I sat here thinking that I really need to write a verse as I agreed to post on Saturday which is the day when my verse goes on display as I fill the week with my regular blog Monday thru Friday which is quite a job posting the stories of our life along with Miss Daisy who is not my wife but is in fact my RV where we live that is we three me and my two little dogs my buddies in life without whom I’m lost they are my companions on this journey in life sharing the good and sometimes the strife although their contributions are small just the wag of their tales which says it all as they look at me with their big brown eyes their love for me they do not disguise and in return I give them a home with food and love and were never alone as we walk the trails or around the park which is how our days always starts together we get the exercise we need and the air is so fresh which we breathe filling our lungs as we make our way knowing that this is another great day no one could ask for anything more maybe a few more years to add to the score as life creeps on towards the end me, my RV and my two little friends.
Another week has flown by at this beautiful park. Shame that I have to go back to Austin on December as I really like it here. All of the people that I have spoken to on my walks are all very friendly and curious and like to spend time visiting and I really like this glorified camping life. It’s not like tent camping of my youth where you are a lot closer to nature as Miss Daisy has all of the mod cons that I need even if space is a bit cramped and that I can never find anything.
We went out for our morning walk and just strolled around the park. I have discovered that if we walk the grassy perimeter we can get in a lot more steps and besides, it is much easier walking than on the gravel roads with it’s larger rocks which make for uncomfortable walking even wearing boots as I always do. We try to get in at least a half mile on the morning walk before heading back into Miss Daisy for breakfast. The first part of my days is pretty set and I generally always follow the same routine which only gets varied if we happen to have something special or different planned for that day. That routine comprises of walking the dogs, breakfast for us all and then sitting down to answer any emails that require my attention followed by writing about yesterdays adventures in the blog.
I spent a couple of hours writing and then Sandy, who I am sure has learned that if she is a big enough bug, she gets to go out for a walk. Mikey, on the other hand, is content to sleep the day away only going out to answer the call of Nature. Remembering Sandy’s performance of a couple of days ago when she really did need to go out to do her business and breathing a deep sigh of resignation, I put on my boots which only excited both of them even more. They patiently wait as I strap on their harness but after that, its a “Lets go Dad” as they pull and tug until I open the door and out they fly. By now, I am prepared and brace myself for the inevitable tug as they hit the ground running. We walked the Park perimeter and this time, I walked behind the RV’s on the far side, a route we hadn’t taken before. We got to meet more neighbors and one little Schnauzer in a caged run that Sandy managed to touch noses with. Mikey, not so much as he stood behind me in his usual spot when other dogs are around. We completed the perimeter circuit and I was prepared to go inside but the Madam, had other ideas and led us down to the trails and made us walk one of the short ones. Finally, she led us back to Miss Daisy as she had tired herself out at least enough she didn’t want to walk anymore.
As I was sitting on the couch, another large 5th wheel pulled in a parked in our old site. I watched for a while and again, the man did everything while the wife just stood around. She didn’t help in anyway that I could see as far as setting up the RV. No directions, no nothing. They also had two smaller kids, a girl and a boy. Incidentally, I got a better look at the man and he appears to be much older than the woman so maybe it’s his daughter and grandkids which would account for her not helping. Talking about tent camping, a couple of families moved in today and are doing just that, tent camping. There are several children and at least three different families with the kids of all ages plus a dog or two. They are in the grassy area in front of the office and not far from the playground. Wonderful way to bring up the kids and teach them how to get closer to Nature.
Tent Camping
Then it was time for the evening meal and the usual round of television and a glass of wine. Tonight, the Internet reception was very good and I got to watch a football game plus a couple of episodes of Midsomer Murders, an English thriller series that shows wonderful views of the old English houses and countryside interspersed with the odd murder or two just to spice things up. Reminds me of home.
Written 11/13/2021
Modern day tent camping, another view.
We awoke to the sound of the children that moved in last evening, playing on the swings in the Playground. It’s great to hear them enjoying themselves. Sandy was ready to go so out the door we stepped in our usual tangled rush and headed for the grassy area to walk the perimeter again. Like I said before, for me it is easier walking and does take us away from the other RV’s and whatever dogs may be tied up outside which usually ends in a cacophony of barking, jumping up and down and generally being very noisy. We made a full perimeter of the park and ended up close to the Trail head which was one of my many mistakes for the day as Sandy was determined that we needed to walk the trails. I tried to talk her out of it but being the woman of the group, she easily won any arguments that Mikey or I could come up with so off we went. Actually, I had the last word as I took the shortest route turning back onto a return trail at the first opportunity. She didn’t know any different. We walked almost a mile for the mornings walk, a good start to the day.
The rest of the morning followed our usual routine, breakfast, coffee and then reading and answering emails and writing in my blog. As I watched, another one of the long term residents to my left and across the way, packed up his RV and pulled out. A little while later, he came back with a trailer to pick up his two outside grilles and a couple of other items and then left again. Obviously, they have moved campgrounds but have not gone very far. There is quite a bit of activity in the Park with a lot of comings and goings by the Residents, others are busy doing “stuff” around their units or heading off somewhere in their vehicles. My new neighbors have set up their grille and are busy cooking a meal but then again, they do have two small kids that need to be fed on a regular basis. For myself, I eat two meals a day, breakfast and the evening meal and very little in between. I’m not much of a barbecue enthusiast as I don’t eat much in the way of meat. I’m limited to occasional chicken or turkey and I buy them prepared so I don’t have to. I have never been much of a meat eater my entire life and at age 85 and in good health, am not the worse for it.
A very nice looking Class B pulled in with a young couple inside and parked directly across from me. The camper looked new and they didn’t bother to level it up so I knew they were not staying more than overnight.
A Class B.
The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion of writing in this blog and working on some photos that I took before heading out for the afternoon walk at Sandy’s insistence. We walked the park and then a couple of the trails and covered about 2.5 miles for the day. We actually ran into another couple heading in the opposite direction which was a bit of a surprise as we normally don’t see anyone on the trails. Not sure that too many of the residents are into hiking as many are older. So am I but I have always run or hiked and I find no reason to ever stop, that is until I can’t anymore. Besides, Sandy won’t let me.
We sat for a while outside and as my next door neighbor was working on his RV, I walked over just to chat with him mostly about RV stuff before calling it a day and going back inside Miss Daisy for the evening meal. For some reason, the TV reception was not very good and I ended up watching on my laptop.
I woke up at 9:00 am and lay there for a bit thinking about the previous night when we had all woken up with it being too warm in Miss Daisy. I remembered that I had turned the thermostat up last evening and had forgotten to turn it back to around 72 degrees, our usual night time setting. Sandy, in the meantime had gotten too hot and I found her in her dog basket on the floor of the RV. Then I also remembered that yesterday it was 10:00 am at this same time and that probably, the dogs interior clocks had not yet adjusted. I crawled out somewhat reluctantly and showered before heading out of the door for the first walk of the day. We covered a bit under a half mile for the walk around the park meeting a couple of our tethered doggy friends along the way with mutual barking from both sides. Back in Miss Daisy and after breakfast, I cleaned up a bit although that doesn’t take too long by my standards. Not sure if it would satisfy a consciences housewife though as my version of clean is a quick pass over with a dust cloth, vacuum the floor and put things out of sight in the cabinets where usually, I can never remember where I put the stuff when I need it and have to go searching for whatever it is. As the RV is so small with not a great deal of cabinet and drawer space to lose things in, they eventually reappear.
With breakfast out of the way, I settled down to write. I realized that I had already written a couple of short poems that needed posting so decided that I should start posting on Saturdays and that will be Poetry Day. I am a bit late making this announcement as I went backwards with the posting and three Saturday’s worth of poems have already been posted. Better late than never, as it is, I am posted through the end of November with the regular blogs and most of them cover two days at a time.
