Paul, Helen, Jodie, Coco, and Sandy

Diving Punta Perula

2012-02-06T14:34:00.001-08:00

A few days ago we heard that the best place to get a REAL hamburger is at the Dive Shop. Now Dive shop could be the name of any kind of business, but it really is a dive shop, and a burger cafe, and a Jazz cafe on Friday evenings. We tried for burgers Friday, but didn't have reservations for a special Jazz and menu night. On Saturday evening we went back again for burgers and while we waited I took a look at the dive shop portion of the business and was pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the equipment they use.

Sunday morning, Helen and I walked back (it's about 100 feet from our camper in a straight line) and talked to Gil about a possible dive. Time is a problem because we're moving on Thursday. Gil was not impressed with our dive credentials as we have not actually done a dive in 4 or 5 years and he insisted on a PADI refresher course. This surprised us as we thought that Mexican dive shops tended to be lax. Since time was limited, he offered a refresher course Sunday afternoon at a hotel pool not far away. He already had another diver getting the same course.

The pool water was COLD!!!! Even the two women who claimed that it was very comfortable we're shivering with cold after a while. I felt that I knew all there was to know about diving and only took the course as an absolute requirement to the dive. I was mistaken! Gil was able to show me a few things that are done differently than they were when we were certified in 1992. I admit that having the chance to hone a few old skills was not wasted time. We all did well.

Monday morning at 8:30 we met at the dive shop and got our gear. Gil was there early and had all our equipment waiting. The tanks and equipment was on his truck and all the wet suits, in the appropriate size for each of us, was waiting to be donned. And we were off. The universal boat here is the Panga. See below.

This picture is not too sharp because I've gotten lazy about photo technique, relying on the image stabilization of new cameras. However this is a Panga, and there must be almost 100 just on the shores of Perula.

The boat was well away from the water and all the equipment was stowed. I wondered who was going to push the boat into the water. No hay problema! The owners wife driving an expensive 4X4 drove down to the beach and the captain hooked a rope to the stern of the boat, which was facing away from the water. She wasted no time giving it the gas and heading for the water and I wondered just how far in the water she was going to go! Driving with great expertise, she drove toward the water and turned at last, swinging the boat into the water. I WAS IMPRESSED!!!

We got the boat all the way in the water and got aboard. Being heftier than the others, I went to the bow of the boat so as to get the stern and engine further out of the sand. The motor started and off we were. Of course I forgot about having to pass through the breakers. The first one cam and we got splashed. The second one came and washed over the deck, drenching my carry-on bag with my towel and Helen's as well. Now that I was wet, with my wet suit down to my waist, the cool breeze on my back was........well...uncomfortable. Other than that the ride out was uneventful and we stopped in the lee of one of the islands.

From right to left are Gil, our dive master, then Marlon and Manual.

Our captain with his little boy. Perula Beach is in the background.

Here Gil is getting Helen ready to dive. When all her equipment is ready, she will fall backward into the water.

And here's Helen underwater and buoyancy balanced.

This puffer or porcupine fish is content to lie in the rock rather than blow up to defend himself.

One of many, many rays we saw. Harmless I think..........but why risk another trip to the hospital?

This lovely creature on the palm of the dive master is a flowering urchin. Instead of a heavy load of spines, it decorates it's shell with odd things found on the ocean floor.

Helen snapped this pretty blue something and it was quite a catch. They are so fast at getting out of the way that they are very hard to capture on film. This is from the top looking down. The side shape is more like a pumpkinseed.

Here's a puffer or porcupine fish in the hands of the dive master. It offered no resistance and quietly swam away, deflating as he went.

Cohabitation in the rocks. A typical sea urchin and an unusual (to me) starfish.

This is why I have such a hard time getting close to a fish for a picture!

Helen and I saw several species that we have never seen before since we have been strictly Atlantic divers before this. We saw a burrowing Pacific snake/eel. There were a number of fish that I never saw on the reefs of the Keys or Caribbean. The last thing that I THINK I saw was a pacific sea snake, a very venomous fish, but completely docile and no danger to divers unless the diver is foolish enough to grab him.

The water was murky and the temperature on my regulator said 78. That is WAY too cold for me. All in all it was a very good dive. The dive shop and Gil were professional in every respect. I saw no area where he was lax and he tended to everyone. My only regret is that we didn't go for that hamburger the first week, when the water was warmer. If we come here next year, I'd like to try the diving (and dorado fishing) in November.

Back in the Groove in Punta Perula

2012-01-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

I back to my old self here in our little piece of paradise south of the border. My physical problem was two-fold. I have an ulcer problem once in a great while that causes some blood loss and that is part of the problem, but only a minor problem as it turns out. My greater problem is that I am simply too stupid to take in enough liquids when it is hot! That may seem to over simplify things, but it's the truth. The greatest problems I was having was dehydration. The worst part is that this is not the first time this has happened .......or the second. Really stupid. I drink when I'm thirsty, believing that it's enough, but I'm actually only getting half the water I need.

So, the day we went to the clinic, Helen allowed me no coffee in the AM due to the blood test. I had the blood test and we walked around the city of Tomatlin for a couple of hours in the 90 degree heat. Then we went back for the test results to take back to the clinic. We stopped for lunch and I could only get half a bottle of Coke down. After my "meltdown" in the clinic, the doctor started an IV of saline solution and as the fluid was absorbed into my body, my blood pressure rose and I was feeling fine. By the time Helen returned, the Doctor and I decided that a trip to a major hospital in Puerto Vallarta was not warranted. Phew!!!! I got a series of six iron shots and I now feel great.

The iron situation has been a problem since my bariatric surgery in 1998, and I have to return to my hematologist for an iron infusion from time to time. I had a blood test before our trip and I was concerned because my iron was a tad low, but my new hematologist ( the past two have retired) assured me that I'd be fine. We'll have to talk when I get back.

The worst part of this is that the doctor says "no more coffee, coke, or chocolate". Well, I'm not a big coffee drinker. My brother is a big coffee drinker, having many, many cups of black coffee throughout his waking hours. I guess I'm a sissy coffee drinker, a weak cup of instant coffee with milk and sugar, but I don't really wake up until I've had that second cup in the morning.

A couple of weeks ago I told about my journey through the main plaza in Tamazula de Gordiano. This is a central plaza for PEDSTRIANS. It is not meant for vehicular traffic, except for the funeral procession that was going on at the time. I entered at the bottom right and the police were waiting at the top left. There was not a nasty word said that I could understand and the police led us back to the correct highway. One hears "stories" about corrupt police and how they demand a tribute for catching you in an infraction. This group certainly had enough provocation, but treated us very well.

A few days ago we met some friends for lunch in La Manzanilla at a restaurant called Figaro's.

The walkway between the door and the restaurant.

More of the entrance.

From the left Ulli, Me, Brian, Sue, Mavis, and Jim.

Not in the picture is Heinz. He and Ulli are staying up the beach at Boca Beach Campground. Also missing from the picture is Tilley, who is looking for scraps under the table.

We had a great time reuniting with Ulli, Heinz, Brian, and Sue. We met Mavis and Jim for the first time. The ambiance of Figaro's is to die for. We were situated just above a beautiful beach and we had a constant cool breeze blowing in from the Pacific. One of the greatest attributes of Mexican restaurants is that you are not shuffled out when your meal is consumed and you get your bill only after you ask for it. Therefore we could and did have a lengthy chat with all our friends.

The food at Figaro's was very good, but it does not meet the standard for Italian cooking that I'm used to. I have to say that you should not let a German or a Scotsman set the standard for Italian fare. Helen said afterward " This is the first time I went to an Italian restaurant and had fish and chips". It's probably also the first time Helen hasn't seen Lasagna on the menu, her all time favorite.

Back at Perula the boats are moored for the night. I notice that some are here only for a night or two and some have been here for a week. This picture is not accurate for tonight for it's Sunday and there are twice as many boats.

More later.

Too much adventure in Punta Perula

2012-01-23T18:02:00.001-08:00

I got out fishing a few days ago and it was certainly enjoyable. I didn't catch a Dorado, but I did land a pair of Sierras. This is the same fish as the Spanish Mackerel we have in Florida. However, we were fishing on the edge of deep water and these fish were twice the size of any I caught at home. The Dorado and Sierras were the only fish we brought in. We also caught a few skip-jack tuna. There is a Mexican name for them, but I couldn't begin to say it or spell it. These were shaped like a football and really fought well. Why didn't we keep them? Well, taking home Dorado and Sierra are like taking home Porterhouse steaks. Taking home the tuna is like taking home hot dogs. There flesh is bright red and turns ugly gray when cooked. Edible....yes, but palatable....no!

This is the point where the vacation is going sour. I didn't really feel too good the day I went fishing and thought it was due to the rough seas. The next day I confided in Helen that I was feeling dizzy and weak and was losing blood somewhere. She spoke to the campground hosts and got all the information she needed. First thing the next morning we picked up our interpreter, guide, advocate and all around Gal Friday. She seems to know everyone and knows how to get everywhere. Her name is Isabel and and she would make a perfect personal assistant.

We (Helen) drove up to Tomatlin to the clinic there and we got a prescription for blood work. Next we went to the blood lab and had the blood drawn. The results were ready in just over an hour. With the results in hand we returned to the clinic and the doctor, who spoke English very well. My blood level was down and my iron concentration was low. We were working through this when I REALLY started to feel faint. My vision blurred and I was falling out of my seat. Several of them put my in a wheel chair and took me to a private room and placed me on a bed. When I was about ready to fall, the doctor gave me a shot of adrenalin and followed that with an IV of saline solution. There was a certain determination to get me to the hospital in Puerto Vallarta. The ambulance ride would run $150.00 USD. Amazing! Helen ran Isabel back to Punta Perula to take care of the dogs. We left keys with the campground host just in case. When Helen got back to the campground the dogs had been fed and walked. A number of the campers helped out. In fact, Sandy reminded one camper of the dog he used to have and he wanted to keep until I was back on my feet.

By the time Helen got back to the clinic, the Doctor and I had already assessed the situation as being two fold. There was the loss of blood, but it was not a drastic loss, and the real cause of my problem with weakness and dizziness was dehydration. This has happened a couple of times before, and I'm still too stupid to drink enough liquids. I'm almost drowning in Gatorade now, so I'm OK on the liquid.

I've had a problem with blood loss a few times before and every time the doctors can find nothing because the problem ceases before I can get to a doctor. This time, The Gatorade is keeping me hydrated, but I'm still losing blood. Fortunately, there is a nurse close by the campground and I get a shot of liquid iron every day. Wouldn't that make your day! At this point I have one more test to come back, and based on that we may be moving to a campground in Puerto Vallarta in a few days.

I couldn't possibly give enough praise to the Mexican people that I've dealt with. Isabel didn't want Helen to drive her back to Punta Perula, she would just take the bus. She is willing to drive us up to the hospital in PV and then take the bus back by herself. I needed a nurse to give me the iron shot Sunday evening. Isabel called a nurse down the street and I was told to come right down to her house. I picked up Isabel and she showed me the way. The nurse has a large family and there was quite a crowd enjoying something Sunday evening. I was led into a back room and discretely given the shot. This morning I went to the clinic instead.

This is an amazing corner of Mexico, right on the Pacific Ocean. While some campgrounds are suffering this year, the host here has to turn people away on a daily basis. We heard one of the campers here asking the host to try his best to find a spot for their friends. There are only so many spots and they are all taken, many of them booked from November to May.

This too will be remembered as another ersatz adventure, but the real treasure is meeting so many really fine Mexican people. I'm sorry that a lot of travelers stay away because of the horror stories told by the media. We are having a ball! The dogs are having a grand time, especially since the handsome black lab Riggs look-a-like moved in. They are all spayed or neutered, but you'd never know from the interest generated.

I've got some nice pictures to publish, I'm just not up to it right now.

More later.

Punta Perula again, and Tomatlan

2012-01-15T17:06:00.001-08:00

A few days ago Helen and I went to Tomatlan to buy some groceries and to get funds from an ATM. Typical for me, I got up there and found that I left my wallet at home, the motorhome. About 65 miles round trip, but what can you do. So, making SURE that I had my wallet, we went back yesterday, taking Adolph and Millie with us. They have been coming here for about 20 years and really know their way around. They also know enough Spanish to keep us out of trouble.

Here I am with Adolph and Millie. Adolph was the first person we met at Hacienda Contreras when he came out to open the gate and let us in. They are rather quiet and very easy to like. Behind us is the bank where we both got money from the ATM.

This, of course, is Helen and me. I'm disappointed in this picture because I thought I was losing some weight, but here I'm as fat as ever. Damn camera!!!

This is Rosemary and Dennis, two MORE Canadians from British Columbia! We joined them, Adolph and Millie for lunch at Chee Chee's. You'll note the location: right on the beach.

In the years that we have been married, Helen has ordered a fine fish dinner that she was pleased with twice. Well, maybe three times. This was another of those days where her meal came as a surprise. I guess that if you want a fillet, you have to SPECIFY FILLET. Helen does not like to see her meal looking back at her. Talking with Rosemary and Dennis about my whole shrimp in Cosala, and they informed me that you had to SPECIFY that you wanted shrimp without the shells. Adolph ordered a fillet and he was pleased. The rest of us ordered shrimp without shells and we were pleased. Helen will be sure to order fillets in the future.....I think.

This is my Shrimp Venezuela very good and a lot of shrimp.

Rosemary, Dennis, Adolph, and Millie getting down to business.

This is Helen's answer to the Corona ads on TV.

Here in Mexico, you do not get the tab until you ask for it. Sometimes, north of the border the patrons are given the bum's rush after the meal is finished. When we meet another couple for dinner, we seem to be rushed and never get a chance for a good conversation. Here it is expected that you will linger a while and chat.

This afternoon we decided to extend our stay through the month and I hope this nice weather lasts. Dennis went fishing this morning and came bach with three Dorado and he saw one whale leap clear of the water. I'm still waiting for my chance.

later.

Day 2 at Punta Perula

2012-01-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

I slept a long time this morning and when I woke up, one fishing boat was already back with the catch.

These are two of the larger fish, with the big one weighing 19 pounds. A little while later a second boat came in and there were more dolphin to clean. The boats are small Zodiac inflatables with about 20 hp on the stern. Still, they are up to the job of going out for the dolphin and mackerel and also to watch some of the whales wintering in this cove. Shortly after the second boat cleaned their catch, we were offered a couple of pounds of fresh dolphin fillets, Carl already has his freezer full and is giving his excess catch away. The fresh fish was delicious!!!

One camper recognized the dive symbol on my front plate and asked if I was a diver. Of course I said yes. He is a diving instructor way up in British Columbia. I shivered when he told me that he never dove in water warmer than 56 or 57 degrees Fahrenheit. In Florida, we switch to diving in the 73 degree springs when the ocean gets cooler, and that's with dive skins, full wet suit and a hood. He told me that he has never been diving in anything but a dry suit. I believe him.

I mentioned that Helen and I have our snorkel gear and might try that. He told me that at the far north of the beach there is a small tributary and beyond that there are rocks. Snorkel along the rocks and there is a lot to see. We will have to see. Fortunately, we still have Helen's Nikon with the underwater housing.

This is another view of the bay and you can see a number of boats. We seem to be collecting them as there are even more this afternoon.

The day was quite warm and last night was cool. We've paid for a week and will make a decision later as to if we'll stay longer.

You've seen some fish. I will be going out later this week or early next, and I would like to come home with a bragging size fish. I'd also like to see the whales, and I'd like to snorkel the rocks.

The dogs are having a ball. Some of the other campers saw them yesterday up the beach and couldn't believe how much they enjoy the water. We may have to stay here for them.

Later

From Mexico's Central Valley to the Pacific Shore

2012-01-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

Sunday was the day when several campers at Hacienda Contreras moved toward the Pacific Coast. It was difficult to say good-bye to the campers and camp owners that we have grown so fond of. However, we did come to Mexico for the heat and it was due time to hit the beach.

This is the road leading out of the valley. Elevation of the campground was about 6400 feet! Clear air, bright stars, and very cool nights. Nothing like the 19 degrees they had in Inverness, Fl, though.

The roads through the mountains are just one curva peligrosso after another. That means dangerous curve and we could see numerous monuments to people who didn't make the turn.

In the lowlands, there were not acres and acres, but square miles and square miles of sugar cane. When the crop is ripe. They burn the cane to get rid of all the leaves, then the stalks are cut and piled. We saw a number of trucks heaped way to high and dropping cane when they hit a bump.

Further on we passed a coconut plantation.

Along the way we passed through Tamazula de Gordiano, a city or village on the way to Colima. They have this story that they tell:

A la vez un gringo venía de lejos y trató de llevar a su casa rodante a través de nuestra hermosa ciudad, hermosa. Acostumbrado a nuestras calles y avenidas, se perdió entre las calles de un solocamino y callejones sin salida. Después de un rato, se encontró en la carretera de acceso a la plazaprincipal de la ciudad, justo enfrente de la catedral. Tan tonto que era, que él condujo la derecha en la plaza, apenas faltan varios peatones y un coche fúnebre funeral. Lo hizo de bypass varios bancos ygrandes arreglos de flores y la herida de su camino a través de los toldos del hotel y por el otro lado.Allí, una fuerza de nuestra policía valiente lo escoltaron fuera de la ciudad.

For those of you who do not read Spanish I offer this translation:

There is a folk tale told about a Gringo lost in the city.

At one time a Gringo came from far away and tried to drive his motorhome through our fine, beautiful city. Unaccustomed to our streets and avenues, he got lost among the one way streets and dead ends. After a while, he found himself on the access road to the city’s main plaza, right in front of the cathedral. So foolish was he, that he drove right in the plaza, barely missing several pedestrians and a funeral hearse. He did bypass several benches and large arrangements of flowers and wound his way through the hotel awnings and out the other side. There, a force of our courageous police escorted him out of the city.

These are the police that escorted us out of the city.

Even with the escort, navigating the narrow streets was no picnic.

You may notice how we are forced to the right side of the road, where some of the roof overhangs can gouge the side of our camper. In reality, the police were extremely courteous and helpful. Without their guidance I would still be in the plaza in front of the cathedral, blocking the funeral procession. There was also a senior citizen who directed us around the hotel awnings so we wouldn't take them with us.

Later in the day we stopped at Boca Beach, a campground recommended by Heinz and Ulli. In fact, we met them and they were surprised to see us. The beach seemed nice, but there was only 15 amp electricity and NO wifi. NO wifi, can you believe that?

This is the beach there, but we didn't let the dogs get close. Since we were moving on to Punta Perula in the morning, why get sandy wet dogs for the night.

A sunset picture taken by Helen.

This is the lagoon at Boca beach. Later we found that those lagoons can contain alligators!!! Not a place to take the girls swimming.

Sunset at Boca Beach. Enjoy yourselves, Ulli and Heinz!

The end of another day in paradise!

This is our spot at Punta Perula RV and Trailer Park. The camper is located about 40 feet from the cleaning table where all the fish are taken. I was drooling at the sight of the large fish being cleaned this morning. A half day fishing trip is $1,000, in pesos or about $74.00 US. I'll just have to go!

This is Punta Perula beach looking southeast. Beautiful!!! The water is clean and I can easily cast a lure into the blue water beyond the surf.

I'm getting ready!!!

These are the ones who really enjoy the water. They will chase a stick until I just can't throw it anymore. The surf doesn't bother them a bit and all three have had waves wash over their heads without slowing them down. They come back up and continue after the stick, all of them.

This is looking back at our campground. I can drive the beach here with my Jeep, so we take the dogs down a ways where there are no people. We had a group walk past us today and their dog joined ours in the water. The people were surprised as their dog generally doesn't do water.

This building was supposed to become a hotel some time in the past. It had gone to ruin and someone decided that it had to come down. Kevin and Ruth were there when they tried to blow it up. What they have left is a death trap, too dangerous to get near to finish the job.

This is Helen's last picture of the day. Trust me, It's as good as it looks. I could get used to Mexico in the winter and Canada in the summer. Florida is good for three weeks in the spring and three in the fall.

Later

Catching up in the New Year!

2012-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that I have been irresponsible in my posting my blog. If you will give me a few more minutes I will try to come up with an adequate excuse................ Sorry, no excuse comes to mind. I have promised myself many times that I would surely get a blog done.....tomorrow. Well, today is the tomorrow I've promised myself.

We got to Hacienda Contreras on Sunday, December 18th, late in the day, as I reported earlier. The next couple of days were spent getting organized here and resting from the grueling drive from Celestino. On the 21st, there was a feast in the clubhouse of the Hacienda.

