Latest Pics

Taken from my computer window at 6:00 AM this morning.

The office is UP the hill, behind the trees. We have been making 4 trips per day minimum Up the hill.

This is taken from about halfway down the hill. Our MOHO is marked by the arrow.

Been walking

We have tried to get some walking in every day. Butch went to play golf again so that will be his walk so I decided to walk in the park. Many parks are flat as a pancake but Coachlight is not one of them. We parked at the lowest elevation and everything is uphill from here.

I forgot to take my phone on my first trip so the MapMyWalk app tracking below is on my second session so a total of 1.22miles. Oddly enough that is close to what it is for one round in Magnolia. There is another big difference and that is hills. I thought the first trip last Monday was going to kill me but it has become easier. Today was a much better comfort level.

Carthage- Friday

Yesterday was a cloudy, fine mist of a day. We managed to get a walk in spite of it. Most of the day was spent hanging out and watching everyone leave. The park seemed about half full when we arrived but now it feels down to about a quarter. Better WiFi for the rest of us.

This is the one park we have been in that has adequate WiFi. This park is about 1/4th size of Magnolia. It is attached to an RV dealership and that most likely explains why the WiFi is top notch. I should say they would not have to extend it to the park but it sure is nice that they do.

 In the park they have 3 towers and they tell customers to sign on to the one with the strongest signal for them. They give you a password and I know it gets changed sometimes. I read a review for this park where a former customer was giving them a bad review. Management added to the review that what the complainer failed to note was that he was ejected from the park for hacking into the wifi system to stream videos directly among other things. I am certain changing the password would have been essential after this event. 
And in this park with their topnotch WiFi they warn that at times it can be slow depending on how many people are using it at any one time. If we had the same system in our park it would be virtually at a standstill in January and February. Magnolia would also need double or maybe even triple the towers for the same level of coverage. 
Butch and I have  2 phones,2 kindles,3 computers, and 1 television all connected to our personal WiFi system both in Texas and Iowa. And this is why we have our own system. I would never expect to be connected to that many devices on the parks Internet connection. I do know that it is done. Can you imagine if everyone had eight devices connected to the system? They most likely would not be using all 8 devices at the same time but even so it is a sizable load.

I did not expect to get off on this subject . It was a spontaneous occurence.

I do not know what the day holds. Maybe I will do more laundry. I am glad we are not on the road today. It is foggy. I am hoping we are blessed with good travel weather on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

The Powers that be

You know those times in your life when you were brought to a place and unbeknownst to you, you were meant to be there. For your own good or someone else's. Well, this time it was for our own good. I started to do laundry this morning and the washer would not work. Tried every trick in the book many times over and we both determined it was the motherboard. So here we are in Carthage MO with an RV dealer a short walk away and we have a washer problem. Butch went up there and they had a whirlpool washer with a small ding on it and we could get it for a reduced price. Getting a washer swapped out in a motorhome is no small feat but we got it done and I started my laundry much later than planned but we did do laundry today. We feel we are being watched over and guided to where we need to be when we need to be there. It has happened many, many times in our life. It feels like magic and we are so very grateful.

I have put the "map my walk " app on our new phone so we could scope out a walking route. With everything happening, we still managed a 2-mile walk today.

Butch did extra because of his walks to the RV dealership.

Looking back and Forward

I was looking back at the blog to see how long it had been since we had stayed here at Coachlight RV Park in Carthage and it was 2006!! So it has been 10 years since we have stayed here. And yet it seems like it was many years that we did.
Also, we scoped out our routes from past years and it has also been that long since we have gone the route we plan to take this time. And there has been a bit of a change on that score too. We will be here until Monday, November 7th and then we will be staying in Antler OK RV park that night. Tuesday night we will be at RV Relay station in Franklin TX and Wednesday we will be staying in Rockport TX for one night arriving in the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday the 10th.

Butch played golf today in the wind and got his second HOLE-IN-ONE!! Once again there were no witnesses. Hole number 3 on the Carthage Golf Course. He has waited many years for a hole-in-one and now he has had two in one year.

