Day 31 - Thursday, December 11 - Slow Day

 We mostly just enjoyed the nice day today. The high was a sunny 79 degrees. It got pretty warm in the coach by early evening but we haven't turned the AC on today. It has cooled down to 69 outside, on its way down to an overnight low of 64. 

My activities of the day were vacuuming the car, reading some info I found on our  coach levelling system, figuring out how to open the control box and checking some fuses. The fuses were OK. Not sure what the next troubleshooting step will be. Maybe pulling in the slides and having Kathy work the jacks up and down while I watch the LED's on the board.

I did manage to get in a 4.1 mile bicycle ride, in 33 minutes, before supper. That is good for me but not all the good since the campground is pretty flat and the streets are paved.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 30 - Wednesday, December 10 - Potluck Day

 Kathy baked cookies and pies this morning. The cookies were for something going on this morning and the pies were for the campground potluck in the afternoon. 

I dropped her off at the clubhouse, with  the cookies, and then went over to Planet Fitness where I got in a 75 minute workout.

In the afternoon she made a big salad for the potluck, to go with the pies. I washed the car. There were about 40 people at the potluck. I sat across from a retired house painter. He lives about an hours drive north of Minneapolis/St Paul during the summer. He and his wife have a park model unit and fly back and forth. Almost hard to believe but during the Winter Texan season there is a nonstop flight from MSP to Harlingen, 3 hours in the air instead of a 3 day, 1,500 mile drive.

Weather was beautiful again today. High temp was a mostly sunny 84 degrees. Even though we had the windows open the coach was warm when we returned from the potluck. We turned the AC on to cool things down.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 29 - Tuesday, December 9 - Nachos

 Today's Happy Hour at the Clubhouse featured a singer who performed from 3:30-5:00. Kathy put pulled together everything needed for Nachos and a bunch of ladies served them to those who attended. We brought the leftovers back to the coach so that she could repackage the leftovers, clean up and send me back to the clubhouse to put the repackaged stuff in the refrigerator. The Nachos were excellent.

While she, and other ladies, were getting things set up I got in a 6.25 mile bicycle ride around the campground. The weather was great. The high was 74, it was mostly sunny with only a modest breeze.

I forgot to mention that Kathy told me about a speaker they had at yesterdays information meeting. The lady works with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Tourism Department. The lady asked people to get how many Winter Texans come to the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The answer is over 100,000 every winter. They spend over $1 BILLION while they are here.

The other thing I forgot to mention was something that caused me sadness. We drove by the former site of Johnny's True Value Hardware and, after the fire, all that is left is a dirt lot. Seeing the empty lot was traumatic. OK, maybe not traumatic but it was a great hardware store, I loved going there. Check it out from previous posts.

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/days-112-113-114-thursday-friday.html 

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/days-30-31-tuesday-wednesday-january-2.html

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 26, 27 & 28 - Saturday, Son Day & Monday, December 6, 7 & 8 -

Saturday - We just hung around the campground. Harlingen has a downtown Street Market on the first Saturday of the month. The last one we went to was January 2024.  https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/day-34-saturday-january-6-flea-market.html     We thought it was time to go again but the morning was cool and damp so we decided to wait for the next one. In the afternoon I did get in a 5.8 mile bicycle ride.

Sunday, Son Day, Sun Day - Kathy went to the campground service, I slept in. We both went to the Cowboy Church service. The sun was out, what a nice change. It got up to 86 degrees. In the evening I managed 40 minutes on the campground treadmill.

Monday - Kathy went to the 9:30 information meeting. I went to Planet Fitness and go in an hour long workout. It was my first time at the gym since July 22, I could  tell it had been far to long. We went grocery shopping; to Sam's Club and HEB. Kathy is cooking for for some campground event tomorrow. We bought a few groceries for us and more for her to use for tomorrow (hamburger, salsa, chips, etc). When we got home she cooked up a roaster full of hamburger, which we later took over and put in the campground refrigerator. She spent some time in the puzzle room. I just screwed around. 😊 I've been to lazy, or not bold enough, to try tearing into the hydraulic levelling controls. Got to quit procrastinating. Todays high was only 65, but the sun was out again and it felt nice, as long as you were in the sun.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 25 - Friday, December 5 - Another Slow Day DRAFT

 It was another cloudy, cool day here in south Texas, the high was 62.

Kathy spent some time in the puzzle room, both in the morning and again in the afternoon. She also helped me "play" with  the levelling jacks. We pulled in the slides and raised all the jacks so that I could top off the fluid again. It took 8 oz this time. 

We then levelled the coach again. The drivers side rear jack that had been leaking doesn't appear to be leaking, at least not nearly as bad as it had been PTL. The drivers side front jack still doesn't want to hold pressure. I put it back down a couple of times. I want to think it does a little better every time I do it, but I think that is just wishful thinking. 

I think this is the controller for the auto levelling system. Tomorrow I may get bold enough to try and figure out how to get it open so that I can check the fuses.

In the afternoon I regened our RV water softener. I did manage a 5 mile bicycle ride in the evening.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 24 - Thursday, December 4 - Just a Few Errands

 Rain had been forecast for today. No rain, instead we got cloudy, breezy, damp and a high in the mid 50's, just not a nice day for south Texas.

Kathy went over to the clubhouse puzzle room for part of the day. I did a few errands; Walmart, Planet Fitness & Sam's. I only went to Planet Fitness to make sure my membership was still active. 

No matter how much we are down here I don't think we will every get used to how many people there are around here. Traffic in parking lots is crazy! It isn't that people are discourteous, it's just that there are so many entering and leaving the lots. There are lots of people in the stores but there are also a lot of people to check them out. Lines aren't overly long. The looooong line is at the Sam's lunch counter. Every time I've been in the store there is a long line of people waiting to pick up snacks. Today there were over 20 people in line, maybe 30.

