Travelin' & Freakin' ... July 31, 2016

It's the last day of July ... and we're on the way to Luray, Virginia for the Giant Recreation World camp out. 

Virginia welcome center at 10:30. 

Robbie and Belize with Mark at the Virginia emblem. 

We bought fuel at a Pilot ... the usual clusterfuck...

Mr Impatient had to butt in between Mark fueling us up and the car fueling up ahead of us ... we eventually had to back out of there! What a tool. 

Traffic on 81 is heavy! Almost every exit there's a backup! Guess we'll find another route home next week. 

What a couple of numbskulls !!! WE decided the traffic was backed up, probably due to an accident, so we got off and decided to find a way around the traffic. I pushed detour into the GPS and it quickly found another way for us to get to Luray! Wowsa! (NOT!) We maneuvered  narrow roads and mowed a few corn cobs with our mirrors when bewildered folks met us head on. 15 miles along, Mark jammed on the brakes and we had to turn around because of an 11'2" bridge! WTF. Panic mode ... we dusted off a few trees and got turned around. Then, I got directions from a very sweet young girl on the road but didn't quite understand them (accents, yikes!) and Mark made a turn at the first right we came to. Next thing I knew we were on another Podunk road to nowhere! After a wee bit of cussing he pulled into a church parking lot and I phoned Sue. "Help! Call 911!" LOL. Sue got on her laptop and checked the route we were "thinking" about to get us back onto 81 north. LOL. While she was doing that, I called a few numbers for some assistance then gave up and called 911. The girl was extremely helpful (so now I can never tease Sue about wanting to call 911 in San Francisco when we missed our turn and ended up downtown.) LOL

Once back on 81N we encountered "Florida-type" rain! BeeZee jumped into Robbie's bed and snuggled up.

Not so tough now, huh girlie? Awww

What a friggin' travel day. What I failed to mention in the paragraph above was that before we turned around at the very low bridge, Mark noticed our Dodge making a terribly LOUD ticking noise. Since we could see the fan belt was fine and the gauges were reading normal, we continued on. After many prayers and finger crossings and several hairpin turns with 7% grades, we arrived at the KOA Luray ... and poured Archie drinks. 

We hung out GRW flag and Rogers sign and made chicken pot pies for supper! Tomorrow we will go socializing! Not tonight. Ha ha. Ta Ta. 

Saturday, July 30, 2016

It's was a great start ... front door open after last night's rain. Mark and I went dog walking ... but that was cut short by kids on scooters. LOL. BeeZee barked at them so we went another direction! We spotted a small Class A by Forest River, an FR3 with 2 big slides. Maybe RanDawn should look at it? The owner had a motorcycle lift on the back. 

Pam left about 1030 for Charlotte airport and her flight home to Minneapolis. She's back to teaching on Monday, the holidays are over! It was sure good that she was able to meet us here. We got to see everyone except Olivia and Derek who are now living in Port Royale, South Carolina. Tomorrow morning we start out for a six-hour drive to Luray, Virginia ... a KOA overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. From the look of the weather, we may have rain on our drive.

Tonight, we have been invited to the Apollo restaurant with Debra and Doug Jones, Savannah and Marshall, Liza and Paul. Fun! (Paula, Jonathan and Jeremy are all working this weekend.)

At the Apollo Bistro ... 

and visiting with their Shih Tzus ... Molly, Rascal, Bear and Bandit ... all big, robust 32 to 34 lbs. 

It was a fun evening trading RV, boating and real estate stories. We headed for home about 10 o'clock, time to walk the Scotties. 

Ta Ta. 

FRIDAY, July 29, 2016

Good morning world from beautiful Asheville North Carolina where it's been hotter than usual ... perhaps we dragged this airmass with us from Florida? We've been having FUN with family! (Right now, our washer is on the 2nd load ... and one in the dryer!) ;-)

The Scotties have enjoyed seeing their aunts and uncles ... 

BeeZee with uncle Jeremy. 

Beez and Robs watching ... for cats 'n rats 'n elephants (or anything!)

Mark's backache continues to plague him. >:-( ... Advil to the rescue! (We forgot the trusty Biofreeze at home.) 

