November 2009 Entries
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| 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". |
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Monday, November 30, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama
Yesterday became a "crash" day. We got up and just sat there looking at each other with little to no ambition to do anything. Judy J wasn't feeling quite up to par and stated that she wanted a pajamas day. I was just fine but more than willing to comply with her desire. We did get going later in the day and finally got out and about for a little bit. The weather was fantastic so we took our lounge chairs out of the shed and sat outside enjoying the nice warm sunshine. Judy did some crocheting while I held Alex for a while and then did a little reading. We ended the day by going to the Ice Cream Social at the clubhouse. We probably wouldn't have gone except Howard and Linda Payne and Nick and Terry Russell are both departing today so we wanted to be sure to see them and say, "See Ya Down The Road!" We look forward to the next time our paths cross. We're not sure what is in the offering for today; Judy will play over at the clubhouse for awhile and I will work at finishing up the November Travelogue. So, that's about it for today with nothing real earth shattering to share. Sunday, November 29, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yay!!! Our dear friends Randy and Terry have returned. They had gone to the Atlanta area to spend Thanksgiving with Randy's sister and her family. Even though they were only gone for four days it was nice to see their smiling faces once again. We always have lots of laughter whenever we're together - Judy and Randy won't let Terry and I sit next to each other for very long; what one doesn't think of, the other one does. Terry writes just like she talks and her personality really comes through in her blog (Guiler Travels) so check it out whenever you get a chance. We first met Randy and Terry waaaay back in January of 2007 right here at Rainbow Plantation when they were our next window neighbors (we don't have a door on that side of the RV). We heard Terry laughing (she laughs out loud, long and hard) and we just knew that we had to get to know them. Since that time we have been getting together with them and have kept in touch whenever either of us is traveling. Like us, they return to Rainbow Plantation each winter just to "chill out". Last night was the annual Thanksgiving Day Left-overs Pot Luck Dinner at the clubhouse (do Escapees do anything else but eat?). We sat with Randy and Terry and Dick and Pat (another fun couple). As usual, Judy sat between Terry and I (they must think that we'd start a food fight or something) in order to keep things down to a dull roar - that just ain't happin'!!! Although, it was a little quieter than usual since Randy and Terry had just driven over eight hours to get home from Georgia and were a tad bit tired. But, we enjoyed another good evening of eating and spending time with great friends - though we could use a little less time eating and a lot more time socializing with friends. Did I ever tell you that the best part of this lifestyle is the friends you make along the way? I know, a billion times, already!!!! We hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend and have created fond memories with family and friends. Now, where'd I leave that turkey sandwich? Honey, is there any more cranberry sauce left? Saturday, November 28, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We were up early and still full from our Thanksgiving dinner at the clubhouse so we just vegged out for a couple hours in our recliners while we caught up on some of our blog reading. Then Judy J went to line dancing while I washed the dishes, made the bed, swept the floors, and did some filing. After she returned we went for a three and a half mile walk about the campground hoping to walk off some of Thursday's dinner. Norm Payne at Wednesday's social hour had given us all the "straight turkey" about the typical Thanksgiving dinner. He didn't tell us how many calories it was but, told us it would take 19.1 miles to walk it off - that's if you ate the right portion sizes with no seconds. Oops!! I think we must have eaten 26.6 miles worth of goodies so with Thursday morning's 2 miles and yesterday's 3.5 miles we only have 21.1 miles to ground zero. And that's if we don't eat anything else in the meantime - I can tell y'all that "that dawg won't hunt!" Norm and Linda had invited Howard and Linda, Nick and Terry, and Judy and I to their house after the Social Hour for a "chat and chew". We had a little beer and wine to loosen our tongues along with the snacks. Then the stories began; stories about places we've been, people we've run across along the way, and funny things that have happened to us or we'd seen happen to someone else. It seemed a general consensus that all of us have seen someone who hooked up the water to the backflush connection and then either forgot about it or took off and left it. We all had quite a few good laughs throughout the evening which passed by waaaay to soon. What a serendipitous thing it was to have almost 30 years of RVing experience sitting around in one room swapping stories. Norm and Linda were fulltimer's for 10 years and 1 month before settling down here at Rainbow Plantation -They will continue traveling on an extended basis. Nick and Terry, also, have over 10 years of fulltiming behind them and have just purchased a "new to them" Winnebago Ultimate Advantage motorhome to continue their journeys in - They aren't planning to come off the road anytime soon. Howard and Linda now have over 4 years of fulltiming under their belts - They where on the left coast last summer, will be spending this winter on the right coast, and next summer they will be experiencing the Great Lakes. Judy and I were the babies in the bunch with just over 3 years of fulltiming - We have been traveling mostly in the eastern United States and look forward to traveling west of the Mississippi. It was an enjoyable evening but, it always is whenever you get a bunch of fulltimer's together in one spot - there's bound to be food and a lot of lively conversation. Here's a parting picture from last night's gathering; I'm the one to the right and just behind the camera.  