January 10th, 2007 Wednesday Temp 29.
Well time sure slips by. Since the last update not a lot has happened but I will bring you up to date. Xmas we spent in Atlanta Georgia with Mike. We drove down on Friday before Xmas and came home the day after. While there we did a little sight seeing and visited a kind of Theme Park called Stone Mountain. It is a huge rock mountain that has a carving of some Civil War soldiers on horses on the face, which they also used the side of the mountain for a light show.
It was extremely crowded as one might expect and navigating around was an interesting experience. While there we rode a train around the mountain which seemed to be the most popular thing going on there. It was a modern locomotive pulling open passenger cars which held a LOT of people. The trip around is interesting and had displays of lights and a little show of a guy singing and telling a Christmas story. Trip was probably about 30-40 minutes which paled in comparison of an hour plus wait to get on it. Of course the whole place is designed around shops and eating Kiosks and luring the visitors in to support them. We dropped a few dollars while there so they won't close soon.
While visiting we also made the rounds for eating, taking in Frickers, Maggie Moo's and Starbucks. All over priced but still nice places to eat at.
Traffic on the way down was not to bad till we would hit major cities. Atlanta was certainly the worst. Fortunately we were on the good side of traffic as the opposite side in Atlanta had a 10 mile stand still jam! It still took us about 30-40 minutes to go 2-1/2 miles for our exit.
We left early on the 26th before traffic had a chance to get snarled so it was pretty much a breeze escaping. The rest of the trip was uneventful and just a long drive. 550 miles one way. Got home at 4pm and beat the dark with enough time to relax and catch up on a little rest.
New Years day was spent at home relaxing. The weather has been so warm and we had some days that were in the 60's. Cold right now but going back up into the 50's for the weekend but lot's of rain. Pretty unusual weather for Ohio. Should be in the 20's right now so no reason to complain. Time goes so fast anymore and I finally turned 50 in December. Guess I am officially an old fart now. Whatever!
We had snow on the ground when we returned home from Atlanta but it did not last. We are pretty far behind in snow at the present and with El Nino I don't think we will have to worry about much snow but rain may be the issue and a dry spell this summer.
Well gonna call it updated for now. Not much to report beyond this. So everyone stay warm and to all our friends who are now out West without us, have cool one for us and we will join you in the future.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Turkey Day
November 22, 2006 Temp 52* and sunny
Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner at Bill and Molly's on Thanksgiving. We are going to Deanna's mothers in the morning and will probably end up eating some there first. That would be our normal eating time, and then we eat again at Bill's later that night about 6pm. For years we have always eaten our main meal at Noon. So we will be really stuffed by the end of the day. I love turkey so guess I will get my fill. This is a long weekend for us as I have Thursday and Friday off. Can't believe xmas is zooming up so fast!
For Christmas we will be going to Atlanta to visit Mike. It will be a long drive as we are not used to driving 600 miles in one day. A normal day of traveling for us became 250 miles and off the road by 3pm. We will need to leave nice and early to get there while some daylight exists. Then leave day after Christmas to get back in time to make work....................that's a scary word! Hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. What a change the past year made. We have been in the desert, to the coast of California to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida back to Ohio and going back to work! Funny where life takes you. We have seen beautiful sunsets on the beach and in the mountain surrounded desert, Roadrunner birds, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and lots of changing terrains. We have made lot's of friends and lost some, neither will ever be forgotten. Then coming back to Ohio the first night in March it snowed on us, but when we woke and looked out the window we saw a herd of Whitetail deer foraging in the campground.
So to sum this entry up I think it is appropriate to say that we give thanks to all our family and friends and the wonderful things we experienced and saw. Hopefully many more Thanksgivings will be spent remembering the past ones and those to come. So to all our friends and family, thanks for all the memories and know we love all of you. :)
Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner at Bill and Molly's on Thanksgiving. We are going to Deanna's mothers in the morning and will probably end up eating some there first. That would be our normal eating time, and then we eat again at Bill's later that night about 6pm. For years we have always eaten our main meal at Noon. So we will be really stuffed by the end of the day. I love turkey so guess I will get my fill. This is a long weekend for us as I have Thursday and Friday off. Can't believe xmas is zooming up so fast!
For Christmas we will be going to Atlanta to visit Mike. It will be a long drive as we are not used to driving 600 miles in one day. A normal day of traveling for us became 250 miles and off the road by 3pm. We will need to leave nice and early to get there while some daylight exists. Then leave day after Christmas to get back in time to make work....................that's a scary word! Hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. What a change the past year made. We have been in the desert, to the coast of California to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida back to Ohio and going back to work! Funny where life takes you. We have seen beautiful sunsets on the beach and in the mountain surrounded desert, Roadrunner birds, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and lots of changing terrains. We have made lot's of friends and lost some, neither will ever be forgotten. Then coming back to Ohio the first night in March it snowed on us, but when we woke and looked out the window we saw a herd of Whitetail deer foraging in the campground.
