Darrell's Chair Archives 2009-05

From Darrell's Chair
May 2009 Entries

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"From Darrell's Chair" Archives

This page will be used to share my thoughts with you as I sit in my chair and contemplate the daily events that take place during our fulltiming journey. Hopefully you will enjoy the entries, learn a thing or two, and have some chuckles along the way as Judy and I continue "Wandering America".

Friday, May 29, 2009
Finally, we got some time off. I w*rked 10 days in a row and Miss Judy w*rked 7 - that's makes this a J-O-B, no two ways around it. We had over 2100 people in the park for the Memorial Day Weekend and the economy didn't seem to be affecting their spending. The Honey Bear Store was busy and we were renting electric boats faster than we could get them re-charged (they rent for $29 an hour which is far more than I would pay for them). Anyhow, we are glad to get two days off to recuperate. We'll w*rk a full day tomorrow and a half day on Sunday and then get four or five days off; that'll be a nice break.

It has managed to rain for our two days off so we've just sort of hunkered down in the house, however, Judy got her hair cut yesterday, we picked up a few things at Wally World, and stopped by the Pet store to get the furry kids another supply of katt food. A nap managed to sneak into the afternoon, after which, I went over to the Campground Store to pick up the daily newspaper (see Articles for my thoughts on newspapers).

Today will be a "clean the house day" followed by doing some reading (it's still raining). I, also, plan to get started on the Travelogues. I've been thinking about the future of the Wandering America website and plan to do more travelogues with photographs (sort of like a blog) and fewer journal entries. I would have liked to have had more photographs in "From Darrell's Chair" but because of the format it would have slowed down the publishing. I would have had to make each entry a stand-alone entry which is what the Travelogues are so why not just increase the number of travelogues and use the journal entries for other thoughts.

The only problem that I now have to resolve is how often to publish a travelogue; especially when we are just sitting in one place doing the same thing day after day as is the case right now. Oh well, I will figure "sumpin" out and in the meantime I will continue to make a couple of entries a week from My Chair. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Congratulations, Speedy, on your accomplishment - That is, putting w*rk behind and becoming free. May you have a long and happy retirement. We look forward to meeting you and Sherri somewhere down the road - Somewhere in Time.

Monday, May 25, 2009
Today is the day that has been set aside to honor those who have paid the supreme price for our freedom. We honor our fallen heroes by taking time to remember them and the ultimate sacrifice that they made so that we could live free. This includes all of those who died in every war beginning with the Revolutionary War fought in the 1770's and 80's. What a blessing that has been bestowed upon us because of the willingness of young men and women to fight for our liberties. Miss Judy and I hope that you all have a happy and safe Memorial Day but be sure to take time to say "Thank You" to a member of our Armed Forces as well as a Veteran. Ask God for a special blessing for those who lost their lives in pursuit of our freedoms. This is the greatest nation on earth thanks to all of them.

Saturday, May 23, 2009
Yes, we're still alive. We've been doing our workamping "thang" and haven't had a day off since Monday - won't get one until this coming Thursday. I worked on turning a travel trailer into a boat house and getting the boat docks ready for the "big weekend". Supposedly we are booked full for Memorial Day Weekend which means there will be two to three thousand people in the campground - that includes kids (not dawgs but there will be plenty of them too). Miss Judy has been w*rking on getting the Honey Bear Store ready to go as well as Games, Crafts, and Events. Getting ready for summer is always a busy time of the year here at LGE for all departments.

Yesterday we began w*rking our various assignments. I started the day at Honey Bear's Store for three hours and then spent four hours at the Boat Docks. Miss Judy w*rked at Honey Bear's Store until closing (she didn't get home until after 10 PM - waaaaaay past her bed time). People began arriving earlier in the week with a big inflow on Thursday and a HUGE influx yesterday so there were plenty of guests on hand looking for things to do.

It will be interesting to see how the summer goes with this economy. We find a lot of people are coming from nearby (within a couple hours traveling time). The news casters have been saying that about a third of families are canceling vacations this year which could mean that they do weekend get-a-ways at nearby attractions. LGE is a great place for families to do just that because we have a wide range of family activities right within the campground as well as local attractions close at hand (one of which is the Six Flags Great Escape Amusement Park). Yes, it still costs money but no where near a trip to Disney or Sea World, etc..