Just kind of a ho hum day.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and your. He has blessed me.

Day 23 - Wednesday, December 3 - DonWes Flea Market

 This morning we drove over to Donna, TX, about 20 miles west of us, to go to the DonWes Flea Market. We had two reasons for going; we wanted to get a bag of grapefruit, the DonWes fruit and vegetable stand had good grapefruit, and also we like a pizza place that is just down the street from the flea market. Somehow a big bag of Kettlecorn also found it way into my shopping bag while we were there. There were surprisingly few vendors and people at the flea market. 

Our pizza was good. The place now has a lunch buffet. I think we will go for that the next time we are over there. A group of 9 construction workers came in while we were there. They all got the buffet. Two of the 9 weighed less than 200#. Three of them weighed over 300# and I bet one of them went over 400#. The place lost money on those guys.

As we drove the back way home we reminisced about our last trip to the flea market, last spring. We went because we wanted to get a bag of grapefruit and a bag of onions to take back to MO. It was raining. On the back way home we stopped for lunch at a Long John Silvers. We waded ankle deep water to get in and out  of the restaurant. As we drove by the site all that is left is the LJS sign. Its just a bare dirt lot.

A photo of last years grapefruit and onions: https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/days-117-118-tuesday-wednesday-march-25.html 

Back home Kathy cut my hair and then went over to the clubhouse to work on a puzzle. I pulled the slides in, moved the coach so that the front wheels were on thicker blocks (so that it was more level without the jacks) and played with the jacks some more. The drivers side rear jack is definitely leaking. I'm still hoping that the two quarts of ATF w/stopleak that I added will seal the leak. I tried working the levelling controls manually and may have gotten the front jack to stay down. It had been retracting on its own. Tomorrow I will go get another couple of quarts of ATF w/stopleak fluid to keep the hydraulic reservoir topped off.

In the late afternoon I got in a 5 mile bicycle ride around the campground. It was nice enough that we sat outside as it got dark.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 22 - Tuesday, December 2 - Slow Day

 Today was another cool day. A couple of times the sun got close to peeking through the clouds but the sky remained cloudy for the entire day.

Winter Texans keep rolling in. I noticed several couples from different parts of Iowa, folks who come here every year, arrived during the past couple of days.

The highlight of the day was a trip to Walmart to buy groceries. Whoopee. On the way home we stopped and picked up a prescription at Walgreens. Then it was back home for lunch.

After lunch Kathy took a short nap and then headed over to the clubhouse to work on a puzzle. I read for a short while and then took a long nap. Naps are great. After my nap I got in a 2 mile walk around the campground. I met Kathy on her way walking back.

We will try to do something more exciting tomorrow 😀

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 21 - Monday, December 1 - BRRRH!

 Most of you who are reading this are experiencing much colder weather than we are, but it sure feels cold here. It damp, cloudy, and windy most of the day. The high was in the mid 50's. 

I went to bed early last night and by 4 AM I couldn't sleep any longer. I got up, came out and laid down on the couch, put in ear buds and listened to Josh's, my Pastor in MO, sermon on predestination. He preached it at the last service I attended before leaving. It was a good one but he packs a lot into the message and I wanted to listen to it again. 

We went to our first 9:30 Monday Activity Meeting of the season. Kathy was about mobbed when she walked in. The meeting is a place where we are notified of upcoming activities. Coffee and donuts, or cookies, help take the edge off. Today's 45 minute meeting seemed like about 3 hours 😀. I went today  because it was the first one since we arrived. Normally Kathy attends them and then passes along whatever I need to know. Below is the December calendar. These events are by no means all that is happening. Several other weekly activities were noted during the meeting.

I took my notebook computer with me this morning and after the meeting I used the campground WiFi hotspot to do some research on our HWH coach levelling system. What I read identified a couple of things to check as I troubleshoot.

In past years we have been able to access a free open WiFi network in the campground. This year you have to buy a subscription, $154 for 4 months. We have a good T-Mobile signal and my phone works great as a hotspot but I was concerned about the amount of data, especially hotspot data that I was burning through. Our phones are on a plan that our son and his husband have. Anthony, our son-in-law, was in the Air Force and it is some type of plan for veterans. I knew it was supposed to be "unlimited" data but the cell companies are fast and loose with the term "unlimited". I did some research and it appears that we do in fact have unlimited data, no throttling no matter how much you use, but are limited to 30GB of hotspot data per line, a total of 60 GB for our two lines. I think that should give us enough to stream as much as we want. 

We chose to stay in, at least in the campground, rather than do some shopping. Tomorrow's weather is going to be similar but we may need to venture out to buy a few groceries and pick up a couple of prescriptions, or not; maybe we can put it off yet another day. 😀

After lunch, and a brief nap, Kathy made her way back over to the clubhouse for an hour or so, just to see what was happening.

I did a little reading and then guilted myself into a 4.4 mile, 47 minute bicycle ride around the campground.

Is it bedtime yet?

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 20 - Sunday, November 30 - Double Church Day

The weather really changed overnight. Today the high was a cloudy, windy, damp 76. It didn't feel nearly that warm. It felt more like the 50's. 

This morning we went to the 9:30 service at the campground. Lots of folks were happy to see Kathy back. Jim, the Pastor, asked her is she was considering leading a ladies Bible Study again this year. She is considering it.

After the campground service we scooted out and headed up to the Cowboy Church for the 11:00 service. I took this photo about 5 minutes before the service started. By the time it started almost all of the empty seats around us were full. It is still early in the season here, a LOT of Winter Texans have not arrived yet. Looks like standing room only soon. Chris, the Pastor, started a series on the Holy Spirit last week. It will continue for several more weeks. During the Spring he did a weekly evening series on the Holy Spirit. We attended it and enjoyed his teaching. We look forward to the rest of the series.

