Our first walk was no different than many before as we slowly wandered around a nearly empty park. We only saw one other dog and its owner had stopped the car as they were on the way out, so the dog could do its thing. They drove off and we continued wandering before returning for breakfast. 

As is the normal routine, I perused the news and read a couple of items before turning my attention to emails. Just like every other day, nothing of major importance with just a couple requiring my attention. My thoughts turned to my friend BJ and her daughter Kristen locked up in their cabin, on board a ship with not much to do and not allowed to go anywhere because of Covid. I dashed off a quick text message, so they at least feel like they are in touch. Not a very nice ending to what promised to be a wonderful trip. 

I wandered over to the office to exchange dollars for quarters as it was time to do the laundry again. Besides, if we do pull out of here on Monday, it will be nice to have everything clean and not have to worry about it at the next stop, which is still unknown. I cannot make any reservations until I get the Jeep back just in case it is delayed.  

I was chatting to Gerry and asked him about the RV’s that the Hispanic workers live in as I thought that maybe, Gerry might own them and rent them out. He told me that the Construction Company that they work for owns them and I guess, rents them to the workers. Seems like a pretty good deal as they use their company vans to travel to and fro to work as transportation as well. Sounds like a good company to work for.  
 
Luckily, I do not need a job as I already have a full-time one looking after Mikey, Sandy, Quatro and myself. 
 
Later that afternoon, we went out walking again through the neighborhood, down the long walk past one of the large buildings which are a part of the University of Arkansas research programs before returning via Hwy 71B back to the RV. Altogether, we covered 2.1 miles for the day. I swear that we walk much further but as both of my step programs show the same thing, then I guess it is just wishful thinking on my part. 

The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion. 

Written 11/03/2022. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

Mikey’s foot appeared to be OK or at least he did not show any signs of discomfort so, as we usually do, harnessed up to go out walking. After a couple of false starts, one because I forgot my phone, again, and secondly because I forgot the small bag of trash that usually goes with us on most of our walks. We make a point to walk past the dumpster at least once on our circuit of the park. We wandered around and said our “Good mornings” to those that we met before ending back at Quatro. The park is almost empty again except for the long termers. 

Back in Quatro, while checking emails, I discovered that my very good friend, BJ, and her daughter Kristen, who are currently on a cruise ship, have contracted Covid. Kristen writes for a company that does travel reviews and this trip was one of those. Both have had all their shots so hopefully; this will only be a mild case. Their problem is that they are confined to their room for the rest of the trip. 

Back on dry land, BJ has always been so careful about taking precautions even to the extent of having Home Delivery of her groceries, but I guess, on a ship there is no place to go except up on deck to get away from people. I know that when we came over on the Queen Mary all of those years ago, the family came up on deck to help stop their sea sickness. Fresh air and not being in an enclosed space really helped. Then again, we were not confined to our cabins like BJ and her daughter are. They must be going nuts in such a tiny enclosed space. Get well soon, both of you. 

The rest of the emails were the usual junk and quickly trashed. I unfriend and unsubscribe from as many as I can, but they often come back again with a new address especially if they are trying to sell me something. Many of the “unsubscribed” are ignored by those companies that offer their services. I was reading somewhere, that many of those same companies unscribe on a limited basis as they get paid to remain active. Everything is a racket and I often wish for the days of long ago when life was simple and things like the Internet were a futuristic dream. Something you read about from HG Wells and Stephen Hawkin and other such writers. Unfortunately, now it is a permanent part of our lives and here to stay. Big Brother is watching you and has been for a while… 

I wrote for a bit until I was caught up and turned my attention to posting yesterday’s blog. This does not take too much time as long as I do not fall behind. I have taken over 100 pictures of our time here at this park, which normally should be more than enough but due to the extended stay, some of the pictures may be duplicates of earlier posting. Sometimes, if I think a picture is worth repeating, I will repost it. 

We went out for another walk this time through the neighborhood after following the field to the end, then walking the road, and returning through the field instead of walking all the way to Hwy 71B.  Then, I sat around listening to an Audiobook for a couple of hours before harnessing up the guys for their last walk of the day. This time, we just walked the park avoiding the other few dogs walking their owners. Altogether for the day, we covered almost 2 miles keeping up with our daily average. 

The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion with food and television. 

Written 11/01/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Sunday Day 53

10/30/2022

It was very cloudy and overcast when we rolled out of bed. It looked like rain and there was some in the forecast, so we quickly harnessed up for that first walk. We wandered around stopping to chat with a couple of residents who were either working on their RV’s or getting ready to move on. One lady had the cutest little ball of fluff that was very friendly and even Mikey came over to check it out. It was a truly adorable little Lhasa Apso. 

We made a short circuit around the park and managed to cover our usual 4/10’s of a mile before returning to the RV for breakfast and coffee. I really am having a hard time finding food that appeals to me as much of it is very bland and tasteless. It is probably my aging tastebuds and not the food. Oh well, at least I still need food so that is something. When I stop eating, then I really am in trouble… or maybe not. 

My front window looks out on Hwy 71B and there is always a constant stream of traffic going up and down it. Today on the few times I looked up, there were at least a dozen or more RV’s that passed by. Those were the ones that I noticed and there were probably more as I am not constantly looking out of the window. We are hoping that in a week’s time, we too will be joining them as we make our way back to Henly.  

I got to thinking about weekend travelers and why so many campers like to travel then. Many are just that, weekend campers and need to head back to their permanent homes but others, like myself, are full timers. I prefer to move out on Friday’s or Mondays to avoid the weekend traffic as much as possible although I have no idea of what percentage of drivers are on the roads on weekends as compared to weekdays and if it even makes a difference. 

I spent time on the blog, posting the latest before turning my attention to doing a bit of housecleaning. With that out of the way, I looked around for something else to occupy my time. Finding nothing of importance, I opted to watch another of my favorite teams, Brighton and Hove Albion, the one my Great, Great Grandson Solly March plays on, beat Chelsea, the current Premier League leaders, by a resounding 4-1 score line.  

Convinced that it was not going to get any better than that for the rest of the day, I harnessed up the dogs and we went out for the afternoon walk. This time, instead of walking around the park, we hit the outside sidewalk that runs the full length of the Tyson Meat Packing Plant, a distance of at least a half mile. This sidewalk has a grassy strip that protects it from the road traffic and is much safer to walk on than the other sidewalk we sometimes use. Altogether, we covered 1.7 miles for the day. 

Back in Quatro, after the usual food all around, I sat and watched yet another Premier League game before retiring at a reasonable hour. 

Written 10/30/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville,AR Monday Day 54 10/31/2022

Today is a Monday and is also the last day of the month, again. It seemed like only yesterday that I said that about September. Time sure does fly by. We are hoping this will be our last week here and that the promise of the Jeep will still be good for this coming Friday. I cannot even complete our next stop as we make our way back to Henly for December 1, just in case that date changes.  

We went out for our usual morning stroll around the park which is now very empty again although it will fill up towards the end of the week as the “Razorbacks” have a home football game. Our friendly big dog and the little ball of fluff had gone and there were no other people or dogs to visit with. 

Back in the RV after the morning breakfast and coffee, I settled down to complete yesterday’s blog and make a start on today. This was after reading the morning news and answering or in my case, trashing most of the emails. I read an interesting piece on using specially made airbags to place under and around the RV in the winter to keep the temperatures a bit warmer and prevent freezing. It looked promising although not cheap. Then again, anything RV related is not cheap. For my semi-permanent winter stay in Henly, which I do every year, this might be a worthwhile investment. Then again, South/Central Texas does not have that much of a winter although I did have a freeze problem with a couple of the pipes this past winter. Those repairs cost almost a thousand dollars so maybe spending an extra thousand might be worth it. Something to think about as the weather does seem to be changing for the worse with Climate Change. 

We had nothing planned as is our usual custom, not even a trip to Walmart’s and I took a look at RV Trip Planner and get a rough idea of where to go as we headed back to Henly for the winter. I played around and came up with a couple of ideas. If we do manage to get out of here next Monday, that will leave us with about 23 days to make our way back for a trip of a little over 600 miles. So, maybe 3 stops with about 150-mile drives and then a final drive to Henly. I have decided to wait until we get back to Henly to get the RV repaired. It does not affect the driving and the repairs are purely aesthetic. There is probably a waiting list anyway. In any case, I would need to rent a room in a Motel while the RV is being repaired so it is imperative that it not take too long.

