VETERAN'S WAR MEMORIAL OF TEXAS!

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Eli

tone, James LWatkins, Travis E.

oung, Marvin R.

We went to the Veteran's War Memorial of Texas today!  Located in McAllen about 5 miles from us, well, we went a lot further then that because our GPS took us in the opposite direction and we went about 15 miles out of the way! But we finally found it and it was very touching and worth the trip! It honors the sacrifices made by an estimated 1.4 million Americans serving in all the wars involving the United States from the American Revolution to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sculptor Douglas Clark has created several sculptures of famous World War II scenes and a tribute to the women of the military!  A series of nine bronze plaques tell the story of the Korean War. Another Sculpture honors Medal-of-Honor recipients.  The names of 3600 Texans who died in Vietnam are listed on a black granite wall.   The newest wall to be added to the Veteran's Memorial of Texas honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the latest conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan! This is the dream of Col. Frank Plummer, U.S. Army (Ret.) and other Valley veterans.
                                                       Tonight we will be passing out candy to 200-300 kids, they will be allowed to enter the park, we will be set-up in front of the Ball Room here at Mission Bell and they will have the Trade Winds residents sitting at the entrance way to the park, then afterwards there will be a little Halloween Party at the Trade Winds for the adults, food will be provided, best costumes will be judged! I'm not sure if I am going to dress up or not, couldn't find anything around here, might just wear a witch hat and dress in black! 
                                                     Weather has been perfect, dips down to the high 50's at night and gets up to the 80's during the day, sunshine everyday!
                                                         Well, until next time! Enjoy the pictures!

                                                       

WHAT HAPPINESS IS!

LIFE, LAUGH AND LOVE!

                                          Me blogging away!

     Craig watch Robin Hood outside! And birthday boy with his new plants I got him for his birthday!

We had a meeting today at the Friendship hall, coffee and donuts were offered. Audry our activities director introduced herself to everyone. She started out saying "we lost quite a few residents this year and that life is so short, also lost our 54 years old son this year, so remember to wake up each day and appreciate life, don't wake up grouchy and in a bad mood, life is too short so enjoy every moment!"  I so agree, I went up to her afterwards and told her I was so sorry about her son and can't imagine the pain of burying a child! But I do know the pain of loss, I married my first husband 2 weeks before I turned 17 and he was 19, we had 4 beautiful kids together, he worked all the overtime he could get, as much as he loved hunting he'd pull triple shifts so others could go hunting, he'd work every holiday for the double time pay, I asked him not to do that, to take time off to hunt and enjoy the holidays, but he said when I retire I will have all the time in the world to do that, well, he didn't because he was killed at 35 yrs. old by a 17 year old drunk driver while on his way home from work after pulling a double shift, leaving behind 4 children, age 3 to 15, what hurts so much is knowing that he'd never do all the things he wanted to when he retired!  I have learned to life each day like it's my last, I have never passed up having a good time because the house needs to be cleaned or I can work a holiday for the extra money, I have worked holidays and a lot of overtime but that was only if there was nothing else going on! I see so many work way past their retirement age, I retired as soon as I could draw my pension and draw social security, I felt that every day I worked past 62 was one day taken away from the life I really want to be living! Sure money is tight, very tight, but you learn to do without things, pay up as much as you can before you retire, we may have an older motorhome and older vehicles but they are in excellent condition and gets us where we want to go, I refuse to be tied to a home and a fancy car, so many work until they die because of the material things they think they have to have! I want to live like my parents did, they drove old vehicles, didn't wear fancy clothers, they never owned new furniture or appliances, the drove a 25 year old motorhome to do there flea markets in and drove an older van out west to Arizona and Las Vegas, us kids would pray they made it back ok and they always did, half the time we had no idea where they were, sure they missed a few important events with grandkids birthdays or holidays, but their grandkids loved them so much, they named their children after them, it had nothing to do with the quantity of time they spent with them it was the quality of time! They were the kindest people ever, they would meet at a local restaurant in Vassar every morning and people would always seek them out and set at their table, it was always the loudest table in the place! They died 6 months apart and my Dad said he wishes we could all go on a nice vacation together one more time before he died, but he passed before we could do that, but in memory of Mom and Dad us kids took some of the money from the sale of there home and went on vacation together, we made sure we watched a sunrise together in memory of them! We all had a hard time but we knew they would want us to move on! So I guess what I am trying to say here is life IS short so live it and follow your dreams, it may take some sacrifices but it is so worth it! I have the gypsy soul of my parents and the want to see this country, I don't care if we are a little cramped in the motorhome, or we don't drive a new car every year because at the end of my life that isn't what people are going to remember about me, they are going to say "she lived till she died!".  It is Craig's birthday today and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said "I have everything I want, living my dream with you!" Thank God I am with someone who has the same silly dreams I have!  Today we are sitting outside our MH and watching TV as we are reclined in our lawn chairs having a mixed drink! Life is good! 
                             Well, anyways, enough of that, time to get off here and enjoy the rest of the day! Steaks on the grill for supper, cheap steaks, but at least they are steaks, lol! Until next time, have a great day!