So to sum this entry up I think it is appropriate to say that we give thanks to all our family and friends and the wonderful things we experienced and saw. Hopefully many more Thanksgivings will be spent remembering the past ones and those to come. So to all our friends and family, thanks for all the memories and know we love all of you. :)
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Loss of our friend Mickey
November 6th, 2006
Today our dear friend Mickey Ivey passed away from a heart attack. Following is an article I wrote and used as our home page after his death.
We traveled with Mickey and Patti from late November 2005 till the end of January 2006 when they decided to travel to Yuma and we went to California. They quickly became our best friends and we greatly enjoyed our time we spent with them. Mickey was such a card and always good for a smile and I don't think he had a serious bone in his body. From the times he entertained us with coin and card tricks to him and Patti singing 'On the road again' over the CB radio. We spent our last Thanksgiving with them at Deanna's sisters house in Oklahoma and the last Xmas in Huachuca City Arizona along with New Years Day. While in Huachuca City we visited nearby Tombstone and then went Ghost town hunting while listening to Mickey complain about how the last 30 miles of back road was wearing out his Jeep. Of course he was just giving me hell but it was still funny. While in Huachuca City they decided to trade their Motor home for a 5th wheel trailer, which was quite a change and totally unexpected. After New Years Day we made our way towards Quartzsite which was our original destination for our rally. Once arriving in Quartzsite we made camp 3 miles back in the desert. We were like meat and potatoes with Mickey and Patti and went everywhere together.
When they left the desert they headed for cleaner ground in Yuma while we stayed behind to finalize the deal on our house. We shortly thereafter left for California and did not connect with Mickey and Patti till they came to Ohio to visit us in July. They were on their way to South Dakota to make that their resident state. We enjoyed a great visit with them while showing them some sites around here and take Patti to the Johnny Appleseed Museum which she was tickled with when she saw the sign. They spent a weekend with us before heading northwest. We then again saw them in September prior to them attending the Escapade Rally, that would be the last time we saw our friend smiling.
During a visit to Las Vegas to surprise a friend of Patti's Mickey told Patti he did not feel well and was going to stay at the RV while she went with her friend to sightsee. Patti was reluctant to go but under persuasion from Mickey gave in and went. Patti called mid afternoon and he said he was feeling better and for her to enjoy her visit and take her time. She called a couple hours later and received no answer. Upon returning to the RV she found him to late to administer any help. Apparently he had suffered a massive heart attack. Unfortunately Mickey had several signs of heart issues and chose to ignore them calling them indigestion and such.
Mickey leaves behind a large family of a son and daughters and recently had become a Grandpa. It is a sad day for all of his friends. Mickey never made an enemy and was instantly friends with anyone he came into contact with. He authored a great computer program called RVnotebook . His passing leaves voids in many many peoples hearts but especially his dear wife Patti. She is doing as well as can be expected but is lost without her rock. Fortunately our friend was able to enjoy the last year of his life doing what he had longed to do and with whom he loved the most.
They were such a great couple together and smiled all the time. They enjoyed seeing so much together and Patti got to visit many states she otherwise may have never have been able to see. The memories and things they experienced will last her forever and the times we spent with them will last just as long. I spoke with Mickey nearly every weekend since we went our different ways. Unfortunately I did not speak with him the weekend prior to his death as I did not want to bother them while they were entertaining friends. I so regret that now but hindsight is useless in this case. So in respect to our dear friend we dedicate this page in his honor for the friendship and times we shared with him and Patti. Farewell my friend we will miss you very much as will all your friends. Keep an eye on all of us and don't let us do the stupid things we are bound to do otherwise. The next world is lucky to have you while we are cheated your presence. For our dearest friend Patti, know we love you and will always stay in touch... Your best friends and travel companions Tab n Deanna..........................
For those still with us please take this as a lesson, do not ignore any signs of health issues. They may be an inconvenience now, but could be a life saver. As always my friend is still teaching others
Here is a copy of a blog entry to say what kind of guy he was.
A special note from Mickey:
This blog is for family, friends and anyone else that may stop by. Most of the content is about our travels and what wonderful things we have seen and the many great friends we have met. When we get a chance to visit with family we obviously love to share our time with them with all readers. They’re special.