Dinner at the Moose Cafe was great! Marshall was still working, so we took a meal home for him. Jackson wanted sweet tea ... and finally we gave in and let him enjoy one. Haha. Danny's had him on a diet ... and Jackson's lost 40 lbs already. 

Pam, Jackson, me, Mark and Savannah with the moose. 

We came back to the RV afterward and Savannah opened baby gifts from Paula. 

She loved the dozens of onesies ... bibs ... hats ... blankets ... socks etc from Paula. 

Pam's staying with us tonight ... and, lucky her, Ancient Aliens is on. LOL

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Good morning. We were up about eight and got organized for lunch out with Paula, Pam and Jeremy. But, here are the pictures from our visit to Jeremy's yesterday. 

Jeremy made an investment nearly a year ago. The house was built in 1940.  

He's close to finishing the kitchen ... there's plenty to be done but the property has good potential. 

Jeremy crafted a table to match his kitchen countertops with granite. It'll seat 6 when needed. 

Paula at the new sink ... really unique! It has a basin, colander, cutting board ... all of which are removable for a huge basin when needed! 

Back at our RV we toasted to Jeremy's achievements. 

That was yesterday ... 

Paula, Pam and Jeremy picked us up at 12:30 to go to the Sierra Nevada brewery near Fletcher. It's a really amazing place. We had lunch and beer and walked around a bit.

Jeremy took our picture on the 2nd floor boardwalk above the copper kettles. 

Having lunch at Sierra Nevada. 

Paula, Mark, me, Jeremy and Pam. Cheers! 

We came home about 3 and watched "The Long Long Trailer" ... a hilarious spoof on early RVing starring Lucy & Desi. 

Danny stopped by at 5:30 for a short visit to drop Jackson off for dinner with us.  We went for Chinese/Japanese buffet. 

Jackson preferred to go home and play on his computer rather than hang out with the adults. Pam and Paula took him home so Mark and I are having a little quieter evening than usual. It's TV time. Ta Ta. 

Asheville 2 ... July 27, 2016

Good day! It's going to be warmer than yesterday but a nice start this morning. We slept great ... even the dogs were still in bed at 7. Haha ... they were kept busy yesterday with lots of company. 

Robbie is watching for Chippy ... yes, I saw a Chipmunk here!

Mr Handsome asked to sit in my chair ... so I'm now on the sofa. LOL

Sue and Wayne sent a pic of them and friends wearing their Kenora dinner jackets!

LOL ... WE wish it was cool enough here to wear ours! 

It's nice here in Asheville at Bear Creek RV Park. We have a fairly shady spot! 

Today's plans are to visit Jeremy's house to see what he's accomplished and tonight, when they're all done work, it's dinner at The Mellow Mushroom. 

Marshall & Savannah ... baby due October 27th! 

Congratulations on moving into your brand new home! 

Nephew Jeremy treated us all to dinner and drinks at the Mellow Mushroom! 

Jonathan, Savannah, Marshall, Jeremy, Mark, me, Pam & Paula. It was a great evening!

Tomorrow, pics of Jeremy's first house! 

Onto Asheville ... July 26, 2016

Good morning. It's finally cooled down and we had the door open here for a few minutes. The dogs just heard a motorcycle go by and ran to the door hoping it was Randy and Dawn visiting! 

We were on the road shortly after 830 and had a mostly uneventful drive on I 26. We used to worry about the hills, but after going through the Rockies 3 years ago this is a piece a cake. LOL. We did have one semi loaded with wood that swerved toward us and then we had a cement truck blew a tire about 100 yards in front of us. The shrapnel flew high in the air. Fortunately we avoided it all. The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived about noon at Bear Creek RV Park.  

Jeremy, Pam and Paula arrived for a visit around 230. We caught up on news and had lots of laughs. Tomorrow we'll go to see Jeremy's house that he bought about a year ago. After Jeremy went to work, Jonathan popped in and we all yakked some more ... then went to the Moose Café for supper. They have the best, fluffiest meatloaf and biscuits! 

We did however forget to take pictures. It's now nearly 11 o'clock and we are worn out. More tomorrow.

