Thursday, August 21, 2008
BIRTHDAY, PUPPY, DUMB ASS ATTACKS, NEW CAMPER, VEGGIE BALL, & NEW RESIDENCE
August 21, 2008
Ah, let us begin with the first “dumb ass” attack. That would be my charming husband, Mike. I bet you thought it would be me. Ha, ha,very funny. Anyway, it was soon after the first of the year. Mike had bragged to both his sons over the holiday, that you actually could replace the battery in the Sonicare toothbrush. He stated that one only need to pry it apart, take out the old battery, insert the new one, and close it. In theory, it sounds quite routine. In actuality, not so much.
Mike was sitting at the desk using a flathead screwdriver to pry apart the toothbrush when it slipped out of the groove and the screwdriver stabbed him in the opposite hand. “Not too bright,” you say? You’d be correct. So, off to the emergency room we trekked and got him a tetanus shot and three stitches. As for the toothbrush? Into the trash, and replaced with a new one.
Not long after that “attack,” the dumb ass syndrome once again bit Mike. This time, the sweetheart was helping me cut vegetables for our dinner. He loves gadgets, and suggested he use the mandolin. For those of you not in the know, it is not a musical instrument. It’s a gizmo for slicing and shredding that stands on the counter top and you run the vegetables across a very sharp blade. All was going well until he started to slice a potato. As he was stroking the potato across the blade with potato juice spitting all over the kitchen, when the potato jammed. The potato stopped in its tracks, but Mike’s stroking action continued on with him slicing a tiny piece of his right thumb off. Not so bad we had to go to the ER again, but bad enough that there was blood mixed in with the spitting juice. Did I mention that the mandolin has a very sharp blade? Thought I did. We didn’t go to the ER for fear they would report domestic violence or suicide attempts. Poor guy.
After the dubious start to 2008, things sort of straightened out and went quite smoothly. We continued practicing and playing tennis. Last year, I informed Mike that it was time for him to throw me a birthday party. March 1st, I would turn 60, and I wanted a party. I don’t think that was asking for too much after 40 years of marriage. He acquiesced and said he would.
Well, after that point, he never really said much about the party, so I made arrangements to pick-up Coldstone Creamery Ice Cream Cakes, and invited nearly 80 people to stop by and help celebrate on my birthday on Saturday, March 1st. On the Thursday before, I was returning from tennis practice and came around the corner of our friend’s motor home to join everyone for happy hour. I was blown away! Our wonderful friends, the Carters, the Chambers, the Kelleys, and the Camaishes, along with Mike, had put together a surprise dinner in my honor. It was wonderful. I know Mike could not have done it without their planning and fantastic cooking skills. There were balloons, and flowers and desserts. A truly amazing spread.
The only strange thing about the whole thing, was that everyone and everything was positioned farther back from the road than usual. As I was standing dumbfounded, near the road, everyone motioned for me to come on back to the group and celebrate. Being the goofball that I am, I said, “Why, do you want to spank me?” I then proceeded back to the group while shaking my booty for the anticipated spanking. As I looked around and was laughing, I noticed a guy sitting half hidden in a chair with a canopy. I noticed he had dark hair and thought he must be someone new to the resort. No one in our group has really dark hair anymore, so, I bent down for a closer look and did about a 3-second pause before I yelled, “It’s Kirk!” Our younger son had flown out to surprise me, and surprised I was. I could not think of a better birthday present. I admit though, I was a bit embarrassed to have shaken my booty in front of my son.
A month or so before my birthday, I was busy surfing the net for my birthday present. Since our dog Blizz cuddles only when she wants, and Mike only cuddles when he wants, I decided I needed a puppy. I know, what was I thinking? On the Friday before my birthday, Mike, Kirk, and I went to the Phoenix airport to pick-up our 8-week-old miniature long haired dachshund. She was so cute! She’s a piebald, and has the most amazing colors. She’s white, black, and tan. Her coloring is very much like an Australian Shepard, and she loves to cuddle. We call her a scud missile, because when you open up her kennel to let her out, she comes running like a maniac and dives right into your face. Her name is Pebbles, and she’s a real joy.
I forgot to mention another exciting event. We drove down to my cousin Michael’s place in Tucson and got reacquainted with two cousins that I had not seen in 45 years. What a hoot. It was like we were teenagers all over again. The two sisters had flown in from California. I had reunited with Michael’s sister the year before in Tucson.
We finished up with tennis the end of March, and headed East the first of April. Our initial plan was to drive through Colorado, but weather was iffy, so we decided to go the southern route and stop in Santa Fe for a couple.e of days to see the area, and visit with our daughter-in-law’s mother.
