Last Day of January

Today is the last day of January. We're counting down the time until we move into our new home. Our target arrival date at New Horizons in Junction City is April 17. Let's see--that's 77 days from now. We're expecting to get the technical drawings this week. We'll need to look them over carefully to be sure that everything is the way we ordered it and expected it to be. Then our build can begin.

Cooking dinner tonight, I was working with poblano peppers. The recipe called for first charring them under the broiler and then peeling and chopping them. So far so good--only I neglected to wear gloves. These poblanos were HOT! The fingers on my right hand, especially the index finger, feel like they've been burned. I've been sitting around soaking my hand in ice water, which relieves the pain. Darn peppers! The recipe came out quite good, and I plan to make it again, but next time I'll remember to put on some latex gloves first! Read more!

Lab Tests

We started the day today fasting because we both had appointments to have blood drawn at 9:00 a.m. It's not a problem for me to postpone breakfast a bit, but not having my morning coffee? Not so good. Fortunately our doctor's office has a Flavia coffee maker, so we picked up cups of coffee on our way out to drink on the way home.

This afternoon we danced to Darryl as usual. Steve and Jan were there, but we are still missing Hardy and Judy. She is recuperating from her thyroid removal surgery. There were 11 squares on the floor, plus one couple sitting out, for a total of 45 couples. That's our high point for the year, since some short timers will start leaving on February 1.
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Pizza and Friends

We started the morning as usual for Sunday: at Angel's Restaurant with our friends for breakfast. Judy was there, looking and sounding great only five days after her thyroid surgery.

We spent a good bit of the day cleaning inside and out so we could take photos of Venture to send to Kay's RV in Moriarty, NM. We moved most of our stuff out of the way so the photos would show the rig as it will look when we've moved out. It looks surprisingly good in the photos! Ken also compiled photos of the truck to send to Green Ford so they can evaluate it as a trade-in.

We took a break in the middle of the day to take Gary and Judy out for "lupper" at Diaz Diner--only Diaz was closed. So was another restaurant Judy recalled friends talking about. We finally ended up at Peter Piper Pizza. The pizza and the company were great, but the service and noise level left something to be desired, even though we sat in the side separated from most of the screaming kids playing video games. We ordered a California Classic pizza and dinner salads. The crust was crisp and the veggie toppings were appealing. We actually brought three slices home, so we'll have a replay for lunch tomorrow.
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Mexico

We started the day today with a bike ride to Retama Village for their annual yard sale, which opened at 9:00 a.m. I made some finds and consider the foray successful: a very sharp reversible silver trimmed belt, a Chicago Metallic jelly roll pan, and a two-burner reversible grill/griddle--plus a free copy of Frozen Assets by P.G. Wodehouse. We got to nearly all the sales before we had to head home so we could go pick up Steve and Jan for our trip to Mexico.

This was our second trip to Progresso this season, and as usual we went to Jessica's for drinks and snacks and then to the Red Snapper for lunch. G.W. and Hugh were there, but David was home sick. We sat near Kurt and Jean, Louise, Jean B. and Steve and Jan at both places. There was lively conversation and laughter as usual. Afterwards we went to Ruben's. Steve and I got pedicures, and Jan got a manicure while Ken read his Kindle. Jan wanted a haircut also, but it turned out that none of the guys cutting hair would cut women's hair, so we headed home. For the first time, we found ourselves in a long line of people waiting to walk through US Customs to get back to the States, but eventually we all showed our passports and declared that we were citizens, so they let us through.

By the time we got back to Mission and dropped off Steve and Jan, it was after 4:00 p.m., and both of us were pretty exhausted. We had a date to take Gary and Judy out to dinner at 5:00 p.m., but I went over and talked to them. We rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon--much better.

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Lunch with Friends--and a Show

Today we scurried around cleaning the truck. We even removed everything from the bed (the generator, blue boy, milk crate and cover, and the acorns and leaves and needles. It's amazing how nice and clean the truck looks. Ken moved it around to the inside circle to take some photos to send to the Ford dealer in Manhattan, KS. That's because we've bought an F450--or at least it's on order, and the Silverado will be a trade in. We're working with Gary Floyd, and he's been very helpful. He works with Phil at New Horizons all the time. He even said that they will spray in the bed liner and then take the truck over to Phil to have the hitch installed, so everything will be ready for us when we arrive.

