I decided in my usual way that today should be laundry day something always fun to do that even a person that hasn’t a clue can throw the clothes into the machine and then can hope they come out clean adding detergent and turning the dials choosing the time to make it worth while wait an hour and then walk over and transfer the clothes into the dryer add a sheet to make it smell nice something we do without thinking twice and after another hour has passed the journey over will be the last and folding the clothes so clean and neat and back in the bag and hit the street to make the walk back to my RV put clothes away just like before nice and clean and smelling fresh hoping that we passed the test except the only ones who care are two little dogs whose life I share who sleep on the bed one on each side clean covers smell nice our own scents to hide.
Today, we should be on the road heading for a new location but instead, we are here for at least another 3 weeks due to the Jeep repairs. Oh well, no one to blame except myself for my stupidity. Lessons learned but at some considerable cost both mentally and financially. Instead of driving out, we took our usual morning walk around the park. We did not meet any other dogs taking their owners out walking, whether they wanted to go or not, but we did get to see some unusual motorcyles from the large trailer we talked about yesterday.
I watched as they unloaded the motorcycles and took them for a short drive around the park. These bikes are different than most as all three have a very big front wheel although they appear to differ in size. They are slung low to the ground on the back end. Very unusual and the owners must be real enthusiasts to want one of these. Must be wealthy enough to afford them too as besides the bikes, their RV setup is not cheap. Incidentally, when they drove off with respective wives and/or girlfriends on the back, not one of them wore a helmet which apparently, here in Arkansas, is optional. In Texas, my base State,, it is mandatory that bikers and passengers wear one.
I had a motorbike back in England when I was about 20 or so years old and still young and foolish. Besides, it was all I could afford for transportation at that time. Mine was just a small Ambassador 250 cc twin and was great for getting me to work. Then one day, I hit a patch of wet leaves coming down a hill and crashed the bike and hurting my knee in the process. The company I worked for at that time, William Press and Sons, a pipeline company, was following with a truck full of Irish workers that were taking the same route home. They picked me up and threw me and the bike into the back and took me to my lodgings. I was off work for two weeks and to this day, my knee is out of line because of missing cartilage although it did not stop me from playing football of the English variety until I was 72. Incidentally, that was the end of my motorcycle career, and I bought my first car, a 1936 Austin 10. That car was the same age as I was but in England back in 1956, very few people drove new cars and the ones that still ran were driven forever. Probably changed now. Incidentally, I drove that car for a couple of years until one day, it was loaded with three of the same Irish workers and the motor blew up, quite literally putting a hole in the engine block. That was the end of that car, and I went on to buy another old but different one. The second of many through the years but you always remember your very first car.
This one is not mine but is the same model. Notice the steering wheel is on the “wrong” side. It even has a crank to start it in case of emergencies.
We continued our walk and ended up back in Quatro for breakfast and coffee before settling down in front of the computer for the usual morning news followed by emails and then blog writing. Pretty much the same routine every morning which is true of most of our lives. Same ‘ole same ‘ole every day which is the way I like it as I am very much a creature of habit.
I decided to go into town and do some grocery shopping. This time, instead of the huge Walmart’s I have been going to, I chose a local Walmart’s store which was much closer. I found this store using my phone’s map system as I usually do and did my shopping buying the necessities that I needed without any trouble.
I decided that I could use a Latte and asked the phone to find the closest Starbuck’s. Following the directions and before I realized it, I was in the University of Arkansas campus which is a driving mess. I finally found the coffee shop but as there was no parking or drive thru, I had to keep going. I gave up on drinking a Latte and asked the phone to map my way back to the RV park. This was easier said than done and I got to see a lot of the campus before I finally managed to escape. On the bright side, it was very pleasant to watch all the young female students, dressed in the briefest of shorts and shortest of halter tops as they scurried along all with somewhere to go. That is a strange campus with no apparent rhyme or reason to the layout. There probably is but not to me as I had no clue as to where I was or worse yet, where I was going. I finally got back onto the main street that I sort of recognized even if only by name and was soon back at the RV.
As usual, I was met by the dogs jumping up and down that Dad was home. I think that although they are pleased to see me, it is probably more in anticipation of going out walking that they are really excited over. I put the groceries away with their unwanted help and then harnessed them up. We wandered around the park staying in the park area as there were a couple of other dogs with their respective masters/mistress on both sides of the field and rather than start a conflict. It was easier to walk the park itself. After a couple of circuits, we went back to Quatro to sit and write.
We went out for one more short walk before adjourning back to the RV.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Saturday Day 31 10/08/2022
Farher and son or Mother and daught
I woke up really late and it was 10:30 am when I opened my eyes. I must have been tired as I had gone to bed the night before at 11:00 pm which is early for me after watching a couple of English Premier League football games. That was almost 12 hours of sleep. Totally unheard of.
The Hispanic workers had left early to go to work and although I heard their noisy trucks idling as they waited, this time, I had dropped back off to sleep. Noticing the time, I scurried around to get the dogs outside as they must have been crossing their legs while waiting for me. We went for a walk around the park greeting the people that we met. All the bikers were gone as it is Saturday and probably a big day at their Rally leaving their RV’s deserted.
There was one family of three small kids playing outside and one of the kids came over to make a fuss of Sandy. She wanted to pet Mikey too, but I would not let her as I do not trust Mikey to behave. He has a hard time protecting me from adults and any amount of what he perceives to be trouble, so goodness knows what he would see as a danger with the presence of a little kid. I did not want to take that chance and the look of disappointment on the little boy’s face was heartbreaking.
We continued our walk around the park picking up any loose trash that we found along the way before heading back to the RV for the usual breakfast. Luckily, the dumpster is close by the RV, so I did not have to carry my trash goodies very far. I found a perfectly good pair of sunglasses that someone had dropped and had to pause to think of what to do with them. In the end, I put them on the concrete step in front of the bathhouse figuring that if someone starts looking, they would be visible. Back in the RV, I made the usual coffee and breakfast.
I had bought some special treats for the dogs but accidentally, put them in the refrigerator so now must wait for them to warm up before handing them off. My dogs are very fussy eaters and just as fussy with any treats that I give them. If they do not like them, they leave them where they are and only if they are desperate, do they look at them again, usually when I am gone for whatever reason. They often hide them in the bed, and I am always uncovering something of theirs stored away for later use. Nothing like being prepared.
After breakfast, I did as I usually do checking the World news just in case something of major importance happened while I was asleep. Luckily, or maybe not, depending on your point of view, nothing had changed, and the World is still the usual screwed up place that is has become with the “normal” things that happen, like murder, rape, mob violence and general disorder and that was only in this country. I do not bother much with news from abroad as we have enough of our own problems to worry about. We are so messed up.
Disgusted and very disappointed with what I was reading although I should not be as it is the same-o, same-o every day, I turned to emails and was met with the usual array of companies trying to sell me things I do not need, and dating services who have no idea how old I am and that dating for me, is watching the days go by on a calendar as my life travels towards it’s inevitable end. Very occasionally, there is a real message from a friend or acquaintance and of those, I am always glad to read and respond. The problem with emails is that I must look at them all just in case there is that one important one in the group. Besides, that was how the scammers go to me to by me answering something I thought I recognized as legit. Emailers beware…
The weather here is now very pleasant even during the day when the sun is shining. There is a definite coolness in the air, a sure sign that we are well and truly into Fall. In the evening, when we are sitting around, I have to turn on a small space heater that I have to keep the temperature comfortable, and I leave it on through the night. It saves having to use the built in RV heaters that work off propane. This park does not have a propane supply tank to replenish the ones in the RV. It is not really cold but cool enough to require some form of heat just to take the chill off. I do have to turn the A/C units thermostats up otherwise they come on to counteract the heaters. We still need the A/C through the day so I have to turn them back down to the required temperature every morning.
We have not had any rain in the entire time we have been here which is now a full month and although everything is still very green, there are visible signs of fall as some of the trees are starting to change color and the leaves are beginning to drop. Like I said before, I do not want to be here in the winter. I hate freezing weather and snow which is the reason that I left New York State in the first place. That and the opportunity of a better job. So many years ago, and so much water under the bridge.
