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About this blog

An account of our travels and tribulations.

Entries in this blog

 

Litchfield National Park

South of Darwin is a well-known park, Litchfield National Park. Several people we have talked to mentioned Litchfield as a must-see park. It was just off our planned route of travel so we planned to spend the day exploring the park. We decided to drive to the far end of the park, there is only one road into the park, not a loop through the park. We would be driving into the park and then seeing the sights on the way out. That was the plan but when we got to the first stop, the magnetic term
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Westward Ho!

Our time in the campervan is now down to three weeks and we have one third of mainland Australia to explore. Leaving Batchelor we drove south to Katherine to fuel up and stock up on groceries before turning west on the Victoria Highway toward Broome, Western Australia. Western Australia (WA) would be our eighth and final state in Australia to visit. Australia has eight states so we will have seen something of each of them before we conclude our trip. From Batchelor we will go 235 kilometers
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Darwin National Park and Aviation Museum

Our last day in Darwin was spent visiting two interesting sites. Darwin National Park lies to the south of the city and is located on Beagle Bay. There is a nice view of the city from across the bay. The park itself is relatively undeveloped. During WWII the land was used for ammunition bunkers which are still there in the park. They no longer contain ammunition but are used for other storage today. One of the bunkers was open and contained exhibits from WWII when Darwin was under Japanese
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O Canada!

It has been just two weeks since we crossed the border with Bill and Laura Fejfar into Canada at St. Stephen, New Brunswick. We've seen whales, incredible scenery, the great St. Lawrence Bay and River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. We've enjoyed the long and narrow fields of rural Quebec and explored Quebec City. There were small towns with delightful homes and buildings. We wished there had been parking places for large motorhomes but had to settle for a drive-by. When we did stop we were an obj
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The New England Highway

No, this wasn’t named for New England in the US. Both the US and Australia have a common connection to England so both have named a part of their country New England. Australia assigns names to their highways and designated the highway that runs through the area the New England Highway. It took the better part of a day to drive from Lightning Ridge to Tamworth which was our starting point for touring the New England Highway. It was a distance of 400 km but the road was rough and we had to d
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Heat Lightning

I am at our new home in Edinburg, Texas. Louise is in Foristell, Mo., with the motor home. We've been meeting in the evenings via phone to catch up on the day's happenings. I was hoping to be able to tell her I would be leaving in the morning to join her, but construction continues on our home. At the end of the day when all has quieted down, I have been enjoying the evening on the porch of our manufactured home. We have been staying at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg for nine winters now. They
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F M C A Bowling Green - Thursday, July 23, 2009

Today is the final day of the FMCA 2009 International Convention in Bowling Green, Ohio. We woke this morning to dripping rain. Not heavy but definitely wet. I left the bicycle at home today as our first meeting was at the stadium - or so we thought. Since it was raining they moved the general meeting of FMCA to an indoor location. Makes sense but no one told us. Worse, we didn't find a notice posted anywhere near the stadium so after exploring a bit around the stadium to ensure that the m
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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

We were into our second week in Denver last week. Louise was busy taking care of her mother and while I could help some, Mom was getting better and mostly needed supervision. Louise needed a nightly debriefing. So being the restless sort, I thought ... "I have always wanted to add a glider certification to my pilots license. Here I am in one of the glider meccas of the U.S. for an extended period of time. I wonder what opportunities there are?" A quick check on the WWWeb brought me to Mile Hi
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One More Item Off the Bucket List

At first glance this might not be what you think of when you think of going RVing but this adventure was made possible by our RV lifestyle. Staying as long as we are in Denver would have been prohibitive if we weren't living in our motor home. Having all my resources at hand made this work for me. Everything has fallen into place and I have just completed my training to fly gliders. I started this quest on Thursday April 23rd and was able to satisfy the FAA authorized examiner on the oral an
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Friends, Family and Fun

I've enjoyed reading a number of recent BLOGs from fellow travelers. It is good to see so many continuing stories. We each have different stories that illustrate the joy of traveling in a motor home. For our part, we have been "stuck" in one spot for two months now with just a short trip for a break. Stuck really isn't the proper word. We are at my daughter's home in Foristell, in eastern Missouri. We have attended my son's wedding, tended my mother after a fall in her home, returned to Texas fo
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Patience Is Wearing Thin

We have been home from the sea for just over three weeks now. I had grand plans for our return. I had outlined on my calendar the progress of work that should take place upon our return. We are in the process of putting a manufactured home on a lot at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. The home was ordered in December 2009 and delivered to the sales lot in late January. The lot which would be our home was occupied by another couple who had decided not to follow through on their commitme
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Midwestern Heat to Test the Air Conditioners and Rain for the Awnings

The thermometer was within striking distance of 100 degrees for the last week here in Missouri. During the day the air conditioners ran almost continuously even with our sun screens on all our windows. Since we are full timers we had sun screens custom made for all our windows. Motor Coach Designs took the measurements over the phone and we had them installed at the Monaco International Rally before the FMCA Convention in Redmond, Oregon in 2004. We don't use them all the time but if the wea
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Into the Storm

The Weather Channel is busy hunting severe storms. I am watching for their vehicles, when I spot them I'm headed in the opposite direction. Today we left Wichita, Kansas headed for Kansas City. Spring storm season is in full swing in the mid-west and the Weather Channel is making the best of it, pursuing storms across the very area we are traveling. The forecast for the whole trip was highlighted in red on the weather map. I told Louise that an early start was in order as the afternoon prom
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The Year of the Puddle

In China this is the year of the Tiger. Here in South Texas it is the year of the puddle. We are in temporary digs at our winter resort. We sold the improvements on our home lot for the last several years and moved to a different lot until we can get a mobile home on what will become our home address in coming years. So, we are right across the street from the office and community room near the entrance of the park. It is the "oldest" part of the park and the roads are beginning to show it. Now
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Enjoying The Monaco Pre-rally In Springfield, Ohio - A Sign Of The Times.

