White Christmas in Texas Y'all

 

When we arrived at the kid's house on Christmas Day it was a steady 40 degree pouring rain. As the morning progressed we watched the temp decrease and by about 1pm, just after dinner, we hit the road to avoid being iced in.

Above, each line of cars is following a truck spewing salt and sand on the freeway and by the time we got back to Grapevine it was 32 and falling with ice and snow eventually getting down to 22 and a 20 mph wind.

And by the next morning we were greeted by a solid sheet of ice and about 2 inches of snow .... wow, and we learned that there were over 70 accidents on the highways of Dallas ... close!

The shot below really reminded us of Germany with the low sun, winter trees, and the covering of snow and ice ... truly beautiful.

Again, Merry Christmas to all and for those that hoped for a "white Christmas" your wishes were really answered.

Merry Christmas from Texas!

 

 

We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and getting to see the relatives and loved ones as much as possible and maybe a break from the normal hectic routine of life. We were in Richardson to be with Leigh, Brooks, and Ev early Christmas morning and above he is examining a new shop bench (little boy, eh) with the shop lite shining on him.

Below the thrill of opening the gift far exceeded the value of the gift itself ... he'll learn in time.

And as they say the ability to play with the box is pure fun for the kid ... especially as he was throwing the shredded paper out as fast as Grandma could stuff it around him. It's not tough to get this kid excited as you can see from his expression.

Below is a new connotation for the phrase "paper trail." Not really sure what he got for gifts, but the unwrapping was exciting! Usually I get the "before" shot before the area around the tree is destroyed but I was too slow this year; trust me, it looked very nice and the kids have done a super job on their home here.

Whew. And finally a quieter time around the table with family, a glass of wine, and a really great ham dinner.

CHEERS!!

R.I.P.  BUSTER

1998-2012

 

On December 21st, last Friday, our beloved little Buster passed away. While most pet owners praise their animals, we think Buster was an exception as a quiet, steady, faithful friend who had no enemies. He was a great international RV traveler through all kinds of weather and extreme quality of campsites, and yet always eager to meet new people and animals with curiosity and a wiggle of the curly tail.

 

The folks here in Grapevine at the Animal Emergency facility were exceptional in their compassion, dedication, and help to the end.

 

We will miss him and yet he will live with us in our memory forever as a kind and gentle friend. Bye bye buddy.

Happy Birthday Mom!

 

Above is the crew as we celebrated Mom's 94th birthday at Cenare's restaurant. Everybody patiently waiting while the food gets cool for the event picture. Even with a little delay for posterity the food, as always, was excellent.

And then the happy birthday girl, after a few presents, toasts, and cards, got to blow out the obligatory candle on some excellent tiramisu. Wonderful evening with the family on a really cool occasion. Here's to many more Mom!

Ah yes, propane. Still don't have any ... good thing it isn't too cold, eh. After our wonderful friends at the Hitch House in Barrie diagnosed the real problem we thought we could get the tank replaced in Elkhart. The factory had to order it and it has finally arrived after almost two months. Below is the culprit ... massive thing, very embedded in the guts of the Flying Scotsman

 

 

We have just been told that the Elkhart warrantee guys will send it to their selected repair facility in the Dallas area. The kind folks at McLain's in Fort Worth said they are talking to the factory and will let us know when the tank arrives at their place and then we will set up a repair time ... sometime next year. Progress ... slow ... but progress.

OK, speaking of the Hitch House in Barrie which we really like and where we were earlier this summer with our propane leak. Below is a file photo of the place ... because ...

This last week they had a massive five alarm fire and the showroom was destroyed with at least seven high-end rigs in it ... wow ... hope it wasn't an Astoria propane tank that started it!

We are confident that they will rebuild in as fine a manner as they had been before and it will be interesting to see the place as we get back up there next summer.

We hope all had a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving!

 

As the photographer was too busy eating, I got very few pictures of the event. We did have a great afternoon dinner at the La Riviera Restaurant in Bryan as we did last year. Perfect meal with some really great buffet items in a small but attractive venue. Rich and Kerry, Mom and Dad, Leigh and Brooks and Ev, joined us for the feast.

 

The younger set then adjourned to Rich and Kerry's place for some coffee and treats and to let the grand kid unwind a bit before heading back to the hotel.

 

 

We are in Bryan for a couple of weeks and have experimented with a couple of different RV parks rather than the Aggiland which we found to be quite noisy. First we went over to the BCS Highway 21 park and found to our surprise that it was more noisy than Aggiland was!

After two nights there we then moved over to the Marino Road RV park and will be here a week until the 6th. The picture below of Marino looks pretty good but we have the only concrete pad in the place and in the rain it is a mud hole. Pretty bare and unimproved sites with 99% full time mobile home type units.

