THE LAST DAY

I have procrastinated enough about posting on our blog.  I can't tell you why I will do almost anything else, even vacuum, before I will sit down and write on this damn blog.  I've wracked my brain to try and figure it out.  Is it the technology that I have to utilize in order to post with photos etc. or is it my perfectionism that makes writing anything creative a massive undertaking?  I think the answer is "YES" and "YES".  So in order to alleviate the problem I promised myself that I would get back to regular, timely posting before I turned 60!  Now, I have a lot to say about turning sixty but that can wait.  After all, I will be 60 for a whole year, right?    What, the year is up already???  No, no, it doesn't go by that fast!

Well, this is my last day to be 59 years old. Hell, this is my last day to be fifty-anything! So in my perverse way of thinking, I am rewarding myself for my birthday by doing the one thing that weighs on my mind all the time, the one thing that is so distasteful to me that I would rather exercise than sit down and write. (And all of you that know me know how much I hate to exercise) In this way, tomorrow when I wake up I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I actually posted to our blog and the heat is off for a while.

To illustrate my point regarding my technological  challenges, the pic above appeared magically where I had intended to insert a recent photo of  us.  Instead, while I was "browsing" my pictures to find a suitable one I came across this one and just wanted to have a better look at it. (ya know, almost sixty year old eyes can't see "thumbnails")  Little did I know that when I clicked to enlarge it I also inserted it in this post.  Even canceling did no good so rather than obsess any further I decided to go on and continue with the rest of the images I really wanted in here.  Oh, by the way, the caption on the above should read, "Bob on Dahlonega Square, Dahlonega, Ga, circa. 2008!" 

Bob on July 4th, 2011!

Trace and Patty on our motorcycle trip that started going to Indian Rock but wound up going to several gas stations and bike shops to keep my harley and Bob's running.  Lots of gremlins hit our bikes on this particular day along with some downpouring rain and a lot of swearing on our part.  All of our buddies were just fine with it, calm, cool and collected.  "That's what riding with a group is all about" they said but still embarassing to Bob and I!

Trace and Steve, Shawn and Patty

Boat trip on the Fulton Chain of Lakes, Old Forge, New York

Steve and Trace, Michelle and Ted and Bob in the background

HELLO, HELLO, HELLO

It's hard to know where to begin!  My last post was over five months ago and little did I know it would be my last for a while.  The problem was our internet connection in the Adirondacks being almost nonexistent!  My aircard was very unreliable and dial-up speed was the best it could do there.  But I must tell you, we had the BEST summer ever!  We fell in love with the Adirondacks all over again.  Bob and I had forgotten just how majestic the forests and lakes are up there.  There is quite alot to see and do and we only scratched the surface.

The other component of this lifestyle is the workamping.  Until Kayuta Lake Campground we had been involved with the US Army Corps of Engineers only.  This was our first private campground and so we were a bit apprehensive as to how we would like it.  Well, any misgivings we might have had completely disappearred as the summer advanced.  Mike and Karin welcomed us in a big way as did the "seasonals", a friendly camping community which we are now a part of! 

Bob was a part of the "crack" maintenance staff and I joined the office/general store/snack bar/coffeehouse group!  I really had wanted to work outside for the benefit of exercize plus the sheer joy of being able to work outside!! But when it rained every day from April 28 through June 20th, I got over it real quick.  Once the rain quit, the temps were dee-lite-ful.  Most of the days the highs were below 85 degrees and the lows in the 50-60 degree range.  Great sleeping without the A/C.

One of the aspects of Kayuta Lake Campground that we love is the "seasonal community".   There are 165 sites and 89 of them are campers who lease a specific site from May through October 15.  (Thus, the name "seasonal")  You can form friendships with people this way, a part of the fulltimer's life that is missing when you are on the road.

Well, I could go on and on about Kayuta Lake Campground, how beautiful it is, how much fun it is to camp there and to even work there but I am beginning to sound like a commercial!  Suffice it to say that I will be writing a lot more about KLC (with pictures) in the coming weeks.  I have a lot to catch you up on and I will fill you in on it all!

