I awoke at what was probably the same time as I usually do except it was an hour earlier than normal because the clocks went back last evening. Now, I have no excuse for getting up late as I am on my own biological clock which also happens to coincide with real time. That does not mean that I cannot sleep late occasionally. The dogs, however, knew it was time to get up as they have no concept of time other than that which governs their respective bladders. 

We wandered around and as expected, some of the football campers were preparing to go home and were working on breaking down their rigs. A couple of others were walking their dogs and we made sure to steer clear of them to avoid any confrontations. We did our usual half mile walking before returning to Quatro. 

When I took the morning shower, the water had started to puddle up under my feet, a sure sign that that grey tank needed emptying. As soon as I was dressed, I took care of this chore, which takes a good 10 minutes, to empty both black and grey tanks. Only with this complete, was I able to go back inside and make coffee and breakfast. While I was eating, I was perusing the latest news and then the emails with nothing much to grab my attention. The world has not come to an end. Not yet, anyway. 

I sat and thought about the future as regards our travelling. I am hoping to pick up the Jeep tomorrow and if that goes according to plan, can then go ahead breaking down camp. I need to re-attach the carrier to the back of the Jeep after removing it from the RV and then load it with the outdoor stuff which includes mats and the wicker lounger. If all goes well, I will do that tomorrow.  

I have a new Blue Ox tow bar after damaging the last one in the accident, that I decided to install on the back of Quatro ready to tow the Jeep. It went very well and was bright and shiny when I pulled it out of the box. This will not last long as it catches all of the dirt and spray from the tires that the RV kicks up as we drive. The actual Jeep hookup is the very last thing to happen. In any case, I have to move the RV to a spot where I can get the Jeep lined up behind it as ours is a back in site which also drops off considerably just behind the parked RV. The RV breakdown is simple and does not take very long before driving off. I do not have the next stop picked out yet and cannot wait until I get the Jeep back. It is all in the timing.  

With the tow bar installed on Quatro and the carrier ready to install the Jeep, there was really nothing else I could do in preparation for the move. Instead, I sat and watched my other favorite team, Man United, play Aston Villa who beat them soundly by a score of 3-1. It was just not Man U’s Day. 

By then, it was time for the afternoon walk about. I harnessed up the dogs and we set off with the intention of just walking around the park. Sandy, of course, had other ideas and I let her lead us to wherever she wanted to go. Mikey gave me a look as if to say, ‘Really” as we wandered around. We ended up at the bottom of the field and then I took charge again guiding us back along the neighborhood road to Cato Park Road and then back to the RV Park. Altogether, we covered 1.6 miles for the day. 

The evening was spent in the usual fashion, food, wine and football, with a round ball. 

Written 11/06/2022. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Monday Day 61 11/07/2022

Nature’s fruits

Today is the first day with the clocks changed and as I expected, I awoke and got up at 8:00 am. The first thing as usual, was to walk the dogs. The temperature had dropped again, and I was glad of the jacket that I had on. We did not stay out long, just enough for the dogs to do their thing before returning to Quatro where I made a bacon sandwich which I shared with the dogs although, I got the biggest part. 

Turning my attention to other things, I did the usual world news thingy and decided that nothing had changed much and probably never will in what is left of my lifetime and if it does, it will be for the worse. I put the gloomy thoughts to one side and turned my attention to emails, none of which needed my input. I have resorted to blocking as many as I can although that only appears to be a temporary fix as the same senders show up again after a couple of days. Even those that tell you to do such and such to not receive their emails anymore, generally ignore the request to not send them. I read somewhere that the business is in the sending and not in the content and when a cancel request is sent, the company that sends out the emails are the losers. No wonder they are not interested in any cancellations regardless of the content or the wishes of the person sending the cancel request. I wonder how I end up on these lists as they are often for things that I have absolutely no interest in. 

I sat there for a bit longer thinking about our plans for the next few days. Everything depends on the Jeep repairs and when I can pick it up. I fought against the urge to make that phone call as it was still way too soon. I must give them time to install that headlight, so I turned my thoughts to what remained to be done just to be organized in my mind.  

Inside Quatro, when we move, I need to make travel safe all the moveable items for the journey. Not a big job and routine, mostly including installing shelf rods to stop the contents from inside the cupboards and the refrigerator from moving. Some items are stored on the shower floor and others are put on the bed, none of which can happen until we are actually going to travel. The letting in the slide outs and disconnecting the utilities are the very last thing.  Add to that, packing all of the outside things on the Jeep carrier once I get the Jeep back. The final act before driving off is to connect the Jeep to Quatro. Damn, I hate all of this waiting around…So much to do and so little time. 

I turned to the TV and played around with the sound bar but to no avail as I cannot get it to work. Giving up on that, I turned the TV on and watched a couple of Premier League games while I waited for the call which of course, never came. At half time in the second game, I bit the bullet and called the Collision Center as my patience had run out. The news was as I expected that it was not going to be ready today but should be sometime tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. I hid my disappointment and also my anger, thanking them very courteously and asked them to give me a call when I could come and pick it up. I bet that I will need to call them because if they have bad news, they will not want to call me. 

I watched the second half of the game and as I calmed down, my frustrations evaporated as I watched these very good professional players kick each other all over the field but in a sort of controlled way. These players are incredibly fit as not only can they run and kick the ball for 90 minutes, mostly running at top speed in a very controlled way, their skills with the ball are amazing. I was a good player but nowhere near the level of these guys. No wonder, I never made the Professional grade. 

With the games out of the way, I remembered that the clocks had changed and that it was going to get dark much earlier. We harnessed up and wandered around the grounds playing tag with a gentleman and his long haired Dachshund although, as with all of that breed, he had spotted us and was barking up a storm. My guys did not want to be outdone and responded in kind but luckily, we were going in opposite directions, and it quickly was over. Looking at his dog gave me the chance to confirm that basically, that is what Mikey is. In appearance and color, they both looked very much the alike. Mikeys problem is that his legs are twice as long than a true Dachshund which is his “something else” part. Altogether, we covered 2.5 miles for the day. 

The evening ended in the usual way. Tomorrow, we can only hope that the repairs are completed as promised and even if they are, we will not travel until Wednesday. 

Written 11/07/2022. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com