Friday, November 27, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" "Whattameal!!!" We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner - everything was delicious! I won't bother to list everything that we ate but, believe me, it was um-um goooood! We hope that all of our readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. On top of that, we are very thankful for all of God's blessing; the privilege of living in this country, those who are fighting to keep our country free, our family, and our friends. We are truly blessed. Now that we have eaten our turkey it is time to put on the Christmas music. The stores have been playing Christmas music for weeks now, it's just that I refuse to hear it. As a child it was always the day after Thanksgiving that kicked off the Christmas season (not the day after school began). However, we do like to get our Christmas shopping done early though so we can take time to enjoy the season without the hustle and bustle of shopping. Today is the day that we put up Alex's play toy, AKA the Christmas tree. First I have to go out and cut the tree down (it's in the basement of the RV), then I need to get out all of the Christmas decorations (they are all in one box), and finally I will need to put away all of the boxes (that means putting containers back in the Christmas "stuff" box). Miss Judy is like a little kid, she gets all excited and enjoys decorating for Christmas; she'll start with the tree. Normally it is my job to put the lights on the tree but, now they grow trees with lights already on them so all I have to do is cut it down, put it up, and plug it in (neat, huh?). Once the tree has been decorated my little Christmas Elf will start decorating the house. It will only take her minutes to decorate our house this year (it used to take hours/days to decorate our sticks and bricks) and then we'll be able to sit back in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and listen to our Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music while vision of sugar plums dance through our heads. It's this time of year that we miss the snow but, not the cold that comes with it!! Even after three years of fulltiming it just doesn't seem right to have Christmas without snow. There's just something about a fresh cover of "white stuff" on the ground at Christmas time. Oh well, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the Way!" Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Here I sit at Oh-Dark-Thirty in the morning. I agreed to meet Larry the Cook at the clubhouse at 6:30 to help prepare thirteen turkeys for today's Big Adventure. What was I thinking? Do people actually DO things at 6:30 in the morning? I remember that back in my prior life it wouldn't be unusual for me to be at w*rk at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning (I would be going out for lunch when others were showing up for w*rk) but, that was then and this is now!! Now I'm sitting here having trouble figuring out what the meaning of the word is is!!! Today I might be early but, I won't be bright!! We did finish up our Christmas shopping yesterday, however, a new item cropped up for one of the grand daughters. I have to be honest with you, we'll not really finish up Christmas shopping until two days after Christmas, however, the shopping is done enough so that I can call it done. No more special trips, we'll just buy "stuff" on the fly. Next comes the gift wrapping marathon. We'll probably wait until the day before we leave and stress out about getting everything wrapped just in time for Christmas - why rush into these things? Oh well, I hear the turkeys calling so I had better get going, so: Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Our Christmas shopping went off pretty much as planned. We should finish up everything today and then be free to just enjoy the festivities here at the Plantation and later in Tennessee with some of our family around the Christmas tree. Christmas is a time for relationships not "stuff" (my major theme over the past few days). Yesterday Nick and Terry Russell (Gypsy Journal) arrived to spend Thanksgiving here at Rainbow Plantation. They are on their way back to Elkhart, Indiana to close the deal on their bus conversion that has been for sale. Judy and I had a nice visit with them before heading over to the social hour. Nick and Terry as well as Howard and Linda Payne (RV-Dreams) joined the group - Norm Payne (See Ya Down The Road) led the social time. Yes, we have two Linda Paynes here at Rainbow Plantation and it's not a pain at all. Both Lindas are wonderful people and a lot of fun to be around. We look forward to enjoying the next few days with the Russells and the Paynes as well as all of our other really close friends here at the Plantation. There's that relationship theme again. Believe it or not fellow "campers", tomorrow is Turkey Day!! It's a time for us to stop and reflect on all of the blessings that we have received and give thanks. Let us put right at the top of our list all of the men and women who are serving us on a battlefield somewhere in the world so that you and I can continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have. I don't care whether you support the war effort or not but, they have been willing to do what their government has asked of them and deserve our utmost respect; therefore, we need to be very, very thankful for them and the sacrifices they are making. Judy and I have been extremely blessed with great families and friends. We have five grand children with number six on the way; they are the apples of our eyes. Grand kids are the best; you get to feed them lots of sugar, buy them loud toys, and then send them home. Our friends mean so much to us; we've acquired them like arrows in a quiver. Some of them we haven't seen in years and years but, we still hear from them from time to time and when we do it brings smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts. You just can't have enough friends - can you say relationships? We'll be spending Thanksgiving with 180 to 200 others at the clubhouse here at Rainbow Plantation. There will be around 18 tables with 10 to 12 people per table. The Plantation will provide the turkey and gravy while each table works together to complete the meal by bringing "dishes to pass". It will be crowded, it will be loud, but, it will be fun - being with fellow Escapees is like being with family. Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for and have been truly blessed. Judy and I want to take this time to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and say, "don't eat too much!" Oh, go ahead, you only live once!!! Just remember to take time to give thanks. As Red Skelton used to say, "May God Bless". Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We "stood ta home" for most of the day yesterday. Judy did go to Line Dancing in the morning and we went for our two mile walk but, other than that we stayed home and cleaned house. Oh yes, we attended the four o'clock social time at the clubhouse so I guess I should have said, "We stood at the Plantation yesterday." Howard and Linda Payne were arriving at the park so we had them over for the traditional travel day dinner. It was a good thing as they had spent a large portion of the day getting their RV brakes repaired and had no time to prepare a meal for themselves. It was a great time with good food and a lively conversation. Judy prepared her world famous lasagna and it was yummy as usual. I attempted to make garlic bread using ciabatta rolls - not a good idea (the bread is hard to begin with and after toasting it in the oven it became even harder - oh well, it was still tasty). Judy made an apple crisp for dessert - yep, I married her and now I wonder why I'm getting so fat. In any event, it was another evening with good food and good friends. Is this a great life or what? Today is going to be a Christmas shopping day. We've already done the shopping for the New Hampshire brood and our son in Michigan so now it is to finish off the Tennessean bunch - Mary, Joel, Matthew, Jackie, Catia and Kalina. It will take us two days to finish everything off; one day south to Gulf Shores and one day north to Eastern Shores. We'll be done by the end of the day tomorrow - you gotta set goals in order to "conquer" the mission!! You know what I would like for Christmas? Getting the entire family together in one place at one time for lots of hugs and a special dinner - just don't need anymore "stuff". You spend half your life acquiring "stuff" and the other half of your life getting rid of "stuff". However, grandkids can never have enough "stuff"; at least that's what grand parents think - especially when they are little. Monday, November 23, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama "Here I sit, my head in hand, trying to understand. . ." Yesterday blew by so fast; we got up and went to church then it was off to Uncle Wally's for some groceries. We came home, put away the groceries, had lunch, watched some football, and cooked and ate dinner; before we knew it, it was time to go to the Ice Cream Social. All I can say to the clock is, "Slow down, you're moving to fast. . . " A year ago we sat watching the economy collapse around our ankles thinking that 2009 would be a long hard year. Well, for us anyhow, it was neither long nor exceptionally hard. Yes, we did have to change our strategy and hunker down in 'Bama and the spend one more year workamping but, the year still sped past and here we find ourselves back in 'Bama enjoying the good life. We have been enjoying our friends, going out to dinner, and pretty much doing what we want to be doing, however, time is flying by so fast that all I can say to the clock is, "Slow down, you're moving to fast. . ." This week is Thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas morning will be upon us. It is a great time of the year to enjoy the company of good friends and family with parties and get togethers. There is nothing better than to watch your grand kids on Christmas morning but, it will past oh so fast. Before we know it we'll be "packing the car" (or in our case packing the house) in order to head on home; all I can say to the clock is, "Slow down, you're moving to fast. . ." Yes, life passes by quickly; it is but a flash so we had better focus on the things that matter most. We need to take time to savor our relationship with our Lord and our relationship with others. Things will sit and gather dust long after we're gone but relationships will follow us throughout eternity. So we need to shed ourselves of things and surround ourselves with the love of and for others for the time is short. Therefore, all I can say to the clock is, "Slow down, you're moving to fast. . " Sunday, November 22, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday was definitely a busy day. It started with a nice hardy breakfast of biscuits and gravy followed by a little socializing and looking at "stuff" displayed at the clubhouse. Once a month Rainbow Plantation sets up tables at the clubhouse for a flee market (crafts and yard sale type of stuff). There were twenty tables set up for fellow Escapees to "sell their wares" so we perused the tables before leaving without buying a thing. Then we headed out to pick up the truck. One would think that I could find a service station closer than twenty-five miles, however, I had been advised to stay away from the local GM dealership and the one in Bay Minette was highly recommended. Rain was in the forecast so on the way home I stopped to help a local farmer get his last field of cotton in before the rain began to fall. Once cotton gets wet you have to wait several days before you can pick and this time of year you could end up losing your crop if you don't "make hay while the sun shines". Rainbow Plantation is surrounded with farm land which grows cotton for two years and then peanuts for one. The short story is (the long story will follow in November's Travelogue) that I stopped to take some pictures of the cotton being harvested and just as I did Tim Mullek came down the road in his huge harvester heading for the next field. He stopped and asked if I wanted to ride along, well, without hesitation, my answer was most definitely yes, so I spent about an hour riding along with him while he harvested his cotton. Miss Judy, who arrived in the truck just as I was making a beeline for the harvester said I was like a kid in a candy store; can you imagine that? Being that I was late getting home, and hungry after all of that hard work, I asked Judy J if she wanted to go to Big Daddy's for Lupper (combination of lunch and dinner). She replied in the affirmative so Norm and Linda joined us and we had some "wonderful, wonderful" meals - Judy had the grilled shrimp and I had the oysters, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!! We got back to the Plantation just in time for the social hour at the clubhouse. If you pass by Rainbow Plantation you just have to come by the social time at 4 o'clock. You just never know what's going to happen next and we have a blast - something funny most generally happens each afternoon. Last night the U. S. Air Force Jazz Band was performing at the coliseum in Robertsdale. We attended with Randy and Terry, Dick and Pat, and Ron and Ruth. It was a very enjoyable evening, especially if you are a jazz fan as I am. If you ever get the chance to attend a concert performed by any of our Armed Forces bands, do yourself a favor and go. The concerts are always free and they are performed by "top notch" musicians. There will, also, be more about our evening at the coliseum in our upcoming travelogue. Like I said, we had a busy and very enjoyable day. "Let the good times roll!" Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama This is it!!! It's Saturday morning and this is it!!!! It time to get on our glad rags and head for the clubhouse because this is it!!! Sorry Don but this is it!!! It's Larry's biscuits and gravy breakfast morning. Ordinarily I don't care much for biscuits and gravy, however, Larry the cook makes a wonderful sausage gravy that is poured lovely over a fresh made hot out of the oven biscuit and it's lip smacking gooooood!!!! So, I'll be sure to have a bite for you, Don - I suppose we could over night one to you via Fedex; they guarantee to delivered by 10:30 the next morning. However, that would probably be a cold biscuit and gravy brunch, wouldn't it? Oh well, Larry the cook will serve them up again once you and Gloria return to Rainbow Plantation. Finally the doctor's office called and let us know that the truck just had a touch of injector flu. They did an injector flush by disconnecting the fuel tank and hooking up a special pressurized tank that forces the flush through the system. The engine had three injectors that were out of tolerance while idling and after the flush their is still one that is a little slow in coming around so the truck will be on medication for a couple of weeks to see if the condition improves. If it doesn't then surgery will be required to replace the bad injector. Apparently the truck had been exposed to some bad diesel fuel or possibly it may have been just a build up of cholesterol on the injectors from moisture in the fuel. In any event, it is ready to be released from the hospital this morning just as soon as I transfuse some money from my wallet into their accounting system. Time will tell the rest of the story. Well, I hear them biscuits and gravy calling so it's off to the clubhouse. As Paul Harvey used to say, "Good Day!" Friday, November 20, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama The weather continues to be nice although cooler than we would like it to be, but it's not bad - we'll take it. I need to get up on top of the rig and wash the roof before washing and waxing the rest of it, however, a little over a week ago (the morning that hurricane Ida was supposed to hit) I took the neighbor's electric scooter for a little "test" drive. When coming back onto his site I hit a hole with crushed rock in it (it was covered by grass so I didn't see it) and the scooter stopped short - well, I didn't. I landed on my left side banging up my left arm and left knee. The knee has since recovered but not the arm. I can't really twist or put any weight on it without pain and in order to wash the roof I have to get down on all fours to be able to put some "elbow grease" into it. When am I going to learn that even though my mind says I'm still a kid, my body says my mind is lying to me? I'm continuing to work on the website. As you may have noticed, the menu bar at the top of the Home Page has changed slightly with the addition of "States Visited" and "Travel Maps". The same menu bar has been continued on all of the main pages as well. Also, I updated the Travel Maps to show our 2009 travels. The "States Visited" in a new brain child; you can click on a state and be able to see the places that we visited in that state, the month and year we visited each place, a summary of what we did or saw while there, and a link back to the original Travelogue. You can try it now but, it is not entirely in the format that I just mentioned as we have been discussing how the final product should look, however, your feed back is essential at this point. It will take considerable work to create this "little monster" so my question to you is, "Is this something that you, my reading family, would find beneficial?" Please put "States Visited" in the subject line of your email to us, thanks. Judy J continued working on her sewing by starting the day at the Quilting Group (Quilting 201) over at clubhouse and then came home to continue working on her "Rag Bags" project. She loves her basket weaving endeavors with digital scrapbooking, quilting (Rag Bags is a type of quilting), crocheting, and beading being her favorites. They had a Swedish Weaving group meet yesterday which is something that she had done in her prior life but, right now, she has more than enough on her basket weaving plate to keep her busy. Being that I gave my watercolor supplies to my daughter-in-law you may think that I am basket weaving endeavor free. Not so, I consider my digital photography and maintaining our website as my basket weaving projects. Our cameras are no where near professional grade but they are advanced enough to do some top notch photography. I just need to take some time to master them. The real key to photography is acquiring an "eye" for what makes a great picture. The lighting, shutter speed, etc. can be learned later with time and experience. There are great pictures all over your own back yard but, without an "eye" for them you'll never see them. And that, my folks, is my challenge in order to master this basket weaving endeavor. Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama I took the truck to the "hospital" (thanks, Norm, for picking me up) to find out what the smoking issue is all about. We had hoped to hear something by the end of the day but, no phone call. I'll need to follow up this morning - somehow I got a sneaking suspicion that they didn't even look at it yesterday. Anyway, we've heard good reports about this dealership and the service manager seemed to be very thorough during the "check in". We have to remember that we are in the south now and that things don't move as fast as they do the northeast. The main thing is to get the truck fixed properly the first time, so here's hoping!! Here we sit at Rainbow Plantation, transportation-less. Miss Judy worked on sewing her "rag bag". Last summer she had her sewing machine serviced (cleaned and fine tuned) and bought a new hard plastic case for it. When "they" finished "they" had changed her settings which caused some panic and a little stress. Changing her sewing machine settings is paramount to changing the passwords on my computer. It becomes quite frustrating, however, given enough time, trial and error, and muscle memory you finally get back on track. The rag bag is coming together quite nicely. I worked on the website updating the Favorite Links page. Over the past couple of years we have made lots of friends who have personal blogs so I have added a list of them under the "Blogs That We Follow" section. Making the table was the easy part; getting all of the addresses linked was the time consuming part. After I published the new page I went on line to ensure that each link worked properly. There were three that did not so it was back to the drawing board. All you have to do is enter one character incorrectly and the link won't work - picky, picky, picky. Anywhoo, everything is correctly linked now and working properly. It was a nice day but still a little too cool to just sit outside and read so I took a little katt nap instead. Later we went to the 4:00 social time and then came home to a nice barbequed chicken dinner with baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, a glass of wine, and a jell-o with cool whip topping for dessert. We watched some television; it sure would be nice if there was something on worth watching. Then it was off to beddy bye to catch some shut eye. So, there you have it, a wrap up of the wrap up!!! We'll see y'all later!!! Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday started out as a dreary day but by noon time it had transformed itself into another one of those nice sunny days, however, a tad bit cooler than we would have liked. I started the day with a men's fellowship group at Dick Bishop's house. We are watching a video series by John Eldridge entitled "Wild at Heart" which deals with men re-establishing their masculinity (his assumptions are that somewhere men have lost it to women but, I'm not buying it - it's made him a lot of money though). Oh well, the video is well done and they do some neat "men" things. Miss Judy went to another basket weaving class; this time it was making "rag bags". I went over and snapped a couple of candid pictures of the "event". There were about a dozen ladies involved in the marathon and they were having fun.   Later, in the afternoon, we, along with several other neighbors, helped Stan and Denise move from their motorhome into their "new to them" fifthwheel. They are no longer traveling as much as they once did and realize that the motorhome needs to be run more than they are using it. Therefore, they have purchased a fifthwheel to stay in whenever they are here at Rainbow Plantation and are planning on selling the motorhome. We ended the day back at the clubhouse for the 4:00 social time before coming home for dinner followed by a little TV before starting to count sheep. Just another routine day at the Plantation. Oh yes, I'm beginning to master the new camera. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday was another one of those great "summer" days that we love so much. I was able to get some more items knocked off the "Ta Do List" - that thing never ends. Miss Judy went to beading in the morning and to a "saw bones" appointment in the afternoon (we are still in the process of lining up doctors here in L. A.). Alex and I spent some time sitting outside listening to some music while Judy was at the doctor's office. I worked with the new camera for a while yesterday. After reviewing the owner's manual (on the CD) I learned that the dual stabilization can be turned on continuously or turned off and used as desired. The "factory" setting is in the "on continuously" mode so I didn't change anything. Now I will work on setting a "manual" setting that I can use instead for certain lighting conditions (although I'm not sure what that would be at this point). In any event, it's fun playing with a new toy and once I "master" it, then we'll be ready to take the next step in the website makeover which is to include pictures more frequently. We attended the 4:00 social hour where Gloria invited us to join them at Mellow Mushroom afterwards - Mellow Mushroom is a pizza parlor in Foley. Don and Gloria, Norm and Linda, Al and Joyce, and Judy and I enjoyed an evening of "fine dining" together. We all had the House Special 10" pizza with Judy and I ordering ours with a thin crust. It was a very flavorful pizza with plenty of toppings. Good company, good pizza, good beer (well, we didn't have any beer but I bet it would have been good); who could ask for a better way to end the day? Monday, November 16, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We've just been taking it slow and easy, getting a few things knocked off the "Ta Do List" each day. Socializing is the main event each day as we go to the clubhouse or congregate at each other's homes. Sunday is always worship day, football day, and Ice Cream Social day. The Ice Cream Social was followed by live music with the Vintage Vagabonds who are a "soft jazz" group playing music from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. The group is made up people from the park and consists of a saxophone, piano, bass guitar, and drums and a portion of the clubhouse is designated for dancing - mostly waltzes. It was an enjoyable evening with good friend and good music. I've been working with the new camera learning how to use all of the features. One of the features that I like is the dual stabilization that is supposed to eliminate blurriness from either camera movement or from the subject moving while taking the picture. What I haven't figured out is if it is automatic, something that I have to turn on, or something that just works on certain settings (actually it is a combination of all three, I just need to learn what mode it is in). Another thing that I have to learn is how to slow the zoom lens down. It zooms in and out so fast that it is hard to get the focal length right where you want it. There is a manual, however, it is on a CD and needs to be read on the computer - not always convenient when you're "out in the field" taking pictures. My next big project is washing and waxing the RV and truck. The weather has been excellent since arriving back here at Rainbow Plantation, except for the Hurricane Ida "thang", and it looks as if it is going to remain fairly nice over the next week or so. So I guess it's time to "Get-R Done". Saturday, November 14, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We've done it again!! Yesterday we published the April/May 2009 travelogue. We fell behind a year ago and it has taken us a year to get back on track. Two thousand and nine became a year for putting a lot of things "back on track" but, I think it's all behind us now. Two thousand and ten should (emphasis on the word should) be a much better year, however, oh-nine didn't really turn out that bad, all things considered. We're still spending money. My phone died waaaaay back at the beginning of October so it was past time to upgrade. It's been three years since we purchased those phones so I guess we "got our money's" worth. Boy, you can tell the difference between us older people versus the younger generation. All I want is: "Ring, Ring - Hello!" but, what you get is phones with cameras, internet capabilities, texting, twittering, twitching, etc., etc.. They do just about everything except make the coffee but, I'm sure there will be an "app" for that shortly. To me, a phone is a necessary evil; I would just as soon not even have one. The little things a very annoying and frustrating to operate. We spent well over an hour trying to figure out how to change the ring tone - the instruction manual is very much lacking in that department. Fortunately our new phones are similar to Terry's and she walk us through the procedure (you had to hit the right arrow twice in order to fine the tones file - didn't see that one coming!). Wow, do I miss the "good old days" when all you had to do is pick up the receiver and the operator said, "Number please". If you didn't know the number you just said, "Sanderson's house, please." The next thing you knew someone was saying, "Hello". It was so simple and so easy but, with this new phone if you hit the wrong button you go off into La La Land and it may take you a few hours to find your way home (who needs drugs?). All I can say is, "Oh, bring back, Oh, bring back, Oh, bring back my operator to me, to me." "Ring, Ring - Hello!!" Now that would be simple. Friday, November 13, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We've been busy little beavers working on the website. Finally we are getting caught up; yesterday we published the June/July/August 2009 travelogue. And, guess what? We should have the April/May 2009 travelogue done today. Our new camera, data card, and battery arrived yesterday. I got the battery charged and took the camera with us to dinner at the clubhouse last night. It will take a little getting used to but, it is really nice to have it handy in the case that attaches right to my belt. With the data card it will take up to 1638 pictures (neat, huh? - that's a year's worth). I snapped a few pictures last night using a "new to me" feature; the camera takes two pictures at once, one with flash and one without the flash. Then you get to choose the best picture. Another feature that I like is called "double stabilization" which keeps the picture sharp even if you move or your subject moves while shooting. It will take me some time to learn how to use all the features but, again, the best feature is the portability of the camera. Larry the cook did it again, another great meal. This time it was salad, meat loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and a biscuit. There was banana cream pie for dessert - it was delicious!! We sat with Randy and Terry and their friends Russ and Pat which made it a very enjoyable evening.  Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We finished "tweaking" the October Part II travelogue and went ahead and published it yesterday. It feels good to finally get those behind us. As I said yesterday, June/July/August travelogue is next, hopefully Friday. We have received our first shipment for the new camera. Can you believe it? We ordered a Fujifilm F70EXR camera, a camera case, a flash card, and a battery and they are all being shipped in different shipments. Even though we ordered it all from Amazon.com (best price we found for the camera) they, in turn, order the "stuff" from different suppliers who ship direct to the customer. I'da thunk that they would have put it all in one box and shipped it, however, we live in different times now - it's the computer age and business is conducted altogether different from our logic. Oh well, we should have all our "parts" by week's end (we hope). Our little dinner party went well, as always. It's not hard to please the RVing crowd; we are used to congregating in small homes to share meals and visits. We're very adapt at making due wherever we find ourselves. It doesn't have to be fancy, just quick and easy - it's the fellowship that we all enjoy the most. The conversation often leads to who's been where, what they saw, what they did, where they stayed, and any other stories regarding their encounters along the way. The newbies learn from the "oldbies" - that doesn't necessarily reflect on the age of the person but rather on how long they have been traveling. This really is a great lifestyle. Speaking of lifestyle, there's no right or wrong way to "do" fulltiming. Judy and I are leaning toward doing extended trips while returning to Rainbow Plantation (our home base) between trips. Others just leave and continually travel without maintaining any "home base" at all. Some spend six months in the south and six months in the north (try to figure out which season they spend where). There are those who travel from one workamping assignment to another while others do volunteer work along the way. There are as many combinations out there as there are people, however, there are some things that we all have in common. Generally speaking fulltime RVers don't like the same ol', same ol'. They like to mix it up; do different things and experience new adventures. Fulltimers are very flexible; they are capable of "rolling with the punches", so to speak. This is necessary because weather and/or equipment doesn't always cooperate. Fulltimers can change plans in a split second; if they discover something that they would rather see or do, then they just change their plans. They can decide to stay longer or to move out earlier in order to seek out something new and exciting. If an emergency arises then they can change their course of direction abruptly to accommodate the situation. If you have a "Type A" personality then you had better learn to set it aside - and that can be done as both Miss Judy and I have "Type A" personalities. You're better off to work with a "clean sheet of paper" every day rather than a detailed plan. I'm not saying that you shouldn't plan but I am saying that you need to be willing to let that plan go and/or readjust it often in order to fully enjoy the fulltiming lifestyle. This is definitely a "freelance" way of life; you make up the rules as you go (and they are your rules so you are free to change them any time you want). The two best things about this lifestyle is the freedom you have and the friends you make. Now, how in the world did I get off on that tangent? Oh well, it is what it is!!! In any event, we had a wonderful time last evening eating and entertaining. Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Finally, the Travelogue for October (Part I) has been published. October (Part II) is done and we're just doing some "tweaking", it should be ready to publish tomorrow. Also, we've been putting the finishing touches to the June/July/August Travelogue which will be ready for publishing early next week. That leaves the April/May Travelogue left to get caught up. We've, also, published the newly formatted Home Page with the Recently Updated menu so that you can access updated material right from there without going to the Travelogues menu page. Once we get caught up (it just doesn't pay to get a little behind in your work) we will start doing Travelogues more often and cut back on the From Darrell's Chair entries. Hopefully they will be more interesting with more photographs and less rambling. Yesterday we "stood" inside as it was pretty much a nasty day. Ida decided to linger keeping it a misty overcast day with cooler temperatures. I think Shakespeare wrote a play about Ida - "Much To Do About Nothing". We have had thunderstorms pass through our area that packed more punch than Ida. I guess she is raising havoc inland with a lot of rain but, we didn't get that much rain nor did we get very much wind - actually yesterday was worse than when the storm passed over us. So, I guess you could say that we've been there, done that, and got the T-shirt (I Survived Hurricane Ida T-shirt). Today is still going to be a little cooler but warm weather is slowly returning. By weekend it will be back to our liking. Maybe a beach day coming up - we'll see. Tonight we have company coming to dinner. I've made a nice New England Fish Chowdah and we'll fix a garden salad as well as some rolls. We've got plenty of wine on hand and Miss Judy is going to make a chocolate pudding to have with whipped cream for dessert. It should be a fun time. Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama The weather forecasters were predicting that Ida would hit landfall with hurricane force winds so we packed up readying ourselves to hit the road and run for cover. There were about five of us on East Traveler Street planning to "exit the scene", however, around 9 o'clock Ida was down graded to a tropical storm. As reports continued to come in we decided to just stand still and see what would happen next. So last night we pulled in the slides and hunkered down while playing on our 'puters and watching the weather updates on the boob tube. The worst weather we encountered was between 11 PM to 12:30 AM with heavy rains but very little wind. As we arose this morning we discovered that the storm's center has still not made landfall and is lingering in Mobile Bay; it will most likely make landfall north of us with little to no effect to us. So that's that, we live to see another day. A little more "tweaking" and we'll be ready to publish October's Travelogues; yes, that's Travelogues, with an S. One Travelogue was getting waaaay tooooo looooong so we decided to divide it into Part I and Part II but we will publish them at the same time. Originally we had 106 pictures but have managed to get rid of a few of them. Also, you'll notice our change to the Home Page where you'll be able to go directly to the travelogue without having to go the menu page first, however, you will still be able to access the travelogues from the menu page as well. Today is supposed to be another rainy day, clearing later this afternoon so we'll continue to play inside. Hope you are staying dry and having fun - see ya later. Monday, November 9, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama What to do, what to do? Remember yesterday I told you we were expecting rain for the next couple of days; well, not only will we be getting rain but we'll be getting a tropical storm at the very least - maybe even a hurricane. Now, being that we have wheels on our house we can pack up and head out. We'll be picking up our site and make that decision this morning. In any event, Rainbow Plantation is in for plenty of wind and rain over the next couple of days. Right now the storm is predicted to make land fall around 3:00 AM tomorrow morning with the Mobile Bay area as it's target - hey, that's us!! Wind and rain will start sometime this afternoon/evening