Maybe jumped the gun?

I told you in the last post about tethering the phone and how our internet access was solved.  Ha, yesterday morning at 6am, I get a text on my phone.  I jump up to check it as I am hoping for a text to be able to change my first trip in January, but instead it's a message from AT&T that I have already used 65% of my data plan and to watch out because they charge $10/1G overage.  It seems weird as we have only used the computers a few hours since I signed up.  Reading various other posts on several forums, it appears most people are content with only a few Gig per month?  We signed up for 4Gig and thought it would accommodate us, so now we are reconsidering going to Millenicom for an unlimited, non contract plan, more money, but it might be the way to go.  Do any of you have any idea how much bandwidth you are using?  We don't stream movies, only a very occasional Utube video, so don't know how we are burning through so much bandwidth.  Comments would be appreciated.
We left Longview yesterday and stopped last night in Vidalia, LA at the River View campground RIGHT on the Mississippi.  Very nice, we are literally 100-200 feet from the river.

Internet access--solved, at least for awhile.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We had a great day with Kelly and Todd, Todd's parents, and of course the grandkids.
The campground we are in here in Longview provides free internet access via Tengo internet.  Tengo used to be acceptable long ago, but as they have grown, they have gotten worse and worse.  Although this campground, Fernbrook, provides free access, in most places Tengo charges exorbitant fees for abysmal service.  Well we arrived Friday, and Tengo hasn't worked at all the entire time!  They say they will have to wait until Tuesday to address the problem.  We were quite frustrated to say the least.  Todd mentioned that he and Kelly were using their iPhones as hot spots and how well it worked.  We also remembered Karen was using her's as a hotspot as well.  I had a talk with AT&T, and although we would lose our grandfathered unlimited data plan, we signed up one of our phones to tether, and poof, instant, fast internet service!  For both computers simultaneously!  And the best part only $15 more per month.  We'll have to address weak service areas later, but for now we are VERY pleased!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

In a little while we'll head over to our daughter's to watch our grandkids open presents, and have a big Christmas breakfast!

A Few Ramblings

I just got back from a 4 day trip.  For those of you not in the know, doesn't seem so long, right?  Well, what most of us say is, "A 4 day trip is a week longer than a 3 day trip".  It seems to go on and on.  Flew with a guy who was only 20 FEET from the Reno air race crash!!  He is lucky to be alive, and he knows it.  He saw things that people shouldn't have to see that happened to folks all around him.  I'm glad I've never experienced anything like it.  It must be a lot like war time situations and events.  I won't go into it here, but it suffices to say it was grim, tempered by the fact he was so, so lucky to be alive!
While on my trip, I saw a good friend who was responsible for getting me into the training department as an instructor for whom I have the greatest respect.  Merry Christmas Jerry!
The friend we made here in the campground that I had mentioned before, Dave, the one who decided he didn't like retirement so got a new job here in the Atlanta area.  The same one who has gotten me reinterested in Ham radio.  Well, he and I were talking just before I left on my trip about how much he misses his family and his grandson up in CT, while he's here doing a job he's not all that excited about, dealing with the incredible traffic, with all his toys up north in his paid for nice home, etc.  Well, Jan said he came over the day I left and told her he had done a lot of thinking, especially after talking to me (whoops), and he had quit his job and was heading back home the next morning, felt like he had lifted a burden off his shoulders.  Go Dave!!  Life's too short to waste it on the non important things.
We leave tomorrow to head down to Kelly and Todd's for Christmas.  I have to admit I've always been quite a bah humbug guy about Christmas, and I guess I still am, but grandkids do put another spin on it!
If I don't get back on here before the big day, we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

Jan saves the day.....Again!

There is an unwritten law that says if something is going to break or go bad it will definitely happen when I am away so it falls on Jan to deal with it.  With our last motorhome it was the converter/inverter that failed when I was in Las Vegas and it was 15 degrees in Atlanta and caused Jan to be without electrical power or heat in the motorhome.  I am so lucky she is so mechanically adept that she jury rigged it til she and I could talk, then be able to bypass the inverter until I got home to put in a new one.  This time, while I was in Atlanta in my LAST recurrent training class, the hot water hose to the washer gave way!  Sounds simple but it could have caused a disaster had she not been able to tear apart the cabinet to get to the valve and get it stopped before gallons and gallons of water poured all over our motorhome!  We are always careful to turn off the water when we go away for several days and this event sure proves that that is a good policy.  All taken care of now!

On another note, we have a real nice neighbor who is from Connecticut that is here working at a new job after retiring previously from working in a nuclear power plant for many years.  He didn't care for retirement so decided to go back to work.  Turns out he's a ham radio operator.  Funny, cause many years ago when we were still in Pennsylvania I was working to get my license, but couldn't seem to get the hang of the Morse Code requirements.  You had to be able to send and receive code at 13 words per minute!  Well, I just couldn't get it, so let the whole idea kind of go away.  Well, Dave has rekindled my interest, especially when he told me the code requirement is no longer part of the test.  We talked about it for some time, let me know what was was necessary to get a license, and then surprised me with a study manual to get the license.  I'm looking into it, hopefully smart enough to learn the book stuff, and get a license.  It will add a big challenge to me which I really need right now.  So we will see.

Quiet

Not much new over the last few days.  I've been flying and Jan has started a new project.  We have hundreds and hundreds of oldy time photos from years past.  Our house in New Hampshire, many sailing trips to the Caribbean, family shots, kids, etc.  In her quest to clean out our storage unit, she is scanning any photos worth saving into the computer.  A huge project!  The weather has not been particularly good, lots of rain and cold so it doesn't hurt so much staying inside.

I had to have a special "check ride" since I turned 60.  I passed.  After age 60 you have to take a check ride and a FAA physical every 6 months!  Flew with another guy who is older than me and wants to fly to 70 years old, and is willing to go outside the country to do it.  Different strokes for different folks.

Still counting the days.

Eve of the Big One

I've flown another 3 day trip since I was in San Fran, one of those trips that was almost painful.  We had a nice weekend though, Jason came up to visit and we had friends, John and Diane over for dinner and a visit.
I turn the big 60 tomorrow, a birthday I thought that would be completely different for me than it is.  When I started with Delta in 1977, all those years ago, I thought this would be my retirement.  Very fulfilling, completing 34 years, very senior, and comfortably set for the rest of our lives.  Funny how things change.  I'm still here, which is good in itself, doing okay, in a completely different set of circumstances.  Never thought I'd be flying for another airline, never thought I'd be flying past the age of 60, never thought the future would be quite as blurry as it is now.  But Jan and I are still happy, and looking forward to the adventures ahead of us.  I have much to be thankful for, especially Jan, throughout all these years.

San Fran

I'm sitting here in a very nice hotel in San Fran, actually Burlingame, CA overlooking the bay and the airport.  It's 4:30 am local and I've been up for about an hour or so.  It's quiet and pleasant with my cup of coffee.  We don't leave until 12:30, so the Captain and I are going to indulge ourselves with the big breakfast buffet.  The weather has been normal for San Francisco, sunny now and then, but mostly so foggy you can't see 10 feet, and about 50 degrees.  Not exactly walk around weather.  We will be here over 24 hours, and it's funny how much it pains me to sit here instead of spending this time at home.
Jan has been having some recent success with her photography business, so she is psyched up.  Visit her site if you want at http://benaturalphotography.net/ and let her know what you think.  We are both in the waiting mode, marking time until we can retire and move on down the road.  We are making headway with various chores, trying to deal with our storage unit.  We'd like to get rid of it entirely, but it will be awhile, we are whittling away at it, but we still have some furniture, and all those boxes and boxes of "treasures" we can't seem to figure out what to do with.  We want to be sure we have the spare parts and items for the motorhome, but nothing that we don't need.  If all goes according to plan, we won't be back in the Atlanta area until the end of Nov 2012.
Thanksgiving gives us a chance to think of all the things we are thankful for, the wonderful family, good friends, the opportunities and the accomplishments, our health and well being, especially when we see others around us not nearly as fortunate.  If you are the praying sort, say a little prayer for my niece, Vicky who is fighting the ultimate battle with the big C, and her three little kids.

A Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Ray and April left early this morning to return home to Florida.  We're just chilling after driving down to Atlanta yesterday from Louisville.  We had a wonderful T-Day.  It was delicious, entertaining, interesting, and the camaraderie was fantastic.  We missed Kelly and Todd, and the kids, Jason, and all the Thurows, and especially Vern and Viv.  It was bittersweet realizing the huge Thanksgivings of previous years are probably over since everyone is more and more dispersed across the US.  The weather cooperated, we burnt up probably thousands of trees with all the fires going, and the food just kept coming.  Rachel and Kathleen added their own wonderful dishes to our normal repertoire, and, of course, vast quantities of wine were consumed.
Friday, we had excellent turkey sandwiches, perhaps even better than T-Day???  Then Ray and April cooked delicious ribs for dinner Friday.
Yes, the holiday is definitely centered on food!
We decided after we had driven all day to get back to Atlanta, takeout pizza filled the bill last night.
Back now and a bunch of work until we head to Kelly's for Christmas this year.  I'm still trying to play with my schedule for December and even tomorrow! LOL.
There was the biggest 5th wheel we have ever seen here in the campground when we got back.  We asked the owner and they told us it was 46' long!  They have a dedicated tractor to pull it, what a rig, and we thought we were big.

Anticipation

We're gathering at Tom and Karen's for the T-Day holiday.  Jason disappointed us by deciding not to come at the last moment, but Karen surprised us by telling us Rachel, Brian, and Kathleen would be joining us.  In fact, Rachel came in last night so it's been great seeing her again since our summer vacation!
We're going to only be 10 strong this year, perhaps the smallest gathering ever.  The anticipation is building, food is piled up here and there, Jan's making soups for tonight, Tom made his awesome lasagna as usual, and I'm on deck to cook tomorrow's two turkeys.  We've remarked how funny it is how much technology is here, at last count there are 4 iPads, 6 iPhones, 4 MacBook Pros, one iMac, and a token Blackberry!  Times sure have changed, whoops, I'm showing my age.
Weather seems to be cooperating also.  Poured the last two days, but it is brightening and dry today, and supposed to be sunny and beautiful tomorrow and in the high 50's.  Perfect for the fires that are burning in the many fireplaces.
Family and friends at Thanksgiving, my favorite!

Lonely

Bert, our cat was left by himself for the first time since Sadie has been gone.  Jan is in Florida and I was on a 3 day trip.  He was beside himself, he has been meowing and won't leave me alone, and I've been back a couple hours already.  He is just starting to settle down.  It's funny, in that he was always the big male cat, kinda aloof and above all this affection crap.  Well now that his playmate is gone, he's finding it's a lot tougher by himself, after all they were together for over 8 years!
It's gotten colder in Atlanta, below freezing at night now, but still pleasant during the day.  Winter's coming.
This 3 day trip seemed a lot longer than 3 days.  I'm so anxious to retire, it is jading my outlook.  I'm got to get a grip or I'm going to be miserable making it til Feb.  The huge bid process that is going to change almost everyone's life at AirTran is underway.  Lots of turmoil and heartache trying to figure out what's best as the integration takes place with Southwest.  There is talk of little else.  I wish everyone luck going forward.
Well, Jan, Jason, Ray, and April all arrive here tomorrow, then off to Louisville on  Monday for our super T-Day holiday week!  Can't wait!

Starbucks

We are sitting in Starbucks right now to escape from the sick house RV.  My cold is hanging on, for over a week now, and of course Jan has it as well, sounds like a TB ward.  The wifi at the campground, while most of the time adequate, is slow, especially when you are trying to download software upgrades.  So we're sipping nice warm mochas as we download.  We have been using Apple's Mobile Me for several years, but they are replacing it with the iCloud.  It is a system where our email, contacts, and calendars sync automatically with our two iPhones and two computers.  It also will enable us to move photos, music, and documents among all the devices as well.  Pretty magical, in my estimation.  As we get closer to retirement our internet access is one of the many items we're trying to address.  The campgrounds' wifis that we use along the way vary a lot from excellent and free to terrible and expensive.  We will probably get a WiFi Ranger at some point.  It is an amplifier connected to an exterior antenna to boost either the available wifi signal or can interface with a 3G/4G card or MiFi for when there is no available wifi.  We also found a company, Millenicom that offers data service without a contract.  And, of course the way things work in the tech world, by the time I retire in a few months, there will probably be new choices available!
Jan is planning to go to Florida this week for a show, and I'm hoping to go to work(not really) on Thurs, then up to Louisville for the T-Day holiday!!

And then there was only one.

For the non-pet folks out there, you can just ignore this post.  This morning we had to say farewell to a wonderful little kitty.  One that slept on my foot most of the night, but always knew the moment I awoke and would greet me with a wet purring nudge of her nose so she could go down under the covers with me for a few minutes each morning.  One that thought she was at least part dog and would come when she was called and would lie down when told to.  She would come running to greet us when we returned to the motorhome, she didn't know cats weren't supposed to do that, and even got Bert to do it as well :) She would talk right back to Jan and I whenever we would talk to her, it was as if she understood our every word. She loved everybody, especially the people that didn't like cats!  One who was so malnourished when Jan picked her up at the shelter that we wondered if we could ever get her filled up. She so appreciated the home we gave her, that she never had a mean streak in her and would just lick you to death, even if Jan was cutting her nails, something she really hated; but man, was she was hell on stuffed mice!  She even purred to say good bye to Jan this morning.  She will be missed.  Good bye Sadie.

Sadie's home

We picked up Sadie this morning from the vet.  She's not doing as well as we all had hoped.  She has to eat special dry food, take some medicine, and Jan has to give her fluids each day.  We are hoping, but we'll see.  Those of you that either have pets or have had pets know what it's like to go through this.  They become part of your family.
My cold is trying my patience.  It is hanging on a bit more than I think it should.  I go to work tomorrow on a 3 day, Milwaukee and Denver, so it better be gone by morning.  It's gotten a lot cooler here, frost warning for tonight and tomorrow morning.
Doesn't look like the bike is going to sell, no more calls.  We'll wait til spring, that way we'll get a chance to ride it some more.

Sad

One of our two cats, Sadie, hasn't been feeling good lately so we took her to the vet on Sat.  She has chronic kidney failure.  The vet said they have some success with rehydrating them intravenously for a couple days, about a 70% chance.  We find out on Weds.  Bert, our other cat is missing her already, and it feels funny without her.  They have been with us the whole time we have been full-timing.  They both were shelter cats so we're not totally sure how old they are but we think Sadie is about 9-10 years old.  We have our fingers crossed.  This is Sadie.

Had quite a trip Saturday.  Got to the plane, went through all the preflighting, programming the route, etc and so on, and an agent comes on and says we are taking a different plane to Dallas!  So we had to pack up and move to a new plane and do it all again.  Then on Sunday, I was supposed to fly to Atlanta, then on to Las Vegas.  When we got to Atlanta, I ran up the concourse to get a sandwich and I hear my name being paged, seems they pulled me off my plane for Vegas and put me on a plane to LA, and of course, the plane to LA is all loaded, ready to go when I show up.  Well, every cloud has a silver lining. I find out that when I get to LA I'm supposed to stay overnight and deadhead (ride in the back) back to Atlanta Monday.  On the way to LA, with a really interesting Captain who has an RV as well, I see that the plane I'm flying to LA  is coming right back to Atlanta.  Soooooooo when I get to LA I see if there is room on the flight, there is, call crew scheduling to see if they will let me go back, they do, so I ride back to Atlanta, making for a long, long day, about 12 1/2 hours in the air!  But, unfortunately for whatever reason, I am sick as a dog by the time we get back, lost my voice completely, and clogged up with a bad cold.  So took it real easy yesterday, and am getting over it now.  The winter cold we all seem to have to deal with.
Jan has been working hard getting ready for a craft show in Florida.  She has a photography business with our daughter, Kelly.  She has been making photographic cards, numerous prints on matting in various sizes, and several other types of photos.  The show is a week from Saturday, hoping it will be busy.
Well, the seniority list between AirTran and Southwest was approved yesterday, so they will now be able to move on and combine the airlines.  Going to be many, many changes for the AirTran pilots and employees.  I wish them luck.

