Tuesday - December 14 - Getting Ready for Christmas

We went to Rayford Crossing in Spring last weekend for the Christmas Rally with the Texas Boomers.  There was a great turn out.  I think we ended up with 34 rigs there.  We had a spagetti supper Friday, pot luck breakfast Saturday and pot luck Christmas dinner Saturday night.  As usual, lots of great food.  No way you can go away hungry.  We had lots of fun at the gift exchange Saturday night.  Weather was lousy all weekend, but never got in the way of the fun.

We had people in and out of the Avion all day Saturday.  Saturday night, at one time we had 11 or 12 people in the Avion.  The last ones left after midnight. 

Michael rushed home after work Saturday and cleaned up and drove up and joined us for dinner and spent his first night in the Avion with us.  He ate breakfast Sunday and left for home so he could get his laundry done.  He was almost finished by the time we got back.

Looking forward to the New Year's party at Rayford's again this year.  And then, we have the January 2010 kickoff rally in Riesel and the the February Sweetheard Rally in Bellville.  2010 looks to be a fun year.  Really looking forward to the National Rally at the Grand Canyon in Williams, AZ.

Thursday - Nov. 26 - Happy Thanksgiving to All!

What a great day we have been given!  The Lord provides for us so well, we are truely blessed.  Hope each and everyone feels as blessed as we do.  Ellen, Michael and I spent the day together.  We had a great meal and watched a movie.

Yesterday, Ellen and I went to Lake Somerville and pulled our Catalina 22 out and put it on the trailer.  We pressure washed the bottom to get rid of the growth that had accumulated the last 20 months.  Not as bad as expected.  We got home after dark, so we parked in the driveway.  We took it out to the shop today where I will sand and recoat the bottom with anti-foul paint.  When done we are planning on putting it in Lake Conroe for a while. 

We also measured all the windows in the Avion for cellular shades.  Got to get rid of those drapes.  Need to sit here for a while and place my order online.  I have been looking online for some Christmas gifts, also. 

Monday - Nov. 23 - Home from my Mom's

Ellen and I drove up to my Mom's on Saturday and came home today.  Great to see Mom and my 2 sisters and their families.  The kids are all growing up so fast.  Michael did not get to go with us as he had to work Saturday and be at school this morning and work this afternoon.  Seems like yesterday they were all riding big wheels around the driveway. 

Fast approaching one of the greatest times of the year.  Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Our country has made this season soo commerical that it hurts.  Stores cannot even wait until after Thanksgiving anymore to put out Christmas things for sale.  Let's all remember that this time of year is so much more than presents.  Remember the real reason for Christmas Day!!! 

Pray for our soldiers as they are in harm's way.  And, pray for our country.

Saturday Nov. 14 spent with Ellen

Saturday was a great day.  Ellen and I spent the day together running errands and then went up to Lake Conroe. 

We visited Conroe Yacht Club and were made to feel very welcome.  We were shown all the facilities and docks.  They explained the pros and cons of docking our boat there.  There is a Sea Scout crew docked there, which could be neat to be around.  Docks are old, folks are great.  Club house, shaded lawn and boat work area are all pluses. 

We then went to Walden Marina and looked around.  Very up to date docks and lots of boats.  Boat owners did not seem very friendly.  Much higher rental cost, but very nice facility.  Great place to keep a boat, but does not seem to have the social part of sailing the Yacht Club has.

We have plans to visit Seven Coves Marina soon.  Most of the members of Lake Conroe Sailing Association dock there, I am told.  Slip rent is comparable to Yacht Club.  We will have to check out the facility and the LCSA activities.

After looking around Lake Conroe, we will surely be moving our boat from Lake Somerville.  The marina there is falling apart.  Poor floatation under docks will not support the weight of people walking them in some places and in others, not even just the dock.  No electric on the dock all summer.  Seems like owners have no interest in investing any money in repairs.  We sure got no discount for not having electricity this summer. 

Hate to move off from the Brazos Sailing Club, but Lake Conroe is a larger lake and the facilities are much better.

