At Sunset Shores RV Park, Willis, Texas...
I have been a bit incapacitated for a couple of days with an abscessed tooth. I had taken a break from my editing "job" for my friend Ed to work on another legitimate post to Phannie and Mae, but I haven't been able to do that either; I have difficulty concentrating with a toothache or any other kind of chronic pain. The result is that you are stuck with this whiny little piece; I'll have something a little more substantial when this is over.
I made a hasty trip to see my dentist, Dr. Novo Cain (sorry), a scrawny kid who could easily be my grandson. Somehow, he must have earned his DDS and MD when he was a baby, as he looks only about 18 now.
"You're getting a root canal!" he said, with way too little sympathy in his voice, which was still squeaky enough to make me think it had only recently changed. I figured his buoyancy was due to his realization that the next payment on his Mercedes was now a done deal.
More later; I have to buy a Mercedes for Dr. Cain.
Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Phannie
Photo taken near Monument Valley, Utah
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Eureka Springs and Shopping to Help Heal a Wound
At the Eureka Springs KOA, Eureka Springs, Arkansas...
You may think it odd that I would title this post as I did, as most guys would think of a shopping trip by his wife as anything but a healing process! Instead of healing anything, it could do serious injury to a bank account. But this was different. Very different.
If you've read this blog for a while, you know that we were victims of burglars twice in the last few years--at our residence and at our motorhome. On both occasions, the thieves stole mostly Sandy's jewelry that I had given her on countless occasions in the nearly 40 years we've been married. It was devastating for her, not so much for the monetary value, which was considerable, but mostly for the sentimental loss that she will never recover. Furthermore, our feeling of being violated is something that will probably never go completely away, and I am fairly certain the home invasion was more of a factor in our decision to sell the house than either of us will admit.
Fortunately, the thieves didn't find some of the most expensive pieces of jewelry that were kept in a safe, but those that were taken were some of Sandy's favorites. We have begun to try to replace some of them, but it is an almost impossible task. We both like pieces that are unusual or one-of-a-kind creations by designers and craftsmen, and it is their uniqueness, of course, that thwarts our finding replacements. We had bought many of the pieces that were stolen during our travels through the years, and it is at this point in the story that our current stop in Eureka Springs becomes relevant.
If you've never visited Eureka Springs, Arkansas, you have missed a fascinating place. It is a quaint and historic little town perched dizzyingly on steep hillsides in the middle of the Ozarks, and it reminds me of a tiny San Francisco in that regard. (The debauchery found on the left coast would hardly be tolerated here in the Bible belt, however.)
Eureka Springs is quite a laid-back and quirky place, full of innocently colorful characters and countless little mom-and-pop shops that line both sides of the steep and narrow old streets. One of these shops is Zark's, a place full of one-of-a kind jewelry and decorative objets d' art, and where Sandy happened to find some of her favorite jewelry pieces on a previous trip years ago. These were among the ones stolen, of course, and that is precisely the reason I brought her back here, in hopes of replacing some of what she had lost.
I'm happy to report that we hit the jackpot! Zark's still had a number of pieces of glass cabochon jewelry much like Sandy's originals, and I bought all of the ones that were similar to the stolen ones. Some of them appear below; I didn't get a photo of the earrings:
A characteristic of this type of jewelry is the changing colors when viewed from different angles. The photo doesn't really do them justice in that regard.
Zark's has a lot of beautiful things, and we credit our longtime friends John and Myrna for its discovery:
I know I've spent a lot of space on this story about "stuff" that really isn't important, but that's not the point. The point is that by being able to give Sandy back some items--and even a few more of them than she originally received--that were very similar to the stolen ones, we began to feel, maybe for the first time, that the thieves weren't totally successful in taking away objects that represented wonderful times and a long, loving relationship. It was certainly a psychological boost, and we even shared the story with the shopkeeper, who teared up a bit. Wiping one of her eyes, she looked at our selections and said, "Well, the thieves didn't win over love, did they?" She understood.
Afterward, Sandy and I came to the conclusion that we may not need to try heroically to replace many more of the lost items. We have each other and the good memories, after all, and this "win" today may have been enough for us to move on and get the matter behind us for good. (That doesn't mean we won't pick up a few more things as we continue to travel; she is a woman, after all.)
Eureka Springs is perhaps most noted for the Great Passion Play, performed from May through October, depicting the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We haven't been able to see it yet, but we have that on our list. There is plenty to see and do otherwise, though. There is Christ of the Ozarks, a huge statue of Jesus erected in 1966 near the 4,100-seat Passion Play amphitheater:
The photo above was a very long telephoto shot taken several miles away at the top of the 1886 Crescent Hotel that overlooks all of Eureka Springs:
There are country music theaters that are also popular in season, as well as many historic homes and other venues for the history buffs.
We found a couple of surprisingly good restaurants: Fresh, a farm-to-table eatery that has never seen a canned vegetable,
and Ermiliano's, an Italian Restaurant that has the distinction of being touted as the best Italian restaurant in Arkansas:
The restaurants will go on our best restaurants list that has a link at the top of this blog.
It was a bit early in the springtime for Eureka Springs trees and blooms to be in full display, but everything was budding out, and the forsythia were in total yellow plumage:
If you've been reading this rag for a while, you know how I like to include photos of unusual or quirky things. Well, here is one that I saw in near downtown Eureka Springs. I don't think I've ever seen a Radio Flyer wagon quite like this (note the bridle on the front):
One final note: We parked at the KOA in Eureka Springs this time, but we recommend Wanderlust RV Park instead. It is much closer to town and much less hilly.
Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
You may think it odd that I would title this post as I did, as most guys would think of a shopping trip by his wife as anything but a healing process! Instead of healing anything, it could do serious injury to a bank account. But this was different. Very different.
If you've read this blog for a while, you know that we were victims of burglars twice in the last few years--at our residence and at our motorhome. On both occasions, the thieves stole mostly Sandy's jewelry that I had given her on countless occasions in the nearly 40 years we've been married. It was devastating for her, not so much for the monetary value, which was considerable, but mostly for the sentimental loss that she will never recover. Furthermore, our feeling of being violated is something that will probably never go completely away, and I am fairly certain the home invasion was more of a factor in our decision to sell the house than either of us will admit.
Fortunately, the thieves didn't find some of the most expensive pieces of jewelry that were kept in a safe, but those that were taken were some of Sandy's favorites. We have begun to try to replace some of them, but it is an almost impossible task. We both like pieces that are unusual or one-of-a-kind creations by designers and craftsmen, and it is their uniqueness, of course, that thwarts our finding replacements. We had bought many of the pieces that were stolen during our travels through the years, and it is at this point in the story that our current stop in Eureka Springs becomes relevant.
If you've never visited Eureka Springs, Arkansas, you have missed a fascinating place. It is a quaint and historic little town perched dizzyingly on steep hillsides in the middle of the Ozarks, and it reminds me of a tiny San Francisco in that regard. (The debauchery found on the left coast would hardly be tolerated here in the Bible belt, however.)
Eureka Springs is quite a laid-back and quirky place, full of innocently colorful characters and countless little mom-and-pop shops that line both sides of the steep and narrow old streets. One of these shops is Zark's, a place full of one-of-a kind jewelry and decorative objets d' art, and where Sandy happened to find some of her favorite jewelry pieces on a previous trip years ago. These were among the ones stolen, of course, and that is precisely the reason I brought her back here, in hopes of replacing some of what she had lost.
I'm happy to report that we hit the jackpot! Zark's still had a number of pieces of glass cabochon jewelry much like Sandy's originals, and I bought all of the ones that were similar to the stolen ones. Some of them appear below; I didn't get a photo of the earrings:
Zark's has a lot of beautiful things, and we credit our longtime friends John and Myrna for its discovery:
I know I've spent a lot of space on this story about "stuff" that really isn't important, but that's not the point. The point is that by being able to give Sandy back some items--and even a few more of them than she originally received--that were very similar to the stolen ones, we began to feel, maybe for the first time, that the thieves weren't totally successful in taking away objects that represented wonderful times and a long, loving relationship. It was certainly a psychological boost, and we even shared the story with the shopkeeper, who teared up a bit. Wiping one of her eyes, she looked at our selections and said, "Well, the thieves didn't win over love, did they?" She understood.
Afterward, Sandy and I came to the conclusion that we may not need to try heroically to replace many more of the lost items. We have each other and the good memories, after all, and this "win" today may have been enough for us to move on and get the matter behind us for good. (That doesn't mean we won't pick up a few more things as we continue to travel; she is a woman, after all.)
Eureka Springs is perhaps most noted for the Great Passion Play, performed from May through October, depicting the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We haven't been able to see it yet, but we have that on our list. There is plenty to see and do otherwise, though. There is Christ of the Ozarks, a huge statue of Jesus erected in 1966 near the 4,100-seat Passion Play amphitheater:
The photo above was a very long telephoto shot taken several miles away at the top of the 1886 Crescent Hotel that overlooks all of Eureka Springs:
 |
| Historic 1886 Crescent Hotel-a must visit for lovers of old buildings |
We found a couple of surprisingly good restaurants: Fresh, a farm-to-table eatery that has never seen a canned vegetable,
 |
| Fresh Restaurant in Eureka Springs |
and Ermiliano's, an Italian Restaurant that has the distinction of being touted as the best Italian restaurant in Arkansas:
The restaurants will go on our best restaurants list that has a link at the top of this blog.
It was a bit early in the springtime for Eureka Springs trees and blooms to be in full display, but everything was budding out, and the forsythia were in total yellow plumage:
If you've been reading this rag for a while, you know how I like to include photos of unusual or quirky things. Well, here is one that I saw in near downtown Eureka Springs. I don't think I've ever seen a Radio Flyer wagon quite like this (note the bridle on the front):
One final note: We parked at the KOA in Eureka Springs this time, but we recommend Wanderlust RV Park instead. It is much closer to town and much less hilly.
Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
A Caravan to Branson With Friends
At Branson KOA, Branson, MO...
As fans of gospel music, we cooked up this trip with Bubba and LouAnn and talked mutual friends Harvey and Mary Lou into going with us to a three-day music event called "Praisefest Branson."
We caravanned from Fort Worth in tandem with Bubba's bus, "Woody" and stopped in Hot Springs for the first night.
Our campground of choice at Hot Springs was the Lake Hamilton RV Resort, a friendly but average park right on the lake.
Since it was just a stopover, and we had visited Hot Springs several times before, we didn't do any sightseeing, but we had a good seafood dinner at the Cajun Boil restaurant just a stone's throw from the RV park.
In determining our route for the next day, Bubba decided he wanted to take Arkansas highway 7 up to Harrison before turning onto 65 for the final leg to Branson. Now highway 7 is mostly a two-lane road that winds through the Ozarks for more than 180 miles and, while it is a scenic drive, it is a bit of a challenge in a couple of big rigs. By the time we reached Branson, I was pretty well worn out from negotiating all of the hairpin curves and the constant engine and transmission management on the endless grades.
We made a stop at one of the picturesque roadside viewing turnouts on highway 7. It occurred to me that Bubba and I had stopped in this very spot 11 years ago, when we were just getting started in RVing. Here's a photo of our rigs back then--along with Sandy and LouAnn:
Now, fast forward eleven years at the same turnout on highway 7 in Arkansas:
Who knew that we would be making the same trip a decade later with a couple of big rigs?
Our first RV back then was the very basic Jayco model in the first photo above. We grew disappointed with it rather quickly, mainly because when we bought it, we didn't know what we didn't know about RVs at the time. As we began to take trips in it, many of the assumptions we had made about the usability of the design and layout proved false. There's nothing like the experience of a long shakedown trip in a new RV to reveal problems, and it wasn't long until we were asking ourselves what we were thinking when we bought this. We didn't keep the Jayco very long and upgraded to a much larger and nicer fifth wheel.
After we purchased the second fiver, a Sierra model made by Forest River, we enjoyed immensely the new layout and design for a while:
It wasn't long, however, until we discovered through using the new rig that it, too, had design flaws and inconveniences that we wanted to avoid in the next one. And, while we've now had very good experience with motorhome living in Phannie, we have discovered some things about her layout and design that we will certainly want to change when or if we get another motorhome. I wonder if we'll ever find the perfect rig?
Once we got set up at Branson, we had a nice hamburger cookout with Bubba as chef. He did a good job! Harvey, a totally great guy, looks on.
We enjoyed greatly the three-day Praisefest event at the Mansion Theater.
One of our favorite groups, the Booth Brothers, were there. I didn't get a photo of them this time, but here is one from the Alaska cruise last summer. We were able to get to know some of the artists personally, and that was one of the best parts of the more intimate setting of that cruise ship.
We also had a nice lunch visit with lifelong friend, John Sharp, who was best man at my wedding and I at his. We had a nice meal at Famous Dave's BBQ, and it was really good to see him again.
As we often do when in Branson, we treated ourselves to an excellent lunch at Big Cedar, a beautiful resort on Table Rock Lake.
The photo below is of a wooden bridge built above the Devil's Pool waterfall near the restaurant.
We will part company with our friends here in Branson. Bubba is not yet retired, so he has to get back to work in Fort Worth. We, on the other hand, have decided to stop in Eureka Springs for a couple of days to do some shopping; I'll tell you more about that in another post.
As Bubba's coach pulls out, headed for Texas, I can't help but think of the two recent great gifts of freedom that have come our way--gifts that Bubba hasn't yet experienced, unfortunately. The first was my decision to retire nearly three years ago, the most profound result of which was the elimination of the limitations that my job placed on our travel decisions. When you're working, your time off is never really your own, as there is always a conscious or subconscious demand on your time that you are obligated to fulfill--if not immediately, then it's waiting for you when you return. You are rarely able to take a few extra days in order to enjoy a longer stay somewhere. Retirees, of course, can come and go whenever they like, and that was something I had only dreamed about for decades while I was still working. The second blessed freedom was our decision to sell the house and go fulltime. That's what now allows us the freedom and resources to do something spontaneous like stopping in a bucolic little town like Eureka Springs, just so Sandy can do some special shopping. Furthermore, if we get another brainstorm like that, we'll do that, too! And why not? We have no limitations or obligations now. Yes, friends, this fulltiming gig is proving to be even better than we could possibly have imagined. For those of you getting the urge to do that, don't be afraid to pull the trigger; you likely have some really good times in store for you. (But don't tell anyone; we should keep this to ourselves.)
Speaking of folks who are thinking about fulltiming, we got a call from Bobbie Jo and John, more good friends with whom we spent some time in the Rio Grande Valley last winter. She said that she and John had been talking to a realtor about selling their large home near Dallas and going almost fulltime while retaining a storage building/casita they currently own. They said they were influenced by the happiness we demonstrated when we were with them in the Valley, so that made us feel really good. We have a date to visit with them again in a few weeks, and we'll find out how they're doing.
We also had a call from Steve and Jackie, friends from Austin who are new fulltimers and who recently traded their fifth wheel for a Tiffin Phaeton after they saw ours. They are headed out west for a couple of months and, boy, are they excited. We're glad they love their rig, and we hope to visit with them soon.
As a favor to another fulltimer friend and fellow blogger, Ed, of Happy Wanderers fame, I have taken on a project to edit a book he has written about his long flying career as a pilot. I'm not sure he chose his editor very well, but since I am also a retired commercial pilot who enjoys writing, I suppose this made some sense to him. My guess is that there was another overriding influence for his decision: I work cheap. Really cheap. But that's what friends are for; I think Ed, like several other longtime pals of mine, would probably do almost any favor I asked of him, with no questions asked. Everyone should have such friends.
So far, my editing gig has proven to be an interesting undertaking, albeit a bit slow; I've completed only the introduction and two of 31 chapters. There are reasons for my slow progress; English composition was a favorite subject in high school and college; therefore, I learned well and became rather picky about things like proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and the like. Such attention to detail is, fortunately or unfortunately, a bit of an obsession. Even writing this post takes me quite a number of hours and countless tweaks and rewrites. Another reason I get slowed down is that I often have to lay the project aside when it conflicts with my own activities and obligations; not doing so would make Ed's project seem like w*rk to me, and I've sworn off that for good. I'll get it done, though; I just hope Ed's patience holds out.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
As fans of gospel music, we cooked up this trip with Bubba and LouAnn and talked mutual friends Harvey and Mary Lou into going with us to a three-day music event called "Praisefest Branson."
 |
| Mary Lou and Harvey: Two of the Sweetest People on the Planet |
 |
| Lake Hamilton RV Resort |
Since it was just a stopover, and we had visited Hot Springs several times before, we didn't do any sightseeing, but we had a good seafood dinner at the Cajun Boil restaurant just a stone's throw from the RV park.
In determining our route for the next day, Bubba decided he wanted to take Arkansas highway 7 up to Harrison before turning onto 65 for the final leg to Branson. Now highway 7 is mostly a two-lane road that winds through the Ozarks for more than 180 miles and, while it is a scenic drive, it is a bit of a challenge in a couple of big rigs. By the time we reached Branson, I was pretty well worn out from negotiating all of the hairpin curves and the constant engine and transmission management on the endless grades.
We made a stop at one of the picturesque roadside viewing turnouts on highway 7. It occurred to me that Bubba and I had stopped in this very spot 11 years ago, when we were just getting started in RVing. Here's a photo of our rigs back then--along with Sandy and LouAnn:
Now, fast forward eleven years at the same turnout on highway 7 in Arkansas:
 |
| Sandy, LouAnn, Bubba, Harvey and Mary Lou |
Our first RV back then was the very basic Jayco model in the first photo above. We grew disappointed with it rather quickly, mainly because when we bought it, we didn't know what we didn't know about RVs at the time. As we began to take trips in it, many of the assumptions we had made about the usability of the design and layout proved false. There's nothing like the experience of a long shakedown trip in a new RV to reveal problems, and it wasn't long until we were asking ourselves what we were thinking when we bought this. We didn't keep the Jayco very long and upgraded to a much larger and nicer fifth wheel.
After we purchased the second fiver, a Sierra model made by Forest River, we enjoyed immensely the new layout and design for a while:
It wasn't long, however, until we discovered through using the new rig that it, too, had design flaws and inconveniences that we wanted to avoid in the next one. And, while we've now had very good experience with motorhome living in Phannie, we have discovered some things about her layout and design that we will certainly want to change when or if we get another motorhome. I wonder if we'll ever find the perfect rig?
Once we got set up at Branson, we had a nice hamburger cookout with Bubba as chef. He did a good job! Harvey, a totally great guy, looks on.
We enjoyed greatly the three-day Praisefest event at the Mansion Theater.
 |
| Spring has sprung at the Mansion Theater in Branson |
We also had a nice lunch visit with lifelong friend, John Sharp, who was best man at my wedding and I at his. We had a nice meal at Famous Dave's BBQ, and it was really good to see him again.
As we often do when in Branson, we treated ourselves to an excellent lunch at Big Cedar, a beautiful resort on Table Rock Lake.
 |
| Devil's Pool Restaurant at Big Cedar |
 |
| Inside the Devil's Pool Restaurant |
We will part company with our friends here in Branson. Bubba is not yet retired, so he has to get back to work in Fort Worth. We, on the other hand, have decided to stop in Eureka Springs for a couple of days to do some shopping; I'll tell you more about that in another post.
