Ready to Move

Tomorrow is another moving day, our last for the next four months. We're headed to Bentsen Palm Village site #608 for December through March. Today we packed up the lawn chairs and drained the tanks.

We also flushed our water heater for the first time. We used our new water heater flushing tool to stir up the sediment on the bottom of the tank so it could be flushed away. Now that messy job is done for six months.

It was a great day today for walking and soaking in the hot tub and reading by the pool.

Today is Julie's birthday. We gave her an Amazon gift card which she promptly used to buy an Ultimate Sandbag Training Core Package Pink!

Guess she really wants to get ripped for her birthday!
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Heat to A/C in Five Hours

When we woke up this morning, we turned on the electric fireplace to take the chill off. In the afternoon we found ourselves turning on the air conditioning. We're glad for the sunshine.

We're trying to figure out what to give the kids for Christmas. It's especially hard to do when the kids are all far away.

This evening we watched a recording of the ordination and installation of Fr. Joe Strickland as the fourth bishop of the diocese of Tyler. Carol was in the diocesan choir, but we weren't really able to figure out if she was in any of the choir shots.

Ken has been playing with (oops, working with) his new Asus tablet. He has a keyboard/dock/extra battery. When the tablet is in the dock, it looks like a netbook.
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Fashion Statement

I've been wearing my Tevas, with socks, today, including to the square dance tonight. Actually, it's not to make a fashion statement: it's to protect my injured toe. The toe seems to be getting better, but I want to avoid putting pressure on it until it's completely okay.

We danced to Joe Saltel this evening. We saw some folks we hadn't seen yet, including Dick and Karleen, whose site at Bentsen Palm Village we inherited when they moved to Retama.

Ken's new Asus tablet arrived today. He had to plug it in to charge for eight hours before he could start playing with it. That took a lot of patience. Now he has the keyboard/dock plugged in for its eight-hour charge.

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Ladder

We had more chores to do today. We found out last week that the park has a large stepladder that anyone can use. That's exactly what we needed to reach the area above our main awning where we had noticed some scratches inflicted by passing trees (well, actually, we were passing, not the trees). We have a stepladder, but it's only six feet tall, which is nowhere near enough to reach almost to our over twelve foot roof. So today we took advantage of the pleasant weather to Gel Gloss those pesky scratches. They're still there, but much less visible.

Our other major job was dealing with our dirty patio mat. Black flaky charred bits of sugar cane leaves had floated down from a nearby cane field and landed on the mat. Then it rained, so the ash was wet black smudges on the green mat. When we took the mat up yesterday, we found of course that the bottom was also muddy in patches. We folded the mat over and hung it on our bikes (on the bike rack) to dry.

Today we took it down, intending to somehow hose the mess off of it. We weren't looking forward to that process, because we figured that it would be impossible to keep a wet mat from picking up more crud from the driveway. So first we tried sweeping it off. That helped some. Then we thought of putting it up on the picnic table, piece at a time, so we could spray the spots with Simple Green and wipe it down. That worked really well. When we were done we folded it up and put it away, having no desire to repeat that process.

Our reward after all this work was a shower and a long soak in the hot tub.

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Missing Mom

Today would have been my mother's 86th birthday. She was 80 when she passed away, and of course I still miss her, especially on her birthday and at the holidays.

We danced this afternoon at Darryl's. We've joined his fan club, because you get a discount on dance admission, so now we have "Darryl's Drifters" tags on our badges. We had five squares dancing.

Today was Cyber Monday. I hadn't actually planned to buy anything, but then Amazon offered thousands of Kindle books at steep discounts, and I did find a few to add to our virtual library. Running through the list of books, I was amazed at the number of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" titles there are! Somebody found a gold mine there.

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Sunny Sunday

The sun came out today, and it got warm enough that we headed over to the hot tub for a dip this afternoon and spent some time reading by the pool. We had company today--several people were curious about our new Majestic, so we had an informal open house to show it off. The TV lift is always a big hit.

Today is Ed and Julie's twelfth anniversary. It brings back memories of a very happy celebration. How their family has grown over the past twelve years!

We watched a NOVA program about Hurricane Sandy tonight. The images and stories were awe inspiring. Both the power of nature and the fragility of human lives in the face of such an unbelievable storm are conveyed by the photos and video.

