Tuesday, March 31, 2009








Stockton, TX and the US Postal Service mailbox. We spent the night of the 28th at a truck stop in Stockton. We were between 2 semis with their motors/generators running. At first the steady rythym was soothing, but by midnight I was trying to sleep with a pillow over my head. Needless to say we were up very early. Had our morning coffee and decided to kill some time at a nearby WalMart. It's amazing what a mile drive can do. The parking lot was small and when Jim was making a turn this mailbox with a top scoop for dropping mail into punctured our side. Unable to back up, forward we went. It then caught the lower rear panel of the RV. The pictures tell "the rest of the story".

After talking to police and insurance people we had to decide what to do next. It was Sunday morning and nothing would be open for estimates or repairs. We had reservations at a campground in Carlsbad, NM and there happened to be an RV service center right next door to the campground. Since the pulled out section seemed to be firmly wedged onto our towbar (we couldn't get the car off) we drove the 137 miles to Carlsbad. Fortunately it was a reasonably straight and smooth road. When the doors to the service center opened Monday morning we were at the door. Turns out they do not do body work but a fellow who had worked for them for 20 years did. He now had his own business and specializes in fiberglass repairs. We are now waiting for approval of the estimate. With damages along the entire back panels we don't want to take a chance of further damages so I guess we'll spend a few weeks in Carlsbad. Found a motel that will give us weekly rates and while repairs are being done will stay there. Luckily we have "trip interuption" coverage that will take care of most of the expenses. Of course we've had to cancel all of our reservations for our planned month long trip to Idaho. Now, when we can go, we'll just hit the road and stop wherever we can. We're still going to stop in Vegas to see family and friends there. Can't make any definite plans because we no longer have a definite time frame.

Are we having fun yet? Of course we are! When the knots in your tummy untangle it is best to smile and "Be Happy".


No more Pflugerville! We pulled out at 6:35 a.m. on the 23rd of March, 09. Spent the day at Campers World having our oil changed and some other problems documented for future warranty repairs. Don't have the time to have them taken care of right now. Then we checked in at COE Potters Creek on Canyon Lake. Nice views from our campsite and set up. The deer still own this park but we saw some Canadian geese and a white Ibis flying around. The weather was wet and windy. I felt sorry for the many tent campers. Jim did a day trip to Chicago on Wednesday and got his IL drivers license and ID. Now we are driving totally legal. Our next stop will be in Carlsbad, NM Post again when we get there.

Friday, March 20, 2009







Jims projects have been many. He made the picnic table when we first got here. It is ver-r-ry well made and heavy. Dan is inheriting it when we leave. The fence was put together using scrap construction lumber. We have pictures of eagles facing in or out to put onto the windshield flag(s) bar. Jim also made a terrace light from a rounded lumber section. This he also painted red, white, and blue and we bought a carriage style light for outdoor use. I'll have to post a picture of it when it's set up in Idaho. The drawers he made for our storage area are fantastic. Now we just sllide a drawer out to get whatever we want. No more pulling out crate upon crate trying to get at the one item we need. The Deangelo sign was his first attempt at using the router he found at a pawn shop. That was Dan's housewarming/birthday gift. Not pictured is the cabinet he cut back, had a door made for, and the mounting of our new flat screen HDTV. He's had to replace 2 light fixtures, and 1 toilet (difficult job in limited space). For convenience he added an outside electrical outlet and fans to blow on driver and passenger. Normal maintenance had him replacing 1 house and 2 engine batteries. Although there have been other projects these were the major ones.

I probably won't post again until we're set up in Idaho. Be prepared for pictures from our travels through New Mexico (Carlsbad Caverns and Gallup), Las Vegas (family and friends), California (San Diego Zoo, San Francisco, Camp Campbell Camp of the Redwoods), Oregon, Washington, Montana, and finally Idaho (30 miles south of Canada). Whew!!! Sounds exhausting but we're allowing 30+ days to see it all.

On the road again..........