I have been truly blessed with 4 great kids, 3 stunning grandchildren and a daughter-in-law and son-in-law that are beyond wonderful. I am so proud of each and every one of them. By the way, my new granddaughter WILL be President of the United States one day. Andrew, my oldest grandson, will be a very successful businessman (or sportscaster for NBC) and Shawn, the youngest grandson, is destined to be a great athlete making lots of money. I love them all very much.
If you would like to read some notes and comments about this great guy, go here.
Here is a piece that Tony Cornett (Firedude) posted on his blog:
I recieved some bad news yesterday. Mickey Ivey passed away unexpectidly day before yesterday. Many may connect him as the Author of RVnotebook the software program for Rv'ers. Mickey's passing is such a tremendous loss to the RV community. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Patti his wife, the families and all of the RV community. I had the pleasure to meet Mickey and Patti last January in Quartzsite at the '05 Graduating Class of Full-timers and enjoyed my time with them both as well as all the other wonderful people from RV.net and the Escapees I met. Mickey made such a positive impact on RV'ing and the entire RV community along with everyone he met. Mickey was truly the best. God speed my friend.
Here is a piece that Tony Cornett (Firedude) posted on his blog:
I recieved some bad news yesterday. Mickey Ivey passed away unexpectidly day before yesterday. Many may connect him as the Author of RVnotebook the software program for Rv'ers. Mickey's passing is such a tremendous loss to the RV community. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Patti his wife, the families and all of the RV community. I had the pleasure to meet Mickey and Patti last January in Quartzsite at the '05 Graduating Class of Full-timers and enjoyed my time with them both as well as all the other wonderful people from RV.net and the Escapees I met. Mickey made such a positive impact on RV'ing and the entire RV community along with everyone he met. Mickey was truly the best. God speed my friend.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Party's and History
Sunday October 8th, 2006 Temperature 46 * Burrrr!
Yesterday was our youngest grand daughters first birthday. Tabby turns 1! Unbelievable how many presents she got! For someone who has no clue she should still be pretty tickled! Several generations of family attended her big bash which we celebrated with CHOCOLATE CAKE and ice cream. Can't go wrong with that combination. It must have taken 30 mintues to open all the packages. Can't imagine what Xmas will be like or what anyone could buy that she has not already gotten! She is so cute and was in such a great mood playing with ribbons and chewing on cards. Then it came time to give her the cake. She just kind of picked at it first but eventually ended up with her foot in the cake. First birthdays are always fun for everyone. Some pictures below.
As you can see she now has her ears pierced. She sure looks cute with the little diamonds!
Happy Birthday Tabby!
As a side note to Tabby's birthday, when we went to pick up Deanna's mother in nearby New Carlisle, they have this crazy deal they do every year called parade of planes. The local airport provides the planes which include probably 30 planes and they make a pass thru the town. Now that sounds interesting and normally it would be but we were trying to get to Deanna's mothers and there was no way to get there. Almost a square 1/4 mile of the town was shut off due to the parade. No one in or out in a vehicle. Took us an hour and half to get to her and back out. Seems like a crazy plan to us. Can't believe they were routing commercial trucks thru side streets of town. I know I would not have wanted to pull our 5th wheel that route let alone a 55' trailer 14' high. I stopped and talked to one of the deputys directing traffic and he noted he had never seen such a crazy deal himself. SO avoid that are the first weekend in Octber if you are towing or trailering!
I thought I would post some history about the town we lived in for the last 28 years. I bought a house here in 1978 and with the exception of last year while we were traveling have always lived in the same house. Of course now the oldest boy and his wife own it and we still live fulltime in our RV but currently back in St. Paris. Anyway it is a little community that was founded in 1831 and is the 11th county in the state. This town was a big producer of alcohol back in the early days. The sour mash leftovers were given to the local pig farmers. At one time 800 gallons of liquor was produced a day. Later the town became a dry town although now it does allow the sale of beer and wine but when I first moved up here they did not. Eventually a city block of the town burned down from a fire that stated in the back of a feed store. The biggest thing this town lays fame to is the factorys that built Pony Wagon Carts. Apparently there were several of them and they celebrate the history of this every year with a festival. the festival leaves a lot to be desired but the community seems to enjoy it. During the last festival in Septemeber (annually) they dedicated a plaque on Springfield street which was an item of interest of something I never knew about. Back in 1865 when President Lincoln was assinated his funeral train passed thru here and stopped for a brief moment to allow morners to lay a wreath on the coffin. Personally I find this a more notable item of interest than the pony wagon thing but that's me. In the nearby town of Fletcher there is a man who wrote a book called the Lincoln Funeral Train by Scott D. Trostel. He writes about the journey the train took from Washington Dc to Springfield Il,. The tracks that carried this famous President thru Saint Paris have now been removed and are just about 150 yards south of the commercial building we own here in town. So from now on when someone asks me what the town is famous for I have an answer of my own. This is a question I always like to ask whenever we are travelling and stop in small towns because every town has its link to history. So there is a new task for you to take on. Ask next time you are in a little bazzar town how they came to be. Here is a link to the path of the train. http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/WHMC/WHMC-LFTR-01.html
Below is a picture of the plaque.
