What's Wrong With This Picture

I monitor weather in Gillespie, IL; Smithsburg, MD; Concord, NC; and Vail, AZ.  My brother and his family live in/near Gillespie, Barbara & Larry both live in Concord and Cassie lives in Smithsburg, MD.  We make the 2400 mile to come out to Vail to enjoy the warm winters and sun.  Well, we have the sun but the warm days/nights are avoiding us.  See picture below.

Typically this time of the year does have cold days and nights but we have been spoiled by warmer weather over the years.  It will be in the 60s during the day and possibly even 70 later this week.  We've even had a few snow flurries at times recently but nothing to even cover the car.  

When we were in Arlington, TX for Thanksgiving the 9+ inches of rain was very depressing and made it an adventure to drive around.  Plus no sun for days at a time didn't make the visit any better.  At least here we do have nice sunny days to cheer us up a little.

I like a little fresh air in the motorhome so I leave the window next to my chair open a little.  Last night I had forgotten about that and was wondering why it was so cool in my area.  This morning I found out why when the shades were open.  The window was still open and cold air was fighting with the furnace.  Closing the window made the battle more even and now it is toasty warm here.

 On and off I have been watching snips of the History Channel show about them trying to prove Hitler didn't die in his bunker, but had moved to South America.  Recently,  FBI documents were declassified and outlines their search for Hitler.  It seems that the general consensus was that he was transported by submarine to Argentina and lived there for a while and later lived in Brazil.  

At first I was skeptical to say the least, but now I'm not so sure.  He had a large group of followers with money that believed he would rise again and form the 4th Reich.  There were numerous prosperous German companies in those above countries and could have hid him easily.  They were unable to 100% prove he was there but many clues pointed to he was actually living there as late as 1948.  

As you have been able to figure out there isn't a lot going on around here when I write about the weather and documentaries.  We hope to get out and do some sightseeing soon so maybe something interesting will come up.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a great New Year.  

Snow Flurries and The 'Skins win

We were out and about today looking for some bargains on Christmas decorations.  Managed to find a few of them and picked up our Christmas cards for next year so it was a success.  

While we were at Costco snow flurries were coming down fairly steadily.  Sort of unusual to see blue skies and snow at the same time.  There wasn't any accumulation and hopefully that will be our snow "storm" for the year.

The Redskins were playing the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in their division today.  Just our luck that it was shown on the NFL network which you have to pay for.  Oh well!  I got to thinking that the Hotrods Bar had numerous tvs around the place and gave them a call to see if they had the NFL network.  They did, so we hustled on up there to watch the end of the game.  There were 4 of us 'Skins fans there and thoroughly enjoyed the game and the outcome.  I hope Jim & Sandie up there in Apache Junction had a chance to see the game since they are long suffering Skins fans also.  The win clinched the division title and will guarantee they host a playoff game.  Go 'Skins!

The weather forecast is for the coldest night of the year with temps around 26 degrees.  We had temps like that at Thanksgiving time so we aren't that concerned.  The furnace in the MH is great and we have a couple standalone electric heaters so we are good to go.  It helps to run the water at a little stream all night to keep the water hose from freezing.  Our hose has insulation on it and if it was going to be colder I would turn the water off.

I received an email today from a "friend" in Florida pointing out how nice their weather was compared to ours.  Hmmm!   Well, I don't think the friend had a beautiful sunset like we did tonight.

That was our day out here in sunny and cold Tucson.  How was yours?

Merry Christmas

Gerry and I always take time to check Christmas lights and decorations in the neighborhoods around us.  Tonight we found the time and went through a couple areas to check out the lights.  There seem to be more and more lights each year as people add to their collections.

It's always difficult to photograph night lights with our cameras so the photos aren't the greatest.

The house below always has a beautiful display and is the most outstanding one in the area.  The man in the white sweater is the owner of the house and he serves cookies, hot chocolate and gives away toys on Christmas eve.  We stopped by and I talked to him for a while and he seemed quite pleased at the people enjoying themselves at his display.  I picked up a couple cookies and we were on our way.