We have taken care of a few details on the motorhome, replacing light switches and bulbs that didn't work. It always feels good to get those little long neglected things out of the way.
I am loving the new floor. So easy to take care of and I like knowing it is very clean.
Time to get supper taken care of now...til next time...

Carthage Day 2

We are in Carthage MO. It is where we bought our motorhome and we used to stop here at least once a year but now it has been at least 5. We like the area so plan to extend our stay for a week. We still plan to go to Palatios but will only overnight there. Should arrive in the Rio Grande valley on the 10th.
Like this park because...
1. Very soft water
2. Excellent WiFi
3.RV parts facilities close by and inexpensive (Colaws)
4. Still have friends here
5. Great walking places.
6. Good TV reception
7. Golf course that Butch likes

One at a time

Leo, Elise and their friends at Trunk or Treat

Reading Rapunzel to Papa Gary

 Little Leo did not like the mask. It does not work to get woke from a nap.

The girl in red is a classmate of Leo's in preschool.

This poor guy was putting up with lots of attention.

Mermaid

Elise is on the left. This girl has a beautiful head of hair.

Papa Gary was Mathman at his school so little Leo had to be Mathman at home.

Carthage MO 2016

We have arrived in Carthage a few minutes ago. We are parked and Butch is unhooking the car. We have not been here in years and yet it feels like home. This is where we purchased our Moho in 2004. Wifi is excellent. TV reception on antenna is great although they do have cable if we want it.

I am way behind on posts, pictures etc and hope to get caught up today and tomorrow. I have some great pics from our stay with the kids that I am anxious to share. Maybe I can share one now. Gary teaches middle school math and so for Halloween he was Math Man. He was a clever boy and is a clever man!

Peculiar now-Carthage tomorrow

We have spent the weekend with our Missouri kids. We have so enjoyed being around the great grands. This morning I asked Leo why he did not eat his last 4 pieces of pancake. His answer- There are not 4 pieces, only 3. He is only 3 and knows his numbers and letters. Cannot get much past that boy or his sister.
Amanda called Elise to ask her where an article of clothing was that was needed for her costume. She said it is either in the dress bin or the accessories bin on the left. Such precise directions from a 6 year old. Amazing kids!

We will be heading out in the morning for Carthage and plan to spend a day or two there before starting out on the next leg.
On another note. I am loving my phone! It is a Google Pixel. Charges in 15 minutes. A charge lasts 2-3 days. I have never had a phone before that was so trouble free from the beginning. The GPS on the way down was flawless! I am looking forward to a long and loving relationship with it.

Catching up in Pictures

Thursday night was beggars night in Jefferson and this little man dressed in his Fareway employee's outfit caught my eye. Since he is sporting an apron I am guessing he works in the meat department. I think his sister is one of the Frozen sisters.

Keri sent a Pumpkin Cake Roll with us to share with our Missouri kids. It was super delicious and we are all ready for another one

Nana Susan had a hard day at work. She is always ready for a cuddle with her Grands though.

The view from my window in the Peculiar Park Place.

Two nights

Trivia Night

They promise to keep our spot open for us next Spring. We sure have had a good time this summer playing trivia.

Larry Jackson, Barb Veenstra, Dugan and Sharon McQuillen

Dee and Jack L.

Butch, Dee, Jack L., Jack H.,Dugan and Sharon.

Busy Busy

This week has been busy from the git-go. Yesterday was moving day. We must be getting better at this two times a year moving in and out business. Two nights sleeping in the motorhome is minimal. It gives us more than enough time to notice missing items. The day of most activity is still hectic. Now it is mostly done. This afternoon the city guys will come and remove the water meter. Butch has all the pipes blown out and RV antifreeze in all the drains. The cactus will once again spend its winter in the living room and I left water for Jason or other helpers to water it a couple of times. The big thermometer is in the kitchen window so the internal temperature of the house can be monitored. Some of you may wonder why we do not do the high-tech monitoring of our house through wifi. Two reasons-1. $65 a month for internet service throughout the winter would be needed to make that possible. 2. The last major hack of Netflix and other businesses was done through phones with home monitoring. We will be seeing more of that kind of thing in the future as more and more people jump on the home monitoring bandwagon.