As soon as we left Mesa, we ran into cold and rainy weather. It did not change once we made it to Santa Fe. We hooked up with Kristin the next day. She was a great hostess. She took us to a wonderful area called El Santuario De Chimayo. It’s a small village with a tiny chapel that a local man believed he was directed to build, through a vision, in 1813. He built it over a natural spring that he believed was blessed with the healing powers of the soil. When you enter the chapel, it will most likely be filled with folks deep in prayer. You quietly pass through to a tiny room that is filled with crutches, votives, rosaries and photos of those who have sought the healing power. In the center of the room, you will find a hole in the floor with a small shovel. People come from everywhere to scoop the soil and rub it over their ailing body parts in hopes of benefiting from the healing powers. Some even take a small sample with them. It was like stepping back in time. The quaintness and the solemnity were quite amazing.
The next day, Mike and I did some exploring on our own before hooking up with Kristin again. We thoroughly enjoyed roaming the streets of Santa Fe, and especially the art galleries. We visited what is believed to be the oldest church in the U.S. It is San Miguel Mission, which was built by Tlaxcalan Indians in the 1600’s. Naturally, it has gone through many changes through the centuries. It is not terribly large, but a definite attraction if you are ever there.
Right down the street from the oldest chapel, is the oldest house in the U.S. It was built in 1646 by Europeans, and has survived through many different governments. We actually enjoyed touring the house with various artifacts more than the tour of the chapel. It was well worth the $2 entry fee.
Since Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the U.S., it is teeming with history, and takes a lot more time than we had, to enjoy it all. We did take in the Loretto Chapel. Hands down, our favorite tour. The chapel was completed in 1873. It boasts a beautifully ornate stained glass window above the choir loft, and beautifully simple design at the altar. However, the most spectacular part of this tiny chapel is the beautiful staircase that ascends to the choir loft. It is referred to as the St. Joseph Staircase and has two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20 feet, and has no visible center support. It was constructed within a 6 month period from an extinct wood, and nothing but square pegs. No glue or nails. The only supports are at the base and against the choir loft. All 33 stairs are exactly the same height. I cannot begin to do it justice with my description. Instead, you should either travel to Santa Fe and see it for yourself, or look up its history on the Internet.
I did notice a big modern steel support that had been added to the structure, and queried the guide as to its purpose. He said that it was placed to preserve the staircase against the constant vibrations from traffic. He said that the vibrations had broken a previous support, but that the stairs never suffered any damage. Truly astounding!
Kristin was unable to meet us after all that final evening, so Mike and I just walked around exploring more shops. I did purchase a couple of really nice pieces of pottery. We definitely hope to get back there in the future.
With the weather still pretty chilly and damp, we headed to Amarillo, TX. Since weather reports weren’t great, we decided to stay several days in Amarillo and just rest and do some sightseeing. Upon recommendation, we took the free limo to the Big Texan Steakhouse down the road. It boasts that if you can eat the 72 ounce steak dinner, all the sides, and a drink in less than an hour, it is free. We were not disappointed because there was a gentleman from the Netherlands that was about to take the challenge. It’s not bad enough that you have to gorge yourself, but you have to do it on a raised platform that is lit like a Las Vegas stage. Talk about pressure.
Mike went up to the gentleman and asked him if he thought he could do it. He replied, “No, but I can brag to my friends back home.” Needless to say, he had a big doggie bag to take with him. (BTW - the record is under 9 minutes!) The food wasn’t great, but it certainly was good, and the experience was priceless.
One day, we decided to check-out Palo Duro Canyon State Park which claims to be the second largest canyon in the country after the Grand. Upon entering the park, I got to see my first two Texas Longhorns up close and personal. At first, I walked up to the fence thinking it was a statue. I was looking for a way to get past the fence when one of the two moved. I’m not kidding, those cattle are HUGE!! Pretty cool in my book.
The park turned out to be amazingly beautiful. It does not have the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, but it was just as unexpected to traverse along flat land and suddenly come across a huge hole in the earth. It gave one pause to wonder how the first settlers took it all in. Maybe that’s how Amarillo became a settlement. Rather than turn around and go back, or try and figure out a way to get across, they just said, “The heck with this, I’m not going any further.” At least, that’s what I would have done.
Other than the Palo Duro, the topography of Amarillo is rather bland. It rained the majority of the time we were there. One highlight was the fresh pullet eggs we were given by one of the locals. If the yolk were your favorite part of the egg, you would have loved them. They were small, but the majority of the egg was a rich, orange, tasty yolk. You can’t beat fresh, can you?
We next headed for Northwest Arkansas. We decided we’d go ahead and checkout the area that had been one of our choices for a retirement home before we fell in love with Fairfield Glade, TN. Arkansas is quite lovely, but we did not connect with the area like we had with Tennessee. They are both beautiful areas nonetheless.