The spammers are at it again as they keep calling with their Toll Free Numbers. After a couple of repeated calls, I blocked them, but this is only a temporary measure. There are no permanent cures for this problem. I hate those bloody spammers with a passion, and they can all rot in hell. 

It was too early to go out walking and I searched around for things to do. I settled on watching my other favorite team, Manchester United play against West Ham. It was an interesting game, and, in the end, Man U squeaked by 1-0.

It was time to take that final walk of the day. We started off wandering along the fence between the properties and came to the spot where both Sandy and especially Mikey, “attack” the dogs on the other side of the fence. They play this game every time we walk in this direction. Only trouble was that Mikey in his enthusiasm, managed to catch a toe nail in the wood resulting in his turning and limping back to me. I saw what happened and made a big fuss of him which consoled him a little. It was obvious that it hurt, and he made the most of it, limping along with a sad look in his eye knowing full well, he would get a lot of extra attention. 

I wondered if we should carry on of go back to the RV and decided on the former. Mikey did not appear to have any trouble walking. I did take pity on him, and we hit the sidewalk that goes in front of the Tyler Processing Plant. This is both easy walking and safely placed from the highway. We covered half our normal distance before I turned back to the Quatro where both dogs found their sleep places and zonked off. I checked Mikey’s paw but could not see any major damage so maybe it was a splinter from the wooden fence, that stuck him. 

I prepared the evening meal for us all then settled down to watch yet another English Premier game. We finished the evening watching a detective series that I managed to find.

Written 10/31/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com 

I woke up early for us and took a shower before harnessing up and then walking the park. I even remembered my phone the first time which by itself is quite an achievement as we usually have to go back for it. The park consists of a large outside loop that is divided by a single inside road to make a figure 8. It is .4 tenths of a mile around this circuit and is normally the morning walk. 

Back in Quatro, the first thing was to start the chicken and pork that I bought yesterday, cooking on the inside grill. I love that thing as it shuts itself off when it considers the food cooked.  Now, if it could only clean itself, it would be perfect. With that working, I made breakfast for me and shared it with Sandy as Mikey was doing one of his, “I do not want it” things. “Made” is a relative term here as all I did was grab a couple of enchiladas and stick them in the microwave. I did not actually make anything except the coffee and had to convince the Latte machine that it needed to foam more milk. 

The next move was to cook the meat that I had bought yesterday, some of which was for me but mostly for the dogs. My system is to load the indoor grill and let it cook while I do other things, in this case, work on the blog 

I concentrated on checking emails with the usual results and then turned my attention to the blog completing yesterday’s events and starting today. We have nothing planned except maybe a quick trip into Walmart’s to grab a fruit bowl that I forgot yesterday. A couple of hours later, all the meat was cooked and put in the fridge and the parts of the grill that were washable, were soaking in the sink. 

I sat and watched a Premier League Football game which held my attention for 90 minutes and then decided that the trip to Walmart’s was a good idea after all. I chose the local Neighborhood Store as I did not need much, and it was also the closest of their stores. I was in and out in no time flat and then drove to the nearest Starbucks for the usual Latte. 

The drive back to the RV park was straightforward although the traffic was beginning to pile up a bit as it was late in the afternoon. I made it back safely and as I only had three items, I did not need the dogs’ help to put them away even though they offered, of course. We harnessed up and went out for a walk, first around the park and then out onto Cato Park Road to complete the circuit. I managed to cover 1.7 miles for the day.  

Arriving back at Quatro, I sat down and completed the blog. Nothing of importance happened in the evening except for the ongoing search to find another TV series to watch. 

 
Written 10/27/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

We all slept late, and it was 10:30 before we awoke. I scrambled out of bed and with the barest of morning preparations, we hustled out of the door. It was a beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. The sun was even warm, and it was very pleasant walking. We had the park to ourselves at least walk wise and did a full circle, walking every road. 

Back in Quatro, I fixed breakfast for myself and coaxed the coffee maker to at least make some sort of a latte, taking much longer than normal but succeeding in the end. I fixed another bacon sandwich that I shared with my two little friends although, I ate the biggest part feeling guilty under Sandy’s unwavering stare. I think she knows that is how she makes me feel and does it on purpose. 

Then, as usual, it was time to peruse the emails hoping that there would be nothing of any importance. Luckily, there was not except one that looked very official from one of the credit card companies telling me to click this link to correct my information. I went back to the email to check the address of the sender and just as I thought, it was another scam job. I hate those sons of bitches with a passion. After trashing that one, I moved on to writing in the blog, catching up on yesterday’s writing and then starting on today. 

I worked for a while and then posted yesterday’s blog along with some pictures I had already worked on so that we are up to date, blog wise. Good thing too as I have a hard time remembering what we did yesterday, and anything further back is ancient history. I remembered that I needed to extend our Jeep rental due to having to stay an extra week and gave Hertz a call to take care of it. I also inquired if they would drive me to the Collision Center on the day and they readily agreed. 

With that out of the way, I knew we were getting low on supplies and made a list of the major items. There are always other things that catch my eye as we wander around the store, and I have to be very restrained from impulse buying. Telling the dogs that they could not come with me, which they are well used to, I jumped in the truck and made the short journey to one of the Walmart Super Stores which is only 3 miles away. Wandering around the store, I found everything that I wanted and then spent some time talking to a sweet young thing about why I could not get my soundbar to work. She was very knowledgeable about it and told me what I needed to try. I thanked her and put the box she had given me in my cart and went on walking. 

Although I have been in this store a couple of times before, I had not seen an RV section until I turned down one aisle and there it was, right in front of me. Feeling like a kid in a candy store, I spent time perusing and settled on a couple of items like RV toilet paper (BJ?) and a fitting to help backwash the tanks to help prevent piles of sh**t from building up, a well-known RV problem. The fitting cost me around $20.00. I have a Macerator unit built into the RV that does the same thing, but the expanding hose is leaking and not usable. A new hose and end fitting starts at $100.00 so the $20.00 I just spent is a much cheaper replacement. Hope it works. I checked out and then found the nearest Starbucks before making my way back to the RV. 

The dogs, as they usually do, were very helpful in putting away the groceries, sniffing each item and giving their OK that I could carry on. Some things took longer to check out than others, but nothing was rejected. I harnessed them up and we wandered around the park and the field for a bit. The park is filling up again so there must be something going on in town or locally. I know it is not a Football game as the next home game is not until November 5^th. 

Back in the RV, I worked on the sound system but am still unable to get the soundbar to work at all. Doing something wrong quite obviously. The regular sound system with the TV works OK but is not loud enough. Actually, I think that my hearing is the problem, and the current deafness is caused by wax build up and I need my ears syringed again. It will have to wait until next month when I get back to Henly along with a few other things that need attention. Also, my right hearing aid is not working properly and again, it will have to wait to get it serviced or replaced. These are all things that you take for granted when you have a fixed abode but when you are on the road, things take a different perspective. Incidentally, I have been deaf since I was 11 years old and have worn hearing aids for most of my life except when swimming or playing sports. 

By the time I finished writing, it was 6:45 pm and time to feed the little guys and then myself. Their evening meal consists of a small piece of Walmart’s doggy loaf cut up very finely and then covered with cooked chicken thighs cut into tiny pieces and sprinkled on the top. They are down to one meal a day and they have hard food that is always available to them. I gave up making them breakfast as they both would not eat it. Of course, breakfast did not have the chicken sprinkled on the top, but they ate small handouts of my bacon sandwich in a heartbeat. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with food all around and then a glass of wine for me. I spent time trying to find another series to watch and so far, have not had any luck. Oh well, if that is the biggest problem I must deal with, then I would say it was a very good day. 

Written 10/26/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

The rain continued through the night and when we awoke, it was still coming down. I was concerned because it was a long time between doggy walks and the necessary business that it implies. I jumped out of bed and changed the usual routines this time cleaning my teeth and then getting dressed to go out walking, foregoing the usual shower and shaving until we got back. 

