Trip Out East

 

I woke up this morning with just my nose sticking out from under the covers. I pulled my hand up to touch it and found that it was cold…does that mean I am healthy? I think it just means I need to turn the heat up in the RV so we can defrost before we get up to drink coffee.

Thank heaven for remote control thermostat. I put it up to 70 degrees and it came on with out getting up. How lazy is that? Oh well I have worked all my life so now I can be lazy.

It did warm up and we got up and made coffee. Sherri and I both slid into our recliners and covered up. Coffee was ready and we poured a cup and then started planning the day. We decided to head east to see about a few RV parks we have been looking at on the Internet. They are located close to some of the jobs we will be working later on in the month so we just wanted to see what they looked like and decide on witch one we would feel more comfortable in.The first one was http://antiquecapitalrvpark.com/

Antique Capital RV Park outside of Gladewater was our first park to examine. It is right off the loop around Gladewater. It is about 2 or 3 minutes from downtown which Sherri liked. The rates there are fare and they have WIFI and cable.

The town of Gladewater is referred to as the Antique Capital of Texas and it lives up to that too. There are so many antique shops there your head will swim. I can’t wait to go there and spend a day walking around town and looking at the old furniture there.

Being a cabinet maker of sorts I have had an interest in duplicating old antique furniture in my shop. Over the years I have done many pieces that I am proud of and having a place like this to go and get many more ideas….well is pretty special. Somewhere in the future there is a trip to Gladewater being planned.

OK we next went to Shallow Creek RV and Golf Resort. http://www.shallowcreek.com/ We liked it OK but the road getting to it was under construction and it would really be a hassle getting in there. The sites are all paved and they had patios and plenty of room for slide outs. All the RVs there were nice and the park over all was nice and clean. I would recommend it to anyone but it was just not what we wanted as far as location to the town and our work.

It was getting on towards 3:00 when we started our journey back to our RV park outside of Canton. It was about a 45 minute drive and we both were hungry. We drove a short distance and hit the Interstate headed west.

We are having my sister and brother-in-law over tonight for drinks and dinner. Jim and June have a shop at First Monday Trade Days in Canton. They sell personalized street signs. Yes street signs with your name on it. I have one that says Pitman Parkway…cool. If you are ever in Canton for First Monday stop off and buy a street sign with your name on it.

Better go now and get my chores done before they get here. Come join me later on ….

Somewhere in Time

Still Having Problems With Computer

 

I woke up this morning thinking maybe the computer fairy had come in the night and fixed my computer. Well after making the coffee and setting down I turned on the HP and low and below that fairy had not come to see me. I still have that Anti Virus program blocking my web pages. What is the deal with this. I can’t even find out what program it is. When it comes up and wants me to purchase the plan for another year I find no name. All it says is that I have a virus and the only way to get rid of it is to pay them $59.95.

 Well I will just have to put up with this pop up mess until I can get time to take it to the doctor to see what they can do. I feel like reaching into the computer and ripping out the heart of this Virus Protection. It wants to tell me how bad this virus is…when it should be worried about how bad I am. I can’t chat on Facebook…it has me blocked! I think chat is out all the way around.

One thing that makes me happy is the fact that my kids are law officers. They are doing real well. I pray for them all the time for the Lord to keep them safe. Be careful going through Van Zandt County Texas, however….they are watching you.

My daughter and SIL are about to leave for work

Many of my readers have noticed that I have not been posting lately. Well I am back in action now and hope to work around the problems I am having.

Sherri and I have been having fun working together and exploring new places while on the road. We are trying to make this next few months as fun as possible until we can hit the road for real. We have set a $ goal and when we reach that we will be seeing you down the road. Yes we will be traveling to different places and seeing new sites and having new adventures.

One adventure today is going to Gladewater Texas to see an RV park there where we might call home for a while. We will be working in that area this next month. I will have some pictures of it for my next post. Until then I guess I will have to say so long until we meet again…

Somewhere in Time

 

Problem With My Computer

 

Well it has been a while since I have posted on my journal  but I have has some problem with my computer. Seems as though the security software that I had purchased with my computer has locked my programs up until I by another year of service? Yeah…go figure that one out. Well they will lose conscience before I ever update with that system.

