Yuma Site....fun and sun!

Here is the first photo with my new camera......

Thought you might enjoying seeing our site here in Yuma.  We happen to be on a corner lot this year which is really nice.  Only a short walk away from the office, pool, and tennis courts.  Perfect!

I think I mentioned last post that Pro Shade was coming out to measure for some new sun shades.  If ya look close...you will see that we added shade awnings to two windows and had shade covers made for the two side windows on the slide as well as a large window just behind the slide out.  We love them so much that we are going to have the back window and the windows on the other side done before we leave in the Spring.

Once again...it has been busy here.  Last Friday was another dinner/dance with a fabulous band...Bill even got up and danced!  Then on Saturday we headed over to a BBQ rib fest at a local high school.  Dang the food was good!  Upcoming we have the annual nighttime Christmas parade here at the park.  This year the line dancers (me included) will be strutting our stuff around the park!  Oh...almost forgot we also went to a   'glow' event.  Basically a bunch of hot air balloons get together and fire up their balloons for charity...then there are fireworks.  Pretty neat!

I've been learning to play a few new games too....one of which is card bingo.  I was the big winner last week....$31 dollars!

And last...but not least...take a look at these beauties......

 

 Have not had a pair of cowgirl boots for a long time......but I just had to have these!   Once again ....."life is Goode"!

An apology....

Just wanted to drop a quick post and let you know I was forced to turn my comment moderation back on today.  I apologize for that....I hate to do it, but I've got a cyber stalker who has been leaving unpleasant comments here and I just won't allow his poison to be spread on my blog.  So, for the time being....all comments will go to my email (which I check at least once a day) before they are published. 

On a happier note.....went to the dance last Saturday and had a great time.  It was a small crowd as a lot of the snowbirds have not arrived here yet, but we sure did have fun.  The menu was chili, cornbread, and for dessert....apple dumplings.  It all was scrumptious!  The band was fair....not enough rock-n-roll for me....but I still manage to dance the night away.

My new camera has arrived....unfortunately my hubby ordered the wrong memory card so I can't take any photos yet.  It was an easy mistake to make...he assumed this camera would take the same type of card as my old one....but nope!  The new card will be here Thursday.  I've been using the time to become familiar with all the new 'bells and whistles' this camera has to offer.  There are a lot of new features.....which I love....more control over the settings and easier to access during a shoot.  It came with an awesome CD that explains it all.....I hate wading through manuals....the CD makes it so much faster and easier to understand.  I'll be sharing some photos just as soon as I can!!

Yesterday, Sunday, the weather took a turn.  We had high winds all day and barely got into the 70's, but things are much calmer today and I believe the temps will begin to climb back into the high 70's for the week.

The gang here is heading to Mexico on Tuesday, but we will not be crossing.  I'm still waiting on my new passport.  We also made an appointment with Pro Shade to come out and measure our windows.  Several folks here in the rv park have used them and they do a great job at a reasonable price.  I think we are going to have a shade awning made for our kitchen window and then a shade cover for our large back window. 

That's about all my news for now.....y'all take care and party on!!!

Yuma!

We arrived in Yuma on November the 8th.  A lot of our friends are already here so there were lots of smiling faces and hugs to greet us!  Awesome!  They even had us over for dinner later that evening...which was delicious!

I've been playing 'bumbee ball' (a game similar to tennis), bike riding, lounging by the pool, and...of course.....happy hours almost every evening.  Temps have been in the mid to high 80's and plenty of sunshine!  Another big perk....we found out we could hook up to DSL via a phone line for around 30 bucks a month.  We will suspend our Verizon wifi for the duration of our stay....a savings of about 70 bucks each month....liking that! 

Ordered my new camera....a Canon 7D with a EFS 18/135 lens....it should arrive Friday.  I also need to replace my telephoto lens, but gonna have to wait a bit on that one.  Unfortunately our Progressive Insurance policy will not be covering our loss....due to the fact that the truck and trailer were not parked on the same property at the time of the theft.  We have been with Progressive since 2004...never made a claim....and this is the thanks we get.  We thought we had good coverage....we certainly were paying enough....so we will be taking a look at what other insurance companies have to offer for full timers. 

On a happier note....I was able to deliver the finished pet portrait of 'Buster' to its owner.  She loved it and has been 'showing it off' to everyone.  As a result, I already have another commission.  I"m hoping to get a few more while we are here so I can afford to replace my telephoto camera lens.