Again, the whole time we were in Arkansas, it was chilly and rainy. We only had one day without some amount of rain. Out of boredom, we started looking at new fifth wheels. We checked out a few in the area, and then when we hit the road to head to Iowa, we stopped at a couple more places. It was fun to have something to do in the cold rain. Bad move.
When we arrived in Iowa City to visit with Kirk and his family, we continued to look at fifth wheels. We opted to upgrade for more comfort, larger refrigerator (hooray), and a larger cargo area. At least that’s what we told each other. Anyway, we picked up our new Montana Big Sky on May 1st. Oh boy, what a job to transfer all our belongings from one camper to another, with completely different storage configurations. I had a minor meltdown over the whole experience. I had five young men bringing things from the old camper to the new, and only myself trying to organize. It doesn’t work. We worked our tails off to get it organized enough to move it to the campground. I think a couple of those young men learned some new words from me. Tee hee.
When we left Iowa, we headed backwards to Lincoln, NE to help Mike’s mother with a garage sale. Not one of our favorite activities, but it worked out pretty well, and the weather cooperated. Mike’s sister and her husband had come from Oregon to help. The sale went quite well, and we actually got to squeeze in a much too short visit with our older son, Kevin.
Our next destination was Bloomington, IN to visit my folks. We arrived at the campground in the waning afternoon hours of May 13th. As we entered, we read the signs to figure out which way we were supposed to enter. The signs were a bit ambiguous, and there was no one in the kiosk to give directions, so Mike opted to enter between the two kiosks. BIG MISTAKE. Another dumb ass attack! Neither of us noticed the huge oak beam connecting the two kiosks, and the small rusty sign that read, “Caution. 11’6”. Yep, the camper is over 12’6" high. The camper came to a big noisy halt as the bedroom air conditioner struck the beam. Mike backed up, and got out to assess the damage. I wisely kept my mouth shut as he got back into the truck and pulled around the kiosks.
As soon as Mike parked the camper, he climbed on the roof to see how bad the damage actually was. The air conditioner was ripped from its mounts, and the roof was torn back. To top it off, the clouds were gathering and it was ready to rain again. I took pictures of the inside and the air conditioner cover that lay on the ground while Mike furiously used super roofing tape to seal the roof. It was then time to call the insurance company.
The ceiling in our bedroom was sagging considerably when we got ready for bed. There was no fear of anything falling on us, so we bedded down for the night. At 2:00 a.m., I nudged Mike awake and told him I was getting wet. Yep, the roof was leaking. We hurriedly placed large plastic containers on the bed and set up the sofa bed for the rest of the night. Mike climbed up on the roof and covered the damage the best he could, with a small tarp. There was nothing else we could do until daylight.
The next morning, we dumped over 5 gallons of water out of the containers. Mike climbed back up on the roof and saw where the rainwater had pooled and then leaked into the camper. He went in search of a much bigger tarp to cover it. He got lucky and found bait and boat shop a few miles down the road that carried big tarps. Once again, he climbed onto the roof and covered half the camper with the new tarp.
The camper was 12 days old and badly damaged. Mike went ahead to his yearly hamfest in Dayton Ohio while the dogs and I stayed and visited with my folks. When Mike returned, we stayed another couple of days and got a break in the weather so we could head for the Kentucky/Indiana border where we could get the camper repaired. As it turned out, it was going to take a while to repair, and we needed to be in Georgia by June 2nd for doctor appointments. We left Indiana and headed back to Iowa to mooch off our son and his family for 8 more days.
The camper was not fixed when we headed to Georgia from Iowa. We have wonderful friends in Georgia who opened their home to two pitifully homeless people. We spent two nights at a motel, then dropped the dogs at the kennel before I went for my endoscopy on June 2nd (our 41st anniversary too). After my exam, we headed for Bud & Terri’s home.
Interestingly, my ulcers that were discovered the year before were all healed, but I had a tennis ball size mass of undigested raw vegetables in my stomach. Weird, isn’t it? The prescription to take care of it was to drink two regular Cokes, twice a day, for two weeks. It seemed to do the trick. I have since found out that the condition is common with vegetarians, and for people with connective tissue disease like I have. Since then, I try and watch eating the raw vegetables.
We left Georgia on June 11th after a wonderful stay with our friends. We can’t imagine any 5 star hotel treating you as well as Bud and Terri did. They are such wonderfully generous people, and we’re so glad they are our friends. Our next stop was to pick-up our camper in Indiana and head to Tennessee.
We arrived in Tennessee on June 12th with the idea to stay put for four months. Since the real estate market has been so bad, we decided to look for a bargain home instead of waiting and building on the lot we bought last year. On July 14th, we closed on a new1710 sq. ft. house that had not sold in a year and a half. We were able to purchase it for $35K less than originally listed. We felt we could not build for the price, and the lot comes close to being like the one we bought. On July 16th, the moving van arrived with our things from storage.