Traveling ... Monday, July 25, 2016

Early to bed, early to rise! We were up at 3 ... watched Ray Donovan ... and we're on the road by 6:45. It was 67F and clear. Just after we got on I-95, a red light came on the dash look like a lightning bolt. I got out the owner's manual and indeed it indicated a possible battery terminal or something of that nature might be loose. Great. So we found a rest area, walked the dogs and fortunately it was still cool (and shady) at the rest area! Mark cleaned and tightened the terminals ... FIXED! Yay. Egad! Mark's even a truck mechanic!

Robbie and BeeZee jumped out of their beds ... "bed heads!"

What's dad doing under that steaming hood?

Once in a long while Mark hears from dear son Matt. It seems Matt is thinking about a career change. For the past few years he has been painting, doing photofinishers and crown molding's with his ex-brother-in-law Chris. It seems he feels he has gone as far as he can with this particular job. His half-brother, Fred is now a manager at a towing company and would like to give Matt the opportunity to become a tow truck operator. Of course he will have to take training and get a new CDL license. With two young daughters and a wife, he needs a job with growth potential.  At age 27, reality is setting in. Yep, I bet he is revisiting prior offers and trying to kick his own butt. LOL

Our drive was very easy today with light traffic. At 1 o'clock it was 100° in South Carolina. We decided to get off the road  at pulled into Barnyard RV Park. It's lovely and clean with reliable 50 amp power. Tomorrow, we will finish our drive into Asheville, less than 160 miles. Pam arrived earlier today into Asheville and is visiting with Danny and Jackson tonight. We are looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. Our nephew Jonathan will be by to visit us tomorrow too! 

That's it for tonight. Ta Ta. 

Loaded! July 24, 2016

Good morning. We're all packed up and loaded. Mark took our housesitting list to Lew; we know our home is in good hands! (Ha ha. I just reread that line and saw that we are loaded. Some days that could be true, but today I just mean that the RV is loaded.) 

Wheeee ... Yes, the Scotties are ready to have fun too! 

Randy and Dawn phoned about 230. He had just arrived from Cincinnati. "Never again!" ... is what I heard. LOL ... I guess that weekend with the guys didn't live up to the hype!  They're coming over for a wine and then we're going to Stavros for supper! 

Bonnie manages to train the rascals ... but Robbie has retrained BeeZee who now ignores us, just like he does; unless treats are involved. LOL. I guess WE were the trainable ones! 

RanDawn arrived about 4:30 for happy hour. Beez climbed onto the sofa's armrest next to Randy. She's so cute.  Randy had us all in fits of laughter about his trip from hell. One guy, who shall remain nameless, pooped his pants before they even got on the plane, and "no one" wanted to tell him because it would hurt his feelings. WTF? THAT would have caused me enough concern to head back home immediately! Randy persevered! LOL. On the airplane a wee (black) boy looked over the seat at Randy and said, "DADDY!" Randy cranked his head around so fast he heard his neck crunch! Well, D** heard the wee boy and thought it hilarious ... so everyone heard!  Finally at their Cincinnati hotel, Poupee changed his clothes and they all went to dinner. The same guy snored so loudly that Randy's friend D** yelled at Randy to wake Poupee pants to tell him he was snoring! (OMG I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for this party.) Randy was feeling so lousy with neck pain and taking pain pills that he didn't have a drink. The next day, although Randy still was not feeling well they all readied for D**'s family reunion party.  Another member of D**'s family showed up with a very bad front tooth so horrid that Randy said it would've looked better if it was just missing! Ha ha ha. That same person drank so much that he forgot to take his pants down when he went to the men's room. You can imagine the outcome of that. Randy was horrified and wished he had never gone on the trip! There was still another day to unfold. Karma got D** that day when he went to the bathroom and slammed into a waiter with a tray of ice water ... that went all over the front of his pants! By the time Randy told us all the antics, the three of us were in stitches and Randy was holding his head in his hands! 

After dinner, a rainbow! 

Ta Ta til tomorrow!

Bunco ... July 23, 2016

Good morning! It was a beautiful start to our day. There was organizing of food for our trip ... batches of dog food to cook and turning on the RV fridges. Yes, we have 2 ... one for food and one for booze. LOL. Mark made a trip to the liquor store for some Gin and Scotch. (When it's hot I enjoy a Gin & diet Tonic!) Wayne swears by Gin for stomach aches. (I should have remembered that after eating the raw carrot two weeks ago! I suffered 2 days!)