While we were in Tucson...at the Lazy Days....we also took a look at several motor homes.  We both came to the realization on just how difficult it was going to be to please us both.  Bill has a certain engine in mind and that is proving difficult to find.  But..we have not given up and will keep looking.  One thing we did learn was not to sell the house until we buy the motor home.  We will need financing and apparently the banks are much more willing to lend on an RV if you also own a 'stick and brick' house of some kind.  So, we plan to keep looking until we are ready to put the house on the market (in about 2 yrs) at that point we will have to re evaluate our needs and make a final decision.

Now...back to the FUN!  The park is having its first dinner/dance this weekend and I'm so gonna dance the night away!!!

Las Cruces....we are here!

Made it to Las Cruces around 2pm yesterday.  We will be staying at the Hacienda RV Resort for the next four nights.  RV parks tend to over use that 'resort' word, but this one is fairly nice.....although a bit pricey. Biggest problem I have with the place is the tiny gravel they used on all the sites.  Poor Cosmo has a heck of a time staying upright on the stuff and the doggie area is a long walk (for him).

After setting up and feeding the furballs we headed down to Old Mesilla to a great little restaurant called La Posta.  We both had Prickly Pear Margaritas and a meal of Chile Rellenos topped off with Mexican ice cream for dessert.  Mmmmm good!

I've have been looking at replacement cameras and lenses....expensive.  I filed the report with our insurance....getting back to them on Monday with a complete list of the stolen items.  Hopefully we are covered, but y'all know nothing is for certain in this world.  Either way, the camera will be replaced.  Bill is adamant about that....he knows how much I loved that camera and I used it a lot!  It still bothers me that some idiot probably has his grubby little hands all over it as we speak!  Joining Lifelock has definitely given me 'peace of mind' on my identity, but I'm still keeping a close eye on the financials and such.  Even though it was the truck that was broken into, I can't help wondering about what would have happened if it had been the fifth wheel...what about the furbabies.  I have wanted to install some type of monitoring system for a while now....once we are settled in Yuma for the winter I'm going to do just that!  I think that is the biggest thing those thieves took from us...our sense of security. 

Thanks for all your caring words and concern.  We are moving pass this...not going to let it stop us from enjoying our life!  I've just got one last thing to say....to those thieves...."may the bird of paradise not only fly up your nose, but shit all over your heads!"...nuff said!

Albuquerque BUST

We were enjoying our stay here in Albuquerque until this happened.....I went to the zoo today and as usual I had my camera with me and my nifty backpack that holds said camera, and  extra lenses.  I also put my little credit card carrier in there for safe keeping.  Well...we went out to eat afterwards and I left my camera backpack with my credit cards in the truck inside one of the doggie carriers we keep in the back seat.  We locked the truck.  Upon leaving the restaurant we both noticed someone by our truck.  Bill thought he saw them shut our door....I saw them duck down fast and then a white car pulled away.  Once we reached the truck we didn't see anything a miss.....until we notice one of the doggie carriers was not how we left it.  Yup...they had got it....my back pack was gone.  I ran back into the restaurant and ask them to call the police.  The manager came back out with me....she pointed out that they had simply 'popped' our lock then put the lock back in place.....up until that point we couldn't figure out how they had gotten into the locked truck.
The police arrived and said we were probably targeted because of the big dually and out of state plates.  He said they usually are looking for guns.  They fingerprinted the truck and we gave them all our info.  Unfortunately there were no security cameras. 
My biggest concern are the ID's that were in that credit card case.  I've alerted the credit agencies to possible fraud attacks, signed up for Lifelock, and also had my passport flagged and rendered invalid.  Yeah....this sucks big time.......
Tomorrow we head to Las Crusces where I will be applying for a new passport.  Thank goodness I did have my driver's license with me....at least they didn't get that piece of identification.

Colorado Springs

Did I say Idaho?  Darling husband says I did in my last post......should have been Iowa!  We traveled through Illinois and Iowa.  Sorry bout that!

We had planned on spending a few days in Denver, but the park we were headed for was full.  So, we regrouped, and decided to just keep driving.  It was a rather long day for us, but we made it to Mountaindale RV park in Colorado Springs by late Saturday afternoon.  We had stayed at this park once before and loved it and we still love it.  So much so that we decided to stay awhile.  We will not be continuing our journey till Monday the 27th.

We are up in the mountains....

This is our site on the 'upper terrace'.  You pull in long ways and enjoy the view of the mountains and the campground below.  Entire site is covered in kinda a medium size gravel.  No AT&T cell service, but our verizon wifi is holding a 3G signal most of the time.  The campground does provide wifi and it does do a fairly good job.....still slower then what most of you are probably used too.  I think some of the sites do have cable, but we are using our Direct TV satellite.  Full hookups with 50th amp service.....just the way we like it!