We had intended to attend the 7:00pm mass tonight, but we had unexpected company all afternoon.  It was nice seeing everyone and catching up on what has been going on with them.  I guess it is back to the children's mass tomorrow.  We love to see all the children in front of the altar and have the priest quiz them.  You never know what a 5 year old will say and we get a charge out of them.

Our heart goes out to those killed in the tornadoes in the South and Midwest today.  The crazy weather there is mind boggling with the Southwest being so cold and 75 degree weather in Charlotte, NC.



 

Guadalajara & Christmas Cookies

We had some last minute shopping to do on Monday and made a big circle getting it all finished.  We went to the Northwest side of Tucson and made a couple stops.  The stores weren't that crowded so it made it easy to shop.  

Since we were near the Guadalajara Grill (one of our favorite places), we decided to stop there for an early dinner.  Since it was happy hour, we ordered from the appetizer menu and had mini-chimis and a large Taco salad.  Gerry had a large margarita and I had a draft Dos XX Amber beer.  We were there too early for the mariachi band, but had a good time all the same.

We stopped by Kohl's so Gerry could pick up some items for a planned trip of ours.  She came out with a bag full but some items will go back since they were sewed backwards and the stitches show.  

While she was in the store I stayed with the car to guard it.  I know, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it.  I noticed a young man trying to get into a Tahoe and I was ready to call 911 when he decided to enter the store.  Hopefully he was going inside to meet up with his parents and wasn't a thief.

Shortly thereafter a young lady walked out of the store with a shopping cart overloaded.  I noticed a man running full blast out of the store.  The girl took off running to get away.  I figured she was a shoplifter and a few minutes later a very, very large man came out and followed the other guy into the parking lot.  They returned with the girl between them and took her back into the store.  I think her Christmas is ruined.

Gerry decided to make cookies today and it smelled great around here.  She made my favorite mincemeat cookies and I had to sample it.  Fantastic. 

I can't wait to have some more.  She also made snickerdoodles and will be baking mincemeat pie and other cookies on the day before Christmas.

Master baker at work

 

Snickerdoodles

 We have the motorhome decorated and the tree up.   Due to limited space we placed it on the dash of the mh next to the manger.  To the left is Gerry's favorite decoration since when you press it's finger it starts singing.
 

Cassie & Barbara 1969

I can't imagine how we prepared for Christmas when the children were little.  We both worked and had to shop in the evening or the weekend.  It took days to put up the tree since we really loaded it up with lead icicles, ornaments and lights.  At one time we used bubble lights but when they wore out we couldn't replace them.  Inbetween all that, there were presents to assemble & wrap, cards to send, parties to host/attend.  Whew!

We also decorated outside with lights on the bushes and on the rain gutters.  Back then it was usually cold when we put these decorations up and working fast was the rule of the day.  I guess those days are for the really young folks.  

That was our last few days out here in the Southwest.  What have you been up to?

Football, Church & Freddy's Steakhouse

I have been a Washington Redskins fan for over 55 years and have lived through the lean years in the 1960s, Superbowl wins & losses and the painful years since the present owner has had the team.  I won't go into detail of what I think of his leadership, but if he was to sell them it would make me very happy.

The Washington Redskins haven't been very good for a long time and this year they still have a long way to go to be a good team; however, they are in first place in their division with a 7-7 record and can actually make the playoffs if they win their next two games.  This was a good weekend for them since all the other teams in the division lost and the 'Skins are in first place.  I'm glad I brought my Redskins shirts with me this year.   

BTW:  A friend of mine and I bought season tickets in the late 1960s and have kept them all these years.  Neither of us use them now and the son of my friend buys them from us and uses them for his business.

We went to the 5pm service at church and the priest must be an Arizona Cardinals fan since we were out of there in 40 minutes.  I think that is the shortest service we have ever attended.  The Christmas Mass will make up for it since we like to attend the Children's Mass and it's always a long one.

Recently a new Freddy's Steakhouse opened just down the road from us.  It's been mobbed ever since it opened but we decided to check it out today for dinner.  It was a madhouse there and cars were lined up at the drive thru window.  That was along with a ton of people inside.  We decided to order and see how long it would take for our dinner to make it to the table.  They have two lines to order the meals and give you a number which they call out at another counter.  It took us 15 minutes to get our order and thought that was great considering the crowd there.

