Thinking

08/29/2021

I sat here in front of my computer thinking about life in general and the future which of course is unknown to us mere mortals. As I have mentioned several times in my past blogs, my current lifestyle is so different to that of the past with no real responsibilities other than looking after my pets and myself. My one major obligation other than maintaining Eagle Two, is to Mikey and Sandy, my two little dogs who are both my friends and roommates. Now if they could both speak my language or me theirs then we could really communicate. As it is now, I do all of the talking and they either stand their looking at me with their big brown eyes wagging their tails like crazy or if my tone of voice indicates displeasure of some sort then there is no wag and probably not paying attention either. Other than feeding and loving them, my one main obligation is to take them walking at least twice and sometimes three times a day depending on the weather or my availability. This gives all of us the opportunity to stretch our legs and get in some much needed exercise and for them to do their business. We also take this as a opportunity to visit with or our neighbors and see who has moved in and who has moved out. After all, we are all living in RV’s which are meant to travel the roads.

Some of these rigs are really luxurious on the outside and one can only assume that they are even more so on the inside. Many of the owners are couples, some of whom are retired and occasionally single individuals like myself, with the occasional lone woman camper. There are also a lot that come through with small children. Whether they are full timing or on vacation, I have no way of telling. Nearly all have dogs and we often cross paths as they walk them. This usually sets Sandy of into a fit of barking and screaming with Mikey cowering behind me because of all of the noise. So far, we have only got into one actual fight and that was because the other dogs were not leashed.

I have my first stop already picked out on the Gulf of Mexico in a place called Rockport and we will be leaving here early morning of September 1st. That is unless Hurricane Ida which has made landfall in Louisiana today moves along the coast in which case, I will need to find another campsite inland for a few days until the weather clears up. The plan is to move from one campground to the next with one or two week stays at each one making a big loop and return back here to Henly for December and January as generally, this part of Texas has a mild winter with this past winter the exception. Hopefully, that is a one off and will not repeat itself.

I have been sorting through boxes of “stuff” that I brought from the house thinking that I might find a use for it and in many cases, it is something that I need and glad to finally locate. In other cases, I look at whatever it is and wonder why I thought I might need it and why I even brought it along. Looks like another trip to Goodwill is in my future or the waste dumpster. I did locate the rest of the kitchen stuff, knives and forks and such along with bigger kitchen utensils for cooking. Definitely a good find. There is very much an art and skill to living in an RV especially if it’s not one of the larger ones like the Eagle was. The one major difference is that every square inch of space is precious and should not be wasted as it is a luxury. It’s hard to keep it looking tidy as the seating also get used hold things. Can’t even begin to think what it would be like with a travel mate.

After spending my entire life working in construction, first as a tradesman both as a carpenter, bricklayer and welder then progressing to Superintendent and finally spending the last 22 years at the University of Texas as a Manager of Planning and Scheduling, I have always had a love of tools and the things they could do. Consequently, over the years my personal tool collection was quite large much of which I was so reluctant to leave to someone else that I brought most of it along with me. Now, a lot of the hand tools and wrenches and such are taking up space in two very large storage boxes in the largest storage compartment in Eagle Two adding quite a considerable amount of weight. I really need to take a look and sort things out maybe keeping a few wrenches and screwdrivers and such and getting rid of the rest to free up much needed storage space and not overweight the RV. Something else to make decisions on.

Sandy is looking at me with her big brown eyes and wiggling her tail if I happen to make eye contact. This is the usual sign that it is time to take them for a walk. I ignored her as long as I could before we took that walk just as we usually do. It was much cooler and we know which routes to take at the different times of the day based on the sun and the amount of shade available to us. Luckily, the temperature has not reached higher than the mid 90’s this year and with September just around the corner, we may remain lucky and will not see any 100 degree days. Just across the road is a game farm with exotic deer and zebras and sometimes when we are walking, we get to see these beautiful animals.

Well, it is time to feed my buddies and then to feed me. Today being Sunday, I get to watch a couple of Premier League games. The trouble with modern day television is that game reporting very often beats my actual viewing and I often know the score. It does spoil it a bit as it takes the edge off a tight game. Oh well, I should just be grateful that thanks to modern technology, I can watch replays of games that have happened 3000 miles away and also watch my Great, Great Grandson play for Brighton and Hove Albion fulfilling my dream for me as I was never quite good enough to be a professional player.

More later.

Written 08/29/2021

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