Where's Weaver

THANKS TO OUR READERS

2012-02-19T21:53:00.001-06:00

Sunday, February 19 -

SUMMER TRAVEL PLANS
Thanks to everyone who left us a comment or email about our long-range plans. We even received several comments and emails from new visitors. Thanks everyone for the suggested additions to our Northwest trip this summer. One of the reasons we wanted to post our intended summer travel schedule was to inspire readers to suggest additional stops and places we should be sure “not to miss!”

One comment we received many times is…you need a couple of years to do Oregon and Washington alone. We TOTALLY agree. We can only do so much this time. We just hope we can hit some of the highlights and go back for more later. If you think of any "must see" places, please don't hesitate to write.

We sure hope to cross paths and meet many of our RV'er friends and Blog readers. If you are in the same area this summer, drop us a quick email.....hopefully we can get together!

EXTENDED WARRANTY
Just an update on our extended warranty research. We signed on the dotted line with Jeff Shelton from Wholesale Warranties (800.939.2806). We obtained a 4-year, 48,000 mile warranty with $100 deductible, with Consequential Damage and Exclusive Benefits. It seems to cover just about everything, actually more than we wanted. Jeff is an independent underwriter and searches for the best policy to fit your needs. Our policy is with Assurant Solutions. If you are looking for an extended warranty, give Jeff a call and tell him we recommended Wholesale Warranties. Yep, we receive a small gift for anyone we send his way.... :-))

SHOUT OUT
We want to give a SHOUT OUT to Rick of Rick and Paulette's RV Travels. At one time on our blog, comments would automatically be posted without Marsha approving them. Well for some reason this changed. Now that we think of it, it changed when Marsha went to the new version of Blogger. Oh dear….new = better….not so fast my friend. For some reason, the approval for comments changed. Marsha fretted over this for a couple of hours and finally said, "I'll just ask Rick." She did, and of course Rick knew the answer. He told her to go back to the old version and she would be able to make the change. YEA!!! It works. So new ≠ better…at least not all the time. Thanks again, Rick, for responding so quickly!

BELLA
We have no idea why Bella has "all of a sudden" decided this is her favorite place to sit when outside. One person in the park said it is because it is cool on the grill. WHAT COOL? It has rained here nearly everyday for the last two weeks, AND it sure isn't that hot! What is going on with this weather? We are in the southern most tip of Texas. They don't or at least aren't suppose to get rain like this here. Today it has taken a turn for the BETTER! It was beautiful…YEAAAAA!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

2012 TRAVEL PLANS

2012-02-18T06:49:00.001-06:00

February, 17 2012 - We've been working on our plans to visit the Northwest part of the country for sometime. We'll leave here (Mission, TX) on March 1 and not arrive in Ohio (our former home) until late summer or fall. After traveling over 7,000 miles. This is our biggest travel year since beginning full-timing. We doubt we will return to Northwest area of the country in the foreseeable future, so we are trying to squeeze everything in and not miss anything. An impossible task that we will surely laugh about later.

This is a 'bare-bones” outline of our intended route that may change significantly as we travel. We've listed just a few of the things we want to see it the states we'll pass through. No dates or time limits on where we will be when. We'll take it one stop at a time. Hope fuel prices don't get outrageous.

2012 TRAVEL PLANS

Leave Mission March 1 arrive in Del Rio, TX
Fort Davis, TX – McDonald Observatory
New Mexico- Deming: City of Rocks
Tucson, AZ – Justin's Diamond-J RV Park, San Xavier, Mt. Lemmon, Saguaro NP, Pima Air Museum, Davis-Monthan AF Base, Tubac, Organ Pipe NM, Sonora Desert, Sabino Canyon, Kitt Peak, Gates Pass, Santa Catalina Mnts, Trader Joes
Goodyear, AZ – Baseball Spring Training - Cleveland Indians (west side Phoenix)
Usery Mountain or Silver Spur Ranch (east side Phoenix) – Superstition Skies, Camelback Mnt, Apache Trail, Tonto NF, visit with nephew Dave Jr. and family, Organ Stop Pizza, Skies Bar & Grill, Tortilla Flat
Nevada - Las Vegas/Hoover Dam/Pahrump, Bullhead City, Oatman (donkeys), Lake Mead
California - Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP, Redwood NP, Ave. of Giants, San Francisco, Sacramento, Death Valley, Wine country
Oregon - Coastal Area, Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Winchester Bay, Silver Salmon Restaurant, Mount Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Hells Canyon, Wallowa Mountains
Washington - Coastal Area, Seattle, Olympic NP, Boeing Factory tour,
Canada - Victoria, BC, Vancouver, Canadian Rockies, Banff NP, Lake Louise, Calgary, Head Smashed-in Buffalo Jump
Montana - Glacier NP, Hiawatha Bike Trail, Fort Peak Dam, Little Big Horn, Louis & Clark Park
South Dakota - Little Big Horn, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, Crazy Horse, Needles, Deadwood, Corn Palace, Chapel in the Hills, Custer SP, Missile Silo, Rapid City, Beartooth Highway, Keystone, Needles, Sylvan Lake, Hill City, Spearfish Canyon,
Iowa – Des Moines, Iowa City
Illinois – AVOID driving MH in Chicago traffic (but maybe drive car to see the city)
Indiana – Amish Country, RV Hall of Fame,
Ohio – visit family & friends, see our doctors, and escape before the SNOW falls.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

SOME OF THIS…SOME OF THAT

2012-02-12T19:17:00.001-06:00

Sunday, February 12 – One of the greatest things about being here in Mission during this time of year is FRESH oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes. Several people in the park give us these delicious fruits. We went out and bought a cheap juicer and have enjoyed fresh juice each day. One neighbor told us for every five oranges we use, add one grapefruit. YUMMMMY!

At the end of our first year of full timing, we ordered our blog in book form. We used Blog2Print. So, with another year under our belt, we decided to get our second year in book form. We have so many pictures on our blog, that we needed to order the blog in two books. They arrived the other day and look super. We know that these will help us relive so many wonderful memories.

One night while we were having happy hour (which is suppose to be from sometime around 4 to about 5:30, but this night it was well past 7:00), it became a bit chilly out. Paul, not listening to Marsha again, didn't bring a jacket. After Paul was acting like it was going to snow any minute, Susie went in and got him a blanket. We couldn't figure out what it is about a red blanket, but it made Paul smile the rest of the night.

Jane where is your hand suppose to be?

Where was Marsha all this time?

On Friday night, Angie and Rick had Jane, Joe and us over for dinner. Boy were we in for a treat! Before we ate, Marsha needed pictures. She said everyone get with someone…she meant spouses. As she was setting up the camera and turned around she was very surprised. Not wanting to make a scene she ran to the only open spot left for her.

After taking the picture above, she rephrased her request…Everyone get with YOUR spouse, please.

Now for dinner. Angie HAD to have worked all day to make all the delicious dishes we enjoyed. There were tamales, fideo (Mexican spaghetti), Queso (Mexican cheese),

Turkey or pork in Mole sauce,

and Chayote. One reader wanted to know how Angie made this Mexican squash. She cut them in half and drizzled flavored oil with seasoning over a couple, made one plain and one with paprika. She then baked them in the over at 350* for about fifteen minutes. They were delicious.

Jane got in the action by heating the tortillas.

Marsha brought delicious cookie cake for dessert. Anther wonderful evening with great food and awesome friends! Thanks again Angie and Rick…it was wonderful!

We haven't posted a picture of Bella for awhile. Marsha opened her closet door to get some of her pine needle paraphernalia. When she went back to close the door, look who found a new hiding place.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

BARGAINS AT THE FLEA MARKET

2012-02-09T15:24:00.001-06:00

Friday, February 3 – Marsha broke a tooth the other day, so it was off to Progreso, Mexico, today to see the dentist. On her last visit the dentist warned her about two teeth that appeared in poor condition and might need crowns. Well, that warning resulted in a broken tooth and a needed crown. (THERE'S A BLOG TITLE IN THERE SOMEWHERE)

Marsha emailed the dentist and made an appointment for today at 2:00 p.m. We arrived early to walk around town for an hour before her appointment. She needed a root canal as preparation for the crown. While the dentist ground away on her tooth, Paul walked around Progreso and enjoyed people watching and having a margarita at a near-by Mercado. There are plenty of opportunities for both in this small Mexican town!

After a couple hours with Marsha's first of several dentist visits completed, we headed home with a return visit planned for next week. We have a total of three visits required to complete the process, so we'll be back to Progreso several times before leaving the Rio Grande Valley.

Tuesday, February 7 – We have had five days of rain and overcast skies. YUCK! Between the rain drops, we decided it was time to check out the PULGA!!!

This is our second winter here at Hidden/Leisure Valley Ranch, and we've always wanted to check out the Pulga, just across Expressway 83, and have never had to opportunity to visit. The Pulga is a flea market. A pretty big on too!

Paul, Angie, Jane

There are several flea markets here in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Last year we went to the biggest called Don West, and we intend to visit it again before leaving the RVG, but today we wanted to check-out this ever-growing Pulga across the expressway.

It is not as nice as Don West. A little lower on the economic “totem pole” as far as flea markets go. There is an outside and an inside area.

Marsha and Jane deciding if they "need" any of these.

There are plenty of sellers displaying there wares. Quite a few people selling fresh fruit and vegetables.

Cactus is a huge sale in this area. This lady is cleaning them.

Angie buying some chayotes [chah-YOH-teh]. The chayote is native Mexican plant and is a member of the squash family. They were 2 for a $1. Angie said they cost at least $.89 each in the grocery store. We will get to taste it on Friday night as she and Rick are having us over for dinner.

We even picked up a bunch of tiny bananas. Our friend Angie, she's Hispanic, says they are called platanitos (little bananas). They are the smallest of all bananas, maximum size about 4 inches. They have a thin skin and golden color, and sweet to eat. All for only $1.00.

This is a first for us….a funeral director advertising at the Pulga. WHAT?

As we were leaving, we saw this truck. Guess what it was selling.

Chickens…and we watch a man buy two of them. Poor things.

Another big seller was geese. YES, we said geese. We never know what we will see next.

Marsha found a top she couldn't live without...$4.00. Jane got a deal on a crock pot ($7.00) and grabbed an egg plant on the way to the car. Paul didn't make an economic contribution this time. Maybe next time. It was a fun couple hours enjoyed with friends.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

TIENDA DE ROPA..THAT'S CLOTHING STORE IN SPANISH

2012-02-06T16:25:00.001-06:00

Thursday, February 2 – One of our favorite sayings is…When in Rome, do as the Romans. Well, Marsha took it to a whole new height. She and three friends visited a ropa store today. But before the girls could go shopping, they need nourishment, so off to Cheddars for an early lunch.

(Front left-front right) Angie, Carol, Marsha, Jan, Jane

You may ask what is a Ropa…here is your answer…

Ropa means cloth; all kinds of silk, woolen, or linen, used for domestic purposes; wearing apparel, clothes.

The first visit for the day was Tres Dimesiones.

This ropa is approximately a 70,000 square foot warehouse that sells used clothing by the POUND. Various specific qualities of clothing are available, as well as unsorted clothing by the bail or Monton. There is no minimum purchase amount for the Monton, and Bails range from 900 lbs. to 1300 lbs.

What is a Balis you ask…Bails (pacas) of clothing weigh 1,000 lbs. and more, and are sold for .50 cents a pound

A Mound (Monton) is over 3,750 cubic feet large. 25'x30'x5'.

