A short walk, breakfast and then a fight to get the internet up and running. That was how the day started and to a writer like myself, having a working internet is really important. I think somewhere there must be some sort of weird connection between my decision to move on because of the lousy internet service as today was the very worst it has been so far. It was so bad that I had to jump in my car and drive around the park until I found a spot that allowed me to actually make a connection so that I could pump more money into the system or at least as much as it allows ($30.00 for 15 gigs) which will last me until tomorrow when I will have to do it all over again. That is why I am leaving as I have already spent over $320.00 or so on trying to get service here.
One of the many deer in the park
I returned to the RV after making the connection and completed writing the previous blog before starting this one. I spent time working on the pictures although, the ones taken by my iPhone need very little work, the camera is that good. By the time we had finished this, it was time for walkies as Sandy keeps reminding me. We went on another trail walk and covered almost a mile and a half at breakneck speed until retuning back to sit in the outside wicker couch to cool off and drink a beer. Very relaxing. I got a call back from St Ives, the next park on my list and we completed the arrangements for us to move on at the end of the month. Of course, the first thing I asked them was about their internet which they claim is good. I guess we will see. This time, I have only booked for a week but I can always change that If I like it there. So, counting today, we have four more days left as I drive out on November 1.
09/28/2021 As is our usual custom, we went for a short walk around the park. It is very quiet here with all of the RV’s moved out and just a few along the lake. Following breakfast, I sat and wrote and watched as a very large tractor/mower combo pulled into the area of the trails hopefully to cut down the long grass. I don’t like walking in it as I can’t see any snakes that might be hiding there plus on our early morning walk, it is wet with dew and gets the dogs pretty soaked resulting in them having to get toweled down before we can go back in. Either that or sit outside for a while which we generally do anyway.
I called the new campsite both to confirm that they will accept forwarded packages and then I called PostNet to make those arrangements as I have a package there containing a unit that I would like to get installed in my Jeep. It will save me money on insurance and I will only get charged for miles driven. The Jeep tends to sit a lot often for days on end. At the same time, I changed my allotted campsite to a different one that is on the end giving up shade for privacy. Thanking them very profusely and after them saying they will se me on Friday, I hung up.
I sat here thinking of the past and our current life and how much it has changed. Now, my time is my own to do as much or as little as I want. There are chores of course, cleaning the RV and taking care of the tanks, laundry and shopping which both involve going into Edna and then of course the walks, without which I would hardly be moving. Sandy won’t allow that to happen of course as she is pretty demanding. Her body clock starts going off about 2:30 for the afternoon walk which is much too early by my standards as it is still pretty hot and uncomfortable out there. I prefer it later in the day when the sun is lower in the sky. So, I tactfully ignore her and don’t make eye contact as that gets her tail wagging and I feel bad at the hopeful look in her eyes. Mikey is much more laid back and nowhere near as demanding. Difference between the male and the female just like in real life with humans. Sorry, just my view on women. That’s why I have been a bachelor for these past 30 years as on some things, I find it very hard to compromise.
My RV, a 2021 Coachmen Leprechaun and my 2017 Jeep Cherokee parked at Texana Lake RV Park
Texana Lake is a huge lake built to supply water for the sake of the residents living around in all of the small and local towns whose people have a water need and damning the river it was perceived a lake would evolve that would provide a supply one that would never run dry.
Not only did it provide the precious liquid on which life depends but it also supplied other things one of which and to this end was the building of Texana Park where campers arrive to spend their time enjoying living in an RV or maybe those who are more inclined to get closer to nature and spend their time in a tent sleeping close to the ground with nothing but canvas all around to shelter them from the sun and the cold but these are the ones who are brave and bold.
The RV dwellers do not live it rough instead they have all of the stuff that they usually have at home electricity water and even a phone to keep them in touch with the outside world so that their life does not get unfurled from the normal living they have had from the start even though they are now at a park.
Why do people choose this life which for most is just respite from everyday living and to get away to relax with nature and to play out in the woods just like as a child when growing up let us run wild with never a care or worry to depress and were all happy in our youthfulness.
Others live this life full time and for them it is a choice that they made preferring a life on the road with maybe a partner to share the load of driving and camping and all that goes along with living an RV life travelling the road to see the sights and staying in campgrounds for the night.
This is not a life for everyone to live if a permanent residence you desire or a larger space in which to grow or a bigger place for your daily attire as an RV even the largest of which is very small compared to a house and there is no room for luxurious things and everything you own must have a need as it takes up space of which little indeed can be wasted on trivial things as it must have a use in order to stay otherwise it just gets in the way.
I really like this RV life but then again I haven’t a wife who maybe would disagree about living in an RV although I do have to say that I have two dogs who run and play every time we go out for a walk and they like to live this life which is probably why I haven’t a wife.
I will live this life until I’m too old to drive around or until I am told that you no longer on your own can be and then I suppose I will have see about living in an old folks home where at least I will not be alone but there will always be a part of me wishing I was still living in my RV.
What is it about this RV life that makes us want to live it in a space so very small we barely can fit in it and yet so many people like to travel on the highway giving up their other one because this has more leeway the bricks and stones and nine to five are more than some can stand and so they live the RV life like something they have planned this life is not for everyone if you want to live and grow maybe close quarters are not for you or if your needs do show because this life requires that you leave behind so much and in the space your earthly things are limited as such and only things you really need can fill the drawers and shelves all other stuff is left behind and only time can tell if you made the proper choice of what to leave behind as wishing you had brought it along is natural as mankind likes to have a lot of stuff to help complete his day this is the way it has always been since man has had his say I really like this RV life as I travel around the country stopping where I want to with maybe some activity or a peaceful site with trees and trails and maybe wildlife too and even a lake or just a pond to add to the view and after all is said and done what does it really answer it’s a place to sleep and eat and drink and shelter from the weather and spend our time with a life sublime doing something that is ageless as we travel the road enjoying our time no worries to deter us.
Today was a little different as we decided that we needed to go into Edna for a couple of different reasons but first we had to go through our normal routine of walkies and breakfast. For the first walk of the day, we just walked around the park as we usually do checking on the RV’s and the different comings and goings. We walked by the Lake and watched the different birds and managed to see yet another Armadillo. The place is teeming with them, well maybe teeming is not the right word but we have seen three different ones already. Generally, when we walk around the Park, we cover between half to three quarters of a mile. We also saw a large amount of deer as we usually do as they just wander around the Park in small herds.. There were even a couple of young bucks, literally, who were practicing their headbutting skills although neither of them had antlers.
Following our usual leisurely breakfast, we sat at the computer checking messages, answering a few, reading the latest gossip and generally staying in touch with the outside world before I decided that due to the non functioning washing machines here at the park, I needed to go into Edna to do laundry and while waiting, grocery shopping at HEB. The trip in to Edna is a straight shot from the campground of about 7 miles which at 75 mph, the actual speed limit, did not take very long. I found the Laundromat via my cell phone and when I pulled up, I was not even sure it was open. it is not a run down building or anything like that but there wasn’t a soul either in the parking lot or inside the laundromat. I tentatively pushed open the door and discovered a vey large space with lots of working washers and dryers with only a couple being used. There was no one on duty neither was there a change machine. I quickly solved that problem as I could see a bank just a block away
Back at the Laundromat, I filled two machines and the set off for HEB again with the use of my cell phone map locater. Actually, it was only a couple of blocks away as Edna is not a very big town with a population of 5600. It was established in 1886. It has this very wide Main Street typical of those seen in the movies of old Wild West Towns. It still has a working train track and I could hear the train whistles as they passed through the town. Even though the HEB is small, it still had everything that I need and a lot more. I even persuaded myself to buy pork chops just to vary my diet as I’m not usually much of a meat eater. I returned to the laundry which had completed the wash cycle and I put it in the dryer and listened to an Audiobook as I waited. The dryers are huge and I was able to put both washed loads into one. The dryer worked by putting in a quarter and then when that ran out, another one and on and on. Actually, I was able to sort the dry clothes out and fold them while the rest was drying. It worked well. Incidentally, my entire cost was $3.00 as compared to $6:50 at Henly.
The trip back was very uneventful and fast. I do like the 75mph speed limits for the roads down here in this part of the State. It is probably because of very straight roads, unobstructed views most of the time and very few cars.. I was greeted by two very excited little dogs who helped me put the groceries and the laundry away and even helped me make the bed, a chore at the best of times and they really didn’t make it any easier. Come to that, neither were they much help. We went out on the evening walk and this time, we chose one of the trails close by and wandered along it until it returned us back to our point of entry. Wandered is not the right word as Sandy does not know the meaning of it. In her mind, everything is a new exciting adventure with so many smells and interesting things along the way all to be done as fast as possible. Me and Mikey, we just stagger along behind hoping that she will get tired and slow down. Altogether for the day, I covered around three and a half miles with the dogs a little less as they did not do the Edna trip.
I watched as two new neighbors pulled in, one next door and the other across the street. The next door people look like the ones that were here last week but the ones across the street are definitely different ones. They have a 5th wheel which I assume the older people live in and they have also erected a tent for the younger family. When I say younger, I’m talking a husband and wife and a toddler in vey large diapers who staggers around all over the place. It looks like she hasn’t been walking for very long. Plus of course, a dog, a little Dachshund who like all of it’s breed, is very noisy. At least now, for a while, I am no longer the Lone Ranger of the block.