On the 6th we will move back to Aggiland until the 18th of December. On the 6th as well, Jo-Anne will again be back to the dentist. She has had persistent problems with a single tooth and Thursday it will finally be extracted. After that we will look at the options for replacing it including an implant $$$.

We were in Dallas for the last weekend and are now back in Bryan for medical stuff but here are a couple of shots from the last week or so.

 

Everett saying, "OK Gramps turn on the GPS and some music and we are rollin'."

 

 

At at the Treetops park from yesterday ... just in case you have some pesky ghosts that need to be hunted ... ? Yes it does say Ghost Hunter on the truck and a paranormal believer web site is painted below it.

And finally Bandit as we stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Waco thinking, "I'm sitting here with this dry stuff in front of me and inside that building lies tons of Catfish ... let met at it!"

Happy Birthday Everett!!

 

 

It's hard to believe that it was two years ago that we were at the hospital as this little guy was brought into the world ... wow time does fly!

 

Above Leigh and he are trying to blow out the candles on a really great cake.

 

And below the expression after being told that he can do whatever he wants with the massive piece of sugar in front of him ... is priceless.

 

 

 However he overcame the hesitation very quickly, here with Uncle Richard ... wow, the red hair eh.

 

 

While the picture below is quite fuzzy, highlighting the rapidly moving target, it does show his extreme glee while running with the bunch of balloons during the party preparation.

And the group of his friends in attendance with Mom having a good laugh at his present opening technique.

A cute one of Ev with a remote controlled jet plane machine that makes all kinds of noise and flashing lights.

And lastly in the new sandbox with Brooks supervising, doing exactly what a two year old wants to do ... play in and throw dirt ... yahoo!

We had as much fun as Everett and I think it was a great time had by he and all of his little (growing rapidly) friends at their place in Richardson near Dallas.

OK  for those history buffs among you here is a neat one. We were up in the park at Lake Grapevine and this unique watercraft putted by. Well ... if you are old enough you will recognize an Amphicar ... neat. This thing was made in the the 60's and could drive from the driveway right into the lake without getting out of the seat.

 

 

 

 

Look it up ... while made in Germany it is really a neat little machine ... put your fishing gear in the back seat in the burbs and then just drive over and into the lake ... what could be more simple.

 

 

 

About 500 are still in existance today around the world some 50 years later but here you can see 4 of these little water-land craft "driving" around the lake near Dallas.

 

 

 

A really neat bit of German technology that wasn't quite as popular as the designers had thought ... don't know why though today.

We are back in Bryan and one of the first events would be to celebrate the birthday of my Dad who is 96 on October 28th.

 

We booked Cenare in College Station which has been his favorite for at least 20 years if not longer. This is a nice quiet place where we can chat and enjoy each other and those places are harder to find now.

 

 

 

 

We had a couple bottles of wine and then the surprise. I had told the owner that the patriarch would be there for his 96th ... so then the 25ish waiter shows up and sings Happy Birthday in absolutely flawless Italian, a capella style, to Papa ... wow!

 

 

 

We had a beautiful evening with Mom and Dad and Rich and Kerry. We told Dad that for his 100th we would reserve the entire restaurant just for him and his friends and family ... hey I'm not kidding.

We are back in the Dallas Texas area in our favorite park in Grapevine. The picture was taken this morning at about 7 as I was eating breakfast and has the geese in the foreground and the marina in the back ... nice.

 

In the last week from Barrie, we went 1800 miles. At 8.4 miles to the gallon we used 214 gallons of diesel at an average of $4.19 for a total of about $898 for the trip.

 

 

 

As we crossed into Texas we decided to get off the Interstate and do the two-lane ... much more interesting and scenic. Here is a typical roadside park in Texas ... nicely maintained and clean.

 

 

 

And one of the residents of the roadside park. This daddy long legs(sp?) spider is great ... I love the camera.

 

 

 

OK so then we get out the book again and head for a top rated (10.10.10) park in Canton Texas called the Mill Creek Ranch. Ranch maybe, but a 7 overall park ... bad rating. Poorly maintained. It was like the Hot Springs one where they had the money to start the place and develop the infrastructure but then ran out of money and gave up ... sad ... about $30 but not worth going back.

 

 

 

And here we are in Grapevine again with the almost two years old Everett and G'Ma entertaining the restaurant at Tolberts in Grapevine.

 

 

 

On Sunday we head down to Bryan for a week and then back here around the 28th of October.

After the Elkhart area we consulted the Good Sam Trailer Life directory for a park near Indianapolis that was well regarded. Our selection ended up with a place in Anderson called Timberline Valley RV resort ... rated highly at a 9.9.9.

 

Well here it is folks, not so hot. Very narrow gravel sites and quite unkempt ... and the side by side hookup situation ... no excuse! I could hear the guy snoring in his bedroom six feet away. This place was a nice 7 but no more.

