Sunday February 27, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

Today is Stella's birthday and I had a full day planned for her. I let her sleep as late as she wanted and went to the donut shop to pick up her breakfast. Hey, that's what she said she wanted....and she wasn't even a cop!

I had taken some bowls, spoons and forks out of our cabinets to take down to the rally hall and made an excuse to go to Kroger to pick up the cake and some ice cream. When I returned, I ran into Jim and Reta and offered to help Jim pick up trash this morning because Reta and Faye had told me they would dish up the cake and ice cream for the party. That was a big relief for me! Reta also said she would make up some punch for everyone. I made up the coffee pot, so everything was ready for the party to start. I talked to Melissa by text and told her what time to be here. I also talked to Kim and found out that she had a pretty good night after her low blood-sugar incident. She said that she would be here after she went to the hospital to pick up some medications that had been forgotten last night, so it seemed that everything was in place for the party.

I came on back home and continued on with the plan to surprise Stella. I had told her that we needed to stop by the rally hall to check on some banners that were being made for Timber Ridge, and she believed my story! She was completely fooled when she walked into the Rayford room and found everyone wishing her a Happy Birthday. We had a good turnout and estimated that we had 25-30 people at the party. Everyone had a good time and I spent a lot of time with Ian, taking him around the room to show him off a bit. Of course, everyone knows Tyler and Cameron, who spend a lot of time with us when we are here, and anyway, they were very late getting here, so Ian got the center stage today. Jennifer took him out to look at and pet the horses next door, and he seemed to enjoy them. He was a little afraid of them because they are so big, but he did pet them and talked to them.

Everyone had a good time visiting and the party finally broke up about 3 o'clock. All the kids came to our trailer and we about filled it up. Remember, there were 10 people and the two doggies in our small trailer, so it was a pretty tight fit. Ian didn't care for Tramp jumping up on him, but he was tired and needed a nap (takes after his grandpa!) and I think he will take to him better in the future.

Jennifer, Melissa and Ian left around 4 to make the long trip home. Kim, Jeremy and the boys stayed later and we went out to eat at the 88 Buffet for supper. We had a good meal there and before we knew it, it was time for hugs and handshakes and they left for Texas City. Stella and I came back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Stella had a very nice birthday and thanked me for a great day. The look of surprise on her face was enough for me! We stopped celebrating our birthdays several years ago but this one was special. She is now officially old and can file for her Medicare and Medicaid benefits. I'll be there next year.

So long.

Saturday February 26, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

We are in the final weekend off before having to go back to work at Timber Ridge. We took full advantage of it today by going out to eat a big breakfast at Luby's with Jim and Reta and meeting Pete and Jean at the restaurant. We had a good meal and a great time with our friends.

We came back home and loaded up a few things like our cold weather clothes to take to storage, but planned to pick up several things that we had left there like my heavy duty ladder and a box containing some of Stella's maps and atlas.

We made the trip in record time because we drove down the brand new section of the Beltway that just opened today. By going this way, we cut about 30 minutes off our travel time and only had one toll booth. It was well worth it and we actually took it back home when the Mardi Gras traffic stopped up the Gulf Frwy.

We went to the First Baptist Church where we watched Cameron play in his next-to-last basketball game. This was his best game yet, with his best stats and some team-leading scoring. They give out stars when the game is over and I believe Cam got four stars, a pretty good game. I think his "career" in basketball is going to be short-lived though. He has told his Mom and Jeremy that he is okay with basketball but better in baseball. Luckily, baseball season has begun with practice and the season will start in a few weeks.

We all took Stella out to eat at Gringo's restaurant in Texas City for her birthday which is tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised that neither of the boys spilled the beans on the surprise birthday party that we have planned for Stella tomorrow. Stay tuned for tomorrow's report.

So long.

Tuesday February 22 thru Friday February 25, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

The rest of this week we just ran errands and got all settled into our new site. I forgot to mention that last night Jim had a nice campfire outside Warren and Judy's site. They are in Louisiana for a few days, so we took advantage of their empty driveway and had good group. We had another fire tonight but I was late going out because of my television show. Can't miss Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS!

We went to Sams, the grocery store, Wal Mart and other places while we had time off from work. We went to the baked potato supper on Tuesday night but there weren't any other park activities this week except men's coffee every morning. We are having good groups of guys there and always have a good time together.

I did some work on the trailer and repaired the ladder that had been broken when it was not re-secured when it was removed. The bolts in the bottom had sheared off, making it impossible for me to carry my ladder, so I found some suitable bolts and repaired it. There were several other little things I worked on. We have an appointment to have some more work done at the factory when we get there in May, as well as having the Level-Up system installed by Lippert in Elkhart. We are looking forward to our trip and were sorry to hear that Tommy and Susan had to cancel their vacation due to family matters. With fuel prices rising like they are, we may change some of our plans but right now, everything is still a go as planned. We'll see how things work out.

So long.

