Happy New Year

It just amazes me how quickly the years pass as we get older. We are having a quiet night tonight as we have for many years. We were always up for celebrating, until New Years 1981. We dropped our kids off at my inlaws house for the night and went on our way to celebrate at my brothers house. We stayed out quite late and headed home about 3am. We got a very early phone call, my mother in law had been rushed to the hospital with an asthma attack and passed away. She had been watching our children for the night. She was only 59 years old and the sweetest person you would ever want to meet. Our world changed. New Years has never been the same for us and never will be. We downplay it all now and we are lucky to have our grandkids with us. Our night was spent with them, playing uno, eating popcorn and brownies. The diets start tomorrow...
In reflecting on this past year, we have enjoyed our travels. We started the year off with a cruise. It was #26 for us, I think. Spring brought us to Florida, we spent a fun week with our son and his family in Orlando. April while reading rv.net website I found a notation that sent me in the direction of RV-Dreams. Everything has changed since then. I spent days reading every post by Howard on their lifestyle. I started my own dreams. I talked to my husband Kevin about us perhaps attending the rally in Branson, Mo. in June and he agreed. We met up with so many great people and listened to the travels of so many. It truly made an impact on me. I was taught how to chat with fellow dreamers and now do so most nights with my new found family of dreamers. Thanks to all of you. I am now addicted to reading blogs and chatting.
September brought us back to Florida for a weeks vacation that turned into much more due to the hurricane back home in Texas. How lucky we were to be in sunny Fl instead of home without power. We also lucked out without much damage.
October we headed to Topsail Hill Preserve in Santa Rosa Beach Fl to workcamp for the month.
Out time there was cut short due to our daughters illness back home. The next month was spent at home with her. Luckily she is on the mend.
Finally to end off the year, we took a final roadtrip. Destination Las Vegas.. I fell in love with Arizona and now know I want to spend more time there in the future.
We feel very blessed. We have had both our children, their spouses and our 5 grandchildren with us for Christmas. Nothing can beat spending time with family. I am now exhausted but it was well worth it.
We wish for all of you a Very Happy Healthy New Year!! Happy Travels..

Our Hands Are Full

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our dear friends. We are very blessed this year to share this holiday with both our children and their families.
May you all share the joy of this beautiful holiday season with someone special...
Kevin and Arlene

Quiet Week with Snow

Well, this has been a fairly quiet week here. I got caught up on all that needs done. I also got my Christmas decorations and tree up. Tuesday was in the 70's when we got up and by afternoon had gone down to low 30's. brrrr! While I was decorating the tree, with Christmas music on, I looked outside and it was snowing.. Well, it was just flurries but very pretty and it couldnt have come at a better time. It didn't last long but at least I got to enjoy the ambiance for a bit. We had a few more that evening. We are not used to that cold weather, and it comes as a shock when we get it. One of the reasons we moved out of Massachusetts in 2000. Temps are back up again here and suppose to be 68.
I went back to work at the golf course on Thursday for 4.5 hrs. It isnt very crowded this time of year. Today I will work 1-5p and again don't think I will be very busy. It will continue like this for the winter. Doesnt pick up until spring. It was a nice surprise to get a Christmas bonus that I wasnt expecting. We have a party for our club only, Wednesday night at the Main Event. I guess its bowling and beer and hot dogs. Then on Sunday we have another one at a sister course in The Woodlands for a dinner. Should be fun.
I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. I have a few small things still left. I havent wrapped or written my cards yet so maybe tomorrow. I am behind on that.
See you chat friends tonight.

Home Safely

We arrived home about 1:30 today and without any more blowouts! Yeah. I sure was stressed driving without a spare tire. We will get the tt into the dealer and have all the tires checked out.
We have a few other issues to take care of also. Other than the mishaps on the road, the trip was alot of fun.
I got the laundry going, put a few other things away and spent some time with the grandkids.
My daughter has been home alot and bored so she asked if I would go out to get a bite to eat with her. So off we went with two of the boys to Applebees. We left Kevin stretched out on the couch watching football. Her husband and one of the boys are in Chicago visiting with family.
Tomorrow I will tackle decorating the house for Christmas. At least start to do it. I love my Christmas "stuff" and look forward to getting it out, it has so many memories.

What A Day

The drill sargeant had me up again and pulling out about 6am. All was well until we ran out of gas... We had 5 miles to the next station, but didnt make it. We have been filling the tank at half full but this was a long stretch of nothing on the highway. We went into one station but they were closed so were keeping our fingers crossed that we would make it to the next stop. Well, we didn't. Called AAA and they sent someone after 45 min. They gave us 7 gallons and we stopped at the next stop to fill up. Our fault on this one.. About an hour later we hear a loud thump. Stopped to check things out and guess what, another blowout on the tt, this time on the passenger side. Called AAA again and after 1hr they sent the same guy to fix it. We now have no spare. We only had about 80 miles to get to Buckhorn Lake Resort in Kerrville, where we had decided to stay for the night. We finally made it here.. This is the place some of us RV Dreamers are going to gather in March. I walked around the park and took some pictures. Below are just a few. The site we will have has the coach in it now and the one next to it that is empty will be Jenny's. This is a really nice RV Park and I am looking forward to spending two weeks here in the spring. Hopefully I can get Kevin to continue with this type of travel after two blowouts, a blown wheel bearing and running out of gas, for this trip. For now, we are relaxing and watching football.