We went out for the final walk of the day and wandered around the park and the field. Other people were walking their dogs and I made sure that our paths did not cross by taking a different route. Back in the RV, I fixed us our evening meal and then settled down in front of the TV to watch Brighton lose to Spurs, 1-0. It was a good game and my Great, Great Grandson, Solly March, played well. I wish him luck for making the big time and through him, am living my dream.
The show that I am currently watching, Third Watch, which is about a Firefighting, Rescue and Ambulance service in New York City, aired a program dedicated to the 9/11 Twin Tower disaster based on the same groups participation and the events that happened. It was a very moving piece as the survivors of that group spoke of their experiences and of their fellows that did not make it. I watched and felt so sad for not only their loss but of the other 6000 regular working people that also did not survive. What a cowardly attack to take the lives of ordinary civilians. Enough cannot be said against those murderous thugs.
I turned off the TV with a feeling of relief at watching those horrors and it took a while before I was able to drop off to sleep.
I awoke about 7:00 am to the sound of my neighbor’s truck starting for work and could not drop back off to sleep. I lay there for a bit thinking of what I still needed to do to bring our finances back to some semblance of normalcy because of changing bank account numbers due to the scammers. Deciding that I could not resolve very much just by thinking about it, I crawled out of bed and hit the bathroom. We then went out for the first walk of the day just wandering around. The park is still pretty empty with just the addition of 3 large motor homes and two RV’s. There were a couple of guys that were polishing their motorcycles I guess to take part in the rally in Rogers that is happening this weekend. I complemented them on the shine, and they acknowledged with a wave.
Back in Quatro, we went through the usual breakfast routine and this time, instead of microwaving one beef taco, I did two and then, ate one and gave bits and pieces of the other one to the dogs who enjoyed the surprise breakfast. We have nothing planned other than straightening out the automated payment messes.
I decided that I should do a load of laundry and packed the laundry bag and making sure that I had quarters and detergent, headed over the washroom. There is only one washer and dryer, so it is a bit of a gamble knowing it they are in use or not. I figured with today a workday for the few permanent residents and the others probable at the motorcycle meet in Rogers, they should both be available. True enough as I was the only one doing laundry. I dumped the clothes in the washer and added detergent and drove back to the RV. The wash only takes 30 minutes, so I was quickly back to put the clothes in the dryer which takes an hour. This time, I made sure to increase the heat, so I do not have to spread damp clothes all over the RV to finish off the drying like I did last time.
With the laundry out of the way and put back into the respective drawers and closets, we went out for another walk, this time, walking the field to get in the extra distance. One of the new campers had a couple of dogs out with her and was playing ball with one of them. The dog brought the ball back every time, looking for more. The other dog was still on its leash and was not a bit interested in joining in. My dogs looked on, but I do not know if it was envy or the good old fashioned, “Look, another dog, let’s get ‘em”. Probably the latter especially in Mikey’s case as any other dog is a threat and he needs to guard me from it. Sandy would end up making friends as she usually does although, she can stand up for herself if she needs to. But, comparatively speaking, they are both small dogs and would not do well in a fight against any bigger dog. Incidentally, I could not throw a ball if I tried which is another reason, we do not play fetch. Yesterday, my local squirrel decided to tap dance on my roof and kicked up an almighty racket enough to get me out the door and try to throw rocks at it. An old shoulder injury flared up and I hurt myself and the rocks bounced 10 feet away and nowhere near the damn squirrel. I swear I heard the thing laughing at me under its breath. I grabbed my shoulder as it hurt and decided that the squirrel had won this encounter.
Back in Quatro, I wrote for a bit and then listened to an Audiobook before going out for the last walk of the day. On our return, we sat outside and continued to listen the Audiobook until it was getting dark, and we adjourned back indoors for the evening. The series I am currently watching, “Third Watch”, developed an interesting turn and it was almost 1:00 am before we went to bed. It does not really matter as we have nothing planned for the day.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Thursday Day 29 10/06/2022
45ft of RV and 25ft of trailer. A lot to drive around.
Even with the late night/early morning, I got up at a reasonable hour and we went out walking. Fifty yards out, I realized that I had left my phone in the RV, again, and we did a quick about turn to rescue it. I like to keep it with me not that I am expecting any calls as I do not get or make very many nowadays. Those I do get are usually spam and are quickly trashed. No, apart from keeping track of the number of steps that we walk, I should always carry it just in case something happens that I need to call for help. You never know.
We continued walking and saw the same two dogs walking and playing ball again. Obviously from one of the new RV’s that have come in. I always change direction if there is a chance of a confrontation to avoid it which we did in this case. We continued wandering around with me trying hard to get Sandy’s attention to the way ahead and not the dogs behind.
Back in the RV, I turned my attention to emptying the tanks as the bathroom sink had given me a reminder it was due. The reminder is the water backing up in that sink and it not draining. It is a simple process to drain the tanks although, I fear there is a build up somewhere as the tanks do not gush out as they should but drain out very slowly. Not a topic that one usually discusses in public, but it is an important part of an RV’ers life. In a house, you flush the toilet or empty the sink and do not give it another thought. In an RV, everything has consequences. Even the electricity when hooked up at a campground, is prone to tripping breakers if too many appliances are used at the same time especially if they are on the same circuit. Usually, it is just a case of finding the GFI breaker (which stands for Ground Fault Interrupter} inside the RV and resetting it, a simple process.
I went to the emails and took care them in the usual way before turning my attention to the blog and caught up with yesterday’s writing and started on todays. We have nothing planned for the day which is one of those with no place to go and not much to do. We would not have stayed here in this park for so long if the Jeep repair was complete but until it is, we have no choice. I am not sure where we are with the RV repairs.
I spent more time online trying to contact and change the deposits to my banking account which only added to my frustration. Things that should be simple are proving to be so difficult. They are asking for information that I have no clue as these accounts were set up 20 years ago. I fussed with this for a while until frustration drove me outside to walk the dogs some more. They did not mind one bit and I soon walked off my bad feelings.
I discovered some interesting sights as we wandered around. First was the appearance of a big Class A that was towing a matching trailer which was almost as big. I estimated the combined lengths to be around 65-70 feet long. That is a lot of vehicle to drive down the highway and I take my hat off to the brave man (or woman) who is at the wheel. One thing is certain when they reach a campground and that is, no back in sites. The trailer is used to house the three motorcycles and is also a workshop. Quite the setup. And I worry about towing a small Jeep???
We continued with the walk before returning to the RV for the evening meal and television.
I watched the TV until after midnight for whatever reason but still managed to get up at a reasonable hour, for us that is. Following the usual morning ablutions, we went out for a walk around a very empty park. Even the people that pulled in yesterday in a big Class A are hooked up and ready to go. It would be nice to know theirs and others destinations just out of curiosity. That will not happen though as I am not interested in their private lives, thank goodness.
We had the usual breakfast and coffee with the dogs’ eyes glued to my bacon sandwich and not twitching a muscle. That is until each got a tiny piece which disappeared in a second and then back to more staring. Dogs, that is why we love them so much. We have nothing planned except to do more work on the bank accounts to try to get things sorted about credit card payments and such all because I had to change accounts numbers due to the spammers. Such a hassle and not something you think about until it must be taken care of. We get very comfortable in the way we do things and are not aware of them until they no longer happen according to plan.
I answered a couple of emails and trashed the rest before settling down to write in the blog. I then spent the next couple of hours getting even more frustrated as I tried to straighten out the bank deposit problems caused by the spammers. I think, I may have one of them taken care of but the other two are proving to be difficult. It is very tough dealing with Government entities both online and on the phone. Government Bureaucracy and all of that. It did give me a chance to go through the files in the small cabinet that I have although, as they are totally disorganized, just added to the frustration. Anything considered important enough to keep is filed in the nearest file folder in no sorted order.