It was time to go grocery shopping at Walmart’s in Livingstone, a short trip of about 12 miles with absolutely beautiful scenery on the drive. I passed Livingstone Dam but could only get a glimpse as there was nowhere to pull off the road. I am going to visit that State Park, hopefully this week but definitely before we leave here. We do have a little time yet. Like I said before, this Walmart store is huge and had almost everything that I wanted. The exception was a skin cream that contains a sunblock and for some reason, out of the many brands they carried, I could not find what I wanted. While I was at the register, the lady behind me had a whole cartful of green apples and I had to ask her why so many. Something to do with Green Apple Day at the school. I got everything else on my list and rewarded myself with a Grande Latte from the Starbucks next door. Another good reason to go grocery shopping. The drive back was uneventful and again, very pleasant except for some object that I managed to run over not seeing it until the last minute. Hopefully, the Jeep has not sustained any damage.
The dogs were overjoyed at my return and it was already getting dark so I put away only the groceries that needed to go into the freezer, left the rest in the bags inside of Miss Daisy and we set off around the park. Altogether, we covered 2.3 miles for the day, 1.2 of that was me walking around Walmart’s. On the way, Sandy made friends with a very young puppy who was just a month old according to his Mom. Mikey, not so much but at least he didn’t try to eat it. Mikey is a funny little dog and is as timid as they come and then all of a sudden, he lunges at whatever is in front of him. I don’t know what would happen if he actually made contact but I suspect that he would chicken out again as he usually does. We put the rest of the groceries away and then I fed the dogs and settled down to finish this blog before feeding myself and watching the television for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday 11/09/2021
The Beauty of Nature
We managed to get up around 9:00 am which is not surprising as my on board clock still is working an hour ahead having not yet adjusted to the change. We went for a stroll around the park and met a couple of other dogs and their owners. Not very many people about and we only walked for about a half mile before heading back to Miss Daisy for breakfast. I talked to the Super who happened to be driving by and asked him about the one Tiny House that he has located here. He told me that he rents it out and when I asked, replied that he is glad he only has one as it doesn’t get used that much. Interesting. I tidied up Miss Daisy before settling down to write and work on the couple of pictures I took yesterday on the trail. Apart from the skull that I showed in a previous blog, I also found another whimsy.
Not sure what it is other than a decoration.
We spent a couple of hours working on this blog and on a few pictures that I had taken before heading out for our afternoon walk. We have had to re-adjust our timing a little bit now that the clocks have changed and get out a bit earlier as their is no reason to walk in the dark. It is taking a little bit of getting used to as it getting dark so early. I stopped to talk to Ron, the camper on my left who has the two little Chihuahuas and another small dog of uncertain breed. He told me that one of his dogs is now probably pregnant as she was jumped by the other Chihuahua. I don’t know why he hasn’t got them spayed as he doesn’t need more dogs. Now he has another problem to deal with, or will have soon. Maybe, he can’t afford to have them “fixed”. We met several people on our walk around and stopped to chat with a couple of them before continuing on back to Miss Daisy where we went about preparing the evening meal and then watched the television before retiring around 11:00 pm.
We got up around the usual time and as we normally do, the first thing was to take the dogs out for their morning stroll. It was quiet out with only a couple of people out and about. I passed the Laundry Room and it appeared to be busy even at that time of the morning. I guess some people get up much earlier than I do. Change that to “Most” people. We wandered back to Miss Daisy and breakfast before settling down in front of the computer to write. I am pretty caught up on writing nowadays which is just as well as my memory is slowly going and I have a hard time recollecting what I did a couple of days ago unless it was something big like going grocery shopping. A lot of that is because very little changes on a daily basis and one day is pretty much like the rest and it takes something different to make it stand out. With the writing finished for the day, I sat and listened to an Audiobook story for a while, something I like to do but never thought that I could relax enough to spend the time. In my past life, time had to be filled to the limit with whatever was going on. Nowadays, I am quite content to listen to a story read to me by another artist with no feeling of guilt that I should be doing “something”, not wasting my time sitting around.
From where I sit writing, I can see the Laundry Room and can sometimes tell if it is being used. At least I can see when a car is parked in front but for the walkup customers, I have no idea if the the machines are being used. There are only two of each, washers and dryers so they can get busy. They are all older machines and a couple work on the honor system where you put the money into a collection box as the money slide doesn’t work. I eventually chose a time when I thought the machines would be open and loaded everything into the Jeep for the short drive over. Alas, my timing was off as both washers were busy and I had no alternative but to head back to Miss Daisy and wait it out. After a couple more false trips I eventually got lucky with the assistance of Alice, who helps out around the office, as she grabbed the machines for me. My next door neighbors, Anna and her husband were using the driers so we got into a conversation about the British Royalty, a subject that I know little about other than what I read or hear or from what I can remember from my early years in England. We both returned to our respective RV’s with me waiting for the wash to complete which I figured to be about 45 minutes. In fact it took almost an hour as I patiently waited it out. What choice did I have? With the clothes safely in the dryer, I went back and took the dogs for the final walk of the day before heading back once more to fold the clothes and then going back to Miss Daisy with the laundry done for another week or in this case, ten days. I noticed a single sock mixed in with my laundry which I know didn’t belong to me and remembered that Anna had been folding socks of the same variety. By now, it was dark and I had grabbed a flashlight to find my way to their RV and found her husband was sitting outside under a tent cover and the by light of an electric lead lamp, was working on a painting of a couple dancing. He was painting with oils and was doing some correctional work. Apparently, it was for a client of his and he was working off a photo on his cell phone. Pretty neat and obviously, he is a talented guy. Anna had told me that he was an Art Major. Who would have thought it as he doesn’t come across as the artsy type. Quite the opposite in fact as he is pretty aggressive in his actions and manner of speaking. Or maybe, my idea of Art Majors is that they are all laid back. I complemented him on his work and went back to Miss Daisy.
Back in the RV, I put the laundry away and then went about the task of making the bed which, as I have described before is always a chore. This time, it went a little better as I am beginning to find ways to make it easier. Who would have thought that making a bed could be so difficult and frustrating. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with the evening meal and then watching the television which these last few days, has become increasingly “spotty” even with my booster. I am still trying to get used to how dark it gets and so early. I personally would be very happy if there was no such thing as daylight saving time. All we have to do is start the day earlier although that in itself would be quite a chore with many people starting work at 8:00 am or a little sooner. It was explained to me back in England when I was just a young 4 year old kid, that DST was implemented during the second world war to give people that worked outside an extra hour of daylight all as a part of the war drive and it was increased to double daylight saving time when the clocks were changed an additional hour for a total of two hours. Then, when the war ended, it kinda stuck although it was reduced to just the single hour of the regular DST. According to my Iphone, here in the US, DST was invented by George Hudson in 1895 during the second US industrial revolution era of inventions (1850-1914). In England, it was the brainchild of a man named William Willet and the Summer Time Act was finally passed in the UK in the summer of 1916. For better or worse as apparently, several countries have had different people “invent” the same thing. I read an interesting comment by an American Red Indian Chief who quoted about DST, “Only a white man would cut a foot off the end of a blanket and sew it on the other end to think that he had a longer blanket”. So true and we think we are so smart.
A leafy trail
Thursday – 11/11/2021
It rained hard during the night accompanied by a lot of lightning and really loud thunderclaps. It was close enough that Miss Daisy shook with the repercussions. I lay awake and listened to the storm first in the distance, then closer and closer until it seemed to be right on top of us before slowly receding back into the distance. I was afraid that the wind would get up and that I would need to bring in the canopy, something I was reluctance to do until I blow it off as I know that it has a good covering of leaves and pine needles. Luckily, there did not appear to be any wind and as the storm receded into the background, I drifted back off to sleep. By this time, Mikey had snuck under the covers and could not get any closer to me, worried by all of the noise. Sandy, who was on the other side, is made of much tougher stuff and was content just to push up against me a little bit. Normally she won’t at all as her little body gets pretty hot and she is uncomfortable. Morning came and with the light, I crawled out of bed hit the bathroom, dressed and was ready to face another day with whatever it may bring.
