Bit on the Bumpy side.....

Had a fairly short travel day, yesterday.  That was a good thing cause the roads were a bit on the bumpity, bump, bump, bump side.  We arrived at the Benchmark Coach and RV Park around 1:30.  It is a nice little park and another Passport America park, so our stay was just $16.05.  A much better deal than yesterday's park.  Our surroundings are also nicer and quieter......more of a country feel.  We have a level concrete pad to set up on and we didn't even unhitch.  As I sit here writing this blog, I can hear all the birds singing their morning song....nice.....:-)!  Oh, almost forgot....we are in Meridian, Mississippi.  We will be moving on today, hoping to reach Heflin, Alabama. 

We made it to West Monroe, LA.  It was an easy travel day....clear skies, no wind, and no light post waiting to jump out at us....LOL!  We stayed at the Pavilion RV Park.  Not a steller park....dog pound on one side and trucks on the other, but it was a passport america park.  Most sites were level and had a concrete pads.  Good overnight spot.....just would not want to be here long term.  Today is another travel day on our way to the Rally in South Carolina!

Moving on Soon

Our stay here in Texas will finally be coming to an end.......Monday we will start our journey to the east coast.  We are heading to South Carolina for the RV Dreams rally in April.  As always, it seems there are a million things to do before we leave.  Groceries, laundry, good-bye dinners, furball bathing and the list goes on.  I'm afraid we won't get it all done.  It's not that we can't do some of these chores on the road....it's just that we will be moving fairly quickly.  It is always difficult to get things done when you are only spending one night at each stop.  My main disappointment is the bedroom mural.  It is about 2/3rds done and looking fabulous, but there is no way I'm going to finish it by Monday.  I really had hoped to have it done before we moved on.....I figure I need another 5 to 7 days to finish it up.

I am anxious to go......that ole 'hitch itch' has set in and I'm ready to put the great state of Texas well behind me.  I'm looking forward to the week at the rally.  I'm particularly happy about all the concrete that will be waiting for us there.  Sound stupid.....not when you are constantly cleaning dirt, grass, and mud off your kitchen floors from your two furball kid's feet....and I could really go for a long dry spell....I"m not even going to hope for warm weather.....but please.....dry....dry.....dry!

Snow Photos

Decided to post a couple of photos of our "snow event" last Saturday and Sunday.  We did absolutely nothing over the weekend.  The only time we ventured outside was to allow the furballs their potty breaks.  I think our little electric heater has run continuously the last two days.  The wind was relentless....with gusts up to 60 mile an hour at times.  I didn't do any painting on the mural over the weekend.....the bedroom slide was moving up and down so much I thought I would get seasick....LOL!

Amazingly enough, yesterday turned into a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and the temps got into the low 70's.  Best of all.....very little wind.  Billy and I spent the day running some errands.  He also took me by his old family home where he lived till he was 16...sadly the house was gone and another built in it's place.  We went by the jr high and high school.....checked out the old neighborhood.  It was fun. 

We are supposed to have another nice weather day today....I hope this is a trend that continues!

SNOW

It's 4am.....as I wake, I begin to hear whining.....there she is....little Belle...sitting rather impatiently.....tail wagging....more whining.....my worst nightmare....she is insisting on going outside.  Ok, I'm up.  I'm putting on my sweatpants, my sweatshirt, and yet another sweatshirt, socks, shoes.....Ok, I'm ready.  Open the door.....and.....lord have mercy.....SNOW!  Not just a light dusting as the weather man had predicted, but a good two inches.  Hey!  Two inches is alot when you don't expect to EVER see SNOW again!  Have I told you lately.....just how much I dislike Texas?  So, out we go, out onto the frozen tundra.....the furballs love it.  Little Belle is actually frolicking in the snow.  Running, jumping, spinning......tunneling with her little nose......."I thought you had to PEE!"....Oh....finally.  Back in we go.....back to the warmth of my bed.....back to sweet dreams.....dreams where the sun shines and the warm breezes blow......not the 60 mile an hour wind gust that rattle the bedroom slide till I'm sure it will be disconnected and fall on the ground......are we having fun yet and did I forget to mention that it is the first day of Spring?

More Painting, More Repairing

Things have been quiet around here......

I'm still working on the mural.  It is a slow process.  Some painting days are better than others.  The cramped conditions certainly are not helping to speed the process.  I have to get up and out several times a day and stretch myself back into 'human form'.  LOL!  And my rear end is really sore from sitting on those 2x4s....pillows don't seem to help a whole lot.   None the less, I am determined to finish it before the RV Dreams Rally in April.

Billy did get the needed parts for the landing gear replacement and we are all 'good as new' now and ready to travel.  That is a huge relief for us both.  He also ordered some spare parts in the event this problem continues to be a problem.  This is the second time in less than a year that this leg has twisted or broken the drive shaft.

One other accomplishment was to make some temporary repairs to the damage done from the 'light post' incident.  We secured the damaged panel with some screws so it would not be flapping in the wind or worse flying off as we travel down the road.  Have to say, Billy did a pretty good job......looks much better than it did....of course he had to use a little duck tape on the underside.  We both can laugh now......we have always joked about being 'trailer trash' and now the 'duck tape repair' confirms it.....LOL!

