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About this blog

An account of our travels and tribulations.

Entries in this blog

 

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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Another Foreign Adventure - Italy in a campervan

Another Foreign Adventure - Italy in a campervan

It is Saturday afternoon, May 21, 2022.  We are in Chioggia, Italy.  It is a beach town south of Venice.  How we got here is a long story.  I'll begin with our flight from the US. Our flight from McAllen was an early one, we left Sandpipiers Resort at 5:30 a.m. for a 30 minute drive to the airport.  Check in was a mess.  There was a line until things got stopped up, only two agents and both had customers with problems.  Skipping details, they held the plane for Louise and I and one other cust
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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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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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F M C A Bowling Green - Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The flags and gizmos are flying high today. The parking area takes on a festive look with numerous coaches flying flags or wind toys of various kinds. There is a stiff breeze right now and they are in their glory. We just heard a clap of thunder from a storm that has been building over Toledo. We might have some rain tonight. Meanwhile, I am relaxing in my easy chair, dinner is a few minutes away. I have the Trailer Life Campground Guide on the floor next to me. I have been appointed to f
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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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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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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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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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A Short Trip for the Ladies

After taking our grandsons on a 10-day tour of three states, their younger sisters deserved a trip of their own. We took the recommendation of my sister and took them to the Toy and Miniature Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. The girls are 6 and 4, so the trip was a short one. This was for their sake and ours! Since we were traveling to Kansas City, I offered my mother, 85 years old, a ride to KC to visit my sister who lives in Liberty, Missouri. Mom said yes, then no, and finally yes, so she t
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Enjoying the History Channel on This Holiday Weekend

We've enjoyed the History Channel the last few days as they do their annual replay of US history. As we watch the programs it occurs to me that our experience traveling in the motor home for the last 9 years has given us a much closer connection to so many of the places that are mentioned on these programs. Our understanding of any idea or concept is easier and more complete if we've had some personal experience with some part of the background or context of the idea. When it comes to history,
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