We went for a short walk before returning to Miss Daisy for breakfast and then settled down to write which is something that I look forward to every day. I really like to get the creative juices flowing even if it is only to recount the happenings of the day. I have tried to write a book and actually have completed two separate ones but have never bothered to pursue getting them read or published. As both of them are really Autobiographies and they would not be of much interest to others. The second one is incomplete anyway as I am still alive and will probably never get finished. I am not inventive enough to write a novel. More of a reporter than a novelist.
We went out for the final walk of the day as Sandy was being a bug and was very insistent. As it happens, she was just letting me know that she had to “go” which she did at least a couple of times. Mikey was in the same boat and also caught up in the same urgency. Must have been something they ate that didn’t agree with them. One thing is certain, I will definitely pay more attention to Sandy when she starts being a bug as now I know that she has a reason. We sat outside for a bit although it is almost getting too cool to enjoy it for very long and my next door neighbor came over to chat for a bit. He offered me a green pepper that he has growing but I respectfully declined. Hot peppers are not my thing unless they are in a mild salsa and eaten with chips to take off the edge. My stomach can’t handle that sort of food.
We ended the day in the usual way with food for us all and then a glass of wine to watch the TV before heading of to bed. The wine is for me, not the dogs and they don’t watch the television either usually sleeping somewhere close to me.
It had left off raining when we got up which was even later than usual and around 10:45 am. I just didn’t even wake up before then and immediately jumped out of bed to get the dogs outside as quickly as possible as with the short walks yesterday and the late start, I knew they had to be “crossing their legs”. We walked around the park but except for yesterdays arrivals, nothing much has changed. I greeted the new arrivals as I walked by and commented on his nice setup. He seemed cheerful enough this morning as opposed to yesterday. The rain had not damaged our site in any way and after brushing off the mats, everything looked shipshape again.
Back indoors, we went through the usual breakfast routine and then I settled down in front of the computer to continue writing. Nowadays, I probably spend a quarter of my waking hours writing or working on the photos that I take. Actually, that is a good thing as it keeps my brain active and the walks are a good physical activity to keep me healthy. I could say fit and healthy but compared to years gone by when I was constantly working out, I am in sorry shape. Once where there was nothing but muscle, there is an unsightly mess. Age tends to do that to you plus the mind is always nagging around saying things like, “Let’s not do that today” or “We can do that some other time” and the worst of all, “No one will ever know”.
We went out for the afternoon walk and stayed around the park. After all of the rain, I figured that the trails are probably a bit wet and muddy and I didn’t want the hassle of washing off the dogs feet. Even so, we covered a mile and a half. stopping to chat to whoever is out and about even if it only to say “hello”. One lady was carrying a broom and dustpan and told me she loves to clean. Better lady than me although Miss Daisy does not have very much floor space to even get dirty. The worst thing I have to deal with is Mikey’s black hair that he sheds all over the place. Luckily, my Ryobi hand vac makes short work of it. Oh yes, the primary rule is, no outside shoes can be worn inside Miss Daisy unless I stay on the outside mats then it’s OK.
The internet reception was really poor probably because of the stormy weather but we were able to watch a game on my laptop before finally going to bed.
Friday 11/5/2021
45ft of RV
We got up at the usual late time and much to my surprise, our new neighbor with the extremely large RV had already left so I guess we were just a stop over on a longer journey. If I was younger, I probably would drive a lot more especially as now it is so much easier with Miss Daisy but somehow, nowadays, I prefer to stay at least a week and longer if I like a campground. Besides, I have nowhere that I need to be except back to Henly for December and January. That has nothing to do with the campground, it’s just that I have set up a couple of Doctor’s appointments and the dogs need their shots so I have packed everything into those two months before heading off again.
We did our usual walking thing around the park before adjourning back for breakfast and coffee and covered almost three quarters of a mile. It was a nice sunny day with the clouds and rain all moved on although I was glad of the light jacket that I wore. I stopped to chat to the park employee that was tidying up the mess that the wheels of the large RV had left. Unfortunately, I don’t think that that driver/owner was very experienced in handling a large rig as from what I could see, he hadn’t made any allowances for the length and the subsequent off-track that the large vehicle created. There is a very definite skill to driving something as big as a semi tractor trailer that articulates at the fifth wheel. Things don’t follow along behind quite the same and because of the length, require a much larger turning space. I hope that this other guy learns as he goes or he will be in an accident by cutting someone else off with his back end. I am somewhat amazed and at the same time very grateful, that the laws governing the towing of an RV especially the very big ones are so lax when it comes to a drivers license. You need a Class C license here in Texas to drive a Tractor Trailer and yet you don’t to drive an RV of equal size and length for a rig like the one we are talking about. I drove a Tractor trailer back in New York mostly in the winter and I went to school to learn how to drive one. I let the license lapse when I moved to Texas as my work then headed in a different direction. Wish I had kept it though.
Another Class A moved in today again into my old site. They had no trouble parking that one but it is not quite as big as the one above. The owners parked and immediately jumped into their tow vehicle and took off. Probably grocery shopping. The weather is definitely cooling off and requires a light jacket on our walks. I hope that we don’t get a winter like we had early this year. There are several kitties that belong to a couple of different owners that go out for walks now and then. Even if there are a couple of them, they never walk around together, nearly always alone. Strange animals, cats. Very independent. Now dogs are a whole different story and are definitely pack animals. Besides dogs need humans, cat’s, not so much.
We went out for our afternoon walk and managed to cover almost a mile and a half just walking around the park. Not a lot going on except that another RV pulled into the slot next to my old slot. This one was a Class B and a very neat looking RV. It is small enough that if doesn’t require a tow vehicle as it can be parked in a shopping center with no problem. Makes it real easy to go shopping as the need arises. With all of the excitement over for the day, we went through our usual evening routine of food for us all followed by watching a game on the TV. The reception was really poor even on my laptop and it kept going in and out. I mumbled a lot under my breath and sometimes out loud but stuck it out before heading off to bed.
Today is a rainy day and we knew it was coming our way as the weather map showed the clouds rolling in and even the time that the rain would begin and true to form just as they forecast the skies opened up an almighty blast as the rain poured down and fell all around and just as before soaking the ground. today is a dismal day as Nature in her usual way is watering her plants and trees and ground and spreading the rain all around so that things will grow and flourish and be green the most wonderful color we have ever seen for when things turn brown as in the Fall that is the sign of the end of it all and summer has gone and winter is here along with grey skies but be of good cheer as Spring will follow in the usual way and bring with it new growth and another new day.
Today is moving day albeit only a matter of about 50 yards although it still entails doing most of the things I would normally do for any move. We went out for our usual short walk enough for the dogs to stretch their legs and do their “thing”. I fed them and myself and settled down to check emails to see if there was anything either interesting or important which I took care of before addressing the moving situation. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the site we are moving to is A14 and in the first row of the park and backs onto the forest behind us. This time, I will have neighbors on both sides but that’s OK as we are not at all close together.
Moving Miss Daisy is a piece of cake. I put away everything and then cleared the inside area that the slides go into so as not to impede them in any way. Normally, I would use bungy cords to hold in the drawers as they tend to open with the RV’s movement but with this being such a short trip, I didn’t bother with it this time. I made sure there was nothing that could move around even for such a short journey before going outside and unhooking the black tank hose. I was so close to the new site that I just dragged it along to the new hook up so it was ready for Miss Daisy when I drove her there. I spent some time looking at the site choosing the most level and best place to actually park her as it had to be within reach of that hose, 20 feet in my case as I have two hoses. Both water and the electric hook up were also close by. The last thing to unhook was the electric power cord after I had pulled in the two slides and with everything free, I pushed the button and the automatic levelling system gently lowered Miss Daisy to the ground. It is so easy. Prior to pulling in the slides, I got up on the roof of Miss Daisy and swept off the slides so that the seals would not be damaged by any loose debris like leaves and such. In our case at this park, it is pine needles. This is actually a very important part of any move.
