Home in Burlington

We got back to Burlington on the evening of May 8th. The day before we had an offer on our house which we accepted on the 9th. Thus began several weeks of the real estate rollercoaster ride. We finally sold the house at 621 N 5th and closed on 26 June, two days before Pat's hernia surgery!

August 2012 RV Parks...

1-15 Aug: OAFB Fam Camp, Bellvue NE, 5* - nice spacious sites, quiet, boating and fishing lake, good views, great for walking, dog walking, biking, pools on base as well as shopping at BX and Commissary; great off base shops and restaurants and Omaha area activities. 

15-16 Aug: Tower Campground, SFalls  SD

20-21 Aug:  Westrich RV, Spicer MN

22 Aug: Lazy Acres, Aurora IA

24 Aug: ?

13 - 28 March, Lafayette

Haven't posted for awhile...a little busy and a little lazy! But I think I'm the only one following this anyway!

What a wonderful firsy two weeks here! Started out with flooding in our campground but since about the 15th the weather has been beautiful...warm to hot during the day to very cool/coolish at night (49 to 85) with one day of rain inbetween. No complaints here.

We have has lots of music...from the festivals in Thibodaux and Eunice, to the free concerts in downtown Lafayette (on Friday evenings) at Parc International to a great evening at the Blue Moon Saloon.

We have just returned from a two day trip along the Creole Nature Drive and three great NWR sites with plenty of birding and seeing Southern and SW Louisana in all its glory. The downside however is all the oil refineries and attendant businesses. But in Iowa we have hog confinements and ethenol plants that mar our landscapes, so there is no escaping the mess that industry causes us no matter where we live. On the otherhand the areas we visited seemed clean and well cared for. But there are still hazards from the oil industry.

We topped off our two day trip with a great meal at Shucks! in Abbeville. Never a disaapointment there!

March 13 - Last Half Begins

After leaving Mission we spent a long weekend in Houston with daughter Shanie, along with three days of heavy rains...but we still managed to have a great weekend before moving on to Lafayette.

We spent one afternoon at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo...very interesting, but found out you have to be rich to be a cowboy. For instance, Sue found a woman's western belt for $15K and there were hats for $400 and boots for over a $1500! But we had a good time!

On Monday the sun came out so I spent most of the day washing the Eagle and the truck. They were filthy from all the rain we drove through on Friday.

It was up early on Tuesday and off to Louisana, where the rain we had in Texas decided to stay and dump 15-20 inches of rain in parts of southern LA...inlcuding 16" in Carencro, where our RV park is. That story is for the next post!

A la prochain!

March 9th - Moving Day

Up early and getting prepped to move out soon as we leave Mission, TX and return to Houston for a few days before moving on to our final winter destination: Layfayette.

Ironic moment: it was rainy and cool on the day we arrived and that's exactly what we have today! Blah!

It'll be fun to be with Shanie again! But hard to beleive we're halfway through our time away.

RVing: Bentsen Palms Village RV Park is great. 5 stars all around: site, area, people and staff!

February 29, Mission, TX

Wow, only a week to go and what a great time we've had even if the weather has been a bit wet and sometimes cool. Hard to believe the time has gone by so fast! There has been a real weather change here, spring actually! Maybe! all 80s/hi70s for the next few days...hope it holds as we head to Houston and then on to Louisiana! Our next door neighbors hope we will be back...and that is the plan!

Tonight we went to a lecture given by NY columnist Tom Friedman (a fellow Minnesotan (St Louis Park), married to an Iowan. He likes eating at Perkins, and so do we! Any way, good talk, very though provoking.

Tomorrow its off to South Padre Island with David and Sandra, and little Giz of course,

Feb 23, Mission, TX

An interesting two weeks...

It has been good to be here...warm though a little wet, and good to catch up with Tom and Carol and get to know them better.

We have met some interesting folks, we really like the Canadians, all nice folks. Have gotten to know Ontarioans (?) David and Sandra (via Tom and Carol) really well. David is a retired school counselor and Sandra a nurse. Have had some great conversations over scotch and wine.

