Forest City, NC.
67 deg. cloudy, light rain, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. showers and t-storms, S. winds around 5 mph.
Just a short note today to remind all of you to get out those flags, display them proudly and most of all, take a moment to remember all the brave soldiers who served to keep us free.
And, while you are celebrating, be sure to be careful and have a safe Holiday.
Jim has already started getting me ready to travel. The weather forecast for today was not too good here, so he did some preparations yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll be leaving here and starting our journey towards Illinois. I doubt if we'll be getting there until the weekend though, as we're planning on staying a few places along the way.
Did you know that Memorial Day was not a federal Holiday until 1971?
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Visiting, Sporadic Signal and A Few More Photos
Forest City, NC
66 Deg. cloudy
We had quite a squall line go through here tonight, but just before the storm got here, it split and part of it went to the North and the rest of it went to the South. So..... we had a pretty heavy shower of rain, but that's all.
Jim and Linda have been busy visiting with Roland and Louise, eating dinner together and in general just enjoying each other's company. One night they went to eat at a nice seafood restaurant, but other than that, they have prepared meals here.
My Internet signal has been very sporadic. Sometimes I'll have 3 bars, and then all of a sudden there won't be a signal at all. :-( So, for the most part, it's just been too difficult to do any posting on this blog. Right now, at 8:30 on Friday evening, I have a good signal and it seems to be steady.
Oh, Jim took a few more photos, and I'll try to get them posted here.
This is a photo of Roland and Louise's from the neighboring house.
This is from out by the road looking back at the house.
This is looking down the road from in front of the house. As you can see, we're not very far form some mountains.
If I get another time when I've got a good signal, I'll post again. Otherwise, It may be after the Holiday before I can get back on.
Did you know that Memorial Day was first called “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldier’s graves with flowers?
66 Deg. cloudy
We had quite a squall line go through here tonight, but just before the storm got here, it split and part of it went to the North and the rest of it went to the South. So..... we had a pretty heavy shower of rain, but that's all.
Jim and Linda have been busy visiting with Roland and Louise, eating dinner together and in general just enjoying each other's company. One night they went to eat at a nice seafood restaurant, but other than that, they have prepared meals here.
My Internet signal has been very sporadic. Sometimes I'll have 3 bars, and then all of a sudden there won't be a signal at all. :-( So, for the most part, it's just been too difficult to do any posting on this blog. Right now, at 8:30 on Friday evening, I have a good signal and it seems to be steady.
Oh, Jim took a few more photos, and I'll try to get them posted here.
If I get another time when I've got a good signal, I'll post again. Otherwise, It may be after the Holiday before I can get back on.
Did you know that Memorial Day was first called “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldier’s graves with flowers?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Try This Again
Forest City, NC
63 Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 80
Well, let's try this again. I've had a lot of trouble just getting pages to load on this Internet signal, but over the last few days, I've been able to get a few photos loaded.
Me parked in front of Big Herb.
View from the other side
This of course is a photo of the front of Big Herb as seen from the other end of the RV port.
Most days I have only one bar, and the signal drops out frequently. So I won't be posting very often until we leave here. (which will be the day after Memorial Day).
Jim and Linda have been enjoying themselves visiting with Roland and Louise, going out to eat sometimes and just being together.
The weather has been nice, with a few afternoon showers, and high temps in the upper 70's to mid 80's.
Check back from time to time, because I will continue to try to post as often as I can.
63 Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 80
Well, let's try this again. I've had a lot of trouble just getting pages to load on this Internet signal, but over the last few days, I've been able to get a few photos loaded.
Most days I have only one bar, and the signal drops out frequently. So I won't be posting very often until we leave here. (which will be the day after Memorial Day).
Jim and Linda have been enjoying themselves visiting with Roland and Louise, going out to eat sometimes and just being together.
The weather has been nice, with a few afternoon showers, and high temps in the upper 70's to mid 80's.
Check back from time to time, because I will continue to try to post as often as I can.
Monday, May 24, 2010
I Spoke Too Soon
Forest City, NC
63 deg, clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly cloudy, 40% chance of t-storms, NE wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Well, I guess I spoke too soon, The Internet signal here if very unreliable and at times there is no signal at all.
So.....I'll post when I can get on, and try to keep you updated as much as possible. I'll try different times of the day and see if some other time might be better.
63 deg, clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly cloudy, 40% chance of t-storms, NE wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Well, I guess I spoke too soon, The Internet signal here if very unreliable and at times there is no signal at all.
So.....I'll post when I can get on, and try to keep you updated as much as possible. I'll try different times of the day and see if some other time might be better.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A Real Find??
Forest City, NC
64 Deg., heavy fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 88 deg. mostly sunny.
Yesterday morning started with Roland coming to see me. Of course when he got here, Jim offered him a cup of coffee and they sat and talked for awhile. After awhile, Jim and Roland got into Roland's pick-up truck, and headed over to Roland's son's house, which is just a little down the road from here. Once there, they went into the woods and helped Kenneth, (Roland's Son) dig an old car chassis out of the undergrowth.
Actually Jim didn't stay too long because he was getting bitten up by bugs.
Anyway, once Roland and Kenneth got it out, they realized that it was a very old chassis and had the original wire wheels on it. Well, after talking to a few people later in the day they are thinking that it may be an antique and be worth quite a bit of money.
So, Monday or Tuesday a man is going to come and look at it and hopefully tell them just what it is and how much they could expect to get for it if they sell it.
Wow!!! This could be a real find!!!
For dinner, Roland roasted a whole bunch of hot dogs on his gas grill and then Kenneth and his family come over and everyone sat out at the picnic table and on chairs and enjoyed and nice meal.
Did you know that today is "World Turtle Day"?
64 Deg., heavy fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 88 deg. mostly sunny.
Yesterday morning started with Roland coming to see me. Of course when he got here, Jim offered him a cup of coffee and they sat and talked for awhile. After awhile, Jim and Roland got into Roland's pick-up truck, and headed over to Roland's son's house, which is just a little down the road from here. Once there, they went into the woods and helped Kenneth, (Roland's Son) dig an old car chassis out of the undergrowth.
Actually Jim didn't stay too long because he was getting bitten up by bugs.
Anyway, once Roland and Kenneth got it out, they realized that it was a very old chassis and had the original wire wheels on it. Well, after talking to a few people later in the day they are thinking that it may be an antique and be worth quite a bit of money.
So, Monday or Tuesday a man is going to come and look at it and hopefully tell them just what it is and how much they could expect to get for it if they sell it.
Wow!!! This could be a real find!!!
For dinner, Roland roasted a whole bunch of hot dogs on his gas grill and then Kenneth and his family come over and everyone sat out at the picnic table and on chairs and enjoyed and nice meal.
Did you know that today is "World Turtle Day"?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Apex To Forest City, and Together Again With Very Good Friends
Forest City, NC
63 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly cloudy, chance of afternoon t-storms, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
About 9:00 yesterday morning, we left my site at Jordan Lake SRA and headed to the dump station. Needless to say, my tanks were very full and it sure was good to get them emptied. From the dump station we headed to the Mobile gas station which is just down the road from the park entrance on US 64.
From the time we arrived at Jordan Lake to the time we left, the price of diesel has come down from $3.11 to $2.99, so it was good that Jim waited until we left to fill me up. Once I had my fill of that good old #2 diesel, we continued West on 64 until we came to US 421 which took us NW and up to the Greensboro area. There, after following I-85 and I-73 around to the South of the city, we tuned West onto I-40. I-40 then took us over to Morganton where we turned SW on US 64 and followed it down to near Forest City. Then, we turned off on some local roads that brought us here to Roland and Louise's place.
It was 1:40 when we pulled in their driveway, so it took us 4 hours and 40 minutes to dump my tanks, get me a drink, and travel 205 miles.
Oh, and we stopped for about 10 minutes at a rest stop on I-40 too.
As we were gong past Statesville on I-40, it started to mist, and by the time we got to the Hickory area, it was raining quite hard. The heavy rain lasted almost all the way to Forest City, but did lighten up just before we got here. The rain really didn't bother me as long as we were on I-40, but once we turned onto US 64, which is kind of narrow, hilly and twisty in this area, it wasn't so much fun. :-(
It sure is good to see Big Herb again. He's in his RV port and I'm backed right up to him, so we'll be able to catch up on everything that's been happening since we've seen each other.
As soon as we got here, Roland and Louise came out and gave Jim and Linda hugs and welcomed them. Then it was lots of conversation to catch up on what's going on in their lives. After talking for awhile, Louise went back in the house, Jim and Roland sat outside at the front of the RV port and talked, and Linda got everything ready inside of me.
For dinner, Roland cooked a pork roast on the grill and Louise prepared a potato/bean dish, asparagus, and slaw.
Another great meal with very good friends. ;-)
After dinner, Roland went to watch a "live chess match" that their grand kids were in. The way I understand it, the kids were the chess pieces and moved around a big board on the floor.
After Roland got back, Jim went in the house and they talked for awhile, then he came back out here and he and Linda watched TV until after the news.
Oh, and as you can see, I do have an Internet signal! :-) It seems that sometime during the last year, the signal in this area has been boosted and now we have 3 bars on the meter.
Did you know that Clinophobia is the fear of beds?
63 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly cloudy, chance of afternoon t-storms, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
About 9:00 yesterday morning, we left my site at Jordan Lake SRA and headed to the dump station. Needless to say, my tanks were very full and it sure was good to get them emptied. From the dump station we headed to the Mobile gas station which is just down the road from the park entrance on US 64.