Dr Oz agrees! Who knew? (Er, Wayne!)

Bunco at Cindy's was a blast ... I was nearly the big loser which was a $40 prize (but it went to Rose.) Lynn's guest Nancy had the most Buncos (9) and won $60 ... and the most games won was split between Lynn & Carin, $20 each. There was plenty of food ... and wine ... a good combo with our crowd. 

Back home, Mark had put grocery away and watched Hillary's VP nominee and was totally impressed with Tim Kaine. He recorded it for me. Nice. There's hope for our nation! 

BeeZee likes Hillary's choice ... she couldn't keep her eyes off Tim Kaine! LOL

Sue and Wayne had a good evening at ZigZag Yacht Club last night. They went in style on their newly refinished Windsorcraft. 

It looks like new! 

We called Rod and Shay at happy hour to yak. They're excited to be coming to visit us next month. And we're looking forward to seeing them! 

Well, we're nearly packed. It'll be interesting to see if we end up going late tomorrow, or Monday morning. We often get excited and jump the gun on RV trips. LOL

Ta Ta till tomorrow. 

Friday, July 22, 2016

Good morning from sunny Central Florida. I'm a little slow moving today having stayed up late to watch the Republican convention. Mark, on the other hand, was smart and went to bed early. As a result, I'm stumbling around 730 getting a DSO while he's working in the boat house already. LOL

And, while we were sleeping on this side of the Atlantic, my cousin, Alex Tawns, graduated from University of Northampton.  

Congratulations Alex! Well done! (Hey, you look like the guy on the wall.) LOL

Tawns siblings ... L-R Patrick, Connie, Alex, Flo, Miles & Elliott. 

What a fab looking bunch! How terrific to get them all on the same continent and in one place! 

Now that's a happy face Alex!

Well, I began my day fact checking some of the things Donald Trump talked about last night. Well, I found a lot of them ... and here are a few:

Another lie that we got under my skin was about Hillary wanting to abolish the Second Amendment. All the Democrats are asking for is a ban on assault rifles which no one needs for hunting! The Democrats also want anyone on the no-fly list to be banned from buying a gun! But, here's what Trump said:

Hillary Clinton chooses Senator Kaine for her VP running mate at the Democratic National convention. I'll be watching closely. 

Sue and Wayne went to Zigzag Yacht Club tonight for a party with friends. (They're enjoying a heat wave!)

So, Randy is now in Cleveland for the baseball games, Dawn is babysitting, and Mark and I are going to dinner, just the two of us. 

Packin' ... July 21, 2016

Hello earthlings! (Yeah, I've been watching Ancient Aliens again.) So many government officials from G8 countries joined the uncloaking process ... Canada's Paul Hellyer ... Britian's Nick Pope ... China's Sun Schill ... U.S. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin; well, you get the picture. Fascinating. Exciting! Where's Mork when we need him? LOL

Aside from that, I have packing to do. Mark plans to finish the boat slip today and tidy up from that job. I gathered the pile of goodies I'd sorted for our Humane Society store, so he's dropping that off on the way to Lowes. Sweet guy! 

Last night, Bonnie sent me a sketch that Roger did of our boy Robbie.

I think Roger captured him perfectly. Although, here's Robbie's "at home" pose. 

LOL ... laying under the Livingroom ceiling fan. Air it out Robs! 

Mark had a sore back so had to lay low today. After my jobs ... it was mani/pedi time and now I'm ready to travel. :-)

Our pal Jim responded to (my) Tuesday's political rant. He made a point in Donald's favor. We'll continue to watch the Republican convention ... then Hillary at the Democratic convention ... and the debates. Meanwhile, Mark thinks Canada's border patrol would be more cost effective than Trump's wall. 

LOL. 

It was a rainy afternoon ... so Mark and I played Mexican Dominoes ... and he won! It was fun. 

Randy is having a boys weekend away with pal Dan. They have tickets to a ball game. Dawn plans a weekend with her grandchildren. Fun!

We watched "The Great Outdoors" ... an old John Candy movie and drank wine. It was a good evening. Ta Ta.