caught in the middle of snow

It's fall in Ontario which means Lake effect yes Buffalo NY south of here got walloped last week with about 100 cm of snow and this week its the Bayfield London Corridor north west of here that got about 100 cm of snow. Here in the middle in St. George we only have a light dusting of the white stuff on the ground. Hardly enough for a good snowball. Oh well I'm sure the snow belt areas are hoping the lakes freeze over soon to help put an end to the constant snow streamers coming off the lakes. I have been trying to catch up on the honey do list and so have been painting for the last few days. I hate painting I'm just too big and clumsy for it and inevitably get paint all over where it's not suppose to be all over. Oh well almost finished that job just some touch ups left to do. Went out to Swiss Chalet last night and ran into a group of friends from my working days. A group of school secretary's were out doing the Christmas special thing. It was nice seeing some of the people who really do run the school. I don't think the secretaries, caretakers and EA's get enough recognition for the work they do I know they don't get the pay they deserve. Well almost ready for Christmas, the tree is up and presents bought. This will be a different Christmas however as our for the first time our daughter will not be home. She is in Calgary and has to work over the holidays but she will be home in January for a belated Christmas and our Son who is presently in Sask. working in the oil fields still isn't sure if he'll be home this year. Oh well got to get the work while you can. Still not sure if I'm heading down south this winter or not. Once Sue decides to retire that question will be a no brainer. Sandy beaches here we come.

Christmas decorating.

My DW decided to pull out all the christmas decorations we have stored in the basement. She wants to decorate but more importantly we are hoping to downsize the pile in preparation for selling our house. Hopefully when Sue decides to retire we will go full timing for a while sooooo got to get rid of a lot of stuff so we don't have to store it somewhere. Boy do we have a lot of "stuff", seems every shelf wall space etc. has a christmas "thing" on it. I downsized the outside decorations last year so don't have many of those to get rid of. Still no accumulation of snow on the ground here but heard that south of here in Buffalo they got a big dump of snow. Well the rest of my time has been spent doing "chores" for Sue I made a big pot of chilli for her to take to work for treat day and a few shopping trips.
Doug.

Deja Vu

Dreary and overcast here for the last few days, however the temps have been OK for this time of year getting up to 12 degrees Celsius yesterday but lots of rain. Got a call from a former colleague of mine who had to attend a meeting in Toronto today and wanted to know if I would like a days work covering for him. So that is where I was today back at that 4 letter word... work.. Actually had a good time got some work done for him and had some time to visit other colleagues I knew. The temps have been dropping all day and this evening it started to snow not sure if we will be getting much of an accumulation though. This evening Sue and I plan on starting the house decorating for Christmas. Oh by the way I mentioned that our church and choir taped a version of Silent Night to raise money for the armed forces chaplins the finished product can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gf1UsiqscE
Be kind we are a small church :-)
Doug

a youtube sunday

I sing in our church choir and after this morning's service we taped the choir and congregation singing Silent Night to upload to YouTube. This is an initiative of the Anglican church of Canada who have challenged other Anglican churches to do the same. Those who do are also encouraged to donate a twoonie for each singer which will be given to the Anglican Padres in the armed forces for use with our troops in Afghanistan. I will post the link once our effort is uploaded. Left directly after church to drive to the Stoney Creek home of my sister who was holding an open house. She designs and makes artificial flower arrangements and Christmas decorations and holds this open house once a year. She and my Father (who carves) have all the artistic talent in the family, I certainly don't. After supper I headed back home to watch the Grey Cup. Good game except the team I wanted to win Saskatchewan blew it with an interception in the last 2 minutes to loose to Montreal. The weather has warmed up here again and no traces of the snow from yesterday.
Doug.

Christmas crowds

Well temps went down last night to -6 degrees C. and the wind was a howling. Started to (caution four letter word) snow mid morning...........but not too bad so decided to head up to Cambridge to go to Costco. Got about 15 km north of here and it started coming down big time had about 4 cm on the ground already. It got so bad I decided to turn around and head home. About 2 km north of town it cleared up and the snow was melting as it hit the ground so just wisps of white in the low areas, funny how the weather can be so different between two close communities. Went into Brantford to see if inspiration would hit for a few gifts I need to get. Well the Christmas crowds were out in full force. hurry, hurry, jostle here, jostle there, everyone in a rush. Didn't get inspired much on the gift side but met the DW in town and we finally did it.......... yes after many many years of wedded bliss we finally............... bought an artificial Christmas tree. Yikes another thing that needs to be put together. I hope I don't end up with spare pieces when I'm finished like I usually do. That little foray up to Cambridge got we wondering why I'm not heading down south about now. Maybe after the holidays. :-(
Doug.

Been a mild fall so far

This fall has been really mild here in Southern Ontario so far, and I haven't seen a flake of snow yet. Well Sue and I went to a retirement seminar for her (I am already retired) last week and she has finally decided when she will be retiring. Not ready to make it public yet but will be within the next two years. Hooray Boy sure am getting envious of all the people who I follow in blog land who are already down south or are heading there. I have spent the last two winters down in the Rio Grand Valley and have had a ball..........this year however, not sure if I will make it down south. After the great trip we had this summer out to Alberta and B.C. I might just sit tight and try to replenish my bank account (and try to pay down the loan for the new truck I got). As you may know Glendale (who made the Titanium 5th wheel I own) went bankrupt last January. Well I just found out that Heartland RV bought the rights to the patented design of the cab over Titanium and are producing a new Bighorn Titanium edition. They have just built the first prototype and it should be at the winter and spring RV shows. May have to start saving my pennies for one of these babies in the future.

One last summer fling

Didn't stay at home long just one week ...........Had a nice visit with Bill and Phylis then off the next morning for the Ontario Teachers Campground near Parry Sound. Had to try out the new generators :-) They have electrical sites (8) at the campground but we decided to dry camp.........well as dry as our 60 gallon on board tank would allow. Had fun visiting with Ed. Wilson, hiking and just relaxing around the private lake very peaceful (no motors allowed on the lake) Had a campfire every night and not a mosquito in site what a treat. Full moon each night but were able to see shooting stars and lots of satellites. Pics posted at Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99 click on the OTG folder for a few pics of the weekend.

Doug.

Trip end

Well we have had a day to relax and put things away. Thought I would put in a link to all the pics we took on this trip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary
http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary2
http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3

Doug.

Home again home again

Had three lovely days visiting friends in Michigan. Relaxed, did some touring, chatted and had a good time. Left there Saturday morning and got up to the outlet mall in the early afternoon and Sue was immediately doing the rounds of the mall. We decided to get a campground for the night so I could clean up the rig a bit and flush the holding tanks real well. Sunday saw us arrive home around 5 p.m. It was still hot and sticky so we unloaded what needed to be unloaded and will leave the rest until tomorrow when it is forecast to be cooler. Then off to survey the house.......well seems Scott isn't so good at looking after the pool. He is a bit colour blind and what he thought was just brown mud in the pool is in fact green green algae it will take a while to get the pool back in shape. Other than that things are in relatively good shape.
Doug.

picking up traffic on the way home

Left Des Moines early this morning after another night of light shows..........thunderstorms all night. All the rivers and streams we past were flowing high and in most cases over their banks. As we travelled east we got into more and more people...... smaller farms and more towns and traffic and unfortunately rougher roads. We are in a Passport America park near Joliet about 1 hour from Chicago. Tomorrow we head to visit friends in Marcellus Michigan for a few days then off to Birch Run for a day of shopping for Sue before heading back into Ontario probably Sunday or Monday.
Doug.

