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| November 2008 |
November 1 - 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1. Both of us were pretty tired this morning from our day of expensive adventure yesterday, but we had to get up early for cinnamon rolls and a craft sale being held at the rec hall this morning. Last Wednesday, we told Judy that we would take some of her angel wing Christmas ornaments to the sale. They are darling little angels made from angel wing shells that she collects on the beach. I also attempted to take orders for my hand etched wine glasses but there was no interest there. We ended up selling only 2 of Judy's ornaments during the 1st hour and there was no new traffic, so we decided to pack up and leave.
After short naps, we took the windows off the Jeep and took a drive to the nearby communities of Holiday Beach and Lamar to check them out. There were some sand trails going through a new development, so Mike was able to try out the 4-wheel drive, naturally having a great time doing that. We also stopped to check out another RV park possibility in case we decide to move.
Speaking of the contraption outside our door, there have been workmen there since about 6:30 this morning, diesel engines running and the clanging sound of metal on metal. The last truck left there at about 7:30 this evening. The manager told me today that they are drilling for natural gas and that they hope to be finished in 30 days, providing nothing goes wrong. In addition to the drilling site in our part of the park, there are 2 others located on the property. The park does not own the mineral rights, so they have nothing to say about it, although they fought to keep them from drilling here. If this drill does not produce anything, they will be finished and won't drill on the other 2 sites. If it does, then they will be doing the same thing on the other 2 sites.
We can't decide whether to stick it out or to leave this park. The nice thing about living in a house with wheels is that we have the option to move whenever we choose to.
Sunday, November 2. Had a nice conversation with Ben this morning and with Rita this afternoon. Talking on the phone here is a problem, as our signal is poor and we have to keep our phone in one position and use either headphones or bluetooth to talk. It's kind of a pain, thus we aren't making a lot of phone calls.
The rumble of engines started at 6:30 this morning and continued all day long. We drove to a couple of other RV parks to check them out and think that we have decided to move on. The price differences are not that much. There sure are a lot of things we like about this park (large site, wildlife, walking paths, trees and lakes), but the list of "not so goods" is longer (the drilling, poor roads, highway noise, poor cell signal, old, rundown facility, laundry options), mosquitoes, distance from water, distance from town).
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November 3 - 9, 2008
Tuesday, November 4. Election Day! Mike, Hair, and I went to see the movie "W" this afternoon - a fitting thing to do on election day. We all agreed that the movie was good and appropriately depicted our current president.
After the movie, Hair fixed us a delicious dinner of Tilapia, cheesy potatoes, and yummy cole slaw. It was another great day spent with friends.
We got home and watched the election results, happy to learn that our man, Barack Obama, will be our next president. We are hopeful that some positive change will come to our country.
Wednesday, November 5. Moving day. We have notified the park that we won't be staying as a result of the racket caused by the drilling operation. Yesterday, I tried to sit outside for a while and found it was too noisy.
Our new home is at the Big D RV Resort and we plan to be here for the duration, whatever that may be. We got settled in quickly, although while exiting Bay View, Mike hit a pothole, the refrigerator went flying open, and a bottle of dark beer and olives broke all over the floor. The 1st order of business was to get that cleaned up. Next was to test our wi-fi and phone signals and both were ok. I was even able to have a conversation with Rene without getting dropped.
A steak dinner will be our celebration of our new back yard.
Thursday, November 6. Our morning walk was a bit different than it had been at Bay View. We did 2 loops around the park and Frisco snooped around the fenced in dog area. I drove to the laundry in the park, took the car back to our site, and rode the bike back to the laundry. It started to pour. When the rain slowed down a bit, I rode the bike back. When it was time to check the laundry again, I got in the car and found that I had left the window open and the driver's seat and door were soaked. I really don't like the task of doing laundry and today my dislike was reinforced.
This afternoon we headed to Corpus Christi to the IRS office to meet with them about the notice that I received last month regarding my early withdrawals from my IRA, that I should pay a 10% penalty on the income. I was pretty sure that I had determined what the error was, had contacted Edward Jones about it and they disagreed with me, telling me to go to the IRS to get it resolved. It was nice to know that I was correct, they gave me some documentation to present to Edward Jones, and now I have to convince them to correct the way that they reported my income so I don't have to pay the penalty. Wish me luck! We were both dreading the meeting, but the experience was positive and we left there feeling pretty good - still have to get things corrected though.