We did not stay out very long or go very far, just enough to do their “thing” before returning to Quatro. The forecast is for it to rain all day which does not affect us as we have no plans, but the weather has turned much colder. Returning to the RV, I made breakfast and shared most of it with the dogs who happily munched away on their portions of the bacon sandwich. They liked the bacon best but ate the bread as they quickly ran out of bacon. They did not get much anyway, just a taster. To me, bacon is still one of the foods that tastes as it should although I know that it is not particularly healthy to eat. Such a shame… 

Following breakfast, I made a trip over to the office as I needed to extend our stay here because the Jeep completion has been pushed back a full week to Nov 5. I booked us through to leave Monday, Nov 7 to places unknown but heading the general direction of Austin.  I had a special mail delivery in the office which I was expecting and picked it up at the same time and then checked the outside mailbox to see if I had any regular postal service deliveries. 

Back in Quatro, I opened the mail, most of which was junk as usual. There was a delivery of health supplements that I take on a regular basis which may or may not help. The trouble is that there is no way of knowing if they do any good. These are for my prostate as I incurred a bout of prostate cancer some 14 or so, years ago and at that time, had radiation treatment. I am a firm believer that the supplements have helped to keep me cancer free. The radiation may have cured the cancer, but one major side effect was that my sex life went all to hell and never recovered. 

Incidentally, my oldest son in England is currently fighting his own battle with prostate cancer and is undergoing treatment. Maybe it runs in the family. The cost of his treatment is entirely covered under the English Family Health Plan. Luckily, I have good health insurance through my employment with the University of Texas which covered the entire cost of $136,000 for the radiation treatment that I incurred. It is too early to say how well my son is progressing. 

Sandy was giving me “the look” signaling her need to go outside. Quatro is not like my earlier house with a fenced yard and a doggy door where the dogs and cats could come and go as they pleased. That also included wild critters as on two separate occasions, a raccoon and a large snake, both found their way in through that door… Of course, they could not find their way out and I had to open the back door for them to leave. The raccoon left willingly enough but the snake, which was a four-foot rat snake, needed a little help which I did with a broom. I do not kill wild things unless I have no other choice. Both gave me quite a scare when I first noticed them, which was first thing in the morning while I was still half asleep. Not for long though… 

We harnessed up and I decided to walk the roads again. This time, we started in reverse through the park entrance heading towards Cato Park Road. I even crossed the road to see if the sidewalks were any better to walk on for the 100 yards or, so that we are on Hwy 71B. I quickly discovered that they are not and in truth, are closer to the traffic as it whizzes by. Will not make that mistake again.  

We turned down Cato Park Road and walked fast as there was a chill in the air and the wind was cold. Well, let’s say that Mikey and I tried to walk fast but Sandy wasn’t having any of it and slowed us down with her constants sniffing and peeing. I swear she is a male dog in a female body. Wait a minute, I know a few women just like that except they do not mark everything at least by peeing on them. Maybe, they have other ways… 

Altogether, we managed to cover 1.5 miles of fast walking, some of which was sheltered by the trees. Out in the open, the wind blew cold, a sure sign that winter is on the way. As we walked, we avoided other people walking their dogs by slowing down or changing direction. One time, a young couple were coming towards us with two small dogs of the terrier variety. I cut across the grass to give them room and the guy picked up one of his dogs but even so, a noisy shouting match ensued between them as we passed. Both other doggy owners and I exchanged pleasantries as we passed and commented on the need for little dogs to be heard, maybe to make up for their lack of size.

I turned down the cut off that leads to the campground and came across an older, Asiatic lady standing outside her house. I stopped to chat to her inquiring if everything was OK, before moving on, advising her that she really should go indoors and get out of the cold. Farther down the road, there was a large 5^th wheel attached to a truck and I commented to the lady standing by it on how nice the rig looked. We got into a conversation about RV travelling before moving on back to Quatro through the field. 

The dogs found their hidey places to rest up after their strenuous exercise and I settled down to catch up with the day’s events. About a couple of hours later, Sandy was at it again giving me “the look”. She must have figured out in her little doggy brain, that if she bugs me enough, we get to go out walking. It usually works as maybe; she does need to “go”. 

We did a quick walk around the park and Sandy proved that she was not trying to con me into walking. A single circuit later, we were back in the RV. On our walk, there was another couple walking their dogs on the other side of the park. They had 3 small ones and another medium sized one. Now, that are a lot of dogs to have in an RV and to take walking.  

I spent some time working on the Sound Bar to the TV to try to get it to work but with no luck and gave up, turning to fixing the evening meal which both dogs ate. Sandy gobbled down her bowl but Mikey, I think in an effort to annoy her, usually waits until she is finished before starting in on his. Dogs are so funny. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion of food and TV. Incidentally, I spent most of the evening trying to find another decent series to watch in place of “Third Watch”. So far, I have not had much luck… 

Written 10/25/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

It was very windy outside and the wind direction changed, yet again, this time blowing in a SW direction, the very opposite from the way it was blowing yesterday. Hope that does not mean that all the leaves will come flying back. We wandered around making several pit stops of the important kind by both dogs, and then headed back to Quatro. Incidentally, Mikey always knows when we turn for home and is eager to get there tugging at the leash in an effort to hurry us along. Sandy, on the other hand, has way to many interesting smells to be in a hurry so it becomes a bit of a tug of war when we head back. I think that physically, she is the stronger dog or maybe it is because she is heavier than Mikey who still has his boyish figure while Sandy is on the chunky side. Too many goodies. 

After breakfast of a bacon sandwich, shared with the dogs and for me, the inevitable latte, I settled down to catch up with the latest news, which as usual, was very discouraging. I then turned to emails, which as before, had a mixture of junk, trash and those worth reading. My good friend, BJ, always has a kind word or comment to say about my blogs which are probably not very interesting reading to the few people that do follow me. Pretty much the same thing almost every day with the occasional bright or different moment. But then again, such is life especially to a retired single person. Just a few bright and different moments mixed in between what we consider to be our normal everyday living. 

Incidentally, I have managed to eat enough food out of the freezer that it is working again, and the ice cream is now just that. Things inside it have that icy feeling once more. Now, the question is, do I leave it on maximum freeze or start dropping it back a bit at a time until I find that happy medium. The refrigerator is powered by both LP Gas and/or electricity which is the setting we are using. As I have said before, we conserve the LP as much as possible while we are in campgrounds that have an electrical hook up. 

Finished with the emails, I turned my attention to the blog catching up and posting the previous days actions along with the pictures that are added really just to pretty up the page. The pictures are usually always of the park that we are currently in and writing about so that my few readers can see where we are staying and what we have around us. 

I searched all over the place even in the storage compartments under the RV looking for the TV sound bar I had bought for use in the last RV. I could not find it anywhere which is not surprising as the only thing in any order in a single compartment are the tools that I have brought with me. The rest of my life’s belongings are in several different plastic totes scattered between the many different storage compartments and it is always an adventure in trying to find anything. One of these days, when I feel really energetic, I may sort through the totes and try to reconcile the different items in their own boxes and in their own compartments. One of these days… 

The very last place I looked was inside in the storage space under the seats to the table that I use for a desk. Lo and behold, there it was minus any cables to go along with it. They, of course, were somewhere else which prompted yet another search for them. Luckily, I had an idea where they would be as I do keep all types of cables in one box and I knew where the box was found, one of the very few. I spent the next hour hooking and unhooking up the sound bar to no avail as I could not get it to work. It was made all the more difficult because the TV is in its own special stand that raises the unit to view it and can slide down into its own compartment when not in use or when we travel. Very convenient to put it out of the way but it does make it tough to get to the back to plug in any units. This was exasperated by the limited space to work in and that I could not get very close and was really stretching. The really bad thing was that I had to use my left hand which is not as well coordinated as my right one. I eventually gave up vowing to have another go on a different day. 

Sandy was giving me, “The Look” and we harnessed up and went out walking heading for the outside sidewalks as they are much easier to walk on than the grass. We did not meet up with any other dogs or suspicious characters this time around and arrived safely back to the RV. We managed to cover almost 2 miles for the day and have increased our daily output by almost double. Got to stay fit somehow and the dogs really enjoy it. 

