Another Day of Boating

What….it is 5:30 and Sherri was not awake! The alarm did not go off…Oh  Me. Sherri jumped up and got to the kitchen before I could clear the fog from my head. I had made the coffee last night so all she had to do was flip the switch. She was so upset but soon found out that she had avertedly turned her phone off  before she went to bed. OK all is well she still had time to get ready but there would not be any visiting going on before she left for work.

Sherri made it OK and was out the door in plenty of time to get to work. I know how she feels though…..my day was never good when I over slept…seem like it throws your rhythm off.

Now for me….boating is what I will have to get done this morning. I know it is tough but someone has to do it and I was appointed to take the USS Somewhere in Time out on the lake for another shake down cruise. This morning I plan on a little further trip than yesterday…now that I know how she handles…so I will have to take me some supplies for the long journey up the coast line here on Ray Roberts Lake. Sounds good anyway…HE HE.

Well I am off and as soon as I return I will update you on all the things that I saw and maybe if I feel real confident I will take the camera along and get some pictures.

OK my confidence is not where it should be yet. I did not feel good about taking Sherri’s camera out in the boat. All I could think of is dropping it in the water and then spending the rest of the day trying to figure out how I was going to tell her.

The lake once again was smooth as glass…what a cliché…but it really does describe the surface of the water…and the reflection of the trees and the few clouds that were faintly etched in the sky by the rising sun.

I maneuvered the boat into the water from our campsite…and was really pleased at the ease of launching it. I was so worried that me being a bit hefty…to say the least…that I would have trouble getting in the boat at the lakes edge and ever more trouble pushing it off with me in it. I had no problem yesterday or today with that. Me and the boat slipped right on in and I was soon skimming out over the surface of the water. Today I had planned on going toward the east end of the cove and back up the opposite side from our campsite. I made sure I stayed close to the shore line so as not to be caught in the middle of the lake with boats racing up and down. I really did not want to capsize the new boat this early in the game.

The trip was really nice and peaceful. I saw so many birds and have no idea what kind they were …sorry bird watchers… I will have to take my binoculars next trip so I can see them up close and personable. Not that I will be able to tell you what I saw but I can describe them better.

Sherri will be getting off at 4:00 and if she feels OK I will take her out and she can take the camera and take pictures. I will feel much better about that and I will probably come up with better pictures to show you. OK I am signing off for a while until she returns.

Guess what…Sherri got home and its raining so…no boating today with Sherri. Well that is our luck. I do have some pictures of eating out with Sherri friends yesterday. If it stops raining before dark maybe I will have some pictures of us in the boat…that will be in tomorrows journal so stay tuned…

Somewhere in Time

Tuesday Boating

Sherri was up with the alarm this morning at 5:00 am. I got up and went down in the kitchen and made the coffee so Sherri could do her thing. It only takes her about 12 minutes to get to Pilot Point, but she likes to get up and have some coffee and eat a bite before she showers and takes off. I don’t blame her…I would too.

We sat and visited for a short time and then she went to get ready. I had a plan for this day and it did not include waxing anything. I was going to get the boat out and inflate it and then slip it into the water behind the trailer and float off into the cove just up from us.

Sherri left for work and I proceeded to get the boat out of the bay and ready it for it’s maiden voyage. It only took a few minutes to blow it up and then I had to get my oars life jacket and seat cushions. All was loaded and I was off skimming across the lake silently in the early morning. All I could hear was the oars breaking the surface of the water and a Morning Dove off in the distance. Was this a great moment in retirement or not. I was all alone on the lake not one other boat could be seen for miles. The water was smooth and not a breeze was blowing at all. The sun was just cresting the top of the tree line in front of me and I knew as soon as it broke over the top I would be wishing I had brought my sunglasses. If this was the worst thing that could happen to me I was OK with it.

The trip back was as wonderful as the trip out. The wind had picked up a little when the sun got up and it was pushing me slowly back to the beach from where I had started this adventure. There is nothing like floating across a lake early in the morning with only the sounds of the breeze that is taking you along and the birds waking from there nights sleep.

I will always remember that morning…me and my boat on its first time out and how peaceful life was at that moment…

Somewhere in Time

Monday Morning Update on G-Kids

OK just wanted to put some pictures of my Kansas Boys on the Web site today.

Evan gets bigger every time I get a new picture!

Brant looks like me after a good buffet!

I recognize those teeth for sure…Pitman all the way!

Now my little buddy is having a good time in his swing.

Yes he is Brice’s child alright….no doubt in my mind

Here Dad is your paper just like you trained me to bring it.

