November 11, 2018

So, it has been a while since my last post.  A long while.  So much has happened this summer and fall.  Here is some of it.  The construction or destruction of the house is still ongoing.  But, the end is in sight.  I had to rent a u-haul storage container to store the furniture from the living room and den.  Every room in the house is packed with stuff from the kitchen and breakfast room.  I was sitting outside with Max and one of the workers came up to me and said, "they are destroying your house", so I go in to see ceiling beams, floor joists, and wall studs.  Almost 3/4 of the downstairs was demolished.  The old dining room is gone along with the bay window that was there.  Sections of some walls were removed.  Plumbers had to move existing plumbing so the wall could be opened up.  Electrician had to come and rewire everything.  We had to use the kitchen in the camper for all our meals, which worked our pretty good.  It was like we were camping at our own house.  Max had to be on a leash most of the time going to and from the camper.  He really wanted to help the workers, but mainly just sat and watched.  At one point I thought it would never get done.  But, looking at the finished product it was well worth it.  We now have a great looking kitchen/breakfast room/living room area.  Here are a few pictures.

These are now.

July 26, 2018

     I just realized that my last post was from San Antonio, TX, and we are here again.  This time we came out for Maddox's birthday, but we did not bring Max.  This has been an expensive trip.  On the way I realized that I had left my laptop and my ipad.  So I was depending on my phone for my electronic connections.  Lessons learned:  1)  You cannot go swimming with your phone in the pocket of your bathing suit.  2)  Make sure your contacts are backed up somewhere.  3)  Make sure you know the passwords to log back in to your apps.  4)   Once everything is lost it is gone until you get it all back in.  5)  It is an easy way to clear out your address book, but not recommended.  The only good thing is that I got a new phone which was really needed.  On my ruined phone I could only keep 2 or three pictures, so this one has 10 times the storage so I should be able to take all kinds of pictures now.  I also decided to buy a chromebook which is a lot cheaper than a laptop.  Since I mostly use chrome anyway it was a logical choice.  I plan to use it in the camper whenever we go again.  While I was here I got the message that the camper was finally fixed and ready to be picked up.  So we will get it when we get home.  That means that we have owned it for one year and for 6 months it has been at Camping World being fixed.  I guess that had it not been under warranty maybe it would have been fixed faster, but not sure about that.  Camping World in Oxford does not have a good rating, and if I am asked I will not rate them very high either.  We can't wait to use it again.  We have several places we want to go. 
    The construction on the new kitchen should start next week.  I was able to do some of the demolition but only one room.  The condition of my shoulders just would not let me do the work needed to tear out the walls and ceiling.  It looks so easy on HGTV.   I will have to let the contractor do it.  I built the house, forty years ago, so I wanted to have a part in taking it apart, but I am no longer able to do it.  One day of work and 3 days to recover from it, so it is not worth it to me.  That is all for now, I'll post again when I get home,

May 6, 2018

     Time passes so fast.  I am posting this from San Antonio, Texas.  Visiting my grand kids out here.  Kale is 5 and his baby brother Maddox will be 1 in July.  We came out to babysit while Emily and Craig went out on the town.  They stayed in a fancy hotel and went to a play.  I think we had the most fun though.  We will head home in a couple of days.  We may try to see some of my cousins in Conroe, Texas on the way home.  It is a slight detour but means we can go back on I-20 instead of I-10.  According to google maps this route is only a slight bit further and only 30 minutes longer.  There was so much road construction that I-20 may be the best route anyway.  