As Bubba's coach pulls out, headed for Texas, I can't help but think of the two recent great gifts of freedom that have come our way--gifts that Bubba hasn't yet experienced, unfortunately. The first was my decision to retire nearly three years ago, the most profound result of which was the elimination of the limitations that my job placed on our travel decisions. When you're working, your time off is never really your own, as there is always a conscious or subconscious demand on your time that you are obligated to fulfill--if not immediately, then it's waiting for you when you return. You are rarely able to take a few extra days in order to enjoy a longer stay somewhere. Retirees, of course, can come and go whenever they like, and that was something I had only dreamed about for decades while I was still working. The second blessed freedom was our decision to sell the house and go fulltime. That's what now allows us the freedom and resources to do something spontaneous like stopping in a bucolic little town like Eureka Springs, just so Sandy can do some special shopping. Furthermore, if we get another brainstorm like that, we'll do that, too! And why not? We have no limitations or obligations now. Yes, friends, this fulltiming gig is proving to be even better than we could possibly have imagined. For those of you getting the urge to do that, don't be afraid to pull the trigger; you likely have some really good times in store for you. (But don't tell anyone; we should keep this to ourselves.)
Speaking of folks who are thinking about fulltiming, we got a call from Bobbie Jo and John, more good friends with whom we spent some time in the Rio Grande Valley last winter. She said that she and John had been talking to a realtor about selling their large home near Dallas and going almost fulltime while retaining a storage building/casita they currently own. They said they were influenced by the happiness we demonstrated when we were with them in the Valley, so that made us feel really good. We have a date to visit with them again in a few weeks, and we'll find out how they're doing.
We also had a call from Steve and Jackie, friends from Austin who are new fulltimers and who recently traded their fifth wheel for a Tiffin Phaeton after they saw ours. They are headed out west for a couple of months and, boy, are they excited. We're glad they love their rig, and we hope to visit with them soon.
As a favor to another fulltimer friend and fellow blogger, Ed, of Happy Wanderers fame, I have taken on a project to edit a book he has written about his long flying career as a pilot. I'm not sure he chose his editor very well, but since I am also a retired commercial pilot who enjoys writing, I suppose this made some sense to him. My guess is that there was another overriding influence for his decision: I work cheap. Really cheap. But that's what friends are for; I think Ed, like several other longtime pals of mine, would probably do almost any favor I asked of him, with no questions asked. Everyone should have such friends.
So far, my editing gig has proven to be an interesting undertaking, albeit a bit slow; I've completed only the introduction and two of 31 chapters. There are reasons for my slow progress; English composition was a favorite subject in high school and college; therefore, I learned well and became rather picky about things like proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and the like. Such attention to detail is, fortunately or unfortunately, a bit of an obsession. Even writing this post takes me quite a number of hours and countless tweaks and rewrites. Another reason I get slowed down is that I often have to lay the project aside when it conflicts with my own activities and obligations; not doing so would make Ed's project seem like w*rk to me, and I've sworn off that for good. I'll get it done, though; I just hope Ed's patience holds out.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Drying Out and More Fulltiming Observations
At Northlake RV Park, Roanoke, Texas...
Our plans to attend the Tiffin rally in San Antonio were thwarted by the downpours that just wouldn't stop here in north Texas. I have a longstanding policy of avoiding driving Phannie when it is raining, mainly because it is just too scary in a big rig among the crazies out there on the highways. It seems there are too many drivers who simply don't comprehend the difficulty in stopping quickly a 30,000-lb. bus, especially on wet roads. We have had more than a few breathtakingly close calls when some thoughtless driver pulled out right in front of us, thinking we were a Volkswagen or something, I guess. Wet roads just make stopping that much more difficult. We've determined we don't need this much excitement now that we're retired, so we don't drive in the rain unless we have no other choice. Besides, who likes hooking up and setting up in the rain? Certainly not me.
So, our next departure will be to caravan with Bubba and LouAnn to Branson, where we will attend a three-day gospel music festival. Branson is a favorite destination of ours, and we're looking forward to a good time with these two friends and also with other friends Harvey and Mary Lou, who will also be joining us.
One of the nice things about fulltiming is that we can change plans quickly as conditions warrant, and we don't have to be concerned about the impact such changes will have on maintaining a house that is left unoccupied for long periods of time. It has been such a relief not to worry about break-ins or weather damage or anything else that used to be constantly on our minds.
Another thing that jolted me, but in a good way, happened when I began deleting from our online banking platform those accounts that had been set up to pay the bills incurred by home ownership. There were a surprising number of them, and it really felt good to realize that, as each was deleted, there will be no more of our cash sucked up and sent into the ethera for this purpose.
I've also noticed that fulltiming requires more planning than I thought. Longtime readers will know that I am not much of a planner, so this is something that doesn't come naturally for me. Planning is needed mainly for reservations at RV parks. I really wish I were the type who could just head out somewhere and not worry about having a place to park, but we've found that RVing is more popular than ever--especially with the drop in fuel prices--so we frequently find parks with no spaces available. With this in mind, I try to stay ahead of the game and make reservations as far in advance as possible. We simply don't do boondocking and probably never will. Call us prudish, but we like the comfort and convenience of full hookups. We also tend to look for parks with paved roads and pads; we're not particularly fond of dirt and mud, either. (We're really not snobs, folks, we just like what we like.) For planning, I mainly use rvparkreviews.com and look for Passport America, Escapees and Good Sam discounts whenever we can find them.
Another thing we've had to get used to is meal preparation for two in our small space. We eat out often, and we don't have much freezer space (soon to be corrected with a new residential refrigerator), so we really have to be careful not to overbuy at the grocery store. We tend to eat a goodly number of sandwiches and salads, and we no longer cook things that require a lot of preparation. And, to make sure we use the RV parks' electricity and not our propane, we think we have found the perfect combination of small cooking appliances in a Breville convection oven, an induction cook plate and an electric skillet.
Oh, and there's also the crockpot and the Weber Q grill, but we don't use those all that often. Stir-fry is a favorite, and the electric skillet works fine for that. For us, it's all about simplicity now; we use paper plates for most meals, so cleanup is usually very quick and easy.
So, we're almost two months into fulltiming now, and we are more convinced than ever it was the right move at the right time. We just can't imagine having to go back and strap on the bondage of home ownership again. That may change in the future but, for now, we are giddy with our new sense of freedom.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Our plans to attend the Tiffin rally in San Antonio were thwarted by the downpours that just wouldn't stop here in north Texas. I have a longstanding policy of avoiding driving Phannie when it is raining, mainly because it is just too scary in a big rig among the crazies out there on the highways. It seems there are too many drivers who simply don't comprehend the difficulty in stopping quickly a 30,000-lb. bus, especially on wet roads. We have had more than a few breathtakingly close calls when some thoughtless driver pulled out right in front of us, thinking we were a Volkswagen or something, I guess. Wet roads just make stopping that much more difficult. We've determined we don't need this much excitement now that we're retired, so we don't drive in the rain unless we have no other choice. Besides, who likes hooking up and setting up in the rain? Certainly not me.
So, our next departure will be to caravan with Bubba and LouAnn to Branson, where we will attend a three-day gospel music festival. Branson is a favorite destination of ours, and we're looking forward to a good time with these two friends and also with other friends Harvey and Mary Lou, who will also be joining us.
One of the nice things about fulltiming is that we can change plans quickly as conditions warrant, and we don't have to be concerned about the impact such changes will have on maintaining a house that is left unoccupied for long periods of time. It has been such a relief not to worry about break-ins or weather damage or anything else that used to be constantly on our minds.
Another thing that jolted me, but in a good way, happened when I began deleting from our online banking platform those accounts that had been set up to pay the bills incurred by home ownership. There were a surprising number of them, and it really felt good to realize that, as each was deleted, there will be no more of our cash sucked up and sent into the ethera for this purpose.
I've also noticed that fulltiming requires more planning than I thought. Longtime readers will know that I am not much of a planner, so this is something that doesn't come naturally for me. Planning is needed mainly for reservations at RV parks. I really wish I were the type who could just head out somewhere and not worry about having a place to park, but we've found that RVing is more popular than ever--especially with the drop in fuel prices--so we frequently find parks with no spaces available. With this in mind, I try to stay ahead of the game and make reservations as far in advance as possible. We simply don't do boondocking and probably never will. Call us prudish, but we like the comfort and convenience of full hookups. We also tend to look for parks with paved roads and pads; we're not particularly fond of dirt and mud, either. (We're really not snobs, folks, we just like what we like.) For planning, I mainly use rvparkreviews.com and look for Passport America, Escapees and Good Sam discounts whenever we can find them.
Another thing we've had to get used to is meal preparation for two in our small space. We eat out often, and we don't have much freezer space (soon to be corrected with a new residential refrigerator), so we really have to be careful not to overbuy at the grocery store. We tend to eat a goodly number of sandwiches and salads, and we no longer cook things that require a lot of preparation. And, to make sure we use the RV parks' electricity and not our propane, we think we have found the perfect combination of small cooking appliances in a Breville convection oven, an induction cook plate and an electric skillet.
Oh, and there's also the crockpot and the Weber Q grill, but we don't use those all that often. Stir-fry is a favorite, and the electric skillet works fine for that. For us, it's all about simplicity now; we use paper plates for most meals, so cleanup is usually very quick and easy.
So, we're almost two months into fulltiming now, and we are more convinced than ever it was the right move at the right time. We just can't imagine having to go back and strap on the bondage of home ownership again. That may change in the future but, for now, we are giddy with our new sense of freedom.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Hitch Itch
At Northlake Village RV Park, Roanoke, Texas...