From the time we arrived at Jordan Lake to the time we left, the price of diesel has come down from $3.11 to $2.99, so it was good that Jim waited until we left to fill me up. Once I had my fill of that good old #2 diesel, we continued West on 64 until we came to US 421 which took us NW and up to the Greensboro area. There, after following I-85 and I-73 around to the South of the city, we tuned West onto I-40. I-40 then took us over to Morganton where we turned SW on US 64 and followed it down to near Forest City. Then, we turned off on some local roads that brought us here to Roland and Louise's place.
It was 1:40 when we pulled in their driveway, so it took us 4 hours and 40 minutes to dump my tanks, get me a drink, and travel 205 miles.
Oh, and we stopped for about 10 minutes at a rest stop on I-40 too.
As we were gong past Statesville on I-40, it started to mist, and by the time we got to the Hickory area, it was raining quite hard. The heavy rain lasted almost all the way to Forest City, but did lighten up just before we got here. The rain really didn't bother me as long as we were on I-40, but once we turned onto US 64, which is kind of narrow, hilly and twisty in this area, it wasn't so much fun. :-(
It sure is good to see Big Herb again. He's in his RV port and I'm backed right up to him, so we'll be able to catch up on everything that's been happening since we've seen each other.
As soon as we got here, Roland and Louise came out and gave Jim and Linda hugs and welcomed them. Then it was lots of conversation to catch up on what's going on in their lives. After talking for awhile, Louise went back in the house, Jim and Roland sat outside at the front of the RV port and talked, and Linda got everything ready inside of me.
For dinner, Roland cooked a pork roast on the grill and Louise prepared a potato/bean dish, asparagus, and slaw.
Another great meal with very good friends. ;-)
After dinner, Roland went to watch a "live chess match" that their grand kids were in. The way I understand it, the kids were the chess pieces and moved around a big board on the floor.
After Roland got back, Jim went in the house and they talked for awhile, then he came back out here and he and Linda watched TV until after the news.
Oh, and as you can see, I do have an Internet signal! :-) It seems that sometime during the last year, the signal in this area has been boosted and now we have 3 bars on the meter.
Did you know that Clinophobia is the fear of beds?
Friday, May 21, 2010
Another Great Meal, Saying Good-Bye and Let's Go!!!!
Apex, NC.
55 deg. mostly clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp.85 deg. mostly sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
OK, I'm ready!!!! Let's go!!!! Come on, Jim and Linda what's the hold up????
Oh all right. I guess I can wait until about 9:00 to get under way. I don't know why we couldn't be leaving at 7:00 or 8:00 though.
Jim has almost everything finished out side. The only thing I'm hooked to is electric. He put water in my fresh water tank yesterday afternoon, and put all the hoses and the filter away. Then he checked my tires, rolled up my window awnings, secured my main awning and checked all my fluid levels.
While he was doing that, Linda was picking up inside of me, putting away items that they won't need for the rest of the time we're here, and then did some dusting.
All of this was done by 4:45 when they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's for the last time. Again, Gina prepared a very nice meal of chicken, green beans, and potatoes. Linda took some corn-on-the-cob that she had picked up at the grocery store the other day, and also some garlic bread.
Jim said that all of that put together made a great meal. :-)
All too soon, it was time to give hugs and say good-bye to Gina as she needed to go see her aunt who is in a nursing home. Then, about 7:30 Jim and Linda said good-bye to Mike, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon. Jim and Linda both said that they're going to miss all of them a lot, but we'll be back.
Probably this fall.
A little before 8:00 CLT rolled up in front of me and Jim and Linda came in an watched TV until bedtime.
It's been a good visit, but now its time to move on.
So...... Come On, Jim and Linda lets get rolling!!! There's a whole bunch of black top out there that I need to cover!!! :-)
Did you know that on this day in 1901, Connecticut becomes the first state to pass a law regulating motor vehicles, limiting their speed to 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads?
Oh, and remember, I may not be able to post from Forest City, but keep checking, I'll be back just a soon as I can. :-)
55 deg. mostly clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp.85 deg. mostly sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
OK, I'm ready!!!! Let's go!!!! Come on, Jim and Linda what's the hold up????
Oh all right. I guess I can wait until about 9:00 to get under way. I don't know why we couldn't be leaving at 7:00 or 8:00 though.
Jim has almost everything finished out side. The only thing I'm hooked to is electric. He put water in my fresh water tank yesterday afternoon, and put all the hoses and the filter away. Then he checked my tires, rolled up my window awnings, secured my main awning and checked all my fluid levels.
While he was doing that, Linda was picking up inside of me, putting away items that they won't need for the rest of the time we're here, and then did some dusting.
All of this was done by 4:45 when they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's for the last time. Again, Gina prepared a very nice meal of chicken, green beans, and potatoes. Linda took some corn-on-the-cob that she had picked up at the grocery store the other day, and also some garlic bread.
Jim said that all of that put together made a great meal. :-)
All too soon, it was time to give hugs and say good-bye to Gina as she needed to go see her aunt who is in a nursing home. Then, about 7:30 Jim and Linda said good-bye to Mike, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon. Jim and Linda both said that they're going to miss all of them a lot, but we'll be back.
Probably this fall.
A little before 8:00 CLT rolled up in front of me and Jim and Linda came in an watched TV until bedtime.
It's been a good visit, but now its time to move on.
So...... Come On, Jim and Linda lets get rolling!!! There's a whole bunch of black top out there that I need to cover!!! :-)
Did you know that on this day in 1901, Connecticut becomes the first state to pass a law regulating motor vehicles, limiting their speed to 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads?
Oh, and remember, I may not be able to post from Forest City, but keep checking, I'll be back just a soon as I can. :-)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Little Glitch, Grocery Shopping Again? and A "Heads Up"
Apex, NC
58 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. partly sunny, NE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Well, finally something happened around here to write about! Now, I don't think it's something that Jim and Linda wanted to happen, but yesterday, their cell phone rang and when Jim went to answer it, it shut off for no apparent reason!!! Well, he turned it back on, and then when he went to push some of the buttons, to find out who had called, none of them would do anything.
His next thought was that maybe the battery was low, so he put it on the charger for awhile and then tried again. Still nothing!!! Then he removed the battery because he had heard that sometimes the phone just needs to be completely shut down and restarted, (you know kind of like rebooting a computer), but now the phone wouldn't come on at all!!!
Well, even though Jim had other things he wanted to get accomplished, both he and Linda knew that they needed to get this problem solved as soon as possible. So.... Jim fired up the computer and found the nearest AT&T store, which turned out to be only about 5 miles from here. Then after Linda ate her lunch, they took the broken phone, hopped into CLT and headed over there.
Now, the last time they had been to an AT&T store, (down in Florida), it took them hours to get waited on and get out of there. :-( This time, they were in and out of there in about an hour. :-)
Anyway, by the time they got there, the phone was working again, but quickly started acting up, so it was decided that it would be best to just get a new phone. Well, they found one that was very similar in operation as their old one, the lady at the store transferred all their phone numbers to the new phone, and in no time, they were out of there!! :-)
It really went easier than they had thought it would, the phone they picked out wasn't very expensive, so all in all, this little glitch wasn't too bad.
On the way back here to the CG, it was decided that since they were already out and about, they would head to Pittsboro, NC, (about 10 miles West of here), and go to the Food Lion grocery store to try to find the items that they were not able to purchase at the Harris Teeter store yesterday.
Well, guess what? They found almost everything, and it a short time they were back here and relaxing after their adventure. ;-)
Oh, and that person that called yesterday morning? Well there was a voice mail, and it was Louise. She was wondering when we would be getting to their place on Friday. Jim called her back, explained why he couldn't get back to her earlier, and told here that we would be getting to their place sometime during the afternoon.
A little before 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's. It had been decided earlier that they would be ordering a couple of Pizzas for dinner, so about 5:30 the pizza was delivered and everyone had a nice meal without having to do any cooking. :-)
About 7:30, it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed, so Jim and Linda headed back here and watched TV until they started getting tired.
So.....with the phone glitch, it was an interesting day. Not one that was planned, but one that turned out OK.
Today, Jim and Linda need to get me ready to travel, because as you know, tomorrow morning we'll be leaving here and heading for Forest City. It's about 200 miles over there and it will probably take us about 4 or 4 1/2 hours to get there.
OH, one more thing I need to tell you about.
The last time we were in Forest City, (Actually Roland and Louise's place is about 5 miles North of the city), I had absolutely no Internet signal at all!!!! So, I doubt if I'll be able to post on this blog from there. The plan is to stay there for about a week, but as you know, all Jim's plans are written in pencil, so I don't know how long it will be before you hear from me once we leave here.
Just a "heads up", so you'll know what's going on. ;-) I should be posting from here again tomorrow morning before we leave.
Did you know that on this day in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis were given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans?
58 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. partly sunny, NE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Well, finally something happened around here to write about! Now, I don't think it's something that Jim and Linda wanted to happen, but yesterday, their cell phone rang and when Jim went to answer it, it shut off for no apparent reason!!! Well, he turned it back on, and then when he went to push some of the buttons, to find out who had called, none of them would do anything.
His next thought was that maybe the battery was low, so he put it on the charger for awhile and then tried again. Still nothing!!! Then he removed the battery because he had heard that sometimes the phone just needs to be completely shut down and restarted, (you know kind of like rebooting a computer), but now the phone wouldn't come on at all!!!