From the left, Sal, Kevin, Ruth, Linda, Jurgen you can barely see and Adolph and Millie you cant's see. At the far end is Ulli, Heinz, me, Helen, Sandy, and Sue.

There was a tray of shrimp prepared five different ways and each way was excellent!

A pan of steak and chiorozo (spelling?).

There was a lot of other food as well. If this is Mexican food, we should all be so lucky. Keep in mind that this is only the 21st.

Saturday the 24th, all the ladies were gathering up at the clubhouse to prepare tamales, a traditional Christmas dish. The guys wandered up in time to sample some sopes, another traditional dish, I think.

Here Sal's sister, Juana, and mother Doña Theresa are organizing the sope and tamale work. Doña Theresa was up well before the crack of dawn to take her corn to be ground. From the amount of corn in that big bowl, one would think that the job would never end.

However more hands help make the work easier. Left to right it's Ruth, Helen, Sue, Millie?, Sal, Juana, and Mama.

Helen doing her best to learn Mexican cooking with Jurgan on her right and Linda on her left. The ladies made hundreds (literally) of tamales.

Later on on the 24th, a whole group of us went out to eat at a restaurant right on the plaza in Valle de Juarez. We had a nice meal of enchiladas and very pleasant company.

Nearest the camera is Jurgen, then Sal, Barbara, Robin, Kevin, Me, Sue, Brian, and Linda.

The special was chicken enchiladas and we all had the same thing, varying only in the beverages chosen.

Only after the meal was finished and we were preparing to leave did Barbara thanks us all for helping her and Sal celebrate their 39th anniversary. I did notice that Barb was all dolled up for this dinner and figured that it must be because of Christmas Eve. After the meal, we wandered around the plaza and enjoyed part of a Christmas program at the church. It was a beautiful evening spent with special friends.

A couple of days later we were invited to hike over to the "Castle", an intriguing building we could see off in the distance. It was an interesting building as seen from the campground, but when one gets up close it is really amazing.

The stone work on this building is absolutely amazing. This is the project of a very rich somewhat eccentric man who insists on absolute attention to detail. You would have to see it up close to appreciat the fit of all the cut stone that makes up this complex.

The lower level windows look into the dining room, as this has been conceived as a restaurant with owner's quarters above. The domed room above is actually a small kitchen/sitting room.

This shows the two domes. The larger dome is the bedroom/family room, I suppose. There is a huge bed, bath and shower, refrigerator, fireplace, sofa, and big screen TV. The dome is painted brightly on the inside and the dome shape gives some unusual acoustics. Beneath the large dome is a fully furnished modern kitchen. I was told that he even had a chef in residence in the past, but has not been able to open his restaurant yet. The "castle" and grounds require a great deal of upkeep and we saw a number of people working around. The grounds are beautiful.

In every group you will find a couple of bone heads. Long after the group was led back down stairs and the doors locked, these two (Heinz and Me) came from the other side of the dome to find our egress blocked. Ever dependable Sal ran back up the stairs to unlock the door even as Helen and Ulli were telling him to let us stay.

Walking out from the castle we walk the road of John Deere Tractors. The owner has more than a dozen really old John Deere tractors including some horse drawn machines. There a lot of items, such as swings, around the grounds that are made with ancient John Deer wheels and things. I'm allowed to go fishing in that pond and the only reason that I have not is that I am lazy. I have adopted the manner of "mañana, but I did learn how to put the squiggle over the n.

Just a quick look back.

This is Kevin and Ruth of Travels with Kevin and Ruth fame. I hope you checked his blog for information when I was being lazy. I see that he did 402 blogs in 2010, which makes him one sick puppy!

This is the new Sal Contreras family. Just so you know, that's Sal on the left, Barb on the right, and Donkey Hotay in the middle. Barb thought that Helen might like a donkey, but Helen explained that I was enough ass for her.

"Walking" Donkey Hotay back to his pen.

On the 29th, we were invited to the wedding of Sal's nephew, Luis. Luis is Juana's son. Sal's has been like a surrogate father to Luis since Luis' father passed away.

The chapel was very beautiful adorned with lace and flowers.

Here is Luis' younger brother, Mother Juana, Grandmother Theresa, Uncle Sal, and Aunt Barb.

I have to tell you that this wedding reception was not for Gringos!!! There was a Miriachi Band that was great, BUT SOOOOOO LOUD!!!!! There was all the soda and tequila you could drink and the food eventually arrived, but the music was very loud and intrusive. It was nearly impossible to chat with anyone. SOme of us managed to have a good time anyway.

Helen and Juana movin' and a groovin'

More happy times!!! Behind Helen are a Dutch couple from the campground, John and Anna, a very lively and happy couple.

This brings us to New Years Eve. Not that this blog references all that we did or all that we could have done. There was so much going on all the time and we were ill for a short time so we had to forgo some trips.

Here's Helen taking the covers off the New Years Eve food. Have you noticed that there's always a lot of food?

More food and I will not name the people this time.

Dutch Canadians John and Anna.

The hostess with the mostest. Barbara has been in the center of everything, morganizing, planning and working her tail off. Ex nurse and mother of five, she just naturally worries about everyone. I talked to other campers and we all agree that we have never been at a campground that makes us feel as comfortable and at home as we do here. Keep in mind that with all the campers, we're talking about the whole North American continent, perhaps even Europe. They should franchise Hacienda Contreras throughout the US and Canada.

OK, more food! This was the group outing yesterday. We rode to Mazamitla to eat at the Alpine Restaurant where Helen and I ate early in our visit. It's more fun with the group. What's especially nice is that Sal can translate the menu. Heinz kept raving about the bean soup and

most of us tried it. He was right on!

Helen ahd to check out this atrium with all the plants. She was enthusiastic about so many of the beautiful flowers, but it's unrealistic to believe that we could get them back to Florida.

I found this fuzzy little friend among the plants. What a little doll! Like our three, she loved to have he belly scratched, but can you picture me trying to hold one of mine like that? A very cute little dog with a huge personality.

OK, that's all for today. It might be quiet for a few days until we move back to the coast. Then, we should have more pictures of the dogs, beaches, and (I hope) fish that I catch.

later.

ME BAD!!!

2011-12-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

And me gonna get worse, I'm afraid. We have been very busy here at Hacienda Contreras and are having a grand time. We signed up for one week, but we've extended for a month. It may be a lot cooler than I wanted in Mexico, but the area and people are so nice that it's hard to leave.

One day Helen and I went to Mazamitla, one of Mexico's "Magical Cities". It's a very old city built around a cathedral and plaza. The streets are paved with cobblestone and they are narrow to the extreme. They can be narrow and still be two way streets, but it doesn't really matter because this is Mexico and some people won't hesitate to drive the wrong way if it's where they want to go.

This is a typical street in Mazamitla. One of our fellow campers made the mistake of driving his motorhome here a few years ago. With very narrow streets, curbs that are sometimes 18 inches high, and low overhangs jutting out from buildings, he was lucky to get out. Of course he had the help of the police who guided him and had a number of people move their cars.

This is the center of Mazamitla culture and city. All around the plaza there are numerous shops selling just about anything you might need. I did look at a nice leather jacket, but thought it foolish to have in such a warm climate. A few days later I would have liked to have it on.

Across the street from the cathedral is the Alpine Restaurant where Helena and I stopped for lunch. Now Helen and I are not great lovers of Mexican food, or at least we haven't been, so we were very careful about what we ordered. Nothing hot, as in spicy hot. The hostess gave us a lot of time and allowed us to sample some dish to see if we'd like it. We settled on two orders of mixed grill fajitas. They were delicious.

Another night Barb Contreras, camp owner, put on one heck of a meal for all the campers. There were shrimp, cooked five different ways, and all of them excellent. That alone made it a feast for me, but there was also lamb, chourizo, (Spelling is probably wrong), steak, and several Mexican dishes. I mentioned that Helen and I were not into Mexican food, but we find that there is a world of difference between what we have here and what is available at Taco Bell. We have been told that before but didn't quite believe it.

Last night the whole group of us went up to a restaurant right on the square, or plaza in Valle de Juarez. Everyone ordered the specialty, chicken enchiladas and we were not disappointed. Only after we were done did Barb thank us for sharing her and Sal's 39th anniversary. When we gathered at the campground I thought Barb looked all spiffed up for just a night with the crowd, but I didn't realize the true meaning of the evening to her.

Today the ladies have been up in the kitchen getting tamales ready for tonight. Earlier they were making something else that I would only destroy if I tried to spell it. Suffice to say it was another traditional Mexican dish that was exceptional. Sal's mother, Dona Theresa, was the focal point for making the early dish as well as having all the ladies, Helen included, keep busy making the tamales. Helen said that from now on we'll be having Tamales for Christmas instead of lasagna. Could that really happen???? I like the Mexican food, but I am Italian and lasagna is..........

There could have been and should have been more pictures, but for some reason we got some poor results with the little camera. For really good pictures and commentary, see Kevin and Ruths Adventures.

I will try to be better, but it's so easy to rely on Kevin.

Leaving the Beach Behind

2011-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Sunday the 18th came and it was time to say goodbye to our friends in Celestino RV Park. It was another perfect day with plenty of sunshine and moderate temperatures. We were away by 8:45 AM, which was better than I expected. The highway to Mazatlan was no surprise as we drove it numerous times. Bill, at Celestino advised us that once clear of Mazatlan, it would be clear and fast driving. Apparently Mazatlan covers a lot more area than we thought.

We noticed a great amount of traffic on the road. Cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs crammed full of goodies or with a heck of a load tied on top. Almost all of the license plates were from California and at first I foolishly thought that a lot of Californians were heading to Mexico for the winter. It finally dawned on me that this was the Sunday before Christmas and these were people heading HOME for the holidays. There were dozens of bicycles and large toys. One pickup was carrying two Carrier A/C crates. Another was taking a side-by-side refrigerator home for Christmas. Consequently, all the toll booths were backed up and the rest areas just beyond were filled to capacity.

The picture above shows some of the traffic. It also shows an older man riding his bike on the breakdown lane. We have also seen truck driving in that lane, but against traffic!

This picture shows another section of the toll road. Mexican toll roads differ from American toll roads in several respects. The tolls are very high, but they include insurance, so if your vehicle is damaged on the highway, their insurance will have it fixed. Their toll roads are not limited access. If you drive the full length you will pay all the tolls, but you can drive sections all the time without paying a toll. This was the situation when we drove to La Cruz, no tolls. Finally, you may see anything on the toll road, pedestrian, bicycle, tractor, even a herd of cattle being driven across.

Helen caught this picture of a man fly fishing in one of the rivers we passed. It got my attention. Later on, I found that in the higher elevations there is trout fishing and there is a trout hatchery someplace around Mazamitla.

This is a picture of the sun dipping behind the mountains. What it means is that at this time I am already in trouble for driving too long. We really meant to be stopped someplace safe before dark, but one minor set back after another put us way behind. I was always sure that we just had a little way to go. What a laugh!!! The direction system on Streets and Trips is an illusion. At one point it told me to take the next ramp to Route 15, and when I did it announced that I was "off route". Helen was really pleased.

I continued to drive, not seeing any alternative that was agreeable to me. In the meantime, Helen was getting more and more stressed. We couldn't safely stop anywhere and we could barely continue to drive safely either. Compounding this problem is the fact that Helen's cataracts are getting bad and her vision is decreasing, especially at night. While I could see well enough to drive, Helen couldn't make out very much in front of the motorhome. Then it started to rain. I finally asked Helen to go back and put her head down as she was really starting to distract me. She did, and it was a good thing, too. We were in the mountains at this point where there was one peligrosso (dangerous) curve after another. On some of the curves I could look way down at the village waaaayyyyy down in the valley. It's better that Helen never saw that.

I approached an unmarked intersection and was almost hit by a pickup truck coming very fast from the right. Jamming the brakes was the best thing I could do, though I felt that a collision was unavoidable. Miraculously, the pickup swerved and missed us by inches. This is where I was supposed to turn left anyway. I made the turn and pulled off the road for a few minuted to collect myself. If I was correct, I'd be about five miles from the campground. This was all paved road, but it has to be the worst paved road on the continent, perhaps two continents. I paused to cll the folks at Hacienda Contreras and they said they would meet us at the campground. A caretaker would let us in the gate. I knew that the entrance to the campground was an orange arch, and I was SO RELIEVED to see it just a few minutes later.

This is the arch in the daytime, but it looked so much better Sunday night.

The gate was unlocked and we entered safe and sound for the night. Barb and Sal came to greet us and they are a rare pair. We couldn't have had a better welcome and certainly felt right at home from the first moment. We picked a spot and settled in for the night.

This is the Dogs play area. Acres of clear land and grass surrounded by high rock fences, you would think that it would please them, but such is not the case. we are about in the middle of the property and they can run off-leash down here. It captured their full attention for a few days, but today it was not enough. Sandy has never been to training, but she behaves well. Jodie and Coco are another matter. This afternoon they worked their way down to the far left corner, then worked their way over to the far right corner. Of course, they were off leash, but I was with them. Then they got to the right wall and moved with some speed along the wall, heading for the area where there were campers in residence. Neither one would respond to being called and that really got my blood boiling. They would give me a quick look and continue on their way. I couldn't chase them for they were much too fast and determined not to come when called. I got Sandy in the camper and got in the Jeep for pursuit.

When I opened the back of the Jeep they jumped right in and I took them back to the camper. Sadly, they had been into the compost being used around the plants and they breaths that smelled a lot like the manure of the cows next door. The short ride back to the camper had my eyes watering. I could not bring them right in the motorhome as they smelled so bad, so I tied them to trees near us and hoped their breath would improve with time.

There has been a lot more going on, but I'll have to continue another day.

Blogging the Ides of December

2011-12-15T13:44:00.002-08:00

I took the HP laptop to a computer repair in LaCruz. One recommended by Marilyn next door. There was a language barrier between us until I used a computer to access Google Translate. I typed in English and it converted to Spanish. The repairman typed in Spanish and I could read it in English. If nothing else, he was impressed with this use of the computer. He assured me that he would get right to it and it would be an hour. OK. I went next door to the Cyber cafe and used the computer there for an hour to check a lot of garbage and when I returned, he looked at the computer screen and indicated that it was not ready yet. I noticed that he was using Kaspersey to clean up my problem. Then I took a long walk about La Cruz and saw some interesting things. Returning to the shop, the repair guy brought me around back to look at the screen again. In over two hours it had only gone 30% of the way through my drive. He made a comment about grande drive and I said I'd be back manana.

This morning I picked up the computer and all the virus/trojan/malware was gone. However, A necessary file for my internet connection was still missing. One of the problems I had erased the file. Thinking of it now, I only had to delete the Moviestar program and reload with the stick. Instead, I found the file on the other computer and moved it across on a thumb drive. Success.

Now, on to the repair of the motorhome. The first picture shows the RV plumb up against the side of the road. Looking carefully, you can see that the rear cap has been pulled back about two feet.

The next picture shows the damage up close. The panel covering the central air and heat pump is bent way in, and at this point, I thought it was just the fiberglass that was damaged.

The picture below shows the heat pump with the panel and rear cap installed. It looks OK here, but the lower rear corner has actually been bent in about two inches. I didn't realize that until the cap was returned and installed. About a half hour with the jack from the Jeep and a prybar and it was close enough;

This is the rear without the cap, of course.

Here's a side view with the work completed. I am thrilled!!

Rear with the work done. I had to pay extra to have the heat pump panel done a second time, but the total cost was about $350.00 US dollars. Anyone care to guess how much that would be in Tampa???

On Monday Helen and I took a drive to the little town of Cosala, up in the mountains of eastern Sinaloa state. It waas the capital of Sinaloa/Sonora for a short time around 1826 when the regional governor decreed such as the capital it was replacing was being besieged by some enemy. The ride up was most interesting. We passed this herd of cattle, but it was not the last cattle we had to avoid.

Helen snapped this picture as we approached a small village. As we drew closed, we could see a number of young men inside playing video games. In fact, when I stop at a cyber cafe to use a computer, there is usually a good group of young men playing the interactive video games.

Bougainvilleas grow everywhere in abundance. Some are cultured and some grow wild. They flourish everywhere except the Tempesta property in Florida. That's where several plants have gone to die.

The gate to the "Magic City" of Cosala.

Beyond the gate, this is the entrance. You can see that there is no way it supports two way traffic. All the streets in Cosala are two way, even when only one car could possible fit.

The wide "streets" are for pedestrians only, and are lined with businesses or apartments.

This is Helen in her new haircut. The general consensus (except for Helen) is that she looks great in the "new sassy cut".

The Cathedral is the centerpiece of every small town. This one was all decked out as was the whole town to celebrate the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe. There was a lot going on during the day, but the real festival is at night. We met a young woman, born in Texas of Mexican parents who has returned to Cosala. She was telling us how at night the who area around the Cathedral and square are full of candles. We found quite a number of candles still burning from the night before. With the beautiful flowers and the vivid colors it would have to be an incredible sight.

A view into one of the numerous valleys that we passed.

More cattle!!! This is the reason we are told not to drive at night. It's not about bandits or bad roads, but cattle roaming free where ever you go. The only exception is the Maripista or toll road system. They are fenced with cattle gates to keep cattle from access to the highway.

Elden, a Canadian who is camped closest to the beach, rode up the campground like Paul Revere, telling all that the turtles were being released. There is a turtle sanctuary up the beach a ways where they dig up and protect sea turtle eggs. After they hatch, they are placed near the surf and allowed to swim away. The "ranger" came to our campground to let them go. Having people around keeps the gulls and frigate birds from snatching them before they reach the water.

When they're placed on the sand, the immediately head for the water.

This one made it to the water only to be washed back.

This little fell was washed back and left upside down, an easy meal for a scavenger.

The campers fell in and took the turtles out to deeper water and let them go as the wave receded. That worked. We waited around for awhile making sure that none of them washed back. We were successful and delighted to be a part of this process.

Here is a typical sunset.

Here's another. Day after day, the same moderate temperatures and glorious sunsets. Enough is enough and well have to move inland to get away.

A great few days....almost

2011-12-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

We've been having the same fine weather day after day. The guys fixing the motorhome panel did not come through on Saturday as they said. I was up in La Cruz to see them early Sunday morning and they promised that they would deliver it in the afternoon. They showed up sooner than I expected and we mounted the panel. It looks great. I have before and after pictures that I'd like to post when I'm able.

Yesterday, Helen and I drove up to Cosala, a small town in the Sierra Madres with a big heritage. It used to be the territory capital when Sonora and Sinaloa were one state. It is a very compact city with very narrow roads. The interesting thing is that even when there is only room for one car, it's still a two way street. The ride up there was awesome on the twisting mountain roads and I told Helen it would be a lot more fun in a Miata or on a motorcycle. I changed my mind on the return trip. The ride up was hugging the mountains. The ride back was hugging the edge. A 5 inch curb would hardly keep anyone from going over the edge.

This morning we were notified that the Turtle Sanctuary would be releasing baby turtles right in front of the campground. The guy from the sanctuary had about 25 little turtles in a box and let us help them along. The moment they hit the sand they sped for the water. It was near high tide and a wave would come along and wash them away. The next wave would deposit them back on the sand, many upside down. Then we would gather them back and walk them into the water, releasing them as another big wave receded. In short order they were all gone. Helen and I stayed with another camper for a few minutes to make sure that none were washed back.

This blog is being done on my old Dell computer. The HP is out again. This morning I was checking my email and found several Christmas E cards. When I clicked on one I got a message that something very bad was in the file. I deleted it, but I was too late. Another miserable malware!!!!!!!!

I will do this blog again when the other computer is well again.

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

2011-12-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Yes sir eee!!! Another glorious day in Mexico. The weather has been perfect, cool nights and warm days. We have had the windows open continually for weeks. The dogs have a great time at the beach and..........the dogs have a great time at the beach. I noticed that the fish stores down here sell snook, and excellent fish that is a game fish in Florida. There are closed seasons and size limits in Florida. Here, they are just another fish. On the east coast of Florida they often fish for snook in the surf as night falls and I figured that I'd give it a try. I brought a surf rod that I bought a few years ago specifically to snook fish with my brother, but never got to use it. A few nights ago I set it up and took a few lures down to the beach at dusk. I cast and cast until my arms could take no more. Unfortunately, that was only about ten or twelve casts. I can remember casting all night for striped bass and bluefish on Cape Cod and it was only....let me see.....oh.....more than 30 years ago. That's when I was in my thirties and didn't have arthritis in my elbow and shoulder. Damn!!! I'm going to have to stick with my smaller fishing rods or go to (ugh) bait fishing where I cast once and let the fish come to the bait.

