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.