Last nights adventure!

For most of the day yesterday was rather uneventful with just walking the dogs, going to Wal-Mart again plus finding a PetSmart for Missy's $3.00 a can food of which she eats 2 -2.5 cans a day.  With that accomplished we settled in for a quiet evening.  However, quiet it was not to be as Missy was in one of her "moods" and wanted to bark at everything.

Because it has been so hot we hoped with the evening's cooling we could turn off the air and just opened the windows.  We tried that for a while but it turned out we still needed the air plus Missy would not settle down and kept whining so Tim shut all the windows again.   As we were getting ready for bed Tim asked me if I had seen the cats?  Somewhat stunned considering our cats are totally inside cats we started looking for them.  Granted our 5th wheel is only 35 feet it didn't take long to realize that both had gotten outside as it turns out one of the screens opened with the window was opened.  So Missy's barking and crying was to tell us the cats had gotten out but did we pay her any attention; of course not.

So, Tim and I bail out with flashlights to try and find them.  We spotted Jackson aka "butterball" under the trailer next to ours.  But once Tim put the flashlight on him he freeked and took off running as fast as his little short legs and very round body would let him.  We ended up following him for a good part of the park until he finally jumped up on a retaining wall into my arms.  Poor baby, he's probably never run that much and his heart was pounding so fast it almost matched his breathing.  I think the reason he freeked so much is the fact he only has one eye, never goes out in either the dark or day time, and he just didn't know where he was.  I threw him into the trailer and then we started looking for Harpo aka '"old man."

Tim head in one direction and I grabbed Missy and went down to the river.  Thinking that Missy tried to tell us the cats were out in the first place she might be of some help finding Harpo.  She took off immediately like she really knew what she was doing.  What she didn't know is that I was barefoot and she took through every pile of small rocks she could find.

After about 10 minutes I heard Tim yell that he had found our geratic cat so Missy and I headed back to the trailer.  Of course I had to go back through the rocks so my feet were thrashed.  I was curious where Harp was and Tim replied laughing that he was under our truck and probably had been watching us running around like we had totally lost our minds.

Needless to say both cats sleep very well last night and so did we.  Note to self:  Missy is not a good tracking dog but does tell us when the cats get out so we should pay more attention to what she telling us.  I guess her $3.00 a can food is worth it.

We have arrived!

Well, after a long day of travel we arrived at the RV park in Highland, TX which is a suburb of Houston on the San Jacinto river.  The park is fairly new and has great features such as it's on fishing pier, an adult pool, an exercise room, a internet/library, walking paths and beautiful sunsets (see pictures).  It is also very dog friendly as almost everyone has at least one dog.

We have explored the Town of Highland and it is very small but found a Wal-Mart two towns over from us.  Still dealing with the heat but we've been told that within the next month it will start to cool down.  Only negative thing we've found so far is the mosquitos are still very healthy this time of the year!

On the Road to Texas - Part 5 aka a slight bump(s) in the road

I'm sure all of you have had those days when you get up early with plans for a nice quiet time.  Well, that was our plan for today.  Started out getting away an hour early because we anticipated a longer drive after slacking off yesterday.  So, we were in the truck at 7am even though it was still dark which we have found more difficult to get away usually because an RV park always looks different when the sun is not up.

We were set to get on the on ramp to the 10 but it was not lit well and Tim missed it - worse yet he was heading down a dead end street.  So, that meant he was going to have to back approx. 300 feet to get back to the off ramp because the road was too narrow to turn around.  If case you didn't know Tim hates to back up the trailer and he will be the first to tell you he doesn't do it well.

Well, after a few twists, turns, and going forward (plus words I hadn't heard for awhile) then backing we are lined up for the on ramp and Tim gunned it.  I had looked down at the map when I heard two loud Ka booms, asking what the "heck" that was Tim simply answered "a dead deer."  Well, at least it was already dead.

For the next 30 minutes we watched a beautiful sunrise over the foothills.  We also noticed that after about 10 miles the landscape was changing and we were actually seeing larger bushes and eventually they changed into trees!  Lord, I have missed trees.

Then about 12:30p we are cruising down the 10 just about 50 miles from San Antonio when Tim yells that a tire on the rig had just blown out.  Fortunately he must have seen it just as it happen and we were able to pull over immediately.  So, the Good Sam Club has a new app on smart phones for their emergency service so we tried it out with less than satisfaction than we were hoping for.  Eventually Tim was able to get through to them directly and from that point on the service was great.

We only lost about an hour on our trip so it wasn't too bad after all.  The RV park here in San Antonio is great and the pool felt good after a 95 degree day.  I've attached pictures of the tire which shows we were very lucky not to have sustained more damage either to the rig or the rim.  Guess the big guy upstairs was protecting us.  Maybe he can help us while we deal with the tire manufacturer?