Our friend Ron K tried it out a couple days ago and thought it was good and who should we see there but Ron coming back for seconds.  He had placed an order to go and when he saw us decided to join us for dinner.

My cheeseburger and Gerry's chicken sandwich

Ron K waiting for his order.

 We enjoyed the meals but think it is more like a Five Guys type restaurant minus the salted peanuts.  I think the burger was better than Five Guys and since it is so close, I am sure we will return for lunch a couple times while we are here.

That was our exciting day out here in sunny and warm Tucson.      

 

Brrrrrrrrr, It's Cold Here in Tucson

We usually have a couple weeks of cold weather here in Tucson in January, however this year it arrived early.  It has been down to 24F the past few nights and that is cold for us.  The days have been in the low 50s so it hasn't warmed up that much as is usual for here.

Today was nicer with temps in the 60s and Friday it will be back in the 70s.  That is the temps that we love and expect here.  It did snow on Mt. Lemmon a couple days ago with accumulation around 15 inches more or less.  The highway up there was closed for a while and reopened and everyone made a dash to play in the snow.  There was a picture in the paper of a young man sledding dressed in jeans and a t-shirt in the 30 degree weather.  

We finally got all our Christmas cards in the mail, presents sent, motorhome decorated and now we are looking for things to do.  I vote for nothing, but have been over ruled by the boss.  She always has a job list to help keep me out of trouble.

The local post office shares space with a Credit Union and has one clerk to process the mail.  I went in the other day at 2:00pm and was told she was closing at 2:30pm and not taking anyone not already in line.  The hours there are 9:30am - 2:30pm with two 15 minute breaks.  No wonder the Post Office is in trouble.  I was there early the next day and took care of all our mailings.

We did see something unusual the other day on our way back from shopping.  There was a Fed Ex tractor trailer with dual trailers on I-10 and the 2nd trailer broke away going down the road.  There was a Chevy Tahoe following too close and it ran into the rear of the trailer.  It didn't look like anyone was seriously hurt, but it did tie up the west bound traffic during rush hour.  Police cars were speeding toward the accident so it must have happened just a few minutes before we saw it.  I am happy that we were heading east bound and weren't involved in the huge backup.

Our grandson Sean and his wife Taylor had twin girls in October and they recently turned 2 months.  Taylor sent us pictures of the cuties and they are adorable.  

Riley Gray

Hayden Grace

 That's been our time out here the past week or so trying to get settled in and get ready for Christmas.  We've also been working on making some plans for late January & February.  Hopefully, all will work out and we will have more to blog about.  More to follow on this if we can firm it up.

Hope you all are having a great time and enjoying the Christmas season.

High & Dry

We have spent the past week getting settled into our campsite for the next 4 months.  The new site we are in is larger and the neighbors aren't as close to us.  We had to give up the view out the front window which gave us a direct view of sunset, but we can walk a few yards and have a better view.  In addition, we are closer to the rec center, pool and office.  Maybe we will get in the pool or hot tub this year.  Maybe!

Trips to Costco, Safeway and Fry's helped us stock up on necessities and all of our storage space and cabinets are full.  Safeway was the best stop on our shopping spree since we picked up 2 jars of Crosse & Blackwell mince meat pie filling.  In my opinion C&B is by far the best filling for mince meat pie.  Thankfully, I am the only one who likes it in the motorhome and the pie is my very own.  Yummy! 

 NONE SUCH is another mince meat pie filling but it is only good for cookies and bread.  In a pinch it can be used for pie filling but there is a big drop down in taste.

We are getting back in the routine of Tuesday coffee & donuts, Gerry's quilting group and NCIS in the evening.  Freedom RV sponsored the donuts this time and brought three RVs to check out.  One of the drivers cut the corner too short and took out the door covering the batteries on a brand new Class B.  Ouch!  They brought a 34ft Class A Ventana diesel unit and it looked really nice.  Finally, a shorter diesel that looks good.   NO, we are not in the market for a new RV.  This week there was also a pot luck dinner in the rec. hall.  As usual, there was some really good food to be shared.

There are some new people in the park and we've met a couple of them.  Many people who we've met over the past ten years are back and we have caught up on happenings from their summers away from here.  

