Wednesday February 27, 2013-Oasis RV Resort

Today is Stella's birthday, so I sang Happy Birthday to her as soon as she got out of bed, just to start her day out right... I also gave her the day off for cooking and did without breakfast. Beside that, we didn't have any milk for cereal. I knew that we were going out for dinner tonight, so it's not like we're going without food today.

I called the insurance company to get things rolling on the truck repairs and learned that I need to get it back to the dealer for photos and so they would know to order the parts. We were soon on our way to Cook Ford, where we met with the body shop manager Melissa. She soon had her pictures and told me of the things I needed to get done before bringing the truck in. With that done, we went to buy some groceries before going home.

Cameron had baseball practice in Friendswood so we met all of them at Gringo's restaurant for Stella's birthday celebration. We had a good meal after a short wait for a table to open up and managed to embarrass Stella by having the waiters sing happy birthday to her.

It got cold after the sun went down and I was sorry I hadn't worn either long sleeves or taken a jacket, but we weren't outside very long. The truck was soon warmed up and we were toasty all the way home.    I had posted on Facebook about being at the restaurant for Stella's birthday and many of our friends wished her a happy day, so it had been a good day for her. Maybe someday, she'll get on Facebook too.

So long.

Tuesday February 26, 2013-Oasis RV Resort

Today I went to get information on getting the truck repaired, and boy, was I in for a surprise! It has been FOREVER since I've had to go through the hassle of having body work done at a dealership or anywhere else. Wow, what a deal!

I remember when a car dealer offered a low cost or no cost loaner car out of their fleet, in hope of a customer having a repair made at their body shop, actually buying one of their line. Not only that, how much more convenient could it be for a customer to come to your store, drop of their vehicle for work to be done, and then drive out in a rental/loaner car. Then when the work is completed, they bring the dealer's car back, settle up the bill and leave in their own car. Not so much like that now...

At any rate, I went to a Ram dealer and learned that they don't even have a body shop, but referred me to an outside shop that I was not impressed at all with. It was a long drive from the dealer, in a rough industrial neighborhood and then, instead of estimating a good repair, they wanted to knock the dent out and then use (a lot) of Bondo to make the repair. Maybe that's the way this dealership makes repairs, but I want it done right, so it won't come back to bite me later.

I contacted my insurance company and learned that they have a "preferred dealer" network. I used a couple of their suggestions and got some better results. I think I have found the place to have the work done. Now to work out the details, and I'll put the truck in the shop in the next couple of days and it will be all shiny and repaired soon.

Wow, what an ordeal!

So long.

Monday February 25, 2013-Moving day-Woodland Lakes RV Park to Oasis RV Resort

I woke this morning, watching the television weather and traffic reports with interest. I had heard that we were getting a cold front through this morning and that rain was expected. Of course, the news media says "Severe Weather" in that big voice, to frighten everyone listening, but if you listen carefully, the chance of rain was about 40% and expected to be east of I-45, so the Severe Weather wasn't so much after all. What was very interesting was a traffic accident that had backed traffic up to the Rayford-Sawdust exit and the wait time was approximately an hour and a half. Wow!

We decided to put off our leaving time for a bit, so I began packing up about 8:30, with a projected departure time of 10. We made it almost exactly on time, pulling out of the park about 10 minutes after 10. The traffic backup had disappeared and we breezed through without slowing down. In fact, we were in Dickinson, about 10 miles from the park exactly an hour after leaving. That 70 mile tow seemed like a breeze!

When we arrived, we learned that the site that we had been promised was still taken, so we chose another site after asking GM David what he wanted us to do. We got all set up and were relaxing when we got a visit from Stacy, the park manager. She said that the site we were in was the longest in the park (which we had noticed) and that it had been promised to another customer and that we would have to move. We finished up the move about 4 and relaxed for awhile before fixing some soup and a sandwich for supper. We were hungry because we hadn't eaten all day!

Kim called and we went over to visit them. The boys were glad to see us and it was good to spend time with them. We learned that Tyler has two band performances on Saturday in Texas City and Cameron has a baseball tournament on Sunday in Katy, so there goes our weekend! It's been a long time since we've seen them play, and we will have fun with them. Looking forward to the weekend!

So long.

Sunday February 24, 2013-Woodland Lakes RV Park

Today was another slow day around here. We had some noisy neighbors in a motorhome that left early this morning. No, they didn't play loud music or anything like that, they just made a lot of banging and clanging around as they loaded up to leave. I'm pretty sure they didn't do it on purpose, but when you're leaving at the ungodly hour of 6:30, please don't slam baggage doors and the front door of their home. It makes the old folks next door unhappy.