Sunday, November 9. Guess we haven't done much the last few days, certainly nothing to write about. We've hung out at the park, doing chores around the motorhome, reading, walking, and meeting the neighbors. I bought some plants at Walmart and put together a pot of flowers for our patio. Our patio is a pretty good sized area that gets sunshine from sunrise until about 1:00 in the afternoon - that should be perfect during the winter.
This afternoon we went to happy hour and had a nice time - I think we will fit in ok.
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November 10 - 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 12. On Monday, we got up early and headed back to Houston to the Jeep dealer. The day we picked it up, we were unable to drive it past about 40 mph and didn't notice a shimmy until we got out of rush hour traffic and on the road headed back to Rockport. Mike also found a couple of minor things he wanted to have checked. The drive was pretty uneventful except for some heavy rain in a few places.
While waiting, we struck up a conversation with a very nice woman from Trinidad. She came over to meet Frisco and compliment us on how well behaved he is and that got us started. It sure helped to pass the time. They found the wheels were out of balance and the motor compartment light had to be replaced. Two hours later, we were back on the road to Rockport, fortunately driving out of the rain shortly after leaving Houston.
Yesterday afternoon, I went to a "crafts" meeting in the clubhouse. It looks like Tuesdays and Thurdays will be busy with exercize in the morning and crafts in the afternoon - they will have planned group crafts or you can bring along whatever you are working on and just hang out - sounds ok.
We started the "3-Day Diet" this morning - you are supposed to lose 5.5 pounds in 3 days, then eat a normal diet the next 4 days, then back on if you want to continue. Today's meals consisted of toast, peanut butter, 1/2 grapefruit, tuna, chicken, green beans, beets, apple, and low cal ice cream - not bad! It was hard getting the dry toast and plain tuna down - will have to add something to moisten the tuna.
It has been a long time since we have geocached, so we decided to give it a shot this afternoon. Needless to say, we are so out of practice and unfamiliar with the new GPS for closeup stuff that we did not succeed. Back to the drawing board for a little more research and we will try again another did. The adventure did lead to the discovery of another nice park on Copano Bay, not far from our site.
We did get good news today from the Bay View RV Park, we are going to get our $200 deposit back from them - yeah!!
Friday, November 14. A couple of days have passed again since I've written - could it be that I'm just so busy? Not really, just haven't had a lot to write about. Yesterday was kind of rainy for most of the afternoon. I did go down and exercize with the ladies in the morning - they do the "Walk Away The Pounds" video and it seemed to be a pretty good workout. That, in addition to my morning walk and a bike ride or two through the park should be good.
Today was one of those absolutely beautiful coastal Texas days. The sky was a brilliant blue, the breeze was comfortable, and it just couldn't be beat. It was also one of those days to catch up on some phone calls.
We were kind of hoping for a happy hour gathering this afternoon but couldn't find one, so had our own - a couple of *bleep*tails and a game of Farkel.
After we were both settled into bed this evening, around 10:30, the winds came up and beat this little house all night long, ensuring that neither of us got a good night's sleep. Gusts of up to 40 mph were predicted and they were right. There would be a short pause with some silence and then it would start pounding again. I think it sounded worse than it was, because all of our stuff outside and the vent covers on the roof were still secure in the morning. The park provides a nice combination bench/picnic table and many of them throughout the park were toppled over and blown around.
Saturday, November 15. What a fun day! Mike and Hair�??s classmate, Dan, flew in to Corpus Christi on Wednesday to spend a few days at Hair and Judy�??s house. They came to our place this afternoon; we had Mimosa�??s and snacks and visited for a while. The Pickled Pelican bar in Fulton was hosting a regional belt sander race that Hair�??s friends Jerry and Judy from Boulder Junction, WI were competing in. There, we met up with several of the group that we had met in May while playing Bocce ball at the beach �?? mostly winter Texan�??s from Wisconsin. The tracks are about 12�?� wide and run for 50-75�??. Today�??s races had 2 winners, the winner of the losers and the real winner. Unfortunately, Jerry�??s sander �??The Cheese-sled�?�, wasn�??t performing up to par and he didn�??t place. �??The Silver Bullet�?�, operated by the only female competitor took the day, the final competition was between her and her husband. It�??s amazing what a bunch of old farts won�??t do for an afternoon of fun. Click on this link for a short You Tube video of a recent belt sander race. Click Here
We were all hungry after the excitement of the races, so we headed to the Moon Dog, one of Mike�??s and my favorite restaurants at the Fulton Harbor. Dinner was excellent. Back to our �??house�?� for a game of Farkel before they headed back home.
