On The Road Again - Headed Norrth

June 10^th I hit the road for Iowa.  Reservations made in Guthrie OK for the first nite and Homewood KS for the second….to arrive at Shady Oaks Campground, Marshalltown, IA on June 12^th.   Fred was Johnny on the Spot again to make sure I was hitched up, unplugged from the utilities and ready to go!

As usual, on my way out of Gatesville, I stopped at the tire shop and they checked and aired up my trailer tires.  I wish I could say the trip north was uneventful!

Just north of Paul’s Valley – just south of OK City, I heard a ‘pop” – I had just stopped for fuel and done my usual “walk around’ to make sure everything was till lookin’ good.   Ever since I blew that wheel/wheel bearings, I am really funny about checking wheels and tires.

I pulled off the interstate to take a look at what that ‘pop’ may have been – sounded like something hit up under the trailer – it was one of the tires on the trailer – blown to shreds.  Good thing it is a dual axle!  I slowly limped the rest of the way up the off ramp and into a Loves Truck Stop parking lot.  Called my friendly Good Sam’s Road Service, which I pay so dearly for…..that call went out at 1:50PM – at 6:20PM someone showed up!  Was I upset – no, I was MAD – Really MAD – but didn’t want to take it out on the poor service guy!   I guess you know Good Sam got a not so polite and not so well-mannered piece of my mind! 

If it had just been me – but I had the dogs and the cat – and it was, according to the weather man “the hottest day so far this year” and I’m setting in a parking lot with no shade on blacktop!   Yes, it was a truck stop and I could go in for some A/C air, but they wouldn’t let me bring the critters in – so I sat outside with them – fortunately I had ice in my freezer so I could cool down their water – but hot is hot and there wasn’t a cool place for them.   My truck A/C still doesn’t work right when the truck is in park and idling….so no relief there.  Actually, I think we were all overcome with the heat by the time the tire was fixed and we were on our way. 

Will definitely have to have the repair place check that when I get back (along with checking the rear slide….the repair list is growing!)   When the tire blew it took out a section of the wheel well and the sub-flooring!  YIPPEE!   I’m one happy camper!

I kept calling the RV Park in Guthrie to let them know how things were going – they close their office at 8PM and there is no way to register after that.  She told me which spot I was to take and said she would leave an envelope with my name taped to the door – I could pay her in the AM.  That’s one nice thing about staying at the same place year after year!   But…..no worry – she was still open with I got there – she said she decided she’d stay open a little longer to make sure I got in!  Bless her heart!   I was never so happy to be off the road, in shade, with electric and A/C in the trailer in all my life!

Headed out the next morning for Homewood KS – my short day –  about 4 hours.   Another place I regularly stay – called them and told them I was on the way – they don’t open the office until after 3PM (small park!) so she told me, “take any spot and I’ll see you when I open the office.”   These people are spoiling me!   This is the place that gives you a bag of fresh popped pop corn when you register!  Thought that was the strangest thing the first time I stopped – then I realized, during the summer, after being on the road, setting up the trailer, hooking up the utilities – the salty popcorn and a glass of ice tea are just what the doctor ordered!

Of course each morning, in Guthrie and in Homewood, it was push, shove, lift, heft, to get that *&#* slide in!  By the time I arrived at Marshalltown on the 12^th, I had bruises from inside my elbow half way down both arms!   GEEZ!

3 PM, June 12^th, arrived at Shady Oaks Campground, Marshalltown IA!  Yee-Haw!  My sister pulled in right behind me – Mary and Judy (owners) came out – guess I looked a mess, Judy brought me a bottle of ice water!   Randy showed up about 4 PM to get me backed in and help set up and by supper time, I had everything hooked and running!   Home for the Summer!  Officially off the road for at least 3 months!  Life is Good!

At Home in Gatesville (for awhile!)

The trip from Rockport to Gatesville was uneventful.   It is going to take the two new pups (Amber and Brooke) some time to get used to the trailer.  They haven’t been travelers all of their lives like Li’lBit and Holly!   Amber has her momma’s personality and is as laid back as Li’lBit, but then there is Brooke – there isn’t enough room in the trailer for the Chihuahua part of that dog!