Had to throw the anchor out

After a long day of driving we arrived at Griffs Valley view park just east of Des Moines Iowa. Beautiful park large concrete pad sites, beautiful landscaping. Very very hot 96 degrees F. yesterday and humid. The poor air conditioner was running all day and night. So much humidity had a bit of water from condensation drip down from the air conditioner inside the trailer.......nothing too bad though. Last night my weather alert radio kept going off issuing warning of severe thunderstorms, high winds and flash flood warnings. About midnight the storm started and the winds and heavy rains buffeted the rig. Great light show from lightning as well. In the morning things had cleared out and I was able to go retrieve my wheel chokes that the wind blew to the back of our lot. Quite the experience. Anyway off to explore Des Moines today staying here again tonight, then off towards Chicago for a night. Hope to be home the beginning of next week. Previous pics are located at http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3
Doug.

keepin our cool

We are still in Mitchell, South Dakota having decided to stay here for 3 nights (passport america park so only $15 bucks a night for full hookups). The temps are in the high 80's low 90's and our air conditioner is getting a workout. Yesterday we took in a movie, swam in the pool and went for an evening walk. Lots of bikers to look at as they all keep heading to Sturgis. Apparently about 1/2 million bikers make it to Sturgis each year with a lot of them following I90 which is right next to us. Lots of signs welcoming bikers and of course shops set up everywhere selling "Leather and Lace" biker stuff. We will leave here tomorrow and get to Des Moines Iowa for Sunday and Monday nights, then on towards Chicago.
Doug.

Motorcycles galore

Wall Drug was well Wall Drug. We left about 9:30 am and headed towards the bad lands. As usual the scenery was awesome. The rest of the day was a long drive through South Dakota to Mitchell. Lots of farms huge farms with few people. Mitchell is the home of the worlds only corn palace. Whoopee I thought Sue would be impressed coming from a corn growing farm family.... well ....... not so much. Anyway the campground is kinda nice and we may stay here for a few days to just relax.........seems we have had something planned everyday since we left and need some just well down time. I have posted the most recent pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3
Doug.

Working the truck

We left early from Yellowstone and of course as we were on the west side had to travel through the park to get to the east side and on. We encountered lots of slow downs for animal pics and then up and down high mountains out the east side of the park. Yes Paul the Dodge ram exhaust brake was great. but that wasn't the end of the climbs lots of what I would call mountain climbs and descents but compared to what we have been doing just little ups and downs........again until east of Cody. Up over the Big Horn Mtns steep climb for about 5,000 feet then an 11 mile 8% downhill. If the truck isn't broken in by now it never will be. We got all the way to Sheridan, Wy. where we stayed the night at camp walmart. I have travelled over 10,000 Km since leaving and the truck keeps beeping at me that it needs an oil change so we tried the Dodge dealer but everything is booked up for at least a week..... sooo on we went the next day to Devils Tower National park campground for one night. After setting up the ranger came by to let us know we were under severe storm warnings.... which hit not long afterwards but we rode it out. After the storm the clouds cleared and it was a very pleasant day to hike around Devils Tower. We left there about 9 am this morning and headed into South Dakota where we again tried a dodge dealership near Sturgis S. Dakota but no luck so I went to a local Kwik Lube and got the Dodge serviced, then on east. Tonight we are in Wall South Dakota and have just finished touring the Wall Drug store. It will be nice to have AC and a shower here, the state park had no hookups at all. We will head further east tomorrow. See our recent pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3
Doug.

Steam Baths

Today we explored the north end of Yellowstone and while we didn't see a lot of wildlife (just a few elk) we were continually "wowed" by the different landscapes we encountered. Geysers, mudpots, mountains, valleys, I will try to keep the number of pics I post to a manageable number. Sue took over 150 pics herself and I beat that number by a bit. Every time we stopped we were wowed. Long day we finally got back to the trailer again around 9pm. Tomorrow we leave early and travel through Yellowstone once again heading towards Cody and points east. We haven't made any reservations this time just kinda winging it. Hopefully we will find a reasonable campsite for the night.
Pics are posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3
Doug.

Jackson Hole

We arose early today and headed towards Yellowstone. We drove the south western route heading towards Grand Teton national park. Along the way we stopped into the geyser area and the Old Faithful area. Then on to Grand Teton. We toured all the way down to Jackson Hole. We took a different route back going over the Teton Pass 5 miles of 10% grade up and 3 miles of 10% grade going down. Going up we saw a tow truck trying to pull a transport out of one of the truck runaways, they really do work in stopping a truck. At the top we met lots of emergency vehicles seems a motorcyclist hit a truck. The weather was all over today cool, hot sunny, cloudy, rainy, dry. We had an enjoyable trip back to the trailer. Pics of the day are posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3

splunking

We left Kalispell, Montana and headed south we didn't have reservations anywhere just decided to wing it. We ended up at Lewis and Clarke caverns state park. What a nice park, right in the middle of hill country and we were able to get a campsite with electricity but no water or sewer. Luckily we have large holding tanks. They have caverns here and Sue and I set off to explore. The two hour tour of the caverns was well worth the $10 fee. The weather has been great although a bit warm. In the afternoon we drove down to Virginia city an old living ghost town, which we explored and took in a local "follies" show. lots of fun. It definitely was X rated :-) We spent two days here and didn't have any cell phone or Internet access just relaxing times. Today we left and headed down towards West Yellowstone park. Everything is booked up solid at this time so finally found a campground about 15 miles outside the park that had room at the inn. (barely got the last spot) So here we are at West Yellowstone Holiday RV resort on the shores of Hebgen Lake. We will stay here for 3 nights and use it as a base to explore Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks. I have posted pics of our last few days here
http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary3
Doug.

touring with Kathleen

Had two beautiful days at the Buffalo Plains campground. Matt joined us and we all went to visit "Head smashed in buffalo jump" in the morning and it was quite interesting. As it was a warm day we drove to the Oldman river and Kathleen, Sue and Matt went on the "floaties" and drifted down the river to Fort McLeod. I was the designated driver and found a place to off road a bit which led to the river and I picked them up from the river about 3 hours later. Back at the campground I bar-b-qued steaks for supper and we had a nice campfire then watched the "Edge" a movie about 3 guys in the wilderness stalked by a grizzly bear. Sunday morning we all packed up and Kathleen and Matt said their goodbyes and headed back to Calgary while Sue and I headed south with no plans or reservations for the night. After a 3 hour drive we arrived at St. Mary glacier national park and decided to see if they had a site for the night which they did but only for one night. Sooooo we set up camp and headed over the road to the sun road what a trip beautiful scenery on a narrow windy road that was limited to vehicles 21 ft. long and 8 ft. wide My truck is 19 feet long and 8ft wide and it was a little tight in spots ..... like only inches from the rock walls and opposing traffic. We traversed the 50 mile road in both directions hiked and climbed glaciers......what a great day. We slept well that night. The next day we headed further south and are in Glacier Pines campground near Kalispell, Montana. We plan on staying here for two nights (laundry needs doing) and planning our next route now that we have no direction or time lines to follow. pics of the last few days can be found at Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary2
Doug.

