We got home!! Just before we left Georgia I noticed a drip coming from the A/C vent in the ceiling. I'm almost sure that the A/C is a closed unit so it will have to be replaced. I bought some sealant for the rubber roof and crawled up there in case it was something else. It wasn't. So Keith is going to try and talk to the dealer that we bought the RV from to see what excuse they have for all the trouble we had - after they thouroughly inspected the entire home. He even took it back once because he didn't like the way the brakes felt. And it was there for several days getting a steering "something" installed. So if he doesn't get any satisfaction from them, we will go to the dealer in Ft. Pierce and have him do the little adjustments (one speaker doesn't work, one mirror keeps vibrating out) and of course, the A/C. Then we will winterize - maybe - or maybe we will just use it thru the winter. It stays very nice here until May or so!! I must say, after the stay at the mechanics in San Diego, we didn't have any more trouble with it! Got clear home from there without any unscheduled stops!!! HOORAY!!
The weather was wonderful for our drive, not like it was the day before when Wilma came thru. Vero "only" got the edge of her but there was still quite a bit of damage. There was no power from Sunday evening until about 5 PM on Tuesday. We came off of I95 and when we were the second vehicle from the stoplight - it came on!! Talk about confusion! People didn't know whether to honor the 4 way stop signs or the traffic lights that suddenly started working!! We had power here (our home) by the time we got inside but didn't get power to the little house in the "A" section until yesterday.
Today my industrious daughter and her husband are working on the condo that "Tornado Robin" finally left. Tomorrow there will be more workmen and on Tuesday the new appliances (to replace the ruined ones) will be delivered. The kitchen faucet and garbage disposal were even ruined - and they were new!! There has been more damage to it than was done to either home in Florida thru 3 hurricanes - and she didn't pay any rent for several months either!! go figure>>> And people wonder why it is so hard to find nice rentals!!
There have been few changes made here at the Village since we left except for a few more new homes. The damaged ones from Francis and Jeanne last year are slowly being either removed or the owners are being dragged along to get them repaired. Several of the "snowbirds" have made their way back and some have decided to sell and winter elsewhere. It is a hard decision to make - everywhere has it's own "quirks". I do my fair share of complaining about the heat and humidity in the summer, but I've been watching Pakistan and I've got heaven right here. A roof over my head, A/C in the summer, heat in the winter. Even the tragedy of New Orleans doesn't hold a candle to those poor people trying to winter in a TENT. So we all should count our blessings, whatever ones we do have, and quit complaining about our minor discomforts!! At least this has become my opinion of the moment!!
Since returning we have increased our family, for awhile, it is only 3 more. We now are the proud caregivers of 18 month old twin boys and their 3 year old sister. They are quite the bunch. So I believe that I will close this blog for the time being and begin a new one. I haven't decided just what to call it as yet, but my lovely and hardworking daughter will think of something for me.
thanks so much for the comments that I've received and for all the feedback on how I should have done this. I know I mixed family with the actual RV news, but family is my life - the RV was a way to be able to spend more time with them - and see the wonderful country that God created for us to enjoy.
I will post again to let you know what I will be "blogging" next, so be sure to check back.
Thanks all,
Diane
October 30, 2005
October 24, 2005
Homeward bound (I hope)
We have been blessed again! I've received word thru the "Palm Frond Telegraph" that most is well at Lakewood Village. No electricity yet but our homes are intact! So we hope to be leaving here first thing in the morning so that we can make it home before the 8 PM curfew. Bev and Dave are over on the Alabama border waiting to go back to the Village also. I understand that there was some damage to a couple of homes and several carports went - but for a hurricane - with the number of older homes in the Village - this is great.
Now for my observations of McRae, GA. We've been here since last Wednesday. I've found NO signs of any type of tavern, bar, lounge, coffee shop, Starbucks, etc.
that have any sign of people gathering for any thing. Here is the closest thing we found to a city park.
We found the 2nd Mexican Restaurant today and actually bought a few groceries from a fruit stand 
and sweet potatoes from out of the bed of a pick-up. We drove all 4 directions from town in 10 mile stretches just to see if there was ANYTHING going on. Found nothing:))))
We did see a little stand that we wondered about so we stopped there. Guess what we found! The only Burger place in town, and it was closed!!When the lady at the post office said that McRae wasn't "much for entertainment", she sure wasn't kidding. I've talked to 3 campers, the camp host, and the golf host here (who told us about the great seafood buffet at the lodge on Fridays - he told us that about 8:30 Friday night). I catch the campers as they are leaving the bathroom and head thru (or around) our space to go back to their own sites.
To be perfectly honest, they have a beautiful golf course and the 19th Hole has the most friendly 80 +/- or more year old woman. Keith knew her name - he'd seen her name before - somewhere - and she was so tickled she blushed and told us we could sit over on the sofa and watch the game - make ourselves comfortable. She was very, very friendly!! I think she was mostly bored and lonesome. I know that feeling!! She said she's had that spot for 12 years and it took "lots and lots" of years to get it in the first place.
Now that the hurricane is over - all 3 other campers have left for Florida. Keith decided to wait until tomorrow to leave - that way we don't have to set camp up again before we get home. So this should be the next-to-the-last entry on this subject. I'll have to find a new name (he he)
Diane
Now for my observations of McRae, GA. We've been here since last Wednesday. I've found NO signs of any type of tavern, bar, lounge, coffee shop, Starbucks, etc.
that have any sign of people gathering for any thing. Here is the closest thing we found to a city park.
