Love is a word used without thought an expression of feeling often sought by people who for another they show strong emotions so the other will know that the person cares with all of their heart and are willing to share and be a part to stay together for the rest of their days and share their lives in wondrous ways.
Then there are other uses for the word often by others to describe the verb when they say they love to dance or maybe on taking a chance on placing a bet or taking a dare or just describing how they fare when watching a game or eating a meal then love to them is how they feel
Love can be a fickle thing sometimes nothing more than a fling here today whilst the interest is high gone tomorrow when another goes by that replaces the original thought and feeling that is sometimes sought to describe the emotion at that time which at that moment is so sublime.
There are others who can truly say that they have loved in a permanent way and are still with the person they first adored or the love of an object or even more that the word used in a descriptive way fitted the part and is here to stay describing their feelings that will not change which will always be the same.
Me, I am not of the loving kind at least not in a permanent bind and have married three women who I first loved I really thought were sent from above but things happened it was not to be and they are just a memory and love is gone and who is to blame as life goes on and is never the same.
The one thing I can truly say there is a love that in its own way to me is stronger than man and wife the love of my pets who through my life have comforted me on many a sad day before each of them passed away to be replaced by more of their kind whose love for me is undefined.
The word itself describes how we feel and sometimes those feelings are not real a verbal description on a different day could be used in a different way affection or feeling might even belong or even worship if the feeling is strong but in truth the word is misused As we all know, it is sadly abused.
As we walk around the park looking at what we see admiring the view as we stroll from the people to their RV’s some of which are tiny and made for one or two others are so very big and can sleep quite a few to some their RV is their home to live in all the time staying in one place or moving on to them it is all just fine and others use them some of the time when the weather is good taking their family out on a trip to enjoy as a family should.
The RV life is not for all as a permanent home there is not much room and there are chores to do hard if you’re alone but living in a tiny space with another mate is a test of compatibility which will decide your married state for there is no place to go if disagreements do arise except the only thing to do is to take a walk outside until cooler heads and commonsense are properly applied and a family can once more live happily together inside
We do not have that problem with me and the two little dogs for after all I am the man and technically the boss although if the truth be told they do have their say obviously not in words but they often show the way they rely on me all the time to look after them and I supply their physical needs and do not them condemn for any slips that they may have inside of the RV and any walks they get to take are all because of me
We wander around walking slow depending on what Sandy wants as she is the leader of our group and definitely the boss one thing that I am glad is that she cannot speak otherwise, her voice would ring, and our ears would break especially when she wants to go someplace that’s not safe and I must yank on her leash her stubbornness to break but she holds no grudge and trots of to someplace new and Me and Mikey as we have learned carefully pursue.
Those two little dogs are my only friends left to live with me my former wives of which there were three are just a memory of lives from long, long ago and now all in the past as life goes on and things change, and nothing ever lasts as I think back of the times long ago that slipped away and think of where we are now living every day just me and my two little dogs living it all alone in our RV just we three with me their chaperone.
All of my good intentions are out of the window as we are parked here for yet another day and night because among other things, neither slide will pull in. A.J. had texted me to say he would be back around 4:00 pm to finish work on the refrigerator, and he can check the slides at the same time. We have run out of propane and can only safely use the electric heaters if we are hooked up to a 50 amp supply. It is getting pretty cold in the RV with no form of heating at all and the outside temperature hovering around the freezing mark. The plan is to move to site 78 for this evening as we will have 50 amp power there and that depends on how well A.J. does with his work.
I had called around to see if there was a propane delivery service that would come to the park as I thought I had seen a propane truck here a couple of times. I even talked to Gerry, and he gave me a number but when I called, they told me they do not deliver to RV parks because apparently, it is illegal in this State. My other alternative is to drive the RV to them and then they will fill it but with the slides not retracting I cannot do that either.
We went out for the morning walk around a very cold and chilly park before returning to see what I could do. I packed the RV for travelling as much as I could in the hope that we would move to site 78 with 50 amp power for this evening and the heat that it could provide. I also called the next campground where I had arranged a site and told them I would be coming a day later because of the problems.
I turned my attention inside the RV and put stuff away in the shower and other such places ready for travelling. I also installed the expansion bars in the cabinets to stop the contents from sliding around and then, with as much done as I can do without the slides working, I settled down to write in the blog.
Thinking back over this trip, what started so well and with such expectations has turned into a real bust and it is not over yet. First of all, I carelessly backed into the Jeep while trying to reverse direction after the map system I was using sent me down the wrong road not only with a dead end but not much room to turn around. Incidentally, I hooked and unhooked the Jeep 8 times that day because of various and different circumstances. This was followed by waiting 2.5 months to get the Jeep repaired only for it to go back in the shop after I got it back, due to shoddy workmanship. This after they had “finished” the work.
I moved campsites to be closer to the Jeep’s location but before I did, we had yet another problem which was caused when a heavy rain storm broke the awning that I had left out on purpose to protect the couch and such. Apparently, the rain collected on the awning causing it to break under the weight. This resulted in having to call the local Camping World and have them order and then come out and replace the broken arm. Their basic cost for the house call to do the job, which did not include the cost of the new parts, was $1000.00. Very, very expensive.
I had no choice other than to pay as I could not retract the damaged awning to move campsites as I had planned. Then the Jeep would not start, and I had to have it towed to Collision Center for it to be repaired. It took three separate tow trucks before the right one came out that had a tow dolly.
I moved to Southgate RV Park and with all the delays to the Jeep, I kept extending my stay here. With news that the Jeep would be ready, I gave notice to the campsite. When I got the Jeep back, there were problems with the computer system resulting in having to to send it back for further work which also took longer than expected
I had to move from my original site because of the Jeep’s problems because I had given my notice that I was moving on and Gerry had rented it out. In changing sites, all that was available because of the upcoming Football Game, was a 30 amp site which resulted in damage to the electrical system in the RV including the refrigerator not working. Then, when I finally think I am ready to move temporarily, to site 78 with a 50 amp system, the slides will not go in. Because I am out of propane, it is bloody freezing inside of Quatro. I called A.J. and he thought it would be OK to run just one portable heater on low. It is placed right in front of me and just about keeps the chill off.
My original plan was to go to Walmart’s to stock up and had put that on hold because the refrigerator was not working. We are still working our way through the not so frozen stuff from the freezer. In some respects, it is a good job it is not 65 degrees outside…
A.J.,the mechanic came back later today and worked on the unit and eventually got everything fixed including the slides. He said that he had inquired around to find out just what he could do to bypass some of the circuits to make it all work. Turns out, he is an ex-Marine and seems to be a very honest and straight up person. I thanked him profusely and he went on his way.