The market

Is anyone besides me getting seasick with the market whipsawing back and forth on a daily basis?  I know I look too often, but it's hard not to as I get closer and closer to retirement.  I go fly a charter today, then a 3 day trip on Saturday with Sunday night in Vegas.  Maybe I'll win enough to not worry about it, yeah right.  Funny just like the lotteries, you've got to play if you're gonna win :)  Have a good weekend everyone!

Good news!

We just found out Ray and April will be able to come with us for Thanksgivng!  We are very happy that April got it worked out with her surgery.  The gathering of family and friends in Louisville is very important to us.  It's going to be a bit smaller this year, but just as special.
We had lunch with Tom today, had a nice visit, glad he's back from Vietnam.
We've had a quiet few days, thought I'd be flying, but nothing has popped up.  I've gotten a couple calls on the bike, but it's looking like we'll have to wait til spring to get it sold, that's okay, not like it's urgent.  The campground is busy with the snowbirds all heading south, too bad we can't join them until March.

The Pledge

I just got back from dinner here in Dallas and received an email that referred me to Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance.  I hadn't heard it in quite awhile and listened, it is quite moving.  In case you haven't heard this, give it a go.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo1DYvf0vQc

Sitting in Indianapolis

Jan had an unexpected surprise from the dentist.  She needed a crown, and they had a cancellation so she was able to get it done immediately.  All good.  The weather has been fantastic for the last couple of days in Atlanta.  I'm flying with a guy who lives in Massachusetts, and last night when he called home they already had 12 inches of snow on the ground!  Awful early for that much snow.  Global warming, no doubt.
I end up in Dallas tonight then home on Monday.  Another month complete on our march to Feb!  We get to see Tom next week as he is now back from Vietnam and as far as we know he still has all his limbs and faculties.  We'll make sure when we see him. Jan is gearing up for a craft fair in Florida to sell some of her cards, and of course we are anticipating our Thanksgiving celebration in Louisville.  We are really rooting that our friends Ray and April can make it again this year, but April may have to deal with a bit of surgery.  We'll carry you around if need be, April!

Bike pics

Thought I should at least put in a couple pictures of the bike.

On another note I just met a neighbor of ours in the campground.  here I am trying to retire again and he retired 2 years ago and just couldn't take it, so just got a new job here in the Atlanta area.  And he's happy as a clam!  That's the beautiful thing, different strokes for different folks!

Bike up for sale

With a bunch of heartache we put the bike up for sale on Cycle Trader today.  So if anyone you know wants a 2007 BMW R1200RT, let me know.  The ad is going to run for two weeks and then if it doesn't sell, we'll wait til spring to try it again.
Jan's back and she had no problem getting here, early even!  She inadvertently found out about my surprise for her, as I had to take a phone call in front of her about it.  It's not a big deal, but it will make life easier.  We have a cabinet in the galley that has a sliding drawer on the bottom and a fixed shelf above that is quite deep.  She has been wanting a sliding drawer on the top shelf for quite a while, but it's difficult for me to build with the limited woodworking tools I still have, and I've been having zero luck in finding a drawer slide that mounts on a shelf.  We found a company in California that custom builds sliding drawers to size, shape, and material.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the cabinet is angled so the drawer has to be angled as well.  It's all ordered and we should get it in about 2 weeks!  Out now to enjoy this glorious weather.

Jan's return

Jan's coming back today.  I haven't had much luck picking up a trip while she's been gone.  There is little open time, which are trips that need to be flown because of conflicts, sick calls, etc.  And because they are  a bit overstaffed at this time of the year, there is a lot of demand for flying time, i.e. money.  I did fly out to Phoenix  and back on Sunday, another look at the recession, every seat was full both directions!  Can't figure it out.
I've been working on a surprise for Jan on the motorhome and I think I've got it done.  Don't want to give it away right now, but it's something she's been wanting for awhile.  I'll fill you in later.
The weather has been awesome!  70's in the day and 50's at night and clear as a bell.  Really enjoying it.
Been doing some work on health insurance for my upcoming retirement.  Thankfully, my retirement group has made incredible inroads on somewhat affordable coverage since I lost what was promised.  The market is taking a nice bounce, hope it hangs in there in anticipation of new leadership in a year! :-)

What a change!

In the weather anyway.  It had been beautiful, but warm in the 80's.  A weather system moved through on Tuesday night into Wednesday, and we woke this morning to 38 degrees!  A little too cool, too early.  Happy birthdays to Joyce, Jason, and Vivian.  I flew a long military charter on Wednesday.  Picked up some troops from Hunter in Savannah, GA and flew them way out to El Centro in the middle of nowhere in southern California, a bit west of Yuma, AZ right north of the Mexican border.  From the looks of the area, I hope they won't be there long:)
Spent the day in recurrent training today, another notch, only one more training day left before retirement if all goes well.  There is a lot of talk about SW, everyone seems pretty resigned to the fact there will be a lot of changes, not many for the good.  There will be a lot of turmoil over the next several months.
Jan went out to visit Kelly and the kids for the weekend.  I know she'll have a good time with the grandkids.  I'm hoping to pick up a couple trips in her absence.
Saw the last Republican "debate" the other night, sure is heating up, I hope they remember the real goal as they knock down each other.

Another notch in the plan

Just got back from what hopefully was my last check ride ever, if the plan to retire at the end of Feb transpires.  What a feeling!  The last FAA medical exam already was completed in Aug, now this.  I still have 2 recurrent training days to complete and that's that.  I've never counted up how many check rides I've had over my career, but it has to have been about 45-50, not counting line checks and FAA observances.  Quite a bit of scrutiny goes into this job!
Haven't had a chance to check out the chassis battery issue yet, but I can report the leveling air compressor issue is resolved.  It has only run a few seconds a couple of times since we had it repaired again, but we had been parked in a very level spot.  Now that we have returned to Atlanta we are in a site that is quite tilted, so the system adjusts our level several times a day.  Now the compressor runs every couple days for about 30 seconds exactly as it should.  Yeah!
We were really disappointed a couple days ago.  We went to get a couple of american flags since we now fly one every day.  Bought two flags at Northern Freight, and when we got back we noticed they are MADE IN CHINA!!!  Unbelievable.  Is there nothing sacred anymore.  We will find some MADE IN AMERICA to fly instead.
The weather here has been fantastic!  Fall has arrived.  Highs in the high 70's and lows in the 50's, no humidity, and clear as a bell.
I think we have made up our mind to sell the bike.  Bittersweet, but it seems to take more and more effort and attention riding it anymore, and it's very hard to sightsee while driving as I'm watching the road, any gravel, pot holes, oil, etc ahead, or is that car going to see me or try to kill us?  A lot of the pleasure has gone, and I hate to admit it, but could it actually be my advancing age causing these feelings??

Heading North

We had a good farewell breakfast with Ray and April, and a farewell dinner with Mom and Jason yesterday.  Left the kayaks, but took Jan's bike with us.  We'll pick up the kayaks when we come back in March, doubt we'll be doing much paddling on Lake Allatoona over the winter :)
Went to start the motorhome this morning, and it did it's hesitation thing again!  Thought I had it fixed.  We'll have to take a close look when we get a chance in Atlanta, wonder if it's a bad ground or something??
Other than that a good ride up to Perry, GA to spend the night.  This way we'll miss the traffic in Atlanta, and get a chance to stop at Lane's to get some peach salsa, and who knows maybe some peach cobbler for breakfast?  Lanes is a big orchard and pecan grower, that has every derivation of peaches and pecans.  Pretty neat, and of course, delicious.  We'll get back early afternoon, get settled in, then off to work on Sat, Sun, and Mon.