Sneak Peek

 Been working hard on the mural.......and here is a sneak peek at what has transpired thus far...

I'm pretty pleased, but I have a looooong way to go.  I did take the day off yesterday.  Billy and I headed over to Cedar Hill to do a little shopping.  I always like to check out the Jo Ann's Fabric stores and while there I purchased some 'black out' lining for the roman shades I will be sewing for the bedroom windows.

Next we headed over to the Kroger store and the highlight of the day was a terrific meal at Red Robin.  We started off with a "tower of onion rings" and each had our favorite burger.   MMMMM...good, but we both had to 'waddle' back to the truck and then back to the fiver.

Good news.....the parts we need to repair the landing gear arrived and Billy was able to do a little repair work yesterday.  Not quite done, but close.  If it stops raining, I'm sure he will finish the repair today.  For me.....it is back to painting......

New Project

I have officially started my next decorating project.  Decided to paint a small mural in our bedroom.  Now, this will be no easy task.  The bed and the platform it lies on will have to be moved back out of the way each day and then put back so we have somewhere to sleep each night.....

This is day one.....I washed down the walls and applied a coat of Kilz to prepare the wall for paint.  Next, I used regular wall paint and did two coats of Robin's egg blue.  I have to say this was quite the day.  The wind was blowing something fierce.....so the bedroom slide and fifth wheel were a rocking and a rolling.  Now remember, we have one side of the trailer up on blocks and a jack and jack stand.....that makes me doubly nervous with the wind.  The other problem is the cramped space.  I can't stand up and I really can't sit down....my back was killing me in very short order.  Fortunately, Billy took pity on me and headed over to Lowes for a couple of 2x4's.  We stretched those across the opening and "bingo" I now have a place to sit.  I will post some pics as things progress.....

I know it has been a few days since I posted......came down with a nasty cold and just have not felt very good.  I don't think I have had a cold in about 3 or 4 years.  This is my second cold for this year......hope that trend does not continue!  I am starting to feel a little better, so maybe this too will pass....LOL!

Here is a photo of our fiver in the new location at Lakeside Rv park just outside of Dallas.  I think the address of this place is actually Seagoville.  No web site...so I can't give you a link.  This is one of the more spacious sites.  Open field behind us and we can actually park the truck to the side for a change.  I thought about taking another photo once the sun went down, but heck, been so long since any of us has seen sun.....that I thought I'd just leave it!

This is the back side.....plenty of room for the satellites (Direct Tv and Hughes Net) and big open skies to point them in.....set up was a breeze for a change.

How do you like this for a "hillbilly" set up.  The parts Billy ordered did show up....unfortunately we are still missing a critical element.  Billy had to get back on the phone with Lippert and order a drive shaft.  Ours was broke completely in two.  Last year it was just twisted.  I did a little research online and found this has happened to other folks.  I can tell you this much.....we are done with this system.  We will be replacing this with a hydraulic system once we are back in Indiana!

Incidentally, for those of you that are interested, we still love our new air bed.  That has turned out to be a very good purchase!  I know we are both sleeping better....less tossing and turning and we feel better in the morning......that is a "Goode" thing....till next time....keep smiling!

When bad things happen to "Goode" people!

Thank goodness it is over.......yesterday was a very long and horrible day.  We left Rockport around 9am and did not arrive in Dallas til around 5pm.  It was raining and had been raining for awhile, the ground was absolutely saturated.  The rv park we are staying in does not have concrete pads.....if you are lucky.... you have some gravel and more grass then mud, but that is about it.  We were also surprised at how full it was....not to much to choose from.  You don't 'check in' here, you find your spot and then you drop your check in the drop box.  There is a posted phone number if you need to call the owner for any reason.

Billy had just made the comment that the roads were really narrow and the turns were tight....add the mud factor.....and well, this is were the 'horrible' part comes into play.  Billy was making a really tight turn, when a young man charged out of his trailer waving his arms.  We stopped and Billy jumped out and ran to the back of the trailer.  It seems our tail end had caught the street light.  Yeah, it was not good!

This my friends is the street light....as you can see....it was still shining it's little light!

 

This is a photo of the damage done to the side of our rig.

 

This is damage to the very back cap, under the rig

 

This is where the lamp post caught the fabric of our slide out on it's way down to the ground.  The good news is we did not do any damage to the lamp post and all of our damage is cosmetic.....no systems or tanks were damaged in the making of these photos....Ha!

Parking that evening was awful.....rain and cold and mud!  Remember we have a disabled landing leg so Billy was having to use a jack and jack stand for one side of the rig.  We finally got stabalized and in out of the rain.  I was not feeling well at all and ended up going to bed early.  Next thing I know, somewhere around 4am....one of the dogs is up....I had a mess to clean up.  One of the furballs had gotten sick.....see it just keeps getting better and better....LOL!