Yes, for those kind enough to inquire, we did survive the common cold; thank you for asking. Since I've been puny, I haven't been posting much, but I'll try to be a little more industrious in that regard. I think I've just about worn out Sandy's patience with my sulking resentment over having caught this silly cold. She is just a much better patient than I, and I'm not sure why she puts up with me.
As our three weeks here in north Texas are drawing to a close, we have pretty much taken care of doctor and dentist visits, and we now have our new glasses. After seeing the difference with our new prescriptions, we are glad we made the upgrade. Sandy has one more visit with the dentist to finish up her new crown, and we will be outta here. Hitch itch has definitely set in.
Fortunately, we seem to have missed any freezing weather and, since we will be heading south to San Antonio next week, we are pretty confident that we will escape it altogether now that spring is upon us.
We spent a little time at the storage unit switching out some clothes for the warmer weather coming up. And no, we haven't yet completely pared down our wardrobe to what will fit in Phannie, although we know that is something we should do. That's not to say that we haven't given away a lot of clothing, because we have. The pieces that remain are those that are favorites and which fit well. It's hard to get rid of those.
We were only able to go through and empty two boxes of stuff about which we had reconsidered. These were largely things that were stored during the last minute crush when the house sold, and their disposition was pretty easy to figure out. At this rate, it will be a while before we can get our excess stuff pared down to where we would like for it to be. Another thing we picked up was the shredder, something we hadn't anticipated carrying with us, but which has become essential for us to keep up our comfort level, considering all the identity theft that is going on.
It looks like this is going to be housecleaning day, something that will certainly take less time than it did in the stick and brick house. I figure we can knock it out in less than an hour, even with my cleaning the air conditioner filters.
As I look outside while writing this, the trees are budding out nicely and the birds are singing sweetly. Spring is almost here, and the road beckons. We will soon answer the call.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Yes, for those kind enough to inquire, we did survive the common cold; thank you for asking. Since I've been puny, I haven't been posting much, but I'll try to be a little more industrious in that regard. I think I've just about worn out Sandy's patience with my sulking resentment over having caught this silly cold. She is just a much better patient than I, and I'm not sure why she puts up with me.
As our three weeks here in north Texas are drawing to a close, we have pretty much taken care of doctor and dentist visits, and we now have our new glasses. After seeing the difference with our new prescriptions, we are glad we made the upgrade. Sandy has one more visit with the dentist to finish up her new crown, and we will be outta here. Hitch itch has definitely set in.
Fortunately, we seem to have missed any freezing weather and, since we will be heading south to San Antonio next week, we are pretty confident that we will escape it altogether now that spring is upon us.
We spent a little time at the storage unit switching out some clothes for the warmer weather coming up. And no, we haven't yet completely pared down our wardrobe to what will fit in Phannie, although we know that is something we should do. That's not to say that we haven't given away a lot of clothing, because we have. The pieces that remain are those that are favorites and which fit well. It's hard to get rid of those.
We were only able to go through and empty two boxes of stuff about which we had reconsidered. These were largely things that were stored during the last minute crush when the house sold, and their disposition was pretty easy to figure out. At this rate, it will be a while before we can get our excess stuff pared down to where we would like for it to be. Another thing we picked up was the shredder, something we hadn't anticipated carrying with us, but which has become essential for us to keep up our comfort level, considering all the identity theft that is going on.
It looks like this is going to be housecleaning day, something that will certainly take less time than it did in the stick and brick house. I figure we can knock it out in less than an hour, even with my cleaning the air conditioner filters.
As I look outside while writing this, the trees are budding out nicely and the birds are singing sweetly. Spring is almost here, and the road beckons. We will soon answer the call.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Under the Weather
At Northlake Village RV Park, Roanoke, Texas...
February has never been a favorite month. It is usually then when I am beset by the common cold virus, which is a stupid disease that really shouldn't still be around. I mean, really! Modern medicine is replete with victories over some of the deadliest ailments known to mankind. Nowadays, they routinely replace or reattach joints, limbs, organs and the like, but they can't figure out the common cold? Please.
I have always been annoyed with the coughing, dripping, snorting and general malaise associated with a cold, but I am especially indignant over having acquired this one on the heels of a bout of stomach flu. My dear bride, from whom I seem to have caught the stomach bug, now appears to have the initial symptoms of my cold. I feel bad that I am the source of her discomfort, as she did when she was the source of mine.
We have been parked here for a week in which we have had several routine visits with doctors, dentists and opticians. The idea is for us to have our prescriptions filled far enough in advance so that we can be away for several months without having to make a prescription pit stop. I suppose one of the few downsides to fulltiming is that our wanderings often take us far away from the medical professionals who know us and our histories so well and whom we literally know as friends. I'm pretty sure we will continue this practice of returning to the area periodically to catch up on these routine visits. If we need medical help on the road, we'll just have to pray and hope for the best, I suppose, but, in my view, this is no reason to deny ourselves the fulltiming experience.
So how is fulltiming going? Well, we're more than a month into it, and not a single regret. We love the simplicity of the lifestyle and the absence of all the responsibilities and expense associated with a house. I think another word for this is "freedom." Sometimes I think we have lucked into the discovery a secret nirvana that most people wouldn't begin to understand. Not that we would want them to; it is better that they continue tending their big houses and their big mortgages, so there is plenty of room for us to roam and play.
Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
February has never been a favorite month. It is usually then when I am beset by the common cold virus, which is a stupid disease that really shouldn't still be around. I mean, really! Modern medicine is replete with victories over some of the deadliest ailments known to mankind. Nowadays, they routinely replace or reattach joints, limbs, organs and the like, but they can't figure out the common cold? Please.
I have always been annoyed with the coughing, dripping, snorting and general malaise associated with a cold, but I am especially indignant over having acquired this one on the heels of a bout of stomach flu. My dear bride, from whom I seem to have caught the stomach bug, now appears to have the initial symptoms of my cold. I feel bad that I am the source of her discomfort, as she did when she was the source of mine.
We have been parked here for a week in which we have had several routine visits with doctors, dentists and opticians. The idea is for us to have our prescriptions filled far enough in advance so that we can be away for several months without having to make a prescription pit stop. I suppose one of the few downsides to fulltiming is that our wanderings often take us far away from the medical professionals who know us and our histories so well and whom we literally know as friends. I'm pretty sure we will continue this practice of returning to the area periodically to catch up on these routine visits. If we need medical help on the road, we'll just have to pray and hope for the best, I suppose, but, in my view, this is no reason to deny ourselves the fulltiming experience.
So how is fulltiming going? Well, we're more than a month into it, and not a single regret. We love the simplicity of the lifestyle and the absence of all the responsibilities and expense associated with a house. I think another word for this is "freedom." Sometimes I think we have lucked into the discovery a secret nirvana that most people wouldn't begin to understand. Not that we would want them to; it is better that they continue tending their big houses and their big mortgages, so there is plenty of room for us to roam and play.
Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Friday, February 19, 2016
A Featured Post Reveals Errors in Travel Plans
At Sunset Shores RV Park, Willis, Texas...
I really like the new Blogger add-on here on the home page that allows us blog owners to include a featured post header. It's there on the right side of the page, in case I would like to reprise a piece that might interest the readers (or might interest me, since that's what really matters). In this case, I'm resurrecting a short post from last summer that included some nice photos of the Tetons and mentioned a meetup with fellow bloggers Merikay and Craig near West Yellowstone. A double treat, for sure.
This leads me to mention some things we would like to have done differently as new retirees on a long RV trip through the western U. S. First of all, we should have allowed way more traveling time. We had a firm sailing date for an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle, and I figured three weeks would be enough time to see all we wanted to see between Fort Worth and Seattle. It wasn't, and not by a long shot. As a result, we gave only passing attention to places like Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. What a pity.
We learned something else, though. We will never, never, ever go to Yellowstone again in the middle of summer. The kids are out of school then, and the tourists swarm the place like locusts. It was so crowded that I'm almost glad we didn't spend much time there. We will go back when we can really enjoy it.
In our defense, we weren't fulltiming then, so not only did we have the sailing date pressuring us on one end of the trip, but we also had to get back to Texas in a reasonable time to see to the needs of the stick-and-brick house. In fact, it was exactly the killjoy crush of those responsibilities that proved to be the death blow to our keeping that house. We never forgot what a downer it was to have to miss so many things we wanted to see.
Now that we're fulltiming, we have vowed to revisit those places we missed, and we will now have nothing tethering us to anywhere, except to see the kids when we can.
Speaking of the kids (as we collectively call our daughter and son-in-law and their children), we came over here near their home in Conroe and promptly got sick. Sandy and I spent most of the week with a vicious stomach bug that had all of the nasty effects you might imagine. We'll get to see our kin for a couple of days, though; that's better than nothing.
This weekend, we'll be heading back to the DFW area and medical/dental/optical appointments and let's not forget--income taxes. Ugh! We'll also be catching up with friends, too, so that will make up for the unpleasantness.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
I really like the new Blogger add-on here on the home page that allows us blog owners to include a featured post header. It's there on the right side of the page, in case I would like to reprise a piece that might interest the readers (or might interest me, since that's what really matters). In this case, I'm resurrecting a short post from last summer that included some nice photos of the Tetons and mentioned a meetup with fellow bloggers Merikay and Craig near West Yellowstone. A double treat, for sure.
This leads me to mention some things we would like to have done differently as new retirees on a long RV trip through the western U. S. First of all, we should have allowed way more traveling time. We had a firm sailing date for an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle, and I figured three weeks would be enough time to see all we wanted to see between Fort Worth and Seattle. It wasn't, and not by a long shot. As a result, we gave only passing attention to places like Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. What a pity.
We learned something else, though. We will never, never, ever go to Yellowstone again in the middle of summer. The kids are out of school then, and the tourists swarm the place like locusts. It was so crowded that I'm almost glad we didn't spend much time there. We will go back when we can really enjoy it.