As I mentioned, I had run out of Propane to heat the RV which is why I have had to use the heaters. Today, it barely got above freezing all day and tonight it is going down with a low of 20 degrees, again way too cold for my liking. The mechanic recommended that both heaters should be OK, so I decided against changing sites as we plan on pulling out tomorrow. I hope the new park has propane a they advertise.
The plan is that we still have at least 3 more stops before getting back to the comparative comfort of Henly which has its own Propane Tank fill where we plan to see out the winter. The longer we stay here, the shorter each next stop gets as I am shooting for a December first arrival at Henly. If our luck continues like this, they will be just overnighters, which is a shame as every park has something of interest. I prefer to keep driving to 200 miles or less daily. This is the one time that I wish I had a second driver so we could cover 400 miles in a day. But it just isn’t going to happen. Ever…
With everything working once more, I took the dogs out for the last walk of the day. I was bundled up and it was very cold. We wandered around and made friends with a little Scottie that had come over to say hello. Even Mikey was friendly which is a first.
Back in Quatro, after finishing up the blog, we settled in for the usual evening meal and entertainment.
Me and the dogs,went out for their morning walk as we usually do and wandered around the park. Back in Quatro, as I was getting ready to make breakfast, the power went off. I had forgotten to turn off the electric heaters and tried to use the microwave at the same time. Everything shut down and for all of my efforts, I could not get anything working again. I checked fuses and breakers and turned on this and that but to no avail.
I decided to go ahead and square up with Gerry for the 10 days I owed him as I was planning on pulling out in the morning. We chatted for a bit, and he was not shy in letting me know what his politics are, and Biden and the Democrats do not rank very high in his book. I thanked him for his generosity, shook hands, all the time biting my lip to stop from spoiling the moment.
Back in the RV there was nothing else for it but to call the travelling mechanic that Gerry had recommended to come and fix the electrical problem. I was passed from repair man to repair man and after the third attempt, a mechanic by the name of A.J, agreed to come out and take a look.
I spent time on the blog and then took the dogs out while we were waiting, and he eventually showed up. Apparently, he was sick which is why he was available and wore a mask all the time he was working around us. After quite a bit of work which mostly involved checking this and that, he had the lights back on and power to the outlets. I paid him and thanked him profusely and he went on his way.
I turned my attention to the RV Trip Planner and found another campsite about 100 miles south and booked it through Sunday. The plan is to stay there for 4 days pulling out on Monday as we make our way back to Henly.
He had not been gone 20 minutes when I noticed that the refrigerator light was not on. Further inspection showed it was not working so I called A.J. and he said he would be back after taking his kid somewhere. 30 minutes later, he returned and spent a good 30 minutes trying to find the problem but to no avail. He had no answer as to what the problem might be but did say he would do some research and get back to me. He cannot make it tomorrow anyway as he must catch up on todays booking that he had foregone because of his illness. At least, he did not charge me for the second visit.
The fridge is nearly empty although the freezer does still have some stuff in it. I was going to go grocery shopping but put it off. Good job I did. If he comes up with an answer tonight, then we will stay longer. If not, then I plan on moving and find another repair man at the next campsite. It will be difficult to keep the food fresh and I might resort to bags of ice. In the meantime, I need to eat as much out of the freezer as possible. Never a dull moment in this RV life.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
Who would have thought that we would have to stay here so long. Living in the mountains is not my idea of a permanent home. Well, maybe in the summer but not in the winter months. When we got up, the temperature was a cool 32 degrees, and it was very cold and windy outside. I bundled up and we wandered around the park enough for the dogs to do their thing before returning to the RV. I was more concerned about getting back into the relative warmth of Quatro than I was in counting steps.
Following the usual breakfast and coffee, I settled down to read the daily news and saw nothing of major interest to worry about before turning my attention to writing in the blog. I sat and thought about it and then decided to call the Collision Center…again, to see just what the latest news is and am now awaiting to hear back from them.
I completed and posted yesterday’s blog and the poem that I had just written. All about the word “Love” and how it is used, sometimes misused and a lot of time applied to the wrong things. It truly has so many meanings. I also did a quick review of the rest of the trip in RV Trip Wizard although I cannot complete any of it until I know when we can pull out of here. Everything centers around the Jeep repair. I also compiled a grocery list for when I can get into the nearest Walmart’s. I am really scratching for things to get up to as we wait for the Jeep.
We harnessed up and walked the sidewalk in front of the Tyson Plant all the way to the end which is a good half mile. This is easy walking as far as we are concerned, and the sidewalk is set back away from the road making it much safer. The wind was very cold, and I was glad to get back to the warmth of the RV. Altogether, we covered 1.4 miles for the day.
I was sitting and listening to an Audiobook story and a truck pulled up very close to the RV. It got my attention and as I looked again, my Jeep, driven by a pretty lady pulled up. Then I recognized them from the Collision Center and opened the RV door to greet them and we stood and chatted for a while. They were full of apologies for the delay, and I mentioned that I had put my plans on hold while all this was going on. After they left, I parked the Jeep a bit further away from the roadway entrance for safeties sake and went back inside.
I could pull out tomorrow after I find a new place to park for a couple of days but as I need groceries, I have decided to pull out on Friday if all goes according to plan and stay the weekend at the next site before moving on.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
It was cozy and comfy under the covers, and I was very reluctant to crawl out to a chilly RV. I glanced out of the window, and it had snowed about an inch overnight. Pretty to look at but even so…Me and snow no longer get along. Not like when I first came to America, all of those years ago when I lived in the small town of Fort Plain, in New York State. Then, in the winter, I liked to go skiing and I also owned a snowmobile which I raced in organized racing events. Cold weather did not bother me back then as it does nowadays. Give me 75 degrees all day and yearlong and I will be very happy. This prolonged stay does nothing to brighten my spirits and I cannot wait to get back to Texas. Sure, it still gets overnight frosts and the occasional snowstorm, but it does not last for long which is the big difference and the days are usually warmer.
I harnessed up the dogs with Sandy doing her little dance and squealing in anticipation and Mikey dashing madly between the sofa chair and me as he waited his turn to be harnessed up. Sometimes, he will run to the food bowl and grab a mouthful of dry food before returning to get harnessed and will repeat this until he is satisfied, foodwise. When he goes through this routine, Sandy and I have learned to wait until he has had enough. She looks at me as if to say, “C’mon Dad, tell him I gotta go”. We go through this same ritual every morning and evening when I show any sign of getting ready to take them out for walkies. All part of the fun.
We only walked one lap around as it was cold outside. I took some pictures of the snowy display hoping that it is the last that I will see this winter but even in my part of mid Texas, it is not uncommon to get a couple of weeks of winter which might include some snow although generally in early February, not November. Besides, Henly, where I live for the winter, is definitely, not in the mountains.