The weather has been great since we've arrived and we are enjoying it very much after the monsoons we had in Texas.  No danger of flooding where we are and the sun is bright.  Temps are in the high 70s with lots of sunshine.  We do enjoy the weather out here when it's not so hot like summer.  If it was like this all year we'd move here for the weather. 

The car was filthy from the travels and rain and needed a wash job badly.  The local automatic car wash was down for a few days and we finally made it there to remove the grime the other day.  The manager moved the plastic barriers and we were good to go.  Not!  They have 4 large barrels full of soapy water with long handled brushes in them so you can apply more soap and help clean the car.  I did this but when I put in the credit card to activate the car wash the problems began.

After the credit card port churned for a while it gave me a cannot connect message.  Tried again and same thing.  The attendant came over and tried to help with no luck.  Finally one of the people working on the new car wash came over and worked on the unit.  After 20-30 minutes we finally were able to run the car through the wash.  It came out looking like a new car and we don't look like the Beverly Hillbillies anymorel

That has been our week out here.  Hope you all had a great week also.
 

Two Long Days On The Road

November 30, 2015 

The rains finally let up enough for us to leave Grand Prairie on Monday.   It was just in time as far as we were concerned since the water was still rising and the campsites across the road from us were under water.  Not conducive to having a good night sleep when you never know if you will have to move again during the night.

We waited for rush hour to slow down and were on the road around 10am heading west on I-20.  It was a great day for making good time with no wind, dry roads and light traffic.  I added a little fuel in Pecos, TX since we had to start up the car and run it through the gears to keep the transmission lubricated.  Then it was back on the road to Van Horn, TX for the night after driving 520 miles.  We always stop at the same park there since they have a small cafe and it gives Gerry a break from making breakfast.  

December 1, 2015

We were on the road early with the intention of stopping in Las Cruces but the weather forecast was for 20 degrees overnight.  Deming and Lordsburg had even colder forecasts so we decided to drive on to Tucson.  

 We made good time once again with light traffic until we arrived in Benson, AZ around 5pm and joined everyone in a massive traffic jam.  It took us almost 2 hours to travel 5 miles due to road construction and the narrowing down to one lane.  The RT 90 intersection was just before the road construction and there were three lanes of traffic fighting down to one lane.  What a mess.

By the time we got through the traffic jam it was too late to go to CCRV so we stopped at the Pima County Fairgrounds campground for the night.  They had two 50 amp sites left and we settled in for the night.  

This leg of the trip was 490 miles and it wore us out driving so far in two days.  Driving a 40ft motorhome with a tow car is more taxing than driving a car. It is slower, also.  The Honda CRV cannot be towed faster than 65 mph or the tranny will give out.

December 2, 2015

We left the fairgrounds around noon for the 3 miles drive to our campground for the next 4 months.  Since we didn't reserve our old site, they moved us to another site.  This one turned out to be larger and closer to the activity center.  I think it will work out better for us so we are pleased with it.

A number of friends stopped by to welcome us back including Ron K, Ron & Dee C and a couple others.  We managed to make a lot of headway setting up the motorhome.  Then we stopped by the local Fry's grocery store for some much needed provisions.  By then it was time for dinner and we stopped at Panda Express for a quick meal.  

We hit the hay early and called it a night.  Tired, but happy to be off the road for a while.

Evacuated From Campground

We are camped at Loyd Park on Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, TX and it's been raining the last 4 days with an accumulation of almost 6 inches of rain.  The creeks, rivers, fields are all full of water.  The lake has been rising since the flood gates are broken and even if they could open them, the Trinity River is flooding and the water would just back up.

Early this morning one of the staff here at the campground came knocking at our door and said we had to evacuate the camp loop we were in due to high water.  The exit route was covered high enough that cars were flooding out and had to be towed out of the water.  So we went out the entrance road and wound up moving to a loop that is higher up.  Gerry drove the car and wound up behind a MH and car going about 1 mph through some high water.  We didn't have a problem making it out but later the water was higher and it would have been difficult to navigate an exit in the car.

I think the new campsite is more prone to flooding than the last one, but the road is more passible.  We hung around for a couple hours watching the water rise and decided that it wouldn't reach up to a point to be a problem for us.  