Keep this all in mind as this story continues. Marsha, Jane and Jan were the "virgins" on this trip. Angie and Caole have visited ropas for many years. Marsha explains that when we entered the building nothing seemed odd.

Then we turned the corner…

What in the world…

Our fearless leaders, Angie and Carole, show us how the experts shop.

Marsha couldn't believe what she was seeing. But in no time was digging in with the rest of them.

In a Ropa, you need to hunt through piles of clothes, all makes, sizes, colors, genders, and styles. You just start pulling clothes out of the piles and see if it is what you are looking for. The clothes come from every store imaginable. They are clothes that were on clearance, discarded or donated.

How are these clothes stored before they arrive to the buyers…on a pallet or Balis.

This is an interesting sign…you best heed the warning too!

This is a shot from way up on the top of the mound.

These people hardly moved out of the way when the new load was delivered.

Jane wanted a closer view.

Marsha may have found a keeper.

Here is one for our friends, Ed and Linda. They are huge Boston Red Sox fans.

These people are here for many different reason. Price is the big one, but many of them buy the clothes and then resale them in their own shops or yard sales. This is the only way many of them can afford any clothing at all. This poor little thing feel asleep while mom was shopping. Not the most sanitary place to have the little one sleep.

There is a section in most ropas that have items priced. In this one, a bride can purchase a wedding dress for only $20.00.

Some other items that can be purchased in this section are
Flannel shirts $1 (seasonal), Party Dresses $10, Men's Shoes $2, Men's Sandals $ 1.50, Women's Tennis = $ 3, Kids Shoes = $ 1

When you are ready to leave, you must have your items weighed.

Today our items were $.20/lb. Marsha spent a whole 43 cents on three items. The big spender was Carole. A grand total of $1.78 for her heap.

Just to let everyone know…the girls all wore their oldest clothes and had tons of Purell with them. All in all, Marsha said it was an experience she will never forget. If you are reading this, chances are you do not have to shop this way. At least in this area there are many places for a family to find very, very cheap clothing. Say a little prayer of thanks for that!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

MOVING DAY

2012-02-04T08:32:00.001-06:00

Thursday, February 2 – A little excitement in the neighborhood this morning.

The people across from our site have decided to trade-in their 5th-Wheel and get a mobile home. They will become snowbirds traveling between South Texas in the Winter and their home in Iowa in the summer.

Watching these movers bring in a mobile home on these tight streets is pretty exciting.

The driver wasn't even challenged. One hand on the steering wheel and talking on the phone. I told the onlookers to hand him a beer to make it a little more challenging....LOL

They can park those things on the side of a mountain, so setting it on a concrete pad was child’s play.

Notice all the "helpers."

They had it moved in place in less than 30 minutes and spent the next couple hours strapping it down and putting it up on blocks so they could remove the wheels.

Once level the owner and a couple friends will hook up the plumbing, sewer, and electric and it will be ready to move in. Instant home!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

MOTOR HOME REPAIRS…NEW WHEEL SEALS

2012-02-01T16:26:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, January 31 – Paul took the motor home to the repair shop this morning to have the leaking front wheel bearing seal replaced.

If you read our blog regularly, you'll remember on our way to the Rio Grande Valley in December, we had to stop frequently to check the wheel bearing oil and add oil several times.

Upon inspection, the repair shop decided to go ahead and replace both front seals. We had this work done at Remy Truck & Auto Repair. They were recommended by several people here at the RV Park.

The work was well done with the only problem being the long wait for parts to be delivered to the shop. Why don't they give the customer the option to run to the warehouse and pick-up these parts? Paul is not a very patient person and sitting for hours waiting for parts to be delivered drives him crazy.

He arrived at the repair facility about 8:30 a.m. After checking part numbers and looking over the problem parts were ordered. That was about 9:30. Parts were finally delivered at 2:30 p.m....JEESH!!!

Using an extension on the socket wrench to remove the time.

A jack is placed under the motor home before the wheel is removed.

Holding the heavy wheel in place while bearings are removed, and oil is drained.

The old oil is drained from the wheel.

Here is the axle spindle after the wheel and bearings are removed. You can see the brake shoes.

Here the serviceman carefully taps the seal into place

Seal in place a wheel is ready to be placed back on spindle.

These are the bearings that allow the wheel to spin on the axle.

Seal is in place. It is the inner ring and holds the bearing in the wheel hub.

Preparing the outer bearing and placing them inside the wheel.

The wheel lug nuts are hand torqued with an extension on the wrench.

The work was completed at 5:00 p.m., and Paul wanted to drive the MH for awhile to check the repairs and to exercise the engine and generator after sitting here at Hidden Valley Ranch for a month. So it was almost 6:00 by the time he returned to the RV Park. We got all hooked-up and finished setting-up just before dark......CRIPES!

Marsha and Bella were homeless all day waiting for Paul to get home with the MH. Marsha visited with some friends that stopped over, and Bella wondered what happened to her home....LOL

Where is my home? (Not so good a picture. Marsha had to take it with her outdated phone.)

Poor thing. She had such a rough day!

All-in-all, things worked-out, and we hope that takes care of the leaking bearing seals.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

BASKETS, BASKETS AND MORE BASKETS

2012-01-29T08:21:00.001-06:00

Saturday, January 28 - FINALLY…Marsha has found some time to do a blog on all her baskets that she gave for Christmas gifts. She worked days on each of her baskets and made each one different. She used some of her dyed pine needles, sinew, special thread, beads and each one had one of her special gold pine needles from the moon tree. (If you don't know about the moon tree, you can read about it here.)She said every one that received a basket was thrilled to have one.

Chris, our sister-in-law, told Marsha…"If you ever think of making me a basket, I would like coasters. Can you do that?" Marsha said, "Is that a challenge?" Here is a little secret about Marsha…she loves challenges. She made Chris four and put cork on the back of each. We tested them with ice in a glass, and they kept the water off the table just fine.

This is her first cracker basket with handles. Marsha used walnut slices in each handle. She gave this to her brother, Mark's, girlfriend, Christina.

For a special friend, Red - that we taught with for years, she did her first three-level wrap design. She gave it to Red before Christmas, but he saved it to open Christmas morning. He called Marsha and told her how much he loved it. Glad you are enjoying it, Red! Miss you!

When our daughter, Kelly, saw Marsha's first baskets, she said she would like a smaller one. Marsha kept this in mind when she made Kelly's. She also wanted to do something special. This is her first basket using beads and an agate (stone) for the bottom. She was very happy with the finished product. Kelly was thrilled to receive this gift. (If you look closely, you can see the special gold pine needle in the top left area.)

She also puts her name on the bottom of each basket and dates it.

Carrie received Marsha's first attempt in making her biggest basket. This is her first attempt making these types of handles and a new stitch called the split stitch. Marsha thought it turned out just like she envisioned it. Carrie can't wait to have her next party and show it off.

Two happy girls.

Now she is biting at the bit to get started on her next basket using the tiles we had painted in Mexico. Before she can begin, we are in the process of deciding what best to use as the mounting material. When the first one is completed, you can be sure she will take some photos. We can share it because she is actually doing one for US to keep. This is a FIRST!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

NUEVA PROGRESO, MEXICO PART 2

2012-01-26T08:31:00.001-06:00

Monday, January 25, Part 2 - While are tiles were being painted by Alfonzo, we headed down to the Mercado for lunch and some famous Margaritas.

Who should we meet outside the restaurant but Jose, Alfonzo's brother. He is also extremely talented. He too paints only with spray paint, cardboard and plastic bags. Can you tell how bashful he is…LOL

Well, of course Marsha had to stop and look. Thirty-five dollars later we walked out with five more tiles and a beautiful black/white bottle to decorate the motorhome. She will be using the tiles in her baskets so we can't show you all of them. Some of our readers might receive them as a gift.

We really enjoy Arriba Restaurant and Bar.

We share a customary bowl of taco chips and a plate of Enchiladas. Of course we took part in the two for one price margaritas. Our favorite entertainer was there blaring out the tunes.

Marsha had to get into the action right away.

The margaritas must have been working their magic, because Paul got up and did the chicken dance. Yes, that is him in the blue shirt and grey hat.

We finished up our shopping and headed back to the border. We paid our 25 cents to pass through the turnstile, had our passports scanned, and returned to the USA without even a “welcome home” from the security folks.

As soon as you enter the USA, there is a little ice cream store. On our first trip here with our friends, Norm and Donna, we stopped there to have some ice cream. It is a tradition of theirs to stop and have a 2 for $2 banana split. Not wanting to break tradition, we stopped and had one. There are lots of people in there. Paul was looking back to be sure I hadn't left him.

For $1 each, they give a really good banana split.

It was a wonderful day. We had great check ups, super shopping, danced with the locals and ate our way through Progreso. We will probably go back at least one more time before heading out the end of February.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

NOS VAMOS A NUEVA PROGRESO MEXICO

2012-01-25T09:27:00.002-06:00

Monday, January 23 – We're off to Nueva Progreso, Mexico, this morning to visit the dentist. For all those who have never visited Mexico or want to, here is a quick tutorial to entering the country.

Take some quarters with you. You need one to enter the country and one to get out.

Next step is to walk across the bridge.

As you walk across, you can see the Rio Grande River that many illegals try to cross over to the USA. This is a view of the USA side. See the wall in the background?

You also see lots of hats sticking through the fence.

If you have a large head like Paul, you can be in two countries at one time.

You are now in Mexico.

We went to this same dentist last year, Dr. de la Rosa Saenz, and was quite pleased with his service.

We both have appointments for cleaning. Marsha only needed a regular cleaning but Paul received a deep cleaning.

Everyone asks us questions liked…Does he speak good English? Is it clean? Does he take credit cards? etc. Answers…Dr. de la Rosa was educated in the United States and lives in Mission, TX. He speaks excellent English. The place is very clean and sterile. There is plastic on everything.

He also takes credit cards, checks, and cold cash.

With a “clean” smile on our faces, we headed out to try to make a deposit in the Mexico economy. And a deposit was certainly made! Paul purchased a belt and got a hair cut that comes with a free massage…both for a mere $5.00.

Marsha found the Mexican tiles she was in search of for her basket-making hobby. Not only did she find finished tiles, but we found a family of painters that would paint scenes on tiles for her. These brothers, Jose & Alfonzo (in two different locations in Progresso), use spray paint and little bits of torn paper to complete these amazing paintings.

They are so good that we wanted to show you how they paint a tile. This Alfonzo starting one of the tiles.

He uses no brushes just cans of spray paint, pieces of cardboard and plastic bags.

He drew to cactus with the cardboard and now is using the plastic bag to make the flower beds.

He made ten for Marsha. Each one is totally different. Since several of her readers may receive one of her baskets with a tile, she only wants to show the one we are keeping.

It's unbelievable!

We will share with you the rest of our visit to Mexico in our next blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

BUSY, BUSY AND BUSIER

2012-01-22T17:07:00.001-06:00

Friday, January 20 – It has really been hot here. Here is a photo of our weather gauge. Notice the time…5:28 p.m.

Saturday, January 21 – Hidden Valley Ranch had a park-wide garage sale this morning, and we had a few items we decided to put out by the street for sale.