After church it was back home for lunch, and a nap. I almost slept through the Ice Cream Social at 4 PM. There were about 25 people at the Social, its a nice time to visit and get reacquainted. A Gospel couple came to perform at 5. We had seem them last year and they weren't our cup of tea. Back at the coach I packed up the trash and did one lap around the campground while I threw it in the dumpster.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 19 - Saturday, November 29 - Kathy Arrived

 I called Kathy and she told me how to make chili for my supper last night. I did good.

This morning I did a load of laundry in the washer in the coach. I also took the sheets off the bed and washed and dried them in the campground laundromat. King size sheets are just to big for the washer in the coach. 

It was windy today (its always windy in Texas) but I managed to get in a 4.15 mile, 37 minute bike ride around the campground. Riding into the wind was tough, riding with it was almost like coasting. (The circle indicates our site. Two years ago the blue are was a pond, over in the next neighborhood. It has been DRY here. Last year the pond dried up and it was a mud flat sprouting weeds. This year it is tall weeds.)

Kathy arrived around 4:30, 1,100 miles in two days. She is TOUGH! PTL for safe travels. After unloading the Flex we went over to the Golden Corral for supper.

I was devastated, the ice cream machine was broken. I consoled myself with multiple Rice Krispy squares.

God is good. I pray that He bless you yours. He has blessed me.

Day 18 - Friday, November 28 - Motorcycle Trip to Walmart

 The highlight of the day was riding my motorcycle over to Walmart. I really don't like riding in traffic. It's only a 5 mile round trip. I rode the  "back way", staying off the Interstate. The city street traffic wasn't bad, the Walmart parking lot was a zoo.

I bought a couple of quarts of ATF for our hydraulic levelling system. I was hoping that the levelling problem was due to low fluid. After playing with the system for a couple of hours it seems that adding the fluid doesn't seem to have solved the problem. The valving on one of the jacks doesn't seem to be working properly. The jack will start down but won't go all the way. It seems that as soon as the pump quits "pumping" the jack retracts. It isn't the jack that I thought was leaking.

I visited some with the guy in the site next to us. They have been spending winters in the Rio Grande Valley for over 5 years. This will be their first winter at this campground. They are from Vichy, MO, about 65 miles from our home in Centertown.

Kathy left home this morning and headed south. She made it half way today. She is spending the night at a Hampton Inn somewhere north of Houston. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 17 - Thursday, November 27 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

One of the great things about the holiday Thanksgiving is that it gives us a chance to consider how blessed we are. We are blessed to have been born in a country where we are free to travel and spend time with friends and family. We have roofs over our heads and food to eat. All to often I forget to thank the Lord for my blessings.

I joined 50-75 other people from the campground to enjoy a Thanksgiving potluck dinner.

Both the food and fellowship was good.

It was a nice day here, a little breezy but mostly sunny and in the mid 70's. I spent some time sitting outside both in the morning and in the afternoon. In the morning a jacket felt good. in the afternoon a tee shirt was fine.

I got in a 3.25 mile bike ride around the campground, to burn off some of the calories.

It was a good Thanksgiving Day.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 16 - Wednesday, November 26 - Rainy Day

 Between rains I unloaded my motorcycle and bicycle. 

Note how brown the grass is. One of the ladies over at the clubhouse told me that it has been very dry. I think we got a little less than an inch. We had enough wind with it to rock the coach a little.

When I unloaded my motorcycle I did manage a lap around the campground. In the afternoon I climbed on my bicycle and did a more thorough inspection of the campground, I did 2.25 miles on it. That is probably more than I rode it the entire time we were back in Missouri.

The refrigerator seems to be working OK (PTL), except for the icemaker. In a freezer at the clubhouse they have little 2# bags of ice that they sell for 50 cents. I walked over and got a couple of them. 

I did some research on the cooling units that JC Refrigeration make to replace the ones in RV absorption refrigerators. They make a replacement for the absorption units, but it seems that almost all RV'ers who fridges fail either replace them with a residential unit (it is difficult to find a residential refrigerator that fits the "hole" for a RV refrigerator), or they replace the absorption cooling unit with a 12v DC or a 120v AC cooling unit. If I was close to Shipshewana, IN I would strongly consider pulling in to their facility and having them install one of the 12v DC units. It takes them about 3 hours to pull you refrigerator out of the wall, lay it on the living room floor, change the unit, put it back in the wall and start it up. 

God it good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 15 - Tuesday, November 25 - Victoria to Harlingen

 Today I drove the 208 miles from the Victoria RV Park to the Lakewood RV Resort. The drive was uneventful.

When I stopped by the office Mary Beth, one of the campground movers and shakers, saw me and said, "Don't you leave until I tell you what table number you are to sit in for the Thanksgiving Dinner.", I checked in at the office and moved over to park in our site. Before I could get the electric cable plugged in Bruce, another mover and shaker, walked up to welcome me back and make sure I knew that they were having pulled pork sandwiches and entertainment at the clubhouse at 3:30.

Parked at Lakewood.

Looking west down the street. For some reason all the sites to the east were empty.

Typical weekly activities.

November and December activities.

It was HOT here today. A sunny 88 degrees.

It's good to be a winter Texan. We know more folks here than we did in homes we lived at for over twice as long as we have been coming here.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 14 - Monday, November 24 - Livingston to Victoria

 Nothing exciting today. I dropped of the rental car this morning and one of the guys gave me a ride back to the campground. I was on the road a little after 9:00.