 

 

And then as we were trying to slow down our travel to about 200 miles a day we landed on the 12th of October in Cave City Kentucky, one of our favorite stops. This was at Cave Country Campground rated an 8.10.9. Better place than the last and well maintained with fairly wide sites.

 

 

 

So then, always watching the weather we headed south and then west toward Memphis. In previous years we have stayed at other places in Memphis but now tried the park on the Naval Support Facility in Millington just north of Memphis ... really great. $21 gets you a level concrete well maintained site with plenty of room. Nice place with super management ... a definite 10 by comparison.

 

 

 

 

And then we stopped in Hot Springs. We have stopped here before in the KOA but decided to try the Catherines Landing RV Resort ($36) as it was rated a 10.10.10. Don't even think about it! While it had a nice infrastructure there was no current maintenance in addition to very difficult to get to ... back to the KOA if staying in Hot Springs.

 

 

 

 

Back in the USA!

But wow it has been crazy.

 

OK, no pics right now as it has been a pretty busy time.  We departed our summer location in Barrie on the morning of the 9th ... pretty lazy, clear out of the primo park and say goodbye to friends and a super KOA management ... the absolute best. We hit the 400 expressway toward Toronto for the easy trip to Port Huron.

 

On advice from an acquaintance we hopped off the expressway for a parallel route that would lead us around Toronto more quickly ... NOT. The two lane 27 while attractive was bogged down with traffic and much slower than the main road would have been.

 

OK, now we are on the main road from Toronto to Port Huron. Oops, now it's been over an hour and buster and I have to go bad ... too many coffees. We pop off the four lane on an exit and end up in ... a ... bus terminal with parking only for cars. After one circuit we are pretty well stuck and have to unhook the car from the RV to move an inch in either direction. The local security personnel offer help but we have to detach the car to back up to get out of the bus lane. We unhook in record time ... no pressure here ... and hook up again in the bus lane.

 

OK, back rolling again. Now it's about noon and we need a place to eat. We pull into a service center ... the only one between Toronto and Sarnia. Because this is the only place for a hundred miles there are hundreds of trucks and no place to park. We pull to the curb in the middle of the roadway and let Buster do his thing ... today is not going well. After getting back on the expressway we eat sandwiches and tell each other what a great time we are having.

 

Finally we arrive at Port Huron and cross the bridge and back into the USA which takes all of about ten minutes ... best and easiest part of the day. And we arrive at the KOA where they assign us a site ... and after we get the slides out and the level jacks down we realize it is for only 30 amp service ... NOT. Unhook, unlevel, pull slides in and go to office where we get a proper site. WOW what a day!

 

OK, we are not done yet. Tonight we are in the vicinity of Indianapolis. After arriving in Elkhart yesterday we get a call saying that the dealer cannot do the propane tank replacement now. The tank is on order from the manufacturer and will be two months ... Oops.  Gotta be flexible, eh. So we spend the night there and now are moving toward getting Jo-Anne back to Texas to get a tooth extracted as her root on the tooth in question is cracked and there is no other alternative.

 

Like I said we are in Anderson, Indiana and will head south toward Cave City tomorrow.

 

We having fun!

 

 

Wow ... Fall!

 

 

 

Over the years we have done the northern route and seen the trees change in the week we went south.

 

 

But this is the first year to sit and see Fall happen. There are so many oaks and maples here with a smattering of pines that the display is awesome to watch.

 

 

 

Nothing here is Photoshop ... no effort required for brilliant color and variety.

 

 

 

And even the one above. It was shot at about 7 in the morning and the morning light made the tree trunk greenish. This whole place turns orange at this time of year ..

 

 

 

 

 

And right at the corner about a kilometer from the KOA is Dalston and the corner where we turn to go to Barrie ... and this awesome maple.

Here's a really neat shot of the kids from Texas ... smiles for all!

 

 

 

 

And Ev doing what little boys do best ... run through a puddle.

 

 

 

This is a really great and Ev is having the time of his life ... and the rest of us can really enjoy it and then Brooks has to clean up the water soaked kid ... parenthood is wonderful .. and so is being a grandparent ... nice pic, hope he cleaned up well.

Last weekend we decided to do a fall color drive north of us. We took highway 11 to the northeast of Barrie and stopped at Bracebridge for lunch. Then we cut northwest through Port Carling toward the 400 and back home ... beautiful trip on a 60's sunny day.

 

 

 

This is the view of where Bracebridge's main street ends in the river, falls and railway all in the same spot. Really cool setting.

 

 

 

And a particularly nice tree display in the park.

 

 

 

While the colors are deepening each day this photo really doesn't do justice to how neat the color contrasts were and they are getting better every day.

 

 

 

And ... of course ... those pesky ... protected? ... snakes!