BTW, you can see our beautiful park's website  kayutalakecampground.com

Wondering where we are now??????  If you were paying attention last winter, you might know.  It was in the blog. (but how pompous am I to think that anyone might care enough to remember??? Except for my Mom!  Or to think that people are reading this at all???  Except for Mom)

Former train depot, Forestport, NY

"H10" Our site at KLC !

Bald Mountain, Old Forge, NY

IN THE SPRING!

I've borrowed the title of a song my Papa wrote many years ago and it is very fitting for our last month of travels!  We left Texas in late March, having spent the last 4 weeks there in definite springtime weather.  Temps were getting very warm and the countryside was a patchwork of different hues of green and the yellow pollen was flying.  We arrived in Arkansas to chillier temps and the trees were just barely budding but by the time we left there two weeks later the dogwoods were blooming, the Bradford pears were coming along and spring had arrived.  We traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and winter was on its way out the door.  No buds on the trees, pretty dreary the first two days but warm enough on the third day to take in the zoo!  Then we were on a mission to get to "our" new campground, Kayuta Lake Campground in Forestport, NY, a portal to the Adirondacks.

We were scheduled to start working on April 20, hoping to be all set up with the rig by then.  But Mother Nature had other plans!  Mike and Karin, the campground owners, suggested we stay south and west of where they are for a while longer!  It has been so cold there they are unable to turn the water on to the campsites and the permafrost is still making it impossible to put the rig on site.  April 16th found them having blizzard type snowfall but thank goodness not sticking.  The winds were 40 MPH and they lost many trees, 30 total for this winter.  So we followed their advice and visited with Aunt Charm and Uncle George for a few days and then headed to a KOA in Canadaigua, NY.  We have been here at the KOA for a week and are a little stir crazy!  It's been bitter cold, we've seen snow flying and there has been no end of rain.  The KOA is beautiful but alot of it is under water right now!  We had 4 hours of sunshine today and actually got to sit outside.  And we noticed the trees have tiny little buds coming out and in the distance the countryside is taking on a green cast.  Spring is almost here!  So Bob and I have lived through the onset of spring for many months now!!  Kind of weird to experience.....

We are heading to our new digs tomorrow morning. We're going to park on pavement and just set up enough to get by until we can permanently settle in. We've been invited to Easter dinner at Karin and Mike's and we're looking forward to getting to know them and start work!

Our granddaughter Taylor, at the Cleveland Zoo

Daughter Alex

Uncle George, Aunt Charm, Pugsy and Lucie!

Bob's boyhood home in Syracuse, NY.  The two trees were planted by his Dad as saplings!

TIDBITS ON LIFE IN TEXAS

Our time here is drawing to a close.  The six months have gone by incredibly fast as we knew they would!  We are heading for Arkansas to conduct some business, maintain the RV, car, truck and Harleys and if we can still afford it, head for the Adirondacks of New York.  We have a summer gig there and are looking forward to seeing Bob's Aunt Charm and Uncle George and his late brother Warren's daughters.  In preparing for our trip, we've been watching the weather up that way and it is COLD there.  We are used to temps in the 80's here in Texas so we will be pulling out the woolies from storage before we head north.  On the way, we will stop in Cleveland, Ohio, to see Bob's daughter Alex and granddaughter Taylor. 

I've been saving some photos to post from our roaming the Hill Country.  We feel so fortunate to have been able to explore this area of the United States and look forward to coming back next winter as there is plenty we didn't get to see!
The first two photos are looking down at our campground from about a mile away.  You can see the modernization from primitive to RV sites has not been done yet.  It is so beautiful and has been a wonderful place to live.  We've been using it as our walking track and are up to 2 miles a day.  (The boats  you see are not part of our park)

Picnic table shelters in our campground

Three of our closest friends came for dinner and we had to put Lucie in the RV!

Famous Luckenbach, Texas, behind the old Post Office where the only thing that gets canceled nowadays are the musical acts! 

The ATM in Luckenbach where you can get your "dirty" money and you may need it after paying for the beer!  They are proud of their beer, $3.50 for domestic, $4.50 imported.