Yesterday was our youngest grand daughters first birthday. Tabby turns 1! Unbelievable how many presents she got! For someone who has no clue she should still be pretty tickled! Several generations of family attended her big bash which we celebrated with CHOCOLATE CAKE and ice cream. Can't go wrong with that combination. It must have taken 30 mintues to open all the packages. Can't imagine what Xmas will be like or what anyone could buy that she has not already gotten! She is so cute and was in such a great mood playing with ribbons and chewing on cards. Then it came time to give her the cake. She just kind of picked at it first but eventually ended up with her foot in the cake. First birthdays are always fun for everyone. Some pictures below.
As you can see she now has her ears pierced. She sure looks cute with the little diamonds!
Happy Birthday Tabby!
As a side note to Tabby's birthday, when we went to pick up Deanna's mother in nearby New Carlisle, they have this crazy deal they do every year called parade of planes. The local airport provides the planes which include probably 30 planes and they make a pass thru the town. Now that sounds interesting and normally it would be but we were trying to get to Deanna's mothers and there was no way to get there. Almost a square 1/4 mile of the town was shut off due to the parade. No one in or out in a vehicle. Took us an hour and half to get to her and back out. Seems like a crazy plan to us. Can't believe they were routing commercial trucks thru side streets of town. I know I would not have wanted to pull our 5th wheel that route let alone a 55' trailer 14' high. I stopped and talked to one of the deputys directing traffic and he noted he had never seen such a crazy deal himself. SO avoid that are the first weekend in Octber if you are towing or trailering!
I thought I would post some history about the town we lived in for the last 28 years. I bought a house here in 1978 and with the exception of last year while we were traveling have always lived in the same house. Of course now the oldest boy and his wife own it and we still live fulltime in our RV but currently back in St. Paris. Anyway it is a little community that was founded in 1831 and is the 11th county in the state. This town was a big producer of alcohol back in the early days. The sour mash leftovers were given to the local pig farmers. At one time 800 gallons of liquor was produced a day. Later the town became a dry town although now it does allow the sale of beer and wine but when I first moved up here they did not. Eventually a city block of the town burned down from a fire that stated in the back of a feed store. The biggest thing this town lays fame to is the factorys that built Pony Wagon Carts. Apparently there were several of them and they celebrate the history of this every year with a festival. the festival leaves a lot to be desired but the community seems to enjoy it. During the last festival in Septemeber (annually) they dedicated a plaque on Springfield street which was an item of interest of something I never knew about. Back in 1865 when President Lincoln was assinated his funeral train passed thru here and stopped for a brief moment to allow morners to lay a wreath on the coffin. Personally I find this a more notable item of interest than the pony wagon thing but that's me. In the nearby town of Fletcher there is a man who wrote a book called the Lincoln Funeral Train by Scott D. Trostel. He writes about the journey the train took from Washington Dc to Springfield Il,. The tracks that carried this famous President thru Saint Paris have now been removed and are just about 150 yards south of the commercial building we own here in town. So from now on when someone asks me what the town is famous for I have an answer of my own. This is a question I always like to ask whenever we are travelling and stop in small towns because every town has its link to history. So there is a new task for you to take on. Ask next time you are in a little bazzar town how they came to be. Here is a link to the path of the train. http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/WHMC/WHMC-LFTR-01.html
Below is a picture of the plaque.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Sharks!
Friday October 6th 2006, Temperature 40* YIKES!
Well time to catch up on the blog. Been almost 3 weeks. Amazing where the time goes cause it sure doesn't seem like it.
A couple of weeks ago we took Jordan and Jessica to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. We haven't been there for about 3 years. The kids loved the adventure. It is interesting to see all the different types of fish in the world and also that the most colorfull seem to be salt water fish. The are brilliant in blues and reds. Several of the walk ways go over top of ponds and the bridges have see thru floors, Jordan had a good time telling Jessie that she would fall thru and especially the one that had alligators swimming underneath! They had different displays of all parts of the world with the fish and animals in their natural habitat.