This morning we went over to Green Gate Grove to visit with Steve and Jan. We had asked them if we could come over and talk to them and check out their new DirecTV HD DVR. They invited us to not only pick their brains on the DirecTV but to also join them for lunch.

Jan made steamed veggies with cheese and spaghetti squash with fresh herbs grown in her garden. Steve grilled chicken breasts, and we brought over a salad. Later, Jan served a really good pie made with sugar-free white chocolate pudding mix and fresh fruit.

We also called Kay at Kay's RV in New Mexico to tell her that our planned pickup date has moved up. Now we'll have to clean up the rig and take photos to send to her to see how much she'd like to bid on it. Everything seems complicated, but little by little we are unraveling the Gordian Knot! This is all going to work out.

At 6:50 p.m. we went over to the clubhouse for the Freddie and Sheila show. This is the third time we've seen them, and they're always very entertaining. We were pretty much the last to arrive so we got to sit in the back row. As usual, we really enjoyed their brand of humor and music. Freddie is just a virtuoso guitar player, and we really like Sheila's voice. The relationship between them seems warmly genuine too.

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MRI

Ken had an MRI scheduled at noon today. The imaging center was very conveniently located right near the doctor's office. Everything went well, but of course it still took a couple of hours to fill out the paperwork and wait. Dr. George will get the results in two or three days. This is a precautionary test, and we're certainly hoping/expecting that it will show nothing particular wrong. That will be a relief. Dr. George thinks that Ken's headaches are due to tension, which would be understandable.

This evening we went to Darryl's dance. There were nine squares dancing and two couples sitting out, so we had a full house. Several couples that we hadn't met were there. Some were Canadians who had taken C-1 lessons in Canada over the summer.

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Happy Birthday, Jesse--and Gary and Mike!

January is full of family birthdays. Today is Jesse's second birthday. I grabbed a couple of photos Julie posted on Facebook.

Cate and Sam help Jesse celebrate with birthday cake!

We went over to Gary and Judy's for happy hour to help him celebrate his 71st birthday. Some neighbors came by too. No birthday cake at this event, but everyone had a great time.

Standing: Dave and Donna, Marie and Ron. Seated: Judy, Gary, Lee. Camera: Ken

Ken got in this one.
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Truck Shopping

We are going to need a more capable tow vehicle for our Majestic. New Horizons builds for quality and endurance--they're not lightweight! The GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) will be in the neighborhood of 22,800 lbs. By way of contrast, Venture's GVWR is 15,000 lbs. That's a substantial difference. We're looking at the 2012 Silverado similar to our 2007--but with much increased tow ratings.

We're also looking at the Ford F450, which is recommended by Phil at New Horizons. He and Karen have been towing the 41' show model around with one, and they love it. We stopped by a couple of Ford dealers today. Neither had any F450's, but at one, we got to look at and test drive an F350 with DRW and tow package. It certainly had bells and whistles--like auto-extending mirrors. The bottom line is we're torn and plan to do more research tomorrow.
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Still Thinking

Today is Kelley's 24th birthday. Amazing. She's definitely amazing, and we wish her a wonderful special day for a special woman.

We thought we might just relax today after sleeping in. We did sleep until nearly 8:00 a.m., but that was after going to bed at 3:00 a.m. I guess we are still thinking a lot about our plans and decisions.

The big decision we made very early today (actually late last night) was to go ahead and pick up our new trailer when it comes off the production line in April. I had been worried about the possibility of delays and other problems messing up our summer plans, especially going on an Alaska cruise. This morning we realized that we actually will have a backup. If things go badly, we can always just continue on our way in Venture. What a relief to realize that we had a plan to deal with any serious issues! We already figured that the chances of something going seriously wrong were pretty small. Phil is supposed to get back to us tomorrow about the production schedule, so we'll have a better idea of when our new Majestic will be ready.

So we've kind of been on a roller coaster. We've planned out more possible routes and schedules than we can keep track of. Many RV fulltimers say their plans are "written in jello," but we've usually been able to plan everything well in advance. Our next move is to verify what tow vehicle we'll need and try to get quotes and put in an order. We should have a better estimate of our actual dry weight once the design engineer gets some preliminary drawings done.

Now I'm starting to count the days! We're really excited, but we're also still thinking hard about decisions. We need to review our order and make any desired changes before production begins, which will be quite soon.
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Hole in the Pocket?