OK Sherri and I finished out a week in Clifton Texas at the Brookshire’s store there and headed home. We finished about 4:00 and then packed up our tool boxes and got out on the highway. We decided to stop on the way to eat us some dinner. We had Mexican food and the finished the last leg of the trip. It sure was nice to pull into our spot here just outside of Canton Texas. I really don’t like staying in hotel rooms and being home is much more restful.

It began to rain as soon as we got home. The weather report says that we will be having rain for the next day or two. It is becoming a bog here. We would love to have a week of dry weather so we could clean outside the RV. We now have a ton of road dirt that has built up. The longer we have to wait to clean it off the harder it will be to do so.

I am looking forward to this long weekend off. We plan on getting some things done and maybe seeing some sites in the area. I hope that this computer holds up for a while so I can keep in touch with all of you…

Somewhere in Time 

Staying in Hillsboro

 

Here we are in Hillsboro at the Best Western. We got here about 3:00 and settled in to our room. The rooms here are clean and are furnished nicely. We have a large desk which we moved out into the middle of the room so we can both set our computers up and play.

We set around and played on the computers and then when the game came on we started watching it. We both wanted the Saints to win and were really getting into the game. When the Vikings came up with the ball in the last minutes or so we really were down! Our hopes were really shattered and the hopes of going to a Super Bowl were fading away.

Alas!…the game went into overtime and the field goal was about to happen…when the digital signal started that crackling and pixilating….The ba…is….dwn….its…u…its…crackle screen goes away…no way to know if it was good or not…until the picture cleared for a short time and I could see the people on Bourbon St jumping up and down and toasting and…wait….that goes on all the time there…did they win or are they just having a party? I ran to the computer and dialed up sports and found out that they made the field goal and won the game!!! Yeah!!! Go Saints.

OK now I have to watch the Super Bowl and start this agonizing feeling all over again. I hate sports…why do I spend time watching while my blood pressure goes up and I get so involved in the game I want to shake the TV off its stand. Sherri just sets there and watches me come completely apart and just laughs.

After the game we went and ate a bite at the Black Eyed Pea. It was a little late to be eating but we were hungry and had to eat something. Travel days always throws our schedule off for eating.

We got our showers and then turned in for the night. Tomorrow is a work day for us so we have to get to bed so we can get up. We have to drive 35 miles from the motel to the store we work in so that means we have to leave about 7:00. This will be my first store set so it should be interesting to say the least. Stay tuned for the continuing saga of Speedy and the Store Set…

Somewhere in Time    

   

Waiting on Family

 

We sat down to drink our coffee and read some journals this morning and while doing so we contacted Rodney and Becky. Rodney and Becky for those that don’t know are Sherri’s brother and SIL. We asked them what their plans were for the day to see if they might be on the way out here. We found out that they had failed to turn the water off in their barn and the pipes had frozen, flooding the entire barn!

Well they were coming out to see if it had all dried out yet. They had been up the week before to vacuum up some of the water and turn some fans on. Anyway they would be up today to see to that and we told them that we would meet them there. Our place is next door and Sherri wanted to dry some clothes at our barn so the plan was made.

It was after noon before they called to let us know that they were there so we drove over to see them. While Sherri and Becky visited at our place I went over to see what damage they had received at their place. It did not look all that bad but then they had cleaned up a big part of it. Rodney told me that he had just forgot to turn off the valve at the barn and it froze solid and then busted. Well when the temps got up… well you know the rest.

We visited for an hour or so while Sherri dried clothes and then we invited them over to our house to have dinner. We left and stopped by town to pick up our mail and get Sherri a Lottery Ticket. We then stopped by Brookshire’s to get a few items for dinner and then on to the Park.

Sherri have marinated some pork chops to grill out and we added some sausage to the grill. I cooked it outside while it rained…of course…it has been doing that a lot here lately. We had a real good meal and ice cream for dessert.

Then it was time for them to leave and head back to Dallas. We said our good-byes and wished them safe travels. We too will be traveling tomorrow to Clifton Texas. We will be staying there in a motel. I will bring you up to date on that journey tomorrow…

Somewhere in Time. 

 

Cleaning and Repairing

 

We were up early and I made the coffee and Sherri came down to the living room and got herself fixed in her recliner. While we were waiting for the coffee to brew we went over our plans for the day. The plan was to get our house in order. We have to clean the shower, toilet room and vacuum the carpet.