In our defense, we weren't fulltiming then, so not only did we have the sailing date pressuring us on one end of the trip, but we also had to get back to Texas in a reasonable time to see to the needs of the stick-and-brick house. In fact, it was exactly the killjoy crush of those responsibilities that proved to be the death blow to our keeping that house. We never forgot what a downer it was to have to miss so many things we wanted to see.
Now that we're fulltiming, we have vowed to revisit those places we missed, and we will now have nothing tethering us to anywhere, except to see the kids when we can.
Speaking of the kids (as we collectively call our daughter and son-in-law and their children), we came over here near their home in Conroe and promptly got sick. Sandy and I spent most of the week with a vicious stomach bug that had all of the nasty effects you might imagine. We'll get to see our kin for a couple of days, though; that's better than nothing.
This weekend, we'll be heading back to the DFW area and medical/dental/optical appointments and let's not forget--income taxes. Ugh! We'll also be catching up with friends, too, so that will make up for the unpleasantness.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Redneck Engineering Comes in Handy
At Sunset Point RV Resort, Marble Falls, Texas...
My late father, an electrician by trade, was also an avid tinkerer. A small ramshackle shop he built beside our house was his inner sanctum, a place where he created all sorts of things, mostly from wood, but from other scrap materials as well. He would have been proud to know that his great grandsons, Mason and Pryce, are enjoying today the children's toys and furniture he made in that shop.
When I was a kid, my father helped me build many things like kites and slingshots and even an electric motor as a science project. My favorite of the homebuilt things was a go-cart, upon which I roared up and down the street when I got older. The running gear was made of parts from an old washing machine.
My father almost never had to buy any materials from which to fashion these things. Having grown up during the great depression, he was quite accustomed to making do with whatever he had. He hoarded used lumber and other surplus materials he scrounged in his electrical work. He had many cigar boxes full of all kinds of nuts and bolts, washers and springs, pipes and fittings and thousands of pieces of all kinds of paraphernalia that he had collected over the years. He saved everything that he thought might have a possible use, although he couldn't imagine at the time what that use might be. Nonetheless, it always came in handy whenever he wanted to build or repair something. He was able to use this stuff--most would refer to it as junk--to fashion amazing things that were interesting and functional, although perhaps a bit unorthodox in their appearance. We referred to this as "redneck engineering" and other terms that have become politically incorrect nowadays.
I tell you this bit of background because these memories of my dad came rushing back to me the other day when I needed to do a little redneck engineering of my own with Phannie. It seems that the temperature control knob on the air conditioning panel had become inoperative. Son-in-law Tyler and I pulled it out of the instrument panel, and we discovered that the bracket underneath holding the actuator cable had broken. After taking inventory of the miscellaneous hardware that I carry in one of Phannie's belly compartments, I discovered a few metal picture hangers. After doing a good bit of bending and cutting of one of the hangers, I was able to fashion a tension bracket that handily replaced the broken one. Works great!
So why do I share this little piece of my ancient history? Well, if you are fortunate enough to have any aptitude for redneck engineering, it may come in handy when you operate something as mechanically complex as a motorhome. It could save you thousands.
I'm pretty sure this bit of shadetree mechanic work saved me quite a few dollars in parts and repair bills, and I don't claim to have much aptitude at all with this sort of thing--certainly not as much as my dad, who I thought could fix anything. It also provides a rationale to RV owners for keeping a small collection of some little parts and doohickeys--junk, if you will--for which you don't see an immediate need but which you might fashion into something very useful in a pinch. Certainly an assortment of fasteners such as screws, bolts, nuts and washers would be a minimum to have on hand. And don't forget duct tape, glue and WD-40. With these things and a few tools, you can fix almost anything.
I was so fortunate to have a father who spent time with me and gave me some life skills that I still use today. And although this personal story is hardly something that would be meaningful to a reader, it was a warm cookie for me--a real pleasure to write while remembering what a good role model I had.
Who would have thought that a picture hanger could be used to fix an air conditioner? My dad would have been proud.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
My late father, an electrician by trade, was also an avid tinkerer. A small ramshackle shop he built beside our house was his inner sanctum, a place where he created all sorts of things, mostly from wood, but from other scrap materials as well. He would have been proud to know that his great grandsons, Mason and Pryce, are enjoying today the children's toys and furniture he made in that shop.
When I was a kid, my father helped me build many things like kites and slingshots and even an electric motor as a science project. My favorite of the homebuilt things was a go-cart, upon which I roared up and down the street when I got older. The running gear was made of parts from an old washing machine.
My father almost never had to buy any materials from which to fashion these things. Having grown up during the great depression, he was quite accustomed to making do with whatever he had. He hoarded used lumber and other surplus materials he scrounged in his electrical work. He had many cigar boxes full of all kinds of nuts and bolts, washers and springs, pipes and fittings and thousands of pieces of all kinds of paraphernalia that he had collected over the years. He saved everything that he thought might have a possible use, although he couldn't imagine at the time what that use might be. Nonetheless, it always came in handy whenever he wanted to build or repair something. He was able to use this stuff--most would refer to it as junk--to fashion amazing things that were interesting and functional, although perhaps a bit unorthodox in their appearance. We referred to this as "redneck engineering" and other terms that have become politically incorrect nowadays.
I tell you this bit of background because these memories of my dad came rushing back to me the other day when I needed to do a little redneck engineering of my own with Phannie. It seems that the temperature control knob on the air conditioning panel had become inoperative. Son-in-law Tyler and I pulled it out of the instrument panel, and we discovered that the bracket underneath holding the actuator cable had broken. After taking inventory of the miscellaneous hardware that I carry in one of Phannie's belly compartments, I discovered a few metal picture hangers. After doing a good bit of bending and cutting of one of the hangers, I was able to fashion a tension bracket that handily replaced the broken one. Works great!
So why do I share this little piece of my ancient history? Well, if you are fortunate enough to have any aptitude for redneck engineering, it may come in handy when you operate something as mechanically complex as a motorhome. It could save you thousands.
I'm pretty sure this bit of shadetree mechanic work saved me quite a few dollars in parts and repair bills, and I don't claim to have much aptitude at all with this sort of thing--certainly not as much as my dad, who I thought could fix anything. It also provides a rationale to RV owners for keeping a small collection of some little parts and doohickeys--junk, if you will--for which you don't see an immediate need but which you might fashion into something very useful in a pinch. Certainly an assortment of fasteners such as screws, bolts, nuts and washers would be a minimum to have on hand. And don't forget duct tape, glue and WD-40. With these things and a few tools, you can fix almost anything.
I was so fortunate to have a father who spent time with me and gave me some life skills that I still use today. And although this personal story is hardly something that would be meaningful to a reader, it was a warm cookie for me--a real pleasure to write while remembering what a good role model I had.
Who would have thought that a picture hanger could be used to fix an air conditioner? My dad would have been proud.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Kicking Back in Marble Falls
At Sunset Point RV Resort, Marble Falls, Texas...
After an uneventful 336-mile trip from Mercedes, we settled into our spot at Sunset Point, one of the nicest RV parks anywhere, for the monthly Tiffin Bluebonnet Allegro Club rally. We usually limit our daily legs to 300 miles or less, but the weather was nice, and traffic was fairly light, so it really wasn't an issue. Russ, our crack electronics guy in the DFW area, had finally fixed the antenna problem with my new Sirius/XM radio, so we had tunes available whenever we wanted. Here are some photos of Sunset Point on Lake LBJ that will show what a prime location it is:
These rallies afford us a chance to relax in a nice setting and visit with friends connected by a similar interest--our Tiffin motorhomes. The rally agendas are hardly rigorous, but there is usually plenty of food (potlucks are popular), side activities and games. Then there is a business meeting and a tech talk session, both of which are popular and entertaining. For the potlucks, Sandy usually makes a dessert and, for the last couple of times, I have done sausage-stuffed jalapenos, 40 at a time, that are gobbled up almost immediately. I must admit, they are really good. The recipe follows the photo:
Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos
Ingredients:
1 lb ground sausage, hot or mild, depending on your bravery
20 fairly large jalapeños (large ones are usually less firey)
1- 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 or 2 green onions, finely chopped (I use two)
Directions: Preheat oven to 400. (Note: If you're not using a convection oven, you may need to set the oven temp to 425.) Meanwhile, cook crumbled sausage in a pan until browned. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Mix cream cheese with parmesan cheese. Add cooked sausage and chopped onions and mix well. Cut the stem end off each jalapeno, then slice each lengthwise, removing the seeds and membranes from each half. (I use a small measuring spoon to do this in a single swipe down each half.) Stuff the jalapeños generously with the sausage mixture. (The jalapenos should be completely dry inside when you do this.) Bake uncovered in a pan for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cheese mixture are golden brown.
Since you'll notice the paper plate in the photo, I'll talk about that for a minute. The throwaway quality of the paper plate is God's gift to RVers. We use them almost exclusively, because dishwashing is really not something retired people should be doing very often; it's just way too strenuous. We do keep a few sets of regular plates around in case we are eating something that needs to served on a warm plate or cut with a knife. We don't use plastic utensils, however, unless we're eating outside. We just like the metal ones better. Besides, it doesn't strike me as too much trouble for Sandy to wash a couple of forks, spoons and knives. Why don't I wash these myself, you may ask? Well, since I do much of the cooking (other than baking, which she does solely), I've convinced her that such a magnanimous gesture on my part warrants my being absolved of dishwashing responsibilities. (I hope she doesn't read this; her memory of this agreement may differ from mine.)