We found the 2nd Mexican Restaurant today and actually bought a few groceries from a fruit stand 
and sweet potatoes from out of the bed of a pick-up. We drove all 4 directions from town in 10 mile stretches just to see if there was ANYTHING going on. Found nothing:)))) 
We did see a little stand that we wondered about so we stopped there. Guess what we found! The only Burger place in town, and it was closed!!When the lady at the post office said that McRae wasn't "much for entertainment", she sure wasn't kidding. I've talked to 3 campers, the camp host, and the golf host here (who told us about the great seafood buffet at the lodge on Fridays - he told us that about 8:30 Friday night). I catch the campers as they are leaving the bathroom and head thru (or around) our space to go back to their own sites.
To be perfectly honest, they have a beautiful golf course and the 19th Hole has the most friendly 80 +/- or more year old woman. Keith knew her name - he'd seen her name before - somewhere - and she was so tickled she blushed and told us we could sit over on the sofa and watch the game - make ourselves comfortable. She was very, very friendly!! I think she was mostly bored and lonesome. I know that feeling!! She said she's had that spot for 12 years and it took "lots and lots" of years to get it in the first place.Now that the hurricane is over - all 3 other campers have left for Florida. Keith decided to wait until tomorrow to leave - that way we don't have to set camp up again before we get home. So this should be the next-to-the-last entry on this subject. I'll have to find a new name (he he)
Diane
Refer after 2 months of no electric
Poor S'te. Shows what happens when you rent a perfectly good, nicely kept condo out!! No wonder people don't like to rent anymore. Not to mention the rest of the damage, dirt, months worth of unpaid rent, eviction and lockout costs, among the rest of the headache and stress. A security deposit won't even begin to cover how much this particular renter cost us!!
October 23, 2005
Still in Georgia
We're still here!! Trying to outwait Wicked Wilma. By Tuesday, we will be so rested that we'll be able to push the RV out!! We have done nothing but watch TV and eat. We've been to the only Mexican Restaurant 3 times in 3 days, drove by Winn-Dixie (the grocery store) but never went in. Drove up the highway 14 miles to the American Legion that turned out to be the VFW that is only open on Saturday nights for a dance. That is rumor only - we saw no signs or posters. We heard this from the man at the building supply store where we did actually stop - and that was only to get some blocks sawed for leveling. The cedar blocks that we highgraded from Canyonville are slowly disintigrating. So they needed to be replaced. That's pretty good really, they made it 3,000 miles!
Now that there is NO news and nothing going on, I'll tell my refridgerator story. We sat in Powers and Keith found out that my nose and ears are heredity. There is my Aunt Nita whom Uncle Jim swears can hear a "fly land on soft cotton and smell it when it @#$#'s". The others of the family gathering had to share the stories of how bad the Bland line (of which I am one) is on the hearing and smell. Now with that out of the way, those of you that know me well remember that I had to completely replace my fridge at home after the hurricanes last year because I couldn't stand the smell. I tried Mom Judy's suggestions about the vanilla and charcoal, I tried rubbing all the plastic surfaces with lemon, I tried spraying bleach. I ran bleach thru the water and ice intake for the auto stuff. The fridge was sparkling clean, but every bottle, piece of ice, leftover, carton or candy bar had a slight moldy smell - to me. Keith couldn't smell a thing. I couldn't even drink the water from the double FILTERED fridge or use the ice because of the smell. Keith finally took pity on me and bought me a new fridge. Oh, so much better. We took the other one to the rental and no one could smell or taste a thing - so it was just me.
Anyhow, the camper was in the shop for the whole 3 weeks that we visited S'te in San Diego. Keith stopped by every couple of days to make sure the fridge light was on and there was plenty of propane - as I had just bought one of those meat-packs that the guys come around selling- and the freezer was pretty well full of beef steaks and ground beef. The fridge had the normal condiments in it - relish, salsa, tortillas, mayo, etc. Well, we got the camper back on Saturday, October 1. I didn't rush down to see it, I've seen it and I was more interested in looking at the bill than the camper! Sunday morning Keith comes into the living room - very early- and says "which light means the fridge is working" - I KNEW something was wrong!! Right then and there, I knew it. So I just got my shoes on and went down to the camper. The "check" light was lit - which means the fridge was not getting lp or electric. I was afraid to open the door without protection. Whatever had had the chance to grow might have matured by then!! To make a longer story short, the meat was very,very,very rotten, and everything that could grow anything - DID. And STINK, boy there are few things that stink that bad. And I only had Sunday to get rid of it enough to be able to sit in it and ride on Monday. Well, Keith cleaned it out. At least a hundred dollars worth of steaks and pre-pattied burgers. That's what I get for not taking it into S'te to start with. Keith's reasoning was it was all packed for 2 and with us, there were 11 - so we probably had enough for 1 or 2 meals there. We could just buy that as we went along and not have to restock for us. Boy was he wrong!!! So with S'te's help, alot of elbow grease, charcoal, lemons, bleach and more scrubbing, we got enough of the smell out to use it. I was really afraid that it was going to have to be replaced. But in Arizona, Dad came up with another thing to try - and after (or with) everything else - It seems to have worked. I put small tubs of water with a squeezed lemon in both the freezer and the fridge. I change them often but I barely get a whiff every now and then - so maybe this one can stay!
Then, we get gone, we are gone for 2 weeks, S'te gets the tenant out of the Condo which has had no electricity since before Katrina. See where I'm going with this? She gets possession and does a short walk-thru with the deadbeat tenant and opens the fridge door. The child says "so that's where my drink went" before S'te immediately slams the door - to keep the stink in and the child out. In her words she politely told the child that even though she isn't his Mom, he wasn't getting ANYTHING out of there. I was watching them shrink wrapping and picking up the appliances from Katrina in New Orleans - maybe this fridge should be shrinkwrapped before they try to take it out. Of course, we have to replace it. I suggested that S'te not even try to clean it. Just close it and leave it. She has had to do so much with the mess the renters (this is why renters have such a bad name) she doesn't have time for that.