From Rainbow's End to Victoria's RV Park (River Park) was 199 miles. I've put 1,311 miles on the coach since I left home. It's 210 miles from here to Lakewood RV Resort in Harlingen.

Traffic was bad except for a 3 mile section in downtown Houston. It took me an hour to drive the 40 miles through Houston, 20 minutes of the time was driving the 3 miles where I69 splits off and heads southwest.

Light rain fell in a couple of places , the crosswinds were brutal the last 60 miles.

Kathy and I have stayed here multiple times in the past. Victoria has some interesting places, which I won't be visiting this stay. Lord willing I will be in Harlingen mid-afternoon.

Below are links to a couple of blog posts from previous stays here, :

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2025/04/day-124-tuesday-april-1-cuero-museum.html

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/day-123-monday-march-31-harlingen-to.html

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/day-16-saturday-december-14-enjoying.html (I remember Mumford's but had forgotten about Double Daves)

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/day-93-tuesday-march-5-full-day-victory.html

The refrigerator is still running, but it isn't as cold as it should be. Looks like we will need to have it replaced.

Kathy is currently planning on heading this way on Saturday. It will be a 1,100 mile drive for her.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 13 - Sunday, November 23 - AWESOME CHURCH SERVICE!!!

We attended a service at First Baptist Church in February 22, 2015. I was impressed then and am still equally impressed. If you are interested you can read about my impressions at:  https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/feb-22nd-first-baptist-church.html

The Pastor's message, and the atmosphere then, left a lasting impression on me. I didn't remember his message until I scanned the post above and then it came back to me. One thing that wasn't in the post was he announced that the following Sunday there were going to be representatives from 5 local civic groups giving a brief description of their groups, so that church members could get involved if they were interested. As he was talking about this it occurred to me that he was opening up a "sea" for members to fish in. He was giving his flock a "sea" of opportunities to become involved in other organizations and to spread the Good News while they rubbed shoulders with others in those organizations. By the way, they still don't take up an offering, no mention of an offering was even made. As I was walking out I saw a small, unobtrusive kiosk where offerings could be dropped in a slot.

They now have 3 services. At 9:00 there is a contemporary service in one auditorium and a "classic" service in another. (I think they must have put on an addition since we were here 10 years ago.) At 11:00 there is a 2nd contemporary service. I felt led to attend the 9:00 contemporary service, I'm wasn't sure why since I prefer the old hymns to most contemporary Christian music. The Pastor preached "live" in the Classic service while those of us in the contemporary service watched him on the big screens. After the service I walked around a bit and saw the area where the Classic service was held. There was seating for about 200, with room to add at least another 50 chairs. There were probably close to 200 in the contemporary service, with room for at least another 200.

I wasn't in the best of moods this morning and almost didn't go to church. I've let myself get stressed over the problems with the coach and am not sleeping enough (my fault, I've always been a night owl, and just to dumb to get enough sleep). Yesterday evening the refrigerator quit working again. Am I glad I went! On the way into the building I was greeted by several folks, always a nice touch. As I walked into the auditorium and sat down I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. In general the lyrics of the contemporary music did little for me, but a line or two in most of the songs touched my spirit. I knew the Holy Spirit was working on my spirit. 

Then came the Pastor's message. The core of his message was from Isaiah 41:1-10, with emphasis on verse 10 (NLT)

God's Help for Israel

[41:1] “Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case.

[2] “Who has stirred up this king from the east, who meets victory at every step? Who, indeed, but the LORD? He gives him victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot. He puts entire armies to the sword. He scatters them in the wind with his bow. [3] He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. [4] Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he.”

[5] The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. [6] They encourage one another with the words, “Be strong!” [7] The craftsmen rush to make new idols. The carver hurries the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It's coming along fine.” Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it won't fall over.

[8] “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from my friend Abraham, [9] I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. [10] Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

I can't do a good job of conveying his message but he noted that we can't help being fearful (or getting stressed) at times. When those times do occur we need to focus on the God who has chosen us, the God who is with us, the God who will strengthen us. There was a lot of additional Scripture mentioned during the message. I haven't looked but I'm reasonably sure that the sermons are available online. I will look for it in a couple of days and listen to it again.

In the hour between services there are 14 different Classes you  can attend.

The First Baptist campus, thank you Google.

As I scanned my 10 year old blog post I saw the mention of Shrimp Boat Manny's. Lord willing I leave in the morning and have missed the opportunity to eat there again. Bummer! I checked, it is still operating.

After church I stopped at Walmart, Tractor Supply and a Dollar General looking for more magnets. The good ones were out of stock at Walmart and Tractor Supply and Dollar General didn't stock them. I took the exterior vent cover off the back of the refrigerator and again it looked dry. Even though it looked dry I ran a hair dryer over it for 10 minutes or so. I worked with the magnets I have and eventually I was able to reset the relay and get the refrigerator running again. After that I set up a 4" fan so that it was blowing on the back of the refrigerator, to be sure the area was dry and to get more air flow across the coils.

After that I made a hamburger for my lunch and took a 2 hour nap. About 3 hours had elapsed since I left the fan running. When I checked on it I could see droplets of moisture hanging on a couple of the wires. I have no idea where the moisture came from. It's 7:45, I just shut the fan off. No moisture is visible. The refrigerator is 47 degrees and the freezer is 27 degrees. It should be colder but that is sure better than not running at all.

I'm not the only one here with a motorcycle. 

This 5th wheel toy hauler is across the street from me.

This unit is next door to me. The trailer looks big enough for a small car as well as the motorcycle.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 12 - Saturday, November 22 - Trip To Diboll to Visit a Cousin

 Today I drove up to the Duncan Unit in Diboll, TX, about an hours drive, to visit a cousin who is incarcerated there. The Duncan Unit is designated as a "geriatric" facility by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Duncan Unit is considered a small unit, with its 500 inmate rated capacity. 

