States we've Traveled

States we've Traveled

Tribute to Ms Southwind

Tribute to Ms Southwind

Friday, April 30, 2010

tomorrow is moving day!

We have pretty much everything ready to go .. just a few last minute finishing things. The truck is hooked up, all the hoses are unhooked and put away. All we have to do in the morning is put the slides in, put the front jacks in and unhook the electric .. well of course the TV antenna needs to be put down as well.

It’s been really hot and humid here in Texas today, it barely rain enough to call it rain. I’m praying it will be a bit cooler at the beach esp since we will be spending one night without hookups! Our new home is just not set up for days of boon docking .. yet.

Hope you all have a great weekend and i will post as soon as we get settled into the RV park .. until next time …

Thursday, April 29, 2010

laundry and getting ready

I got up a bit on the late side today. I was tired and still am. I got the laundry started and then i stripped the bed. Picked up the rugs and dog covers. I did 9 loads of laundry! I moved everything from our extra freezer into our refrig freezer and it’s packed. While we are boon docking with no hookups i don’t want to have to worry about the freezer so i was so glad when i was able to fit everything into the freezer inside. It runs on elec/propane.

I also took all my pictures and things down, scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen floor. Vacuuming is going to have to wait until tomorrow i wore out and ran out of time today.

We put some things and straightened and re-arranged some things in the outside compartments. I got lots done today and lots more to do tomorrow.

We went out to Sam’s for dinner and had a great last dinner with our friends until we meet up with them again another time. We got home and i finished up getting the bedroom ready to roll.

Tomorrow i will clean and finish those last minute things that need to be stored away. Also filling up with fuel and picking up a few last minute items.

I talked to our friends we were going to visit in Wy and they are in Co and said that it’s cold and snowing there. So glad we did change our plans. I had all of winter i can stand!! I am getting so excited and so ready to hit the open road and see new territory!

Hope your all having a great week … until next time …

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Hitch Itch

001 I am really getting the hitch itch! I am ready to hit the road. It’s been great spending the winter in Texas and the wild flowers are blooming and they are beautiful! I finally got some pictures of the red bells .. from what i understand their similar to the blue bells. I didn’t get a picture of them while they were blooming because i was sick. I’ve enjoyed Texas despite the horribly cold winter. Although I have found that i like staying a couple of months and then I'm ready to hit the road. Normally we stay 4 months or so before moving on.

002We are planning to spend our first night boon docking on the beach at Padre Island. It’s something i have always wanted to do and then we have reservations for 4 nights at an RV Park. Hubby doesn’t like to go very long without hook ups and since moving into our new home we have never boon docked in it and this is going to be our trial period. Right now we only have one house battery and that is not enough. Hopefully this summer we will get our new home set up for more boon docking. We also do not have our generator set up for our new home yet. Hubby has to do that as well. But first he must get to feeling better.

003I don’t really have that much to do to get ready to roll. Our new home is so much larger and not really that much is out. I have to take down my pictures as i do not have them securely hung on the wall yet. I took the dog cages apart today. Finally this past week the dogs have finally adjusted to our new home and no longer want to sleep in them. I cleaned the truck out and got it ready for the dogs. I rearranged the outside storage so that we can fit everything inside the fifth wheel. Used to when we traveled the car was loaded down .. now we can not do that with the truck because the back seat is for the dogs.

I am going to wash bed sheets and all our clothes before we head out and run the sweeper. Of course that will be later in the week. I’m still easily tired so i am doing a bit here and bit there.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Change of plans

We are still leaving our winter destination a week from today! May 1st is our pull out date. I’m excited, yet a bit sad. It’s been a wonderful making new friends and as always it’s sad to leave them.

We had planned to head to Co, Wy & SD for a short visit before hubby’s dental work begins but because of the weather and friends those plans have been scratched. Instead were going to Padre Island near Corpus Christi where we had hoped to visit earlier in the season.

We have reservations for 4 nights in an RV Park and from there we plan to stop in Louisiana and then on to visit friends in Mississippi.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ms. Southwind is gone!

Well we got the news that we were dreading. Yep, Ms. Southwind has been totaled. It’s a sad day in our home, but one we expected. Our years together were great and Ms. Southwind will be missed. I will cherish the memories we’ve shared during our short time together.