So that is my fridge story, what do you think?
More later (if I can think of anything to tell)
Diane
Now that there is NO news and nothing going on, I'll tell my refridgerator story. We sat in Powers and Keith found out that my nose and ears are heredity. There is my Aunt Nita whom Uncle Jim swears can hear a "fly land on soft cotton and smell it when it @#$#'s". The others of the family gathering had to share the stories of how bad the Bland line (of which I am one) is on the hearing and smell. Now with that out of the way, those of you that know me well remember that I had to completely replace my fridge at home after the hurricanes last year because I couldn't stand the smell. I tried Mom Judy's suggestions about the vanilla and charcoal, I tried rubbing all the plastic surfaces with lemon, I tried spraying bleach. I ran bleach thru the water and ice intake for the auto stuff. The fridge was sparkling clean, but every bottle, piece of ice, leftover, carton or candy bar had a slight moldy smell - to me. Keith couldn't smell a thing. I couldn't even drink the water from the double FILTERED fridge or use the ice because of the smell. Keith finally took pity on me and bought me a new fridge. Oh, so much better. We took the other one to the rental and no one could smell or taste a thing - so it was just me.
Anyhow, the camper was in the shop for the whole 3 weeks that we visited S'te in San Diego. Keith stopped by every couple of days to make sure the fridge light was on and there was plenty of propane - as I had just bought one of those meat-packs that the guys come around selling- and the freezer was pretty well full of beef steaks and ground beef. The fridge had the normal condiments in it - relish, salsa, tortillas, mayo, etc. Well, we got the camper back on Saturday, October 1. I didn't rush down to see it, I've seen it and I was more interested in looking at the bill than the camper! Sunday morning Keith comes into the living room - very early- and says "which light means the fridge is working" - I KNEW something was wrong!! Right then and there, I knew it. So I just got my shoes on and went down to the camper. The "check" light was lit - which means the fridge was not getting lp or electric. I was afraid to open the door without protection. Whatever had had the chance to grow might have matured by then!! To make a longer story short, the meat was very,very,very rotten, and everything that could grow anything - DID. And STINK, boy there are few things that stink that bad. And I only had Sunday to get rid of it enough to be able to sit in it and ride on Monday. Well, Keith cleaned it out. At least a hundred dollars worth of steaks and pre-pattied burgers. That's what I get for not taking it into S'te to start with. Keith's reasoning was it was all packed for 2 and with us, there were 11 - so we probably had enough for 1 or 2 meals there. We could just buy that as we went along and not have to restock for us. Boy was he wrong!!! So with S'te's help, alot of elbow grease, charcoal, lemons, bleach and more scrubbing, we got enough of the smell out to use it. I was really afraid that it was going to have to be replaced. But in Arizona, Dad came up with another thing to try - and after (or with) everything else - It seems to have worked. I put small tubs of water with a squeezed lemon in both the freezer and the fridge. I change them often but I barely get a whiff every now and then - so maybe this one can stay!
Then, we get gone, we are gone for 2 weeks, S'te gets the tenant out of the Condo which has had no electricity since before Katrina. See where I'm going with this? She gets possession and does a short walk-thru with the deadbeat tenant and opens the fridge door. The child says "so that's where my drink went" before S'te immediately slams the door - to keep the stink in and the child out. In her words she politely told the child that even though she isn't his Mom, he wasn't getting ANYTHING out of there. I was watching them shrink wrapping and picking up the appliances from Katrina in New Orleans - maybe this fridge should be shrinkwrapped before they try to take it out. Of course, we have to replace it. I suggested that S'te not even try to clean it. Just close it and leave it. She has had to do so much with the mess the renters (this is why renters have such a bad name) she doesn't have time for that.
So that is my fridge story, what do you think?
More later (if I can think of anything to tell)
Diane
October 20, 2005
from Indiana to Georgia
We've gone as far south as we think we should. What a time to try to go home!! After 3 months - you'd think we'd pick a better weekend! We left the campground in Tennessee yesterday morning about 10. I was hinting to stay there. It was real close to Lookout Mountain (where you can see 7 states) and a BUNCH of the Civil War memorabilia. But Keith wanted to come down a day closer. He figures that we are a day away from home - so when the coast is clear we can head home.
We woke to squirrels throwing acorns at the RV. I got a picture of this one right outside our window. In another tree was a wild cat watching the squirrel. As soon as I said kitty, kitty it ran away.
This is the same campground that we stayed in on our way north so we have made a complete, if somewhat crooked circle now.
We hope to be able to go home on Sunday, I'm ready.
Look at the Money Pit site for all the work that S'te has had to do with the rental in San Diego. We are leaning toward selling - but she wants to try renting again - we'll see.
More later,
Diane
We woke to squirrels throwing acorns at the RV. I got a picture of this one right outside our window. In another tree was a wild cat watching the squirrel. As soon as I said kitty, kitty it ran away.
This is the same campground that we stayed in on our way north so we have made a complete, if somewhat crooked circle now.
We hope to be able to go home on Sunday, I'm ready.
Look at the Money Pit site for all the work that S'te has had to do with the rental in San Diego. We are leaning toward selling - but she wants to try renting again - we'll see.
