My OH! My, where is the time flying too! Last week we had cool wet weather and this week has been sunny and warmer. I finally dismantled the old shed and now have to figure out how to push the newer shed back to where the older one was, use the diesel , man power or maybe both? I have a mexican crew lined up to take the scrap to the dump. Once everything is in its place we will design our deck and private dog park from there. Last Monday we went on a boat cruise down the Rio Grande River and saw all the damage that was done last Spring when a hurricane in Mexico cause serious flooding. The water rose 18' and stayed there for 33 days and then it receded to a lower shore line level and stayed there for another 30 days. The water level is still above normal. Jane is still with her stained glass and I'm enjoying my Fri. bike rides to some local restaurants for breakfast. Instead of 'Soup' night this week they had 'Baked Potato' night instead. For $4.00 you got a huge baked potato, chopped beef stew, creamed broccoli, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, butter, orange sherbet and a cookie too! WOW! What a meal. We also look forward to 'Peter Piper Pizza night' on Wednesdays, last wed. I won one of the door prizes, a cute little stuffer Garfield.

We visited the local flea market and ordered a vinyl skirt that goes around the front of the 5th wheel making it into a small storage room, about 5' x 8', enough to hold the bicycles, lawn mower and small BBQ, etc. It keeps the place tidy looking when we set up back in Ontario.

This Monday we are going on another tour to see some local land marks and historical sites, so that should be interesting too!

Stay safe friends!

View of the park from our roof

We are pretty well settled in. We received a partial shipment of new furniture on Tuesday, some more next Thursday and the balance on Feb. 3rd. I have started to demolish one of the two sheds (only allowed one) but we are not under pressure to do so, just get it done. Jane has already started on the 'job jar list' but I think the 'priorities' will keep me busy until next year. Yesterday was 'Peter Piper Pizza' night, which we enjoyed and tonight was 'Homemade soup night' which we missed. I love my soup too, but missed it tonight as I spent the afternoon in Pharr, Tx doing some shopping and had a late lunch. Jane is still experiencing migraines and today was no exception. In addition to walking the dogs twice a day we have been getting at least one bicycle run in a day. Tomorrow AM is our bicycle breakfast run and tomorrows trip is about 4 miles, one of the longer runs. Jane is coming but will be going by car, she is not very apt with the bike yet. We have signed up for a few local tours to some Historical land marks which I will share with you latter. The Weather is remaining hot (80's) and humid (85's) but hey, that's why we are here, to enjoy the Winter.

Boxing Day

We don't know what they do down here on the 26th but we are staying home. There were no shortage of shoppers down her for Christmas, the malls were packed. I had the impression that there was a major recession in the US, not so, business as usual and so glad to see that.
We are hoping to move into our new home this week and store the 5th wheel till April. We have the keys and have been moving some stuff over, the hold up is the slow transfer of funds from Canada to US banks, like 11 days, there must be a faster way? To speed things up I transferred funds to American Express and will find out tomorrow if I improved the funds transaction or made it worse?
Christmas in Texas is different than Ontario, we got over the lack of cold and snow real quick tho, LOL! It is a cool 42 F under Sunny skies today, we have the heater on???
We are hooked up to Skype and Google chat so we are able to call home economically. We may even get a visit from our good friends, Wayne and Lynda, in the New Year. It is nice to have a 2 bedroom home. We may have to hustle to upgrade some of the furniture.
The only complaint that we have is that the local Mexicans celebrate this season with firecrackers (day and night), the dogs are not happy and when they are not happy, neither are Mom and Dad. We have had a couple of sleepless nights and apparently this will keep up until New Years, Oh fun, maybe the new home will be more sound proof?
The Park put on a wonderful Christmas Dinner at noon and then we returned again at 5:30 to demolish the leftovers, then a band and dancing. We were to full and to tired (lack of sleep last night) to stay for the evening entertainment.
Best wishes to all!

We are staying in TEXAS

Slow down clock....time is going to fast. A week has gone by and some serious things have happened. Viewed some more Park model homes and actually noticed someone moving out, introduced ourselves and got a tour. A young couple moving their recently widowed father back North to be with his family. Sad but a happy ending. We have been walking the dogs at least twice a day, they have been so good adapting to where we are and what we are doing. We got some shopping in Walmart and thrift stores all over the place. I polished up the bicycles and I joined the bicycle club, we (30+ people) bike to a different restaurant every Fri. AM for a breakfast while Jane is at Stained Glass Class........and we bought a 16' x 60' Park Model home, actually the widowed gentleman's home that we just happened to be at the right place at the right time. We cashed in some RRSP accounts that we were saving for retirement.....well I guess we are retired and lucky enough to be in good health. I'll enclose a couple of pictures and try to get more onto facebooks. Until next time...Merry CHRISTMAS to you one and all.
PS: We have our very own orange and grapefruit trees, pick and eat, LOL!

