Texas Country Oaks Dance Hall, Edna, TX, New Years 2012

Saturday, December 29, 2012

December 29, 2012


12/21/2012

On Thursday we sent down to St. Augustine Beach to check out a restaurant.  While pulling through the parking lot, a gal in a Beamer backed into us, hitting the back left door.  We're gonna have to put the truck in the hospital.  Grrr….
Ouch!

  Very little damage to the Beamer.  Just scratches.

Last night I went to Abigail's school for their Christmas Activities Night.  The kids did a sing-along thing among other activities.  it was a lot of fun to watch the children enjoying themselves.

Abby is sitting to the left of her best buddy Zimmerman.






 Daddy and Abby made a Christmas card.


12/22/2012

Joyce and I went up to Jacksonville yesterday to get some last minute shopping done.  Made a stop at Costco which was very, very busy.  In fact, the traffic in Jacksonville was crazy.

After getting back to the park our neighbor's joined us at the Elks Lodge for dinner.  Had a good time talking about our hosting experiences and just generally relaxing.

Got really cold last night and the forecast for tonight is to be even colder.  Some parts of St. Johns County will see temperatures down to 30 degrees.  Burrrrr…

12/23/2012

Burrrr……!

12/24/2012

Since the temperature has dropped what else could happen but our furnace has quit working.  Well, not completely but it pops and makes a lot of rumbling sounds.  There is an obstruction in the burner can for sure but blowing air into the exhaust didn't correct the problem.  So, I called a mobile RV guy who just happens to be out-of-town for Christmas and won't be able to make it out here until Wednesday.  Ran out fireplace heater and a portable in the bedroom all night so we stayed fairly warm last night.

12/26/2012

On Christmas Eve the whole family went to the Le Pavillon restaurant here is St. Augustine for dinner.  Although the food was rated "just alright" the good cheer more than made up for that.






 Abby is keeping tabs on Santa with NORAD, using her Daddy's phone.
Abby ate Escargot for the first time and loved the dish.

After our dinner, we did the Old Town Trolly Tours "Holly Jolly" ride through downtown St. Augustine.  When you board the trolly you are given 3d glasses to wear which turns all the lights into beautiful Christmas ornaments.  This has become a tradition with Harold and Michelle and which we all enjoy.  It is really hard to beat Christmas-time in St. Augustine.

Yesterday morning we got over to the Skidmore's at 6:52 AM (Michelle wanted us there early) and guess what?  Yep, we had to wake everyone up!  I was reminded of my father who couldn't wait for a decent hour for everyone to get out of bed to enjoy Christmas morning.

Santa had arrived and of course left a lot of toys for Abigail and Skyler.  It was fun to watch them open their presents and just enjoying the morning with family.
Lookie what Santa brought me!


 Michelle got a new iPhone5!





12/28/2012

The mobile RV repairman came out yesterday and after some troubleshooting without finding the problem, he removed the furnace and took it to his shop.  A few hours later he called to say he found the burner tube had cracked and he would have to order one.  Total cost is $456 dollars of which we'll be responsible for $112.  Our warranty company will not pay the $12 freight for some reason.

Folks have asked us about buying a extended warranty and if it is a good value.  For us, we bought one when we purchased our 2007 Bighorn and that transferred to the Landmark when we traded in 2010.  However, in all the work we have had done on the two rigs, we still haven't paid for the coverage.  Ours is a 7-year bumper-to-bumper policy so we'll have to see what happens in the next few years but, I'm not optimistic about breaking even.

Would we buy one again?  Probably not.  I would much rather set aside two or three grand somewhere to cover inevitable breakdowns.  I would look at the most costly item on your rig and at least have that much in the bank.  For us, that would most likely be our refrigerator.

So, we're trying to stay warm with space heaters and our fireplace which are doing the job but not enough for me.  I was cold all night last night!  So, I am going to buy another small space heater today and run another 20 amp cord into the rig.

The Traveler's Insurance adjuster came out this morning and did an estimate on the truck damage.  I asked how long it will take to get this all done, thinking it would be at least a week.  Not so!  He got the estimate done, got approval from the claims adjuster, emailed a copy of it to the body shop and started the process of getting a rental car for us.  All of that took about 45 minutes tops!

After he left we called Tom Wilson Chevrolet.  The estimator said he would call us back soon.  Very shortly later, he called and said we can drop the truck off next Wednesday.  So, we'll have a rental car to drive down to Miami for our 3-day cruise, saving fuel and wear and tear on the truck.  Sweet!

That's all folks!

Barry & Joyce

Thursday, December 20, 2012

December 19, 2012

12/03/2012

Last night we had the kids over for a BBQ and the we all walked across the parking lot to Winter Wonderland.