More later,
Diane
October 18, 2005
Civil War Battlefield
We left Charlestown this morning about 10. Keith got us loaded up and ready to go early. Heather came over to see us off. Melody had a Dr. appointment early so we said our goodbyes to them before they left. We got a few little things done , mini blinds hung and valance rods put up. Keith put the headboard back on Melody's bed so that should be good for awhile. We had Chinese food, Mexican food, Baked Chicken and Stuffing, and some great Chicken and Dumplings that Heather cooked. It seems like most of what we did was eat, eat, eat.
I drove thru the little bit of Indiana and all of Kentucky before lunch. During lunch I talked to Chuck and he is now in New Orleans. He says it is horrible. Unimagineable. We can only be feel blessed that this disaster happened in the US - not Pakistan. Look at those poor people and be thankful for what we do have. After lunch Keith took the wheel and drove thru Tennessee. We are 333 miles closer to home. We are parked in the Best Holiday Trav-L-Park and I was reading the literature. This is a battlefield from the Civil War. All the little lanes are named after Commanders and Generals and they even have a historical video about the part this area played in the Civil War to watch. We got here about 6 and immediately turned the Weather Station on to get an update on Wilma.
We had planned to be home by Thursday - but now Keith is debating going straight there until we know where Wilma is headed.
More later - I'll let you know if we are actually headed straight home or not.
Diane
I drove thru the little bit of Indiana and all of Kentucky before lunch. During lunch I talked to Chuck and he is now in New Orleans. He says it is horrible. Unimagineable. We can only be feel blessed that this disaster happened in the US - not Pakistan. Look at those poor people and be thankful for what we do have. After lunch Keith took the wheel and drove thru Tennessee. We are 333 miles closer to home. We are parked in the Best Holiday Trav-L-Park and I was reading the literature. This is a battlefield from the Civil War. All the little lanes are named after Commanders and Generals and they even have a historical video about the part this area played in the Civil War to watch. We got here about 6 and immediately turned the Weather Station on to get an update on Wilma.
We had planned to be home by Thursday - but now Keith is debating going straight there until we know where Wilma is headed.
More later - I'll let you know if we are actually headed straight home or not.
Diane
October 16, 2005
Cardinals Game
April and I went to the mall today. Noah and Brennan went with us. It really was a nice afternoon. We had lunch - I had fish tacos and Noah wouldn't even try a bite. He is very picky about what he eats. I got a couple of pictures with his "metal mouth" now that he has his new braces. He is doing very well in school, as is Elizabeth. She still hasn't decided if she likes me or not but I think she is realizing that I'm not all that bad a person. Brennan is a happy little boy, and smart as a whip. I really enjoyed our visit. It was nice and homey. As always, April and Rick made us feel welcome and at home. But the big news is:
We went to the Cardinals / Astro's baseball playoff game on Thursday!!
It's to bad that we lost but it was a great game. April got tickets for us
and Lori and Jeff were very excited to be there. I've never been to a playoff game before and they said they hadn't either. If the Cardinals don't win the next game - that will have been the last game at Busch Stadium as they are tearing it down to complete the new stadium they are building. After the game we went to Panama Red's and had Nachos before going home. It was a truly great evening. Thanks April for finding the tickets for us!!
Yesterday we packed up and left right after the kids did. The little ones had soccer games to go to and the big kids were headed for a football game.
So the Novices headed out for Charlestown. Again we had beautiful weather and enjoyed our drive. We got here to Charlestown about dark last night. Mom Beatty had a big pot of Chili ready for us and we totally pigged out. It was great. We went to Church with her this morning and then went to the Chinese place for lunch. We tried to go to the Mexican place but it is now closed on Sundays. Dolores came over to visit this afternoon and we had a nice time. Even Faith stopped by with her baby to see Uncle Keith. She begins work at McDonalds soon so she won't have as much free time for visiting. I'm glad that she made it by today. The new door and bathroom are great and Mom Beatty is very happy with all of it. I'm so glad. She is such a sweet lady. She was going thru things for a bazaar and found a china plate that has my name on the back of it - so she says it has to be mine. It is beautiful.
We had a real nice dinner while watching the Cardinal game on TV. Melody watched Andy Griffin in the kitchen while she ate. She isn't much of a baseball fan I guess.
So today was a nice peaceful family day. Just like in the movies. Family being together. To bad we all live so far apart!!
Enough for tonight. It has been a long day. Nice but long.
More later.
Diane
We went to the Cardinals / Astro's baseball playoff game on Thursday!!
It's to bad that we lost but it was a great game. April got tickets for us
and Lori and Jeff were very excited to be there. I've never been to a playoff game before and they said they hadn't either. If the Cardinals don't win the next game - that will have been the last game at Busch Stadium as they are tearing it down to complete the new stadium they are building. After the game we went to Panama Red's and had Nachos before going home. It was a truly great evening. Thanks April for finding the tickets for us!!Yesterday we packed up and left right after the kids did. The little ones had soccer games to go to and the big kids were headed for a football game.
So the Novices headed out for Charlestown. Again we had beautiful weather and enjoyed our drive. We got here to Charlestown about dark last night. Mom Beatty had a big pot of Chili ready for us and we totally pigged out. It was great. We went to Church with her this morning and then went to the Chinese place for lunch. We tried to go to the Mexican place but it is now closed on Sundays. Dolores came over to visit this afternoon and we had a nice time. Even Faith stopped by with her baby to see Uncle Keith. She begins work at McDonalds soon so she won't have as much free time for visiting. I'm glad that she made it by today. The new door and bathroom are great and Mom Beatty is very happy with all of it. I'm so glad. She is such a sweet lady. She was going thru things for a bazaar and found a china plate that has my name on the back of it - so she says it has to be mine. It is beautiful.