Well, even though Jim had other things he wanted to get accomplished, both he and Linda knew that they needed to get this problem solved as soon as possible. So.... Jim fired up the computer and found the nearest AT&T store, which turned out to be only about 5 miles from here. Then after Linda ate her lunch, they took the broken phone, hopped into CLT and headed over there.
Now, the last time they had been to an AT&T store, (down in Florida), it took them hours to get waited on and get out of there. :-( This time, they were in and out of there in about an hour. :-)
Anyway, by the time they got there, the phone was working again, but quickly started acting up, so it was decided that it would be best to just get a new phone. Well, they found one that was very similar in operation as their old one, the lady at the store transferred all their phone numbers to the new phone, and in no time, they were out of there!! :-)
It really went easier than they had thought it would, the phone they picked out wasn't very expensive, so all in all, this little glitch wasn't too bad.
On the way back here to the CG, it was decided that since they were already out and about, they would head to Pittsboro, NC, (about 10 miles West of here), and go to the Food Lion grocery store to try to find the items that they were not able to purchase at the Harris Teeter store yesterday.
Well, guess what? They found almost everything, and it a short time they were back here and relaxing after their adventure. ;-)
Oh, and that person that called yesterday morning? Well there was a voice mail, and it was Louise. She was wondering when we would be getting to their place on Friday. Jim called her back, explained why he couldn't get back to her earlier, and told here that we would be getting to their place sometime during the afternoon.
A little before 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's. It had been decided earlier that they would be ordering a couple of Pizzas for dinner, so about 5:30 the pizza was delivered and everyone had a nice meal without having to do any cooking. :-)
About 7:30, it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed, so Jim and Linda headed back here and watched TV until they started getting tired.
So.....with the phone glitch, it was an interesting day. Not one that was planned, but one that turned out OK.
Today, Jim and Linda need to get me ready to travel, because as you know, tomorrow morning we'll be leaving here and heading for Forest City. It's about 200 miles over there and it will probably take us about 4 or 4 1/2 hours to get there.
OH, one more thing I need to tell you about.
The last time we were in Forest City, (Actually Roland and Louise's place is about 5 miles North of the city), I had absolutely no Internet signal at all!!!! So, I doubt if I'll be able to post on this blog from there. The plan is to stay there for about a week, but as you know, all Jim's plans are written in pencil, so I don't know how long it will be before you hear from me once we leave here.
Just a "heads up", so you'll know what's going on. ;-) I should be posting from here again tomorrow morning before we leave.
Did you know that on this day in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis were given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Nothing To Write About
Apex, NC
58 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 74 deg. cloudy, very light SW winds.
I didn't post on this blog yesterday, and I almost didn't post today.
Why? you ask?
Well, there's been nothing to post about!! Monday the weather was crummy, and the only thing that happened was that CLT took Jim and Linda to Mike's for dinner. Yesterday, it didn't rain too much during the day, but everything is wet and muddy around here so the only thing that happened was that Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Harris Teeter grocery store.
And, that didn't go too well. Jim said that he was very disappointed with the store because he couldn't find a lot of the items he wanted to purchase. Oh, they bought a bunch of stuff, but there were some things that he especially wanted, and they didn't stock them.
Mike and his family were busy yesterday, so they didn't go over there last night, and then Jim fell asleep and missed about 1/2 of one of the TV shows he really likes. :-(
Oh well, hopefully the weather will clear up today, the sun will come out and dry things out a little so Jim can get some things done outside. It rained most of the night, so I'm sure it'll take awhile.
Did you know that the paperclip was invented by Norwegian Johann Vaaler?
58 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 74 deg. cloudy, very light SW winds.
I didn't post on this blog yesterday, and I almost didn't post today.
Why? you ask?
Well, there's been nothing to post about!! Monday the weather was crummy, and the only thing that happened was that CLT took Jim and Linda to Mike's for dinner. Yesterday, it didn't rain too much during the day, but everything is wet and muddy around here so the only thing that happened was that Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Harris Teeter grocery store.
And, that didn't go too well. Jim said that he was very disappointed with the store because he couldn't find a lot of the items he wanted to purchase. Oh, they bought a bunch of stuff, but there were some things that he especially wanted, and they didn't stock them.
Mike and his family were busy yesterday, so they didn't go over there last night, and then Jim fell asleep and missed about 1/2 of one of the TV shows he really likes. :-(
Oh well, hopefully the weather will clear up today, the sun will come out and dry things out a little so Jim can get some things done outside. It rained most of the night, so I'm sure it'll take awhile.
Did you know that the paperclip was invented by Norwegian Johann Vaaler?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Strong Storms In The Area
Apex, NC
65 deg. cloudy, light rain, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 71 deg. mostly cloudy, showers and T-storms, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Being that I'm not expecting any more company for the rest of the time that I'll be here, Jim decided to pick up the patio mat that he had put out when we got here. The reasoning was that he and Linda could be careful not to track a lot of stuff into me, and since they were calling for rain off and on for the next 3 days, he thought he's fold it up and put it away before it became all muddy and he had to spend a lot of time cleaning it.
He still has a small rug at the foot of the steps so they can clean off their shoes.
Then, because they were forecasting possible severe t-storms later in the day, he decided to get out his garden hose, rinse off my awnings to get all of the tree junk off of them, and then after they dried, roll them up.
The afternoon was spent watching the NASCAR race on TV, and keeping an eye on the weather. (There was some severe damage to mobile homes, not too far from here.) Here, we had some thunder, lightning and rain, but no strong winds.
Today, the forecast is for rain most of the day with possible strong t-storms again this afternoon and evening. I know that the area really needs the rain, but I wish it wouldn't storm. :-(
This evening, if the weather isn't too bad, Jim and Linda are planning on going to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Did you know that this week is "National Bike To Work Week"?
65 deg. cloudy, light rain, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 71 deg. mostly cloudy, showers and T-storms, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Being that I'm not expecting any more company for the rest of the time that I'll be here, Jim decided to pick up the patio mat that he had put out when we got here. The reasoning was that he and Linda could be careful not to track a lot of stuff into me, and since they were calling for rain off and on for the next 3 days, he thought he's fold it up and put it away before it became all muddy and he had to spend a lot of time cleaning it.
He still has a small rug at the foot of the steps so they can clean off their shoes.
Then, because they were forecasting possible severe t-storms later in the day, he decided to get out his garden hose, rinse off my awnings to get all of the tree junk off of them, and then after they dried, roll them up.
The afternoon was spent watching the NASCAR race on TV, and keeping an eye on the weather. (There was some severe damage to mobile homes, not too far from here.) Here, we had some thunder, lightning and rain, but no strong winds.
Today, the forecast is for rain most of the day with possible strong t-storms again this afternoon and evening. I know that the area really needs the rain, but I wish it wouldn't storm. :-(
This evening, if the weather isn't too bad, Jim and Linda are planning on going to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Did you know that this week is "National Bike To Work Week"?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A Record High Temperature and A Campfire?
Apex, NC
67 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly cloudy, 40% chance of t-storms later today, lite SW winds.
It got up to 95 deg. in Raleigh yesterday which set a new record. high for the day. While the record was being set, Jim, Linda, Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon, were trying to enjoy being outside and roasting hot dogs, brats, and marshmallows over a campfire!!!
Luckily, you don't need a big fire to roast those things, so I guess it wasn't too bad over by the fire ring.
I think everyone had a good time except Savanna. She wasn't feeling well when they got out here to the CG about 12:30, and didn't feel much better when they left. In fact she and Linda spent quite a bit of time inside of me where my air conditioner was keeping it nice and cool, while everyone else sat outside under my awning and visited.
All in all, it was a good day and I was sad to see them leave. Jim and Linda will see them some more this week, but I doubt very much if they'll get a chance to come back out here again before we leave this Friday.
Speaking of leaving here, Jim called Roland the other day to inform him and Louise that we would be getting to their place near Forest City, NC this coming Friday. He was real happy that we were coming and said that they'd be waiting for us to arrive.
I'll be real happy to go there too. You see, their Motor Home, Big Herb, is one of my best friends and I always enjoy spending time with him and catching up on his travels since I've last seen him. :-)
Today, Mike and his family are going to be busy, so Jim and Linda won't be going over to their house. I don't know of any plans, so I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Did you know that today is "National Sea Monkey Day"?
67 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly cloudy, 40% chance of t-storms later today, lite SW winds.
It got up to 95 deg. in Raleigh yesterday which set a new record. high for the day. While the record was being set, Jim, Linda, Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon, were trying to enjoy being outside and roasting hot dogs, brats, and marshmallows over a campfire!!!
Luckily, you don't need a big fire to roast those things, so I guess it wasn't too bad over by the fire ring.
I think everyone had a good time except Savanna. She wasn't feeling well when they got out here to the CG about 12:30, and didn't feel much better when they left. In fact she and Linda spent quite a bit of time inside of me where my air conditioner was keeping it nice and cool, while everyone else sat outside under my awning and visited.
All in all, it was a good day and I was sad to see them leave. Jim and Linda will see them some more this week, but I doubt very much if they'll get a chance to come back out here again before we leave this Friday.
Speaking of leaving here, Jim called Roland the other day to inform him and Louise that we would be getting to their place near Forest City, NC this coming Friday. He was real happy that we were coming and said that they'd be waiting for us to arrive.