Winding down

We went to IKEA with Jason on Saturday.  We had never been before.  Wow, what a store, huge, innovative, a very varied inventory.  Way more than we had imagined.  About the size of two Home Depots or Lowes stacked on top of each other.  It was very busy and we got there early.  They even have a full cafeteria.  Then we had to stop at the outlet mall on the way back, it was packed to the gills, no parking places, people everywhere.  I'll tell you, this recession or whatever it is sure is different from any I've seen before.  Stores, restaurants, hotels, and shops are packed and busy.  I don't get it.
We had dinner with my mom last night with Ray and Jason, but she wasn't doing too well.  She keeps on her game face, but she is real uncomfortable.  She's on a tough road.
Couple more visits and our time in Florida will be done for now.
Jan and I tackled another little chore Sunday.  We have three AC's on the roof and Monaco installed 2 small cups on each one so the condensate is collected in the cups, drains into a plastic line and allows the water to drain underneath the coach instead of run down the sides.  A couple of the lines were plugged, so we had to lower ceiling panels, get to the lines and try to run a snake through them to clear it out.  After getting tons of water all over our heads, we think we got all but one of the lines clear.  Never ending stuff, huh?

Ramblings

It's been a few days since I posted.  I was feeling under the weather for a few days, so just took it easy.  We've been visiting with my mom quite a bit, she's a bit up and down with her health and the cancer.  It is taking a toll on her body and her emotions.  All things considered she is doing great!
Jason and Jan went to Universal one day, the party pooper stayed back and did a few items on our list.
We had a couple nice evenings with friends, and some great food.
We made reservations for Mar and April of next year, good we did when we did, we got the last site!  Season in Florida, don't you know.
We inquired about putting Vern and Viv's place up for sale and will list it on Monday.  She won't be able to come back to it and it isn't worth keeping.  The market is extremely soft, but time will tell.
Managed to waste a bunch of time yesterday with a nail in one Jeep tire, thankfully we were able to pump it up and then get it repaired.  Has anyone patched a tire recently?  The going price is over $20!!
Our repair on the Aquahot is doing wonderfully.
I was able to alter my work schedule a bit so am planning to take my "last" check ride a week from Monday.
We are going to leave the kayaks here in Florida for the time being, and maybe Jan's bike.
We had a nice evening with Joyce last nite, she is doing great!!
We think the air problem with the motorhome is finally completely fixed.  It finally ran this am, after more than a week for only 10 seconds.  Yippee.
Happy 38th Anniversary to Jan and I!  How she puts up with me is amazing.
Weather has been really great, low temps and humidity, but it looks like it's coming to an end.  Rain and wind for the next few days.
Bye for now.

Kayak Day

Jan and I got together early with Ray and April to go kayaking on the Myakka River.  It was a beautiful day, cool, and amazingly enough with no humidity.  A cold front went through last night drying things out.  We took a leisurely paddle up stream.

Had some visitors, or I guess I should say we visited a few guys along the way.  We got these two pictures, but didn't have time to get a picture of the big alligator that disappeared under water with our approach.

The river is a winding, fairly narrow waterway with lots of overhanging vegetation.  Nice and quiet, it's like you are all alone except for your friends leading the way.

We stayed out about 3 hours, did about 4 miles, upstream first and back downstream to finish, just how we like it.

Except for one little mishap it was a great morning.  Ray was up their little ladder tying one kayak on their car when he lost his balance, fell back off the ladder and unfortunately stepped back and off a banking to come to rest on his back in a bunch of brambles.  Luckily he wasn't hurt, just scratched up and most likely a little stiff by next morning.  We all recovered along with Jason's company with a great New England lunch at Bit of Boston!  Clam chowda, haddock, and fried clams.  Yum, yum.

Florida

We got our repairs done at Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL.  It was quick and efficient.  In addition to our seam coming apart above the rear of the bedroom slide on the passenger side, they also found a place above the front passenger slide.  They were refastened and recaulked.  Our air problem was discovered to be a defective pressure switch that was leaking so that was fixed also.  That was theirs, and on our side we had noticed a bit of a leak on the Aquahot (our furnace and hot water heater) where the line from the reservoir joined the top of the Aquahot just under the cap, enough so it had leaked about a gallon or so before we noticed any moisture under the coach.  We fixed that and while we were at it did the annual maintenance as well.  New fuel filter, new nozzle, and cleaned the combustion chamber.  Another chore out of the way.  Now we are at Royal Coachman, an Encore park in Nokomis and will see my mom later this morning.  It's nice here at this time of year, as it is almost deserted. We are sitting on a great site, shady, big, and the satellite works great!  Thanks, Harvey and Jean, it's your normal site.
Did some more research on adding more solar to our coach.  I was hoping we could just piggyback some more panels to our existing system, but on further study and talking to several RV solar companies we are in agreement that we need a new system that is set up much more efficiently than Monaco did when they built the coach.  Monaco put the existing controller way in the front of the motorhome about 30 some feet from the batteries instead of right beside them and undersized the wiring.  We would have to start over with new collectors, new controller as our's is too small, and rewire everything to include a new hole in the roof.  Expensive proposition even with a 30% solar tax credit.  We really want to boondocks a lot more after I retire, so we are contemplating whether to do it or not, or to just use the generator more?

Florida bound

Finished up a meeting at work today.  We plan to leave tomorrow morning for Florida at 5am, specifically Alliance coach where we have an appointment to repair a spot where the roof meets the side.  The seam is pulling apart and needs to be refastened.  This will be the third area on the motorhome that this has happened.  I guess Monaco, the manufacturer is a bit challenged with their method of fastening this seam!  Also while we are there we are having them run a new air line between a small air compressor and an air tank that is used for our leveling system.  The leveling system in our coach checks level automatically numerous times during the day and relevels if necessary.  The air compressor replenishes air to the system if it needs it.  We have a small leak in that line that causes the compressor to come on about 5 times a day for about ten seconds.  No big deal, just aggravating.
We can't say enough good about Alliance.  It is the only service center we trust, and is probably the foremost authority on any coach built by Monaco.  Caroline Champion and Brett Howard run a top notch facility that we recommend for quality work for any coach, and particularly a Monaco product.
After the repair we will head on down to Venice, FL to visit my mom, our son, Jason, and our very good friends, Ray and April.
We are hoping to kayak, bike ride, and of course drink a little wine while we're there.

Curve Balls

We received very sad news today, my beloved step brother Garry passed away yesterday.  A very young 56 with a loving family.  He will be missed.

No Germany

As most of you have probably figured out, Jan did not go to Germany.  The planes were full.  Not complaining, because when you go standby, that's just one of the hurdles.  She's going to try later, perhaps in Oct.  I have to fly tomorrow, back to Las Vegas and Denver, then a meeting on Monday, and off early, early on Tuesday to Florida to get a repair done on the motorhome and on down to see my mom and our son, Jason.  We've booked two weeks with me having to commute back for one trip, and I'm hoping to extend that by a little bit.  We're anxious to see Joyce, and our friends, Ray and April also.  We were supposed to have seen Ray and April on their return trip home from Vermont, but they were some of the folks who got seriously flooded out, and their plans changed drastically.
Joyce has had a lot going on in her life and we want to catch up with her.
We think we are going to leave the kayaks in Florida, we don't use them here on Lake Allatoona any more.  It's such a big lake and busy with power boats that it's really not too comfortable.
I am going to try to rent a recumbent bike while we are in Florida this time.  I am very intrigued by them and want to give it a go.  Are any of you familiar with them?

Dropped it!

After a wonderful visit to the dentist office, we decided to take the bike out for a ride.  The weather was nice, not too hot so we headed for Dahlonaga in north Georgia for lunch.  After finding the majority of the restaurants closed on Monday we each had Suicide dogs at a little cafe on the square.  We won't get awards for healthy eating, but man, they were good!  Chili, cheese, kraut, and cole slaw makes one hell of a good combo.
After getting back on the bike we headed out of town through a small parking area.  I had to make a real tight u-turn, and halfway through at about 1/2 mph, the bike tipped and I couldn't stop it and over we went.  Really pissed me off!  Neither of us got hurt, and the only damage to the bike was on one luggage carrier.  So now I can't say I never dropped the bike.  We stopped at the body shop on the way back, and they are going to repair and repaint the carrier.  Oh well, sometimes you're the windshield, but this time I was the bug.