On the Road to Texas - Part 4

Today was somewhat uneventful which is a good thing.  Tim has given you a pretty good describtion of the Fort Stockton and it's history.  Interesting fact that we are finding is that most of the RV parks that we have spent the night in AZ, NM, and TX are already filling up with "Snowbirds" flying home for the winter.  So far, I will give a "thumbs up" for the TX residents, nice, polite and very helpful.

As far as traveling goes we only have 6 hours tomorrow and 4 hours Thursday and then we will be in Highland (suburb of Houston) and I don't think any of us could wait another minute!

Fort Stockton, TX

Is located in Pecos County.  Camp Stockton grew up as Comanche Springs.  Once housed the famous 9th Cavalry known as the Buffalo Soldiers.  About 87% of all soldiers at Ft. Stockton from 1867 to 1886 were Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th & 10 Cavalry Regiments and the 41st, 24th & 25th Infantry regiments.  Surmounting obstacles of harsh living conditions, low pay & racial prejudice they gained a reputation for tenacity and bravery.  Stationed continously on the frontier during the years of indian hostility, black regiments played a major role in the settlement & development of America's western frontieer.

On the Road to Texas - Part 3

Buenas Noches, esta tarde llegamos a El Paso, Texas!

I guess my high school Spanish teacher would be proud that I remembered something that was taught in class.  Most of you realize that this is Nj writing tonight as the only thing Tim studied in high school was baseball and girls.

You always know when you enter a community that has a Latin influence because the restaurant signs all say, "Try our muendo, it's the best."  Funny thing is I like muendo especially as a cure for a hangover.

So, we just completed day 3 on the US 10 and for those of you that have traveled it you know that the only scenery is desert, desert and more desert.  Unfortunately neither Tim or I are "desert people" but I have to give them that they do have gorgeous sunsets and beautiful evenings.

Well, our luck didn't hold.  We were in the truck 5 minutes when Harpo upchucked his breakfast then a 1/2 hour later he jumped into the litter box.  Fortunately he only had to do #1 this time.  One thing I did laugh at today were all the signs warning of "blowing sand" which is on the same level of Maine's "blowing snow" so I guess we all have our problems with "blowing."

I snapped this picture of Sadie (10 y old) sleeping in the back seat with Jackson.  Sadie is usually the one who looks out the window a great deal of the time while we are traveling.  But I think even she was bored with the desert. 

Only 2.5 more days and we will be in the Houston area where there are real trees and even the gulf.   It seems funny that now we are in Texas but we completed only 50% of the trip.  Really looking forward to getting there and I think the critters would agree.

On the Road to Texas - Part 2

Today was a total opposite of yesterday.  Neither cat dropped a load in the litter box, Harpo didn't vomit and I managed to keep my other 9 fingers out of harm's way.  I can't say that we enjoyed the ride much  as once again we were entertained only by the desert and high temperatures.  We did manage to across the state of AZ landing in Benton near the New Mexico border.  Tomorrow's goal is El Paso.  I can smell Tex-Mex already!

This morning I took this picture of "His Royal Highness Harpo" sleeping on his "throne" (aka the console) between the front seats.  By the smile on his face he was having a great dream - I wonder what 17 yr old cats dream about?

We can only hope that tomorrow will be as a calm as today.  Oh I forgot to mention the train.  It seems to go by this RV park about every 2 hours and I would bet it goes all night.  Oh well you can't have everything.

On the Road to Texas - Part I

Although it was a gray foggy morning we both felt really excited to be on the road again especially since we were getting off on time, 7am.  However, before we were less than a block away from Chris' home Harpo jumped into the litter box which is on the floor area between the two seats.  Please keep in mind that litter box has been there since May and neither cat has ever looked at it  so we were quite surprised by his action.  Then within a few seconds we were all hanging our heads out the windows  as only a 17 year old cat can do dropped a huge load.  Tim and I laughed and both said at least it was Harpo because he covers his poop where Jackson with only one eye had depth perception problems and never gets it covered.

Then Harpo jumps back to the console between the front seats and lays down.  We are now two blocks from our start and he starts to vomit up his breakfast.  Great!  What else is going to happen?  Ok, so the time we get to Kimble Rd I'm cleaning him up and everything looks good.

Within 5 minutes Jackson jumps down into the litter box, again the one he has never paid any attention to it.  So not to be outdone by Harpo's success he does another big dump.  Remember though he can't see where to cover it so he goes through a long ritual of throwing sand to no avail.  So, while Tim is still trying to drive I'm trying to throw sand over dump #2 from the front seat.  Finally I succeed and we continue on.

N as we are going through Camarillo via the 101s I hear one of the back windows start to go down and realize that Jackson is standing on the down part of the window switch.  I yell at the cat and Tim says don't worry he just stood on it and it didn't go down.  So, not being to smart I try to reach the top of the window to check.  Now the only way I know to check if a window has gone down is to stick a finger at the top of window.  As I do that Tim closes the "closed" window on the end of my finger.  Needless to say I screamed and thankfully he instantly put the window down.

Good news is that my finger was turned on an angle so only 1/3 of it was smashed.  Hurt like hell, though.  That part is purple but I don't think I will lose my nail.