We had not seen one another in over 55 years, but have corresponded via letters and email for the past 10 years. Jeff is about 7 years younger than me. His family moved from Michigan to Texas about the time Jeff graduated from high school. After high school he joined the Navy and was a member of a Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), a frogman. (In 1983 UDT's were redesignated as SEALS.) After 17 years of service he took a disability retirement (I don't know if I phrased that correctly. He retired with a 40% disability.) After leaving the military he worked as a Construction Manager.

Because I live so far away I was approved for a 4 hour contact visit, one where you can shake hands or even hug. The procedure for getting into the visitation room was interesting. As I entered the prison grounds I stopped at a small, one man, guardhouse. He asked for my drivers license and the name of the person I was to visit. I was then asked to open the glove compartment, exit the car and then to open all doors, the hood and the trunk. As the guard looked the vehicle over he rolled a mirror on wheels under the car a couple of places. I then signed in. 

I parked, walked up to the entrance and showed my license to a camera. The door was unlocked and I entered. Once inside I handed my license to the guard at a desk inside the door and again was asked the name of the person I was visiting, and signed in again. All you can bring into the unit is your drivers license, your car key and either up to $35 in quarters or a debit card. Everything is supposed to be in a clear plastic bag. The quarters/debit card are so that you can buy food items to take in to the visit. Food items where typical snack/candy items. Jeff had mentioned that he had not had a hamburger for a long time. I got a hamburger, a small pizza, several candy items and several cans of soda. They had a small microwave where I was able to warm up the hamburger and pizza. I was furnished with a box to carry the items into the visitation room. A guard then "wanded" me and patted me down, and accompanied me to  the visitation room. We went through two locked doors to get to the visitation room.

The visitation area was a room about 15'x30', with multiple tables and chairs. It was set up similar to a small, very plain, dining area in a restaurant. While we were in the room other inmates were also being visited. Most visits are limited to 2 hours so inmates and visitors cycled in and out of the room.

We had a good time catching up during the 4 hours. As I exited the I went through the same process with the car: exit the vehicle, open doors, etc. Jeff is an example of a guy who seemed to have a lot going for him but one stupid "act of passion" cost him 20 years of his life. He has done 17 years. He was first eligible for parole in 2019. So far he has requested parole, and been denied, least 4 times. He doesn't know why.

PS. Every one of the guards with whom I interacted was friendly.

All in all it was an interesting day.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 11 - Friday, November 21 - Car Rental & Refrigerator Repairs

 When I went to get in to the refrigerator this morning to start my breakfast I noticed that the light didn't come on. I looked at the information screen and saw an error message. Last March we learned that a heavy rainfall can't cause a fault in a safety device on the back of the refrigerator, but yesterdays rain was not heavy. If you are interested you can read about last years rain and the campground flooding at:

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/days-120-121-friday-saturday-march-28.html 

Like last year I didn't have a magnet strong enough to reset the safety device relay (I was praying that would get the refrigerator going). Today was the day I was supposed to pick up a rental car so I figured I  would go buy some magnets once I had the car.

On to breakfast. I did good.

A guy from Enterprise called me to tell me he was on the way to pick me up, and that he would be here in about a half hour. 45 minutes later another guy called me to tell me he was waiting for me, I told him I had been standing outside for nearly a half hour waiting on him. Three phone calls, and 20 minutes later he finally made it to where I was waiting for him. He was a nice young man who rides a Ninja ZX-14 back and forth to work, from the north side of Houston, every day, year round. He is a Christian. He loves the bike and says that it has been a blessing for him. It costs him about $5/day to commute. (A ZX-14 has 190hp and a top speed of 180 mph.) He said he really has  to be watch his speed. Several days ago he looked down and was running 110 mph, which felt totally comfortable.

After I picked up the car, a Hyundai Elantra, I went to an Ace Hardware store and bout $20 worth of small rare earth magnets. I bought the only 2 packs they had in stock. I wanted a larger size but they were out  of them.

Then it was off to lunch. I checked Google and saw 2 local BBQ places that were far from chain restaurants, and not to far off the beaten path. I drove by the first one because the parking lot was packed. When I got to the second one, just a mile down the road, there was only 1 vehicle in the parking lot. I went back to Florida's Kitchen.

My brisket sandwich and an order of onion rings. It was very good and EXPENSIVE. They did have a $14 lunch special, chicken. If they had paid me $14 I would have tried it. (Chicken is not on my list of edibles. Fowl/foul is a good name for it. 😀)

Back at the coach I tried the magnets and it appeared that they were not going to work. I wasn't sure if they weren't strong enough or if the relay was bad enough that it wouldn't reset. Finally after fooling around with them for several minutes I heard the click of the relay resetting. So far, so good. THANK YOU JESUS!

My tendency is to get upset over problems like the coach jacks and refrigerators that quit running but fortunately I know enough to try and focus on the promises of Scripture. Things like these are just patience builders. I like the way the New Living Bible translates Galatians 5:22&23: But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

Back to the levelling jacks. I know that a jack is  leaking, but I'm not sure how bad it is leaking. I did some research this afternoon and after some searching I located the hydraulic pumps that control the jacks, and the hydraulic fluid tank. There is just room enough to get my head in to a position to see the tank and the dip stick. In order to get my hand in a position to unscrew the dipstick and check the level I have to remove my head. Sunday afternoon I may go buy a gallon of fluid, and a flexible funnel with along spout, and try adding some fluid. Maybe that will let me level the coach once I get to Harlingen, and put the slides out. The leak will probably make it necessary to relevel regularly but that may get us by until I can find someone down there to work on the jack. The jack weighs over 100#. There are two coil springs STIFF looking coil springs that retract the cylinder. It's not something I'm up to messing with.