Our friends Judy & Herb called and wanted to meet us for dinner so we drove over to their house for a visit and then on to a local Mexican restaurant.  We all enjoyed our meals and had a fun time joking around during the evening.  

Judy, Herb, me & Gerry

 We made it an early evening since we hope to make an early exit from here in the morning and make it to Van Horn, TX for the night.  I'ts a 485 mile drive under good conditions, however since it's the Thanksgiving holiday who knows what is in store out there.  I intend to take it easy and play it safe and let those in a hurry go on past us.

That was our day, how was yours?

Turkey and Rain

We spent the day at Judy & Herb's home on Thanksgiving watching football and stuffing ourselves with the delicious meal Judy prepared.  Their friends Greg & Darlene from Rockport, TX made the long drive up to join us for dinner.  They will be staying with Judy & Herb until Monday and then return back home.

It was non-stop conversation among the 6 of us but then the girls sort of separated from us guys watching the football games.  Two blowouts and one close game in miserable conditions in Green Bay.

We sat down to eat around 4 pm and Judy remembered I like mince meat pie so she prepared one for me.  Greg also likes it so I had to share it with him.  Darn it!

Gerry, Judy, Herb, Darlene & Greg

We visited until after the GB-Chicago football game and then began the trek back to the motorhome.  It had been raining steadily for hours and the roads were covered in many places with running water.  It was difficult to see even with the windshield wipers running at the highest speed.  The road leading to the campground was covered in one spot but it wasn't that deep so we finally made it back safe and sound.  It continued to rain very hard for hours after we got back and didn't slow down until later in the night.  I am glad we were on high ground and not near a creek or drainage area.  We received almost 3 inches of rain on Thursday and it seemed like twice that much in spots.

This is what the road near our campsite looked like this morning on our way out.  These were open fields and dry the day before this.  The small bridge we had to go over had debris on the top of the guard rail about 2 ft up from the road.  

   

That was our day, how was yours. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our family and friends.  The past year has had it's share of health scares from a number of people who we love and care about.  They have come through it and are moving along nicely.  We are very thankful for their progress.

Gerry and I are in Arlington, TX celebrating Thanksgiving with our good friends Judy and Herb.  We met them in Abidjan in 1983. They came to our house there the next couple years, as long as Judy wasn't back in the U.S. on shift change.  Larry Jr. and I had Thanksgiving dinner with them in 1985 while Gerry came back to the States for the birth of our granddaughter Stephanie.  

Abidjan Thanksgiving 1984

Herb, Larry, Doug, Gloria, Gerry & Judy -  Tucson 2006

2006 was the year that friends Gloria & Doug, along with Judy and Herb joined us for Thanksgiving dinner at the Cactus Country RV Resort in Tucson, AZ.

We arrived here yesterday and intend to spend a couple days visiting with them, maybe longer after looking at the weather forecast.  There is a major rain event forecast for the next three days.  They are calling for flooding with rain totals of 1 to 2 inches of rain each day.  We are on high ground with our campsite so flooding won't be a problem for us.

We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving celebration with those you love as you count your blessings.

Visiting Family in NC

We spent the last month visiting with our children and their families in the Charlotte, NC area.  When we first arrived in the area the campgrounds were full due to a Classic Car event and then a car race a weekend later.  Thankfully our son invited us to park in his driveway.  When they bought the house he installed an outside electric box so we could hook up the motor home and that worked out fine.  

One of the first things we did was visit our grandson Sean and Taylor (his wife) to see the new arrivals to the family.  Twin girls, Hayden Grace and Riley Gray arrived on Oct 14.  The twins and Taylor came thru this in great shape and they are doing super now.  Great grandma Gerry was in 7th heaven and made sure we got there as soon as possible.

Taylor, Barbara, Gerry, Hayden & Riley

Proud papa, Sean.

 Gerry had worked the past 4-5 months on blankets for the newborns and finished them while we were in the area.  She presented them to Sean and Taylor a couple days before we left.  Since the twins aren't identical, the blankets look the same except for the fringe around the edges.  I think they came out fantastic and am amazed how much time Gerry spent in making them.  Job well done.  The newborns were so small they made me look bigger than I am.  As you can see below, I am not comfortable holding little babies while Gerry is in her element.