 

There is a family of deer that come through the park every day.  They are very used to the people here.  Yesterday they spent the entire day lazing in the sun just a few feet from our campsite.  AWESOME!

Plenty of birds around too....like this beautiful Steller's Jay.

We have been blessed by fabulous weather, high 60's to low 70's in the day and 40's to 50's at night.  Plenty of sunshine too.  

We were thinking of checking out Pikes Peak, but got cold feet (no pun intended...well maybe just a little one) when we were told about the snow and read about altitude sickness.  We know we are both susceptible to the altitude sickness so decided not to chance it.  Instead...I'm going to spend the day at the Colorado Springs Zoo Thursday and then Friday I think we will check out the "Garden of the Gods" park. 

Westward Bound

Yup...we been a traveling down the road!  Made it through Illinois and Idaho and pretty much did nothing but be rainy and cold.  The rain and cold also detoured me from getting my camera out for pics.  Finally the sun broke through, but then the wind really kicked up with some 30 mile gust!  The rv parks we have been staying at along our journey are nothing to write home about....we stayed close to the interstate for easy on/off access.  Moving a little quicker then normal just because of the cold temps, but today we are headed to Denver and we do plan on spending a few days there.
Here are a couple of pics of the campgrounds we stayed at while making our way across Nebraska.  Again nothing special, but ok for an overnight.  The sun was shining and the wind has finally died down.....was even able to put the awning out yesterday!

Sure do love that new awning!  This is the Holiday RV Park in North Platte, Nebraska.  We will be leaving here this am.  It is an old park, but nice long pull throughs, 50amp full hookups, and easy to get around in.  

This is our site from the night before....Pine Grove RV Park in a little town called Greenwood....just a bit west of Omaha Nebraska.  We had a nice corner pull through and again easy to get in and out of.  The office actually has a bar serving beer/wine, a little snack bar with ice cream and pizza, and a small store were you can get a cold six pack among other things.  Have to say....this is the first rv park I have stayed at that served liquor in the office!  But you are in the middle of no where so I'm guessing they do a pretty good business! 

Looking forward to spending a few days in Denver and also looking forward to finally be turning south!

Wedding Photos!

Yes....the wedding bells have rung and it was the most magical of weekends...EVER!  So much love and fun.....time with family and friends...priceless memories!  Everything was perfect and beautiful.  I have a few photos to share and yes, there eventually will be more!  But here is a sneak peak......

 

This photo was taken my Green Holly Photography

Stunning!

 

As was this one

 

And this one too....these were all part of a 'sneak peak' she gave us.  I can't wait to see the rest of them!

 

The wedding cake and cupcakes.  Wish you could see the topper on the small wedding cake....it has Mickey Mouse ears....because that is where the kids will be spending their honeymoon over the New Years.  Compliments of their Grandparents!  Awesome gift!

 

This is a photo of one of the table number cards I made for them.  The kids did some basic old hollywood poses and I worked a little photoshop magic....turned out really cute!

Bill and I welcomed the most wonderful daughter into our family.  We are so very blessed!  Thank you to all who attended and shared this joyous occasion with us.  

We.....have rested a bit....and are now making our way west toward Yuma AZ our winter destination.  We are currently in Utica Illinois.  Today we will head over to Lincoln Nebraska.  Yesterday was a very wet travel day....hoping to see a bit of sunshine today, but the forecast is still predicting more rain.  The good news is the temps have at least warmed a bit....up into the 60's...and that is a very Goode thing!

 

Kalamazoo!

We finally escaped Elkhart and made our way to Kalamazoo to Markin Glen Park.  We absolutely love this place.  Full hookups...plenty of space between sites, and concrete pad and patio.  All for around $26.00 a night!  I hesitate to share this info because I think it is one of the best kept secrets going as we rarely have an issue getting a site here and they only have 38.  I do know; however, they are full this weekend!

Today we will get on our bikes and check out the biking/hiking trails.  The weather for this upcoming week is supposed to be stellar!  Highs in the 70's to low 80's and plenty of sunshine.  Oh how I have missed the sunshine!

Now that we have had a chance to 'live' with our repair decisions, I have to say we are glad we did all we did.  The shower is awesome....so roomy and looks so nice...loving the ice maker in the new frig....and don't know why we waited so long to upgrade the awning to 'push button' ease....man what a 'life changer'!  I know sounds silly, but not having to worry about staking the awning down....knowing we can 'roll it up' at any time with the simple push of a button.....AWESOME!