Next morning, we decided to move to a new location.  The one we were in was just surrounded with mud.  Some folks had left and I saw that a much better spot had opened up.  Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, I found that the electrical box had been fried....no power.  Good news.....one of the owners was in the park to check on the light pole damage.  He is also an electrician.  Not only did he tell us not to worry about the lamp post, but he took care of the electrical problem right then and there!  Really nice guy.  We couldn''t believe he was not going to charge us for the light pole.  Packed up, pulled the slides and headed to our new location.  I like it much better here.  I'll post some photos if it ever stops raining.  We still have one leg propped up with a jack and a jack stand....that makes me a little nervous.....but at least for now we are warm and dry!

Good news....we got the fiver hitched up without any problems.  We decided to do it today so we could get an early start in the morning.  Billy ordered the parts (we hope) we need to fix the landing gear and is having them sent to his brother in Dallas.  Looks like we may run into some wind and rain along the way......hopefully it will be dry in Dallas....I hate setting up in the rain.....or should I say poor Billy hates setting up in the rain....LOL!

Yesterday was a bright and sunny day.  Temps were in the high 60's.....all and all a very nice day.  Lunch was at a local Chinese buffet, where we met up with some of the RV Dreamers and some Escapees for food and fun.  We had a great time meeting and greeting and adding new friends to our extended rv family!

After lunch, Billy was forced to stop at some neat little shops I had seen off of Hwy 35.  He sat patiently in the truck while I did some shopping.  I have to say I really enjoyed myself.  The shops were tastefully decorated and the merchandise was moderately priced.  That is a combination that is hard to find.  I did find a treasure to add to my "fiver decor"!  I will share a photo, once I get it hung on the wall!

Back at the fiver, a couple of rv dreamer gals (Molly and Donna) came over to check out my handpainted bricks.  They seemed to think I did a pretty good job......thanks girls!

Our time here is growing short and it will be hard to say good bye to all our friends, but the great thing about this rv lifestyle....you know you will meet up again....somewhere....down the road! Till then we can keep in touch through our blogs and emails.....it truly is a "Wonderful Life"!

 

This is our site here at the Drifter's Resort.  As you can see they are rather close together, but at least we have a concrete pad and patio.  The also recently put down some sod, so that helps with the mud aspect.

Here is a shot of the view down the street we are located on.  The streets are dirt, but they are well packed so it is almost like concrete.  We did notice some of the sites have some trees a little too close to the pad for comfort, but overall it is big rig friendly.

Yesterday we checked out downtown Rockport......nothing of interest there, in fact we are not sure why people seemed to flock here.  There are at least 8 or 9 rv parks here.  You are close to the beach areas here, but there are much prettier beach areas in other parts of the country.  We ended up having dinner at the "Big Fisherman"......Billy had chicken fried steak and I had some type of fish platter......YUCK!  is all I can say.....it was cheap....the two of us ate for about $13.00 bucks.....guess you get what you pay for.  We will keep exploring to see if we can find anything here at all...there are some towns close by that we have not seen yet.  All in all, Texas is probably my least favorite place be!

As to our landing gear problem.....it is going to take to long to get parts here.  Billy is pretty sure we can get 'hitched up' using his bottle jack and some jack stands if need be....so we will be heading straight to Dallas from here.  We have family there and we will stay about 3 weeks, should be plenty of time to get the parts we need and make the repair.

On a happier note.....today is my son's Birthday!  Happy Birthday, Samuel!  We sure do miss your smiling face!

Our trip to Rockport was uneventful, well maybe not exactly uneventful.  I punched in the gps coordinates incorrectly and we ended up in some private subdivision with the Garmin telling us to turn right......into the ocean!  We regrouped, got turned around and arrived at the Drifter's Resort around 3:30.  We have a nice concrete pad and patio to set up on.  Unfortunately, we do have a bit of bad luck to report.  One of our landing gears.....is not landing....it came down so far and then quit.  Fortunately, when it decided to quit we were already unhitched and just in the process of fine tuning the leveling.  Our nose is a little high, but it does not feel too bad inside the coach.  If you remember, we had this problem once before......just last year....and in the state of Texas!  At that time our coach was under warranty, this time it will be our dime.  So, first order of business today will be to find an rv repair service to get this job underway.  I'm hoping they either have the part in stock or can order it quickly.  This park is not cheap and we don't really want to have to extend our stay.

About the park, we received a message on the way to Rockport that the office here would be closing early.  We were given instructions as to our site number and location.  So, we have not met or talked with anyone here at the park.  I'm looking forward to this meeting....as I have a question.  The park's web site clearly states a weekly rate of $150.00 for an rv site.  We are being charged almost $40 more and I want to know why.....I'm sure they will have some reason, but I'm still going to complain. 

Not off to a very good start.....Mama's not happy and you know if Mama's not happy....well, you know!  The only good news is I know we will soon be meeting up with some of our RV Dreamer family and that is sure to make me feel better.....

I have an update on the park fees.  We just back from the office where we did our 'official' check in and I'm happy to report we were only charged $150.00.  Don't know why I was told it would be more yesterday, but 'Mama' is now starting to smile!