This is the smallest garage sale Marsha and I have ever had.....we've had some humungous sales in the past....LOL. We sold most of our treasures and made about $55 which Paul managed to use by purchasing a Pressure Pro tire monitoring system from the neighbor for $50 – a real steal !!! It's something Paul has always wanted but hasn't bought because of the high price. If you are unfamiliar with tire monitoring systems, they keep a watch on your tire pressures (in this case our Honda CRV) while being towed behind the MH and gives an alert if there is a blow-out or leak. It would be easy and a catastrophe to tow the car down the street with a flat tire and not even be aware of the problem.

We closed up the garage sale at 10:00 a.m. because Marsha was participating in a Ladies Style Show Luncheon at the Leisure Valley Clubhouse. She was modeling “Ropa” ware! Of course, she got Paul to work too! He was a server for the ladies luncheon.

Have you ever heard of “la Ropa” style show? Here in South Texas (it may be in other areas too) you can go to the Ropa store and purchase new or lightly-used clothing at unbelievable low prices. It comes in bales and you open them up and pick-out what you want. Then you normally purchase the clothing by the pound!

Well, the ladies select outfits from the Ropa and put on a show for the park. It was a sold out show and luncheon. Attendance reached 200 people. Each model wore an outfit and then carried one or two additional ones. The outfits were auction off to the highest bidder with some items going for over $20 and some for as little as $3. Marsha did very well and helped raise some big bucks!!! She looked smashing....don't you think?

First outfit

Second outfit

Third outfit

Our friend, Rick, was our auctioneer.

The decorating committee did a great job. There were three of these on each table…

You guessed it. Marsha was a lucky winner of a door prize….AGAIN!!!

Later in the evening, we attended another Country Dance at the clubhouse. The group was the Renaissance Rockers, a musical group made-up of doctors and other health professionals. They perform a mix of country and oldies. We've heard this group in the past and they are always well received. Another good time in the Rio Grande Valley.

Sunday, January 22 – Our friends, Angie & Rick, recently purchased a home here in Leisure Valley Ranch. We actually arrived here back on December 30 just in time to help them move. As a thank-you to all the helpers, they had a brunch this morning at their place. It's breakfast “in-a-bag.”

As Angie demonstrates

each person was given a plastic bag. We broke two or three eggs in the bag. We then went around a table and placed what ever items (bacon, sausage, mushrooms, asparagus, cheese, etc.) in the bag. You scrunch it all up. We then gave the bag to Rick, who placed them in big pots.

They cook for about 15-18 minutes. All the fixin's come out as an omelet. It was so much fun. They had tons of other stuff for us to eat, even Mimosas! It was a great breakfast and a fun time.

After enjoying the fun at breakfast it was time to relax at home and enjoy the NFL play-off games. A person can get pretty busy and exhausted here in the Rio Grande Valley having fun, so it's nice on occasion to just hang-out at the MH and watch some football.

Our landlord stopped in to visit. He has a Congo African Grey Redtail Parrot that rides all over the park on John's shoulder in the golf cart. Her name is Suzie.

She's quite the talker and it's amazing to hear her. She doesn't just mimic John, but thinks and creates sentences. For example: “John, Suzie says bye, bye.” She even tells John...”No John, you're wrong.” If she bites John, he'll swat at her (not really connecting) and she says, “Suzie is telling Martha (John's wife) and she'll put the stick to you!” She was chattering up a storm with us.

Don't run out and get one of these Parrots. John tells us they live to be 90 years old! There is a lady a couple blocks from the park that sells thousands of these birds all over the country. That might make a neat field trip!

Thanks for stopping over. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

A GREAT DAY IN TWO COUNTRIES

2012-01-20T10:27:00.001-06:00

Monday, January 16 – Paul did a minor remodeling project this morning. We purchased a small dining/kitchen table last year after removing our “fixed” table. The fixed table just wasn't located in the best spot and the new kitchen table had legs that made sitting at it uncomfortable. It seemed like we were always straddling a table leg.

So Paul ordered a pedestal table leg online. We were looking for a wooden pedestal, but they were either cost prohibitive or too big. If only Paul still had his wood shop....LOL. Anyway, the pedestal arrived in yesterdays UPS truck, and Paul installed it this morning.

What a difference! Makes the table much more comfortable. We may change the color in the future???? That's a decision for another time.

Before we headed to the guitar concert, we had dinner at Cheddars. We have never been here before. The food was delicious!

Rick, Marsha, Paul, Jane, Joe, Angie

After dinner we attended a guitar concert at the McAllen Community Center......Edgar Cruz – Guitarist Extraordinaire. He has been named the Oklahoma's Top Performing Artist and Acoustic Guitarist for more than ten years. He performed a repertoire of greatest hits, classical medleys, Latin favorites, originals, rock, jazz, mariachi, and romantic music.

All and all, it was an enjoyable concert and a good time out with friends.

Wednesday, January 18 – OFF TO MEXICO.....We headed to Nuevo Progreso this morning with friends, Angie & Rick and Jane & Joe. We paid our .50 to pass through the turnstile and cross-over into Mexico.

The first thing Paul noticed was the absence of the military. Last year the military had outposts at the border and on several street corners. There presence is no longer visible, and Rick mentioned they moved out of town last fall. Hopefully, that means they are no longer needed.

We feel very comfortable and safe while visiting this border town in Mexico. The people are very friendly, not too pushy, and seem happy to have us present and spending our American dollars. Marsha was looking for some Mexican tiles for her baskets. She did find one, but we'll continue to look next week when we return to Mexico for dentist appointments. We're going to get our 6-month teeth cleaning.

Typical street

If only we had space…wouldn't these just look lovely in the motor home?

We stopped at the pharmacy for some medicines. We wanted to get several “Z-packs” in case we get the cough that seems to be slowly spreading through the campground. Of course, with any medicine purchase you get a free margarita, so we moved next door for our drinks and to listen to the entertainment.

We sat for quite awhile because Joe decided to see the surgeon recommended by the pharmacist. He had a couple growths removed from his face. Luckily Angie is Hispanic and speaks fluent Spanish. She acted as his interpreter. She's been to this pharmacist many times in the past and was able to get a recommendation for a good doctor. Marsha took the camera and documented the entire surgery. She got a ton of close ups, but we won't gross you out with them. Isn't this what you always dreamed of…your surgery in photos.

Joe is alive and well. He looks great.

While we were waiting for Joe and having more than our free margarita, the entertainment started.

We have heard this guy several times. Actually, once in a while he hits the right notes…LOL. The girls decided they would liven everyone's visit by entertaining the crowd. They requested the Macarena. They were moving so fast, Paul couldn't get a clear picture. First time Marsha has danced in Mexico.

After Joe's surgery, we headed back to the border and our return to the U.S. We zipped right through customs and were headed home in no time. We stopped for lunch at one of Rick's favorite hamburger spots, Gonzales. They serve a half-pound cheeseburger that is huge. Marsha and I both brought half home for a later supper.

Another busy and enjoyable day spent in two countries!

Thursday, January 19 - Angie & Rick came over for dinner this evening to help with planning our upcoming summer travels. They have full-timed for over nine years and traveled extensively in California, Oregon and Washington, so are a good source on information of what to see and how to get there!

Rick brought over his computer with Streets & Trips software and convinced us to purchase the latest version. He has all the Points of Interest (POI) marked making it pretty nice for finding Elks Lodges, discount RV Parks, and other stops along our route.

We pretty much have our route planned, and we'll transfer it to my computer once I purchase Streets & Trips. I'll do a little “tweaking” and then post our travel plans in the near future.

After several hours of planning, Marsha served us a delicious Spaghetti Bake dinner complete with salad and garlic bread. What is it with RV'ers, trip planning, and food.....LOL

Check out the latest picture of Marsha's post eye surgery. She still has swelling below both eyes, but she is thrilled that she can see so clearly. Thanks to everyone for your prayers, best wishes, and emails. What a miracle!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

IT'S A WEDDING!

2012-01-16T22:04:00.002-06:00

Saturday, January 14 – Paul enjoyed the beautiful morning playing pickleball with several of his friends.

It was a perfect day....sunny, warm, and no wind. Since you play pickleball with a whiffleball the size of a baseball, wind is you enemy. If it's blowing more than a few miles per hour it becomes impossible to play.

We did something unusual today, especially since we are staying in a 55+ RV Park. We attended the wedding of friends, Luisa & Elmer.

We met them last year when we got involved in a remodeling project at Luisa's house (you can click here to read all about it). Elmer joined the work crew near the end of the project, met Luisa, dated for the past year, and are now married. Elmer is building a casita (a small house) here in Hidden Valley Ranch where they will be living once he is finished.

The wedding was held in Mission, TX at the Methodist Church. It was going to be a small family affair but grew as those things frequently do, into an event attended by about 50-60 family and friends. It was a fun event and the Bride & Groom appeared very happy.

BLOG UPDATE: Many readers commented with questions on how we like staying on a covered RV site. I worried at first we may not like it, and that we would have problems with out satellite TV and with Verizon internet service.

Well, after two weeks, I can report that we love it! The TV and internet are no problem. The roof keeps the MH clean and as an added and significant bonus, here in the frequently windy RGV, the roof protects us from the wind and especially keeps the slide-out awnings from flapping noisily in the wind!! This flapping drove us crazy at times last year!

Another plus is it keeps the coach warmer on cool mornings. Usually, I am unable to use the roof mounted heat pump if outside temperatures drop below about 43 degrees. Although an unusual occurrence here in the RGV, it happens. With the covered site I am still able to use the AC heat pump (it got down to 40 degrees Wednesday and it's running now!) instead of turning on that inefficient propane furnace!!!

We also have the use of a storage shed on our site and have found it indispensable. We park our bikes safely there, store chairs, the grill, and other supplies & equipment. Paul forgot how nice it was to have a barn for his “stuff.” Better get out of here quick before he starts accumulate too much “stuff.”......LOL

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN MISSION

2012-01-15T11:42:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, January 11 – We met in the activity center this evening for a game of Farkle.

We learned how to play this game last year while in the RGV and joined the gang for Wednesday Night Farkle. We had three tables full of Farklers (is that a word???) and enjoyed ourselves. The women kicked butt at our table winning all four games.....JEESH!!!

Friday, January 13 – We went to the dance tonight with our friends. There seems to be a dance about every weekend here at Leisure Valley or at the sister ranch, Hidden Valley. These two parks are actually connected and many times you aren't clear which park you are visiting.

The entertainment was a one-man-band, Jeff Gordon. He sang with computerized back-up music. It was mostly our favorite, country with a mixture of oldies but goodies. We had a great time Texas Two Stepping and doing the Texas Waltz, as well as “gettin' down” with some oldies.

Marsha (in the purple), Angie in middle, Rick on right.

Of course it wouldn't be a successful dance without Marsha winning something. She won a door-prize! A “Winter-Texan” t-shirt. Why can't she win the lottery.... :-)

We had a great time.

Speaking of T-Shirts......we received our Bourbon Trail t-shirts in the mail. If you visit all the Bourbon Distilleries in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and get your Passport Book stamped at their tour center, you receive a complimentary t-shirt. We are now “Official” Kentucky Bourbon tasters!!!

Thanks to our blogger friends, Jerry and Suzy, we now know the correct name for one of our bird pictures from our last blog. Being from Ohio, we were almost positive this was a Cardinal but weren't 100% sure.

Northern Cardinal

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

BENTSEN-RIO GRAND STATE PARK

2012-01-14T08:51:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, January 11 – Today we took a ride to Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park.

We wanted to hike/walk at the State Park. Serving as the headquarters of the World Birding Center Network, Bentsen SP is known worldwide as a hot spot for birding.

