New Camera

 

OK so bear with me as I experiment with the new Olympus Stylus 16. It has a pretty good 24x zoom for capturing all the wildlife that we really enjoy. At 100 yards here are at least 50 pelicans gathering on the shore.

 

 

We had no idea that these guys would be so plentiful so far from the coast and congregate like this ... but really neat out our front window. After the group meeting then they all formed a line and came down toward us with the wind at their back and after a few moments all took off into the wind toward the boat houses in the background.

And then these guys below. Maybe the Super Bowl is being played in the lake to the front, eh.

 

Yeah, the infamous thermometer ... but hey, it is a new record for the Flying Scotsman; either number one or number two. 11.4 degrees Fahrenheit ... nippy, but the bus is cozy and the water is flowing!

 

 

Oh yeah, this dude. OK, it is about 4 PM and happy hour in the park. We are sitting up in the "observation deck" sipping the latest vintage looking out the picture window and this pup strolls by. Holy crap. First we look and say oh, there is a dog not on the leash as required.

Then we go ... nah ... not dog ... but coyote. But in the bright daylight in the afternoon no way. Then he proceeded to chase the geese we have been feeding all the way into the lake.

We have heard the coyotes yip when I was walking Buster in years past but have never seen one this brazen in the open in the full daylight.

Really enjoying the new camera and it looks like a keeper if we keep getting these kind of neat pics of the wildlife like we like to shoot.

BRRRR!!

 

Wow! Yesterday a great Norther blew in and hit us pretty good. The wind howled steady for 24 hours at around 30 MPH with the slide topper awnings popping and flapping ... what a racket! Next to a pounding rain or even hail storm this is not a fun experience in a plastic house with thin sides and roof.

The end result was the thermometer above. Actually it hit 16 before I could get the camera to record the awesome details. I think this is the lowest we have hit in this Flying Scotsman so far, but we are cozy and all systems are functioning as they are supposed to.

As we are on the inlet to Lake Grapevine, here is the result of still very cold air and the frosty waterfall ... makes it kind of hard for the wildlife to get a decent meal.

Last weekend when the weather was nicer we popped over to the Dallas Zoo for the afternoon with kids and grandkid. We hit all the exciting venues including getting the pony ride accompanied by horse handler Mom.

And the giraffe feeding which was really cool ... even though Ev was pretty apprehensive about the huge head grabbing the lettuce ... the animal body is some 15 feet below the picture.

Finally here are the ol guys as they loaded up the new RV for another trip to some exotic place ... "Indiana Gunn" and his able safari-mate!

I thought I'd start off today with an international flavor. Here's our flag with the Grapevine marina in the background. Yeah, I know, artsy stuff but having fun.

 

 

And speaking of Grapevine here is our lot in the evening which is pretty cool on the northernmost point of the park right across from the marina. Got the old fold up bikes out of the basement and wheeled around the park today.

Also, you have all seen those slick RV brochures that have fake scenes outside the windows .... well ... this is the real view from the blogster's office. We walk straight out and down to the waterfront to feed the waterfowl and watch the sailboats come and go.

As I was just talking about the Damon (Thor) Astoria motorhome we live in we happened across a really neat café on the circle in Addison today called the "Astoria" ... well there you go ... we will probably be back eh.

But not just for the name; actually the lunch venue was tremendous and we will definitely be back particularly for the European atmosphere and really fresh and different cooking as well as an extensive wine list.

There isn't much you can do to alter or improve this timeless shot above from last night as it rose over the lake here in Grapevine, Texas ... Wow!

Again, Happy 2014! And here is your happy chef preparing some bratkartofflen and sausage for din in our spacious kitchen. Not too much has changed in the home environment although the electric cooktop is a really good addition as the gas one is pretty awkward and puts out very little heat.

 

 

As we said we are back in Grapevine again which I know is boring but the alternatives for the Dallas area are pretty slim. We'd like to be closer to the kids in Richardson, but this is it for decent living.

We booked into site 12 for a month and so far it is really great as we are the closest to the marina and the lagoon; nothing between us and these guys. Here are a couple of guys or girls fishing for their living and they stay pretty close together. The one on the right is a great blue heron and the left is a great egret I think ... but both very comfortable with each other for a long time ...

... until I guess it was something he said!

Remember that we ordered a new camera? Yeah. Well. OK. It arrived, we opened it up and tried to make it work ... but it doesn't. Every time you want to turn it on you have to take the battery out and re-insert it ... yup ... back to Amazon for a replacement.

In spite of the camera dumbness the weather in North Texas continues to amaze. Here's the flag today as the wind meter topped out at 30MPH ... we are rocking and rolling without the music. You wonder how the waterfowl manage to keep fed in the howling gale but they do and it is pretty awesome to watch them fly and feed in the wind.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!

 

Wow another year for us has vanished into the Blogbook, yet there will be much more to follow.

 

We thought we'd start this new year with a great picture from last year that the kids made for their seasonal card to all their friends and relatives and hope that y'all had a great transition from the old to the new year.

 

Part of the reason for that is that I haven't been able to get any new pictures since Christmas morning when this thing died. Another camera added to the landfill. I think they are designed to last about three years and after a previous trip to the factory this one is cute but history. The lens mechanism on the Canon froze up and apparently that is fatal ... one too many pics of geese, eh. We do have another camera from Olympus on order and we'll see if that can take the rigors of blogdom or not.

Once we get the new photo machine working we will continue to document our progress in travel, food, and adventure.

All that aside our life is now changing ... yeah, even more than before.

Right now we are still in the Bryan Texas area finishing up the holidays with Mom and Dad Gunn. But on the 12th of January we move back to Grapevine for a month to begin a new chapter of our life. I know ... Grapevine, that's old stuff. But the difference is that we have leased an apartment in Dallas about 4 miles from the kids and will begin the MOVING process again.

We have kept our 2,000 square feet of furniture in storage for about the last three years and will now move it to the new abode on the 8th of February and begin the sorting process.

The apartment is ground-floor with a garage which will help us sort out all the stuff in those 150 boxes and then cull out what will fit into the 1300 square feet now available ... or not. The Flying Scotsman will be in and out of repair to get ready for the next adventure and may do some time in storage before late April when we again head for Ontario.

But please stay with us as 2014 should be a fun trip!