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
After an uneventful 336-mile trip from Mercedes, we settled into our spot at Sunset Point, one of the nicest RV parks anywhere, for the monthly Tiffin Bluebonnet Allegro Club rally. We usually limit our daily legs to 300 miles or less, but the weather was nice, and traffic was fairly light, so it really wasn't an issue. Russ, our crack electronics guy in the DFW area, had finally fixed the antenna problem with my new Sirius/XM radio, so we had tunes available whenever we wanted. Here are some photos of Sunset Point on Lake LBJ that will show what a prime location it is:
These rallies afford us a chance to relax in a nice setting and visit with friends connected by a similar interest--our Tiffin motorhomes. The rally agendas are hardly rigorous, but there is usually plenty of food (potlucks are popular), side activities and games. Then there is a business meeting and a tech talk session, both of which are popular and entertaining. For the potlucks, Sandy usually makes a dessert and, for the last couple of times, I have done sausage-stuffed jalapenos, 40 at a time, that are gobbled up almost immediately. I must admit, they are really good. The recipe follows the photo:
Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos
Ingredients:
1 lb ground sausage, hot or mild, depending on your bravery
20 fairly large jalapeños (large ones are usually less firey)
1- 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 or 2 green onions, finely chopped (I use two)
Directions: Preheat oven to 400. (Note: If you're not using a convection oven, you may need to set the oven temp to 425.) Meanwhile, cook crumbled sausage in a pan until browned. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Mix cream cheese with parmesan cheese. Add cooked sausage and chopped onions and mix well. Cut the stem end off each jalapeno, then slice each lengthwise, removing the seeds and membranes from each half. (I use a small measuring spoon to do this in a single swipe down each half.) Stuff the jalapeños generously with the sausage mixture. (The jalapenos should be completely dry inside when you do this.) Bake uncovered in a pan for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cheese mixture are golden brown.
Since you'll notice the paper plate in the photo, I'll talk about that for a minute. The throwaway quality of the paper plate is God's gift to RVers. We use them almost exclusively, because dishwashing is really not something retired people should be doing very often; it's just way too strenuous. We do keep a few sets of regular plates around in case we are eating something that needs to served on a warm plate or cut with a knife. We don't use plastic utensils, however, unless we're eating outside. We just like the metal ones better. Besides, it doesn't strike me as too much trouble for Sandy to wash a couple of forks, spoons and knives. Why don't I wash these myself, you may ask? Well, since I do much of the cooking (other than baking, which she does solely), I've convinced her that such a magnanimous gesture on my part warrants my being absolved of dishwashing responsibilities. (I hope she doesn't read this; her memory of this agreement may differ from mine.)
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
A River Tour and an Epic Gathering
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
Our time is growing short here in the Rio Grande Valley. The weather has been beautiful, and we've had the company of good friends much of the time. I'm a bit nervous about leaving this land of warm weather, blue skies and palm trees. If we had not already made plans to attend a rally in Marble Falls, we might just hang around for a while longer.
We opted for a boat tour of the Rio Grande River near the Bentsen Palms RV park out side Mission, Texas. Our friends Bob and Janet were co-captains on the boat as part of their workamping gig, and we really enjoyed the tour. The Rio Grande was not at all what we expected. It was quite wide above the dam, with lots of border patrol boats plying the calm water. We even saw a mama alligator with her brood of 13.
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| Steve, Jackie, Sandy and I had a fine time. |
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| Bob drives the boat while Janet tells him how to drive the boat. |
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| The Anzalduas Dam Across the Rio Grande |
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| We saw several boats patrolling the river for illegals. (The boats belonging to the Texas HP were much larger than the U. S. Border Patrol boats, as they should be. This is Texas after all.) |
From left: Cathy, Marilyn, Janet (barely visible), Marian, Ginger, Janet, Bob (behind Janet), Mike and Ed.
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| From right: Sandy, Jackie, Bobbie Jo, Steve, John, Eddie (looking down), Steve, Jesse, Ed |
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Old Hands at Fulltiming: Two Weeks In
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
As I type this, I notice the page counter on this blog has clicked over 200,000 views--which is relatively meaningless, I guess, as I'm not sure when Blogger began calculating this statistic. I think it was back when Google Plus began its mind meld with Blogger a few years ago. That's when, without my having a say in it, they also began counting the number of visits to my Google Plus profile page to come up with a number that is now approaching three million! Well, I don't buy that, and I'm pretty sure the pageview number is in error, too, but on the low side, since they obviously didn't begin counting this for the first six or seven years of this blog's life. So, I don't know what the real number is.
What I am reminded of, however, is to thank you readers for looking in on the workings of this feverish mind as I blather on about the RV lifestyle. I'm still amazed but delighted that you keep coming back.
Nowadays, folks ask of us how it's going "with the fulltiming thing." Sometimes I get the feeling they are expecting some kind of meltdown when we finally realize we have lost our minds. Well, that hasn't happened and, mercifully, it doesn't seem at all likely. For me, the happiest change so far has been the total absence of any thought toward the upkeep of our stick and brick house. I deleted from my cell phone the apps controlling the house's security system and video feeds, ecstatic that I will never have to check them again or to wait for the sensors to detect movement around the property and send me a warning signal.
Furthermore, I don't keep track of the weather back in Fort Worth as I once did. If there is a forecast for adverse weather, I really don't care, so long as our friends and family members are safe. If a tree falls on our former house, it's not our problem.
Particularly gratifying is the much smaller number of payments required to support the house. When I pay bills on the computer, I sometimes think I've forgotten some. I can't tell you how good it feels simply to keep that money in the bank.
There have been a couple of occasions when we caught ourselves referring to the residence we just sold as "home." For example, we might say something like, "We need to visit with (someone) when we get home." Then we catch ourselves and realize that we are already "home" wherever we happen to be.
We never find that we have nothing to do. At any given time, we probably have a half dozen events or trips in the planning stage, and I spend a fair amount of time working out the logistics, tickets and associated reservations that must be made. The computer, Internet and cell phones are essential for this, of course, so we find ourselves online a good deal of the time. I can't imagine how we would do this without today's technology.
So, to summarize our feeling about fulltiming at just over two weeks, I would have to say, not surprisingly, that it's all positive.
We welcomed old friends Bobbie Jo and John back to Llano Grande today. We had been planning this reunion for some time, and it was good to see them again. We quickly introduced them to friends Jackie and Steve, our traveling partners for this trip to the Valley. Pretty soon, it seemed we had all been friends for a long time, and we enjoyed a hamburger cookout with Steve doing the honors as chef. Yes, life is good here in the Rio Grande Valley.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
As I type this, I notice the page counter on this blog has clicked over 200,000 views--which is relatively meaningless, I guess, as I'm not sure when Blogger began calculating this statistic. I think it was back when Google Plus began its mind meld with Blogger a few years ago. That's when, without my having a say in it, they also began counting the number of visits to my Google Plus profile page to come up with a number that is now approaching three million! Well, I don't buy that, and I'm pretty sure the pageview number is in error, too, but on the low side, since they obviously didn't begin counting this for the first six or seven years of this blog's life. So, I don't know what the real number is.
What I am reminded of, however, is to thank you readers for looking in on the workings of this feverish mind as I blather on about the RV lifestyle. I'm still amazed but delighted that you keep coming back.
Nowadays, folks ask of us how it's going "with the fulltiming thing." Sometimes I get the feeling they are expecting some kind of meltdown when we finally realize we have lost our minds. Well, that hasn't happened and, mercifully, it doesn't seem at all likely. For me, the happiest change so far has been the total absence of any thought toward the upkeep of our stick and brick house. I deleted from my cell phone the apps controlling the house's security system and video feeds, ecstatic that I will never have to check them again or to wait for the sensors to detect movement around the property and send me a warning signal.
Furthermore, I don't keep track of the weather back in Fort Worth as I once did. If there is a forecast for adverse weather, I really don't care, so long as our friends and family members are safe. If a tree falls on our former house, it's not our problem.
Particularly gratifying is the much smaller number of payments required to support the house. When I pay bills on the computer, I sometimes think I've forgotten some. I can't tell you how good it feels simply to keep that money in the bank.
There have been a couple of occasions when we caught ourselves referring to the residence we just sold as "home." For example, we might say something like, "We need to visit with (someone) when we get home." Then we catch ourselves and realize that we are already "home" wherever we happen to be.
We never find that we have nothing to do. At any given time, we probably have a half dozen events or trips in the planning stage, and I spend a fair amount of time working out the logistics, tickets and associated reservations that must be made. The computer, Internet and cell phones are essential for this, of course, so we find ourselves online a good deal of the time. I can't imagine how we would do this without today's technology.
So, to summarize our feeling about fulltiming at just over two weeks, I would have to say, not surprisingly, that it's all positive.
We welcomed old friends Bobbie Jo and John back to Llano Grande today. We had been planning this reunion for some time, and it was good to see them again. We quickly introduced them to friends Jackie and Steve, our traveling partners for this trip to the Valley. Pretty soon, it seemed we had all been friends for a long time, and we enjoyed a hamburger cookout with Steve doing the honors as chef. Yes, life is good here in the Rio Grande Valley.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
OSR
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
Years ago I was acquainted with a local small-town radio personality who was truly a publicity hound. Trading on his popularity with his radio audience, he sought out public appearances for himself in all kinds of local events as master of ceremonies or a speechmaker or the like. He was a member of several civic groups, and his photo often appeared in the newspaper. One day, I asked him how he would know when he had "arrived" as a celebrity.
"OSR," he answered.
"OSR?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"On-the-Street Recognition," he said. When a stranger comes up to you on a sidewalk, calling your name and engaging you in conversation, then you have OSR. Then I would consider myself a celebrity."
Well, I suppose we have attained a tiny degree of celebrity ourselves, and that obtained in the oddest of places. Sandy and I were walking down a crowded sidewalk in Progreso, Mexico the other day, and a stranger (who was obviously another U. S. snowbird visiting Mexico for the day) strode up to us and said, excitedly, "Phannie and Mae!" After a short delay due to our surprise, Sandy and I said, simultaneously, "Yes!"