I'm still waiting for the last panel to be replaced on the motorhome. I was told earlier in the week that they would come Saturday afternoon at cinco to install it. Of course they did not show. I drove up to their shop in La Cruz to prod them into action. They were working on it and assured me that they would have it back this afternoon. The stereotype of the lazy Mexican doesn't apply around here. These guys are working seven days a week and have a lot of work to do, thanks to the crazy/aggressive Mexican drivers. When I get the body work completed I will post before and after pictures.

When I said "another day in paradise", I was being a bit sarcastic. The weather is beautiful, but we have been warned that it will soon turn cold here and most everyone we've seen in the park will be heading south soon. A week from today we will pull up the anchor and travel about 400 miles to Hacienda Contrera, where we will spend some time and get to meet Kevin and Ruth. We've heard from the owners and understand that they have a large fenced area for the dogs, so Helen and I will be able to get away for a day. It has been difficult to see very much beyond the campground and beach when the dogs require so much care. We walk them and feed them and walk them again. Then we can get to Mazatlan for a few hours. From the campground we can visit Mazatlan and La Cruz, a small inland community, but there is not really a lot to see or do around here. Besides that, Helen and I are more nomadic, RARELY staying in one place for more than a week. We will give more thought to campgrounds with more day trip options.

So after three weeks at Celestino RV Resort, we are more than ready to move on. We have met some extremely nice and interesting people and we've had our adventure in the mud. Now to head east and south, over hills and around bends to another adventure.

MAZATLAN

2011-12-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Monday, Helen and I took another trip to Mazatlan and this time we got it right. A few weeks ago we took an unplanned trip down and arrived right in the middle of Revolution Weekend. It was a mess for me as the traffic was terrible and the stress level was very high. We did some quick shopping and went home. On our second trip we did a little better, but not by much. It was very stressful for me and I didn't enjoy the trip. At the MEGA store, I had to sit down and rest for a while with a cup of cappuccino frio. It was delicious and I was feeling better in a short time.

By Monday we knew our way around a bit. I was able to find Route 15 going through the city. It's the route we'll take when we leave here on the 18th. Our first stop was Wal-Mart because the first item of business was to purchase a new printer. I looked at all the models and converted all the prices from pesos to dollars and after considerable thought, I bout an Epson, which was the cheapest one they had. I've had Epsons before and have always been happy. We also got some non-perishables before we drove to Old Town. As we drove along the Malecon, the walk along the beach, we could see the high tower hill in the distance and decided that we would try to drive there and get some good pictures of the city. It was not as easy as it looked and I took more than a wrong turns before we got to the top, or as close to the top as we could.

Here are a few pictures of Mazatlan

After taking the pictures we ventured down to Old Town and I found a parking space not far from the Cathedral. Helen and I had a little disagreement about where the market was. I have a knack for knowing directions, but this time shopping was involved and Helen was correct. Below are few pictures inside the market.

We bought our Mazatlan Tee shirts and headed for a pastry shop that we had heard about and also Helen spied it as we were driving by. After buying too many pastries (one would have been too many) we headed back to the car, but not before stopping to buy some Christmas lights for the camper. There are a lot of people around Old Town and so many people are trying to earn a living. We never felt unsafe, even for a moment. Shopping in Tampa or Orlando is more of a hassle for us. Not speaking Spanish could be a real problem, but the Mexican people are so eager to please, and not just when money is involved. If you are looking for something someone will often go with you to show you the way'

The last stop was MEGA, a small scale Wal-Mart, but with the Anglo in mind. Signs are printed in Spanish and English. Several employees speak English well enough to be a real help. They have products that you can't get elsewhere, even at Wal-Mart, like real Cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, Virginia baked ham, and more. Surprising to me was the display of fresh Christmas Trees. We may be well into Mexico, but the smell of spruce, pine, and balsam bring memories of Christmas in New England. The trees were selling for about $27.00 USD, and that's not too bad.

We bought another cooler to transport our milk, lunch meat, and fish home. Helen bought a few nice fillets of white fish. I couldn't pass up the chance at some fresh shrimp. We packed up and headed home. We were too tired to prepare a real supper, so we picked on goodies and turned in early. It was another very fine day.

Survivor: Mexico

2011-11-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

SURVIVOR: MEXICO

It was a dark and starry night as I drove beck from Mazatlan. Now how could that be???? The cardinal rule for tourists is to NEVER DRIVE AT NIGHT. The second rule is to never break the cardinal rule .What was I doing in unfamiliar territory on the wrong side of dusk. Let’s begin a few days earlier.

Saturday afternoon, November 12th, we were visited by Pat and Jeanette Boyd, a couple from Vancouver who would be traveling with us toward Mazatlan. They are an amiable couple and we were very pleased to meet them. We arranged a place to meet on the way to the border and that was that.

Sunday November 13th, we met at the appointed spot and headed south. The first, very minor problem occurred when I followed Pat down the car lane of US customs. I opened the window and the first thing I heard was “Houston, we have a problem”. It was then apparent that I would not be able to continue in the car lane, however, they opened up a small slot into the truck lane and I was able to pass through. The US customs people wanted to know how much money we carried and if we had any guns or ammunition. We were soon on our way.

At Mexican customs, Pat turned up a random red light which meant he had to stop to be searched. WE got no such light but were asked to pull aside anyway. Now, it was pitch black and the Mexican Federale was dress in black, head to toe, was armed, and wore a balaclava, one of those knit things that covered everything but the eyes. I thought a Ninja something was attacking. He came around to the door with a woman agent and she asked to come inside to check. Of course our dogs went nuts. Strangers to play with. The man asked if they were Labradors and when we said yes he seemed pleased. The inspection over, we continued on to the Immigration station.

The immigration/tourist permit is almost comical. First we went to one building to get our travel permits, then we had to go to the Banjercito (??) to pay for them. Then we had to go back to the permit building to get the papers for our car and motorhome permits. After that, we had to stop on the way to have some photocopies done. Then back to the Banjercito again to actually get the “import” papers for the Jeep and Motorhome. They also took $300.00 deposit on the Jeep so that if we leave the Jeep in Mexico, we lose the $300.00. OK, we knew that in advance so it was no problem. Next stop was to fill-up with fuel. I mentioned to Pat on Saturday that I would want to fill up within the first 100 miles of Mexico as the fuel is over $1.00 per gallon cheaper down there. Pat didn’t know that and he decided to enter Mexico with little fuel also.

WE were making very good time and after quite a while we stopped to water the dogs and change drivers. This is how it always goes. I drive miles and miles of highways, then Helen takes over and gets to drive through a big city rife with construction. The Boyds were unaware of the road work in Hermosillio, but their Tom Tom GPS took them through. I was very impressed because my Garmin GPS ended as we crossed the border. I could see the icon of my vehicle close in on a black void. I had no map, no speed, nothing! Soon, even the icon went away.

We were still making very good time and actually made it to our destination of Navajoa fairly early in the day. Pat and Jeanette stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Navajoa while we parked in the back of a Pemex truck stop about 2 miles north. They were going to come back for us at 7:00 AM. All was well for a while as we walked the dogs and made ready for the night. Trucks kept pulling in all night and soon we had a cattle truck on each side of us. Cattle trucks transport live cattle from one place to another and they do NOT stop to “walk” the cattle from time to time. Therefore, the stench is beyond belief!!!!! We were enclosed and there was not too much stink that we had to endure. I actually got to sleep and a short while later I got up to find the cattle trucks gone.

Still, trucks were coming in all night and when morning came we were boxed in. I had no choice but to disconnect the Jeep and move it away, then back the motorhome around to reconnect the Jeep. AS we pulled around the station Pat and Jeanette were waiting for us. Oh, how could I forget. It rained all night Sunday night and I mean it poured.

Our trip continued to be uneventful as we drove further south on route 15 D. Soon we were getting to where Helen and I would cut off, so we hailed the Boyds and stopped to say good bye. They were a great couple and we hope to cross paths again. They headed down 15D when we got off at about kilometer marker 84. The route to Celestino Resort is a dirt road that was graded only a few days ago, but, of course, that was before the rain. We were not happy about the muddy road and large puddles, but it wasn’t until we got right in front of the hamlet Rosendo Nieblas (Rosy Fog). This area of road was sloped very heavily to the right and the surface contained some clay that made it slippery to the extreme. The whole motorhome just slid to the right and bounced into the embankment. A little damage to the front right corner and much damage to the right rear corner. I was afraid that it would take out the heat pump / air conditioner, but it was spared. It did rip off part of the lower rear cap.

Here is Jesus. He is just one on many adults and children who were available to help push the motorhome.

There was nothing we could do. I checked with my road service for help. Last week a checked for the second time and they assured me that I was covered. They even told me how to call from Mexico. So I called, and they told me sorry, but no coverage. One of the guys staying at Celestino knows a guy who knows a guy, but he wouldn’t come because the possibility of doing more damage was too great. The locals finally got a farmer with his rusty old tractor. Connected to the trailer hitch, we had Helen driving in reverse as the tractor pulled us out of the mud and down the street to a secondary road where we have been camped since Monday afternoon.

Of course we are the celebrities in this hamlet of 116 people. All the kids have been coming around and we find them to be most delightful and polite. The man who owns the house behind us works for Celestino and is a real gentleman. He and his son washed all the clay off the motorhome and would not take any money. I needed to call the insurance company, but have no phone that works here. I was running on adrenalin and little else.

And that’s what got me to Mazatlan, but the fun isn’t over yet. AS I was leaving Helen asked me to take some money, as in pesos. I refused, knowing that I was heading for Wal-Mart to buy a phone for me and beer for our new friend Teo. Recklessly, at dusk, I headed for Mazatlan on RT. 15D, the toll road, the toll road that doesn’t take US or Canadian money. I was able to get by using my credit card. Next stop was a Pemex station ti fill up with gas. No problem! I pull up and tell the attendant to fill it up. It comes to 505 pesos and I hand him my Master card. He shows me a sign that says NO CREDIT CARDS. No problem, he can take dollars. How much is 505 pesos…..just about $44.00. Great, except I only have $31.00 in my wallet. They have an ATM at the station but that was broken. He finally let me go, taking the $31.00 and my wrist watch, giving me directions to another ATM. I returned with the money and got my watch.

In Wal-Mart, I had no problem getting some cuervesa (beer) for my friend. Getting a phone was something else. I was dealing with people who spoke no English and they we dealing with a person who only knew how to ask where there was a bathroom. Sometime later on I left with a phone that they claimed was ready to use, only it was blocked. I eventually got it programmed in English and found that it was “Blocked” until you press the * key long enough to work. This keeps the phone from actgivating in a purse or pocket.

Heading back up highway 15 with pesos for the toll everything is good until I pass through the tool booth where a group of Federales stop me. One asks me in plain English if the car is mine and I tell him yes. He says prove it! I showed him my drivers license, but that was not enough. I pointed to the importation sticker on the windshield and he asks where the rest of the form is. I couldn’t find it. Finally I got the registration out of the glove compartment and the registration and my license agreed so he let me go.

Next I have to find an exit around km 74. these are not ramps like in the states, these are dirt trails that wander off the highway and SOMETIMES wind around to a bridge. My luck was getting better as I found the right path on the first try and was soon back with Helen and the three dogs. Phew!!!!

Now it's Tuesday 11/22/11. The past three days have been hectic around these parts as the natives celebrate "Revolution Day". Three days of parades and running amok. I REALLY hope to have internet capability later today, REALLY. It's just that "manana" doesn't really mean "tomorrow", it refers to some time off in the future.

More later.

We're on our way!

2011-11-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

We are heading to our meeting place in Nogales, Arizona. I'm writing this blog, but it's without pictures because I'm having problems with my HP laptop. The old Dell has been resurrected and is now doing all the work. Unfortunately, I can't download pictures to this Dell and I cannot access the internet with the HP. It started a few days ago when a friend recommended a book to me. I went on line to check out Amazon.com and was hijacked to another website. I tried several times before I got through to Amazon. Then I Googled "hijack killer" and downloaded a trial version of a hijack remover. When I ran the program it supposedly found and removed three hijack malware.

That solved the problem for a day, but the next day the problem returned. In addition, I cannot access wifi with the HP. Tomorrow we will be passing through Tucson and I found a Best Buy just one road off our chosen route. That's only about 25 miles from where we will be spending the next few days, so if I have to leave it for a day or two I can.

The first day of travel we made it to Alabama. Day 2 brought us almost to Houston. Day 3 found us in Ozona, Texas. Day 4 got us out of Texas and all the way to Deming, NM.

The ride has been uneventful so far except for a couple of glitzes with my tire pressure monitoring system. One day I got an alarm on one of the Jeep tires. It was odd because it was in alarm but it showed a pressure above the cold pressure. I removed the sensor and checked the air pressure and it was OK. The next day I put the sensor back and it has been working well ever since. This morning I had an alarm on the right rear outer tire on the motorhome. It showed a pressure well below the cold pressure, so I thought I might have picked up a nail. I took the sensor off and checked the pressure. It was at the proper pressure. After an hour or so, I put the sensor back on and it worked OK the rest of the day. I have call into Pressure Pro and I have to call customer support tomorrow.

Last night we got a terrible hail storm. It woke me up with the sound of gravel being dumped on the roof. I was positive it was hail and I wanted to get up and shine a flashlight out to see how big the hail was as there was a report on the Weather Channel that mentioned baseball sized hail in the same storm system, but over Oklahoma. I was too cozy in bed and just rolled over and went back to sleep. I'm looking forward to turning south and heading for Mexico. Here in Deming, NM, it is expected to be as low as 27 degrees. I already put the heat pump on. I did the same last night only Helen came behind me and turned the control to A/C. I'll check the control again before I turn in.

The dogs are behaving....to some extent. Sandy is keeping out of Jodie's way. Coco still sticks her nose into everything and will bark at anything strange that she sees. If I see a dog first, I am a bit prepared. If I don't her sudden, full voice bark scares the heck out of me. Helen tries to quiet her, but she ALWAYS gets in at least one last woof.

More later.

Shakedown Cruise

2011-11-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

We finally had the motorhome out for the first time in nearly a year. I don't ever want to go that long between trips again. Over the weekend, we drove to Florida's east coast to Palm Bay, where my brother, Rick, has a house. He comes down with some of his family and we get to see him for a few days.

WE decided to take them to dinner at "The Shack", a seafood restaurant right on the inter-coastal waterway. It was my and Helen's 44th wedding anniversary, so Ricky INSISTED on treating. However, I was his guest in Massachusetts for a week in August and I was treated like a king. The meals Rick's wife, Linda, and daughter, Tammy, cooked were awesome. I wanted to take Rick and Linda out for dinner but Rick was always working except for some of the nights that I was at my reunion. At any rate, Helen and I wanted to treat. We got to the restaurant before Rick and Linda. I made it amply clear to our waitress that I was to get the check. Rick balked, but I had my way. They more than made up for it with meatloaf one night and lasagna and eggplant Parmesan the next. Linda is quite the cook.

Rick has his usual run of luck working around the house. His irrigation system failed when the motor seized. He tried the breaker while I watched. In a few seconds there was smoke coming from the motor and it smelled like the windings got fried. We went to Lowe's and bought a replacement. When Helen and I returned for dinner the next night, Rick had just completed the installation of the new pump. He had the outside switch off and went inside to close the breaker. When he flipped the outside switch there was a sudden POP and then nothing. Rick and I both thought he ruined the motor somehow. Rick took off the back cover of the motor and found a wire broken. We cannot understand how it happened unless there was a fault in the wire, as the break was in a new piece of #10 wire and was not near a connection. Rick replaced the wire and we tried again. The pump started right up and water sprayed everywhere as the diversion valve had cracked. This is my one brother, so he is also the one who gets towed in about half the time he takes his boat out.

Helen is one of those women who never complains. How are you doing Helen? Fine. Well, Linda asked her how her new glasses were working out and Helen told her that she was again having a difficult time reading text on the TV. That was a shock to me as she said nothing. I could not see going to Mexico if she was developing a problem. Monday morning, first thing, I called our eye doctor and was able to get her an appointment for first thing Tuesday morning. We were soon headed home. As it turns out, the problem is cataracts. They are growing and will require attention in the future. New glasses will do her no good and the choice is hers. She is putting off making a decision until after Mexico.

The shakedown cruise brought our attention to two problems. The first one showed up when I connected the Jeep. I bought a brand new cable to run from the motorhome to the Jeep, activating the lights. With no lights on anything, I connected the cable and the Jeep brake lights went on. With Helen in the motorhome, I found that we had right and left directional lights and running lights, but no brake lights. The second problem is that the refrigerator will not run on LP gas.

With Helen's assistance again, I was able to find that the positive 12 v wire and the brake wire were crossed. I switched than around and all works well. The last harness worked perfectly and I can't believe that an off the shelf item would be defective.

The refrigerator problem was something else. I saw an article on Kevin and Ruth's blog about cleaning the burner, but my unit seemed much more complicated and had more insulation and wires due to two recent Norcold recalls. I contacted a local company authorized to do warranty work on Norcold. There was a great abundance of rust, but the burner itself had to be replaced as well as the ignighter. It was a bit more than I thought it should be, but now we are READY!!!! I hope!

Tomorrow morning I get my last hepatitis A & B shot. Friday morning the dogs visit the vet to get their health certificate and Saturday.........we.........are.......off!!!!!!! The caravan to Celestino Resort never came to be. We will be meeting a couple from Canada in Nogales on the 12th and make the crossing early on the 13th. I sure hope all goes well.

Later. Oh...wait....Pictures!

My brother Rick!

Rick's wife, Linda, with Mya

My nephew, Todd.

Two hackers making a bad situation worse!

Now, Later.

44 years and counting

2011-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today Helen and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary. What did we do? We took off in the motorhome with the three dogs and drove to Breezy Palms Campground in Palm Bay, Florida. My brother has a house a mile or so away and we went there to catch up on family stuff. Later we went out to supper at "The Shack" a nifty seafood restaurant on the intercoastal waterway. Then we went back to Rick's house to chat some more.

This is the first time the motorhome has been out in a long, long time. I don't know how much is my imagination, but it seems to ride a lot better with the new Koni shocks. I do know that it drives better than it ever has before. You can chalk that up to the shock and alignment. Of course, one RARELY does anything with a motorhome that doesn't require more work. I got a new cable to the TOAD and apparently it's wired different than the original. I will have to address that before we head west. Another thing that I have to check is the mileage since the last transmission fluid and filter change. That may be due. The Jeep will definitely require an oil and filter change next week. The pool will have to be shut down and covered, pipes drained.

Heading into our 45th year, Helen and I have a busy time getting ready to head south of the border.

More later.

Getting ready for Mexico

2011-10-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today I really finished the outside of the motorhome.

Yes, the outside is done. The whole thing is waxed with Mother's Carnauba Wax, and my arms are still sore from that. I did learn a thing or two about waxing large areas. I have an orbital buffer where you apply wax with a putty knife on the terry cloth cover and then apply that to the motorhome. Doing this leaves a lot of wax on the body and requires a LOT of work to get off. At Walmart, I noticed a package of microfiber bonnet for the buffer. The blurb on the front mentioned the microfiber makes putting the wax on and taking the wax off much easier. Well, I'm gullible, especially when they say it will make less work. IT WORKS!!! The microfiber bonnet puts the wax on much easier, more uniform, and lighter than the terry cloth. This makes it so much easier to buff out. There are areas that have to be done by hand, and I had been using a terry cloth applicator. I changed to a microfiber cloth folded over and it also worked very well.

The body is waxed, the wheels polished, the tires treated, and the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) has been re-installed. I had a little problem with some minor leakage on one wheel, but that's standard. That's why I install the sensors a week or more before I go.

The outside is my domain. The inside is Helen's domain and she has not done much yet. The reason she can sit back for a while is that she goes through the inside from one end to the other when we get home. When the motorhome is parked, it is spotless inside, except for those things that I get into when Helen's not looking.

When I opened the door this morning, Coco jumped right in and took her riding position right behind the middle of the dashboard. As we drive, she gazes out the front, resting her chin on the dash. Her head gets oh so heavy. We tend to think that she really doesn't see anything, but if we pass a farm with animals, her head turns to keep her eyes on the livestock. Jodie sleeps on the floor between the seats and we're not sure where Sandy is going to stay. If I remember correctly, she joined Jodie on the floor when we went to the east coast a year ago. I couple of days ago I wanted to move the camper. Coco and Sandy jumped right in. Jodie hid in the back yard. When I started the diesel, Sandy wanted out in the worst way. Fortunately it was a short trip to the other driveway.