We will be here in Kalamazoo till Tuesday and then we will head over to Frankenmuth till time to head down to hear those wedding bells chime for my son and his bride!

Finally Fini!

It was a long journey....with many ups and downs....no water inside the rv for 3 days...had to use the facilities at the rv repair shop.  They did their best to make us as comfortable as possible, but I'm so glad we are done and have moved on to the Elkhart Campground.  After almost 3 weeks, Full hook ups have never been so welcome!  Here are some photos of the work......

 This is why we needed a new shower.....leaks...the old shower had a crack in the shower pan which could not be repaired.  This 'platform' was not needed for our new shower....good riddance! 

 

This photo shows our new floor installed and the beginnings of the new shower installation.  What you don't see is the work that was done under the floor.  It was decided that we needed to 'strengthen' the underlying structure to support the new shower and prepare the area for the new drain placement.  We did add a few more pounds by having actual glass doors.  The doors before were acrylic.  I don't know what the weight of the old shower was, but this new one is around 125lbs.  To compensate, Billy actually cleaned out the basement and got rid of about a 100lbs of extra 'stuff' that we just didn't need to be hauling around.

The potty and bedroom and bathroom doors, bath vanity, as well as all the trim were removed for the floor installation. 

This photo shows the roto-port Bill had installed where the vanity will eventually reside.  Originally there was a 'laundry chute' here which we never used, but Bill liked the idea of having access to the bath area...so this was the solution.

Here is the finished install!  We only have one small issue.  The area I circled in red.  That is where a 12 volt light resided, it had to be removed as it didn't clear the shower frame.  Ron (our repair guru) is on the look out for a new "thinner" light.

Here is the inside of our new shower.  Many of you will think the shower control is a bit high, but I assure you it is easily reached.  We had no choice but to install it at that height.  The refrigerator is directly behind that wall and would not allow us enough depth to install the fixture at a lower height.  It took 3 long days to install this shower and a lot of head scratching and redesigning to make everything work....but it does work and is very roomy

Yes....that's the hole....soon to be filled with our new refrigerator.  This time we opted for an ice maker!  An added expense, but we really love it!  The new one went in with no problems and looks just exactly like the old....on the outside!

We also opted to upgrade our manual patio awning to an automatic.....should have done that a long time ago....makes life so much easier!  Work was also done on the roof.  Some vents were replaced and new caulk was added all round!  We also replace our rv steps with some 'new to us' steps.  We painted them to look like new again and Bill installed them.  Unfortunately, neither of us are sold on them.  The rise is higher on the middle step and just doesn't feel right.  We will live with them for now, but I think we will have to replace them in the near future.  One more stop before we continue on to Michigan.  My washer needs a new selector knob and we have an appointment at the service center here in Elkhart to have that done on Tuesday.

Needless to say...our repair budget took quite the hit this year, but with the exception of the awning....everything else was pretty much necessary.  Yes...we are still considering a motor home, but we didn't want to be rushed into a decision because of needed repairs on our fifth wheel.  Now we can take our time....and make sure we find the right motor home for us and if we don't .....well, we are pretty happy with what we have right here!

Waiting......

The waiting game....Ron and his crew are good at what they do and because of that they seemed to always be continually running behind.  So...we sit...we wait.  I do know the refrigerator is here.  We decided to go back with a Dometic, but this time it will have an ice maker for Bill.  We also decided to go ahead with the automatic awning.....expensive....but we think we will really enjoy the convenience of it. 

The shower....wow that has been quite the experience....finding a replacement has not been easy.  We just were not happy with what we were seeing in the RV showers.  Decided to look towards residential units.  Problem was that most of those needed a two to three week delivery time.  We had just about decided to patch the thing and wait til next fall, when we ran across this little number at Menards.  You can see it here.  It is going to be tight and they will need to relocate the drain, but they think they can make it work.  Fingers crossed on that one.  Since they are completely replacing the unit we are also going to have new vinyl flooring installed.  Found a bargain ($50.00) at a local surplus store. 

Since we were sitting here twiddling our thumbs, we naturally did some shopping.  I was really tired of some of the 'cheap' light fixtures in our unit.  It has been hard to find replacements for the 110 volt ceiling lights because they have their own on/off switches.  I found some that I really liked and Bill figured out how to remove the switches from the old lights and add them to the new........

Love these and Bill also switched out the sockets so they take LED bulbs!

Next up were those ugly plastic 12 volt lights....but I finally found some replacements that I liked online and turned out the supplier was right here in Elkhart!  We spent part of the day, yesterday installing these little babies.  Again LED and I love them....they even look like they 'match' my new ceiling lights!