Atlanta bound

Leaving Las Vegas in about an hour or so bound for Atlanta.  An uneventful layover in Lost Wages, didn't even gamble.  Had a good walk and a good dinner, the weather was beautiful, high 80's, no humidity, and clear blue sky.  Boy, it's hard not to like the west.  It's not looking good for Jan to go to Germany, funny amidst this horrible recession, the planes have never been fuller.  Every leg I flew on this trip and the last trip were full!  Airports are full, restaurants are full, hotels are full, I really don't understand it.  I know people are hurting but it sure is hard to see it from this perspective.

Back at work

Back at work, sitting in a hotel in Denver.  There is a lot of turmoil at work right now with all the merger rumors circulating.  Lots of people are quite upset.  I guess it's human nature to think the worst.  We are supposed to hear something more definitive early next week.  Keep fingers crossed til then.
Had two quick days off, doctor's appointment and Fantastic Fan repair.  It's not often you can give kudos to a company for their customer service.  We had one of our fans stop working, the lid would not raise.  I poked around and saw the worm gear that the motor turns to raise and lower the dome lid came apart and with the torque from the motor, the mounting flange for the motor broke off.  Called Fantastic Fan's customer service and in 2 days I had the parts I needed, instructions for replacement, and best of all FREE!  This company is truly Fantastic, over the many years we've had motorhomes, Fantastic Fan has always been there with free parts and great advice and help, no matter the age of the fan.  The other vendors should take notice.

Back again

Finished my trip yesterday with no problems.  I am very thankful we had no incidents in the US over the 9/11 weekend.  Weather is hot once again here in Atlanta but it's supposed to cool off tomorrow.  I flew into Houston yesterday and could see first hand the extraordinary drought they are experiencing.  Everything is brown, even more than normal, and the lakes and rivers are way down.  I know Kelly and Todd in Longview are very dry as well.  Hope fall brings some rain to them.
Jan and I got our flu shots today and were told we should get vaccinated for shingles as well.  Having seen my mom and father-in-law get shingles and see how uncomfortable and in pain they were, we're going to do it.  Now we just have to find a place to get them.  Jan's been checking flights for her upcoming trip to Germany and has her fingers crossed she's going to make it.

Sept 11th

I'm out flying on this infamous day.  Left Orlando this morning to fly to San Juan and now back to Tampa.  I'm glad to see people flying and the airports busy, and not deserted in fear of another attack.  I think the best thing we can all do on this day is remember and continue to live our lives in the face of these terrorists.  I was thinking about where we were 10 years ago.  We were on a motorhome trip with our friends Ray and April and my in-laws Vern and Viv, three couples each in our own motorhomes.  We had visited Glacier National Park for several days and were getting ready to leave to drive over to Coeur d'Alene.  It was about 6:30 am local time and we were each getting ready to go.  I had already taken down our satellite dish, but Ray still had the news on while they were eating breakfast. When he came over and told me a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I poopooed him and told him it was probably just a little plane going near them and he said no, I think it's an airliner.  I got the dish back up then and we all gathered to watch the second jet hit the second tower, and the rest is history.  I hope none of us will forget the astonishment, pain, and anger we ALL experienced that day.  I know that 10 years later a lot of people think this will never happen again and have dropped their guard, and also their allegiance to our country and their patriotism that we all shared after the attack.  I truly hope we can bring it back and be proud to be Americans, and realize there are still many, many people in this world who want to do us harm.

Pat Conroy

This is kind of off topic of my blog so to speak, but it really is about us as well as RVing and traveling.  I am a big fan of Pat Conroy's work.  The Great Santini, South of Broad, Prince of Tides, Lords of Discipline, etc are in my opinion, incredible books, engaging, interesting, and able to draw you in with his descriptions and ability to tell a story.  I am only 20% of the way into My Losing Season, and I am blown away.  This book is a story about Pat Conroy himself.  I think those of us who read him understand his own life experiences are his palette as he writes his books, but to hear a description of his life in the starkest true terms in this book make you want to cry out.  It is no wonder he can write with such emotion you can actually feel, as you read what he has experienced in his life.  I think he truly has a gift to be able to put into words the turmoil, rage, humiliation he experienced and still be able to find goodness and honor, and unbelievably humor.
Well enough of the book report.  Tell me what you think.

Success!

I had a moment yesterday after letting the charging system reset itself, to check the voltages and it is working like a champ.  For the first time, I think, I am reading a full charge on BOTH the house and chassis batteries.  It's nice when a repair, replacing the Big Boy, works so well.
We made some progress yesterday on the storage unit, took about 6-7 more boxes of books out to go to the library.  We have more and more room in there.  Just need it to be empty!
Thought the debate last night was interesting, and revealed a bit more about the candidates, maybe even changed my mind about a couple.
Oh well, off to get my eyes checked today, and probably new glasses, it's a bitch getting old :)

Quite a weekend

 It was a great weekend.  Our son, Jason came in Friday evening, three hours earlier than planned which was super.  We were able to have dinner together and visit a bit.  Then on Saturday, after a sensational lunch at a Japanese buffet we love, all fresh sushi, salads, hot items, and more, I received the new Big Boy solenoid to replace my defective one to hopefully rectify my charging issue.  My chassis batteries are not charging properly while I am plugged into shore power, and with quite a bit of analysis and input from other people that have had similar problems, and even a RV electrician, everyone believes the Big Boy is my problem.  The Big Boy looks like this.


This solenoid lives in my rear run box, an electrical box at the rear of the coach inside and to the right side of my engine compartment.  Not bad access for this replacement, wish they all had this much room.  Jason and I got it replaced and tore apart the old one, confirmed that corrosion on the contacts which was what we all anticipated.  The contacts should be bright copper, but this is what they looked like.

We got it all hooked up and I fiddled with the charging profile on the investor and am now waiting to see how it works out over the next few days.

We then went to good friends of ours, John and Dianne's for a fabulous dinner and lively evening of good wine, good food, good cigars, and very good conversation!  We got to see all the progress they have made on their beautiful house John is building singlehandedly.  It sure looks superb, John!

The next day in anticipation of tropical storm Lee approaching we got a few other little items taken care of, including dismantling the blower motor in the Jeep that had a pine needle caught in it just driving me nuts with the tick,tick,tick.......  Thank you, Jason.

We got Jason off early Monday morning in the rain, came back and worked in our storage unit for awhile.  We are determined to get rid of it one way or the other.  Then the real rains came.  Thunderstorms and tornado warnings!  We were lucky again, they all went around us, although there was a significant amount of damage not too far to the northeast of us.

So now back to normal, I even have to go fly today, I'm glad the weather has moved away.

Positive thinking

Worked out well.  The Jeep is back and looking very good from the body shop.  We got the two chairs back from the upholstery shop.  They look and feel good, and half the quoted price!  Alliance confirmed our appointment in Florida for the coach.  Received my new Big Boy solenoid for the motorhome before the holiday weekend, and Jason got on an earlier flight and will be in 3 hours sooner!  Living right I guess:)  Except for the stock market :(

Waiting

Today we are, well, waiting.  Waiting to hear when the Jeep will be done at the body shop where it is being repaired from being sideswiped in Durango, waiting to find out if the upholstery shop where our dining chairs are being redone has finished, waiting to hear if Alliance Coach can do the repairs on the motorhome when we want, waiting to see if any flying is going to come up over the holiday weekend, waiting to see if our son, Jason will get on a plane tonight to come visit.  We are confident all this will come together.
On another note, Jan had an appointment with her orthopedic doctor this morning, the same one who redid her left thumb joint to alleviate the ravages of arthritis, seems she will probably have to have her right thumb done as well, but not real soon thankfully.  With my upcoming retirement, we are doing a lot of thinking about doctors, who and where, any upcoming tests or procedures, glasses, etc.  We each have docs here in Atlanta right now, but neither of us is overly attached to them, so we're giving a lot of thought to switching our doctoring to Florida.  And, of course, what kind of insurance to buy, since I lost that promise as well when I retired earlier.  Lots of choices anyway.