I think we are starting to get the trip organized. Leave Nogales, Arizona on the 15th and head for Celestino's RV resort, where we'll spend a month. Around the 18th of December we will relocate to Hacienda Contreras where we will spend a week or more over Christmas and plan our next legs of the Mexican Adventure. This Hacienda is well recommended in RV.NET and Kevin and Ruth will be there. So we'll get to finally meet them.

Now it's time for a little R & R ( a short nap). All this work is not as easy at 68 as it was at 48.

By the way, because I was stupid and only washed the vertical parts of the RV, I had to was the top because it occurred to me that the first rain would wash all the crud down on my clean sides. It's a good thing I went up there. I found a few places that needed caulk and one puncture to the radius curve where the side and roof meet. I was up and down the ladder countless time and STILL didn't get hurt. There is an old Navy saying, "one hand for the Navy and one hand for yourself". I wasn't in the Navy. I throw the stuff up on the roof and then use TWO hands for myself. I was staying safe, Sam.

Later.

Football and more football

2011-10-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

The past several days have been a whirlwind of football activity for the Tempesta family. You've been exposed to the football exploits of my grandson, Kolbie, but this week we saw his older brother, Branden, in action also.

It started Thursday evening between the Brandon High Eagles and the Riverside Sharks. This was a junior varsity game under the lights. My memory is not as good as it used to be, so my figures may not be accurate. However, the first half was a Sharks runaway as they led at the half 12 to nothing. In the second half it was completely different with the Eagles holding the Sharks to no more points as the Eagles soared (pun intended) to 30 or 32 points. It was a very exciting game and the first we've seen at the high school level.

Grandson Branden, 5'11'' and 220 pounds. Offensive lineman. Got all his physical prowess from Helen's side of the family.

It was an exciting game, especially with the come-from-behind win. There was a big difference between this game and the ones we've seen the eight year olds play. Two hundred pound running into each other has a LOT more impact than the smaller kids. Even with all the padding and equipment, One of the Sharks was taken out in an ambulance. He was not too badly hurt, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Branden is built like a brick and if he were to tear into me, I'd be ready for the hospital if not the mortuary.

Helen and I were joined by Heather and Scott of course as well as granddaughter , Kourtnie. Also there were Heather's father, Step mom, and sister. It was a rousing time and the football fever pitch was high.

Saturday morning we were again in the Brandon area to view Kolbie's game. This was the Cowboys against the Brandon Lions, a team Branden played on a few years ago. The weather was perfect and the teams were certainly energetic. This game followed the same path as the Thursday night Eagles game, with the Cowboys falling behind at the start. It was almost comical as the ball kept being moved back and forth due to infractions rather than play. The whistle would blow and someone would be off side and the ball would move. It affected both teams, hence the back and forth movement.

A lot of the action is with my grandson, Kolbie, number 67, and the versatile Jericho Joseph number 2. They had practice Thursday night but came to the Eagles game later. I caught this picture of the two hellions out of uniform.

I had only seen Jericho on the field, and I was surprised at how small he is. On the field he is a force to be reckoned with. He plays offence and defense and does both very well. He and Kolbie are a good match and seem to work very well together.

Kolbie flipping the ball to someone.

Handing off to Jericho and.....

Jericho running it in for a touchdown.

Kolbie running to the left for another touchdown.

Behind the glasses is grandson Branden as a fan of the Cowboys.

This game was as exciting as the game on Thursday. What the Cowboys lack in size, they make up for in enthusiasm. In the end, The Cowboys came from behind and posted a 32 to 13 win. I confess that it's an approximation based on my recollection, but it's pretty close to the truth.

It was a really great couple of days with the family. Everyone in good cheer and no strife. Hooray!!!

Today is a perfect day in Florida. It has been utterly fantastic for the past several days, though I confess that it's a bit chilly in the early morning when I get the paper. So as good as the weather is today, we still have our plans to be in Mexico in less than a month. The motorhome will be washed soon, and perhaps waxed, but I'm not positive. I'm already getting the stuff needed to cover the pool for the winter and I'm being as organized as I can be, which is not nearly enough.

OK, I've got to get crackin'.....later.

Nothing Interesting

2011-10-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Nope, I've got nothing of great interest to report. Slowly I'm getting my ducks in a row for our trip to Mexico, if we go. Helen has thrown a wrench into the works. She says that she will only go to Mexico if I clean my room. Clean my room, can you beat that??? It was clean when we moved in 1983 and it still looks great to me. She complains about my clothes on the floor and insisted that I hang them up. It seemed like a chore until I found an easy way. Anything on the floor gets put in the hamper. In a couple of days it comes back, clean, unwrinkled, and on hangers. Then I just hang them up. I hope she doesn't catch on.

In the last couple of weeks I had the front end of the Jeep worked on to get rid of some of the noises when I turn. A couple of parts were replaced and the front end aligned. I polished the wheels on my motorhome and found that it was easier to remove the wheels and polish them in the garage. When I removed the tires I found that the outside edge of the passenger side tire was cupped a bit. Considering some of the roads we saw on our Alaska trip, I was not surprised. I made an appointment to have the alignment done last Monday and the technician said that it wasn't too bad, on the edge of being in alignment. When I mentioned the cupped tires he said it was probably the shocks. That was good news as I replaced the shocks last fall and the first time I drove since then was to have the alignment. I put a set of KONY shocks and, though it might be my imagination, it seems to drive much smoother.

I really want to give the beast a good wash and wax before the trip. The hot weather of the summer had me put it off. Now that the temperatures are in my range, we've had nothing but rain. Yes, we still need the rain, according to the weather people, but many days in a row of the dismal weather makes me listless and sad.

One advantage to the cooler weather is that I can take the dogs for a ride when I run errands. Much of the year that's impossible because it gets so hot in the car even with the windows part way down. With temperatures in the 70s, it's ideal. Speaking of the temperature, we hit 44 a couple of mornings last week and that is WAY TOO cool for Florida in early October. Thankfully, I hope to be in sunny Mexico for the winter and expect to see no frost this year. Yes, I will clean my room. Helen is a tough task mistress.

Helen chatted with our friend from New Brunswick, Canada. She is almost ready to leave for a warmer climate. She alternates between Florida and Arizona, but is undecided this year. Helen mentioned our trip to Mexico and she became very excited. I called her today to give this naive Canada bumpkin more information about Mexico as I didn't want her to have any unreal expectations. Fool that I am! She has already been to Mexico. A few years ago she drove down the western side of the mainland to Mazatlan, and then took a ferry to Baja California, coming back through San Diego. She also made a second trip with a group.

Mexico seems to be a very good choice for us this year. A campground on the beach north of Mazatlan is less than $150.00 a month plus electricity. The electric rate is about 1/3 of what we pay in Florida. During the winter we will not be needing air conditioning so the electric bill may not be too bad. In the future, we may have to spend time in Mexico to be able to afford our time in Florida. My cable bill is more than $150.00 a month. PLUS, most of the campgrounds that I have researched have hot showers and free wi-fi.

I'm expecting my blog to take off in November when we do. At least I'll have some interesting thins to say. I hope.

Later!

Starting to get the rig ready to roll.

2011-09-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I moved the motorhome to my main driveway, up to the garage, so I can do some of the maintenance that is required. It's time to change the antifreeze, so the first thing I did was purchase five gallons of CAT concentrated antifreeze and five gallons of distilled water. Tuesday, I drained and flushed the coolant system and yesterday I took the old antifreeze to recycling. I was paranoid about leaving it around the garage too long. Even though it was secured, I was afraid that somehow the dogs would tip it over or somehow get into it. The antifreeze tastes sweet and animals love it. Unfortunately, it leads directly to kidney failure and there is nothing a vet can do to save the animal. It's gone and I'm happy....or I should be happy.

Today I am attempting to change out the two thermostats. I'm working on a rear diesel and the engine is under the bed. I opened that up yesterday and prepared to enter the underworld beneath the bed. As luck would have it, I'm still having some problems from the fall I took a couple of months ago. My right knee sometimes feels great and sometimes it hurts something awful. The last two days it's been in the awful stage. I've had enough with the knee and I have an appointment with the knee and joint doctor, but not until September 28th. I want the motorhome done NOW, so I'm crawling into the hell hole with some effort. The six bolts holding the thermostat housing are off, but the housing is stuck to the block. Since I had to come up for air, and another tool or two, I thought I'd take the time to write and have another cup of coffee. Of course, this is just a delaying tactic.

I'm fortunate to have my Journey, rear diesel on a Freightliner chassis. Once I raised the bed and removed the access panels, there's plenty of room to work in the engine compartment, even for a fat, old, uncoordinated duffer like me. I have a large drop cloth folded over many times and it's very comfortable down there. Perhaps I should leave a note for Helen in case I get so comfortable and fall asleep. Either that or my knee gives out again and I'm stranded in there.

I BELIEVE that once the coolant is changed I'll only have a couple of small things to do to have the camper ready to roll. It has a fresh oil change, fuel filter, and grease job. That's about it until something else surprises me.

Since Helen is doing her volunteer work at the hospital today, I'm also working on supper. Cheese raviolis and a mushroom sauce with sweet Italian sausages. Um! Um! It will take the place of those Pennsylvania pizzas. OK, Sam?

Later.

BRANDON COWBOYS

2011-09-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

This morning,Helen and I were up a bit earlier than usual so we could get the dogs fed and walked. Then it was off to Plant City, Florida to see a football game between the Brandon Cowboys and the Turkey Creek Trojans. Our grandson, Kolbie Tempesta, is the quarterback for the Cowboys.

Kolbie at our home last week.

Helen and I were happy to see the Cowboys doing so well. Kolbie has improved quite a bit from the first game we saw. In the early game he would hand off the ball and then avoid being hit. Today, he would block the runner when he handed off the ball. The coach was calling the plays and he did a good job of mixing it up. Sometimes he would have Kolbie hand off to a runner, hand off to someone else to pass, pass himself, or run himself. They were very successful. the final score was 40 to 6, Cowboys.

Blocking a runner!

The ball is snapped and Gramps doesn't have a clue what's going to happen next.

Handing off to Jericho Joseph, who ran it in for a TD!

Kolbie running for a TD himself!

Jericho Joseph, Number 2, is a vital part of the team. He is hard to stop when he gets the ball. Kolbie can lateral to him and Jericho can pass very well for a touch down. His Mom was right behind us videotaping the whole game and her enthusiasm is catching. In front of us were the parents of Number 99, Kaeden Eichenberg (I hope this spelling is correct). Mom was saying that her son got up grumpy in the morning. However, he was doing so well on defense that Jericho's Mom said that they aught to make him grumpy every Saturday. He was very effective in taking down a Lions runner by himself.

The weather was nearly perfect, for Florida in the late summer. It was in the mid to lower 80's and we were sitting in the shade. All the parents and grandparents were well behaved. When one of the Turkey Creek Trojens ran for a touchdown we all cheered his success. There is so much on the news about the tension and fights at youth football games that it's nice to see a league that treasures good sportsmanship and polite behavior. The kids are having fun and are under little pressure to perform up to some coaches standard.

We celebrated at a restaurant of Kolbie's choice and it was Sweet Tomatoes. He had worked up an appetite.

Did I mention that I'm Kolbie's Gramps?

A Quiet Day.......so far.

2011-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to spend a quiet day here in the heat of summer. The noontime temperature is 85 and it doesn't feel too humid. It feels comfortable because I'm not doing anything. The dogs are in the pool and I take them outside about every half hour so they can take care of business. If left too long, Jodie will use one of the planters, and we don't want that to become a habit. We have an odd situation now that Sandy has become quite a swimmer. Now we have rafts of dark hair drifting around the bottom of the pool. We've never had that before with Jodie and Coco. When I take the hair out with a dip net, I find that it's all the long, light hair of Sandy. The labs have a waxy coating on their fur that makes them great water dogs way up north where the water is cold. They shed water very quickly, and their hair floats, ending up in the skimmer. Apparently Sandy's Golden Retriever hair soaks and sinks. It's not a problem as she has so much fun in the pool.

I've been into several camping books and on the internet trying to find out where we want to go in Mexico in the fall. Helen is absolutely against boondocking, even in a small group. I see some places that seem to be nice, only to find out that it's impossible to get to in anything longer than 22 feet. Some do not allow dogs. Some are really run down with reports of them being unhealthy to stay there. Some are very beautiful......read expensive, even by US standards. All I'm looking for is a secure place to camp, right at the ocean, with water, electricity, and sewerage, free wifi, and within 20 minutes of a Walmart. Also, the fishing should be good and the beaches must allow dogs. Did I mention that the people there should accept our feeble attempts at Spanish.

Like so much in life, we'll have to give up something to get what we want more. Having the dogs is not negotiable. Boondocking in a small group is OK with me, but I have to answer to a higher authority. Being NEAR wifi is plenty good enough. As the year progresses and the prospect of another cold Florida winter faces us, we will head out and trust our usual good fortune to find a way through the maze.

OK, now I've got to get back to my books. I have a GREAT DEAL to learn about Mexican insurance on the vehicles, medical insurance for Helen and me, and rules and regulations for entering Mexico proper. We were in Puerto Panesco a few years ago, but Sonora is a "free" zone where it was easy to enter. In fact, we bought our vehicle insurance in Arizona and drove into Mexico without being stopped. We didn't even SEE Mexican authorities as we crossed the border.

At the reunion a while back, many of my classmates asked if I was on Facebook. Well, I was at one time, but got tired of the intrusion, and quit. I rejoined last night to connect with some of my friends and classmates. I'm avoiding the children of friends who chatter about laundry and lawn mowing. Also, a lot of the personal stuff really shouldn't be out there. I was embarrassed by some of the statements that were made. Apparently I'm an old fogey on my way to being a curmudgeon.

We passed a milestone yesterday as it was a year ago that we picked up Sandy and her nine pups at the animal shelter. She is such a beautiful, playful, lovable dog that it scares me to think that she was about to be put down the next day. Little did I know that Sandy would still be with us a year later.

Later

Back Home in Florida

2011-08-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I had quite an adventure last week. I flew up to Massachusetts to attend my high school class 50th reunion. No, that's not a typo. I graduated in 1961 from Quincy High School in Quincy,MA. this reunion was unusual in scope. I've complained in the past because the reunion ran from 8 to 11 PM on a Saturday night. That's not enough time to speak to all the people you want to. Another thing is the 40th was held in late October and we had snow before the reunion. I requested that the next reunion be between May and September, so we could plan a northern vacation around the reunion. That is what we had planned for this year, but family problems made it preferable to stay home. A smooth Jet Blue flight brought me to Logan Airport, in Boston, where my brother and nephew greeted me at the gate. Since they both work at the airport, they had clearance to get right to the gate as I got off the plane.

Todd Tempesta,my nephew and my ride home.

I was treated like royalty all week. If my sister-in-law, Linda wasn't cooking something great, my niece, Tammy was up to the job. Fantastic meatloaf, pot roast, and steak were on the menu, but the best had to be the dinner of steamed clams and lobster. I do not order lobster out,unless it's lobster thermidor, newburg, or lobster roll. Tammy boiled the lobster and brought me a plate with the lobster all cleaned.

Sister-in-law Linda, checking on what's cooking.

Niece Tammy, working on a batch of stuffed peppers. My mother's best recipe because they are GOOD!!!

It didn't take long for me to miss Jodie, Coco, and Sandy. Fortunately, Tammy now has a dog as does Linda.

This is Harley, mostly Jack Russell Terrier. That should say it all.

Mya, Linda's Maltese. This cutie is as friendly as can be. She's in her normal position, waiting to have her belly rubbed.

Before I get to my reunion, I have a couple of other pictures.

This is Nick, but I've been calling him Patrick for years and it drives him nuts. He's my brother's oldest grandson, plays football and is popular with the girls.

This is Jake! Now he is as quiet as a mouse when Nick is around, because he can't get a word in edgewise, but, when Nick is away, Jake becomes a regular chatterbox.

Off to the reunion. The first function was a barbecue in a gazebo over the Neponset River, which separates Boston from Quincy. First of all, there was no heat or humidity and I felt guilty reveling in the nice weather while Helen was still in Florida. The function lasted from 7 to 11 PM. Although the food was OK, the real joy was chatting with fellow classmates.

This is Judi Spellman (Judith Smollett in high school)

I did not know Judi before the 40th 54union 10 years ago. She and I made contact on Classmates.com and we have been friends since. She has a great personality and Helen and I certainly enjoy her company. She was in Florida some years ago and visited us with another classmate. Judi is also my representative on the reunion committee, so she is the one I complain to, over and over. We get to see Judi each time we breeze through the northeast.

Friday night I met Janice Wynot MacKay who we met at the last reunion. We kept in contact for awhile and then they disappeared. It turns out that they move to Florida and lost their email contacts. Mostly I remember chatting with her husband, Charley, but he was left in Florida. She chatted enough for both of them and kept everyone in stitches all night.

Saturday night was the big to-do. This is what the girls live for, dressing up. I have to confess that I wore a jacket and tie,( and a lot more), but the last time I wore a jacket and tie was the 40th reunion 10 years ago. There's just no call for getting dressed up in Florida. Business casual is a clean T shirt and shorts without paint spots.

Again, the reunion committee did a grand job. We were served a salad, then we approached a food line where were served. Pork tenderloin, sirloin steak, shrimp lo mein, and a lot more! The food was excellent, but again, the greatest thing was seeing old classmates. I was thrilled to see Sandra Schwartz, Patty Ross, and Lois Casagrande, classmates from Miss Ash'es first grade class in 1949/50. At the 40th, we also had Dick Sachetti, but he passed away.

Sunday morning was a brunch back at the Adams Inn. It was a good breakfast, but I was there to visit, and I did. Each day I was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave. I was such an unknown in high school and I'm making up for it now. A great time was had by all, our class president made a little speech and he reminded us that we would never again see all the classmates that were there that night. So far, about 20% of our class has passed away. The rate can only increase in coming years. I thought that this would be my last reunion, but actually, I hope to make it to #55.

Sated with all kinds of food and cookies, I boarded nother Jet Blue for the flight home.

Boston from the air. Note the clouds

Florida clouds.

We had fluffy clouds as in Boston, all the way down to Florida. It seems like the very heavy clouds started right at the Florida line. We were near 34000 feet,but off to our right I could see a large anvil shaped formation that seemed to loom well above us. That's generally a thunder storm.

When I reached the main part of the terminal I spied our friend Barbara looking for me and soon I was greeted by Helen as well. After a quick bite we headed home where I got an awesome greeting from the three dogs.

I wonder if anyone actually read this far. I was back in the groove in a day or two, cutting up my trees and burning the remains.

Whew!!! I'm out of breath!

Later

Success!!!

2011-08-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was up early this morning and on my way to Helton Electric, in Crystal River. I took in the blower motor and the owner said "Oh, my gosh". That didn't make me feel any better. Then he looked in his catalogs and could not find a replacement for the blower motor. Now, I'm feeling even worse. Finally he offered " The best I can do is have one of my guys make a new one using some of the old parts." I figured if that's the best he can do then I should take it. Joking, I said "What time will it be ready this afternoon?". He replied that he would have to see what they could do and call me later. I figured that by the time they got the parts ordered and shipped it would be the middle of next week. I drove home.

About 15 minutes later the owner called and said he had the stuff to make the blower motor and it would be ready by noon. While everything was apart I took the time to pressure wash the squirrel cage fan and I used my compressor to back wash the cooling coil. I got everything back together by 5:00 PM. With the clean coil and fan, and with a slightly more powerful fan, the cold air really blows out of the vents. Another summer job complete. Am I content????? NO!!! The way this summer is going I'm waiting for the next thing to break.

More later.

Catching up again!

2011-08-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, behind the eight ball. I'm always falling behind in my blog. I could use the excuses that it's too darn hot and humid, or that I'm just too busy. The truth is that I'm always tired. Whether it's the heat of what, my favorite pastime is being in bed. Jodie, Coco, and Sandy are quick to join me, so I'm not alone and we all seem to be getting a lot of rest.

I got the correct torsion springs for my garage door and the door has never worked do well. Recently I've noticed how nice an smooth other people's doors work and thought I would have to change to a different brand of door opener. When I got the new springs on the opener worked like a charm. The springs that were on it were too light and were causing the opener to work so hard to get the door up. That's why I had to replace the gears a year or so ago. At any rate, the door works great and I recommend DDR Garage Doors to everyone. Don't be like me, listen to what they say!