We have done a little birding (last Friday morning) in a light rain and drizzle. There is much to learn in this field. Visited Progresso, Tamp., MEX for a little shopping and lunch. Impressed (?) by all the parms, dentists and opticians. All very busy. Sue got a very pretty dress and a couple of small items.

This RV resort is very nice with a well kept dog park...and lots of activities for the old folks. But since we aren't old we don't participate...though we did go to a margarita night, which was OK if you like the idea of a potluck happy hour. Pretty crowded but was good to see how an activity worked.

Mostly we have just relaxed and have gotten a lot of bike riding in!

8 Feb...Port Aransas, TX

It has been awhile since posting, but the Internet was lousy at Marina Bay RV so I just did what I had to and waited until now.

Our time in Houston was great: good times with daughter Shanie and her friends; meeting up with the Singh family, former parishioners and friends from Burlington; friends from our AF days in Texas and meeting their friends; and enjoying the area as much as we could.

The one negative was the Houston traffic in that it never seemed to end. An afternoon at the Houston Holocaust Museum was both informative and disturbing as a reminder of our ability to be extremely cruel to one another. We are still processing the experience. Since then we have watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Judgement at Nuremberg." The larger question is how do we live in such a way that honors our differences and seeks understanding of those differences. Bill Moyers' recent interview with Jonathan Haidt, on Bill Moyers new show, Bill Moyers and Company has helped me understand one way to address this issue.

At any rate, we are now in Port Aransas, TX - on Mustang Island, near Corpus Christi. Very nice, though wish it was sunny and warmer. We are staying at the Pioneer RV Park and find it to be a very friendly place. Lots of snowbirds of course. Ran into a former fellow Minnesotan who was from Danube not many miles west on 212 from where I grew up, in Bird Island. Yesterday I had breakfast with a friend from Burlington...our lockers are near one another at the Y.

We visited the Padre Island National Seashore yesterday and spent some time on or near the beach. Sadly, the beach is littered with trash and visitors are asked to help with its removal. Next time we visit we will take gloves and trash bags and do just that. Most of the litter we were told comes from the Gulf and is deposited on the beach by the tide. Despite the litter we enjoyed seeing many, many species of sea birds/water fowl. We must invest in binoculars.

Tomorrow we head to Mission, TX and will be there through 9 March.

So far we have not taken many pics, but will process the ones we have taken in the next few days.

Kemah, TX...14 Jan

"Up North" cold has hit us, at least at night...but once the sun comes up it warms up quickly.

Spent some good time with Judy on Thursday and Friday, lunches out and great conversations...yesterday Sue and Judy went to Galveston, took Gizzy (who loved the ocean...his first time...and running on the beach, but then who doesn't?)...Shanie and I met them for lunch, then it was back here for a short visit before saying farewell to Judy as she heads west to see Polie (nephew) and family as he and Marissa and little Forrest are expecting a baby soon!

Today we meet up with a friend from our Texas AF days (Laughlin AFB/Del Rio, TX), Charmaine and her husband Bill (Shanie will join us) and then tomorrow we head to San Antonio to catch up with more AF days friends Pat and Judy and former AF NCO Michelle. Then it will back here and hopefully some quiet days!

RVing...thought we had run out of propane (got a little chilly overnight, thankfully we have the electric heater) but for some reason the valve didn't make the switch, will recheck the connections, but will need to get that checked if it happens again.

Kemah, TX 11 Jan...

All is quiet on the Kemah front...great weather (74 today), but cooler tomorrow. But snow, wind and cold forecasted for home!

Tonight at Shanie's. Just got a call from sister-in-law Judy who is staying not far from us! Family and friends all around! Neat!

Kemah...

A couple of days now at the Marina Bay RV Resort. Very nice; quiet here in the 'adult only area.' We can see the bayou from our living room window; unfortunately it through, or rather across a field that could use a little litter policing!

Saturday: explored The Strand in Galveston...very nice, lots of people out enjoying a warm sunny Saturday; watched a Carnival cruise ship get ready to sail; ended the day on the beach front...great to be near the sea (Gulf of Mexico).