Believe or not the rest of the trip to Quartzsite was  very uneventful.  Gee, I wonder what will happen tomorrow?

Tammy & her girls

As mentioned in the previous post this is a picture of our daughter Tammy and her pups.  Lola the mini doxie is 3 years old and Dolly the Boston is just 6 months old.  Both are great dogs and we actually thought of "dog-napping" them at one point,

Saying goodby to the So. CA Coast

Well, all good things must come to an end at some point.  We will definitely miss our daughter Tammy, Robin, and the "girls."  We spent the last evening walking on the beach and NJ managed to take a few pictures for everyone to enjoy.  #1 is Tammy standing a flag "Pink Piranas" someone made and left on the beach.  #2 Sunset looking towards Santa Cruz Island with a dot of light in front of it which is an off shore oil drilling rig.  #3  Taken underneath the pier.  #4 Looking down on the 101 which even with four lanes and it is 8pm is always busy.  #5 shows the Ventura Pier at sunset with "Old Glory" waving in the ocean breeze.

Only In LA

i knew that i missed LA news for some reason....today there was the "required" police pursuit on the freeways.  The suspect was described as the "triple threat bandit" who had robbed 4 Orange County banks over the last month and did another one today and a Fullerton PD officer saw his vehicle and the chase was on.  the Highway Patrol (troopers to you right coasters) took over and for one hour they chased him up and down the 91 freeway and several surface streets while he was throwing money out of the window.  This went on for an hour then he just stops for no apparent reason and he's taken into custody.  At least there wasn't an intersection t-bone with an innocent driver.  Only in L.A.

We are packing up tomorrow and will be out of here early saturday morning.  Quartzsite, AZ will be the first "berg" of interest.  4 days after that we land in Highlands, TX a "burb" of Houston.  We will remain there until next spring.  Looked at the long range weather from the fall & clear into spring and its all 75.

For you Maine readers, NJ is going to be in Augusta for a teaching gig starting Oct 1.  Will be there a week.

St. John's Dinner

The St. John's group of old met again last night at Yoland's Mexican Restaurant at the Channel Islands Harbor for dinner and to once again re-live the days gone past.  It was a great evening with lots of laughs and great friendships.

The Island of Catalina and the Mystical Town of Avalon

Yesterday Nj and Gail Miley rode the Island Express from Long Beach to Catalina Island for a fun-filled day of sun, ocean, and wonderful weather.   The first three pictures are of the town and the harbor.  The fourth is of an old stage coach stop.  The fifth and sixth are of harbours on the back side of the island.  The last picture is of a 1953 "Flexible" bus they took a tour of the island on.  Enjoy her pictures!

The Animals of Catalina Island

Nj was able to get some pictures of both the native and non-native species found on the island, including the American Bison singularly and a herd.  A captive Bald Eagle, a Seagull & Cormorant and a CA Pelican.

The 4th picture she titled "Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner" and the picture of the Pelican she added the limerick her father often told her, "The Pelican is a magnificent bird whose beak can hold more than his belly can."

The Plants of Catalina Island

As you can see the majority of the native plants on the island are the desert type you would expect to see in AZ or NM.  Never the less even these plants held a beauty not seen on the east coast.

Downtown Ventura, CA

This afternoon we visited downtown along with Tammy and Robin.  Like most downtown's it has suffered over the years because of the mega malls but the city has put a lot of time and money to bring it back.  Large movie house and lots of high-end restaurants and pubs mixed with "recycled" and craft stores.  Nice surprise.

Also if you need to trade or exchange your buffalo see picture #2.

Lunch Today at the Habit (burger joint)

Not much to post but today a funny thing happened at the Habit.  Went in with my very good friend of many years, John Lopez, probably the best softball umpire I ever worked with along with Bruce Bianchini (he wasn't with us today).  So I forgot that I was wearing and In-N-Out T-shirt, another burger place and a big time competitior with the Habit.  When i get to the register, the girl sees the shirt, smiles and says very loud, Carlos (the manager) can you get security?  Now the whole place is interested and this is at noon so its packed.  He comes up and sees the shirt and laughs and then he disappears only to be back in a few with a Habit T and says he dares me to wear it into In-N-Out.  I say you give it to me and its done.  John and I think that it may be a way to score an shirt for him.  Told you it was a slow blog day.  Anyway it looks like at this point that we will be on the road on the 17th.

Hitting the waves at Ventura beach...

Well, not us but lots of surfers and birds.  Unfortunately the surf was small and the fog came in and hid most of the sunset but was still nice to walk on the sand.

The house special tonight was "sand crabs on the half shell."

Beautiful People!

Trip to the Ventura Pier tonight for tacos and a walk along the beach.  Ventura County beaches are under a high wave alert so the waves were busy.  There is a small group of individuals here a lot of them in the 40-60 age group that are still long boarding, not giving into the high tech that surfboards have become.  Nice night, enjoyed it very much