COLD FRONT MOVING IN!!

Heard on the weather channel that a cold front was moving across the valley, they call this area the "valley", so being from Michigan I thought it's going to be cold and rainy, but what we got was a temp this morning of 62 degrees, I said to Craig I thought we had a cold front moving in, he said "yep, it's here" I said I was thinking like in Michigan, he said "honey, you ain't in Michigan anymore"! It was good working weather this morning, a little cool and windy, I even put a thin jacket on! But a few had coats and sweatshirts on! I can live with this,will get up into the high 70's later this afternoon! Loving it!

                        Took Lenny to get his haircut and he looks so nice, the groomer said he had several little bites all over him, could even be ant bites! I felt so bad for him because he has been itching non-stop, I thought it was allergies, even gave him a bath in medicated shampoo! She said it is common in winter Texan dogs, takes them awhile to get use to bugs and ants, so we have to check him closer after he goes for a walk! He look kind of  mad in this picture, but honest he just loves his new cut (not)!
                        One thing that we have found out about living the life of full-timers and that is two people can't be in the kitchen at the same time or try to pass in the hall at the same time(we actually got stuck trying to pass each other), we also found out that this place gets dirty faster then a house, if you get something out, put it back, dishes need to be done almost immediately after every meal, sink is too small to let them set, taking a shower is an ordeal, you knock things off the shower shelf, can't let the water run, you wet yourself down then shut off the water, wash hair and body, turn on water and rinse, then shut it back off, then shave, put conditioner on, then turn water on and rinse again, hot water tank is small so to be able to have enough hot water to get thru a shower that is how you have to do it! I really have problems trying to store all my e-bay items, I have two outside compartments filled with games and Christmas items, I have 3 plastic containers stored under the motorhome and 2 huge bags of clothes stored in front by the drivers area! Can be fun trying to find items I have sold, try to have everything sorted so it will be easier to find, but as of right now I have lost a pink jacket that I sold, I have gone thru everything 3 times and can not find it!  I may have to refund the buyer her money, I am going to give it one more day of looking because I have actually lost items before and just before I give a refund I find it, hoping that happens this time too!  People think that this e-baying business is easy but it's a lot of work, I spend at least a couple hours a day shipping and handling items, I pack each item and then print my own shipping labels and then have to print invoices and on listing days I can spend up to 6-8 hrs. a day, especially if it is free listing day or 1 cent listing day, I have to measure each item after the full description, weigh them and figure shipping cost!  It's like a full-time job, but I really do enjoy doing it, I don't know how we would have made it without the extra money coming in from e-bay, it's our fun money, if it wasn't for e-bay we would be able to pay our bills, buy groceries and maybe a few luxuries and that would be about it! I thank God everytime I sell something, I asked him to show us how to make money while traveling so we could sustain this life-style and I believe e-bay is the answer! Craig helps too, he takes everything to the post office for me and does the housework, laundry and shopping while I am taking pictures of my items, which in itself can be very time consuming, I can spend up to 2-3 hours taking the pictures, then fixing them, cropping them, etc., then listing them and doing my shipping and handling! I don't do much e-bay on the days we work except shipping and handling, things have to be shipped with 2 days of selling them! But with all the problems we have in this way of living, we wouldn't trade it for the biggest house in the world, we still have a great life, still no lawns to mow or rake, no snow shovel, no cold to deal with or scraping windows, or driving on snow covered roads, even when this house is messed up, it only takes about and an at the most to clean it from top to bottom! I still pinch myself everyday to make sure I'm not dreaming! I still miss my kids and grandkids everyday, I wish I was rich so I could fly them out her to be with us, going to miss them at Christmas and all the other holidays, but I know they understand and they will be seeing us next year for 6 months, it's not about the quantity of time you spend with them but the quality of time!
                                               We are done working our 4 days ,now we have 4 days off! Craig was getting pretty sore the last couple of days because he was running out of pain pills and was only taking a half pill instead of a whole one, he said he didn't say anything to me because he didn't want me to worry, but all his meds are mailed to him by the VA, and he ordered all his meds on Oct. 9 and they still aren't here so he called them yesterday and they are going to overnight them to him! So today he took his last 1/2 pain pill, hoping the meds will be here sometime today or tomorrow!  It's not hard work it's just that he has to be on his legs for the whole time!  YIPPEE! Craig just got back from getting the mail and his pills have arrived and he was also waiting for his tags for his truck and they came too, good thing because his plates would have been expired by Sunday! He's one happy guy! Me too since he has been driving me nuts about it!
                                                  Well, gotta go do the happy dance with Craig  and it is getting nice out so I guess we are going to sit outside and enjoy the rest of the day!
                                                  So until next time, God Bless!
             