I walked around a little and took a few photos of the campground. This is a big place. Below is a Google shot of the campground. There are campers under all the trees in the photo.

The main entrance is up near the red dot. I'm parked down close to the blue dot, near the Escapee Care Center. The Care Center is a place where Escapee's with mobility problems (knee replacement, etc) can come stay and recuperate. There is a dining room in the care center and both paid staff and volunteers

 who do cooking and cleaning.

Note the ramp access to the Class C.

The coaches under these roofs all have ramps for access.

These units are across the street from me, not part of the Care Center. Note the little "house" at the back, similar to the one in the photo of the Class C. If I brave enough I'd ask to look inside one. I  suspect they have bathrooms and a kitchenette in them.

Tomorrow I head to prison, to visit a cousin. I've never been to a prison before so it should be interesting. The prison is an hours drive north of the campground.

I just got off the phone with Kathy. She picked up the Flex this afternoon, after the $2,700 water pump replacement. Everything seems okay, except for the sharp pain I have on my left butt cheek, in the area of my wallet. 😀

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

 

Days 8, 9 & 10 - November 18, 19 & 20 - Lakeshore Custom RV to Rainbow's End, Livingston, TX

 

Tuesday, November 18 – The guys at Lakeshore took the toilet out again and this time they replaced all the mechanical innards. They were done by around 11 AM.  I decided to stay another night, just to make sure it was fixed. I was to lazy to unload my motorcycle and go for a ride, even though it was a beautiful day.

 

Wednesday, November 19 – I left Lakeshore Custom RV around 7:45 AM and drove 404 miles to Texarkana, AR.  Traffic was HEAVY, especially truck traffic. The speed limit was 75 for cars and 70 for trucks, on a road similar to US 50 west of Jefferson City. In one area, a rural area, traffic suddenly came almost to a complete stop. I think I did actually completely stop for an instant. Then it was back up to 5 mph over the speed limit. I didn’t see any reason for the slow down.

I stopped at a rest area and ate my lunch. Later I stopped for fuel. The pump at the station wasn’t working properly and after putting about 30 gallons I gave up and left.

I parked at a Walmart in Texarkana, walked in and bought a few items. I asked if I could park overnight and a lady in customer service said no. She said they used to allow it but stopped the practice. By the time I got back in the coach it was dark. I did fill up with fuel, another 48 gallons at $3.19/gal. I drove across the street and stayed in an Albertson’s grocery parking lot (I didn’t ask). I was in Arkansas, but only about 150’ from the Arkansas/Texas state line. It rained on and off during the night. It seemed like a sketchy neighborhood. I didn’t sleep well, I was waiting for a cop to knock on the door and tell me I had to move. I got up around 3:30 AM and looked out the front window. The rain had let up. A guy was aimlessly walking across the edge of the parking lot talking like he was with someone. I don’t think he was talking on the phone.  When he got to the street he kept looking back. About the time he was across the street a second guy came into view. He was more or less following the path of the first guy. The second guy stopped and sat down on the curb along the edge of the parking lot. The first guy made a lap around the CVS across the street, came back across the street, but further down the block and walked back the way he came. The second guy got up, crossed the street and walked out of sight. I didn’t see him come back. Weird.

 

Thursday, November 20 – Kathy's appointment with the surgeon seemed to go well. I think her only restrictions are self imposed ones. They are waiting for her in Texas. This morning I received a text from a lady at the campground, apparently she couldn't find Kathy's number. She wondered when Kathy would be down, and if she would again, occasionally be willing to again fill in playing the piano at the campground church.

I drove 233 miles to Rainbow’s End campground in Livingston, TX. It rained lightly during the first 90 minutes, then the sun came out, with a few big white puffy clouds. The high temperature was 81. Tonights low is forecast to be 67. 

I stopped at 3 different truck stops before I found one with a space where I could park while I ate my lunch. I checked in at the office and then drove over and got set up in my space. The coach wouldn’t “auto level”. I played around with the controls a little and then looked at the leveling jacks. It appears that one of the rear ones has a leaking seal. I called 4 different places, looking for someone who was interested in doing the repairs. The first guy only does tires. He referred me to a second guy. The second guy had sold his RV Repair business and gave me the number of the new owner. I called and they are booked until after Thanksgiving. They gave me the name of another local RV mechanic. I called him and learned that a week ago he had neck surgery and won’t be working for a while. I think I will just drive on down to Harlingen and find someone down there who will work on it. Without functional levelling jacks I won’t be able to put out the big slides, but I can live with that.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 7 - November 17 - Camera Screen Replaced

 It was another beautiful day today, but boring. Janice, from Lakeshore, called me around 10 to tell me that they had the camera and that I could bring the coach over. I had to wait for a load of clothes to finish drying and then headed over. I sat over there and used their WiFi to study different routes to Texas, and surf the Net. They finished around 3 PM.

I had lunch and did another couple of loads of laundry after I got back to the campground. I also got my motorcycle back on the trailer and strapped down. In the morning I will dump the waste tanks, unhook the water, sewer & electric and head south. I'm supposed to meet a guy for coffee in Madison, MS around 3 PM.

I've mentioned before how pleased I am with the work, and prices, at Lakeshore, and so are a lot of other folks. Some guy bought a coach in New Hampshire. He paid Brian and his wife to fly to New Hampshire and drive the coach back to Mississippi. They flew out Friday morning and he was back at work this morning, over 1,300 miles. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 5 & 6 - November 15 & 16 - Pickwick Dam & Salem Church

 November 15 - In the morning I replaced the pressure regulator on our water hose and put a new end on another hose. Around noon I headed up to the Pickwick Dam. It's in Tennessee, about 20 miles from where I am parked. Previously I had not stopped at Pickwick Landing State Park, on the south side of the river. I took these photos from there.