I'll be real happy to go there too. You see, their Motor Home, Big Herb, is one of my best friends and I always enjoy spending time with him and catching up on his travels since I've last seen him. :-)
Today, Mike and his family are going to be busy, so Jim and Linda won't be going over to their house. I don't know of any plans, so I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Did you know that today is "National Sea Monkey Day"?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
My Rear AC, Hot Temps., Barb and Bob and The Kids Are Coming Today
Apex, NC
70 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. partly cloudy, humid, a 40% chance of showers and t-storms this evening. light Westerly winds.
Jim worked on my rear air conditioner yesterday morning. The filter needed cleaning and he wanted to try to figure out why it drips water from time to time. He found a few places where there were air leaks in the ducting, so he repaired that with duct tape, but said the thinks he'll have to get up on my roof, take the cover off of the AC and check the drains for blockage. It's my guess that he'll find out that there are a lot of leaves and dirt in there.
It was really hot here yesterday afternoon with temps into the 90's and very high humidity, (the normal temp for this time of the year is about 78), so neither Jim or Linda went out much after lunch. So,.... that meant, that they read, watched TV and played around with the computers all afternoon.
Oh, and took naps too. ;-)
Barb and Bob left here yesterday. We didn't get a chance to see them again, and didn't really get to say good-bye, but I'm sure that they'll be reading this blog and so now, I want to wish them safe travels on their trip back to Idaho. Hopefully we'll see each other again sometime soon. :-)
Today, Mike, Gina and the kids are coming out here to see me again. Even though it's supposed to be quite warm again today, I think Jim is planning on building a fire so that the kids can roast hot dogs and marshmallows.
They always get a big kick out of doing that, and it's one of the things that they look forward to when "Grandpa and Grandma" come to visit. :-)
Did you know that the Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries?
70 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. partly cloudy, humid, a 40% chance of showers and t-storms this evening. light Westerly winds.
Jim worked on my rear air conditioner yesterday morning. The filter needed cleaning and he wanted to try to figure out why it drips water from time to time. He found a few places where there were air leaks in the ducting, so he repaired that with duct tape, but said the thinks he'll have to get up on my roof, take the cover off of the AC and check the drains for blockage. It's my guess that he'll find out that there are a lot of leaves and dirt in there.
It was really hot here yesterday afternoon with temps into the 90's and very high humidity, (the normal temp for this time of the year is about 78), so neither Jim or Linda went out much after lunch. So,.... that meant, that they read, watched TV and played around with the computers all afternoon.
Oh, and took naps too. ;-)
Barb and Bob left here yesterday. We didn't get a chance to see them again, and didn't really get to say good-bye, but I'm sure that they'll be reading this blog and so now, I want to wish them safe travels on their trip back to Idaho. Hopefully we'll see each other again sometime soon. :-)
Today, Mike, Gina and the kids are coming out here to see me again. Even though it's supposed to be quite warm again today, I think Jim is planning on building a fire so that the kids can roast hot dogs and marshmallows.
They always get a big kick out of doing that, and it's one of the things that they look forward to when "Grandpa and Grandma" come to visit. :-)
Did you know that the Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries?
Friday, May 14, 2010
CLT's New Tire and Thank You Very Much
Apex, NC
64 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 91 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
CLT (Cute Little Truck) hadn't said anything to me, but evidently he's been having a little problem lately. It seems that while driving down the road, there has been a kind of thumping sound coming from his left front tire. Of course, Jim was hearing it too, and after checking the tire and finding a very irregular wear pattern on it, he decided to take CLT to a tire store that Mike had told him about.
So..... yesterday morning, CLT and Jim headed to a Discount Tire store up in Cary, NC, where Jim bought CLT a new tire and had it installed and balanced. Now, CLT says that when he drives down the road, everything is nice and smooooth, and there's none of that thumping noise. :-)
The rest of the day was real quiet around here. Jim took a little bike ride, he and Linda both took naps, and then about 5:00 CLT took them to Mike and Gina's again. Then, when they got back here it was TV and computers again until bedtime.
Since I don't have a lot to write about this morning, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who follow my blog every day. (I now have 23 "Official Followers). And, since I've had the "hit counter" (about 18 days ago), there have been over 1,500 views or "hits" of the blog!!
Folks, to me that's amazing!!!!!
I know that many days, I don't really have anything of importance to write about, we haven't been traveling very much lately so there's nothing new there, and many days I just ramble on about the normal things that Jim and Linda do. So,,,,, I can't imagine why so many people find my blog interesting.
But,,,,,, evidently you do, and I want to thank all of you very much for following along with my adventures and taking the time, from time to time, to write a comment or two.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! :-)
Did you know that today is "National Chicken Dance Day"?
64 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 91 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
CLT (Cute Little Truck) hadn't said anything to me, but evidently he's been having a little problem lately. It seems that while driving down the road, there has been a kind of thumping sound coming from his left front tire. Of course, Jim was hearing it too, and after checking the tire and finding a very irregular wear pattern on it, he decided to take CLT to a tire store that Mike had told him about.
So..... yesterday morning, CLT and Jim headed to a Discount Tire store up in Cary, NC, where Jim bought CLT a new tire and had it installed and balanced. Now, CLT says that when he drives down the road, everything is nice and smooooth, and there's none of that thumping noise. :-)
The rest of the day was real quiet around here. Jim took a little bike ride, he and Linda both took naps, and then about 5:00 CLT took them to Mike and Gina's again. Then, when they got back here it was TV and computers again until bedtime.
Since I don't have a lot to write about this morning, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who follow my blog every day. (I now have 23 "Official Followers). And, since I've had the "hit counter" (about 18 days ago), there have been over 1,500 views or "hits" of the blog!!
Folks, to me that's amazing!!!!!
I know that many days, I don't really have anything of importance to write about, we haven't been traveling very much lately so there's nothing new there, and many days I just ramble on about the normal things that Jim and Linda do. So,,,,, I can't imagine why so many people find my blog interesting.
But,,,,,, evidently you do, and I want to thank all of you very much for following along with my adventures and taking the time, from time to time, to write a comment or two.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! :-)
Did you know that today is "National Chicken Dance Day"?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Barb and Bob Come For A Visit and Helping Brenna
Apex, NC
65 deg. partly cloudy, humid, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly cloudy, humid with a 40% chance of showers or t-storms.
Well, I don't want to be one of those who said, "I told you so", but..... I told you so!! Yep, Barb and her husband Bob came over to my site a little after 10:00 yesterday morning, and within a few minutes they were sitting under my awning, talking, and laughing with Jim and Linda! :-)
I don't know, maybe I've told you this before, but it's kind of amazing how RVers can get together and even though they're perfect strangers, it only takes a few minutes before they're good friends. This was the case yesterday with Barb and Bob. Jim had gotten out some lawn chairs for them, so when they got here, they sat down and in just a few minutes they were talking with Jim and Linda about RVing, travel, family, and experiences that they've all had.
Like most RVers, they are very nice people and very easy to talk to. Right now, they have a large Class "C" Motor Home, but are thinking about a larger RV and then eventually, going Full-time. They're from Idaho, and have friends and relatives scattered across the country, so full-timing could be a way to see them more often.
By the time they left, (a little after 12:00) there were hugs and handshakes and you would have thought that they had known each other for years. ;-)
Jim took this photo of Bob, Barb and Linda just before they left to go back to their site. They're not going to be here in Apex much longer, so I hope I'll get to see them again before they leave. They're really nice people. :-)
About 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed back over to Mike and Gina's. Again, they had a very nice meal and enjoyed visiting with them and the kids.
Oh! Linda has been helping Brenna with some of her homework. She has a big history test coming up today, and was studying for it. So, being that Linda was a teacher and in fact taught history to High School students, was able to help her quite a bit.
I hope she does well on her test today.
Did you know that there is a law in Idaho that forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds?
65 deg. partly cloudy, humid, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly cloudy, humid with a 40% chance of showers or t-storms.
Well, I don't want to be one of those who said, "I told you so", but..... I told you so!! Yep, Barb and her husband Bob came over to my site a little after 10:00 yesterday morning, and within a few minutes they were sitting under my awning, talking, and laughing with Jim and Linda! :-)
I don't know, maybe I've told you this before, but it's kind of amazing how RVers can get together and even though they're perfect strangers, it only takes a few minutes before they're good friends. This was the case yesterday with Barb and Bob. Jim had gotten out some lawn chairs for them, so when they got here, they sat down and in just a few minutes they were talking with Jim and Linda about RVing, travel, family, and experiences that they've all had.
Like most RVers, they are very nice people and very easy to talk to. Right now, they have a large Class "C" Motor Home, but are thinking about a larger RV and then eventually, going Full-time. They're from Idaho, and have friends and relatives scattered across the country, so full-timing could be a way to see them more often.
By the time they left, (a little after 12:00) there were hugs and handshakes and you would have thought that they had known each other for years. ;-)
About 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed back over to Mike and Gina's. Again, they had a very nice meal and enjoyed visiting with them and the kids.
Oh! Linda has been helping Brenna with some of her homework. She has a big history test coming up today, and was studying for it. So, being that Linda was a teacher and in fact taught history to High School students, was able to help her quite a bit.
I hope she does well on her test today.
Did you know that there is a law in Idaho that forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Change Of Plans and Checking Out Sites
Apex, NC.
63 deg. cloudy, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph. chance of showers this afternoon.
Barb and her husband couldn't come over yesterday morning because of a change in plans. So, new plans were made for them to come see me this morning. I was kind of disappointed, but I know how plans change, so it was OK.
Yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT and checked out almost all the sites in both the Crosswinds CG, (where we are right now), and the Popular Point CG, (which is on the other side of US 64, and where we stayed last fall). Now the reason that they did this is so that they would know which sites they would like to stay in, but more importantly, which sites I would fit in and be able to get level in.
All of this is because, if you don't know which site you want, the people at the registration booth will just assign you a site, and sometimes the site is not what you would prefer or your RV would not fit into real well. You see, that is what happened to me last fall. The Crosswinds CG was closed, so we went to the Popular Point CG. We had never been there before, so Jim and Linda had no idea what the sites were like. They wouldn't let us go in and look at sites, so the lady at the booth assigned me a site that was so slanted, that when I finally got leveled, both of my front tires were off of the ground!!!
Now Jim and Linda know which sites they would like and which sites I would fit into, so it should make it much easier to pick a site when we come here next time. Also, if Jim and Linda do decide to make reservations sometime, they will know which sites to pick from.
After riding around and looking at sites they stopped at a convenience store and picked up some bread and milk before coming back here. Then after taking naps, they headed over to the Perkins Restaurant and had breakfast for dinner.
The evening was spent watching TV and playing with the computers.
Did you know that today is "National Nutty Fudge Day"?
63 deg. cloudy, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph. chance of showers this afternoon.
Barb and her husband couldn't come over yesterday morning because of a change in plans. So, new plans were made for them to come see me this morning. I was kind of disappointed, but I know how plans change, so it was OK.
Yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT and checked out almost all the sites in both the Crosswinds CG, (where we are right now), and the Popular Point CG, (which is on the other side of US 64, and where we stayed last fall). Now the reason that they did this is so that they would know which sites they would like to stay in, but more importantly, which sites I would fit in and be able to get level in.
All of this is because, if you don't know which site you want, the people at the registration booth will just assign you a site, and sometimes the site is not what you would prefer or your RV would not fit into real well. You see, that is what happened to me last fall. The Crosswinds CG was closed, so we went to the Popular Point CG. We had never been there before, so Jim and Linda had no idea what the sites were like. They wouldn't let us go in and look at sites, so the lady at the booth assigned me a site that was so slanted, that when I finally got leveled, both of my front tires were off of the ground!!!
Now Jim and Linda know which sites they would like and which sites I would fit into, so it should make it much easier to pick a site when we come here next time. Also, if Jim and Linda do decide to make reservations sometime, they will know which sites to pick from.
After riding around and looking at sites they stopped at a convenience store and picked up some bread and milk before coming back here. Then after taking naps, they headed over to the Perkins Restaurant and had breakfast for dinner.
The evening was spent watching TV and playing with the computers.
Did you know that today is "National Nutty Fudge Day"?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Pleasant Surprise
Apex, NC
57 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. mostly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
We had a pleasant surprise yesterday morning when one of my readers, Barb, contacted Jim and told him that she and her husband were going to be coming here to Jordan Lake and would like to meet up with me, Jim and Linda. She left her phone number and e-mail address so Jim called her on the phone and told her we'd be more than happy to get together when they got here.
Then this afternoon, she called Jim and told him that they were here and were in site #B22 which is just down the road a little way. Well, they were going to be leaving the park to meet up with someone, and Jim and Linda were getting ready to go to Mike and Gina's, so plans were made to make contact about 9:00 this morning.
Now, neither I or Jim and Linda have ever met or even talked to this lady before, but I have complete confidence that once the introductions are made, it will be just like talking to old friends. Jim and Linda and Barb and her husband will sit down and immediately have common things to talk about. In fact during the brief phone conversation that Jim and Barb had, he already found out that Barb is from Idaho, they would like to go full-timing some day, and they are in North Carolina to visit family and friends.
See, already some things in common. ;-)
Not a real lot happened here yesterday. Jim sawed up a log, that someone had left by the fire pit into shorter pieces, and then split it, so it could be burned in a campfire, took a ride on his bike, and took a little nap. Linda didn't sleep well during the night, so she napped in her chair, did some paperwork, played games on the computer and prepared some corn to take over to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Then, a little before 5:00 they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's where they had another great meal and visited until it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed.
It was just a little before 8:00 when CLT brought them back.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1947 that the B F Goodrich Company announced that it had developed a tubeless tire?
57 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. mostly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
We had a pleasant surprise yesterday morning when one of my readers, Barb, contacted Jim and told him that she and her husband were going to be coming here to Jordan Lake and would like to meet up with me, Jim and Linda. She left her phone number and e-mail address so Jim called her on the phone and told her we'd be more than happy to get together when they got here.
Then this afternoon, she called Jim and told him that they were here and were in site #B22 which is just down the road a little way. Well, they were going to be leaving the park to meet up with someone, and Jim and Linda were getting ready to go to Mike and Gina's, so plans were made to make contact about 9:00 this morning.
Now, neither I or Jim and Linda have ever met or even talked to this lady before, but I have complete confidence that once the introductions are made, it will be just like talking to old friends. Jim and Linda and Barb and her husband will sit down and immediately have common things to talk about. In fact during the brief phone conversation that Jim and Barb had, he already found out that Barb is from Idaho, they would like to go full-timing some day, and they are in North Carolina to visit family and friends.
See, already some things in common. ;-)
Not a real lot happened here yesterday. Jim sawed up a log, that someone had left by the fire pit into shorter pieces, and then split it, so it could be burned in a campfire, took a ride on his bike, and took a little nap. Linda didn't sleep well during the night, so she napped in her chair, did some paperwork, played games on the computer and prepared some corn to take over to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Then, a little before 5:00 they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's where they had another great meal and visited until it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed.
It was just a little before 8:00 when CLT brought them back.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1947 that the B F Goodrich Company announced that it had developed a tubeless tire?
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Very Good Mother's Day
Apex, NC
45 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. partly sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
I think Linda had a very good Mother's day yesterday. She says it's always a good day when you hear from your kids, and that's what happened. The kids called and she got to talk with each of them for awhile and got caught up on what they've been doing.
The rest of the day, she read, added some recipes to her recipe database on the computer, and just enjoyed the calmness of this park.
I haven't said much about this park, other than to talk about their "reservation fee", but really, this is a very nice park. For Jim and Linda it pretty much has everything they like in a campground. The sites are large, there's lots of trees for shade, and any neighbors are quite far away with trees and bushes between sites so that unless you really look, you can't even see another RV or tent.
It would be nice if we had a view of the lake, but there are benefits of having a site away from the lake too. You see, when you have a site on the lake, most of the sites near you are occupied, so it is noisier, especially on the weekends when there are lots of people swimming, and enjoying the lake in their boats.
Where we are, a lot of the nearby sites are empty, (even on the weekends), about the only noise we hear is from a few cars / RVs driving by on the road, and a few people walking by from time to time.
About as peaceful as you can get in a public park. :-)
So, like anything else, it's a trade-off. You can have a view of the lake, or peace and quiet, but really can't have both. Some times I like a view of the lake, but this time, I'm very happy with the peace and quiet.
Jim asked Linda what she would like for a Mother's Day dinner, and she decided that she would like him to cook a steak. So, bout 5:00 yesterday afternoon, Jim fired up his grill and cooked a nice big juicy one for them to share. While he was doing that, she prepared some peas and left-over squash to have with it, and then, when everything was done, they sat down at my table and had a very nice meal together.
Did you know that in the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother", begins with the letter M?
45 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. partly sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
I think Linda had a very good Mother's day yesterday. She says it's always a good day when you hear from your kids, and that's what happened. The kids called and she got to talk with each of them for awhile and got caught up on what they've been doing.
The rest of the day, she read, added some recipes to her recipe database on the computer, and just enjoyed the calmness of this park.
I haven't said much about this park, other than to talk about their "reservation fee", but really, this is a very nice park. For Jim and Linda it pretty much has everything they like in a campground. The sites are large, there's lots of trees for shade, and any neighbors are quite far away with trees and bushes between sites so that unless you really look, you can't even see another RV or tent.
It would be nice if we had a view of the lake, but there are benefits of having a site away from the lake too. You see, when you have a site on the lake, most of the sites near you are occupied, so it is noisier, especially on the weekends when there are lots of people swimming, and enjoying the lake in their boats.
Where we are, a lot of the nearby sites are empty, (even on the weekends), about the only noise we hear is from a few cars / RVs driving by on the road, and a few people walking by from time to time.
About as peaceful as you can get in a public park. :-)
So, like anything else, it's a trade-off. You can have a view of the lake, or peace and quiet, but really can't have both. Some times I like a view of the lake, but this time, I'm very happy with the peace and quiet.
Jim asked Linda what she would like for a Mother's Day dinner, and she decided that she would like him to cook a steak. So, bout 5:00 yesterday afternoon, Jim fired up his grill and cooked a nice big juicy one for them to share. While he was doing that, she prepared some peas and left-over squash to have with it, and then, when everything was done, they sat down at my table and had a very nice meal together.
Did you know that in the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother", begins with the letter M?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon Come To See Me
Apex, NC.
55 deg. Mostly cloudy, N. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. becoming mostly sunny, NW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
First of all, I'd like to wish all of you mothers out there a "Happy Mother's Day"!!!!
Jim and Linda did a little cleaning inside of me yesterday morning in preparation for Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon coming in the afternoon. The planned dinner was to be a simple meal of Sloppy Joe's, squash, chips, raw vegetables, and drinks, so there was not a real lot of preparation that Linda needed to do.