Friday Nov. 13 Avion Repair

Well yesterday, I spent the day working on the Avion.  On our last trip to Bellville, I noticed that gray water was leaking our from under the rear.  The tanks on the Avion are totally enclosed.  Floor above and 3/4 plywood and aluminum skin below.  The grey water tank is forward over the rear axle.  Through a small access hole under the street side bed, you could see where the drain pipe that comes from the tank to the drain valve had cracked.  I hired a young Mexican kid that works part time for a friend and we tackled the job of removing the aluminum skin and dropping the plywood to get to it from the bottom, no way from top.  This kid is great at disassembling and reassemble as long as you are there to plan actual repair.  We got the job done and tested, no more leak.

I had hired him for all day, so I put him on the roof and he scraped all the tar off the roof seams.  It was old and peeling, so it was easy.  We cleaned the seams with thinner and then covered the seams with 6" ethernabond tape aluminum tape.  The Avion shows no signs of any past leaks, but now we are sure of no future leaks.  Glad that job is done.  I guess the next bid job will be to pack all the wheel bearings.  With 6 wheels, not a quick job. 

On another note, I have been following Jessica Watson attempt to sail around the world.  Brave young girl.  I pray God keeps her safe.  You can follow her trip here - http://www.youngestround.blogspot.com/

Ellen and I are going to spend a great day together.  Don't know yet what we will do, but together we will have fun.  Michael works all day today at Champion Ford.  We are getting a taste of the empty nest.

Nov. 6-8 Texas Boomers weekend

First, Let's all remember the Fort Hood murders.  Pray we find a way for all to live in peace!

Great weekend in Bellville with friends.  As usual, we had lots of great food and good times around the campfires.  Was fun to catch up with what was going on with everyone.  Jim & Judy are getting married and Roxie has accepted Judy into the family.

Ken and I ducked out of the castle tour and went to the lake and sailed for a couple of hours.  Winds were light, but we moved the whole time.  Looking forward to having Ken sail some more with me.

Monday Nov. 2

Great day again.  Love this weather.  Got a reasonable quote today for new blinds for the Avion.  Ready for the campout this weekend.

Sunday Nov. 1 was a great day!

We got and went to church yesterday, heard the Lord's word and visited with friends.  After church, Ellen went to her quilting bee.  They meet 1st Sunday each month.  I started the NASCAR race, but with the new rule changes, it was boring.  I drove up to Lake Somerville and bent on the light air 150% sail and used the motor to get away from the slip.  Clear of the marina, I shut down the motor and became one with nature.  There is something about the wind, water and the way the boat moves.  Wind was light and progress was slow, but, I was moving and I was there.  Made it about 1/2 way across the lake and the wind died.  Lake went mirror slick.  I sat there for a while enjoying the peace with a bottle of green tea.  All too soon it was time to think of heading home.  I lowered the sail, started that dang motor and went back in.  Put the boat to bed and headed home much more relaxed and feeling free.

Our first trip in the Avion went great. Found a few minor things that need tending to, but what do you expect with a 27 year old trailer. Trailer tows great and we get a lot better fuel mileage pulling the Avion than the MS. The MS is gone, sold, money in the bank. We are back to being a one trailer family.

We spent last weekend at the Lake Texoma Thousand Trails preserve. This is our second stay at a TT and we have enjoyed both a great deal. We would really like to have a membership, but are not willing to pay what they want for one. We will be looking at buying an existing membership. We have time to be selective. We think it will be great to be members once we start full-timing.

Looking forward to the next trip in the Avion.

Avion Update

Clean up and refurbish is going well. I have restained most of the woodwork, sanded and painted the rear bumper and trailer tounge, and installed our Hensley hitch. New tires and wheels are on and I took it for a test pull out to Sealy and back. Tows great. Picture was taken while I had it out. We are going on our maiden trip in it next weekend.

Labor Day Weekend

Miss camping this weekend with our friends, but we sure are enjoying some down time. We have not had any time to just do nothing since before vacation. Sitting here tonight watching the NASCAR Atlanta race. We had about 20 minutes worth of rain, nice, but need more. Still have lots we want to do to the Avion, but it will take time and money. Looking forward to our first trip in it. Guess it will be to Lake Texoma to take the tour (sales pitch) at the Thousand Trails campground up there. It will be great to be back up in that part of the state. We used to enjoy taking our sailboat up there and spending the weekend sailing. More next time.

Update

Well, we have been busy since last post. Cleaned up the Mobile Scout and took it to PPL. Been working on cleaning up the Avion 34V. Hard to believe how much nicotine I have cleaned off of everything inside the trailer. They sure did a good job of masking the smoking odor both times when we looked at the trailer. We are looking forward to putting the Avion to good use. New tires on the way, then we can try her out. We have lots of updates planned, just need Mobile Scout to sell so we have the money!