If you strain your eyes you might be able to make out the highway above the dam.

There is a lock at the dam. That might be why the roadway was elevated.

Then it was on to the Outpost for lunch. It was busy when I arrived at 1 PM.

Do I look hungry?

My prime rib sandwich. It was good, but not great. I got wild and crazy and let them put their horseradish sauce on it, a mistake.

After leaving the Outpost I rode through TVA Pickwick Dam Campground. There were only a few people fishing along the bank of the river, nothing like the last time I was here. For some reason the RV campground area was closed. 

Sunday, November 16 - As we wandered around the area during previous stops here we noticed a little church about 1.5 miles from us, on the other side of the Northrop Grumman plant. I attended church there this morning. Folks were friendly and the Pastor had a good message. The songs we sang were good old gospel, including I'll Fly Away. What was interesting is that they had no musicians. The Pastor led the singing. He started the first song by playing several bars on his phone and the rest was acapella. He had taped music for the remaining songs.

There was a beautiful mural behind the baptismal. I inquired about it. A church member, one who I assumed had passed on to the new life, had painted it many, many years ago. As an aside, the facility was kind of a plain old country church. It was in IMMACULATE condition.

There were maybe 20 people in attendance. One young lady who is a college student, 2 or 3 people in the 30-45 range and the rest old farts like me. At least 10 people made sure to tell me that today was there early Thanksgiving dinner and they wanted me to stay. Meat was a huge turkey and a huge ham. Lots of sides and deserts. Everything looked homemade. I sampled a lot and everything was good. I doubt that half the food was consumed.

My motorcycle was quite a conversation starter. Lots of inquiries about it.

Several people at the church mentioned that I should check out Eastport. Eastport was an important town during the mid 1800's and an important port during the Civil War, until the railroad when through Iuka instead of Eastport in 1857. The town dwindled and then, in the 1930's, when the Pickwick Dam was built on the Tennessee River the old town was submerged. It still exists as a small community with  a marina. According to Google Maps its only 10 miles from where I am staying. I GOT LOST! Google Maps seemed to go nuts. I found my way to Iuka, which was not on the planned route, without to much difficulty, and without the "help" of Google Maps. Tomorrow I may give it another shot. I did get to see some wonderful scenery. Leaves are changing and there was some nice color.

A rabbit trail. It was my understanding that there was a nuclear plant very near here. I had driven around some during previous trips, trying to get a glimpse of it. The road that goes by the Northrop Grumman plant has a big gate across it, a short distance past the church. 

From Wikipedia: The Yellow Creek Nuclear Plant is a canceled nuclear power plant project near Iuka, Mississippi. It was originally planned to have two 1,350-MW (output) reactors operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The steam turbine-generator sets were provided by General Electric.

The reactors were System 80 pressurized water reactors built by Combustion Engineering. Three similar reactors were installed at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Tonopah, Arizona.

The site, as of 8 November 2010

Construction on the reactors began in 1978 but stopped in 1982 before the TVA officially canceled in the project in August 1984 due to dramatically rising construction costs and lower electricity demand.

Following TVA's cancellation, the partially completed site with infrastructure already in place underwent reconstruction as a site for NASA to build solid rocket motors. Construction was about 80% complete when Congress pulled funding on the site in 1993. The cancellation of this project led to a poor economy and high unemployment in the area.

Today, some buildings remain on the site including what was to be a reactor, the accompanying turbine building, and a circular base for the plant's cooling tower. The site is close to the tripoint of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, on a peninsula surrounded by Pickwick Lake. The site's namesake creek, whose original outlet comprised the western arm of the lake, was almost completely captured by the lake or channelized into the uppermost reach of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway by the time plant construction ceased.

Parts of the site have been leased for several years by Flibe Energy to investigate pursuing their molten salt reactor designs.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 3 & 4 - November 13 & 14 - Coach Repairs and a Fun Day

November 13 - I had the coach over at Lakeshore by 7:20. I had not bothered to unload my motorcycle before I unhooked the trailer from the coach so I was "stranded" for the day. (If the hitch isn't connected when the bike weight moves back on the trailer the trailer front tips up. I'm shaky enough loading and unloading it, I don't need any other things adding to the excitement.) 

Bryan gave me the WiFi password so I spent some of the time watching TV shows. I also did some reading. The rear camera screen is shot. A new one should arrive by Monday afternoon. I enjoy the area and have no problem staying here a few days. When I moved the coach back over to the campground I reconnected the trailer so that I could unload my bike. It was a time consuming project since the I couldn't see the trailer when I backed up to it.

The weather was beautiful.

November 14 - I unloaded my bike in the morning and rode over to J P Coleman State Park, and around the park. The park gate is less than two miles from the campground. Total ride was only 10 miles.

J P Coleman State Park is on the bank of the Tennessee River, which is also called Pickwick Lake in this area. Pickwick Lake was created when the Pickwick Landing Dam was built. The lake covers over 43,000 acres. On the other side of the river is Alabama. A short distance downstream and the other side of the river is Tennessee.

Part of the parks marina.

Looking downstream.

Looking upstream.

A boat went by every couple of minutes.

In the afternoon I rode into Iuka, just to look around. I didn't notice any significant changes. While there I stopped at the combination Piggly Wiggly grocery store and Ace Hardware store. It's a decent hardware store sandwiched in the grocery store. The pressure regulator I use to protect the coach against high pressure campground water systems was leaking so I bought a new one.

I filled up with gas. 968 miles on the odometer when I filled up. I've had the bike for a little over 9 weeks. Over the 968 miles I've averaged 61 mpg.