Our friends Gary and Judy have been asking if we have the hole in the pocket yet. Today the answer is yes! We signed a contract and made a down payment on a new home, a custom built Majestic fifth wheel. We've been very busy for the last three days getting all the details worked out and all our questions answered.

This morning we went to breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at Angels as usual with our friends. We had an appointment at 10:00 a.m. to make some final changes and tweaks to our order. Today was the final day of the New Horizons open house, so we invited our friends to come by and see the show model. It's very similar to the rig we ordered, although at 41' it's four feet longer than ours will be.

We've been very lucky to be working with Phil and Karen Brokenicky, owners of New Horizons. We've been doubly lucky to have such great friends as Gary and Judy Self, who have welcomed us into their home many times and patiently answered our questions and allowed us to poke around and measure everything. They've offered a wealth of information, tips, and suggestions that have been invaluable to us.


Phil and Karen

Finally, we're fortunate to be in Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort, next door to Retama Village, where we've had the opportunity to visit with four other couples and examine their New Horizons Majestics over the last month. Since New Horizons does not have dealers, potential buyers must rely on word of mouth and recommendations from current satisfied owners.

After we had made our final fabric and color selections and signed on the dotted line, we headed home around 3:00 p.m. and crashed for a bit. We probably could have slept through until tomorrow, but we got up and went grocery shopping so we'd have something for dinner. Tonight we're still trying to figure things out. Ken is calculating the capacities of possible tow vehicles.


Fabric samples from Autumn Fantasy color scheme we chose.

We're also looking at possible routes and schedules for our travel this summer. One possibility is that we may want to drive through Albuquerque to show our current Excel to a dealer there who may be interested in buying it from us. Phil recommended her and made the contact with her for us. Decisions, decisions. But also plenty of anticipation and excitement.
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Designing

We spent the whole day at the show model again today, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fortunately, there were fewer interruptions, so we made some real progress at filling out our order sheet. We asked lots of questions and made lots of decisions.

We had tickets for the high school musical, Mame, for 2:00 p.m. today. Foreseeing our busy day, we tried to give them away because we thought it quite likely that we'd be deeply involved in customizing our new home. We didn't get any takers. So the tickets were orphans, unfortunately.

We dashed home for lunch and went back until after 5:00 p.m. again today.
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Annual Retama "Walk Through the Village"

Today is Edward's 44th birthday--happy birthday, son! When I called, it sounded like he was having a good day, out with Julie and the kids.

Our day started with our long awaited 10:00 a.m. appointment to view the New Horizons show model and talk with owners Phil and Karen Brokenicky. We walked over, excited to finally see the 2012 show model "in person," having watched the online postings of photos of its construction.

Purely by coincidence, New Horizons scheduled its open house to begin on the same day as the annual open house for the Village. Flocks of people came to see what owners have done with their casitas and homes. Most of them probably thought the New Horizons show model was just another owner-occupied RV. When they came inside, they were definitely impressed by the elegance and features of the Majestic, though probably a bit confused to find themselves in a "model home."

What this meant is that we really had little chance to talk with Phil and Karen, and they had little chance to stop and take a deep breath. Crowds poured through, and often people had to wait outside for someone to leave and make room for more visitors.

We did take advantage of the opportunity to examine and measure and take pictures of everything. We brought our tape measures and cameras and even our footstool to peer into every nook and cranny. We left briefly to run home and grab a bite before returning to see more.

We were wowed by the scraped hickory wood flooring in the living area and bath, and we were really tempted to change our minds and switch from the choice we had made to have the Permastone tile. So when we left at 5:00 p.m. and set out on our evening walk, we stopped by Gary and Judy's to take another look at their tile floor. It was beautiful, and we decided it was the more practical choice for us. It's easier to care for and weighs less, and if anything happens, it's easier to repair. Gary and Judy offered support and helpful suggestions, as usual, and calmed our jitters.
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Show Model Is Here

We walked over to Retama this afternoon to see the New Horizons 2012 Majestic show model with its tow vehicle--just from the street. We'll see the interior tomorrow. Phil and Karen Brokenicky, New Horizons owners, were in Tampa at the big RV show there last weekend and spent three days driving here. We'd consider ourselves pushed if we did that trip in a week, so we're glad they had a day off today to rest up.