After this weekend things will slow down for us for the next three weeks until school lets out. We will only be scheduled to w*rk for three days a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) which will leave us plenty of time to do some of our "stuff". My main project will be to finish sanding, polyurethane, and install all of the lambrequins. Miss Judy will continue working on her beading, crocheting, and Lord only knows what else. She has been in touch with Linda Payne who has found another basket weaving endeavor that has perked up Judy's ears - is there another craft in her future? We'll just have to wait and see - if so, I will shove her in her corner to write about it.

Katie and Alex have been enjoying their stay here. They love the bird feeders and spend hours bird watching. They have become pretty astute at identifying birds. They have two katagories, those who fly when we attack the windows and those who don't. So they only attack the windows when they know that they can cause a bird to take flight. Then they sit back and laugh - silly katts.

Well, that's the way it is here at LGE on Saturday, May 23rd two thousand and nine. Until next time, be sure to keep the greasy side down.

Monday, May 18, 2009
It's unbelievable!!! It's almost as if we never left this place. Today we go back to w*rk. I'll be renovating a small travel trailer into a new boat house for our dock area. The old one is many years past its life expectancy. We store life preservers, paddles, oars, seat pads for the electric boats, and other boating related equipment. It will take us (Ron and I) several days to renovate the trailer and clean out the old one but it will be ready for this coming weekend - Memorial Day Weekend. Miss Judy will be working toward getting Honey Bear Store and GCE (Games, Crafts, and Events) ready to go. This past weekend was the Opening Weekend but not everything was up and running.

We've spent the past couple of days getting settled in, visiting with old friends, and making new ones. The new mattress that we purchased a week ago is like sleeping on a cloud. Saturday we did our (and the katt's) grocery shopping for the rest of the month. Sunday we attended New Hope Church in Queeensbury - we enjoyed it and will continue to attend there this summer.

We may end up w*rking for eight or nine days in a row; after which, we will have several weeks where we will w*rk only weekends (until school is out and families begin to show up). During that time I plan to finish the lambrequins and get them installed. I still need to contact Cedar Creek to get a replacement part for around the wheel well (the one destroyed by the blow out). So, we will get into a routine of w*rking, doing projects, and playing. Once the season starts we'll be just like "regular people" - w*rk five days and have a two day weekend to accomplish all of our "stuff". However, it still beats w*rking for a living in a stressful environment.

Friday, May 15, 2009
We met with Tonya for our official check-in at LGE and then went to the Post Office, Drug Store, Library, and Grocery Store in Warrensburg. For a five dollar deposit we can get a seasonal library card at the Warrensburg Library; that will be a nice thing to have since y'all know how much I like to read.

Bill, the tractor driver here at LGE, brought me two buckets load of washed stone to use on our patio. I got that spread around in the area where we will put the outside carpet. I will tamp it down today, put out the carpet and lawn chairs, organize the basement, and hook-up the outside TV. Then we'll be ready to sit outside and enjoy the mosquitoes as they continue dive bombing us (boy are they thick this year).

Being that it was a rainy day, a nice little katt nap sneaked it's way into our afternoon. It is so soothing to lay there in bed and listen to rain on the roof - before you knew it the Z's were flowing all over the room. Miss Judy and I prepared a nice spaghetti dinner with a garden salad and a glass of wine. Then we relaxed while it continued to rain outside - ruff day!!!!!

Being that one day will pretty much look like the last one (or the next one), I will not be doing journal entries everyday. I do want to get our Travelogues up to date and will include plenty of pictures in them. I don't use pictures in "From Darrell's Chair" because I would have to republish them everyday and that would slow the uploading process down immensely. Our two year contract with Sprint ends in August and I will most likely change to Verizon - they have better speeds than Sprint in the areas where we travel and that should speed things up a little. Anyhow, I plan to keep you apprised of our activities a couple times a week with Monday being one of those days. Until then, have a great weekend.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
The rig was sooooooo dirty that I had to wash every square foot twice just to get the thing back to the point where it needs a wash job. I have never seen it so dirty. Just about every travel day over the past four weeks was a rainy day - couple that with the fact that Shirley and Warren live down a dirt (muddy) road which we had to travel twice (once to go get tires) it is no wonder the poor thing got so dirty. The truck tain't any better.