Following the usual breakfast and coffee, I sat down to read the emails and then worked on the blog as we continued with our wait for the Jeep to be repaired. What is frustrating this time around is that the Collision Center is having to repair the work they originally did almost 2 months ago. It is really poor on their part that they did not get it right the first time. It’s their dime but my time that is affected and we are already almost halfway through November. I could get back to Henly in 3 days with 2 overnight stops if I needed to and that is what it looks more and more like I might end up doing. I hate all this damned waiting around and not knowing how to proceed. Should I rent another vehicle or just wait although sooner rather than later, I will run out of food. Maybe not such a bad thing as I could stand to lose a couple of pounds.
The phone rang a couple of times and my heart jumped in anticipation that maybe, just maybe, it would be a call from the Collision Center. No such luck as it was just the spammers or others trying to do their thing and they were quickly blocked.
I turned to writing poetry which I often do in times of stress and wrote a piece about Life and Love. Not that love for me was always stressed. There are many years when in the early stages, life was a dream. Only towards the end of each marriage did it become stressful although, some of my choices of girlfriends sometimes left a lot to be desired. Difference there was that we could walk away.
By then, it was almost 4:00 pm and I decided that for better or worse, I would make that call to the Collision Center for word on the Jeep. I was handed off to a secretary who took my name and said they would call me back shortly. Dubious as that would happen, I continued to work on the poem. And then the phone rang. It was the call I had been waiting for and I held my breath until I heard the magic words that the Jeep had been repaired and that I would get it back later today. I thanked the man on the phone and hung up. Now, all I have to do is wait for the delivery.
Feeling better about the day, I hooked up the guys and we went out for a walk. My intention was a short stroll around the park, but Bossy Miss Sandy had other ideas and led us across the field to the very end and turned onto the road. We walked until we hit Cato Creek Rd and made our usual right turn only this time, instead of walking to Hwy 71B, we turned back into the neighborhood and came out onto the field from where it was just a short walk to the RV. Altogether, we covered 1.4 miles for the day.
When I look back upon my life and the many things that I have done mostly on the better side but here and there a stupid one I would like to say that I am not dumb and have a brain that can think but now and then just for fun it goes to sleep in a wink and crazy things happen then resulting from my non thinking brain making poor decisions who knows when and my life is forever changed at the time that this happens again it was a good plan all the same but the end results in things gone wrong generally resulting in a claim that cost money, time and prolongs how long we stay in one place and I am the one that pays the price the end results in losing face waiting to see what is my choice is it something very profound or just as simple as pay the fee for whatever my misdeeds abound there is always a something else to see hoping that good sense will be found. as life is still a mystery as the world spins slowly around.
Quatro in his new site. The old site is straight ahead where the Class A is parked under the tree.
We did not wake up as early as we have the last couple of mornings. Probably because it was warm and snuggly under the added fleece cover, I had thrown on the bed last evening. I crawled out to a very chilly RV only to notice that one of the electric heaters had tripped a breaker. Not too surprising as we are on a 30-amp instead of a 50-amp electric system. No wonder it was chilly…Incidentally, as opposed to the warmer months, many of the window blinds are raised during the day to let the heat of the sun in, not as we do in the warmer months, lower them to try to keep the heat out.. I have not used the front window fan for at least a week as we use the Suns natural resources.
I reset the breaker and the power returned to that heater and I adjourned to the bathroom only to discover that the water had frozen. I had forgotten to turn on the tank water heaters last evening. Hoping there was no damage as all I could do was wait for the pipes to thaw, we harnessed up and went out wandering around the park. Several of the RV’s had already left and the park was beginning to empty again. Through the course of the morning, a couple of others pulled out.
At one of the smaller Campers, they were preparing to leave, and the lady had a bag of trash in her hand. I offered to put it in the dumpster which we would be walking by anyway. It is this sort of helping that makes for good neighbors and we had spent time chatting to them the day before. Besides Sandy liked them as she got her ears scratched.
Back in Quatro, the water pipes had thawed, and I fixed the usual breakfast shared among the three of us before settling down to read and junk the emails. There were a couple, as there usually are, that require some work and a couple more that made interesting reading before they too were junked but on the whole, very little to hold my attention.
With that chore out of the way, I turned to writing the blog, completing yesterday and then starting today. I noticed that Gerry was in the office and walked over to get some quarters for the laundry although, not sure when I will do it. We spent some time talking about yesterday’s football game and I got a full play by play from him as to why Arkansas lost.
I am hoping for good news about the Jeep tomorrow so we can go ahead with our plans although I still must find our next stop on the way home to Henly. At least, we have a semi-permanent site until that time. But we are in the mountains, and it is getting cold with the frosts at night.
We went out for the final walk of the day and just wandered around mostly where Miss Bossy wanted to take us. She literally is guided by her nose so none of our walks are in a very straight line which is OK as it helps with the mileage count. Altogether, we covered 1.5 miles for the day and completed 185% of our total weekly goals. The park is pretty empty again and even a couple of the long termers, have moved on.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion with the evening meal for all of us followed by watching football of the rest of the world variety.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Monday Day 68 11/14/2022
Very big and very expensive RV’s, here for the game and all LSU supporters. They brought the frost on the ground, with them…
I awoke early but chose to snuggle in with the dogs until the call of nature forced me to get up. I thought about taking a shower and chose instead to conserve the water. We are working off our freshwater tanks although the temperature goes up enough during the day that I could re-connect the hose long enough to refill them if we need. Not like I have gotten hot and sweaty these past couple of days. Quite the opposite as I have had to add a jacket for our outside endeavors.
We wandered around the almost empty park with only a couple of RVs left in the temporary areas and even in one of the two permanent spots, only 5 RV’s remain. This essentially means that the park is getting ready to close temporarily for the winter to travelers. This is an older park as is the owner, Gerry, and unfortunately, it is starting to show signs of its age as it needs upkeep in many different areas. Gerry does not have a full-time maintenance person as many parks do and it shows. Gerry himself is a very helpful person and tries hard to accommodate his guests, just as he did us. Incidentally, his family built the park 30 odd years ago and he inherited it. I would imagine that he will be handing it over pretty soon to his son to manage or maybe, just sell it. If I was 25 years younger, it would not be a bad business to get into although not here in this part of the country as I hate winters. Next Saturday is the last home game for the Arkansas Razorbacks and then the park will empty out and leave around a dozen permanent residents. Actually, it makes sense to close so as not to worry about freezing water pipes and snow clearing and such.