Buckhorn Lake Resort at Kerrville Tx

Leaving Vegas and Broken Down

We enjoyed one last meal in Las Vegas. We had two coupons for a buffet meal at the Stratosphere so we headed there after checking out of the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at the Flamingo. I really wasnt expecting much but to my surprise, it was delicious. After finishing up, we drove back to the tt, cleaned up, hooked up, and were on our way. About 1oo miles into the trip, Kevin noticed smoke coming from the driver side of the trailer. He pulled onto the shoulder, got out and saw not only smoke but something melted all over the tire. We had passed a truck stop about 5 miles back so we continued to the next exit and drove back to it. Luckily it was open and one of the mechanics came out and told us we had blown a wheel bearing. He had us unhoook,took it off, made a few calls, and sent us to auto zone to pick up the parts we needed. Once back, he proceeded to replace it. We lost 3 hours, but are so thankful that we were close enough to have it repaired. He told us, had we continued to drive we probably would have lost the wheel. Scary... Someone what looking out for us. I wanted to stop at a nearby campground for the night but Kevin wanted to continue driving and driving we did. We continued for several hours and stopped in Surprise, Az at a Walmart parking lot for the night. Well, part of a night, as we were off and rolling at 4:30am! Today was a very long day. We drove about 600 miles and stopped in Van Horn, Tx for the night. We will be drifting off shortly.. Tomorrow we hope to stop around San Antonio and hook up to watch some FOOTBALL..

Walking and Eating Our Way Thru Vegas

Oh boy, are we tired. We have spent three straight days touring alot of the hotels here in Vegas.
I can't even remember what day we did what, they all run together. Tuesday evening we had dinner at Ellis Island. I had read reviews of the restaurant on Tripadvisor and wanted to try it.
We both had the shrimp and steak dinner for $10.95. It was very good. We gambled a little there and then headed back to the hotel. Chatted for a while. Yesterday was Kevins 60th birthday. We once again had a full day. We visited Planet Hollywood, this is a new one for us.
We loved the atmosphere at this casino but didnt have much luck. They have Earl of Sandwich, which we always visit in Dowtown Disney while in Orlando, we love their food so had a breakfast sandwich. We bought the bus pass and travelled around the strip. Kevin wanted italian food for his birthday dinner so we headed to Battista's and had a great veal parm dinner. Some more casino play and then back to the hotel. I tried getting on chat but got kicked off a few times.
Today we went to TT campground to check on the trailer. All was okay there. We then headed to Ethel M Chocolate Factory. We walked thru the tour but there was nothing really happening today. Had a few samples of candy, did a little shopping for the gkids in the m&m store. We had been given coupons for the dinner buffet at the Wynn. I have wanted to see this hotel so we took the bus down there late afternoon. It is simply beautiful. I lost playing black jack right away. It was the first bad day I had since we have been here. Kevin on the other hand did pretty good. It was the first day he came out ahead. We went to the dinner buffet with our coupons worth $33 each and boy oh boy what a dinner. Our favorites were the large cracked crab legs, yum. The shrimp were huge and delicious and just about everything else you could think of. Of course we ate too much. Back to the tables for a little more black jack. This time, I won back the money I lost earlier. I played slots here for quite a while but didnt come out ahead. Had a great time though and just loved this hotel. Again boarded the bus back to our hotel.
We have had a great time but I think I am just about over Vegas and the casino scene. We have been at it for six days now. That is too long for Vegas. We have walked our feet off as anyone who has been to Vegas understands. Everything is just so spread out that is takes forever to get anywhere. Even taking the bus, when you get off you have to walk such a distance to get to a hotel. I'm sure the exercise was good for us after eating those great meals. We did stick to just one big meal a day though. We still have two free buffet meals left for the Stratosphere so we may just hop the bus in the morning and head for breakfast. I also think we will check out tomorrow a day early and head back to the rv park and get packed up to leave early Friday morning. We have a long drive ahead.....

Up Early, Football and More Football

Sunday: I think I was awake around 3am this morning. I wonder if I will get used to this time change. Probably by the time we leave... Stayed in bed and watched a little tv until getting up about 7. Kevin cooked breakfast out on the grill. About 9 we headed over to the casino so we could get our football bets in and then settled in to watch our teams lose. We also bet on a few dog races. No luck at the black jack table, didnt stay there too long. We had burgers and then headed back to the RV to watch more F-O-O-T-B-A-L-L.. Guess what we lost all our games.
I took a walk and talked for a while with our neighbors from Vancouver. We are both very tired and plan on staying in tonight. And we can watch More Football. Tomorrow we head to the strip and check into our Hilton time share for several days.