The Monaco International Pre-Rally for the FMCA Bowling Green Convention got underway on Monday, July 13. We had about 165 coaches on the grounds and one dealer, Paul Evert's RV Country from Fresno, CA, who had about 12 coaches for sale. Some sales were made but mostly people were looking. Louise picked out one she likes, I would go for another but not until we win the lottery! Mike looked up the blue book value of our motor home and it was an eye opener. We knew the value would get there e
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And Finally Patience Pays Off

For almost a month we have been trying to get concrete poured for a manufactured home at our winter home in Edinburg, Texas. Today we finally achieved our goal. We have concrete. It is curing and we will have our home moved onto our lot next Tuesday... if the weather holds. Heavy rains could still make the move impossible but we are looking at good forecasts with temperatures in the 90's, sunshine and low humidity. Meanwhile, we have picked out the furniture for three rooms and just went sh
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I'm Still Alive!

I was reading a recent editorial article in which the writer had Googled himself and found that he was dead! So, perhaps I should add to my blog lest I end up with the same fate. After all, if you don't stay active in the "net" world I guess someone could conclude that you are deceased. Why else would you not BLOG? For the last five months we've been living in our new mobile home (yes, some people don't know the difference between a mobile home and a motor home). Ironically, a mobile home isn't
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Off the Grid

Our destination park for the visit with my brother was Levi Jackson State Park just south of London, Ky. The signage is excellent. The trees on the road into the park need trimming badly. We will leave the park via an alternate route. Kentucky Highway 229 is much more motorhome friendly than the entrance off US 25 that is given in the directions in the campground directory. We arrived without reservations. We could have made them several days in advance, but when the awning repair was finished
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Birthdays with Grandchildren add Some Spice to Life

We are still in Missouri which is unheard of since we began living full time in our motor home. The weather has made us wonder if we need our heads examined. We keep telling ourselves this is why we haven't done this before. We were going to be here later than usual this year and we have two grandchildren with June birthdays we haven't celebrated with them for a while so, why not make the best of it? Kaitlyn is six years old this year. For her birthday she chose to go to the Magic House (
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Making a House a Home

Our house arrived on schedule and we are in the process of turning it into a home. Even when the house arrives fully constructed there is so much to be done to make it a home. I watched in fascination as the house was leveled and tied down to its foundation. Being a do-it-yourself kind of guy, I then set about hooking up the water, sewer and electric. To a specialist, these things go quickly. For me, they take somewhat longer. Not content to simply hook up water to the house, I planned a remote
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Over the River and Through the Woods to ...

We are now in Warrenton, Missouri, parked in my mother's driveway. We had a nice visit with my sister and her family in Kansas City last weekend. My sister is recovering from knee replacement, a familial weakness that will likely catch up with me some time in the future. She is hobbling around on a crutch but is healing and will soon be out dancing again. While in the Kansas City area we enjoyed staying at the Smith's Fork Campground. It is located just below the dam at Smithville Lake, a C
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Excitement Builds!

There are just four days to go until our manufactured (used to be called mobile) home is moved onto our lot at Sandpipers Resort. I guess they renamed them because they tend to be parked pretty permanently once they arrive on their home location so they really aren't that mobile. Now a motor home, that's mobile! What a funny language we have. Here in the Rio Grande Valley the mobile homes do usually move one more time. Local residents, many of them recent immigrants will buy them for pennies on
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Enjoying the Last Little Bit of Canada

Our last day in Canada, Thursday, August 27, was spent in the area of Leamington, Ontario. Among the features of the southern tip of Canada are Point Pelee National Park, the Heinz ketchup factory, beautiful farms with fields of corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, a huge greenhouse and floral industry, the shores of Lake Erie, and some of the most beautifully landscaped homes in all of Canada. We are traveling with Bill and Laura Fejfar and today Bill is doing the driving duties. Our day started with
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The Weather Takes One Last Swipe at Our New Home

There must be a message here. Perhaps we should not be setting up household but should continue to stay full time on the road! We have had no end of weather delays this spring while trying to get our manufactured home on site and ready for occupancy. Each of three stages of concrete pour had to be delayed, some several times, due to heavy rain. Once we had concrete we had to wait several weeks for the ground to dry enough to bring in the manufactured home. Construction of an addition also h
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Life is a Learning Experience!

After a one month stay in Denver, we finally said good-bye to family and packed away the loose items in the motor home and set out for Missouri and visits with my relatives. As soon as we unplugged the motor home from the shore power the alarm on the inverter went off, setting off a real learning experience. We had a new inverter installed, a Xantrex RS3000. We had left the electric water heater on when we unplugged the shore power and the inverter was telling us the batteries weren't up to r
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