The posting dates aren't going to match since I am doing some catch up blogging.

Good News Today

As my few loyal readers have noted, I haven't been blogging much lately.  There hasn't been a lot going on that was blog worthy except for a few things which I will write about in a few days.

We are parked in our son's driveway now since the campgrounds were full when we arrived a couple weeks ago.  There were special events happening in the area, which we didn't realize.  Since we didn't have reservations, we had to go to Plan B.  It's worked out pretty well staying here since we have water and electric to the motor home.  I have to take the MH to a campground on Wednesday to dump the black tank and then return to the driveway.  Our son likes to tell us he and his wife bought this particular home because of the long, flat driveway so we would be able to park here.

The reason I haven't been blogging is that my brother and daughter Cassie have both been having health issues.  My brother went through an 11 hour operation recently and due to the seriousness of the operation we all were worried.  He came through with flying colors and is now recuperating and waiting to start radiation treatments soon.  That was a huge relief when we received the news.

We were sitting on pins and needles waiting to see if either or both of them needed us to come and help them.  My brother is in the good hands of his children and Gerry wanted to make sure all was clear with Cassie before we made any long term plans.
 
Cassie had a problem and had a biopsy last week.  There was a lot of concern about it being cancerous and she finally got the results today.  It isn't cancer and not life threatening so they will take care of it after Thanksgiving.
 
We were so happy to hear she is fine.  We went back last week for the biopsy procedure and spent a few days with her and her family.  I've been having allergy and sinus problems so we returned to NC.  

I had a lot of visitors from Russia and China viewing the blog recently.  Most likely it's people trying to hack my blog, but I can't imagine what good it would do for them to do that.  No financial data is there and since it is a family and friends blog, they would be bored to read it.  Go figure.

Happy Veterans day to all those who served.  It was also the Marine Corp birthday celebration.  We always enjoyed attending the Marine Corp ball when I was in the Foreign Service overseas.  Semper Fi.

That's a little of what we have been up to recently.  

Getting Ready To Hit The Road

We've been at the cabin for two months and it's already time to hit the road.  Time really flies by when you are having fun.  The last couple days we've loaded the motor home with a few items from the cabin.  There isn't as much to load this year since we have basically used the motor home all the time.  

October 20, 2015

It's been raining up here and the ground is soft where I have to back up the motor home onto so we have brought in about 1 1/2 ton of rock to make a mini driveway.  Cassie & Jack lent us their truck for this task and it took 2 trips.   Thankfully, Cassie and Bella were there to help unload the rocks.  It went by fast with their help.  The rocks were placed next to the motor home in the indentations made by the tires last year.  

New rock next to MH.

 The girls brought up their dogs to let them run and Remy ran around like an animal on crack cocaine.  I was very impressed by her running, jumping and turning on a dime skills.  She never got tired and wanted to play by running all the time.  Me thinks she was cooped up in the house too long.

Bella & Remy in driveway

 As you can tell by the winter jackets, it was a cold day up there for the unloading of the rocks.  Cassie & Bella wanted a fire so I gathered up some wood for them to burn.  It took a while but they got the fire blazing real well and kept it going until after sunset.  S'mores were on tap and enjoyed by all. 

Cassie and Jack also are campers and have a popup camper that needed some repairs before they go camping this weekend.  Jack came up after work and worked on the unit and got it all ready to go.  They are going to Gettysburg for the weekend and joining another couple there for pre-halloween festivities.

Jack getting ready to repair their camper.

October 21, 2015

 Cassie came up to help us get the motor home out on the road.  It is a very tight fit with trees along side of the narrow road leading out to the highway.  Once we cleared the cabin area, the next problem was actually exiting the area of the cabins.  There are trees on both sides of the narrow lane that I have to navigate through with only a couple inches to spare on either side.  I managed to line up the motor home and get out without scratching the unit.  

I drove the MH down to the local Food Lion parking lot 12 miles away and we hooked up the car there.  Cassie followed us and we said our goodbyes.  It's always difficult for us to tell her goodbye, but we will be back there for a couple days in November.  Then it will be goodbye for a longer time period.