Elmer and his brother, Lloyd (father of Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Jr.) decided to save this grove of ebony trees and the surrounds 587.5 acres by donating it, in 1944, to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park opened in 1962.

With more than 760 acres of woodland and native gardens, not to mention hundreds of volunteer filled bird feeders, visitors can see hundreds of colorful bird species as well as other South Texas wildlife, such as bobcats and javelinas.

They have a small but information-filled nature center.

There is a tram that transports visitors throughout the park but looking for exercise, we chose to walk the entire four mile loop and the additional connecting trails through the park.

We really enjoyed the blinds built in several locations, where one can sit, open a trapdoor and watch the many birds visiting one of the feeders.

We know this isn't a bird, but the butterflies were plentiful.

We are certainly not “birders”, but it was an enjoyable morning seeing all the colorful birds. We think we have the names of some of the birds correct, but if you know the names of the birds photos not labeled, please let us know.

Chachalacas

Altamira Oriole

Green Jay

There is also a hawk tower where you can witness the amazing hawk migrations from a two-story observation deck.

We, unfortunately, did not see any hawks. They are common from the area of Ohio we were from, so we've enjoyed watching them soar overhead in the past.

It's sad to see how dry things are here in South Texas. By the looks of the vegetation one can understand the wild fires witnessed in parts of Texas last spring. This is a box of kindling just waiting to ignite. They need rain, lots of rain in Texas. Hopefully, it will wait until after we leave here on March 1 to start raining!

The Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is one of three State Parks that partnership with local city parks and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to create the World Birding Center.

The other two are Resaca De La Palma State Park and Estero Llano Grande State Park. All being part of the Texas State Park System accepting our Texas State Parks Pass, giving us free admission. This pass has really paid off for us this past year. We've more than covered the cost by getting into so many State Parks free.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

MEETING BLOGGER FRIENDS…UP CLOSE

2012-01-12T15:19:00.003-06:00

Tuesday, January 10 – We met up with fellow Winter Texans, Gayle and Jim, at a local restaurant today for lunch. We follow each other's blogs and since both of us were in Mission, TX, for the winter, we made arrangements to meet. What a wonderful couple. It's interesting how much one has in common with other full-timers. They are in their forth year of full-timing, similar in age, like hiking and biking, and are interested in photography. Jim, as a matter of fact, gave us some great suggestions in our search for a new camera.
They are staying a few miles down the road at Bentsen Palms RV Park. We hope to get together again before winding up our stay in the RGV.

Jim, Gayle, Marsha, Paul (Don't sit in front of a window and expect to get a good picture:( )

Each morning when we go to workout, we see HUGE flocks of birds flying around Mission. Yesterday on the way home from the gym, there must have been 1000's of birds flying near our campground. From a distance it appeared like smoke in the air, but upon closer inspection, it was birds heading for their feeding grounds here in the RGV.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

EXTENDED WARRANTIES…GOOD IDEA?

2012-01-11T08:44:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, January 10 – Paul has been talking with Rick, a friend here at Leisure Valley, about extended warranties for the motor home. Rick blew a turbo charger on his MH last summer in Oregon, and it was an expensive repair. Fortunately, he has an extended warranty and most of the cost was covered by the insurance company.

With a big trip planned for this summer to Oregon and Washington, Paul is considering purchasing an extended warranty for our MH. It's a long way and will be our first trip in the Rockies! We usually aren't interested in purchasing extended warranties, but one of Paul's biggest concerns while traveling is a major breakdown. If purchasing the extended warranty would increase his enjoyment of traveling the big mountains and beyond, it might be worth it.

What do you think? Do you have an extended warranty on your RV? Have you found them worth the expense? Are they comforting? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Hope you have a great day!

BACK TO THE '60s and '70s

2012-01-08T12:18:00.001-06:00

Friday, January 6 – .....We got all dressed in our hippie clothes tonight to attend the 60s/70s Dance at the Leisure Valley Ranch Activity Center. Our friends Lynn and Mike Murphy are the DJs, and we are going with a large group of friends we met last year.

Of course, Marsha volunteered us to be in charge of the popcorn machine. We arrived about 30 minutes early to get a supply of corn popped so it would be ready to go as people arrived. It's really not too big of a job. We only had to pop corn 2 or 3 times during the night. It's a self serve item, so all be had to do was watch when the popcorn was getting low and run over and put some more in the machine to pop.

Yes, that is our sign leaning against the machine. Marsha just thought it was a hoot to have a sign saying, "Make Love Not War."

We enjoyed dancing to the tunes from the past and visiting with many of the friends we made last year here in the Rio Grande Valley.

Carol, Angie, Marsha and Paul

We did make it to second place in the costume contest. We got beat out by Wilma & Fred Flintstone. They had an advantage over us. They own a lot here in Leisure Valley and had the hometown crowd supporting them. Here is a picture of the winners. Now you be the judge.

Marsha participated in the paddleball contest.

Guess what...she won! Here she is thanking the crowd for voting for her.

What a talented gal. Every holiday, Marsha buys those paddleball toys for the girls, and they laugh at her. I guess it's there responsibility to become experts, like their mom, and carry on the family tradition of winning a trophy for paddleball. Now where are we going to display this humungous trophy....LOL

For those of you who would like to read what is engraved…I mean…written on the trophy.

Paul entered the YoYo contest but was eliminated early. Being an expert Yo Yo competitor, he found it difficult to compete with the el cheapo YoYos picked-up at the Dollar Store. Guess he'll have to bring his championship YoYo to these Oldies Dances in the future......Ha Ha!!!

One of Paul's good friends is Mike, the DJ. They look like hippie brothers!!

The highlight of the evening was a spontaneous “sit-in” in the middle of the dance floor. The DJ's were shocked! “What are these darn senior citizen Hippies doing sitting in the middle of the dance floor?” The bouncers were called to break-up the peaceful demonstration. Paul remarked, “It's a good thing the bouncers came to help us up off the floor.”

The dance continued without further interruptions to the bewitching hour of 9:30 pm. After cleaning-up the Activity Center, it was time for all the old hippies to head home to bed!

Saturday, January 7 - After a bike ride around the RV Park this morning, we did a little house cleaning this morning. We decided to go through the basement of the MH and clean-out anything we haven't used in a while. They have park-wide garage sales here periodically, and we can sell off things we don't need. Surprisingly, we didn't find too much that we don't use. Now that's a shocker!!! We did put some things in the shed, and we did eliminate one plastic storage bin, but Paul thought we would be getting rid of much more than we did.

It was an amazing beautiful day. The temperature was in the low 80's, the sun was shining, there was no wind, and the sky was a beautiful blue. Marsha took advantage of the afternoon and relaxed in the sun. Paul met some guys and played Pickleball. If you're not familiar with Pickleball, it's like tennis for old farts. You play it with paddles similar to large ping pong paddles, a wiffle baseball, and a very small court (approximately 20 X 40 feet). Playing partners, you don't kill yourself and you get a good workout.

This evening, we went over to Angie & Rick's new house for happy hour. We helped them move into their beautiful new house just a week ago. They also invited two friends that just arrived yesterday. Thanks for a great time you two!

Joe, Jane, Angie, Rick

One thing for sure, there is never a dull moment here in the RV Park. If you want something to do, there is plenty of things to get involved in or you can just relax and enjoy the great weather.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

2012-01-04T08:11:00.001-06:00

Monday, January 2 – The Verizon installation man arrived as scheduled this afternoon to install a satellite dish on our covered RV pad. Due to the fact that we are parked under a roof for the first time, our automatic roof satellite dish will not connect to the signal, so we have to get a dish mounted on the shelter.

Let me tell you, if you are ever in a similar situation, don't try to explain to your satellite provider that you live full-time in an RV and you need a “temporary” dish installed. They just can't fathom that situation....LOL. We must have been passed between a half dozen different operators before we gave up. On advice of our new landlord, we finally called back and just told them we moved and need a dish installed on our new place.

They were so happy to have us as a customer in our new location, they easily set an appointment for an installer to attach the new dish at no charge. Our landlord wanted to keep the old Dish Network satellite for future renters, so he now has two dishes on the RV shelter, a Dish Network and a DirectTV Network dish. Future renters just need to connect the TV wire to which ever satellite service they need.

It was then time to sit back and watch the BCS Bowl games for the remainder of the day. We did pry ourselves out of our chairs for an evening walk around the park. We are enjoying nice weather with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the 50's. The orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit trees are doing awesome. They taste as good as they look!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!!

2012-01-02T06:11:00.001-06:00

Sunday, January 1 – We started the new year off by attending a great party at the clubhouse. Ken and Brenda did the entertaining for the evening. They are really good. They play one song after another. They only took one break from 8-midnight. The dance floor was packed most of the evening.

You may think this picture was taken around midnight. NOPE…it was only 8:15. And yes, that is a cork in his mouth.

We sat with our friends Angie, Rick, Susie and Chuck. We talked, laughed, ate, drank and basically just had a wonderful evening.

We thought we better get a picture early during the evening. We just don't know what we will look like after a few dances.

Just before midnight, we all chose our hats and our noise makers. We got a HUGE bottle of champagne to share with eight people. Fortunately for us, two people didn't drink any and two others only had half a glass. That left a ton for guess who?

Paul has a pumpkin head. When we put our hats on…well you can see how well his fit.

We all decided this one fit him much better…what a girl!

We are ready to start this new year with hopes of another great year. We wish you all a wonderful healthy and safe NEW YEAR!

Paul, Marsha, Rick, Angie

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

WE MADE IT TO MISSION….HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T00:36:00.001-06:00

Saturday, December 31

We wish all our family and friends and HEATHLY and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Friday, December 30 – We traveled to Mission, Texas, today. It is located in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas on the border with Mexico. We pulled out of the Houston Elks Club bright and early for our trip. We drove through fog the first three hours of the trip.

Our first stop was at Prasek's Smokehouse in Hillje, TX, about 60 miles south of Houston on Highway 59.

Paul read about this stop on Rudy & Linda's blog, Home Sweet RV. You can see their blog here: http://www.mytripjournal.com/HomeSweetRV2012 . Not only do they sell fresh meats but also numerous flavors of jerky, BBQ, and smoked meats.

There is a wonderful bakery selling pastries and kaloches, cookies, and strudels.

They have a HUGE aquarium, beautiful gift store and the walls had unique decorations.

So after grabbing a cup of coffee and some breakfast sandwiches, we continued toward south Texas. Paul did take a moment to check the oil in the front bearing hub. A leak was discovered during routine maintenance, and we decided to wait till arriving in Mission to get it repaired. We stopped every 90 minutes or so to check the oil level and add any oil if needed.

Now this isn't something you see everyday while driving down the highway.

This guy was going 60 MPH with FIVE dogs in the back and NO tailgate. We think he is crazy, but the dogs seemed to be having a wonderful time.

Even though Paul had to add a little oil on each stop, it wasn't excessive, and we arrived at our location in Hidden Valley Ranch, Mission, Texas, by mid-afternoon. We are parked on a covered RV site. The site is huge.

We have no one behind us.

Street views

This is the first time we've parked under a roof. It's nice to get the MH out of the weather, but it has created a challenge. We could not use our roof mounted satellite dish because the roof blocks the signal. So after several frustrating calls with Direct TV, our satellite provider, we are scheduled to have a new dish mounted on the side of the RV cover on Tuesday and at no cost! Unfortunately, that means no TV till then. Darn....we're going to miss the bowl games broadcast over New Year's weekend!