Gee son I never did that to you are your brother???

OK so now all are up dated on the boys in Kansas. I will be up there for their birthdays…which by the way are both on the first of August. Now that is planning.

Sunday Moving Day

I could hear some traffic outside when the mist of sleep cleared my head. It was Sunday morning….moving day for many folks still tied down to jobs. Yes Sunday was the day of check out. Time for many to return home so they can get ready for the M0nday morning return to work. Those days are past me now and I thank God that he allowed me to experience this part of life. Sherri and I did have to get ready to leave, however, but not to return to work but to go to a new home site.

We were leaving Hickory Creek and heading north to Lake Ray Roberts…Ray Roberts State Park… Isle Du Bois Unit. There are several Units here at this lake and Isle Du Bois is the largest “Campground” here. It is a very nice park…well over one hundred sites and many of them lake view. Ours is one of those and we were real lucky that we got this one too. There were not many sites left when we got to the office. Looking at the board on the wall directly behind the desk told me that there were only a handful of spaces left…and here it is Sunday? My goodness this must be a destination park for Summer Vacationers in the Dallas area.

We got everything squared away at the office and then Sherri directed me to the camping spot. We have our back in procedures down pat now after 30 some odd years of doing it. Sherri and I have hand held radios that we us to back in to the sites with. She tells me to go to the drivers side or passenger side and I know which way to turn the wheel and before you know it she is telling me to stop. We were in our spot in a bout 2 minutes and then we had the leveling thing, which sometimes takes a little longer to get it right.

 

Soon we had the place looking like home again. Furniture out rug laid down table set up…HOME SWEET HOME! Then it was time for the satellite set up. Now that is a little more work and takes time to get just right. When it is all done it is well worth the trouble. We have all the movie channels this weekend so we have been recording movies for future entertainment. OK that just about did it for getting set up.

Next thing we had to do was go find the store Sherri will be working in Pilot Point. The town is only about 15 minutes away from the park here so we took off to explore. The store sits right on Hwy 377 next to the Dollar General and Ace Hardware. Sonic is just down the street a ways so life is good. Now Sherri knows how to get there tomorrow and she wont feel lost heading out. While in town we located the “Soap Box” laundry mat and it appears to be a nice place to do laundry. I will be assigned that task on Tuesday. We also located a Mexican Food Restaurant on Hwy 455 that has real good food. It is the same outfit that Jason took me to for Fathers Day just last week. Hey life is good here at Lake Ray Roberts.

  These two shots are taken from down by the water behind our site.

The campground here is really nice. They have two main areas…we are staying in the larger of the two in site number 72. We back up to the water and have a nice view out the back window. I would love to be fishing this morning but I do have a few chores that must get done first. Believe me I will be wetting a hook before I leave here.

 These are the views out our back and Arizona room windows…not a bad view…

 

Shots taken from the porch ….come on by and have a cold one with us.

 

Sherri and I took a walk around the loop here and saw many good camping site.

I don’t believe they have any that I would conceder bad sites…maybe a little too much sun in some. I like to have shade on the porch side in the afternoon hours. That always seems to be the hottest time of the day and shade is a must then. Well that is about it for our Sunday here at the new home stead. I hope that you can join us from day to day and set a spell…

Somewhere in Time

Shopping on Saturday

I wanted to start off with this picture of me after my 20 mile walk that I take every morning. You can tell that I am a little winded but still ready for the days exciting events schedual



Well it must be 5:00 am...My eyes are open...take a peak at the clock...sure nuff...must be time to get up. Deb http://debandrod.blogspot.com/ told me I should be getting to bed at 12:00 midnight...and then I would not get up that early. Sherri and I have tried to sleep in but we both get headaches if we sleep more than 6 hours. Go figure...must be something to it. Anyway it was 5:00 and I was awake so I went down in the kitchen and put the coffee on took my shower and got ready for the day. You know I don't shave everyday anymore. I guess that is a sign of retirement. I just can't see spending a lot of time fixing up when you are just going set around the park all day.


Sherri and I sat outside and drank our coffee. The temp was just right for setting outside. We have a great breeze off the lake and even during the heat of the day the shaded areas are comfortable to set in. We also get a great Verizon signal here and have fast download and upload speeds for my journal and Sherri's Yoville. This is a very good COE park if you are in the Dallas area. You are about 3 miles from Interstate 35E and maybe 10 minutes from Wally World and restaurants.