and by 8:00 tomorrow morning things will be clearing up with the nice weather returning around noon time. Sounds like lots of fun, doesn't it? We attended church yesterday morning for another uplifting worship service and then came home to spend the rest of the day around the Plantation. After taking our two mile walk about the park, we worked on the website (October is almost ready to publish), had lunch, watched the Patriots beat Miami, had dinner, and went to the Ice Cream Social time at the clubhouse. Following the social time there was music provided by some of the residents from the park. Around eight o'clock we came home to watch some more football and get the latest on the storm. Not a real exciting day but not a bad day either. Now, I guess we had better get our walk in and put away the picnic table, fire pit, and solar lights before the rain sets in. Will we stay or will we bolt? Tune in tomorrow to find out. Sunday, November 8, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama So, okay, where's the October Travelogue? It is all written and in the proof-reader's hands. In the meantime I'm going about selecting, enhancing, and resizing the photographs. One of the biggest road blocks in getting the travelogue published has been that we've encountered the best weather that we've seen all year long which makes it impossible to sit inside and work on the website. Next week there is rain in the forecast so that should keep us inside for awhile. There are some big changes coming to our Wandering America website. Last summer Judy and I began talking about what we would like the website to look like in the future. One thing is that we would like to include pictures in our daily entries so we have purchased a new smaller digital camera along with a case that will attach to my belt in order to keep it close at hand for photographs of our daily events. Further, there is too much repetitiveness in my daily entries and the travelogues so we will be dropping the daily entries in From Darrell's Chair and publishing travelogues more frequently. Right now we're not sure of the future of From Darrell's Chair but the original intent of it was to capture my thoughts about our fulltime lifestyle, not to record our daily activities. We will add a "Recently Updated" menu on our Home Page so that you will be able to go directly to the Travelogue without having to go to the Travelogues menu page first. My friend, Norm Payne, taught me that you should be able to go anywhere in the website without more than two "clicks" of the mouse. The Travelogues menu page will be maintained in order to access the older travelogues (we'll only keep the titles in the "Recently Updated" section for a month or two). One last change, for now anyhow, we need to update our Favorite Links page as we follow several other Blogs that are not included in our list. We have some other ideas as well and will share them as they come to fruition. It is our intention to get everything implemented before we head out on our next trip beginning just before Christmas so stay tuned to see how it all turns out. Last year, as you remember, I attempted watercoloring with little to no success. Miss Judy thinks I need a basket weaving endeavor so I have decided that I will make digital photography my hobby which will go hand in hand with the changes to our website. That should give me something to do to keep me off the streets and out of trouble, for a little while anyhow. Saturday, November 7, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday morning we got up and got out for our morning walk and then met up with Randy and Terry to go to breakfast as well as the Heritage Days Festival in Foley. We began with breakfast at the Foley Coffee Shop and then walked across the street to the Festival. We, also, visited the Foley Railroad Museum which I could have spent hours just looking at all the detail put into this display. It is opened on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10 to 2 and has been created (and is run) entirely by volunteers. I must say that it is one of the nicest model train displays that I have ever visited. After the Heritage Days, Randy and Terry wanted to stop by Walmart so Terry could get a new seat for her bicycle and then we did a drive to Bon Secor to visit the Swift-Coles House which is very much a work in progress. However, we weren't impressed enough to take the tour. After our trip to Bon Secor we came home to relax from all of our excitement. Judy and I sat outside to read for awhile before coming inside for dinner followed by a movie - The Proposal. This was a cute movie that actually caused us to LOL (laugh out loud). So that was it for another day in the life. Friday, November 6, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Sheesh, I gotta say that this outstanding weather sure plays havoc on the "Ol' Ta Do List"! All we want to do is be outside and even though there are things outside to be done, we find ourselves just sitting in our lawn chairs werking on our tans. Miss Judy has done some of her crocheting and I have been reading a book that I picked up at the library; mean while the "Ol' Ta Do List" just sits there unattended to. We even feel a trip to the beach "coming on" real soon - almost went yesterday afternoon. The weather has been so good that even Alex wants to sit outside in my lap. He sits on the desk "meowing" out the window until dear ol' dad comes in and gets him. Then he sits "purring" in my lap for as long as mom will let him stay outside. Yesterday morning was shopping day so we went to Winn-Dixie to pick up some meat. They have a "Buy One Get One Free" deal on a lot of different meats so we like to stock up whenever the right meats are on sale. Last night we went over to the clubhouse for dinner, it's nice to have Larry the Cook back on the job; it was an excellent pork dinner. I enjoy helping with the meal serving after which I get to go out and join the Missus for dinner. With Gary the Manager, Larry the Cook, Bob the Builder, and Joe the Plumber on the job things couldn't be better here at Rainbow Plantation. This weekend is Heritage Days at Foley so we'll be getting together with Randy and Terry this morning to go and see what kind of mischief we can get into, more about that later. Now it is time to go for a walk to see if we can work off some of Larry the Cook's good cooking. See Ya Tomorrow!!! Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama There's not really anything new to share this morning. The weather has been absolutely fantastic, the best weather we've seen all year. We spent a lot of time outside yesterday and most likely will again today. This morning we will be doing our grocery shopping at Wally World but, other than that, we'll just be staying home and doing things around the house while taking advantage of this weather as rain is in the forecast for next week. Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday morning I got quite a surprise, however, a pleasant surprise at that. When I joined with a men's home group at oh dark thirty in the morning I learned that it was project day. We went to a home and completed the installation of a handicap ramp and deck on the front of a house - I enjoy building so this was right up my alley. After we completed the project it was off to Big Daddy's for lunch for an oyster po-boy. Honest honey, the boys made me do it, I wanted a salad!!! It was a great way to get to know some of the men in our church better while forming some new friendships. Since we have been back at the Plantation, the weather has been just fantastic - bright sunny days with low humidity and temps in the mid 70's. It looks like we are going to get another week of this kind of weather - I know, it's rough but someone has to deal with it. I hope to get the October travelogue published today or tomorrow but, first I need to get my "pilus foreshortened" (that is, get a hair cut). So this morning I'll go over and visit Charlie the barber - that will definitely feel good as I don't like it when my hair gets this long. Then I'll hustle back home to finish writing the travelogue and download the pictures. Miss Judy will need to proof-read my work as she generally finds most of my errors then I'll be able to get it published. The April/May and June/July/August are just about done - it seems like it has taken me forever to get those two done. Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Yesterday was, as Nick Russell describes it, a Don Quixote Day - that is, a lot of working with very little getting done. First we wanted to schedule the RV Technician to come and clean the furnace (he's traveling and we don't know when he will be coming home), next we wanted to get the thermostat replaced (bought a new one, didn't get it installed 'cause we did too much running around), we wanted to buy a new shower caddy (all they had that would meet our needs are metal - we've had two of them and they rust), - and so went the day. We did, however, get some things crossed of the "Ol' Ta Do" list. The highlight of the day was, guess what? Going out to eat!!!! Sunday evening, at the Ice Cream Social (no, we didn't have any ice cream), we were invited to dinner by Norm and Linda. This would be our opportunity to get the "fifty cent" tour of their home now that it has been furnished. We saw the house last spring after it had been completed but, they've been as busy as those little chipmunks in Lake George getting all their winter nuts in. That is, they have been running all over this part of the country acquiring furnishings for their home and what a beautiful home it is - you'd think that they paid an interior decorator. It looks as though they will be making a real smooth transition from a house with wheels to sticks and bricks. Keep in mind, this is not like moving from one house to another; this is actually starting all over "from scratch". Just about everything from the napkin holders to the bedroom suite had to be acquired - great job, you guys. Now, for the dinner'; we joined together with Don and Gloria at four o'clock. Norm did the cooking and being conscience of the fact that all of us waaaaaay over ate last week he prepared a nice "heart smart" meal. First of all, the menu was prepared and placed on the beautifully set table (honey, I told you we should have dressed for dinner!!!). There was Lemon Pepper Chicken with a fruit glaze (yum), steamed veggies (yum), and a baked potato with all the toppings (yum) served with water and wine. The meal was followed by vanilla ice cream with topping and Oreo sticks followed by coffee. We all ate responsibly controlling our portion sizes and had more than enough to eat. Thanks Norm and Linda - the dinner was yum, yum, yummy and the evening together couldn't have been better. You have a beautiful home and we look forward to visiting again (I was a good boy, wasn't I honey?). We came home and finished the day with a little computer and TV time before heading for our memory foam mattress to cut Zzzzz's. Today will be a stay at home day to see if we can get some "stuff" done while doing some sitting around outside working on our tans. Monday, November 2, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Sunday was a laid back day of getting settled in. We started the day out by going to church then came home to just take it slow and easy setting up housekeeping. It was nice to be back in our home church again - that's one thing that we really miss while jaunting around the country. When we returned home we got the tripod set up under the hitch, got the picnic table and firepit out of the shed, took the bikes off the back of the rig, put the clothes line/rack up on the back of the rig, did a couple of loads of laundry and put up a couple of solar lights. Then we set out a couple of lawn chairs so we could just sit outside and confabulated for a bit - Alex managed to meow his way outside onto my lap for a little while as well (spoiled katt). And what did we confabulate about? Why we talked about our travels next year!!! No, we don't have hitch-itch already but, it's fun thinking about being fully retired and traveling next year without blocking out several months for workamping. We have almost a blank sheet of paper to work with - I say almost because we have our daughter's wedding and our daughter-in-law's graduation in May but, other than that, the rest of the year we are "free to move about the country". Today we will review the old "Ta Do List" while adding several more items to it and start knocking a few items off; just a few at a time though. No rush, we'll be here for a couple of months but the darned thing has grown quite a bit. Anyone who has a garden can understand the old "Ta Do List", it's like weeds - if you don't keep pulling them they will over run your garden. We'll start by picking up a new thermostat at Camping World, scheduling a date with the RV Service Tech here at Rainbow Plantation to get the furnace cleaned, and see about getting the truck checked out to determine what is causing the smoking problem. That'll be enough for one day but, we have a lot of cleaning that we want to start working on both inside and outside the house. Outside we have a little bit of yard work that needs to be done, the planter around the magnolia tree needs tending to, the grass around the shed needs to be trimmed, and there are several bushes that need to be trimmed. We will, also, need to mow the lawn before the week is out. All of the yard work will only take a few hours and the weather is supposed to be good all week so we hope to get all the yard work done by next Sunday. The big "outside job" is washing and waxing the house - it's that time of year once again. Also, I plan on doing taxes again this year so I need to touch base with Jackson Hewitt to start going through their training courses. Right now we are planning on being here at Rainbow Plantation each year during tax season so why not take the opportunity to make some "toys" money? Well, that's enough rambling for today as it is time to walk Miss Judy. So "Happy Trails to you until we meet again!" Sunday, November 1, 2009 - Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama We're home again, home again. After a continental breakfast we hit the road heading for, where else, home - Rainbow Plantation. We arrived at around 10:30 and after a few hugs and "welcome backs" we "set up camp". We spent the rest of the day visiting with our friends and catching up on each other's summers, taking a nap, and going to the Halloween Pot Luck dinner at the clubhouse. Yep, it is always nice to come home again!!! |
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