UPDATE ON SATELLITE: One of our friends, Rick Radosevic, came to the rescue. He came down Saturday afternoon and helped Paul get a signal on a temporary satellite dish that we borrowed from Norm Leech, another friend, so we can watch football this weekend. RV friends to the rescue!! Thanks guys!

Other than that one stumbling block, we have a great site and are anxious to relax in the nice weather and enjoy the next two months here in the Rio Grande Valley.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

MARSHA'S BACK IN HOUSTON…TIME TO ROLL

2011-12-29T20:47:00.001-06:00

Thursday, December 29 – Just a short blog to tell all our family and friends that Marsha arrived at Bush Airport 20 minutes early…WHAT…EARLY? Her plane touched down at 12:10 a.m. this morning. We gathered her luggage, drove home and talked for a short time. She was all wound up, but Paul was ready to hit the sack. Paul said…we can talk all you want tomorrow. Marsha…that will never happen!

A bit about Marsha's doctor appointment on Tuesday. The doctor was on vacation so she saw the nurse practitioner. Marsha said she was very nice. The NP looked at the stiches but told Marsha they all must dissolve on their own. She did help a couple along by cutting the knots off of them. Marsha expressed that she was very happy with her left eye and how much more open it is. What a difference it has made in her sight, but she was concerned about all the swelling in the right one. The NP assured Marsha that it may take up to THREE MONTHS before all the swelling is gone. The NP's only concern was the amount of swelling still below both eyes. She said the amount Marsha had was more than normal. She would discuss it with the doctor when he called in the morning. She explained that doctor would do one of three things…
1. Do nothing…but that was unlikely to happen.
2. Prescribe a diuretic…Marsha explained that she can never take those because she was only born with one kidney.
3. Prescribe a Medrol Pak…Marsha explained that she can only take a short term dosage…again due to her kidney.

The doctor did prescribe the Medrol Pak. She began them today. She should see results by tomorrow afternoon. She…of course…can not wait.

Her only restrictions for the next four weeks are no strenuous exercise, running or other activity. She can work out at a low-key level…no sit-ups, crunches are any head up and down activities. She is not to use any lotion or creams around her eyes. She said she can live with these.

Thursday evening picture.

We are off tomorrow morning for Mission, TX, our home base for the next two months. We spent last winter here and really enjoyed all the friends we made. We are looking forward to the warm weather, all the super activities, and seeing our friends again.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ANOTHER WONDERFUL, BLESSED CHRISTMAS

2011-12-27T09:03:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, December 27 – The Weavers and Wadsworths celebrated another glorious Christmas together.

The stockings were hung by the coffee table with care…and bulging with gifts. The extra little snowman stocking Santa left for Kelly's boyfriend, Dave.

It looks like a couple of girls were pretty good this year.

Before we opened gifts, we made a Skype call to Paul and Bella. It was a wonderful way to wish him a Merry Christmas. Marsha's dad had never heard of Skype and was just amazed the entire time we talked.

We showed you a picture with Carrie's favorite gift, the Kitchen Aid Mixer…here is Kelly's…

The girls gave us car mats for the front and back. A HUGE gift that we were going to purchase in Mission. They then gave Marsha several other wonderful gifts. THANKS again, girls, for the super gifts. Once Marsha and the girls opened gifts at dad's house, they headed for Rickie's house, Marsha's brother. They didn't have to go to far; his backyard butts up against dad's.

Marsha made baskets for everyone…those pictures will come in a future blog…but she also made one special gift for her sister, Stacie. Stacie was diagnosed with breast cancer just last November. She is only 40. Marsha's gift…a prayer shawl for comfort and hope for the future. Stacie was very happy to receive the gift.

Each year, we kids rack our brains trying to find something to get our dad for Christmas. Last year it was a new TV…this year a new tiller. Boy was he surprised and sooooooo happy to receive it. That should make putting in his garden this spring a little bit more enjoyable.

Marsha's Godchild and nephew, Keith, was so fired up to receive his gift from her.

Can you guess what is inside….remember he is only 30…

Great Lakes Christmas Ale. This is a beer locally brewed that only comes out for two weeks during the Christmas season. We never knew beer could cost so much!! But, Keith says it is the best gift he ever received…his standards aren't set very high.

We all received way more than what we deserved, but no one volunteered to give it back. Tons of food was consumed, and the traditional holiday photos were taken.

Carrie, Marsha and Kelly

From our family to yours….We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!!!

One last photo…an update on Marsha's progress. Each day the swelling goes down. She is still pretty bruised under her eyes, and even though you can't tell it from the photo, she has lots of stitches that haven't dissolved. She feel great and thanks everyone for their prayers and well wishes. She sees the doctor on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T01:34:00.001-06:00

Sunday, December 25

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

2011-12-20T19:57:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, December 20 – Warning…there are photos in this blog of Marsha's surgery. Hopefully they won't gross any of you out!

Marsha's surgery on Friday went very well. Hopefully, this will correct the problems that were beginning to affect her vision. She had to have both upper and lower lids corrected increasing the expose to the eye. Dr. Shah told her that after all the swelling goes down, her lids will be even. She should have 100% of her field of vision back. To say the least, she is thrilled! The surgery took a little over a hour and a half. Our sister-in-law, Chris, took Marsha to the hospital and brought her home. Chris works in recovery at one of the local hospitals and was able to ask the doctor all the right questions. Nice to have a nurse in the family!

This is what she looked like when she first arrived home. She looks terrible but HAD NO PAIN AT ALL!

She has to put cold compresses/frozen peas on her eyes every 20 min. on and 20 min. off. Her eyes were so swollen, and the stitches were very tight. These caused some discomfort, but no pain. She didn't take any Vicodin the first day. What a miracle.

One of the biggest challenges is sleeping. She must keep her head erect. No lying down or on her side. Her back is hurting from just sitting in the same position. She has to try to sleep in this position for at least a week.

This is one day after surgery.

On Sunday morning, she woke up to more swelling than she thought her face could take. Our daughter, Kelly, and Marsha's dad thought she might need to go to the emergency room. Before they did that, Marsha decided to do at least two rounds of compresses and her frozen peas. After the second 20 min., some of the swelling in the left eye started to go down. It continued to go down the rest of the day. It was the third day after surgery, and usually that is the worst day for her.

It is now Tuesday, and she is feeling much much better. Sleep is not coming easily to her. She does doze off and on all day. She isn't allowed to put any more ice on her eyes. Nature has to take over from here. She doesn't like it, but she isn't permitted to go to the gym or do any strenuous work for a couple of weeks. She has a follow-up appointment next Tuesday before flying back to Houston on Wednesday.

The latest picture. Getting better slowly.

Thanks so much for your prayers, best wishes and love. It surely helped with the surgery!

HAPPY HANUKKAH to all our dear Jewish friends!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

MOTOR HOME MAINTENANCE

2011-12-18T19:04:00.001-06:00

Thursday, December 15 – Paul had RV Mobile Lube of Houston out to the Elks Lodge RV Park this morning at 8 a.m. to change the motorhome oil, filter, and lubrication.

We've had this company before and you can read all about it HERE. We are very happy with their service and recommend them to anyone looking to have service done while in the Houston area.

While greasing of the chassis, the fellow looks everything over underneath the vehicle.

He found two items he called Paul's attention to that need further investigation. A minor one consisting of a wheel weight that is coming loose on the inside of a front tire. These are placed there when the tires are balanced. We were unable to remove it or hammer it back in place. The tire will have to be deflated for this and that's a job for a tire repair facility.

The other area needing attention is a little more serious. The last couple times we traveled, we noticed a propane smell when braking. We thought we had a propane leak and Paul sprayed soapy water on the lines but was unable to find a leak. He then searched on line and found a fellow that said to look for an oil leak dripping on the brakes. Sure enough, the service technician found it today. The seal on the front left tire bearing is leaking.

We filled the reservoir with bearing lube and will have to get this taken care of in the very near future.

We'll either find a front-end/suspension shop here in the Houston area to repair it or wait till we are in Mission, TX, to have the work completed. Paul knows what to watch and how to add additional oil if need.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

GOINGS ON IN TEXAS AND OHIO

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

Saturday, December 10 – Marsha is flying home to Ohio this morning for the holidays. With winter in full effect.....there could be SNOW in Ohio......so, Paul chose to hang out in Houston until Marsha returns.

Actually, Marsha has two reasons for returning to Ohio. Not only will she be sharing Christmas with her dad, brothers and sister and two daughters, but she will also be having eye surgery. As mentioned in a previous post, when we were in Ohio this fall for visits and doctor appointments, the doctor decided that her drooping eyelids were now affecting her vision. Unfortunately, insurance approval took time so surgery was scheduled to coincide with her holiday visit. She will be going “under the knife” on December 16, so keep her in your prayers.

This morning, Marsha will be flying out of Bush International Airport and arriving in Akron/Canton Airport later this afternoon. The plane was right on time.

What a GREAT day to fly!

OH NO…the GREAT day didn't last long. This is what it looked like when she was approaching Chicago…YUCK!

Chicago is beautiful from the air.

But good-old Ohio pulled through…clear skies, no snow.

Our daughter, Kelly, will be there to greet her. Carrie will fly to Ohio later in the month to join the family for Christmas. It should be a very enjoyable Christmas for the gals!

On Friday, we exchanged Christmas gifts. Marsha won't post her picture because she is too self-conscience about her eyes. But Paul is a gamer. He finally asked and received a gift from Marsha that the kids and Marsha have been bugging him about…A BIKE HELMET!!!

He had to check out how well it would protect his head.

Tuesday, December 13 – We recently received a recall notice for our new Honda CRV. It involves a needed computer adjustment necessary for improved fuel economy. We are currently getting about 25 mpg so any improvement would be a bonus. Called Gillman Honda, located about a mile from the Elks Lodge where we are parked, and they were able to get me in the first thing this morning. Paul will wait around the dealership while adjustments are completed.

The Service Recall only took about 30 minutes and Paul was on his way. He really liked the way this dealership service area was arranged. Drive-up entry where the information is written up.

They have a nice waiting room with coffee and free popcorn and newspapers, and a large window over-looking the service area so you can watch the progress and servicing of your vehicle.

Our car is on the right in the forefront.

They also do a free multipoint inspection and have a free exterior car wash. Nice!

Back in Ohio…Marsha is busy visiting family, friends, baking cookies and shopping. She did all her pretesting on Tuesday. EKG, blood work, blood pressure, etc. all came back good. She won't know what time surgery will be until Thursday. She does know she needs to be there two hours before the surgery. The surgery takes about two and a half hours and recovery about two. Our sister-in-law, Chris, will take her and pick her up. This way if the weather is bad Marsha's dad doesn't have to drive. The nurse made the strangest request. She told Marsha to purchase two bags of frozen peas. She explained that the package of peas would conform to the shape of her eyes much better than an ice pack. She is all set and really looking forward to getting her eyes done.

This will probably be our last post until she is feeling better. So until then, we wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HANUKKAH.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr IT's COLD IN HOUSTON!!!!!

2011-12-07T22:10:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, December 7 – With the temperatures dipping to the low 30's overnight and the daytime temperatures struggling to get over 50 degrees, it's time to break out the Vanguard Blue Flame propane heater. We store this in the basement of the motor home during the warmer times of the year.