We kept the campsite because it was paid through the 12th of August. We worked at the house every day, and slept at the camper every evening. On July 20th, Mike flew to Nebraska to help his mother move from her home to an apartment. I worked steadily while he was gone, and got everything put away, except for the things in Mike’s office. Mike was originally going to stay in Nebraska for two weeks, but was able to get an earlier flight back on the 29th.
We continued to work at the house and stay at the campground when Kirk and his family arrived for a visit on the evening of August 4th. Kirk and Wim stayed at the house while Kate and Atticus stayed at the campground with Mike and me. Atticus only stayed one night, and decided he wanted to stay at the house with his mom and dad. We had a great visit with the four of them, regardless of how hectic things were. We went to a facility that has go-carts, and let Kate and Atticus drive the small ones by themselves. Atticus gave up fairly early, because it scared him and bit. The poor little guy was so disappointed when he said, “I can’t drive.” This is someone who has loved cars since he was old enough to walk. Kate toughed it out and drove all by herself. The look of determination on her face, mixed with a bit of fear was priceless. After that, Poppy and Daddy each took them for a ride in the bigger ones. We think they had a great time.
The day before they left, we rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours and went out on one of the lakes here. We stopped so the kids could try their hand at fishing, but neither seemed to be very interested. Mike was glad he hadn’t gone ahead and purchased some poles so he could, “teach them to fish.” Kirk had a good time landing a baby bass, though. Sadly, they packed up and left on the 8th.
Well, they left on the 8th, and we rented a trailer and left on the 15th and headed to Nebraska again, to pick-up some things that Mike’s mom was giving to us. We drove straight there, spent the next day loading up things from his mom, and things that Kevin had stored for us. That evening, we took Mike’s mom and Kevin out to celebrate each one’s birthday. The next day, we drove to Kirk’s place in Iowa to pick-up Mike’s woodworking equipment that they were storing for us. We spent that evening and one full day at their place. We headed home on the 19th.
Whew! We are now going to stay here until we head back to Mesa in October. I still have a lot of pictures to hang, and a lot of yard work ahead of us, but no big rush. We are not abandoning our fifth wheel. We had started out with our adventure knowing that I wanted a home base. We have met wonderful people, have played some tennis and golf and feel very much at home.
From April – October, our address is: 133 Springdale Drive/Crossville, TN 38558
From mid October – mid April, our address is: 1101 S. Ellsworth Rd. #299/Mesa, AZ 85208
More adventures to come, and hopefully, less traumas and changes. Love to all!
Ah, let us begin with the first “dumb ass” attack. That would be my charming husband, Mike. I bet you thought it would be me. Ha, ha,very funny. Anyway, it was soon after the first of the year. Mike had bragged to both his sons over the holiday, that you actually could replace the battery in the Sonicare toothbrush. He stated that one only need to pry it apart, take out the old battery, insert the new one, and close it. In theory, it sounds quite routine. In actuality, not so much.
Mike was sitting at the desk using a flathead screwdriver to pry apart the toothbrush when it slipped out of the groove and the screwdriver stabbed him in the opposite hand. “Not too bright,” you say? You’d be correct. So, off to the emergency room we trekked and got him a tetanus shot and three stitches. As for the toothbrush? Into the trash, and replaced with a new one.
Not long after that “attack,” the dumb ass syndrome once again bit Mike. This time, the sweetheart was helping me cut vegetables for our dinner. He loves gadgets, and suggested he use the mandolin. For those of you not in the know, it is not a musical instrument. It’s a gizmo for slicing and shredding that stands on the counter top and you run the vegetables across a very sharp blade. All was going well until he started to slice a potato. As he was stroking the potato across the blade with potato juice spitting all over the kitchen, when the potato jammed. The potato stopped in its tracks, but Mike’s stroking action continued on with him slicing a tiny piece of his right thumb off. Not so bad we had to go to the ER again, but bad enough that there was blood mixed in with the spitting juice. Did I mention that the mandolin has a very sharp blade? Thought I did. We didn’t go to the ER for fear they would report domestic violence or suicide attempts. Poor guy.
After the dubious start to 2008, things sort of straightened out and went quite smoothly. We continued practicing and playing tennis. Last year, I informed Mike that it was time for him to throw me a birthday party. March 1st, I would turn 60, and I wanted a party. I don’t think that was asking for too much after 40 years of marriage. He acquiesced and said he would.
Well, after that point, he never really said much about the party, so I made arrangements to pick-up Coldstone Creamery Ice Cream Cakes, and invited nearly 80 people to stop by and help celebrate on my birthday on Saturday, March 1st. On the Thursday before, I was returning from tennis practice and came around the corner of our friend’s motor home to join everyone for happy hour. I was blown away! Our wonderful friends, the Carters, the Chambers, the Kelleys, and the Camaishes, along with Mike, had put together a surprise dinner in my honor. It was wonderful. I know Mike could not have done it without their planning and fantastic cooking skills. There were balloons, and flowers and desserts. A truly amazing spread.