CAMPWORKERING JOB IN GAYLORD NEXT YEAR

Live and learn, We should have been looking for a camphosting position at least a month ago, all the places we wanted to host are already taken! We were hoping to have something closer to the Bay City area so my kids and grandkids don't have to drive so far to see us, the best and closest we could find was in Gaylord KOA, but it will be a great place for the grandkids, has a pool, playgrounds, very kid friendly! Talked to the managers and they said they have a housekeeping position available, we will work May 1st to Sept. 30th, will work 30 hrs. a week between the two of us, 15 hrs. a piece, we get a golf cart to use when we work.  Sounds great and you can't go wrong with a KOA. It's going to be quite a change from a 55+ resort to a kid friendly park.  The time line is also perfect, we leave here April 15th, that gives us 2 weeks to get there, we want to go see Russ and Susan's new home in Virginia before we head home, so will be able to spend about a week there before we head for Michigan! 
                 We have had to learn one very important thing while being here "RELAX", after working a 10-12 hr. day to working a 3 hr. day 4 times a week, you learn that it is ok to do absolutely nothing, read a book, take a nap, play on the computer(finding out that I don't spend as much time on FB as I use to) spend a day at the pool, go site seeing, etc.  I always felt guilty because I felt I should be doing more, never thought I would have to learn to relax, Craig has it down pat, lol! But he has been retired for 3 years, so he has it all figured out! People here are all so layed back, it's kind of funny, you see them early in the morning before the heat hits then you don't hardly see anyone again until the sun sets, then they are come out and ride their bikes, golf carts, walking or just sitting outside in front of their campers or trailors! But then again I had to teach Craig to slow down when working, he is use to rushing thru everything, we do as much as we need to in the 3 hrs. we work, they don't expect us to get it all done in one day! The first couple of days we worked he was red faced and sore, now he is going at my pace, besides this place doesn't get that dirty right now!  All in all it is a lot easier then we thought it would be,but once all the winter Texans get here they will be a lot busier and have a lot more to do, they will be having all kinds of things going on here daily, so we may have to pick up our pace up a little! And one thing I have to learn yet and that is to be able to say hi and not stand around talking to everyone, lol, they are so friendly here and want to know all about you or where you're from, you all know me, I'm a talker! But I am getting better at that, found out I can clean and talk at the same time! 
                Heard on the news last night that we have to watch out for the Kissing Bug, yes, I said Kissing Bug, it is a small insect that bites you in the lip while you are sleeping and passes a parasite into your body that can lay dorment in your stomach for years before you have any reaction from it! Isn't that nice, and it is known to be in the valley here in Mission, now I am paranoid of any little thing I see, I check for any sores around my mouth every morning, Craig just laughs at me and says "and you thought tarantulas and snakes were going to get you"!  I also notice that he is always tapping his shoes before he puts them on, we leave our shoes outside, I finally asked him what are you doing, he said just checking for spiders or bugs, they tend to crawl into things like shoes" well, thanks for telling me that bit of information, now my shoes come in with me, I take them off outside but I don't leave them out there!  I seen my first cockroach or palmetto bug(didn't know they were the same thing), I was sweeping up some leaves by one of the entrance doors and there was this huge bug, I told Craig to come and check out this funny looking cricket, lol, he said that isn't a cricket, it's a palmetto bug, I said oh, never heard of them, he said they are another name for cockroaches, they are just bigger and live in palmtrees! I never know if he's joking or not, he always walks away smiling!
                                        Been watching a lot of new winter Texans coming in lately, we have a new neighbor across from us and another one two lots down, have been told that a lot more will be showing up, especially after Thanksgiving.  Lenny is getting better at not barking at every little noise or person that walks by, I think he is just tired of being told to shut up!  He goes and gets his first grooming tomorrow, he's not going to be too happy about that, but his hair is getting so long that he is starting to mat plus he is always hot, needs his nails and ears done too!
                                          We are going out to eat at Joe's Crabshack for supper, can't wait, I am not much of a seafood person but I did notice that do have fish and chips, chicken, steaks, hamburgers, etc., Craig loves crabs, lobsters and shrimp, but as for me I was raised on meat and potatoes, never ate fish of any kind until I got married, not even fish sticks, when you are raised on a vegetable farm you don't get much fish to eat, just the country girl in me!
                                                                Well, gotta go do some shipping and handling for e-bay, I thank God every day for ebay, it sure does help inbetween pay days, I don't get paid until the 3rd week of each month and  Craig gets paid the last week, so it sure helps to have a steady flow of cash coming in from ebay! So anyways, until next time, have a good one!