We run the overhead electric heat pump (part of our air conditioner) when we can, but once the temperatures drop below 40* it isn't very efficient. We prefer the electric heater because here at the Elks Lodge the electric service is figured into you $325 monthly rent. FREE electric!!!

This is how Paul and Bella stay warm in the morning. (Taken before we hooked up the Blue Flame heater).

RV furnaces are very inefficient and don't really put our enough heat. I've heard of RV'ers going through a whole tank of propane in a matter of days using the RV furnace. Our Blue Flame heater is VERY efficient. I think we only filled our propane tank twice last winter (of course we try to stay where temperatures don't drop too low).

These Blue Flame heaters are ventless, so one must be aware of the danger of fumes. It is recommended you crack open a window when using the ventless heaters. As a rule, we NEVER sleep with the ventless heater running. Paul is an early riser, so he turns it on in the morning before Marsha get out of bed. It's nice and toasty by the time Marsha is ready to greet the world.

If you're an RV'er and haven't check out the Blue Flame heaters, we recommend them and suggest to check them out as an economical alternative to the typical RV furnace.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

SOME EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFTS COME TO CARRIE

2011-12-07T06:17:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, December 6 – Well the darn cold air from California has hit us. It is suppose to get down to 38 tonight.

As you can see, it is cold in places where it should be warm and warm in some places that shouldn't be enjoying our warmth.

We spent Marsha's last Saturday here with our daughter, Carrie. The girls spent a couple of hours decorating the house. Carrie has a HUGE Christmas Extravaganza this coming Saturday.

Two of Carrie's Christmas packages were too big for Marsha to take back to Ohio, so we celebrated an abbreviated "gift opening" celebration. Boy was Carrie surprised this year. Her first gift was from Paul.

What is that she is holding? A Virginia Tech Hokie Bird. It is a wind spinner. Here is a close up.

Her second gift was a real surprise to her.

She has asked several times for a Kitchen Aid mixer but knew it was too expensive a gift. BUT…when we were in Foley, AL, they have a great outlet mall. One of the stores is Kitchen Collection. They carry Kitchen Aid refurbished commercial mixers. They were only used once in a kitchen demonstration and then sent back to the factory for refurbishing. Well, if we were ever going to get one for her, it had to be now. The price was very good; the result PRICELESS!

Saturday evening we watched the Hokies play one of the most miserable games we have ever seen them play. Oh how painful it was to watch Clemson run all over them. VT was differently out coached!

After the loss, VT dropped from 5th to 11th in the BSC standing. Now here is the BIGGEST shocker of them all. Virginia Tech was picked to play in the Sugar Bowl against Michigan on January 3. When they made the announcement on ESPN, needless to say, a couple of the announcers were not very happy. Several higher ranked teams were overlooked. We can only speculate why they got chosen, but we are thrilled they did. They better not blow it this time!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ROONEYISMS

2011-12-03T07:18:00.001-06:00

Friday, December 2 – The weather has been beautiful here in Houston, BUT we are in for a big change. It is suppose to get down into the 30s beginning on Monday….BURRRRR!

If you like Andy Rooney or not, he had a gift of saying so much with so few words. If you will take the time to read these. I promise you'll come away with an enlightened perspective. The subjects covered affect us all on a daily basis. Hope you enjoy these.

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned.... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I 've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile..

I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned..... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned..... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

BELLA IS EATING AGAIN…YEA!

2011-11-30T09:15:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, November 29 – Yes it does get cold here in Houston. Look…

Even though it does read 34.6 at 7:00 a.m., by 10 it is up to 60. The last few days the mornings have been down right cold, but the days are sunny and warm. Got to love this weather!

Sometimes we just can't pass up a "You got to be kidding' me!" moment. What you don't see is four rusty water heaters in the front of this mess. Can you tell where this guy is headed?

Thank you to all who wished us well with Bella. Well finally, after almost 30 hours of not eating, she broke down and inhaled her food. We are so happy. We put the medicine on her afternoon food. She lets it sit there until she finally can't stand the hungry pains and eats it around 6. Since she isn't eating as much, we now only feed her twice a day.

It is that time of the year again. Marsha loves decorating. With limited space, she does her best to bring the Christmas spirit into the motorhome.

Paul, Kelly, Carrie, Marsha

Yes, she also decorates the outside…sort of.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

POOR LITTLE BELLA

2011-11-28T06:32:00.001-06:00

Sunday, November 27 – We noticed last Tuesday a hunk of Bella's hair on the chair. We had no idea how it got there. Just a short time later, Marsha saw Bella biting her backside and pulling the hair out. She tried to stop her but Bella was determined to bite herself. We put Hartline Flea meds on her each month and couldn't believe she had fleas. We decided to run to the store and grab a flea collar and flea powder. Come Friday, we noticed she had more hair missing and almost two bald spots on her backside. Time to get aggressive.

Paul asked a couple who live her to recommend a Veterinarian. They HIGHLY recommend Cambridge Post Oak Animal Clinic and Dr. Jacob. Paul called, and they got us in first thing on Saturday morning. We loaded up the little girl in the car. She isn't quiet sure what it going on.

Dr. Jacob and his assistant were WONDERFU! He did all the necessary steps to eliminate certain problems.

Now Bella wasn't too excited about this part of the exam. She was very touchy!

The Doctor showed us how dry her skin is and how flaky it is. No fleas found anywhere.

He said he believes she has some sort of allergy, and it is giving her very dry skin. He gave her and injection and an Omega-3 fatty acid supplement called Aller G-3 to put on her food once a day. We were so happy with the service. They were both very professional and wonderful to Bella.

Now that we are home, it looks like someone is hungry.

Well, the good news is the injection did the job. She is no longer biting herself, BUT she won't eat the food. We put only 1/2 squirt on the food, but she smells it and walks away. We just add some new food to the old and are waiting for her to get hungry enough to eat. She hasn't touched the food since lunch yesterday. Any one have this same problem with your pet? How did you get them to eat the food? The Vet said it would take a few weeks for the supplement to show a much shinier coat.

Today is Virginia Tech's last regular football game against arch rival Virginia. The football watch party was held at Sawyer's Sports Bar. We had front seats for the big screen TV. Here is just part of the crew ready to cheer VT onto VICTORY!

VT gets on the scoreboard first. 7-0.

YEA! Another touchdown. 14-0

VT went on to scores three more touchdowns and a field goal to win 38-0. VT won their division of the ACC. They now will play Clemson next Saturday night for the ACC Championship.

Thanks for inviting us, Carrie. We had a super time.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ANOTHER WONDERFUL THANKFUL THANKSGIVING

2011-11-26T11:20:00.001-06:00

Saturday, November 26 – Another wonderful, fun-filled Thanksgiving. While Carrie and Marsha were hard at work in the kitchen, the boys played Corn Hole in the driveway. This is Carrie's one roommate, Nick, and Paul, showing off his great tossing form. After both teams had to go back to 11 seven different times, Paul's team finally hit 21 on the nose.

Is this considered "too many cooks in the kitchen?"

We actually had two turkeys this year. The first one was smoked…we won't go into the why Carrie had to run out an buy another turkey…on Thanksgiving morning at that. Let's just say it had to do with the smoker, a little grease flame-up and very dry grass. Although most of the turkey could be saved (only lost the wings), it was VERY YUMMMMMY! Darn near burned the house down too….YIKES!!! This was a smoker, outside, – not a deep fryer!

Carrie cooked the second turkey the traditional way. She does not put the stuffing in her bird, but does put lots of yummy vegetables in to give it a delicious taste.

Here is our hostess waiting for her guests.

Everyone brought awesome food, drinks and laughter to the Thanksgiving table.

What a wonderful group of young adults. We play the role of their mom and dad each Thanksgiving.

It is a tradition that Nick and Paul serve on the dish-washing crew.

Hope your Thanksgiving was a delightful as our was.

On Saturday, Carrie and Marsha did their marathon cookie baking. They started at 10 and finished at 3. They worked nonstop baking such favorite cookies as Chocolate Chip, cut-outs, Magic Bars, Funfetti, etc. Paul's favorite is the Ruglach. We made three batches of these.

Paul asks, "How can I help?" In unison, Carrie and Marsha respond, "Wash the dishes." Our wish is his command. Look how happy he is to help out!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

2011-11-24T06:24:00.001-06:00

Thursday, November 24 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! – We have so much to be thankful for this year. We have been so Blessed with a wonderful family, great health and the ability to travel.

Our wish is that you and your family have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

MOSLEY PARK…THE EDIBLE PARK

2011-11-22T19:06:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, November 22 – We spent most of our weekend with our daughter, Carrie. We did some outlet mall shopping on Saturday and watched a ton of great college football games. On Sunday, Carrie came down and watched the Cleveland Browns WIN.

We do most of our shopping in an area known as Missouri City. It is a newer area of Houston with every store imaginable. When driving there, we pass a walking park, Mosley Park. This 3.08-acre park is on the sloping banks of Oyster Creek. The park includes picnic facilities and parking surrounded by glorious pecan trees for a picture perfect setting. This trail is a head location for the Oyster Creek Jogging Trail. There is parking available, as well as an excellent opportunity for fishing.

The region’s first Edible Arbor Trail is located in Mosley Park. It features groves of newly planted hardy trees and shrubs that will produce edible fruits and nuts. The unique environmental project includes educational signage detailing tree facts and displaying sponsor logos. Ultimately, it will give visitors a chance to experience and taste nature.The Trail was just dedicated on November 10.

This was a new one on us…Mexican Persimmon.

Well, it seems me made a huge mistake in our last blog. Thank you to all who just ignored our ignorance and read on. BUT, our daughter, Carrie who lives in Houston, caught the mistake. We both can't believe that we didn't catch it. What was the mistake you ask? When we showed the picture of the traffic, we miss labeled the outer loop as I-610. It is really the Sam Houston Toll Road. That makes the inner loop I-610. So sorry for leading you astray!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…TRAFFIC!

2011-11-19T07:30:00.001-06:00

Friday, November 18 - Sure glad we are heading South on 59 and not North into Houston. We witness this scene every morning as we head down 59 to workout at Anytime Fitness. These poor commuters are still about 15 miles from the city just creeping along and frequently stopped in traffic. Each side of the highway is SIX lanes wide. Just crazy!

We get a kick out of watching the morning traffic report. Almost every morning there are extreme delays. We are talking up to a TWO hour delay getting into Houston.

Here are two maps showing the traffic this morning. This one shows all the real-time accidents. The big green circle is I-610. The inner circle is I-10. It is only 6:30 in the morning. Rush hour goes on until 9:30 a.m.

Same time of the morning but this one also shows road work. Put those minus signs (accidents) + the road work signs = A MESS. Actually this morning was rather quiet.

Marsha can publish one of her Christmas gifts. This pine needle cracker basket is for someone who does not read the blog, because she DOESN'T have a computer….what? (I thought everyone had a computer of some sort.) This is Marsha's first attempt to put handles on a basket. Those are walnut slices in the handles. She did not use her nice new long needles. If you look closely, you can see on the rear-side, at the very top the gold "special" pine needle that she got from the sapling that went to the moon. She is pretty happy with her final product.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

MURPHY'S LAW…AND ALL HIS COUSINS

2011-11-14T22:18:00.001-06:00

Monday, November 14 - We don't post things like this, but this just hit home so hard we thought we would share it. All 19 have happened to one of us on more than one occasion. No. 11 just happened to us this past Sunday in church…no less. (Side note: We don't have big bellies or long legs, thank you very much! We sat in the aisle seat. You will see that we mean when you read #11.) Can you relate to any of them?

1. Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

2. Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3.Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4. Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

6. Variation Law- If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.

7.Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

8. Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

9. Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

10.Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

11.Law of the Theater & Hockey Arena - At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle, always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very surly folk.

12.The Coffee Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

13. Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only 2 people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

14.Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.

15. Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

16. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

17. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking - A closed mouth gathers no feet.

18. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

19. Doctors' Law - If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better.. But don't make an appointment, and you'll stay sick.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

HOUSE CLEANING DONE…BACK TO HAVING FUN!

2011-11-13T21:55:00.001-06:00

Saturday, November 12 – With all the house cleaning chores completed, we picked up Carrie and her friend, Greg, and headed to the Offshore Drilling Museum in Galveston, TX.

It was nice to have Greg along, because he worked on drilling rigs in the past, and he was able to add background information to our visit. The museum is located in downtown Galveston, a short distance up from the cruise ship ports.

There were two ships in port and one sailed while we were there to watch. We were also lucky to see a drilling rig being towed out to sea while at the museum. Amazing!!!

The Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig is a retired jack-up drilling platform. A jack-up rig is a mobile offshore drilling unit with three or more long legs that can be jacked down to make contact with the sea floor. When the legs are set jacking continues until the entire hull of the rig is out of the water (usually at least 25 ft.) The Ocean Star was built in 1969 in Beaumont, Texas for the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODECO) fleet. It had quarters for 49 persons. It operated in up to 173 feet of water and was designed to drill a well to 25,000 feet.

The Museum features three floors of educational and interactive displays illustrating the story of offshore oil and gas exploration. One is able to walk through this production platform and explore the systems used in off-shore drilling. The museum is a self-guided facility. There are numerous models of the different types of off-shore rigs. The size of these huge rigs is staggering.

Shell's Bullwinkle jacket platform is 1,751 feet tall, and sits in 1,353 feet of water off the coast of Louisiana. The platform's legs are 10 feet in diameter, and the base cover 4.5 acres of seafloor. Twenty-eight piles, driven as deep as 400 feet into the seabed. The platform has 38,000 sq. ft. of deck area and a jacket constructed from 77,000 tons of steel.

The cost of these rigs and the servicing equipment needed to keep these rigs in production is unbelievable. It can easily exceed a million dollars per day!

Wearing atmospheric diving suits, divers can safely descend to 2300 ft. and work for extended periods. Powerful manipulator claws and specially built automatic wrenches, cutters and grinders give divers what they need to perform hundreds of deepwater installation and repair tasks.

A diver actually gets inside this thing.

Look how big it is compared to Carrie.

Pigs are devices that service pipelines. They pass through the pipeline to clean, to repair, or to inspect it. Pigs are entirely soft rubber, or are equipped with soft rubber rings that seal against the inside of the pipe. The seals make a slight oinking sound as they slide along—hence the name "pig."

After a leisurely tour inside the museum, which is located in the “housing” portion of the platform, we walked outside and experienced what is is like to stand on the drill floor of an off-shore rig.

You can visit the pipe deck, work the controls the driller uses to operate the drilling equipment, see the bits and other equipment used in drilling and roam throughout the three story drilling platform.

The traveling block lifts the load of the drill pipe during drilling operations.

An escape capsule, or pod, is the lifeboat of an offshore rig. Twenty-eight crew members could fit inside this escape pod and be lowered over the side of the rig. They are equipped with a two-way radio, safety gear, first aid supplies, water and a cooling system that pumps seawater over the pod until the crew inside can be retrieved.

This rig is so big; we look like midgets.

But it wasn't all play. Look at how dirty we got just walking around.

This is a great museum for only $5 for seniors. We learned so much about offshore drilling. Greg did an excellent job of filling in the gaps. Thanks Greg.

After our three and a half hours in the museum, it was time to treat ourselves to some delicious Galveston Island sea food. We headed over to the popular Strand Blvd. and the famous Black Pearl Oyster Bar.

We chose four dishes to share among the group. Paul was anxious to try Oysters on the half shell; Greg chose Alligator; Carrie selected the Cajun Shrimp; and Marsha the Boudin Balls. What a seafood feast! We all enjoyed sharing the different dishes.

We all had our favorites but the raw oysters were surprising enjoyed by all.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

FALL CLEANING

2011-11-10T22:10:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, November 8 – Day two of Fall Cleaning continued, that summed up our day. We jumped right into cleaning, after our morning workout. Marsha was scrubbing the kitchen area, and Paul was giving the woodwork a once over with Murphy's Oil.

He also was instructed to clean the vents under the refrigerator…Her wish is my command.

Of course, Bella wasn't about to move out of “her spot” on the sunny dashboard. That's OK, Marsha will just clean around you, Bella!

All the appliances were scrubbed, the stainless steel polished, the carpets swept, extra good, and the tile floor scrubbed. Oh, don't forget the windows, the TV's, computer screens, and all those dashboard electronics. The inside is sparkling clean and germ free…as much as possible.

Wednesday, November 9 – A miracle occurred here in Houston…RAIN! What a storm we had. It lasted several hours but only hours after it stopped there was no sign that it even happened.

Paul took advantage of the sunny weather to get back up on the roof to add some Dicor Roof Treatment to some "iffy" areas on our fiberglass roof. Don't want any leaks this winter.

Marsha has been diligently working on her pine needle baskets. She has one more basket to complete, and she will have all her Christmas gifts completed. She will share some pictures later. Some of the baskets are for people who follow our blog. Don't want to ruin any one's surprise.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

GIANT PRESIDENTIAL HEADS

2011-11-08T21:51:00.001-06:00

Monday, November 7 – Paul climbed on the roof of the motorhome this morning and gave it a good scrubbing. It's amazing how dirty it gets.....you would think the rain would wash it off!

Our roof is fiberglass and looks to be in good shape. Paul is going to put some protective sealer on tomorrow. It wouldn't be such a bad job if it wasn't for the fact that all that dirt and dirty water washes down the sides of the MH, and now he'll need to wash the entire thing in the near future. He actually chose to do it today because there is a chance of rain tomorrow, and he may have needed to wash off all the rain splatter and spots anyway.

While Paul was on the roof, Marsha began her fall house cleaning inside the MH. She gave the bedroom and bathroom a through cleaning. Tomorrow we'll clean the front half and scrub the tile floor covering. With that finished, we should be all set for winter.

Happy Birthday to Marsha's dad, Fred!

FLASHBACK TO SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Well here is something you don't see every day a…Pedal Party Bar. The bike holds up to 16 party goers, (that’s 15 seated and one standing in the middle as ‘Your Bartender’) . Physically, its about the size of a cargo van and travels at an average speed of between 5 and 8 miles per hour. The Pedal Party is rented on an hourly basis. Just to give you an idea of the cost…For 2-3 hours Sunday – Thursday, $160/hour; Friday & Saturday, $190/hour.

As we were driving back to Carrie's house, we stopped at David Adickes SculpturWorx Studio at 2500 Summer St. Houston, TX 77246. We were here a year ago and just can't get over these HUGE statues. Mr. Adickes has a degree in math and physics, but pursued art and studied in France. David Adickes art has been featured in many one man shows across the United States and in France. At his studio, he has on display 43 presidential heads, The Beatles, and we aren't exactly sure what his newest figure represents. We know it is a woman.

When we were here last year, the gate was unlocked. Today, we had to take some of the pictures through the fence. We couldn't get all the presidents or special people. Maybe next time.

Do you know who this is? Hint…NOT a president.

Now, you should get these two correct.

Now it gets a bit more difficult.

You probably can name the guy at the left edge, but what about the rest?

This is Marsha's favorite President of all time!

If you are in the Houston area, don't miss this attraction. It is awesome.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

JUST IN TIME FOR THOSE HOLIDAY FEASTS!!!

2011-11-06T11:49:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, November 2 – We joined Anytime Fitness and had our first workout session this morning.

We belonged to a health club before becoming full-time RV'ers and have missed the workouts. Since we will be here for two months and in the Rio Grande Valley (RVG) for the next two months, we decided to take advantage of Anytime Fitness locations it both areas. Actually, Anytime Fitness has 1600 locations throughout the USA, so we hope to find workout locations often during our travels. We pay on a monthly basis, so we can put our membership on hold if we have trouble finding a convenient locations to workout during our travels.

Although we keep pretty active with hikes and bike riding, it's been awhile since either of us did any weight training or elliptical training, so we'll see how sore we are tomorrow. We are off to a good start so there is no stopping now!

Friday, November 4 – We got up and ready to work out. We were met with this…

YES…that is frost. Amazing, because just four hours later, we were in the the 80s. Just a fluke for this time of year. The weather has been awesome.

Saturday, November 5 - We met up with our daughter, Carrie, this morning to catch up on her life and enjoy some college football games. She recently returned from Bogota, Columbia, and had some gifts for us. Thanks sweetie! She gave mom a beautiful necklace, ear rings, and bracelet, and for dad she had a sample of fresh ground Colombian coffee. She also gave us a nice Christmas ornament to hang on our tree.

Our first stop of the day was to find a Western shirt we could wear at a RESONSABLE price. Carrie said she knew of this really cool resale store called…

Paul and I looked at each and thought…sure we will find a shirt in here!

Well, to our amazement Paul bought TWO shirts and Marsha one. How does that saying go…Don't judge a book by its cover…or in other words….don't judge a store by its name.

We did find a few thousand things we could live without.

Now why exactly would be need this?

We went to one of the many sports bars on Washington Street in Houston to watch the game and enjoy each others' company. One of Carrie's favorite places is Tapps.

Being such a competitive family, of course, we had to mix in several games of corn hole. Paul won the first two games, and Carrie the second. Marsha complained that her RED bags were so flimsy…of course due to this she ended up in last the first game. Well, Paul had heard enough. He switched bags with her to prove it wasn't the bag. You guessed it…Paul came in last the last game. Could it be the RED bags?

What form…

It's so nice to be able to enjoy the outdoors in shorts and t-shirts in November...ahhhhh!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

HOME SWEET HOME…FOR AT LEAST NOW

2011-11-03T22:04:00.001-05:00

Monday, October 31 – After a little research on the Escapees' Forum about where to go for our annual state inspection, we ended up going back to Harrison Body Shop in Livingston, TX, the same place we had our inspection done two years ago. We arrived about 8:30 a.m. and moved right in for the inspection. Everything was up to snuff, and we got stickers for the motor home and our car. The tech even remembered to warn us about the dip between the driveway and the street that many motor homes get hung-up on and end up scraping bottom. They have two other exists and if you use them, you shouldn't have a problem.

After our inspection we headed over to the welcome center to hook-up the toad and head to Houston. Once again, even though there was some traffic, and we were driving in the fourth most populous city in the nation, we easily sailed through the city on Route 59 to the Houston Elks Lodge located in Stafford, TX, (just on the southern out-skirts of the city). The camp sites at the Elks are all full, but luckily they have two gravel sites on the end we can use until one of the concrete pads open-up.

We talked to Matt, who we met the last time here, and he said he was pulling-out tonight after work. We would be able to move into his site....this is the site we normally have when staying here. He pulled out just as it was getting dark, so we parked our car in the spot until morning. We'll move over there first thing tomorrow.

So we are in our “home port” until after the holidays. If you're passing through Houston on your way to warmer climates, stop and say hello!

Our site at the Elks.