First Full Day in Las Vegas

Saturday: Our first full day here in Las Vegas. This morning we headed to Dunkin Donuts at Sams Town. We played a little black jack and went into the sports book for Kevin to bet on some college football. We also played a free football pool. Went back to the RV, had hot dogs for lunch, did laundry and walked around the park. The sites here are very tight. I think they squeeze as many as possible into this space. Guess thats Vegas, the other parks look the same. They have a swimming pool, a small clubhouse and horseshoes. I havent seen an activity schedule like most of the TT parks have. I'm thinking there just might be enough entertainment here in Vegas!
We went back to Sams Town for an early dinner at the buffet. It was great. I played a bit on the roulette wheel. Did pretty good. We watched a little football and then headed home. I went in the chatroom for a while and then called it an early night. I am having a hard time adjusting to this time change.

Snow In Flagstaff

Yup, we saw snow today in Flagstaff. I just didnt expect driving thru Arizona that I would see it.
They had it last night and it looked very pretty, something we miss seeing since leaving Massachusetts. What a neat drive today was. The mountains are awesome. Again I am always in awe of this beautiful country. We travelled 316 miles before landing in Las Vegas. We drove around the Hoover Dam, which we have seen before but it is just such an amazing sight. Took us by surprise when all traffic had to go thru a checkpoint before heading around the dam. They had us open the back of truck and then entered the tt. How sad we have to live in such times that put us in danger of terrorists.
We arrived at the TT campground which is right on Boulder Hwy and convenient to everything.
Were not here long before we had to head to the closest casino. We both played blackjack for about 1hr. We lost..but not alot for me. My big disappointment was they gave us a free pull on the slot machines. We both got $3 free play. Okay, I played $2 on my first pull and got nothing. Had $1 left so pulled it, got 777, oh no, I only won $1 because I had only put in $1, had I put in another $1, I would have won $150. I was sooooo bummed. I will make up for it another day.
Hopefully! We headed back to the park and are ready to heat up the leftovers from yesterday for dinner. Yummm.
Hope to be on chat tonight. Last night I just couldnt connect.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a nice quiet day here in Cottonwood. It rained off and on all day, but we did get the chance to see the rest of the campground here. There are three sections, it was suggested we stay in H section if we wanted to get tv reception with our antenna. The other two sections are lower and have more level concrete sites but we opted for the higher ground. We did get pretty good reception. The directv is travelling along with us, but since it is such a job to get it set up we opted not to try in the rain. I cooked a nice turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I think this was the first Thanksgiving we have ever spent alone. We feel very thankful that we have gotten to share this day with family in the past but we also feel very thankful that we get to have this wonderful adventure. Life is good.
Tomorrow we plan to leave early morning, well I hope not too early, for Las Vegas. Hopfully the weather will improve.
God Bless everyone and may you all enjoy the ramainder of the day.

Thousand Trails, Cottonwood, Az

Thousand Trails Cottonwood, Az

Oops, I goofed.. I thought our trip today was only 100+ miles. I was wrong, it was about 260 miles. We took our time, stopped at Cracker Barrel and hit some traffic in Phoenix. Then the fun began, as we climbed to 4000 ft, we putted along, hit fog, then rain. It sure is beautiful though.
Thought we would never get here but we arrived and got set up (in the rain) I love this place but sad that the weather forecast doesnt sound good for our stay. We plan on leaving Friday morning to head to Las Vegas. Tomorrow's plan is to cook a turkey dinner, although they are serving one here at the park, I like to cook our own so we can have leftovers. Then I would like to drive to Sedona to see the red rocks. Unfortunately if the rain keeps up that probably won't happen. I definately want to come back to this area some day when time is not an issue. Can you believe my camera has died on me. What a time to do that..

Sunny Arizona, Well Partly Sunny

The drill sargeant had me up and rolling early this morning. Since he is up in the wee hours he expects me to be also. So on the road we were. It was mighty chilly but my heated seat in the truck always does the trick. We were looking forward to finally, on day three, of getting out of Texas. And we did, passing thru New Mexico and into Arizona. We really like the looks of Arizona and wish we had more time to spend in this state. We travelled 400 mi today and stopped around 1:30p at Benson, Az. We are staying at the Benson I-10 RV Park, right off the highway. We rested and I put together a salad and spaghetti for dinner. We are not in a hurry to leave in the morning as we are heading to Cottonwood and it is only a little over 100 miles. We will stay at the Thousand Trails campground for a few days before heading to Las Vegas. I took several pictures today and went to download them and they are not there. I think something is wrong with my camera. Not a good time for that.
Well, time to drop into chat. Until tomorrow.......

Long Day

Monday: Today we were up early and at Discount Tire when they opened at 8am. We bought our spare tire, stopped to get a few errands, back to campground and on the road at 9:45. We drove 450 miles and finally stopped for the night in Van Horn Tx around 5:30pm. The downside is, they don't have cable and we can't be bothered trying to set up the sat dish for one night.. It sometimes takes us hours and much frustration. Neither one of us up for that. So I popped in a frozen pizza, put in a movie and here we are relaxing. At least they have free wifi and I will check the score of the football game as the night goes on.
We really enjoyed the ride today. The hill country is so pretty. We saw lots of foliage, something we miss in the Houston area. Being from New England we really appreciate the changing color on the trees. After leaving the hill country the contrast to the drive with no trees was really something. I guess you could call the second half of the drive boring but we enjoyed it, having never been this way before. Of course being out in the middle of nowhere can make one anxious as to whether a gas station would pop up in time before running out. We lucked out just in time, although the price was alot higher than we had been paying.
Below I snapped a picture of Buckhorn Lake Resort in Kerrville Tx., this is where we will be spending the first two weeks of March with some of our RV Dreams family of friends. It looks like a great area, very convenient, being right off the highway, and we are really looking forward to it.