About the only constructive thing we did today was wash clothes. It seems like that's all we do, but Stella likes to keep things clean. Me, I'm not that picky, and I don't think my jeans need washing every time I put them on. I mean, I'm not getting out and rolling around in the dirt, or doing work in them and getting them all sweaty. At any rate, we went to the little washateria here in the park and found that it is a little cheaper here. Whatever, I'll take it!

I want to do a little review of this park, as we prepare to leave tomorrow. It's a nice, quiet little park with a lot of potential. There is too much bare dirt around here. I don't mind dirt or gravel sites, but some grass to walk on would be really nice. The blacktop roads need repair and I've already heard that it's planned, so I'll be interested in seeing what happens while we're away. We'll return to this park next time we're in the north Houston/Conroe area.

So long.

Saturday February 23, 2013-Woodland Lakes RV Park

It was cool this morning and both of us slept in. Cold weather sure makes for good sleeping! When I got up, I found an email from S. Texas Chapter Leader Tom and Marti, asking if we wanted to get together for lunch. They are in our area today, so we agreed to meet at The Sweet Tomato restaurant, one of my favorite places to eat when in Houston. It was their first time to go and I think they enjoyed it. We had a great meal and spend about two hours chatting after our meal. It was a nice way to spend the lunch hour(s).

We hadn't been home for very long before Tommy and Susan called, asking us if we wanted to meet them for supper. Well, it had been about three hours since we had eaten, so we met them at the 3B's Burger place near Rayford. They have great burgers and Stella and I split one, since we had eaten not long ago. After our meal, we went over to Rayford where they were staying. We sat outside in the cool evening and had a nice visit with them. I've gotta admit that it did feel good to be back at Rayford. Maybe someday...

So long.

Friday February 22, 2013-Woodland Lakes RV Park

I woke up early to drive over to Rayford Crossing to have coffee with the guys. I had talked to Tommy and told him of my plan so he could be there to let me in and it worked out perfectly. As I walked up, I talked to a couple of the guys who were outside smoking, but then Tommy opened the door for me and all of them were very surprised. I wish I had a small video camera to take the surprised looks on their faces, because no one knew or expected me to be there. There were 15 or 16 guys there and I knew all of them but a couple.

It was very good to see my old friends, and we had a nice visit before the coffee ran out and we all split up to leave. I went by and talked to Big John and Jan, who had just bought a new Montana trailer that was being delivered later today, and also saw Jerry and Diane, Jim and Reta and Roy and June. It was so good to see so many of my friends and it makes me miss coming to Rayford and all the memories there.

I came back home and picked up a couple of donuts for Stella to eat for breakfast-what a good husband I am...  Tommy and Susan invited us over to their place at Rayford for lunch with them and also Warren and Judy, some more old friends. We had a great lunch of soup that Susan had made, and got caught up on what has been going on at Rayford. We later walked down to see John and Jan's new trailer. It is nice and I hope that they enjoy it. It has bunk beds for their grandkids and that will come in handy.

We ran a couple of errands and came on back home in time for a nap. We've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to nap as much and my chair missed me. It had been a good day and I was ready!

So long.

Thursday February 21, 2013-Moving Day-Ancient Oaks RV park, Rockport to Woodland Lakes RV Park

We left the Coastal Bend area this morning. We had a great time visiting with our friends at the Meet and Greet and look forward to coming back next season. Stella and I talked about it on the trip today but haven't made up our minds about when we'll be back.

Here is the picture of the damage to the fender on my truck. I just couldn't see that tree in the blind spot and this is the result. Anyone do body work?

We slept late this morning, about 7:30 but once we got started, things went pretty well. I chatted a bit with a couple of the men in the park who needed information on going across Houston toward Beaumont which I was glad to give.

We pulled out about 9:40 and made good time going down Hwy. 35. Before turning off, I was getting more than 13 mpg by the truck computer. I know, I know, they're not accurate, but I'd rather be showing 13 than 8!

We made only one stop today, at the Buccee's store in Wharton. Love me some Buccee's! We got some sandwiches and kept on rolling.It's a good thing we weren't depending on this station for fuel. All of the pumps were down fore remodeling  but the store was open.

We made it  to Woodland Lakes RV Park  about 2 o'clock and were soon checked in. The couple that is working here also have a Landmark, but their's is a 2006 Mount Rushmore. They said they love their classic Landmark and we had a nice chat with them about it. The man, Fred, is quite a character and I am looking forward to our stay here. Please stay tuned.

So long.