We had a real nice dinner while watching the Cardinal game on TV. Melody watched Andy Griffin in the kitchen while she ate. She isn't much of a baseball fan I guess.
So today was a nice peaceful family day. Just like in the movies. Family being together. To bad we all live so far apart!!
Enough for tonight. It has been a long day. Nice but long.
More later.
Diane
October 12, 2005
Back in St. Charles
Here is the falls that we visited in Oklahoma. 
Another tribute to the amazing way that God put our world together. The more I've seen of His work, the more impressed I am. To have planned for all this to work the way it does, its just awesome!
We left Oklahoma early yesterday morning and arrived here at April's last night about 6. We thought we were supposed to park in her yard, so I pulled right up into the grass next to her house!!! OOPS. Now they have huge ruts because of the rain and soggy ground. We moved the camper this morning - over into the driveway and across the sidewalk. It would take another 2 blocks in the front to level it front to back and that's to scary high!! So - what happens if the back end is higher than the front? Being a NOVICE - I just found out that the gray water doesn't drain. So after I finished cleaning the tub and shower - I have an inch of water sitting there - oh well - it's clean now.
April and the kids were glad to see us. Elizabeth and Brennan came running out with Papa's birthday present. They were so excited!! They went to the "Zebra" (I don't know where that is) and Brennan made Papa a piggy bank and Elizabeth made him a skateboard. They did real good jobs on them too. I will add them to our collection of precious "stuff" when we get home. April got Keith a Cardinal Shirt that has all the bright colors that he loves. If I put it in the dryer a couple of times - I'll have a Cardinal shirt HEE! HEE!
Right now Keith, April, Rick, and kids are all gone doing thier respective things so I'm all alone right now. That doesn't happen very often. Keith called and said he has Cardinal Tickets for tomorrow night - so we get to go to a play off game!!! Great timing!!! We will be going with Jeff and Lori and I am looking forward to having a wonderful time.
S'te says we should have the keys for the Condo tonight so that saga is almost over. Now we can just put a for sale sign on it and get over it. It is people like this renter that makes things so hard for the good people. I just am hoping that it sells quickly - I haven't had rent on it since June and we are a ways from then! Another chapter to close - that of a landlord in San Diego!!
So all is well here in Bounderland. More as more comes!
God Bless everyone,
Diane
Another tribute to the amazing way that God put our world together. The more I've seen of His work, the more impressed I am. To have planned for all this to work the way it does, its just awesome!
We left Oklahoma early yesterday morning and arrived here at April's last night about 6. We thought we were supposed to park in her yard, so I pulled right up into the grass next to her house!!! OOPS. Now they have huge ruts because of the rain and soggy ground. We moved the camper this morning - over into the driveway and across the sidewalk. It would take another 2 blocks in the front to level it front to back and that's to scary high!! So - what happens if the back end is higher than the front? Being a NOVICE - I just found out that the gray water doesn't drain. So after I finished cleaning the tub and shower - I have an inch of water sitting there - oh well - it's clean now.
April and the kids were glad to see us. Elizabeth and Brennan came running out with Papa's birthday present. They were so excited!! They went to the "Zebra" (I don't know where that is) and Brennan made Papa a piggy bank and Elizabeth made him a skateboard. They did real good jobs on them too. I will add them to our collection of precious "stuff" when we get home. April got Keith a Cardinal Shirt that has all the bright colors that he loves. If I put it in the dryer a couple of times - I'll have a Cardinal shirt HEE! HEE!
Right now Keith, April, Rick, and kids are all gone doing thier respective things so I'm all alone right now. That doesn't happen very often. Keith called and said he has Cardinal Tickets for tomorrow night - so we get to go to a play off game!!! Great timing!!! We will be going with Jeff and Lori and I am looking forward to having a wonderful time.
S'te says we should have the keys for the Condo tonight so that saga is almost over. Now we can just put a for sale sign on it and get over it. It is people like this renter that makes things so hard for the good people. I just am hoping that it sells quickly - I haven't had rent on it since June and we are a ways from then! Another chapter to close - that of a landlord in San Diego!!
So all is well here in Bounderland. More as more comes!
God Bless everyone,
Diane
October 11, 2005
Oklahoma
Here is a picture of Keith with a Navy buddy of his. 
Master Chief Ozzie. He was introduced to me as Ozzie and Keith kept calling him Master Chief - So that's what it is as far as I'm concerned. The other man is Master Chief's son D. We had a wonderful visit with them in W. Siloam, Oklahoma. We got to the Dripping Falls State Park about 8 pm on Sunday. It turned out to be about 3 miles from Master Chief's house - so they came over to the camper Monday morning and visited for awhile before they had to go to an appointment. Keith and I then went for a little ride in the little car - next thing we knew- we were in Arkansas! We went back to the park - found the falls - took some pictures and then we met them for dinner at - just guess - ! ! A la Hacienda. I found out what a Fajita taco is - they are really good too!! It is the same way that April makes her tacos with all the goodies. After dinner we stopped at their home and I bookmarked this blog for them - so now they can follow us too - if they want to.
We left Oklahoma early Wednesday morning. On to the next entry!!!
Diane
Master Chief Ozzie. He was introduced to me as Ozzie and Keith kept calling him Master Chief - So that's what it is as far as I'm concerned. The other man is Master Chief's son D. We had a wonderful visit with them in W. Siloam, Oklahoma. We got to the Dripping Falls State Park about 8 pm on Sunday. It turned out to be about 3 miles from Master Chief's house - so they came over to the camper Monday morning and visited for awhile before they had to go to an appointment. Keith and I then went for a little ride in the little car - next thing we knew- we were in Arkansas! We went back to the park - found the falls - took some pictures and then we met them for dinner at - just guess - ! ! A la Hacienda. I found out what a Fajita taco is - they are really good too!! It is the same way that April makes her tacos with all the goodies. After dinner we stopped at their home and I bookmarked this blog for them - so now they can follow us too - if they want to.We left Oklahoma early Wednesday morning. On to the next entry!!!