     Update on our camper.  So we bought the trailer in August and have used it several times (see prior posts), but decided to have a couple of minor things fixed that would be covered under warranty.  That was the end of February.  March and April are gone and camper is not ready yet.  Maybe when we get home it will be ready.  The last time I spoke to someone in the service department they could not give an estimated time it would be ready.  In fact the person I spoke to said over the phone that she did not know how they would fix the problem.  I knew that the service department had very bad reviews, but the sales department was rated very high.  Maybe I should have purchased elsewhere.  I'll know next time.   I thought I was dealing with a service manager, but maybe not.  Next week I will find out who his boss is, and complain.  I will also complain to the manufacturer, since they could have built a new trailer in the 2 months that it is waiting to be fixed.   I might add that the minor problems did not render the trailer unusable, so I could be using it if it is only waiting for some part to come from China???  I had three issues that needed to be addressed.  1) I had a fuse to blow in my truck that handled the running lights.  I needed them to check for a short in that system.  They did not find a problem, but it didn't matter because I traded trucks.  I just wanted it checked out before turning on the running lights in the new truck.  2)  There was a leaky valve in the gray water tank that would not close all the way.  Not really a major problem since it only drained from the kitchen sink, just soapy water.  I had already bypassed that by adding an external valve on the end of the drain pipes.  They said they could not find that problem.  3)  The trailer has a black water flush system, but when connected no water would flow into the black water tank.  My guess was that there may have been a back-flow valve that could have been installed backwards.  They did say that they found a leak, but did not say where it was.  I assume that this is the thing that they did not know how to fix, but who knows.  I might add that messages left for the service department are not returned.  I feel I have been extremely patient so far, but my patience is running out.  

     We plan to visit my son and his wife on Friday.  (Bogart, GA)  We will take Max on this trip.  He is being boarded at the vet this week.  We pick him up on Wednesday.  Max being a yorkie, thinks he is a big dog, so he will get along fine with Jason's 2 labs.   We are looking forward to that trip.

     One final note.  I am getting ready to hike the Pinhoti Trail.  Plans are to start on the 14th, at the southern terminus, Flag Mountain in Weogufka,  and hike for 5 or 6 days, hopefully ending at Porter's Gap.  My plan is to hike the whole trail this summer, but do it in sections.  We will see how it goes.  Hoping for good weather.  

March 7, 2017

     It has been a while since my last post, and I have no excuses.  I am still doing some trail maintenance on the Pinhoti Trail, but the weather has not cooperated.  Too much rain, snow, and now back to cold temperatures have slowed the maintenance to a stand still.  There are plans to open a new section of the trail with work crews going out this coming week.  I hope to work one or two days with them. 
     January and February came and went so fast that I think we just missed skipped them this year.  Amy flew to San Antonio for a week visiting Emily, Craig, Kale, and Maddox. (also Major and Radley).  I stayed home with Max.  Now she is headed to Virginia for a week to see Katy and her crew.  I'll be here with Max.
     Two weeks ago we went back to DeSota State Park for a couple of days.  Weather was perfect.  That is our favorite place to go.  Pull through campsites with water, electricity, sewer, and cable TV.  Easy to hook up and hiking trails right there make for a fun adventure time.  There were very few campers there this time of year.  We go during the week and usually come home on Saturday.   I am sure there are more there on the weekend.  On the way home I made the decision to trade my new
 F-150 truck.  I just did not feel safe pulling my camper with that truck.

     The travel trailer is 33 feet long and catches a lot of air moving down the highway.  Even though I was within safe limits for towing, I was at near maximum load for the truck.  I could feel a lot of sway with the trailer and sometimes felt like the trailer was controlling the truck.  The truck had a lot of features that I liked, but could live without.  I took the truck to the dealership to have a fuse issue checked out and came home with a new truck.  

     This one is an F-250 and is a diesel.  Has plenty of power and feels safe pulling the camper.  I towed the trailer to Camping World for some small issues that should be covered under warranty.  One was that the running lights caused a fuse to blow in the F-150.  I tried to find the problem myself, but I really did not know where to look.  There is no wiring diagram for the trailer and I have no idea where the lines run.  I suspect it is a grounding fault, but I did not know how to troubleshoot that problem.  Anyway, the truck pulled the trailer effortlessly.  I think we will be able to take longer distance trips now that pulling the camper is no longer a nightmare.  I miss some of the features of the other truck, but not enough to pay for them.  The one thing I miss most though is the other truck had push button start and console gear shift.  Now I am back to using a key and the gears are back on the steering wheel.  

     Amy also is driving a new car.  We took the traverse in for an issue with it and when they told me how much it was going to be to fix it we decided to trade it for a 2018 Equinox.  So, January and February became new car months.  Amy will be driving to Katy's, the first long trip in the car.  One final thing unrelated to vehicles.  Before Christmas I started a Jigsaw puzzle that has to be the hardest one I have ever worked on.  All pieces fit in places they are not suppose to go.  I have about 50 pieces left and they do not seem to fit anywhere.  I will keep swapping pieces until I complete it.  Hopefully before summer comes.    