We did take a trip to Wally World and got some groceries and while I was there I went ahead and got me a set of levelers and a new 30 ft. water hose. Gosh it does not take long to break the $100.00 mark. These are things I have been pricing around and still find Wally World to have the cheapest price. We got our stuff and then headed back to the park. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the RV and I did some waxing on the front cap of the trailer. I will have to clean out my bay when I get to Ray Roberts.


After cleaning was done we decided to watch a movie we had recorded and just spend the rest of the day in the living room on the computer and napping. Sherri by the way scored a 130,000 on her Bejeweled game and took the lead for the day. When I got up from my nap I sat down at the computer and chatted with Rod and Netters. That was about the extent of that until later at night when I got on RV-Dreams Live Chat and met up with all my friends there. Three beers into chat and I was ready for bed. We had to move on Sunday so I needed all my rest.


Better sign off here and get to bed...Hope you all have a good day tomorrow and I will see you....


Somewhere in Time

What Happen to Friday?

I don't know what it is but Sherri and I have been getting up every morning at 5:30 sharp? What is the deal here. We go to bed at 10:00 and sleep soundly and when 5:30 gets here the eyes fly open and we are ready for the coffee. Is this a retirement thing. Any of you veteran retired folks can jump in here and let me know if this is normal.

Well as things would have it 5:30 got here and I rolled over to look at the clock and sure nuff I was swinging the twigs out of bed and going to the kitchen to make coffee. Sherri followed close behind and soon we were sipping coffee and talking about what to do today.

First thing on Sherri's list was to go to Macy's and get her some pants and blouses. She has switched from the buying g-kids clothes to buying her own now...well it is about time. We motored over the Mall and I parked in front of the store. I told Sherri that she was on her own here. I really did not feel like walking around Macy's. for an hour looking at bras and such. It was not too long and she was back...gave me time for a power nap and to play with my Gamin.

Next stop was the Veterans Affairs Hospital. I had to go there to turn in my paperwork for my Veterans Benefits. I will be switching my health program over to Veterans and being a disabled Vet I will only have a small Co-Pay for my medical visits. OK so we arrived at the Hospital and I was amazed at the size of the facility and how much it had grown over the last 35 years! We parked in one of the outer parking lots and they have a shuttle that takes you up to the front door. We headed to the check in window...got checked in within a few minutes and then went to the waiting lounge for them to call our name. Now it was about lunch time so they had the usual changing of the guard for lunch breaks which extended out wait somewhat but in about an hour and fifteen minutes we were all signed up and headed out the door. It was after noon by the time we got to the truck so we decided to go to our favorite Mexican Food Restaurant "Cristina's". Oh yes we love our Mexican food. We arrived at Cristina's about 2:00 and ordered out food. Sherri had the Puff Taco and I had the Burrito. That and about two bowls of salsa and two baskets of chips later we were ready to get home.

That was about a wrap for this day. We waited until it got cool to go on our walk. That was about 8:00 when we started out. Gee it takes so long to cool down here. Well I missed chat because I did not get back in time for that and something to eat. Sorry gang I will try to get a better schedule going for chatting.

OK time to head into today's plan....which I don't have yet...but I am sure it will come to me...

Somewhere in Time

A Nothing Special Thursday

We slept with the bedroom AC on last night and it was rather cold this morning when I became conscience. Our AC unit in the bedroom is not ducted so it really blows a lot of air out two vents and you can hang meat in there if you crank it down low enough. When you go to bed it is hot but being on the lake it cools off during the night. Well to make a long story short…I did not want to get up it was so cold…can you believe it??

I did get up and I did turn the AC down some. I then went down and made the coffee and got myself for an exploration day. We are planning on moving to Ray Roberts Lake up by Pilot Point on Sunday so we were going to venture up there to check out the park. We were not in any hurry this morning so we lounged around drank our coffee and played on the computers for a time. Sherri was the first to take her shower followed by me and then the wait for her to get dolled up. Me there is no hope for my looks so I just shaved and put on deodorant.

We took off about 9:30 or so and made the trip to the doctors office for my blood draw and then north to Lake Ray Roberts. We went up 243 which took us through town after town red light after red light…needless to say it was a long trip up there. We arrived at about 11:00 and checked in at the office to get a map of the park. We spent the best part of an hour driving around looking at the sites and trying to find the right one for us. We can’t reserve specific sites at State Parks but if they are open then we can get one that we know is to our liking.

We made note of several sites and then headed on to Camping World to see about a COE camping guide. We found what we were looking for plus a new brush head for my RV washer handle. My old one was worn out and I needed a new one. While there we signed up for another year of Good Sam…it only cost us $12.00 so we took the leap.