Back in the RV, we finished the evening in the usual way of food all around and then watching both a Premier League game and “Third Watch”. Unfortunately, it was the very last episode of this highly entertaining series and naturally was a bit sad. So now, I need to find another series to watch and hope it will be just as entertaining. 

Written 10/23/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Monday Day 47 10/24/2022

I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof and took a peek outside. It was not pouring down, just a fine misty rain but uncomfortable to be outside. Still, the dogs had to do their thing and I got up and after a quick shower. We walked out the door. I had on a jacket plus a rain cover, and we set off walking around the park. Even though it was wet out, it was not raining hard enough that the dogs minded, and we happily wandered around.  

The young lady, Catherine, that had climbed on the roof of the RV and cut the branches for me, was outside and came over to chat. She walked us back to Quatro and said goodbye as we walked inside. Nice of her and she is very pleasant to talk to. Not many sweet young things have time to talk to ancient and decrepit old guys like me. Maybe, I remind her of her Grandad. 

Back inside the RV, I remembered that the bathroom sink was backing up and I thought about what, if anything, needed to be done about it. Obviously, it was a no brainer, and I went outside to empty the tanks which incidentally are draining slow again. I need to buy a new Macerator hose to fix this problem but must check on the difficulty in swapping out the units first. Of course, the connection is not in an easy place to get to…Nothing is ever straight forward. 

Back inside I fixed breakfast of a couple of tacos which are just not very appetizing. The dogs enjoyed their share though, looking for more. I did a bit of tidying up before settling down to read the news and then the latest emails. Satisfied that the world is not coming to an end, at least not in the next day or two, I turned my attention to writing the latest blog. Incidentally, if it is coming to an end, it might be better not to know about it as there is probably nothing, I can do to change it or to even save myself or the dogs. 

It was cool enough that I had the small indoor heater running with the outside temperature not forecast to get above 72 degrees. Luckily, we have no plans and can snuggle up and if nothing else, watch a Premier League Football match or two. Both dogs have already zonked off, Sandy in her basket under the table and Mikey right alongside me as tight as he can get without actually sitting on my lap. He really loves me, that little guy and shows it all the time. Sandy does too but is not quite as demonstrative as Mikey although she has her moments. A man and his dogs… 

It started to rain quite hard and as I had run out of things to do, we settled down to watch a Premier League football match hoping that it would clear up in time for our afternoon walk. Unfortunately, it never did, and we were forced to stay inside. I was really concerned about the dogs and them having to “go” but it did not make any sense to go out walking in the wet weather.  

We finished the evening in the usual fashion and the rain continued through the night. I discovered that there was a very small leak in the ceiling fan housing in the bathroom but as luck would have it, the periodic drip of water dropped directly into the toilet bowl. How about that for luck. We went to bed with the sound of the rain beating on the roof to lull us to sleep. 

Written 10/24/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Another late start or maybe, as we seem to be doing it a lot lately, it is now the norm. It doesn’t matter as we have no plans of major importance. As usual, we wandered around the park, but we only did one circuit as both dogs were very active, bowel wise, which is the main purpose of the walk anyway. We always judge our success for the first walk of the day, not by the distance travelled but by the number of times they “go”. We don’t count peeing in that otherwise we would be up to the hundreds after each walk, especially from Sandy. That girl has a bottomless bladder. Incidentally, I carry plastic doggy bags with me to clean up after them which are then put into the dumpster. The dogs know the command, “Dumpster” as we visit it after every walk. OK, maybe not but they should. 

I had breakfast of a couple of burritos, which incidentally, did not taste that good, accompanied by a homemade Latte which took a long time to make. For some reason best known to those that invented my Latte machine, the milk was not frothing. I have had the machine for less than a year and I wonder if it too is on the fritz. Would not surprise me one little bit as most gadgets are now throwaway things and are not worth repairing. It still brews coffee so maybe I need to change my morning drink and forget the milky part and rely on Starbuck’s for a Latte. 

As I sit and write, the main entrance is only a couple hundred feet away and in perfect view. I can watch the RV’s come and go as new arrivals drive in and the “old” ones leave for places unknown. I watched as a small black car pulled in and parked by the entrance. A young guy of about 25 or so, got out and walked around, opened the trunk and then got back into the car. I kept my eye on it wondering what might be wrong and then, sometime later, a tow truck pulled in with lights flashing. I thought then the car had mechanical problems and needed to be towed and felt sorry for the young guy. Turns out, it was nothing more than a flat tire that in my book, any red-blooded American male or female, should be able to change on their own. Obviously, I do not know the circumstances and the guy may have a medical condition which prevents him from lifting anything heavy or maybe, did not have a jack so who am I to judge. Even so… 

The tow truck drove off after the driver changed the tire and put the flat back in the trunk. The young guy got back in his car and drove off leaving me wondering. If he had a condition, then he had an excuse. On the other hand, if he did not and preferred someone else to do it or did not know how, then something is lacking in his upbringing. A basic part of learning to drive, especially for a man, is to know how to do some small maintenance or repair work which includes changing tires. What is this country coming to? OK, do not answer that as I already know. Now if he only had an App on his cell phone, he could have got it to do the work. Why not, the younger generation relies on their cell phones for everything else… 

Enough ranting. I am not going to let the present or future of the world spoil my day.  I carried on writing in the blog and then worked on a couple of pictures that I have taken, wondering what we should do today. I have nothing planned but then again, I never usually do as we wait for the Jeep to be repaired. Incidentally, I called the Jeep repair shop and now the earliest will be Nov 5^th, Guy Fawkes Day in England so maybe I will let off a few “bangers” when I eventually get it back. For those of you who do not know who Guy Fawkes was, he, along with others, tried to blow up the British Houses of Parliament back in in 1605. England celebrates this date every year with bonfires and fireworks. If and when, I get the Jeep back, I will celebrate it with a Latte.  

I remember back in England when I was still a youth, marching into my home on November 5 to announce, “The Prince is alight”. Everyone looked at me with a blank stare and I had to explain that the bonfire built in the parking lot of the Prince of Wales, a local pub, was alight. The family just shrugged and went on with whatever they were doing so my particular announcement fell on deaf ears just as most of them usually did. Who listens to an 11-year-old kid anyway… 

We went out for a long walk this time taking a different trail we had not walked before. It was concrete most of the way so easy walking. One runner passed us but other than that, we had it to ourselves. It was fast walking except to cater to the whims of Miss Sandy, and I was hot and sweaty when we arrived back at Quatro. I sat for a while to cool off and the dogs found their sleeping places and zonked off. I did not feel like taking a nap and instead just sat there in the A/C before turning my attention to the blog. 

I caught up, writing of the most recent events and brought us up to date. Incidentally, we covered 2.5 miles for the day.

Written 10/21/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Saturday Day 45 10/22/202

For once, we got up at a reasonable hour and after the usual morning preparations, took that first walk around the park. We saw one other dog walking his Hooman and made sure to go in the opposite direction to avoid a barking confrontation from Sandy. I noticed that the owner was standing and looking at us, probably sizing up which direction we were going so I pointed away from them. He waved back and we both went on our way. The park was quiet, which is not surprising as with the exception of two other RV’s, all of the rest are the regular tenants, most of whom have jobs.  

It was a bit gusty with a strong wind outside and the many leaves and a lot of dust were swirling all over the place. As I watched, the leaves are blowing mainly to the North. This got me thinking that eventually, they must end up somewhere and considering the amount from just this park alone, someone else is going to have a big clean up job. At least, my small area is clean of them. I also realized that Nature, by design, does this on purpose and it is her way of redistributing the leaves which eventually rot and supply more sustenance to the soil. Nature turning a full circle. 

Back in the RV, I fixed a breakfast bowl from the freezer in an attempt to eat some of the frozen food as I have overpacked the unit and it is not freezing properly. I have got to learn to be more conservative and not plan so far ahead and stop buying on a whim. I shared the bowl with the dogs who probably enjoyed it more than I did. Food just does not taste that good anymore and is just a necessity. At least I can control my weight fairly easily, although it does nothing for the flab and lack of muscle. Incidentally, the ice cream which is in very tiny containers is now liquid, and I give a half a single serve container to each dog in the evening. They do not care that it is not ice cream but rather liquid cream and lap it up. 