I have been working on the trip back out west in March.  This is our tentative itinerary, written in Jello of course:
Mar 20-25:  Lotts Island Army Airfield RV Park, Savannah, GA.
Mar 27-31;  Destin Army Infantry Center Recreation Area, Destin, FL.
Mar 31-Apr 7:  Aviation Arbor RV Park, Belle Chasse, LA (near New Orleans).
Apr 8-Apr 11:  Lockhart State Park, Lockhart, TX.
Apr 11-Apr 15:  San Antonio, TX.
Apr 16- Apr 19:  Lajitas, TX.  Visit Big Bend National Park.
Apr 20-Apr 24;  Ft. Bliss RV Park, El Paso, TX.
Apr 24-Apr 28:  Naco, TX.
Apr 28- May 3:  Agave Gulch Famcamp, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ.
May 3-May 5:  El Centro NAF Campground, El Centro, CA.  Going to check out the place for a future stay.
May 5-May 8:  Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, CA. (Hope to visit with my cousin)
May 9-May 13:  Fresno, CA
May 13-May 17:  Calistoga, CA
May 17-May 22:  Famcamp, Travis AFB, CA.
May 27-Jun 1:  Oakridge, OR
June 1:  Smith Rock State Park, OR.

Any suggestions on what we should not miss in Savannah and New Orleans?

Our hosting schedule for the summer is:
Smith Rock, 1 June to 1 August
Devil's Lake State Park, Lincoln City, OR, August.
Nehalem Bay State Park, Manzanita, OR., September.
We're still looking for a October gig.

We sure would like to see some of y'all visit us if you have the time.

12/05/2012

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here in St. Augustine so we took a harbor cruise on Matansas Bay and out to the St. Augustine Inlet.  Our boat captain gave us a running commentary about the history of St. Augustine and pointed out sites of interest and the local wildlife.  We were really fortunate to see some Ospreys and dolphins swimming near the Inlet.




After our cruise we walked down St. Georges Street just taking in all the old buildings and marking places that we want to visit before we leave the area.  St. Augustine is full of historical places and we hope to see all of them.

12/09/2012

Guardians of the Lion Bridge


Joyce left of Friday for central Florida to visit her friend Benda so I have been batching it this weekend.  Yesterday I had lunch with Harold, Michelle and the kids.

In the afternoon I drove over to Ravine Garden State Park in Palatka to help out with their Christmas program.  This is a beautiful place and I hope we can get back over there before we leave Florida.

12/19/2012

Joyce and I have been busy since I last wrote.  The park has been busy and then we have been getting some shopping for Christmas presents.  Part of that shopping was for three kids that we don't know and have never met.  We got the names from the Angel Tree at the YMCA.  We hope we have made some children very happy!

One of the goals that we want to accomplish this winter is to loose some weight.  We started doing started a 90-day challenge drinking protein shakes one and two meals a day and working out at the YMCA here in St. Augustine.  To date, Joyce has lost fifteen pounds and I'm down five.  Drink shakes, loose weight.  My kinda diet!

We also toured the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum and the Old St. Johns County Jail.  After the tours we walked out to the Nombre de Dios Mission.









Granddaddy getting some Skyler time!



More later.

Barry & Joyce

Sunday, December 2, 2012

December 2, 2012

11/21/2012

We've been here at Anastasia State Park for almost a month already.  Time flies….., etc.

Since Anastasia is located in the city of St. Augustine, it is very busy both in the day use and campground.  The park is old and as such, not really "big rig" friendly.  There are a few parking sites that are adequate for larger RV's but not many and you better be good at backing your rig.  The majority of our camping sites are on dirt with a few cement hardstand ADA sites.

Our duties usually only takes two to three hours to complete each day with the exception of Sunday and Monday, the major check-out days.  Even then it only adds maybe an hour to the schedule, still making the days relatively short.  One of the great things about our schedule (in addition to the three-on/three-off days) is when were finished with the daily duties, we're done.  No selling firewood or hanging around the campground to help park guests.

On the 17th Harold and Michelle had a party for our grandson Skyler, celebrating his first birthday.

With his mustache binkie!




11/29/2012

We went to see two movies since I last posted.  Denzel Washington is an outstanding actor and his performance in his new flick Flight, was fantastic.  If you are a history nut or just interested in the Civil War then the new Steven Spielburg film Lincoln, staring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field should not be missed.

One of the attractions that has been on my bucket list for a long time and being the aviation nut that I am, I went to the Kennedy Space Center last week.  We got my tickets at NAS Jacksonville which included lunch with an astronaut and a up-close tour of the complex.  Joyce had visited the Space Center some years back with her grandfather so she took a Casino Cruise out of Port Canaveral.

I have flown into the Cape Canaveral Skid Strip a few times but never was here long enough to tour the Space Center.

At the Center I saw all the exhibits including The Early Space Exploration, the Rocket Garden and the Space Exploration.  I also saw two IMAX 3D films.

My next stop was at the Shuttle Launch Experience which is actually a combination launch simulator and arcade ride.  During the "experience" you learn a lot about a shuttle launch, from being suited-up to arrival in earth orbit.  Very cool!

My lunch was with Dr. James "J R" Reilly who flew three shuttle missions.  He gave a slide show presentation and then opened the room up for questions.

After lunch I boarded the tour bus which took us out past the Vehicle Assembly Building.     The 526 foot building is huge and is now under renovation, preparing it for the next generation of rockets.

Our next stop was at Launch Complex 39, comprising pads A & B.  Our tour guide gave us a lot of information about the early years of space launches and a even more about a shuttle launch sequence.




 
Granddaddy & Abby Date Day


Justin is serving in Afghanistan





Skidmore Photo Shoot





I highly recommend you put the Kennedy Space Center on your bucket list.

Gotta run.  More next time.

Barry & Joyce