Gary and Judy stopped by to check out our new Strongback chairs. We were quite upset to discover that one of them already has a hole worn in the seat where the frame pokes up from underneath! We'll be contacting the manufacturer. Judy liked the way the lumbar support worked. So do we, but we'll need these chairs to be tougher than they've appeared so far.
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Cloudy Day

Well, at least it wasn't snowing a foot or more. That's what our friends in Olympia are facing! Very pretty, but hard to get out to go to town. Hope they're snug and warm tonight.

We danced twice today. At Jerry's dance, we had 31 1/2 couples. That's an awkward number, because it means seven people will have to sit out every tip. Jean gave Steve a call and he rushed over to save the day--thanks, Steve! He danced with Charlene at that dance and tonight at Joe's dance. Jan is feeling much better, but not up to dancing yet. Steve rode over to the dance with us and back home with Hardy and Judy.
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Hard at Work

We buckled down today and spent lots of time going over our notes and talking about our options. We have an appointment to see Phil and Karen, New Horizons owners, on Friday morning, and we want to be prepared.

This afternoon we visited the produce truck. They were a bit late arriving, so we stepped into the clubhouse to listen to the jam session while we waited.

The produce vendor didn't have much we that needed, but they always have really good fresh pineapple, so we got one of those, along with some nice poblano peppers, some broccoli, and some Cherub tomatoes. The pile of green leaves on the ground there is cauliflower.

It was hot and sunny today. It seems to go from one extreme to another. I found a zipper bag to use to cover the drying rack. The instructions mention covering the rack when it's not in use for a time, because the plastic covers on the steel rods can deteriorate from the sun's UV rays. The bag seems to fit pretty slickly. It's a portable golf bag that we picked up at a thrift store some time back to carry our patio mat in. (We've since found a better mat bag.)

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Still Busy

We are still busy working on issues related to the new custom fifth wheel we are planning to order. It raises so many questions (like whether an HD receiver will accept signals from a non-HD satellite dish, like our VQ1000. How important would it be to get a blu-ray system?).

We walked over to the clubhouse this morning after our morning walk. The calendar listed an RV maintenance seminar. We can always learn something new, so in we went, only to find out that the main topics were controlling odors in waste tanks and how to clean your RV without water. We decided that we had more urgent things to do and slipped out.

This afternoon we went to Darryl's C-1 workshop. We had eleven squares plus two couples, only the women who were sitting out were asked to dance with one of the two single men. Many of our friends were not there. Jan and Pat are still not up to dancing (though Bob came alone). Judy had an appointment with the thyroid surgeon. She now has surgery scheduled for next Tuesday. It's a one-hour procedure and the surgeon expects a two-week recovery period. Judy says she heals fast and expects to be back at it in a couple of days!
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Breakfast and a Movie

Sunday again, so we met our friends for breakfast at Angel's. We had a small group today--just five of us--because the sick ones were still home (getting better, we hope).

This evening we went to the discount theater again, this time to see Tower Heist. It's a classic comic heist film, but with a current events twist: the victim of the heist is a Bernie Madoff type character, played by Alan Alda. He's the villain you love to hate, so it's really satisfying to see him escorted into prison at the end of the film. Eddie Murphy plays the professional thief who is recruited for his nefarious skills.

The film has some funny moments and good lines. Alan Alda turns in his usual great performance. But in the end, the film doesn't seem to hold together very well. It's hard to care much about the characters because we don't really get to know them. The movie ends with one of the most creative, unusual resolutions ever: the workers who have been defrauded are shown opening packages, all of which contain pieces of a gold Ferrari.
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RV Show and Beer Tasting

WE had lots to do today. We picked up Gary and Judy to go to the All Valley RV Show in Mercedes (about 45 minutes east of Mission). We seemingly never get tired of checking out RVs, looking for new features and clever solutions. Gary picked up a handy gadget to hold down the sewer drain hose while dumping to keep it from being knocked off the drain by accident. It looks kind of like a plastic milk jug, but with a cutout to fit over the hose, and you fill it with water for weight. When you pack up, you just dump the water, and you have a light jug to pack.

I finally decided to buy a telescoping clothes drying rack that fits on the ladder in back. I've been eyeing them for some time now. They are kind of pricey, but they work well, are easy to put up and take down, and compact to pack.