We had an easy drive to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA where we camped for two nights.  It's a nice campground and we've camped there a number of times, but this will be the last time.  It cost us $79.00 for two nights with only an electric and water hookup.  They do have a dump station on the way out.  I can't understand how a private campground with a mortgage, paying taxes, staff and such is cheaper than a State park where they don't have a mortgage, taxes and have a number of volunteers.  While we can afford the cost, I wonder about all those families who camp to enjoy nature can afford those prices.  There is something wrong with how they accept and disburse money for these parks.

We drove over to visit with our good friends Mann & Carolyn the next day to catch up on what they have been doing.  We met them in 2000 down in the Florida Keys and have been friends since then.  They were just starting to camp and had a Flair motorhome and now they are thinking about selling their nice Journey motorhome and hanging up the keys.  They recently bought a house in Florida and intend to spend the winters there.  We always enjoy their company and the time rushed by quickly.  Then it was on to the Charlotte, NC area to visit with our children Barbara & Larry and their families.

That was our exit from the cabin and first visit on our route.  I see a number of blogging friends are on the move and enjoying themselves out there on the road.  Hopefully we will run across some of them as we make our way out to Tucson once again.
 

Firewood & Cold Nights

It's been very cold for this time of the year here on the mountain the past 3-4 days with temps down around 26F at night.  I've covered the water hose with leaves and that helps insulate them from the cold enough to keep them from freezing.  I also have a drop light with a 100W bulb in the water intake area of the motorhome which helps keep the compartment warm enough to keep it above freezing.

My next door neighbor Bob cuts down dead trees for firewood each year and I let him cull the dead trees from out 3 acres.  Over the years he has cut an access road to reach the trees at the back of the lot.  Here he is on the right with his trusty John Deere tractor getting read to cut down an 85 ft oak tree that has been dead for a couple years.  His brother Dave is on the left and was his helper that day.

Dave on left and Bob on the right.

Bob used to split the wood by hand but last year he bought a log splitter to make life a little easier.  All that means is he splits more wood now and it wears him out faster.  

Bob cutting the tree into fireplace lengths.

 Bob, Dave and Annette are working splitting the tree into fireplace sized wood.  Bob actually has a very nice wood stove that he uses as his main source of heat in the winter, with a propane furnace as a backup.  His cabin is well insulated and that helps with the heating bills.

Bob, Annette, and Dave  Notice some of the split wood on the right.

Sunday Bob was working on taking down some more trees on another neighbor's property when he downed a tree that fell against the neighbor's house.  Luckily, there was very little damage and Bob repaired it quickly.  No problem!  He did manage to get five truckloads of firewood and that will help him get through the winter.  They are expecting a cold one again, much like last year when it was bitter cold for weeks at a time. 

I was joking with him and said another neighbor warned me to not let Bob near our cabin on this search for firewood since he was a danger to himself and others in the area.  I had him going for a while until he caught on I was pulling his leg.  All in good fun.

Bob has been a great neighbor here for the past 35 years and has been helpful with many projects.  It is great to have a neighbor like him.

We've been staying in the motor home most of the time since we arrived here in August.  It is much easier to not have to unpack everything and then repack it later when we are getting ready to leave.  We purchased a macerator to empty the black/gray tanks into our septic system so it's possible to use the motor home.   We do use the cabin for other things as well as when we have company, since there is more space there.  It works out great for us this way.

We are planning on leaving the cabin on Wednesday morning and heading for Concord, NC to visit with Larry Jr. and Barbara and their families for 3-4 weeks before continuing our journey back to Tucson for the winter.  Hopefully, we will arrive there around the first of December and I can resume my newspaper delivery.

We've been having goodbye lunches the past few days and I will write about them later.  This has been the shortest time we've been at the cabin since we've been fulltiming and time has gone by in a flash.  It seems like we just arrived here and it's been almost 2 months.  

That's it for the night.  Hope you all are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and crisp nights.

Nice Fall Drive - Happy Columbus Day

It was time to get away from the cabin and see some of the beautiful fall scenes in the area.  The leaf colors aren't at their peak yet but they are still beautiful to see.  We have numerous fire trails in the area and many are open this time of the year so we went off the beaten path.

First however, we stopped by a couple roadside stands to pick up the last sweet corn of the season.  They had a nice autumn decoration set up with pumpkins and small gourds.  

