up and down the street going to the docks for the early morning launch. Then we could hear some of our bunch banging around outside and the morning began.

Sherri told me that I needed to go into town and purchase something to tie the flowers to the ground at the cemetery. The wind the last couple of days here has been gusting so bad that many of the arrangements out there were blown up against the fence.

We all left our flowers and remembered all of those that went before us. Sad not having them around but then we will all be there someday.

We did get all the things we needed at the ACE Hardware and the flowers made it to the Memorial. We all visited while we were out there and made a donation to the Cemetery Committee to help take care of the grass and grave sites.

While there Sherri and I checked out our site to see if we would still fit in it. Hey you know we all end up in the same place sooner or later...

Somewhere in Time

Time on the Grand Bayou

2011-04-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

Our site was so out of level that we had to run the MH up on blocks before we could let the jacks down

Everyone brought a covered dish

Sherri says this will be a good place to set up

Food Food

And more food

We had plenty to eat and we had a good visit with all the family

We had a good time and and good food. We will all get back together tomorrow and do it again...

Somewhere in Time

Headed to Grand Bayou Resort

2011-04-16T07:57:00.001-05:00

We woke up at Diamond Jacks Casino RV Park. It was 6:30 in the morning and I made it to the kitchen to make coffee. Sherri was up not too long after I finished the coffee and I poured her a cup. We visited for a while and made the plan for the day. We were going to eat breakfast at the casino buffet and then continue our journey south to Grand Bayou.

We got to the casino about 8:30 and had a great breakfast. We love the omelets they make there. We washed all that down with orange juice and more coffee and then returned home. The girls decided they needed some groceries so they planned a trip to the store before we pulled out. Check out time was 12:00 noon so they had to hurry up and get their stuff and be back to get loaded up before then.

Sure nuff they made it back about 11:45...We had all the sides sucked in and were dumped and ready to hook up and pull out. We moved over to the parking lot to hook up the Jeep for the second time. Once again we went through all the steps one by one making sure we did each step the correct way. We made the final check on everything and then off we went down the Interstate.

We arrived in Grand Bayou around 1:45 and checked in at the office. We got our site assignments and proceeded down to get set up. Rodney and Becky pulled into their site and soon were ready to pull out the lawn chairs...us on the other hand were not as fast. Our site was a tad out of level and once we dropped the jacks to level our front tires came off the ground about 5 in. Wow no way I am doing this! We finally drove up on our leveling blocks and then dropped the jacks...all was well at this point and we got set up for our stay.

We spent the rest of the day visiting and relaxing on the porch. We were the only two RV's in this part of the park now...but tomorrow the rest of our family will be arriving and this place will be hopping. The area we are in are all pull through sites. We have tall pines all around us and when the sun goes down it is dark! I was really surprised how quite it is here with the park being just about full! A few cars and trucks come by now and again but for the most part not much noise at all.

We turned in around 10:00 so we could get some sleep. Tomorrow the gang will show up and we will be real busy visiting. It has been a year since we all were together so we will have a lot to talk about...

Somewhere in Time

Tow Bar and R&R

2011-04-15T06:03:00.001-05:00

It was Wednesday morning when I woke up. I knew there was a reason I was anxious and did not know why...then it came to me...today we leave for our rest and relaxation trip. I have been working hard every day for a week getting our little place ready to live in and now it was time for me to have some rest away from home. Sherri also has been toiling away the hours getting all the pink jobs done in the new house. She too needs time to rest and have some fun.

I got up and made the coffee and then started getting the outside stuff done so we could leave by 8:00 am. We also are having the tow bar installed today so we can tow our Jeep with us on our future journeys. We are having that done at Hay's RV in Longview Texas. It is about an hour and one half drive for us this morning so we are leaving early to get that done before we continue our trip east. The plan is to get this work done and then head on east as far as Shreveport where we will stop for the night at Diamond Jacks RV park.

The Jeep went up and we went home

Lucky for us home was just across the street so we could keep tabs on it.

We arrived at Hay's on time and soon we were shown where we could park the RV for the day while we waited for the work to be completed....And wait we did. It took them from 10:30 to 4:00 to do all that had to be done. We were both thankful that we had our house there with us to rest in. Come to find out the break system on the Jeep that they had ordered did not have the correct switch in it so we did not get that portion of the order done. We will have to make a return trip to the shop to complete the work next Thursday.

This fat guy came out to hook us up...OH wait that is me!

They pulled the Jeep up behind us and went through the hitch up procedures. It was pretty much straight forward and we felt comfortable knowing that we could do that part without too much trouble. Now the part about switching the Jeep over to tow...that was a different mater. We had never done this...and had some horror stories told to us by our fellow campers that if you don't dot your I's and cross your T's that you could tear up you vehicle real fast.