Back in Quatro, I fixed breakfast that we all shared except for the coffee of course and then settled down in front of the laptop for the usual morning session. As usual, there were a couple of emails requiring attention and a couple of newsy ones that were interesting to read but otherwise, it was the usual exercise in trashing and discarding.
I then turned my attention to the blog catching up and posting yesterday before moving on to today. We are on hold here as we wait for the Jeep to be repaired and have no idea when that may be. I hope to see them drive it in on an hourly basis as they have promised to deliver it back to me. Currently, I have no transportation having turned the truck back in when I first thought the Jeep was ready. The good thing about that is that I have now started eating the food in the freezer which probably needed cleaning out anyway, but I have run out of fruit and yogurt and the ice cream is getting low. There is a Dollar General store almost a mile from here and if push comes to shove, I could walk it.
I got a message on my phone telling me that rain was due in 30 minutes, and we harnessed up to take an early walk, just in case we cannot get out later. We wandered around and the dogs noticed a couple of loose strays in the area where the few permanent RV’s are. They kept their eyes on them as we made our way back to Quatro having to cut the walk short. They might be friendly, but both were bigger dogs than my two put together and why take the chance.
Back in Quatro, I worked on writing some more both to pass the time and also because of my lousy memory. I really have to think hard to recall what I did yesterday, and the small things sometimes slip by. I happened to glance out of the window and what had started as a very light rain was turning into snow. I did not think it was that cold but apparently so. I pulled down the shades and we snuggled up with our two electric heaters suitably placed to direct their heat in our direction. They are not powerful enough to warm the entire RV and with us on a 30 amp circuit, I have to be careful as to what is switched on anyway. It is easy to trip a breaker with an overload. Not a big deal to reset it but just a pain.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion of watching a couple of Premier League games as we ate the evening meal.
Showing the “low” side and the blocking required at the new site
I awoke after a good night’s sleep and following the usual morning ablutions, we harnessed up for the first walk of the day. It was cold out and I was glad to have on my jacket. The weather forecast is for overnight freeze for the next few days with the temperature only reaching the mid 40’- 50’s during the day. I have already filled the freshwater tanks and so this evening, I will disconnect the water hose and only reconnect it when the nighttime temperatures go up or I need to fill the tanks again. Better yet, if and when we are at a new campground. We are so lucky that this site was available as we could have been in the field with no electricity for the heaters as the house batteries will not last very long without charging.
Following the usual breakfast, shared with the dogs and coffee for me, which was not shared, I sat down to read emails with the usual mixed results. I had one from BJ describing her return to her home from the trip and the 2 days she took cleaning and dusting. I looked around and thought of the 15 minutes it takes me to clean and dust Quatro, the odd times I think it necessary, which, incidentally, is not very often. There is a lot to be said for living in an RV.
The rest were the usual junk and were quickly disposed of before turning my attention to the blog which is all caught up. My old parking spot has been filled with an older Class A and when we went out walking this morning, the owner was outside and cooking breakfast on his propane stove. As we sat writing and working on the pictures I took, 3 very large Class A’s pulled in one behind the other, probably travelling together. Several others came in one by one as the park filled for tomorrows big game. Come Sunday, most of them will be gone back to who knows where, elated or disappointed at the result. Unlike my sport, soccer (football where I come from) where a tie is counted as a result except in competitions like cup games when there has to be a winner, football of the American variety always has a result. It is the American way that there must be a winner and conversely, a loser and tied games are just not acceptable.
I worked some more on the pictures of the new location ready to post in the blog and then caught up with writing and the afore mentioned posting. It is surprising that by moving 50 yards closer to the road, just how much the traffic noise has increased. Sometimes, it is a bonus to be deaf as all I have to do is take out my hearing aids to cut out some of the noise if it gets too loud.
It had clouded over again, and the temperature was dropping, and we harnessed up for the afternoon stroll around the park. Nearly all of the spots are filled although there are a couple still open, much to my surprise as Gerry had mentioned that he did not have anything available. A lot of the new tenants are LSU fans and much of their camping gear reflects this. At one site, many of them were gathered around one campfire, drinking, barbecuing and chattering away and the spirit of camaraderie for their Alma Mater was very obvious. They cheerfully greeted me and made a fuss of Sandy as we stopped to say hello. Incidentally, the majority of the rigs that they drove were very large and very expensive Class A Motorhomes, so they appear to have benefitted by attending their School.
On our return to Quatro, I sat and wrote some more and then remembered that I needed to fill the cold water tank and disconnect the hose because of the forecasted frost for the next few nights. The daytime temperature will not go above 50 degrees in that time, and we are in for a real chilly spell.
I received a call from the Quality Collision to confirm what I had already suspected that the Jeep was not going to be ready today and with it being Friday, they will not be working on it again until Monday. Even if it ready then, we will not travel until Tuesday at the earliest and that depends on us finding a camp ground. I have a couple picked out but cannot call them to make any arrangements until I get a firm move date which depends on the Jeep repair.
Incidentally, this will be a good time to clear out the refrigerator and freezer as I have no transportation to get to any stores. Probably will be drinking my coffee black as well. The closest Dollar General is almost a mile away, within walking distance if needs must. Just as long as I do not run out of wine…
The rest of the day and evening was spent in the usual way
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Saturday Day 66 11/12/2022
Showing the frost from the Park entrance.
When I looked out of the window around 7:30 am, the ground was covered in a white blanket of hoary frost. It was very pretty to look at and quickly disappeared as the sun’s rays hit it. Even so, I sign of things to come which will only get worse the longer we stay here.
We went out walking and I was bundled up against the cold although I still wore my shorts as I usually do most of the year. Last year, I wore them all 365 days without changing into long pants at all. Not the same pair of course as I have many pairs of shorts. The park was quiet even though it was full, it was only when I got back in the RV, did I discover that the game is scheduled for this morning which accounts for it.
Wandering around, we did see one other dog walking his master and we steered clear of them as we walked around. We did our usual full circuit which works out to 4/10’s of a mile before returning to Quatro for breakfast, glad to be out of the cold wind and into the comparative warmth of the RV.
Back in the RV, it was breakfast time and the little guys each got a taster. Incidentally, they always have hard food available as I only feed them once a day. I discovered by trial and error that they would not eat the same food in the morning as they get in the evening. Go figure…
Then it was the usual straightening up the RV and making the bed before settling down in front of the computer. There were, as usual, a lot of emails, mostly junk which were quickly trashed and then I turned to the blog. At least, this is something that I have control over. I wrote for a while and then posted yesterday’s blog after working on a few pictures that I took of this morning’s frost.