more soakin up the sun in BC

well we took Kathleen on a wine tour and picked up a couple of bottles. Sue and Kathleen also spent an afternoon floating down the water channel that flows through Penticton and joins the lakes at the north end and south end of the city. I was designated driver (again) Beautiful sunshine all day. We left Oliver early Thursday morning and had a fabulous drive through the mountains to Fort Steele campground. The weather started out good but it turned into a cool rainy day as we progressed through the mountains and there were some high mountain passes. Today we had a shorter drive and made it back to Alberta where we will be staying at the Buffalo Plains campground for two nights. The weather has cleared and it is suppose to be sunny and warm here for the next week. Matt (Kathleen's boyfriend) will be joining us for the weekend and what a change of scenery as we are in the foothills "Buffalo country" few trees and rolling grasslands. Pics can be found at Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary2
Doug.

soakin up the sun

What a beautiful land we have. After leaving Cochrane we headed into the mountains via Banff slow leisurely drive (both to look at the scenery and because of lots of construction) to Golden, where we spent the night. We explored the area a bit and discovered the longest free standing wood truss covered bridge in Canada. The next day we headed further into the mountains and drove to Kelowna..........the drive through glacier national park was awe inspiring. We explored the city of Kelowna (much bigger than I thought). The next day we headed south and arrived at Oliver B.C. our home for the next 3 nights. This is a desert area which they irrigate to produce fruits and fine wines. Oliver bills itself as the wine capital of Canada. The weather is warm 30 degrees and dry. We might head back to Penticton and Sue and Kathleen could float down a river channel from Okanagan Lake to Skaha lake. Pics can be found here. Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary I have started a new folder for the mountains Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary2
Doug.

Relaxing

Most of the rally participants are gone in different directions. We were treated to supper at the Keg by Kathleen last night to celebrate Matt's (her boyfriend) promotion at work. Love the Keg. Matt's Mother, brother, sister in law and niece were also there and a good time was had by all. We have decided to keep the trailer here in this park in Cochrane for one more night rather than drive it through city traffic to Kathleen's then have to drive it back the same way the next day on our camping trip into the mountains. We will go into Calgary again tonight for another trip to the stampede then Matt will drive Kathleen out to us on Sat. and we will head out to the Kelowna and Oliver B.C. area. The latest pics are located at http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary
Doug.

WASHED OFF

We had a big storm here two days ago, much damage to cars etc. from hail, lots of wind, we escaped unharmed. Yesterday the rainy weather continued all day so Sue and I drove over to Airdrie to explore. Not much there as it is a new bedroom community of Calgary and everything is new even the downtown area. We then drove back into Cochrane to explore the artist shops in this older established town. The Titanium group were suppose to have a pot luck supper yesterday to exchange gifts and say goodbyes but there is no hall here at this park and so plans were made to go out to a local restaurant for supper. We had a good prime rib dinner and conversation then held draws for prizes. I got some 4U cleaner. Those who brought a small gift from their home area put them all on one table then we drew numbers and you went up and picked up a gift from someone else to take home. When our number was called Sue went up and picked a square parcel and when we opened it, it was a framed photo of the countryside from a rally goer from North Carolina. Really beautiful. Our contribution two bottles of St. George sparkling apple drink in a bucket with serving clothes was chosen by a couple from British Columbia. (They may have thought the two bottles were wine :-) ) This morning we are off to a free stampede breakfast put on by Kathleen's company. See pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary
Doug.

cleaning day

We passed on the trip to Banf and Lake Louise today as we were there 2 years ago and will be going through with Kathleen next week, sooooo a day to do laundry and clean up a bit. Turns out it was the right move as a cold front came down from the north and produced big storms. Hail, high winds and tornado warnings ..........we fortunately escaped the worst and were visiting Kathleen and her boyfriend Matt at there work place for lunch and could watch the storm from inside. Got some grocery shopping done as well then back to the campground. No campfire tonight but the fireplace in the trailer came in handy as the temps got down to 7 degrees last night and today it is going to be rainy and only 13 degrees. Not sure if we can have our potluck tonight or not (hope so). We may go into Cochrane or maybe Airdree today to explore.
Doug.

Yahoooo

Friday was Stampede day and after an eventful trip to the park in a school bus with a driver who didn't know her directions, how heavy her bus was (she went over two bridges she was overweight for) or how tall it was (luckily we didn't hit an overpass) we had a great day at the stampede. Had lunch in the rangeland tent then off to the grandstand for the rodeo then explore the stampede grounds. Sue and I enjoyed the "show" Saturday we visited Heritage Park a restored frontier town site with lots of exhibits to see and try out (steam engine train, paddle wheeler boat, wagons, and old fashioned carnival rides) We even took in a vaudeville show. After we left Heritage park (they had to get it ready for P.M Harper) we met Kathleen at Ikea. Today we went to Drumheler for the Royal Tyrell Museum, where we searched for fossils and toured the grounds. I will upload pics at the following location http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/calgary
Doug.

Rally time

well most of the rigs for the rally have arrived and this campground could be called camp Titanium. We have have had a few social get togethers with more planned. Tuesday evening went into Cochrane Alberta to Ducks on the roof (a pub) with about 10 others for a very good meal and conversation. yesterday we set up two large tents side by side which we will use as rally central. Had a meet and greet last night and Kathleen showed up after work .....what a treat. we took her into Ducks on the roof for supper and were joined by two other couples. then back to the campground where we gave Kathleen some of the "stuff" we brought out for her. She left about 9:30 in her car ...which is still running. We then joined the group at the evening campfire. This morning we have a Tech talk, orientation to the area, and itinerary talk. This afternoon Sue and I will head into Calgary to see some of the sites, shop and see Kathleen after she gets out of work. Weather forecast today is for sunny skies and temps in the upper 20's much better than the upper 30 temps Scott is having back in Ontario.
Doug.

Made it

Watched the 4th of July fireworks at Glasgow, Montana then on to Shelby Montana for one night. battled strong headwinds and occasional showers. Up Tuesday morning and decided to press on. 32 Km to the Canadian border then on up north to Lethbridge then Calgary and finally over to Cochrane to the Springhill RV campground. There were already several from our rally here. we went with a group into Cochrane to the duck on the roof pub for supper and had a good time. Called Kathleen and we and she were excited to hear each other. She will come out to see us tomorrow after work. It will be nice to "unload" the loot we brought out for her. That should make the rig a little lighter on the trip home. Looking forward to the "official" start to the rally tomorrow and the Stampede on Friday. Have a good view 0f the mountains in the distance.
Doug.

happy July 4th America

Well it was a quiet night last night and a pleasant drive today. We stopped at the Roosevelt National park to view the badlands then on to Montana where we left the interstate and headed north on secondary roads. Boy if you live here you got quite a drive into town in spots wide open land with huge ranches. We stopped early today about 1:30 pm mountain time at Glasgow Montana in the Shady Rest RV park. Time to relax, shower and enjoy the countryside. Weather has been and is very nice mostly sunny skies and warm temps. Not sure if they will have any fireworks to celebrate July 4th here tonight or not. Tomorrow it is on to Shelby Montana.
Doug.