We both sat in the Jeep and Sherri read to me while I did each step methodically one by one. We checked and then double checked each other out until we were certain that every step had been completed to the best of our abilities. Then it was time...

We told the car we loved it and that we wished the best for it and us...then pulled out the drive way onto the street and headed to the Interstate and Shreveport...

I could not take my eye off the camera...watching the Jeep and where I was going was a daunting task but I managed until Sherri agreed to watch the Jeep and let me watch the road. All seemed well behind us and we did not see any fire so we assumed that all was well....

It was...we reached the Fly-J just outside of Shreveport where we fueled up and I checked out everything on the Jeep. Everything looked good and I finished fueling up and sent Sherri to pay the bill. In worrying about the Jeep and all I had forgot to hang up the pump handle on the main fuel pump...I was using the slave...so they could not read the register inside. They had to send an attendant outside to hang up the pump so it would register! Sorry! I need this R&R.

We met Rodney and Becky...Sherri's brother and SIL at the fuel stop and they followed us to Diamond Jacks. It was almost 7:30 before we got settled in to our sites and then we had to go eat. That meant I had to unhook the Jeep! Then I would have to hook it up again in the morning! OH ME now I have to start worrying all over again. I am sure that Sherri and I will be able to handle this once we do it enough...

Somewhere in Time

Things are Coming Together But Almost Blown Apart

2011-04-11T19:17:00.001-05:00

When completed this will be our screened in porch.

It was 2:30 in the morning and the phone was ringing. I heard Sherri say, "Hello"...and then she turned over and told me to turn the TV on. I did as I was instructed and when the picture flashed on the screen all I could see was a giant weather map with my barn right in the middle. Underlined in Bold letters was TAKE SHELTER! I knew right then I was in big trouble. Not that I did not expect this to happen...after all it is April and this is north Texas...and I did just erect a new Motorhome port. I would expect the winds to blow and blow hard with lots of lightning and thunder.

OK so we both decided that where we were at this moment was not the best place to be in this kind of weather so we got dressed called our daughter in Wills Point and told her we were on our way. She said that she too was up watching the weather and was just about to call us. It only takes about 15 minutes to get to her house but it seemed like an hour. The wind was so strong that the leaves were blowing off the trees. The road was covered with debris from people's front lawns and when the lightning lit up the sky you could see the ominous clouds billowing down on us. I felt like I was in a Storm Chaser program on the Weather Channel.

We arrived at Jennifer's safely and watched the weather channel with her. The local weather people were frothing at the mouth when it was their turn to speak about the conditions outside. It was like they were in a reporting frenzy! It was amazing how many adjectives they came up with to describe the impending doom that was soon to be in your back yard...Go to a safe room and cover the children with mattresses. A "Safe Room"... Most houses, I have seen that take a direct hit from an F 3 Tornado don't have any rooms left...now let me see which one of the rooms that are no longer there were the "Safe Room". Well for Sherri and I it was a no brainer. We knew we had no safe room so we hit the road to find one.

After about 5 hours of hearing these weather guys OOO and GAAA over what was happening we decided to take the road back home. Hopefully we still had a home and it was still covered buy our new port.

All was in one piece when we returned and parked under the port. It was real late and I did not want to take an inventory at that time so we both decided to turn in and look around in the morning.

Morning did come and we were both dreading getting up. I did want to check everything and make sure that all was accounted for. But before I could take that trip outside I had to have my coffee. That is what I did first and made sure that my sweet wife had her a cup. When we finished our coffee I did venture outside and looked the property over. Everything looked like it had faired well. We did have 80 mph winds out here...according to the report I got from the State Park Ranger.

We had to take the RV to the State Park to dump it and then drive into town to get our license plates and State Inspection. There went some more money...but we have to spend some more Wednesday in Longview when we get our tow bar and breaking system installed. I hope I have enough money left to buy gas to go to the lake in Louisiana. We are having a family reunion next weekend and we need to eat while we are there.

This picture kind a sums up how I feel...

When we got back from town I started on our fence in the back. I got all but two post in the ground...with concrete...and ready for the fencing material which I hope to get on tomorrow. I still have not arranged all the stuff I am storing in my bays. More on that later...

Somewhere in Time

Work Work Work

2011-04-08T06:52:00.001-05:00

AHHHHHH another day off...What? you say...What's with the title of this post? Well I am off today but I have chores that must be done before I go to Louisiana for my R&R. I have to build a deck and a fence and a storage shed. I know that sounds like I have bit off more than I can chew...but it was all in the master plan laid down by us more than a year ago when I decided to go back to work.