We closed the day out in our usual fashion, feeding Sandy and Mikey first and then me, washing up and putting everything away in its place and watching television before going to bed just after midnight to sleep like a baby.
09/24/2021
Today, we chose another of the trails for our early morning walk and apart from a couple of deer in the distance, it was uneventful. This trail actually bisects the loop where all of the RV’s are parked and is a relatively short walk of about a half mile but enough to get us going for the day. On our return, we did the usual breakfast/dog feed routine before settling down in front of the computer. Another RV has pulled in across the street kind of kitty corner from us. Looks like a single older gentleman with his large dog. He was obviously very experienced as he was set up in no time flat. It’s interesting that so many of the RV people are older men, sometimes with their wives. I guess they are retired like me and no longer need to work and can afford this lifestyle and a life of leisure. BTW, these older guys have no trouble in operating their rigs and backing in and setting up to them is a piece of cake. For obvious reasons, the younger group are just weekenders.
The RV’s started to arrive in numbers as the day wore on with people coming in for the weekend. Many came in RV’s of all shapes and sizes. Several came in to tent camp. Funny, but they seemed to be the noisiest with a lot of shouting and laughter and radios blaring noisy music. I guess that is the nature of tent camping as you quite literally spend most of the time outdoors whereas RV campers can go inside and shut the door.
We walked around the campground for our evening walk just to be nosy and see all of the new arrivals and there were a lot of them. Many said hello as we walked by or their dogs would bark at us which of course set off my dogs. With apologies all round, we would quickly walk away with Sandy looking over her shoulder to have the last bark.
We had no serious plans for anything today. Just to walk, write, work on the pictures and generally laze around. What a life…
We are following a daily pattern which is pretty much the same. The differences are when I go into town for groceries or in my case, a visit to the ATT store. I think I have pretty much exhausted that angle and my only way out is to buy a second Booster. This way, I would get cheaper gigs of service as opposed to my current system of paying $10 for an additional 5 gigs. Either that or move to a park that has decent WIFI. I really don’t want to do that as I really like this park and have been giving it some thought to stay an additional 2 weeks.
Today started off very much like all of the other days with a walk in the mornings followed by breakfast. The actual household chores are very few especially indoors. I have to vacuum out occasionally with my little hand held battery operated unit and make the bed, sort of. Of course there are things like feeding dogs and myself and then cleaning up the dishes. I am not much of a meat eater so I don’t barbecue or grille and rely a lot on packages and cans. One of the bright spots of my current site is that the trash dumpster is just across the road, a small bonus.
Today, for the morning walk, I decided to take one of the trails of which there are several all connected together. We walked under shade of the large oak trees most of the way along a wide pathway for about 1-1/2 miles total. The dogs just loved the new adventure and the new smells although I was very watchful for any snakes along the way. Returning back to the RV, we went through the usual feeding routines followed by a spell in front of the computer to keep up with this blog.
At one point, I started thinking about my current lifestyle comparing to those past years after retiring from my working life. I have always been a very active person both physically and mentally and like to keep myself challenged. As I grow older, my physical abilities have slowed down quite considerably as have my mental capabilities which comes with advanced years and now, I am quite content to sit and write rather than having to be active all of the time. Walking the dogs is about as much as I want to do physically or maybe a longer hike without them is good but I no longer need all of that activity or the need to stay busy. Consequently, this lifestyle suits me just fine.
For the evening walk, I stayed within the park roads walking the big circle by the lake watching and photographing the views and wildlife. That walk is almost a mile around. I think I will start to carry my big camera in the future as it has a telescopic lens instead of using my phone.
09/20/2021
Today, for our early morning walk, I decided that Mikey, Sandy and I needed to take another of the trails, the entry of which is right beside my RV. This one actually interconnects with the one I took last time and made a big sweep for almost a mile before bringing me back to the where we started. Easy walking, lots of shade but still keeping a wary eye out for any crittures of the slithery kind. The only thing we saw was a squirrel and a heron.
My neighbors on both sides that had moved in on Friday both packed up and moved out this morning. I watched them and the have a really good routine either doing individual tasks or helping one another when it required more than one person, like when they stowed their awning. I chatted to one of the couples and they are from Yoakum, a small town forty or so miles from here. Both of these neighbors are regular campers although I’m not sure if it is every weekend. They were telling me that there used to be four couples and now they are down to just two. Neither of them are young so I don’t know how much longer they will keep it going. Great that they have had these memories and friendship over all of these years. I watched them drive away with a certain amount of envy that they do this as married couples and obviously both enjoy it.
I worked on the blog and on the pictures that I have taken getting them ready to be included in the things that I write about.
One of the trails
09/21/2021
I got up early for me and took the dogs out for a short walk. If Mikey had his way, we would walk around the grass outside of the RV and then straight back inside but as Sandy and I both know his sneaky little ways, we make sure that we get going before Mikey realizes that he has lost his opportunity to rebel. We only did a short walk around the block and watched as yet another RV pulled out. I think that I mentioned that I am the only RV left on my street. Feels a bit like the Lone Ranger and kinda scary although this is a gated community. Depending if I stay longer than the end of the month will decide if I ask for a new site. I might anyway to find one with more shade even it it just across the street.
Today, I have no real plans although I am quite sure that I will not spend much time outdoors as it is hot and somewhat humid. Not surprising with all of this water around. Even with the shade from all of these wonderful Live Oaks, it is still very uncomfortable when we are out walking. At least we can look forward to cooler weather as it is now officially Fall. We went out for a longer walk later in the afternoon and took a bunch of pictures which I will work on tomorrow ready to include them in these blogs. We came across an Armadillo that let us get pretty close before he spotted us and dashed off into hiding. We saw a bunch of wildlife, birds, herons, ducks and such on the water by the bridge. Still looking for that elusive crocodile though. This is a very nice park if only the WIFI worked and the washing machines were operating.
I spent most of the afternoon working on the pictures that I have taken, touching them up and adding my watermark. I use Adobe Lightroom for most of this work which can be a very complex program especially if it is not used on a consistent basis which I don’t. Consequently, it took lots of trials and errors before I figured it back out again. Another downfall of growing older. Less memory retention.
Later on in the evening, the weather changed and we had a very severe thunderstorm come through. The lightning flashes were very dramatic lighting up the sky with brilliance but we didn’t get much rain to talk of. The storm quickly passed leaving behind an eerie silence. And so to bed as yet another day has passed.
A Busy little fellow.
09/22/2021
We got up late this morning for no other reason than not waking up and no reason to have to and following the usual procedure, went walking with the dogs. This time, we headed down the road towards the bridge. With no other RV’s on the street, we are able to wander around wherever the dogs (Sandy) take us as we are not invading anyone else’s space and needless to say, it is not in a straight line. Anyone watching would think I was drunk or something as Sandy pulls us this way and that as her nose catches yet another interesting smell. Mikey and I, both mere males, follow along very meekly behind as just like most women, she rules the roost in our house. I took my big camera with me this time and got some great shots which I worked on when we got back to the RV. It took a while, several hours in fact to get the photos where I wanted them adding my Postmark as the last thing. Now I have a good supply of pictures to add to the blog and will continue to take more as I wander around.
The one major drawback to this Park is their lack of a working WIFI which, as I have mentioned before, is costing me almost $10:00 a day because of having to buy extra gigs of service for my ATT Booster which supplies service to phone, computer and TV. This may be the one reason that I have to move on even though I really like it here.
Most of the day was taken up with working on photos and then going for the evening walk which this time was towards the lake where there are several RV’s, probably 15 or so parked. Certainly a lot more than on my street where I am the only one. This is such a nice park that I imagine, the lack of WIFI service is one of the deterrents as most people do research before booking into any campground and WIFI, or lack of, is usually a very big factor.
09/15/2021 Departure from Rockport and Arrival at Texana Park
Daisy at Texana
Well, today was a very interesting day. I got up relatively early for me just so that I could get an early start on the road. We did the usual walkies and breakfast and then I went through the final stages of getting ready to move which basically consisted of storing things inside the RV so they wouldn’t shift while travelling. It take’s me longer to hook up the Jeep than it does to get the RV ready for the road but I finally managed it and with a last look around, drove out of Rockport Resort RV Park. We left around 11:00 am. This is a very nice park with a lot of long time residents but it does not have much in the way of trails. BTW, I never did reach the Gulf seashore.
The trip was actually uneventful and was a pretty straight shot and took almost 2 hours. Horribly boring countryside, very flat, not many trees and come to that, not much traffic. I passed several oil refineries belching out smoke and flames and finally arrived at Lake Texana and this park. Trip was almost 100 miles. I had to use my phone as a mapping system but it worked pretty well. Maybe not so much if there were a lot of twists and turns and changes of streets but this one was a straight shot.
This used to be a State Park and now it is handled by LNRA- Lavaca-Navidad River Authority. I stopped by the office and squared away before driving to my allotted site which I immediately disliked, did a U-turn back to the office and asked for a different site. The Park is almost empty and they have over 250 park sites but I guess many are reserved for weekenders as the person I was dealing with only had a dozen or so open sites. I chose a different one with a partial view of Lake Texana which is within walking distance. So far, I have no close neighbors but that will change come the weekend I expect as those weekend warriors come in..