I'm Back

Jan picked me up at the airport after my trip with my favorite in the car lunch while we drive, Publix sushi.  It was delicious.  She has been planning a trip to Dresden, Germany to visit our friends, Larry and MaryEllen, so we've been working to figure out schedules, etc.  She washed the motorhome yesterday, and unfortunately found a problem with the coach that we are going to have to get fixed.  There is an area on the passenger side by the rear slide where the roof meets the sidewall that is pulling apart.  Evidently Monaco either didn't fasten it properly or didn't use the correct screws, or who knows.  We already had the seams over both of the slides on the driver's side redone earlier and there was no sign of the problem on the passenger side.  So we are going to set up an appointment at our favorite service facility, Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL.  We are going to try to fit this in with my schedule, Jan's trip to Germany, and a visit with my mom and our son.  My mom who has cancer is struggling a bit more with the disease these days, so it will be good to see her before winter.  We'll see if we can't throw the dice and find a winner that aligns with all our plans.

L.A.

I'm sitting in a hotel in LA right now, having flown out here this morning from Atlanta.  As we flew over TX,  NM, AZ, and CA, I got to thinking about the many. many places I've seen from the air in my 35 years of flying that we have traveled to or wanted to travel to in the motorhome.  A few came to mind today.  It was overcast most of the way until we were about at the western border of Texas, but I was able to see Palo Duro Canyon south of Amarillo, an interesting place we visited 2 years ago.  Moving into NM, we could see Albuquerque, Santa Fe to the north, right where we were just a few weeks ago.  We could see Nancy and CT's house and the surrounding area.  As we went further west into Arizona, the Mogollon Rim came into view and I realized Jan and I haven't yet driven along it.  We tried in the spring of 2005, but the road was still closed due to mud from the spring thaw.  I could see up to Flagstaff, where we visited several Anasazi ruins, and where we ran from snow one April vacation down to Phoenix.  Sedona was gleaming in the sun and red rocks, and I could see Oak Creek Canyon.  I could see over to Jerome, the interesting little mining town perched on the side of a mountain full of artists.  A good view of Prescott, and then Lake Havasu.  On the arrival into Los Angeles, an amazing view of Big Bear Lake.  It was one of the places I had seen numerous times over the years that I knew we needed to go to if we could get enough time to go so far west.  One year I managed to put all my vacation from two consecutive years together and we made it to California.  We were traveling with good friends, Ray and April who were in their motorhome and came down to Big Bear Lake from Death Valley from the north up and over on a narrow, tight, winding road down along side of the bright blue lake into the most beautiful setting.  It was April, and they were still skiing on the mountain south of the lake.  We stayed at a condo type campground right on the shore of the lake!  A condo park is one where people own their own sites and rent them out when they aren't there.  It was all landscaped, with terraces, and outdoor kitchens, and did I mention, right on the lake.  It was fabulous, and the most we had ever paid for a camp site!  Worth every penny.
Another time after flying many times over a pristine spot in northern Colorado, I managed to mark a map right where this beautiful river ran up through a green meadow, way up into the back country.  We did go and visit the Yampa, CO area, and went up the Stillwater river drainage way back up in the country, even saw a black bear!
It is quite an opportunity to be able to see these sensational places both from the air and right down close and personal with the motorhome.  I imagine it's not something most people are able to do.  I'm very thankful to have had the experience.

TV

As I had mentioned earlier, we've been having issues with our front TV not being able to get cable, or the over the air antenna.  We had worked on this quite a bit, even enlisting Jason's help and not getting anywhere.  I was under the impression that the only feed to the front TV was either through the HDMI or the component cables.  We had to pull the Off Air tuner out since it didn't solve the problem and decided once and for all we would get to the back of the the TV one way or another.  We were able to pull the backing off the TV a bit so we could just look at the hookups, and lo and behold there is a coax cable plugged into the TV!  Well, figuring out where it came from was another matter.  There is a small, emphasis small, access hole behind the TV in the cabinet, but we couldn't find the coax in the maze of thousands of wires, so we decided to rip the entire electronics cabinet apart to see if we could discern anything that way.  We found two splitters, and 4 different coaxes going where?  I decided since all the connections seemed good I would pull the coax off the TV and using continuity I would determine which if any cables fed the TV, but first I wanted to ascertain which went to the rear TV.  We hooked up to cable at our site, and of course, no signal to the front TV, no surprise.  Thankfully, I decided to make sure the back TV worked before I started this process, but nothing on the rear TV either!  Turned out the receptacle at the site didn't work.  We wondered if that had caused any of our problems in the past?  Hooked up to another site and voila the rear TV worked.  I disconnected several coaxes til we could ascertain which coax fed the rear TV, and as we are screwing around the front TV gets a picture from the cable!  I don't know if I wiggled something or tightened something, or hooked something up correctly, but anyway it now works!  Nonetheless, it gave us an opportunity to label and clean up the whole installation in our electronic cabinet.
Not very exciting I know Sandy, but it pleased us to figure this out.
We've been watching Irene as it moves up the coast, hoping the damage won't be too bad.  It's down to Category I now so hopefully it will continue to weaken.  Meanwhile I've been hoping to pick up some premium pay flying to bring up my month, but so far nothing.  I did miss one jewel yesterday because I wasn't quite fast enough, so I'm hoping another will pop up in the next few hours.

Molding repair

Jan and I worked on the molding today.  We had to repair the small cherry slat that runs along the bottom of the molding first.  One end split and came apart, and the other end came loose from the main molding.  We got them glued and clamped and moved on to the "j channel" issue.  Monaco used a plastic channel which as I mentioned in the last post split and allowed the whole thing to fall.  This is what the plastic J looks like.

It is quite fragile as we found out.  It's funny because we checked the other three slide out molding which are all attached the same way.  The difference is on the other three there is a hard wooden block under each end of the molding so the weight and the bouncing doesn't put the plastic J in jeopardy like the driver's front slide out.  There is nothing holding it up other than the plastic "j channel".  We found a metal channel, actually used for a tile floor that fits perfect at Lowes.

We epoxied and screwed this channel to the molding.  It will not come down now unless we want it down!

The photos don't show it but we put three pieces of metal channel on the molding.  The black rectangles you see in the pictures are velcro.  They don't hold the molding up, they just keep it against the aluminum extrusion that is the front lip of the the slide so the molding doesn't move or bounce.

We are letting the glue and epoxy dry overnight and will install the molding tomorrow.  We will be glad to get this 12 1/2 foot molding out of our way!
Also today we set up a service appointment with an upholstery shop to have our two dining chairs tightened up and new cushioning put in the seats.  We sit in these chairs a lot, not only when eating but when we do our computing and office work on as well.  They have never been real comfortable and they need some more cushioning, yeah, even for Jan!  Our friends, Brett and Sandra had some work done by this shop and were very pleased recommended them.
Also, we got a body shop lined up and an appointment made to fix the Jeep which got sideswiped on our trip.  A good day with much accomplished!

I'm back

I haven't had a chance to post anything the last 5 days because I'm back..............WORKING!  5 full days back in the seat including down to San Juan a couple times, Tampa layovers a couple times, Indianapolis, and finished up flying a military charter this morning or should I say last night, either way I had to get up at 2am and we took off at 0430am.  The good part was I was back and in the car by 0930am.  I had a good visit with Jason on one of my layovers in Tampa.  It was quite a transition to be back flying after having about 7 weeks off.
Jan had quite an experience while I was gone.  A 12 1/2 foot trim piece that covers the front top edge of one of our slides fell down!  Doesn't sound like much, but this trim piece is a wooden decorative molding attached to a 1/2 inch piece of plywood backing, it weighs about 20 pounds!  It fell right where she had been sitting at the dining table just before, missing her computer by inches, bouncing off the dining table.  Amazing nothing broke except for a bit of the bottom of the molding which will be easy to repair.  All we could think about was what if one of the kids had been sleeping in the jackknife couch.  Man!  This molding had become just a little loose on the front end near the driver's seat, we thought the velcro had come loose, in fact we had gotten some help from Kelly and Todd to "fix" it.  Since we never took it completely off, I didn't realize it was held up by several pieces of plastic "j channel" over the metal lip of the slide out edge, and just used the velcro to keep it from moving around.  ALL the "j channel" had broken off, so it was only being held by the velcro.  We are now in the process of fixing it with aluminum "j channel" so that it will never again come down again unless we want it to.  WOW!  Another project that we were not planning:)  Ahhh, life with a motorhome.
We were going to fix it today, but a nap won out!