This evening we went to Pharr South for Jean's beer tasting party. Unfortunately, some of the invitees didn't make it because of illness (Bob was home nursing Pat; Steve decided he needed to get out of the house, and Jan said she didn't need anyone to share her misery). That left eight of us. Jean's son is an award winning craft brewer in Indianapolis. We had a taste of one of his beers last year, so we were really looking forward to more.

The beer caps have custom labels. The kind Jean had most of was labelled "Happy 65th MOM--John Wayne Pudding." As you might guess, these were a birthday present.

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Friday the Thirteenth

Despite its being the dreaded Friday the thirteenth, we had a good day today. We got up our courage to go over to Retama and approach Jim and Niroo again. They graciously allowed us to take some measurements and look over their Majestic, and they gave us some good tips. We were especially happy to see their rig again because it is a 37-ft. model, which is the size we are looking at.

Later on our afternoon walk we ran into Lynn and Stuart, Majestic owners in Retama who showed us around their beautiful home a few days ago. They are now ambassadors for New Horizons, evidently at least partly because they called and talked with Phil about giving us a walk-through. Besides, they will be going up to Canada this summer and will be able to meet with prospective owners in the northeast to show their rig. Since New Horizons does not have dealers, the company depends on owner-ambassadors who agree to show their rigs to folks who are interested in seeing a New Horizons "in person." Lynn and Stuart told us that they had never seen a Majestic before they visited the factory and decided to buy one. We've been very lucky to have toured five Majestics in the last few weeks.

On the way home, we stopped to chat with Gary and Judy again and to confirm our plans to go to the RV show in Mercedes tomorrow. As usual, they were very friendly and helpful. Judy showed me the large accordion file labelled "Owner's Paperwork" that contains all their specs and manuals for their rig.

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Better Day

Well, today was a much better day than yesterday. We both woke up feeling okay. Ken had a followup appointment to discuss the results of his endoscopy. The biopsies were normal, so that's good news. He got some samples of esomeprazole (Nexium) to try to see if it provides better symptom control than omeprazole, which is what he has been taking.

We spent the rest of the day shopping (Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond; HEB; Dollar Tree; Goodings RV; and Camping World--don't ask!). When we got home, we stopped at Guest SErvices to pick up a couple of packages, and one was waiting on our doorstep. I got the UV curing lamp for the Gelish nail system. We got a dual vent cover. The most exciting thing was the Melitta 10-cup thermal coffee maker. Tomorrow morning we'll see what kind of coffee it makes.

This evening we got back to dancing, finally, but we missed some of our friends. Steve was there, dancing with Jean, but Jan was still at home fighting a terrible respiratory infection. We sure hope that the medications Jan is taking will help her fight off this bug.

Darryl always has something new to throw at us, and it was no different tonight. He used the "initially" and "finally" concepts to modify how the first part or the last part of a call was done. That was as confusing to the dancers as it sounds, but will probably get clearer with practice.
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Sick Day

Not much to report today. We were both feeling very yucky and got very little sleep, so we called John and Sandy to report that we'd be home sick instead of going to the Don-Wes Flea Market with them and the Pottingers.

The weather was beautiful, but we didn't appreciate it much!

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At Home

Ken wasn't feeling too great today, so we scrapped our plans to go dancing this afternoon and we had a pretty quiet day. I did a load of laundry and fixed some barley vegetable soup for lunch. We did our usual walk around the park, but we waited until afternoon when it had warmed up a bit.

I sorted through a couple of drawers. We're trying to consolidate some of our "stuff" in hopes of not transferring too much excess to the new rig. Keeping that excess trimmed out is part of an ongoing battle against my packrat tendencies (but we might need that pack of floppy disk labels someday!).

Tomorrow we'll be going to the Don-Wes Flea Market with some friends. Bob and Pat were scheduled to go also, but Pat has come down with the respiratory ailment that's been affecting lots of people. Steve was out yesterday buying Mucinex for Jan. We're hoping that Ken will be feeling better by morning.
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More Dancers

We escaped the possible rain today, though we did have overcast and windy conditions. The butterflies feeding on the purple blossoms outside our window really had to work hard today to stay in place.