Following breakfast, the dogs found their sleeping places and I settled down to read the news, most of which was very discouraging. I turned away from it to check emails but many of them were of the routine read and discard kind. There were a couple that needed my attention and a couple more from friends that are always welcome as it is nice to stay in touch with them.  

Goodness only knows, I have very few real friends left in this world. Most of that is my fault with my nomadic lifestyle. Plus, I have always been a bit of a loner, and a lot is due to changing interests and such. Even, back in the day, I had associates and acquaintances from my many interests, especially when I played football and some of them were also friends. We grew away from each other when I retired from playing as we had little else in common. Such is life. On the other hand, I had good neighbors when I owned the house and I still stay in touch with them. 

We have nothing planned for today except the usual “stay busy” sort of things, most of which are a part of living in an RV. With those out of the way, we harnessed up for an early walk. We started in the field and then cut through the neighborhoods houses to get to Cato Park Road which we crossed over and headed down the sidewalk to the other trail areas that we have discovered. Last time, we made a left turn and eventually walked around in a big loop bringing us back to where we started. 

This time, I turned in the other direction heading away from our last walk hoping that this would bring us out onto Hwy 71B. A couple of people on bikes passed going in the opposite direction and as I turned a corner, in the distance in front of me was a group of about a half dozen people. I could tell from the shopping carts they were pushing piled high with their stuff and their general appearance, they were homeless. Plus, they had two dogs on leashes of what appeared to be of the Pitbull variety. The people were probably harmless, but I was worried about the dogs. I was not about to take that chance and made a swift about turn heading back the way we had just come. Luckily for me, they went straight on and passed my turnoff. As the saying goes, “Discretion is the better part of valor”. 

We walked back to the campground with the occasional glance behind, just to be sure but they were nowhere in sight and heaving a huge sigh of relief when we stepped into Quatro. My fears were probably groundless but why tempt fate when there are other options? Altogether, we covered 2.5 miles for the day. 

We ended the day in the usual fashion with the evening meal, food for us all and watching the latest version of “Third Watch”, which has taken some interesting turns but has still way too many sex situations in it for my liking. The show is good enough without that being included. I am not a prude by any means but have yet to see the value of including bedroom scenes in an otherwise very good police series. Way too much detail. 

Written 10/22/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

As usual, after taking a shower and changing clothes for clean ones, we went out to wander around the park. There was no activity anywhere and the park was pretty empty. We only did one loop mainly because I had forgotten my phone… again and returned for the usual breakfast and coffee. 

I turned my attention to reading emails and catching up on world news, which was as usual, very depressing. There were another couple of accounts that needed updating to the new credit card which I took care of before deciding that it was a good day to do laundry. I do not know why I decided this as apart from the weekends when the working people do their laundry, any other day is a good day from my perspective. It comes down to how much laundry I have and do I have enough quarters. 

I gathered up the laundry bag and making sure I had detergents and quarters with me, jumped in the truck for the short journey over. It is always a guessing game as there is only one washer and one dryer, but I got lucky and neither machine was being used. I loaded out the wash making sure to put the quarters in slowly as Gerry had advised and then drove back to Quatro to wait for it to to be done. 

Thirty minutes later, I was back to load the washed clothes into the dryer which takes an hour for them to dry. My laundry needs are very simple as I usually only wear underpants, shorts, tee shirt and socks. Add to that the towels and such and every week or so, the bed sheets and that is the sum of nearly all my laundry, thank goodness. A simple life for a simple person. 

An hour later, I returned to fold the clean laundry and put it in my bag for the trip back to the RV where the dogs helped me to put it away in its respective places. Well, not actually help as to oversee that I did it right. They have the best job just supervising without doing any of the work. I could go for that. 

We harnessed up as a reward for all their help and went out for the afternoon walk. I had already decided to walk Cato Springs Road, which is the one that runs parallel to the campground. We have walked it a few times before. This time, I decided that we would walk it’s full length or at least, as far as we could go with a sidewalk.

We started by walking through the field and then taking the road through the sub-division as we have done a couple of times before. This took us to Cato Springs Road, and we turned away from the camp ground in the direction that the road ends in a tee junction. It was about a mile in disatnce and we could not get to the very end because we ran out of sidewalk. 

On the way back, by the bridge we had crossed before, there were two utility access manhole covers that were dragged open to one side. There were no visible signs of any work ongoing as if there had been, they would have been barricaded off.  I considered it a dangerous situation to anyone walking and not looking so I dragged them back into place. Better safe than sorry as it was an accident waiting to happen not once but twice. 

Feeling pleased that I was able to be of help to maybe prevent an accident, we continued on our way. We kept up a pretty good pace as we had already covered the ground once so the number of interesting smells was somewhat lessened. I decided that instead of cutting back through the field, we would continue up Cado Springs Road until it reaches Hwy 71B which would lead us back to the campground. The walk along 71B is a bit scary as in some places, the very narrow sidewalk is right next to the street with barely enough room for the dogs to walk side by side and cars and trucks whizzing by just a a couple of feet away. Altogether, we covered 2.5 miles for the day and that without walking in a Walmart’s store. 

Having made it back safely and I sat and caught up with the blog. We have no further plans for the evening except the usual food, drinks and watch the football on the English Premier League. 

Written 10/20/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

 Another late morning but again, it does not matter as we have no plans. We went out for that first walk of the day and just wandered around. Another big Class A towing a Jeep pulled out as we watched. Beautiful rig. Back at the RV, the outdoor couch and carpet are covered with leaves a couple inches thick. The trees overhead, except for one of them, are pretty bare. I guess, they are on their own individual timeline obviously, not the same for every tree. Nature’s way of distributing the pain both for the tree and for the Hooman that has to blow the leaves. I wonder? 

Last night, before going to bed, I decided to turn on the house heaters instead of the portables that I have been using as the temperature was forecast for the low 20’s overnight and I did not want any plumbing problems. By the morning when we went out, it had risen above freezing and I turned the heaters off again as there is no frost forecast for the next few days. Like I said before, I need to conserve propane and use alternative fuels as needed and anyway, the electricity that I use is included in my rent. 

I sat down to the usual emails none of which held any earth-shattering information before turning my attention to the blog. I am currently up to date with it, which is a good thing as I mentioned before, memory recall is getting harder and harder, a sure sign that I am getting old. What is frightening is that it does not matter how physically fit my body may be, if the brain goes, it’s all over. So far, for me, it is just forgetting small things. Oh well, age is one of those things that is both a blessing and a curse. Everyone wants to live to a ripe old age but at what cost? 

I remembered that the milk had turned when I went to make my morning Latte, and nothing tasted worse than a Latte made with sour milk. I know as I have tried it. I jumped in the car after promising the dogs I would not be very long and hit the nearest Walmart’s, one of the neighborhood kind. Not as big as the giants but it had everything I needed. No extras this time either from the list I had written. Proud of myself. There was a Starbucks just up the street and, on the way, home so it was almost a perfect trip. 

On the way back, I drove down the road that we had been walking on to see just how far it went. It comes to a Tee Junction leading goodness only knows where but from one end to the next is exactly a mile. Good to know as the next time I feel energetic, we will take that walk. Not today though. 

Back in the RV, I had the usual help from the dogs but as there were only three bags, I was able to manage by myself. With everything put away, I made the mistake of looking down only to see two sets of brown eyes giving me “the look”. We harnessed up and wandered around the park not meeting a single person or pet. The air still has a chill to it but there is no frost forecast overnight. Knowing this, I took the time to re-hook the water hose back up to Quatro, so we no longer are relying on our water tanks. I also used my small battery-operated blower to clear the leaves although that is almost a thankless task at least until they have all dropped. Hopefully, we will be long gone by then and someone else can keep the site clean. 

I could not think of anything else that needed my immediate attention and turned to the blog, catching up on today’s events. With that done, we went out for the final walk of the day and managed to cover 2 miles.  