I drove her the fifty yards to the spot I had picked out at the new site and after making sure the hoses would reach, I placed short boards under the jacks to help stabilize them, pushed the button again and lo and behold, we were level. As I said before, it is so simple. I hooked up the electric and water along with the aforementioned sewer hose otherwise known as a “stinky slinky” throughout the RV’ing world, opened the slides and we were all set. It took a while to move over the outside stuff, wicker couch and table, outside floor mats and miscellaneous other things before we were set up outside and our old site was cleared of all remnants of our visit and ready for the new tenants who are coming in Friday. I went back inside and spent time making the bed and straightening up Miss Daisy for it to be habitable again. I had bought another bigger outside mat when I was in Walmart’s so now we have two of them making for a clean entry way. I rewarded myself for a job well done with a cup of tea and a banana to keep off the hunger pains gnawing at my stomach.
Incidentally, I walked enough steps while I was moving Miss Daisy to cover almost a mile according to my iPhone. Didn’t seem that much but I guess going backwards and forwards several times between sites, it all adds up. With Miss Daisy all set, I settled back down to check emails and to write this blog after finishing up the one from yesterday. We ended the day in the usual way with food for the dogs and then me followed by watching more English Football with the added comfort of a glass of wine.
Wednesday 11/03/2021
This thing is a monster.
Today the forecast is for heavy rain so we went out early for our walk. The dogs didn’t seem very interested and we only walked for a short time before heading back in for breakfast and coffee. The coffee is for me, not the dogs. We had no plans for the day and with the forecast not very good, knew that we would spend most of it indoors.
True to form, it came on to rain around 11:00 am not hard at first but as the morning went on, the rain became much harder until in the end, it was a downpour. In the midst of it all, a new camper arrived with an especially made tow vehicle that looked like a flatbed truck with a fifth wheel unit attached towing a huge RV that had to be forty five plus feet long. Instead of the usual double wheels this one had three wheels on each side. I’ll bet it is every bit as wonderful inside as what the outside looked.
They stopped at the office and were assigned my old space that we moved out of yesterday but it was apparent that after several attempts at getting the unit where the driver wanted it, it was not going to happen. Plus that site is not level both front to back and side to side and I think was a bit too narrow and uneven for him to get it right especially with such a long rig. He gave up in disgust and headed back to the office having previously scoped out the site next to it. Apparently, this one suited him better as after leaving the office, he jumped back into his rig and made the circle to the new site where it only took a couple of tries to get the RV situated. As he parked it and went about the business of blocking, unhooking and levelling which, by the way took him all of five minutes, his wife? got out of the truck with her little dog. It looked to me that she stayed there on purpose not helping him to park because throughout this whole time especially in the first site, every time he got out to check, I could see him talking to himself and waving his arms about and I got the impression that he was not a very happy camper. I can see that with the very long length to his RV and an unlevel site would give him some problems more so than for me with my much shorter vehicle. Besides, mine is a contained unit and not a fifth wheel meaning that I don’t have the extra length of the tow vehicle added to the length of the trailer. His truck is probably at least twenty feet long and I’m guessing the RV forty five feet for a total around sixth five feet. Miss Daisy is only twenty nine feet total and I disconnect the Jeep before setting up the RV. That is the beauty of a smaller rig and why I bought her in the first place. You have to give up space which is all important especially if there are more than one of you as you could easily get on each others nerves as there is nowhere to go to get away from each other. You really do need to be very compatible to live with another person in an RV. Dogs, not so much.
Satisfied that he had it levelled the way he wanted it, he allowed the wife? and dog to get in the RV while he completed the set up, hooking up electric, water and sewer and putting out the slides and such. By the way, it was raining hard the whole time he was working on this and to start with, he was in his shirtsleeves as he jumped in and out of his truck. Only after he changed sites did he put on a rain jacket and wellie boots. By then, I imagine he was already soaked which would not help his mood. Even after he was parked and set up, he still continued to work outside washing the wheels on the RV with a hose, raking a channel for the rain water to flow away before eventually going back inside. They are parked immediately in front of me across the street.
With all of the excitement finished for the day and after writing it all down here, we had to go out for the final walk of the day. It had left off raining although the trees continued to drip and the ground was wet and soggy. We only covered a short distance just so the dogs could do their thing before heading back inside for the evening meal. The TV reception was very slow and kept going in and out so I resorted to watching both a soccer game and my usual evening show on my laptop. Different size screen but same picture.
Another “normal” late rising day but what the heck, it’s Sunday, right? We did our usual half mile walk around the park just to be nosy and see what is going on. The Class A people have pulled out and couple of others including my new neighbors are getting ready to leave. I knew that they were just here for the weekend and they appear to have really enjoyed themselves. Good luck to them in their future lives and I hope they have a lot more camping experiences. Another camper has changed sites for whatever reasons but I think because he has just bought a large dog pen and where he has moved to it is not quite as noticeable. So far, I have been able to stay here in site B24 but that is going to change pretty soon as the site I am in is really for weekenders. I have now been allotted site A14 which I will move into some time this coming week. I saw a little Chihuahua roaming the park but he wouldn’t come to me. He probably belongs to somebody here and is just exploring. Hope the Super doesn’t see him as he frowns on loose dogs.
After breakfast, I did my usual thing of writing and working on pictures I’ve managed to take some good ones but the trail pics all look pretty much alike. I combined writing with doing laundry as I am less than 100 yards from the Laundry room and can see it from where I sit. Actually, that is how I knew it was empty and that no one was using it. After putting in the laundry and dumping the trash which is right next door, I walked back to Miss Daisy to write some more until it was time for the drier which took just a short walk over. Another camper came in with his two year old son who looked a handful. We chatted for a bit before I went back to wait for the drier to do it’s thing. I stopped and talked to a lady with a cat in a carrier case and she told me she has just moved sites and she was bringing the cat over. Interesting what goes on around here. With the laundry folded and put away for another week, I finished the last blog and started on this one. I thought about going grocery shopping but decided against it and will probably do that tomorrow. I can find something to eat and as long as the dogs have their food available, we can get by. Apparently, there is a Walmart in Livingstone and all I have to do is find it.
We went for our afternoon walk and hiked one of the trails eventually covering a little over a mile for the day. I found a few more whimsies along the way which always make me chuckle. Someone has a wonderful sense of humor. I think we have walked all of the trails available to us now, some more than once. The scenery is only a part of the enjoyment though as the exercise and being out with the dogs is worth so much more. Before hitting the trail, we walked around the park and stopped to chat with the lady with the cat. They are the ones who have just moved their RV from one spot to a different one and are now two rows over and in the same row that I will be moving into. Their RV is an old one that they have renovated and are still working on it. It is a 1995 model and looks to be in pretty good shape. The wife has an accent and it turns out she is from Russia.
We ended the day in the usual way only this time, my other favorite team, Brighton and Hove Albion that my Great, Great Grandson plays on, managed to tie 2-2 with the same team, Liverpool, that beat my other favorite team, Man U 5-1 last week. Such are the highs and lows of sport.
Monday 11/01/2021
Peaceful
We went for our morning walk and while out there, checked out our new site which we will move into tomorrow. When we move, it will fill that row up completely and all of them are either permanent or longer than a week. This park has very few openings and I counted five when I walked around this morning and since then, one of them has filled as another camper pulled in today. Business is good. The first walk of the day was uneventful with not a lot going on to talk about. I suppose that some people have jobs and go to work but there are a lot that don’t. Probably retired like me. It is quiet and peaceful which I absolutely love as I have had all of the excitement that I need in my lifetime.