You can tell this butterfly was in Texas.  That is my watch sitting next to it, not my ring!

And then there is Bob, a man who wears many hats!

 

Riding in the Hill Country of Texas

Bob and I have been riding as much as we can.  Recently we toured the LBJ Ranch at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park located between Fredericksburg and Johnson City.  I enjoyed seeing this working ranch much more than I thought I would.  When LBJ decided to donate part of his land, the stipulation was that the National Park Service maintain cattle and manage the ranch lands as a living demonstration of ranching the LBJ way.  He did not want it to be a "sterile relic from the past".  It was a car tour, guided by a CD pointing out the different buildings.  Since there are a herd of Herefords on the land, they have the right-of-way.  You can see the landing strip that Air Force One used when LBJ returned to the "Texas Whitehouse" and a smaller plane still hangered there which he used when he was in a hurry.  We took a tour of the Texas Whitehouse which was very interesting.  LBJ had a penchant for having telephones every where so he could keep in constant contact with those that needed him.  There even was a phone on a shelf under the dining room table, right beside where he sat.  It is said that Lady Bird thought he was extremely rude to speak at the table during dinner with guests but it did little to discourage him.  He would have loved the cell phone!

The family cars are also housed there.  There was a '63 Corvette given to one of the daughters when she graduated.  Upon becoming pregnant, LBJ said it was not right to have her drive that car as she was going to be a mother and bought her something proper.  (can't  remember what )  The grandson still comes down from Austin periodically to take that corvette out for a spin.  In fact, the day we were there, we missed him by a few hours.  He flew in by helicopter just to drive the car!

Although, I was verrry young when LBJ was in office, I was an an adult but it still surprised me how antiquated everything looked.  I realized I am that old!

WINTER IN TEXAS

This has been the warmest winter either of us has ever spent!  We feel so fortunate to be able to choose where to spend the next season!  We have been riding the harleys whenever we can and exploring the area.  More about that later.

We spent New Year's Eve with our partners, Don and Mary.  First, we sat around the campfire telling lies and stories!    Between the two of us, Mary and I made enough food to feed the neighboring town!  They taught us how to play "Pegs and Jokers" and we taught them how to play "Up and Down the River".  There was a little imbibing going on with the eating and playing and we all stayed awake long enough to watch the "ball" usher in the New Year in Times Square.

Lucie has playmates here as Don and Mary have two adorable four-legged kids, Max and Mindy.  They are brother and sister and are very good about putting up with Lucie's energetic craziness.  We are able to let the dogs run around our campers since we are not open (still) and they have a great time.  They are really going to freak when we have to leash them and curtail their freedom.

So life here in the Hill Country is GOOD!  We are very grateful to have partners that are so compatible with us.  This would be a miserable situation if we didn't like the people we work with especially since we don't see many others to talk to!  As you can see, Don is the proverbial kidder.  He said he was going to dress for our celebration and he did!

The update on the ongoing renovations to the campground is not good.  Permits are stalling the work and we hope the electric company will be coming in this work to start placing poles.  We are only two months away from leaving here and it doesn't look like we will see the park in its modern state until we come back in September for our option year.

Christmas Photos

Its been a wonderful three months here at Canyon Lake and we are half way through our contract. We attended the local Christmas Parade and it was a lot of fun. Bob indulged me and decorated the gatehouse for Christmas and took me out to see the lights in Windcrest, Tx, a suburb of San Antonio.


Windcrest is known for lighting up the entire town. Neighborhoods get together and some even have themes. Businesses get involved as well. The city decorates the water tower as a giant candle! The fire department hands out maps and a list of the award winners in each category. It was quite the sight.

River Walk in San Antonio is beautiful all year but  especially so at Christmas. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong night to go down there. It was warm Monday so we headed out. Didn't realize that the Alamo Bowl was to be played Wed evening between Oklahoma State and Arizona. Many of the festivities are either just for players and their families or so expensive that the average person can't afford to go. But on Monday evening, down at River Walk, they had pep rallies, brass bands, etc. and everything was free! Well, it was not the night to view the lights!  I got as many photos as I could before the throngs of people showed up!  And Oklahoma State won the game last night.  Yea!