December 24, 2017

     Okay, it has been a while since my last update.  Let me start with the cataract surgery.  Due to a cornea issue my vision is not any better and maybe worse than it was before the surgery.  I knew that was a possibility before the surgery though and at some point I may have to have cornea surgery.  We did the baddest eye first and I have decided not to have the other eye done.  Enough of the bad and on to the fun stuff.  After a trip to Virginia, for Kinsley and Cooper's birthday, we traveled with our camper.  We stayed at Cloudland Canyon State Park in north Georgia.  Jason, Shelley, and their two dogs joined us for a weekend.  We had a great time hiking and spending time with them.  The camper was a little crowded with 4 of us and 3 dogs, but we still had a great time.  The park is located just south of Chattanooga on Lookout Mountain.  We hiked the West Rim Trail, which overlooked the canyon.  Beautiful views.  I took some pictures with my gopro camera, but the day was overcast and they were not that great.  Here is one anyway.

     And a couple more.

     When we left there Amy and I spent a couple of days at Desota State Park.  I believe that is my favorite place to camp.  Great pull through sites for the camper and lots of trails to hike.  We started out headed to a waterfall and ended up with a 5 mile hike.  We are planning another trip to Virginia after Christmas and then back to Desota State Park for another weekend with Jason and Shelley and their dogs. 

     We thought we would be spending Christmas by ourselves since our girls came here for Christmas last year.  We tried to get reservations at the beach, but that didn't work out.  Jason and Shelley will be here Christmas Eve so at least we will get to see them.

     I have picked up a part-time job.  I have decided to help with trail maintenance on the Pinhoti Trail.  I've enjoyed hiking parts of the trail so I have decided to volunteer to help keep the trail hike-a-ble.  The Pinhoti Trail extends from Weogufka, AL to connect with the AT at Springer Mountain, GA., roughly 360 miles.  So far I have worked on three different sections.  One of the people I've worked with is my age and is re-blazing the trail.  We both went to Auburn and lived next door to each other but didn't know each other then.  I worked at Klinners washing dishes three times a day for my meals, and he lived there at Klinners.  It is truly a small world.  This last section we worked was on the north end about a hour and a half drive from my house.  We went in 2.5 miles then back out.  Most of the work is done with loppers, a swing blade, or chainsaw.  Last week we had a snow storm with about 8 inches at my house.  This caused small trees to bend over the trail and some trees came down over the trail.  We cleared these in that section.  One thing I have noticed.  After a day of working, it takes me about two days to recover from it.  My body just doesn't bounce back like it used to.  Thank goodness for arthritis strength Tylenol.  Even through the pain, it is still fun to get out and work on the trail. I hope to work one day after Christmas before heading to Virginia.