I am still re-cooping from being sick. I am feeling better but still no energy. It doesn’t take much to wear me out and get me to coughing my head off. I did laundry today and it was more then i could take. I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping to recover.

The weather has been great here in Texas … the only down side is I'm stuck indoors! I can’t even open my door because what ever is outside bothers me. I have been taking this time to spend hours online searching and looking for places to stay and things to do on our next adventure which is fast approaching.

May 1st we are heading out of Texas toward Colorado and into Wyoming and South Dakota on our way back to the Midwest for the summer.

If you have any suggestions of great places to stay, things to do let me know. Hope your all doing great .. until next time

Monday, April 19, 2010

A Day of Rest

After my night in the ER, i got up late and went to Wal-mart to get my prescriptions filled. I got home and was exhausted! So today was spent just relaxing and resting. It’s what the doctor has ordered. I am stuck indoors and just opening the door to let the dogs out bothers my breathing and allergies. What ever the rain brought in is still out there.

Hope your all having a great day. I was hoping to get some pictures of the beautiful flowers that are all in bloom here. Their wild flowers, red, blue and yellow. I hope i can get pictures but for now I'm stuck indoors. Regardless of the nice temps outside i have the air on inside. I'm suppose to stay in air conditioning and stay indoors. Anytime i go outside my face is to be protected by a mask and my outdoors is to be limited.

I have a feeling this is going to grow thin very fast as i'm outdoor girl. Hope you all have a great week

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sick

I went to church today and then out to dinner with friends. After stopping by Wal-mart to get the weekly items we came home. As reported earlier i have been fighting my allergies. I started feeling worse as the day went along and since it cooled off i decided to turn the air off .. big mistake!

Around 6.30 pm i started coughing and coughing and it kept getting worse and then i got to where i couldn’t talk and then finally around 8 pm i couldn’t breathe. Hubby took me to the ER and when i stepped outside it got worse, but better once the air was on in the truck. I arrived at the ER and they got me right in. Chest x-rays and diagnosed with an upper respiratory Infection and Asthma attack. The doctor said this was all brought on by a combination of things, first my allergies I've been fighting, all the smoke inhalation from the fire and this weekend of working in a musty, moldy building for the yard sale and one of the worst years for Texas pollen.

We got home around 11.30 pm and i was feeling much better but exhausted. I used all my energy just trying to breathe. I have been prescribed numerous medications, inhaler and lots of fluids and rest.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Yard Sale

We volunteers are doing a yard sale to raise money with some of the donations that are made. We have worked all day Thursday, Friday and until noon Saturday. I am exhausted! We did great and made $1500 for the shelter.

The volunteers all went this afternoon to pick strawberries, we opted out. Me and vines don’t do good together i break out and I'm just exhausted from the busy 2 weeks I've had. In fact i spent my afternoon napping! Yes .. i took a nap .. when i do that I'm sick or exhausted and I'm actually both! I have been fighting allergies since arriving in Illinois and still here in Texas. Although they are not near as bad in Texas.

I hope your all having a great weekend …

Friday, April 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is hubby’s birthday. I baked him a double layer chocolate cake with home made cream cheese icing.

Happy Birthday honey, i love you

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Arrived back in Texas!

We got up early and called the salvage yard where Ms. Southwind is parked. We stopped by and picked up some medication we had forgotten. Then we headed on our way. Once again hubby started out driving but he is not feeling well so i took over. We drove and drove and finally arrived back at our new home around 5 pm. We are so happy to be home!

We hugged and said hello to the volunteers that are still here. Several had pulled out while we were gone. We carried in what we needed and just collapsed for the night. It’s so good to be home!

Time to head back to our new home

We got up this morning and finished doing some errands. Hubby decided he thought he could travel and were both ready to head back to our own home. We love seeing family and spending time with them .. but were missing our own place.

We have found it doesn’t matter where home is .. after your away from it awhile you begin to miss it. So we loaded up the truck and everything we are taking back with us. The rest of our stuff is going to be stored in Gabe’s shed until we can return to get it. Around 1 pm we headed toward Missouri. Hubby drove a couple of hours and learned he his not himself yet and so i took over driving.