After washing the rig, I mowed the lawn then put out the awning. Today I will finish getting us set up for the summer. Whilst I was doing all of that Miss Judy spent hours upon hours doing paperwork. It just amazes me how much paperwork we have to do in even this "simplified" lifestyle. The biggest issue is that you have to spend so much time undoing the "screw ups" created by other's carelessness and/or incompetence. Oh well, it' job security and it gives Miss Judy something to do with her idle time.

Katie and Alex had a big event take place yesterday afternoon - I got the bird feeder put up. It suction cups to the window behind the sofa. Some of the birds have found it already, but we're still waiting for the vast majority to show up. I guess I had better get the bird book out so they can figure out who's visiting their feeder (katts are curious by nature, ya know?).

Last night we rode our bikes over to officially meet Jesse and Ginger. Great people, we are going to enjoy spending the summer with them. Jesse has already been w*rking in Maintenence, there's a lot to do to get the park ready for Memorial Day weekend. Ginger has been in training and believe me, there is a lot to learn in Guest Services. They said they had talked about dropping by our house for a visit but after dinner their energy level had dissipated - we understand that. Even though this is fun w*rk, it is hard w*rk. Jesse said after having five months off he now remembers why they call this w*rk! We didn't stay long as we wanted them to get their rest. Oh yes, we got to meet the three B's, Bear, Buddy, and Mr. B - cute pups.

After that it was home, a little TV, and beddie bye.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Yesterday was the first day in over a week that we didn't have any rain - it seemed nice for a change even though it was cooler. This morning we leave New Hampshire, cross Vermont, and end up in New York. Yep, we start our summer tour of duty at LGE. We're actually looking forward to getting there and seeing our old friends as well as meeting some new ones.

Jesse and Ginger Haman, some cyber friends, will be workamping there with us this year. They arrived Sunday and Ginger started her training yesterday. We first met them through Howard and Linda Payne's website, RV-Dreams, and have talked with them several times via email as well as the RV-Dreams chat room so it will be nice to finally meet them face to face. They have a blog entitled Kram-A-Lot-Inn, check it out.

It's time for me to pack up and head out so see ya tomorrow from Lake George Escape in the Adirondacks of New York.

Monday, May 11, 2009
A couple of days ago Nick Russell, in his blog, mentioned that Maine was introducing a bill that would prohibit overnight parking in "public parking lots". After doing a little investigation and reading an article in the Portland Press Herald I wrote the Representative who is sponsoring the bill as well as the Governor's office.

Representative Anne Perry, from Calais, wrote me back explaining that it was not her intent to kill overnight parking but to eliminate "camping" in parking lots. She stated that there is a problem with littering and dumping tanks in storm drains involved as well. I really don't think that those are the real issues. Most likely it is some local campground that is whining about their loss of income because Walmart allows overnight parking.

Campgrounds in the east are long on price and short on amenities. Most of them are old and have inadequate infrastucture to support our rigs. They have few pull through sites, tight turns, unlevel sites, and 30 amp (underpowered) electric. The sites are small often dirty and sit under pine trees that drip pine pitch on your rig. And, you get all of this for a $30+ per night fee.

I wrote Representative Perry back outlining those concerns as well as the financial impact to the state of Maine if this bill passes. Hopefully this bill will be withdrawn or fail to pass.

Yesterday we spent Mother's Day with Marc, Amie, and the grand kids sharing a burger, potato salad, vegie salad, and brownies - health food all the way. It's nice to be able to spend a few hours each day with our grand kids. Rocco is unbelievably a good baby. He hardly ever cries - boy, he's gonna hafta get tuff with two older sisters.

The new bed is just wonderful. It is nice to sleep on something that is not sagging. The memory foam conforms to your body and supports us right where it is needed. I think we like this better than the Select Comfort that we had in our house (it is a king sized mattress and we opted for a queen sized in the RV).

Tomorrow is another travel day - we'll be on the road again heading for Lake George Escape to start w*rking again. In this economy it will be nice to have some dollars coming in again. We have been hired by Amazon.com in Coffeeville, Kansas to w*rk for seven or eight weeks so we'll definitely make it through the year. Hopefully, we can "turn the corner" in 2010.

Saturday, May 9, 2009
A new day is dawning and guess what? Rain is in the forecast, surprise, surprise. We'll make do with it since we get to spend time with the grand kids, rain or shine. And, oh yes, we get time to spend with Marc and Amie as well.