Looking around for something else to do, I wrote a poem about the poor decisions that I make from time to time and the frustration and sometimes the monetary cost that is also involved. If only we had foresight or maybe could change the past, but we live and sometimes die, by the decisions we make. In my latest case, it just cost me a lot of money and I did not die…Not from this event anyway but, in the end, everybody dies.
Sandy was being a bug and at every opportunity, was giving me “the look” which interpreted means “Let’s go walking”. I could not stand it anymore looking up and seeing her beautiful brown eyes staring unwaveringly at me and closed the computer to harness them up. The air was still chilly, and I was glad of my jacket. The dogs did not care as they dashed madly from one great smell to another with Sandy, as usual, leading the way.
By then, the game was over with the Razorbacks losing to LSU and a couple of the RV owners were breaking camp and getting ready to move out. Probably the Razorback fans as the LSU contingent were all still there. Sandy led us around the park and then onto the road that leads through the neighborhood before I guided her into making the turn onto Cado Park Road. The traffic was very heavy leading to Hwy 71B, and we had to wait to cross over. Eventually, two of the cars, one in each lanes, waved us through at the Stop Sign and we continued back to Quatro. We managed to walk 1.6 miles for the day.
Back in the RV, it had cooled off again and I had to adjust the electric heaters accordingly. It was still only late in the afternoon, so I watched a couple of English Premier League games which included time out to prepare the food for both the dogs and for my evening meal. Incidentally, the refrigerator is looking bare, and we have started in on the frozen and canned food. Probably a good thing to use that up anyway as goodness only knows how old some of it is.
Just to be sure that I would not be cold during the night, I hauled out a fleece cover for the bed. Mikey very occasionally will sneak under the covers to cuddle up close to me, but he does not stay very long as I guess he gets too hot. Sandy is the opposite and usually does not sleep touching me or Mikey but last night, I thought she was shivering, and it woke me up. Knowing that she is averse to covers for whatever reason, the best I could do was to drag the corner of a blanket to sort of half cover her. It must have been enough as she stopped shivering and remained partially under the cover for the rest of the night. Some bad experience from her past, no doubt as she has had a broken rib which I can feel in her chest area. She was a couple of years old when she joined our little family so who knows what her past life was like.
We all slept the rest of the night without further interruptions.
Quatro in his new site. Notice how close we are to the entrance road.
We got up early as I knew that at least I had a busy day in front of me. The dogs, not so much. We went out for a short walk around the park before returning to Quatro where I immediately set to work trying to find another campsite while the Jeep is being repaired. Goodness knows how long that will take this time. I had no luck with any of the local campsites even up to 10 miles away as they all cater to the football supporters and there is a big game this weekend here in town.
Noticing that Gerry was in the Office, I wandered over to talk to him about parking on the grass. We got in his car, but before he drove off, he inquired as to the length of the RV and when I told him 35 feet, he pointed to Site No 1 which is right next-door to where we were parked before, no more than 50 yards away. We got out and he said that I would need to get as far from the road as possible because of the big rigs that come in and out of the park. The site is not very level or even and I had my doubts but said I would give it a go. I thanked him and he went back inside the office.
I had been working on the move prior as I knew we had to be out of there regardless of where we ended up. One of the things I had done while we were in the old site was to take the carrier off the back of Quatro and put the new tow bar on ready for our intended move. Now, I had to reverse that procedure and install the carrier back on so that I could load the wicker couch, chair and for good measure, the new towbar for the 50-yard move. When we ever do get the Jeep back, I will reverse the process and put the carrier on the Jeep and the towbar on Quatro, again…
As I stood there surveying the new site which was on a slope in two directions, front to back and side to side I tried to figure out the best place to park and then went back to Quatro and got it ready for the very short journey. I had to do a bit of maneuvering to get it parked where I wanted it, going 4-5 yards forward and then back but eventually, I was satisfied and that it would work. I got out to look to make sure we were located as far off the road as possible and still be close to the hookups.
The next thing was to place wood blocking under the jack feet to help stop them from sinking in the dirt as this was a grassy site with no blacktop or gravel. Then it was back inside to push the automatic levelers button and see if it would level the rig. After the usual jerks up and down as it did its thing, it stopped, and the level light came on. I jumped out to see what it looked like, and it looked OK. Both the front and rear wheels on the low sloping side needed blocking, which was quickly done, and we were all set. This was followed with the usual hooking up of the sewer and water but before I could hook up the electric power cable, I had to borrow a 50 amp to 30 amp reducer from Gerry as this site is only equipped with 30 amps. Things still work but I need to be careful not to run too many at the same time. The big test was the A/C units but they both appear to be working OK. Incidentally, the 50 amp to 30 amp reducer is something I need to add to my tool set just in case we may need it in the future.
The blocking under the wheels on the low side.
As we were all set in our new location. I let out the two slides and made everything inside of Quatro shipshape and livable and we are ready for however long we need to be here.
With the set up out of the way, back inside Quatro, I sat at the computer and could not find the mouse. Turns out, I had put it on the seat under a blanket when we moved, and Mikey was laying on it. I patted him on the head and told him he was a good boy and went to work. First as I usually do, I read the news especially interested in the elections hoping for a Democratic majority so they could get some things done. It did not look good, so I turned to emails with only having to answer a couple of them with most of them junk as they usually are. BJ called me and we caught up with each other’s news her with Covid and the cruise and mine with the move.
I checked the weather forecast and it is not good for this area for most of next week with temperatures dropping overnight to freezing on most nights and daytime highs only in the 50’s. We need to get out of these mountains ASAP. For some reason, the day is going really slow probably because we got up at a reasonable hour. You would think that with us as busy as we have been, the time would have flown by but that is just not the case.
We went out for another walk around the park. One of the very nice Class C RV’s on a Peterbuilt chassis had moved sites and was now down by the field. They are the ones with 4 little dogs, and I stopped to chat with the owner for a bit before moving on around the park. We managed to cover 2.1 miles for the day, a lot of it walking between campsites as we moved and then set up.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion.
I got up really early for us, around 7:15 am, took a quick shower and then harnessed up the dogs for a walk around the park. I did not even stop for coffee and breakfast and headed out the door to find Quality Collision with the Jeep. I walked in and told the Manager what the problem was, and he and a couple of other Mechanics went to work on it for an hour or so. Finally, he walked back over to where I was sitting and explained that they had checked out everything mechanical, but they did not handle the computer re-programming and that had to be done by their other shop, the one that changed out the harness in the first place.
After some discussion, and several phone calls to the other shop, the Manager arranged for the Jeep to be driven over there by one of his guys and told another one to give me a ride back to Quatro to wait it out. If and when it is fixed, they will deliver the Jeep back to me here at the RV Park. With the arrangements made, I got that ride back and managed to catch Gerry, the Park Superintendent just as he was getting into his car.