  So, although this is not Bob's favorite time of year, and he is usually feeling Bah, Humbug about now, he was a pretty good sport about it and let me have my fun! I wonder what he is going to expect in return......

VISITING THE SALLEYS!

We went to Georgetown, Texas to visit friends that used to live in Bentonville. We've known them for 20 years or so and the way we met is rather funny. Bob was riding his Harley through Bentonville one afternoon when this woman motioned for him to pull over. She said that her husband had recently gotten a Harley and had no one to ride with! Well, Bob being the introvert that he is, arranged for Sheri and her husband Doug to come over to our house that evening. When Bob came home and told me the story, I wasn't too thrilled. What kind of woman pulls a complete stranger over and arranges for him to meet her husband??? Unbeknowst to us, Sheri was having a similar conversation with Doug and he was as "thrilled" about it as I.

Well, that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship that has endured all these years! Even more interesting, Doug and his brother Randy were instrumental in getting Bob an interview at Walmart and the rest is history.

Sheri and Doug moved to the Austin area about 4 years ago and we had not seen them since. It was great catching up and seeing the kids. Morgan and Mathew are very bright, charming kids but I expected no less considering their parentage! Lucie had a ball with their two dogs, Maggie and Holly. It was a wonderful visit. We laughed a lot just like we used to and the years of separation seemed to melt away.

PORT ARANSAS PHOTOS

ROAD TRIP TO THE COAST

We are really enjoying the RV full-timer's lifestyle now! Recently, we were on our way to Dallas to look at an item for the Harleys. Planned to stay over night and headed out early in the morning. Just before we got on I-35 Northbound, Bob made a call and found that what we wanted was not in stock. No reason to go to Dallas now and since its not one of our favorite places Bob said lets head south on I-35. I looked at a map and noticed we weren't that far away from the shore (about 3 hours) and something printed in a small box near Corpus Christi caught my eye. " 24 Hour Ferry Service-free" I thought sounded intriguing so we headed that way, knowing nothing about where we were going! We hadn't done a spur of the moment road trip in many years, something we did frequently back in the day!

On our way down, we passed miles and miles of windmills for as far as the eye could see. Quite an impressive sight which doesn't show as well in the photo.

The ferry service links the mainland with Port Aransas, Texas. Only way to get over there is the ferry or to come through Corpus and travel through Padre Island, Mustang Island, etc and it takes about an hour or longer to go that way. I questioned why they haven't built a bridge across since it is such a short distance (about a 3 minute ride once you pull away from the dock) and I was told that the ferry is a tradition and that there is not enough land on the Port side to build the approaches for the bridge. Its hard to estimate distance on water but I would say it couldn't be more than a half mile across!

We discovered you can drive your vehicle on the beach, right up to the water's edge if you want to. What a treat that was. We drove for miles along the coast and saw some beautiful scenery. They even have a campground on the beach or you can just pull your rig up wherever you choose and camp for the night. The usual regulations at beaches back east don't apply here! They are very liberal and allow dogs on leashes and campfires at night. It was quite a sight to see the full moon come up over the water on a mostly deserted beach with a few campfires here and there.

We found a place to stay with a deck overlooking the sand dunes and beach and were so taken with the place that we stayed for 3 days! The sunrise was awesome and even Lucie knew we were experiencing something special. She decided to go in the water and body surf. What a riot! She was so energized by it all that she ran in circles, around and around, as far as her leash would allow. She spent many minutes studying the birds, trying to figure out how she could sneak up on them.

We found a bar (I know you all are surprised) named the Salty Dog. One of our favorite bars in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. had the same name so we thought we would try this one. It was such a upscale pub that they even allowed dogs to come in so Lucie visited her first (and probably only) bar. Of course, we had to wait outside until she came out! ARR, ARR, ARR!

This kind of trip is exactly the reason we chose to go on the road!

And since I cannot, for the life of me figure out how to place images where I want them on my blog, I will publish the rest of the pix on a separate post. Hey, if anyone out there is reading this and knows how to incorporate the images within the text, please let me know!