Big Ass Adventure

It started Saturday. We decided to use GPS to find the funeral home in Lake City. It could not understand me. It was at Lampe Funeral Home. Would not recognize it. No way, No how. I have never had a problem with it before for GPS. So as we are headed for Texas that is a problem. Also, my letter cee on the keyboard does not work. Have you ever tried to type without the letter cee or any of the other 26? Not fun.
First thing Monday morning I called the Verizon place in Des Moines where I had been before and asked a few dozen questions. I talked to John and he suggested we go to Carroll as it is mutch closer (28 miles) and ask for Mitch. Be sure to ask for Mitch. We walked in and 4 men were in a group and I asked for Mitch and said we were supposed to ask  Mitch to help us. Mitch stepped forward pointed to a woman and said, "She will get you started." He then continued his visit with the other 3 men. Butch told me later, they were talking about high school football.  He blew me off!!! The lady he passed me off to was knowledgeable but was unable to help me get any kind of a deal. John had told me I could get up to a $300 trade-in on my phone. In Carroll, she told me I would have to request a box from Verizon, send it in, and they would determine how much of a discount I would get. I said I think that is a poor way of doing business and I am not happy about that. Also I wanted a Google Pixel and they did not have one. The Samsung Galaxy S7 was the next best choice and a hundred dollars higher in cost. I proceeded because I was feeling the push of time and wanted to get it done. Butch came over once in the process and asked if I was happy with what I heard and I said, "Not really." That was supposed to be my clue to get up and leave but I did not pick up on it. And we were too far into the process.  So after one hell of a long time and too much money I walked out with my old phone and a new one.
While waiting we witnessed a female employee get her butt chewed from across the room by Mitch. A major jerk of a guy. He never once said another word to me the entire time I was in the store. I did tell the woman who helped me that I did not appreciate being blown off one tiny bit.
In the car Butch chewed my butt. Told me the TV was on Fox News in the store. Adding to the list of negative incidents. After talking it over we decided to drive to Des Moines and see if we would have fared any better. So we went to a corporate Verizon location in the Jordon Creek Mall. They listened to my tale and had all kinds of things they could have done for me but since my purchase was made at a 3rd party dealer I would have to return the new phone to them.
I was told I had 14 days to return the phone.
So as early as we could this morning, we returned the phone to Carroll and that was all A-OK.
Came back to Jefferson, I kept a doctor appointment at 11:30. Then we met up with Donn and Peggy at Tojo's in Jamaica Iowa for a tenderloin. They are famous for them. Yes, that is the same Donn and Peggy we spend the winter with in Texas. They were making a swing through Iowa to visit family on their way to Texas. We had a great visit!
So then we decided to tackle the phone issue and go to a corporate Verizon location in Ames. Closer than Des Moines. I told my story one more time. Was able to get a Google Pixel, and a $200 trade in on my phone, and they were offering an ASUS zenpad for $50. Butch's kindle has some serious age on it and this will make a nice replacement so we took the bait. My monthly fee is a few dollars less. I have the phone I wanted and we walked out happy.

Lessons learned? Only go to a corporate store. They are the only ones allowed to "deal" with you. So we have put a few miles on the car the past two days but we incorporated a stop at Costco and finished off an audio book. "The Life We Bury" It was worth the listen.
They tell me the camera on my new phone is "AWESOME" so look for some really cool pictures in the near future.

Scott Acklins Funeral

Today Butch and I took my niece Karla, Grand-nephew Devon,and sister Theresa to Lake City for Scott's funeral. I have attended far too many funerals in my life but I have obtained a fair amount of maturity and feel that I handle it pretty well. For the most part, I am not a cryer.  But my tiny little sister Myrla, who is about a 100 pounds and 4' 10" is sitting in the front row looking so vulnerable and lost. For the past 33 years, she has had Scott in her life every day. They laughed and talked each and every day. They depended on each other but did so with no regrets and a huge amount of love. They were good together. I was sitting beside her and the music started. "Will you remember me" and she broke into tears. I put my arm around her and cried with her. And I am beginning to tear up again telling you about it. It was hard.