I decided to go into Livingstone to the Walmart’s there as it was time to stock up on groceries. It was a great drive and I passed Lake Livingstone and got a glimpse of the dam which only reminded me that we need to take another trip just to view it up close. I also passed the entrance to Lake Livingstone State Park, another one to get to in the future now that I have decided to stay here through the end of November before heading back to Henly. The Super made me an offer I couldn’t refuse which is one reason I have decided to stay. That and the fact this is a very nice park with lots of wonderful scenery and some really nice trails to walk. The countryside around here is beautiful with lots grassland and tall pine trees. Everything is green. Another plus is the absence of traffic compared to Austin or come to that, any big city.
As I drove into Livingstone, I was surprised how built up it was with large stores of every description lining both sides of the street but when I looked it up, it has a population 512,000 so it not a small city by any means. My GPS directed me to the Walmart’s which turned out to be one of the Supercenters and was humongous. Just for the heck of it, I checked my step counter on my phone and when I came out, I had covered a little over a mile inside of the store just walking the aisles. Great place to work out. As I hoped, their RV section had all of the things that I wanted and a couple more that I could not resist in buying. A classic case of “gotta have one of those”. I was able to stock up on all of the groceries that I needed. As I was leaving, I spotted a hairdressers shop within the store so I parked my cart full of groceries and sat down in the chair and a very nice young lady gave me a short back and sides. She did a good job and the price was right too at $15.00 much cheaper than my Austin hairdressers. Feeling very pleased with myself that I had not only completed the shopping but had also got a haircut and when I thought it couldn’t get any better, when I came out of Walmart’s, there was a Starbucks right next door putting me in seventh heaven as I haven’t had a latte since being at this park. It sure tasted good.
The drive home was uneventful although my GPS took me a different way which was OK by me as I got to see more of the countryside. I was greeted at the door by two little and very excited dogs with Sandy just begging to go walkies. I calmed them down enough to put the groceries away and then we walked around the park for a bit before heading back for our usual evening routine. Altogether, I covered 2.6 miles for the day, a lot of it in Walmart’s.
I was awoken by both dogs fussing like they had an urgent need to “go” so I quickly got out of bed and threw on some clothes and headed out the door. Sandy, in the meantime, managed to upchuck before we got out as I put on my boots which only increased our urgency to get out of the door. Turns out that both of them had upset tummies judging from the amount and number of times of poop and eating of grass which usually promotes more upchucking. No idea what had not agreed with them as I have not changed their diet. Once they had gone through whatever necessary routines they needed, the rest of the walk was just fine as we strolled around the park. I got to meet the new people with the Class A that pulled in yesterday. They have two little dogs that were outside in a pen and they barked louder and kicked up more fuss then either Mikey and Sandy combined. In fact, my dogs hardly said a word as I think they were too amazed at the noise those other dogs created. We continued on with our walk back to Miss Daisy and breakfast.
I checked my emails and found I had a scanned notification from PostNet. This one was related to a life insurance that I carry which I needed to pay additional money on. I called the number provided and spent the next thirty minutes on the phone before we finally got it worked out. Apparently, the monthly payments are not enough to cover the cost and it required additional money to do so. Go figure. Guess I will never understand the intricacies of high finance.
As usual, I worked on the blog but did not spend any time on the pictures that I took yesterday. I managed to locate the electric chord to the InstaPot much to my relief and spent the next thirty minutes preparing a stew for the evening meal which should last me at least four days. That is the beauty of using that gadget as after I have prepared the ingredients, I can go do other things and not have to worry about it or need to turn it off as it has it’s own built in timer. The only problem is that with something like a meat stew, you don’t have to mind eating the same thing for a few days although I suppose, I could always freeze some for a later time. I like Beef Stew so in my case, it is just fine.
We went out for the evening walk and took a stroll around the park to see what was happening. Three new RV’s have pulled into my row. My next door neighbors have a small tow along and have two young sons I guess about fourteen or so. It looks like the boys will be staying in a tent next to me and the parents in the RV. Should be interesting. We continued walking around and then I decided that we should hit the trails for a bit to get in some real exercise. We ended up walking 1.8 miles plus this mornings walk, when I forgot to bring my Iphone, of at least a half mile, maybe more. So, a little over 2 miles for the day. Not bad at all.
We sat outside on the wicker couch and there was quite a lot of activity with people coming and going. I listened to an Audiobook before going back inside. The InstaPot needed another 45 minutes and I filled in the time working on this blog before sampling the stew. Turns out it was not quite to my liking so I need to doctor it up a bit tomorrow. I ate it anyway. The rest of the evening ended in the usual way, feeding the dogs and then me and watching a Premier League game on the television.
View of the park. The RV’s are not close together and there is lots of shade.
Saturday – 10/30/2021
I got up late again this morning although I am beginning to think that it should be my “normal” time. I sleep really well and for most of the night before the call of nature gets me out of bed. Even then, I have no difficulty in falling back to sleep. My new next door neighbors and the one next to them that pulled in yesterday are Hispanic and the Super told me, are friends and like to camp together. Between them, they have several children both boys and girls and the youngest looks to be around fourteen or so. The boys like to throw a baseball around and I am waiting for it to hit my car. Both families have large tents on their lots for each family of kids to sleep in. It all adds up to the great adventure. I hope that they really enjoy themselves as it’s a great way to spend family time.
We went out for our morning walk and this time just wandered around the park. Another neighbor has erected a tall fenced in area for his dog and when we passed the campers that pulled in yesterday with the Class A. Their two little dogs, who were in a one of the small fenced areas made for dogs, began barking up a storm. Heck, they are noisier than mine are. Actually, apart from a feeble bark or two, Sandy was very quiet. We wandered back to Miss Daisy for breakfast and coffee for me before settling down in front of the computer. Today, the internet was a bit slow which can be frustrating. but I waited patiently for it to do it’s thing. What else can I do? I suppose that I could jump up and down and curse and swear but it isn’t going to help any. No, it’s better to just be patient and wait it out after all, anything I do isn’t going to help any except to make me more frustrated.
I took a lot of pictures yesterday as we walked around the park and the trails and spent some time in developing them. I use Photoshop for this which is a much more powerful program than what I do to the pictures. Still, it is on my computer and so I use it although I am barely scratching the surface when it comes to all of its capabilities. I have a couple of other programs which are easier to use but they are not able to add my copywrite signature when I export them to my file. I also have a signature program that I could use but then it is one extra step and I am growing lazy as I get older. With the photos taken care of and imported onto my computer, I was able to concentrate on writing.
It is strange how one changes as they grow older. In my youth, it was all sports and activity and this continued through most of my adult life. When I eventually quit playing at the age of seventy two due to knee replacement surgery, my activities were then restricted to hiking and working out in my garden on the five ponds that were there. Now I no longer own a home, my activities are much more relaxed and although I make sure we walk every day, weather permitting, it is nothing compared to the hikes I used to take both in distance and difficulty of walking. To be truthful, I don’t think I could do the five or seven mile hikes anymore. Age tends to do this to you. The mind is willing but the flesh is definitely weak. Now, the mile or two that we walk on most days is my limit. I may have told this story before but this reminds me of one of the hikes I went on at Pedernales State Park and somehow, I managed to get turned around and ended up hiking in the dark. Luckily, I always carry a flashlight so I was able to eventually find my way back but it was 11:00 at night and almost twelve miles of walking before I did. If that happened nowadays, I think I would just find a place to curl up and try to sleep it out until the morning and for sure, no one would know I was gone except maybe Sandy and Mikey. Frightening thought.