We went out walking to ease my frustrations and to stop Sandy from giving me, “the look” which shows that she thinks it’s time we went out. Mikey is much better about it and if he starts to be bug, then he really does need to “go”. A couple more RV’s have come in and parked on the lower end of the park. We walked around the field and managed to get in our required mile plus a bit. It is very pleasant out and almost on the chilly side when walking in the shade.
When we got back, I had some things I needed to do and then sat and caught up on the blog before we went out one more time for another short walk around the park.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Tuesday Day 27 10/04/2022
I slept very soundly and awoke at the usual time and jumping into the shower to complete the waking up process. We went out walking as we normally do and wandered around a very empty park. I counted 15 RV’s still here although there will be more on game days. This park holds at least 70 RV’s and Gerry did say that this is the first year that he is closing for the winter except for the very few regulars that are here full time.
We hope to be long gone before then although the news I received this morning has pushed the Jeep back to Oct 26, which means staying here at least another 3 weeks, darn it. I sure did ruin this trip. I stopped by the Office and worked it out with Gerry and paid him. We are now booked here through 10/28 and hope the Jeep is repaired by then.
I decided to go into town as I had a few things to take care of. The first stop was at the Social Security office to get a new Social Security card to replace the one I lost a few years ago. Turns out, that I was not registered as a citizen, so it was a good job that I brought in my Naturalization certificate to prove that I was. I became a citizen in 1976, 10 years after I arrived in this country. We got it straightened out and I have a new card on the way.
From there, I looked up the nearest Dog Groomers and after I arrived, made an appointment for Sandy for next Wednesday. Wait until I tell her about that. She will hate me for it. The next stop was a haircut for me just so that Sandy will not feel alone. I found a place by using my phone and walked in and sat down as I was the only one in the shop. The hairdresser was a very tall and well-built Hispanic who did not look the part at all. Seemed more like he should be doing something different with all those muscles. There was a huge TV attached to the wall, luckily off to one side but it was blaring Hispanic music of all kinds accompanied by very acrobatic men and women cavorting all over the place.. I had taken out my hearing aids so for me, the sound was muted, thank goodness. Sometimes, it helps to be a bit hard of hearing. The guy did a very good job on my hair though and this time, I went back to having it shorter instead of the longer look I have had for the last couple of times. Maybe the difference between a male stylist versus two different women that I have had the last two haircuts. They used scissors only and he used electric clippers and then scissors to do the fine tuning. Incidentally, both of those haircuts were in the Salons found inside of Walmart’s and this one was in it’s own building.
I paid him and tipped him handsomely and went on my way. I passed a Walmart’s but could not think of anything that I needed that could not wait and then drove on to the Hertz Rent-a-Car where I have rented the truck from. I extended my rental through October 25 which is when I hope to get the Jeep back. With that out of the way, the next stop was obviously Starbucks for the Latte to go with me on the drive home. That trip was uneventful although I had a Sherriff’s car pull alongside and glanced down to check my speed. He was not interested in me, and I was below the speed limit anyway. Still, funny what your first reactions are.
Back in the RV after calming down two excited little dogs and with no groceries to put away, we went out for a walk around the park. There are several different RV’s that have come in for a motor cyclists rally this weekend although it is in Rogers, 30 odd miles away where we last stayed. We wandered around for a bit before returning to sit and write in the blog.
We went out for one more walk in the early evening before adjourning inside of Quatro.
I slept well, not exactly the sleep of the innocent as I am long past that but close enough and got up at a reasonable hour, for us. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, we went out for the morning walk around the park, which incidentally, is full again with RV’s, all sporting something in red, the Razorbacks colors. Many were sitting outside talking with family and friends and eating breakfast. A couple were playing a game which comprised of tossing weighted bags at a board 20 feet away trying to get the bag either into the hole for 3 points or onto the board for 1 point.
Several had dogs and Sandy just had to go and either make friends or instead, growl at them. She also made friends with many of the RV owners. Mikey was hiding behind me, as usual. We wandered around greeting new people as we met them and came back to the guy we had met yesterday and chatted for a while before moving on with the walk.
Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast making sure the dogs got some of the bacon sandwich and then did a couple of maintenance chores before settling down for the emails, none of which were important. I had already caught up with the day’s news as depressing as it is. I felt great sorrow and depression at the state of this country and the rest of the World. We really are going to hell in a handbag as the saying goes.
I was reading yesterday about the current situation in the Armed Forces, which apparently are down in numbers. The article went on to say that so many of the recruits that apply are either overweight, mentally disturbed and unstable and a risk to themselves and others and are turned down. These are the next generation of this country and somehow, it does not surprise me. I have only got to look around when I am in Walmart’s for instance and when the occasional slim woman or guy walks by, they stand out amongst the fat and grossly overweight people of both sexes. Even many of the younger kids are the same way. Of course, I have no idea of their mental state but if the two are connected…
I wonder what makes a person allow themselves to get like that. Too much food and drink and too little activity is a big part of it. Mentally, the television and easy access to the internet and the junk on it is a lot that drives people as they are ready to believe anything they read especially if it is in line with their thinking. I have mentioned it before but like the Roman Empire and all the other great civilizations, sooner or later they all implode, and we are going in the same direction.
I continued to write and reminded myself that I do have some serious business to take care of. With the scammers forcing the bank to change account numbers, many of the contributions and automatic payments will not go through and I need to make a lot of changes to the accounts. It will require a lot of research on my part to find each account and reset up the payments as some of them have been there for years. I worked on some of the accounts but as today is Saturday, could not contact several of them so in the end, gave it up to wait for a weekday. What a bloody hassle.
I checked the mailbox to the park and my new Debit card has arrived. We were on our way out walking and I stuffed it in my pocket to activate it after we return. We wandered around and walked the circumference of the field. On our way back, Sandy just had to visit the other couple of dogs that were outside with their owners, and we chatted for a bit before continuing.
Arriving back at Quatro, I went through the motions of activating the card which proved much more difficult than I had expected and needed the service of 3 different operators as we got cut off twice. Finally, we got it right and now I have an active debit card but with a different pin number. Something else to remember. Bloody scammers…
I sat and wrote for a while and then we went out for one more walk of the day before adjourning back to the RV for the evening.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Sunday Day 25 10/02/2022
A few days later, busy again for Game Day.
Our first walk was as expected as many of the RV’s had either already left or were leaving. I chatted to a couple of them, and one wished me “Safe travels home”. I thanked him and did not tell he that we are here for at least two more weeks depending on the Jeep repair. Heck, he may even be back before I leave depending on the next home game.
We wandered around and I noticed that my immediate neighbor to my left has pulled out. He was a long termer, and I did not hear him with his preparations to leave. Not surprising as I do not sleep with my hearing aids in and although, not totally deaf, my hearing is restricted somewhat.
Back in Quatro, I fixed my own breakfast, a couple of small meat patties each on a biscuit and shared it with the dogs. That is, if you can call tiny handouts, sharing and then turned my attention to emails and as usual, trashing most of them. There were a couple that needed my attention because with the change of bank accounts, the original automatic payments that I have set up, are no longer working. My plan is to wait to receive an email from whoever I owe money to and then reset the payments to the new account. I tried to get ahead of the game but some of these automatic payments were set up years ago and finding those accounts is difficult. I decided that when the vendor does not get his money on time, he will quickly contact me, and I can reset the payment method then. What a pain.
I turned my attention to the blog jotting down the most recent events and posting the one I wrote yesterday and the day before. It looks like I am getting ahead too far and will need to start doubling up again to bring the posts closer to the current date. Just doubling Saturday and Sunday apparently, is not enough.
I decided against my better principles to watch Man City play Man United, one of the teams that I support, in a local derby played at the Man City ground. City played very well and at half time, were 4-0 up and most of the Man U supporters walked out in their hundreds. The game ended 6-3 in favor of City. They showed pictures of Sir Alex Ferguson, the famous Man U manager from old sitting in the stands. He managed for 27 years and won just about everything there was to win before retiring. Sadly, the team has never been the same and has had 7 Managers since then counting the present one who, between them, have not been able to reproduce only a few of his accomplishments.