Weather here took a turn for the cold side.  Temps are in the low 60's overcast and drizzle.  Had to dig out my long pants and sweatshirts!  Aw well, I do love the crisp fall season!  Warm Cinnamon flavored coffee...mmmmm!  Just wish the waterworks would shut down for awhile!

Elkhart Indiana and Repairs

We finally got outta Lafayette and traveled to the big city of Elkhart, Indiana.  Currently parked at our favorite repair shop, RV Specialties.  Ron Green and his crew have always done a great job for us!  This time around we are in need of a new refrigerator and replacement of our shower.  We are also thinking about upgrading our awning to an automatic system.  The good news is that we are parked right here at Ron's facility and are pretty comfortable with power, water, and a dump station when we need it.  Hoping to have everything completed by next weekend.

Our next stop will more then likely be Kalamazoo Michigan.  There is a great little county rv park called Markin Glen.  We have stayed there before and it is beautiful with paved sites, full hookups, walking and biking trails.  Even a small beach area on the lake. 

Eventually we will move up and over to another little rv park known as Pine Ridge RV in Birch Run Michigan.  The park is located about 3 1/2 miles south of Frankenmuth...which is a fun little German town.  We plan on staying there until time to head to Sterling Heights Michigan for our Son's wedding.  Birch Run is about an hour north of Sterling Heights....so an easy travel day.  We were unable to find anything closer.   We did get an ok from the hotel to park our rig in their parking lot area for the weekend wedding celebration....but we will be boondocking....not something we are especially fond of.  We have booked a room so at least we will have access to shower, but we do plan on staying in our fifth wheel at night....can't leave my furbabies ya know!

That's the 'Goodelife' for now.....I know many of our rv friends our heading to their winter locations about now....so be safe and enjoy your travels!

The Wedding Bells are getting closer!

Yes....that is the happy couple!  Isn't love a beautiful thing!

The wedding is less then 2 months away and we are all so very excited for the big day.  My Mom and I are hosting a bridal shower in a couple of weeks.  I think we have invited around 40 friends and family members.  Should be quite the happy gathering!  Can't wait!

In other news....we had a little excitement here at the AOK Rv park.  I know I have mentioned before that we are here because it is the only rv park close to our family and friends.  The park is a bit run down and we only have 30amp service.  On the up side, we do have some great neighbors.  Unfortunately one of those neighbors had enough of the constant traffic through the park and made an accusation about someone selling drugs here in the park.  The police were called.....but as far as I know....no one was arrested.  Funny though, we did notice a decrease in traffic after that day.  Our neighbor, however, decided it was time to leave and relocated.  But before he left....he made some phone calls.  This park is plagued with sewer problems....back ups especially during heavy rains....occur on many of the sites.  Our current site has never had a problem, but we have been on some sites where it was a problem.  We always let management know, but nothing ever seemed to be done about it.  Well....seems our neighbor had been not only reporting the problems to management, but also documenting it as well with video.  So....the day after he left.....a surprise inspection took place by the State of Indiana including our local board of health.  I don't know what all transpired, but I do know that one of the worst sewer sites was dug up and repaired the very next day.  Makes one wonder about what we can't see.....underground....hopefully the 'state' will be keeping a closer eye on things.

All this makes us even more anxious to begin our journey to Elkhart.  We are going to head out right after Labor Day....having a few repairs done and then on to Michigan.  The Bride is from Michigan and that is where the wedding will take place.  Michigan is such a beautiful state....especially in the fall.  We are going to be in the Sterling Heights area...which is just north of Detroit.  If anyone out there in RV land knows of any good rv parks please let me know......

Beatles, birds, and refrigerators.....

Let's start with the refrigerator.....it is broken!  Yup, opened the freezer section just the other day and nothing but water, water everywhere.  Thank goodness we have a backup.  Our fifth wheel came with 2 RV refrigerators.  The down side to that....is the downsize...we got used to having two so downsizing all our frig items to one was a bit difficult.   We think we have a broken coil, but we will have to have our RV repair guy take a look and see.  So...looks like we will be down to one for a while.  We are heading to Elkhart  in September for some other repairs and we will just add that to our list.

We had some uninvited visitors to one of our slide outs....it seems 'mama robin' decided this would be the perfect place to raise her little ones.  They really were not causing us any issues at this point....so we let them be and I'm happy to say that they have since all 'flown the coup"!  I was hoping to get a photo of mama feeding them, but she just didn't trust me enough for that one!