The trip so far

We left St. George as soon as Sue got off work (actually I sat outside the school with the rig) and put in a long drive to Benton Harbor Michigan where we stayed at camp walmart for a few hours sleep then up really early Thursday morning and off towards Chicago at 5am Actually not a bad drive and traffic only slowed in a few spots. We made it all the way to Black River falls Wisconsin where we stayed at the Parkland Village campground for the night. Friday saw us leave at around 9am and make it all the way to Fargo North Dakota where camp walmart was a very gracious host. Today we ended up in Dickinson North Dakota at another camp walmart. Sue tried her hand at driving today and did quite nicely as the roads in ND. are straight and not much traffic. When I parked and came out after talking to the customer service rep. to ask permission to park I noticed some pink hanging down from the trailer where it shouldn't have been. Looked under and saw that the chloroplast that covers the bottom of the rig had come loose actually 9 of the screws holding it on tore through the plastic and the bat insulation was just hanging there ............good thing we were at camp Walmart as I was able to go in and purchase the necessary tools and hardware to repair the problem, I will have to replace all the screws at some time in the future. Other than that the trailer seems to be holding up quite well. Well as it is July4th tomorrow lots of people have started their fireworks displays already tonight.....hope it doesn't go on too late. Don't think I'll have any problem sleeping however as it is mountain time here and my body is still on eastern time...soooo its is long past my bedtime.
Goodnight.

gearing up

well the time is fast approaching when I'll head out on my next adventure. I am going out to Calgary for a Titanium owners rally at the Calgary Stampede and to visit my daughter who lives out there now. yes I will be taking Sue on this trip :-) We went to a local campground (Flamborough Valley campground) this past weekend to edit and clean the trailer. We were able to take lots of things out of the trailer that we really didn't use and will pick up a few things that we need (like more toilet paper the RV kind ;-) ) the extra space will I am sure be filled up with stuff to take out to my daughter. I also bought and installed a large aluminum tool box for the truck and installed it myself........without doing damage to anything else hooray.
well off to pack some more. I will try to keep up my blog as I am able on the journey.
Doug.

home again home again jiggity jig

well traffic was good and the roads were good and I just kept on going got into Canada about 8pm and then had second thoughts as I passed through snow flurries between Sarnia and London. Oh well back home for another year but will have to winterize the trailer one more time I guess.
Doug.

Getting anxious

Rain last night in Tupelo, Ms. not much just enough to make everything damp. Well it seems the closer I get to home the faster I want to go so took the faster route north today and ended up in Elizabethtown, Ky. Got out of the truck when I arrived in my shorts and T-shirt and boy was it cold. Temps are forecast to dip down into the single digits Celsius and I will have to use my heater to keep warm. Oh well as long as it doesn't freeze I'm OK as I don't want to have to winterize the trailer again this spring. Tomorrow Ohio then home the next day. Hooray.
Doug.

beautiful drive

Left river view park this morning and started up the Natchez Trace Parkway a 420 mile two lane road going from Natchez, Miss. to Nashville, Tn. No commercial vehicles allowed and a 50 mph limit but very relaxing drive. I have a few pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99
Am staying at Barnes crossing RV park in Tupelo .... same place I stayed last year. The Azalea festival is this Saturday. Will leave here tomorrow and try to get up to Bowling Green, Ky. for tomorrow. Hopefully I can park on the camping world lot for the night.
Doug.

Donating to the cause

Had a good night's sleep last night after donating to the Coushatta first nations via their casino. Oh well still waiting for the big payoff. Because I drove through the night last night to get to Louisiana the front of the Ti had quite a few bugs on it. However, not as many as I could have had, I tried a new wax "ReJex" which made the surface very slippery .......... a lot of the bugs I'm sure just slipped off.........and a few wipes from the wash brush got the others off quite nicely. I left fairly late (for me) about 10am and had a nice leisurely drive to Vidalia, Louisiana on the banks of the Mississippi. The spring blooms are out everywhere and it was quite beautiful. I am in River View Rv park right on the river and just downstream from the bridge I will be going over to get to Natchez, Mississippi and the Natchez Trace. Enjoyed watching the barges going up and down the swollen river. Pics are posted here Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99
Not sure if I'll stay here just one night will decide in the morning.
Doug.

Damn Can't believe I did that :-)

Went to bed early last night and had most things ready for an early departure this morning. Rig was hooked up things put away I set my small little alarm clock for 6am. woke up in the dark looked at the clock and it was 6am sooooo proceeded to get up eat, wash up, close everything up and get on the road after dropping my card and name tag off at the main gate. Was concentrating on my driving as there are a few tight turns getting out to the highway. Finally on the road home again light traffic and I was breezing on quite nicely, then............... looked at the clock on the truck radio and damn it was 2am. What the .......... then realized that in setting up the alarm clock I forgot to push the little knobby thingy over to read the actual time so it sat there showing the time I set for it to alarm....... the sound that woke me was my cell phone beeping that the batteries were almost dead. What to do What to do.... go back and sleep for 4 more hours or keep on going....well I knew I would never get back to sleep so ploughed on towards home. Up I went by Corpus Christi past Victoria then over towards Galveston. watched the sun come up driving along the coast. Took the ferry from Galveston Island over to Port bolivar then along the coast again and on up into Louisiana yes got all the way through Texas (which is a big state) and ended up after 525 mi. (that's miles not kilometres) at the Coushatta casino and RV park at around 3:30 pm basically 2 days driving in one. Wasn't sure I would make it there as about 10 minutes from the park I hit a road block, about 10 police had blocked off the hightway and were questioning everyone.........I saw a few of them writing tickets. I finally found out what it was for when I hit the front of the line and was asked to produce my insurance papers. I guess it is illegal to drive in Louisiana without insurance and they do these ride programs looking for anyone who doesn't have insurance. I was able to produce my insurance for the truck and tailer and showed him the car insurance for good measure. I will post pics I took later. Needless to say tomorrow will be a short drive day.
Doug.

sun sun and packing up

The weather has turned warm and sunny and so I headed out to South Padre Island for a day at the beach .............drove on the beach quite a ways north and found myself the only soul on a beautiful stretch of beach. Pics here. Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99 I have also started the packing up job getting ready for the journey north. Washed the roof and sides of the RV then started to wax.......well when you start to do that on top of a ladder you realize how hight the darn thing is.....anyway we have had some windy days and when I was reaching to wax near the top a gust of wind knocked me off balance and rather than fall sideways on my hip I jumped.......now a six foot drop isn't really that high when your 20 but when the 60's are approaching the distance is magnified. Luckily no broken bones and I'll finish the wax job after i get home and round up a few helpers to hold the ladder :-) Went to see Clash of the Titans 3D last night. hey, save your money it wasn't very good. I have been making good use of the pool here lately and look forward to the last Sunday ice cream social before I leave early Monday morning. Should be home around the 15th.
Doug.

heating up here

I am having withdrawal symptoms now that sue is back home at work. :-( It is true that distanace makes the heart grow fonder. Last Monday I met Dave and Genni Bailey from Brantford, Ontario at the Longhorn restaurant for Lunch All I had was a baked potatoe which if you looked at the picture of the one Sue got at this restaruant when she was down you will know why it filled me up. After Lunch I invited Dave and Genni back to Fun and Sun for a tour. Dave is the activities director at the Fig Tree RV Park that they stay at (a much smaller park) and was interested in what we did at this park. I think he was a bit in awe of the size and number of activities and facitlities we have here. Paul and Jane joined us for drinks at my rig as well. I washed the RV roof on Tuesday and on Wed. got into trouble with the ladies here at the park as while in the pool I started walking in a counter clockwise direction.......????? I guess there is an unwritten rule that traffic in the pool goes only one way (maybe to get the water moving in a lazy river motion) anyway I guess I'm just a rule breaker and a few of the ladies let me know it. :-0 Oh my ......some seniors are so so so well senior. I have been taking advantage of the warm weather and sunny skies and have worked on my tan. Today Saturday I headed off to the DonWes Flea market (this one is set up for RVer's) then dropped into the Weslaco Onionfest. Pictures are posted here. http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99 Interesting afternoon. I met a couple of winter Texans but these ones were only from the Texas panhandle. We had a nice chat while standing in line waiting for a Blooming Onion. She informed me that she could not sleep at night if she didn't have her gun with her. Oh well ya don't mess with older Texans. I have great difficulty understanding that attitiude as well as the depth of feeling here in Texas from Seniors against the health care bill. They say they don't want "socialized" medical yet they all take advantage of there seniors health program which I believe is a government program. Oh well for all it's shortcomings I'll stick with the Ontario Health care program, and am glad we got it. well back out to enjoy a few more of those 90 degree rays.
Doug.