Miss Judy was a good little girl, the doctor even gave her a lolly pop, so we went to the Peterborough Diner for breakfast. Interesting side note, President Obama had a bite to eat there when he came through New Hampshire while on the campaign trail. So did John McCain and several of the other Presidential hopefuls, however, Hillary Clinton didn't stop by. Oh well, she lost out again. Besides all that, the breakfast was yummy and we'll stop by there again in the fall.

Marc and Amie are buying a house in Antrim, New Hampshire which is the next town over from Hancock and only four miles from Seven Maple Campground. Their house has a nice large level driveway where we can park the rig if we can get it in there. The road in front of their house is going up a hill, narrow, and dead ends right past the house. I'm not sure if there is enough "swing room" to get the RV into the driveway. It will be a challenge but I'm going to give it a try when we return in the fall. If I can't get the thing into the driveway then I will end up backing it down the hill and out into the highway - wouldn't that be exciting? But, if I can get it into the driveway, there is a water spigot available on that side of the house and I will pay to have a 30 amp plug installed right inside the garage door. Now, wouldn't that be handy for a grand kid fix?

One of the neatest things about New Hampshire is that there is no (that's no with a capital N-O) sale's tax. That means that if an item is priced at $9.99 then you pay $9.99 not $10 and some change. That can be a big savings on high dollar items like a new mattress. Yesterday, while at the drug store, we noticed a sign in front of a mattress store that said "Big Mattress Sale", so I went in and asked if they had a sale on little mattresses as well. It turned out that they have two (not one but two) Serta Vera Wang memory foam mattresses left over from last year priced at $1,200 each. But wait, that's not all!!! If you act now we'll knock $300 more off the price - that's half the retail price (and about a third of Tempurpedic's price). Well, we didn't have to "act now" and I told the gentleman that I would get back to him.

So, of course, I started doing my homework on the internet. After many hours of research I now know how Tempurpedic mattresses are constructed as well as how Serta and a few others manufacture theirs. Tempurpedic seems to be the standard everyone uses as a guide and the Serta's construction is identical with one exception. Tempurpedic has a 3 inch 5.3 pound density memory foam while Serta has a 3 inch 5 pound density memory foam. Both use a 7" latex foam foundation making it a 10 inch thick mattress. Both, also, install a heat sensitive covering which helps keep the mattress cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

We've been needing to replace our mattress for over a year now and have been putting it off. We added a memory foam topper three years ago but the springs have broken down to the point where it sags on both sides. We could buy a cheaper mattress but $800 to $1,000 is the going price for a good mattress. So, the bottom line is that we may have no money left, but at least we can get a good night's sleep while worrying about it - and just think, we saved at least $54 dollars in sales tax on top of a good deal. Wahoo!!!!

Friday, May 8, 2009
It was nice to rise and shine this morning; the sun is brightly shinning and it's good to see my old friend again. He hasn't been around much this spring, however, the weather forecast is calling for isolated thunder storms. The temperatures are supposed to be in the 70's so I'm hoping to get some sun time.

Yesterday was same ol', same ol'. We continued to hone our nanny skills; that resume is coming along just fine. Next week we can start advertising on Craigslist (now that the Craigslist murderer is in custody). "Have Nanny Skills, Will Travel." Think we'll get a bite?

This morning Miss Judy needs to have some blood work done so if she is a good little girl and doesn't give the doctor, nurse, or whatever any trouble (that will be difficult for her), I am going to take her out to breakfast at the Peterborough Diner. Breakfast is actually our favorite eat out meal so I hope she behaves herself.

Our neighbor, who just arrived yesterday, showed up with a water hose that collapses and winds up in a nice little holder with a crank. His is green and looks like a garden hose - I wonder if they make them for potable water and how durable they actually are. I'll need to check it out but I still like my idea of an automatic hose reel mounted inside the basement.

While at Marc's house I have been using his Mac computer and like it better than a PC, however, it is a PC world and the Mac has its limitations. Anyway, Judy and I have been looking at vintage Winnebago motorhomes. There were a couple of models, the Elandan and the Elente, which were built back in the 80's and early 90's that appeal to us. They have Chevy 454 engines and Chevy transmissions which have proven themselves to be pretty durable. The coaches that we are looking at are between 26 to 30 feet long with no slides. The thirty footers have a sofa and two barrel chairs, with a small table between the chairs, along with a booth style dinette. They have a walk through bathroom and an island bed in the back. There is plenty of inside storage but outside storage is limited.