There are tunnels that you can walk thru on the way that are covered by see thru arches. This would be the big aquarium that the sharks and rays swim in. There were a couple of divers in the aquarium trying to feed the sharks. That was pretty cool. Never did see any of them take the food though. Could be because most of the larger ones had wetsuit stuck in their teeth! :) Just kidding. There were some large ones swimming with them though. Some probably 10 feet or so long. The glass is a little deceptive as it curves it also seems to magnify, though not a lot.
One of the stops was the shark petting area! Yep you can pet a real shark. It is a big pool that several sharks are just constantly swimming in circles in and when they come by you can reach down and pet them. You are suppose to do it with your first two fingers pointing out and just touch them as they swim by. They do tell you not to splash in the water or try to pet them in front of their eyes. Interesting feel, kind of stiff swede leather texture. Some were probably as large as 3 feet. I believe they were Reef sharks or some such thing not the famous White Sharks that often make meals of arms and legs! Jordan couldn't wait to pet them and spent quite a bit of time doing so, Jessie on the other hand was quite a bit more hesitant but did finally do it and then we couldn't get her to stop.
There were also great displays of Penquins and otters. It is interesting to watch them and their actions. There were a couple of baby Penquins which is kind of funny because they are covered with what looks like fur and are all puffed up and as large as the adults! They just stand around and decide all of the sudden to dive into the water swim a while then back out. Funny to watch them waddle.
A week or so ago Janice and Dean came by to visit and I helped Dean install some stabilizers on their 5th wheel. We first met them last year at the Escapade and they are also part of the 05 Graduating class of Fulltimers. They just spent one night but we had a great time. After doing the work on the Rv we took them to Youngs Dairy for dinner although they bought. We ate and then ordered dessert of course. I had the Buckey which was chocolate with peanut butter mixed it topped with Hot fudge and a huge buckeye on top. WAY too much for one sitting! Well they took off the next morning in hopes of beating the incoming rain. They are now in Tennessee near Knoxville.
Tonight the moon was HUGE! Just coming over the horizon. Quite a sight and it is full on top of that!
Well that is a quick update on the latest, I will post some more soon. As this weekend is Tabitha's first birthday and we will be taking some pictures of hopefully a very messy little girl. :) Deanna's sister from Oklahoma is coming in this weekend also.
Well time to catch up on the blog. Been almost 3 weeks. Amazing where the time goes cause it sure doesn't seem like it.
A couple of weeks ago we took Jordan and Jessica to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. We haven't been there for about 3 years. The kids loved the adventure. It is interesting to see all the different types of fish in the world and also that the most colorfull seem to be salt water fish. The are brilliant in blues and reds. Several of the walk ways go over top of ponds and the bridges have see thru floors, Jordan had a good time telling Jessie that she would fall thru and especially the one that had alligators swimming underneath! They had different displays of all parts of the world with the fish and animals in their natural habitat.
There are tunnels that you can walk thru on the way that are covered by see thru arches. This would be the big aquarium that the sharks and rays swim in. There were a couple of divers in the aquarium trying to feed the sharks. That was pretty cool. Never did see any of them take the food though. Could be because most of the larger ones had wetsuit stuck in their teeth! :) Just kidding. There were some large ones swimming with them though. Some probably 10 feet or so long. The glass is a little deceptive as it curves it also seems to magnify, though not a lot.
One of the stops was the shark petting area! Yep you can pet a real shark. It is a big pool that several sharks are just constantly swimming in circles in and when they come by you can reach down and pet them. You are suppose to do it with your first two fingers pointing out and just touch them as they swim by. They do tell you not to splash in the water or try to pet them in front of their eyes. Interesting feel, kind of stiff swede leather texture. Some were probably as large as 3 feet. I believe they were Reef sharks or some such thing not the famous White Sharks that often make meals of arms and legs! Jordan couldn't wait to pet them and spent quite a bit of time doing so, Jessie on the other hand was quite a bit more hesitant but did finally do it and then we couldn't get her to stop.
There were also great displays of Penquins and otters. It is interesting to watch them and their actions. There were a couple of baby Penquins which is kind of funny because they are covered with what looks like fur and are all puffed up and as large as the adults! They just stand around and decide all of the sudden to dive into the water swim a while then back out. Funny to watch them waddle.
A week or so ago Janice and Dean came by to visit and I helped Dean install some stabilizers on their 5th wheel. We first met them last year at the Escapade and they are also part of the 05 Graduating class of Fulltimers. They just spent one night but we had a great time. After doing the work on the Rv we took them to Youngs Dairy for dinner although they bought. We ate and then ordered dessert of course. I had the Buckey which was chocolate with peanut butter mixed it topped with Hot fudge and a huge buckeye on top. WAY too much for one sitting! Well they took off the next morning in hopes of beating the incoming rain. They are now in Tennessee near Knoxville.