This afternoon Darryl had ten squares of dancers. The population of the Valley is way up since the holidays are past. A couple we danced with this summer at Romney's June Fling and again at AACE in Milwaukee are here for a month. Their names are Ken and Steph. They're going to pretty much all the advanced and C-1 dances they can find, since they have to pack in lots of dancing in their month. They're staying at the Drury Inn, since they don't have an RV. I had an interesting conversation with Ken. He's pursuing an item on his bucket list: taking music theory courses and getting back into piano playing.

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Fun With Friends

We started off the day by joining our friends at Angel's Restaurant for breakfast, as we do most Sundays. Jean was there and asked if we'd like to hike in the state park after the meal. Hardy and Judy said they'd like to come along, so all five of us ended up hiking the roads in the park, nearly four miles. We walked a bit more slowly than we usually do because we were all talking, of course.

We didn't see many birds, but one feeding station was attracting lots of Great Kiskadees (along with some green jays and cardinals and red wing blackbirds). Ken got some super shots of one bird.

Jean is interested in geocaching, so Hardy showed her the Texas State Parks geocache hidden behind a tree in the park.

When we finished our walk, we stopped by Gary and Judy's to talk to them about going to the RV show next weekend. We interrupted their lunch, but they invited us in and we talked for some time. We learn something new every time we talk with them. Today's best tip: make coffee and cookies for the workers who are doing the final fixes on your new rig--and tip them if they go out of their way for you. We can see that Gary and Judy are really good with people, which no doubt motivates the workers to take good care of them.

This evening we met Hardy and Judy, Steve and Jan, John and Sandy, and Bob and Pat at the discount theater to see Moneyball. Jean had already seen it and recommended it highly. We'd second that recommendation. We really enjoyed the movie. Like 50/50, it's based on a true story. Michael Lewis, who wrote the book on which the movie is based, also wrote the Blind Side, another book based on a true sports story and made into a movie we really enjoyed.
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Catching Up

We removed all the floor registers some time ago and wire brushed them and sanded them to remove the rust and prepare them for painting. Then we sat them back in their holes until we had a calm day to do some spray painting. Today was that day, finally (we actually bought the paint for this project over a year ago).

We had to wire brush and wipe them before painting could start, but that was relatively quick, and the painting was a breeze too, using Rustoleum spray paint. They're a bit lighter than the original color, but they look much cleaner and nicer.

Next we tackled our aluminum folding step. It's a great step, very light and sturdy, but soon after we got it, the non-slip tape started to come up. After a while so many of the strips were torn up that we decided to replace the tape. In the process of removing the old tape, we also managed to chip the finish, so we decided to paint the step before replacing the tape. For this we chose a great Rustoleum product, Hammered Spray in silver. This paint is supposed to hide flaws like chips and scratches--and it does. We were very pleased by the finished look.

After we finished our painting, we sat down to enjoy our new Strongback chairs.

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Laundry Day and Another Tour

Even though we are enthusiastic about the New Horizons Majestics we've been lucky enough to tour here and at Retama Village, we decided it would be a good idea to check out other manufacturers. Some of those that people mention positively for fulltiming are no longer made. Several high-end RV companies have gone out of business, most recently Carriage. One that remains is DRV (formerly Doubletree), which makes three levels of Suites: Select, Mobile, and Elite. Many people are very happy with them, both for the quality of the units and the good customer service.

We looked for a dealer nearby, but the closest is in Corpus Christi, over 150 miles northeast of here. We did find two relatively new Mobile Suites inour park and stopped to talk with both owners. Bo and Dona Brewer of Arlington Heights, TX, warmly welcomed us into their nearly new Mobile Suites, which has many upgrades.

In addition to the other features, they have upgraded residential quality carpet and very comfortable leather sofa and recliners. They had DRV make them a matching storage ottoman, which Bo uses by his recliner to hold a drink and remotes. Another really clever touch is the sewer hose holder mounted under the rig. That part is pretty standard, but they had this one made with 6" PVC so that not only the hose but the elbows and such fit in it, rather than needing a separate storage area. And to add the finishing touch, they had it painted black so as to be unobtrusive.

Like all the couples who have been gracious enough to show us their homes, they also gave us some good tips. For example, it's important to be sure the truck is clear before operating the leveling system!
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Happy Birthday, Terri!