We are thinking about buying one for extended travels while the fifthwheel would remain set up at Rainbow Plantation. We want something small enough that we wouldn't have to tow a vehicle behind it and would be able to drive it to the supermarket or wherever. I'm pretty handy but I'm not sure if I could keep up with the maintenance required by an older rig. The big question is whether or not we would be buying ourselves a lot of trouble but, we can't afford to buy a new motorhome. If we could, Winnebago is building a 26 foot Vista class A motorhome that would fit the bill just nicely.

Oh well, it's all a pipe dream right now - we need to get through the summer first. Now it's time to head out for blood work and, hopefully, breakfast; if only Miss Judy can behave herself.

Thursday, May 7, 2009
'Twas raining katts and dawgs this morning so I "stood" in bed until 7:30 before ambling into the kitchen for my morning cup of java. This rain is certainly turning the world outside green. Spring has sprung for sure here in New England. Now, with the predicted warmer temperatures coming our way over the next few days the flowers will begin blooming in full force. Spring and Fall are absolutely colorful times here in the northeast.

Yesterday warmed up quite nicely. It would have been a great day for a bike ride but, instead, we took on our nanny duties so Amie could get some much needed sleep. We, also, cooked dinner for the family, it must have been good 'cause Briana, the picky eater. came back for thirds on the chicken. Lola had seconds on everything while Rocco William just sucked down another bottle.

I did take a walk down to the library where I sat and read the newspaper for a while. Then on my way home I stopped by the store and picked up a Wall Street Journal to read while sitting on the back porch. That means that Miss Judy did her grandma "thang" by taking care of the baby.

We are going into Peterborough again this afternoon and do the nanny thing again; hopefully Amie will get another good nap. She is beginning to get some of her energy back and a few more days with some good naps should do the trick.

Now, I've been thinking; I know, that's dangerous. There must be easier ways for hooking up and storing water hoses and electrical cords. The water connection on the rig has always been temperamental and if you don't hold your mouth just right it leaks as it is very difficult to tighten due to the angle of the connection itself. So I'm thinking of getting an automatic hose reel and mounting it in the basement with 50 feet of hose on it. I would feed it out through the floor (just like the big boys do) and I could just pull out as much hose as needed. The hose would be permanently connected inside the rig so all that would be necessary is to connect it to the bib and turn on the water. When it came time to unhook all I would have to do is unscrew it from the bid and press a button and in would come the hose (I would wipe it down with a rag as it was being reeled in).

The electric cord for 50 amp service looks like something that would be used to launch the space shuttle. It is heavy and hard to coil up for storage, especially when it is cold. I'm still trying to come up with a viable solution for handling that thing. It connects to the back of the rig and there is no place to mount a reel of any type back there so I just need something that is not heavy to coil the cord around so that I could pick the whole thing up and store in the front of the RV. Any ideas?

This fulltiming gig is just like owning a house, you're never really done remodeling. Maybe we don't have to put in flower beds like Mikee but there's always one more little project to add to the Ta Do List. I guess we are just creatures looking for more comfort (and ease). Oh, where will it ever end?

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
After three days of back to back driving we are here!!! Here being Seven Maples Campground in Hancock, New Hampshire. Another "long on price, short on amenities" campground. I must be getting old because I feel that $33 dollars a night is just to pricey for a campground. Thankfully it's a Passport America campground (for four nights that is). We'll be here for seven nights. Oh, by the way, they expect Passport members to pay an additional $3 a night if we run a air conditioner or electric heater.

We arrived at about three o'clock and hurried to "set-up camp" so we could get a grand children fix. This time two grand daughters and one grand son who was six days old yesterday (that means a week old today - Happy Birthday). We were there about three hours and he didn't cry once - what a good little tike. Marc and I went out and bagged a pizza for dinner (baby Rocco didn't eat much of that); then we came home to get some rest.

After three days on the road we were tired. Alex didn't act up at all during yesterday's trip - guess he decided that protesting back to back days just wasn't working and he had no desire to return to the Penalty Box. I slept in this morning; therefore, a late post. Rain is in the forecast for everyday through Sunday and it is cooooold here in New England with temps in the 40's - brrrrrrrr!!!!! We've been hanging around the south too long and have become sissy la-la's.