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Another Rainy Day

Well, actually it didn't rain much today, but it was overcast, gray, windy, and chilly. We didn't do much except listen to some of our favorite Saturday radio programs. Ken watched the Michigan-Ohio State game. Did I mention that he watched "unhappily"? The stadium was filled with red, and Michigan just couldn't keep up in the second half.

I talked with Ed. He's been having some allergic reactions, but he thinks he knows the causes, and they're foods he's eaten for years, so that's puzzling. Julie is in Florida for her cousin's memorial service, so Ed has the kids for the weekend.
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Rain!

We had plans to get some cleaning done on the outside of the fifth wheel today, but Mother Nature intervened. I guess that some cleaning might result from all the rain that's been pelting us.

Tonight we watched the 1964 movie My Fair Lady on TMC. It's been one of our favorites, but I haven't seen it in years. I'm reminded of the Nacogdoches High School production of the play many years ago. Chris played the part of Eliza's father.
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Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we went to Hardy and Judy's place along with several other friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with our "Winter Texan Family." We had turkey and all the trimmings you might expect, plus eggplant marinara. Turns out that's one of Hardy's favorite dishes, so Jan made it for him.

Bob and Pat, Hardy and Judy, Lee at front table

C.E. and Joanie, Jan and Steve

After dinner some of us walked over to Jan and Steve's to check out progress on their Texas room remodeling that Steve and C.E. have been working on. Where there was once a closet, there will soon be a mini-kitchen. Some of the wall tiles are up, including some decorative Talavera tiles from Don Wes Flea Market or from Mexico.

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Tropic Star

Tonight we went to Joe Saltel's C-1 dance at Tropic Star. We saw more old friends, including Roy and Phyllis and Joe's wife, Chris. The dance was lots of fun--as Joe's dances always are. He challenged the floor with having some dancers do phantom O circulates while others were doing phantom butterfly circulates. These are hard to see, and especially hard since they ended in blocks, another difficult concept. We'll have to work on them more next week!

After the dance we went to the nearby HEB to pick up some things for tomorrow's dinner. Unfortunately, hordes of other shoppers had the same idea. The shelves were bare of traditional Thanksgiving ingredients--like green beans for the green bean casserole. No fresh ones, and only whole frozen ones could be found. Next year maybe we'll remember to shop earlier!

This morning Ken called Cathy to wish her a happy 16th birthday. It was 7:30 a.m. on the west coast, and she was in the car with her best friend on the way to Disneyland for the day--of course. She loves Disney.
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Pharr South

This afternoon we went to Pharr South to dance to Randy Dougherty. Pharr is one of the string of cities that form the "Rio Grande Valley" area where Winter Texans flock to get away from the cold winter weather further north.

After the dance, Ken wanted to spend more time at Best Buy checking out tablets. He dropped me off at the Pharr City Library to have fun meanwhile. I talked with the people at the desk and found that anyone can get a library card with a driver's license and some recent mail sent to the address on the license. Several of the local cities have reciprocal agreements, so a card obtained at Pharr can also be used in Mission and McAllen and several other libraries. However, McAllen is the only one that circulates eBooks, and for that you must have an actual McAllen library card. So our next step is a visit to the McAllen library.

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Back to Dancing

This afternoon we danced at TVA to Darryl Lipscomb for the first time this season. We were happy to see many dancing friends we haven't seen since we left the RGV last spring. We had fun dancing as well as hugging and chatting with friends.

Judy brought our share of the sweet potatoes they stopped on the way down and bought in bulk. They look beautiful--just the size I like.

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Sunday Breakfast Gang

We went to Mi Challitis Restaurant on Bryan Rd. this morning to meet our friends for breakfast, a long-standing tradition. We were very glad to see Hardy and Judy and Steve and Jan and Bob and Pat and Jean and George. The restaurant is a bit longer trip than Angel's was, but we were very happy with the food and the service--and the great company.

After breakfast we went out in the parking lot with Pottingers and Spauldings and talked trucks. First we showed off our truck and especially its newly cut down bed. Then we went over to admire Spauldings new Sierra.

Spauldings' shiny new truck!