The other team that I follow is Brighton and Hove Albion and is the one that my Great, Great Grandson, Solly March, plays on. I watched them yesterday and they managed to draw with the mighty Liverpool also one of the top teams. Incidentally, Brighton is above Liverpool in the English Premier League, and both are above Manchester United. The season has only just started and only 7 games have been played out of 38 so there is a long way to go. Even so, early form is generally a good indicator of what the season might look like. Incidentally, the season runs generally for 10 months what with the many Cups and other competitions.
Following the game, we went out for a walk around the park staying mostly in the shaded areas. The park is virtually empty with just 9 RVs on the one side that are mostly long termers and the little cluster in the area we are located which lost one this morning. The remaining 8 appear to be rented housing for the Hispanic workers. I am not sure when we can pull out as it all depends on the Jeep repair but no earlier than October 14. Then, I must worry about the repairs to Quatro although, quite honestly, I have no idea of that status.
We wandered around and a Class A pulled in followed by a Jeep driven by a young lady. They drove around the park looking at the open sites before choosing the one with the only remaining bit of shade. Must be, they were given permission by Jerry to just, “choose a site”. We all like shady campsites as RV’s are not renowned for their insulation properties and if they are a Class A with big front windows, then shade is of the upmost importance.
We returned to the RV, and I sat and wrote for a while playing catch up before heading out of the door for one last walkabout.
As usual, we went out and strolled around the park enjoying the cool weather. The air has a snap to it that Fall tends to bring with the onset of the coming Winter season. Things are definitely cooling down as we move towards the end of the year, and we are at least 10 degrees cooler than my friend B.J. in Texas. We are still on hold as we wait for the Jeep to be repaired and will not be moving for at least a couple more weeks.
On our return to Quatro, as usual, I fixed breakfast and fed the dogs some tidbits to keep them occupied and then sat in front of the computer for the usual morning experience of emails and then blog writing. For some reason, after losing the poem yesterday, the Word program is giving me trouble while I write as it keeps trying to make corrections. It is getting very frustrating as I fiddle around trying this and that in the hopes of getting it back to work properly. I like to write in Word as it normally recommends the needed corrections as we go along although I do not necessarily go along with many of the suggestions as I have my own style of writing. It is the same program that lost my poem yesterday which it is supposed to save automatically.
I decided that I should go to Walmart’s and stock up the fridge as we have eaten a lot of the food in there. I bought a roasted chicken last time I was out a few days ago and needed salad stuff to go along with it as that is my way of eating it. The dogs love it when I do get one as they get the skin which to them is a mighty tasty snack. I usually cut it up into tiny pieces and sprinkle it on their regular dog meat which incidentally, they only eat when they are hungry. Fussy dogs…
This Walmart’s is one of the medium sized ones, but I can still rack up my walking miles as I wander around. I bought everything I needed and was very good as I did not add to the list, well maybe just a little bit. The cost of groceries for me as a single individual that does not eat extravagantly is steadily rising. It must be tough for those with any sized family at all. My average bill for just the staples and a couple of bottles of cheap wine is now around $200.00. I see shoppers with baskets that are piled high, so goodness knows what they are spending or how long the groceries last.
I found the nearest Starbucks and bought a Latte to drink on the way home and the drive took about 15 minutes. I was met by the dogs who as usual, helped with the groceries. That is, if you can call sniffing each bag, helping. My freezer is full, so it is time to start eating some of the food in there, mostly breakfast stuff and of course, ice cream.
We went out walking after waiting for Sandy to demolish one of the chewies that I gave them when I got back. Actually, it was Mikey’s chewy that she had stolen from him when he wasn’t looking. When she was done, we went out walking and I noticed the park was pretty full from when I left. The Razorbacks have a home game tomorrow which would account for it. Come Sunday, everyone will be gone…
Back in Quatro, I decided to catch up on the blog while things are still fresh in my mind. I have discovered repercussions from the scammers, as several of my charge accounts have been frozen since we have changed bank account numbers. Now, I will need to contact those accounts and give them the new information. What a bloody drag. I hope the scammers rot in hell. I wrote for a while and then we went out for another short walkabout.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
I sat here thinking of my life as the years go flying by of time I have spent without a wife years ago when the last said goodbye I am a batchelor through and through thirty years of living alone I do not have the time to woo nor the need of a woman in my home I can manage my own life cook and clean and household chores and I can do without the strife my own decisions to the fore for company I have my dogs who never ever get mad or sore and love me for what I am not perfect but this they ignore they never get enough of my love and I cherish what they give to me but more than that like from above we are each others destiny they are my companions in this life and so I take care of them in return we have no strife together until the very end their lives are short as we all know they do not live for very long but then again I am old and mellow as I too am ending my song I plan to make the very most of the time that we have left and I hope that they go first even though I will feel real sad losing them will be the worst my two little friends our lives entwined sharing the passing of our time.
We got up at a reasonable hour, for us and after the usual morning ablutions, went out for the first walk of the day mostly just around the park. There was very little activity as the working people were already doing their thing and no one else was out and about.
Incidentally, the Hispanic workers are back in the RVs around me after having been gone for a few days. They have replaced the crashed truck with a different one that is in good condition and actually runs although all they ever seem to do is start it up and maybe take it for a short spin before parking it again. They no longer have the strange bike that I had seen them with earlier so maybe they traded that and the crashed truck for the new one? I can always tell when it is morning as I hear their work vehicles start up. What is really annoying is that they carpool and the trucks idle for a while as they wait for each other. If I was smart, I would get up but as it is around 7:00 am, it is way too early, and I usually roll over and try to go back to sleep until what I call that reasonable hour to crawl out. Oh, the joys of being a non working man…
The walk was no different than any others and we just wandered around before returning to the RV for the usual breakfast and coffee. I turned my attention to emails and read the few that I have in my inbox. As usual, only a couple were important, another couple were suspicious and quickly discarded and the rest were trashed. If I did not get junk mail, my inbox would probably only hold maybe 5 emails a day which would be fine by me…
I turned my attention to the blog and completed and then posted the one from yesterday before turning to the latest one for today. I wrote for a while and decided that as it was nice and cool out, even with the sun shining bright, it was time to go out for another walk, this time we did walk the field staying on the shady side. When we got back, I debated as to sitting outside but sun was still shining on both the wicker couch and the folding chair with no place to move it into the shade. Instead, I opted to sit indoors and write for a bit.
I wrote a poem which I thought was pretty good, all about my little dogs but when I saved it, somehow, it disappeared off the screen never to be found again. No idea what happened but it is gone. Shame as I really liked it and of course, cannot remember a single word that I wrote.
Disgusted with my inability to retrieve the poem, we went out walking so that I could lose my frustrations. We wandered around here and there with no fixed direction depending on the whims of Miss Sandy. Mikey and I are both very well trained and wander along behind her wherever she takes us. Of course, if there is any danger at all, I take over. Back in the RV, we spent the evening in the usual way.
I slept very well and awoke around 9:00 am rolling out to greet the day. After a quick shower, we went out walking the park. The owner that had the flood yesterday was sitting outside and I asked him if he had any damage. He responded that it was minimal mostly just mopping up water and thanked me for turning off his faucet, which I had mentioned that I had done after noticing the overflow. We chatted for a while and then continued our walk. Incidentally, he too is an older gentleman like me, so we have that in common. We wandered around on the roads inside the park and walked around them. I wanted to see how far we walked by just staying on the roads instead of walking the field and it works out to a half mile. Incidentally, Sandy could not understand why we did not walk the field and kept pulling and tugging trying to get me to change directions to where she wanted to go. Normally, we more or less do as she dictates but this time, I was the boss, and we went in my direction.
Back inside, I had breakfast and the all-important coffee before settling down in front of the computer. As usual, there was only the odd email worth reading or following up on and the rest were trashed. The phone rang and I did not recognize the number and even though it did not give me a spam warning, I ignored it. I do not trust anyone anymore and if it is important, they can leave me a message. I turned my attention to the blog and started writing about the recent past events. I wish I could write about the future as I would like it to shape out. Then, the world would really be a much nicer place. But…
There was some business, mostly money and bank related that I needed to take care of and spent time on that before turning to the blog to catch up on my writing and with that out of the way, looked around for anything else that needed my attention. Finding none, I closed the computer and as both dogs had been bugging me, we went out for a walk, much earlier than we normally do. We covered the park and the field this time. It was cool enough that we did not need to walk in the shade and wandered around all over the place.