Setting up was a piece of cake with a quick back in after unhooking the Jeep and the push of a button to level the rig. Hooks ups were close by and easy and in no time flat, the A/C was running, cooling the place down. We took our first walk around the park venturing close to the lake to take a look. Lake Texana itself is huge as is this park. It is actually comprised of two separate but adjoining parks, Brackenridge and Texana Park which is the one we are in. The campsites are spaced well apart from each other with lots of grass and many trees providing shade and cover.
There are deer all over the place in all shapes and sizes causing Mikey to have a fit when he sees them. There are also signs up to watch out for snakes and crocodiles. Hope I get to see both although at a distance. So when we are walking on the grass, I have to keep watch just in case. We did get to see an Armadillo when we were out walking but I didn’t get a good picture with my phone. I need to start carrying my big camera with me with the telescopic lens. My site is almost next door to the trail entrance. Couldn’t be any better.
09/16/2021
This time, I don’t mind him being there…
This was a very strange day as I didn’t wake up until 10:30 and when I did crawl out of bed, I felt like crap. I took the dogs out for a walk and then went back to bed I felt so rotten. I got up later in the evening to take the dogs out and feed them before feeding myself, the first meal of the day feeling a lot better but still a completely wasted day. No idea why I felt so bad.
09/17/2021
Today, we were up bright and early for us which actually means waking up around 8:30 or so. I am sleeping really good so it must be that I have a clear conscience and that this outdoor life is good for me. Our first trip of the day with the dogs was towards the lake and on the way, we discovered another trail leading back to our campsite which we explored. It brought us out just below where we are camped. We all had our leisurely breakfast although in the dogs case, it is wolfed down in 10 seconds flat. They get more enjoyment licking out the food cartons than the bowl of food so nothing gets wasted.
I watched as two new neighbors pulled in. I have yet to meet them although it appears that they know each other and I imagine they are regulars here. Both are older couples and the men look as old and decrepit as I am but they still are able to do what is needed in setting up camp. Both are hauling regular hitch trailers and both had no trouble in backing up although to be fair, they did have wives to assist in the backing process, directional wise. If I had a companion to help, I probably would have kept Eagle Two for the extra room but it is no fun in setting up alone.
Internet here is a bit of a problem as the park doesn’t have WIFI or at least, one that is working. Consequently, I am having to rely on my Netgear booster which works well but is expensive to purchase extra gigabytes of service. It costs roughly $10.00 to watch a movie. Still, needs must. I drove into Ganado, a small little town but it has an ATT store which was serviced by just one person. She was very knowledgeable and had the fastest thumbs of anyone I have ever seen on a cell phone and tablet. I wanted to buy a tablet that I could use in the RV until such times that I can get the radio unit fixed. Something a little bigger than my phone. I waited at least 30 minutes while she dealt with a young couple who couldn’t make up their mind and eventually, directed her attention to me. After purchasing the tablet, I talked to her about my internet problem and the fact that I am burning through gigs of service at an astounding rate. The Netgear unit comes with a 100 gigs of service for $55.00 a month. Extra gigs can be purchased at five at a time for $10:00. I figured out that 5 gigs lasts about two hours, enough for one movie. I didn’t have this problem back at Henly because they had a good working internet service. She offered some advice and fiddled with a few things so we need to see what happens.
The drive back to the park was uneventful and fast as the speed limit on most of the roads is 75mph with hardly any traffic. It was late when I got back and the gates were closed. I forgot to bring the passcode and had to make a call but I couldn’t get the gate to open. Luckily for me, a car pulled up behind me and a young lady got out, punched in the code and without a word, got back in her car. I thanked her anyway and drove back to the RV to take two very excited little dogs out for their evening walk.
09/18/2021
Lake Texana
We got up late for no reason other than we slept good and took the dogs out for their early morning walk although by that time, it was 10:30am. I decided to walk one of the trails which was close by and we covered around 1-1/2 miles by the time we got back. It was uneventful but enjoyable although I am much more aware of what might be on the ground in front of us. There are a whole series of these trails all interconnected so we have a few to choose from.
One thing we noticed is that there are quite a few more RV’s and several tent campers filling the spaces. Most people so far are pretty friendly. The gigabyte problem has not cleared up so I decided that I needed to visit the ATT store one more time and at the same time, find a store for some grocery shopping. I drove back into Ganado and chatted with Imeeda, the same lady as yesterday but even after much research, was unable to help me. She did give me the case off her tablet in lieu of finding a suitable stand that I could purchase. She kindly directed me to a Dollar General where I purchased some of the food that I needed.
On the way back, I decided to drive into Edna which is a little bigger and actually a bit closer to the campsite to see what it may have in the way of grocery stores. Lo and Behold, it has a small HEB where I very happily was able to get everything that I needed. I also took the time to drive around this park just to see what it contains besides RV sites. It has the usual comfort rooms and a Community Recreational Center but unfortunately, the washing machines are broken in the laundromat so it means a trip back into Edna for this. So, so far, no WIFI and no washing machines. Hmm.
When I got back and was unloading the groceries, one of my new neighbor stopped by, introduced himself and offered a hand with the unload. Very nice of him. We chatted for a bit before going our separate ways, me back to take the dogs walking and him back to his wife and family. Actually, he and his family are visiting their parents who are the ones in the RV. My evening ended by watching the English Premier League and going to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour, to sleep like a baby.
Today was a very quiet day spent mostly in the RV except for the usual dog walks which Sandy insists that we take twice and sometimes three times a day. Today was a three timer as she sat and looked at me with her big brown eyes which I tried to ignore. She was very insistent and if I happen to catch her glance, it involves an immediate tail wagging and a pleading look that says, “Come on Dad, it’s time to go”. We approached the street on one of these walks only to be accosted by three little “killer” Chihuahuas that live in the house down the road and according to the Park Super, are always running loose. Apart from a lot of noise from both sets of dogs, no harm occurred and I turned and went back into the RV Park instead. Turns out that there are actually five of those noisy little dogs as we found in a later walk.
I spent a part of the day researching our next stop and finally came up with Texana Park and Campground in a place called Edna here in Texas. It’s a little under a hundred mile trip and we have booked a two week stay. More on that later. I have decided that wherever possible, I am going to find campgrounds that have a lake or river and lots of trails in the future as I am not too interested in towns and cities other than for shopping needs. It’s amazing how much time it takes doing this research and then after locating a place of interest, there is always the possibility that it does not have any vacancies. When this happens, it’s back to the drawing board.
I have several programs that find campsites and work out a route. The one I am currently using is called RV Trip Wizard. What I do is to figure out what direction to go and then see what campgrounds are along the way. I am very flexible. The comments and write ups are what I use to see if the camp site is worth my time and that the place has full hook ups including sewer. I’m too old and picky to “rough it”.
Day 9
Today was pretty much like the rest so far, getting up late, walking the dogs, eating breakfast and reading the mail. I usually spend time tidying up the RV before settling down perusing the computer for the latest world and local news and following up on items that interest me.
Later in the afternoon, I decided to drive into Portland just for the hell of it and because I needed a Starbucks Latte feeling that I was missing something from my used to be, normal routine. Portland is about 20 miles away and a pretty straight shot according to the map but for some reason, the car mapping system was taking me all over the place and I had to rely on my phone which is not the best and a little dangerous. However, we made it safely and I rewarded myself with a venti sized Latte to make up for all of those I had missed these past couple of weeks. I also located a ginormous Walmart’s and did some grocery shopping before heading back to the RV. Funnily enough, the car mapping system worked fine on the way home. Must be like a horse, reluctant to walk away but always eager to get back to the stable.
Arriving back at the campgrounds, I was met by two very excited little dogs who helped me unload the groceries and put them away before we went out on our last walk of the day.
The countryside is so different here, very flat, not a lot of trees and somewhat depressing. So far, I still haven’t located a beach or come to that, not got very close to the Gulf. Although the campsite is clean and well taken care of, there are no places to walk so I have learned a lot as regards what to look for in the future. Our exercise consists of walking around the campground due to the lack of trails.
Day 10
Another late rising day not because of being lazy but because I am sleeping well and only waking for the call of nature. I somewhat reluctantly crawled out, showered, put on clean clothes and was ready to face whatever today would bring. It started in it’s usual way by taking the dogs for their first walk of the day and along the way, we ran into Andy, the Park Super so we stopped to chat. Turns out he is into Amateur Dramatics and they have their opening show this Saturday putting on their version of M.A.S.H. I wished him luck as we went on our way returning to the RV for a late breakfast. He had been putting out welcome signs as he had for us when we arrived and it looks like we have new tenants on their way in. If this park had more shade and and trails, I would stay longer but unfortunately, it has neither.
The rest of the day was spent in the usual way, writing, walking the dogs, feeding us all, watching TV in the evening and then bed for a long peaceful sleep. Incidentally, it is too hot and humid to spend much time outdoors.
Rockport RV Park
Day 11
The new tenants have arrived and are directly opposite me. They look to be old hands at this camping thing as they very quickly parked and levelled their rig and unloaded their truck with other stuff. They do not appear to have any pets unless it is a cat which is one less worry for us when we go walking. I have to say that this park is laid out very spaciously with a lot of room between campsites. I don’t feel crowded at all here and there is no one on either side of me.
I decided to go back into Rockport to do more shopping this time to Walmart’s as I needed a SanDisk for one of my gadgets having lost the other one somewhere. While there, I stocked up on a few other things. This Walmart is huge and for the first time, I saw trucks parked in the lot on overnight stays, something I had read about but not witnessed. Compared to this Walmart, the ones in Austin are no more than large stores. Like I said, this one is ginormous.