Summer brings the Pee Wee football season and our family in Brando is fully involved. Our grandson ,Kolbie (#67), is the quarterback for the team and has improved greatly from last year. Our granddaughter, Kourtnie, is a cheerleader, but in an older division that plays later in the day. We stayed for Kolbie's game and joined the whole family at Chili's. Then we had to head home to take care of the dogs. I think that the next time we will go later to see Kourtnie do her stuff.

Kourtnie Tempesta, a cheerleader, but in civies for her brother's game.

Kolbie, waiting for the snap.

The Brandon Cowboys, ready for action!

The club videotapes the entire game. Kolbie's older brother, Branden, got the videotape and did some editing. I didn't even know that Branded was into editing but.......

To see the edited tape visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQXZwHSgX7Y Remember, my grandson is number67.

Next.....my summer of 2011 is still the same. Last night Helen noticed that the central A/C to the rear of the house was not working. I checked and she was right, as usual. The compressor was working and the coil was ice cold, it's just that the blower motor was not working. I checked a few things and found that it was, indeed, the blower motor. Three hours on line and I could find nothing that matches our motor. How can that be? It's a GE blower motor and there were numerous leads, but when I looked at the picture, the motor is not the same. Tomorrow, first thing, I'm going to run to a motor repair shop in Crystal River to see what they can do.

For the time being, the main unit s doing the job, with a couple of fans pushing cool air along the floor and around a few corners.

I've been spending some time on Kevin and Ruth's travel blog. They went to Mexico last winter and will be heading back again this year. Last year they ventured way down to the southern part of Mexico where we want to go. Their pictures of Mexican towns and Pacific beaches certainly gets us wanting to go. We have a lot more planning to do, but we just might be able to make it work this year.

More later,

Paul

Back in the groove!

2011-07-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I've recovered enough from my fall so that I was able to resume my work with the trees in the front of the property. I'm not completely up to snuff, but enough to take on a more active role in maintaining our property. Almost all the wood that I moved to the rear of the property is now burned and I'm left with the remains of the last few trees down front.

I did have one other job crop up in the last couple of weeks that I had a bit of trouble with. While I was occupied away from the house, my son called to ask if he could use the garage to change his oil. The answer was "of course". Two minutes later I got another call. "Dad, we have a problem!" When he went to open the garage door, one of the torsion springs let go and it did so with a heck of a noise. I told him not to worry, I'd take care of it. Coincidentally, I was at his home a few weeks ago to help him replace the torsion springs on his garage door.

In 1983 we had the garage door installed by a reputable local dealer. Some years later, one of the torsion springs broke and I called them to replace the set. I was never really happy with the replacements. They were not as long as the originals and didn't do the job of the originals. When I mentioned it to the dealer he ASSURED me that the correct springs were installed. I know enough to be dangerous sometimes, but I believed that if the springs were proper, they would hold the door at the half way point without help. These springs wouldn't and I added some tension to get them to do so.

So now I wanted a set that would do the job and I found several sites on-line. I didn't want to replace the springs with the same thing, so I had to do it by door weight, door height, and radius of the curve. I removed the top of four sections of the door and weighed one end on my digital scale, even though the directions SPECIFICALLY STATE DO NOT USE A DIGITAL SCALE. I took the weight of one side and multiplied by two to get the weight of one panel, then multiplied by four to get the weight of the whole door. It came to 480 pounds.

I contacted tech support at DDM Garage Doors and talked to Jim. He felt that 480 pounds was MUCH too heavy for a residential door and he was skeptical about my use of the digital scale. Of course I told him that I knew what I was doing and I wanted the springs for the 480 pound door. He said "OK, but I'd hate to see you paying all the shipping to send them back." Not likely, I thought. The springs came last Friday afternoon and I got them on Friday night. Saturday morning I got out the ladder and started to wind the springs as directed. I was surprised at how much strength it took to wind those suckers 7 turns. Finally I was all set. The door opener was not connected, but the door was being held in position by a set of vice grips on the torsion shaft. With a quick flip of the lever on the vice grips the door was free.

It was like lift-off at Canaveral, only faster. The door flew up in a micro-second, hit the upper stops and came apart! I stood there with my mouth open, but completely unhurt, which is a major accomplishment for me. I unwound the springs and spent the rest of Saturday afternoon and evening putting the door back together. Thankfully, none of the panels were damaged and I only had to replace hinges and rollers.

Sunday I weighed the door again. In fact, I must have weighed it at least a dozen times. This time I use an analog scale as specified by DDM Garage Doors. The door only weighs 280 pounds. Then I looked at the unbroken spring that was installed as a replacement. Now I know how they are rated and what the code means. The pair of springs were rated for a 200 pound door and were not strong enough to do the job. The correct springs are due in tomorrow afternoon and I will be thrilled to get them on and be able to use the garage again. By the way, it cost almost $40.00 to ship the springs back. So you see, I'm still paying for my education.

Helen and I always keep our cars in the garage unless they are in use. It has been an experience getting in the car to go shopping when the car has been sitting in the sun for hours.

I'll let you know how it works out. I'll try to be safe.

A month of much news

2011-07-26T07:39:00.001-07:00

Please be kind! I know that I have been remiss in not keeping up my blog, but it has been a very......unusual month. I'm still not back to normal with my leg, though I'm going to try to move some wood today.

The worst thing in the last month was the passing of our very good friend, Rita. Rita was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer a couple of years ago, just before Christmas. She would not put a damper on anyone's Christmas so she didn't tell anyone until after the holidays. She elected to go to Moffitt Cancer center and enter a rigorous treatment of seven weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. The cancer shrunk tremendously and Rita was feeling pretty good. She and her life-long friend Barbara dug into their bucket list to complete a river tour of Holland in the spring. They had a marvelous time and chose the perfect time of year to see all the flowers.

Coming home, Rita was scheduled for another scan and this showed a very small cancer still in her lung. The doctors at Moffitt were certain that it could be contained with a much smaller chemotherapy every three weeks. Rita was having some problem with fluid in her lungs but was otherwise in good spirits. As her designated driver, I took her to Moffitt so the doctor could give her the options. She chose the modified chemo route and and had her infusion then. Returning home she had a few very good days and a few not so good days. Then she wouldn't eat. Barb, her house mate and best friend called me early Thursday morning, the 14th. She was extremely upset because Rita was "gurgling" and would not allow Barb to call 911. Barb wanted Helen to go down there immediately, only Helen was at the hospital volunteering. Barb and I had discussed this scenario before and had decided that if Barb felt a 911 call or a doctor's visit was needed, it would be done. She was taken to the Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville and I am most impressed with the staff and service there. While everyone seemed to be focused on the cancer, her urgent problem was pulmonary edema, fluid in the lungs. It's sometimes tied to loss of heart function and called congestive heart failure. It can also be caused by breathing toxic fumes or from radiation! Since her cancer was located in the lungs and she got radiation five days a week for seven weeks, and since she left Moffitt with a cough. I will always wonder.

Rita was on oxygen and was starting to fail, becoming less communicative as days passed. She demanded to be taken off life support, so the IV drips and oxygen were stopped. On Sunday the 17th, we said good bye as we left and it was the last words she spoke. Helen and I had our older son and his sons for the weekend, extending into Monday, so we decided to split the day at the hospital. I went first and I could not believe that this was the same Rita that I saw yesterday. She was given morphine every hour to ensure that she was in no discomfort. She passed away peacefully at about 1:30 PM. It hit me a lot harder than I thought it would, though I have never been there when someone passed away.

Rita Lang 2-8-1928 to 7-18-2011

Now....for the rest of the story...

About 10 years ago,Helen retired as a dental hygienist and for some reason wanted me to meet these two patients of hers, Barbara Kennedy and Rita Lang. Being that I am already old and these "girls" were 10 or 15 years MY senior, I was less than thrilled. We met at the Applebee's

in Crystal River and our lives changed forever. Eventually they became our closest friends. I was not prepared for their depth of interests. The "older" women in my life were only interested in TV and Bingo. Rita and Barb were world travelers and had been to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Barbara's travel scrapbooks are marvels. When we said we were going to Alaska, she broke out her Alaska scrapbook and lent it to us for research. Awesome.

Rita started out in a poorer section of New York, but she had a fortitude that took her far. After graduating from Penn State, she took a job as an English teacher, but not in the suburbs of New York, but rural Mississippi. Not finding that to her liking she got a job as a stewardess on an airline I can't recall. Rita would regale us with the exploits of a stewardess in 1950 aviation, flying celebrities to L.A., Las Vegas, and New Orleans. I can't be sure, but I think Rita was a party animal. She mentions the time she flew with Zsa Zsa Gabor and all the stewardesses got to try on her very expensive fur coat. Rita also mentions the great times she had partying in New Orleans, but she's was not forthcoming with the details.

Later in life Rita became a supervisor in the state rehab offices. As a hobby, she was into photography and eventually did that semi professionally. At one tine she had a fortune tied up in Nikon cameras and accessories. This is where she and I found the greatest bond. Having long since given up her heavy Nikons, she and Barb were using simple cameras. At this point we were visited by my cousin Paula from California and I was impressed with the camera her husband, Carlos, was using. Within a week or so I had one, a SONY DSC-H10. A few weeks later Rita had the newer DSC-H20 and shortly thereafter bough one for Barb.

Our trip to Alaska showed us that we didn't have enough camera for all the wildlife we saw and after a lot of research I bought a Canon T21, with extra lenses and accessories. I emailed the pictures of my new camera to Rita and she wanted to see if ASAP. She wasn't going to buy one as she had no need. For her the heavy single lens reflex cameras were not considered. I drove to Homosassa and showed her my new toy. Her eyes lit up! It wasn't heavy at all. I left their house an our later with my camera in my hand, but I did use their computer to order identical sets for her and Barb. This would be the last camera that she would have any interest in........yeah.

It was always a running joke with Rita about what she would buy and what she wouldn't. Barb would call me from vacation somewhere saying that Rita was eyeing a watch, but was reluctant to buy. She'd put Rita on and I'd tell Rita that if she could afford it and if it would bring her joy, buy it! And she did. This same situation would play over a number of times in our relationship.

About a month ago, another friend of Rita's got the photography bug and was producing some pretty good pictures with an older camera. This friend, Alana, liked our cameras and went on line to find the best deal. Alana got the newest version, the Canon T3i. Well, I was impressed and Rita was impressed, but it was not worth buying a new camera for the few upgrades. Then I found that here was a market for the T2i body, and by selling my camera body I could upgrade to the newer camera for about $150.00, so I did. Rita was home recovering when I brought the camera over. Helen was sitting with her while Barb ran some errands. Rita showed no interest in the camera. Then Helen left. Rita sat up, here eyes sparkled and she said"OK, she's gone gimme the camera. For a little while she was the same Rita we have come to love. Although she said that she had no interest in another camera, she told me that she would have me list her camera body on Ebay so she could upgrade as well.

That's the thing about Rita. There is a saying that goes....you're as old as you feel. With Rita, when she felt good she was a young, vibrant woman living in an older shell.

Helen and I are extremely privileged that she spent part of her journey with us.

Rita and her boyfriend

At the Life South Picnic

Just vamping for the camera. Trying out a new look for vacation.

Things have been going better.

2011-06-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

So naturally I had to do something to shake things up. Our newest dog, Sandy, is terribly afraid of thunder. So much so that nothing will stop her from getting to a place where she feels safe. When we're awake, she's happy to be with me and Helen. At night, she will only settle for a place on my bed. I have put up gates and she just muscles through or over them. I tried putting a gate a bit higher, with the bottom about six inches off the floor. The height is enough to deter her (I think), but she will not try to climb underneath. The height is low enough that I can cross the gate with out raising the pitch of my voice, usually. Yesterday Helen called me to the pool and as I tried to navigate over the gate my left foot got caught and I found myself on the tile floor and in a lot of pain, I mean A LOT OF PAIN. I screamed for Helen. I was in great pain and couldn't move. Helen came in and gave me an ice pack for my leg and a pillow for my head. I laid there as the pain subsided, but it was about a half hour before I could get up.

Going to the ER was out of the question as I go there often enough when I think I'm dying and I didn't want to waste a visit on a stupid fall. I'm on pain killers and crutches and that will have to do for the time being. If I sit just right and don't move too much, it doesn't hurt at all. If I don't sit just right or move the wrong way, I get a really sharp pain. Monday morning I will try to get in to see a doctor. In the meantime, I'll just have to sleep with all the dogs, again.

Sam says "Stay safe". I should listen.

I just can't get enough leaks!

2011-06-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

After the last few days, you'd think I'd have had my fill of leaky things. No so!!! This morning Helen advised me that there was, indeed, a leak coming from under the washing machine. I pulled the machine out a ways, and ran through a whole load of laundry, keeping my eye on the underside of the washer. NOT ONE DRIP! Not as drop. I went to tell Helen and when I returned with her, to show her, there was the drip. It was not coming from under the washer, but was a small leak where the hot water hose connect to the washer. A quick tighten with channel locks and it was fixed.

I put the washer back in place and went to reconnect the dryer. There was a lot of lint behind the dryer and I found that the vent hose was not connected properly. After ensuring that the hose was well connected,I put the dryer back in position and I was done for the day.

A short time ago Helen started another wash. She was quick to react and shut the washer off and came to get me. There was water flowing out of the laundry room that Helen was trying to contain, but the water had already gone beyond the laundry room and almost all the way to my workbench. I connected my shop vac and sucked up all the water I could. Apparently, when I pushed the washer back in place, I caused the discharge hose to become dislodged from the drain. It was easy to correct the problem, but now we have a lot of wet stuff in the garage.

It's a good thing that I have so many friends, because it seems like I have enough enemies in myself. I don't just have bad luck, sometimes I go to great lengths to make bad luck for myself.

BEWARE THE COMING OF MIDNIGHT!!!

2011-06-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

I'm reaching a point where I'm beginning to get anxious as the clock approached midnight. Well, not exactly midnight, but 11:00 PM. A short time ago we realized that the air conditioned wasn't running and it was getting warm. That was as we were about to watch the 11 o'clock news. Two days ago at 11o'clock, I started to make a cup of coffee to drink while we watched the news only to find that we had no water. With no water we also had no air conditioning because of the air-to-water or geothermal heat pump. I spent much of yesterday toiling in the hot sun to get the water back. I* went out in the motorhome and set the thermostat to 73 degrees so we would have a cold spot if we needed it. By last night I was completely worn out. At 8:30 I took my night time pills and went to bed. I tossed and turned for about one second and went right to sleep. Helen had assured me that I could have today off. No plumbing. No trees. Just relax.

Around the unholy hour of 11, Helen woke me out of a very deep sleep. Well, perhaps not completely awake, to tell me that there was a leak in the garage. Oh Boy!!! I stumbled into the garage and assured Helen that there was no real problem and that I would fix it in the morning, ON MY DAY OFF. I was in such a stupor, that if water was gushing out of somewhere and was threatening to wash the cars right out of the garage, I would have told her the same thing. Anything to get back to bed.

I was again at Lowe's first thing in the morning and I have finished re-plumbing the water supply to the heat pump. At least I'm done for now. There is still a little leak that will have to be addressed and there is a small leak at the well that has to be addressed, but not today!

The way I feel right now is that if I were to spend some time in the yard, buzzards would start circling, waiting for me to keel over. It's 11:04 as I write this and I feel that's plenty late enough for my afternoon nap.

Night all!

Fixing the well pump.

2011-06-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

After writing the blog last night I went right to bed as I figured I would need the sleep to cope with all I had to do today. It didn't quite work out that way. A couple of thunder storms passed by, and although we didn't get a drop of rain, there was some awesome thunder. Shortly after the first loud thunder clap I was visited by all the dogs. They pushed through the gate and jumped on my bed. I ordered them off and Jodie and Coco complied, but Sandy looked like she was trying to grow roots into the mattress. She absolutely would not get down! I lifted her off the bed and put her on the floor and she jumped right back on the bed. I picked her up again and moved her to the computer room where the three dogs have beds. I put up the gate and went back to bed. I think I fell back to sleep. Sometime later there was another boom and the three dogs were back on the bed in a flash.

Again Jodie and Coco got off when I told them to, but Sandy was not going to go willingly. I picker her up once more ( and she was getting heavier each time) and removed her to the computer room. I set up the gate and reinforced it with a couple of dining chairs. I was bothered no more.

My plans to get a very early start got off to a bad start as I slept until 8:30 AM. Helen used bottled water to heat for coffee, and had a cup waiting for me. I drove up to Lowe's to get a pump as I know just what I need and I know just where they keep them. Looking at the system last night I realized that the pressure switch is looking pretty bad, so I bought one of those too. The only things I forgot were the crimp and seal connectors for the pump. These are crimp connectors with a special shrink tubing. When you add heat, the sleeve shrinks to give a very tight seal on the underwater connections. At the end, a waxy substance oozes from the ends of the tubing ensuring a tight seal. I sent Helen up to ACE hardware to pick up four while I worked on pulling the old pump.

This is my rig, three 14 ft 2x4s with a threaded rod going through the three of them.

I sent Helen off with the directions and I was sure that the guys at ACE would help her. No such luck! They gave her a couple of packs of normal shrink tubing instead. I took them back myself to exchange then for the correct type. Again, no such luck. Then I tried Hopper Electric.....Nope! I ended up at Golden Plumbing Supply and got exactly what I wanted. I don't know how I forgot to get them at Lowe's. They had to be right in front of me at the pumps.

The well is about 120 feet deep, with the pump down around 35 to 40 feet. IF the pipe should slip, all would drop to the bottom and cause all kinds of trouble. I use two sets of short 2X4s bolted around the pipe. I've done this several times and so far I have not had a problem. I do not loosen one until I have the other one tight and holding the load.

I use an old block and tackle that has been in the family for a couple of generations. It works very well.

I had all the tools in the cart behind the lawn tractor. It's much easier than lugging everything from the garage.

At first the water is very dirty as I've really disturbed the rust that has formed in the well casing. I let it run for awhile to clean it out.

OOPS!!

I was doing OK, but Helen and I were supposed to join friends in Crystal River for dinner and Helen would not go without taking a shower, So I kind of rushed near the end. That never works. I connected everything, but didn't give the PVC cement enough time to set properly, hence the leak you see above. It was getting late and in spite of the leak, there was enough water flow available for a shower, so I let it leak until Helen and I had showered and I even ran the A/C for a little while. The temperature got up to about 84 inside. I shut down the pump and we went to dinner.

When we got back I took the time to do the job properly and allowed a significant time for the PVC cement to set properly. Now I'm sitting here in the comfort of the A/C. Helen says I can take tomorrow off. Of course the remains of the trees are still there waiting to be carted out back.

I mentioned before that this is the first time in many years that Helen and I have stayed in Florida for the summer. The loss of the main A/C unit last week or the loss of the pump would have been a major problem for us. We would have come home to a house darkened by mildew and musty to boot. Also, the pump and parts cost just under $400.00. The last time I had the pump changed by professionals was more than 20 years ago and cost $900.00 then. I've earned myself some kind of reward. Hmmm. I'm thinking. I already got the new Koni shocks. Plus, we recently bought a new camera. My laptop is up-to-date. I'll have to check a few website to see it there is anything I need. Any suggestions?

Things are not going WELL

2011-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a couple of weeks since my crossing with the yellow jackets. The stings went away overnight, but I ended up with an itchy rash at each spot that lasted for over a week. According to information in the internet, I am apparently a little allergic to those stings, at least in that number. As a tot, back in the later 50s, we were spending a Sunday at a lake. We were somewhat bothered by the yellow jackets that were hovering around the food. Walking away from the family, I spotted a hole in the sand where the yellow jackets were entering and exiting. Aha!! I took a stick and jammed it in the hole. Well, not all the way in the hole and I was soon swarmed with the nasty wasps. I was told that I had over 50 stings on my upper body, but I survived, so I had no allergy then.

I'm still working on the trees every day, at least until it gets too hot. Though I cut the logs into smaller and smaller pieces, they are still so heavy and I have to make more cuts so the pieces are smaller. I put an ad in the paper for free firewood....cut into short sections need to be split. I got two replies and they both said they would be here the next day. No one has come, so I will just burn it all in the back yard.

Last week our main A/C unit failed. I did a quick check, but it was beyond my talents so a technician was called in. It was the low voltage transformer that powers the thermostat and the control circuits. It failed at night after it started to cool down, so it caused no discomfort. The bill was $204.00, but this is the first time we've had to have it repaired in 27 years.