It got to be later in the afternoon and Sandy reminded me that it was time to go walkies. Mikey, on the other hand was fast asleep and could care less except the minute I stood up, he was wide awake and ready to go. We made our way to the entrance and on the way, passed a group of four people throwing horseshoes by their RV. We all waved and exchanged greetings as we passed by to walk the long trail, the entrance to which is right by their site. We entered the trail and this time covering a little over two miles so we really reached our goal and then some for the day. I found a couple of different whimsies that I had not seen before probably because we had not walked this trail all the way to the end. Usually, I branch off on one of the other trails that are marked “Exit”.
Back at Miss Daisy, we sat outside and watched the next door neighbor’s kids throwing a baseball around. This time, they had moved to the play area which I felt much better about. I guess it is every man (or woman) each to their own sport but for the life of me, I just don’t get throwing a baseball. It doesn’t seem to have much purpose and looked really boring. I get it that there are different levels of skills to throwing and catching which was obvious as I watched them at it. Being Hispanic, I would have thought they would be kicking a ball not throwing it. Boy, was I wrong.
I sat there for a while listening to an Audiobook before taking us all back inside for our evening meal followed by the usual TV watching. This time, the team I support, Manchester United, managed to win convincingly over Tottenham Hotspurs. Better than last Saturday when they lost 5-1 to their oldest rivals, Liverpool. Win some and lose some which is what makes watching so interesting. We went to bed happy and content after another busy day of doing nothing (important).
A few more whimsies. Those are two separate benches and the second one has the “Shady” sign with it.
Mikey ready to go. He has Sandy’s harness on by mistake. Pink suits him.
I was awoken by the sound of very heavy rain with thunder in the background and just rolled over and went back to sleep. To me, it didn’t make much sense to get up as I couldn’t take the dogs out and by staying in bed, I thought maybe they would be more comfortable with me and forget about having to “go”. In the end, I was the one answering the call of Nature and had to make the move. I thought about it some more and decided to open the awning which would give us some shelter if we went out. This worked for Mikey but Sandy just stood there and looked at me as if to say, “What do you think you are playing at because it isn’t going to work”. So we came back inside as it was still raining and I made breakfast for us all and then settled down into my usual routine keeping a very close eye on both of the dogs, just in case things might get desperate.
When it finally stopped raining, I harnessed them up and we walked around the park. There was no one about except by the office where several people were gathered and chatting to pass the time whilst waiting for their laundry to do it’s thing. I stopped to talk to the Super because I had spotted an open site that I might like but unfortunately, it was already taken so I headed back to Miss Daisy to continue writing. As is generally the case, the writing and working on the pictures usually takes me until about 3:30 or so and depending on if we want a short or long walk, we usually set out between 4:00 and 5:00. Today, with the overcast skies it was already getting dark at 6:30 pm, the time we got back. I noticed that today was also a lot chillier than previously so I guess, Fall is really with us. We finally covered 1.2 miles and so far this week have walked a little over 10 miles. Not quite like when I was seriously hiking but enough to hopefully help keep both me and the dogs alive for a bit longer.
Sandy after her walk. Notice the Dachshund throw made by my friend B.J.
The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion except that we didn’t sit on the wicker couch as it was a little cool. Back indoors, I prepared food for us all and then we settled down in front of the television to watch a Premier League football game before hitting the sack. I heard the heater come on a couple of times in the night so it definitely cooling down.
Thursday – 10/28/2021
Today was very windy and a little cool as we walked around the park. I noticed another camper hooking up his rig getting ready to pull out. He was the one with the three little dogs who he let roam all over the place. The Super told me that he has spoken to the man 4-5 times about it and whether he had enough and told him to leave, I don’t know. I didn’t get the chance to talk to him about his next stop. We only took a short walk enough for the dogs to do their thing and for me to clear the cobwebs before heading back to Miss Daisy. It was time to empty the tanks again, part of our routine chores and all it takes is opening up a couple of valves, waiting for everything to finish flowing and close them again. I don’t rely on the electronic sensors to tell me when the grey tank needs emptying as when the shower drain stops flowing and starts to fill the shower base, this tells me that it’s time. BTW, those sensors have never worked properly and this is a brand new RV, always showing that the tanks are full even after they have just been emptied. This is a constant battle in all RV’s in trying to keep the sensors clean. Most of us don’t even rely on them and use other visual signs like the one mentioned above.
I sat down in front of the computer and read a long email from my friend, B.J. who had just returned from her trip to Maine. She had accompanied her Daughter who is a Digital Editor for a Travel Planning Service and was researching luxury hotels and things to do for those with money to burn and who are looking for exotic getaways. Nice to see how the rich and wealthy spend their time because, most of us will only ever read about such luxury and never get to enjoy it. The difference between the Have’s and the Have Not’s. Below are the two pictures she sent me of the Moose Spotting Trip. I have posted them before but they are worth a second look.
I was gong to take a trip to Livingstone State Park but it was so windy out that I decided to do it another day and settled for a walk in the woods instead. There is something about the sound of the wind. It is kind off mesmerizing in it’s own way, soothing and peaceful. I could feel myself wanting to doze off as I listened to it. Then the RV rocked in an extra strong gust which awoke me from my reverie.
I watched as Class A pulled in towing a covered trailer. It was preceded by a lady, presumably the wife, in a car which pulled up at the Office. A short time later, the Super came out and jumped into his 4 wheeler to direct them to their site, a couple of rows over from me.
We went out for the afternoon walk and this time we walked the trails for about a mile. Didn’t see anything of note but the trails are easy to walk and in the shade although with the weather cooling down, that is not so much of a factor. In fact, it won’t be long before I will need to find a jacket. I pulled down the InstaPot with an idea to cook a stew but could not find the lead chord to plug it in. Good job I found this out before I had loaded the pot. So, I postponed that idea until I can locate the darn thing.
The day ended in the usual way, feeding the dogs and then me and watching television.
We had our usual late start and took a short walk as it was coming on to rain although by the time we got back to Miss Daisy, it had stopped. We did our usual breakfast thing and sat and read e-mails before writing in this blog. I spent a couple of hours of writing and working on photos that I have taken before deciding that I need to go into Coldspring as we are getting low on groceries. I took the dogs for a short walk just in case before jumping into the Jeep for the twelve mile trip.
On the way, I passed a dog sitting in the grass so at the first opportunity, I turned back to see if it was OK. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road and as I pulled up onto the very wide grassy berm to see if I could get the dog to come to me but it started moving quickly away. Not wanting to frighten it onto the busy road, I had no choice but to leave it and hope that it was a local dog and not just dumped there. It had on a collar and did not look malnourished.
I continued on into Coldspring to the one big supermarket that was there. Brookshire Brothers and walked around doing my shopping. It is not a very big store compared to HEB and such but it had everything that I wanted at a reasonable price. Interestingly enough, just like the last time, very few of the shoppers had on masks. Neither did the staff. I wore mine as there is no sense in taking a chance for a small discomfort. My biggest problem is that it fogs up my glasses and as I had on sunglasses and had forgotten to bring in my regular ones, it was a bit of a pain trying to read the labels.
The drive back was uneventful and I did not see the dog anywhere so hopefully it had made its way back home. My GPS system kept wanting to take me down unpaved roads one of which ended in a dead end but I did locate the entrance to the Lake Livingstone State Park so I will definitely be taking a trip there in the future. Not wanting to drive any further, I turned back to the Rock’n E to be greeted by two very excited little dogs.
After putting the groceries away, we went out for our afternoon walk and this time we hiked the last bit of the long loop and altogether for the day, I covered 1.4 miles, the dogs a little less as they had not made the shopping trip. The days are quiet and peaceful and the few people that I run into here at the park are always cheerful and talkative. It’s a great place just to relax not that I have much else to do nowadays. Compared to the last park I was at, this one is virtually full mostly with long term campers except for the five slots, one of which I am in which are kept for the weekenders. It is not as big and maybe that accounts for it being full.