I have chatted to a few of the neighbors but most of the time, people are off doing their own thing and you don’t get to see very many of them unless they are driving by or walking their dogs or maybe using the pool or laundry rooms. Many are full timers and have jobs that take them away on a regular basis. That is why so many people enjoy this life as they are able to live it their way. One couple I talked to expressed concern that I was leaving so soon as they considered me to be a good neighbor. Go figure.
Most of my days are spent in front of the computer either writing or following up on things. Walking the dogs takes up at least an hour or more every day. Yesterday, I worked on the pop out screen to the map system in the RV as it had quit working and managed to at least get it to pop out and work again. Now I need to work on the maps so it will work and not make me rely on my phone which although a good system, is a little more dangerous as the screen is so small.
I stopped and chatted to one of the neighbors, Cary I believe and she was asking about my accent. She has a Boxer that is just a big old baby and he and Sandy got along just fine, Mikey of course, not so much. He is a funny little dog as he does not want to make friends with anybody, dogs or humans. Maybe he was ill treated in the past. Either that or he is just plain possessive and doesn’t want to share me with another strange dog in case they join our household.
Day 12
I watched my new neighbor as he worked on his small boat directly across from me. No idea what he is trying to do and not nosey enough to find out. Quite obviously, they are here for a while, probably “Snowbirds” from up North wintering out in the warmer climes. After he finished with the boat, he set up some permanent wooden steps into his unit. They are pretty big and I have no idea where he carried them or come to that, I didn’t see the boat when they came in either. Maybe he triple towed and unhooked it when he came in so that he could set up.
Today it is cloudy and we have had some rain. Makes a change from the constant sun and heat as the temperature has dropped by several degrees. We need to time our afternoon walk or chance a soaking. I spent more time working on the Radio/Map System with not much success. The radio works but the map, not at all so it looks like we will be relying on the phone to show us the way. Dang thing is too small.
We only have two more days here as we leave on the 15th to our new site in Edna, Texas. So tomorrow will be laundry day and the day after will be packing inside the RV. The final thing before pulling out will be to empty the tanks, disconnect the hoses and finally the power chord which is the first thing upon arriving and the last thing prior to driving out.
I have not been watching the weather forecast and all of a sudden, my phone squawked with an Emergency message declaring that there is a possibility of a tropical storm with bad weather with high winds and a possible storm surge as high as 3ft. I sat there for a while considering what to do but it was too late in the day to make anything happen today. Depending on what happens overnight will decide what we do tomorrow.
The Beauty of Nature
Day 13
Another late rising day not by just being lazy although that does have a lot to do with it but it rained very hard in the night, enough to wake me up but as there was no imminent threat, I quickly dropped back off to sleep and used it as an excuse to not get up very early. It was raining very lightly when we went out for our morning walk but the dogs didn’t care and dragged me out anyway. There was a large Setter roaming free that I recognized from down the street. He was a big old friendly guy and just wanted to play so we directed our walk back towards his RV where his owner came out and he deserted us for her. Short lived friendship.
We continued on with our walk and checked on the comings and goings before returning back to our RV for a late breakfast. Then a check of the weather map to see what was happening with the storm. It is still out there but has not yet made landfall. We need to keep our eyes on it to see what may develop. This is a strange little town with a lot of RV parks a couple of which are no longer operating. There are a lot of very nice houses and then right next door, a junked up yard and house which detracts from the neighborhood. I don’t understand how those places are not made to clean up their yards and property.
I received a call from the next campground that I had called yesterday with a view of leaving here a couple of days earlier based on the weather. I chatted for a bit and decided to wait and see as my reserved spot at the next campground is ready and waiting for us even if we come in a day early.
The rest of the day was spent on important things like doing the laundry which takes about two hours altogether. The laundry room is always in need of a sweep out which I do when I am there but the machines are clean and cheap at $1.50 a load each to wash and dry. Today was bedclothes day which I don’t mind laundering but hate remaking the bed. I think I may have finally worked out a system as it went very smoothly with everything working the first time and no bottom fitted sheet coming unsprung and actually staying in place. The problem is that I can’t get to the top of the bed very easily due to the nature of the RV setup. This will be the last time I use this laundry facility as tomorrow is our last day here.
I spent the rest of the evening feeding dogs and then myself and watching the English Premier League on the television.
Different sort of vegetation
Day 14
Last day at this park.
We started off in our usual fashion of dog walks and breakfast followed by catching up with the news and latest events. The hurricane has moved up the coast and did not present us with any problems apart from a few wind gusts. It didn’t even rain to talk of. We will be following it as we drive to our next stop but hopefully it will have gone way beyond where we plan on staying.
Today was a very quiet day as I had nothing planned except to put away a few things ready for tomorrows trip. I can’t do much in that direction until we are ready to actually move as we still need to eat both this evening and tomorrow morning and then it will only be a case of storing any moveable objects. Last move, some loose things fell off the counter top and managed to get behind the big slide out which of course, I didn’t find out until I discovered damage to the woodwork by the refrigerator when I operated the slide. Nothing too serious but still annoying. I played around with the Truck radio in the hope of using it instead of my phone but to no avail. I even worked on my tablet but could not get that to project the route either. I can’t believe that Ford stuck such a useless piece of radio/view screen in an RV which is made to travel around. My Jeep has a far nicer unit that actually displays and talks out loud giving me turn by turn directions. For a $100,000 plus price ticket on the RV, scrimping on a $200.00 radio/map system does not make a lot of sense.
I took a few pictures of the campground for this post just after Andy, the Super stopped by to offer me a couple more nights if I needed it. I respectfully declined hoping to move on to a place that has some trails that the dogs and I can hike. The new place at Texana Park in Edna appears to have a couple of miles of trails. We’ll see. This park here at Rockport is a very nice winter stop over for those wanting to get away from the snow and cold up North as those just moving in already know.
We sat around with not much to do after having attended to the few chores that are around the place like checking the levels of the greywater tanks and at the same time making sure that the blackwater tank has room for more of what it contains I will not discuss as it can create a awful fuss if not properly attended to and the guy that does that is you know who.
With the tanks all good for a few days I went back inside to see what other ways I could change things around or at least tidy up as space is small and before very long everything is shipshape with things put away and so we are ready for another day.
I cannot imagine more than one in such a small space for it is known that even with the greatest of love a person needs room if only just for a while loving feelings are put on trial. Luckily that does not apply to me as the only real company that I have are my two little dogs who look at me with their loving eyes and in there hearts I’m the greatest guy as they try to stay out of my way as most of the time they are asleep if we’re not out walking to exercise their feet and give them time to run around and sniff the smells that other dogs leave a message not meant for me..
I spend a lot of my life writing this blog about the strife of living in an RV although I do have to say I don’t want it any other way as even though there is only me with my two little dogs for company I am a very happy man with not much to do except when I plan a move from one site to the next and read revues and check things out before committing us to make the drive making sure we will survive the trip from one place to the next to spend a few days of happiness.
I wish I had discovered this life years ago instead of the strife of ponds and fish and having a house and all of the work that was involved except that because those efforts paid off I no longer need a job and retired I can do the things that I want including this lifestyle which allows me to jaunt from place to place wherever I choose as there is only me and two dogs to amuse.
View from the right window. Notice how well spaced apart the RV’s are.
Day 6 Monday
I am thinking that this coast move is not such a great idea as I was banking on there being sea breezes but not so much. For the next Park, in a little over a weeks time, I think I might try somewhere back inland maybe close to a lake or river.
Another day started pretty much like the rest up to now. The first thing was to take the dogs walking and as the Dog Walk Park as it is called is just across the road, I tried to be lazy and let the dogs loose hoping that they would at least walk around for a bit. They did for two minutes then Sandy flopped down in the grass and Mikey stayed under my chair. I even walked around with them and they followed me but not too happy inside the Dog Walk. Maybe that area is just not interesting enough. As we were leaving, a couple came over with two big dogs wanting to use the Park. This time, the dogs were leashed and under control so we chatted for a bit before they went in and we continued walking. Nothing much changes in this Park at least up to now with no comings and goings. I don’t know why as it is a very nice park and well kept place. It seems that apart from us, everyone else is a permanent resident. There are a few empty RV’s here with the owners leaving them parked for storage. They are not trashy but just parked.
We walked past the swimming pool and then past the Office and all of a sudden, the Park Manager’s large dog came out followed by the Manager and it got into a bit of a tussle with Sandy before taking off always keeping one step ahead of it’s owner until it reached the Dog Walk. It went inside whereupon the Manager shut the gate on it and then came back to talk to me inquiring if Sandy was hurt. She was OK but Mikey as per usual, in his frantic efforts to get away had scratched my legs pretty good. I have permanent scars from him and other dogs who have done the same thing over the years. That is one of the drawbacks with wearing shorts all of the time. No leg protection. The last time I was at the Dermatologists, she commented on the state of my legs with all of the scarring. It doesn’t bother me much as I don’t plan on entering any beauty contests in the near future.