When we returned, I sat outside listening to a continuation of the same story that had kept me occupied these past few days accompanied by a Seltzer and a bag of chips but as there was not much shade and I was sitting in the direct sun, went back inside and continued listening in there for a couple of hours. It was very relaxing to sit and listen and keep the other thoughts away.
We went out for yet another walk and managed to cover 1.5 miles for the day, pretty good by our standards. Gone are the days of long hikes on rough trails climbing up and down rocky paths. Nowadays, I stumble if the grass is too long or if the ground is a little uneven or maybe just a hidden depression.
Back indoors, we did the usual evening thing of food all around and then watched the television.
It was cold enough that we had to put the heat on overnight, but I changed it back to A/C in the morning after we got up. This park is not equipped to supply Propane which means that when we run out, we either travel or maybe can get a delivery. This RV is not equipped with electric heaters although I do have portable ones I can use.
It was tough to get out of bed as it was so warm and snuggly along with the dogs who were equally as reluctant to leave. But needs must and we crawled out to take that first walk of the day. It was very pleasant walking and we just meandered around going wherever the dogs wanted to go. I was not in any hurry because the temperatures were so mild. We eventually arrived back at Quatro, and I ate breakfast. I think I already mentioned many times, that I have given up feeding the dogs in the morning as they turn their joint noses up at the canned food probably because it does not have chicken added to it. They always have hard food available which they eat occasionally. Mikey especially when he gets excited at something he sees out of the big front window. Then he races backwards and forwards from the window to the hard food and back again talking and scrunching under his breath the whole time. Funny to watch.
The spammers have started calling and I have blocked their numbers. I do not want to go through that again. With breakfast and coffee out of the way, I turned my attention to my ATT booster which was not working. Not being a technical whiz, I had to do some research and discovered that I needed to connect to the new banking accounts. After fiddling around and a lot of mumbling under my breath, I finally got the NetGear unit working again and now we are connected to ATT once more. This is a stronger signal than the Wi-Fi at the park which is a public service available to all campers and as most of them are, not very reliable.
I am caught up with the blog and the most recent postings after having straightened out a scheduling mess that I created. I get the date and the posting numbers mixed up and so, post in the wrong order. I worked on things around the RV although it is pretty trouble free in terms of daily maintenance. Different story if something major breaks, quits working or just plain goes wrong.
We went out for another walk just wandering around. We came upon a small RV that had water pouring out of it and no one home. I shut off the water and called the office to get them to call the owners and make them aware of the situation. Brings back memories of me leaving a faucet running and the grey tank filled up and overflowed through the shower drain. I too, had water all over the floor but was able to mop it up without it causing any damage. Another time, after one of our moves, I was sitting at the table and suddenly, a stream of water flowed past my feet. It was coming from the shower which had filled up the grey tank and then the shower floor before running out onto the RV floor. We had just set up and what had happened was that the Shampoo bottle had fallen off from its place while we were travelling and knocked open one of the faucet handles. This did not matter while we were not connected to city water but the minute I set up and connected, it started to flow and with me not noticing, quickly filled up the tanks and then flowed onto the floor. Lesson learned as now I make sure that the shampoo bottle is on the shower floor when we travel, and I always check the shower after I hook up at the new site. Live and learn.
Every camper has stories like these. It is all a part of the great adventure and although worrying and maybe costly at the time, is stored away in our brains and we make sure that it does not happen again. That does not mean that things do not go wrong. Of course, they do but the things that are preventable are all filed away in our memories and hopefully recalled as needed. If you think about it, driving or towing any RV is a bit like driving through a tornado without the wind. Things are moved and jostled around all the time the RV is in motion. That is why there is a lot of preparation work before actually moving the rig, storing stuff away in different places in the hope to lessen the movement. That also includes the storage areas under the units as that stuff is also on the move and I sometimes hear thing go Klunk below decks as we are travelling.
We finished our walkabout and returned back to Quatro and listened to an Audiobook sitting outside which was very pleasant. We sat there for an hour or so before adjourning back indoors for the rest of the evening.
It got very cold in the night with the temperature dropping into the mid 40’s. I thought about getting up and changing the thermostat to heat but cuddled up with the dogs instead and we kept each other warm. It was even chillier when I crawled out in the morning, and I quickly shaved and put on some clothes. We went out walking and it was very pleasant outside. The sun was shining but it was not hot at all, so we wandered the field instead of staying in the shade as we normally do. We passed one gentleman who was emptying his tanks but other than that, all the working people are doing just that and the rest of us, doing what we each do.
Following breakfast and coffee, I sat and worked on emails and then the blog. We have nothing planned and hopefully, it will be a quiet day as we have had enough excitement and worry to last a lifetime. I received a call from my Stepdaughter, Catherine, who lives in Fort Plain, New York, the town we settled in when we first came over and we had a long conversation catching up on our respective lives. It was nice to hear from her as she is a wealth of family information both here in the US and over in England.
I wish we were travelling more and were not stuck here at this campsite waiting for the Jeep to be repaired. I feel like we are wasting time and not getting to see much of the country. This is an OK campground and is perfectly suitable for our needs and Fayetteville has all the stores that I normally frequent but even so, time is a wasting. It’s not like we have a lot of it left as sooner or later, age will catch up to me and I will have to either quit travelling and park the RV or do something else with what it left of my life. What a dreary thought. Like everyone else, I hate growing old but on the other hand, am happy to be able to do just that considering the alternatives…
We went out for an afternoon walk and wandered the park and the field. Even though the sun was shining, it was not hot, and it was very pleasant just wandering around whether in or out of the shade. Fall is here in this part of the country. There was very little activity around the park, and we returned to Quatro to sit outside and listen to an Audiobook for about an hour before I decided that we should take another short walk. This time, we stayed in the park area and at one RV, there were two dogs, both Labs one of which wanted to make friends with Sandy. Mikey was doing his usual Mikey thing and was ready to defend her although she can more than hold her own if the need arises. Probably not against big dogs though. We walked on back to the RV only this time went inside for the rest of the evening and the usual meal and then to watch television.
We wandered around the park for our first walk of the day. There is rain in the forecast and the skies were grey. It did not bother us although it started to sprinkle when we got back to Quatro.
After a quick breakfast and a check of the emails, I packed up the new computer and headed back to Walmart’s to return it as I no longer need it. I have my own one back and anyway, I did not care for it at all as it is not a bit like mine. I would bet that price has a lot to do with it as mine cost almost $1500.00 and this one was only $300.00. You get what you pay for, and I learned a valuable lesson, never to buy a cheap computer ever again. Incidentally, the reason I bought it was to keep writing in the blog as my poor memory would never remember all that transcribed for the past 8 days which is how long the original repair was scheduled to take. Luckily for me, Best Buy got it done early.
I spent at least half of the returned money on groceries. I was shopping without a list but curbed my instincts of buying too much. Just the essentials which naturally, did include a bottle of red wine for those long lonely??? evenings. I read somewhere that a glass of red wine is a good way to stay healthy, so now I drink it instead of working out. I do not think it is working as I have very few muscles in the right places.
On the way home, I stopped at a gas station and filled the truck. Being a truck albeit a small one, it does not get very good gas mileage. I had also bought another phone holder that fits in the cup space for the iPhone which is what I mostly use to find the way around. Incidentally, the map system is a thing of wonder and am so amazed as it tells me of hazards in road and where to go and things like that. It must be focused on my vehicle as it tells me when to turn as I approach where I am going. Marvelous technology.