Another project on the list was replacing the vent lids on the roof. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain so I need to get those up before then.

We finished our coffee and then the work began. Sherri helped me get the vent lids on first and then she went to work on the floors and bathroom. Vents were finished so I took the laundry assignment. I took four loads over to the laundry and while they were washing I came back and dumped the tanks.

We took a break about 12:00 and fixed our lunch. We had one movie left so we watched it while we ate. Hangover was the movie and it was funny. We got all our chores done and then we had to take our movies back. While we were at the store we picked up some roasted chicken for dinner.

It was so good to get the inside cleaned up and smelling so good. When bad weather comes to town it sure is hard to keep things clean and when it clears out you have to get things back in order.

One last thing I have to comment on is my good friends Jim and Dee had a mishap while driving their trailer. Knowing how they feel right now…because Sherri and I have been there done that. We all have had our accidents with our RV’s. All I can say to them is don’t take this too hard…make it a learning experience and then move on. You both are in our thoughts and we know that you will get past this…

Somewhere in Time

The Ultimate Adventure

 

We woke up this morning at our usual time and enjoyed our coffee and each other. The topic of conversation was future trips and where they might be. We like to get on the computer and map out trips and look at RV parks that we might stay at.

Well we finished our coffee and plans and then got ready for the day. We were headed to Wills Point to put in some Salad Dressing racks. From there we went to Quinlan…Terrell and then ended up in Kaufman. We finished up today and then went to Applebee’s for a treat of soup and salad…all you can eat.

When we reached home I was ready for a nap and Sherri watched her soap opera. I had a good nap and when I woke up Sherri was watching Idol. I watched for a while and then I noticed the sky getting a little dark and it started to rain. I thought about the boxes of soup racks I had in the back of the truck and wondered if they would be OK. Well soon I forgot about the boxes when it started hailing!

We could not hear the weatherman but we could see the picture and we knew the storm was right on top of us.

All of a sudden the hail got larger and started coming down so hard we could not hear the TV weather man. We could see the storm on the radar and we knew we were in trouble. The water was starting to surround the RV and the hail kept coming.

The white stuff on the ground is hail.

Our site is in the river bed here at the park. Needless to say we are going to ask if we can move tomorrow.

Soon I head the worst sound! The vents in the bath area and in the toilet room broke and water started to come in. All we could do is put a bucket under the vents and hope that the rain would let up after a while.

This is the vent in the bath area.

This is the vent in the toilet area

The storm lasted about 30 minutes and at times the hail reached half dollar size. Most of the hail was quarter size but no matter it was banging us up pretty good.

This is a quarter size hail stone. Sherri said she had some that were half dollar size. 

The storm clouds started to clear away and the rain stopped. It took it a while for the run off to clear so we could walk out side. I was going to go up on the roof and cover the vents with a plastic bag. I climbed up the ladder and walked out on the roof looking for any damage that the roof might have sustained. The only thing that I could see that was damaged was the two vents in the bath area. I slipped the bag over them one at a time and Sherri rolled the vent down to seal it off. I hope this keeps the rain out until we can get some new vents.

This is one more time we dodged the  bullet in our RV. We just have to get out of tornado alley…

Somewhere in Time

MLK Day

 

Here it is MLK day and I have to work!!! I know most of you out there are off today and kicked back in your recliners enjoy yourself. Sherri and I were up at 5:00 and on the road by 6:30. We finished today at noon in Canton and headed straight for Ochoa’s Mexican Restaurant. We had a real good lunch and then drove back to the park here.

Not much going on today…when we got home we just climbed in behind the computers and chatted with a few friends and read some emails. To all of you out there that send me emails I want you to know I enjoy reading them and may not comment back but I do read them and want to thank you for thinking of me.

Yesterday we did some exploring here in our own back yard. We found some towns that have been forgotten by most. We drove through several that are not even on the map and see why. Nothing left except some old buildings and rubble of what once was a town. It is sad to see these old buildings that once were the dwelling for a family or a business long ago. We are starting to do more of this kind of exploring as we travel the back roads.

So I don’t bore you too much I will sign off here and wish you well where ever you are. I am working on some pictures of the towns we go through and hope to have a journal entry on some of them…

Somewhere in Time

Movie Marathon

 

Today we have off but we are still up at 5:00. It is best to keep the same schedule rather than try to sleep in. When we sleep in we both end up with a head ache and we feel bad all day.