We arrived back in Bald Knob, AR around 9 pm, we went by McD’s and got us a bite to eat and then headed back to the Budget Inn. We stayed in the same room as we did before and spent the night.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Dentist

We got up and got things around, then it was time to head to the dentist. Hubby is having some dental work done. Everything went well at the dentist and hubby got the gum treatment done. Now we wait for 4-6 weeks for healing for the next process of dental work.

Hubby wasn’t feeling to well so we headed to Gabe’s house so he could lay down. We have been homeless all week long since the motor home caught fire and we had to leave it in AR. We’ve been staying at our son Gabe’s house (thanks Gabe .. love ya).

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Meeting a new sister!

Today I went to my sister Patty house for a mini gtg with family. I got to meet my new sister i found out i had while i was in Texas!

My new sister Cheryl is pretty awesome and it was a wonderful day and i look forward to getting to know her more.

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My big brother Ronnie

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My dad and new sister Cheryl

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Left to Right … Ronne, Cheryl, me, Patty and my dad

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After a great afternoon with sisters and brother. I went to see my grand kids. As you can see they were having a blast riding their new toy.

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It was a wonderful day and i enjoyed seeing my family so much.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

cleaning storage and laundry

Friday .. We spent the morning cleaning up the house and doing laundry .. Later in the afternoon we stopped by hubby’s mom and seen her. Then we went to the grand kids .. the grand daughter ended up coming to spend the night with us.

Saturday .. we got up and got ready we went to the oldest son house and picked up Tyson and Tobeman. Then we headed up to the storage unit to do some cleaning. What a job that was! It did get rid of lots of stuff that wasn’t needed but we have more to go through but we were all tired and decided to do it another day.

Hubby and I were exhausted and decided since it was finally just the two us for a change we’d go out to dinner. We chose the local Chinese place and it was pretty good. We got home late and got ready for bed.

We are having a great time but we sure are exhausted! Were not use to this busy schedule we’ve been keeping.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

A night out with friends

We got up early and got moving. Hubby has a dentist appointment. After seeing the dentist and getting the bad news we headed back to our son house. It’s looking like it’s going to be a long drawn out event with hubby’s teeth. 4 months!

Tonight we went out to eat with some old friends and had a great time. We went to Applebee’s. I had the Philly cheese and onion rings it was so good .. hubby had the cowboy cheeseburger and fries.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Happy Birthday Toby!

Today my grandson turn 2 years old. We are going later to see him and have a birthday party!

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Toby had so much fun blowing out his candles that his dad had to keep relighting them so that he could blow them out even more. Then he really enjoyed digging his fingers in the icing and eating .. Although his mom had to refrain him until she got him his own piece. I didn’t get pictures of that part as my camera was full of pictures .. i gotta get another memory card!

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He ate his entire piece of cake and boy did he enjoy it. We had his favorite food for dinner .. Spaghetti!

We have been having a great time seeing our family. The past few days i have been visiting with my sisters while hubby is off with the boys. We went out with our son Gabe and his girl friend for dinner last night at the Chinese restaurant. We were a bit disappointed as our favorite restaurant back here is not as good as Beijing in Texas. We still had a good time and got home late.

We are enjoying seeing family and spending time but man O man it’s been exhausting! We are up early and to bed very late with lots of activity going on during the day. Lots to get done and more yet to still do.

The insurance still hasn’t gotten an adjuster out to look at Ms. Southwind, hopefully today. So i still have nothing to report on what will be done.

Hubby has his doctor appointment tomorrow and after we find out what their going to do i will report.

The weather has been wonderful here! In the 80’s, today they are calling for rain after lunch and it does appear to be cloudy at times.

Until next time …

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Grandkids!

Grand kids at the park. Toby’s day at the park the day before his birthday. He loves the park, so does his sister.

Toby 4 Hailey slide Toby 3

Toby picnic table2 Toby picnic table

Toby slide 2 Toby slide

Toby hippo

Monday, April 5, 2010

A great day of seeing family!

We slept in this morning after several days of getting up early and going to bed late. We got dressed and had some errands to do. Hubby dropped me off at my sister Patty house while he went to work on the car. My sister Rosie and her hubby stopped by to see me as well. Then we headed to see the grand kids. They were excited to see us as we were them. We had a great afternoon and evening of visiting.