Then there were the Beatles!  The singing kind....went out last night with family and watched a great show!  This particular group of 'impersonators' have been together 30 yrs and their sound and 'look' were very close to the originals.  We had a great time and a beautiful night for it.....low 70's cool and comfortable. 

I guess that is about all the news for now......the summer has really been going by so very fast.  Next up will be a couple of bridal showers and before we know it we will be back on the road!

LIfe's Ups and Downs.....

Yesterday was just full of bad news......my Mom called early to let me know that my step father was going back into surgery.  It seems fluid had collected around the first surgery site and was causing problems with swallowing and eating.  I spent yet another long day at the hospital, but the good news is the surgery went well and we are hoping once the swelling goes down his swallowing will improve.  Right now he can't even eat or drink and is relying on IVs for all his nutrition and fluids.  NOT FUN!

As some of you may remember, last summer we were fortunate enough to have a dear friend offer us his property to park our fiver on.  It was so very generous and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.  Beautiful country....lots of peace and quiet.  WE loved it.  Got the call just a few days ago that they are selling the property.....called to see if we were interested.   We had to pass.....as we are looking to settle (eventually) in Arizona.  I know they will have no problems selling and we wish them all the best....BUT...a little sad too.  We will miss them and their little piece of paradise they so generously shared with us!

And...finally....some RV friends just lost one of their sweet fur babies to cancer.  My heart and prayers go out to them.....

Life is full of ups and downs.....I'm ready for a few UPS now!

Cosmo Update and more....

It has been very busy around here these past few weeks!  Our first priority has been our Cosmo boy.  A couple of weeks ago he had an MRI to try and determine what was going on with his back legs.  The MRI showed a slight bulge in a couple of his vertebrae, but nothing operable.  The findings suggest he may or may not improve, but at least for now he is fairly stable and has not gotten any worse. 
The MRI also showed a couple of areas of concerns.  So we gave them the go ahead to do an ultrasound and that gave them further evidence of the bladder stones, but also a mass showed up in his adrenal gland.  Scary stuff!  They recommended surgery for the bladder stones and the removal of the adrenal gland. 
I'm happy to say Cosmo came through a very difficult surgery with flying colors.  Purdue had him for almost a week, but he is home now and almost fully recovered.  He still has a wobbly behind, but doing well otherwise.  The MRI very likely saved his life as the pathology report on the adrenal tumor came back positive for cancer.  The good news is all the other organs seemed to be clear and they believe they found it early enough that it had not had a chance to spread.  His prognosis is good.....we just need to monitor him with blood work a couple times of year. 

 Next up was my step father....he needed surgery on his neck for a nerve issue causing him quite a bit of pain.  He came through the surgery fine and is home recovering.

I have certainly had my fill of medical procedures and hospitals!

Much more fun and happier things are on the horizon, such as the bridal shower my Mom and I are giving for my soon to be daughter-in-law in August!

 Come September, we plan on heading up to Elkhart to have our shower repaired.  We have a crack in the shower pan.  Bill did a temporary fix so were aren't leaking water everywhere at least!  From Elkhart we will head up to Michigan, that is where the wedding will be held.  Have to say I'm ready to go....ready to be back on the road!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day.......DaddyO!  I love this photo of you and Miss Shirley swinging!

Hope you have a fabulous day!  Love ya bunches!

Mom and I had a great time in Michigan.  Relaxing and beautiful weather.  We checked out the hotel where the kids are getting married and did the little taste test thingy!  All very nice....I'm going for the prime rib!

After checking out the hotel, we said our goodbyes and headed up to Frankenmuth for a little shopping.  Did a lot of "shopping" but no buying...at least for me.  Still it was great to have that time with Mom!

Now that I'm back we have been dealing with the Cosmo boy.  Purdue wants to do an MRI and possibly surgery.  We were not ready to commit to that but after much research and speaking with another vet, we have decided do go through with the MRI.  There may or may not be any type of treatment to help Cosmo, but depending on the diagnosis treatment is vastly different.  We just need to know what we are dealing with....so I'm calling to set up the appointment Monday.  We both just decided that we couldn't live with ourselves if there was a solution for Cosmo and we didn't do all within our power to find it.  Purdue will put him under for the MRI and while he is still sleeping they will call us with the results.  If surgery is indicated, they can do it right then. 

Michigan bound....

Well my Mom and I are making a little trip to Michigan over the weekend.  My Son and his fiancee are doing a  'taste testing' of some of the menu items available to be served at the their wedding reception this fall and we were invited to join them.