Dec. 10th Update

Strange as it may seem, we have not tried the pool yet and this is day 10 at this Park?? I have to admit that it has been cooler than the last Park but not as windy either. Jane is at her Stained Glass Class and she brought her beach gear with her. I am nursing a cold that I picked up last Tues. I am slowly getting better, but not fast enough for me.
Since we last chatted we found a Sally Ann thrift store, went to a Pot Luck dinner, joined a group to Peter Piper Pizza, played Bingo and walked the dogs a lot. They are amazing, they have learned to hold themselves until we go to the dog compound where they relive themselves. I had to cancel our C/W dance lessons yesterday afternoon because I just am not up to full strength yet, and I was so looking forward to learn the Texas side step....next week!
We had a crew wash and wax the RV yesterday and it looks brand new once again, worth the investment.
I checked to see if we could stay for an extra 2 weeks but Jan. is booked out, darn. We have been viewing Park Models that are for sale and found one that we really like at a good price. We can't do anything about that until our business property (Balsam Station) sells, but at least we now know what is available and as well as the range of pricing. There are always new units coming on the market. We are very happy with this park and Texas too!

We like Texas

We thought that 'FUN N SUN was the best, only to find that we lucked out with 'CASA DEL VALLE' as well, thank goodness since we will be here for a month.
The latter part of last week we view several park Model homes that were for sale. This week we checked out more, here at this site. We are aiming to have a Park Model down here somewhere and keep out 5th wheel at our site in the Kawartha's. We are gathering information and hopefully we will be prepared if and when our remaining properties will sell in Ontario. No final judgment until we visit Arizona.

Jane has signed up for Stained Glass classes and this Thursday we are attending C/W Dance classes, we may join some other dance classes too. Jane has done line dancing in the past and many steps are similar to Country/Western dancing too. We have gone to 2 dances already and I feel so awkward and need help. There are so many activities available. We walk the dogs at least twice per day and they have automatically learned that the doggie park is for their do do's, they haven't pooped on our site yet and today is day 5.....already. We can't believe that we haven't tried the pool yet, we almost went daily at the last park. We have paired up with a nice couple from Kentucky, Pat is 60 and Vic is 80. Vic reminds of Art (Lynda's husband), always smiling with a great sense of humour.
Yesterday we went to a Flea market (Largest in Texas??) with our friends and had a great day and did pick up a few bargains too. Unfortunately we left a parcel there somewhere, a gift for Jane's brother Brian, darn. The big bargain of the day was 18 lbs of oranges or grapefruit for $3 per bag. We bought a bag of each and split with out friends, Like 14 large grapefruit and 48 oranges, divide by 2 and I still don't think we will eat them all.

On Our Way

Our Trip 2010
Our plan was to leave on Nov. 1St, 2010 but we didn't leave until Sat. Nov. 13th. We had two minor complications; Jane had a minor medical issue which had to be resolved prior to leaving and we were notified that the could be a problem with the trailer where the wheels may not be compatible with the axle. As it turned out, Jane's Dr. Gave us the green light to travel and on inspection with a RV mechanic our wheels and axle are a match. We planned for our trip to start Sat. AM, up at 2AM and on the road by 3:30AM. This we did.

Saturday, Nov. 13th
Start: 228,666 Km (555Km)
11:30 to 6:30PM (7hrs)
As we pulled out we noticed we had very little brakes, pedal to the floor. We took it easy and arrived in Beaverton around 4AM and pulled into Aces Auto Repair and slept till 7AM. Aces never opened and Tanners didn't want to touch us. I called Randy Skinner, got him out of his warm bed, explained our plight and asked for his help. His shop (Skinners Auto Repair) is closed Saturdays. He promised to check our brakes at around 8AM. He found a break in one of the lines and was able to repair it while we waited, what a great guy. Needless to say we were a bundle of nerves at that time and nervously pulled away....unfortunately the trailer wasn't hitched properly ?????? don't ask my how or why, everything seemed to be okay....except me, I guess. The trailer crashed down onto the side panels of the truck bed and did some damage. Re-hooked and went for breakfast, I couldn't eat as I just wanted to throw up.
We left Beaverton at 11:30 AM
We crossed the boarder in Sarnia, without incident, and travelled to the first Cracker Barrel at about 6:30 PM. We stayed the night in their parking lot, with their permission, had a hearty breakfast and were on our way.
Marco Polo, our senior shaped, whined for the whole 7 hour trip, 636 Km.