Last night and today, rain and thunderstorms! Still in the 70s, but cooler days coming!

Today: exploring the local area between storms!

RVing: stock up on light bulbs for the 12 volt light systems.

Kemah, Texas

Haven't posted anything for three days because the internet in Grapevine, Texas was spotty at best.

We arrived in Grapevine on Wednesday afternoon...it was a great drive as the wind was mostly out of the north (nice to get a bit of a push) or had died down completely. We stayed at the Vineyards Campgrounds...VERY nice and run by the City of Grapevine. We stayed there three years ago when niece Jayne got married and it was nice being back. We really want to return one day and stay a week or so. There's lots to do and see and Vineyards is a great Campground. Sure puts paid to the argument that government can't do things right.

We stayed in the area two days so we could visit with niece Jayne and her husband Sui; our old friend from Burlington, Joye Deardorf; and Chris and Sharon Shea and their beautiful daughters Alex and Megan. Sharon is the daughter of our good friends Richard and LoisAnne (who is now deceased) Snow. The break in travel was good as we got the chance to organize ourselves since we weren't able to before leaving.

The weather has been great...balmy really! I'm sure we will have our challenging weather days, but for now we're enjoying the spring like weather.

Our OKC stay at the Days Inn was inertesting and we'll tell you about it one day! Oh, the characters we run into are just a hoot!

The drive today was uneventful, though had to deal with wind again...but we are now at Marina Bay RV Resort, very nice...our neighbors are from Toronto...hope they don't mind our French-i-ness!

Tomorrow: time with Shanie and friends and a visit to Galveston!

OK City is OK...

Overnight in Oklahoma City...at the Days Inn, clean, but well worn! Management is very accommodating, especially since we have an RV. Dinner at Denny's and we were entertained by some group in one of the dining areas with karaoke, not bad singing, but was funny hearing it in a place like Denny's. Imagine, karaoke at Perkins or Cracker Barrel!

The wind wasn't as bad as it was yesterday, but in whatever direction we went in, it seemed as if we were bucking it all the way and as if it was blowing 15 miles an hour or more! Really killed our mileage!

RVing Notes: Neglected one of my own cardinal rules of RVing, plan ahead for gas stops. I didn't do it this morning and we had to back track a few miles and then the truck stop was not all the easy in, easy out. Use the technology and the maps I paid good money for!

On Our Way

After a very cold and windy start we finally got on the road. Was about 22 F in Burlington with snow flurries as we pulled out of town. Other than the wind (which killed our mileage) the rest of the day was sunny and cold. Overnight in Olathe, Kansas and then up and off to Oklahoma City tomorrow.

RV Notes: The bypass around Fort Madison, Iowa was really nice. State Hwy 36 across Missouri is great; good gas stop in Macon at a 24 hour card only station,on north side of the hwy. All roads were very smooth, so all in all a good drive.

Departure Delayed...

Bonne Année !

The last few days have been a little hectic as we set up Wanblee (the Lakota name for our Jayco "Eagle") and got the house ready for closing up for the winter. Nothing any part-time RVer doesn't have to go through, except this is the first time for us to prepare for an extended trip. Thankfully we have a great gal who will water the plants and keep an eye on things and a friend who is a realtor/property manager who can step in if there is an emergency.

Our plan was to leave this morning (1 Jan 2012) to start the New Year on the road, but high winds 25-35 mph, with 50 mph gusts meant we had to postpone leaving...so tomorrow morning we'll be off. Even though we were, as Sue said, all psyched up to leave this morning, bucking high winds and being knocked around by the gusts isn't a whole lot of fun, is tiring and could be dangerous. So, it will be a relaxing day at home since we did just about everything to get ready.

We will take a few last minute items out to Wanblee and perhaps do a little organizing. We got a little power pack that allows us to run the slides out so we can get to storage areas, etc.

Our first leg will take us as far as Olathe, Kansas!

Please note taht if you want to check past posts the archived list is on the right side!

Tomorrow: Departure!