The thing I like best about it though is that it directed me to the closest Starbucks for a Latte before we drove the 8 miles back to the RV to be greeted by my two little helpers, sort of. After putting the groceries away, I settled down to play catch up on MY computer, correcting the blogs that I had written on the other “new one” and adding more pictures. At least, I know how to make things work on this one. I spent almost 4 hours writing and working on the blogs that I had written on the other computer. Everything from font size and type to the number of pictures I was able to add or in most cases, had not added. There is a lot to be said for doing the same old things, day in and day out in exactly the same way.
I stopped by the office and exchanged a $10:00 bill for quarters as I need to do laundry tomorrow and spent time talking to the owner Gerry. I was curious about his long term residents and he mentioned which ones are permanent and that stay here through the winter. He does not take any travelling RV’s for those winter months. Hopefully, we will be back in Texas by then although our site is a designated winter site, and we could stay here if we need to. He confirmed, we are paid through the 7th of October and to let him know how much longer we will need to stay. Still waiting on word of the Jeep before I can answer that.
We went out walking twice more, once midafternoon and the last time, just before it got dark. This is the best time to walk as it is much cooler and the shadows are longer and easier to find. We wandered around with Sandy leading us on her very erratic journey going in every which way sometimes, all at the same time. Mikey and I are so well trained, we just follow meekly behind. I gently coax her to go in the general direction I want to go so that eventually, we end back up at the RV.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Sunday Day18 09/25/2022
A pleasant stream on the side of the campground
I got up to use the bathroom and thought about staying up but quickly snuggled back under the covers along with the dogs. They had no interest in moving so why should I? Eventually, we did crawl out and followed the usual procedure of showering before greeting the day. Incidentally, the dogs are all too happy to bug me to death when I am sitting on the john as they usually get a lot of attention but when I hit the shower, they disappear to some hiding place of choice as they are not interested in showering or coming anywhere near water except to drink or maybe to check out the stream in the picture above.
We went out and wandered around for a bit. Another camper was hooking up his RV getting ready to move out so maybe, just a weekend camper. The park is pretty empty although, I imagine will fill for the next Razorback’s home game. With many kids back in school, most weekenders will be restricting the trips they take.
I took the truck over to the washroom and started a load of wash in the single washing machine they have. That and and a dryer. There is a method of inserting the quarters needing a long pause in between each one which took me a bit to sort out. I managed to lose $1:50 in the process but eventually got it figured out and the wash started. I drove back to the RV for breakfast before going back to put the clothes in the dryer, 30 minutes later. Returning to the RV with breakfast finished, I still had time to kill before going back over as the drier, timed to take 60 minutes, which as it happened, was not long enough. Probably my fault as I had not set it on the highest dry setting. I threw everything into the bag and drove back to Quatro and distributed the clothes around the RV to finish drying. I will know better next time.
I turned my attention to writing in the blog so that we are caught up as much as is possible. It would be great if I could write things in advance of what I want to make happen and then by magic, they turn out that way. Yeah, right. Nothing like shaping the future the way we want it. Everybody’s dream.
I sat and wrote for a bit and then posted the most recent of the blogs along with new pictures that I had worked on relishing the ease that this computer gives me. Of course, I have been using it for several years and have it set up the way I want it.
We went out for another walk just to stretch our legs. There is zero activity in the park, but we did see another person walking her dog. Or maybe, the dog was walking her as it wasa large dog. Back in Quatro, I sat and listened to an Audiobook for a bit and the dogs found their comfort places. Sandy is in her dog bed and Mikey is squeezed beside me on the sleeper chair, his favorite spot.
We went out for one more quick walkabout and then headed back for the usual evening’s repast.
While I was watching the television last evening, I had to switch the temperature controls over to heat as it had really cooled down. I left it that way through the night and only changed it back to a/c after I got up. I cannot believe how low the temperature dropped all the way to the high fifties; would you believe. The same is forecast for the following nights with it dipping to 46 degrees next Thursday evening. Daytime highs are also on a downward plunge. Fall is moving in fast in this neck of the woods. Time to move to the warmer climes of Texas except, we are still waiting on the Jeep.
I received a call from the bank to say they had received the returned forms and would be sending me another Bankcard shortly although it may take a week to get here. Still, things are moving in the right direction. Incidentally, the spammers are still calling me except now, I do not answer them.
We went out walking the park for everyone to stretch their legs and do their business. The success of any walk is not measured by the distance covered but by the number of times the dogs do their business. Not all walks are considered successful for that very reason. We are not talking of the number of pees as they are way too many to count especially Sandy. That girl has a bottomless bladder.
I worked on updating the blog and posted a couple to bring us up to date. The process is so much more complicated and frustrating compared to the ease of posting on the other computer. Everything seems to be different, and I guess, given time, I will figure it out. By then, hopefully, I will have my other computer back. I do not understand why the same program shows up differently on two different computers and just does not work the same.
I received a call and much to my surprise, it was from Best Buy informing me that the computer was fixed and if I wanted to, I could pick it up. I did not need a second invitation and jumped in the car for the 8-mile drive to the store. I had to wait around when I got there as there was a line but before long, I was at the front and looking at the familiar shape of my own computer. Never was anyone as pleased as I was to see that friendly scratched up and well-worn familiar shape. It did not cost me anything as it was covered under the Geek Squad plan, the same one the spammers kept referring to although, theirs was make belief. I grabbed the computer and headed for the car not even stopping at Starbucks, which was just across the street, and drove back to the RV.
I put everything to one side determined that I was not going to mess with anything for the rest of the day although I did unplug the new one and plugged in my old faithful just to boot it up and see what would come up on the screen. Much to my surprise, everything was the way it should be and like it was before the scammers got into it. With that good news under my belt, I switched it off.
Very pleased at what I had just found out, I took the dogs walking around the park. We wandered around and what with the Walmart’s walking totaled almost 1.5 miles for the day before returning for the evening meal and entertainment.
Walking the dogs followed by breakfast as is the usual pattern for the start of most days followed by some chores outside the RV that needed some work.
I turned my attention to the new computer determined to get it working the way I wanted it spending several hours before achieving any results. I have rescued all of my files except for the pictures, and I cannot seem to find them. Gotta keep working on that as blogs without pictures are very bland. At least, I did not have to drive into town for any urgent reason.
I managed to post everything to date using pictures off my cell phone so at least, we are up to date. My memory is so bad that I find it hard to recall things from more than a day ago but have no problems with doing everyday things. That is why it is so important that I write everything the next day at the latest. For one who used to have a very sharp mind, things sure have deteriorated. I hate growing old if only for that reason.
We went out walking around the park and I noticed that a couple more RV’s have come in. It is easy to tell the experienced RV’ers as they are methodical in the way they set up. The newbies mess around trying to get the rig in exactly the right spot going back and forth. It helps to have a spotter especially if it is a back in site and maybe a bit on the tight side. Still, the only way to get better at it is practice.
Back in Quatro, I worked on the new computer getting frustrated at my inability to get it to work the way I wanted it to, finally giving up and taking the dogs walking to get rid of my frustrations. At least I can do that without any trouble. We wandered around in a general direction but not in a straight course as Sandy is attracted by every smell within her range. Consequently, there is no such thing as a straight line. Mikey has his moments but like me, just follows along.
We did not sit outside as it was still too warm and not comfortable even in the shade and we adjourned inside for the rest of the evening. I fixed our respective food, and we settled down to watch a Premier League football game and then more versions of Cold Cases.
I crawled out of bed and as we stepped out of the door, discovered a Fed Ex delivery from my bank on my steps. I put it inside and then we walked for a bit so the dogs could do their thing and stretch their legs before returning to open the Fed Ex envelope. Inside were a few forms all highlighted where it needed my signature which I at once took care of. Telling the dogs to sit tight and find a spot to sleep, I jumped in the car to the Fed Ex office in Walmart’s which I remembered from my visit of a few days ago. I sent the completed documents back to Frost Bank and now must sit back and wait. I also stopped by Best Buy and retrieved the plugin for the mouse before finding the nearest Starbucks for that much needed coffee and breakfast.