I'm happy to have this opportunity to check out the venue first hand and figure out the best way to get there.  We plan on bringing the fifth wheel up for the wedding, but have not been able to find any rv parks close by.  I'm going to ask the management if those of us arriving by rv, can park our rigs in the parking lot.  We all plan to get rooms so I can't imagine they would have a problem.  The dang place looks to be out in the middle of nowhere and the parking area looks large enough to handle it. 

Next Tuesday we head over to Purdue Vet Clinic to have Cosmo's back legs checked out.  I'm not sure how folks afford that place.  They are charging us $150.00 dollars just to look at him, his x-rays (which we are bringing too them), and give us their opinion.  If we choose to leave him for a period of 2 to 3 days for more testing that raises the price to between $1500-$2000!  That's not for a cure or treatment....just to hopefully find out the cause.  I have a problem with not only the cost, but leaving my dog so they can run whatever the hell test they deem necessary.  NOT gonna happen!  At this point, we decided it was worth the money for the second opinion and that's it.  Cosmo doesn't seem to be in any pain....which of the two vets we have talked too so far, doesn't fit with what they are seeing in his x-rays.  At any rate, we will hear what they have to say and make some decisions on where we go from here!  In the meantime, we do have him on an anti inflammatory medication and had noticed a bit of improvement.  That is, until we switched over to the generic version...then it seemed we were right back where we started.  So today, I called to get a new script of the original medication....we'll see if we see improvement.  Until then please keep my Cosmo boy in your thoughts....he is such a good dog and we want to do all we can to keep his quality of life good!

Happy Mother's Day.....

Happy Mother's Day Mama.....Love you bunches

And to all the other 'Mama's' out there.....hope everyone has a great day filled with love and laughter!

Guess things have been a little busy a round here....didn't realize I had not posted that we were back in Indiana.  We arrived here last Thursday....and Wow!  What an exciting day we had yesterday.  Baby Elijah decided it was time to make his grand entrance....

Just Beautiful!

Big boy, 8lbs 9oz...look at him holding his little head up already!

Happy MAMA!

And this....this is BIG Brother Noah....

Yes...it was a great day, being a Great Auntie is AWESOME!

Mount Vernon KY

We spent last Friday and Saturday in Mount Vernon at the Renfro Valley RV park.  It is a passport America park, but unfortunately not on the weekends....so, we definitely feel as though we overpaid!  But...there is not much else to choose from in this area and the grounds are beautiful.  I spend quite a bit of time out and about with my camera.....

This babbling brook was practically right out our door....so many colorful birds here!  These guys were having a pool party!

Awesome view.....so green and lush...spring has come to Renfro Valley

 Under that bridge were 50 or so Barn Swallow Nest and the birds were amazing to watch..so fast!

This guy was giving me the "eye"!

These beautiful birds were dancing about in the sunshine.....loved watching them play.


We left Renfro Valley on Sunday.  We normally don't like traveling on Sundays but we wanted to have a full 4 nights at Winton Woods in Cincinnati.  If you ever find yourself in Cincinnati, Ohio we highly recommend this park.  Large full hookup sites with beautiful surrounds...walking/biking trails, kayaking, fishing.  I, of course, found my way back to the zoo yesterday.  Got a lucky break on all the rain and had a sunshiny day yesterday.  Thursday we make the final leg of our journey into Lafayette, Indiana.  Can't wait to see my family and friends......I leave you with a few more photos of one of my favorite zoos

Sweet Baby Gorilla....just hanging around.....

A shot of Spring for those snow weary northern folks.....

I know this is what you all will be doing once the sun finally shines for you....AAAWWWW!  Bring it on!

Warner Robins Air Force Museum

Yesterday we went back and finished our tour of the Air Force Museum.  Here are a few photos for you to enjoy......

 

This is cool....one of the planes hanging overhead as you walk in to the museum

 

As you can see....this place is huge.....

 

I love the art work

 

Great old fire engine

 And as you can see.....somebody had a really 'goode' time...........

 

The photo below.....well that is a close up of the back of an engine....I think...LOL

I just loved the "art" of it...the colors and shapes and textures!  Reminds me of a roulette wheel!

 

All in all it was a fun two days.....and if you really want to do it justice....I would definitely plan on 4 or 5 hours.  It is free....so we decided to break it up into two days.

Other news....

Tomorrow is a travel day for us, heading up to Chattanooga.  We will spend a couple of nights there.  My back is still giving me problems....I think I pinched my sciatica nerve.  Apparently...advil, time, and a heating pad is all I can do....hopefully it will start to improve sooner rather then later.  Riding in the truck tomorrow is probably going to be a bit uncomfortable...but gotta do what I gotta do.....