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort

On The Way To Vegas

Sunday: We left our house at 9:45am with hopes of being in San Antonio by 2pm. All went well for the first hour. We were about to make a pit stop, so exited the highway and as we were getting off, a car next to us started beeping their horn and pointing to the rear of our trailer. Not good, so we immediately pulled into a gas station and found we had blown a tire on ther rear of the trailer. Called AAA and they said they would contact someone. It took 2 hours, as the service tech was 70miles away. So after our 2.5 hr delay we were on our way. We arrived in San Antonio
around 5p. Got set up and called on one of my RV Dreams chat room buddies Deb (Debken) and her husband Rod, who were staying in the park. We got to meet for the first time and it was great to see them both. I had emailed them from the road and told them we were delayed and they were kind enough to cook dinner for us knowing that we wouldnt be in any mood to think about preparing dinner. It was great. Thanks again both of you. We loved meeting up and hope to do it again. WE turned in early.
Pictures of the sick tire and Deb & Rod below........

The Trip Begins

Changes in A Week

Last week was not a good one but things do change and luckily for the better.. Our daughter is doing well this week, which in turn makes it so much better for us.
I saw my dr on Wed. and everything is good there. My blood pressure was good, ekg good, blood work good and they will schedule me for a stress test. Stress, stress, stress. Thats what it all come down to.
I have given up the thought of going to my reunion next week in Boston. The air fares have gone up instead of down. I'm okay with that. I do hate to disappoint some friends that had counted on me but that is life. Hopefully will get to see them for our 50th..
Now for my hubby's 60th birthday. We had planned on going to Vegas and actually have reservations at our time share for Dec 1-5th. Well with our daughter out of work, we can't fly, on her pass soooooooooo we are going to drive. We made that decision today. I went to talk to my boss at the golf course. It is not busy there at all right now so it is a good time to be gone. We hope to leave Sunday morning. The plan is to go as far as San Antonio on Sunday and take it from there. Tomorrow we will get gassed up and load the trailer. Any suggestions on places to stop along the way and things not to be missed would be appreciated.
Hopefully my next post will be from some interesting place.

Up and Down Week

This was one of those weeks, the kind we all have had. Some good days, some bad. It started out good and then.........
Work..I havent had to work much at all. I had told them when I came back from Florida that I only wanted two days a week. Well icky weather has taken away my last two that I was scheduled for. That is a good thing. I'm scheduled tomorrow.

Veterans Day.. Since we moved to Texas my husband hasnt taken in any of the VD activities. He always had done so in Ma and Fl. He always has a tough time getting thru this day. I had forgotten but was quickly reminded. He gets very down and has alot of flashbacks. Lost alot of buddies over in Nam. I just give him his time to think it all thru. We did go to Applebees and he had a free dinner. They do that for the veterans. He always feels good that they get recognized.

My daughter.. She was doing very well and thought the meds had taken care of alot of her problems. She has had a very bad time the last few days. She has found that she still cannot handle the downs of life. She was hoping to go back to work in December. Not too sure now..

Travel..My 40th high school reunion is the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Ma. I planned on attending and had gotten hold of a close friend that now lives in Canada. She and I were planning it together. We havent seen each other in 30 years. My plan was to fly to Boston on Friday. Now everything is up in the air because I travel standby on my daughters passes. Because she has been out of work I can not fly on her benefit. Yikes, I wasnt planning on buying a ticket and especially over a holiday weekend. I have been stressing over this and what to do.
Also, Kevins 60th birthday is Dec 2nd. We have been planning on Vegas for the last six months. We saved the stimulas check and I have been saving my tip money to use for this trip. Once again we were planning on flying standby. What to do.. We have been all over the place trying to decide. We even talked about hitting the road in the RV and head to Vegas. Got out the maps and gave it much thought. I once again didnt think it a great time to leave my daughter. I am afraid I just won't enjoy the trip with her on my mind.

Health..I have been sooooo stressed out that I actually thought I may have been having a heart attack one night. I had severe pains in my back and had just seen a show in the am about a woman who had the same thing and sure enough it was a heart attack. I waited it out and it went away. I think it was indigestion. I do have a drs appt on Wednesday so will talk it over with the dr. I have a strong family history with heart disease. Mom, Dad and my three older brothers.
Another reason to stay put for now and not be on the road.

Chat..my only upside of a tough day. I look so forward to talking each evening with my rv-dreams family. Thank you all for being there.