We have made so many trips these past few days that I am now starting to recognize some of the landmarks. I wish they had been under better circumstances though. At least, now I have the mouse attached, I can get around the screen much better. Trying to remember commands from long ago isn’t easy anymore after so many years of using a mouse. Incidentally, this cheap computer does not have a touch screen either but what do you expect for $300.00. It’s basic, very basic and hopefully, I will only need it for a week. Then it will go into early retirement or until the hackers get me again. Incidentally, they are still calling me, but I do not answer them, and the paperwork mentioned above is all part of the deterrent.
I spent the rest of the day, working on the blog and on other programs like my Pictures file which I cannot find. I might have to post a few blogs without any pictures at least until I get the other computer back, scheduled for next Wednesday.
We went out for the afternoon walk around the park. It was cloudy with rain in the forecast, and it looked like it. I spotted a large Blimp in the sky straight ahead of us slowly making its way along. Wonder what the occasion is as it is not game day. Maybe, they do Blimp rides at the airport. Amazing, the things you see. Back in Quatro, I sat and wrote some more. I am caught up again, thank goodness as I have real problems when it comes to remembering details of what happened yesterday or the day before.
The day ended in the usual way with food and then TV.
I awoke not sure that I wanted to face the day after the horrible one of yesterday. I do not think I have ever been so upset at anything except maybe the death of one of my pets, than I was yesterday after dealing with the spammers. There is nothing more frightening than watching all of your money disappear before your very eyes as the numbers on the screen, change to zero.
I had called my bank to discuss this with them and the bottom line is that my accounts have been frozen which is a good thing. On the other hand, I do not have access either. My Banker called me to discuss the next moves which, because I was unable to go to the bank in person as I am currently almost 600 miles away, needs to be transacted long distance. Even though I could drive the RV closer, I still have the problem of the Jeep repairs. He promised to overnight some forms for my signature that will set up a new account and the money will get transferred to it. Hopefully, I will get a new Debit card as the one I have is locked and I cannot use it. Amazing, the things that we take for granted, like using a debit card to pay for something and then, the card is no longer available.
For any of you reading this, be very careful about what you receive in any email. Think before just opening and if in doubt, erase it. In my case, I recognized that it was about my Best Buy account, actually the Geek Squad renewal which had automatically just renewed according to the email and if I wanted to opt out and get a refund, do the following…….I had been thinking that I did not use the Geek Squad anymore and should not renew it and I saw this as the way to cancel and get my money back. Wrong and a big mistake as I went through hell for the rest of yesterday.
Following the morning walk and then the usual breakfast, I checked emails on my phone and being extra careful before responding. If anything looked suspicious, it was trashed at once. I thought about and got out my two other computers. One is a small Samsung tablet that is primarily used with RV Trip Wizard to guide us to where we are going in the RV. The other is a very small laptop that I have not used in years. Needless to say, even after I put it on charge, it would not start. I put it to one side and went to work on the tablet but had all kinds of trouble making it work in finding both Word which I use to write and WordPress which is my hosting program. After a couple of hours of frustration, I put them both to one side and jumped in the car and drove to the nearest Walmart’s and bought the cheapest laptop I could find for about $300.00 paying with a credit card, something I don’t normally do. Needs must…
I drove back finding a Starbuck’s on the way to sooth my twitching nerves. I know that caffeine is not good for that, but it works for me. I spent the rest of the day getting more and more frustrated as I set up the new computer. Luckily, I was able to find my files in both Word and WordPress but when it came to adding to them, discovered that this computer has a different layout and setup as the old one and does not do the things I was used to. I figured that I was a reasonably intelligent person even if I do have an old brain (and body) and accepted the challenge to get the damn thing to work spending several hours in doing so.
One thing I had discovered was that I had left the little plug in adapter in the other computer which was now in Best Buy for repairs and without it, the mouse will not work. I have to admit that I am lost without the mouse and in the end, gave up for the day choosing instead, to take the dogs out walking both for fresh air and to clear the cobwebs. We wandered around and all told, I covered 1.8 miles for the day. Back inside, we did the usual evening thing of food and then watching a Premier League game before going to bed. At least, today was a much less worrying and frightening day than the day before.
As we usually do, we wandered around the park seeing that many of the campers were preparing to leave or had already left. These had all come in for the game and now were heading back to wherever home is. I stopped to chat to a couple of them and one asked if I had come in to watch the game. We had a long conversation on the merits of Football of the American kind versus Football of the English and rest of the world variety which is played with the feet. The gentleman did admit to liking the round ball variety. I mentioned that I happened to catch a glimpse of the warmup for a football game as I was tuning in to watch my version of football and there were probably 100 players, all suited up and all doing various forms of stretching in unison. This must have something to do with the pageantry and pregame especially for TV viewers as there is absolutely no point in doing all these stretches if you are not in the starting eleven. Time to stretch is just before you enter a game, so your muscles are ready. But then again, if all you are is a blocker, I guess you do not need to worry about stretched muscles when the other guy is trying to kill you. As you can tell, Football of the American variety is not my favorite sport. But each to their own as it would be a very dull world without a variety of opinions, and I do respect the skills that it needs to play College Ball.
Back in the RV, I had breakfast, a bacon sandwich and coffee and contemplated on feeding the dogs but decided against it, knowing it would not get eaten. They did, however, gobble up the handouts from my sandwich probably thinking to themselves, “How come he gets bacon, and we have dogfood” …I cleaned up a little and noted that the pull-down shade on the door is not returning and then spent some time looking up how to repair it. It does not look to be a difficult task and my biggest problem is how to reach the blind as it is attached above the door, in the door well and I am just too damned short, as usual. I’ll figure something out, maybe bring in the expanding ladder and prop it up somewhere.
I did the usual email thing and then settled down to write in the blog. We have nothing planned for today. It is supposed to warm up back into the low to mid 90’s for the next four days before dropping back into the 80’s again. Shades of the retreating Summer. It does not matter to us that much as all we are doing is marking time as we wait for the Jeep to be repaired. Incidentally, my part of Texas is still in the mid to high 90’s and I am not missing it one little bit.
With everything caught up, I turned my attention to fixing the door blind. After watching a couple of videos on the subject, I had a good idea of what I needed to do. First thing was to get out the folding ladder kept in one of the storage compartments. Folding is not really a good description as it is more of an expanding/retracting ladder that works by sliding the ladder either up or down and then locking it in place. It works great and is long enough for me to get up on to the roof as this RV is not equipped with its own outside ladder. I expanded it enough so that it was resting above the door opening, not trusting the door to stay closed with the weight of the ladder and me, on it. Following the instructions from the video, I managed to wind in the blind and then turned the correct knob in the proper direction to tension it up. What is more is that it worked, and the blind now goes up and down as it should. Having learned something, I went into the bedroom and did the same to one of the blinds there although this one is not so important as it stays down all the time, mainly to keep the sun out.
Pleased that I had done something useful, I put the ladder back in the storage area and went back inside. The park is very quiet with it being a Sunday. All the visitors have left and again, it is empty. There is no sign of my Hispanic neighbors so they must have moved on. What is unusual about this is that normally when your neighbor moves, their RV moves with them but as these are rented RV’s, obviously, this is not the case.
I sat and wrote for a while before we went out again walking the park. We wandered around as we usually do walking in the shady areas as much as possible. I noticed that a couple of RVs had come in and were setting up. One could not make up its mind about which site to use as there were many open ones following the exodus of the Football Supporters, but eventually found one that suited them and went about the business of setting up.
We sat outside and listened to an Audiobook for a while although it was still bit warm out before heading back inside for the usual evenings repast and entertainment.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville AR Monday Day 12 09/19/2022
The Tyler plant next door. It is huge…
We wandered around the park stopping to chat with one camper who was breaking camp and preparing to move on. His outside tent cover was festooned with Razorback symbols, and it was bright red, which is the school’s colors. With so many supporters gone, it must be that the next home game is a couple of weeks away. Sandy made friends with their dog who was one of the very friendly kinds, a big old, Golden Retriever. We went on our way and then returned to Quatro for the usual breakfast and coffee.