whew I'm tired

What a great week, but boy am I tired. Monday was spent shopping during the day then getting ready for the Luau. Pics posted here..... http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99 We had a great time at the dinner and dance and met many new friends. Tuesday we went to the Texas Roadhouse for supper, then getting ready for our Mexican trip for the rest of the week. Wednesday Paul was kind enough to drive us to the pickup spot early in the morning where we loaded the bus for the trip to Real De Catorce. Our 3 days in Mexico were great. The scenery was great, the people friendly and of course my partner fantastic. I have posted pics with captions on the trip. We arrived home late on Friday night but were up Saturday to head out to Progresso Mexico for a last round of shopping for Sue. Saturday night we invited Paul and Jane out to supper and had another great time. We had an early rise to get Sue to the airport in McAllen for a 5:30 am flight on Sunday. I couldn't sleep when I got back so decided to go to church but have basically vegged the rest of today.
Doug.

Sunshine and Sue

Sue arrived safe Friday night and the weather so far has been great. Sunny and warm. We went to South Padre Island Saturday for a great day at the beach and to get fried. Had lunch at Dirty Als.....great shrimp, fish and crab stuffed Jalepino peppers. Then on to the beach........found a secluded area to sunbath then decided to drive south on the beach to the built up area to see the hoards of March break college students........what a zoo At 5pm we were in the line of cars heading across the bridge back to the mainland and it was a solid line of traffic going back onto the island of college kids getting ready to party the night away. Stopped at a shell shop on the way back and of course couldn't pass up a Dairy Queen. Sunday we went to the local Episcopalian church and saw the ministers funky new hair doo. Then to Dennys for brunch and back to the park to the pool and hot tub. Paul and Jane had us over for supper last night and we went to the Sunday icecream social for desert. Sue mentioned to one of the servers that this was her first ice cream social so he piled on the ice cream she must of had a gallon herself. Then back to Paul and Janes for good conversation and drinks.
It is a bit cloudy today so of course that means shopping weather to Sue. Pics located here
http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99

Doug.

this and that

Well I am getting excited Sue is scheduled to visit tomorrow......  I have been keeping busy over the last few days.  Went to the Borderfest celebrations in Hidalgo with Paul and Jane and had a good time...... saw Charro as well Pics in the photo gallery  here   http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99 
I was also invited to a cookup across the way the lady was cooking seafood gumbo for the first time very good.   Then someone got out a guitar, keyboard and mic and we had a singing session.   The following night the rig next to mine brought out his setup (boy these guys have all the equiptment)  and we had an inpromptu concert ..... there are some really good musicians and singers here.  
I went to the movie as well last night and saw Shutter Island.   A bit dark and artsey but a good movie non the less.   I had to go to the wash station here in the park this morning to wash the truck (got to get it clean for Sue  :-) )    and as the temps are again going to be up in the high 80's will spend some time at the pool. 
doug.

talented people

Today was the arts and crafts display day. A day for the clubs at the park to show off their wares. There sure are some talented artists of all kinds here at the park. I have posted some pictures of the display day here. http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99
I also visited the Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen  Pics in the picture gallery above.
Doug.

I'm alive I'm alive

Had a good time at the Titanium Luncheon yesterday and afterwords visited the DonWes Flea market. Today I went to the morning Koffee Klutch but was a good boy and didn't have any of the very sugary donuts. The Valley Baptist Medical center had a health fair here this morning to highlight there services and I had a number of tests done for free. My blood pressure was 120 over 82 almost perfect. My blood sugar after having breakfast was 84 which was very good and I also stood in line for a long while to get an ABI test. That's a Ankle/Brachial Index to see if I was at risk for PAD that's Peripheral Arterial Disease. They use a Doppler machine to compare your blood pressure readings of the arms and legs. As my father has this I figured I better check it out. I came out with a reading of 1 which generally means normal. soooooo I'm alive and good for another 50years or 500,000 Kms. As it was near noon when I finished the tests I decided to get lunch at the lunch counter they have here in the park. Today I had an open faced hot pork sandwich with mashed potatoes and bread pudding for desert. This afternoon I did some maintenance chores around the trailer had a nap and then went for a long walk. Temps were good with partly sunny skies.
Doug.

we have a winner

Things have dried out nicely here as it hasn't rained in quite a while. Temps are warm most days in the 70's some in the 80's. Yesterday I cleaned up in the trailer then drove to Brownsville with Paul to visit Harbour Freight (discount tool store) and Best Buy. Short trip as it is only about 20 Min's to Brownsville from here. Carving club in the afternoon then Paul and Jane took me to the Texas Longhorn restaurant and bought me supper to celebrate my birthday. Brisket and ribs and the establishment threw in a banana desert for my birthday. Back at the park there was a Las Vegas Casino night going on. You purchased tickets, used them to play and any tickets you had left you put your name on and put in a bag to try and win the associated prize. I was quite lucky at blackjack and so had quite a few tickets to sign. I ended up winning two prizes for Sue. Today I am off to a Titanium Luncheon further up the valley and will probably stop into the DonWes Flea market as it is right behind. This flea market is run by RVer's for RVer's and has lots of the usual stuff plus lots of things (obviously) for RV's there is also a large farmers market across the street, time to stock up on grapefruit and pineapple.
By the way thanks for all the birthday wishes.
Doug.

yeah yeah Canada

Just finished watching the gold medal Olympic hockey game. Honking of horns in the park to acknowledge the win. Will wear my Olympic gloves to Ice cream Sunday tonight. Warm and humid here today. I went to a local church this morning then to Golden corral for brunch.....should have passed on that one. I am stuffed I'm afraid the ice cream will have to be my only supper tonight and maybe a Canadian beer..... I know I also have lots of antacid on standby.
Doug.

overloading on Olympics

I have been watching the Olympics and will probably have withdrawal when they are over. Canadian athletes are doing great. The weather here has finally dried out and the temps are in the mid 70's but the winds do blow a lot. I have joined the carving club here and am presently carving a goose with neck extended. Things aren't as crowded around me these days as a large group (5 units) of French Canadian RV'ers near me have left.
Well off to the pool to enjoy the great weather.
Doug.

Go Canada Go

I can now declare my Internet problems fixed as all has been stable for a week now. It has been warming up here upper 70's today and things are starting to dry out. last Thursday it rained all day and night and when I woke up looked out and my electrical connection was almost underwater. I have a surge protector and so my electrical connector hangs down lower than most and the point where the surge protector joins with the electrical cable was only about 1/4 of an inch above the growing puddle. Soooo not sure if this was a good idea but waded out into the puddle and was able to reach in to throw the breaker on the post then tied the surge protector up so it was two inches above the water and turned things back on. Anyway the rains stopped and the water drained away quickly around the post because the water was above my sewer inlet and so it drained down there. Hope we don't get any more rains like that. Of course the area just off my steps into the RV was a mud puddle so pulled the outdoor carpet I have up to let it dry.
Sunday morning I drove into San Benito and attended the local Episcopalian church service very similar to ours back home.
I have been following the Olympics but of course only have American TV, a friend here at the park Paul went on cruise vacation this week (yes we do go on vacations) and left me the keys to his RV so I could use his satellite dish to pick up the CTV coverage which I used last night to see the US/Canada hockey game. (no comment) Thanks Paul.
Today I checked out a few prices on tonneau covers then headed for South Padre Island which is only about 40 Min's. from here. The beach was great, however there was a cool breezed blowing off the gulf. I had lunch at Dirty Als - Shrimp and fish yummie. I also filled up a few containers with sand and spread that out under my step back at the park, then put the mat down again hopefully that will solve my mud problems.
Well off to the pool for a dip.
Doug.