Enough for now, hopefully we'll get some biking in as there is a nice trail between here (Hancock) and Peterborough that we've wanted to ride every time we come here. Maybe, just maybe, it will happen this time but not if the rain and winter weather continues.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Another uneventful traveling day. It was rainy (just showers) as we traveled from the west side of Pennsylvania to the east side. We are within a mile of the New York border and within four hours of our destination (Hancock, New Hampshire). After arriving at the Tri-State RV Park we just set-up, had dinner, watched TV, and went to bed.

Tri-State RV Park definitely does not have the "It" factor. It could as it backs up to the Delaware River but the owners have decided to make it an over night stop instead and not an exceptionally good one at that. For $35 a night I would expect upgraded hook ups, level sites and a reasonably nice looking park but not so here. The sites are level but they only have 30 amp electric and are sort of unkempt (trash laying around, grass unmowed, and some "seedy" looking long term rentals).

There is a Walmart just down the street but I think they have "No Overnight Parking" signs posted. Besides, Miss Judy doesn't feel comfortable staying at Walmarts. Since we drive only four or five hours a day we would arrive too early and have to sit too long in a parking lot. It's a little cramped in here when the slides are in and we wouldn't want to fire up the generator so there would be no 'puters or TV.

It's been stated before but, none the less, I'll say it again. Mr. Alex does not like traveling two days in a row. Yesterday he just would not settle down and was sent to the Penalty Box (not once but twice). The Penalty Box is a large canvas cage that we have seat belted into the back seat. So, just what does Mr. Alex do? He paces. He paces in the back seat, then he comes up front, next he tries to come over the back of the seat into dad's lap, then he pesters his sister, and, next, he starts howling (then he does it all over again). Generally after a half hour in the Penalty Box he settles down but not yesterday; it took a second "time out" to get him settled down. Then he rode like a good little (or not so little) boy kitty.

Katie, on the other hand, just curls up on her sheep skin in the back seat and goes to sleep. She'll come up front on occasion, eat a little or get a drink, use the katt box, and then lay down again for another katt nap. If only she could teach her "little" brother a "thang" or three.

Well, it's on the road again for another four or five hours (depends on how many stops we make along the way). Hopefully the rain will go away as we would like to do the bike trail that runs between Hancock and Peterborough while we are in New Hampshire. I would love to do some kayaking in the area as well but we'll just have to wait and see.

Monday, May 4, 2009
We are at RV Village Camping Resort in Mercer, Pennsylvania. It's actually a nice park with over 250 seasonal sites. The sites are large and the amenities are fairly nice. Being a Passport America campground makes it a good stopping off point - there doesn't seem to be any limits on the Passport America discount; that is, the number of nights you can stay, blackouts for weekends, etc.. They have about 20 pull through sites with upgraded electric/water hook ups and sewer (not quite as level as I would like). There are hiking trails, a fishing pond, recreation rooms, and swimming pool. The campground is open year around so if you find yourself looking for a place to stop over for a few days while traveling along I-80 in western Pennsylvania this campground would definitely fit the bill.

We are moving on today even though we will hit some rain before we get to the east side of Pennsylvania where we'll hunker down for the night. Tomorrow we hope to be on the road again reaching our destination of Hancock, New Hampshire. We keep saying that we are not going to keep traveling this way but it never seems to come to pass. There is always some reason that drives us on; this time it is a grandson that was supposed have waited for us to get to New Hampshire - not the word "supposed".

We had planned to spend three days at this campground and then go to the KOA in Newburgh, New York for a couple of days over the Mother's day weekend but, "the best laid plan of mice and men!" A nice slow six day pace has now been reduced to three days. Maybe, someday, we'll "slow done, you're moving to fast". After three years of fulltiming one would think that we would have shed that "type A" personality. Pennsylvania is a very pretty state with a lot of small quaint towns in need of investigation, however, not this time.

Well, I'd better get us packed up and on the road again for another five hour drive. See ya later somewhere down the road.

Sunday, May 3, 2009
Amazing!! We got all of Warren's "two men required" projects on his Ta Do list accomplished (plus an extra one). I got all of the lambrequins built, the dining room table refinished, new tires on the coach/truck, and repaired most of the damage done by the blowout (I just need to buy and install the trim around the wheel well). I didn't get the kitchen cabinet rebuilt or a new slide-out shelf for the printer installed in the cabinet under the desk but I'm satisfied with what we got done.