The only strange thing about the whole thing, was that everyone and everything was positioned farther back from the road than usual. As I was standing dumbfounded, near the road, everyone motioned for me to come on back to the group and celebrate. Being the goofball that I am, I said, “Why, do you want to spank me?” I then proceeded back to the group while shaking my booty for the anticipated spanking. As I looked around and was laughing, I noticed a guy sitting half hidden in a chair with a canopy. I noticed he had dark hair and thought he must be someone new to the resort. No one in our group has really dark hair anymore, so, I bent down for a closer look and did about a 3-second pause before I yelled, “It’s Kirk!” Our younger son had flown out to surprise me, and surprised I was. I could not think of a better birthday present. I admit though, I was a bit embarrassed to have shaken my booty in front of my son.
A month or so before my birthday, I was busy surfing the net for my birthday present. Since our dog Blizz cuddles only when she wants, and Mike only cuddles when he wants, I decided I needed a puppy. I know, what was I thinking? On the Friday before my birthday, Mike, Kirk, and I went to the Phoenix airport to pick-up our 8-week-old miniature long haired dachshund. She was so cute! She’s a piebald, and has the most amazing colors. She’s white, black, and tan. Her coloring is very much like an Australian Shepard, and she loves to cuddle. We call her a scud missile, because when you open up her kennel to let her out, she comes running like a maniac and dives right into your face. Her name is Pebbles, and she’s a real joy.
I forgot to mention another exciting event. We drove down to my cousin Michael’s place in Tucson and got reacquainted with two cousins that I had not seen in 45 years. What a hoot. It was like we were teenagers all over again. The two sisters had flown in from California. I had reunited with Michael’s sister the year before in Tucson.
We finished up with tennis the end of March, and headed East the first of April. Our initial plan was to drive through Colorado, but weather was iffy, so we decided to go the southern route and stop in Santa Fe for a couple.e of days to see the area, and visit with our daughter-in-law’s mother.
As soon as we left Mesa, we ran into cold and rainy weather. It did not change once we made it to Santa Fe. We hooked up with Kristin the next day. She was a great hostess. She took us to a wonderful area called El Santuario De Chimayo. It’s a small village with a tiny chapel that a local man believed he was directed to build, through a vision, in 1813. He built it over a natural spring that he believed was blessed with the healing powers of the soil. When you enter the chapel, it will most likely be filled with folks deep in prayer. You quietly pass through to a tiny room that is filled with crutches, votives, rosaries and photos of those who have sought the healing power. In the center of the room, you will find a hole in the floor with a small shovel. People come from everywhere to scoop the soil and rub it over their ailing body parts in hopes of benefiting from the healing powers. Some even take a small sample with them. It was like stepping back in time. The quaintness and the solemnity were quite amazing.
The next day, Mike and I did some exploring on our own before hooking up with Kristin again. We thoroughly enjoyed roaming the streets of Santa Fe, and especially the art galleries. We visited what is believed to be the oldest church in the U.S. It is San Miguel Mission, which was built by Tlaxcalan Indians in the 1600’s. Naturally, it has gone through many changes through the centuries. It is not terribly large, but a definite attraction if you are ever there.
Right down the street from the oldest chapel, is the oldest house in the U.S. It was built in 1646 by Europeans, and has survived through many different governments. We actually enjoyed touring the house with various artifacts more than the tour of the chapel. It was well worth the $2 entry fee.
Since Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the U.S., it is teeming with history, and takes a lot more time than we had, to enjoy it all. We did take in the Loretto Chapel. Hands down, our favorite tour. The chapel was completed in 1873. It boasts a beautifully ornate stained glass window above the choir loft, and beautifully simple design at the altar. However, the most spectacular part of this tiny chapel is the beautiful staircase that ascends to the choir loft. It is referred to as the St. Joseph Staircase and has two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20 feet, and has no visible center support. It was constructed within a 6 month period from an extinct wood, and nothing but square pegs. No glue or nails. The only supports are at the base and against the choir loft. All 33 stairs are exactly the same height. I cannot begin to do it justice with my description. Instead, you should either travel to Santa Fe and see it for yourself, or look up its history on the Internet.
I did notice a big modern steel support that had been added to the structure, and queried the guide as to its purpose. He said that it was placed to preserve the staircase against the constant vibrations from traffic. He said that the vibrations had broken a previous support, but that the stairs never suffered any damage. Truly astounding!
Kristin was unable to meet us after all that final evening, so Mike and I just walked around exploring more shops. I did purchase a couple of really nice pieces of pottery. We definitely hope to get back there in the future.