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Orange Finch

Red Wing Blackbirds
Mockingbird
Starling
Doves
Jackrabbit

Feathered and furry friends. We have 2 birdfeeders up and we, they, go through about 50 pounds of birdseed a week and 2 suet bars daily. I can almost tell time by when the birds show up. The redwing blackbirds are beautiful when they spread their wings but my reflexes aren't fast enough to get a shot of that. The Finches are very colorful and very serene birds. They come when most others are gone. I love looking out my window and see them perched on the fence. The doves are too big to sit on the feeders so they get whatever the wind blows down to the ground. The Starlings feathers sparkle with irridescent colors when sitting in the sun. We have only seen a few Mockingbirds although we hear they are quite plentiful here in Texas. There are also cowbirds and blackbirds but I don't bother taking their pictures. Until hunting season opened we had numerous jackrabbits running around. Now we only see them once in awhile. We had a resident skunk for a few months but he's gone now. There are a few stray cats and cat fights do occur.

I've tried to label each picture with the correct breed, but I won't guarantee they will be published the way I labeled them. Wish us luck!

Thursday, March 12, 2009





Some nice people we've worked with are Dan, the tall fellow, and Julio, the shorter guy. They are the site manager and assistant manager respectively. The worker taking a break on Jims worktable is one of the site cleanup crew. The overturned gravel truck didn't make the I35 turnaround. The road was blocked for quite awhile for the cleanup. It was interesting to watch the operation. 1st they had to get the gravel out of the truck bed. This took guys with shovels and a front end loader. Then a "Big Bertha" tow truck expertly hooked up to the semi and got it upright. Fortunately the driver was not injured and the truck was still driveable. There was lots and lots of emergency equipment blocking all access to the road!

Thursday, March 05, 2009






Almost complete apt complex. It appears that our time remaining here is almost over so I want to post the end results of the dusty lot we came to in June 08. There were some overlooked archetectural items that have been corrected after the fact. There are only 16 3 bedroom apartments. 4 of them had front doors that exited onto a sidewalk and then a nice drop into a retention area. I told the site manager that I would be afraid my kids would run out the door and go right down the incline. There is now a fence around the retention areas. The picture posted is before fence. Another funny item was when you walked through the passage into the common area you walked into bushes. The landscaping has now been removed and sidewalks put in. There is a group of buildings on the east side of the property and they ring the clubhouse and pool area. The group on the west side had nothing in the common area. They are now putting in a BBQ pit, gazebo, and picnic area. There is no playground for children, no shower by the pool, or even easy access from the pool into the clubhouse to use the bathroom. I find these things odd. Another oversight we find comical. Each building has 1 handicap accessable apartment on the 1st floor. The patio railings for these had to be redone with a gate to escape the apt if necessary. This is good, but if I was in a wheelchair I could get off my patio and drop down into a tree or bush. If I landed upright I still would have difficulty getting away from the building. It has been interesting seeing a dit lot transformed and understanding what goes into completion of a building. Don't know that we'll ever do this again.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Alphabet Game. Just in case you think I have been sitting here idle all these months I feel this entry is very important. As you know our RV sits right next to Interstate 35. I have the pleasure of watching traffic go by 24/7. So-o-o I started playing the Alphabet game. My rules are that the letters have to be on a vehicle. Over the months I have forced myself to play at the challenger level. Like all levels the letters have to be found in order, A, B, C, etc. Challenger level is played by finding full words that start with each letter. No more abbreviations like Inc., Fed EX, J B Hunt, although I can use Hunt for the letter H. Here in Texas I find that the letter J is the hardest to find along with Q, X, and Z. Fortunately there are several Xpress trucks that go by and I allow myself to use this as a word. Reading slogans helps a lot with the hard to find letters. @King of beers, makes your life better, expect more pay less. The real killer is the letter Z. As the sun starts to set I find myself praying for an Auto-Zone or a Zenith truck to go by. I become obsessed with finding a Z anywhere! I become so frustrated that I know I won't sleep until I find some Z's. In desperation I call Papa Johns. We all know they deliver after dark, and we all know what they deliver! Success, now I can sleep with a full tummy and lots of ZZZZZ's.