Katie and Alex are ready to get on the road again and get their little lives back to normal. They have had a quite a bit of "alone time" here in Holly as Judy and I have spent a lot time with Shirley and Warren. Alex is laying in my lap as I write this and Katie has been coming up to sleep on my pillow during night - they are both looking for some extra mom and dad time.

We'll leave here somewhere between 9 and 10 (eastern standard time) this morning. It will be about a five hour drive to Mercer, Pennsylvania where we will stay for the night at a Passport America campground. Then the katts will feel like life is more normal; they'll really like it when we get settled at LGE for the summer. I'll put out the bird feeders so that they will have their little feathered visitors to help entertain them.

Well, it's time for me start getting ready to roll so, until next time, Happy Trails to y'all.

Saturday, May 2, 2009
Not much new happening around here. Warren and I continue to work on projects from our Ta Do Lists. The lambrequins have all been "rough" sanded, routed, and are now ready for hand sanding and finishing. I'm not going to finish the lambrequins here but take them to LGE with us to complete and install while we are out there. We worked on Warren's gardening center in his garage (installing cabinets and a work counter) and did some of the temporary repair work to the RV - there are just a couple of minor items left to complete on that.

Today is going to be our last day here in Holly. We have decided to depart two days early in order to avoid some of the storms heading east. Also, we are going to do three days of back to back driving to get to New Hampshire so that we can help Amie with the new baby. Marc has to go back to work on Wednesday and she'll appreciate having someone around to do the cooking and cleaning while she is on the mend. Plus, we'll get more time to spoil the grand children.

Being that we will be driving over the next three days my posting will be kind of sketchy - I'm sure I'll get a post in here or there but it won't necessarily be in the morning (most likely once we pull in for the night). We'll stop over in the Mercer, Pennsylvania area and somewhere on the east side of Pennsylvania, for one night each, before arriving in Hancock, New Hampshire on Tuesday afternoon. That way we'll be ready to assume our duties as housekeeper/nanny on Wednesday. We'll do anything just to update our resumes.

Friday, May 1, 2009
Wow!!! A lot of driving and a little visiting. We drove four hours from Holly to Levering (John and Della's house) on Wednesday and then drove four hours from Levering to Grand Rapids (Brian's apartment). We took Brian to lunch and did some shopping before driving two hours from Grand Rapids to Holly. We were pooped to say the least but at least got to see everyone.

On the drive north we got a phone call from our son, Marc, saying that Amie was in labor and our new grandson, who was supposed to wait for us to get to New Hampshire before being born, was entering this world two weeks early. For all of you ladies out there: 8 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 inches, born at 2:14 on Aunt Mary's birthday (April 29, 2009). Oh well, Rocco William Patterson, we won't be there for your birth but we're on our way.

John and Della's daughter, Mabel, and her three children and their son, John, and his three children came over for a cookout. It is amazing to see how big the grand kids have gotten - makes one feel old!!! After they all left we just sat around and visited with John and Della.

Brain took us to lunch at Olive Garden and then we took him Christmas shopping. That's right, Brian has his Christmas shopping all done for 2009. We will take his gifts with us and pass them out along the way thereby saving shipping costs which is often more costly than the gifts themselves.

Yesterday was a rainy day so we got to drive in the rain from Big Rapids to Grand Rapids and then from Grand Rapids to Lansing - pouring hard at times causing us to reduce our speed. We got back to Holly around 6:30 last night and visited with Shirley and Warren for a bit before calling it a day.

The insurance adjuster came and looked at the damage done to the rig by the blowout. He estimated it at $905; Holy Cow, I didn't think it was going to be that much. They will send us a check and then I'm going to do the repair work myself. The only new part I will need is the trim around the wheel wells which will probably cost around a hundred and fifty bucks. I can repair the torn membrane with duct tape and the broken underbelly panel using a piece of treated plywood. I should be able to straighten out the one damaged panel by hand (it's only slightly bent and isn't really all that noticeable right now). So that will take care of that and we will pocket the rest of the money (actually use it to pay for the tires). Oh yes, the service policy that we have on the tires is going to pay for the one that blew out. All in all, we will get enough insurance money to cover half the cost of the new tires.

That pretty much brings us up to date, now to see what's next. Warren has a couple of things left to do and I have one more coat of poly to apply to the table as well as all of the lambrequins to sand, finish, and install. Busy, busy, busy. We'll need to get to LGE just to get some rest ;-) .

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