A short while ago, at almost 11:00 PM, I decided to make myself a cup of decaf coffee. Surprise!!!! NO WATER!! My household A/C is water cooled, so no water=no A/C. I heated bottled water in the microwave to make my coffee. With the pool just outside one bathroom door, we have 30,000 flushes available. I've been down this road before and I have the tripod and tools to remove the well pump and install a new one. Lowe's is open at 7:00 AM and I bet I'll have water by 10:00 AM. I noticed that the pressure switch is looking pretty bad, so I'll replace that at the same time. I will take some pictures of my rig. Who knows, they might spur someone else into doing it themselves. I SHOULD have more to say tomorrow.

I will ensure that the breaker to the well is open so there will be no chance of getting hurt.

We were supposed to be in Nova Scotia now. It is fortunate that we were home for the first summer in many years. With a failure of the A/C or the well, it would mean that the house would be without A/C for the summer and we would get back in September to be greeted by a moldy house with mildew everywhere. How lucky can you get?

More tomorrow.

Not exactly the bees knees

2011-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was out again this morning, getting ready to remove another tree or two and I was running my heavy rope from the tree to the back of my Jeep. I do not use my Boy Scout knowledge to cut the tree in such a way as it will drop where I want it. Besides, the trees are slanting so far in the wrong direction that without the rope, they would fall into the telephone lines. The power company trimmed them back far enough that they would not hit the power lines high on the pole, but the telephone and cable lines are much lower and would not hold a tree well.

Apparently I stepped into a yellow jacket nest that had been unknown and unseen and all hell broke loose. I was stung several times as I ran into the house with more stingers behind me. Helen told me to immediately take to Benedryl and I went into my bathroom to do so. In the mirror I could see yet another yellow jacket on my Tee shirt and quickly did it in before it could sting me. However, there was another one flying around. I grabbed the Benedryl and ran, closing the door behind me. My protectress, Helen, went back in with a swatter and killed TWO that were in there. By now, several minutes had passed and I thought the problem had passed.

That was not the case as one more had worked its way under my shorts and nailed me RIGHT IN THE BUTT!!! What a nasty little........... I have at least ten welts from the damn things and I still have to retrieve the rope. Perhaps later. Helen is keeping her eyes on me looking for any indication of a reaction. For my part, I sort of relaxing as I contemplate how to rid my yard of those nasty bugs. First, I'll have to find out where they are (I'm guessing pretty close to where I dropped the rope). Then I will find some spray that will kill the whole underground colony.

Many years ago Helen's parents had a problem with an underground colony of yellow jackets back in Massachusetts. They all go home at night and are vulnerable then. We got a large pot of boiling water and poured it into the nest. The problem was solved. A day or two later and we dug up a nest the size of a football. I'll keep you posted.

Sam.......sometimes it's difficult to stay safe or be careful!

Success with the Lincoln

2011-05-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I was bemoaning the fact that Helen's Lincoln was ailing in the air conditioning department. This is quite the serious problem here in Florida where A/C is vital, and I'm not saying that frivolously. Many times over the years I have fixed A/C systems and although I do not have a license, I have acquired a good number of tools for diagnosing and fixing A/C problems.

The single most popular problems is always a lack of freon caused by some kind of leak, and I was sure that I would find the same thing here. I attached my Freon 134 gauges and found that the pressure was fine, no leaks. I was a bit elated because the problem is often a leak that requires the complete dismantling of the dashboard, a daunting and miserable job for a fatty like me. I started the engine and found that the A/C was functioning as far as the cooling system was concerned, but the climate control was going to the full hot condition. In the Lincoln, you set the temperature you want and the controller maintains that temperature by mixing hot and cold air to give just what you want. Full hot might be nice in Minnesota in the winter but certainly is not suitable for Florida at any time of the year. I checked on line and found that the problem might be beyond my ability. Realizing that the car was useless without the A/C, I took it to the local Ford dealer first thing Saturday morning. An hour and $75.00 later I had the diagnosis. The problem was definitely in the climate control unit. Ford no longer has such an item, but the last time it was available it was more than $700.00. OUCH!!!

The service rep said that they could PROBABLY get one from a scrap yard and I asked him how much a scrap unit might cost. Since they are no longer available from the factory and the yards know the situation, the price would still be over $700.00. OUCH, AGAIN!!! I hemmed and hawed, but I did realize that the Lincoln would not be usable until winter, so I told him to see what he could find. He said it would have to wait until Monday. OK.

At home, I was back on the computer, and found SEVERAL climate controls for the Lincoln. It also fits the Mercury Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria. There were several options,including sending mine away to be repaired for $75.00 plus shipping, bot ways, and just ordering one for $109.00 plus shipping with the unit guaranteed. So for $122.00 and some change the unit arrived here this afternoon and it actually took me less than 15 minutes to put it in. It works!!

The only thing is that it is not an EXACT replacement. Helen couldn't tell the difference until I pointed them out. It certainly looks good and it works very well. My friend Sam told me about playing with the air lines, but the people at Ford said that it was an electrical problem and I didn't think there were air lines connected to the unit. Sam was correct and it would have been possible to play with the air hoses to get the cold air for the summer. The two controls are below.

The picture above is the original control unit after I took it out.

This is the replacement. It fits and it works. What did I ever do before the internet?

The only question that I have now is that if I was able to get any number of these controllers for $109.00, why would the Ford service rep quote me a $700.00 cost for a salvaged replacement??? Do they really have to mark things up that much?

Busy again

2011-05-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it seems like several days can go by with little to do except sit back and read. Wait a minute....that's a lie. I could spend a whole month cleaning out my garage, but that's another thing.

Anyway, readers of my blog know that I've been working on my motorhome, replacing the shocks. It became a little more complicated when at the end of the job, two of the levelers would not retract. I opened the valves manually and still they would not retract and I was worried that I would have to remove them and send them to HWH for work. Instead, I ordered a complete set of replacement springs and installed them a few days later. It was not too difficult a job. I was able to stretch the springs using my trusty bumper jack that I've had for years. Upside down pulling the spring down to where I could tap it into position. A little more than half an hour to do the eight springs. Then I got out a can of silicon spray and liberally coated the levelers and carefully wiped them all clean. When I set the control to return, all the levelers returned in a short time. The old springs were quite rusted and I noticed that the new ones are considerably heavier. Oh, getting the old ones off was a snap. I used my floor jack to hold the base of the leveler, then cut all the springs of with an air powered cutting wheel.

I've also been working on the trees in the front of our property. I think I explained before how the electric company will come out and trim the trees back so a tree service or owner can work on the trees without danger of hitting a power line. The crew was there one afternoon while I was trying to do something on the RV and they quit for the day leaving more than half the work to go. They didn't return the next day as promised or the day after. It turns out that they were part of the Progress Energy brigade heading to Alabama to help with the damage done by the tornadoes.

Above is the "before" picture. You can see how much of the trees have grown over the wires.

This is the "after " picture and I have a lot of room to work now.

There has been considerable work involved in cleaning up the debris. While much of the country is flooding, we are in a drought. Legally I can burn because there has not been a "Do Not Burn"issue from the state or local government. But the woods are SO dry that one ember could cause a major problem. I don't want my name in the paper as some old fool who insisted on burning during such a dry spell. Consequently, I'm taking the refuse out back where I'm running the small branches through my chipper and stacking the heavy wood up until I can resume burning. I'll have to post a picture of that someday.

Then, Wednesday I got an email from one of my contacts in Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida. The were looking for someone to transport three labs from a shelter in Perry, Fl to Crystal River, a round trip of about 250 miles. We can't say no to a Lab in need. Thursday morning Helen headed off to her volunteer work at the hospital and I headed north to Perry. Just before I got there I bought a cup of coffee, but it was too hot to drink. That was a mistake.

This is Belle, a beautiful, energetic, and playful 11 month old sweetie.

The last half of the trip home she laid her paws and head on my lap. Like I said, a real sweetie.

This is another LRROF volunteer, Linda Mao, holding a four month old male puppy. He was another dear dog.

This black male was somewhat stressed by the relocation and travel.

He didn't complain or howl, but he wasn't happy

And this is Belle again, as we were saying good bye!

The story with the black male is that he has been in the shelter for several weeks and was supposed to be "put down" a couple of weeks ago. Someone working on behalf of the dogs persuaded the shelter to hold him a little longer. Then the male puppy came in and finally Belle came in on Wednesday. She was an owner-surrender while the males were strays.

At any rate, the animal shelter is not a great place to be with a lot of dogs and barking and such and the male had been in his cage for sometime. He did not want to come out. He did not want to come to the car, and he did not want to get inside. We lifted him in and he gave us no trouble.

Now Belle, on the other hand, jumped right in the back of the Jeep, over the fence that separates the front from the rear and put her foot in my coffee. I was a full cup, but I'm sure it cooled while we were getting the dogs ready. I had coffee all over the seats, splashed on the dashboard, my GPS, and even the windshield. I was a bit miffed for a second, but Belle was so excited about riding in the car that I couldn't be mad. Half way home she laid across the center console and put her paws in my lap, then put her head on her paws and she rode the last hour just like that.

When I turned the dogs over to Linda in Crystal River, Belle and the pup were eager to get moving. The black male would not leave the back of the Jeep. He couldn't be coaxed out or lured out with treats. We finally pulled the beds out and he had to move, but he wouldn't walk to Linda's car. With no other option, I tried to carry him, hoping that he wouldn't get aggressive and he didn't. In another cage in the back of Linda's big SUV, he finally wagged his tail. SUCCESS!!!

A year and a half ago, Helen and I went to the same shelter to pick up Molly and her puppies. They would have been euthanized the next day. The policy at that time was that it was animal CONTROL. They pick up an animal and if it's not claimed in time it's put down. One of the girls working there told me that except for groups like LRROF, no dogs are adopted. She was not even allowed to adopt a dog from there. Apparently there has been a change in management. The shelter is much cleaner than it was the last time. More important, adoption is now an active part of animal control. I noticed a white board on the wall listing the different animals and when they could be adopted. It was a very nice change.

I got back to the house around 2:30 PM. Helen was already home from the hospital. She asked if I had a good time and I said "yes" and told her about my adventure. "Good" she said, the air conditioning in the Lincoln doesn't work. So I'm off and running again!

Later.

New Koni Shocks

2011-05-04T17:00:00.001-07:00

I spent much of the past few days installing a set of Koni shocks on our Winnebago Journey. The front shocks went on easily, although I had to us a cheater bar to break the bolts loose. The rear shocks were another situation altogether. I asked for suggestions on RV.net forums, and decided to remove the rear wheels to get at the shocks. The lug nuts are supposed to be torqued to 500 ft/lbs, but they were on MUCH tighter than that. I have a light 1/2 inch drive impact wrench that I use on the cars, but it wouldn't begin to help with the RV. Saturday I had to help my older son replace the springs on his garage door and since I was near to Orlando, I went to Harbor Freight to check out a 3/4 inch impact wrench they had on sale. It's supposed to be about 900 ft/lbs of torque and I hoped that would do the job.

Back home, the new impact wrench did nothing. I had to resort to my 3/4 inch breaker bar with a three foot cheater pipe AND another bar beyond that. It was a total of just under 8 feet and by putting all my weight at the end I was just barely able to move the lug nuts a little. When I got them a bit loose, the impact wrench finished the job.

This is my "breaker bar"

The Craftsman 3/4 drive breaker is at the right, next is the pipe, and then the steel rod.

There are 10 nuts on each wheel and I got all the ones on the rear right and six on the rear left before the socket split. I was actually amazed that the breaker bar and socket lasted this far. The Craftsman is a quality product, but the 1 and 5/16 socket came from a 3/4 inch socket set that I bought at one of those flea market tool stores. I paid $49.00 for the whole set of sockets, breaker, ratchet, slide bar, and extensions. Made in China, but I sure got a lot of use out of them. However, without a socket I was out of business. Monday morning I checked every place local, but there was no socket of that size to be had. Even at Sears, an impact socket of that size had to be ordered. Phooey!!!

I checked the internet and found the item at Amazon.com for $11.99 with a lifetime guarantee. At Sears it was $49.99 plus tax. From Amazon it was $20.99 with overnight shipping and I had it early Tuesday afternoon. Once the tires are off, the actual shock replacement takes about 3 minutes using my new impact wrench. I think all men like tools and I perhaps more than most.

A second benefit to doing the job this way is that I was finally able to read the date codes on all the tires and found them to be much newer that I had suspected. The rear tires were made just a couple of months before I bought the Journey and I can't imagine why someone would replace tires on an RV he was trading in. The front tires are a few months older, but I still have two or three years before new tires are needed.

Many times on the RV forums it has been asked if any of us could change the tires on our coach if we had to. I changed the tires on my Southwind (19.5 inch wheels) and I changed the tires on my Safari (22.5 inch wheels). I have always believed that I could do the job on the road IF I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO! Many have commented that the weight of such a heavy tire and wheel combination would be too heavy to lift. That is true! Anyone who tries to lift one of those suckers is a fool. My biggest problem was breaking the bolts loose and I ended up using a very long cheater. I could and I have used a jack to pry up on the end of the breaker bar. With the bolts removed, I use a bar to "walk" the tire back into position and lift it back in place with the pry bar.

Before I started on the shocks, I made sure that I would still be alive if a hydraulic line failed. Levelers make it easy, but they are not safe by themselves.

Here I'm putting the inner tire on by "walking" it back. I never lifted the wheel, so my back is still OK.

Getting closer, so I'm using a bar to pry the tire into position. Part of the trick is that you don't want the tire to be way off the ground. All you need is a little space to work with.

Here the inside tire is back in place. The outside tire will go on the same way. As soon as there is enough of one bolt to put a nut on, I do that to ensure that it doesn't come off. Then you just push until you can get another nut in place and tighten to bring the wheels into place. Add the rest of the nuts and tighten in a proscribed pattern.

This is my torque wrench. When I place this on the wheel nut, my weight on the blue stripe gives 500 ft/lbs. I did the math and at my weight the blue stripe is 2 feet 2 inches from the axis of the bolt. I could also slide the pipe out and let my wife stand on the line, but I can't tell you how far because then you could figure her weight and I'd be in the dog house.

Now I have to admit that I have a road service and used it many times in the past when I had Michelin tires. I do not plan on doing this myself, ever again. But.......it is a comfort for me to know that if I'm on one of those long stretches of the Alaska Highway with no cell and no other service............I COULD do it myself. Perhaps a much younger man might see the plight of this old codger and choose to help out.

At the end of this job, two of the levelers refused to return. They are 10 years old and the springs are pretty rusty, so new springs are on order. Another job for next week.

Work safe and live longer.

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T01:26:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon we got a call from our son, Scott, saying that the family would be up during the weekend as 15 year old Branden, with his learner's permit wanted to get in some driving time. Helen suggested Sunday and plan for dinner. Helen prepared a major dinner of ham, potatoes, corn on the cob, and more. She baked a berry pie Saturday afternoon and I followed with a batch of brownies made just the way I like them, cake like instead of chewy and with walnuts. They rolled in a little after two and were not rattled, so apparently Branden did a good job driving here from the Tampa area.

The two older kids, Branden and Kourtnie arrived with laptops in hand and immediately set up on the counter. They quickly connected to my wifi and between their computers and their phones, were in close contact with the world outside of Inverness.

Branden, set up and keeping tabs on the world news.

Kourtnie probably keeping tabs on her circle of friends. Out of sight doesn't mean out of touch.

Kolbie, just keeping out of mischief.........for now.

Here Scott is watching Kolbie make another jump in the pool.

This is the same jump a fraction of a second later. You can see the three dogs wanting to get into the pool. As the kids would run around the pool, the dogs would run from one side to the other, trying to get in a door. Unfortunately, the dogs don't work out well with people in the pool as they tend to scratch the people while trying to play with them.

Later on during the same dive. I love the burst function of the camera allowing a machine gun effect as the pictures are taken at a rate of almost 4 per second.

Now it's off the diving board. Kolbie doesn't know the word "fear". He doesn't know the word "moderation" either.

The underwater light burned out. Replacement requires someone (but NOT ME) to unscrew and remove the module. Water is 82 degrees........WAY TOO COLD for Gramps to be in the pool. I could have done the job, as I have a wet suit and hood that would make it bearable. I kid you not! It's wet suit time until the water nears 90 degrees. I really appreciated Branden's help.

OK, work is done...... back to enjoying the diving board.

This is Branden and his Tugboat. We bought it for him about 15 years ago and it has been the vehicle of choice for him, Kourtnie, Keaton, Kolbie, and Kyle, in that order, I think. The original seat fabric rotted many years ago from immersion in the chlorinated water. Helen's Mom made a new one that has lasted ever since. Helen and i thought it might be time to pass it along to someone else, but Branden and Kolbie had so much fun with it that we may have to reconsider. What used to be Branden's Tugboat has now become his submarine when he puts his weight on it.

Kourtnie, Branden and Kolbie in a family jump.

You gotta keep up your social contacts or become a cast off!

Heather, seeming to be enjoying the day. In fact, it was an excellent day with nary a bad word between the kids, or between the parents and kids, or between the grand parents and kids and grandkids.

Would you please not stand in front of the TV? I'm trying to watch the Atlanta / Orlando basketball game!

Oops, almost a smile! It just slipped out when she wasn't concentrating

Branden refused to pose for a picture with his Mom while the big game was on. He claimed that he wasn't really rooting for Orlando, when Orlando lost, he didn't want to pose at all. Obviously Mom had an other idea.

Easter turned out to be an exceptional day. The weather was perfect. The kids and dogs were all well behaved, though Coco was a bit frustrated to see the pool in use and not be a part of it. The food was excellent, but there is too much pie and too many brownies leftover. Oh my!

Scott and at least the boys will be back during the week to do some 4 wheeling in Scott's Jeep out in the state forest. I imagine Branden will do much of the driving. I guess were going to do some geocaching too.

More later.

THE ANNUAL AARP TAXAIDE PICNIC

2011-04-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that many of the AARP tax people gathered for the annual picnic. First, P.J. Cooper should be commended for the great job she did putting the whole thing together. Paul could have been more helpful if he'd watch himself on the ladder. I thank both of them. Second, I apologize right now for not having remembered the names of the attendees and spouses. My bad!

Leo and Spouse taking it easy (see apology above).

Helen and Leo in mortal

Blongoball combat!

Taking score from the other side. It might not be fair.....PJs husband, Paul, is the score keeper.

Sitting around and NOT talking shop.

Oh Boy, Names...Al, Rebecca, and John's head.

With no dogs in attendance, I had to find a four legged friend somewhere!

Aha! So that's where they've been hiding the snacks!

And we thought the tax season was over!!! Some people are determined to make it last.

Wadda ya mean I'm slow? I'm not slow, I'm thorough!!!

It's not eye-hand coordination, it's the facial contortion that helps the throw.

Joe is taking measurements and PJ is doing the QR. Soon they'll be turning these out by the hundreds.

This is just like being at the Lakes Library. Eileen is earnestly telling Bob something and Bob is not really paying any attention at all.

Blongo Ball...a spectator sport............who knew???

Oh, I hope Bill doesn't hurt himself.

Hurt myself?...Hurt myself??? Watch this Maddy!

Sherry, looking for a way to exit gracefully.

All kidding aside, it appeared the everyone was enjoying the picnic. Everyone was engaged in conversation. There was way more than enough food and drink and the weather was nearly perfect. My thanks again to those who put this together.

Over 96 degrees today!

2011-04-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was a short Spring as we are now into the sweltering heat of Summer, but Summer is still months away. We are still in the process of working around the property. Helen is busy planting flowers and putting in plugs of grass. She's trying very hard to cover all the bald spots in the lawn caused by the last two cold winters. I hope it works and I also hope that we have a couple of more temperate winters.

I am still in the process of taking down trees and vines. In fact, I want to take down 15 trees along the street. They have grown so much in the last 29 years that they tower over the electric wires and lean out way over the street. Some years ago I was taking down trees at my Aunt's house and there were a lot that were very close to the wires. I have an aversion to becoming electrocuted, so we hired a commercial tree service. He gave us a reasonable price and we hired him. When I asked when he could start, he informed me that he was not allowed to trim within 10 feet of the power lines and the electric company would do that. Hurump!!! If I had know that, I could have called the electric company and finished the job myself. This time I know the system. I called Progress Energy and a man stopped by today to look at the trees and agreed to trim the 15 trees. He used a can of spray paint to put a bright red spot on the trees being cut.