Tonight the moon was HUGE! Just coming over the horizon. Quite a sight and it is full on top of that!
Well that is a quick update on the latest, I will post some more soon. As this weekend is Tabitha's first birthday and we will be taking some pictures of hopefully a very messy little girl. :) Deanna's sister from Oklahoma is coming in this weekend also.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Re-union Rally and BOOM!
Sunday September 17th, 2006 Temperature 82*
Time for a quick update. We left on Friday night headed to Celina for a quick re-union with some fulltime classmates. The rally was at Mercer County Fairgrounds which is just a couple of blocks away from Ohio's largest inland lake, Lake St. Marys. It was built many years ago to flood the Erie Canal to pass boats from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. Now it is just a recreational lake and State Park. Anyway, we met up with old friends Patti and Mickey, Terry and Dale, Janice and Dean, Jeff and Sue and Smokey and Pam. The rally was being held here as most of these folks are going to the week long Escapade gathering for fulltimers. We chose not to go this year but wanted to meet up with our friends. There were several new faces at the rally that are 06 and 07 Classmates. Was great to put names and faces together. We had a great time eating and gathering around the campfire to swap travel storys and made a pass around the group to hear what each person liked about fulltiming. Most everyone agreed it is the freedom to go where ever you want. All except Janice and Dean left about 9:30 for the Escapade which was just down the road at Van Wert Ohio. We packed up and left shortly thereafter. Only about an hour and 15 minutes to get home. It was our first trip with the truck and trailer with the new air ride seats. Previous trips were just 5 mile jaunts and not enough to make a judgement about how well they would work. Well seems they work just fine and the comfort is pretty good. That is a real good thing. :)
SO, anyway I got home and decided it was a good opportunity to move my satellite dish from the roof to the pole I put up. 28' pole with 4' in the ground. Braced it to the building and moved the dish and antenna. Got that done and can now move on to the next project. While hooking up the cables Gary ( our Tenant in our apartment) comes back and shows me a picture and says "what do you think about this?" HOLY SHIT! THOSE ARE MORTAR ROUNDS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THEM? He said he cleaned out a basement and found them when he got home, they were hidden in a milk crate. "What should I do?" he asked. Call the friggin sherriff and have them get hold of the Bomb squad at Wright Patterson AFB. He contacted the cops and they promptly contacted WPAFB. Said they would have a crew there in about 90 minutes. Well 90 minutes later up pulls the Bomb Squad, EMS unit 2 cop cars and a Fire Engine with 10 guys and a girl on it. I was standing at he garage door and the 2 BS guys go in with the cop and Gary. I heard them tell the cop they were inert mortars. Well by now the 10 fire and ems guys are just outside the door and one of the Bomb Squad guys comes carrying one of them out and pretends to trip and drop the mortar screaming "OH SHIT! HAHAHAHA, should have seen the faces of the Fire engine crew! Priceless! Great humor on the Bomb Squad guys part. After all, the Fire Engine is parked 60 yards away on main street and all the volunteers are at the garage, so if one of these were to blow up, who is gonna go get the fire hose! LOL ! Pretty silly drill I would think. Well, they took the mortars and went home without incident. Interesting day I must say. Last year Gary found a live Tank Missle while cleaning out a garage! Cops told him to leave it in the truck and get the HELL OUT of it! LOL! Only Gary..................................
Never a dull day!