I explained the situation and he told me that based on my earlier discussion with him, he had rented out the space for the game this weekend and I had until 12:00 noon tomorrow to move out. If the Jeep is not ready, he said that I can park in the field if needs be but of course, there are no services there. Hopefully, it will not come to that if I get the Jeep back today. All of this because I was too damn lazy to unhook the Jeep in the first place. Incidentally, there was almost $16,500.00 worth of damage to it… My share was $3500.00 plus the cost of the rental truck. A very expensive lesson learned.
I harnessed up the dogs and they looked at me as if to say, “Another walk and it’s not yet afternoon”. They were happy to go regardless of the time of day. We wandered along and I let Sandy lead the way. She took us out across the field and then out through the neighborhood and back to Quatro along 71B. I had not planned on that long a walk, but it is hard to argue with the female sex. It was still morning and I settled down to catch up with the blog working on it for a couple of hours as I waited for news or even sight of the Jeep.
A couple of hours later around 4:40 or so, I received a phone call telling me that the other shop was not able to get to it and quite literally, had no idea when they would. The guy on the other end of the phone was full of apologies and said he was hoping for tomorrow but could not promise anything. I explained that it left me in a very difficult situation as I had to move in the morning from my current site unless they can get it done tomorrow morning. I will need to talk to Gerry and see what part of the field he will let me stay in. No good looking for another campground in this Football crazed city.
With as much information as I was going to get today, I harnessed up the dogs and we went out walking around the park just as several others were doing. With skillful maneuvering on my part, we avoided any confrontations although Sandy is ever watchful for other dogs on her patch. Altogether for the day, we managed to cover 2.5 miles.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion.
This is the first snake that I have seen this year and this little guy is only about a foot long. Needless to say, he was not harmed by us and continued on his way.
The clock changing thingy worked for me again, as I awoke early although I did not get up straight away, preferring to laze around and snuggle under the covers. The dogs reminded me that I should make a move otherwise, what is the point of waking early. We wandered around the park avoiding a couple of people who had three big dogs between them. I hope they have a roomy RV with that many large pets.
We returned to the RV, and I fixed the usual breakfast which I shared as I usually do before turning to emails and then the blog. Today is one of those hurry up and wait days as I can do absolutely nothing while waiting for word of the Jeep.
I called Quality Collision Repair for the latest news and was told it would be another couple of hours or so and I arranged to get over there by 3:30 pm. For some reason, I had all kinds of trouble with the map finder on my phone and kept ending up in the wrong place. I was trying to return the rental truck and then they would take me over to the body shop, at least, that was the plan. Two hours later, for a trip that should have taken 30 minutes, I finally arrived. The Jeep looked great but on the way home, the hood open warning light came on. I pulled over and could not get the hood shut.
I made my way back to Quatro for the night and spent some time messing around and did get the hood to close. However, the “Hood Open” light warning came back on, and it was something more than I could fix.
I took the dogs out walking to help ease my frustrations about the whole sorry mess. Two and half months and it still was not working right. The walking and the dog’s company helped a lot as they do not ask for much and in return, give me all the love and companionship that I need. We managed to cover 2.4 miles for the day.
On our return, it was already getting dark, and we settled in for the night. By 5:30 pm it was night and dark outside. The clock changes have hit us with a bang. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way, food and then television and worrying about tomorrow.
We have been here way too long waiting before we can move on for I have only myself to blame as I am the one that created the pain doing things with a lack of care is the reason that we are here stuck in this park that we share waiting for the Jeep to be repaired if I lived in a permanent place fixing the Jeep would not be a race to get out of here and on the way back driving on to stay on track of reaching our goal where we usually stay with a couple of stops along the way to winter it out at our favorite place to get there will not be a race as we have 500 miles to go before we will eventually show back up at Henly to spend the time waiting for winter to decline so we can hit the road in the Spring driving and camping and doing our thing.
I awoke at what was probably the same time as I usually do except it was an hour earlier than normal because the clocks went back last evening. Now, I have no excuse for getting up late as I am on my own biological clock which also happens to coincide with real time. That does not mean that I cannot sleep late occasionally. The dogs, however, knew it was time to get up as they have no concept of time other than that which governs their respective bladders.
We wandered around and as expected, some of the football campers were preparing to go home and were working on breaking down their rigs. A couple of others were walking their dogs and we made sure to steer clear of them to avoid any confrontations. We did our usual half mile walking before returning to Quatro.
When I took the morning shower, the water had started to puddle up under my feet, a sure sign that that grey tank needed emptying. As soon as I was dressed, I took care of this chore, which takes a good 10 minutes, to empty both black and grey tanks. Only with this complete, was I able to go back inside and make coffee and breakfast. While I was eating, I was perusing the latest news and then the emails with nothing much to grab my attention. The world has not come to an end. Not yet, anyway.
I sat and thought about the future as regards our travelling. I am hoping to pick up the Jeep tomorrow and if that goes according to plan, can then go ahead breaking down camp. I need to re-attach the carrier to the back of the Jeep after removing it from the RV and then load it with the outdoor stuff which includes mats and the wicker lounger. If all goes well, I will do that tomorrow.
I have a new Blue Ox tow bar after damaging the last one in the accident, that I decided to install on the back of Quatro ready to tow the Jeep. It went very well and was bright and shiny when I pulled it out of the box. This will not last long as it catches all of the dirt and spray from the tires that the RV kicks up as we drive. The actual Jeep hookup is the very last thing to happen. In any case, I have to move the RV to a spot where I can get the Jeep lined up behind it as ours is a back in site which also drops off considerably just behind the parked RV. The RV breakdown is simple and does not take very long before driving off. I do not have the next stop picked out yet and cannot wait until I get the Jeep back. It is all in the timing.
With the tow bar installed on Quatro and the carrier ready to install the Jeep, there was really nothing else I could do in preparation for the move. Instead, I sat and watched my other favorite team, Man United, play Aston Villa who beat them soundly by a score of 3-1. It was just not Man U’s Day.
By then, it was time for the afternoon walk about. I harnessed up the dogs and we set off with the intention of just walking around the park. Sandy, of course, had other ideas and I let her lead us to wherever she wanted to go. Mikey gave me a look as if to say, ‘Really” as we wandered around. We ended up at the bottom of the field and then I took charge again guiding us back along the neighborhood road to Cato Park Road and then back to the RV Park. Altogether, we covered 1.6 miles for the day.