Then it was off the….non other that Wally World… Yes can you  believe it. We needed to get some drinks and a few other items. Not too long there and then home again. The rest of the day was spent watching a little TV and playing on the computer.

Later in the evening we sat outside and enjoyed the breeze off the lake and the sun set over the trees. We have a lot of ducks here and  our RV backs up to the water in a little cove. I think I will try my boat out in the cove tomorrow. Maybe I can get Sherri to take some pictures of the maiden voyage LOL.

That is about it for this day. Not an adventurous day but one of exploration and more appointments. Hopefully this will change in the months to follow. We will become more stationary and will have more time to explore….

Somewhere in Time.

A Fathers Day Meal

Wednesday morning was a move day for the adventurers. We were moving to Lewisville Texas so I could be close to my doctor for more exams. This is my last month of insurance until I go into the Veterans system. That is another project I have to get done. I will be glad to get all the projects done so I can start doing something like fishing and rowing around in my boat. I have the perfect place to launch my boat and fish in this little cove right behind the camp spot.

We got to Hickory Creek about 1:30 and got everything set in place. On the way in we did spot next weeks spot that we had reserved for our stay here and noticed that it was out in the bald faced sun….HOT! Sherri said there is not way we were going to be able to stay there as hot as it is here. So as soon as we got everything inside the RV settled we headed up to the office to see if they could change us to a different spot. We had found that site #95 was a good shaded one and asked if they could switch us with that spot. I had already checked online and found out that it would be vacant for those dates…so it was just a matter of them being able to switch us on the system. After talking with them and the kind lady that works in the office was through we had a better spot next week. Good for us….now we could go home and cool off and relax.

My son Jason had invited us out to eat…for my Fathers Day gift. They had a Mexican food restaurant not too far from where they live that he said had good food and so we drove out his way to join him. Before we left we stopped at the gate to see what the entry code was for getting back into the park after hours. Well if you get here later than 10:00 you don’t get back into the park! It is a mile and a half to our campsite from the gate so we made a note to be back in plenty of time to get to our RV. I was reading Randy Warner’s journal http://warnerrvnews.blogspot.com/and he said he was in a COE park near Dallas…could it be this one??? He said the same thing about the gate there. I need to find out where they are…this is the only COE park I know of around Dallas.

We met Jason and Susan at their house and Jeff and his wife Beth were also there. Jeff is my nephew…Rodney and Becky’s son. We enjoyed the visit and the good food. We, of course had to cut our visit short due to the gate closing at the park.

We made it back in plenty of time and was soon all comfy in our home. I got me some ice cream and sat down to chat for a while. It was a short chat because we did not get on line until about 10:00 and most everyone was leaving. Leno and Dee are on the East coast now and the time difference makes it much later there. I did enjoy getting to say hi with all the folks before they left. I hope tonight I can get on a little earlier and chat longer…

Somewhere in Time

No Internet No TV

 

Tuesday morning I woke up and notice that my head was stopped up again! I guess it is the humidity here or something. Sherri and I both have been having sinus problems for some time now. Sherri had to go to the doctor in Lafayette for a shot to get rid of hers but we still have the same problem as then. Maybe we will just have to wait out the pollen count?

Today we had planned on moving some more stuff in the barn. I guess it must be the retirement mode we are in but it seems less important now to get all of that done. The fact that the temps here have been in the 90’s might have something to do with that feeling we have also. We got our coffee and went out to the patio to drink it. The mornings are not too bad here….we have a breeze and it is rather decent. We looked through some of our campground books to see what is available in some of the areas that Sherri will be working in. We have decided that the COE campgrounds are going to be our best all around place to stay in our travels. With my pass and the 1/2 price I pay for camping we will do real good on that part of our budget.

While setting outside I noticed some dirt daubers flying around the front bay. Upon investigation in the bay I found where those little pest were making mud nest in and around my generator. Well this has to be corrected right now. If they build nest on some of the working parts of the generator it could ruin it. We took a closer look at where they were getting in and decided that we needed some steal wool to put in their entrances so they would have to find another place to build their home.  Wally World run seemed to be in order today and as long as we are in Canton we would have to eat at Chin’s Buffet. Funny how that all works out.