We had our coffee this morning while setting in our recliners. Last night we had gone to Brookshire’s and bought some movies to watch today. Three movies that would keep us busy for half the day and the other half would be spent washing clothes.

The movies were very good and we enjoyed watching them…eating popcorn and just doing nothing. While we were watching the movies Sherri was washing clothes in our machine. When the movies were all watched we packed up the clothes and headed to the barn.

We are both happy that we got the washer and dryer for our barn. It sure has come in handy over time and we have saved a lot of money doing our clothes there. It sure will be good when we can park in our driveway and stay at the barn. When we are working this area of the country it saves us a ton of money to stay there and just pay for the electric. This weather has been so wet and our new drive may never dry out. Only we would have chosen this time of the year to put in a drive.

We got all the clothes washed and then we had to go back to Canton to return the movies and while we were there we picked up 5 more. Well tomorrow will be another movie day. We decided to watch one tonight while we ate some snacks. About half way through the movie I looked over at Sherri and she was sound asleep. Must not have liked it?

Time for lights out…Woke Sherri up and sent her to bed. I finished the movie and then it was my turn to turn in. We had a good time just the two of us…

Somewhere in Time 

Thursday is the Last Day

 

Thursday morning came and we were up and getting ready to go to work. It was odd waking up in the hotel room and trying to figure out where you are for the first few minutes. Once to cloud cleared I knew where I was and knew I had to bathe shave and get ready for the day.

This day was going to be a reset day for Campbell Soup shelves. We are changing out the shelves that your Campbell Soup goes on. I like working these projects because you get to unload all the product and then build the new shelves and load all the soup cans back in. Now you say how fun can that be??? Well when it is all done and you stand back and admire your work there is a feeling of satisfaction. I am sure there are those out there that don’t have a clue on what I am saying so I will leave it at that.

Sherri and I working side by side is fun too. We seem to get along better when we are working and striving for the same goals….finishing and going home. The work is really not that hard and what I really like about it is not being responsible for anyone but myself. After 40 years of being in charge of people and responsible for everything they do this is a cake walk!

After work we headed to White Oak to deliver some shelves and picked up some salad dressing shelves for future jobs we have to do. On the way there we stopped off and looked at some RV parks that we had heard about from friends. Every park we looked at was nice and we would stay there if we have to in the future. I like knowing what these places look like before I get there. Nothing worse than planning on staying in a park and getting there to find out they are a dump!

It was good to get home after being gone all week. Everything looked to be in good condition when we drove in. The best thing was it was warm and I could hook up to the water. I hope that it stays this way for a while…we are both tired of cold weather.

Tomorrow we are off until Monday so we drove down to the store to rent some movies from the Red Box. We got three and plan on spending the first part of the day watching movies and relaxing. I love this work schedule and the fact that all the traveling and eating we did was paid for! How sweet is that and next week will be more of the same…

Somewhere in Time

Shreveport

 Thanks to everyone that wished me a Happy Birthday. Really what makes me happy is the good Lord let me live one more year. Every year I live I make many memories and that is all we end up with.

Here we are in Shreveport…the alarm going off at 5:00 and Sherri and I dragging around the motel room trying to get ready for the day. We got our showers… dressed and went to he breakfast bar to eat.

We have a breakfast bar here and they had a good selection. Now that I am back to work I have to have some food in the morning to keep me going until lunch.

Being the new guy on the team I was abused today. Not really but I did get to carry out some of the task that the new guy always gets. I was not sent out to get the key to the flag pole but I did get to do some things that kind of breaks you into the team. What I like the most is going to different places and working then heading off to another.

We have 4 stores lined up next week and are pretty much on our own schedule to complete them. This will give us some time to do other things. I think this is going to work out for the both of us. We can make money and still have time to travel and explore places we have never been.

Today was all work until 3:30 and then we headed to the Sam’s Town Casino for our half price buffet. We had to play some before we ate…I lost a dollar and Sherri won $15.00.

I do feel better having worked today. I think a couple of days a week working will help me lose some weight and when summer gets here I will be able to go back to walking more. 30 lbs has to come off so I better get to work on it.

I will not fill my journal with all work. Sherri and I will have time off to do other things. We hope to do some exploring along the way and we will take you along…

Somewhere in Time