I decided that I needed a couple of things and maybe I could also find a Starbucks in Rockport so I hopped in the car and drove the 5 miles until I located a Rite-Aid which didn’t have what I was looking for. I drove on for a bit, passed the HEB that I was in the day before and located a Walmart’s that was huge. They had everything I needed plus a lot more. I made a couple of inquiries and was informed that the closest Starbucks was in Portland a few miles away. Although I like coffee, driving that far didn’t seem like a good idea and I settled for a Coffee Mocha from the cold drink section at Walmart’s. Gotta get that fix somehow…
On the way home, I took a couple of different roads hoping to find a way to the beach but with little luck although I wasn’t trying that hard. I reset the Map and had it send me back to the park where I found two very excited little dogs waiting to go out on their evening walk which we did almost immediately this time with no other dog interactions.
The rest of the day was spent in our usual way of eating, watching a soccer game and then going to bed where we all slept like the proverbial “babies”.
Day SevenTuesday
Today started very much like all of the other days so far. We went walking and this time, didn’t run into any other dogs or have anything eventful happen. True to form, we came back to breakfast for all of us and then I sat down in front of the laptop to continue with the journal for this park. I discovered a few errors in the two previous writings and made the necessary corrections mostly with the dates.
After a few hours, Sandy started to get ancy as she usually does when she thinks it is time to go walking. As it is another very hot day with the heat index up to 100 degrees and with such high humidity, making for very uncomfortable walking. I keep trying to explain this to Sandy but she either doesn’t understand or is just plain ignoring me. Probably the latter.
Today was a very quiet day and again, it was extremely warm with high humidity so we spent a lot of time indoors staying cool. We took our early morning walk without anything major happening as I am always aware of other dogs and such that might create a problem. Sandy, who was walking in the grass as she usually does, suddenly let out a yelp of pain and started to hobble around. I could not find anything and a passing neighbor suggested that it was probably an ant bite. It must have been a bit uncomfortable for her as she bravely hobbled along on three legs. A big dog came to meet us who was very friendly and Sandy forgot about her ant bite as she made friends. Mikey, on the other hand, was hiding behind me until the owner came over to say hello and take her dog back inside. On our afternoon walk, we explored the Lane outside of the Park and took a few pictures.
This Park has all of the usual amenities found in the better parks with the Laundry Room and Shower facilities. It also has a Swimming Pool and lots of areas set up for people to gather with tables and chairs and even hammocks plus separate outside showers to wash the sand off the dogs after a trip to the beach. I have yet to explore those areas although we are due for a trip to the Laundry pretty soon. I also noticed there are two Horseshoe Courts although I have yet to see anyone taking advantage except for the pool which has a few mostly older kids in it from time to time. I have already mentioned the Dog Walk in a previous blog.
With the exception of the RV sites at the end where I was originally parked, there is a lot of room between RV’s so you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbors. Currently, I have no one on either side or in front of me which is very nice. Unlike Henly which had constant comings and goings, I have yet to see any new RV’s come in or leave the Park. As I mentioned in a previous blog, that is probably because there are a lot of RV parks available here in Rockport.
Day Five Sunday
The following day which was a Sunday, the park was very quiet with just the occasional car driving and the odd person walking their dogs. We had a slow start and sat around writing this blog before I decided that I should check out the Laundry room and put in a load to wash. The room has several washers and dryers and was decently clean and there was only one other person using the machines leaving me with a big choice. So, in my usual select way, I upended my laundry bag into the washer and set it to the heat I wanted and put in my dollar and a half which incidentally is a dollar cheaper than at Henly. After adding detergent, I then made a trip to the dumpster to dispose of our garbage and went back to the RV to wait about forty five minutes or so for the wash cycle to complete, . I don’t mind sitting around as I am getting used to not having much to do other than take care of the RV, plus of course Mikey, Sandy. and Me. I made the trip back to the the washroom and put the laundry in the dryer The dryers are stacked one on top of the other I chose the lower one, put in my dollar and a half, pushed the button and watched as the top dryer started instead of the bottom. Stupid me had put my money in the wrong slot resulting in my having to transfer the clothes to the top dryer. Oh well…Makes for an interesting day. So I grabbed the broom and dustpan and swept out the laundry room just to be a nice guy. Every bit helps, right?
Forty five minutes later, I went back and took the clothes out of the dryer carefully folding each item so that anyone who might be watching would see that I was an expert at this laundry thing. Putting it in my laundry bag, I made the way back to the RV with this particular chore complete for another week.
After putting the clothes away, we spent the rest of the day writing until it was time to take the dogs out for their evening walk. Sandy of course, more than ready and again, Mikey comes along for the ride. This walk was a little more eventful as all of a sudden, two large unleashed dogs appeared followed by the owner. There was the usual tussle with Sandy leading the way and Mikey cowering behind me before the owner was able to grab them and haul them off. I gotta say that Sandy, for such a small dog is not lacking in courage and is not awed by the size or ferocity of the other dogs although she should be. It might cost her (and me) one day.
As we walked past another RV, yet another large dog trotted over only this one was just curious and friendly and he and Sandy hit it off before the owner came over full of apologies although in this case, there was no harm done. Dogs are one of the problems in RV parks especially to those that are here on a permanent basis. The owners sometimes tend to let them out unsupervised or off leash when the owners are outside even though the rules say differently. Understandable but still risky. Even if they are out with them and they are not leashed, the owners don’t always have control over the animal. One of my readers suggested I carry a big stick and bang it on the ground by their feet. If I carried a stick, I’m afraid that I would not be banging the ground but beating on the other dog. I do have one of the electronic deterrents but it doesn’t work that good as it operates by flashing a very bright light in the other dogs eyes but as the eyes are usually focused on biting Sandy, I don’t get a good “shot”.
I thought about taking a drive but really, my heart wasn’t in it so we stayed in the RV for the rest of the evening except for taking the final walk of the day. Sandy gets ancy when her interior clock says it’s time for walkies. I just can’t get her clock and my clock to read the same time and I keep trying to tell her to wait until it cools down even by 2-3 degrees. The life of a dog and her hooman.
It’s been a while since I wrote a poem probably because my thoughts are not rhyming in fact you could say in a disjointed way that all of the words are colliding the words just don’t flow like they should my brain is covered with a hood and none of my thoughts come out in a rhyme as I can’t think of anything good so this will be a short poem today and people will say what’s wrong with that man and in my own way I will turn around and say sorry nothing is left in the can.
As usual, we got up around 9:00 am as we had nothing planned except for walking the dogs and doing some exploration of the park and then returning for a leisurely breakfast. Following my usual routine, I sat in front of the computer going through my messages and either answering or discarding as we usually do. Sometimes, something would really catch my eye and I would follow up on it but most of the time, it was read and discarded.
My next door and closest neighbor, has set up a tent and is working on his truck under it. The thing is a big diesel and when he starts it up, I can feel the vibrations from inside my RV. Well maybe not vibrations but it is noisy. He also has a bunch of tires stacked around his RV which looks pretty unsightly. The neighbors across the street have three dogs which they let run loose and I heard loud barking from outside with Mikey retaliating for all he was worth to find that a large Lab type dog and two little Chihuahua’s has surrounded my RV to bark at my dogs which they could see through the windows of the cab. The Lab even got up on the step leading into the cab. They eventually went back but it bothers me that the owners would let them run free.
I thought about things for a bit and the next time we were walking, I took note of all of the empty spaces and as there were several, decided on my next move. The following day, Friday, which as it happens was very stormy with a lot of thunder and heavy rain, called the Park Super, Andy and asked him if I could move to one of the other sites. I had picked one out that was not close to other RV’s and asked for it. He fiddled on his end with the system and finally said that I could have it.
Day Three Friday
So as soon as it stopped raining and the thunderstorm had passed, I went through the procedures of getting the RV ready to move, disconnecting water, sewer and finally the electricity after closing the slides and raising the jacks. I moved Eagle Two a few sites away and set it back up doing everything in reverse. Compared to hooking up the truck to the Eagle, this move was a piece of cake. Then I walked back and moved the Jeep. By the time I was through, I was totally soaked with sweat even though it took less than fifteen minutes. That is how humid it was. I could not get the RV’s A/C unit to kick in and it was hot inside. So I got out a small fan that I have and plugged it in and it would not work either. Next thing was to check the fuses and finally, get out the instruction book but nothing I did would help matters. I opened the screen door to let in outside air which was cooler than in the RV even with the high humidity and sat there thinking of what might be wrong. Finally, I went outside and checked the power hookup only to discover that although I had plugged everything in properly, I had forgotten to turn on the 50 amp switch. Stupid of me. That did the trick and the A/C was soon blasting away. What I forgot was that things like jacks and slide outs and lights, were all working off the RV’s battery which is not powerful enough to operate the A/C unit. I won’t make that mistake again.
I stood under the cold shower to cool off and put on a change of clothes and surveyed my new site. My nearest neighbor who is at least 25 yards away has a big dog but it is not only on a leash but it is also muzzled and when it started to bark, the lady of the house brought it inside. The trailer on the other side is currently not occupied and maybe used on weekends or something like. There are several unused parking places and there appears to be a lot of permanent residents.
I decided that I needed to go grocery shopping and jumped into the Jeep to find the nearest store. I set my GPS to Rockport which is 3 miles away driving close to the Gulf and found an HEB (hooray). It was one of the larger stores and had a good variety of stuff and I spent an hour or so wandering around filling my cart mostly with things I really needed. A couple of other things snuck in there that I could probably do without but what the hell, life is short and in my case, growing shorter by the minute. I set the GPS to find a Starbucks but even though it had directions, we never did locate the place, darn it. Try that one again next time.