My Goblins

These are the pictures I tried to post on Halloween and it would not work. I thought I would give it another try today. Hurray!! I have sure been having problems lately. Got kicked out of chat two nights in a row. Also have had trouble signing into chat a few nights. I guess its all the ghosts and goblins this time of year....
I can't wait until the Kerrville get together. I need help with learning more about this blog stuff. I sure hope we can get a little session together.
Until later....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween Everyone
I love the fall for the weather and decorations but I have never been really fond of Halloween. I think the reason for that is that I am not artistic or creative. My kids always had the store bought costumes. It is such an exciting day for little kids but I never wanted my kids to go out as teenagers. I was the mean mom. I figured they would only get in trouble. In Massachusetts, it is THE THING for the teens to go out egging or shave creaming. Also it was THE THING for the high school kids to STEAL pumpkins and then on Halloween Night they would choose a teacher that would get dumped on in his or her yard with hundreds of pumpkins. I did not like this tradition and wonder whether or not they still do it. Anyway my grandkids are small and very much looking forward to tonight. And because of that, I am happy for them and will enjoy their enthusiasm.
This has been a great week. I am easing into the work thing very slowly. Because the schedule had already been done for the week when I returned, I was just an extra. I worked 4 hrs on Tuesday helping out with a box lunch for a girls high school tournament. Today I worked 2.5 hrs doing the inventory. I also got to some cleaning in the house that has been neglected.
I have been very bad with the choice of food since I have been home. I don't know if it is stress eating or what. I know what foods are bad for me but thats exactly what I've been eating. I hope it doesnt continue.
Tomorrow looks to be a good day. I will start the day off at a church festival. I love those craft type fairs. Don't know why since I don't have the need for any more STUFF.. Then we are going to the Continental Airlines Employee picnic. Sounds like a fun day and looking forward to it.
You all enjoy and don't eat too much candy..

Quiet and Lazy

Ok, I have been home now almost a week and can't say I've got much accomplished. Of course the usual laundry and grocery shopping but not much more than that. The weather here is just beautiful. I love fall..... I did go see my boss at the golf course. I told her I was back and that I didnt want to work very much right now. Maybe 2 days a week. So as of Tuesday, I am working again. I want to be home with my daughter and try to motivate her a little. She has good days and bad ones.
Today hope to get outside and maybe do some cleaning up. Then its just relaxing and watching football.

Cutting Our Stay Short

You gotta do what you gotta do. Thats what we did. We had to pull out of Florida sooner than we planned. I had mentioned before, that our daughter is suffering from severe depression right now. She was released from the hospital a little over a week ago. Well, she is still having a hard time and we felt we need to be with her. She and her husband are flight attendants and although she is out on sick leave, her husband still has to fly. He is gone 3-4 days at a time. So that left her home alone with her three small kids. She needed us. I have been really stressed while away. I felt pulled in two directions one being our commitment to the park to workcamp and the other of course to be home with her. Family comes first and that is what they told us at Topsail Hill when we broke the news to them. They are great people and we hope to return there again next fall.
In the meantime, I will go with her to see her dr tomorrow. She actually seems much better now that we are here.
I hope everyone is enjoying the fall. We have beautiful weather here in Texas. Cool mornings and evenings with warm afternoons. I hear cooler temps are on the way.

Work Then Play

We were on duty M,T and W this week, driving the tram to the beach. Our day starts at 8am, we pick up the golf cart at the shop and proceed to the beach to blow off the boardwalk and empty the trash. At 8:45 we go to the office and pick up the truck/tram keys and get the list of checkouts for the day. The tram run starts at 9am and continues every two hours this time of year. We have three stops. Between the runs, we blow off sites when campers leave. Our last tram run is at 5pm. We finish up about 5:30. We get 10 hrs each for our duty day. We did three of them this week which is a total of 60hrs combined. Now we will have 8 days off.
Yesterday it was off to the beach. It was a beautiful day but the water was a little on the rough side. There was an undertow, which scares me, so I didnt spend much time in the water. Kevin likes to body surf but I am a chicken. Loved the peacefullness of sitting looking at the water though.
Today we went out to explore. First stop was Eden Garden, a Florida State Park. The focal point of this park is a beautiful two story elegant house with a wrap around porch. It was an estate that was owned in the 1800's by the Wesley's, a Florida timber family. It is surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens. Although this time of year, alot of the flowers are sleeping. We missed the tour of the house by 10 minutes. Hopefully I can get back another time to tour the inside. I'm told the collection of Louis XVI furniture is the second largest in the U.S.
Next stop was Deer Lake State Park. The lake is one of the coastal dune lakes that are extremely rare worlwide and in the U.S. they occur only along the Gulf Coast. We have two here at Topsail also.
If I could figure out how to post the pictures that I took I certainly would. Unfortunately it isnt working for me. I shall do that at another time.
We finished our fun day by having lunch at the Dewey Destin. It is right by the Destin Marina and sits on the water by the Destin Bridge. They cook up fresh fish right off the boats. Yum. We both had grouper sandwiches.