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND!

Decided to check one more thing off our "to do list" while we are in Texas, that was to go check out South Padre Island!  Worth the 75 mile journey, the water was sooo blue and the sand soo white, but it was extremely windy there, almost blew Lenny over, lol!  Loved going over the bridge to get there, kinda reminded us of the Mackinaw Bridge, almost as long, they had warning lights to warn us to watch out for Pelicans, lol, never did see one! They were having the sand castle contests going on while we were there, so most of the restaurants were busy and a lot of traffic, they also had a lot of para-surfing and para-sailing going on too, the skies were full! We wanted to find a nice seafood restaurant to have lunch there but they were either closed or full, besides we had Lenny with us and couldn't leave him alone in the truck too long in the heat, so we decided to try a drive thru and sit in the truck to eat, so here we are in a seafood town and we decided to go to "What-a-Burger" joint (they are all over here), but let me tell you it was the best burger we have had in a long time! I couldn't hardly finish my patty-melt, fed some to Lenny and was only able to eat a little bit of the fries, Craig had a double green chili cheese burger, he finished it but didn't hardly eat any fries either.  On the way home we seen this awesome Dinasaur place, had huge dinasaurs, King Kong, Dolphins and giant seashells, turns out it was a gift shop but it was really cool, took some pictures so I could show my grandkids, my grandson Hayden is crazy about dinasaurs and granddaughters Callie and Kennedy love seashells, Desiree loves dolphins and Blaken loves all of the above, so we got more pictures of that then of the island!
                             We also learned a good lesson today, my daughter Susan warned us to leave the air-conditioning on when we leave, because it will take forever to cool down the MH, well, we decided there was no sense in running the air while we were gone, ugh, it had to be close to a 100 degrees in here when we got back, been trying to cool it down for an hour and a half now, it is still around 80 degrees in here! Never again!!
                                               I have had my family on my mind a lot today, especially the grandkids, talked to them yesterday and realized how much I miss them all, but felt kind of connected with them when we stopped at the Dinasaur place! Hayden's birthday is next month so we think we will run back there and get something special for him!
                                                              I decided to start checking around in Michigan for a workamp job for the summer of 2012, figured I was looking a little too early, but all the places we wanted to camphost or work at are taken, except way upnorth and in the u.p., and I don't want to be that far away from family, the reason we are going back to Michigan is to spend time with family and I don't want them to have to drive 150 miles to see us, so I sent our resume' to several private and KOA campgrounds/resorts!  We actually got an e-mail back from one of them already, they are going to call us today or tomorrow! I guess it's never too early to plan ahead!
                                                                                                  Well, gotta go and give Lenny his bath tonight, he needs a medicated one because he is constantly scratching and he has a rash on his back and belly, plus we have been picking burrs out of him daily, they are unbelievable here, maybe because it is so dry, I don't know for sure, but we are hoping that this bath will help with the rash, if not we will have to take him to the vet's! So until next time!!
                                 

CAMPWORKER'S PARTY!