The evening was spent in the usual way, television, food and a glass of wine. 

Written 10/19/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Again, we slept late even after going to bed at a respectable hour. It does not matter very much as we have no plans for today and come to that, not many other days either while we wait it out. It was much cooler outside as we wandered around the park dropping a bag of trash in the dumpster as we walked by and did a couple of circuits before returning for breakfast. The temperature is only supposed to reach the high 40’s today following the overnight freeze. 

I raised the front blinds this time to let in the sun to help warm the RV but even with that, had to run one of the portable heaters. Last night, I had two of them running all night. They are thermostatically controlled and very safe. Anything to save using the propane fueled central heaters at least until I find a park that has a Propane Filling service.  

I turned my attention to writing in the blog. I use Word to write the first drafts as it makes corrections and offers suggestions which I sometimes use. We each have our own style of writing and a computer driven program devoid of any feeling or personality, can only make a guess at what we are trying to say. Consequently, many of the suggestions are ignored. The only problem with that is the program is very persistent and takes every opportunity to offer those same suggestions over and over, going all the way back to the very first post. When I am using Word, instead of writing each day as a separate page, I like to combine them together as in a diary so that the different days and stays in each park are all kept together in one long continuous segment.  

Word offers suggestions as I write to spelling, vocabulary and phraseology much of which I use. Sometimes, I prefer my own style and ignore the suggestions. The only problem with that is that Word is very insistent that I use what it offers and will keep making those same corrections repeatedly. It is very hard to stay at 100% score because it does that. I think the program was designed to check single page(s) programs and not continuous ones as I am doing. I spent a frustrating hour making those same corrections over and over to reach a !00% score and never did achieve it. In the end I gave up and if my phraseology makes sense and there are no spelling mistakes, it will have to do. Probably, only English Majors, like my friend BJ, will notice and will bother to remind me… 

Both Sandy and Mikey were standing and giving me “The Look” which interpreted from dog means, “I gotta go, Dad”. I quickly dropped what I was doing, and we harnessed up and started walking after a false start because I had left the phone behind. My intention was a quick walk around the park, but the dogs had other ideas and dragged me out on the field. Mikey interacted with three other dogs that were on the other side of a sturdy picket fence, thank goodness. The interaction is made up of jumping on the fence and barking loudly, acting as ferociously as possible but knowing that the fence protected them from each other. All a part of the game. 

We moved on and instead of staying on the field, they led me out onto the roads outside and with gentle guidance from me, we walked through the residential area and then back out onto the road that we walked yesterday, the one with the very wide sidewalk, eventually arriving back at the RV Park. It was cool in the shade and the wind had a bite to it and I was glad of my jacket. It must be that I have no concept of distance as I always imagine that we walk much further than we do but so far, we have covered 1.2 miles with at least one more walk for the day to go. By my interior step clock, that should be at least 5 miles. 

I sat quietly for a while with the dogs on my lap and we stayed there with me stroking them. It was very soothing and peaceful until something from outside got Mikey’s attention and he jumped down. That aroused Sandy’s curiosity and she followed him and suddenly, my lap was empty, and I could feel their warmth, quickly disappearing. So, it was back to writing and working on a few pictures that I had taken over the past couple of days around the neighborhood. There is nothing like the feel of a living, breathing animal that trusts you enough to sleep quietly on your lap. Better yet with two of them. 

Later, we went out for that final walk of the day and of course, not much had changed between this walk and the earlier one. This time, we only walked the park for a couple of circuits before heading back indoors for the usual evening’s food and entertainment. We covered 1.6 miles for the day. 

Written 10/18/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

I gotta stop watching late night/early morning television as it was almost 10:00 am before I even awoke. Still, with nothing planned for the day, it really does not matter that much. We wandered around as we usually do but the park was quiet. The air is definitely cooler, and I had to wear a shirt over my T shirt to stay warm. Not quite jacket weather but it is on the way. There is a frost forecast for this evening/tomorrow morning and I will need to disconnect the water hose after putting water in the freshwater tank, enough to tide us over for a couple of days. This is the downside of camping and why so many campers like Texas and Florida and such. Anywhere to get away from the truly cold weather. 

We wandered around and again, the park was emptying out as the campers moved on to places unknown, at least to me.  We only saw one other camper and he was on his way out on his motorcycle and returned even before we completed our wandering around. He appears to be working on something mechanical as he had his tools out by the RV. 

Back in Quatro, I made breakfast for myself which I shared with the dogs before settling down to answer the many emails that I received, junk and otherwise. I look for ones from places like my Bank and a couple of credit card companies so that I can make the necessary adjustments to the payment information because of the scammers. From emails, it was writing time which usually takes a couple of hours depending on the previous day’s events and whether I am posting or working on pictures. 

I then turned my attention to writing a letter to a Government Agency in the UK to update the bank information to continue to receive the small deposits from my years of working over there before emigrating. The damn spammers again. With the information safely gathered and printed, I made my way to a Post Office to physically mail off the letter, a couple of miles away and then to the nearest Starbuck’s. What else? 

The drive home was uneventful, and I arrived back to two very excited dogs who were ready to take me for a walk. I harnessed them up and we took the road route that we had discovered, walking even further down the road until we reached a bridge, spanning a small stream. I took a few pictures, and we made our way back until we found the end of the RV Park field which brought us back to Quatro. Altogether, we covered almost 2 miles although it seemed like it was much further. 

Because of the freezing weather we have forecast for the next couple of days, I spent time putting water in the freshwater tank and turning on the pump before disconnecting and storing away the freshwater hose. This cold snap is only supposed to last a couple of days and as long as we are conservative in water use, we should be OK. The temperatures will go up through the day so I could reconnect everything to replenish the tanks if needed. 

The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion, the evening meal for us all, watching a football match and then relaxing with the latest episodes of Third Shift, hoping to get to bed a bit earlier. 

Written 10/17/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

We wandered around the park as we usually do and apart one person walking her dog and another man on the roof of his RV, that was all the activity that we saw. Back in the Quatro, I fixed breakfast and coffee and gave the dogs some of my breakfast sandwich. This appeased them enough for them to go to sleep in their favorite spots. 

Turning to emails, my attention was caught by one from one of my credit card companies claiming that the account was suspended. Remembering the events before when I answered one of these similar emails. I put this one on hold and went directly to the mentioned program logging in as I usually do. Sure enough, there is nothing on the website of any such account suspension and I believed the first email to be another spam attack and quickly removed it. You just cannot be too careful. Sneaky bastards. I hate spammers with a passion. 

The rest of the emails were nothing out of the ordinary and I quickly read or trashed them before moving on to the blog. I sat and wrote for a while and then posted the latest blog after adding pictures that I had previously worked on. Both dogs were giving me “the look” so we harnessed up and wandered around for a while. It has cooled off so much that now we try to walk in the sun and avoid the shade, opposite to even last week. Fall is here and there is a forecast of overnight frosts in a couple of days. All of a sudden, Texas excessive heat is starting to look good, and I cannot wait to get back there. Even the dogs have taken to sitting in the front window where it is warm. 

Following the walk, we adjourned to Quatro and sat outside listening to an Audiobook for about an hour and then went for yet another walk before returning to the RV to watch a soccer game. When it was over a couple of hours later, we went out for the third walk of the day which of course pleased the dogs immensely. 

The evening was spent in the usual fashion. The series that I am watching, “Third Shift” must have a different writer or director as the tone has changed. Where, in the early series, there was a lot of action from the Firefighters and Medics, now it has developed into more of the individual personalities and what happens in their lives. This includes a lot of sex scenes which I find unnecessary especially when you just know that the outcome is not going to be good. Some of the writing is so obvious and way too predictable that it is starting to take the enjoyment out of what was once a good watch. Probably a desperate move by the Directors to keep their ratings. From my perspective, it has failed although I will continue to watch it. Maybe, it will improve. 