Tonight we listened to the Holidays and Happenings channel on DirecTV for a while. They're playing Christmas music now, mainly tunes from the 40s and 50s. After dinner we watched the first part of the new Ken Burns documentary on the Dust Bowl. It is hard to imagine the scale of the calamity, with children dying of dust pneumonia and farmers giving up in despair and committing suicide.

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Laundry Day

You can probably tell from the title of this post that nothing very exciting happened today. It was mostly overcast again. We did our laundry at the clubhouse, where several women were decorating for Thanksgiving. Wow, it sure seems like Thanksgiving has rushed upon us unawares this year. We've been so focused on making it to the Valley that we haven't given much thought to what comes next.

I looked at the Rio Grande Valley Square Dancing website today. Looks like we'll be getting back into the swing of dancing, starting Monday afternoon with Darryl Lipscomb.

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Regroup

Today we slept in and had a generally quiet day. It's been overcast and a bit chilly all day--definitely not the weather we were hoping for. Lots of our neighbors have commented on our new,larger, fancier rig. Maybe we'll have an open house--but we'll certainly wait until the weather improves.

On thing that hasn't improved is the sand burrs. We started picking them up at Lake Corpus Christi. I hate the darn things, and there doesn't seem to be any good way to avoid them.

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We've Arrived!

Today we left Lake Corpus Christi State Park and headed out on the final leg of our journey to the Rio Grande Valley. We drove through Alice and Falfurrias, seeing more and more flat land covered with scrub. We saw the sign put up by McAllen welcoming Winter Texans home.

We got everything set up and then looked around and congratulated ourselves on having made it back to the Valley one more time. We went for a walk around the park and stopped to hug and chat with friends who made it here before us.

After dinner we went to the opening performance in the McAllen Community Concert series for 2012-2013. We met Hardy and Judy outside the doors to get the tickets. It was wonderful to see our smiling friends waiting for us and welcoming us home for the winter.

The group that performed was called “425,” but they’re in the process of changing their name to Voice Play, which is more memorable and much easier to look up on Google. The six members of the group each provide something special for the mix, including what they call “vocal percussion.” That means that instead of large, heavy, expensive drum sets, they have Layne, who provides much of the percussion sound effects.

In addition to some impressive vocal effects, they draw the audience in with humor. Everyone seemed to enjoy the performance. They got a standing ovation.

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On to Lake Corpus Christi

We started the day with a walk in a Texas state park, McKinney Falls State Park, and we ended our day with a walk in another state park, Lake Corpus Christi State Park.

We've been here once before, on our first trip to the Rio Grande Valley in 2008, but that was in our 32' Excel. We were glad to find that there are several full hookup sites that we can still fit in with reasonable ease, even with our 38' Majestic. We're in site #41. We've seen several deer as well as birds and squirrels

Today is our friend Hardy's birthday and my cousin Beth's birthday. Enjoy!

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Austin Again

We were pretty satisfied with ourselves last night when we chose a place to park along a far curb, behind another fifth wheel that had arrived before us. Unfortunately it was the noisiest spot in a long while. First we heard very loud rock music, and then we began to notice large trucks whizzing past, sounding like jets trying to take off. We were apparently parked right next to a regular route for large, loud trucks. Despite the noise, we both got a pretty good night’s sleep.

This morning I called Loretta again to check on Teresa’s status and to make plans to get together this afternoon--if all worked out. Later I saw that I had missed a call from her and listened to a voicemail: Teresa was being checked out at the hospital.

We set up camp in site #29 at McKinney Falls State Park. It's a semicircular pull-through with a good view of the southern sky. It took a bit of maneuvering to position the rig, and we were concerned that we might not be able to get it level, but everything worked out fine.

When I called Loretta, she said that Teresa had been sent home from the hospital. We agreed that I would drive over so Loretta could stay close at hand in case she was needed to do Grandma duty.

When I arrived at Teresa's, Loretta and little Joe came out to greet me. Isaac, his younger brother, was napping, but I got to meet him later. It was nice to see Teresa, who is of course extremely pregnant.

Loretta and I went to the Barton Creek Greenbelt to walk. It's a nice peaceful trail--except for the bicyclists who come zooming past, often with little warning. We had an enjoyable conversation. I'd like to do this more often, which might be easier to plan if Loretta and John decide to relocate to Austin after John retires next summer.

