I left home Friday morning and drove to Texarkana for a weekend with my Mom. Non eventful drive up and got there without any phone calls from Mom or Michael. Mom always calls while I am on the road wanting to know when I will be there and Michaels, well he just calls several times a day. I walk in and Mom said she had tried to call me. I told her the phone had not rang and reached for the phone to check the call log, and ... it was not there. I had put it on charge Thursday night and left it lying on the dresser on charge. I felt lost the rest of the weekend without it.
My sister invited us out for dinner Friday night. We went and caught up with with was going on and had a good meal. I always love going out to their farm as it was my Grandparents home place when I was a kid. Lots of great memories out there.
Saturday my other sister came for lunch as well as the sister and her family we had had dinner with the night before. More great sharing and catching up on things. Mom and I had some great time before and after lunch. Just alone time, which was good.
Got up Sunday and had breakfast and put together a shoe rack for Mom. Bonnie and Jess were ready to head home and ran out to the truck and loaded up. We got home around 3:30 PM. It was a great weekend.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday
Ellen's brother and his wife (Gray & Cindy) have been at Galveston Island State Park all week on vacation. Ellen and I went down to visit. We got there around lunch time and cooked hamburgers on the grill, but ate inside due to the heat. It had been a while since we had been together, so we had a lot of catching up to do.
We drove down the seawall to the ferry landing and parked. We walked on and rode over and back on the ferry. The dolphins were very active and it was fun watching them play. There was quite a bit of ship traffic in the channel and a number at anchor.
We drove around town and checked out a lot of the carvings that they made from the live oak tree stumps. They were interesting and very detailed. Broadway sure looks different without the large over hanging live oak trees.
We went back to the park. We went to the beach and walked for a while. The beach is sure wide now. The campground used to have 150 RV sites and 3 bathhouses. There were day use areas and showers that are now gone. The park is now 36 RV campsites (only the campsites on the back row farest from the beach still exist) and 2 bathhouses. Where you could used to go around the circle so you could just back into a site, now you have back all the way down the street to your site as the circle is no more. They have put in all new electrical and water lines, which is good.
We drove down the seawall to the ferry landing and parked. We walked on and rode over and back on the ferry. The dolphins were very active and it was fun watching them play. There was quite a bit of ship traffic in the channel and a number at anchor.
We drove around town and checked out a lot of the carvings that they made from the live oak tree stumps. They were interesting and very detailed. Broadway sure looks different without the large over hanging live oak trees.
We went back to the park. We went to the beach and walked for a while. The beach is sure wide now. The campground used to have 150 RV sites and 3 bathhouses. There were day use areas and showers that are now gone. The park is now 36 RV campsites (only the campsites on the back row farest from the beach still exist) and 2 bathhouses. Where you could used to go around the circle so you could just back into a site, now you have back all the way down the street to your site as the circle is no more. They have put in all new electrical and water lines, which is good.
Tuesday
We had talked about getting a scooter to take with us when camping. We used to ride a lot and thought we would enjoy playing around on a scooter when out away from our high traffic area. Carrying one was the problem. Saw a MotoTote carrier for a 2" receiver on CraigsList and the idea hit me. If I put a front hitch on the Excursion, I could carry it on front. Called the ad and made a deal for the carrier.
After looking at several scooters, Ellen told me she liked the looks of a motorcycle better. I to like the look of a motorcycle better, so we changed gears. Went to Honday and checked out a Rebel 250. Did not sit good and handlebars hit my knees when turning. Went to Yamaha and checked out a V Star 250. Felt good and Ellen could sit on it and put both feet on the ground when stopped.
Kept watching CraigsList. Checked out a Suzuki SM 650, nice but 50 pounds heavier than a 250 and it was a single cylinder engine. Found a 2005 Suzuki GS 250 with 79 miles on it. Bad battery, had to jump start and it was powder blue metalic. Rode great and would be a good choice, but I thought too much money. Test rode a 2005 Yamaha Virago 250 (same as V Star, they just changed the name) with 2000 miles on it, but a little high for a 2005.
Finally I called on V Star 250 that was on CraigsList that I had not considered because I thought it was too high. Talked to the owner and was told it was a 2009 with 1415 miles. They needed money and offered to sell now at about 1/2 the cost of a new one. I hooked up my trailer, got cash from the bank and off I went. Bike is brand new, purchased in Oct. last year. Took it for a test ride and just like new. Exchanged paperwork and money. I loaded up and brought it home.
