Where We Have Called Home in 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Ives Run COE, Tioga, Pennsylvania 

July 19, 2019

Temperature 74 Degrees

Another Wonderful Day With Mom – Time For Mexican Train

Thankfully the heat has not made its way to the campground.  Don’t get me wrong it does get warm during the day – say mid 80/s – but by evening it drops down into the 70;s.  A whole lot better than what many people are suffering through.  Let’s hope the pattern holds for at least another day or two.

Today I finally figured out how to get the cab window curtains down so that they could be cleaned.  They simply snap off and then snap back on.  If I knew it would be that easy I would have cleaned them a long, long time ago.  Another item to put on the maintenance list for periodic cleaning.

This afternoon we went back down to mom’s for a game of Mexican Train.  She used to play at least twice a week with her friends when she lived in NC .  Since she has moved to Wellsboro she has not been able to find anyone who wants to play.  Today was the day to make her day.  Barbara got things set up.

Mom found her glass of wine and came to the table.

Let the games begin.

It was an interesting game right down to the end, but in the end I prevailed.

There was, of course, another reason for going to mom’s today.  There was more Strawberry Shortcake to be eaten.

Mom was the ever gracious hostess.

Yes, she had a very generous piece and proceeded to clean her plate.

Now, while at my sister’s house I found the answer to the question that was asked of me not too long ago.  That question was What don’t you miss since you’ve been on the road?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here is my answer to that question.  I don’t miss getting out the lawn mower to cut the grass.

Or walking around with the edge trimmer or leaf blower.

And I sure don’t miss shoveling snow.

I’m sure there are another thousand and one things I don’t miss like the monthly mortgage payment and quarterly taxes.  You get the idea.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It was another wonderful day spent making precious memories that we will hold close to our hearts forever, ever.  Really, what more could one ask for.  Thank you again Lord for this beautiful day.

Thanks for coming along with us.  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!

Where We Have Called Home in 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Ives Run COE, Tioga, Pennsylvania 

July 18, 2019

Temperature 85 Degrees

The Map Link is Active

Me and Mr. Clean

A Beautiful, Delightful, Lovely, Special Birthday

So I’ve put the map together and the link (above) is now active.  If you click on Where We Have Called Home in 2019 you’ll be taken to a map that shows all the places that we’ve called home so far this year.  Click on any of the dots on the map and you’ll be given the dates we stayed there and a picture of our home at that time.  After viewing the map, just click the back arrow in your browser and you’ll be brought back to the blog.  I must say looking at it myself I can honestly say we’ve covered a few miles since we left out winter dig’s in Florida.

Today I enlisted Mr. Clean to help me clean the outer side of the patio awning.  Once again it was so simple and easy to do.  No more scrub brush and buckets of detergent.  Dip, ring, mop and repeat.  The dirt just runs off.  What once took an hour or more has been reduced to less than an hour of time.  Sweet.

Thank you one and all for your birthday wishes.  This has truly been a A Beautiful, Delightful, Lovely, Special Day.  It began with a wonderful breakfast of peppermint pancakes and fried spam.  A couple of glasses of orange juice and coffee rounded it all off.  A great way to begin the day.

Later in the day we went to pick up my mom who had offered to take us out to a late lunch as a way to celebrate my birthday.  We went to

The dining room was closed so we ended up in the bar/lounge.

The food was delicious.  Barbara had a Reuben, Mom had Chicken Tenders and I had Steamers in a fantastic butter garlic sauce and then I had a Crab Cake Sandwich.  I was the only one to be admitted into the clean plate club.  The ladies ended up bringing a portion of their meals home to have again another day.

While at the hotel I discovered this very unique American Flag.  It was designed and constructed by employees of the Wellsboro Division of the Corning Glass Works (sold by Corning in the 70’s to GTE) in 1946 to honor its returning World War II veterans.

The flag is approximately seven by eleven feet and has over 1.000 ornamental lights.  The original design used silver for the white stripes and stars.  Photo flashlight bulbs lacquered in blue where used for the background field for the stars.  In 1959 the field of blue would have two additional silver ornaments added to include the new states of Alaska and Hawaii.

After being unfurled in the banquet room of the hotel it went on display in Corning, NY; then to NY City were it was displayed in the Kress Fifth Ave. Store to welcome the nation’s American Legion Convention.  In the early 70’s it was renovated and moved to the Penn Wells lobby where it remains today.

Lunch finished we went back to mom’s apartment

for homemade strawberry shortcake.  Oh yes, mom can still cook and she can still bake!

Mom even made sure she had an extra helping of whipped cream!

By the time the afternoon was over I could just about move.  We’re going back tomorrow for more cake you can be sure!

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  The time we’re spending with mom is oh so wonderful.  Both Barb and I are enjoying every minute with her and we will leave here with so many precious memories of these days.  Thank you Lord for these days you’ve given us and for the love of family.