Diane
October 7, 2005
Arizona to New Mexico
Odd place for a Tepee, don't you think? We left Williams this morning at 9:30. We lost an hour and parked at 5:00. Kind of a short day for us, only 280 miles. It will take us 4 days to get to Ozzies!! We watched more awesome scenery along Route 66, including petrified wood, dinosaurs, Native American wampum signs and much more. The most awesome is still the natural beauty of the Painted Desert. We've dropped to 5000 ft altitude and have gone back up to 6500. We are now parked at Grants, New Mexico and Keith is getting ready to bbq our dinner.
A neat story about the Raven in yesterdays post - While I was trying to get a better picture of him - he stole a bag (the whole unopened bag) of chips from our picnic table - and flew off with it. I was laughing to hard to get that picture - but I sure wish I could've. It was halarious.
That's the story for today. Miss you all.
Diane
A neat story about the Raven in yesterdays post - While I was trying to get a better picture of him - he stole a bag (the whole unopened bag) of chips from our picnic table - and flew off with it. I was laughing to hard to get that picture - but I sure wish I could've. It was halarious.
That's the story for today. Miss you all.
Diane
October 6, 2005
The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is AWESOME, ABSOLUTELY COMPLETELY UNBELIEVABLE. We took an all-day van tour and went to several viewing points and took lots of pictures - which I can't download until we get somewhere with a landline - still. But if you ever, ever have a chance to visit this totally awsome place, be sure to. And if you take one of the tours, you get all the history, facts and even some of the myths of the Canyon. We could've drove up there on our own but we definately would've missed many of the places that our American Dream Tour took us to. It was a little spendy but I felt it was definately worth it. We were with another couple from Florida, a family with 2 young boys from Tennessee, a young man from Singapore, and another couple from British Columbia. Definately a mixed group so we had lots of fun. Our tour-guide was Joel and he was very knowledgable about the canyon, the mountains around it, the areas we drove to get there, high and low desert stuff, and all sorts of trivia that makes seeing a place really interesting.
Papa found a wounded squirrel and gave him the banana that he had in his pocket. Several people stopped and took pictures - including me!
Other than that, we got home, had leftovers and are ready to kick back and get ready for our drive tomorrow. We are headed to Oklahoma but I think it will take several days to get us there!!
More to come,
Diane
October 5, 2005
Dad & I at Bullhead City
I know you have been waiting for a picture of Dad and I FINALLY got it uploaded. I don't know why I had such a hard time getting this one done. Anyhow here is a pic of Dad and I taken just before we left Bullhead. The wind was blowing like a big dog and we don't exactly look our best!! There are a few more on Flickr.
Lemon Grove to Williams, AZ
We really did leave Lemon Grove. I know Keith thought we'd never get out of there. We didn't leave until almost 11:30 - and I wasn't ready to go then. I just really dislike driving off and seeing my baby standing there waving good-bye. I never know for sure when I'll see her again. It is always to long between visits - and I get to visit way more than others that live so far away. But anyhow - we left.
I never knew there was so much desert in the US. We drove up the 15 to I40 and headed east. Just outside of San Bernadino we hit desert again and stayed in it for days! We saw amazing mountains of bare rock and little towns built out in the middle of nowhere. In several places we crossed the old historic Route 66. We didn't hit any bad traffic and had a really nice drive to Bullhead City. The gas prices in Needles, CA was $3.59 but it dropped as soon as we crossed into Arizona. In Bullhead we paid $2.93 and it took $150 worth of gas. We are still averaging about 6 miles to the gallon - almost .50 a mile. And we have a long, long way to go before we are done!!
We got to Bullhead City - to Dad's - just after dark and it was a trip trying to get this monster parked! The Silver Creek RV park where he lives is re-doing their septic/sewer lines and we can't drive around to pull straight thru - and the spaces are facing the wrong way to even back into them. It was comical. Dad couldn't believe that I was the one to back this up, go in circles, turn it around and pull into our space :). He had reserved one for us right across the road from him so we were nice and close. It was a great visit for me. Not a lot of sightseeing - the only thing we did besides eat was to go over to the Avi Casino in Fort Mohave where he works. He and I went over "to eat" about 11 the night we pulled in. Keith was tired and had gone to bed. When we got there - the buffet was closed - so we gambled. He made more than I lost - so all was good. And I didn't lose but a few dollars - so it was great. We played blackjack for awhile and a couple of the dealers were a real kick. Of course a couple of others were just as personable as wet dishclothes - but we didn't stay around them for long!! I got a couple of old photos from Dad, we ate Mexican food 3 times in a day and a half so Keith was happy as could be. Dad enjoyed telling all the war stories about our childhood, his and mine both - and Keith heard things that I'd as soon he didn't - but that's what family is all about. Dad looks really good and stays busy. He went to the Dr. on Monday and is being scheduled for a sleep study. He can return to work on the 11th - if the Dr signs the release. He still has more "projects" than ever going on. I am really glad we got to spend time with him. The one thing I did for him was to hook his VCR back up so that he can use it. We met some of his friends and neighbors and a co-worker that will be living next door to him soon. The Woo (wind) was blowing pretty hard so we spent a lot of time inside. He has made a nice life for himself there. I envy the way he can connect with people whereever he is. I don't have that knack.