Back in Florida

I am back here at Topail after spending 3 days at home in Texas. I flew up Monday morning and met with my daughters counselor. Helped out with the kids, did some cooking and stayed put until my daughter was released from the hospital. Hopefully she will start feeling better real soon. I fly standby and tried to get out Wed. night but didnt. Returned to the airport on Thursday, couldnt get into Pensacola so flew to Mobile, Al. Kevin had to drive 3 hours to pick me up and then back again but I guess I'm worth it. I found out later that evening that I could have flown into Ft. Walton, uh oh, not too far from here. Oh well he likes to drive anyway....
He worked Wed. and Thur. helping out in housekeeping. I joined him on Friday and although I don't like to clean we really didnt do much. I swept the floors in the bath houses and he mopped. They pay housekeepers to do the cleaning so they do the rest. We were done early and relaxed the rest of the day. Today we started our day by going to clubhouse for Breakfast with the Ranger. It was good. I did the laundry and grocery shopping while Kevin cleaned our awning. The weather is beautiful. Didnt get to the beach today but will try to do that tomorrow. We have some nice neighbors so I have spent some time talking with them. Tonight we plan to watch our Boston Red Sox proceed to the World Series, hopefully... We are next scheduled to work on Monday driving the tram to the beach.

Bad Timing But Finally Here

We have arrived....Finally. We were to leave last Monday for the workcamp gig in Santa Rosa Beach but due to family emergency with our daughter had to postpone until late Wednesday night. We drove thru the night and stopped at the Hollywood Casino and Campground in Bay St. Louis, Ms around 8am. How nice to have a campground let us check in then. We had a nice breakfast at the buffet, played a little, then off to rest for several hours. We put some chicken breasts on the grill and some rice in the microwave and had an easy dinner. Back to the casino for a few hours. I didnt do well on the slots so I joined Kevin at the blackjack table. We both ended up winners. He ended up winning $200 and I ended being up $50. It was a good night.
We had a good nights sleep and took off early for Fl. It was about a 4 hour drive to the campground. It felt good to be back here. We checked in and got our schedule for work. We were to run the shuttle Fri, Sat and Sun but because we were late arriving they found someone to cover for us and let us settle in for the weekend. How nice. Our next work day is Wednesday and is with housekeeping. We don't have any idea what that will involve, this is something new added to the duties. They have paid housekeepers so I guess it is to help them out. In the meantime... I got a call that my daughters dr wants to meet with me if possible. So, I am flying to Texas tomorrow to meet with her. (luckily we fly for free) I have no idea how long I will stay, have to wait and see how things are. May not be back in time for housekeeping, so hubby will have to pull the weight.
The weather here is beautiful. We went to the beach this morning for a few hours. I find the ocean so relaxing. Just what I need right now.....

Life after Ike and Trip Delayed

Well, I finally got to download some pictures. I promised a few people I would post pictures of our yard of what Ike did here. We were some of the lucky ones. No house damage. My heart goes out to those who have severe damage or loss. Prayers are with them.

Today was the day we were to take off for Destin. Unfortunately, due to other circumstances we didn't get to leave. Our daughter is having a tough time with depression and after seeing her dr this morning our plans are up in the air. They want to hospitalize her and she is refusing, so things are not too great on the homefront. We will give it another day to see what she plans to do and then make a decision as to whether we can leave and when. We are all packed up and ready to go.....

All Is Well Here On The Home Front

We arrived back in Houston, Saturday night. We heard the electricity came back on early Friday morning. Yeah!!!! I guess we are lucky, as many others still do not have it. The first job for us was inspection of the property. Two big pine trees down but luckily they didnt do any damage. The smaller shed had blown apart and debris thrown around. Some damage to the kids trampoline but maybe fixable. Several sections of fence down. All in all, things look pretty good. Then on to the emptying of the freezer and frig. It was loaded to the gill. It is sad throwing away food but again we are thankful. Off then to the grocery store to do a little stocking up. Alot of the shelves were empty, especially the bread and dairy isles. Oh and I couldnt get hot dogs or tuna fish. I guess they are popular items. I also paid a visit to the golf course where I work. They are up and operating, in fact I have to work the next 6 days. Ugh.. Not much time to get the packing done for our workcamp trip to Destin. We plan on leaving next Monday. Hope to stay in Missippippi for a night or two at Bay St. Louis.
Well, thats it for now. Hopefully next report will be us enjoying ourselves in Destin.