Monday February 21, 2011-Moving Day-Buckhorn Lake Resort to Rayford Crossing RV Resort

We woke pretty early this morning, moving day, and because the time-consuming things had already been done, we got ready to go about 9:30. Tommy and Susan had already left but said they might see us at the rest area near Seguin where they planned to stop. We made good time through San Antonio but we got a call from Susan telling us that they had made their stop and were on their way. We decided to go on past the rest stop and stopped at Buccee's at Luling for our break. We both got a sandwich because lunch time was approaching and we knew we would be hungry by the time we reached Rayford. The only other stop we made was at the rest area near Columbus where we took the dogs out and refueled. It surprised me that we were almost empty in the big tank, but then we had refilled from it three other times and took a lot out of it every time.

There was little traffic on the road because it is a federal holiday, President's Day, so we made good time. We breezed through Houston and arrived at Rayford about 3 o'clock. It was good to be back! We saw many of our friends and visited while we got set up.

Stella learned that they had not scheduled her to work at Timber Ridge until the 1st of March, so we had a week off. We can get our errands run, clean up the trailer and rest up.

We had eaten so much during our time away that we didn't want too much tonight. We ate sandwiches and turned in early tonight. IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME!!!

So long.

Sunday February 20, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

Sunday morning began like the rest of the week, with cloudy skies and cool temps. We went for a ride with Tommy and Susan and ended up back at the James Avery compound. There are several buildings there for different operations in making jewelry. The actual craftsmen work behind closed doors or perhaps in one of the other buildings, but I think they could show the work as it is being done, which might be very interesting to customers. Just a suggestion...

We all got hungry and since they hadn't been here on the night we went to Mamacita's, we decided to go there today. We learned that we had only seen a limited menu the other night, and the regular offering was much better. We all ate a large meal and Tommy and Susan left with food for the road tomorrow.

We went back to the park and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. I did some of my work before leaving tomorrow. I got the tanks drained and cleaned out and took the porch down, about as much as I wanted to do today.

There was a potluck dinner tonight in the hall but we didn't participate because we were all still full from our lunch. We did go down and chat with our friends there and when supper was over, we went down to Jim's trailer for another fireside chat without the fire. We stayed down there for awhile but my droopy eyelids sent me on home. It was a nice way to end the rally.

So long

Saturday February 19, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

Saturday morning was a little warmer but it is still cool outside. We went to the barn hall for a park-furnished breakfast with several choices. The breakfast was very good and we enjoyed our company at our table. That has been the pattern for this rally with many of our Heartland friends being there as well as some old friends from the Texas Boomers and new friends from this rally.

Stella and Susan went shopping during the morning and ended up at the James Avery store where Susan bought a couple of pieces of jewelry. Stella didn't buy anything but enjoyed looking around the store. They liked it so much, they made Tommy and I go back to the store, which is actually a compound for the Avery craftsmen to do their work and a display store for sales. Of course, we didn't see James Avery but it was interesting to see the property and buildings. I didn't bring my camera to take any photos, but it was an impressive location.

We came back to the park in time for Tommy and I to relax (nap) before getting ready for the big meal of the weekend, the Sweetheart Dinner. Tommy and Susan had not been signed up for the rally itself, but did get signed up for tonight's dinner. We had a choice of barbecue ribs or barbecued brisket and chicken. Stella had chosen the ribs of course, and I got the brisket and chicken and both of them were great. I'll say one thing for this park, they really have serving food down well. Everyone's food was served quickly and all the food was still hot and delicious.

Stella and I played games after the meal but Tommy and Susan decided to go back home. We played Triominoes with Kevin and Nellie and Bette and all had a good time. I returned home a little after ten o'clock to take care of the puppies and soon was asleep in my chair. It had been a good but long day for us.

So long.

Friday February 18, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

This morning we woke to the worst weather of the week. It was cold (upper 50's) and rainy all day long and was just a dreary day. The car wash guy was busy all day though, so I guess we started a trend for him. Maybe I should have asked him for a referral for all the others that had their rigs washed and waxed, since we were the first to have ours done.

We all stayed around the park all day long and some went to the hall to play games but we didn't go. They apparently change the rules of every game, depending on who is playing so we decided that we would just hang out and visit with friends.

We were to go to Mamacita's, a mexican restaurant for supper tonight but before we left, the park offered margaritas for a dollar, so almost everyone met at the outdoor bar for a drink before we left. One of the owners of Buckhorn made the drink mix using a regular margarita mix but included a small amount of beer to the mix. It made a very good, smooth drink and we all enjoyed them. I drank about half of my drink when one of my buddies, Jerry, called his wife who had gone to Wal Mart a couple of hours ago and learned that she had tried to call him several times because she had a problem with their truck. I soon took him to where she was and we got them going again. We returned to the park, but everyone had left the bar area and were preparing to leave for the restaurant. Jerry and Diane rode with us to eat supper, and we all had a lot of laughs and visited on our way to the restaurant and then back to the park.

It had stopped raining before we had met for drinks, but it was still too cold to be outside very long, so we all went inside for the night. We are having a very good time at this rally and will return in the future.

So long.