FRIENDS COME TO VISIT

We have old friends (long term friends, not "old") who live in Granbury, Texas, and they came to visit with Scruffy, their dog. The day that they arrived was pretty much taken up with going to New Braunfels to pick up Bob's truck. It had been at a collision center for 6 days, getting repaired from the damage done to it when it was hit in the bank parking lot! We were sitting in the truck at the time which was lucky since I'm not sure that the young gal that ran into us would have stuck around. Well, I digress.....

Since they are the first to visit, we didn't have the tour down pat but we did manage to go to Gruene, Texas to see the country's oldest music hall still in operation. Did a little shopping there and a lot of looking at the outlet malls in New Braunfels. I have never seen so many stores in one place! They say people fly in to Austin or San Antonio just to shop there. While Larry and Lin were here, we had some vehicle trouble which caused us to change plans several times.



Larry is by nature an early riser, 4-4:30 AM is his usual wake up time. Since there was no computer in their cabin for him to get on, he had several hours to kill before we were to pick them up for breakfast at nine. We had a specific place for breakfast in mind and it takes about 20 minutes to get there. During the ride, Larry claimed that we must be taking them to Austin, it was taking sooooo long to get there. Well, when the car trouble occurred before we even reached the restaurant, Larry was very patient and didn't say a word. We did eventually get to eat breakfast, although it could have been lunch. Larry only complained two or three times after that! Thanks for being patient, Larry.



We did get to sit around the campfire one night. Don and Mary, our co hosts were able to join us, and it was a perfect evening. We discovered that Fox's Pizza delivery will come out here and their pizza was delicious. Who knew you could get any kind of delivery in the boonies?????









Larry Linda and Bob in Gruene (pronounced Green) Linda took a spin on Bob's Harley

HELLO TEXAS

We arrived in Canyon Lake, Texas a few days early and we camped at Potter's Creek Campground. It is the only one on the lake that is open all year until our campground's modernization is complete. We met our co-gate attendants who were also camping there. Nicer people you'll never meet (yeah, you, Don and Mary) and they have two dogs for Lucie to play with! We all attended orientation and then came to our campground, Cranes Mill, to get settled in.

Our sites were terribly overgrown with Cedar trees that had grown up around the rigs that had been in place for 10 years. Bob and Don had to become lumberjacks in order to get our fifth wheels in here! And Mary and I hauled the limbs off.

The park is not open now and hasn't been for over a year. They are changing from primitive camping to sites for RVs with water and electric. Stimulus money is being spent to do this and we are hoping that we will open sometime before our contract ends in March, 2011! In the meantime, we sit in the gatehouse, watch TV, read a book, work on our computers (as I am doing now!) or visit with Mary and Don. It is much easier to work the long days here than it was when we started in Georgia. We are used to the 4 days on, 4 days off schedule which really takes some time to adjust to.

The Hill Country of Texas is just as beautiful as they say it is. The sky is so BIG here! And you can see for miles and miles. Or at least thats the way it feels. Canyon Lake is very different than the lakes in Arkansas and Georgia. Since the terrain is rolling hills, most of the shoreline here is a gentle slope. Due to the limestone, it wasn't until recent years that people starting building around the lake. By that time, the Corps of Engineers prohibited any private docks so the view around the lake is clean and unfettered. The only structures at the water's edge are a few marinas, fishing piers and several boat ramps.

The wild life here is abundant. We have about 35-40 deer in our park, some bucks with 6-8 points! The deer are plentiful everywhere in this area and that is no exaggeration. When driving through subdivisions, deer are in the yards. Some are even laying down, like it's their place.This makes for some cautious motorcycle riding for sure.

We have seen many scorpions but they are very tiny. Maybe an inch or two long and reddish brown in color. Tarantulas seem to be out and about around 6-7 PM, at least that is when we've seen them! Big, hairy and scary looking but Mary looked them up and found that they just have a bad rep, they aren't aggressive like some would have you think. I just hope the tarantulas read the same book Mary did!