The evening was spent in the usual fashion, food, wine and football, with a round ball.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Monday Day 61 11/07/2022
Nature’s fruits
Today is the first day with the clocks changed and as I expected, I awoke and got up at 8:00 am. The first thing as usual, was to walk the dogs. The temperature had dropped again, and I was glad of the jacket that I had on. We did not stay out long, just enough for the dogs to do their thing before returning to Quatro where I made a bacon sandwich which I shared with the dogs although, I got the biggest part.
Turning my attention to other things, I did the usual world news thingy and decided that nothing had changed much and probably never will in what is left of my lifetime and if it does, it will be for the worse. I put the gloomy thoughts to one side and turned my attention to emails, none of which needed my input. I have resorted to blocking as many as I can although that only appears to be a temporary fix as the same senders show up again after a couple of days. Even those that tell you to do such and such to not receive their emails anymore, generally ignore the request to not send them. I read somewhere that the business is in the sending and not in the content and when a cancel request is sent, the company that sends out the emails are the losers. No wonder they are not interested in any cancellations regardless of the content or the wishes of the person sending the cancel request. I wonder how I end up on these lists as they are often for things that I have absolutely no interest in.
I sat there for a bit longer thinking about our plans for the next few days. Everything depends on the Jeep repairs and when I can pick it up. I fought against the urge to make that phone call as it was still way too soon. I must give them time to install that headlight, so I turned my thoughts to what remained to be done just to be organized in my mind.
Inside Quatro, when we move, I need to make travel safe all the moveable items for the journey. Not a big job and routine, mostly including installing shelf rods to stop the contents from inside the cupboards and the refrigerator from moving. Some items are stored on the shower floor and others are put on the bed, none of which can happen until we are actually going to travel. The letting in the slide outs and disconnecting the utilities are the very last thing. Add to that, packing all of the outside things on the Jeep carrier once I get the Jeep back. The final act before driving off is to connect the Jeep to Quatro. Damn, I hate all of this waiting around…So much to do and so little time.
I turned to the TV and played around with the sound bar but to no avail as I cannot get it to work. Giving up on that, I turned the TV on and watched a couple of Premier League games while I waited for the call which of course, never came. At half time in the second game, I bit the bullet and called the Collision Center as my patience had run out. The news was as I expected that it was not going to be ready today but should be sometime tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. I hid my disappointment and also my anger, thanking them very courteously and asked them to give me a call when I could come and pick it up. I bet that I will need to call them because if they have bad news, they will not want to call me.
I watched the second half of the game and as I calmed down, my frustrations evaporated as I watched these very good professional players kick each other all over the field but in a sort of controlled way. These players are incredibly fit as not only can they run and kick the ball for 90 minutes, mostly running at top speed in a very controlled way, their skills with the ball are amazing. I was a good player but nowhere near the level of these guys. No wonder, I never made the Professional grade.
With the games out of the way, I remembered that the clocks had changed and that it was going to get dark much earlier. We harnessed up and wandered around the grounds playing tag with a gentleman and his long haired Dachshund although, as with all of that breed, he had spotted us and was barking up a storm. My guys did not want to be outdone and responded in kind but luckily, we were going in opposite directions, and it quickly was over. Looking at his dog gave me the chance to confirm that basically, that is what Mikey is. In appearance and color, they both looked very much the alike. Mikeys problem is that his legs are twice as long than a true Dachshund which is his “something else” part. Altogether, we covered 2.5 miles for the day.
The evening ended in the usual way. Tomorrow, we can only hope that the repairs are completed as promised and even if they are, we will not travel until Wednesday.
The walk around the park as usual, consisted of changing directions a couple of times to avoid confrontations with other dogs out there, walking their owners. The park is beginning to fill as the Razorbacks have a home game Saturday, but most of those supporters that stay at the park will come in on Friday. We walked our normal 4/10ths of a mile before returning for breakfast.
I did the usual news thing and then followed it by the email thing. My friend, BJ, has been released from her expensive prison cell as she is now Covid free although with not much of the trip left to enjoy. Such a shame although, her suite aboard the luxury ship is larger than Quatro in square feet and much more luxurious.
It was difficult to sit and wait for news of the Jeep and I kept wanting to call and find out. They did say that if it is ready, it would be in the late afternoon. I used to pride myself on my patience which was boundless but, as I grow older, my patience and my temper are both getting harder to control and sometimes, I find myself really having to work at it. Another downside to growing old. Finally. I could stand it no longer and made the call and as I halfway expected, had more bad news. Apparently, the replacement headlight is the wrong one and they must reorder it. They did say that they should have everything done by Monday. Yeah, right…
I stopped over to the office to discuss the situation with Gerry, and he said that I was paid through Monday and if I needed to extend it by a couple of days, I could. I thanked him for his understanding and went back to the RV. The weather forecast is for heavy thunderstorms, so I decided not to waste the opportunity and instead drove into town hoping to beat the rain and get back before it started. As usual, the trip included both the Walmart’s stop, and the Starbucks follow up on the way home. I arrived back just in time to unload everything as it started to rain, with of course, a lot of help from my two little friends.
Back in the RV, I turned up the A/C units and turned on the portable heaters as it had cooled off dramatically with the onset of the rain. Then, with a lot of help, we put away the groceries before settling down to catch up on emails and write in the blog. By 5:30, it was already getting dark with the skies very overcast. As the clocks go back an hour tomorrow evening, this is the new norm, dark at 6:00 pm. Maybe, I should also change and start getting up earlier although, unwittingly, I will be doing that anyway. OK, now I have figured it out that my brain never adjusted to the original daylight-saving time which accounts for my normal wake up time at 9:00 pm. And I thought I was being lazy…Incidentally, this is the first heavy rain we have had for several months.
Our usual evening walk is just not going to happen so I must be prepared for the worst as far as the dogs go. Still, I do have Doggie Pads to put down and can only hope they find them. It rained hard for the rest of the evening and only tapered off around 11:00 pm. Just like before, the skylight in the bathroom has a very small leak but luckily, it drips straight into the toilet bowl.
I sat and listened to the rain beating heavily on the roof of the RV, which is actually, a very soothing sound and found myself nodding off to sleep. As it was only 7:00 pm, I roused myself awake and got on with the usual evening things like food and TV. We eventually went to bed around 11:30 pm and by then, the rain had stopped. As it happened, I did not need the soothing sound to go to sleep this time.
Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Saturday Day 59 11/05/2022
I awoke early and instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, my brain suddenly clicked into gear and reminded me that I need to walk the dogs as they had been “holding it” because of yesterday’s rain. I scrambled out, being careful where I walked just in case one of them might have had an accident but as far as I could see, the dogs had done a good job of hanging on. It was cold out and I was glad of my jacket and both dogs were very happy to return to Quatro after a very short walk, enough for them to do what they had to do. I could almost see them heave a huge sigh of relief as they “went” as they had been holding it for around 20 hours.