With the weather still pretty chilly and damp, we headed to Amarillo, TX. Since weather reports weren’t great, we decided to stay several days in Amarillo and just rest and do some sightseeing. Upon recommendation, we took the free limo to the Big Texan Steakhouse down the road. It boasts that if you can eat the 72 ounce steak dinner, all the sides, and a drink in less than an hour, it is free. We were not disappointed because there was a gentleman from the Netherlands that was about to take the challenge. It’s not bad enough that you have to gorge yourself, but you have to do it on a raised platform that is lit like a Las Vegas stage. Talk about pressure.
Mike went up to the gentleman and asked him if he thought he could do it. He replied, “No, but I can brag to my friends back home.” Needless to say, he had a big doggie bag to take with him. (BTW - the record is under 9 minutes!) The food wasn’t great, but it certainly was good, and the experience was priceless.
One day, we decided to check-out Palo Duro Canyon State Park which claims to be the second largest canyon in the country after the Grand. Upon entering the park, I got to see my first two Texas Longhorns up close and personal. At first, I walked up to the fence thinking it was a statue. I was looking for a way to get past the fence when one of the two moved. I’m not kidding, those cattle are HUGE!! Pretty cool in my book.
The park turned out to be amazingly beautiful. It does not have the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, but it was just as unexpected to traverse along flat land and suddenly come across a huge hole in the earth. It gave one pause to wonder how the first settlers took it all in. Maybe that’s how Amarillo became a settlement. Rather than turn around and go back, or try and figure out a way to get across, they just said, “The heck with this, I’m not going any further.” At least, that’s what I would have done.
Other than the Palo Duro, the topography of Amarillo is rather bland. It rained the majority of the time we were there. One highlight was the fresh pullet eggs we were given by one of the locals. If the yolk were your favorite part of the egg, you would have loved them. They were small, but the majority of the egg was a rich, orange, tasty yolk. You can’t beat fresh, can you?
We next headed for Northwest Arkansas. We decided we’d go ahead and checkout the area that had been one of our choices for a retirement home before we fell in love with Fairfield Glade, TN. Arkansas is quite lovely, but we did not connect with the area like we had with Tennessee. They are both beautiful areas nonetheless.
Again, the whole time we were in Arkansas, it was chilly and rainy. We only had one day without some amount of rain. Out of boredom, we started looking at new fifth wheels. We checked out a few in the area, and then when we hit the road to head to Iowa, we stopped at a couple more places. It was fun to have something to do in the cold rain. Bad move.
When we arrived in Iowa City to visit with Kirk and his family, we continued to look at fifth wheels. We opted to upgrade for more comfort, larger refrigerator (hooray), and a larger cargo area. At least that’s what we told each other. Anyway, we picked up our new Montana Big Sky on May 1st. Oh boy, what a job to transfer all our belongings from one camper to another, with completely different storage configurations. I had a minor meltdown over the whole experience. I had five young men bringing things from the old camper to the new, and only myself trying to organize. It doesn’t work. We worked our tails off to get it organized enough to move it to the campground. I think a couple of those young men learned some new words from me. Tee hee.
When we left Iowa, we headed backwards to Lincoln, NE to help Mike’s mother with a garage sale. Not one of our favorite activities, but it worked out pretty well, and the weather cooperated. Mike’s sister and her husband had come from Oregon to help. The sale went quite well, and we actually got to squeeze in a much too short visit with our older son, Kevin.
Our next destination was Bloomington, IN to visit my folks. We arrived at the campground in the waning afternoon hours of May 13th. As we entered, we read the signs to figure out which way we were supposed to enter. The signs were a bit ambiguous, and there was no one in the kiosk to give directions, so Mike opted to enter between the two kiosks. BIG MISTAKE. Another dumb ass attack! Neither of us noticed the huge oak beam connecting the two kiosks, and the small rusty sign that read, “Caution. 11’6”. Yep, the camper is over 12’6" high. The camper came to a big noisy halt as the bedroom air conditioner struck the beam. Mike backed up, and got out to assess the damage. I wisely kept my mouth shut as he got back into the truck and pulled around the kiosks.
As soon as Mike parked the camper, he climbed on the roof to see how bad the damage actually was. The air conditioner was ripped from its mounts, and the roof was torn back. To top it off, the clouds were gathering and it was ready to rain again. I took pictures of the inside and the air conditioner cover that lay on the ground while Mike furiously used super roofing tape to seal the roof. It was then time to call the insurance company.
The ceiling in our bedroom was sagging considerably when we got ready for bed. There was no fear of anything falling on us, so we bedded down for the night. At 2:00 a.m., I nudged Mike awake and told him I was getting wet. Yep, the roof was leaking. We hurriedly placed large plastic containers on the bed and set up the sofa bed for the rest of the night. Mike climbed up on the roof and covered the damage the best he could, with a small tarp. There was nothing else we could do until daylight.