Woodpecker? Really!

This is just a quick little post as I had to share this pic with you.  Even though we are full time in our rig, we still own a house back in Indiana.  Our son and his 'soon to be bride' are living there now.  So he sends me this pic the other day of our house....take a look....

Apparently some nutty woodpecker has decided the trim work around our home is pretty tasty!  I'm hoping this is the only 'hole' we find, but REALLY Mr or Mz Woodpecker what the heck is wrong with all the trees in our neighborhood....THIS is NOT a "GOODE" thing!

Happy Easter

Oh, I just couldn't resist........

 

This is Cosmo....doing his Easter Bunny Impression!

I think it is rather a good one

Don't You

We have been rather laid back these past couple of days.  Somehow....by simply bending over the sink to wash my hair....I managed to pull or tear a muscle above my left hip.  I can't tell you how excruciating the pain has been.  Yesterday, it seemed the slightest movement set it off.  Today, I seem to be a little better.  Planning to continue to rest and hopefully it will continue to improve.  

Poor Bill had to be 'in charge' of the furballs all day yesterday.  I couldn't bend over to do anything for them.....heck...I couldn't even get dressed by myself.  He was a real trooper though.....took good care of me and the furkids!  Thanks Honey!  I did manage to limp over to the free pancake breakfast the rv park put on Saturday.  It was good, but the best thing was getting to know our fellow rv'ers.  We learn so much from one another!  

Happy Easter...Ya'll!

Perry, GA

We are in Perry GA at the Fair Harbor Rv Park.  Pretty nice place....a lot bigger then it looks.  Fairly quiet (you can hear a bit of the interstate noise), but close to shopping and dining.

 

We have a nice corner lot with lots of green for the furballs!

Our site is a nice long pull through, but there are some really nice back-ins overlooking the pond area too.  We like being out in the open so we can get our satellite tv up and running without issue.  We originally were set to stay til Monday, but decided to add a couple more nights.  

Yesterday was a really nice day and we took a stroll through the downtown and then headed over to Robins Air Force Museum.  It is free and it is pretty large.  We only did about half and figure we would go back and do the rest Monday.  I'll share some photos on that next post.

Today it has done nothing but RAIN and then RAIN some more.  At least the temps are in the mid 50's....a bit chilly but doable.  Tonight the ground is really saturated....you step out and into water that comes up over your shoe or flipflops in my case.  Taking the dogs out to the potty is quite the event.....as we are all pretty well soaked when we come back in!  I don't think this mess is clearing out till Sunday.  Oh well....at least nothing severe to worry and that is a blessing!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Mayo Florida

We are on our way.....have our first travel day under our belt.  Great weather and an easy 190 miles!  I found a Passport America Park called Suwannee River Rendezvous Resort.  It is a very nice place....a little off the beaten path....but we were ready for a little quiet in the country atmosphere.  We have it here.  No trains, planes, or automobiles!  This place is well kept and there is an upper and lower level.  The upper level is relatively new and is designed for larger rigs.  In fact, I was glad we called ahead and I recommend everyone with larger rigs call.  The reason is the lower level, where the office is located, is difficult if not impossible for larger rigs to navigate....pretty sure you would have to back up the hill!  When you call they will go ahead and give you your site number so you can park, get set up, and the walk or drive down to the office to check in.

 

Here is our site #130.  Nice long pull through with gravel pad and patio.  Nice spacing between the sites too!  Full hook ups plus Dish Satellite...not a great picture, but fine for a couple of days.

 

This is the shower/rec/pool area.  Probably will not be able to take advantage of the pool due to the rainy weather here today, but looks very inviting!

 

View down the street.  Paved roads but the site angles could be a little wider.  Most big rigs will find they have to have a wheel or two off in the grass when pulling into the site.

 This is the entrance way into the upper park.  If you continue past, you drop down the hill into a very wooded and tight little campground.  Set up with cabins and tent camping, maybe some smaller rvs.  The Suwannee River borders one side and there was significant flooding this time of year.   But it is beautiful down there and if we get a break in the rain I would love to take my camera down and get some photos.  Good news is you can park up top, but still have access to everything down the hill.....just a short walk.

All in all....a great find and one we would return too.  We will be pulling out on Wednesday continuing our journey north.  Thinking about stopping in Perry Ga.  Looks like a quaint and interesting place...one we have not explored.  Wherever we stop, we are pretty sure we will stay through the Easter weekend.  We don't like to travel on weekends...especially holiday ones!