Sunday, November 16. After a slow start to the day, Mike wanted to go for a little drive, and little it was. We made it as far as Watersedge (where we spent last winter), about 2 miles away. We stopped to visit with Allan and Sharon from Tucson and ended up sitting there a good part of the afternoon.
Back at the park, we noticed there was a happy hour gathering at the pavilion, so we quick mixed up some drinks and headed over there. We didn't stay long, as it was still quite windy, feeling quite cold coming off the water.
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November 17 - 23, 2008
Monday, November 17. There was a park meeting this morning, kind of a "what do you want" session. We planned to attend but were both thinking it was being held at 7 pm. I happened to glance at the calendar and noticed it was 10 am, and here we were still being lazy having coffee. I had already walked Frisco but Mike had to get dressed quickly and we were able to make it on time. Representatives from a local hospital gave a presentation on the services that they offer. Cheryl, the activities director then talked about some of the things they had planned, including some community service events.
We managed to stay busy all day; washing the car, grooming Frisco, and planning the route for our upcoming trip to Missouri. By 3:00, there was a nice fire going in the fire pit and people were starting to gather for happy hour. It was a beautiful evening and we watched a gorgeous sunset before heading back home.
Tuesday, November 18. Today was one of the busiest I have had since leaving Wisconsin. Frisco and I walked this morning but I opted out of the Tuesday morning exercise at the clubhouse because I had so much to do to get ready for our trip to KC. The grocery store was my first stop. I made a pot of chili for dinner when I got back home.
The park was abuzz today because they had the water shut off for repairs and there were little clusters of men standing around talking and solving the world's problems, Mike included. I went to the club house to join the women's crafts in the afternoon but only 3 showed up. We each worked on our own projects and gabbed.
Mike and I had appointments this afternoon to get our teeth cleaned - that always feels so good.
When we got back home, we had some chili and then I got ready to go to the movie, "A Secret Life of Bees" with some of the women in the park. On Tuesday night, they have movies for $4 at the theater in Rockport and popcorn is free. The movie was a good story of the rather tragic youth of a young girl, set in South Carolina in the 1950s.
Thursday, November 20. Yesterday was spent getting ready for our trip to Missouri for Thanksgiving. This morning, we were on the road by 9:00 after dropping Frisco off at the kennel in Ingleside. The trip was uneventful, we lost an hour getting through Dallas and stopped for the night at Atoka, OK. We saw a lot of southbound RV's along the way. Dinner tonight was at an excellent Mexican restaurant across the street from the Comfort Inn.
Friday, November 21. Our accommodations for the night were very good and the complimentary breakfast was fresh and tasty. By 9:00, we were on the road and arrived in Springfield by 3:00. Nobody was home at Randy's house, so we stopped for a beer before heading there. It is COLD here, supposed to drop to the 20s overnight.
It was so nice to see Lanae, Randy, and Julie again. Randy fixed us a delicious pasta dinner tonight and we had a nice time catching up on lost time.
Saturday, November 22. Julie and I spent the afternoon shopping, with a stop at J.C. Penney's for a short visit with Ali, as she was working. Mike and Randy went to the shooting range and Lanae stayed home to play with her neighborhood friends. For dinner, we headed to the Texas Roadhouse but found it would be a long wait, so we ended up at Colton's Steakhouse which was very good!
Sunday, November 23. Ben and Jill left San Francisco for a 2-week vacation to Vietnam early this morning - we will anxiously await news of their arrival.
Randy and Julie treated us to the Yakov Smirnoff show in Branson this afternoon. It was nice to see a live show, the facility was very nicely decorated for the holidays. The 1st half of the show was good but the 2nd half was kind of a bust; the dances were repeats and the comedy wasn't that great - he could use some new materials. Even so, we enjoyed it.
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November 24 - 30, 2008
Monday, November 24. We were on the road this morning by 8:30, headed to Blue Springs to spend the rest of the week at Rita and Denny's house. After lunch, Rita and I headed out to do the last of the shopping for Thanksgiving. Their son, Aaron, came by in the evening and it was nice to see him again too.