Anyhow, we stayed there until this afternoon. Finally, after having another trip to the Mexican Food, Keith decided that the Woo had died down enough so we headed out. It was blowing pretty hard and I wasn't sure I wanted to drive in it but it really did die down so it wasn't bad. Only when you come out of a canyon into the open the gusts hit pretty hard but I managed for awhile. Keith drove about the last 60 miles. My arms were tired and my knee was totally on fire. We were either going straight uphill, or straight downhill. When we get to a landline, I'll be able to upload the AZ pictures that we took. We didn't have far to go today and arrived here in Williams about 5. We have a tour of the Grand Canyon booked for tomorrow and I'm really excited about it. I was beginning to think that we were going to miss all the "tourist" wonders of the world - but we made it to the Arch and now the 1st Wonder - the Grand Canyon. Keith is watching Star Wars on video - we don't get TV here and I think soon we will hit the hay so that we can be ready for a great time tomorrow.
Congrats on your new pick-up Sharen, and S'te - I sure hope you've found your kitty by now. I miss all you kids already. I've shown pictures (the ones that I FINALLY got) to everyone. I really like the one with the paint all over S'te and the one of me babysitting Saturday morning :) I love my babies.
Will update more as something or another comes up to write about.
Diane
I never knew there was so much desert in the US. We drove up the 15 to I40 and headed east. Just outside of San Bernadino we hit desert again and stayed in it for days! We saw amazing mountains of bare rock and little towns built out in the middle of nowhere. In several places we crossed the old historic Route 66. We didn't hit any bad traffic and had a really nice drive to Bullhead City. The gas prices in Needles, CA was $3.59 but it dropped as soon as we crossed into Arizona. In Bullhead we paid $2.93 and it took $150 worth of gas. We are still averaging about 6 miles to the gallon - almost .50 a mile. And we have a long, long way to go before we are done!!
We got to Bullhead City - to Dad's - just after dark and it was a trip trying to get this monster parked! The Silver Creek RV park where he lives is re-doing their septic/sewer lines and we can't drive around to pull straight thru - and the spaces are facing the wrong way to even back into them. It was comical. Dad couldn't believe that I was the one to back this up, go in circles, turn it around and pull into our space :). He had reserved one for us right across the road from him so we were nice and close. It was a great visit for me. Not a lot of sightseeing - the only thing we did besides eat was to go over to the Avi Casino in Fort Mohave where he works. He and I went over "to eat" about 11 the night we pulled in. Keith was tired and had gone to bed. When we got there - the buffet was closed - so we gambled. He made more than I lost - so all was good. And I didn't lose but a few dollars - so it was great. We played blackjack for awhile and a couple of the dealers were a real kick. Of course a couple of others were just as personable as wet dishclothes - but we didn't stay around them for long!! I got a couple of old photos from Dad, we ate Mexican food 3 times in a day and a half so Keith was happy as could be. Dad enjoyed telling all the war stories about our childhood, his and mine both - and Keith heard things that I'd as soon he didn't - but that's what family is all about. Dad looks really good and stays busy. He went to the Dr. on Monday and is being scheduled for a sleep study. He can return to work on the 11th - if the Dr signs the release. He still has more "projects" than ever going on. I am really glad we got to spend time with him. The one thing I did for him was to hook his VCR back up so that he can use it. We met some of his friends and neighbors and a co-worker that will be living next door to him soon. The Woo (wind) was blowing pretty hard so we spent a lot of time inside. He has made a nice life for himself there. I envy the way he can connect with people whereever he is. I don't have that knack.
Anyhow, we stayed there until this afternoon. Finally, after having another trip to the Mexican Food, Keith decided that the Woo had died down enough so we headed out. It was blowing pretty hard and I wasn't sure I wanted to drive in it but it really did die down so it wasn't bad. Only when you come out of a canyon into the open the gusts hit pretty hard but I managed for awhile. Keith drove about the last 60 miles. My arms were tired and my knee was totally on fire. We were either going straight uphill, or straight downhill. When we get to a landline, I'll be able to upload the AZ pictures that we took. We didn't have far to go today and arrived here in Williams about 5. We have a tour of the Grand Canyon booked for tomorrow and I'm really excited about it. I was beginning to think that we were going to miss all the "tourist" wonders of the world - but we made it to the Arch and now the 1st Wonder - the Grand Canyon. Keith is watching Star Wars on video - we don't get TV here and I think soon we will hit the hay so that we can be ready for a great time tomorrow.
Congrats on your new pick-up Sharen, and S'te - I sure hope you've found your kitty by now. I miss all you kids already. I've shown pictures (the ones that I FINALLY got) to everyone. I really like the one with the paint all over S'te and the one of me babysitting Saturday morning :) I love my babies.
Will update more as something or another comes up to write about.
Diane
October 2, 2005
Ready to go
It's late Sunday night and all is quiet here. We are mostly packed and ready to continue our trip. We got the RV back out of ANOTHER shop yesterday so we are running a couple of days late on our plans. This trip to the shop was almost $4,000 so the RV has been really gone thru this time. At least I hope all the seals, sensors, gaskets, air bags, brakes, and air conditioner systems are all finished for the rest of this trip! And far beyond :) Oh, and the fridge didn't get kept on, so I had a freezer with old stinky meat and mold in the fridge to deal with when we got it back - YUK YUK YUK. And it is stinky. I've got charcoal, vanilla, and air fresheners all in it and I am hoping that it will help enough that we can still use it. I knew I should've gone down and checked it out myself. Keith said the light was still on - but it was the wrong light!! Live and learn - that is why we are NOVICE's.