Finally---again

Everything has been working fine with my Internet connection for two days now soooooo hope that is it. Actually things are working better than OK as during all the troubleshooting Time Warner boosted the speed on my connection and it is still smokin. Yesterday things warmed up soooo off I went to Neuavo Progresso Mexico wanted to check out the dentists and see how much it would cost to get the tooth I chipped repaired. Crossed over to Mexico early (about 9am) and traffic was light. The main street looked very dirty and dusty this year but I saw lots of people out sweeping the walks and street trying to clean up. The dirt must be a result of all the rain they have been getting this year which is weird as you'd think that would clean things off. A local told me that occasionally when it rains and their is a strong wind before hand, allot of dust whipped up in the air is washed down so you get a dirty rain? not sure if that's true but things were dirty.
There are about 100 dentists in this small town so finding one was not a problem. Before I went however I got a few recommendations as to which ones to see and when I went to those even at the early hour they all had long waiting lists sooooo as my chipped tooth seems to be stable and I still have insurance to cover it back home decided not to get it done here.
I did buy a large bottle of Bacardi rum for about $9.00 (plus the $1.00 tax to Texas to bring it back). I then headed back towards home. After lunch at Dairy Queen (hey first time this trip) I was going down 83 and realized that I was close to the Fig Tree resort so pulled off to visit Dave and Genni Bailey from Brantford who have a place there. Jenn was off to a hair appointment but had a good chat with Dave and we made plans to visit again and I'll show them around Fun n Sun at some point.
I then headed to Wal-Mart to look around (bad decision) In my wanderings I looked at their printers and saw a Canon printer for $30.00 cheaper than what the ink costs. Anyway it was the right size for the trailer and when it runs out of ink throw it out and get another one. What a waste I know but until they get realistic on their ink costs the cheapest way to go. The printer will come in handy printing maps or coupons found on the Internet etc.
Finally got home later in the evening and bar-b-qued some sausage then watched the Olympics for a bit. The temps here are forecast to be in the 70's for the next week so hope to work on that tan some.
Doug.

I am hopeful

Well did some personal troubleshooting on my Internet problems and think I have discovered what my issues are.........yes unfortunately they are my issues...... My Ethernet network card connection is not working properly. I tried my computer on a friends modem and then hooked up my modem to his connection and his computer works fine but mine didn't soooo did some more investigating and noticed my broadcom driver was not the latest but you can't upgrade these drivers from device manager soooo tried a workaround. Purchased a new wireless router and set it up and now everything is working again. I will wait for a few days to declare that my connection problems have been fixed.
Weather yesterday was great upper 70's so off to the pool. They also had a Madi Gras parade in the park and of course it was Sunday ice cream time. $1.00 gets you all you can eat ice cream (gonna have to stop skipping those) I have been watching the Olympics on the American stations so it was nice to visit Paul and Jane yesterday to see some of the Canadian coverage on their satellite setup. I have posted pics in my gallery and you can see them by going here.
www.picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99

whooooaaa spoke tooo early

I was too quick off the lip yesterday. I was so excited that my internet problems had been solved that I said everything was fine welllll the connection worked fine ...... for one night. The next morning it was back to the same unreliable connection. slower speeds and the connection drops off frequently. Called Time Warner tech support who will send someone out tomorrow and if it doesn't get fixed I'm going to take it back and get a refund. I will then find another internet provider to go with. Got to send this before I loose my connection again.
doug.

Finally Time Warner comes thru

Have spent the week settling in and setting things up. One of the things I really need is a good Internet connection sooooo on the advise of some in the park I decided to go with a Time Warner cable Internet package. The park uses Time Warner for their free cable TV and Time Warner has a package where you can get an Internet modem on a month by month basis at a reasonable price. Well I went and picked one up on Tuesday and installed it myself (quite easy once I returned the faulty power supply) but had another problem ...... it was not reliable for Skype which is what I got it for in the first place. Of course I had to call a 1-800 number for tech support and finally got someone using up many of my minutes on my phone. They tested the connection remotely and said everything was fine I said no it wasn't so they passed me over to the local office (more time on hold) they tested the same things and said it was working I said no it wasn't so they bumped me up to the 3rd tech level who you guessed it tested the line and said everything is OK I said no it isn't so they agreed to send someone out the next day to check things out. Wed. a tech showed up in the morning tested everything and said everything was fine but I showed him what the problem was and he agreed I had a problem finally someone believed me. Unfortunately it must be a line problem and he didn't do lines but would send someone out first thing tomorrow. Thursday morning the line tech showed up and tested the line and said everything was OK sooooo I showed him what the problem was (basically it worked fine when it worked but it wasn't consistent enough for Skype) He agreed that there was a problem, maybe the modem was goofy anyway he said he would get his supervisor in the case. I switched out the modem (no help) Friday no one showed up all day so I was getting a bit "PP%^$#" finally just as the Olympic games started a knock at the door. Another Tech I showed him my problem which stumped him but he started trying all sorts of things finally about an hour later, he found the problem. by running a line from my trailer a few hundred feet to the main post and voila it worked. He said someone must have nicked the underground line and it was acting erratically. I am so glad and impressed that he stuck to it until he found the problem. I now have smoking fast reliable Internet, and another crew will be back tomorrow to bury the temp. line he laid down. You can Skype me now. Hurray and thanks Time Warner.
Doug.

off the parking lot into the park

It is Monday and the ground is finally solid enough to get onto a lot. I have been parked (at a full hookup spot) in the parking lot. My new address is Doug Collins, site O160, 1400 Zillock Rd, San Benito, Texas, 78586 As luck would have it I was able to just drive in from the back end of this lot as it was empty and set up without too much trouble. I then set about capping off the cold water supply to the faulty mixing valve in my water heater and after some frustration finally got it to work with no leaks (yeah) I cleaned the basement of the RV out and the truck as well. The park has WiFi but it is only free if you go to the computer room. We do have cable TV here included with the site sooooo I went to Time Warner and signed up for Cable Internet. They have a month by month plan which is quite reasonable. I picked up the modem and start up kit from them and set about setting it up........ frustration time. first the power supply they gave me was faulty. Then the modem would not connect to the Internet it took 3 calls and long waits for IT support before they were finally able to reset everything and I now have hi speed cable Internet for my stay here. The weather was beautiful today temps up in the high 70's and the wind died down. Would have been nice to enjoy it ..... however at least I now have everything all set up and ready to go for the next 2 months here.
I also picked up the activity guide here. They have hundreds of activities here as they say something for everyone. I think I'll check out the computer club and might also take in the carving club as well. I posted my address above and my phone number down here is
956-245-0412
If the weather holds out I will try to get some pics of this place tomorrow to post.
Doug.