"I'm Frank," he said. "I read your blog; you just sold your house, and you're now fulltiming, aren't you?"
"Well, yes!" Sandy said. But before she could get anything else out, Frank pointed down the sidewalk and said with some apprehension, "I would like to talk to you, but I've got to catch up with my wife." Then he bolted away, not to be seen again.
Sandy and I looked at each other, astonished. I guess by virtue of having posted in this blog for ten years, we have had a number of pleasant encounters with strangers who recognize our rig. Let's face it: There aren't that many gray Phaetons out there pulling a red HHR. But this was the first time we had been recognized outside the environs of the blog's namesake vehicles. And we certainly didn't expect such a thing on the sidewalk of a tiny Mexican border town.
So Frank, I know you're out there, and I suppose you're responsible for giving us a slight taste of OSR, even though it's not something we seek. It made our day, though, and I hope you'll comment here and tell us a little about yourself and your wife (I hope you found her.)
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Years ago I was acquainted with a local small-town radio personality who was truly a publicity hound. Trading on his popularity with his radio audience, he sought out public appearances for himself in all kinds of local events as master of ceremonies or a speechmaker or the like. He was a member of several civic groups, and his photo often appeared in the newspaper. One day, I asked him how he would know when he had "arrived" as a celebrity.
"OSR," he answered.
"OSR?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"On-the-Street Recognition," he said. When a stranger comes up to you on a sidewalk, calling your name and engaging you in conversation, then you have OSR. Then I would consider myself a celebrity."
Well, I suppose we have attained a tiny degree of celebrity ourselves, and that obtained in the oddest of places. Sandy and I were walking down a crowded sidewalk in Progreso, Mexico the other day, and a stranger (who was obviously another U. S. snowbird visiting Mexico for the day) strode up to us and said, excitedly, "Phannie and Mae!" After a short delay due to our surprise, Sandy and I said, simultaneously, "Yes!"
"I'm Frank," he said. "I read your blog; you just sold your house, and you're now fulltiming, aren't you?"
"Well, yes!" Sandy said. But before she could get anything else out, Frank pointed down the sidewalk and said with some apprehension, "I would like to talk to you, but I've got to catch up with my wife." Then he bolted away, not to be seen again.
Sandy and I looked at each other, astonished. I guess by virtue of having posted in this blog for ten years, we have had a number of pleasant encounters with strangers who recognize our rig. Let's face it: There aren't that many gray Phaetons out there pulling a red HHR. But this was the first time we had been recognized outside the environs of the blog's namesake vehicles. And we certainly didn't expect such a thing on the sidewalk of a tiny Mexican border town.
So Frank, I know you're out there, and I suppose you're responsible for giving us a slight taste of OSR, even though it's not something we seek. It made our day, though, and I hope you'll comment here and tell us a little about yourself and your wife (I hope you found her.)
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Gonzales Hamburgers
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
If you stay in the Rio Grande Valley for any length of time, it won't be long until you hear about Gonzales Hamburgers. This tiny restaurant near downtown Donna, Texas, has been around a very long time, serving monster hamburgers. Patronizing the place--at least once--is a rite of passage for all snowbirds, and they do, indeed, patronize the place in droves.
On this visit, we arrived at precisely 11:00 a.m., their opening time. Unfortunately, to get there when it opens is to be late. The restaurant's chairs were already full with a line out the door:
The restaurant is hardly set up for the crush of customers it gets. There is one small griddle, one small fry station and one small prep station, manned by three employees (two are MIA in this photo).
The hand-formed meat patties are enormous--perhaps a pound each--and only about a dozen can fit on the griddle. Sandy and I ordered one burger to split between us and a single order of fries. This photo doesn't adequately show the size of the burger, but trust me, it's huge!
Notice how the meat patty is so much larger than the bun; you don't see that very often. Because of the very limited kitchen and staff, things move very slowly in cooking the burgers--so slowly, in fact, that we waited almost two hours for our order to be filled!
The burger, when it finally came, was a bit anticlimactic. While it was an okay burger, the only thing it really had going for it was size. A much older couple sitting beside us who were apparently unfamiliar with the size of the burgers, had the misfortune of ordering a burger and fries apiece and, when they came, the woman merely shook her head and looked forlornly around the giant burger in front of her. There was no way she could have eaten but a fraction of it.
So, I include this review as a service and warning to readers: If you want to go to Gonzales Hamburgers because you want to have the experience, fine. But be prepared to spend a very long time there and realize that you could have gotten a better burger at Salazar's on Pike Boulevard in Weslaco for less money and much less of an investment of your time.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
If you stay in the Rio Grande Valley for any length of time, it won't be long until you hear about Gonzales Hamburgers. This tiny restaurant near downtown Donna, Texas, has been around a very long time, serving monster hamburgers. Patronizing the place--at least once--is a rite of passage for all snowbirds, and they do, indeed, patronize the place in droves.
On this visit, we arrived at precisely 11:00 a.m., their opening time. Unfortunately, to get there when it opens is to be late. The restaurant's chairs were already full with a line out the door:
The restaurant is hardly set up for the crush of customers it gets. There is one small griddle, one small fry station and one small prep station, manned by three employees (two are MIA in this photo).
The hand-formed meat patties are enormous--perhaps a pound each--and only about a dozen can fit on the griddle. Sandy and I ordered one burger to split between us and a single order of fries. This photo doesn't adequately show the size of the burger, but trust me, it's huge!
Notice how the meat patty is so much larger than the bun; you don't see that very often. Because of the very limited kitchen and staff, things move very slowly in cooking the burgers--so slowly, in fact, that we waited almost two hours for our order to be filled!
The burger, when it finally came, was a bit anticlimactic. While it was an okay burger, the only thing it really had going for it was size. A much older couple sitting beside us who were apparently unfamiliar with the size of the burgers, had the misfortune of ordering a burger and fries apiece and, when they came, the woman merely shook her head and looked forlornly around the giant burger in front of her. There was no way she could have eaten but a fraction of it.
So, I include this review as a service and warning to readers: If you want to go to Gonzales Hamburgers because you want to have the experience, fine. But be prepared to spend a very long time there and realize that you could have gotten a better burger at Salazar's on Pike Boulevard in Weslaco for less money and much less of an investment of your time.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
A Reflection on Ten Years of RVing and A Visit to Mexico
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
You may have noticed a new feature that Blogger has made available to users. Here on the home page of this blog is something named "Featured Post." I like this, because it enables me to bring forward a link occasionally to some posts that I particularly like. The first one was "Oh, The Places We've Seen," a collection of some of our best photos of favorite places we have visited while RVing. Today, I'm listing "For Those Who Don't Quite Get It," a post that garnered the most views in the ten-year history of this blog. I'm not sure what made it so popular, but I thought I would revisit it in celebration of those ten years. It could be that it sets forth the best explanation I could offer to those for whom RVers are, at best, a curiosity or, at worst, a bunch of bedraggled denizens of a trailer park. Well, since ignorance is bliss, I say let the unschooled revel in their fog while we who know better take the wheel and savor every vista of God's creation that unfolds before us as we go down the road. Spending one's precious life confined in four walls? Not if I can help it! There is so much to see and so little time.
I am so grateful that I had the inspiration to begin this blog at the very start of our RVing adventure. I cannot tell you the number of times we have revisited the photos of favorite places and relived our impressions that were captured in the written narrative. As our memories fade, it's much like hitting the replay button and seeing it all over again. If you are just starting your RV adventure or even if you've been at it a while, I hope you will consider making a good record of it. It's importance to you will only increase over time, and it will eventually become a treasure, I'm sure. I know it has been the best ten years of our lives.
Along with old friends Ed and Marilyn and new friends Steve and Cathy, we took Jackie and Steve over to Progreso, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Mercedes. We had a great time wandering from shop to shop along the crowded sidewalks and had a fine lunch at Arturo's, a busy upscale restaurant on the main street. Progreso is, of course, a typical Mexican border town, heavily dependent on the trade of snowbirds and full of peddlers trying to hawk everything imaginable as you walk by. But the people are very friendly, and we have never felt unsafe in the main commercial area where the gringos tend to remain.
There is a lively interest of U. S. citizens in medical, dental and optical work, as well as pharmaceutical purchases across the border in Progreso. The services are quite professional, for the most part, and prices are dirt cheap compared to those in the U. S. Many drugs that would require prescriptions in the states are available there over the counter.
Restaurants and drinks are also cheap and, after a while, one tends to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping area and buoyed by the omnipresent music.
Then sometimes we revert to our childhood:
The girls did some shopping and claimed some bargains. The boys largely sat around and scratched themselves. After the busy but fun day, we opted for a light supper and TV watching back in Phannie.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
You may have noticed a new feature that Blogger has made available to users. Here on the home page of this blog is something named "Featured Post." I like this, because it enables me to bring forward a link occasionally to some posts that I particularly like. The first one was "Oh, The Places We've Seen," a collection of some of our best photos of favorite places we have visited while RVing. Today, I'm listing "For Those Who Don't Quite Get It," a post that garnered the most views in the ten-year history of this blog. I'm not sure what made it so popular, but I thought I would revisit it in celebration of those ten years. It could be that it sets forth the best explanation I could offer to those for whom RVers are, at best, a curiosity or, at worst, a bunch of bedraggled denizens of a trailer park. Well, since ignorance is bliss, I say let the unschooled revel in their fog while we who know better take the wheel and savor every vista of God's creation that unfolds before us as we go down the road. Spending one's precious life confined in four walls? Not if I can help it! There is so much to see and so little time.