Time for a quick update. We left on Friday night headed to Celina for a quick re-union with some fulltime classmates. The rally was at Mercer County Fairgrounds which is just a couple of blocks away from Ohio's largest inland lake, Lake St. Marys. It was built many years ago to flood the Erie Canal to pass boats from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. Now it is just a recreational lake and State Park. Anyway, we met up with old friends Patti and Mickey, Terry and Dale, Janice and Dean, Jeff and Sue and Smokey and Pam. The rally was being held here as most of these folks are going to the week long Escapade gathering for fulltimers. We chose not to go this year but wanted to meet up with our friends. There were several new faces at the rally that are 06 and 07 Classmates. Was great to put names and faces together. We had a great time eating and gathering around the campfire to swap travel storys and made a pass around the group to hear what each person liked about fulltiming. Most everyone agreed it is the freedom to go where ever you want. All except Janice and Dean left about 9:30 for the Escapade which was just down the road at Van Wert Ohio. We packed up and left shortly thereafter. Only about an hour and 15 minutes to get home. It was our first trip with the truck and trailer with the new air ride seats. Previous trips were just 5 mile jaunts and not enough to make a judgement about how well they would work. Well seems they work just fine and the comfort is pretty good. That is a real good thing. :)
SO, anyway I got home and decided it was a good opportunity to move my satellite dish from the roof to the pole I put up. 28' pole with 4' in the ground. Braced it to the building and moved the dish and antenna. Got that done and can now move on to the next project. While hooking up the cables Gary ( our Tenant in our apartment) comes back and shows me a picture and says "what do you think about this?" HOLY SHIT! THOSE ARE MORTAR ROUNDS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THEM? He said he cleaned out a basement and found them when he got home, they were hidden in a milk crate. "What should I do?" he asked. Call the friggin sherriff and have them get hold of the Bomb squad at Wright Patterson AFB. He contacted the cops and they promptly contacted WPAFB. Said they would have a crew there in about 90 minutes. Well 90 minutes later up pulls the Bomb Squad, EMS unit 2 cop cars and a Fire Engine with 10 guys and a girl on it. I was standing at he garage door and the 2 BS guys go in with the cop and Gary. I heard them tell the cop they were inert mortars. Well by now the 10 fire and ems guys are just outside the door and one of the Bomb Squad guys comes carrying one of them out and pretends to trip and drop the mortar screaming "OH SHIT! HAHAHAHA, should have seen the faces of the Fire engine crew! Priceless! Great humor on the Bomb Squad guys part. After all, the Fire Engine is parked 60 yards away on main street and all the volunteers are at the garage, so if one of these were to blow up, who is gonna go get the fire hose! LOL ! Pretty silly drill I would think. Well, they took the mortars and went home without incident. Interesting day I must say. Last year Gary found a live Tank Missle while cleaning out a garage! Cops told him to leave it in the truck and get the HELL OUT of it! LOL! Only Gary..................................
Never a dull day!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Week in Review
September 9th, 2006 Saturday. Temperature 68*
Well vacation is almost over and so is the camping. We left the Lake Friday morning. Ken and Kathy will be leaving shortly here this morning. They are headed to Hershey Pa. to vend at a show. They sell a fantastic tape called Rescue Tape. This is the greastest stuff since buttons on a shirt! It completely replaces electrical tape. It is a silicon based tape and has no adhesive. It fuses to itself. Once left it will cure into a solid piece of silicon providing a water tight seal for electric wires. Beats the crap out of electrical tape which gets all gooey when hot. The other nice thing is this stuff will seal pressure. I tested it a while back on an air hose. I wrapped it will about 5 wraps and turned on the pressure and wa-la. No leak. That is holding about 120 psi. It is all I use now. Worth keeping in your car for an emergency like a leaking radiator or heater hose.
Well Thursday was an interesting day at the lake. Janice and Dean came up to the lake and brought Chicken and Slaw. Kathy made Pasta salad and Deanna made Baked beans and Mac and Cheese. Doni had a doctors appointment and when she came back she brought Ice Cream and fixin's. So we stuffed ourselves and then topped it all off with dessert.
I found this HUGE catapilar crawling along and had to collect it for a photo opportunity. As you can see it is quite large. I saw the Naturalist Debbie at the park and asked her what it was and she told us it is a Hickory Horned Devil, it turns into a moth and apparently quite a large one! Shortly thereafter I found this HUGE spider which I did not get a picture of but it was about 2-1/2" diameter. Debbie said that it was a purse spider as it was carrying a egg sac on it's belly. Said it will bite pretty hard and that it was a part of the Wolf spider group. Didn't pick it up to examine :) .
A link to what this creature turns into is here.
Now for the real excitement. about a 100 yards away a couple of cars pull up and out get a man a woman and a girl in what looked like a Jeanie costume. They proceed to take lots of pictures. Curious as I am, I take the dog for a walk and while walking that way I see this girl pull off her top and change! Now we are not talking shyly either. As I am coming back past she comes over and wants to pet Major. I asked her if they were doing a photo shoot and she says yes but they did not know what magazine yet as they will submit it to several. She was originally from Arizona and now living in Springfield. So I wander back to the campsite and must confess that all of the guys were watching in anticipation with binoculars :) Now mind you there are 8 of us all together and most of us are watching this curious happening. Well sure enough how many pictures can you take of Tinkerbell? Time to change. Off came the top to change to a Bikini (in the open again of course) then OFF COME THE BOTTOMS! WE (being the guys) decided she was a real blonde! :) :) By this time they realize we are watching, (ARE THEY BLIND, WE HAVE BEEN OGGLING FOR AN HOUR) so now she has the nerve to flip us off. HA! The trick is on you, we got the show. WOW, never thought I would have seen that at the park but can't say I am disappointed (insert evil grin here) . Of course the women thought we were terrible for watching all of this, HELLO McFLY! NOW WHERE have THEY BEEN! Have they forgotten WHO we ARE?