It was good to pull into ‘my spot’ at the RV park.  Of course, Fred was there to help me get unhitched and utilities hooked up.   He is a gem!   As soon as I was unhitched and plugged in and the A/C on for the critters, I was out to Johnnies for coffee!   All is well with the world!

First thing the following morning I was on the phone arranging vet appointments and an appointment at the Dodge dealer for my A/C and the trucks “well baby’ check up.   Also needed a trip to the Verizon store since my phone had all but died.   My stay in Gatesville can be the most costly part of my summer travels!   All of the critters get their shots and vet care (some in May; some in Oct).  The truck always goes in for a checkup.  My standard line to the service guys is, “Imagine you are going to put your li’l ol’ grannie in that truck and send her off on a trip.”   They do take care of me quite well.

There was one minor problem this time – I ended up spending the entire day at the Dodge dealer waiting room – good thing they have a good TV!  I had a book, but if I’d known it was going to take all day, I’d have asked them to take me home.  We kept waiting for delivery of a part – it’s gonna be here in an hour; well, it’s gonna be here in an hour or so……..then, once the part was installed, they had to take the truck to another dealer to put it on some sort of machine!  Oh, Please, save me – sounds like my recent medical care!

Managed to get in several lunches and visits with Brenda, Dairy Queen with Brenda, her nieces and her sister, lunch with Donna and Robert in Copperas Cove, lunch with Mary Jane, lunch with Cindy, BBQ with Michael….. do you kinda get the picture – good food, good friends, good times!   All of this and dinner every Sunday with Johnnie and her family and coffee just about every day at Johnnies.  Oh, how I do miss the folks in Gatesville!

It was graduation day for Samantha and Caden…..can’t believe they are finished with high school!  Makes me feel old when I realize I’ve known Samantha since grade school and Caden since he came home from the hospital as a baby!   Two great kids!  Samantha will be off to college in the fall and Caden leaves for the Army in August.

Winter Comes to an End in Rockport

 I’ve been neglectful again and it is ‘catch up’ time.    It’s a little  difficult to get in to the mood to post to the blog when all I have to say is – my lungs crapped out again; can’t seem to catch a good breath lately; I’m tired of meds and respiratory treatments for fluid in the lungs…….and on and on with the complaints.  But, I really shouldn’t complain - any day I can wake up and put my feet on the floor and catch a breath of air is a good day.

I didn’t participate in much at the park over the winter….just didn’t have the ‘oompf’ or the ‘lung power.’   But it wasn’t all set home and whine.  I did manage to get out and about to meet the “in town’ gang for lunch several times and meet Donna at our favorite spots – Whataburger and HuDat’s!   Kathy spent the winter down at Shady Oaks (the southern version!) and that meant a few trips to Shempy’s for fried green beans.

I knew summer was coming and started planning my trip to Iowa.  Needed to get some repairs done on the trailer so I spent several days – well, more like several weeks! – unloading it.    But isn’t that why I got the trailer  – and stocked it so well – so I wouldn’t have to load and unload anything but some foodstuffs, some clothes and the critters?   But, going in for repairs, and I knew they would have to remove the rear slide, I removed everything – lug, tote, cart, carry – just so I could lug, tote, cart, carry when it was time to reload!

Trailer went in the end of March…..hoping to have it back in time to load it and be on the road the middle of May.  Just made it – got it back – only to find the rear slide STILL didn’t work.  The RV service sent out a guy to check it – and it didn’t work!  Isn’t that what I said!!   So it will have to go back in when I get back to TX in the fall.  I’m not delaying my trip north.   It will be another summer of swear words and temper tantrums over the stupid slide screwing up again and again and again!   Fortunately, I will have someone in Gatesville to help me get it back in and someone in Iowa to help.   But I will be fighting with it myself while I’m on the road.

Monday, May 20^th, I hit the road for Gatesville – but only after another trip to the tire place for 2 new tires on the trailer!   Oh, and the A/C went out on the truck the week before I left Rockport!  Here we go again!

 

A Little Behind! Time flies when you’re havin’ fun!

WOW!  It's Catch-Up Time!

I stayed around Iowa until the middle of October, waiting for an appointment with the eye doc that got canceled!  In the meantime, there were a few days of “Indian Summer” but most of the time I had my ‘hoodie’ on and the space heater or furnace running!  Not much Iowa blood left in this ol’ gal! 