We had our camp worker's welcome pot luck party today at the Scott and Cynthia's (resort managers) place, got to meet everyone that we will be working with there! What a great bunch of people, they are funny, experienced, relaxed and as friendly as you can be. They all have a story to tell, some have been at it for many years and some are as new as we are, I even met a gal from Australia, she is married to a retired military guy! Lots of good food and conversations! I feel like I have known them forever! All different people with different personalities, but all have the same dream as we do, all gave up their homes, retired, left behind family and friends, none of them have regrets! They range from middle 50's to middle 70's and all are young at heart! Can't wait until the next get together!
                           We are getting up early and heading for Padre Island tomorrow to spend a few hours and explore the gulf side of the state!  Will take pictures and post them on here! So until the next time!

SPENT THE DAY AT THE POOL!

FIRST WEEK AT MISSION BELL!

What a week, learned alot and met so many new people, thank God we all have to wear name tags! Things we learned...*when the weatherman says "WINDY"  they mean roll your canopy up or lose it, take down the Halloween decorations or they will end up in the next lot, along chimes, lights,etc., we were out there running around like two chickens with their heads cut off! Thanks to our friend Jerry who told us that bit of info! But that night we put the canopy back out and the next day ran to Home Depot and got special heavy duty stakes to hold down the canopy and the awning shade sunblocker, hopefully that will work, was wondering why a lot of people don't leave their canopies out, but we still like leaving ours out because it's like a 4 season room for us and we spend a lot of time out there!....*should have brought our ladder, had it loaded to take with us but at the last minute changed our mind, big mistake, we ended up standing on chairs, stools, the tailgate of the truck, all very dumb and dangerous, so I found a broken aluminum ladder someone had thrown out behind the dumpster and after asking the resort manager if you could have it, we recycled it by fixing it good enough to use and a lot safer...yep, go ahead and call me dumpster diving Vi, won't be the first time!...*Working days ..have hair clips with you at all times, starts out cool but heats up fast and need to get the long mane off my neck, have bottled water with you at all times...where comfy shoes...work steady but at a comfortable pace (had to teach Craig that one)....ask lots of questions!....*Should have brought things to clean the outside of the motorhome, we ended up spending $55 on cleaning supplies, such as long handled brushes, long handled squeegie for the windshield, pail and all that goes with it!...*Learn a little spanish because everyone knows spanish around here, from the post office employees to fast food restaurant employees, everyone is bilingual, I find that amazing since I have trouble with the English language, Craig speaks pretty good Spanish but warned me to not even try, I will end up insulting someone thinking I am saying something nice! lol!...*Finding out that there is so much to do here that there isn't enough time in the day, but not like when we had full-time jobs, more like having too much fun discovering this new life style, as all you followers of our blog and facebook friends are finding out and have noticed I am not on either one very often, the weather is so nice and there is so much to do, that I have to make time to blog or comment of fb...*but one of the best things we have learned here is that everyone is friendly, I bet we say hello at least 20 times a day! Taking Lenny for a quick walk turns into an hour because I end up sitting down with rver's along our walk and visiting, they immediately get a chair out and invite us to stay awhile, we talk about where we are from or about our previous lives, our pets, our adventures and just some great conversations, no gossip here, no backstabbing, no complaining,  no uncalled drama! Some have very fancy diesel pushers, some in fancy 5th wheels, some in permanent park models, some with class A and B motor homes, some older some newer rigs, but all are on the same page, very happy, laid back and busy! They have everything here..golfing..crafts, woodworking, Texas Hold em, bingo, etc. if you find yourself bored here, well, I don't know what to tell ya!! But we know one thing for sure, this is the life we want to live, this was a trial run but after one week here we know for sure this is what we want, don't know if we will come back here or find another resort next fall, but I can't see how it would get any better then this, still want to spend our summers in Michigan as campground hosts, don't want to live if a stick house anymore, don't want to mow lawns, rack leaves, shovel snow, etc. we will leave here in April, then head for Virginia to see my daughter Susan and her husband Russ for about a month then to Michigan, hoping to get a hosting job close to home so we can spend a lot of time with our kids and grandkids, because we do miss them and want to spend as much time as we can with them, we also miss our friends, like my best bud of over 35 yrs. Peggy, want to have a girls weekend with her again at my other good friend Annette's..Craig wants to see his best bud Coke(Jim) and do some fishing with him, also he wants to go fishing and watch movies with his buddy Richard! I miss my brother Bob, he has always been more then a brother to me, he's been my friend, he always talks sense to me when I can't make sense of things, I miss my other brother Butch and his sweet wife Norma, he's my big brother and my friend, I love it that they are also living their dream! I miss all my family and friends, but I know they are glad we are living our dream and wish us the best!  I feel this is the last leg of our journey of life and want to squeeze out another 20 years out of it! I want to thank my parents for putting this gypsy soul in me, they loved to travel and I remember them being gone alot and wished they would be home more, but now I understand and am so glad they lived their lives to the end! Well, gotta get off here and get this place cleaned up and do some e-bay listing! So until next time!!!