I did see many of my cousins and Karla's sister Angie and her husband Jeff and we had not seen many of these people for a very long time. That was good.

And on a much lighter note, I have a bit of a story. When I dressed this morning I was looking for some black shoes. I would have worn flip flops but it was chilly so I went to the motorhome and retrieved a pair of black mesh shoes I had not worn for perhaps 20 years. I liked them because they expand with my feet. So we were at the church for lunch and I looked down to see what looked like mud underneath my chair. I discovered that my shoes were disintegrating before my eyes! The soles made of rubber/plastic were crumbling and leaving black crumbles everywhere! I did not wear socks and did not have a spare pair! Fortunately, Jason was there and had a spare pair of his in his car. Butch made me take off my crumbly ones and he threw them in the trash. When I got into the car I noticed black crumbles. And then when we got home there were black crumbles on my kitchen floor. If only I  had noticed! It did give my cousins a hearty chuckle!

Trivia and the trivial

I have spent too much time today trying to find out how old my computer is. It is beginning to act a bit funky. I know it has some age because the keys on my keyboard are missing in places...like the A and the E and S is getting a different shape as well. But what really burns my butt is when it stalls out when I am doing puzzles. I think I have it traced down to 6 or 7 years old. I plan to try and limp along a while yet.
We went to trivia night last night with one more trivia event before we leave for parts south. We came in second. It was not one of our shinier efforts. We had fun anyway, though.
My friend Colleen surprised me Wednesday. We had to wait for it to warm up but we did get one of our famous walks in. Just like old times. She was here for a memorial service for her friend Kathy Hankel who passed away recently and she will not be here long. It was a very pleasant surprise.

The weather has been perfect really for Iowa in late October. This morning it was 31 but that is the only time it has dipped that low and they say we will have a warm weekend. I certainly hope so because we plan to move into the motorhome and get settled in before take off next Friday. With all our home improvements this summer like the new floor and backsplash, it will feel like a different place.
Note to Kay S.: the new flooring and the backsplash, were easy peasy and we should be able to fix you right up when you are ready. At least we are full of good advice!

Fall Pics from Walks

 Locust Tree

Praying Mantis

Quick Update

Hey, I have to hurry because it is warm out there and going to reach 80's today, probably for the last time this year. So I must get that walk in. It has been the busiest of weeks! Something to go to, attend to, or see to every day this past week. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Last night we had a going away party hosted by us at the casino for family. It was fun seeing everyone and having the time to sit and visit. Myrla joined us as she needed to do something to distract her from her grief. Due to her constant and loving care of Scott these past years family visits were many times too difficult for her to attend logistically so it was nice that she could this time.

So I will not bore you with the details of the rest of it...honestly, at this minute I am not remembering the rest of it! I will work on my memory while walking. Later...!

Getting Ready

Butch was wandering around the yard yesterday trying to get things put up and away. I finally told him the cart is getting ahead of the horse as it is a full two weeks before we leave. Hitch-Itch has definitely taken hold.

Trivia Night

Thursday is trivia night at Hy-Vee. Our entire group was there last night and in fine form. We came in first! The guy who wins every time he is there was absent and we came through for the win. We have two more trivia nights before we leave and it is one outing I will miss -both the activity and the people.

Scott Acklin passes

My sister Myrla lost her long-time partner Scott yesterday. Myrla and Scott have been partners for nearly 30 years. Scott suffered a spinal injury while playing baseball on a lot with a hidden old well. He fell into the well. Due to the spinal injury, Scott has been impaired in various ways ever since. Myrla and Scott fell in love nearly 30 years ago and have been inseparable ever since. She has been his full-time caretaker as well for many years now. This is a very hard time for Myrla and I am feeling deeply for her.