Jul 1, 2020 - Picnic in Pedigo Park with Paula D

Late this morning Paula and I met at Pedigo Park (a Livingston city park) for a picnic lunch. We found a picnic shelter close to the park entrance, under some large trees. Not only were we well shaded but there also was a wonderful breeze. It was just about perfect. This was our last chance to visit before she hits the road again. Paula was full of stories about some bizarre dealings with Motel 6 and the Livingston Municipal Library. The motel’s internet connection had failed late Friday and they refused to give her a full refund for the...

Jun 30, 2020 - Putting down plywood floor

Over the past two days or so Zac and I have been working on the flooring in the van. In summary, we put down a layer of thick plastic for waterproofing directly on the metal floor, and then screwed wood down on top of that. Getting there involved a bit of difficulty though, but overall went pretty well. Firstly we bought the plastic stuff, which basically felt like an extra-thick contractor trash bag. It was difficult to work with it because there was just so much of it, I couldn't get it to stay still as I moved around on top of it trying...

Jun 25, 2020 - Installing the roof vent

Yesterday we installed out roof fan. Zac was very nervous about cutting a hole in the roof (with good reason). First he measured the 14" by 14" square we would need to cut, and outlined it with sharpie. Then he drilled holes in the corners. However, by the time he got to the second corner to drill a hole and we quickly realized the hole was too close to the light on the roof. At this point Zac was discouraged as we had a hole where we didn't need one, and he felt he had messed up the easiest part. After a bit of a motivation break he moved...

Jun 23, 2020 - We have a van!

We finally have a van! It is a 2005 GMC Savana with a new engine and new rear end, extended. We got it for $3,500 which is awesome. We bought it from a guy in San Antonio who used it for a work van to repair pools. Fortunately no chemicals have ever been stored in it, just equipment. It's not a tall van, but it is nice and long and drives really easily. The only problem is there aren't any windows--that makes backing up difficult. We plan on fixing that eventually! Our first attempt to buy a van didn't go nearly as smoothly. We found a...

Jun 23, 2020 - Visit by Paula D

This morning my roaming friend, Paula D, came to visit me. She is in Livingston for a few days doing the things she needs to do to become a legal Texan. She teaches online English classes for non-native speakers and does some other work online; so she can work from any place where there is good Wi-Fi service. It was good to see her again. We had our lunch in the CARE garden and had a very nice visit.

Jun 13, 2020 - New-to-Me Camera

Earlier this week Lewis, a fellow CARE resident, gave me a 6.0 mega-pixel Sony Cyber-Shot camera from 2006. He said that it is too complicated for him! Of course, it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as the newest models have, but it is still a versatile little camera. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and it came with a multi-function cable, a battery charger and a nice case. It is small enough to fit into one of the pockets in my purse, so I’ll carry it all the time. This morning I took it on a “test drive” in the CARE...

May 31, 2020 - May 24-31, 2020 – Aransas Pass, Texas

May 24-31, 2020 – Aransas Pass, Texas May 24 – I woke up this morning to the coach rocking. The wind was blowing hard. It was a hot and humid day. I spent the day reading and doing crosswords. The folks who were fishing or doing other outdoor activities had a good day for it. There was a picture of the Port Aransas beach which showed people crowded together and obviously not practicing social distancing. Tonight there was a picture of people jammed into a bar at Lake of the Ozarks. They were standing under a sign which asked folks to...

May 30, 2020 - Back On The Road

We left Frisco after 80 days, most of it spent in quarantine mode. We had a blast visiting Kelli, Dan and Kaia but we were ready to get back on the road and it felt good to be on the move again. As we said before we need to be in the Fort Lauderdale area by June 29th but other than that, no plans at all which is what we like! We headed down to Kemah, TX (about 25 miles south of Houston) to visit Dennis’ sister, his nieces and their kids. We didn’t do a whole lot except visit, go for walks and go out to eat a lot now that restrictions have...

May 29, 2020 - Karaoke at CARE

This afternoon after our usual root beer floats, we enjoyed some karaoke entertainment in the multi-purpose room. Kevin and Nancy brought their karaoke equipment, which is very nice and up to date. We had solos by Kevin, Nancy, Mary and Ashley; and I even tried my hand at it for the first time ever. I sang only one song (“Could I Have This Dance”) because I was hoarse from eating the ice cream.

May 26, 2020 - May Update

As of May Zac is no longer working for Rush and the two of us are working online. Zac used his retirement to pay off his car and the title finally came in! It's been posted online, hopefully we can get it sold soon. As soon as the car is sold we'll be buying a van. Then we have to renovate it, put the RV in storage, sell our truck, and be on our way. Everything is coming together! The country is re-opening too, despite our fears that everything would be closed due to COVID. We'll see if it stays that way. If anything we'll be boondocking...

May 23, 2020 - May 17-23, 2020 – Aransas Pass, Texas

May 17-23, 2020 – Aransas Pass, Texas May 17 – It was a sunny day, and the temperature warmed up rapidly. I was able to have the awning out to protect the refrigerator from the sun for the better part of the day. One thing about moving to a different spot for the summer is that the refrigerator will only get the morning sun instead of almost all day. May 18 – It was hot and humid today with very little breeze. Really glad that I have AC. There was one new camper came in today. It looks like folks are beginning to move around more now. The...

May 21, 2020 - Free At Last!

We hope this latest edition of our “travel” journal finds you, and your family, safe and healthy. I put the word travel in quotes because we haven’t been on the road for 80 (!!) days. We left Fredericksburg, TX and headed to watch Kaia for a few days so Kelli could accompany Dan on a business trip. We intended to watch her and stay a few more weeks then get back on the road but all this nonsense derailed our plans. We were going to slowly make our way to Charlotte, NC to attend the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race where we had infield camping...