Hailey & Toby

We watched them ride their new gator ..

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Papa went to water the dog and little did he know what he started! Hailey put some water in Toby’s dump truck and said watch him .. he played for sometime and then it went from him playing to this

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to Toby throwing water on Hailey and Papa …

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Then it went to Toby and Papa throwing water on Hailey and Toby and Papa had a blast doing that.

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Then it went to Toby getting himself wet and trying to get a drink .. it was so funny

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Then it ended with Toby throwing water on Hailey .. it was a beautiful day to have a water fight and then it turned to where the kids decided Grandma needed to get wet so it was time to put up the camera!

Our daughter in law (Heather) bbq out and made us a wonderful dinner .. Thanks Heather it was great and so yummy .. after lots of playing, hugging and kissing. we finally said good bye and headed to Gabe’s around 7 pm. We are exhausted and ready to call it an early night. My back is aching from too much fun with my precious grandkids. We are glad to be here and see them. We have missed them so much! Today has been a great day!

Until next time …

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Arrived in Illinois to Tornado Warnings!

We got up early and went to the salvage yard where Ms. Southwind is parked until the insurance decides what they will do about her. We got everything we could as directed by the insurance company.

Then it was time to hit the road and head to Illinois. The dolly and car are hooked on behind the truck. We arrived at Gabe’s house around 5.30 pm it’s been another long day. We got the car and truck unloaded in his shed for the time being and then we took the car to unload.

Hailey & Toby easter

Hailey & grandma

Toby egg huntHailey easter

Toby sunglasses

Hailey easter basket

Toby ride

Tyson & Toby

Hailey eggs

We stopped to see the grand kids and then headed back to Gabe’s. We hadn’t been there a half an hour when the tornado warnings went off. We would start to leave the basement and another would go off. This went on for almost 2 hours. We didn’t get to bed until around 1.30 am! 2 long days and nights of traumatic events. Ughhh

We are just glad we are safe and sound and things could have been a lot worse. Hope your Easter weekend was better then ours.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Ms Southwind caught on fire!

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We got up and was on the road around 7.30 am. Our trip was going good and we were making good time. We made it through Texas and most of Arkansas and then our night mare began.

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About 20 mins after our last gas fill up hubby radio me that i needed to get pulled over that Ms. Southwind had back fired and died. We were going up a pretty good steep and he was worried he couldn’t make it up it and there was no place to get off the side of the road. God let him make the steep but he couldn’t get off the road and it was a 4 lane highway and cars were going 70 mph and the bad part was until they were right on top of us they didn’t see us and all they could do was honk at us. I got inside and did what ever hubby told me to do to help him find out what the problem was. I also was on the phone to our tow service to get us a tow truck as soon as possible as we were in a very dangerous situation with the traffic and all. Hubby was worried that we were going to cause a wreck by being stranded there. Finally he figured out that if he kept something open he could get it running enough to get it pulled across the road in a empty parking lot. I got in the passenger seat and he got Ms. Southwind going. As we got in the middle of the road Ms. Southwind back fired and gasoline shot in the air and all of sudden flames started shooting. Hubby had to continue to drive and keep his hand in there to get us safely off the road. Once he got safely off the road he jumped up and grabbed the fire estingier and told me to get the dogs and get out. 3 of the dogs came outside with me and i told the tow service to get us a fire truck and threw my phone down. 2 dogs were inside and hubby came out to get air and said it was blazing. I told him Dixie and Lucy were inside. He took off his shirt and went back inside and tried to fight the fire with it. I grabbed Dixie but Lucy wouldn’t come out. So we started getting water from a water hole and throwing it on the fire. Hubby finally got the flames down enough he could get Lucy under the passenger seat and handed her to me and then he finished putting out the fire.

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I called the tow company back but they wanted us to call our insurance to see where they wanted Ms. Southwind taken too. I called our insurance and they got the tow truck and took care of everything for us. I can not tell you how thankful i was to Geico for the quality service they gave us in a horrible situation.

We ended up getting a motel room in Bald Knob AR for the night. It felt so good to get a hot shower and get off the smoke filled clothes. I had several phone calls to make and it was a late night. We are thankful no one was hurt and we didn’t cause a major wreck.