After looking at several scooters, Ellen told me she liked the looks of a motorcycle better. I to like the look of a motorcycle better, so we changed gears. Went to Honday and checked out a Rebel 250. Did not sit good and handlebars hit my knees when turning. Went to Yamaha and checked out a V Star 250. Felt good and Ellen could sit on it and put both feet on the ground when stopped.
Kept watching CraigsList. Checked out a Suzuki SM 650, nice but 50 pounds heavier than a 250 and it was a single cylinder engine. Found a 2005 Suzuki GS 250 with 79 miles on it. Bad battery, had to jump start and it was powder blue metalic. Rode great and would be a good choice, but I thought too much money. Test rode a 2005 Yamaha Virago 250 (same as V Star, they just changed the name) with 2000 miles on it, but a little high for a 2005.
Finally I called on V Star 250 that was on CraigsList that I had not considered because I thought it was too high. Talked to the owner and was told it was a 2009 with 1415 miles. They needed money and offered to sell now at about 1/2 the cost of a new one. I hooked up my trailer, got cash from the bank and off I went. Bike is brand new, purchased in Oct. last year. Took it for a test ride and just like new. Exchanged paperwork and money. I loaded up and brought it home.
Now I need to buy and install the front hitch. Then Ellen and I can relive our dating days when we played on a Yamaha 180 that I had then. We are both going to go to Basic Motorcycle training school and get our TX motorcycle driver license. Dummy me had one for years and gave it up because I was tired of paying for it at each renewal, thinking we most likely would never have a bike again. Of well, I can use the refresher.
Monday - Day 17 Vacation
Thankfully, an uneventful day. Left Abilene and caught Hwy 36 toward home. Needed a pit stop, so we stopped in Comanche for fuel and restrooms. Seems like once you get this close to home, all you want to do is make good time on the road and get home. By around 2, we were hungry, so when we got to Brenham, we stopped at Whataburger and got burgers, restroom stop and loaded back up and hit the road. We ate on the road headed for home.
Got home and unloaded most of the stuff that had to come off the trailer. Then the rain hit heavy. Of well, will finish Tuesday morning before taking trailer back to shop.
Got home and unloaded most of the stuff that had to come off the trailer. Then the rain hit heavy. Of well, will finish Tuesday morning before taking trailer back to shop.
Sunday - Day 16 Vacation
Not much to do to get ready to travel this day. We got hooked up and headed out. Made the long pull on the east side of Albuquerque with no problem. Ran in a light rain for a while. When we turned of I-40 south on Hwy 84, we made a pit stop. As it was raining, I had the headlights on. I noticed as I walked back out to the rig that the lights on the trailer were not on even though the truck lights were. Checked plug - OK. I checked brake/turn signal lights and they worked as did my brakes. I checked fuses and found all OK. We hit the road and were glad to run out of the rains soon after.
We stopped for fuel in Lubbock and got back on the road. We made it as far as Abilene where we stayed at the KOA. Most expensive night of the whole trip. They closed the office, pool, playground, everything at 8PM sharp. Overall a nice place, but over priced and sure would have liked a swim.
We stopped for fuel in Lubbock and got back on the road. We made it as far as Abilene where we stayed at the KOA. Most expensive night of the whole trip. They closed the office, pool, playground, everything at 8PM sharp. Overall a nice place, but over priced and sure would have liked a swim.
Saturday - Day 15 Vacation
Well, today is the day. Not quite ready for it to come to an end, but somewhat ready to be home too. Normal things to do to get ready to pull out. Dump tanks, raise jacks, unhook TV cable, water & electric. Put up chairs.
After our trip yesterday, I needed fuel. Went into town to a place Pat had told me had fuel at a lower price. It was $3.59 out on the interstate. The sign said $3.11, same as station across street. I pulled in and discovered the pumps were so old they did not have CC readers. I was having second thoughts, but Pat had recommended this station, so I took my card inside and went back out to fill up. When finished, I went back inside and the attendant handed me a form on a clip board to sign. He tells me that the stations is participating in a fuel tax program that AZ has for diesel vehicles. Net affect, they rebate $0.08/gallon tax, so I ended up paying only $3.03/gallon. Neat deal. Only station we encountered that gave us the discount.
Pulled out and headed to Albuquerque. Ran into an extremely heavy rain storm in Gallup, NM. Raining so hard that even some 18 wheelers were pulling to the side and parking. We made it back into Albuquerque and stopped again at American RV Park where we had stayed on our way out. Set up the trailer, snacked, and went down to Flying J and filled up with fuel. We then went to Walmart and picked up milk and a few other things, then back to the park. We suited up and went to the hot tub for a while.