I woke up and the room was hot and I noticed that I only had air blowing no AC. It is starting to get hot here already! This is only April and the temps today are going to be in the 90's! I was hoping to hang around here until the first of June and then head north to Colorado to cool down. Our time here was going to be March April and May leaving in June to cooler temps. Then we would return here in early October and then head south to warmer temps November December and January. I don't want to cut my stay here too short cause it is free rent and the electric is cheap.

Well that is what we are doing now is readying this place for those times we will be here chilling and banking money for our adventure trips. Unlike some of those lucky folks with two retirement incomes and SS coming in we have to be saving and plan out everything within our meager budget.

Anyone out there with tight budgets that would like to have fun and still eat must follow our journal as we scrimp and save our way through full timing. If you know you are not the only soul out there with less to spend than those you read about going all the time...eating out...shopping for new clothes...getting their finger nails done once a month then you will feel more comfortable living this life style. Yes even us po folks can have fun living like this.

OK enough of that I must get my coffee and start getting ready to dig more holes for fence post. This will be a busy day which I will write about...

Somewhere in Time

Working on the MH Port

2011-04-07T17:50:00.001-05:00

We arrived back at the lake about 5:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday. We had planned on getting there earlier but as usual that plan fell through. We stopped and shopped at Wally World for an hour or so and then continued on. Sherri picked up some rugs for her new living room and found some other what nots to place here and there. I found a clear plastic carpet protector for the drivers area. I will have to cut it to fit. Having the door in the drivers side of the MH is great but when you get out at some of the truck stops you have a tendency to track in oil and grease. This will allow me to keep my shoes on when entering the RV.

This morning the phone alarm went off and for just a second I thought it was time to get up for work. No I have a week and a half off so I went back to sleep. I don't think I slept long but I did not mind getting up when I woke the next time. I went and made coffee and sat down to figure my material for our porch which we are building inside the port. We want a place to set outside that is screened in to keep the skeeters out at night and the flies off of us in the day.

Digging holes...setting post...mixing concrete...and pouring it makes one tired

The plan is to make it 8 ft by 16 ft. This will gives us plenty of room for our chairs and tables. Sherri found several patio sets that she liked and they will fit in this size area. As this project develops I will post pictures to show you my progress. I have several days to get it started and I hope that in that time I can complete it. I will go to Home Depot this morning to order my lumber and pick up some of the materials that I can haul in the Jeep. It feels funny not to have my truck. We have had a truck for most of our married life and now without one I really don't know how to act. Maybe we can get us one of those small trailers that we can pull with the Jeep.

After returning from the Depot I began digging the holes for my fence that will attach to the port. There will be two small fences about 6 ft on either side of the front and a larger fenced in area off the left rear side that will house the playground for the kids. The other side of the rear will have a fenced in area with a gate to allow entrance to the port from the back of the property.

I have many more of these to do

Three fence post holes later I am heading to the shower. This has been a productive day and tomorrow I hope to get much more done...

Somewhere in Time

Tomorrow We Go Home

2011-04-05T20:39:00.001-05:00

This morning the phone alarm went off and I rolled out of bed...Mind you not fast but I did roll out and made it to the bath room and took my shower. Before I jumped in the shower I made Sherri and I a pot of coffee. We must have our coffee before we drive an automobile. I would not be able to set the GPS much less turn the key on and drive off.

After we both got dressed we went down stairs and ate breakfast in the kitchen. Today they had the Orange Juice machine running so I was a happy camper. We had plenty of time to eat our breakfast and then drive over to the store.

This week we plan on building our deck under the Motor Home cover and also build some storage rooms. I sold my cargo trailer and we have to unload it this week so the man can take it. I need these storage areas finished so I can pack all our "Must Keep" possessions inside out of the weather.

Before we leave here we have to go by and see how much we have to give up for the tow bar. We will have to get it connected to the Jeep and hooked up to the MH. I was hoping to get this all done before we take off for Louisiana. We will be staying there for a week of rest and relaxation. It will be nice to have the Jeep with us so we can visit family. Hope the timing works out and we can get it done.

The day went really fast and before we knew it we were off and heading toward the hotel room. We are looking for a package coming from Tampa Florida. They over nighted some papers for us to get the clear title on our truck . Problem was the package has not come yet and we are heading home as soon as we can. Over Night? I thought if you Over Night something it traveled over night and arrived at your place the next morning. Well maybe they have changed up the system but I still thought it would have arrived some time today.

I had been bragging on Lazy Days RV in Tampa Florida but when they sent us to get the clear title and sent us with a "COPY" of the release from lean...well needless to say they don't take copies. OK so we are stuck in Longview Texas trying to get the title while we wait for the "Over-Night" that did not travel over night...to arrive...

Somewhere in Time