Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Turkey Creek, Hollister, Missouri

August 26, 2019

Temperature 74

Short – Sweet – To the Point

Not too much to write about today.  So here is the condensed version.

We both had a bad night, neither of us could get to sleep.  So we arose tired and in need of a nap later in the day.

This morning there was a deep fog blanketing the campground.  And the sound of heavy equipment.  They were finally paving the entrance ramp to the campground.

We went to McDonald’s for breakfast.  Fast and convenient.

Next to WalMart to drop off the old oil and pick up another quart of oil.  Seems the V10 takes 7 quarts, not 6 quarts.

We went shopping for groceries.  We don’t know when we’ll be as close as we are to major supermarkets.

A quick lunch at Wendy’s.

Home again and just in time.  We no more than got in the door and the thunder began to rumble and it went dark, I mean really dark.  It was like nightfall had come hours early.  I quickly got all the awnings in.  Just in time

The wind began to gust.  Trees began to sway.  Then the rain came down in sheets.

And a river ran through our site.

One hour later it was all over.  More, they say, is on the way tonight.

Oh yes, we both took naps.

That was our short, sweet and to the point day on The Road of Retirement.  Tonight we’ll watch Ninja Warriors and play a game of Mexican Train.  We’ll also wait for the next onslaught of storms.  Let’s hope they are over as quick as the first one.

Thanks for joining us again.  Hope your day was dryer than ours.  We always appreciate your company and comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Turkey Creek, Hollister, Missouri

August 25, 2019

Temperature 76

The Dirty Deed is Done – Oil Change and Filter

When we awoke this morning both of us just looked at each other, then rolled over and went back to sleep!  I know the last few days have been draining for me.  But also fulfilling.  I’m getting things done that need to be done and saving dollars along the way.  It’s a great feeling.

Barbara is also starting to feel like her old self again.  The medicine is working, the infection is clearing up and she should be good to go by the time we pull out of here on Wednesday.

This being Sunday and unable to find a church to attend we did what we usually do.  We listened or our Pastor’s sermon online.  Like always it was another great one full of food for thought for the coming week.

Church over time to get to work.

Today was the last major project on my to-do list before leaving.  I needed to change the oil and filter ,and grease the front end.  I got everything together and made ready to do the dirty deed.  

Based on pass horrible experiences doing this I came up with a few new tricks to keep the mess to a minimum.

We begin by putting a blue tarp down underneath the entire front end.  Don’t want to leave a mess for the next occupant of our site.

Notice the blue coffee container with the brown top in the picture above?  It’s a super duper oil filter changer guaranteed to contain the mess.  Take the top off, loosen the oil filter, hold the container under the filter, unscrew the filter and let the filter drop in it and let the oil drain into it as well.  Works like a charm.

Oil changes have always created a mess in the past because the cross member on the Ford is right under the drain plug.  Meaning, once the plug comes out the oil hits the cross member and goes everywhere.  But not after today.  Today I installed a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve

It has a locking lever with a lock clip to keep it closed.  In the future a piece of tubing goes over the end, remove the locking clip, open the valve and now the oil goes exactly where you direct it.  Tain’t that neat!

So let’s get to it.  I wonder, who can that be under the front of Graybeard?  Could it be, Barbara wanted to know, the wicked witch of the east?  The shoes do look a bit different, but then we’ve had a lot of storms the last few days.

 

Nope, just me doing my thing.

Oil change over time to grease the front end.  The trick here is to make sure you count and get all 9 fittings.  The one is hidden and easily overlooked so you need to be sure you find and grease it.  I got all of them this time.

Today my timing was perfect.  I finished up, cleaned up, got the garbage together and walked over to the dumpster.  Halfway back it once again began to rain.  I laughed the rest of the way home.  It was a good feeling to know that this time I won!

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  All major projects done.  Time now to just kick back for the next few days and relax.  Oh, there are the minor things to do before we get on the road.  Most, if not all, are easy and fun to do.  Time for them tomorrow.  For the rest of the day I’m just going to chill.

Thanks again for joining us.  We always enjoy your company and your comments.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Turkey Creek, Hollister, Missouri

August 24, 2019

Temperature 69

Scrub A Dub Dub

Well, I believe we’ve used up our good weather chips at least for now.  It’s been rain and more rain for the last couple of days.  And they say a lot more is on the way.  So be it.

Last night I found that I just couldn’t sleep.  Don’t know why but come 4 am I was wide awake.  Funny thing, though, not much you can do at that hour since it is still a wee bit dark outside!  So I made some coffee and waited for dawn’s early light.  Which is just about when I fell asleep again.

Not much on the docket today.  I wanted to finish up washing both Graybeard and Little Graybeard.  Now I always wanted a bigger rig, say 40 feet.  But let me tell  you after pulling all the old caulking out on the roof, then re-caulking, and now washing the rig from front to back I was beginning to think 30 feet would really be nice!

So with the rain coming down I proceeded to wash our rig.  Hey, no hose needed to rinse it off.  I don’t know who was the wetter by the time I was done, Graybeard or me.  I believe it was a tie.  One more project done.  If I may so myself, the rig looks real spiffy.

Moving on it was time to wash Little Graybeard.  I really hate to wash the car.  Not because of it’s size.  But it seems every time I treat it nice it finds a way to bite me back.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

We’re down to just a few more projects needing attention.  Tire maintenance is on the list.  An oil change is a must before we leave.  Along with greasing the front end.  If I can just get a few hours with no rain tomorrow I’ll be golden.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Out time here has been so precious.  Time with friends.  Time to just relax.  Time to discover new places.  Time for new experiences.  But now it’s time to move on down the road.  In a few days we’ll begin to hop skip and jump our way on down the road toward our winter digs for this year.  We’ll take it in easy steps, do some sight seeing along the way.  No reason to rush.

Thanks again for joining us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  We’ll catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Turkey Creek, Hollister, Missouri

August 23, 2019

Temperature 78

Doctor Visits Via the Internet – Now Why Didn’t I Think Of That!

Barbara has been sort of under the weather for the last couple of days and today we were determined to find out what was going on.  The question, though, Would we be able to find a doctor who would agree to see her?

A few phone calls later and we were off to

She discovered that she has a sinus infection and, thankfully, caught it just before it became something more serious.  She is now on antibiotics and should be the picture of health in just a few days.

The bigger news is that this doctor and this practice have a soft spot in their hearts for full time RV’ers.  So much so that once you become a patient – which Barbara now is – they have an on-line portal for future doctor visits.  You arrange for a future visit, come the day and time you log on and presto the doctor will now see you!  It’s about time someone thought of this.  This is going to make life on the road so much easier for my sweetie.

While sitting in the office waiting for Barbara I happened to notice this on the wall, the words I believe say it all.

Once we got back home inasmuch as the rain had stopped for a bit I decided to give washing the roof a try.  What’s the worse that could happen?  It could start raining again?  That would eliminate my need to rinse it off with a hose!  I got it done, no rain, so I needed the hose.  I also managed to get the back cap and half of the drivers side done before it was time to call it quits.  We have an unwritten rule in the park no one is allowed to work after 6 pm.  That’s the kind of rule that I can live with.  Couple that with my own rule never do today what you can put off till tomorrow and every day is great.

That was the extent of our absolutely routine, nothing exciting, just another day in paradise on The Road of Retirement.  Yes, the big news is the doctor over the internet.  Now if this one just stays with the practice we’ll have it made going forward.  God is good.

Thanks for coming along with us again.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you again tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two human soul mates.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!