In addition, I took down another mostly dead tree. The last of it is still burning, but there is very little left. It was quite a job because of the heat. I'd make a few cuts and take a wheelbarrow full of wood to the fire and then run inside to cool off. In awhile I'd be back out for a while and then I'd be back in. I'm also changing how I cut the trees. In the past, I would cut the logs into 2 foot pieces. Then I started cutting them in 18 inch pieces. Today I'm down to 10 inch sections that I can lift into the wheel barrow. When I get to the point where I'm cutting the logs into 2 inch slabs, it will be time to quit.

I've had a cool shower and I feel much better, but I AM WORN OUT!!!

Tonight Helen cooked the last piece of King Salmon that we brought back from Alaska. It was delicious. The King salmon is gone and the halibut is all gone. I have 8 pieces of pink salmon, but it's not really very good, especially compared to halibut and king salmon.

Well, it's going to be an early night tonight. The last two days of AARP TaxAide are tomorrow and Wednesday. Hooray!!!

Later.

Old pictures

2011-03-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Since we got the new camera several months ago, the Sony that we relied on so well during vacations has been neglected. Never mind that it is the camera of choice when we want to carry a less bulky, less intrusive camera. So we had the small camera with us Friday when we took our grandson, Kyle, out for his birthday.

I was surprised to see some of the pictures that were taken, only to be long forgotten.

Lorena on the left, Helen and an unknown lady from the campground in Lake Panasoffkee. They organized a trip to the Dinner Theater in Hudson, Florida and Helen and i were invited. We had seats only a few feet from the stage and had a grand time. This was January 22nd and it was COLD!!!

This is the group of RV Dreamers who met for lunch at Smokey Bones in Lakeland on January 31st. In the background, under the big picture is Donna (Froggie) and Stu, who were the organizers. Nearly everyone there is a full timer and it really got me thinking. This is especially true as I continue to work in the yard. Many hours and a lot of aches and pains later and there is not much difference. What I now realize is how much more work awaits.

We had our friend, Lorena, with us for several days while her motorhome was being repaired at a body shop in Leesburg. We dropped her off Friday afternoon on our way to pick up our grandkids in Clermont. I couldn't help but notice the Harley-Davidson sitting there, though it's not really what caught my eye.

While motorcycles are very popular in Florida, especially with the older folks, you don't often see a bike like the one above. Foolishly, I didn't look close enough to get any information, I was just taken with this relic of the past. Someone has put some work into a restoration job that staggers the imagination.

Mostly, though, I can recall seeing some similar bikes and sidecars in WW II and Indiana Jones films and I don't think a fast ride over dirt roads would be that enjoyable. I'm hoping that Sam, Stu, or someone will shed some light on what this is.

This is my grandson, Kyle. Eight years old and counting. He tends to be a quiet fellow when his older brother, Keaton, will leave him alone. The brain in the family he is one of the top students in his grade.

He was a little light on the food, but he sure made up for it with the ice cream. He had me get him a cone and I got him a BIG one by my standards. He went through that one in no time and had his brother get one that dwarfed mine. No room for meat and potatoes, but a bottomless pit for ice cream. We'll be seeing more of him and his brother when they spend spring break with us.

Now I'm back to more mundane things, like cutting up the trees I've taken down. I have to admit that I'm still doing the work, but no longer suffer the aches and pains later. At the library where I work on taxes, one of the librarians thought that I looked like I lost some weight. That's always nice to hear. I think I've earned an ice cream myself.

I think I'm caught up on the blog........for now.

Later.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY and LAZY, LAZY, LAZY

2011-03-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

I know that I have not been on in a while, and it's not that I had nothing to report, it's just that I have been very busy and when I wasn't busy, I was exhausted. No,....Really! Helen still has me taking down trees and vines when I'm not doing taxes for AARP. Then there was the Greek Festival, dinner with the Girls for Helen's Birthday, a visit from my brother, Rick, and his wife, Linda. The pups had the pleasure of a visit from Linda's Maltese, Mya. All the four legged fur babies got along fine. Mya got a little protective when one of ours got close to Linda, but not too aggressive.

Rick, Linda, and Mya.

Rick is my younger brother by two years and if I lost 80 pounds we'd look like twins. He and Linda have a home in Massachusetts and a cottage on Cape Cod. Neither of them offer much when the winter winds blow, so they also have a home in Palm Bay. Rick refuses to retire, so we see them for a few weeks in late October and then a month in February and March. Our cold winter down here doesn't compare to what they have been having up north this year.

Saturday Helen took Rick and Linda to the strawberry festival in Floral City. I was a bit under the weather and chose to stay behind and tend to the four dogs. They passed the Ferris Grove store on the way down and found that the strawberries were $2.00 more at the festival and then you had to carry them back to the car. They chose to stop back at the Ferris Grove store and get the berries there. We had a good time during the weekend just chatting and catching up on family news. Our son Paul (PT) was over and just added to the conversation.

In a previous blog I mentioned the racing boat that one of my friends has. The race was last weekend and Rick and I drove down to Lakeland to have a look. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! it was not some hick race by locals, but a fully sanctioned race of the American Power Boat Association.

This is what greeted us when we first arrived. A race was underway and the noise was incredible. All those blown gas engines with straight exhaust were something to see and hear. I believe the boat above is a "K" class, which has a conventional hull.

Next was a race of hydroplanes, but not the same class that my friend, Glenn, races. These run a lot smoother than the conventional hulls and are much faster.

This is a "Jersey Skiff" and I've never seen these before. They are a riot to watch as they roll and lurch and look like they're going to fall over. They have a 16 foot hull that must meet certain criteria and are powered by a Chevy 283 or 305 cubic inch engine. As you can see here, often the only parts in the water are the propeller and rudder. Also, this class requires a driver and a passenger, both tied into rear seats under the roll cage and strapped in with 5 point harnesses. I understand that in the old days it was common to lose a passenger and sometimes the driver, too.

Another Jersey Skiff

And a third.

This is Glenn's boat waiting for his race.

Taking off to start the heat.

Here "Southern Magic" rounds the final turn before heading across the main viewing area.

Another picture with "Southern Magic" holding it's lead.

Yet another picture

A nice picture of the three leaders heading across the viewing area.

All alone.

This is a great picture, if I do say so myself. Here are the three leaders in the modified 2.5 liter engine class. It was taken well into the race and the three boats are neck in neck going over 130 miles per hour. That is a tight race by any standards. Now, for the rest of the story......

Glenn was ecstatic about his boat's performance. The other two boats are owned by a number of people and many thousands of dollars were spent to make the boats as competitive as they are. I believe that they spent more on their engines than Glenn spent on his whole rig, and it makes Glenn proud that this back-yard mechanic can run with the big dogs. Another thing about this race is that one of the other boats is the national champion and is piloted by the father of the lad the pilots Glenn's boat

Rick and I had a great time and the Lakeland spot was ideal. Although it was not large enough to have the unlimited hydroplanes, like Miss Budweiser, it was a beautiful place. The lake is surrounded by a bicycle/running track with broad grassy shoulders for picnics or viewing the race.

This brings us to Monday. Our Good friend Lorena from New Brunswick, Canada had as altercation with another vehicle while down the Keys. The body work is being done a few miles away and we picked up Lorena to be our guest while the work is being done. It should be done by tomorrow. Tuesday evening we met with Rita and Barb and we all went to "The Cove", for chicken wings. The Barita girls have a passion for those wings, as does Helen. I chose a cheese burger.

Today was a day off from AARP, so I was back to cutting wood and burning. Oh, yeah, it's the day to catch up wit the blog.

I had to move the motorhome so the people next door can have some trees taken down. They were nice enough to let me know that a few of the trees are leaning toward our RV and didn't want to take the chance on something going wrong. When I moved the rig, I notice the rear right outside tire looked flat. In fact, it was flat and it wouldn't register a single pound on the pressure gauge. I pumped it up and took off the valve extender to see where the problem lies. What I really need is another job to do.

Later!

Hello Barita Girls!!!

2011-03-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have been accused of falling down on the job of adding to my blog, so I'm saying "HELLO" to Barb and Rita,........HELLO GIRLS!!

I'm also including a couple of pictures from our day at the Greek festival.

Here Rita is giving a fake smile in spite of the poor food at the festival.

Barbara trying to be interested in all that is going on.

Here I am with Alana, who is a friend of Rita's due to Alana's mother or grandmother having gone to school with Rita.

And here is Rita again, cuddling up with the youngest of all the old men at the festival.

Hello Girls!!!

A Great Toy!

2011-02-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

There is a woman that I work with at AARP named Eileen. Her husband, Glenn, is an extremely talented individual who has been racing boats for many years. This may not be very interesting to the ladies who read my blog, but I think the guys will be as impressed as I am.

This is the hydroplane that Glenn (pictured) is getting ready to race next weekend in Lakeland. The finish is like a mirror and the overall craftsmanship is perfection all the way. He told me earlier that if I wanted to see the boat, it should be before the race as he could not be certain that it would still be worthy of pictures after the race.

This is the view looking back. The cockpit cover is not on and the engine cowling is sitting on the custom trailer behind to the left.

This is just a quarter view from the front.

This is obviously the engine, a special unit that runs on methanol, not gasoline. Glenn has fabricated all the fittings in the engine compartment and everywhere else. The engine uses a "dry sump" oil system, so there is no oil pan. Instead, there is a tank that sits aft of the engine, just out of sight to the left of the picture. The oil is preheated and is pumped through the engine, then a line goes back to the oil tank.

This picture shows a lot of things. You can see the oil tank behind the engine. Of course it's all covered by the engine cowling. Attached to the left sponson is a stainless steel blade that sticks well into the water. In the picture it's just to the right of the steps. When the boat is racing, the two turning points are that blade and the rudder. Without the blade, the boat wouldn't turn because only the rudder and half of the propeller are in the water. Yes, that's a fully restored '57 Chevy convertible in the background.

Here is the propeller shaft strut as constructed by Glenn. It's made of aluminum that he cut and fit, then sent out to be powder coated. The line coming from the top of the boat carries water to the strut bearing to assure lubrication. To the left is the rudder. A pipe going to the bottom of the rudder supplies all the water for cooling and lubrication.

Some years ago Glenn set a few records. Oh how I'd like to take this boat for a spin. Unfortunately, there is no way that I could squeeze into a cockpit made for a much smaller, much younger individual. I looked in , and it would be a tight fit, even for the youngster.

Later.

It's FALL in Florida.

2011-02-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's correct! It's Fall in our neighborhood, but not Autumn. The trees around us are green all year so we don't have the traditional Autumn when all the leaves turn bright colors and then fall, leaving the trees bare and dismal looking. Our trees have green leaves all year, but in the late winter some leaves turn yellow and fall from the trees, but leave a lot of new green leaves behind.

You can see the yellow in the trees. They soon fall leaving the nice green leaves. Another sign of spring is the blooming whatchamacallit as seen below. Helen can give you the real name.

Helen and I are still working on our yard and, of course, I have another fire going. We have removed a lot of dead and dying trees and there is still a long way to go. The new leaf blower is working very well. It forces air into the fire and makes it burn hot and fast. How hot? I don't know, but in the picture below you can see the brown glass bottle melted into the dirt and the remains of a spray paint can.

That's all I could find of the bottle. The rest must have melted into the ground and I'll find it later. In the past, using this system, I have recovered fused dirt the size of softballs. I sort of wish I was burning in pure sand to see if I could make some kind of glass.

I've had a few problems with equipment as the project continues. The pull starter cord on my chainsaw broke so I bought a new one. On the second pull with the new cord, the engine kicked back and the new cord broke. I think it's pre ignition because I've been using regular gas. I changed to high test this morning and it seems to be working fine now. I also have a gas powered weed eater. It's a Toro with a string weed eater as well as a blade for clearing small brush. The blade works fine on the briers and such. Saturday it was working very well for a while then stopped. It does that sometimes and all I have to do is restart and continue. Not this time. I pulled on the starter cord but there was no resistance. The starter doesn't engage. Another fix-it project.

Yesterday was Helen's birthday and we celebrated #39 again! We went to see the latest Liam Neeson movie, UNKNOWN. I don't usually choose that kind of a movie, but it was really good and I'd have to give it two thumbs up. After the movie we walked next door and had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. With Helen as my date, it couldn't have been nicer. The meal, though, was not up to par. There seems to be a misunderstanding about what is rare, medium rare, medium, etc. We do not like our beef rare, but cooked to shoe leather is not good either. The waitress had the solution, order rare and then send it back for a little more cooking. I don't think so!

On the Dog's blog I mentioned a book, A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron. It was recommended to me by a friend, but I hesitate to recommend it to anyone else. I'm a wuss when it comes to dogs. I know how Old Yeller ends, so I have never seen the movie. This book is written from a dog's position, but I don't want to give too much away. Suffice it to say that as I was reading it, my three dogs were on my bed sitting beside me. There were times when tears flowed from my eyes as I couldn't help relate some of the story to my dogs. A warning....if you start it, you MUST finish it because in the end, it's not too bad.

That's it for today. I'm through burning and cutting wood. Tomorrow and Wednesday are AARP TaxAide sessions, so I get to sit at a desk all day.

Later.

A sobering day at TaxAide.

2011-02-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

I have been helping people with their federal taxes for four years now and today was a particularly hard day for me. One of my clients was a woman whose taxes I've done two or three times before. In the past she was in the company of her husband, but today she was alone. Her husband passed away two weeks ago due to cancer. He was treated by a local doctor and would not consider a transfer to Moffitt Cancer Center, one of the best cancer centers in the country. She told me that he wanted her to make an appointment with us to get the taxes done as he apparently knew his time was short.

This particular client is a very sweet lady who has all her paper work in order. She highlights the pertinent information in yellow so it's easy to find. There is nothing complicated about their return and they have been among the most pleasant people I deal with. I found it difficult to ask the questions I had to in order to get the return filed. All our returns are quality checked by another person, and I got Eileen to to the review because I felt she would be the most compassionate. Eileen did a thorough check of the return then took considerable time counseling the lady on the tax situation she will fall into in two years. We finished all the paper work and the lady left. Eileen went into the staff lounge, coming out a few minutes later with red eyes.

I'm grateful that the client was able to hold herself together so well, though there were times when I could see her close to tears. I'm happy to be working with people like Eileen who will go above ad beyond to help someone.

This could be the story of any of us at our age and I hope that we're all doing our best to be the best we can be while enjoying life to the fullest. Life is short.

Later.

A job completed

2011-02-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today I finished pressure washing the driveway. Here is the picture of the driveway mostly done.

And here is the finished job.

I moan and groan, bitch and complain, but that's what I do. Actually, washing the driveway is a once a year project and it takes about 5 hours. It's warm out and I can do the job in shorts and a tee shirt. Now, I have to compare that with Sam in Missouri or my brother back in Massachusetts who has no place left to put the snow. He works at Logan Airport in Boston, and they're having a real problem there, too. It seems that there is a law against dumping the snow in Boston harbor due to the contaminants in the snow, fuel and oil leakage, de-icing chemicals, salt for using on walking areas, etc. The airport has a designated dumping area where these chemicals will be filtered through the ground and dissipate before getting to the harbor. This year the dumping area will hold no more snow and they are dumping directly into Boston Harbor. It's bothersome I suppose because the harbor used to be very polluted, and there has been a great effort to clean it up in recent years. It's no secret that striped bass and bluefish have returned to the harbor, proving that the water is better quality than it has been in years. Still, a winter like this has been a great burden on much of the north. Pressure washing the driveway is nothing compares to shoveling snow.

When I lived up north, I had to shovel the driveway in order to get to work. I guess it wouldn't be so bad now that I could just curl up with a good book and wait for the snow to melt, but warmer is better. It's SOOOOO much better.

Later

Working and day dreaming

2011-02-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

Well, now that he weather has warmed up a bit, I've been very diligent in getting to work around the house. When we have a cold snap, every fiber in my body wants to hibernate. Of course I can't hibernate, so I find the warmest place in the house and put on as much body fat as I can.

I worked two days for the AARP TaxAide. The rest of the week has been spent getting things done. Today I've had a fire going most of the day as I continue to burn the remains of downed trees and brush. With the fire going well in the back (I have a new leaf blower), I started to pressure wash the driveway. I got that about 80% done when the machine ran pout of gas. It was fortunate because I ran out of gas at the same time. Now it's time to latch onto a couple of ibuprofen to chase away the aches and pains. Pressure washing is a no brainer. Once the engine is running you just move the wand back and forth. It gives me a chance to day dream while I'm actually getting some work done.

My mind keeps going over the lunch we had last Monday and all the full timers we met there. Now why am I doing all this work around the house? I DO have a beautiful home on 2 1/2 acres with a pool, cabana, and an authentic Finnish sauna. Do we use the pool and sauna in the winter? Of course not! In fact, just as soon as the pool water gets above 85 degrees, I cover the pool, shut down the pump, and go away for the summer. When we return, it's nice for a few weeks until it cools off too much, and then the only ones who enjoy it are the dogs. Helen and I have always said that full timing is not for us, but as we get older............. Helen even mentioned the possibility of selling the house and buying a nicer RV to live in full time. That was a shock to me!

I already take care of a motorhome and a tow car. However, I also take care of another car and a house. Winters in Mexico is sounding pretty good. The information I get off the RV.NET about camping in Mexico really interests me. The pictures of the beautiful Pacific coast beaches and campgrounds are really inviting. We could pass through Florida in the spring and summer to see family. There is no reason why we should have to endure temperatures too hot or too cold when we have the RV that we can take anywhere. I'm paying more attention to the blogs of the full timers. I guess I'm still a kid at heart and I'm always looking for the next adventure.

Later

Catching up with the blog.....again!

2011-02-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

I know that I have been negligent in maintaining my blog. Sometimes there is simply nothing to report and other times I've been too busy ........or lazy.

Last weekend we had my son and two grandsons over for the weekend. Kyle needed to work on his pinewood racer for his Cub Scout project.

No, that's not Kyle in the picture, it's Keaton and my son, Paul Jr., or PT.

This is Kyle, working his butt off hauling trees to the burn pile. He worked harder than anyone and he kept it up for the two days.

He graduated to using the wheel barrow and really started to move the wood. Sometimes his enthusiasm overwhelmed his muscles as he'd load the barrow so high that it would tip over. It didn't slow him down too much though.

The real joy for both of the boys was keeping the fire going and adding more and more wood to the pile. My leaf blower died, so I was just using a fan until I get another. A lot of wood was burned over the weekend, but only a small fraction of what we could have burned with a leaf blower.

Here's Kyle "on the wagon", taking a well earned rest.

PT dressing the fire.

Helen with Keaton, Kyle, and PT.

Same picture with me taking Helen's place. The other picture is better.

That completed our weekend as we drove the boys home Sunday evening. Everyone got a good workout. Helen and I really enjoyed the boys for the weekend.

Monday, January 31st Helen and I joined a bunch of other campers at a lunch at Smokey Bones Bar and Fire Grill in Lakeland. I got an email from Donna (Froggi) McNichol inviting us and we went. It was a very nice group of mostly full timers who are in this general area for the winter. WE met a lot of interesting people and we hope to cross paths again sometime. I don't know where they all will go when the warm weather comes, but I expect most of them will return to the area next winter. I should have taken a bunch of pictures, but I was too busy talking. Here are a couple of places to visit should you want to see who were there. Ralph and Donna have an excellent blog, go back to January 31st to see the pictures and blog.

Tuesday February I started my tour of duty with AARP TaxAide. I put in a full day at the Floral City Library. It was a very quiet day since this is the first year that we're using that library. It is still rewarding to do a tax return for someone with a very limited income who paid a lot to have a national tax service serve them in past years.

Wednesday I worked at the Lakes Region Library and that was a different story. This library has been used for many years and people know it. We had a full slate of appointments without a single empty slot. Still, this is my favorite place to work. It's the library that I use and the people that I work with are a joy.

Today Helen and I went to Lowe's to get new faucets for the main bathroom. The old ones are in perfect shape, but Mama says the bathroom needs an upgrade. I also picked up a valve for Barbara that I will install the first chance I get, within reason.

I mentioned that We all worked very hard on the weekend. Actually, I started before the weekend, but the only effect was to make me tired. However, I woke up Monday morning with a very sore heel area on my right foot. On the internet, we finally diagnosed it as achilles tendonitis, and there's not much you can do except take ibuprofin and rest. I took the ibuprofin, but I still went to the lunch in Lakeland and worked the two days for AARP. This morning, the heel hardly hurts at all, but now my instep hurts much more than the tendon. I may have caused the problem by walking the way I did to favor the achilles tendon. Getting Old Sucks!!

Later.