Written 10/15/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Sunday Day 38 10/16/2022

It was almost 10:00 am before I even woke and quickly got out to shower and face the day. First thing was to take the dogs walking and we wandered around the park as we usually do. We had a very loud and very bright thunderstorm last night with some heavy rain. At one time, the RV literally shook when a powerful gust of wind, hit it. Our walking was restricted to the drier road areas of the park. Sandy, of course, wanted to do things her way and tried to follow her nose as she usually does which includes walking in the wet grass, but a few gentle tugs here and there, kept her on the dry road. Mikey, who has the longer fur, prefers to keep his feet dry and generally, walks on the road anyway as much as possible. Totally different story when we hit the grassy field, of course but we did not walk that this morning. 

It was quiet out with a couple of the RV’ers packing their rigs getting ready to move out. I stopped to talk to one older couple who were hooking up their Jeep using the same set up that I use only they had an added rock guard to protect their Jeep. I had not seen one before and stopped to chat to them about it. We walked on after wishing them, “Safe Travels”. The rest of the walk was uneventful, and we returned for the usual breakfast and coffee. Incidentally, it has cooled off enough that I left the outside door open using the screen door to keep the inside of the RV at a comfortable temperature. Frightening how quickly the seasons change especially as immobile as we are at the present time. 

The emails were the usual collection junk, spam and trash except for just a couple of them. I wish there was a way to control all the junk ones as many do not allow me to unsubscribe, so I did not have to deal with them daily. Some, it is possible to stop but a lot of the others are just plain unwanted once in a lifetime, invasion on my privacy. So frustrating. If I did not get the junk stuff, I would probably only get a half dozen worthwhile in my inbox. Boy, I wish. 

From there, it was time to keep up with the daily news which was made up of the usual helping of violence and worldwide threats. I have to search really hard to find something good and/or entertaining. I guess, the good stuff does not make for good news reporting. I wonder what difference it would make if only good things were reported, and the bad things ignored. At least, we would all feel a little better about waking up every day. I know, I know, you cannot sweep things under the carpet and just ignore them. 

The way I see it, with the advent of the Internet and the consequences that information is freely shared between all and sundry by the same, all and sundry, the world has degenerated into online chaos. The consequences are so great that Education has suffered, and kids no longer bother to learn from their teachers or come to that, learn at all but from the gadget that is their personal Bible and source of all information, both good and bad. They can choose what to believe, or not depending on the age, mood and point of view. Accordingly, the standards of Education have also dropped with some States choosing to ignore their own past history. It is not possible to change the past as what is done, is done so the answer in some Politicians mind is to change the rules accordingly, so that segment of History is ignored and not taught. 

Accordingly, the population in general is bombarded on all sides with the same information from the Parents all the way down to the kids each believing whatever suits them the most. Where once, this was God fearing peaceful country, it has now turned into a war zone with random acts of violence occurring daily. No longer are differences solved by discussion. Now it is shoot first and ask later. What a frightening future for us all and for this country as I do not see it ever changing. Time marches on and with it, all semblance of peaceful existence even with your neighbor. In the end, it will consume us all. 

With enough gloom and doom for the day, I turned my attention what to do for the rest of the time. Blog writing is a big part of who I am and what I do with my time and quite honestly, I would probably not know how to fill my day without it and all the accompanying things like the photos I take and work on in Photoshop. Unfortunately, I no longer go on long hikes with the accompanying stories and pictures. Neither do I own the ponds and fish that were a part of my blog life even up to a couple of years ago or report on the Pond Society meetings with the accompanying movies. So now, all I can write about is my current life of living in an RV, which from time to time, is very routine and to some, very boring to read which I understand. But, we all grow old, and I am no exception to that and so my life has changed as has my blog. It is now somewhat dull reporting of how my life is now. But, at least, I still have a life that I am capable of living and faculties still good enough to exercise in writing and for that I am grateful. 

I decided to go to Walmart’s as it is close by and I needed to return, a printer ink cartridge having bought the wrong one. Of course, it did not end with the printer ink as I was out of a few other things. Still, as this Walmart’s is only a couple of miles away from the campground and all things considered, it was a cheap run this time around. I found the closest Starbucks and again, my card would not work so I had to pay cash. Stupid card. I had already reloaded it, twice and it currently has $50.00 on it but something was not working right. The drive home was short and uneventful, and I arrived back to a very warm greeting. This time, as I only had three grocery bags, I did not need any help even though the dogs offered in their own way. 

By then, it was time to go out for an early walk, and we harnessed up. We hit Hwy 71B so as to make the left turn down the road that runs parallel to the campground. The last time we did this, it was in the opposite direction, field first and then neighborhood roads ending walking along the sidewalk of Hwy 71B back to the campground. I like this walk as not only is it further than we normally cover but walking on the concrete sidewalk is much easier than on the field or around the park. So far today, I have covered 2.4 miles with one more walk to go. 

The dogs settled down in their favorite spots and I sat down in front of the computer to catch up with today’s going on. My instant recall is no longer instant and if I do not stay up to date, then all is forgotten…I spent an hour or so writing and posting and then we went out again for another stroll around the park. One gentleman was working on his rig and Sandy, being the nosy female that she is, just had to go and make friends and we got to talking. He and his wife are serious Travellers and have covered a lot of miles. We got to talking about rigs and trucks and it wasn’t long before Sandy let us know that she was bored with this conversation and that we needed to carry on walking. We wandered around for a bit more before heading back to Quatro. There is a definite coolness to the air and there are overnight frosts forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. first of this winter. I managed to walk a total of 2.8 miles for the day.

The rest of the evening was spent on the usual fashion except that I got engrossed in the series I am watching and did not go to bed until 1:30 am. 
 

Written 10/16/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

The day started off in the usual fashion with the walk around the park followed by breakfast which was a Bean and Cheese Burrito. It was a large size one, so I shared it with the dogs who both, very happily, helped me to eat it. To be truthful, it was not particularly enjoyable, and I was glad to share it with them. Food just does not have the same taste or importance that it used to have, and I eat out of necessity and not for pleasure. Maybe, that accounts for the reason I have not put on much weight as I currently scale out at 165 pounds which is only a few pounds over when I was a very active soccer player. I am not a beer drinker and limit my alcohol consumption to one small glass of wine per evening. 

I went outside to look at the tree branches that are blowing against the roof and making really frightening noises. I was not concerned with the noise of course but what damage the branches may be doing to the roof. The RV does not have a ladder and mine is not long enough as it is only 12 feet, and it needs one at least 15 feet to safely get up on top of the rig. Then I had an idea and backed the truck up close to the RV but after surveying it, concluded that I could not get the truck close enough to be safe and dropped that idea which was to set up the ladder on the bed of the truck.  

Frustrated at my inability to do such a simple task, I put the tools away and called Gerry, the Park Superintendent who happened to be out of town. He does not have a repair person and neither does he have an alternative site that I can use but said he would talk to me when he gets back into town. With nothing left that I could do, I went back inside of Quatro to write, all the time listening to the branches as they scraped across the roof. Luckily, the wind changed direction and swung around 180 degrees which made the branches blow away from the roof for most of the time and hopefully limiting the amount of contact. 

For whatever reason, the park is filling up again. It would be interesting to know what brings people here if there are no football games or concerts going on. Needless to say, Gerry did not talk to me about the branch problem. I received a call from Henly RV Park asking me to confirm that I was coming in December 1 and at least we are all set in that department. That is assuming we get out of here on time. 

We went out for another walk and this time, for a change, we walked the roads in the residential area at the bottom end of the field making a big loop before returning to the field via a different road. Part is residential and the rest commercial but at least, the commercial part had a very wide sidewalk. The residential areas were very quiet with little to no traffic and easy walking. We managed to cover a total of 1.5 miles for the day and found a new place to walk. 

Back in the RV, I had a few chores and then watched a couple of soccer games. One was a World Cup Qualifier and the other was a European Cup Game. By then, it was time for another short walk before retiring to the RV for the evening. 

Written 10/11/2022. Read my other poems at https://pondblog2011.com

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Wednesday Day 34 10/12/2022

I awoke early as I knew that we had a Doggy Groomers appointment for Sandy at 10:00 am and it was a 30-minute drive to the shop. We wandered around before returning for a quick breakfast and left the RV around 9:30 am. Both dogs were really excited to get into the truck although Sandy needed a helping hand as there is not a step and the truck is high even for me. We both have short legs…I wonder whose are the shorter in comparison to the rest of our bodies. 