We finished our coffee…took showers…got dressed and then headed to Canton to buy our steal wool and some other supplies that we needed. We did eat at Chin’s when we got through and it was good as usual and I ate too much as usual! When we finished eating we left there and went to Jennifer’s new home to see them and Sherri was going to do a load of wash. While there I got on the Internet….I could get a good signal there….and sent some pictures by email. When the laundry was done we came on back home and worked on plugging all the holes to the front bay. I know as long as I am in Dauber country I will need to check for mud nest at least twice a week. You might keep that in mind when you are traveling to be on the lookout for these pest and keep the nest from getting built where they should not be. They sell screens for your heater exhaust and the Hot Water Heater door. Make sure you have them installed. You may not have that problem in your part of the country but you will if you come south and you will need to be ready for them.

That just about finished me off for the day. I was soaking wet by the time I got all that done. It was time for a cold shower clean clothes and  some hot dogs. When we got through eating we wanted to get on line so we had to drive out of the woods and out to the parking lot to get a clear sky. We used the Inverter for the first time in the truck. Sherri got on Yoville and I chatted for just a short time. Between the heat and the bugs on the screen I had to call it a night. Sorry I left so fast out of chat but I could not take it . I hope we have a better signal in Lewisville…time will tell.

We got back and ate some ice cream…I could get on line to read a journal or two and then it was time for bed. Another day in paradise gone. Tomorrow we hitch up for our move to Lewisville. We will be staying at Hickory Creek COE. I will post some pictures and detail then. Sherri and I will say so long for now…we will return…

Somewhere in Time  

Hot Day Where are the Mountains

Monday morning we got up and made our coffee and started with some of our phone calling around to get our appointments set up for the weeks ahead. We still have to take to trailer by Explore USA to get some work done on it. We have our doctor appointments and then we have to get ready for Sherri to head up north for work. We still are not sure where we will be staying but will check the State Park out at Ray Roberts this Wednesday to see if it will work.

We came home from the lot and took showers and just sat around the rest of the day trying to stay cool. I decided to bowl for a while and Sherri was playing solitary on the computer…she got up and joined me and whipped the daylights out of me. I am a terrible bowler but I like playing. By the way this is on Wii Sports we do not have a bowling alley in the RV…HE HE.

We took our walk when it cooled down some and talked to Becky and Rodney who are in Wyoming. It is raining there and 40 degrees! Oh when can I go to the mountains? 

 

We had neighbors move in

Well that is about all for this day.  When we go back we had some neighbors…been too hot to meet them so we will see if they peek  their heads out today. Until next time we hope that you all have safe travels and when you have a chance come see us…

Somewhere in Time

Monday Starts Our Projects

Hello….What time is it? I’ll risk one eye to take a peak at the radio clock across the room. That is when I noticed that Sherri was already up and had turned the coffee pot on…I could smell the coffee brewing and it gave me the strength to pull myself up out of bed and into the living room to see what was going on. I notice it was still dark outside. Sherri had moved from the kitchen to her recliner and was there patiently waiting for the coffee to finish its cycle. She had the computer on and was testing the connection to the web. She had  been without Facebook and Yoville for two days now and the pains of being without was about to do her in and sure had done me in listening to the moans.

 

Our new sight here at Tawakoni State Park #54

Coffee was ready in short order and we decided to set outside and see if we could get a better connection there. We had to do some research on the Internet for a place to stay in Pilot Point Texas. This is a town located next to Ray Roberts Lake in north Texas. We will be up there for a week and we had been looking for a Pass Port American campground but had not located one close enough for our liking. We did locate a State Park just a few miles from town and decided to check it out. Isle Du Boise Park. It is $20.00 a night with my discount and there is no sewer. This will put Sherri close to her store and she can take the truck and leave me at home. Appears for now that is will be the place.

Not a good shot of the lake out the back windows.

A little bit better view taken up against the glass window.

This is on the side of the trailer…looks like a good spot to launch my boat???

Back to today and our list of chores that we need to get done. We finished all our research on the Internet…which took some time due to our slow connection. Our next item on the list was to go over to our barn and unload some of the junk that had accumulated in the truck. Sherri was going to load some of the totes that we had in the loft back into the loft from the move. This we did for a very short time because the heat about did us both in. We did some more measuring for the driveway and made some phone calls to different contractors to see if they would put our drive in. That was about all we did this morning and it was time to get some lunch so we went back to the Park and fixed us some hot dogs and chips.

A shot from the dinning room windows. These are really secluded sights. There is a stand of trees between each spot and you have more privacy than the average campground….which we like.

This afternoon when it gets cooled off we plan on going back to the barn and do some more tote moving. I need to do some mowing too. Not much going on as far as fun things go. We get all these items on our list of things to do in the next two weeks done we can go back to exploring again….

Somewhere in Time