Cleaning up the yard

2011-01-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

Helen has been working me hard to trim some trees and clean up a lot of the downed trees in the yard. In addition, we seem to be having a problem with our live oaks, the problem is that they have become dead oaks. We have no idea what is causing the problem, but it's killing ALL the live oaks on our property. The other oaks and pines are fine. I'm in charge of the chain saw and the larger pieces of tree and Helen is getting a lot of the smaller stuff and vines.

My secret tool, the leaf blower!

It gets hot enough to fuse the soil into stone!

Telephoto makes it look like it's close to the woods, not so.

We get rid of a lot of wood in a day. Using the leaf blower forces a lot of air through the fire and all the oxygen allows super combustion and there is very little smoke. Once the fire is cooking, everything burns quickly. Green wood seems to burn as fast as dry wood. AT the end of the day all that's left is a couple of gallons of fine white ash.

There is one thing that keeps going through my mind. All that heat is going to waste. I have a pool with cold water and it would be great if I could find a way to get that heat into the pool. There are wood burning stove to heat water, but they are way too small and would burn wood very slowly. I want to come up with a way that will capture a good part of the wasted heat while still burning at a fast pace.

I had an interesting day yesterday while taking down one of the live oaks. Apparently my boys built a tree house of sorts in the tree. The new chain on my saw was cutting the wood like a warm knife through butter. Then is would hardly cut at all. The consistency of the saw dust change from course chips to a fine dust. When I finally got through the limb, I found a nail embedded in the middle of the wood. Fortunately, I have a 5/32 grinder for my Dremel tool and brought the chain back to a high performance standard. I knew about the nails in another tree and was able to avoid them, but I got caught on the smaller tree.

Tonight I'm very tired and very sore, but I'm happy to be getting a lot of this taken care of. I've gotta get everything ship-shape so we can take off again.

Later.

Friday round-up

2011-01-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

The first thing on the agenda today was to get our friend Barbara home from the rehab facility. I've mentioned how well she has been doing and she was practically glowing at the thought of going home. I met Rita at the facility and followed them home. My job was to make sure that nothing bad occurred. Truthfully, I was not needed at all. Barb does so well on her feet that I thought we should stop in the laundry room and let her catch up on the laundry. She's soaking up all the attention from Rita today, but since Rita is now the cook, Barb will be back to cooking before too long. Both Barb and Rita were both delighted to have her home.

Helen has had me working very hard the last two days. The weather has broken and with the warmer temperatures Helen is anxious to get the yard cleaned up. I've been taking down some trees and trimming others while Helen started on the lawn and then moved into the adjacent areas. Last year We got a wood chipper that I thought would make our work easier and allow me to get rid of the trimmings without burning. It is not doing the job. It chips wood of the proper size very well, but it will not take the miles of vines that we have in the yard, nor will it take the thick branches and trunks of trees. We ended up with a burn pile again, and it works particularly well. I have a secret method that burns the wood very quickly. Well not a secret, but a very efficient way. A few years ago I noticed that at large construction sites where a whole forest is taken down, they use a huge blower powered by a big diesel engine. By feeding large amounts of air into the fire, it burns very hot and takes everything, fresh green wood included. I use a leaf blower stuffed into 10 feet of stove pipe. It gets so hot that the wood burns rapidly and the heat even fuses the sand into pieces like meteorite. We have started, but the process will continue for a long time.

A couple of weeks ago I posted the story of the bobcat that the neighbor photographed outside his pool enclosure. A few evenings ago I took Sandy out for her late evening walk to the area we use beside the house. She stopped suddenly and would not step foot into that area. The next morning she did the same thing and I had no idea why. This morning in the dark hours before dawn I took the three dogs out and they ran right into that area. I heard a noise from 20 feet up in the trees and a thud as it hit the ground, then it ran off with a lot more speed than a raccoon can generate. I cannot prove that it was the bobcat, though the neighbor says they've seen it a few times but only caught the photo once. We have see raccoon a lot of times, and when the dogs appear, they just scamper higher up the tree. A small Yorkie or Maltese might be in trouble, but I'm sure my pack of Labs is safe.

Enough for now. This sore, old man is going to turn in early.

Later.

Trying Windows Live Writer

2011-01-19T14:20:00.001-08:00

Trying a few things to start

Another color

Tuesday Ramblings

2011-01-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very dreary day in Inverness. It was cold and rainy all day. We got a total of over two inches of badly needed rain, but it was dismal anyway. When it's like this, I want to curl up in front of the fireplace, drink hot cocoa or eat soup, or sleep. I must have some ursine blood in my body because it really wants to hibernate when the weather is so cold. Today it was much better, with some sunshine after the fog burned off.

Helen and I went to see our friend Barbara at rehab. Her progress is amazing. She is in very good spirits and is not giving them a lot of trouble. She has Rita to do that! We also met Rita, the woman who helps them clean house each week and found her to be a very nice person. Barb was having some hallucinations due to her medicine, and although that is behind her, I fear that she is now having delusions of taking the entire male rehab staff home with her. Being surrounded by such vigorous young men has gone to her head. Good luck Barb!!!

Sam, of Sam and Donna's, made a comment about his black lab being neutered, but three gals in Florida would welcome him anyway. That may be true, as he was referring to our three females, Jodie, Coco, and Sandy. Riggs is always welcome, but Sandy sure would like to have him as he was a couple of weeks ago. Sandy is in "heat", and I have never seen a dog in heat before. We always had spayed females that were neutered long before we got them. Sandy is a riot. There are no male dogs in the area that we're aware of, so Sandy is flirting with Jodie. Jodie doesn't like it and growls at her to keep her away. Sandy just perks up her ears, prances around Jodie and turns her backside to Jodie. Jodie growls and moves away. Sandy has two more weeks of taking it easy from the heart worm treatment, then she will be going in to be spayed.

My dad used to say that the best dog was a spayed female because they were generally good natured and tended to stay close to the house. Of course that was in the day when life was more rural and the dogs were allowed to wander without fences or leashes. Our three are confined to the twp plus acres of the yard that is theirs, so we have no problem. In the course of our years with Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida, we have had quite a number of labs, male and female, pass through our house. I have yet to see an aggressive Lab.

We got a notice last night that there is another female lab that needs to be fostered. She's a beautiful black female and she's pregnant. The story that goes with her is that her owners up and moved and just left her and a male behind in a pen. Both dogs appear to be pure bread Labs, so the puppies should be spectacular. We would like to help, but we're still burned out after the last litter. Besides, we don't have a black lab in our pack and the possibility that Helen couldn't part with the mother at the end is too great. We both love our three dogs greatly, but I can't help but think that it's going to be a bit more difficult to travel with all three. If we got a fourth, I might as well sell the motorhome.

Tomorrow I'm expecting the temperature to rise above 70 degrees. I will be elated, but I will also have to get my act together and get to some of the projects around here that need doing.

Later!

Just trying to get up to date.

2011-01-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

I suppose that I have a lot to report since my last post, but I have to try to prioritize the news and put it in some kind of order.

First, our friend Barbara has had knee replacement surgery on Monday. She may read this so I'd better watch what I say. When I first saw her on Tuesday,(I Think), and she really didn't look too good. She had been in a lot of pain and was very uncomfortable. There was a monitor beside her bed that kept going into alarm and it was driving the whole floor crazy. Since it was right beside Barb's left ear, it must have been really terrible. Fortunately, when we went to see Barb last night it was a whole new story. Barb was alert and looked very good. She'd been up and walking a little and has made a remarkable improvement. Originally, she had planned to return home with Rita after the surgery, but I suspect the surgery was a little more difficult than it was the last time. At any rate, Barb was moved to a rehab facility until she feels well enough to go home. I believe the choice is hers.

The past week has been a very busy week for me as I prepared for another year as an AARP TAXAIDE volunteer. We are the people who will do your tax return for free. There are a few things to know, if you have not availed yourself of this service before. The service is for EVERYONE, age doesn't matter. You do not have to belong to AARP. The amount of money you make is not important, however, we cannot process income from rental property, businesses, or military income. I get a great deal of satisfaction from doing the taxes of people who have a very small income, yet paid a lot of money in the past to have a very simple return done. It was a week of classes every day and homework most nights. The worst part is the test at the end. If you fail the test, you are allowed one retest. Flunk the retest and you're out. I obsess over the test. I did pass and I will be working two days a week. One at the Lakes Region Library close to home and another at the Floral City Library about nine miles away. That'll keep me busy until the middle of April.

A couple of weeks ago I went out to check the motor home and found the water pump running but pumping no water. The tank was empty. I checked the level in the black and gray water tanks and they were both empty and I could not see ANY evidence of leakage anywhere in the camper. I connected the hose to the house water and checked as much as I could. Still, there was no evidence of a leak. I filled up the fresh water tank and disconnected the hose. Yesterday I went out to check the rig because I had to take it in for service today. I saw where there was a leak from the passenger side of the bus. Inside, I removed the drawers around the sink and stove and could see dampness way back where I would have no chance of getting access. I shut off the pump and opened the system drain to take all the pressure off the water system. Something I'd have to attack later.

This morning I took the bus to the local RV dealer to have the second Norcold refrigerator recall done. The last time, the technicians had to remove the refer from the wall to do the job and I ASSUMED that the same would be true today. I set the heat way up and opened the slide to give them room. My appointment was for 8:30 and I was a tad early. Did I mention that I've had a busy week? Well, I laid down on the sofa at around 8:45, and when I next opened my eyes it was after 11:00. I was perturbed that no one had been inside to fix the refer. I went to the service desk and asked when it would be done. "Huh?? It was done a couple of hours ago!!" I said no one came into the motor home and was told that this recall is done from the outside. A bit skeptical, I opened up the outside access to see what had changed. Sure enough, there was a modification done as I could see all the new shiny parts. Another important thing is that I saw the water leak that was dodging me. There is a very small plastic tube that brings water to the ice maker. It connects with a compression fitting to female hose fitting. The hose fitting to solenoid was the leaking spot. I again drained the water system and removed the hose fitting. There was combination hose gasket / metal screen filter that had come apart. I have replacements. In just a few minutes the problem was solved.

I was reading Sam's blog yesterday and I was taken by his thought on maintaining family contacts. Helen and I have been surrounded by our parents, close friends, and my unmarried Aunt all our lives. When we traveled by RV, all the surviving members would accompany us. MY brother and I chat at least once a week, every week. When we travel north we'll spend a couple of weeks camped at "Campground Ricky", where he has water and a 50 amp outlet for me. Now Rick has a place over in Palm Bay on Florida's east coast and when he's down, we'll either stay there for a few days or get a campground right around the corner. One year we all pitched in to give his house a new paint job. Some years I took the boat and we'd fish a few days.

Helen and I have two sons, with which we have a precarious relationship at best. We may hear from them several times a week or not hear from them in months. We are in frequent contact with our friends and feel that we can depend on some of them more than we could our sons. Of course I realize that they also have very busy lives and there is a great deal going on right now. Still!!!!!

I am guilty of......

2010-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Not adding to my blog in quite a while. There has been a lot going on, but not stuff that I'm willing to share on my blog. Lets just say that there have been........er.......difficulties in the extended family that make things a bit tense this year. The last Christmas that we had that was this bad was 35 years ago when Helen's Dad passed away on Christmas Eve. That should give you some idea about how our Christmas was.

Another thing that strictly applies to me is that I HATE THE COLD!!! I hide in the house with a couple of sweatshirts on and a woolen cap on my head. I drink hot coffee, tea, cocoa, or soup throughout the day trying to keep my core temperature up. My preferred activity is staying in bed with a number of blankets over me as I pretend to be a hibernating bear. When we get mornings in the teens, it just does me in. When I find that it's warmer in parts of Alaska than it is here, I gnash my teeth. Then I check out RV.NET Forum and find out how well the camping is going in Mexico and I really start to sulk.

The news is full of all the atrocities that are occurring in Mexico in the drug corridors and some of the border cities. That may be true, but many RV'ers are traveling the first thirty miles or so in a caravan and then depart for their area of choice. I understand that tourism is WAY down and those that go are getting the royal treatment. Waterfront sites with all the amenities for $400.00 a month. This is for a site in a prime campground. My electric bill here will approach $400.00 this month due to the exceptional cold. The pictures I saw with people frolicking on the beach make me want to be there.

According to the weather gurus, the coldest part of the winter will be in December. We'll see, but I hope it's true. Helen was working on the plants outside and we saw some freeze damage on plants that have never seen damage before. The odd part of this is that with the coldest winter ion eons, we've had the hottest summer since records have been kept. Still, 2010 is expected to be the third hottest year in history. Hot is OK. We'll be heading north of the border when the hot weather comes. Someplace in Canada has just the right temperature in the summer.

That's all the griping for now.

Wishing all a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous 2011

Alaska Gold Rush

2010-12-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight Helen noticed a new program on the Discovery Channel. Alaska Gold Rush follows a group from Oregon trying to strike it rich in Alaska. We were amazed to see that it's a golf field that we visited in July of this year. In fact, I mentioned it in my blog of July 20th. The going was rough, even in my little Jeep, and to see these people crossing a bridges that terrified Helen is awesome. The jeep with the two of us would weigh close to 4000 pounds. Helen noticed how a lot of the planks on the bridge were rotten or missing. These guys were hauling a 100,000 pound rig across the bridge. The bridge creaked and groaned, but didn't fail.

Later they towed their travel trailers in and again I'm in awe. There was barely enough room to drive my Jeep. How that drove in all their equipment without severe damage. Their claim runs down to a river and they showed their neighbor on the other side of the river.

This is the neighbor across the river, where we were on July 20th.

Another view of the neighbor's place, no one at home when we were there.

We were told that there were a few people still working the gold fields even today. Most noted is a woman who lives out there year round, coming into "civilization" to sell her gold and buy supplies. We saw one operation that was still operating under the blue glow of a huge tarp. Again, we could see the evidence of recent work, but saw no one. Thinking back on it, I don't know if there was someone back in the woods with a gun, waiting to see if we would molest his claim.

It's just funny to be watching a TV program and discover that we were right there.

The group from Oregon doesn't seem to be too attuned to life in the wilderness. A black bear came into camp and took a box of graham crackers let out by one of the kids. The men are SURE that it's a grizzly and a menace to the group. Shooting a bear is not allowed unless it is truly a menace and these guys have convinced themselves that it is so. I find it funny because at the first sight of a human, the black bear makes a quick exit. Only interested in the crackers, when the crackers were gone, the bear had no reason to stay. When one of the men spoke sternly to the boy who left the crackers outside, his father came to his aid and told the man to leave his son alone. I guess that back in the lower 48, he backed up the boy if a teacher had a complaint.

It will be interesting to watch this program evolve. So far, they don't seem to be too capable of sustaining themselves in this area.

Brrr

2010-12-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

I guess were all experiencing an exceptional cold spell. The weatherman says the severe cold covers much of the nation. Still, we expect a more moderate temperature here in central Florida. It is not so!

These pictures were taken in my back yard, but it is not typical of the area. Let me explain. There are two kinds of heat pumps. There is the most popular one with a unit inside the house that supplies the hot or cool air, and there is another unit outside that dissipates the heat or cold as required. In the summer, The cool air will be pumped in the house, and you can feel the heat blowing from the unit outside. In the winter, it will be cold air on the outside. This is an air to air system.

A second type of heat pump is the air to water or geothermal heat pump. The big advantage that I have is the efficiency of the unit. In the summer, the hotter it gets, the less efficient the air to air heat pump becomes. You can understand that when you are trying to cool the outside unit with 95 degree air. Similarly, in the winter you are trying to get heat out of 30 degree air. In my heat pumps, we cool and heat with well water, which is 73 degrees year round. Even paying the electric to pump the water, it's still a lot less expensive than the other kind.

A by product that we have is the water that runs through the heat pump, and this we have running a couple of sprayers out in the woods. The sprayers work whenever the heat pumps are operating, which is almost constantly when it's so cold. It's this spray that you see in the trees and bushes behind our home. A few years ago we had an extended cold spell with temperatures as low as 15 degrees. After a few days, there were several TONS of ice hanging from the trees. Icicles 2 feet in diameter at the top were hanging from the trees and I was surprised that no limbs were brought down. I guess it's because the icicles went all the way to the ground without tapering very much. They were actually columns of ice extending from the ground up to the trees.

In talking with the neighbors about the bobcat in the last blog, they mentioned that the beautiful feline was trying to get water from the bird baths. Unfortunately, they were frozen. They said the cat headed toward our property where the water from our aid conditioning/heating system runs every day. I'm not surprised. We see crows by the dozens crowding in for water. Squirrels, rabbits and many other birds are also seen there. One morning I saw a handsome buck drinking and it was a perfect picture, or would have if I had a camera. Since it has been very dry for so long, many animals manage to come around sometime during the day or night. If I had some discipline, I'd sit by the rear window in the early morning with my camera.

Now that I've completed this blog, I realize that, by comparison, we're not to bad off compared to some past years. As I get older it's getting easier to complain. Of course, as I get older I dislike the cold more and more.

This morning's surprise

2010-12-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

When I finally got up and checked my email this morning I was surprised to get this picture from the next door neighbor. For the last few nights, our dogs have been barking quite a lot in the woods out back. We had no idea at what they were barking, but they would be at it for 10 or 15 minutes or more. We have deer from time to time, but they quickly jump the fence and it's all over, 30 seconds at best. I know that we have coyotes in the area and suspected that it was some coyote on the other side of the back fence. The picture of the bobcat came as quite a surprise. Marlis and Gunther, our neighbors mentioned that there were a few deer in the back yard before the bobcat appeared. We have found deer tracks within a few feet of our house, but never suspected a bobcat. Here I've cropped the picture, but the beautiful animal was only a few feet outside the pool enclosure.

How I love animal pictures and Helen and I have many. However, there is no substitute for being at the right place at the right time, and prepared.

As for the cold weather.........it HAS BEEN COLD!!! But, not as cold as predicted. In our location, we often encounter temperatures 4 or 5 degrees below the predicted low and they predicted a low of 18 to 20 for this morning. It got only to 22, so as bad as it was, it could have been worse.

I seem to be plagued be a number of small leaks that I cannot locate. Helen's car still has a coolant leak that I cannot find. My Jeep requires addition to the coolant from time to time although there is no sign of leakage. Last month I had to have the pool pump fixed as the shaft seal leaked. The pump man said that it was caused by the pump running dry. I apparently have an air leak on the suction side of the pump. When the pump shuts off, air leaks into the pipes between the pump and the pool and the water drains out of the pump. I ran a hose to a connection on the pump and turn on the water each time I start the pump to ensure that there is enough water to prime the pump without damaging the seal. Last night I wanted to run the pool pump so I wouldn't have any frozen pipes to fix today. I turned on the water and started the pump. I DID NOT SHUT OFF THE WATER SUPPLY!!! Helen woke me this morning with the news that the pool was about to overflow. I immediately knew the reason and went out to the pool pump in my bare feet to shut off the water and open up the outside discharge. By the time I read the paper the pool level had dropped to the correct level.

I'm wondering what I'm going to screw up today.

We're going to the dogs

2010-12-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

During one of the nicer days Helen and I took the three dogs for a walk on the hiking/riding trail that runs the length of Citrus County. It's a very nice place for taking the dogs, riding a horse or bicycle, or simply walking. The scenery is nice as it winds along several ponds.

Three girls behaving well!

Still behaving well!

Giving Dad a hard time!

Dad!!! We really want to go in the pool!!!!

Sandy had the first heart worm shot this week and because of that, she cannot run with the other two dogs. We have to keep her quiet with no running or other high activity with the other two. It gets difficult because she has a lot of energy and is ready to play at any time. She is often the one who instigates play, getting Jodie and Coco to go along with her. She'll come to me and give me a long woof, then Jodie and Coco will join in and the noise becomes deafening. When we take the dogs outside, Jodie and Coco have the run of the property, but Sandy goes out on the leash. She wants to join the other's, but this is the way it has to be for a while. Next month she gets two more shots on successive days and she will have another month of little activity.

The weather here has been abnormally cold. We expect a low temperature of around 20 tonight. Some plants are indoors and others have been covered for over a week now. The weatherman in Tampa reported last night that there may be wet snow in the counties north of Tampa. That's us! They are still saying that this winter will not be as bad as last year do to El Nino or something. December is SUPPOSED to be the coldest month of the winter. That's great, except it's not even winter yet. It also hurts when they tell us that our morning temperature will be lower than the morning temperature in parts of Alaska. Another year that I regret not putting a fireplace in the house when it was built. I do have a wood fired sauna in the cabana and I have been known to get a fire going there and sitting in the ultra warmth.

Until later.