WE ARE HERE!

Well we made it! We met the resort managers Cynthia and Scott and Cynthia, who goes by the name Alabama the office worker as soon as we pulled in, we were given all kinds of paper work about where everything is, rules, who to call if we have problems, name tags, etc. We were escorted to our site by Scott and he not only showed us our site but helped back the MH in, then he got out some sandpaper and cleaned up the prongs on our plug so we would get better power! Then Alabama and her husband Jerry pulled up in a golf cart  to welcome us here! Later after we finished setting up we went for a walk and Alabama let us know where a few workcampers were gathered and we should stop over and meet them, so after our walk we did and what a friendly and welcoming group of people!  We are having a Workampers meeting Monday and go over all our schedules and positions then on October 22nd they our having a Burgers and the fixin's potluck, so we can all have a good time and get to know everyone! I woke up this morning at 5 am and was so excited that I put my walking shoes on and went for a walk aroung the resort, it is so safe and peaceful here, I found the pool and it is beautiful with a thatched roof for sitting under and an awesome pool that has a lighted path to pool area, palm trees everywhere, everything is so clean and well taken care of! I LOVE IT HERE! I feel that we made the right choice coming here, even Lenny has been good, not sure how long that will last!  Only problems we have run into is our satellite dish doesn't let us get in local channels so we have Direct TV will be here Sunday morning to fix it and for some reason when we turn on our airconditioner both conditioners run instead of one at a time, can't have that or we will be blowing some breakers, so gotta have that checked out, so it was so cool last night we just shut the air off and opened the windows! But besides that everything is perfect!  Now Craig is up and wants to go check out the pool and Lenny is wants to go check out the dog walk! Above are pictures of our MH set up and our name tags(we are official now) Below is pictures of the pathway to the pool and the pool area!  So until next time!

RAIN FOR TEXAS!!

Finally Texas gets rain, as you can see above how dry and dead the grass and trees are, and as in the top photo dried up lakes, that is a boat ramp in the picture, ramp to nowhere, there were seashells laying all over where the lake use to be, very sad! We not only couldn't have campfires but couldn't even grill with charcoal, if you are caught watering your lawn or washing your car you are fined! Hopefully they got enough rain to help bring back the green and lakes!
                                            For anyone that ever plans on traveling like we are, here are the books I used everyday...WOODALL'S CAMPGROUND DIRECTORY..which has most of the campgrounds listed by each interstate exit you are on, has prices, phone numbers, amenities and directions..THE NEXT EXIT..tells what is at each exit you pass, helpful when you need gas...AAA TRIP TIX CAMPGROUNDS.. for each state you go thru plus it tells which ones have the AAA discounts, we used the trip tix maps for awhile but many times we went off the beaten pass way to see more, (that's where the GPS came in handy), it tells where campgrounds are that Woodall's might have missed and is listed by city not by interstate, which helps when you want to find a campground near the town you plan on stopping in, ESCAPEE'S TRAVEL GUIDE...this is a real good book on campgrounds, free and low cost places to boondock, cost with your discount for being an Escapee member, which I recommend, plus have a GPS and an Atlas! Thank God we have a pull-out drawer on our dash because I would have all these books in use at all times! I also had my camera/camcorder ready also!  Laptop came in handy too, I would look up a campground we plan on staying in and call to see if they had any pull-thrus available and double check on the prices, sometimes they are cheaper or more expensive! I have been planning this adventure for quite awhile and went to many full-time RV sites and got a lot of advice plus what books to get and also how to pack our MH, what items of clothing to take, minor repairs on the MH, etc. We didn't head out for our life in an RV without a lot of preparations!  We are totally portable, we have a satellite dish so we can watch TV anywhere(learning how to get it to work yet but getting better, plus a lot of help from other RVers),a Verizon wireless card so I can get internet anywhere and cell phones so we are in constant contact with family(works 99% of the time, but not here in Lexington), I also have my E-bay buisness, I have brought in about $400 since we left a week ago, trust me that helps with the gas and groceries!  As you can see there is a lot to get ready before taking off to live our dream!  Plus we are living and learning as we go, everyday we discover something new and that is what makes it so exciting and fun!
                                                   We stayed here at Sonny's RV in Lexington for 2 days  to rest, do laundry, give the motorhome a break and enjoy visiting with the other RVer's and believe me they are very friendly and helpful, most everyone comments on our Dolphin Motorhome, they love the dolphins on each side, we have had someone even take pictures of it, I have always loved dolphins and it seemed like the perfect motorhome for us, had everything we wanted and the dolphins represents freedom to me, there are 3 dolphins...one is Craig..one is Me and one is Lenny, lol! We had a few hidden problems we had to fix before we left but everything is running like a charm now! We will be pulling out of here sometime today and finding one more campground to stay in for a couple days before we finally pull into MissionBell for 6 months, we want to clean the mh before we get there, hopefully we can find a truckwash along the way, if they allow washing motorhome with the drought going on, plus we want to shampoo the carpets and wash the windows, we want to pull into our new home with pride!
                           Well, gotta go find a post office to ship out 7 packages then come back and help break camp and hit the road again!! So until next time! 
                                              