The last stop before heading back to the campground was at Mineral Springs Park. Mineral water from it's "world-renowned oasis" won a prize at the 1902 World's Fair. I filled up a gallon jug for Kathy.

The round trip to Iuka was about 25 miles.

Back at the campground I got in a 1.5 mile walk around the local roads.

If you are interested in seeing/reading more about Iuka and the Park below are links to previous blog post while in the area.

December 2, 2024 Park in Iuka https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/day-4-monday-december-2-spent-day-in.html

December 7, 2024 Kathy bottling spring water https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/day-7-thursday-december-5-still-at.html

March 29 & 30 Coleman State Park and Pickwick Dam and campground https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/

December 7, 2023 More Iuka https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-4-thursday-december-7th-exploring.html

God is good. I pray that He blesses you. He has blessed me.

Days 1 & 2 - November 11 & 12 - Home to Lakeshore Custom RV in Iuka, MS

 I left home about 9:30 Tuesday morning. As I was leaving I noticed that our camera (full time backup camera) was not working. It had worked fine on Monday. 

When Kathy and I are together we normally opt to take US highways instead of Interstates but since I was soloing, driving and navigating, I chose to stay on Interstates where practical. I went north to Kingdom City and then east to Wentzville where I took I64/I270/I155 around St. Louis to get to I55 south.

 Tuesday, the 11th - traffic flowed freely, even through the numerous construction sites I encountered. I spent Tuesday night at the Marson Welcome Center Rest Area, in Missouri's boot heel, 298 miles from home. There were only a few trucks when I arrived a little after 4 PM. When I got up Wednesday morning the place was full. There were quite a few truck "parallel parked" around the edge of the lot.

The wind blew at around 15 mph most of the evening and night. I ran the generator some while I made supper, I could  run the heat pumps when the generator was running. After supper I shut the generator off and switched to the gas furnaces for heat.

PS. Not having the camera showing your towed vehicle, or in this case my motorcycle on a trailer, was a pain. The week before we left we found out our Ford Flex has a leaking water pump. The water pump is internal and it is a MAJOR job to replace. We have an appointment to have it replaced on the 20th. Kathy will drive it down when her back feels ready, she had back surgery 7 weeks ago and the surgery caused a spinal fluid leak. If she feels like here back is up to the 1,100 mile trip from home to Harlingen, TX, but she isn't ready to drive all that way, I will fly home and drive down with her.

The place is about 40 miles north of the state line. Why Missouri has a "Welcome Center" on the southbound side is a mystery. I didn't bother to check out the building.

Wednesday morning I left around 10:00, I only had 178 miles to go until I arrived at Lakeshore Custom RV. Only the last 30-40 miles was two lane road. The only "problem area" was Jackson, TN. Garmin RV GPS routing through Jackson seemed screwy. When Kathy drives I use both our Garmin and Google Maps. We often follow the Google Maps routing.

I arrived at Lakeshore at 1:20. I encounter two construction sites on the two lane roads that had one way traffic, but the total delay was only about 10 minutes. I checked in with Bryan to let him know I had arrived. I'm supposed to be there at 7:30 Thursday morning.

Lakeshore has a couple of "pads" next to there facility were RV'ers can park. Those sites have water and electric. They also have a small full hook up campground across the road from them, Parking on one of the pads is free, parking at one of the full hook up sites cost $20/night last year. I chose to park on one of the full hook up sits. Backing up with a trailer, when you can't see the trailer, is a pain! If Bryan can't fix our backup camera it will be a real pain getting the trailer hitched back up when I leave. I don't plan on taking my motorcycle off while I am here so I can't drag the tongue over to the hitch ball.

Yes, our coach is very dirty. One of my To Do lists that I didn't get accomplished was to wash it before I left. The weather has been beautiful. I had the door open and a window open for several hours this afternoon.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Back on the Road

 Before heading to Texas for the winter I went to Michigan to visit my 97 year old mother. From our house to Mom's is 560 miles. I drove there on Saturday, November 1st, was there for the 2nd and drove back home on Monday, November 3rd. Kathy's back wasn't up to riding 1,200 miles in 3 days so she didn't go with me.

Breakfast Sunday morning. Mom probably doesn't weigh 100# but she managed to pack away 6 little pancakes.

We had lunch with two of Kathy's sisters. Cindy & Nancy. Nancy is the one waving; plus Cindy's husband Ed.

Supper down at my brother David's. His grandson Colton is on the right.

Our son Doug and his husband Anthony came for a very short visit. They drove from Indianapolis to Centertown on Sunday and drove back on Monday.

Left to right: Nolan, Anthony, Lydia, Kathy, Doug and Andy.

I managed to get Kelsey in the photo below.

We have been working diligently to get "stuff" transferred back into the motorhome. It has taken a stunning number of trips from the house to the motorhome. 

Kathy's back isn't up to riding hundreds of miles a day yet so she stayed home for now. Also, she still has a Doctor's appointment on the 19th. The first place I go is to Lakeshore Custom RV in Iuka, MS, to get the annual service done on the coach. She has been to Iuka enough times that the novelty has worn off. 

Many years ago I sold an old motorcycle to a guy from central Mississippi. We have kept in touch over the years. I'm meeting him for coffee on Friday afternoon. He still has the old Virago.

After that I'm headed to Livingston, TX for a week while I wait until the weekend so that I can get in to visit a cousin who is in prison. His family moved away from Michigan, where I grew up, when I was a teenager and Jeff was preteen. We have been corresponding for the past 10 years. He has no family close to the prison and hasn't had a visitor in 9 years. The visit is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 22. After that I will take two or three days to drive to Lakewood RV Resort in Harlingen, TX, where we have spent the past several winters.

Of course all of the above is prefaced by, "God willing".

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours, He has blessed me.

t