Power Still Out

Well, even though we are not in our home, we keep up with the latest on whether we have power there or not. Not, as of noon today. They are slowly getting it back in our area so I suspect it should be in the next few days hopefully. As for now we are still in Florida at a nice resort and making the best of it. We are so much better off than those in Texas.
Kevin and I are suppose to be heading out to Destin a week from Monday so as long as we get back to Texas and everything is okay with the trailer then it should be a go. I have alot of preparing to do but I can get it all done in no time. We will also have to see what the gas situation is when we leave to be assured we can get it for the trip.
My daughter and I took two of the boys to Epcot on Saturday. We had a really great time. It wasnt very crowded so didnt have to wait long to get on the rides. Today we all went to Magic Kingdom. It was very hot so hubby and I along with the baby, only lasted about three hours. We will go back and pick up our daughter and kids when she calls. Her husband, by the way, is back to work as of yesterday.
On Sunday we went to St. Petersburg. That is where we lived for 3.5 years after leaving Massachusetts. Our house is there and we rent it out. We stopped by to check on things and we were given a list of "things to do". Ya sure.... Don't ask and we won't raise the rent.... We havent in 4 years. We have to think about this. While in St. Pete we both went out with old friends. Kevin out to golf and myself out to lunch with girls and then to Ft. Desoto for a little beach time. In the evening we met up and all went out for a chinese buffet. Headed back to Orlando late evening.
We are really trying to enjoy but it is just a strange feeling not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Will we be staying here or packing up and heading home. Our daughter had to reserve and pay for another week in a timeshare just in case. Luckily she has that option. Time will tell.....

Decisions Decisions

We have had a few very stressful days trying to decide what to do and where to go. We had plans on taking an early morning flight this morning back home to Houston. With the hurricane on the way, we had to make the decision whether to fly home or stay put in Florida until the storm has ended. We had pretty much decided to stay rather than chance taking the kids back home and not having any power which could be for days on end. The airlines made the final decision for us since it cancelled all flights into Houston today anyway. Now the problem will be getting home and when. We fly standby so before we get to go, all the other paying passengers will have to go ahead of us. My daughter has rented another time share for us for a week. We had to move out of the one we were in this morning since our week was up. We returned our rental cars and rented new ones as it was cheaper this way. It has just all been a hassle, but we are safe here with the kiddos. Continental has already contacted my son in law and they are flying him back to Houston Sunday morning and working him from there. My daughter is awaiting her call. They both fly for Continental. So we may have the kids here by ourselves.
We havent been doing too much here other than watching the weather channel. I did get to the
outlet stores to buy a birthday gift for my grandson who will turn one in a few weeks. We also got to go back to Celebration Station for more seafood. I had a lobster roll this time. mmmmm.
We will go to Epcot one of these days. But for now back to the television. Our hearts go out to those that will lose their homes. We have friends staying at our house that left their home in Galveston. We don't expect much damage since we are about 85 miles north of Galveston but one never knows, we just can't underestimate these powerful storms.

An Unexpected Vacation

Well, we had an invitation we couldnt refuse. Our daughter had rented two timeshares in Orlando for themselves and another family. When the other family backed out, they were left with this 2 bedroom timeshare. Oh my, what shall they do with it... How about offering it to mom and dad. We accepted without hesitation and due to the fact that it doesnt cost us to fly, added to this adventure. Of course we knew we would be expected to do a little babysitting as an expression of thanks. We don't mind, as long as it isnt everyday.
Friday was a day of checking in and stocking up on some grocery's.
Saturday and Sunday all run together in my mind. I know we did some pool time and watched the baby while dd, sil and 4 and 6 yr old went to Universal Studios. Oh and Sunday night we went to our favorite place to eat in this area in Celebration. It is the Town Tavern. They are from Boston as we are and we got to have our seafood that we miss so much. I had clam chowder and a clam roll and hubby had seafood platter. Yummmmmmm. We may go back...
Monday was a fun day. We took our 4yr old grandson and went over to Ft Wilderness (disneys campground) I love it there. They have been doing some revamping so it isnt as lush as it usually is but I'm sure it will grow back. They are redoing some of the sites to make them larger.
They are also going to do over the pool area. From there, we took the boat over to the Contemporary Hotel and jumped on the monorail. We got to ride up front with the conductor. Logan got copilot license and wings for helping. We played some games at the game room and then returned to the Fort by boat. It was a great day and nice to have one on one time with him.
Today we took the baby almost 1 yr, to Downtown Disney. Had lunch at Earl of Sandwich where we always have a great sandwich while visiting here. Also checked out the Thousand Trails campground where we have a membership and it is our home preserve. Not sure what is in store for tonight but probably head out to dinner somewhere.
We started coming to Orlando in 79 with our kids. I have lost count as to how many times we have come back. I enjoy the excitement of Disney even if we don't go into the parks. I love to roam around the hotels, downtown disney or the campground. We usually do the parks when it is cooler and off season. We plan on camping at Ft. W. in January so will probably see them again then.

Looking Forward....

Well, now that August is all most over, I am getting in the fall mode. We will be going back to workcamp for the month of October at Topsail Hill in Santa Rosa Beach, Fl. It is in the Destin area. We just love it there.. We are beach people. I think there is nothing better than sitting on the beach and reading a good book. I have attached (hopefully) some pictures that were taken last year while working there. Several people have asked me what our duties were. As you can see, we drove the shuttle to the beach, cleaned off sites and walkways, drove thru the preserve looking for trash. I also worked in the office. We really enjoyed our stay and the great people we got to meet. This is a Florida State park and we had to put in 27 hrs a week per couple in exchange for a great site. This year the hours have gone up to 30 per couple.