        
                                                           

WE MADE IT..WE ARE IN TEXAS!!!

Well, here we are in Sulphur Spring's "Cooper's Lake State Campground!" Beautiful state, even with all the damage from the drought, miles of dead trees, brown grass and dried up rivers! You know you see it on TV and hear about how bad it is, but to actually see it is sad, I feel for this state! But it is still beautiful here and the friendliest people you will ever meet, everywhere we stop to get gas or at rest areas someone walks up to us and starts talking and asking us questions about where we are going or where are we coming from, like when we got to our site, we were trying to get a signal on our satellite, so Craig walked over to our neighbor's site and asked what they had their dish set at, well, they not only told us how but came over and spent an hour trying helping us, never got it to work because we have a bunch of trees right in front of our site, so we thanked them and we all set at our picnic table and just talked about life!  Now that's what I'm talking about!!! We seen our first amadillo about a 100 feet from our motorhome, I got my camera out, zoomed in a got a good picture of it!
                                    Had to run our air for the first time today, just think about it, Sunday when we left Michigan we were using heaters or the furnace to keep warm, couple states later we were sleeping with the windows open, now we are running the air!  Was pretty warm too, about 95 degrees when we got here, we were both sweating like pigs, I told Craig we need to get use to it if we are going to be here for 6 months, he said it will get cooler as we move into the fall and winter and I guess he is right, tonight it is about 75 degrees, good sleeping weather!!
                                    The river we are camped in front of is down so much from the drought that about 500 feet of it has cracked ground and there is a boat dock that goes to nowhere because the water has receded so far back, I looked down as I was walking to the lake and saw all these huge seashells everywhere, so I picked enough of them up to clean up and mail back to the grandkids, they love anything that has to do with nature, better then t-shirts! 
                                     We kind of rushed getting here, but now we can slow down and stay at this campground for a couple of days or any other one we see that we like because we don't have to be in Mission for at least a week!  Guess will get ready for bed now, all this excitement has made us both sleepy and we want to get up early because we heard that deer are out and about early in the morning and we don't want to miss that and hey, maybe I will even see Mr. Amadillo again!! So until the next time, Good Night All!    P.S.  Believe it or not but the pictures above are two separate pictures, the Welcome to Texas picture was taken as we passed by in our motorhome and the armadillo picture was taken in front of our campsite, it looks like one picture, lol!

ILLINOIS, MISSOURI, ARKANSAS!!