While Linda was doing inside things, Jim was outside putting down the patio mat, getting out lawn chairs, and cleaning up the picnic table.
I was a little after 3:00 when they pulled up with their van and Mike and the 2 girls got out. What happened to Gina and Dillon, you ask? Well, Dillon fell asleep on the way over here so rather than wake him up and have him be fussy, Gina sat in the car with him while he snoozed for awhile.
While he was sleeping, Mike, and the girls play with a ball they had brought along, and sat under my awning and talked with Jim and Linda.
55 deg. Mostly cloudy, N. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. becoming mostly sunny, NW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
First of all, I'd like to wish all of you mothers out there a "Happy Mother's Day"!!!!
Jim and Linda did a little cleaning inside of me yesterday morning in preparation for Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon coming in the afternoon. The planned dinner was to be a simple meal of Sloppy Joe's, squash, chips, raw vegetables, and drinks, so there was not a real lot of preparation that Linda needed to do.
While Linda was doing inside things, Jim was outside putting down the patio mat, getting out lawn chairs, and cleaning up the picnic table.
I was a little after 3:00 when they pulled up with their van and Mike and the 2 girls got out. What happened to Gina and Dillon, you ask? Well, Dillon fell asleep on the way over here so rather than wake him up and have him be fussy, Gina sat in the car with him while he snoozed for awhile.
While he was sleeping, Mike, and the girls play with a ball they had brought along, and sat under my awning and talked with Jim and Linda.
Jim did manage to remember to use his camera yesterday, so I've got some photos to share with you. :-) This first one is of Brenna,
This next one is Savanna
Dillon
Gina
and Mike
After Dillon woke up, everyone helped carry food out of me and to the picnic table and then everyone sat down and had a very nice meal. The girls and Dillon don't much like Sloppy Joe's, so Mike nuked a couple hot dogs in my microwave for them.
After dinner, Linda was surprised with a Mother's Day gift.
You see, Jim and Linda won't be seeing them today because they have prior commitments. So, they brought her a box of sugar free candy and a card out here and wished Linda a happy Mother's Day, a day early.
What a nicer thing for them to do. It rally made Linda's day. :-).
Did you know that in May of 1908 that the 1st Mother's Day was observed,? Then by the late 1920's Mother's Day became one of this countries most prominent holidays.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Emporia, VA To Apex, NC and Deception?
Apex, NC
72 deg. partly cloudy, light Easterly wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 84 deg. mostly sunny, SW winds @ 15 to 20 mph.
By 8:30 Jim was outside draining my tanks again yesterday morning. Linda had done some laundry and he wanted to make sure my tanks were completely empty so that I could go another 2 weeks here at the Jordan Lakes SRA without my tanks overflowing. Actually, there is a dump station here that is pretty close, so if it became necessary, Jim could drive me over there to dump.
Anyway, after he dumped my tanks and put away all the hoses, he helped Lind get everything inside of me ready to travel, and by 9:20, we were pulling out of the Jellystone Park near Emporia.
Just down the road from the park there is a Shell station where they have truck lanes, so Jim pulled me in and got me a nice drink of the good old #2 diesel that I like so well. :-) He didn't fill me up as this was one of those places where the pump kept shutting down after $75 worth of fuel was pumped and you had to then start over by putting the credit card back in to the pump, entering your zip code and all of that. So, after it stopped for the second time, he decided that I was full enough for now, and we headed South on I-95.
When we got down to Rocky Mount, NC, we turned SW on US 64 and followed it over to Raleigh. Then it was I-44 / 40 around to the South of the city until we came to where US 1 / 64 heads West. Then it was 64 to Apex and the Crosswinds Campground at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.
It was 12:15 when we pulled up in front of the registration booth, so it took us 2 hours and 55 minutes to travel 133 miles.
Now, this is when the fun began!!!! You see, when Jim went to register me, the lady told him that there would be an additional $3 reservation fee per day, added on to the camping fee.
What????!!!! A $3 reservation fee when he was standing right there at the booth???? He wasn't making a reservation!!!! He was wanting a camp site for me, for 14 days, starting right now!!!!
Well, she explained to him that it wasn't actually a reservation fee, but instead a fee that everyone had to pay so that the State could pay for the reservation service that they had started using a year or so ago.
Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I think that they should have just said that they were raising their rates rather than trying to disguise the increase as a reservation fee. To me, it's very deceptive!
Well, anyway, we're here, and I'm in site 12 in the B loop. And, with Jim's senior discount, my camping fees are still just below $20 per night, so it's not too bad, even with the "reservation fee" added on.
About 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's. After getting hugs from everyone, (except Dillon, because he was too shy), they sat down to a very nice pork roast dinner that Gina had prepared. After dinner, everyone talked and caught up on what's been happening since we were here last October.
About 7:30 it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed, so Jim and Linda came back out here to the CG and watched TV until bedtime.
Today, I think Mike, Gina, and the kids are coming out here to see me. They have some things to do this morning, so they're planning on getting here sometime this afternoon, and will be here for dinner.
I can hardly wait!!! :-)
Did you know that it was on this date in 1963 that the first James Bond movie staring Sean Connery was released? It was "Dr. No".
72 deg. partly cloudy, light Easterly wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 84 deg. mostly sunny, SW winds @ 15 to 20 mph.
By 8:30 Jim was outside draining my tanks again yesterday morning. Linda had done some laundry and he wanted to make sure my tanks were completely empty so that I could go another 2 weeks here at the Jordan Lakes SRA without my tanks overflowing. Actually, there is a dump station here that is pretty close, so if it became necessary, Jim could drive me over there to dump.
Anyway, after he dumped my tanks and put away all the hoses, he helped Lind get everything inside of me ready to travel, and by 9:20, we were pulling out of the Jellystone Park near Emporia.
Just down the road from the park there is a Shell station where they have truck lanes, so Jim pulled me in and got me a nice drink of the good old #2 diesel that I like so well. :-) He didn't fill me up as this was one of those places where the pump kept shutting down after $75 worth of fuel was pumped and you had to then start over by putting the credit card back in to the pump, entering your zip code and all of that. So, after it stopped for the second time, he decided that I was full enough for now, and we headed South on I-95.
When we got down to Rocky Mount, NC, we turned SW on US 64 and followed it over to Raleigh. Then it was I-44 / 40 around to the South of the city until we came to where US 1 / 64 heads West. Then it was 64 to Apex and the Crosswinds Campground at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.
It was 12:15 when we pulled up in front of the registration booth, so it took us 2 hours and 55 minutes to travel 133 miles.
Now, this is when the fun began!!!! You see, when Jim went to register me, the lady told him that there would be an additional $3 reservation fee per day, added on to the camping fee.
What????!!!! A $3 reservation fee when he was standing right there at the booth???? He wasn't making a reservation!!!! He was wanting a camp site for me, for 14 days, starting right now!!!!
Well, she explained to him that it wasn't actually a reservation fee, but instead a fee that everyone had to pay so that the State could pay for the reservation service that they had started using a year or so ago.
Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I think that they should have just said that they were raising their rates rather than trying to disguise the increase as a reservation fee. To me, it's very deceptive!
Well, anyway, we're here, and I'm in site 12 in the B loop. And, with Jim's senior discount, my camping fees are still just below $20 per night, so it's not too bad, even with the "reservation fee" added on.
About 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's. After getting hugs from everyone, (except Dillon, because he was too shy), they sat down to a very nice pork roast dinner that Gina had prepared. After dinner, everyone talked and caught up on what's been happening since we were here last October.
About 7:30 it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed, so Jim and Linda came back out here to the CG and watched TV until bedtime.
Today, I think Mike, Gina, and the kids are coming out here to see me. They have some things to do this morning, so they're planning on getting here sometime this afternoon, and will be here for dinner.
I can hardly wait!!! :-)
Did you know that it was on this date in 1963 that the first James Bond movie staring Sean Connery was released? It was "Dr. No".
Friday, May 7, 2010
Virginia Beach To Emporia
Emporia, VA.
56 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = High temp. 87 deg. sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
After hugs, we left Virginia Beach about 10:20 yesterday morning and headed for I-64, which took us around the city to the South and brought us to US 58, which we then followed here to Emporia and the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, which is actually a few miles North of town.
It was 12:25 when we pulled up in front of the park office, so it took us 2 hours and 5 minutes to travel 104 miles.
This is a nice park and we always stay right across from the office where the sites are level and there are lots of nice big trees for shade. That way, being that we are only going to be here for one night, Jim just dumps the air out of my air suspension to drop me down on my rubber bumpers, and doesn't have to put out my awnings or anything. And, I can see all the other RVs come and go in and out of the park. :-)
This morning, we'll head to the Jordan Lake SRA over near Apex, NC and get a site there for 2 weeks. From the State Park, it's only about a 15 minute drive for CLT to get to Mike and Gina's house, so it's real convenient. I think Jim's plan is to leave here about 9:00 or 9:30, so that we get there shortly after noon.
Oh, also this morning, Jim and Linda have to find a place for me to get a drink. I haven't had a drink of good old #2 for quite a while, and I'm starting to get real thirsty.
Just one more thing before I sign off this morning. I usually am able to get on the Internet from Jordan Lake, but there have been times, when I'm parked down by the lake, that I haven't had a signal. So.....if you don't hear from me for a few days, don't worry. I'll get you caught up on my adventures just a soon as I can.