The drive in was short and uneventful, thanks to the map system on my phone. Mikey and I checked Sandy in, and she was too excited to realize we were leaving her. Mikey, incidentally, made the most of her absence by sitting on my lap for the entire trip home. It did not seem to bother him that we had left his friend behind. 

Around 1:00 pm. The phone rang and it was the groomers telling me that Sandy was ready for pickup. We had expected around 3:00 pm and I was very happy for Mikey and me to drive in to pick her up. She sure looks sharp with a short haircut all over. The drive back was uneventful which is the way I like it. 

Back in the RV, I settled down to write for a bit before venturing outside to drain the tanks. I think we have a problem in that department as they are not draining properly. I have a Macerator Pump installed in the RV but have never used one before. First thing was to get out the instruction manual and read up on it and it seemed straightforward enough after I figured out what to hook to what but when I turned it on, the Macerator hose started leaking all over the place. I shut it off and went looking for the duct tape which of course, I cannot find. 

While looking, a car pulled up and a pretty young thing got out and asked if I was Frank. I thought for a brief moment, that the Gods had smiled on me until she introduced herself as Catherine, the tree trimmer that Gerry had promised me. Coming back to earth, we chatted for a bit, and she dragged out a bag full of tools and asked about the ladder to get on top of the RV. Quatro does not have a built-in ladder, but I got my expanding one out and she climbed up to take a look. She asked me to hold the ladder and I was then in the embarrassing situation of having to look up at her as she climbed. Cute ass though and she looked good in jeans, but I quickly slapped myself to concentrate on the job at hand. Incidentally, when you hold a ladder, you must follow what the climber is doing to adjust if needed.  

I was in this position once before in England working on a job and the lady of the house locked her keys inside. I offered to get in the open upstairs window, but she insisted that she do the climbing. I was then in the embarrassing situation of holding a ladder for an overweight housewife wearing a short skirt and having to check on her all the way to the top. That was one I was glad when it was over. I was about 20 at the time and it left a bad impression. Another time, we had a 40 ft metal ladder almost fully extended and I was climbing it to rope it off for security when it started to slide along the metal gutter, it slipped off the end of the hose and fell between it and another house. I rode it down all the way and when it hit the ground, stepped off perfectly. One lucky SOB. 

Once she was on the roof, she spurned the offer of my battery operated chain saw for a hand held Sabre saw with a long blade and went to work. Fifteen or so minutes later, she was finished and between us, we picked up the branches and stacked them by the dumpster. I paid her for her services and asked several times if it was enough and she insisted it was. She said that she did not think the roof was damaged, but I need to get up there to check for myself. I was going to do it when she was gone but she had collapsed the ladder, so I put it away. I will check tomorrow.  

She drove off and I wandered over to check the mailbox to discover that my new replacement Social Security Card was there. I wonder why they are not a real laminated card instead of just a piece of paper. If all of the other credit/debit and other such cards can be plastic, why not a Social Security Card. No wonder I lost the last one. I then adjourned to the RV to continue with the blog. 

Later, we went out walking and then completed the evening in the usual way. 

Written 10/12/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com  

Even with watching the horrors of the evening before, I managed to drop off to sleep peacefully through the night waking up at a reasonable hour, for us…We went out for the first walk of the day just wandering around the park, changing directions as I spotted other dogs out walking. Gerry, the owner had his big mower out and was cutting the grass on the big field. The family with the kids were out and I stopped to talk to them as they prepared to move on. Apparently, they had locked the truck keys in the truck and as it was a rented truck from Hertz, were waiting for them to come over and unlock it. Three different RV came into the park, one of them parking next door to us. I think it is the same people that were here before, but I could be wrong. The driver, very expertly, backed the RV into the tight space between mine and the second one over with no jockeying. Straight in and quickly set up. Much better driver than me… 

After breakfast, shared with the dogs, I sat down to read emails and then write as I do. As usual, there were only a couple of emails that needed my attention, and I was quickly done with them before moving on to writing the blog to bring it up to date. I followed this by posting yesterday’s blog. I am having to post two days’ worth of blogs at a time to stay caught up otherwise, because of the weekend, I fall too many blogs behind and must listen to BJ complain about it. The good thing about her nagging is that it makes me stay on top of the blogging otherwise face a scheduling mess. That is only partially really the reason because if I do not write daily, I have a hard time recalling what happened. One of the many downfalls of growing old. 

I wrote another nonsense poem about driving the RV with Mikey at the controls thinking how nice it would be if they could contribute more to our way of life. Then again, they give me undivided love and attention which is more than I ever got from any of the women that I either married or dated over the years. Not that I am bitter as my effort was probably not worth much and some of us are destined to live alone. So, dogs and sometimes cats, fill the void although cats are naturally loners and not all of them require human company. Dogs and their Hooman’s, on the other hand, are made for each other. 

I continued to write for a while and all the time, Sandy was giving me, “The Look” which means she either had to “go” or just plain thought it was time that we went out walking. Whatever the reason, I harnessed them both up and away we went this time walking the field. The sun was comfortably warm but not hot and we wandered around without bothering to stay in the shade. There was not a lot of activity in the park, but I did get to say hello to a couple of other campers. 

We sat outside listening to an Audiobook for a while drinking a seltzer and eating a limited number of Potatoe chips. I know that they are not necessarily good for me but I gotta splurge sometimes or what is the sense of growing old? It is getting darker much sooner and it had cooled off considerably and we went back indoors for the rest of the evening. 

Written 10/09/2022. Read my other stories at https://pondblog2011.com 

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Monday
Day 33 10/10/202

I got up earlier than I normally do just not able to sleep anymore. Another reason was that it had cooled down in the RV, and I needed to turn up the small portable electric heater that I have, using it instead as auxiliary heat in place of the built in RV heating unit which uses propane. It will not suffice when the weather turns really cold although I do have a second one, I could use at the same time. Henly, where we are heading for the winter months does have a Propane Filling Station so we will probably use the house heaters when we get back there. We’ll see. 

We went out walking earlier than we normally do but the park was quiet. I chatted to Gerry, the owner for a bit. He was busy with things around the park, like trimming tree branches and then continuing where he left off yesterday with mowing the grass. There were a couple of people out and about walking their dogs but otherwise, the park was quiet. My Hispanic neighbors have disappeared again, and I have not seen them or their vehicles for a couple of days or nights. I wonder what sort of work schedule they have.  

Following the usual breakfast and coffee, I settled down to read and mostly discard the emails. Then I moved on to yesterday’s blog and completed it before transferring it to the web site. I did not post it as I mentioned earlier, have been pairing up the pages, posting two at a time to stay caught up. Today’s blog will complete this posting when it is finished. Even with double posting, I am still 5 days ahead much to my friend BJ’s annoyance. 

All the motorhomes have pulled out to places unknown. Two of them left at the same time, probably travelling together. Maybe, they are full timers? In any case, the park is very empty again and will stay that way until the next Razorbacks home game on Nov 5. Hopefully, we will be long gone by then as it is cooling down here. We need to get back to the comparatively warmer winters of the southern/central part of Texas. Of all the parks we have stayed at, this one is the emptiest of them all although, a couple of RV’s came in late in the afternoon. 

I spent over a hall hour on the phone talking to my Investment Agent and made a few changes to my portfolio. Like everything else in this world, my shares have lost money over the past year for various reasons but mainly due to Covid and what it has done to the World economy. At least, I still have stocks even if they have decreased in value. Now, all I got to do is hope I live long enough to see the economy rebound but I suppose that is a bit of a moot point because if I am dead and gone, I will not care although it would be nice for those, I leave behind to benefit. 

We took our final walkabout later in the afternoon after I had watched Man United play Everton. It was a good game and Everton gave United a real run for their money ending up on the losing end of a 2-1 score line.  As I watched, Christiano Ronaldo scored his 700 goal in all competitions becoming the first player ever to do that. At the age of 37, he can still play and has the physique to go along with it. A wonderful player. 

With the day drawing to a close, we adjourned to the RV for a meal and to watch more television. 

Written 10/09/2022. Read my other poems at https://pondblog2011.com