The next morning, we dumped over 5 gallons of water out of the containers. Mike climbed back up on the roof and saw where the rainwater had pooled and then leaked into the camper. He went in search of a much bigger tarp to cover it. He got lucky and found bait and boat shop a few miles down the road that carried big tarps. Once again, he climbed onto the roof and covered half the camper with the new tarp.
The camper was 12 days old and badly damaged. Mike went ahead to his yearly hamfest in Dayton Ohio while the dogs and I stayed and visited with my folks. When Mike returned, we stayed another couple of days and got a break in the weather so we could head for the Kentucky/Indiana border where we could get the camper repaired. As it turned out, it was going to take a while to repair, and we needed to be in Georgia by June 2nd for doctor appointments. We left Indiana and headed back to Iowa to mooch off our son and his family for 8 more days.
The camper was not fixed when we headed to Georgia from Iowa. We have wonderful friends in Georgia who opened their home to two pitifully homeless people. We spent two nights at a motel, then dropped the dogs at the kennel before I went for my endoscopy on June 2nd (our 41st anniversary too). After my exam, we headed for Bud & Terri’s home.
Interestingly, my ulcers that were discovered the year before were all healed, but I had a tennis ball size mass of undigested raw vegetables in my stomach. Weird, isn’t it? The prescription to take care of it was to drink two regular Cokes, twice a day, for two weeks. It seemed to do the trick. I have since found out that the condition is common with vegetarians, and for people with connective tissue disease like I have. Since then, I try and watch eating the raw vegetables.
We left Georgia on June 11th after a wonderful stay with our friends. We can’t imagine any 5 star hotel treating you as well as Bud and Terri did. They are such wonderfully generous people, and we’re so glad they are our friends. Our next stop was to pick-up our camper in Indiana and head to Tennessee.
We arrived in Tennessee on June 12th with the idea to stay put for four months. Since the real estate market has been so bad, we decided to look for a bargain home instead of waiting and building on the lot we bought last year. On July 14th, we closed on a new1710 sq. ft. house that had not sold in a year and a half. We were able to purchase it for $35K less than originally listed. We felt we could not build for the price, and the lot comes close to being like the one we bought. On July 16th, the moving van arrived with our things from storage.
We kept the campsite because it was paid through the 12th of August. We worked at the house every day, and slept at the camper every evening. On July 20th, Mike flew to Nebraska to help his mother move from her home to an apartment. I worked steadily while he was gone, and got everything put away, except for the things in Mike’s office. Mike was originally going to stay in Nebraska for two weeks, but was able to get an earlier flight back on the 29th.
We continued to work at the house and stay at the campground when Kirk and his family arrived for a visit on the evening of August 4th. Kirk and Wim stayed at the house while Kate and Atticus stayed at the campground with Mike and me. Atticus only stayed one night, and decided he wanted to stay at the house with his mom and dad. We had a great visit with the four of them, regardless of how hectic things were. We went to a facility that has go-carts, and let Kate and Atticus drive the small ones by themselves. Atticus gave up fairly early, because it scared him and bit. The poor little guy was so disappointed when he said, “I can’t drive.” This is someone who has loved cars since he was old enough to walk. Kate toughed it out and drove all by herself. The look of determination on her face, mixed with a bit of fear was priceless. After that, Poppy and Daddy each took them for a ride in the bigger ones. We think they had a great time.
The day before they left, we rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours and went out on one of the lakes here. We stopped so the kids could try their hand at fishing, but neither seemed to be very interested. Mike was glad he hadn’t gone ahead and purchased some poles so he could, “teach them to fish.” Kirk had a good time landing a baby bass, though. Sadly, they packed up and left on the 8th.
Well, they left on the 8th, and we rented a trailer and left on the 15th and headed to Nebraska again, to pick-up some things that Mike’s mom was giving to us. We drove straight there, spent the next day loading up things from his mom, and things that Kevin had stored for us. That evening, we took Mike’s mom and Kevin out to celebrate each one’s birthday. The next day, we drove to Kirk’s place in Iowa to pick-up Mike’s woodworking equipment that they were storing for us. We spent that evening and one full day at their place. We headed home on the 19th.
Whew! We are now going to stay here until we head back to Mesa in October. I still have a lot of pictures to hang, and a lot of yard work ahead of us, but no big rush. We are not abandoning our fifth wheel. We had started out with our adventure knowing that I wanted a home base. We have met wonderful people, have played some tennis and golf and feel very much at home.
From April – October, our address is: 133 Springdale Drive/Crossville, TN 38558
From mid October – mid April, our address is: 1101 S. Ellsworth Rd. #299/Mesa, AZ 85208
More adventures to come, and hopefully, less traumas and changes. Love to all!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Where Oh Where Have I Been?!!