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Bleeding Brakes

We left RV Parks R Us in Tyler again this morning and drove to Pro One Automotive in Whitehouse. We had high hopes that when we left, they would have discovered the source of our brake problems with the trailer and fixed it. Mike and Dave and their crew certainly worked hard and got complete information from Tucon technical support on how to test the system.

After extensive testing, they decided to bleed the brakes again. They started by bleeding the hydraulic reservoir and then bled all the lines twice thoroughly. The theory is that the two passenger side rear wheels have been the ones carrying the load because the other lines have had air in them. We are hoping that this analysis is correct and that the problem is finally solved. We took a test drive of a 22 mile loop, applying the brakes frequently along the way.

When we pulled back into Pro One, all the brakes were hot, including the truck brakes. The trailer brakes were uniformly hot on all the wheels, which indicates that for right now, there's no problem. Only time will tell if the fix is permanent.

It was late in the day when we left Pro One and headed toward Austin. We're spending the night tonight in a Walmart parking lot in Palestine, TX. Unfortunately it seems that there is a very loud club across the street, with pounding rock music. We're hoping that things will quiet down at some point.
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Rainy Sunday

We woke up this morning to rain, and it continued pretty much all day. Sometimes it was drizzle, and sometimes it was heavier showers, but we didn't see any of the possible thunderstorms. Our morning walk found us wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas.

Tomorrow we'll be getting up early and going back to Whitehouse, hoping for a quick resolution to our brake problems.
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Skyfall

Carol and I went garage saling again this morning. There were lots of sales, and we had fun. We found some good things and saw some interesting items for sale, including a couple of old CRT computer terminals. People have strange ideas about what will sell sometimes.

Afterward, Carol went to choir practice for the installation of the new bishop. Ken came over, and we went for a walk before lunch. Then Carol and Ken and I went to see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. Daniel Craig plays Bond, and in some ways the movie revolves around his relationship with M (Judi Dench). This Bond specializes in "resurrections" rather than the suave "shaken not stirred" image of Sean Connery's Bond. SPOILER ALERT! Although I love Judi Dench, I found her death at the end of the movie surprisingly unmoving. The movie overall was spectacular and had some genius moments. It was entertaining.

After dinner we watched "Doc Martin," a BBC comedy/drama. It was very British in its humor.

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On to Whitehouse--and Back Again

We got up early again this morning to finish getting ready for our move to Whitehouse.(Hey, we're retired, and 5:30 a.m. is the middle of the night for us!)When we hitched the Majestic up to the newly modified truck, we were very glad to see a nice wide clearance between the bottom of the fifth wheel overhang to the truck bed rails. Instead of 4 1/2" at most, we now have 8". It will be wonderful not to have to worry about hitting the trailer with the truck (or vice versa) whenever we pull across uneven ground.

When we left our of our site at RV Parks R Us, we said goodbye to the manager couple and headed first to Mallory Propane. Both of our 40 lb. tanks needed to be filled. The folks at Mallory were very friendly and helpful. They lifted the tanks down to fill them and then lifted them back onto the trailer.

They asked where we were going, and we said we were heading south for the winter, but first had an appointment at Pro One Automotive in Whitehouse. Two of the guys immediately said some very positive things about Pro One. Everyone we talked with has had a really good opinion of the business, which makes us feel confident that we're putting our trailer in good hands.

The trip to Whitehouse wasn't too long--it's less than 10 miles south of the Tyler loop. When we arrived, two guys immediately came out to guide us into a spot in the driveway between their two buildings. We filled out some paperwork and talked with David, one of the co-owners, about our brake problems. He asked if we had a manual for our DirectLink brake controller. We carry that in the truck, so we were able to give it to him quickly.

He went inside, and we waited. They obviously had lots of business, with several vehicles being worked on. We waited quite a long time, wondering if anything was actually going to happen with our problem. Then David came out to talk with us. He had been reading the manual and talking with Alan at Tucon. He presented a plan of action involving some extensive tests that Alan had suggested. We felt immediately that he seemed to know what he was doing. Although he did warn us that it might be a week or more, we're confident that they will get to the bottom of our problems and actually get a repair that deals with the cause and not just the symptoms.