Anyway we finished off the evening with a huge campfire and enjoyed each others storys of traveling over the past year and spoke of future travels and destinations. Was sure a great week to camp. Cool at night and not to hot during the day. Only rain we saw was Tuesday night and it rained for long enough we were getting a little worried about whether or not we would be able to get out.
My modifications seemed to be beneficial to the heating system as it performed much better than before with temperatures getting down in the 50's at night.
Here is a picuture of the Buzzards that hang out in this tree in the morning and evening.
Picture of Ken and Kathy's new rig parked at Camp Pulltab.
Couple of pictures from our mini rally at Kiser Lake.
Well vacation is almost over and so is the camping. We left the Lake Friday morning. Ken and Kathy will be leaving shortly here this morning. They are headed to Hershey Pa. to vend at a show. They sell a fantastic tape called Rescue Tape. This is the greastest stuff since buttons on a shirt! It completely replaces electrical tape. It is a silicon based tape and has no adhesive. It fuses to itself. Once left it will cure into a solid piece of silicon providing a water tight seal for electric wires. Beats the crap out of electrical tape which gets all gooey when hot. The other nice thing is this stuff will seal pressure. I tested it a while back on an air hose. I wrapped it will about 5 wraps and turned on the pressure and wa-la. No leak. That is holding about 120 psi. It is all I use now. Worth keeping in your car for an emergency like a leaking radiator or heater hose.
Well Thursday was an interesting day at the lake. Janice and Dean came up to the lake and brought Chicken and Slaw. Kathy made Pasta salad and Deanna made Baked beans and Mac and Cheese. Doni had a doctors appointment and when she came back she brought Ice Cream and fixin's. So we stuffed ourselves and then topped it all off with dessert.
I found this HUGE catapilar crawling along and had to collect it for a photo opportunity. As you can see it is quite large. I saw the Naturalist Debbie at the park and asked her what it was and she told us it is a Hickory Horned Devil, it turns into a moth and apparently quite a large one! Shortly thereafter I found this HUGE spider which I did not get a picture of but it was about 2-1/2" diameter. Debbie said that it was a purse spider as it was carrying a egg sac on it's belly. Said it will bite pretty hard and that it was a part of the Wolf spider group. Didn't pick it up to examine :) .
A link to what this creature turns into is here.
Now for the real excitement. about a 100 yards away a couple of cars pull up and out get a man a woman and a girl in what looked like a Jeanie costume. They proceed to take lots of pictures. Curious as I am, I take the dog for a walk and while walking that way I see this girl pull off her top and change! Now we are not talking shyly either. As I am coming back past she comes over and wants to pet Major. I asked her if they were doing a photo shoot and she says yes but they did not know what magazine yet as they will submit it to several. She was originally from Arizona and now living in Springfield. So I wander back to the campsite and must confess that all of the guys were watching in anticipation with binoculars :) Now mind you there are 8 of us all together and most of us are watching this curious happening. Well sure enough how many pictures can you take of Tinkerbell? Time to change. Off came the top to change to a Bikini (in the open again of course) then OFF COME THE BOTTOMS! WE (being the guys) decided she was a real blonde! :) :) By this time they realize we are watching, (ARE THEY BLIND, WE HAVE BEEN OGGLING FOR AN HOUR) so now she has the nerve to flip us off. HA! The trick is on you, we got the show. WOW, never thought I would have seen that at the park but can't say I am disappointed (insert evil grin here) . Of course the women thought we were terrible for watching all of this, HELLO McFLY! NOW WHERE have THEY BEEN! Have they forgotten WHO we ARE?
Anyway we finished off the evening with a huge campfire and enjoyed each others storys of traveling over the past year and spoke of future travels and destinations. Was sure a great week to camp. Cool at night and not to hot during the day. Only rain we saw was Tuesday night and it rained for long enough we were getting a little worried about whether or not we would be able to get out.
My modifications seemed to be beneficial to the heating system as it performed much better than before with temperatures getting down in the 50's at night.
Here is a picuture of the Buzzards that hang out in this tree in the morning and evening.
Picture of Ken and Kathy's new rig parked at Camp Pulltab.
Couple of pictures from our mini rally at Kiser Lake.
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