Did you know that today is "Tuba Day"? So all of you tuba players out there, get out those tubas and play a little tune. I'll be listening as I drive by! ;-)
56 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = High temp. 87 deg. sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
After hugs, we left Virginia Beach about 10:20 yesterday morning and headed for I-64, which took us around the city to the South and brought us to US 58, which we then followed here to Emporia and the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, which is actually a few miles North of town.
It was 12:25 when we pulled up in front of the park office, so it took us 2 hours and 5 minutes to travel 104 miles.
This is a nice park and we always stay right across from the office where the sites are level and there are lots of nice big trees for shade. That way, being that we are only going to be here for one night, Jim just dumps the air out of my air suspension to drop me down on my rubber bumpers, and doesn't have to put out my awnings or anything. And, I can see all the other RVs come and go in and out of the park. :-)
Oh, also this morning, Jim and Linda have to find a place for me to get a drink. I haven't had a drink of good old #2 for quite a while, and I'm starting to get real thirsty.
Just one more thing before I sign off this morning. I usually am able to get on the Internet from Jordan Lake, but there have been times, when I'm parked down by the lake, that I haven't had a signal. So.....if you don't hear from me for a few days, don't worry. I'll get you caught up on my adventures just a soon as I can.
Did you know that today is "Tuba Day"? So all of you tuba players out there, get out those tubas and play a little tune. I'll be listening as I drive by! ;-)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Good Visit, Getting Ready, and $3 Per Night?
Virginia Beach, VA.
65 deg. clear, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 87 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
It's been a good visit here at Joe and Nancy's. In some ways 2 weeks just flew by, (I know it did for Linda and Jim), but other ways, it feels like we've been here long enough, and it's time to move on.
My tires are itching, so for me, it's time to go. :-)
Yesterday, Jim took a ride on his bicycle and then put it into the back of CLT, checked my fluid levels, secured things in my basement compartments and then rolled up my window awnings in the evening. Meanwhile, Linda put away some of the stuff that has been used inside of me during the last 2 weeks. So, I'm just about ready to travel.
For dinner last night, Nancy prepared a great chicken and pasta dinner. Then after eating, everyone sat around and had a great visit. About 9:00 Jim and Linda decided it was time to come back out here, so they said their good-bye's to Sami and Amber, as they'll be heading off to school early this morning. :-(
Nancy is off work today though, and Joe is going to do some work from home this morning, so we'll see both of them again before we leave. :-)
The plan is to leave here about 10:00 and then drive the 100 or so miles to Emporia where we're planning on staying at the Yogi Bear CG. It's close enough that we don't have to travel too far with my overfilled black and gray water tanks, but still far enough that it makes tomorrow's trip nice and short too. The only draw-back is that it's quite expensive, but then I have been staying here for free for 2 weeks, so it doesn't hurt the budget too much.
On a different note.
A year or so ago, North Carolina went to a reservation system for their State Parks. So, a few days ago, Jim and Linda thought that they would call and make a reservation with the hopes of maybe getting a site with a lake view. Well, when Linda called, she found out that for the privilege of making a reservation, it was going to cost $3 more per day!!! Yep $3 per day, for every day that you reserve a site!! When Linda heard that, she told the man on the phone that she wasn't going to pay an extra $3 to reserve a site, told him that we'd take our chances on getting a site, and hung up the phone.
So, when we head over there tomorrow, we'll just have to see what's available. Every time we've been there in the past, there have been plenty of sites available, so I'm not worried.
Now, maybe if we were going there over a holiday weekend or something, it might be different.
Did you know that is was on this date in 1954 that Roger Bannister became the first person in recorded history to run the mile in less than 4 minutes?
65 deg. clear, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 87 deg. partly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
It's been a good visit here at Joe and Nancy's. In some ways 2 weeks just flew by, (I know it did for Linda and Jim), but other ways, it feels like we've been here long enough, and it's time to move on.
My tires are itching, so for me, it's time to go. :-)
Yesterday, Jim took a ride on his bicycle and then put it into the back of CLT, checked my fluid levels, secured things in my basement compartments and then rolled up my window awnings in the evening. Meanwhile, Linda put away some of the stuff that has been used inside of me during the last 2 weeks. So, I'm just about ready to travel.
For dinner last night, Nancy prepared a great chicken and pasta dinner. Then after eating, everyone sat around and had a great visit. About 9:00 Jim and Linda decided it was time to come back out here, so they said their good-bye's to Sami and Amber, as they'll be heading off to school early this morning. :-(
Nancy is off work today though, and Joe is going to do some work from home this morning, so we'll see both of them again before we leave. :-)
The plan is to leave here about 10:00 and then drive the 100 or so miles to Emporia where we're planning on staying at the Yogi Bear CG. It's close enough that we don't have to travel too far with my overfilled black and gray water tanks, but still far enough that it makes tomorrow's trip nice and short too. The only draw-back is that it's quite expensive, but then I have been staying here for free for 2 weeks, so it doesn't hurt the budget too much.
On a different note.
A year or so ago, North Carolina went to a reservation system for their State Parks. So, a few days ago, Jim and Linda thought that they would call and make a reservation with the hopes of maybe getting a site with a lake view. Well, when Linda called, she found out that for the privilege of making a reservation, it was going to cost $3 more per day!!! Yep $3 per day, for every day that you reserve a site!! When Linda heard that, she told the man on the phone that she wasn't going to pay an extra $3 to reserve a site, told him that we'd take our chances on getting a site, and hung up the phone.
So, when we head over there tomorrow, we'll just have to see what's available. Every time we've been there in the past, there have been plenty of sites available, so I'm not worried.
Now, maybe if we were going there over a holiday weekend or something, it might be different.
Did you know that is was on this date in 1954 that Roger Bannister became the first person in recorded history to run the mile in less than 4 minutes?
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
2 Reasons, Chinese, and Getting Ready
Virginia Beach, VA.
58 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. sunny SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
There were 2 reasons I didn't post yesterday. First, nothing happened Monday to write about and then when I did finally start to post, I had trouble posting. I don't know if it was because I don't have a real good signal here or if there was something going on with Blogger, but after I had written some stuff down, I lost everything!!! So, that discouraged me enough that I just figured I'd wait until today to tell you about what didn't happen. :-)
Not much happened yesterday either. Jim went for a bike ride in the morning, checked my tires and then did a back-up on the desktop computer. (He hadn't backed up that computer for ages and Linda has put a lot of new info on it). Then for dinner Jim and Linda went with Joe and Nancy to a Chinese restaurant called Peking City. After a very good meal and good conversation, they came back here and watched TV and visited for awhile.
About 9:00 Jim and Linda came back out here and then watched TV until bedtime.
Today is our last day here, so I'm sure Jim and Linda will be getting me ready to travel tomorrow. There's not a real lot to do, but Jim still needs to check my fluid levels, secure some stuff in my basement compartments, put his bike into the back of CLT, and then roll up my window awnings this evening. And, he and Linda both need to put some stuff away inside of me.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1961 that Commander Alan Shepard Jr. became the first American to travel into space?
58 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. sunny SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
There were 2 reasons I didn't post yesterday. First, nothing happened Monday to write about and then when I did finally start to post, I had trouble posting. I don't know if it was because I don't have a real good signal here or if there was something going on with Blogger, but after I had written some stuff down, I lost everything!!! So, that discouraged me enough that I just figured I'd wait until today to tell you about what didn't happen. :-)
Not much happened yesterday either. Jim went for a bike ride in the morning, checked my tires and then did a back-up on the desktop computer. (He hadn't backed up that computer for ages and Linda has put a lot of new info on it). Then for dinner Jim and Linda went with Joe and Nancy to a Chinese restaurant called Peking City. After a very good meal and good conversation, they came back here and watched TV and visited for awhile.
About 9:00 Jim and Linda came back out here and then watched TV until bedtime.
Today is our last day here, so I'm sure Jim and Linda will be getting me ready to travel tomorrow. There's not a real lot to do, but Jim still needs to check my fluid levels, secure some stuff in my basement compartments, put his bike into the back of CLT, and then roll up my window awnings this evening. And, he and Linda both need to put some stuff away inside of me.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1961 that Commander Alan Shepard Jr. became the first American to travel into space?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Just Plain Hot
Virginia Beach, VA.
73 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 17 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. becoming cloudy this afternoon with t-storms likely. SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Yesterday was just plain hot here in Virginia Beach. We officially tied the record at 92 deg. and my thermometer showed even higher than that!! Hopefully the weather people are right and it will be a little cooler today.
Not much to write about this morning. Jim and Linda visited some with Joe and Nancy, they had a great crock-pot meal that Linda put together in Nancy's big crock pot, sat outside for awhile, (in the shade), and watched the girls play in the pool, and then spent the evening watching TV and playing with the computers.
Not a real exciting day, but a good one. ;-)
Today, there will be the usual work and school for Joe, Nancy and the girls. I don't think Jim and Linda have anything planned, so other than keeping an eye on the weather, they'll probably just "hang out" here.
I hope the weather doesn't get too nasty this afternoon. With all this heat that we've been having, I wouldn't be surprised though, if it does. :-(
Did you know that the average elevation of Virginia Beach is only 12' above sea level?
73 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 17 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. becoming cloudy this afternoon with t-storms likely. SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Yesterday was just plain hot here in Virginia Beach. We officially tied the record at 92 deg. and my thermometer showed even higher than that!! Hopefully the weather people are right and it will be a little cooler today.