On the drive in both directions, I noticed a lot of RV Parks and RV’s on private property. They are very popular down here which is surprising taking into consideration the sort of weather they might have. I could probably have found any vacant park without too much trouble but it is always a guessing game. I look at park revues for any indication to stay away
Arriving back at Eagle Two, I was met by two overly excited little dogs who had missed me. They helped me put the groceries away, most of which went into the refrigerator before we harnessed up for their walk. I tried the dog park again but that doesn’t work too well as Mikey just sits under my chair and Sandy after a few exploratory walks, just plops down in the long grass. We gave up on the Park and finished by walking around before returning back for the evening.
I have not yet unloaded the Jeep of the Wicker Loveseat as it not very comfortable being outside with the heat and humidity. Maybe I’ll just leave it packed for the next and hopefully cooler site.
Most evenings are the same with feeding dogs and then me before settling down with a glass of wine to watch TV. If I’m lucky like on weekends, I get to watch the English Premier League. Otherwise it is a murder mystery or horror movie and hope not to dream about it while I am asleep which incidentally is of the very sound variety. By the way I am not very happy with then name Eagle Two and am trying to think of something more unique. Last Chance maybe or how about Final Ride or maybe something less sinister. I suppose I could name it after any one of my three wives but that would be a bit ironic considering each ended in divorce and although my memories are of the fondest kind, not that much. Any suggestions?
So ended Day Three at Rockport RV Park already with some adventures.
I started getting ready for the big move on Tuesday, September 31 by working on the stuff outside of the RV. Things like loading the Wicker Couch onto the carryall along with a whole bunch of other things that I had stored out there. Stored is probably not the right word as that conjures up visions of a room or shed that can be securely closed. No, my version of stored was to slide it under the RV usually in a plastic container and out of the rain and weather. I had to be careful what I put there as the Park has strict rules about stuff outside of your RV.
With the outside completely cleaned up and everything tied down on the carryall, I was ready to face the inside. Some I couldn’t do until the next day as I would still need coffee and breakfast as would the dogs. Well breakfast for them at least. There was a bunch of other stuff laying around that needed picking up and storing securely away.
Then came the big day, Wednesday, September 1. I got out of bed early (for me) took the dogs for a walk enjoying this last walkabout in this park for a while. I stopped and chatted to a couple of people, long term neighbors who knew I was on the move and came back to the RV to have breakfast and finish the packing. When I say packing, some of the loose stuff goes into drawers. Other things like the computer and printer are put on the couch. Finally, with everything in it’s place and tucked safely away, it was time to lower the RV and pull the chocks and drive it out onto the park road so that I could hook up the Jeep.
Hooking up was a simple job and worked very well but disengaging the drive train turned out to be a problem which I eventually figured out. With the brake unit in place on the jeep, we were ready to roll. I checked the site and made sure it was clean and was just about ready to drive off when the Park Super stopped by to wish me safe travels. He had noticed the problem I had with the Jeep transmission and commented on it. We bumped fists and I drove off feeling both sad and elated that I was leaving a park that I had lived in for almost a year and the great adventure was actually starting. The sale of the house and leaving an era of my life that had lasted thirty six years was behind me and it was time to move on.
This was the first time of driving the RV towing the Jeep behind and I noticed that it swayed quite bit especially when cars and big trucks whizzed by. I think some of that is due to the extra hand tools stored in the back which has probably added quite a bit of weight. When we get parked again, I need to redistribute some of this weight either by putting tools in smaller boxes and into other compartments or by just getting rid of many of them. I probably have duplicates of everything as that part of me was very reluctant to let go.
We made good time travelling IH 281 and then IH 37 towards Corpus and passing around San Antonio. Didn’t meet any traffic jambs or accidents along the way and it wasn’t until we got 40 or so miles out of Rockport and onto country roads albeit with 75 mph speed limits, did things get a little more complicated. Finally, after about four and a half hours of driving we arrived at Rockport Retreat RV Park.
I drove in and found my site and as a nice touch, the Management had put a welcome note on the number stand so I had no difficulty in identifying that I was at the right place. Again, I had problems with the Jeep after unhooking it from the RV but eventually got the transmission working again.
Mine was a back in site which was no problem for Eagle Two and I quickly hooked up the utilities and was ready to go. I ran into a problem with one of the slide outs as somehow or another, a piece of plastic trash has gotten under the slide in the living room and is preventing it from opening properly. Something I need to work on tomorrow. I noticed too, that I had lost one of the wheel hub cap covers on the rear wheels along the way, something else I will need to order and replace. WIFI reception is very good, better than at Henly and I was able to watch my favorite programs without them slipping in and out on me. We sat and watched for a while and the three of us went to bed with the first day of the new adventure starting without too much trouble.
I sat here in front of my computer thinking about life in general and the future which of course is unknown to us mere mortals. As I have mentioned several times in my past blogs, my current lifestyle is so different to that of the past with no real responsibilities other than looking after my pets and myself. My one major obligation other than maintaining Eagle Two, is to Mikey and Sandy, my two little dogs who are both my friends and roommates. Now if they could both speak my language or me theirs then we could really communicate. As it is now, I do all of the talking and they either stand their looking at me with their big brown eyes wagging their tails like crazy or if my tone of voice indicates displeasure of some sort then there is no wag and probably not paying attention either. Other than feeding and loving them, my one main obligation is to take them walking at least twice and sometimes three times a day depending on the weather or my availability. This gives all of us the opportunity to stretch our legs and get in some much needed exercise and for them to do their business. We also take this as a opportunity to visit with or our neighbors and see who has moved in and who has moved out. After all, we are all living in RV’s which are meant to travel the roads.
Some of these rigs are really luxurious on the outside and one can only assume that they are even more so on the inside. Many of the owners are couples, some of whom are retired and occasionally single individuals like myself, with the occasional lone woman camper. There are also a lot that come through with small children. Whether they are full timing or on vacation, I have no way of telling. Nearly all have dogs and we often cross paths as they walk them. This usually sets Sandy of into a fit of barking and screaming with Mikey cowering behind me because of all of the noise. So far, we have only got into one actual fight and that was because the other dogs were not leashed.
I have my first stop already picked out on the Gulf of Mexico in a place called Rockport and we will be leaving here early morning of September 1st. That is unless Hurricane Ida which has made landfall in Louisiana today moves along the coast in which case, I will need to find another campsite inland for a few days until the weather clears up. The plan is to move from one campground to the next with one or two week stays at each one making a big loop and return back here to Henly for December and January as generally, this part of Texas has a mild winter with this past winter the exception. Hopefully, that is a one off and will not repeat itself.
I have been sorting through boxes of “stuff” that I brought from the house thinking that I might find a use for it and in many cases, it is something that I need and glad to finally locate. In other cases, I look at whatever it is and wonder why I thought I might need it and why I even brought it along. Looks like another trip to Goodwill is in my future or the waste dumpster. I did locate the rest of the kitchen stuff, knives and forks and such along with bigger kitchen utensils for cooking. Definitely a good find. There is very much an art and skill to living in an RV especially if it’s not one of the larger ones like the Eagle was. The one major difference is that every square inch of space is precious and should not be wasted as it is a luxury. It’s hard to keep it looking tidy as the seating also get used hold things. Can’t even begin to think what it would be like with a travel mate.
After spending my entire life working in construction, first as a tradesman both as a carpenter, bricklayer and welder then progressing to Superintendent and finally spending the last 22 years at the University of Texas as a Manager of Planning and Scheduling, I have always had a love of tools and the things they could do. Consequently, over the years my personal tool collection was quite large much of which I was so reluctant to leave to someone else that I brought most of it along with me. Now, a lot of the hand tools and wrenches and such are taking up space in two very large storage boxes in the largest storage compartment in Eagle Two adding quite a considerable amount of weight. I really need to take a look and sort things out maybe keeping a few wrenches and screwdrivers and such and getting rid of the rest to free up much needed storage space and not overweight the RV. Something else to make decisions on.
Sandy is looking at me with her big brown eyes and wiggling her tail if I happen to make eye contact. This is the usual sign that it is time to take them for a walk. I ignored her as long as I could before we took that walk just as we usually do. It was much cooler and we know which routes to take at the different times of the day based on the sun and the amount of shade available to us. Luckily, the temperature has not reached higher than the mid 90’s this year and with September just around the corner, we may remain lucky and will not see any 100 degree days. Just across the road is a game farm with exotic deer and zebras and sometimes when we are walking, we get to see these beautiful animals.
Well, it is time to feed my buddies and then to feed me. Today being Sunday, I get to watch a couple of Premier League games. The trouble with modern day television is that game reporting very often beats my actual viewing and I often know the score. It does spoil it a bit as it takes the edge off a tight game. Oh well, I should just be grateful that thanks to modern technology, I can watch replays of games that have happened 3000 miles away and also watch my Great, Great Grandson play for Brighton and Hove Albion fulfilling my dream for me as I was never quite good enough to be a professional player.
Have you ever had one of those days when you just should never have got out of bed? I had one of those days yesterday much to my dismay.