David suggested that we might be more comfortable back in Tyler for the weekend. We're scheduled to return Monday morning. Meanwhile we're back at RV Parks R Us for another three nights. Good thing we paid for a month!

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Wow! We Have a New Truck Bed

Today was the big day. We got up early and drove our bob tailed truck to Mount Pleasant to have the modified bed installed.  We arrived at Morris Metal Works at 8:30. Bob. Was ready for us. He drove the truck to their other location to get the work done. Meanwhile we settled in for a wait.

We went for our morning walk and then returned to read and work on our computers. Ken spent his time mainly in researching tablet computers. His Acer died a week after the one year warranty expired, and it would cost so much to have it repaired that it makes more sense to replace it.

At noon we ate lunch and then waited some more. Finally at 3:00 p.m. Ken said, "It's here." We went out to see the results of two and a half weeks' worth of work. It was beautiful! We were delighted with the very professional results. Bob and his crew had been able to retain our tonneau cover and rear camera. Everything looked great.

Bob and Matt standing by their handiwork.

The truck bed is now about 5 inches lower than it was, just as we had hoped. We headed back to Tyler to get ready for our move tomorrow.

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Another Day of Waiting

We had another day to wait for our modified truck bed to be completed. Fortunately, we heard tonight that we can have it installed tomorrow. That means getting up very early and driving to Mount Pleasant.

Meanwhile, we spent most of the day at Dick and Carol's, visiting and doing laundry. Carol had a DVD of An Unfinished Life. We really like Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez turned in a good performance too, as did the bear (listed in the credits). We enjoyed the movie, even though it was a bit predictable.

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Election 2012

WooHoo! Obama reelected! Elizabeth Warren elected in Massachusetts, reclaiming the senate seat vacated at Ted Kennedy's death.

We sent our absentee ballots in a couple of weeks ago. We've complained in the past about the Texas requirement that we mail in a request each election for absentee ballots. In California we were used to being able to sign up one time for absentee voting and just get our ballots in the mail automatically. I don't think I'll complain again about that inconvenience after hearing stories of people standing in line for five hours or more waiting to vote, or of people voting in the dark in some areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.

We're very glad that the presidential election has been called tonight and is not going to drag out in recounts and the courts. We still await the final vote count and concession speeches.

We biked over to the airport again this morning. While we were there we watched this American Eagle flight take off.

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Robby Comes to Visit

We started the morning with a nice bike ride. The weather was perfect; the sky was blue. We rode to the Wood-Verner Cemetery again and continued out FM 724 for a way, until we found ourselves at a high vantage point near the Children's Village. Not wanting to ride back up the steep downhill ahead, we turned around and headed home.

Robert and Debbie and Robby came out this evening to see our new home. Robby was especially fascinated with all the remote controls. He got a chance to turn the fireplace on and off, raise the TV lift, turn on the MaxxAir fan in the living room, and lower the power shade. He also pressed the button to bring the galley slide in and back out again. I think he was quite impressed.

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Fun With Friends--and Kids

On our morning bike ride we decided to explore some of the area to the west. We rode through a neighborhood that was mainly mobile homes, but each in its own large lot. One place had three flags flying in front, including the Confederate flag. We've seen one or two others in this area. The memory of the Civil War and pride in the Confederacy are still alive here, as in much of the south.

We went over to Carol and Dick's house for dinner. Debbie and Robert and the kids arrived at the same time we did, and the peaceful house was suddenly bustling with activity. Robby and Sam are especially high energy. Carol set up the tent and tunnel she found at a garage sale yesterday, and the two boys proceeded to figure out ways to play with it.

We played several rounds of Boggle. Debbie and Carol played with a handicap--they were dealing with Sam and Robby during the game. Robby actually played with us for a while. He found several three letter words, but he's just beginning to understand that the letters must be adjacent.

Debbie and I had a chance to talk--mainly about the kids. Of course, they absorb most of her time and energy. It's a good thing that young people have kids. I don't know if I'd have the energy to keep up with them.

Carol and Dick and Ken and I watched the final episode of Call the Midwife. It was touching and had some happy endings, despite Jenny's not getting together with Jimmy, the young man who loves her so passionately. We're looking forward to the follow-up special on December 30.