Reality

It was funny last night.  We found out just how addicted we are to number 1, the DVR, and number 2, the DirecTV.  We tried and tried but couldn't get the satellite, so we tried to hook up the cable.  I know that sounds simple to most of you, but on our motorhome the hookup is simple, but not for the front TV.  The front TV is hooked up to the latest whiz bang HD DVR receiver from DirecTV, and it's only output is HDMI which is what goes to the TV.  The old receiver we took out allowed you to connect either the off air antenna(bat wing) or cable to the receiver then it would feed through to the TV.  As most of you are aware, the new receivers don't allow that.  The problem arises in that it is very tough to access the back of the TV to just directly hook up the coax.  So we tried to watch two shows we wanted to see, near the end of the season you know, on the little TV in the bedroom.  Man o man we had to watch them when they actually came on and with commercials!  Can you imagine the torture we had to go through??
Another project we'll have to work on.  Maybe I can get my son to help and maybe I can wrangle a bigger TV up front at the same time?
We went to the office and begged to switch sites, which they allowed so we are back on satellite and DVR.  All is once again good in the kingdom!
FAA physical complete, the last one I hope?  Work tomorrow, oh joy, at least it's with a friend of mine which will make it a nice way to come back.  See you tomorrow, Kevin.

Back in Atlanta

Well, we're back.  We don't have to play musical sites as the people on our site left a day early so we are where we're going to be for month or so.  Only bad thing is I can't get the satellites here because of the trees.  We'll fiddle around a bit more tomorrow to see if we can't get one or two.  Oh well, cable it is, the lack of DVR is what's going to kill us :)
Temp is not too bad high 80's, so it's very doable.  And we've had an opportunity to hear the trains, oh joy!
Physical tomorrow morning, then work on Friday, can't wait.  Ha!

Meridian, MS

Sitting here in Meridian.  It's 665 miles from Kelly's to Atlanta, too far to go in one day, only 290 miles tomorrow.  Unfortunately our site there won't be available til Thurs, so we will move down after my physical.  At least we left some of the heat, down in the 80's now, sure beats the 105's!
We had a little issue this morning that I will have to look into.  Normally we start the engine, get on the air, pull in the slides and off we go.  Then later if it gets really hot, we start the generator to run the roof airs.  Well when we left this am, it was already into the 90's, so I started the generator first, then when I went to start the engine, it killed the gen.  Don't know why, so I've got to do some investigating to do to figure out what's going on.  We have a couple questionable items concerning our charging system and batteries that I've got to get to the bottom of and find out if they are all related.  I'm sure I'll have plenty of time in Atlanta.

Batteries and the boonies

We have been talking more and more about staying more often in National Forest, Parks, or State Park campgrounds.  The principal reason is for esthetics and room, but the money sure doesn't hurt either.  We made a real effort this trip to visit and evaluate a bunch of campgrounds, and most of them we can fit into, and are beautiful.  Most of the public campgrounds don't have hook ups, so you boondock.  That is, you are self-sufficient.  I've been doing quite a bit of research on solar systems and think this winter we will install 4-5 panels to augment our battery charging ability.  We have a large AGM battery bank that came with our particular motorhome.  We have a lot of capacity, but we draw a lot also.  With solar we would expect to run the generator less often, not replace it.  We have one solar panel now, but it does little more than supply a very small trickle charge.
I talked to Lifeline batteries, the brand we have, and to Magnum Energy, the manufacturer of our inverter/charger in order to set up a better charging profile to better accommodate our batteries.  Another challenge as you do the research is to find out what your electrical draw is.  Unfortunately, the bigger and more complex the motorhome is, our case, the more parasitic draw there is.  And it's very hard to isolate all the items.  Magnum makes a Battery Monitor which would interface with our inverter remote to allow us to see our draw and also the state of our batteries at any point.  Magnum informed me today my inverter is compatible with the monitor, but our remote is not, but if I buy the Battery Monitor, they will upgrade my remote for free.  So that is the first project, getting the monitor installed.
Visiting in Longview today, and off to Atlanta tomorrow.

Longview, TX

We got here yesterday about 3pm.  A straightforward trip of about 260 miles.  We had debated what route to take.  On our way west from here we cut up north around the Dallas/Fort Worth area to join 287 in Henrietta.  We had initially thought we would go much nearer the cities since it was Sunday, but decided to cut across 380.  Never again!  Definitely one of the worst roads we have been on.  Rough, bumpy, and I swear we caught every light, about a million, on the way over to join 69 south to the Interstate(20).
It got hotter and hotter as we got closer to Longview, and was a balmy 105 when we got here.  Yup, vacation is winding down.  We had a good visit and dinner with our grandkids, and Kelly and Todd, of course.

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Wichita Falls

Got up very early and decided we could head into Santa Fe for a quick breakfast at The Pantry at 0630 before we headed east.  We were unhooked, and off and running by 0745.  We tearfully left the mountains, the altitude, and the cool behind.  Fueled in Amarillo (diesel prices have come down since we left), and had planned to stop at a neat campground at Goodlett, TX where we had stayed years ago called Old Town Cotton Gin RV Park.  A pristene oasis with a restored cotton gin, just off 287 pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it was only 3pm.  We opted to drive on to Wichita Falls, another 88 miles.  Good decision, as we were all in and hooked up at the Wichita Falls RV Park by 5:30pm, and we only have about 250 miles to Kelly and Todd's tomorrow.
It was a good drive, great weather, not too windy.  Jan and I talked about the things we need to get done when we get back, and things to do with the motorhome before we retire.  We also are roughing out plans for next year after the R-Day at the end of Feb.

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I forgot to mention.  I would love to see some comments on the blog.  Feel free to join in with kudos, criticisms, both good and bad, questions, anything.  Thanks everyone!

Last day

We had a good last day.  We were having a problem with one of the power adapters for our computers, it was overheating enough we thought it might be dangerous, so we made an appointment at the Apple store in Albuquerque.  It was on the south side of the city so we decided to cut down on the east side of the Sandia mountains through Madrid where they shot a lot of Wild Hogs.  There were about 20 motorcycles out in front of Maggie's taking pictures so I guess people haven't forgotten about the movie yet.
We got the adapter switched out and then headed north to Nancy and CT's.  We had a chair that Jan had ordered sent there so were anxious to pick it up.  We have experimented with all kind of chairs over the years in the motorhomes, expensive ones, cheap ones, folding ones with tables and without and had pretty much found a cheap comfortable sling chair at Camping World that we liked.  We bought a bunch and because they are cheap and they sit outside all the time they deteriorate and fall apart fairly quickly.  Well, Camping World discontinued them.  While we were cleaning Vern and Viv's stuff out in Louisville, we found a couple more that they had used.  But now we are down to 3.  A new chair was written up in the motorhome magazines, called a Strongback.  It had rave reviews, folded up small, was made of quality components and fabric, and had lumbar support.  Well our initial reaction is very positive, it's comfortable and seems to be made well.  We'll let you know how it holds up.
We visited for a bit then went to pick up Vivian to go out to lunch.  We had a very good meal at Indigos in Corrales.  Went back to the house to visit a bit more, then off to the store and back to the motorhome to have an early dinner for our early departure in the morning.