I sat and wrote for a while and posted the latest blog and the phone rang. Only then did I realize that I was in trouble. The person on the other end was a scammer and was working with another scammer so between them they appear to be fighting but we’re working together. They had managed to get into my computer and had locked it up. I was at a loss as to what I should do and then did all the wrong things. I agree to their terms I went shopping for money orders. It all started when I returning an e-mail from Best Buy Telling me that they have received my payment for $420 and if I wanted to cancel to contact them at a certain number. Turns out that was a scam. Bottom line I ended up calling my bank and I have now frozen my account. The problem with that is that I can’t get to it either. It’s not over I’m sure.
I spent the rest of the day chasing around trying to resolve the issues and in the end I went home. All the while I was doing this my phone was being monitored and every now and then. A voice would break in and tell me what to do. It’s pretty frightening not having control and reminds me of Big Brother. My bank and I had a very long conversation about the problem and as I said before, now my account is frozen. It’s frightening and to most people unimaginable that someone can take control of both your phone and your computer without your knowledge. It also pissed me off that there are people in this world that will stop at nothing to steal from others this way. It did no good to get mad about it but I felt a little better.
I fed myself and the dogs and watched a game on the television and my friend BJ called to chat about the problem. I eventually went to bed but was not able to sleep tossing and turning, waiting for the morning to arrive.
My life is sort off on hold as I wait for events to unfold one of which as I wait to hear news of my Jeep which I fear will not be for a few weeks yet as the parts are hard to get and the damage that I created can only be abated by replacing parts I know not what as a mechanic I am not and rely on others to fix my car when it is running well below par presently it will not start crashing the car was my part backing with my own RV trying hard to miss a tree when a tight spot we had found and I had to turn around now I am paying for being so dumb and it has taken all of the fun out of this current trip we are on as we wait to move along and patience is not my strongest trait but I just have to learn to wait until the Jeep is fixed like new and maybe the RV too and we can put this all behind put it into the back of my mind making mistakes of things I should know like backing the RV with the Jeep in tow.
Another late start to the day and even later when we went out for that first walk. It was quiet out and we did not see a single person. We walked the same trail we took yesterday but the little black kitty had gone, thank goodness. I was worried that it might have been sick or worse. We wandered around and covered a half mile which is what we shoot for in the mornings before returning to the RV for breakfast. We do need to go into Walmart’s for a few supplies, but we have the rest of the day to do it in.
I checked the emails and as usual, nothing earth shattering which is the way I like it. Same with the morning news that I quickly looked over. Just the usual problems with Senators making fools of themselves with their outlandish claims and the usual number of shootings and violence. All fun stuff and so bloody depressing. Sometimes, I would like to be the proverbial Ostrich and just bury my head in the sand and hope that things go away.
I decided to go into Walmart’s and do some grocery shopping. This is the first Walmart’s I have been in that does not have an RV section not that I need anything, but I do like to browse as something may catch my eye. I wandered around as I usually do and picked up all my supplies. I had a list and pretty much stuck to it although a couple of extra goodies snuck into my basket including another pair of sneakers that caught my eye. Hopefully, they will be better than the last pair that lasted about a month before I discarded them as they lost their shape and support very quickly. I was reading the history of Walmart’s and discovered that the very first store is in Rogers, the city we just left. Now, it is worldwide with over 13,000 stores.
I found the Starbucks which is on my way home and bought my usual Latte. When we got back after a short 3-mile trip, I unloaded the groceries helped by my little buddies and then we went out for a walk around the park. A couple of different RVs have come in and there will be more as the Razorbacks take on Missouri State tomorrow. We wandered around the park and then returned to Quatro to write in the blog before going out one more time for the last walk of the day. A very quiet and relaxing day.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville AR Saturday Day 10 09/17/2022
The first thing I had to do before anything else after I got out of bed was to empty the tanks as water was backing up in the bathroom sink when I cleaned my teeth, a sure sign that the tanks are full. The grey tank which handles the water from both the bathroom sink, shower and the kitchen sink, is usually the first one to fill, showed by water puddling around my feet in the shower or by the sinks not draining. Emptying the tanks is as simple as opening a couple of shut off valves, generally the black tank first and then the grey tank to flush things out. Incidentally, because of the tank system, the valves are always closed except to drain them otherwise all the fluids would drain out leaving the solids behind, not a good thing at all. Hence the expression, “Pyramids of Poop” know to all RV enthusiasts. Incidentally, the notification system within the RV on the Information and switch panel never works properly. There are sensors within the tanks to show at what level the contents are at any given time, but they quickly get covered and do not function properly. They are not a reliable sign of the tank levels. Even on the brand-new Coachmen Leprechaun that I previously owned as those sensors were not working properly from the day I bought it. The only reliable indicator is when the sinks, showers or toilet starts to back up. If you happen to be taking a shower, then it is time to quickly jump out and dry off. Then go outside to open the valves before it overflows on the floor.
With that chore completed, I took that shower that I had to put off and then we went out for a walk around the park. The first thing I noticed is that it is completely full up with hardly a spare site anywhere. Probably, in for the game. The walk was uneventful, and we went about a half mile mostly in the shade as it was already warming up. The crashed truck that belongs to one of the Hispanic workers has gone, whether to be repaired or to be junked is unknown. The strange bike belonging to another of them, propelled by arm movement, has also disappeared. I have not seen their company vans in a couple of days either so maybe, they have moved on. They are renting the RV’s and do not own them.
I made breakfast and even offered the dogs some with the usual result. Don’t know why I bother. I enjoyed the English Muffins I toasted for myself along with the Latte and then settled down to trash as many emails as I could. I did have a couple of important ones to answer but they are, in the minority. The dogs found their sleeping spots and settled in, and I got down to the serious business of accounting for our movements so far and trying to remember if anything of interest has occurred. It has been a very quiet and routine day, so far and I hope it stays that way.
I debated with myself about watching a Premier League game. One part of me was all for it and the other part kept saying, “Remember your unwritten rule of not watching TV during the day”. I decided that as it was an unwritten rule, I would watch the game and spent the next two hours admiring the skills of these top-class players. Two hours later at the end of a very good game, it was time to go out walking and we wandered around the park. It had cooled off considerably and was very pleasant out so when we returned, we sat outside and listened to the end of yet another Audiobook story. By then, it was getting dark, and we took one more quick walkabout before returning to Quatro for the rest of the evening.
We slept through the entire night with no bathroom breaks which by itself, is an achievement and even awoke at a reasonable time, for us. I crawled out and we went out for the first walk of the day wandering around the park. It is very quiet here and all the working people have long gone to their respective jobs. There are several Hispanic construction workers living in RVs, that virtually surround my RV, who leave early and return around 6:00 pm every evening driving company vans. Still others who must have the graveyard shift, return around 11:30 am all wearing the company Tee shirts of bright green. Where would this country be without these workers as not many Americans want to do the work, they do.
We returned for breakfast and then sat around reading emails before turning to the blog. I write for a couple of reasons even if it is only a journal of my daily happenings. The main one is to keep my mind active which is so important as my brain ages. The other is to keep the creative juices flowing although I had many more followers when I wrote about ponds and fish, which can still be found in the blog listed at the bottom of the page. Still, as much as I appreciate those that do take the time to read and maybe comment, I write for my own mental health as Alsheimer’s runs in the family. Both of my siblings succumbed to the effects of this terrible disease. When I start writing gibberish then I know it is time to quit and find a hole to crawl into. Wait a minute, some of you may think it is gibberish anyway…
We went out for another walk around the park and the field and came a across a black kitty sitting under the hedgerow. It did not move even when the dogs looked at it. I would not let them approach for fear of scaring the cat or to get into a fight with it. We moved on and as it happened, backtracked the same way we had come, and the kitty was still there. It must be used to dogs as it did not freak out. We moved on back to the RV where we sat outside and started a new Audiobook story. Around 6:00 pm, we went for another short walk saying “Hello” to a couple of other campers that we met before returning to Quatro for the rest of the evening. At least two more campers have pulled in, one towed by a Jeep the same as mine. I did not know that a Jeep was big or powerful enough to do that but admittedly, their camper is small at around 20 ft. Even so….