Not much to write about this morning. Jim and Linda visited some with Joe and Nancy, they had a great crock-pot meal that Linda put together in Nancy's big crock pot, sat outside for awhile, (in the shade), and watched the girls play in the pool, and then spent the evening watching TV and playing with the computers.
Not a real exciting day, but a good one. ;-)
Today, there will be the usual work and school for Joe, Nancy and the girls. I don't think Jim and Linda have anything planned, so other than keeping an eye on the weather, they'll probably just "hang out" here.
I hope the weather doesn't get too nasty this afternoon. With all this heat that we've been having, I wouldn't be surprised though, if it does. :-(
Did you know that the average elevation of Virginia Beach is only 12' above sea level?
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Getting Warm, Electricity, and A Very Good Meal
Virginia Beach, VA.
71 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 87 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
It sure did get warm here yesterday. At one point, the thermometer on the East side of me showed 92 deg.!!!!! And, it never really cooled off much last night, with the low being the current 71 deg. Being that I am on that 20 amp electric circuit, only one of my air conditioners can be run, and it struggled to keep it cool inside of me during the hottest part of the day. I think it got up to 84 deg. at one point.
There's another problem with the electric here at Joe's. When it gets hot, like it did yesterday, and everyone in the neighborhood turns on their air conditioners, the voltage starts to drop. Jim keeps an eye on it, and so does that surge suppressor/electrical management system that he uses on my electric cord, but during the afternoon yesterday, the voltage was getting down to around 108 volts.
Now, being that there is supposed to be 120 volts, 108 is quite low, and if it would have dropped a few more volts, the surge suppressor/ electrical management system would have cut the power off to me. It does this because my AC and some of my other appliances can be damaged by running them with voltage that is too low. If that should happen, the only option would be for Jim to run my generator or wait until the voltage increases again.
Hopefully that won't happen.
Before it got too hot yesterday, Jim took his bike for a ride. When he came back, he got out the water hoses and ran them into the house and added some water to my fresh water tank. Now there should be plenty water to last until Thursday, when we'll be leaving here and heading for a CG near Emporia, where my black and gray water tanks can be dumped and my fresh water tank refilled. Then, on Friday, we'll head to the Jordan Lake SRA near Apex, NC to see Mike and his family.
For dinner, Jim got out his grill and cooked up those steaks that Nancy had bought at the grocery store. They sure did smell good while they were cooking, and by what I heard, they tasted really good too. While he was cooking the steaks, Nancy prepared a mixed vegetable dish and some rice to go with them.
A very good meal. ;-)
The evening was spent watching the NASCAR race on TV, and then going to bed after the news.
Did you know that May is "National Barbeque Month"?
71 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 87 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
It sure did get warm here yesterday. At one point, the thermometer on the East side of me showed 92 deg.!!!!! And, it never really cooled off much last night, with the low being the current 71 deg. Being that I am on that 20 amp electric circuit, only one of my air conditioners can be run, and it struggled to keep it cool inside of me during the hottest part of the day. I think it got up to 84 deg. at one point.
There's another problem with the electric here at Joe's. When it gets hot, like it did yesterday, and everyone in the neighborhood turns on their air conditioners, the voltage starts to drop. Jim keeps an eye on it, and so does that surge suppressor/electrical management system that he uses on my electric cord, but during the afternoon yesterday, the voltage was getting down to around 108 volts.
Now, being that there is supposed to be 120 volts, 108 is quite low, and if it would have dropped a few more volts, the surge suppressor/ electrical management system would have cut the power off to me. It does this because my AC and some of my other appliances can be damaged by running them with voltage that is too low. If that should happen, the only option would be for Jim to run my generator or wait until the voltage increases again.
Hopefully that won't happen.
Before it got too hot yesterday, Jim took his bike for a ride. When he came back, he got out the water hoses and ran them into the house and added some water to my fresh water tank. Now there should be plenty water to last until Thursday, when we'll be leaving here and heading for a CG near Emporia, where my black and gray water tanks can be dumped and my fresh water tank refilled. Then, on Friday, we'll head to the Jordan Lake SRA near Apex, NC to see Mike and his family.
For dinner, Jim got out his grill and cooked up those steaks that Nancy had bought at the grocery store. They sure did smell good while they were cooking, and by what I heard, they tasted really good too. While he was cooking the steaks, Nancy prepared a mixed vegetable dish and some rice to go with them.
A very good meal. ;-)
The evening was spent watching the NASCAR race on TV, and then going to bed after the news.
Did you know that May is "National Barbeque Month"?
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May Day, Mable Gets Ornery, A Mall Tour and Meatballs
Virginia Beach, VA.
65 deg. clear, SW wind @ 15 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 82 deg. mostly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Happy May Day!!!!!
Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday morning. Jim said that he didn't have much "get-up-and-go", so he just messed around outside some, watched a little TV and drank his coffee. After lunch, he and Linda took CLT and headed back to the Walgreen's store and picked up the last part of Linda's prescriptions that were on back-order.
Now, from Walgreen's, the plan was to go to the Forbe's Candy Company and buy Linda some more sugar free candy. Well, they had never gone from the part of the city where the Walgreen's store is to the part of the city where Forbe's is before, so Jim took Mable, (their GPS), along and programed her to direct them between the 2 places. I guess Jim has to accept some of the blame, because he programed Mable to take them there on the "shortest route", but I think Mable was just being ornery.
You see, from Walgreen's, she took them on some back streets, through a residential area, had them take many left then right then left then right turns, and finally took them right into a Mall parking lot, where she took them first along the road that runs right up by the stores and then through the parking lot and down through the rows of cars, only to take them back out onto the street that they were on originally, but going the other way!!!
Of course the traffic was heavy in the mall area, and most of the people were in a hurry to get someplace, so it turned out to be quite a nerve-wracking experience.
CLT said that at one point, he thought Jim was going to throw Mable out of the window, but instead, he pulled over to the side of the road, reprogrammed her for the "quickest way", and resumed their quest to find Forbe's.
After Jim re-programed her, Mable behaved, and took them right to the store, without any more side trips. :-)
After they got back here, Jim took a nap, and Linda started preparing her meatball and rice dish that she was making for dinner. Then, after getting everything cooked and ready, they carried everything into the house, about 6:30. The meal went over well, and everyone, (especially Sami) thought it was really good. (Sami really likes meatballs). ;-)
After dinner, Jim, Linda, Joe and Nancy sat outside in the back yard and talked for awhile. Then, a little before 9:00, people were starting to get tired so Jim and Linda came back out here, and Joe and Nancy went inside.
Today, I think Jim is going to put some more water into my fresh water tank. It's down below 1/2 and will probably run out by Thursday if he doesn't. Other than that, I have no Idea what's happening.
Oh, I just remembered!!!! Nancy bought some steaks at the grocery store the other day, and has asked Jim if he would cook them on his grill. She and Joe think that the way he cooks them is really good, and almost every time we're here, have asked him to do it.
Yummm!!! I can smell them cooking already!!!! ;-)
Did you know that there is a May Day parade and pageant in Minneapolis MN each year that attracts about 35,000 people?
65 deg. clear, SW wind @ 15 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 82 deg. mostly sunny, SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Happy May Day!!!!!
Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday morning. Jim said that he didn't have much "get-up-and-go", so he just messed around outside some, watched a little TV and drank his coffee. After lunch, he and Linda took CLT and headed back to the Walgreen's store and picked up the last part of Linda's prescriptions that were on back-order.
Now, from Walgreen's, the plan was to go to the Forbe's Candy Company and buy Linda some more sugar free candy. Well, they had never gone from the part of the city where the Walgreen's store is to the part of the city where Forbe's is before, so Jim took Mable, (their GPS), along and programed her to direct them between the 2 places. I guess Jim has to accept some of the blame, because he programed Mable to take them there on the "shortest route", but I think Mable was just being ornery.
You see, from Walgreen's, she took them on some back streets, through a residential area, had them take many left then right then left then right turns, and finally took them right into a Mall parking lot, where she took them first along the road that runs right up by the stores and then through the parking lot and down through the rows of cars, only to take them back out onto the street that they were on originally, but going the other way!!!
Of course the traffic was heavy in the mall area, and most of the people were in a hurry to get someplace, so it turned out to be quite a nerve-wracking experience.
CLT said that at one point, he thought Jim was going to throw Mable out of the window, but instead, he pulled over to the side of the road, reprogrammed her for the "quickest way", and resumed their quest to find Forbe's.
After Jim re-programed her, Mable behaved, and took them right to the store, without any more side trips. :-)
After they got back here, Jim took a nap, and Linda started preparing her meatball and rice dish that she was making for dinner. Then, after getting everything cooked and ready, they carried everything into the house, about 6:30. The meal went over well, and everyone, (especially Sami) thought it was really good. (Sami really likes meatballs). ;-)
After dinner, Jim, Linda, Joe and Nancy sat outside in the back yard and talked for awhile. Then, a little before 9:00, people were starting to get tired so Jim and Linda came back out here, and Joe and Nancy went inside.
Today, I think Jim is going to put some more water into my fresh water tank. It's down below 1/2 and will probably run out by Thursday if he doesn't. Other than that, I have no Idea what's happening.
Oh, I just remembered!!!! Nancy bought some steaks at the grocery store the other day, and has asked Jim if he would cook them on his grill. She and Joe think that the way he cooks them is really good, and almost every time we're here, have asked him to do it.
Yummm!!! I can smell them cooking already!!!! ;-)
Did you know that there is a May Day parade and pageant in Minneapolis MN each year that attracts about 35,000 people?
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