The trails we walked today. Peaceful and easy walking.
We sat outside listening to an audiobook before going back inside for the evening meal and to watch television.
I sat here with nothing to do with the brain not working not even a clue no stories waiting to be told and no rhymes in my brain waiting to unfold as I sat and thought about what to write what special thing that may delight those who may choose to read this stuff or those that say enough is enough go back to sleep find something to do for writing verse you haven’t a clue so taking to heart the advice given here it was worth the try my efforts sincere for today is one of those days when poetry for me has slipped away and so farewell it just goes to show tomorrow I’ll give it another go or not….
Like I said, I have given up on the waking up early. We did our usual thing in the morning, walking around for a bit, coming back for breakfast before settling in front of the computer to write this blog and work on new photos.
I walked over to the office and chatted with the owner and we have arranged that we will stay here at least through November 21st maybe even to the end of the month. I have to be back in Austin at Henly RV Park for December as I have several medical appointments and some business to take care of. It will probably mean that I will have to change sites but he will let me know. Not a big deal as it is easy to set up although I do like this site as I am the only one here through the week. There is a lot to be said for not having neighbors close by or in some parks, right on top of you. I have a neighbor about fifty yards away who like to play his music really loud and I can hear it inside of my RV. I worry that I have the sound too high on the TV as one of the shows that I watch has soft vocals and loud music and I am constantly trying to control the volume.
I decided that I needed to do laundry giving us the opportunity to try out the machines in the laundry room. There are only two washers and two driers so I kept an eye out to watch the comings and goings and then when I thought it might be empty, took a chance and wandered over. It is only a hundred yards from Miss Daisy and in full view. Both the washer and the drier are on a forty minute cycle so after putting in the wash, me and the dogs filled the time by hitting the trails. This time, we met another man and his dog and we stopped to talk for a bit while Sandy made friends and Mikey cowered behind me. Mikey is all bark but when it comes to the actual confrontation, is a big chicken and ends up hiding.. So, instead of protecting me, I have to protect him? Something wrong with this picture. I put the dogs back in Miss Daisy and transferred the clothes into the drier and then came back to take the dogs for a second walk which of course to them was like being in heaven. We came back in time for me to put them back in Miss Daisy so that I could take the clothes out of the dryer and fold them before heading back to the RV to sit outside on the wicker couch. It got dark as I sat there listening to an Audiobook so we went back inside for the evening meal.
As usual, we watched television whilst eating our food and one of my favorite teams, Manchester United, was playing against one of their bitter rivals, Liverpool. My team lost very decisively by a score of 5-0 much to my disgust. Oh well, that is what sport is all about. You win some and lose some just like life.
I am giving up on waking up early without the use of an alarm of some sort as again, it was almost 9:30 before I even awoke. I must say that the dogs are in the same routine as they don’t stir before I do and then somewhat reluctantly. Once awake, of course, there is for them an immediate sense of urgency to get out of the door to do their thing. They have learned that when I awake, there are certain things I have to do like use the toilet, shave and shower and then put on clothes even if they are only shorts and Tee shirt plus my boots, which all take a bit of time before we actually walk out of the door. Once outside, it is an immediate pull and tug to the nearest object for the first wee of the day. One I might add of many to follow as we walk around. Sandy in particular has a bottomless bladder and has to mark everything just as though she was a male dog instead of a cute little female. Mikey, not so much. Incidentally, Sandy also has a wonderful nose for scents and smells and she runs along with her nose to the ground just like a Bloodhound or other tracker dogs. No idea what it is that she smells. Other dogs or crittures maybe.
Today’s first walk was just a short one around the park and I tried something new and let the dogs, well Sandy, take us wherever she wanted to go. It was interesting as we went in all directions until eventually, she brought us back to Miss Daisy. Following breakfast, I sat in front of the computer to catch up on some of the pictures that I needed to work on and then copy them to this blog.
Both of my next door neighbors have moved out as they were only here for the weekend. So now, I am on my own again. The Park Manager stopped by to talk to me yesterday and offered me a monthly rate if I want to stay longer. I like it here and need to give it some serious thought. I would need to change site as the one I am in is for temporary campers like myself and my next door neighbors. Mine is a pull thru site making it a little easier for campers to park their rigs and not having to go through the hassle of backing in. It is easier for me with Miss Daisy as it is just like backing up a large truck and is not articulated meaning that the front wheels follow the back wheels without an extra set of wheels that swivel in between. I did some research with a view to extending our stay here as what I would like to do is shorten the trip back to Henly on December 1st. I think I have found a park that we can stay at for a week about halfway back and if that one doesn’t work out, there are plenty more out there.
We went out for our afternoon walk and this time, we took one of the longer trails and covered almost two miles of pretty easy walking. Even Sandy had slowed down towards the end so she does have her limits. Again, we found several whimsies along the trail pictured below.
Someone has a delightful sense of humor,
We finished the walk and sat on the wicker couch until it was almost dark. It was so quiet and peaceful and the dogs were tired enough that they were glad to sit alongside me and rest up. We finished the evening in the usual fashion with food for them and then me followed by a glass of wine and watching television. What a life.
That is a stream but only when it rains a gully washer.
Another late rising day. Who cares? Certainly not me or the dogs. I guess that is what my camping is all about, total rest and relaxation and not a care in the world except mundane things like WIFI service and where will I go next or should I stay here longer. Stuff like that. We did our usual thing with a quick walk around the park and then I got into trouble when one old guy came out and told me that the area I was walking in was off limits. He got a little excited about it but I just let it go and turned back and took a different route. Stupid old man…Wait a minute, I might be talking about me. We finished our short morning walk and followed our usual routine of breakfast and blog writing before working on a few more pictures which took up most of the day.
My new neighbors pretty much keep themselves to themselves except to say Hello. They do not have any pets but they did go walking out on the trails for a bit. Hard not to see what goes on close around you. We went for a longer hike but before that we walked around the park. We passed one guy walking his dog with a black cat following along behind. He told me the cat who is a member of the family, always comes along on their short walks. Kinda cute to watch. Our longer hike took us over trails we have hiked before but was still very interesting and we covered about a mile. When we got back, we sat outside for a while enjoying the peace and quiet before heading back inside for food and our evenings entertainment.
Well, going to bed early didn’t help with waking up any earlier as it was still 9:30 am before we crawled out. Interestingly enough, neither of the dogs show any inclination to get up or to wake me up. It didn’t really matter as we have nothing planned for today except the usual things like taking the dogs out walking and making breakfast. For the morning walk, we strolled around the park and not going on any of the trails. I had new neighbors pull in yesterday, actually two of them. Luckily, I am on the end of the row and have one side clear although the RV’s are spaced out and are not on top of each other. Both have small towing trailers so they may be weekenders.
I spent some time working on both this blog and the pictures that I have taken so far. Two of these were of Moose taken in Maine by my friend B.J. Lucky her as I have yet to see a Moose out in the wild. Lots of deer but no Moose. There is not the abundance of wildlife here at this park or at least, I haven’t seen anything. Very few birds and the bird feeder sits there forlornly waiting to feed somebody or something. I know it is Fall and a lot of birds have migrated but even so, their should be something out there.
In the afternoon, we went for a longer hike on the trails and covered a little over a mile mostly in densely wooded areas. The trails are wide with fallen branches and trees here and there and of course, lots of pine needles underfoot. Not difficult walking at all except for stumbling over a few tree roots but very enjoyable. When I walk alone without the dogs, I always use two walking poles to help maintain balance amongst other things. Up till now walking with the dogs, I stopped using the poles because I was not sure if I could handle both dogs and poles at the same time. Yesterday, I took one pole with me and it helped considerably with balance and stumbles and such and we were able to work things out accordingly. So I guess that I will continue with the single pole routine in the future. BTW, I read somewhere that using two walking poles can increase both distance and speed to us older guys. There is still one more long trail to walk.