It all started on our early morning walk which usually takes us around the park as we check out who has arrived and who has moved on. True to form, Sandy, very impatiently I might add, was doing her usually jumping up and down at the door the minute that I got out of bed not wanting to wait for me to shower and dress for the day. I ignored her and went about my usual routine before strapping on her harness and then Mikey’s to take them out for their first walk. As we hurried past the RV’s in the park with Sandy pulling and straining to get nowhere fast with the occasional stop to smell the roses, we came to the last RV in the row parked next to the exit to the road when all of a sudden, two very large dogs came running at us, neither of which was on a leash. I started to holler at them and the owners came dashing out but not before one of them had grabbed Sandy by her harness and was violently shaking her. Luckily, she slipped out of the harness which the dog had grabbed and eventually made her way back to me, unhurt and hardly fazed by the ordeal. The owners had by now, grabbed the dogs and had put them back inside and were full of apologies for what had happened. We chatted for a bit and went on our way.
As it happens, another Park tenant had witnessed the whole thing and reported it to the Management who in turn, wanted my side of the story before talking to the other dog owners about keeping their animals under control. It all ended OK but could have been worse. The thing is, I felt helpless apart from shouting at the other dogs the minute Sandy slipped her harness and was out of my reach and even though she gave a good account of herself, it could have ended up very badly for her. BTW, she is not too smart as she is more than ready to get into a fight regardless of the breed or size of the other dog.
Such are the hazards of owning small dogs. Oh yes, while all of this was going on, after initially barking at the two other dogs, Mikey was cowering behind me wanting nothing to do with the fracas.
Then I got a call from ATT who are my service providers wanting to talk about my service both current and at the old house. I must have been on the phone at least a half hour going backwards and forwards with a Rep that would only offer me two solutions, keep the service to the house which I no longer owned or cancel the service. I tried to explain that I no longer lived their or even owned it and travelled around and he eventually handed me off to his Supervisor. I explained to her that I had a little remote server that I was paying $50.00 a month for that gave me service to the RV and we eventually managed to work everything out. What a frustrating experience that turned out to be.
As a postscript to this event, I received an almost identical call from ATT the following day asking almost the very same questions as the previous Rep which I tried to explain to the most recent caller. She ignored me and proceeded to bombard me with a lot of questions with the bottom line being that the service to the house was cancelled but that i could still keep ATT through my personal ATT router. Which, incidentally is how yesterdays conversation ended. Wonder if I will get another call tomorrow?
I went into town later that day because I needed a few things and because I had an idea to improve the drawer space in Eagle Two. I thought that maybe if I went to enough stores, I could find a three drawer cabinet that would fit under the table. I went to 4 different places, Office Depot, Home Depot and the like and even a couple of used furniture stores but with no luck. So, I need to add that to my list of things to search for. While I was in Home Depot, I did purchase a Ryobi Hand Vacuum to clean the RV and also a small trash bin with a foot operated lid. I have been using a special gadget that holds plastic bags and hangs on the top of one of the cupboard doors but as it is always open at the top, emits odors from whatever I have thrown away. Besides, where it was located hanging from the under sink door, it got in the way. I think I might have accidentally dropped a knife in it as I can’t find the knife anywhere and I have searched all over. If I did, the knife is long gone in the city dump. So, now I have a new small trash bin to take up space in a very limited area anyway. The bag sizes are also smaller meaning more trips to the trash dumpsters but at least they are lighter and we can take them with us on one of our walks.
I also went grocery shopping in the HEB in Dripping Springs for a few items and managed to cover almost 4 miles of walking for the day. Those big box stores can do that for you. Great exercise.
I am slowly coming to realize that I no longer am a landowner with a house or have ponds and fish to maintain. Now, when I get up and after the dogs have taken me for an early (for me) morning walk, unless I have business in town I really don’t have anything urgent that I need to pay attention to. Sure, I still have the occasional appointment which I plan for in advance but other than that, my time is very much my own.
I am trying hard not to waste it as life is precious and the days are getting shorter and shorter as I grow older. I spend a lot of time working on this blog and my most recent project is to copy all of the poems that I have written starting from early 2012 currently posted in my other blog listed below. Altogether, there are almost 300 of them and I am reposting them at two a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the other three days reserved for my current writing some of which also includes poetry. A lot of the that writing has been taken up with my stay here at Henly which as I wrote in an earlier blog, is coming to an end around this time as we approach the end of the month. With nothing now to hold me back, we are going to tour around for a bit while I am still able. I have a rough trip mapped out which is subject to change for any number of reasons including the availability of whichever campground I am looking at. That’s the beauty of an RV. If you don’t like a place or campground, you can just move on to the next one on your list.
As I transposed the poems from one blog to the next, I had the opportunity to read everyone of them and was amazed at the quality of the writing as compared to today. Maybe because it was a fresh and new thing or because my brain was ten years younger, it seems there is much more quality to what I wrote back then. It is fun reading this stuff as it also gives me the chance to re-live some of those moments or mourn the passing of one of my many pets or renew acquaintances with long lost friends. Poetry is a magical way of writing although it doesn’t appeal to everyone.
As we walked this afternoon, I got to thinking about the weather here in my part of Texas and how this summer compares to many of the previous ones. I have lived in this State since 1977 and I truly believe that this has got to be the coolest summer in all of that time. There have been others where it was hot and barely reached 100 degrees on several days but so far, we have not even come close. A few years ago, Wichita Falls set a record of 100 straight 100 degree days just to give you an idea of just how hot it can be. I am not complaining about it just stating my observations. Is it just an anomaly or a one off or is global warming really making itself felt? In any case, I’ll take it this way as it is so much cooler, comparatively speaking.
Football season has started, that’s Soccer to the uninitiated. I have always wondered why the American form of the sport is called football as very little, if any, apart from the kickers, use their feet. Most of the time, they are too busy beating up on their opponents. With the English Premier League up and running, this time, the fans are back to watch their teams and being as raucous and as loud as they possibly can be making up for missing out on a year or so of supporting their favorites. From what I can see, not too many are wearing masks and it will be interesting what might happen in a couple of weeks. Maybe there are restrictions like having to produce proof of having a shot or something similar. I have a great grandson that plays for Brighton and Hove Albion of whom I am very proud. He is reliving my dream as although I was a very good player, I was never good enough to play at the professional level let alone in the Premier League. Go Solly. At least, I can cheer him on from my side of the pond thanks to the miracles of modern science.
Well, it’s time for the final walk of the day, at least that is what Sandy is telling me. Mikey. not so much but he will go along just in case he misses out on something. More later.
It has been a very busy past few days with the clock ticking down to when we leave this park. After the closing of the house, I met with the new owners basically so that I could show them the plumbing involved with the ponds. I was concerned that I had not been able to find the leak in the deck pond and after receiving a $420.00 water bill with another one to come, did not want the new owners to get one of those sort of nasty surprises. The new owner, Mia, has her Father staying with her for a while as she settles in and I did most of my explaining of the technical side of things, to him as she listened in. That sounds very sexist but as he was the one doing all of the talking, I assumed that he needed the information. Feeling much better for meeting with them, I took my leave and rewarded myself by splurging on a new pair of walking shoes, something lighter than the boots that I am in the habit of wearing on a daily basis plus a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off. Years ago, when I was still married to my third and final wife, we had a small 5 acre spread and kept horses strictly for pleasure riding. I considered myself a cowboy in those days and wore a Stetson cowboy hat but being only 5ft 8ins tall, looked ridiculous as the hat was bigger than me, almost. That and the high heeled cowboy boots really didn’t make me feel any taller! I suppose there were short cowboys back in the old days but all of the Hollywood heroes are tall and broad. Me, I’m short and although I was pretty muscular back then most have disappeared with age.
Deciding that it was time to be a responsible adult now that I am getting on in years, I arranged through a very good friend, to make an appointment with a Lawyer so that I could update my will. Lets face it, nobody wants be reminded of the fact that their time is running out but as it happens to everyone, it should come as no surprise that we are all growing older and the human body can only survive for just so long. So I met with Mr. Leuty and he proceeded to tell me much more than I ever would have thought of and probably didn’t want to know. Bottom line is that he is writing my will and will also start up a trust for me. One less thing to worry about. I was accompanied to the meeting by my very good friend Suzanne who used to play on the Allies Soccer team years ago of which I was the coach. As it happens, the team is holding a reunion this coming weekend. More on that later.
Sandy, my little girl dog was in bad need of a bath and a haircut. My usual place that I took her was PetSmart back in Austin and I decided that I would give the new place a try here in Dripping Springs. I was not disappointed as they did a very good job. She was real pleased to see both me and Mikey when we picked her up and as I needed my usual Starbucks, she got a Pupper as a reward. For those of you that are not Starbuck fans, a Pupper is a dollop of whipped cream in a small cup especially for dogs. Mikey got to share it even though he had not got a haircut.
Several of my neighbors have stopped to chat with me about my leaving the park. They are interested in where I am going and what plans I have. I explained that I would be back for the winter months at least through the end of January unless the weather is bad. Most RV’ers are nice people especially the permanent ones and this is a nice, well maintained, park.
My days are so different now than before. There was always something to do or that needed to be taken care of back at the house. Now when I get up and apart from walking and feeding the dogs, unless there is an appointment of some sort to attend, I really don’t have anything special that I need to do. The chores around Eagle Two are usually limited to emptying the tanks every few days and keeping my site tidy. There is very little space to clean although Mikey, for such a little dog sheds enough to make an Afghan rug. On the down side, I still don’t know where things are. I know they are in one of the storage boxes somewhere but I always choose the wrong one to search. Very frustrating. I wish I had more drawer space to lose things in instead of having to take down a storage box to sort it before grabbing another and on and on.