Whataburger

Arrived at Fun n Sun in San Benito Texas just north of Brownsville in bright sunshine and warm temps. (used the air conditioner for the first time). I am now in site number 1 which basically is in the parking lot (with full hookups however) as the lot I am suppose to be on is too wet to put a heavy trailer on yet. They have had all the rain I had further north so everything is soaked. Hopefully in a day or two I will be able to move over to my regular site for the next two months. As I was setting up I had a visit from one of the members of the Titanium owners group who was visiting various parks looking for Titanium trailers to let everyone know about the owners luncheon in the valley in march. I also met up with Paul and Jane who I met last year. They invited me over to their place for supper which I readily accepted.
As my fridge was kinda bare I set out for the local grocery store and decided to pick up lunch at the local Whataburger store. This is a local Texas chain of hamburger joints, whey are quite big down here in Texas and they have been advertising their "patty melt" on TV........... well the ads finally got to me so I stopped in for two patties on Texas toast smothered in cheese and grilled onions with a side of onions rings and a coke. Lots of grease, a gazillion calories I'm sure but sure did taste good.
Arrived at Paul and Jane's for supper at 6:30 and needless to say was still full from the Whataburger. Jane however always has some neat things to eat (last year she showed me how to make fresh guacamole) this year it was a new vegetable (some spanish name) which was like a cross between a turnip and an apple. sprinkled with a spicy chili powder. Interesting taste Anyway Paul barbecued pork chops, to go with sweet potatoes, salad, onions and corn bread. Very delicious. They then filled me in on what is available in this park. whooooo lots to do. you can be busy all day every day if you want. I'll need some time to peruse everything and pick and choose what I want to do. Well sunny day in the mid to upper 70's tomorrow and I will start it off with an all you can eat pancake breakfast put on by the park in the morning. Gonna have to start walking big time or it will be blimp Doug.

Still floating

We didn't get as much rain as forecast only about 2 inches .... but it was windy and wet all day yesterday. Finished another book and went into Kingsville to the movie theatre. I saw the "Book of Eli" with Denzel Washington. Good action with a different twist to it but it did drag in spots. Usually when I go to the movies in the evening I skip supper cause I know I will be getting a large popcorn which I did. It was the worse popcorn I have ever eaten.......so bad I left 3/4 of the bag uneaten and in the trash. Oh well the movie was only $5.00. Today the temps are up in the mid to high 60's so was able to get out this morning and go for a long walk.....felt good to get out and about. I also attended the computer club they have here at the park.
Mostly a beginners group but I was able to help a few people out with computer stuff which felt good. Tomorrow I will be packing up and heading on down to the Fun n Sun resort for 2 months. They have lots of activities in the park and I look forward to getting involved. It will also serve as home base for side trips into Mexico and around the valley and to South Padre Island beaches.
What a difference a year makes last year this place was in the middle of a drought that had gone on for quite a while this year flooding all over. At least things are a lot greener this year. Tomorrow is forecast to be a beautiful warm sunny day. Last year in almost 4 months of being down here I experienced just 3 days of rain this year in just 2 weeks have had 7 days of rain so hope it is over, got to work on my tan. I also hope to get many more photos to share.
As a side note they are having an election here is Texas and one of the candidates for govenor has ads about the educational system down here and how the last education reform forced teachers to teach to the test as everything is based on testing. (sound familiar) Now they want to get back to basics and cut back on the testing. hummmmm
Not sure how the WiFi is at the next park but hope to be able to post regularly.
Doug.

natural wash

The weather this week is not forecast to be the best here. Highs in the 50's and they just issued a special weather alert for here. Guess I didn't have to rush to wash the trailer as we are expected to get 2 to 5 inches of rain tomorrow, with flash flood warnings. I should be OK as when I got the new truck we had to raise the trailer on its axles so it sits higher and I will throw out an anchor so I don't end up in the gulf of Mexico :-)
I have also had to change my nap schedule as the site I am in is directly across from where the skeet field is. soooooooo about 1pm every other day for about an hour its bang bang ..... bang as the shooters try to kill those clay pigeons with there shotguns. Will have to go and show them how to do it tomorrow (ya right)
I forgot to mention I went to church service here on Sunday. It is a non-denominational service using southern baptist books. The pastor is southern baptist and it sure is different from what I am use to. During the service the pastor set the Karaoke machine going and sang a song using it. It was enjoyable and I was able to meet up with a lot of the folks who remembered me from staying here last year.
I have been doing battle with a cell phone provider for the last few days. I purchased a Net10 phone at walmart on the way down. It is one of those throw away phones you can get .... cost $30 and that gets you the phone charger and 300 minutes of airtime for 60 days which of course you can top up if needed. the coverage is good and it only costs 10 cents per minute for air time. The problem is if you want to use it for international calls say to Canada you have to register for that (15 cents a minute) which I did.........then wait for them to activate it. well I am still waiting..... 6 days later after emails and phone calls to them. Guess I'll call them again today to find out what the problem is. Well guess the next few days will be good ones to finish another book and clean up the inside of the rig.
Doug.

Salt off

It was still a bit cool .... temps in the 50's and a bit of a wind but I just had to get some of that salt and dirt from the trip down off the truck and trailer so got out the hoses yesterday and gave them a quick wash. Have a problem with my mixing valve which means the water coming out of the taps is only luke warm. The water heater is working fine it's just that too much cold water is mixed with the hot when it exits the water heater. I have a call in to the dealer and will probably live with it till I get down into the valley as I have to empty the trailer's basement to access the water heater.
I enjoyed a free concert last night in the parks hall by Sarah Getto. She is a 25 year old singer (sounds just like Karen Carpenter) who has been blind since birth. Good concert and met alot of the the residents that I knew from staying here last year. The WiFi is much better here this year. I finished my first book of the trip last night "The fifth horsemen" by James Patterson and have started another.
Lots of activities here today I have a choice of Pilates, Walk Aerobics, Blood Pressure check, Line Dancing, Wood Bark Carving, Bridge, Poker, Games, and Movie Night.
It is still on the cool side here today (highs only in the high 50's) and it is overcast. but the temps are rising. I have decided to stay here only 1 week then head on down to the valley on Friday.

sitting down for a while

The day started windy wet and overcast. I left Houston early and headed to Goose Island State park. Instead of following the computer map I decided to follow Susie (my GPS) as she was pointing down some secondary roads which I like to follow when I've got the time. You really get to see the "real" country that way. Well that was fine until I hit construction and had no choice but to go down a roadway underconstruction ..... not really gravel but basically mud.....my poor rig was already dirty and got a mud bath. Thankfully the rain started again so once back on the paved roads alot of the mud got washed off.
Drove by the Aransas wildlife area (that's where the Whooping cranes winter) and saw lots of birds flying in the winds............ got to Goose Island State park and realized it was a Friday......duuuuuh. don't really keep track of what day it is anymore so found out they were full for the weekend. Sooooooo on to plan B which was to continue on to Seawind RV resort near Kingsville. Arrived there in bright sunshine and got a site for at least one week. I have included a few pics of my site here. http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99
Doug.