Contemplation

We've been out moving around now for about 6 1/2 weeks.  We've used the bike one time on a great ride out of Pagosa Springs, and we didn't use the kayaks even once.  We are wondering if selling the bike is a possibility.  We don't take it out when the weather is iffy, and we don't like to take it on dirt roads, at least not too far, and as you all know we love our dirt roads.  Also it takes a lot more concentration driving the bike which takes away from the time I can really enjoy the scenery.  Although the ride we took in Pagosa was awesome, which makes the decision even more difficult.  We're doing a lot of thinking about it.
As to the kayaks, we sure love paddling around a quiet interesting lake, or a slow moving river, especially in Florida with the meandering rivers with the overhanging trees, and we really enjoyed Quake Lake outside of Yellowstone.  But the big lakes with the windy conditions that are prevalent out west keep us from launching.  So we are wondering whether we should just leave the kayaks in Florida for when we are there, as we figure we'll be spending most every winter there, and we are contemplating the possibility of a folding or inflatable boat to carry with us, so we can get out on the bigger lakes and even do some fishing.  Fishing is another reason we are looking forward to retirement, it would give us the time to fish.  When we go out on these trips right now, we seem to be in more of a rush to see things, hike, take photos, sightsee, go off road, etc., and that doesn't leave the time to slow down and just go fishing.  Seeing these gorgeous rivers and streams, especially with fly fisherman in them really remind me how much I enjoyed fly fishing back in Pennsylvania.  And going out in a boat leisurely floating around on a beautiful lake fishing really interests both of us.  Two more things we are thinking about and discussing as retirement draws nearer.

Changed day

Turned out Nancy and CT were tied up today, and we knew Brett and Sandra were busy with their show, so we decided to head north on some dirt roads to intercept Rte 502 near Los Alamos and Bandelier and then go over to Jemez Springs to have lunch at Los Ojos Restaurant and Saloon, a place that's been there since 1947.  Well that was the plan anyway.  We meandered north on washboarded dirt and sand about 15 miles only to find out the GPS was lying to us.  We couldn't get out and ended up at dead end after dead end, so we had to work our way back the 15 miles.  We were watched by this guy who probably was laughing at us cause he knew we weren't going to make it :)

Well by then the plan was shot, so we changed things up.  We had a quick lunch and decided to go up The High Road to Taos, at least to Truchas.  It's a pretty drive with more incredible scenery.  We made it to Truchas, a pretty tired little enclave that did not welcome visitors until just a few years back.  We also found out they filmed parts of Easy Rider there.  It is now more of an artist's mecca, with some fantastic views.

We debated whether to turn around there or continue north for awhile.  We opted for north and we worked our way to Las Trampas, a tiny town you might miss if you blinked at the wrong time.  But it did have an incredible Catholic church built in 1760!

The adobe work was fantastic, rich with detail, with the straw that was mixed in with the mud showing throughout.  It's hard to believe it has held up this well over the years!  We were disappointed we weren't able to go inside.  Leaving town we saw this interesting sluice made from hollowed out logs still being used for irrigation water.

It was getting late in the day and Jan wanted to talk to the campground owner about buying some of her cards so we headed back.  It was a successful and enjoyable day nonetheless plus we beat the rain showers that were building all around.

Switching time zones

We just had a salad for dinner last night as we were recovering from the huge cheeseburgers, 10 ounces! Then we tried to go to bed early, didn't do as well as we hoped 10:30pm, but we did get up this morning at 0415 local in our attempt to start moving towards eastern time.  The sunrise was spectacular, but it's overcast and raining off and on now.  Very unusual weather for Santa Fe, but they really need the rain.   We were planning to take the bike out today, but think with the weather, the Jeep may be a bit more appropriate.

Bobcat Bites

We got there at 1135, waited 40 minutes to get in, and you know what?  The green chili cheeseburgers were awesome!  It was packed, people waiting in line, now we know why.

New day

Had a good dinner at the Pantry last night, after seeing the condo Brett and Sandra rented.  Very nice, right downtown.  Got up about 0545, beginning to think about changing our bodies back to Eastern time, yuck! When we race east we lose hours very quickly.  Makes me think about the guys who commute to Atlanta from west coast time, and do most of their flying on east coast time, a doable 0600 report is a 0300 report to them.
Going to go to Bobcat Bites today for lunch.  Last time we were here we couldn't find it, but since then we've scoped it out and know where we are going.  Gotta get one of those famous green chili cheeseburgers!  We'll let you know how it was.

Santa Fe

We're back in Santa Fe.  Hotter than it's been the last few weeks, in fact, we're running the AC.  Supposed to cool off tonight to 57 or so.  Weather is good otherwise, a bit windy, but it usually is here.  We had a good, scenic drive 260 miles.  I know I say it's scenic all the time, but it truly is, we just love it out here in the west.  Not just the mountains, but the vast expanses are incredible, you can see forever!
Just got a call from our friends, Brett and Sandra, who flew in from Atlanta and we're going to meet them for dinner.  Looking forward to good food and good conversation!

Absolutely fabulous day!

I'm sitting outside the motorhome gazing at the mountains, thinking about putting on jeans since it's beginning to get cool.  Reviewing a spectacular day!  We weren't sure what to do on our last day in Colorado, and decided on a whim to go up and over Cottonwood Pass, cut over to Gunnison, and then return to Buena Vista.  We had no previous info on Cottonwood, but man did we luck out.  Route 306 goes right out of town to the pass.  We both believe if anyone asks you what the most beautiful pass in Colorado is, tell them Cottonwood Pass.  It is magnificent!  It is fairly narrow at the top so you can see for miles both east and west.  The view to the east:

And the view to the west:

The fact the weather was clear and bright didn't hurt!  We then descended to the west towards Taylor Reservoir down this winding road.

There weren't many vehicles so it was like we had it all to ourselves.  We wound our way lower and lower to about 9600' to gorgeous Taylor Reservoir.

This lake is only 37 miles from Gunnison up a nice paved road.  We could easily get our motorhome up here and we have marked it for future reference.  We will definitely come up here to stay in the future.  The road follows the river all the way into Gunnison.  We found a nice peaceful place for a picnic, even had entertainment in the form of a fly fisherman.

Gunnison is a very nice town, busy, with lots of shops, restaurants with a vibrant downtown area.  You could spend some time here walking around, but that would have to wait til another time as we still had about 80 miles or so to get back.  We left town on Route 50, but decided to veer back off onto the dirt, something we love, a shortcut actually up and over Black Sage pass.  This is a lower pass about 9475' in an area of huge ranches, rolling meadows that go as far as you can see.  Lots of horses and cattle.  Then we cut onto Rte 237 to go up and over the Old Monarch Pass, 11,375', not too bad as cliff hanging went as there were quite a few trees along the side of the road.  We came up the backside of Monarch Mountain ski resort.  We drove into a little pulloff right beside a babbling brook at about 10,750 to have our afternoon coffee. We intercepted Rte 285, went by the old Monarch mine

 and from there it was a quick trip back to the campground.  It was a stunning day!  Now to not think about the market.

Change of plans

With my work coming up the 19th and needing a FAA physical, we decided tomorrow we would head south, not north to Santa Fe.  We are looking forward to visiting with friends from Atlanta, Brett and Sandra who are going to be there for an Antiquities show.  It will also give us an opportunity to see Nancy and CT, and Jan's mom before we head east.  Also with this change, we'll be able to stop in and visit our grandchildren on the way back, oh yeah, Kelly and Todd as well.  It's funny, no matter how long a trip we can put together, time just seems to fly by and we are headed back so soon.  The clock is ticking, come on retirement!

Nice day

Today was a little less stressful, in fact, it was great.  We started off with waffles for breakfast, then took a ride to a ghost town of St. Elmo's, at least that's what the guide said.  It was a beautiful day, with beautiful scenery, (just another day in Colorado), into a cut in the mountains.  We ended up in a ghost town alright, but it was named Hancock.  Several hundred of our closest friends knew about it as well.

We took an off road detour around and back to Buena Vista to have a late lunch at the Evergreen Cafe, very good.  Thanks again, Tripadvisor.  We drove through old Buena Vista, a neat town, then headed over to an area called South Main by the Arkansas river.  It is one of those developments where they mix residential, commercial, and green space together.  The developer did a super job of it, very nice architecture, mostly prairie style, and it looked to be about 40% built out.  We parked and walked around some down by the river.  The Arkansas through this area is the leading place to raft and kayak in all of Colorado, and Buena Vista made a section of the river a kayaker's delight.  We sat and watched a bunch of people playing in the rapids.  We watched this guy doing stuff that we had never seen before.  We thought it was cool!  What do you think?

After spending an hour or so by the river we headed back to the campground.  It's funny, I'm still 12 days away from going back to work and I'm already dreading it.  I guess now that we've picked out a definite time to retire, it's hard to think of anything else.