Afterwards, I showered and crashed for the evening.
After our trip yesterday, I needed fuel. Went into town to a place Pat had told me had fuel at a lower price. It was $3.59 out on the interstate. The sign said $3.11, same as station across street. I pulled in and discovered the pumps were so old they did not have CC readers. I was having second thoughts, but Pat had recommended this station, so I took my card inside and went back out to fill up. When finished, I went back inside and the attendant handed me a form on a clip board to sign. He tells me that the stations is participating in a fuel tax program that AZ has for diesel vehicles. Net affect, they rebate $0.08/gallon tax, so I ended up paying only $3.03/gallon. Neat deal. Only station we encountered that gave us the discount.
Pulled out and headed to Albuquerque. Ran into an extremely heavy rain storm in Gallup, NM. Raining so hard that even some 18 wheelers were pulling to the side and parking. We made it back into Albuquerque and stopped again at American RV Park where we had stayed on our way out. Set up the trailer, snacked, and went down to Flying J and filled up with fuel. We then went to Walmart and picked up milk and a few other things, then back to the park. We suited up and went to the hot tub for a while.
Afterwards, I showered and crashed for the evening.
Friday - Day 14 Vacation
I had asked Tamara to suggest a day trip for us to take on our final day of the rally which was a free day. We left around 9AM with Joe & Jeannie from VA with us and headed out. We drove to North of Flagstaff to the Sunset Crater Nat'l Park. This is a site of an old volcano. We chose not the hike to the top of this one as it was steep and the sides were covered with lava sand, hard to walk in. We did do the 2 mile hike through & over the lava flows. Really interesting how the lava flowed and set up.
We then traveled on around through the park and entered into Wupatki Indian Ruins Nat'l Park. These 2 parks are adjacent to each other. These are Hopi Indian ruins. I was amazed at the amount of building they had done to build these large communal homes.
We then headed on North to Cameron, AZ. On the way we had to stop at some roadside places the Indians were selling beaded jewerly. We stopped at the Cameron Trading Post. Tamara told us we had to stop here and have lunch. She insisted we order a Navajo taco and told us to split one. Since we were 3, Ellen and Michael ordered one to split and I got a whole one. Mine hung off the sides of the platter it was served on. They are server open. It consists of Navajo fry bread, taco meat, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. On the side is a small cup of "HOT" sauce. A little went a long way and boy was this a great meal. Ellen ate her 1/2 and I ate a little over 1/2 of mine. Michael did not make much of a dent in his. The trading post was on the Little Colorado River, which was dry and was the upper part of the Little Canyon.
We then cut across and back into the Grand Canyon Nat' Park. We stopped and took pictures at various places.
We stopped at a tower on the rim of the canyon built by the Hopi Indians. It now houses a gift shop. You can go up in the tower for great views of the canyon. There is Indian art on the inside walls of the tower.
We drove on throught the park, stopping at several overlooks to look in awe. Once outside the South side of the park, we stopped and went to the National Geographic IMAX theater and watch the movie. You got a flight through the canyon and a river raft trip through. There was also a lot of history of the canyon and it's exploration. Great film.
Closing events for the rally started at 6PM. We managed to make it back to the campground by 6:15. We were all so full from our Navajo tacos, we only sampled the catered dinner. The mayor from the city of Williams came out and thanked us of choosing Willaims for our event. Live band again and they were quite good. Lots of talk about long drives home or where they were going from here. Hard to get ready to leave friends. Already looking forward to next year.
Thursday - Day 13 Vacation
Started the day with a catered breakfast at the campground. Biscuits, gravy, eggs, bacon, cereal, Coffee, juice, etc. The staff at Railside do a great job with meals.
Spent the day around the park today. Walked the dogs, read and watched a movie in trailer. Great day just to rest. At 6 PM, we had our raffel and door prize drawing. We won a MaxAir vent cover in the raffle and a $50 Camping World gift card as a door prize. Everyone left with something and all had a great time.
Then it was on to the main event - a hugh pot luck dinner. Great food - we are an eating group the meet in our RV's. Later we had popcorn around the campfire.
Spent the day around the park today. Walked the dogs, read and watched a movie in trailer. Great day just to rest. At 6 PM, we had our raffel and door prize drawing. We won a MaxAir vent cover in the raffle and a $50 Camping World gift card as a door prize. Everyone left with something and all had a great time.
Then it was on to the main event - a hugh pot luck dinner. Great food - we are an eating group the meet in our RV's. Later we had popcorn around the campfire.
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