Stayed in a beautiful Campground last night, right on the lake, had internet (but used my own, much faster) cable, direct hook up for water and sewer, showers and laundry facilities, we bought some charcoal, charcoal lighter and some wood so we could BBQ and enjoy a fire, well, that didn't happen, Craig was so exhausted he fell asleep on the couch, so I let him sleep while I did all my shipping and handling on e-bay, plus did some more listing, so it was a relaxing night! But had a rough beginning today, had to have Craig unhook the truck so I could get to the post office and drop off my ebay packages, then driving around for 45 minutes looking for it, finally I found it and they told me they couldn't take my packages because the labels were printed as shipped from Bay City not from Illinois, so I had to go back to the MH and cancel the postage, took them back to the Post Office and had them mail them for me and put the campground zip code down, now it will take up to 14 days to get my postage refund back in my paypal account! Live and learn! So by the time I got all that done it was 12:30 before we hit the road! So we pushed it today and kept going until we hit Arkansas, wasn't much to see anyways except going over the Mississippi River bridge, that was so cool, but my camera died so I had to get pictures with my phone, hopefully I can get them posted on here, gotta figure that one out yet! Time to get my new expensive camera out and learn how to use it! Oh and the temperature today was in the high 70's with beautiful weather for the last two days! We finally decided to go to the first campground we came to in Arkansas, we were so tired and ready to relax! Well, we found Grizzly's Campground, I called and he said it would be $25 a night, I told him we had a Good Sam's, Escapees and AAA card, he said he only takes Passport but would give us a break and let us have a site for $12.50, I said cool, we will be there in 15 minutes, well, the good news is we get cable, internet, direct hook-up for sewer and water, laundry facilities and showers but we are parked in the back of a trailor park with a view of a dead corn field, I am sure glad we got it for only $12.50, but the review (only had one) said it had the cleanest showers and laundro-mat they had ever seen, they liked it so much they stayed 2 days, ummm, we may too because we got laundry to do and showers to take,so we will see what tomorrow brings!  We were laughing so hard when we were pulling in that I know the owner thought we were nuts!!  What a fantastic adventure, we had a rough start with the MH needing some repair and making us having to turn around and get it fixed, plus an emotional good-bye to the kids, grandkids and friends, but the MH is running perfect and it's been all good since we left Bay City! We thank God everyday we are able to do this and pray to him to help us to keep going! We can't quit smiling and we are seeing sides of each other that we haven't seen in years, there has been so much stress from his surgeries and taking such a financial cut in our income because he had to go on social security disability, fear about should I retire or shouldn't I, but I know it was the right choice now, I was told to never look back on what choices I have made, just look ahead and keep going! As we are getting ready to turn in for the night next to a dead corn field I feel that we made the best choice! So until tomorrow and another adventure, Good night!

HOPING TO BE OUT OF INDIANA BY DARK!

My nephew Brian said Indiana is a long boring state and he was right! Not much to see but fields, but  at least we made it this far! Stayed at Pokagon State Park, beautiful park, but tight getting into our spot, we just fit with the dingy (towed vehicle) still hooked up, plus couldn't get our satellite to come in, so I listed some e-bay items, then found out I could watch tv on the computer (thanks Courtney)! Stayed up past 11 watching my shows, then went to bed and couldn't sleep! So slept in until 8! Craig wanted to be on the road by daylight, but he let me sleep in, then even made me a big breakfast! We are parked in a black walnut grove, I thought acorns were loud when they hit our roof, walnuts sound like baseballs hitting, plus poor Lenny, he almost got hit by a couple while out doing his business! Craig said the showers sucked, they are so small that his clean clothes got wet because there was nowhere to put them, lol, I'll wait until the next campground to take mine!  I could take a shower in our motorhome, but we don't carry a lot of water because of the weight, but if worse comes to worse, I WILL take a shower in here and he can just replace it at the fill station!! Despite all the negatives, this is a beautiful state park and we only paid $17 to stay here! Well, gotta get dressed and hit the road, so until next time, hopefully in Illinois, I believe another boring state, but we will see, every state is interesting in it's own right!!

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Ok, had a rough start when we discovered a transmission leak, so headed back to Bay City to our mechanic, still under warrantee, just the loss of gas money and time, :(, but better safe then sorry! But the up side is we got to spend more time with family! :)!!! Was homesless for a couple of nights, well, not really, they let us stay in our Dolphin while it was there, scenery wasn't the best, we were right across from my old work place Bay Metro, lol, so everyone got to see that we were having trouble!  Another great thing is we hit some great rummage sales, got a lot of merchandise for e-bay and some great finds for the grandkids, will be busy listing for a few days! We stayed the night at the Finn Rd. campground, I listed e-bay and Craig cooked supper and enjoyed a nice fire!  Had some loud and rowdy campers last night, they were all elderly, lol, was good to see the old folks partying away to the wee hours of the night, didn't bother us, we were so exhausted that we slept through it!  We plan on being on the road by at least 10:00 am, gas up and head out once again! Will let you know this evening where we are and may even add a few pictures, so pray and wish us luck!  Will update this evening in Indiana!