I managed to blow a fuse with a couple of units on at the same time and the GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) switch that is supposed to take care of that sort of thing would only make some circuits work again. This happened because I forgot that I had one of the electric heaters plugged into that circuit and when I switched on the toaster and coffee maker, it caused an overload. Lesson learned and something else to research to get that circuit working again. Never a dull moment…
I sat in front of the computer and could not get it to open. My immediate thought was that the damn scammers had gotten into it again. Then reason took over and I started testing outlets to see which ones were not working. It appeared that one side of the RV was dead including the bedroom although things like the TV and the lights still worked, and the problem was confined to the outlets. The first thing was to dig out the manual which was an absolute waste of time. All it had was a description of the parts involved but no explanation of how to make it right. It only had a rough idea of where I should look.
I remembered that I belonged to RV Repair Club and went on line to see what they had to offer. I watched a couple of videos, but they did not address my particular issue. Giving up on that, I went back to physically searching the RV. In one of my earlier RV’s, the fuses and breakers were under the bed. This bed was a definite no-go as it does not lift up to use the storage underneath as the others did and there were no electric panels attached to the frame. I kept looking and what I originally thought was a part of the cabinet on one side, turned out to be the opening door to the fuse box. Hooray, I had found what I was looking for and with a quick survey, noted that one of the breakers had tripped. Quickly resetting it, I heard a beep as something came to life and we were back in business. At least now, I know where to look if I need to in the future.
Breathing a huge sigh of relief and happy that I had resolved the issue, I settled back down to writing in the blog as we have nothing planned for the day. The clouds had disappeared, the sun was shining brightly, and it had warmed back up again although the wind still had a chill to it.
I thought about it for a bit and decided that I should try a couple of the local Walgreens to see if they might have a shaving head to fit my razor. I have already tried Walmart’s within easy distance and the only one that had anything close was the Super Center. Not close enough though so after driving around and finding a lot more of Fayetteville than I wanted to see, I headed back to the RV park. Today is game day and the traffic is heavy close to the University.
When I arrived back to Quatro, both dogs greeted me and obviously, could not wait to get out walking themselves. We harnessed up and set off around the park and then headed for the field walking all the way to the bottom, staying in the sun as much as possible. The wind had a definite Nip to it as we wandered around. I was glad to get back in the warmth of the RV. I think that today is the first day in several months that I have not had the big fan running facing the front windows where most of the heat comes in even with the shades pulled down. Now, I am glad of it as it helps to warm things up.
I watched one of my favorite teams, Brighton and Hove Albion play, the one my Great, Great Grandson plays on. They won their game with Solly getting to play the entire match. I thought he played very well but then I might be just a tiny bit biased. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
I had a restless night for whatever reason having difficulty in going back to sleep. My mind was filled with thoughts of this and that never settling on any one subject before switching to something else. Eventually, I must have dropped back off as the next thing I knew, it was 9:00 am and time to get up.
I took a quick shower and shaved. The new shaver is not as good as the one that needs a new head but then again, it is much cheaper. I will keep looking for a replacement head on our shopping trips. As a last resort, I can go back to the company online and get one that way,
We went out walking in the park as we usually do for the first walk of the day. The park is virtually empty except for what I consider to be the full timers or at least on an extended stay. I have noticed by the logo on some of the trucks, that in a couple of cases, the RV belongs to a worker whose job has them traveling from job site to job site and as soon as the job is complete, he/she moves on. Not a bad way go.
I wish I had known this when I worked pipeline construction, back in the day although it was in England and RV’ing was not much in vogue over there, back then. In fact, RV’ers had a bad name and were considered nothing better than wandering good for nothing, Gypsies. Incidentally, the English slang word for these Travellers was, “Didicoys”. There have always been wandering gypsies from time evermore going back to the horse and caravan days. They were looked upon as second class citizens because of their way of life just travelling around and making a shilling or two wherever they went, sometimes dishonestly. Hence the lack of trust by the other “law abiding” citizens. Now, as time has progressed, there are two sets of RV’ers. Those still referred to as “gypsies’ because of the nature of how they derive their living although they have upgraded their horse drawn caravans to low end or well used RV’s. Then there are the other luxury groups whose RV’s or Motorhomes can run into the many thousands of dollars and who are definitely not gypsies.
Back in the RV, I decided to do the laundry I had been thinking about and collected all of my “stuff”, jumped in the truck and made the short trip over to the laundry room. The person that had been there when we checked in on our walkabout, had gone leaving an empty washer and dryer for my use. The wash takes around 30 minutes. I returned to Quatro to do some more writing as we waited it out. When it was time, I jumped back in the truck and made the short trip over to put everything in the dryer. On my return, an hour later, just like before, the wash was not completely dry. It was just a bit damp and not wet, so I threw everything into the bag and drove back to the RV. The clothes that were dry were folded and put away but those still on the damp side were spread about the RV so they too, would dry out.
With the laundry out of the way for another week or so, I went back to writing and as I did, thought about calling to see if the Jeep would be ready. I was a little hesitant fearing more bad news, but the response was still very hopeful that it would be available late tomorrow afternoon. All I can do now is hope for the best.
We have nothing else planned for the rest of the day and cannot really make any plans for tomorrow until I know the status of the Jeep. It is really the focal point of the day if we can pick it up as our travel plans are on hold pending that.
We went out for a much longer walk down Cato Park Road and walked it all the way to the end. Altogether, we covered 3.2 miles which was the best day we have had in a long time as it did not include walking in a Walmart’s store. As can be expected, both dogs found their respective places and zonked off while I wrote some more as I cooled off.
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.
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.
I was reading through some work that I know was written a very long time ago when I was at least fifteen years younger and now I am much older and wiser although wiser is a relative term used by people to affirm that they are smarter than the average bear and that in their thoughts they really care which may be true in their minds the sum of our thoughts often find that the things we often say can be hurtful in many ways in our beliefs and way of life some of whom prefer to strife while others look for a peacefull way and let the others have their say that is how it should be otherwise it is tyranny we should all try to get along each one singing his own song different than what your neighbor sings he is his own person and can do his thing as long as it does not interfere in all of the things that we hold dear for as individulas we have choices or collectively raise our voices there is no purpose to this poem no hidden views or call for action other than to lead a good life trying to do it without any strife respecting those who try the same for life is so much more than a game with the winner coming out on top life should be shared and we should stop competing to see who has the most of material goods which are quickly lost for when we die as we all do what use the gains of a lifetime or two for the only ones who will reap the rewards are those left behind who can now afford to start the cycle all over again until in the end they end up the same.
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.
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.