Back at the RV, we sat outside for a while before retiring inside for the rest of the evening. While out there, I watched as the Park Super was playing with his daughter in the sandpit just across from me and they were having a fine old time. Nice to see and hear as she was squealing with delight. Back inside, I fed the dogs and then concocted something up for myself before settling down with a glass of wine to watch the television. For the first time, reception was poor going in and out and I had to resort to my WIFI Booster for a stronger signal. Even then, I ended up watching the Premier League on the computer which I guess, doesn’t need as strong signal as the TV, Just surmising here as what the heck do I know. As long as I can watch on something, I am happy.
We awoke to yet another beautiful day with the sun shining and blue, cloudless skies. With the weather already cooling down, the days are much more enjoyable when we are outside. We went for a short walk and spoke to a few park tenants who mostly are very friendly and then after breakfast, adjourned to Miss Daisy to work on the blog and on the pictures that I have been taking. I got to thinking about it and decided that we would stay for another week and I walked over to the office and made the arrangements and we are all set. The date we leave is now November 1st.
We had nothing planned for the day except the usual dog walks and writing on the computer. I took some time to work on photos that I have taken using one of my favorite programs, Photo Shop. I like to make sure that colors and textures are as good as they can be before adding my watermark to the pictures. I have been using my Iphone to take most of the pictures rather than my camera mainly for the simplicity and ease of carrying around. The camera with a long lens on it can get heavy after a while and I probably need to trade it in for a lighter model. It should be said that the pictures that the Iphone takes are of excellent quality.
Later in the afternoon, we went out for a longer walk on trails with names like Charlie’s Trail, Ashlee’s Path, Camper’s Lane and Jonny’s Street. Several of the trails interconnect and all eventually end up back at the park. we covered about a mile and a half. On our return, we sat on the wicker couch for a while and listened to an Audiobook story drinking a sparkling water which I have exchanged for the beers that I had started drinking lately. The water has zero calories and I wasn’t getting anything out of drinking beer anyway except extra weight. Guess my tastes have changed quite considerably since being a younger man. Thinking about it, the drinks I consumed a few years ago were basically just to socialize while out with my friends as I never really had a real taste for the stuff. As it was, I learned my lesson the hard way. Now, my drinking is restricted to a glass of wine in the evenings whilst watching the television especially if my favorite teams is playing poorly.
Nothing but trees
We went to bed an hour earlier than usual in the hope of waking up earlier in the morning. I guess we’ll see.
As I walk around this park looking at the RV’s that here abide I think about each one of them and those that spend their lives inside I wonder what stories they have to tell that makes them want to live this way and if other choices were given them would they choose this life to stay for living in an RV is different than a home the walls are thin each sound vibrates and the tenants are never alone there are chores to do not every day but often enough to keep it clean and if they are not attended to the end results are quickly seen the space is small and very tight with no room to spare for wasteful things and even the smallest luxury must have it’s share of helping everything must have its place so it can be found in times of need and the people living there must be agreeable indeed for living in a space so small can soon get on each others nerves with no room to get away can quickly test the others reserves on the other hand it’s a wonderful life if you choose to live this way travelling from place to place never in one place to stay for whatever time you choose before moving to a different place except for the driving along the world moves at a slower pace everyone thinks you get to see the country as you drive but that is not really true as the miles whiz on by and usually your in a hurry to get from one place to the next trying hard to reach your goal and no time for a rest to reach the campground and set up camp before the dark of night and settle in and take a rest and then turn out the light to wait for another day new places to explore and then do it all over again just like we did before.
I managed to get up late again but as I had no real plans, it really didn’t matter that much. We did our usual thing with a walk around the park before getting breakfast and coffee followed by the check of messages just in case there was anything interesting. My friend B.J. is in Maine with her daughter and sent me pictures of some Moose that tops out anything that I have taken so far. I have yet to see a Moose in the wild.
With emails, pictures and writing out of the way, I decided that I needed to go into Coldspring and stock up on groceries as we were getting low on essentials. It was a straightforward drive to a small community of 890 residents. The biggest store is Brookshire Brothers Supermarket which I spent time wandering around. It had pretty much everything I needed. At the check out register, the clerk, an older lady, got my name off my credit card and henceforth addressed me as Mr. Frank. While I was in the parking lot unloading my cart, two different people approached me to ask if my name was Frank and to tell me I had inadvertently left a bag of groceries at the register. I thanked them and also the clerk when I approached her for the bag. She still addressed me as Mr. Frank so she had a good memory. Nice to have people look out for each other in this way. Incidentally, I think that myself and a couple of other older ladies who were shopping were the only ones wearing facemasks. As far as I could see, none of the staff wore them.
The drive back was uneventful except I could not get the map system in the Jeep to accept the address and I had to rely on my phone for directions. Even it was not working as it should as it was not giving out voice commands. The countryside here is absolutely beautiful and very green with lots of tall pine trees. We made it home safe and sound and Mikey and Sandy helped me to put the groceries away, sort of. They were more interested in going walkies than work so I harnessed them up and we set off along one of the trails and wandered around for a bit. We came across some interesting things on the walk put their probably to amuse the children although they gave me a chuckle.
On our return, we sat for a while in the wicker couch just relaxing after another hard days lounging around of not doing much. There are some interesting hikes out there and I do want to visit Lake Livingstone. With today already Wednesday, I am seriously thinking of extending my stay here. I’ll decide tomorrow.
One of the trails. Notice the abundance of pine leaves and cones
We woke up at what now appears to be our usual time of 9:30 am and took a short walk around, There were people out and about and I got to chat to a couple of them and Sandy got to meet their dogs which in general, she approved. Mikey, not so much. We followed this with breakfast and decided to try out the WIFI connection which incidentally, had worked very well for the TV last evening. It appears to be OK with a few pauses and slow spots but not enough to be a problem. My views out of the windows are very nice and the pine trees are somewhat soothing, standing tall in their grandeur.
I completed yesterdays blog and worked on a few pictures that I have taken, posting a few of them on the blog. So far, this looks like a very nice park especially as it is covered in very tall fir trees. We are in East Texas Piney Woods after all. We took a look at the trails and walked short one as it was late in the evening. I didn’t have trail map yet and memories of hiking at Pedernales State Park a couple of years ago when I managed to get turned around and ended up hiking twenty one miles, a lot of it in the dark, reminded me to be more aware. Luckily, I always carry a flashlight or I probably would still be out there stumbling around.
The short trail that I chose was not that easy to walk on due to the large amount of pine needles that covered the ground. That and the tree roots which protruded all over the place. Guess I need to get used to it if I want to hike. The dogs didn’t care as they were just happy to be out walking. When we got back, I stopped by the office and acquired a map of the trails and posted it on my Iphone making sure I would not get lost in the future. Well maybe I could still get lost but at least I would be able to find my way back.
View of the woods
The people here all seem pretty friendly and several have stopped by to talk or have talked to me as we walk around. Most are long termers as you tell by the way they have their campsites set up. We have also got to meet a lot of dogs that are tied up outside of their RV’s, some friendly, others not so much and all of them barking their fool heads off. Sandy, of course will not be outbarked so it get noisy. Mikey actually joins in with the barking but he is all noise and if it came to it, no action. I noticed that there are also a few very old RV’s still in use. At least this park allows them.
Late in the afternoon, we went out for another walk and this time chose a couple of the longer trails for a distance of a little over a mile. The trails are wide and well marked and as I said before, not the best of walking. Still, all very good exercise which is badly needed as I spend so much time writing and working on photos.
We finished off the evening in the usual way, food for the dogs and then me and then watching the English Premier League going to bed around 11:30 pm.