2 Trailer Family

Well, another day getting the Mobile Scout ready for sale. I have an appointment at PPL on Monday. We will see what they say.

Started the cleaning of the Avion. Looking for tires. Choices and no answers. Radial or Bias? Lots of plus's for Bias; but limited choices.

More work tomorrow on both.

UTI today

Michael and I went to UTI to finish some paperwork and for orientation. They went over what is expected, grading, etc. He has to go back tomorrow to complete registration and visit each of his classes and teachers. He is going to sign up for a part-time job. 18 straight months of school and he will be finished, on my money.

Our new to us trailer is home!

We left the morning and drove up to Longview. The couple we are buying from had emptyed the Avion and washed it for us. It looks good. We checked it over again and I got lessons on a few things, we hooked up and headed for home. Tires are 9 years old and have lots of cracking in the side walls. We took it slow coming home and made it with no problems. The trailer pulls great. Lots less air drag than the Mobile Scout.

Going to do a detail cleaning on it before moving in. First I have to get the MS cleaned up and ready to show. 2 trailers, so much to do.

Katy, TX

Sitting here in the house, feet propped drinking a Dr. Pepper. Long day driving, but once you get on the road and home is within reach, it is hard to stop. We had a great trip and are waiting for the time we can take longer trips with no deadline to get home. But, school and work call and its back to the grind starting Monday. And mounds of clothes to wash.

Trailer is unloaded, but dirty. Lot of cleaning needed. Will work on that the next few days. Next trip, Pecan Park near San Marcos Labor Day weekend. Hope there is some water in the river.

Mobile, AL

We left Daytona Beach this morning just heading toward home. No plans other than stop when tired or when we saw something we wanted to do. Made great time until rain around Tallahassee. Hard blinding rain. Rained all the way passed Pensacola. I did not want to stop and set up in the rain, so we continued on to Mobile. We are at the same park we stopped at on the way east.

Clean park, gravel sites, but really nice people. $20/night and to check in all you do is sign your name on the tablet. They ask no other info. Ellen cooked a new chicken & rice recipe, and it is good. She has lemon squares in the over now. On the road again tomorrow.

Daytona 500 Experience

Entrance to exhibits.

First thing we did was take the tram to tour the track. It stopped for us to take pictures between turns 3 & 4. Lake Lloyd in the distance in the infield.

The shot below is taken from the tram on the move. The tram only stopped twice for us to take pictures, the rest we had to take on the move. We are on the lane below the yellow line, the only flat part of the track. This again is in between turns 3 & 4. From yellow line to the white line, the track is 30' wide. From the yellow line to the top of the wall is a rise of 44'. You have to drive at least 90 mph to stay on the track on the banking.

Caution light in turn 4 below.

Front straight looking toward turn 4.

Below is the 2009 Daytona 500 winning car. When you win the race, you loose your car until the next year. Note the bugs all over the front of the car. It is brought from the track to the exhibit as is after the race.

Just an exhibit inside with actual cars and trucks.

Saw a great 3D IMAX movie about NASCAR racing. Also so a movie about Richard Petty's 200 win. Michael and I raced 10 laps in the simulators against 5 other drivers and the rest of the cars driven by the computer. I finished 5th and Michael finished 12th. I was 1st of the simulator cars and Michael was 4th.

Ellen stayed at the trailer with the dogs. She wanted some down time and is not into NASCAR anyway. Went out for pizza after we got back and then to the pool.

Orlando to Daytona Beach

Before leaving Orlando this AM, Michael went down to the lake and took a few photos.

Below are pictures from the Encore Sunshine Park at Daytona Beach. Nice place, grass sites, full hook up. Great facilities.

After we got into the pool and cooled off for a while, we drove over to the Beach. We had asked at the office for directions to a beach that allowed dogs. It was a little farther from the campground, but not bad. Jess does not like the waves rolling in or getting wet. We walked the beach for a while and came back to the park.

Atlantic Ocean is clear and blue. Michael wants to move down here. Off to the Daytona Speedway tomorrow.