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Garage Sales

This morning Carol was up at 3:45 a.m. I slept until my alarm went off at 6:20 a.m. It was nice to find coffee ready. After breakfast we started out. Carol had identified several sales for us to go to. Carol has perfected the art of garage saling. She plans a route and sticks to sales starting the day she goes.

We each enjoyed the hunt and found some good things. I got a brand new small George Foreman grill for $5--what a deal! She picked up a really nice indoor play tent and tunnel for Sam and Robbie to play in. We both found some smaller items too. Plus we enjoyed the sights, like this flaming red tree in front of one of the houses having a sale. The photo doesn't really do it justice.

Carol went to choir practice for the installation of Tyler's newly announced bishop, Fr. Joe Strickland. He was at Sacred Heart in Nacogdoches many years ago, so I got to know him. Carol says everyone in Tyler likes him a lot. Dick went to visit an elderly gentleman he's been visiting for maybe five years now. The man has some disabilities, and Dick offers friendship and some assistance.

Ken came over just in time for us to go for a walk before lunch. He didn't eat much, because he hasn't been feeling well. We went to Hastings to rent a copy of Bernie, a movie based on real events about a murder in a small East Texas town. It's billed as a dark comedy and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey, along with an assortment of actual Carthage residents. This is the kind of story that proves the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. It was funny and thought provoking and bizarre and sad.

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Argo

We started the day with a quick bike ride. Then we fixed some crock pot veggie chili to take over to Dick and Carol's for dinner, along with the fixings for cornbread, salad, and pumpkin flax muffins. We left the chili cooking while Carol, Ken, and I went to see Argo.

The film is based on the true story of the secret rescue of six American diplomatic personnel who escaped when the American embassy in Tehran was stormed in 1979. The six were sheltered by the Canadians. Of course the movie takes liberties with the truth for dramatic effect, but the truth itself must have been quite dramatic. All of us enjoyed the film.

When we got ready to put the salad together for dinner, Ken discovered that instead of the nicely cut up salad veggies, I had brought a container of cooked oatmeal. So we cut up some more veggies and all was well.

After we watched the PBS Newshour, Ken went home. I stayed over so that I could go garage saling with Carol in the morning. That's our tradition, but last Saturday it was cold and rainy, not the kind of weather that invites people to hold garage sales or us to go to them!

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Tyler State Park

This morning we biked over to the airport to explore. We've biked along the perimeter, but we haven't actually been in the airport before. First we biked in to the passenger terminal, part of the 2002 expansion of the airport.

It was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies, but definitely fall. There is even a bit of fall color in the trees.

We also biked in to the general aviation area, where the Historic Aviation Memorial Museum has taken over the old airline terminal building. Behind the terminal is a collection of historical military aircraft.

We crossed Highway 64 to Spring Creek RV Park, where we have stayed before, to see what condition it was in and whether it looked like a good place for our new much larger fifth wheel.

Bob Morris called and talked with Ken. It seems likely that we will be able to have the truck bed reinstalled next Tuesday, which will allow us to take the trailer the next day to have the brakes repaired. We're hoping there won't be any more delays, but we are reminding ourselves that we are retired and that we can be flexible (like we have a choice!).

After lunch we drove out to Tyler State Park, where we had originally planned to stay. We've stayed at the state park before, but it was in our 32' Excel, which was not only shorter, but not as tall and not as close to the ground as our Majestic. We did find some sites where we could fit, but not many. Unfortunately Texas state parks do not allow reservations for specific sites, so it would be really chancy for us to try to stay here.

While we were at the park, we took a short hike along the lake. It's a beautiful place, and we love the peaceful atmosphere. We watched ducks running along the water as they tried to get airborne. We listened to the birds singing in the trees. We smelled the pine forest and the campfires.

Afterward we went to Dick and Carol's to visit for a bit and to make plans. Of course we had some of the pumpkin pear bread while we talked, along with some fresh pineapple. We decided to go to see Argo with Carol tomorrow afternoon. Dick doesn't care to go to movies unless there is closed captioning.
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We watched the Mark Twain Prize ceremony celebrating Ellen DeGeneres. I was struck by the accolades to her compassion and kindness and by the many mentions of the personal impacts of her social advocacy. Read more!