The delay in hitting the road did give me one more chance to meet with Ingrid and Sherri and this time Nancy came up to meet us at Applebee’s in Pella.  Of course, the trip to Pella gave me another chance to stop at the Dutch Meat Market and the Bakery for some bologna and Dutch Letters.   And, what an exciting trip from Pella to Marshalltown – just as I crested a hill – there he was – State Trooper!  You know you can pay speeding tickets on line now!

Pulling out of the park was one for America’s Funniest Home Videos!  Don’t ask me how I managed to get the tree in between the truck and the trailer, but I did.  We called my sister’s friend Jim and Mick, the grandson of the park owner, and with some direction and maneuvering and Mick behind the wheel, he managed to get me out of the mess and get me on the road!

On the trip back to Gatesville, I stayed at my usual places, Homewood RV Park in Homewood KS and the next night at Pioneer Park in Guthrie OK.  It’s nice to stay in familiar places.  Coming down from Oklahoma, I stayed just ahead of the dust storm that turned day into night and the winds.  I was glad to see the Texas Welcome Sign.

Third day on the road ended when I pulled into the RV park in Gatesville TX!  Just one problem – the park was full!  Fred, the manager, came out and backed my trailer in right up behind his, there was an extra set of hook-ups available so that is where I stayed for a few days until one of the RVs pulled out and I pulled into my “usual spot!” 

Shortly after my arrival in Gatesville, I made a quick trip down to Rockport for the Memorial Service for Ron Hanson, one of the full-timers at the Rockport RV Park.  He passed away during the summer and his wife, Carole, after spending some time with family at Minnesota, came back to the park.   His passing was quite unexpected.   And, the truly sad part of this entire incident, shortly after I returned to Rockport after Thanksgiving, Carole died.   It just doesn’t seem right to not see their motor home and that little blue/green truck.

My stay in Gatesville was spent catching up with Mary Jane, Brenda and the girls, Cindy and all the “regulars.”  Oh, and this time, I went to Hamilton for Election Day. Lunch, coffee, lunch and more coffee!  Of course, the first stop was out to Johnnie’s to get my Johnnie and Coffee Fix!  Sunday dinners with Johnnie and her family are a must to rejuvenate me.   It wouldn’t be a stop over in Gatesville without a few trips to El Tapatio and Prima Pasta with Brenda – and a stop at Dairy Queen with Brenda and the girls.  I’m going to have to stop calling them ‘girls’ – Samantha will graduate from high school this year and Courtney is in college!  Candace is a momma to two boys and even Cassandra is such a young lady; it is hard to remember when she was a little girl.

The family grew some while in Gatesville.  Brenda brought over Li’lBit’s ‘daughter’ from her last litter with a apricot toy poodle (oops!) and along with the daughter came the daughter’s daughter – so there are now 3 generations of Li’lBit’s family under one roof.   Li’lBit seemed a little overwhelmed at all the extra feet in that little 23 ft trailer and Holly – well, Holly’s a cat – who knows what Holly thought, but with her hissing, spitting and nails, she let the new kids know just what they could and couldn't do!

Thanksgiving dinner was with Johnnie and her family – it was so good to see all of them.  Johnnie always outdoes herself year after year, putting out a spread that makes everyone’s gut totally miserable by the time they leave.  Always good to see Johnnie’s brother and his family and Bobbie’s brother and sister.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, it was time to hitch up – pulled my standard stop at the tire place to check tire pressure and hit the road.  All of the routine maintenance had been done while I was in town – the “well baby” check up for the Dodge at the dealer, oil change, etc etc etc.  I did have an incident with the A/C not cooling, but the phantom leak was found!  The two new family members had been off to the vet for their “well baby” check ups, vaccinations and microchips.  Holly and Li’lBit passed their physical exams with flying colors – considering their ages! 

So, it was time to hit the road – Critters and truck and trailer, ready to go! 

Fortunately the trip from Gatesville to Rockport, even with the traffic tie-ups and road construction was good.  When I arrived in Rockport, Ron and Connie were available to help me get into the trailer storage area and unhitched.   It’s nice to be home!

There were things that needed to be done – trailer unloaded, trip to the grocery, but all of that could wait.   I unloaded the ‘valuables” – my critters and my purse – took a shower and hit the sack!  There’s always tomorrow!