I am so grateful that I had the inspiration to begin this blog at the very start of our RVing adventure. I cannot tell you the number of times we have revisited the photos of favorite places and relived our impressions that were captured in the written narrative. As our memories fade, it's much like hitting the replay button and seeing it all over again. If you are just starting your RV adventure or even if you've been at it a while, I hope you will consider making a good record of it. It's importance to you will only increase over time, and it will eventually become a treasure, I'm sure. I know it has been the best ten years of our lives.
Along with old friends Ed and Marilyn and new friends Steve and Cathy, we took Jackie and Steve over to Progreso, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Mercedes. We had a great time wandering from shop to shop along the crowded sidewalks and had a fine lunch at Arturo's, a busy upscale restaurant on the main street. Progreso is, of course, a typical Mexican border town, heavily dependent on the trade of snowbirds and full of peddlers trying to hawk everything imaginable as you walk by. But the people are very friendly, and we have never felt unsafe in the main commercial area where the gringos tend to remain.
There is a lively interest of U. S. citizens in medical, dental and optical work, as well as pharmaceutical purchases across the border in Progreso. The services are quite professional, for the most part, and prices are dirt cheap compared to those in the U. S. Many drugs that would require prescriptions in the states are available there over the counter.
Restaurants and drinks are also cheap and, after a while, one tends to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping area and buoyed by the omnipresent music.
 |
| Marilyn, Mike and Steve share a funny story at Arturo's in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. |
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| It's our secret, Steve! |
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Visiting With Friends
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
The Rio Grande Valley is a common winter destination for several couples we have met over the years and with whom we have become friends; we spoke of some of them in the previous post.
On this day, we introduced new friends Jackie and Steve to Ed and Marilyn, with whom we became acquainted years ago in reading Ed's blog.
Ed and Marilyn have been wintering in the Valley for eight years now and, because they like it here so much, they've decided to purchase a lot with a coach house in Retama Village, near Mission, Texas. They were kind enough to invite us over to their new digs and served snacks and drinks while we visited in the warm breeze of their patio.
There are a number of "coach houses" built on RV lots in this upscale community. Their dimensions are about 12x25, and they are designed to serve as additional space for the owners, who continue to live in their RVs. Many of them have a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and a sitting area. Some have pull-down beds or sofa beds. The adjoining patio area, like the one above, is very desirable for social gatherings that are a mainstay of these RV communities.
After a nice visit, we motored back to McAllen and had a nice seafood dinner at Dirty Al's, an offshoot of the more plebeian Dirty Al's in South Padre. The food was very good and, after picking up some hot Krispy Kreme donuts, we called it a night. What? You don't know about Krispy Kreme donuts? Google it and then get a bib to catch your drool. If you don't have a hot Krispy Kreme donut before you die, your life may not have had all the meaning you hoped it would.
By the way, some folks have had questions about the car we're currently towing behind Phannie. They are accustomed to seeing the little red HHR to which we refer as "Mae." Well, on this trip, we're pulling our other car, Beulah. No, Mae is not being put out to pasture; she's merely taking a rest after five years of looking at Phannie's rear end. My guess is that just might be getting a little old. We will continue to tow Mae when we're on extended point-to-point trips where we aren't likely to have an entourage. But in locations like this, where we're among friends, it is handier to have the larger car as a toad. So, if you see Phannie on the road without Mae in tow, it's still us. It's just that Beulah is giving her a break:
So, you might ask, where do you keep the other car when you're not towing it? Good question; it stays in the care of our kids at their home near Houston. We appreciate them a lot for all they do for us. But then, they should do a lot. After all, we fed them, burped them and changed their diapers when they were kids. It's about time they did the same for us. Uh, not that we need that done quite yet...
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
The Rio Grande Valley is a common winter destination for several couples we have met over the years and with whom we have become friends; we spoke of some of them in the previous post.
On this day, we introduced new friends Jackie and Steve to Ed and Marilyn, with whom we became acquainted years ago in reading Ed's blog.
Ed and Marilyn have been wintering in the Valley for eight years now and, because they like it here so much, they've decided to purchase a lot with a coach house in Retama Village, near Mission, Texas. They were kind enough to invite us over to their new digs and served snacks and drinks while we visited in the warm breeze of their patio.
 |
| Sandy, Ed, Marilyn, Jackie and Steve at the new coach house. |
 |
| Marilyn and Ed inside their new coach house. |
By the way, some folks have had questions about the car we're currently towing behind Phannie. They are accustomed to seeing the little red HHR to which we refer as "Mae." Well, on this trip, we're pulling our other car, Beulah. No, Mae is not being put out to pasture; she's merely taking a rest after five years of looking at Phannie's rear end. My guess is that just might be getting a little old. We will continue to tow Mae when we're on extended point-to-point trips where we aren't likely to have an entourage. But in locations like this, where we're among friends, it is handier to have the larger car as a toad. So, if you see Phannie on the road without Mae in tow, it's still us. It's just that Beulah is giving her a break:
So, you might ask, where do you keep the other car when you're not towing it? Good question; it stays in the care of our kids at their home near Houston. We appreciate them a lot for all they do for us. But then, they should do a lot. After all, we fed them, burped them and changed their diapers when they were kids. It's about time they did the same for us. Uh, not that we need that done quite yet...
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
So What Do You Do All Day?
At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas...
We're often asked that question. The answer, of course, is "anything we want." That may seem a bit flippant, but it is still true. The marvelous gift retirement gives us is time--time to spend doing those things we enjoy and ignoring those things we don't particularly like to do. Take housekeeping chores, for example: I don't think most people realize just how much time they devote to maintaining their residence and grounds (unless, of course, you have staff to do it for you, which I would guess most of us don't). I'm not going to replay all the whining I did about this while leading up to the house sale, but the older I have gotten, the more I have resented its thievery of my time--precious time that inexorably grows shorter each day.
Now that the house is gone, an enormous amount of time and money have been freed up to use for things we enjoy. That could be something as simple as watching a sunset or sunrise (we don't see many of the latter). Or reading a book. Or watching a movie. Or taking a walk. We certainly don't devote much time to housekeeping. Daily chores in Phannie take maybe 15 minutes; the rest of the day is ours.
When we arrive at a new destination, we may go out for a meal or eat something in Phannie. Then we relax until the following day, when we may venture out in the car to see things that interest us or to find a good restaurant. We've spent the last couple of afternoons showing Steve and Jackie around the Rio Grande Valley area. We stopped in at Retama Village and Bentsen Palms (upscale RV communities) for short visits with Mike and Marian, Ginger and Jesse and Bob and Janet. We've also tried out several local restaurants, among them Salazar's Hamburgers and Nana's Tacos, both of which are always good. We also stopped by the Don-Wes flea market to look around and picked up some fresh pineapple and, oh yes, the obligatory freshly popped kettle corn and mini-donuts, both of which disappeared in fairly short order. I'm not sure what happened to them.
Sandy found a plastic snake which I shamed her into touching. Since she is deathly afraid of snakes, it wasn't very gentlemanly of me, I admit. She doesn't look very happy, does she?
One of the cardinal rules for fulltimers seems to be that nothing should be rushed. For the purpose of this discussion, something is rushed when 1) more than one activity of any kind is planned or 2) the event planned contains no provision for a nap. If this rule is not followed for some reason, then it is essential that a day of rest is observed immediately after the transgression.
Don't roll your eyes at me; I don't make the rules!
Okay, maybe a day like this seems a little tame. But you should know that there is no shortage of laughter and no shortage of appreciation for our good fortune to help occupy our time.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
We're often asked that question. The answer, of course, is "anything we want." That may seem a bit flippant, but it is still true. The marvelous gift retirement gives us is time--time to spend doing those things we enjoy and ignoring those things we don't particularly like to do. Take housekeeping chores, for example: I don't think most people realize just how much time they devote to maintaining their residence and grounds (unless, of course, you have staff to do it for you, which I would guess most of us don't). I'm not going to replay all the whining I did about this while leading up to the house sale, but the older I have gotten, the more I have resented its thievery of my time--precious time that inexorably grows shorter each day.
Now that the house is gone, an enormous amount of time and money have been freed up to use for things we enjoy. That could be something as simple as watching a sunset or sunrise (we don't see many of the latter). Or reading a book. Or watching a movie. Or taking a walk. We certainly don't devote much time to housekeeping. Daily chores in Phannie take maybe 15 minutes; the rest of the day is ours.
When we arrive at a new destination, we may go out for a meal or eat something in Phannie. Then we relax until the following day, when we may venture out in the car to see things that interest us or to find a good restaurant. We've spent the last couple of afternoons showing Steve and Jackie around the Rio Grande Valley area. We stopped in at Retama Village and Bentsen Palms (upscale RV communities) for short visits with Mike and Marian, Ginger and Jesse and Bob and Janet. We've also tried out several local restaurants, among them Salazar's Hamburgers and Nana's Tacos, both of which are always good. We also stopped by the Don-Wes flea market to look around and picked up some fresh pineapple and, oh yes, the obligatory freshly popped kettle corn and mini-donuts, both of which disappeared in fairly short order. I'm not sure what happened to them.
 |
| Javier scoops up a bag of kettle corn, freshly popped in the big cast iron cauldron to the left. Smells so good! |
 |
| Jackie tried on a pair of sunglasses but didn't buy them. "A little too understated," she said. |
One of the cardinal rules for fulltimers seems to be that nothing should be rushed. For the purpose of this discussion, something is rushed when 1) more than one activity of any kind is planned or 2) the event planned contains no provision for a nap. If this rule is not followed for some reason, then it is essential that a day of rest is observed immediately after the transgression.
Don't roll your eyes at me; I don't make the rules!
Okay, maybe a day like this seems a little tame. But you should know that there is no shortage of laughter and no shortage of appreciation for our good fortune to help occupy our time.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
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