Orlando - Day 6

Well not pictures today. We have walked so much since we have been here that my knees are giving me problems. I elected not to go back and to rest my knees. Ellen and Michael went and spent the afternoon. Before they left, I cooked hamburgers out on the grill. Ellen fixed some Ranch Beans and we enjoyed a great lunch together. They talked about having a good time. I stayed with the dogs and saved the $20 kennel fee. They were much happier here than they would have been in the kennel. I visited with campers, talked with my Mom by phone, watched an old movie and messed around.

Tomorrow we move to Daytona Beach. Around a 100 mile drive, so it will not take long. Looking forward to the speedway.

Orlando - Day 5

Our site from the rec hall.

Camp ground to the north of rec hall.

Catus by rec hall.

Another shot of catus.

Pool area.

Adult pool with workout room behind.

Another day of just relaxing. Swam for a while and talked with members at the pool. Stayed at pool until Ellen said she was hungry. We went back to the trailer and I grilled some steaks and Ellen added some baked potatoes that she had cooked in the crockpot. We made a run to WalMart to pick up some things we were low on. Came back and another one of the black clouds blew in and lower the temp. No rain, so Ellen and I took Bonnie and Jess for a long walk around the park. We found the lake we had been told about. I wished that I had the camera with me, maybe I'll go back tomorrow and get a few pics. I guess we will head back to Universal tomorrow and do a few of the wet rides we didn't get on yesterday. We will wear our swim suits.

Orlando - Day 4

Images from Universal Studio.

These are the aliens working the consol in the Men in Black training center. Fun ride shooting aliens.

We went to the Fear Factor live show. They had 10 visitors to the park that wanted to be on Fear Factor. They put them through stunts just like on the show. One girl had her head put into a box and the dumped scorpions on her head. She sat there through it all. They had 2 of come up and the mixed fish heads, guts, soured lumpy milk, worms, and other stuff in blender and poured a glass for each. The girl got all of her's down before the guy. She won a plastic Fear Factor cup. Crazy.

We went to the animal show. Trained dogs, birds and a pig did different things just like they would in a movie. They demostrated how the film some of the scenes with the use of a blue screen. We avoid the wet rides today. Going to take Saturday off and just laze around.

Orlando - Day 3

Bonnie and Jess are enjoying their down time.

Ellen and Michael just inside the entrance to Universal Adventure Island.

Michael still lost.

Michael and I after the Popeye River Raft ride.

Ellen and Michael after the Popeye River Raft ride. None of us had a dry thread on us. Sure felt good as hot as it was.

Michael at entrance to Jurassic Park. Still wet.

This is the end to the Jurassic River Boat ride. You get wet on this one, but not like the Popeye ride.

Had a great time at the park today. Food is costly, but the drinks are expensive. Rained while we in the Sinbad show. Hot and steamy afterwards. Walked around some more and the big coaster was not running, we guessed due to the thunder and lighting. We left and went back to trailer and took naps and watched movies during the rain. We will get up tomorrow and hit the Universal Movie theme park.

Orlando - Day 2

This is the Rec. Hall here at Thousand Trails, Orlando. Really nice building with pool table, dining hall and ball room. Rec. Host is here also.
There is another smaller building in back with workout room and pinball room. Also back there is a large adult only swimming pool, family swimming pool and 15 person hot tub. Behind that are the horseshoe pits, shuffleboard and minature golf course.

These 3 shots are of our campsite. We have lots of room and a good view. Next camper over is at least 35'.

Michael liked the big cranes that are around here. Our neighbor said they hang around wanting to be fed. He told if you do, you will not get rid of them and they will get unhappy and peck you.

Today was a down day. Never got into the truck. Ellen made strawberry muffins this morning. They were great with my coffee. She put on a roast with potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker. Really made the trailer smell homey. We put on our swim suits and went to the pool and swam and laid around. Sat in the hot tub for a while and then back to the pool. Talked to lots of nice folks. We came back over to the trailer and ate that pot roast. Enough left for another meal. Took it easy in the cool and watched a movie.

We then went back over and checked out clubs and golf balls and play a round of minature golf. Michael can drive the ball, but not put a bit. Ellen did good, but I was low score. We had a great time. We went into rec hall to play some pool, but the table was in use, so we elected to wait until another time. Ellen and I took the dogs on a long walk around the park and talked with more people.

We have showered and cleaned up and sitting here watching "America's Got Talent". Off to Universal tomorrow.