I have been working alot this week, someone on vacation. I get to cook the typical grill food for the golfers. Its not too bad considering I didnt work that much last week. We got rained out. Kevin has been golfing this week after missing it last week because of rain. We also havent had to babysit much these last few weeks but that is about to change. We will get our share of that coming up soon. School has started here so my oldest 6yr old grandson is in school and that helps during the day.
Weather here hot again after the rain cooling it down last week..... Off to prepare supper and hope to be on chat this evening.

Dog Days of Summer

Well, once again I am complaining of the heat. I guess getting older does that. I am really disliking it alot. I told someone on chat the other night, the reason we moved from New England was to escape the cold and snow of winter. Well hello, what did we trade that for.... Trying to decide which is worse. I guess I would have to say the snow is worse if you have to drive in it, and I did every day so maybe the trade off was okay. Actually when we left, it was for Florida. We were there 3 and 1/2 yrs before we moved to Texas. Florida is hot but we pretty much always had a breeze even if it was a warm one. I long for the days of heading to the cooler climates in the summer.
I am getting excited about our workcamp stint coming up this October. We will be going back to Topsail Hill in Santa Rosa Beach in Florida. It is in the Destin area. The fall will be a nice time to be there. Last year we spent July & August there and it was just to hot to enjoy sitting outside. I will post some pictures of it one of these days. Nice place... They don't have wifi, that is the only downside. I am trying to decide what to do about it. Now that I am on chat every night and following blogs, I can't live without my computer. So, I am now looking for alternatives. I hate to pay for an air card since we don't travel all the time. I am trying to find out about the vacation mode that verizon and sprint seem to offer. Not sure if they put a time limit on it. Or, is upgrading my phone to broadband access the way to go? Not sure, but plan on finding out soon.
Stay cool everyone.

Looking For A Picture

Boy, I never knew we didn't have pictures of my husband and I together. I am usually the picture taker so I don't end up in many. Last night on chat, Jenny said she couldnt find a picture of Kevin & I together at the rally. I told her I would look for one. Well, it turned into a task. This one was taken last year in St. Thomas, while on a cruise. Not great but will have to do.
We are watching the weather closely. Sounds like that tropical storm may hit Texas tomorrow. We have started to put some things away. Hope it won't be too bad. I can't imagine in this heat not having air conditioning. We talk about getting a generator but haven't done so yet. The day before a storm isn't the time to do it. Perhaps one of these days.......

Hot Hot Hot

What more can I say. Things here in Texas are unbearably hot this week. The weekend is suppose to get worse. I go from the house to work or babysitting to the pool and back in to the house. Not a very exciting life.. I had plans to go to Florida for a few days but that didnt work out for me. I had to work on Wednesday, right in the middle of the week. Oh well, its hot there also.
I am so happy sitting here thinking of what an exciting weekend this is for some of my chat room friends. Jenny is getting her "new to her" MH today, Nonna is leaving for Vancouver for an extended trip and Moppah is heading out to see her new MH being built. Unfortunately Kathy, one of our dreamer family fell down the steps of her 5er into the picnic table and broke three ribs. She is well medicated and hopefully will be feeling better soon.
I think I will take a dip in the pool now and maybe dream a little.

I used to enjoy and look forward to weekends but things have changed. I have a part time job and now have to work most weekends. I am working at a golf course in the grille. I thought it would be fun to get out of the house and see some nice people and it was at first. but now they are taking advantage of me. I took the job with intentions of working 2 maybe 3 days a week for a few hours. Now I am working up to 5 days and some are 8 or 9 hr shifts. Just getting to be too much.
At least I have gained some experience as a short order cook. It just may come in handy some day if we go on the road and want to workcamp. I also figured using the money to pay off some debt will help get us on the road sooner.
It has been very hot here in Texas. I envy those of you that are in the cooler climates. I have hopes of us spending the summer in Colorado perhaps. Isnt it nice we all get to dream..... And some of those dreams come true.

Well, today was just a busy day running around getting caught up on all the little things that need to get done. Hubby and I also went looking at small cars. The truck is so bad on gas that we thought we may buy an economy car to run around in locally. Well, we were surprised that the prices weren't lower. Just looking for now.
Just got off the phone from my girlfriend in Florida and I may just hop on a flight next week to visit her. Need to get some beach time in. Actually I am so tired right now just want to relax on the beach and chill.

Favorite kind of Vacation

What We Travel In

The Sully's 1st Blog

Hi,
I am Arlene Sullivan and this is my first blog. I have been encouraged by my RV Dream chatters to create one. I will not post to it daily, as I think you would find it very boring...
My husband Kevin and I do love to get out on the road. However we don't get to do it all the time.
Perhaps someday down the road we will get that chance but for now we enjoy what we can.
We have hopes to go out for a month or so about 3 or 4 times a year.
We both retired from our jobs early and moved from Massachusetts to Florida. We enjoyed the sunshine and beaches while there for 3 years, but our grandchildren brought us to Texas where we now reside. We babysit for them while their parents who work as flight attendants fly off to exciting places. It is the toughest job I have ever had but love them so much. My other two grandchildren live in the St. Louis area and we don't get to see them as much as we like.
For now I will sign off and try to learn more about this blogging stuff as time goes on and with the help of my newly found family of RV Dreamers....