Today is Terri's birthday. She celebrated by substituting in first grade--and also by going out to dinner at a local Italian place. It was nice to talk with her. They got the word a couple of days ago that their posting this June to Singapore might turn into a posting to Tokyo. That's one of the "interesting" things about being in the Navy. You never know where you'll be next until you're there unpacking!

Speaking of military postings, Jeff called yesterday. He's very unhappy that he's being sent to Korea in August for a year. It's an "unaccompanied tour," which means that even if he and Tiffinie got married, she wouldn't be able to come along, unfortunately.

Our big excitement today was that Jack Cook, the RV Steamer, cleaned our carpets again. They are still damp, but they look great. While we were out on the patio with our laptops, the Fedex guy came and delivered our second Strongback chair. Yay! So far, we love them.
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Dancing Day

Wednesdays are our two-dance days--Jerry Story in the afternoon and Joe Saltel in the evening. It's interesting to note that some other couples attend both dances, but not all couples do. Everyone has their own priorities and preferences.

At Jerry's dance, we talked with Jean about going to Quinta Mazatlan on a Saturday morning to tour the park and visit the historic adobe mansion. It's nearby in McAllen and is another World Birding Center site. She also invited us to join the group at her place for a beer tasting and barbecue on the fourteenth. Her son is a very talented master brewer, so we're in for a treat. She brought a couple of bottles of his beer to the New Year's Eve dance/party last year.

Tonight we talked with John and Sandy about possibly going to Don Wes Market next Wednesday and stopping at Victoria Palms to buy tickets to the Bernie and Red show on February 4. Sounds like fun.

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Another Low Key Day

This morning the sun was shining, and the levee was dry, so we walked along the Mission Main Canal. We get to enjoy some lovely scenery, and the round trip is just about thirty minutes, which fits into our schedule well. However, we often see Border Patrol agents at work, which doesn't fit with the calm, peaceful image of the canal.

With nothing special on our schedule, we spent some time looking over options for our new trailer. We sent an inquiry to New Horizons CEO, Phil Brokenicky. He and his wife Karen are on their way south, driving their 2012 show model Majestic to the big RV show in Tampa. 

We ran into Gary and Judy while we were out walking this afternoon, and they invited us back to their rig to get some more questions answered. They are a treasure trove of information and tips about the design and buying process. We're really lucky to have them in the park.
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Federal Holiday

Today is a federal holiday. The only real impact that has on us is that the post office isn't open, so we couldn't stop by and try to motivate them to find our missing mail.

It was cool this morning, but pleasant and sunny for our walk. We were soon carrying our jackets. This afternoon we went to our first square dance of 2012 at Tropical Valley Acres. Darryl's voice was a bit weak, since he was recuperating from some throat problems over the holidays, but his calling was as good as usual. We had seven squares, well more than the last couple of weeks, and we saw lots of old friends who have just recently arrived in the Valley.
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2012 Begins Quietly

Today was rainy, windy, and overcast, so we walked on the treadmills this morning. By afternoon it was calmer and the temperature was up to near 70, so we decided to walk around the park and check out all the new residents. The park has been filling up fast.

In the 400 circle we were surprised to find a New Horizons Majestic that had just moved in. We stopped and introduced ourselves to the proud owners, Gary and Judy Self. They took delivery of their unit last February (when it was very cold in Junction City!). We were delighted by the chance to tour another Majestic, since we always learn so much. Gary and Judy have tile flooring throughout the living area, and it looks really attractive with their rustic cherry interior. We are thinking that we might prefer the tile to the scraped hickory wood floors that are an option we had been considering.

I noticed that Judy had a toaster oven on the counter, so I talked with her about the convection oven. She says that it works well for many things, but not cornbread or biscuits, since it takes too long to preheat. She would get a propane oven instead of the dishwasher next time. That's exactly what I've been thinking myself, so I'm leaning towards getting a propane oven.

Ken decided to take on a project today. We had the personal tables on the Stressless chairs installed on the outsides--mine on the left and his on the right, thinking this would keep them more out of the way. However, Ken has found having the table on the right is not so convenient for mousing and that the weight of the laptop towards the end of the table tends to cause it to droop down.

We were told when we purchased the chairs that the personal tables could be installed on either the right or the left. However, we couldn't seem to figure out how to get Ken's on the other side. A search of the Internet finally led to a YouTube video showing how to do it. We have a special tool to use to adjust the chairs. It turns out that some of the screws are pretty much hidden. Success!

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