We drove by another farm and produce market and admired their seasonal decorations.  We usually stop here for our fresh squeezed apple cider but bypassed it today.  Hopefully, I can talk Gerry into making her hot spiced apple cider before we leave the area next week.

It was a nice cool day so we decided to take a leisurely drive around the mountain and enjoy the views.  

Adams County, PA is known for its apple/peach orchards in addition to the Gettysburg Battlefield.  We are on the southern portion of the orchards and drove through several of them along this journey.  The orchard pictured below also has some of the best cherries we've ever eaten.  It's a pick your own place that isn't that well known and we want to keep it a secret.

The apples are ready for picking.  We saw a few people in the orchard but not many.  They had better hurry before the deer get their fill of the apples.

They had stacks of crates ready to be filled and shipped off to the processing plant a few miles away from here.

Just over the first ridge is Gettysburg, PA, but it's hard to see since we are 10 miles or so away from there.  The visibility was fairly good, but there was just enough haze in the area to cloud Gettysburg.

All this driving and seeing apples made me hungry for an apple pie.  We stopped at a local market and Gerry went in to buy a pie, but she must have gotten distracted and wound up with a Key Lime pie instead.  Must have been because she was reading  about the recent visit to the Florida Keys of blogger Where's Weaver .  

This is also the time of the year for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and many bloggers writing about their time there.  It has been difficult reading about the Florida Keys and the Fiesta while sitting here on the mountain.  We love to visit both places and weren't able to this year.   I even told my youngest grandson of marriageable age not to get married the first of October and guess what he has on the schedule for Oct 8, 2016.  Yep, getting hitched. Getting him married off takes priority over the Fiesta.  It was only 5 years ago that our granddaughter was married on 10/10/10 and wiped out the Fiesta for that year.  What's up with these kids?

That was our day on the mountain, how was yours.
 

Misty Morning Drive

Well, we are finally finished with doctor appointments and are good to go for another year.  No big problems with these old bones so far other than old age creeping up on us.  Actually, more like a gallop than creeping.

My last doctor appointment was early in the morning and we left in fog and morning mist.  We were treated to some great views of the mountains and open meadows along our drive.  Gerry managed to take a few pictures but we couldn't really stop and take more due to the appointment.  

I was in and out of the doctor's office in record time and we stopped at a Bob Evans Restaurant for breakfast.  I had what looked like an open face omelet and Gerry ordered the blueberry crepes.  We both enjoyed the meals and the never ending cups of coffee.  Of course, at $2.19 a cup, they should be refilled constantly. 

We decided to stop on the way back to the cabin and gather some walnuts for our local squirrels.  For some reason walnut trees don't thrive near the cabin; however, down lower there are hundreds of them.  Most of the walnut trees are along side of country roads and the locals don't gather them at all.  We used to pick bushels of walnuts and then crack them open for the meat.  Gerry baked a lot in the winter and fresh walnuts really hit the spot. You do have to be patient picking the meat out of the walnuts and that was a job to be performed while watching football.

As we were returning to the cabin a solitary turkey walked across the road in front of us and then flew into a tree.  Gerry whipped her trusty camera out and captured a couple pictures of what looked like a young tom.  He sat in the tree for a couple minutes watching us and finally decided to fly further back into the woods.

  
We've started our departure routine early this year so we aren't so rushed.  It's been raining a lot up here and the ground is soft next to the motorhome.  It's a very tight fit exiting the parking spot and I have to back up onto an area that is dirt.  Last year it was dry, however the motorhome left a few ruts as we pulled out.  I've decided to watch the weather closer as the actual date comes closer and if rain is in the forecast, I will move the motorhome to a local state park for a few days.  

It's been quiet up here on the mountain the past few weeks.  Just a few visitors (neighbors) stopping by, some doctor appointments, shopping and regular life events.  Nothing really interesting to blog about.

My brother went to the cardiologist yesterday and all is going well with him on that issue.  The doctor was pleased with his progress and said he was fit enough for his 2nd major operation later this month.  He gets asked how he is doing so much that I think he'd rather not talk about it.  

That's it from up here.  Hope you all are having a great Autumn.