Until next time...I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

October 10, 2017

     Time flies when you are having fun.  It is hard to believe that it has been 2 months since my last post.  So much has happened since then.  Amy flew to San Antonio to help with Maddox, leaving Max and me at home.  She got home a couple of days before we left for a cruise up the east coast.  This was a great trip with our good friends Mary Jane and Chuck Wood.  We flew to New York and spent a couple of nights and days sightseeing.  We did a hop on/off tour bus trip around the city.  We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Before boarding the cruise ship we had time to hike through Central Park. 
     We were supposed to be transported to the ship at 12:00, but due to the traffic problems it was after 3:00 before a bus could get to the hotel to pick us up.  Apparently President Trump was in town speaking at the United Nations and all the roads were blocked off.  We arrived on Friday and noticed that New York's finest were on every corner.  We even asked one of them where he would recommend us eating.  The place he suggested was right there on the corner, the name of the place was Astro.  Good food and very reasonably priced.  When we finally did get to the ship there was no line waiting to board, just us.  By the time we got to our room we had missed the muster drill.  And the ship was ready to sail.  On board we ran into two people from Talladega who we knew.  We did not see them again until the last day of the trip.  The ship was huge.  About 3500 passengers and 1500 crew.  The Crown Princess, ironically the same ship we were on last year on our Alaska cruise.
     Sailing from the dock in Brooklyn, our first stop was Newport, Rhode Island.  Since there was no dock for the ship it anchored off shore and we were transported to shore in one of the lifeboats.  We then took a walking tour of Newport.  The next stop was Boston.  Here we took a hop on/off bus tour, but the driver was so interesting giving us all the history of the places we were seeing that we decided not to get off at all.  Really enjoyed seeing and listening to our tour guide.  Our next stop was suppose to be Bar Harbor, Maine, but thanks to the hurricane there were 6 to 10 meter waves and 40 knot winds.  The captain ruled that it would not be safe to go ashore in the small shuttles so we instead headed to our next stop, Saint Johns, New Brunswick (Canada).  The final port was Halifax, Nova Scotia.  To me this was one of the best stops.  We walked to several places around town including a church and the Citadel.  Learned so much about the disasters of the Titanic and the ammunition ship that almost destroyed Halifax.  We have since bought several books to learn more.  This was a great cruise but the seas were rough.  Even on the large ship the rocking was so bad that I had to hold on to rails wherever I was walking around.  Amy got seasick on the last day because of the weather, but a dose of Dramamine fixed that.  We will begin planning our next cruise soon. 
     On Monday I had cataract surgery and we are heading to Desota State Park for a couple of days in the camper.  Looking forward to that.  Next month we are camping at Cloudland State Park with Jason and Shelley.  The four of us and 3 dogs in the camper should be fun.  Before that trip we will head back to Virginia for the grand kids birthday party.  I'll fill in all those blanks in my next post.

   

August 15, 2017

     Okay, it has been a couple of months since my last post so here is the latest update.  We have been traveling a little.  In my last post I mentioned that my wife was in Virginia and I bought a new truck.   In June, Max and I went to Virginia to help keep the grandchildren while my daughter was still working.  She teaches in one school system and her kids go to school in a different system.  The kids got out a week earlier than she, so I went up to help transport them to places they needed to go.  After spending a couple of weeks up there, Max and I took the scenic route home through the Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive. Roughly guessing it was about 120 miles at 35 mph.  Really beautiful with a lot of places to enjoy the views along the way.  The road crosses the Appalachian Trail several times.  At one of the last lookouts I encountered two thru hikers who were looking for a ride to the nearest town (Waynesboro, Va.) to restock on food.  Since Skyline Drive ends there, I was close enough to give them a ride.  My intent was to travel the Blue Ridge Parkway from start to finish.  It starts at the end of Skyline Drive.  After the slight detour to Waynesboro I returned back to continue my quest.  I was quite disappointed.  At each pull offs to look at the views, the grass was over 6 feet high and blocked the views.  That portion of the parkway was very curvy, which would not have been so bad if I could have seen more than tall grass along the way.  It did not take me too long to decide to travel the parkway another time so I found a way to get back to the interstate and came on home.  On the section of the parkway I did travel I did not see any other traffic, which would have been great but because of the curves the speed was only about 45 miles per hour.  My thinking was that at that speed it would take forever to travel the 400 miles of parkway.  So, that trip will have to wait till another time.
     We were home about a week before we headed to Texas for the birth of our latest grandson, Maddox.  Being retired is great since we are able to go an do things like that.  My wife is flying back out there next week to help out.  Max and I are staying home this time.  I don't think we were invited.  Max thinks he is a big dog (they have two labs) but has a problem of wanting to mark his territory, and I am too loud.  Maybe we will go on the next trip.
    Since I had bought the truck to pull my imaginary camper, we decided to get the camper.  We bought a Keystone Sprinter 29BH camper.  When I first pulled it home I was not sure where I was going to park it.  It is about 33 feet long, very spacious and will sleep a maximum of 9 people.  Of course that many people would have no where to move inside, but it is just right for my wife, me and Max.  We have already taken it camping in Cheaha State park.  Of course my daughter says it is not camping, but glamping.  And she is right.  All the comforts of home but enjoying the great outdoors.  Air conditioning, satellite TV, room to move around, as well as great outdoor space.  Cheaha was a good test since it is only about 20 miles from home and a narrow, curvy mountain road.  We spent a couple of very enjoyable nights and are already planning out next adventure.  I will post pictures next time.
     Of course I will have to say that my garden experiment worked like a charm.  More tomatoes than we have ever had, lots of peas and beans, cucumbers and squash.  I will do it again next year.