We were both relieved to hear that Ben and Jill arrived at their destination safely - now we will anticipate hearing about their return to SF and their vacation experience.
It was a quite evening with an enjoyable dinner tonight.
Tuesday, November 25. Happy Birthday, Tracey! Since Rita babysits her grandson, Barley on Tuesdays, we got to meet him for the first time this morning and spent the whole day with him. He is almost 10 months old and in the teething, slobbering, crawling, walking around furniture, and everything in the mouth stage. What a fun day but rather exhausting, as we are not in shape for chasing around a baby all day. There sure wasn't much time for doing anything but watching him - why not, as he is such a cutie!
This evening, we met up with Christel, Josh, Barley, and Aaron at GoJo's Japanese Restaurant in downtown KC for dinner. The food was excellent and it was a fun time. It definitely brought back memories of going there in the past.
It was early to bed tonight as we all were tired from our busy day.
Wednesday, November 26. Happy Birthday, Rene! Today was preparation day for the big Thanksgiving dinner. Rita is expecting 24 guests and she has it down pat, since she has been doing this every year for the family. It has been at least 13 years since we have been here for the occasion.
Mike and I went to Bob's this afternoon, as Randy and his family were stopping by for a visit. We spent a couple of hours there, then headed back to Rita's house, as Denny and Mike had to go pick up the rental tables and chairs. While they were gone, the transformation of the garage began - it goes from a 2-car garage to a beautiful dining room in a matter of a few hours.
First, a colorful carpet was rolled out. Next, the tables and chairs are brought it and washed down. A fall patterned paper is placed on the walls. Linen tablecloths are added and the place settings are set with linen napkins and silverware. Centerpieces are placed on the tables. My contribution was a personalized wine glass etched with the initial of each guest. It is amazing how this all came together and it really looked nice.
Thursday, November 27. Thanksgiving Day! As usual, it started with getting the turkey in the oven. As the day went on, the delicious smells started permeating the house. I had phone conversations with Pat and my brothers that weren't able to make it to KC. The house started to fill up with the arrival of the guests:
- Rita (my sister) and her husband Denny
- Their daughter, Christel, her boyfriend Josh, and their son, Barley
- Their son Aaron
- Rose and Mike
- Bob (my brother) and his wife, Penny
- Their daughter Amber and her husband Joel
- Their daughter Ashley
- Rene (my sister) and her husband Mike
- Their daughter Brittany and her boyfriend, Kyle
- Mike's mother, Margaret
- Randy (my brother) and his wife Julie
- Randy's son, Ryan and his girlfriend, Kelsey
- Randy's daughter, Ali and her boyfriend, Chase
- Their daughter Lanae
Dinner was served and Margaret said the prayer, Randy and Mike presented toasts, and when Rene finished her dinner, she presented her traditional Thanksgiving poem.
After dinner, we cleaned up, visited, played pool, and played Farkel.
Friday, November 28. Rita and I watched the movie, "Happy Feet", then proceeded to get ready for the day. We headed to Rene's house later in the morning, and spent the afternoon shopping and having lunch together.
Tonight, we were invited to Bob and Penny's house for a bonfire. Bob has been accumulating firewood and had a big pile to burn. Penny's parents and her sister, Rena and husband Larry joined us for leftover ham and turkey sandwiches and then we all gathered around the fire. It was a fun time but didn't last too long is it was pretty chilly as the night went on.
Saturday, November 29. We woke up to see snow flurries falling from the sky - good timing, as it was our day to head back south. After breakfast, we said our goodbyes and headed south on Highways 59 and 71 all the way to Texarkana, TX. The roads were great as far as Fort Smith, AR but were 2-way most of the way from there, slowing way down for going through towns. We stayed at the Comfort Suites because it was located right behind the Cracker Barrel. We are both having cold symptoms and not feeling the greatest, so a bowl of soup was on our minds for dinner.
Early to bed.
Sunday, November 30. On the road by 8:30 this morning, the roads and weather were good, so we were able to maintain pretty constant speeds of around 70. We got back in plenty of time to pick Frisco up from the kennel. We were happy to see him and he definitely was excited to have his people back.
Fortunately, I had chili in the freezer - a perfect dinner for a couple of sniffling, sneezing, coughing folks - yes, the symptoms developed into full fledged colds.
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Created on 11/02/2008 06:34 AM by bridge
Updated on 12/01/2008 10:32 AM by bridge
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