Falling temps and white stuff

Well another Christmas has come and gone. Had a good time with both Kids home. Santa was good and a great meal at my sisters with the family on Christmas Day.
Unlike last year, this year has been rather mild and snow free here ..... so far. However the temps last night dropped and we now have a thin layer of snow on the ground with more forecast in the not too distant future. We have been lucky so far as north of us in cottage country and south of us in Buffalo they have had heavy snowfalls already.
Need to put preparations for heading south into high gear. I have taken the drop in box liner out of the new truck and have an appointment to get a Line-X spray-in liner tomorrow ..... then next week up to Morry's to get the hitch installed and have the trailer set up to ride level (will probably have to raise the trailer a bit as the new truck is a 4X4 so higher)
I am still hoping to get out of here before the end of Jan. and head due south to warmer temps.
Well off to get my license and health card renewed.
Doug.

The deed is done!

Well I have been looking for quite some time for a new truck..........not that the last one wasn't good ...........it was a great truck but I always had to count every pound that went into the trailer so I wasn't too over the rear axel weight. I finally found the truck that I hope will last me the next 10 to 15 years. A new (to me) 2008 Dodge (yup gotta have that Cumins) 3500 Dually. I have posted pics here. Http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99 This truck should be able to pull anything I want. Now I have to get it set up. I have called Eric at Morry's and am going to have him install my old hitch which I kept and set up the truck and trailer right. He knows his stuff and I trust him to do a great job as he always does. If anyone is looking for an RV particularly a Titanium go here http://www.morrystrailersales.com/ The truck has a slip in box liner but I really liked the LineX liner I had on the last one so will get that done first thing then up to morry's. He will also need to put in a brake controller.
The truck although new to me only has 4000 KM on it so the engine still needs to be broken in. It also has a few extra options like heated seats that Sue is gonna love.

The leaves are falling the leaves are falling oh there down

Well the weather is getting colder, the days shorter and my envy is rising for all the travellers that are either on there way or already down south. Oh well it will be some time before I head down to join you. I did however take in something I couldn't during my working time and that is the Friday the 13th Port Dover day. Every Friday the 13th no matter what month bikers by the thousands decend on the small village of Port Dover on Lake Erie for a get together. This year Friday the 13th of Nov. was blessed with sunny skies and warm temps so thousands showed up. The first thing that struck me as I strolled down the main drag was "boy there are a lot of bikers" it was filled from curb to curb with every type of motorcycle imaginable. big ones small ones custom jobs and fancy dancy just plain very expensive ones. The diversity of bikes was only matched by the diversity of riders all shapes and sizes. Now if your thinking bikers -- Hell's angels gangs etc. that really wouldn't fit this crowd of about 30,000 most seemed to be boomers who were trying to recapture their youth. Anyway it was fun strolling around and taking in the sites. I have posted some pics here. Http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99

Home again

Had an interesting trip to Pelee Island. First we went across on Thursday which was a windy day .......the day the Tornado(s) hit different parts of Ontario. Our run at 11:30 was an extra put on as the 10:30 run was full and what they did was put us on the old "Pelee Islander" a very small car ferry which made for a wild ride over in the wavy conditions. Being new to this trip I had thought the trip was about 30 minutes long......no way 1 and 1/2 hours. ....... but I didn't get sea sick. the island was interesting we had lunch at a local restaruant then toured around the island stopping at a few spots to hike a bit....we ended off at the Pelee Island winery for a tasting then hurried to the dock for the return trip which was on a much larger ferry .........so a much smoother ride. We will return someday as we didn't have time to explore all the areas we wanted to. Friday we took a circle trip along the shore of Lake Erie had a very nice lunch at a winery situated right on the shore. Then continued on to Windsor and back along the shore of Lake St. Clair to Lighthouse cove then back to the campground where I cooked a nice steak dinner for sue (it was our wedding anniversary) Back home on Saturday and am now extemely busy with the honey do list from Sue.

busy summer

Well Sue has been keeping me busy this summer..........new flooring is to be installed downstairs as well as painting and a new mantle over the fireplace. We did manage to get out camping for a bit. Spent part of July visiting friends north of Kingston then down to New York State. We stayed at Association Island campground on the eastern end of Lake Ontario......then down to Watkins Glen for 3 days hiking exploring and visiting Corning New York. Next it was up to Julian Ponds campground so Sue could hit the outlet mall near Rochester then over to Southwoods RV park east of Rochester for 3 days. A really nice campground with a fellow titanium owner there for the season. Finally after more shopping back home and on to the chores. Got the fireplace mantle done then prepared the floor to be replaced I will put down the new Laminate wood floor and get the rest of the area ready for someone else to lay the linoleum. It is now August and we are down at Campers Cove campground near Wheatley Ontario............relaxing in the sun trying to keep cool. nice campground and Sue's sister is visiting today. Have been exploring the local wineries and Windsor Tomorrow it is on the ferry for Pelee Island for the day.

home again

Well the crossing into Ontario at the border was uneventfull. A few questions and proof that the rig was really mine and on my way. I arrived home in good order and took the weekend to unpack, unwind and catch up with Sue. On Monday morning I headed into the Bank to get some canadian funds and deposit the remnants of my US funds, then off next door to visit (or gloat to my former work collegues) unfortunately I received bad news when I arrived.......... a dear friend, my former secretary had passed away just yesterday from Cancer. My next stop was going to be to see her and give her the frog I picked up in Texas..........what a shock to learn she was gone. Life certainly is fragile and not to be taken lightly. I will miss Pat........but will remenber her sense of humour and dedication.
Doug.

The long long road home

I left Nashville very early this morning after getting a Neighbour (who was also up) to help me back out of my site. A tree, the utilities pole and a parked truck blocked my drive out. Once on the highway all the mud on my tires flew off onto my nice clean trailer augghhhh. I will have to wash the trailer again when I get home. I hadn't planned on driving so far today but once on the road and getting closer to Sue I just kept going. I ended up just north of Findley Ohio.... soooooooo will probably be home tomorrow. The area all the way from Natchez, Mississippi to Findley has been soaked with rain for the last few weeks........creeks and rivers overflowing with ponds of water in the fields. Needless to say the campground I'm in is muddy and of course its colder than I've experienced in quite a while so I have a 50 amp site to run my heaters. I will head north to cross at Sarnia (Detroit has construction and is not "trailer" friendly) then on home. pics here http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99

I have enjoyed my adventure but did miss Sue greatly so will have to think long and hard about what to do next winter. I will go back to the Rio Grande Valley at some time in the future. The people are friendly, there is lots to do and the weather is great.
Doug.

I'm a little bit country not

Finished the natchez trace today and it was like travelling back in ....... seasons...... down at the south end everything is fully out but as I drove north I was travelling back into early spring the leaves became fewer and the flowers not as plentiful. Lots of wild turkeys all along the trace however. The outside temp. guage on the truck also went down as I went north. I left Tupelo wearing sandles and a light shirt......give your head a shake Doug. it is still cold up north and I had to stop to put on warmer footware and a jacket. I am staying at the Nashville country RV park for the night and they had to squeeze me into a small site as that was all that was left and because of all the rain they have had in the last few weeks lots of mud..... no concrete pads here. I'm glad it's just for one night. I will go into Nashville this evening to visit a camping world and see the grand old opry...... hey I'm here might as well check it out...... but I am still more rock and roll. Will try to get a long days drive in tomorrow and then have to decide whether to winterize the trailer before I get home????? Are we going to have any more hard freezes in Ont.??????? might have some pics to post tonight but none right now.
Doug.