Sunday, Nov. 14th
Start: 229,221 Km (717Km)
9:30 to 6:30 (9hrs)
A nice sunny and cool day. We did have a close call, we locked all 8 wheels for skid stop, some damn tourist didn't know which way to go and stopped on the HWY?? Must have been from Canada, LOL. Jane and I have been screaming at each other too!
We stayed the night at another Cracker Barrel, with permission. We had dinner and a breakfast

before leaving in the morning.
Marco Polo whined for the whole 9 hrs and I had a restless night, nightmares, stress and strain, not my normals self.

Monday, Nov, 15th
Start: 229,938 Km (440 Km)
9:30 to 4:30 (7 hrs)
We started South onto The Natches Trace Parkway from Nashville Tn
An uneventful trip, sunny and cool.The good news is that Marco slept most of the day.
We stayed at Natchez State Park en-route. A beautiful park, pull through site with an awesome view.
We decided to stay two nights.

Tuesday, Nov. 16th
A Rest Day. Cool, quiet, rainy and overcast . A good day to relax.

Wednesday, Nov. 17th
Start:230,378 Km (479Km)
10:00 to 8:00 (10 hrs)
Quick stop for food and fuel and back onto the natchez Pkwy. The Pkwy is very scenic and slow which was great for us. We stopped at a few Historical Sites and a local Craft Gallery






John Gordon Home & Lodge Jeff Busby Historical Site Jeff Busby Natural Campsite

Natchez State Park was closed and being dark at 6PM couldn't find a site I was able to pull into safely. Had to get back onto the Pkwy and hope that we didn't hit a deer (lots in the area). We travelled to Natchez, a Historical Town, crossed the Natchez bridge into Louisiana and found a nice spot in Riverview RV Park on the shores of the mightyMississippi.
Marco Polo was much better today, must be getting use to traveling. Both dogs have been amazing with all the adjustments they have to make in their lifestyle. We are doing much better, less screaming and more team work. My GPS is broken, but Jane thinks she packed hers'.

Thursday, Nov. 18th
Rest Day on the shores of the Mississippi River. A nice boardwalk along the River and lots to see. The day was overcast and cooler than yesterday.

Friday, Nov. 19th
Start: 230,857Km (274 Km) 12 oC
10:00 to 3:00 (5 hrs)
Stayed overnight at Quiet Oaks RV Park, Kinder, La
A quiet off road park with large drive through grass sites, perfect for an overnight stay.



Saturday, Nov. 20th
Start: 231,131Km (499 Km) 13 oC
8:30 to 5:30 (9 hrs)
Sun and clouds, first warm day. Stopped at a seedy place on Hwy 35 Texas, near Hwy 36 (Rockford).

Sunday, Nov. 21th
Start: 231,630 Km (290 Km)
9:00 to 3:00 (6 hrs)
Very hot day and overcast too. Afternoon was blue sky and even hotter. Nice pleasant drive on Hwy 35, missed our planned stop and stayed at Colonia del Rey, Corpus Christie, Tx. Decided to stay 2 to 4 days. Settled on 3 days. Nice RV Site, a little expensive for what they offer.


Monday, Nov. 22nd
Rest Day. Vacuumed, laundry and shopping.
Brought Daisy to doggie spa for a few hours. She wasn't impressed, she felt that we abandoned her but forgave us on our return.





Tuesday, Nov. 23rd
Rest Day.

Wednesday, Nov. 24th
Start: 231,920 Km (255 Km)
9:oo to 12 Noon (3 hrs)
Arrived at First Colony RV Resort as planned, did not like what we saw, did a 'u' turn and went across the road to FUN N SUN, and booked in for a full week. Most impressed Rv Resort. Everyone is so friendly and came for a short stay and stayed, many bought onsite mobile homes. Park models or just parked and stayed. Nice central Texas location. We will be sorry to leave.

Thursday, Nov. 25Th – Thanksgiving Festivities on Site