Thanks again for coming along with us.  We always enjoy your company.  Till 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!

Tour America 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:  Ives Run COE, Tioga, Pennsylvania 

July 16, 2019

Temperature 78 Degrees

Just Another Day in Paradise

Maintenance – A New Way to Clean with Mr. Clean

What would a day be without a bit of this.  Today is supposed to be the last of it.  Then the heat gets turned on.  Going to get interesting.

Not much happening today.  Mom had an appointment with the audiologist to pick up her repaired hearing aid.  Barbara willing played chauffeur once again.

While she was gone I continued to work my way through the maintenance list.  I got a few more items checked off, still have I bunch more to do.  Today, I removed the hitch, cleaned off the rust that was beginning to form, and repainted it with Rustoleum flat black.  I cleaned the front windshield and the top of the front cap.  I cleaned and waxed the shower.  I also scrubbed the rest of the bathroom.

Then there was the patio awning.  I needed to clean both sides of it.  The top side is easy.  Roll it out, pop the arms off the side of the rig and scrub away.  As for the underside of the awning I usually used a scrub brush and a bucket of water.  This time I decided to try something new, something I discovered on another blog.  It was a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Mop.  Believe me, it worked like a charm.  One, Two, Three and the underside of the patio awning was spiffy as could be.  Going to use it on the other side as well.

I’m also working on creating a map of the all the campgrounds, state parks, etc. that we have stayed at to date.  I’ll then include that map as a link in my blogs.   I’ll continue to update it as we travel.  Then everyone can see the places we’ve called home throughout 2019.

A couple of other computer projects.  I’m working on creating a master blog list so that I can quickly and easily find any and all attractions, museums, etc. that we have visited.  I’m also continuing to sort through last years pictures and putting them in order.

One final must do and that is reserving campgrounds for the summer of 2020.  I’m finding that in some cases I’ve already waited until it’s too late.  Trying to find places to stay is going to take some serious research.  I guess we could try BLM but neither of us are real, die-hard boondockers.  A few days off the grid is OK but not for days, or weeks on end.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It was a day with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  No sense in trying to do everything in one day since there is always tomorrow.

Thanks for coming along with us.  We always enjoy your company.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two 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!

 

 

Home Is Where We Park It:  Ives Run COE, Tioga, Pennsylvania 

July 16, 2019

Temperature 73 Degrees

Barry Has Arrived

New Additions to Graybeard

Mom Came for Supper

It appears that what is left of Barry has come calling.  The weatherman tells us that this is what we can expect for the next two days.  After that it is going to get hot, hot, hot!  Must say so far this year it is been really wacky in terms of the weather.  Thankfully, we have escaped a good deal of the really nasty stuff.  Hope our luck continues to hold for the rest of the year

Now about our current home.  It is a FHU site, paved and reasonably level.  All utilities are convenient to the wet bay.  We are partially shaded but have a clear shot of the southern sky so Gertrude is very happy.  It is one of the better places we have called home.  Come to think of it, so far I don’t believe we’ve had a really bad home yet.

We made another change to Graybeard this week.  Almost a year ago we removed our  dinette table setup with a free standing table.  It was a great move, but over time we realized an issue with the table we had chosen.  The table had four legs, one at each corner.  With limited space in the dinette area this made getting in and out from the table somewhat awkward and difficult.  What we needed was a center pedestal table.  We discovered and purchased such a table which, however, was unfinished.  My sister stepped up to the plate and agreed to finish it for us and have it ready when we arrived at Ives Run.  What a beautiful job she did, it matches perfectly with our current cabinets and blinds.  We absolutely love it.  Thanks sis!  Take a look.

We also added a few more odds and ends that Amanda brought with her.  They are really neat and we found a place for all of them.  We also found a place for Benny the Bison.

Finally, for our bathroom.

Today we had a very distinguished guest come for dinner.  She brought supper for all of us.  Hi Mom!

About that supper, it was a ham casserole with noodles and vegetables added.  I must say she can still cook up a fantastic meal.  I for one ate until I thought they would have to roll me away from the table.

Mom did justice to her plate as well.  Thanks mom for one delicious meal.

After supper and before the skies opened up we decided to sit outside and catch some fresh air.  She looks happy to be out and relaxing wouldn’t you say?  We had a wonderful afternoon visit and look forward to a few more before we leave here the end of next week.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It was a banner day all around.  A day of special memories for sure.  Tomorrow, well tomorrow who knows what we’ll find to do.  I know I have some maintenance to catch up on.  Barbara is taking mom for her repaired hearing aid.  She took her shopping today.  Thanks Lord for another fantastic day in every way.

Thanks again for joining us on our journey.  We always enjoy your company.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two 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!