As I sit here, three young girls are zooming by on their scooters pushing hard to beat each other. I often see young families and wonder if they are full timing or on vacation. If it’s the former, how are they getting educated? Do kids that follow this lifestyle lose out on some things like mixing with other kids of their age and socializing that goes along with it? Attending school in person offers so much more than just education with friendships, sports, social clubs, competition and other boys and girls. Just wondering.
Time is moving fast. I already have our first site booked down on the Gulf, a mere 200 mile trip. We plan on staying a couple of weeks before moving on. Maybe longer.
I am slowly starting to realize that my life is changing from the way it used to be. This is probably true of a lot of people although my guess is that a vast majority do the same thing day in and day out for evermore. Only of they win the lottery or get a better job or even a small raise, do things change for them and their families. Sure they grow old and their kids grow up and move away just like the rest of us but their way of life does not change.
For those of you that follow my blogs, you will have read that I have sold the house and paid off all of my monetary debts. Can’t do much about some of the other things that have happened in my past life many of which I probably know nothing about. Ships that pass in the night and that sort of thing. Which brings me to the gist of this story.
Since making the decision to change my life and go in a different direction, it took eight or nine months to bring that to fruition. First, I couldn’t make up my mind what to do with the Koi and when I finally decided to rehome them all, thanks to the volunteers of the Austin Pond Society ably led by Jeannie Ferrier and Steven Monfrini, a couple or more months had passed. Then came the Estate Sale and general cleanup performed by a good ole Texas boy, David Perkins and his Son with his company, Antiques & Things who did a very good job of sorting through 36 years of accumulated junk selling what he could and disposing of the rest. I had so much of “the rest” that I finally broke even on the Estate Sale.
With the house cleared of all of its contents I brought in a cleaning crew who happened to be my next door neighbors here at the park. They did an excellent job and at that point, it was ready to hand over to Barbara Lenhardt with JP and Associates, Realtors. Barb happens to also be very good friend as well as the President of the Austin Pond Society where I first got to meet her many years ago.
The house was on the market for five days with several offers, one of which was much higher than the asking price. We might have gotten an even better price but we decided it was not worth waiting and accepted the offer. It took a couple of weeks to get all of the paperwork and surveys and inspections in order and then came the big day as I wrote in my other blog and now, I no longer own a house nor do I have to worry about ponds and fish, house upkeep and mowing the yard and everything that goes along with owning property. What I do own instead and is paid for is my tow vehicle, a 2017 Jeep Cherokee and Eagle Two, a 28ft Class C Motorhome as I paid off those loans and am now totally debt free for the first time ever in my life. It is a nice feeling.
My days have changed dramatically with none of the everyday chores associated with ponds and a house. I have things to do around the RV but as it is a brand new 2021 Coachmen Leprechaun with less than 2000 miles on the clock, they don’t amount to much more than emptying the tanks and other minor things. The dogs take up a lot of my time as we try to walk twice and sometimes three times a day but other than that my days are no longer controlled except for the odd appointment the last of which is coming up at the end of the month. Now that the way it clear, I spent some time planning where to go for the next three months and have a rough plan worked out. It is subject to change depending on the latest whim or the availability of a campsite. The first site is booked as I plan on heading to the coast to stay a couple of weeks before moving on to the next one. For now, I will stay in Texas and maybe Louisiana coming back to this park for December and January before taking off again and heading up North to New York State, After that, who knows. There is a lot of country to discover.
BTW, a part of the plan was to get away from the heat of the Texas summers but for some reason, climate change or maybe just a weather anomaly, we have not had anything close to any 100 degree days which is so unusual for my part of Texas. I am not complaining.
Keep checking my blogs as drive around this great country and visit lots of different campsites. The adventure starts September 1.
As the title suggests, these last few days have been very hectic with such a lot going on. About a week ago, BJ met me at the house to help me move the fish around to the other ponds and at the same time, she rescued a few to replace some of her own that had recently died. We lowered the water to as low as the pump that I had would take it due to the lack of outlet hose which was about 9 inches left in the pond. I caught as many of the fish that I could and BJ moved them to the other ponds keeping the ones that she liked for herself. It was hot down in the pond and I had on a pair of waders and the sweat poured off me. We got to the point that I couldn’t catch anymore fish because they were in hiding and decided to call it a day. BJ took her fish home and I went back to Henly totally soaked with the sweat I had lost. On the way home, I even changed my usual Latte for some iced concoction which although tasting very good, didn’t last too long I was that thirsty.
The next day I went back and put in about 18 inches of water before deciding that there was not much more that I can do and I have no idea where that pond managed to lose 30,000 gallons of water. You would think losing that amount it would be obvious but I never did discover where it leaked.. What is so frustrating is that as I kept adding water this last time, the level stayed constant with no loss to indicate where the leak may be. As it turns out, that is probably the very last time that I will be concerned with the leaks or the ponds and fish unless the new owner asks for my help although I know that there is still one more large water bill that I will need to pay.
A day later, my Realtor called me to say we had a date and time to finalize the sale of the house which was for the very next day. I spent the morning calling the Utility and Electric Companies to cancel their services to the house for the next day and also called my Insurance company to tell them the same thing. Hard to believe that I will not be getting Utility bills in the future at least not directly. We do pay for electricity and water separately at this park.
I got so engrossed in my work that I almost forgot the time and left it late to get to the signing. To make it worse, the traffic was the worst I have ever seen it which added to my tardiness and I eventually arrived at the signing 30 minutes late and in a bad mood to boot. They had gone ahead without me and the buyer had already done her part before I and my agent sat down with the Broker. I wished that I had been able to meet the buyer if only to say hello and to offer any help she may need with the ponds but I guess it was not to be. Maybe fate’s way of letting me know that I need to let go. Thirty minutes and many questions and even more signatures later, we were all through and I was no longer the owner of 10104 Murmuring Creek after 36 years. This was probably the first signing that did not cost me money. In truth, I do not feel sad having already decided that it was the best thing to do and anyway, I have a new adventure which will take me to far off places.
Financially, I did very well and have already paid off all of my debts including the Eagle Two and the Jeep with enough left to see me for the rest of my days. I have lots of memories both good and bad. I feel sad that I have left behind so many pets buried in the yard but I have their memories to live with. The house was good to me as were the ponds and the fish but they too have joined the endless procession that has made up my life. Now, we are in what will probably be the last phase and are looking forward to a whole new set of adventures. I will remain here at the Henly RV park until the end of this month August, travel for September, October and November and come back here to the same park to winter out before heading up North next year.
I got up late as I sometimes do with nothing special planned for the day and took the dogs out for a walk just like our usually way giving them time to smell the dew which still lay out upon the grass and stretch their legs and run around while I walked behind them coming up last. The first walk of the day is always fun as the sun has not risen too high and the temperature is not so hot as to make walking hard to try. We try to walk three times a day if Sandy has her say barking and whining and letting us know that it it is time to go out walking so she can run ahead and drag Mikey and I along in her stead.
After we come in from the walk I take care of the important things like feed the dogs and then myself ready to face what the day brings maybe something different or just the same who knows as we play this game of life living day by day hoping to continue in the same old way. Just as I usually do I check for messages in the hope of a clue or an answer to some question I asked about some very important task or maybe just to stay up with current events not that much of it makes much sense as I read the news of what is happening around and of the stories so profound that my little part in the world that I play seems not to matter except it’s my way of living my life and strange though it seems I too still have impossible dreams and hope that I can make the most of what little time remains on this earth.
Today even before I had known I looked at the time and it had flown and before so very long it was time to go walking with the dogs again only this time the sun was high and so as we walk we always try to be on the shady side of the street and sometimes we often meet other dogs with humans in tow all going walkies like the good humans we are hoping that the dogs won’t take us too far.
Today I managed to get up late and as also because no plans have we three I sat in front of my trusty laptop and read my mail in case I would see something important for me to say which is not always the way as most of the time the news that they write is not of interest to me in spite of the fact that I read it all just in case I find something out of place or maybe just a comment or two to let them know that there are others who read what they say and hopefully it will make their day. Bloggers are a peculiar bunch each with their views or maybe a hunch of how the world needs our help or maybe something that we see and of which we disagree. I suppose that I am one of those although very rarely do I compose anything that will cause anyone stress spending my time in writing bad verse or of camping or hiking or just plain old life which of course causes much strife as thank goodness we are not that alike and there is enough blame to share around and try to do it without getting up tight.
As evening draws close and the sun goes down we will go for walkies again just a short trip around the park even as it is getting dark as just though the sun goes down the heat of the day is still hanging around and although not as hot it is still warm and will remain that way until the dawn when it will be the coolest time but me and the dogs will be sleeping again to wake at goodness who knows when.
Our evenings are spent in a lazy way after having such a hectic day I feed the dogs and then feed me and settle down in front of the TV to hopefully find a game to watch preferably soccer or if this does not work maybe a movie that I can find horror or action will suit me fine. Then into bed at the end of the day having spent it in our own way. Today I have no clue after getting up late with nothing to do where the time went so fast and had passed in a flash and tomorrow we get to do it again not sleeping late rising earlier today before walking the dogs in our usual way.
I really like this RV life to wake whenever and with little strife picking and choosing what we will do and sometimes we have no idea as to how we will spend the rest of the day we only know that it is all play.