Bella always enjoys herself when we are here. This time the is a pile of limbs close to our spot. She has taken it upon herself to clear out any moles, chipmunks or anything else smaller than her.

Here is her watch and wait pose.

Her sneak attack approach.

Her…I've had a long, hard day position.

We are sorry to report that she hasn't caught a dang thing…YET!

Just incase you are interested, here are some facts and figures about Houston…

The Houston Metro Area covers 8,778 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Massachusetts but larger than New Jersey.

Founded in 1836, the City of Houston has a 2010 population of 2.1 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau -- www.census.gov. Houston's population in 1850 was listed as 2,396.

The metro area's population of 5.95 million in 2010 is 6th largest among U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, according to www.census.gov, and a 26% increase since 2000.

If Houston were an independent nation, it would rank as the world's 30th largest economy

More interesting facts in the following blogs. All information is taken directly from the The City of Houston Official Site for Houston, Texas.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you back real soon. Have a great day!

NATIONAL NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM

2011-10-30T09:21:00.001-05:00

Saturday, October 29 – We headed out early this morning bound for Kinder, LA, and the Coushatta Casino RV Park. After about three and a half hours of driving, we filled up at the Indian Casino gas station for $3.58, the lowest diesel price we've seen in quite awhile. We then pulled back to the campground only to find out they are FULL. What the heck! That's never happened to us before. The reason, we found out, is this weekend is the Annual Coushatta Pow Wow.

Well, we considered dry camping in the casino parking lot, but we wanted to watch some NCAA football and didn't want to run the generator for hours. So, we headed down the road to our next intended stop, Livingston, TX, and the Escapees Rainbow's End campground. That made for an eight hour driving day, which is way more than we like to drive in one day. We were on back roads and there just wasn't anywhere to stop.

We settled into site #68, and will be here until Monday morning so we can get our annual inspection stickers for the MH and Honda. We walked around the park to see what's happening. We ran into our friends, Marc & Joyce. The place is fairly crowded. I guess people are on the move to the South to avoid those cold temperatures.

As promised two blogs ago…After the air show, we headed across the parking lot from the Flight Line to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Again FREE admission and an amazing museum. There is so much to see, it is impossible to see in one day. The hundreds of aircraft on display have all been restored to original condition.

Fat Albert

Looking down at one section of the Museum.

There's just about every naval aircraft ever flown in combat, aircraft you can sit in for a picture, flight simulators, a huge display of aircraft carriers, and so much more.

The Navy/Curtiss Aircraft was designed during WWI as antisubmarine aircraft. It was a long-range patrol flying boat. The wing span 126'; length 68'; height 24'; max speed of 85 mph.

One of the most amazing displays is the Blue Angel Atrium where four jets used by the Blue Angels are suspended from the ceiling flying in their famous close formation. You get to see up close that eighteen inch separation of formation flying they are so famous for.

PB2Y-5R Coronado was outfitted as a flag transport and shuttled high-ranking officers. In August 1945, the aircraft and its crew flew to Guam, the forward headquarters for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, and soon embarked Nimitz's deputy, Rear Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, for the flight to Tokyo Bay to attend the formal surrender ceremonies ending World War II.

Coronado is the HUGE one.

The World's First Operational Jet-Powered Fighter…Me-262 which flew in 1942. Tope speed 540 mph.

"Long-nose" version of the F11F Tiger that was flown by the Blue Angels during the period 1959-1958. It was the last Grumman-build aircraft flown by the famed U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron.

Treasures of Lake Michigan…a stunning underwater recreation of salvaging aircraft found in Lake Michigan. Using special lighting, they made the planes look like they were still underwater. Just an excellent display!

With its distinctive green and white paint scheme, the latter color on top of the aircraft applied originally to early model helicopters to make the occupants cooler in the days before air-conditioned compartments, the helicopters that fly as “Marine One” are among the most famous aircraft in the entire world.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to employ an airplane for travel while in office, the use of a helicopter for short-distance travel first occurring when President Dwight D. Eisenhower climbed aboard a Bell UH-13J Sioux with its “fishbowl” cockpit for a flight in 1957.

This VH-3A served during the presidencies of Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.

On 1 May 2003, the aircraft made history when President George W. Bush was a passenger during a carrier arrested landing on board the flattop. In so doing he became the first sitting chief executive to trap on board an aircraft carrier. As is customary, during the time President Bush was aboard the aircraft, it was known as "Navy 1."

Of course, we all remember the famous banner that was his back drop onboard the ship.

The Navy's Last Flying Boat…SP-5B Marlin. Its height is over 32' and wingspan of some 118' entered service in 1952. In addition to antisubmarine warfare missions, SP-5B marlins supported Operation Market Time, monitoring shipping traffic in the water off South Vietnam.

Can you find Marsha in this picture?

There is just so much to see in this museum that Marsha couldn't snap the pictures fast enough. If you are EVER in this area, this is a MUST see! Remember it is all FREE!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

CLOUDS…WHO CARES?

2011-10-28T18:06:00.001-05:00

Thursday, October 27 – Soaking up more sun on the beach! We tried to get Bella (our cat) to give it a try.....nothing doing! She was scared to death and wanted to go back home...NOW! She prefers to sit in the window of the MH and watch the ocean from there.....scare-dee cat!

She wasn't sure of the sand.

This is the closest we could get her to the water.

We had a friend that joined us for most of the day. He entertained us with a dance every so often.

We try to sample local cuisine in the different areas we visit, so while at the beach we decided to go out for a local fish dinner. Marsha Googled for the best seafood restaurants in Bay St. Louis, and we chose CUZ'S Seafood Restaurant. This is a family owned establishment. They specialize in fresh fish, shrimp, crawfish, crabs, oysters, gumbo, and over-stuffed po'boys. Paul had the Trout basket, and Marsha enjoyed the Shrimp basket. Both were delicious.

Friday, October 28 – With the sun coming up over the water,

it appeared to be another gorgeous day.

Hold on…what is this? Threating skies?

Fine, we will make the best of it. So what does one do on an overcast day…clean pine needles, of course.

We cleaned 2,000 pine needles just in a short hour and half. Although we cleaned 6,600 needles. Now each pine needle actually contains three needles. So Marsha has some 21,000 needles at an average of 16" each to make her future baskets. She is in heaven…but…she now has to wash them all and let them dry for at least two months. Wonder if she can hold out?

We took another ride today along the water to see how progress is going after the last hurricane and the big tropical storm they had last month. Looks like they are getting some of the beaches back in shape.

Yesterday we saw a little restaurant called da Little Café. It claims to have New Orleans style Beignets. We said, "What the heck let's give it a shot." WOW…they are in every way as good and just MAYBE better than the ones we had at the famous Cafe Du Monde in the French Market. We each had one of their loaded hot dogs…excellent!

Since this is our last day in Bay St. Louis, we decided to see if we could break even on our initial investment of $20 each at the casino. Our final total…Marsha $31.73; Paul $1.67. Not too bad for three days of sun and fun!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

ALONE ON THE BEACH

2011-10-27T09:31:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, October 26 – After a nice three hour drive, we arrived in Bay St. Louis, MS. We are staying at the Silver Slipper Casino Campground. They now call it Beachfront RV Park. We've stayed here in the past. It is located right across the street from the beach. We are approximately 150 feet from the water.

Looking at the rest of the park. Not too many here yet but Earl, Security Guard, told us they are filling up for the weekend.

Our trip through downtown Mobile was uneventful. Paul was a little nervous remembering the tunnel under Mobile Bay that we had to travel. Guess he's getting more confident driving the MH in traffic and through tunnels. He commented that it was easy.

We did have a minor scare. Our GPS directed us down a road toward our final destination when suddenly Paul went crazy. There was a railroad crossing directly in front of us that was impassable.

We would have definitely dragged bottom and probably gotten stuck. Look what happened to others who tried.

We should have known trouble was ahead when we saw this sign.

We stopped and unhooked our car. We backed into a nearby fire station to turn around. A neighbor lady came out and said that crossing has been the scene of many mishaps. Trucks get grounded there frequently, she informed us. They have to block the road, stop trains, and tow the trucks off the tracks. YIKES!!!

So after turning around, we backtracked to the main road and found the correct route to the campground. Be aware of those GPS directions and be prepared!

After setting up at the campground, we walked across the street to the beach and enjoyed the sun for a few hours.

We have the beach to ourselves.

There actually were people here at some time or other. During our walk, we passed this cute "sand fort." Can you see the little guns sticking up in the middle of the fort? Good imagination!

Marsha is standing where the water begins. Look how far out the tide is. Can you see Paul?

As we walked in the water we saw tons of bait fish. It was a hoot to watch them swim away from us. Some were in such a hurry, they jumped out of the water.

One observation. We are only about 150 miles west of Gulf Shores in Foley, AL. Here in Bay St. Louis, MS the water of the Gulf of Mexico is much warmer. We easily walked into the water and even mentioned we would be able to go swimming. It's not as warm as it is in July, but one could comfortably go in without freezing. Maybe Paul will give it a try later in the week.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

THE SOUND OF FREEDOM

2011-10-25T01:45:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, October 25 – Well, all good things must come to an end. Today is our last day in Foley, AL.

This adventure was NOT on Paul's “Bucket List”, but it should have been! Another MUST SEE! We spent the morning at the Pensacola, FL, Naval Air Station watching a practice session of the Blue Angels. AMAZING!!! And it's FREE! The Naval Station is the home for the Blue Angels and they practice several times each month. The shows are open to the public. Be sure to check their website for practice times if you are ever in this area.

The show started at 8:30 a.m. We were there a little early to set out our folding chairs for a front row seat. We did get one of the last spots, but being an air show it really wasn't necessary to be seated in the front row. They do have bleachers set up for those that prefer that type of seating.

The main thrill of these pilots is the ability to fly in VERY CLOSE formation!

They fly only 18” apart and at very high rates of speed. They twist and roll; loop and turn; and all in very close formation. While four planes are twisting overhead, two more Blue Angels are performing close to the ground. They head toward each other at very high speeds (approaching Mach 1) and roll on their sides at the last second missing each other by inches. Pretty scary!

They pull tremendous G-forces by sharp turns and zooming skyward in vertical climbs. They fly upside down in close formation, and join up in what's called a “delta” formation with all six planes flying in close formation.

The Blue Angels have flown over 10 different aircraft in the team’s 65 year history. Originally, the team flew four aircraft in the signature “Diamond” formation and expanded to six aircraft to showcase both the diamond and solos high performance capability as well as the precision formation flying taught to all Naval Aviators.

Today, the squadron flies the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet and the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. When the squadron receives a F/A-18 Hornet from the fleet, which are at the end of their carrier arrestment functionality, we make a variety of modifications, including removing the nose cannon to install a smoke-fluid system, inverting a fuel pump, installing a stop watch and adjustable constant-tension stick spring, as well as the world-wide recognizable paint scheme.

Landing…The leader is in #1.

The show lasts about an hour and by the end many watchers (including Marsha) are exhausted by their own adrenalin rush. The excitement is overwhelming! A GREAT show! We visited the Naval Air Station Pensacola also, but we will tell you about that in the next post.

We almost forgot to tell you that once in awhile the touristy part of our personality comes out. We had to go see the "World's Largest Octopus."…Really?

Some final pictures from the beautiful beach at Gulf Shores.

Oh yea…Cotton is a huge crop down here. The pictures looks fuzzy but there is just so much cotton on the plants. It is hard to tell one plant from another.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!