January 24, 2008
You’d think I’d learn…the longer I wait to do an update, the harder it is to conjure up memories. Well, no one said I was the brightest bulb in the refrigerator. Anyway, I’ll give it a try. Firstly, I must tell you of another couple that joined us at Zane Grey Campground. That would be Paul and Donna Chambers who have been lifelong friends of the Carters. We met them last year in Mesa, and had arranged to meet up with us.
I left off with the anticipation of Sedona, AZ. Some of you may know the reputation of Sedona. I was expecting to find the, "beautiful and absolutely wonderful Sedona." Personally, I wasn’t that blown away. That’s not to say it wasn’t beautiful, because it was, including a great hike we took while there.
I believe most people love all the shopping that exists in downtown Sedona. I guess I’ve outgrown my shopping days, so it was no big deal. It was fun to check out several different shops, and I did especially like the doggie store. In there, I found some wonderful drops to add to Blizzard’s food to help control her "doggie breath." It actually works. Our friend Jalene bought a cute tee shirt from the same shop stating that she loved dirty dogs. You have to understand that Jalene and Glenn’s dog, Angus, a white Westie, does not stay clean more than 2 days after a bath. Anyway, the shirt was quite appropriate. I found a great sweatshirt, and we liked getting our exercise walking around, but that was about the extent of it.
Personally, Mike and I both enjoyed Jerome, AZ much more.
Jerome is an old copper mining town that had once been the 4th largest city in Arizona back in the 1920’s. Like so many other places during the Depression, Jerome’s peak population of 15,000 began to decline. After the demand for copper diminished after WWII, it continued to decline and had only about 100 people living there who promoted the town as a Historical Ghost Town. Around 1967, it was declared a Nation Historical District, and has thrived as a tourist mecca ever since.
Jerome has done a great job of preserving its original buildings along with its charm. Granted, most buildings house different shops, but we found them more fun and fascinating than Sedona’s. We spent an hour or so walking around and stopping in various shops to check out the local artisan’s creations. We decided to have lunch at this great place. Jerome Palace – Haunted Hamber sits high atop a hill, well actually, everything in Jerome is high atop one steep hill or another. They don’t call it the mile high city for no reason…duh! Anyway, we had a great view, great food and atmosphere, and were well worth the wait to be seated, plus the hike up the steep hill.
After lunch, we checked out the Douglas Memorial Mining Museum, Jerome State Park. Once again, we were pleased with the value of our $6 entry fee. This beautiful mansion sits atop a hill that is situated below the town itself, and provides a great perspective of how the town of Jerome almost teeters on the side of a hill. It becomes quite obvious why so many buildings, including the original jail, slid off their foundations. It also provides a view of some of what remains of the abandoned copper mines, along with a magnificent view of several canyons and mountains.
The mansion itself belonged to the Douglas family who founded and operated the mines. The mansion and its grounds, including a magnificent stone wall, have been restored and preserved by the State Park Service. It is immediately apparent how magnificent and grand the home had once been. A 25-minute film of the history of Jerome proved to be quite entertaining. One of the most fascinating factors, to me, was how wonderful and modern the bathroom had been. I hope to go back to Jerome and try to absorb a bit more of the history and its beauty.
Our next big adventure was taking a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad. We paid the extra for "first class" seats on the vintage train that took us on a four-hour ride through the Verde Canyon. It was a slow 2 hour ride each direction, with us returning to the station right at sunset. UNBELIEVABLE!
Our biggest hope on the train excursion was that we would get to see some interesting wildlife. We were told that the day before (naturally) that a mountain lion was sighted just a few yards from the train. Also, there was reported to be javelinas in the areas along the tracks, and bald eagles. Well, as we all know how my luck runs, we saw no mountain lion, no javelinas, BUT old eagle eyed Mike spotted a bald eagle off in the distance and we did get to witness that magnificent bird in flight. Unfortunately, the pictures that Mike took did not capture the wonder, as it was too far in the distance. Regardless, we all absolutely loved the ride.
Well, I realize this is the Reader’s Digest version, but I’m approaching the end of this update. After the train ride, we all packed up and headed to Mesa, arriving here on October 26th. As anticipated, we immediately got involved in the tennis league again. We’ve had many a gathering with friends, but have not planned any trips as of yet. Mike’s sister and her husbancd will be coming here in March so hopefully we’ll get some fun things squeezed in between the tennis tournaments.
We hope everyone had as wonderful a holiday as we did with our kids and grandkids in Iowa. Only the love for all of them would get us to the bitter cold and snow of Iowa in December. I most likely will not do anymore updates until I have something really interesting to report. Keep the faith, and I’ll be back with more before too long.
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