Glad I'm in Houston

Like last year at this time big Ice storm going through just north of here. The temp. here in Houston today was 70 but the humidity is high so feels a lot higher. We are forecast to get rain starting late this afternoon and tonight and then tomorrow the temps dive down into the 40's here, but north of here they are going to be getting up to 1/2 inch of ice. Soooooo time to move further south. Will hook up tomorrow morning and head on down to Goose Island state park on the gulf.
I spent today relaxing and shopping. Went into the Katy Mills mall which must be owned by the same company that runs the Vaughan Mills mall north of Toronto. Exactly same layout and stores including Bass Pro. I did walk around the mall 1 mile trek I'm told.
Finally found a replacement filter for the water system at Walmart and at a good price. Will start reading a new book this evening I think.
Doug.

braking braking

Left Coushatta rv park this morning and set out along Louisiana route 12 towards Houston. I like to get off the interstates when I got time to explore the real world and see how everyone else lives. A lot of people in Louisiana seem to live in prefab homes and because of the high water levels most don't have basements. Another thing that struck me was the big disparity between rich and poor.
Anyway as I was driving along up pops a deer right in front of me ...........whew got a chance to check out the new brake controller, the trailer brakes and the exhaust brake and all were pushed to the limits and performed perfectly. The deer will live to scare someone else another day and my unit will live without dents, at least for now. Unfortunately the inside of the trailer didn't fare so well........no major damage but one of the doors in the kitchen popped open (note to self secure with bungee cords from now on) and the dishes crashed to the floor. I was lucky I guess because I only lost one corell plate (smashed into a thousand pieces) well I will have to vacuum again, and look for a matching plate to replace it so Sue won't find out. :-)
I am always amazed driving through big cities (must be the urban geographer in me) and Houston is on building spree many things seem to have changed from last year in the corridor I travel along. I 10
I am at the Houston West RV park and will stay here for two nights ..... gotta hit camping world and Costco before I head on down further south. this is a nice park with gravel pads with good WiFi at least so far.
Well off to vacuum
Doug

still heading down

I pulled out of the RV park early in the morning and got through Nashville's rush hour traffic fairly quickly then a long haul down to Memphis then south on I55 ending up at Canton Mississippi. This is where they build Nissan's Huge plant located here. I stayed at the Movietown RV campground very quiet but no WiFi anyway left there at around 9am this morning and got onto the Natchez Trace parkway heading further south. I had travelled this route in reverse in the spring and really enjoy the trip. The road is limited to non-commercial traffic and therefor the traffic is very light. It is like travelling on a road going through a park the whole way. No stops no traffic That road ended at Natchez Miss. and then over the river to Louisiana. I stopped at the Coushatta Casino Campground. I had stopped here on the way North and knew they had free WiFi so great place to spend the night with full hookups for $17.00 (as long as I don't go into the casino) I was able to get under the trailer (concrete pads) and wash off some of the salt and sand from up north and lubricate the slide outs etc.
The temp here is about 71 degrees F. but is suppose to drop down into the upper 30's at night and this coming weekend it is only getting up into the 40's for a high so I will leave here tomorrow and head to Houston to spend a few days so I can visit camping world, and Costco.
Not sure where I will go then ..........I guess where ever the wind blows me.
Doug.

On the Road again

I started out at 2AM on Saturday morning. Nice easy drive down to Sarnia to cross over into the states. Easy border crossing this time no grilling just friendly questions then down interstate 65. Got down to Elizabethtown Kentucky around 4pm and setup camp at the same campground I used last year. The temps were in the upper 50's awe warmth. was going to stay a few days here but they couldn't get the Internet to work sooooo packed up in the rain Sunday morning and headed further south. I was going to get down to Mississippi but was stymied by a bad traffic accident on the interstate north of Nashville. I used the backup as an excuse to pull off and go to a Cracker Barrel for Lunch.....figured I'd wait out the backup but the traffic didn't start moving so asked the locals what was the best bypass road to take down to Nashville .... they told me and so I set out and met up with thousands of other truckers using the same route so the pace was stop and go on this route as well. Approaching Nashville I started to get a cramp in my leg just as I noticed I was coming up to a campground I had used on my trek north last spring.......so in I went and set up for the night. This gave me an excuse to go into Nashville to visit camping world which I did. Their WiFi works as well hence this blog.
I have posted a few pics of my new truck and of my travelling companion this year. Moe was a gift from Pat a colleague who passed away last spring. I will probably let Moe tell some of the tails of this winter's adventures in future blogs. Pics are posted here.
http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99
I am hoping to get down into Mississippi tomorrow will post when I can.
Doug.

Almost ready

I have all my stuff loaded and ready to leave early Saturday morning...... just need Sue to catch up and get her stuff ready to load. I figure if she can get everything loaded now she won't have to worry about any bags for the flight down in March. Last year she just had a small carry on bag to take but with recent developments ..... no carry-ons allowed.
We are having a parish dinner at our church Friday night which should be nice but I will have to restrain myself from eating too much as I don't like sitting for a long drive with a full stomach. I am hoping to get down to Elizabethtown Kentucky on the first day. Will bring the Ti home tomorrow morning and if the garden hose is not frozen up will try to get some of the salt and dirt off from my trip up to Morry's a couple of weeks ago.
Glendale industries which make the Titanium trailer I own have gone into bankruptcy :-) who knows I may have a collectors item. ......... but I do hope they can restructure and come back to life.
Doug.

new doo

Things must be getting serious I went in yesterday and got my summer cut. Marched right into my barber and said OK do it, cut it off for summer. Another patron looked at me funny and said know something about the weather we don't? My barber just looked at him and said he's retired probably heading back to southern Texas Oh they know me. :-)
Stopped into the school to say hi to my former collegues (and gloat) then off to make arrangements for new mud flaps on the truck. Got that scheduled for tomorrow. Have even started putting clothes that I'm taking into piles to go out to the trailer.
Need to get some US cash now that we are almost at parity. I know bad for the economy but good for Doug's travels.
Thatttttsss all for now folks.
Doug.

making plans

I just realized looking over the last few entries OK OK the last many entries I always start with "well" guess I better try to change things up a bit. So here goes..............
Can't wait to get on the road again. I have put things in high gear and even called my insurance people to push up the date of my leaving by a week. I hope to get out of here by Jan. 23 and start the mad dash down to warmer weather......... I know your saying it isn't much warmer down there from what we hear....well yes it is cooler than normal but the daytime highs are still up in the 50's, 60's and 70's which is much better than the teens and 20's here. The family was all together last weekend for the christening of my great niece Abby or Abbo as her big brother Sammy calls her. Have heard a few of my former collegues are going to be joining the ranks of the retired soon. Unfortunately I won't be there to help them celebrate but wish them well on the next phase of their lives. I certainly am enjoying it.
I have plotted out my intended first day driving on the map on the right. Long drive but made it that far last year.
Thatttsss all for now folks.
Doug.

getting set

well I have a new box liner installed, my hitch installed and a new brake controller installed. The truck is almost ready now need to start working on me and the other stuff that needs to be done so I can head to warmer climates for the rest of the winter.
Pulled the trailer for the first time with the new truck and I think I'm going to like this setup. The truck is strong and smooth. My Niece is having her daughter Abby christened in St. George on Sunday so will have lots of guests here for the occasion. What a treat.
well off to choir practise.
Doug.

shivering

Well the temps have dropped, the white stuff is a flying and I am anxious to get things ready to head to warmer parts. Oh well got the truck LineX'd and will get the hitch on this Wed. and am starting to figure out what I need to put back into the trailer before I head out.
I went to see Avatar 3D on New years day with family and boy was it neat. The story is so so, much like dances with wolves but the special effects are amazing. Sue and I kept swatting in front of our eyes as it seemed like you were right in the middle of everything. Also have been watching the World Junior Hockey Championships which have been great. Canada plays the Swiss tonight in one seme-final and the States plays Sweden in the other with the winners going for gold. It would be nice for Canada to have the six pack of championships, but they will have to play better than they did in their win over the U.S. as they were lucky to win that one.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. May the year be an improvement over the last one for all those out of work.
Doug.