It has been a busy couple of weeks. I haven't felt as well as I would have liked for the last week so we didn't get to do much of anything. I would've never believed that we wouldn't even make it to a Padre game. And they have done so well this year!! We did make it up to Channel 1 to see Janet, Debbie, Judy and the rest of the gang on Friday, but we didn't stay long there either. I was supposed to go see Liz for lunch and never made it to do that either. Today is Debbie's birthday and everyone got together for a party but I couldn't make it. Had to clean out the fridge in the RV. We've been here long enough that I should've been able to spend lots of time with everyone - it just didn't work out that way and I really regret it. All these great friends and I didn't hardly get to spend any time with them at all. I did find out that all are doing really well. Chuck is now in Louisiana working with an insurance company to help get those people help - and I'm sure he is working hard - it has to be a miserable place to be right now.
S'te and I power washed the house during the week and they realized just how bad the paint was, so they decided it was time to get going on that. Especially since Rod may be deployed when his new orders come thru and he may not be here to help. On Friday S'te and I got the upstairs all scraped and primered while Papa entertained the 4 babies. And on Saturday Rod, S'te, Tyrique, and LaDaria got busy and did the entire rest of it. It has been a big job, but the prep is all done. It sure looks huge being all primered in white. They have picked out a beige color to paint. I don't know just how they are going to accomplish this since we plan to be leaving in the morning. Mr. Tim has offered to come help, but S'te hasn't called him yet - so we will see about that part.
We bought the little boys new "suits" at WalMart and they loved them. They had them on first thing this morning for church. I got pictures of everyone except for Rod and S'te - they should've said something - I can't be expected to keep track!! One of their little kittens was hit by a car late this evening - so that service was performed for the kids to come to terms of how short life can be. They have also watched a lot of what has been happening in the South with the poor people copletely wiped out with the hurricanes. Hopefully the next few months will be kinder to everyone. I know it is God's will - but it sure is hard to accept sometimes. As old as I am - I don't understand.
My knee is feeling better and I look forward to seeing my Dad, which should be our next stop, and then on to the Grand Canyon and then on to Ozzie's in Oklahoma. From there we will see how things go and how we feel as to the rest of our trip. We would like to be able to go back up by April's and Mom Beatty's - but if things don't go better with my health and hurts, we may have to head straight back to Florida so that I can see our Doctor. My knee comes and goes as far as what I can do with it - so as long as I still have good days - we are good to go.
We got the judgement in our favor on the condo renter and she should be vacating it withing the next week or so - then our plans are to just put it on the market. This rental stuff from far away just didn't work. It costs to much to keep a place up when the renter decides that she has paid enough rent and refuses to leave without going thru the whole system arguing that she shouldn't be evicted and she shouldn't have to pay rent either. Go figure ! !
I've put pictures of the kids and the house on Flickr - so by my guest and look at them.
More later,
Diane
It has been a busy couple of weeks. I haven't felt as well as I would have liked for the last week so we didn't get to do much of anything. I would've never believed that we wouldn't even make it to a Padre game. And they have done so well this year!! We did make it up to Channel 1 to see Janet, Debbie, Judy and the rest of the gang on Friday, but we didn't stay long there either. I was supposed to go see Liz for lunch and never made it to do that either. Today is Debbie's birthday and everyone got together for a party but I couldn't make it. Had to clean out the fridge in the RV. We've been here long enough that I should've been able to spend lots of time with everyone - it just didn't work out that way and I really regret it. All these great friends and I didn't hardly get to spend any time with them at all. I did find out that all are doing really well. Chuck is now in Louisiana working with an insurance company to help get those people help - and I'm sure he is working hard - it has to be a miserable place to be right now.
S'te and I power washed the house during the week and they realized just how bad the paint was, so they decided it was time to get going on that. Especially since Rod may be deployed when his new orders come thru and he may not be here to help. On Friday S'te and I got the upstairs all scraped and primered while Papa entertained the 4 babies. And on Saturday Rod, S'te, Tyrique, and LaDaria got busy and did the entire rest of it. It has been a big job, but the prep is all done. It sure looks huge being all primered in white. They have picked out a beige color to paint. I don't know just how they are going to accomplish this since we plan to be leaving in the morning. Mr. Tim has offered to come help, but S'te hasn't called him yet - so we will see about that part.
We bought the little boys new "suits" at WalMart and they loved them. They had them on first thing this morning for church. I got pictures of everyone except for Rod and S'te - they should've said something - I can't be expected to keep track!! One of their little kittens was hit by a car late this evening - so that service was performed for the kids to come to terms of how short life can be. They have also watched a lot of what has been happening in the South with the poor people copletely wiped out with the hurricanes. Hopefully the next few months will be kinder to everyone. I know it is God's will - but it sure is hard to accept sometimes. As old as I am - I don't understand.
My knee is feeling better and I look forward to seeing my Dad, which should be our next stop, and then on to the Grand Canyon and then on to Ozzie's in Oklahoma. From there we will see how things go and how we feel as to the rest of our trip. We would like to be able to go back up by April's and Mom Beatty's - but if things don't go better with my health and hurts, we may have to head straight back to Florida so that I can see our Doctor. My knee comes and goes as far as what I can do with it - so as long as I still have good days - we are good to go.
We got the judgement in our favor on the condo renter and she should be vacating it withing the next week or so - then our plans are to just put it on the market. This rental stuff from far away just didn't work. It costs to much to keep a place up when the renter decides that she has paid enough rent and refuses to leave without going thru the whole system arguing that she shouldn't be evicted and she shouldn't have to pay rent either. Go figure ! !
I've put pictures of the kids and the house on Flickr - so by my guest and look at them.
More later,
Diane
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
