So today was the day.  Today we were installing our Dish Satellite system.  Thus we started the morning with eager anticipation.  Just in time for the Hallmark Christmas Specials.

First things first, however, meaning it was time for breakfast.  This morning it was one of my favorites, a chili cheese omelette, a side of ham, and a couple cups of coffee.  Yummy and oh so tummy filling.  The perfect way to start the day.

Time now for the Dish install.  And this is where it all began to go wrong.  We were supposed to be installing two receivers, one for the front TV and one for the rear TV.  We were supposed to be installing a DVR on the main TV in the front.  Thankfully I wasn’t dong this myself.  We had a good friend who does this for a living doing the actual install.

He dug into the current components of our audio visual system and quickly found that it was not going to be as easy as he first thought.  In so many words there was no way that A could be hooked to B without modifying some of the wiring.  But to do that we needed some special parts.  Amazon to the rescue.  The parts we need will be here by Sunday.

Now where to put the satellite dish so that it had a clear view of the Southern sky.  Unfortunately, we are surrounded by trees.  We tried one location, nope.  Another spot, still no go.  Finally a third spot proved to be the charm.  Sort of.  The receive found three of the four needed satellites.

Ok, let’s finish the installation and get a picture.  Which we did.   My friend then had to leave promising to come back once the parts arrived from Amazon to finish the installation of the second receiver on the bedroom TV.

So we settled in to watch some TV.  We were fine until a thunderstorm came barreling through and the power went out and that was the end of that. We waited for a bit, rebooted the system and we were back in business.  Almost.  We lost all our local channels and the action package that Barbara had ordered for me.  Good news, though, we still have Hallmark!

Barbara then made a call to Dish.  She was on the phone for over an hour and they proclaimed it fixed.  NOT.  Still no local channels and no action package.  We still have Hallmark though!  By now we both found a new way to spell Dish – F R U S T R A T I O N

Barbara got back on the phone.  The net result, an entire afternoon and evening spent on the phone and still no local channels and no action package.  What to do.  We have no idea what we are going to do at this point in time.  Leave it alone for now and see what tomorrow brings.  Good news, though, we still have Hallmark!

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  A bumpy ride for sure.  It got a little tense every now and then.  Barbara, though, talked me down off the ledge.  I really have no tolerance for systems that just will not work right.  Thanks for joining us and if you ever have a notion of installing Dish in your RV, please think twice.

Time to say goodnight and sign off for the evening.  Before I go once again a thought for all of us to mull over and ponder upon:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  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

Well, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later.  Today was as good a day as any for it.  What you ask?  We went our separate ways.  Not permanently, of course not.  But over

the course of the past year where one of us went the other went also.  Until today.

Barbara wanted to take another class on basket making at Dade Battlefield.  The last time we took this class we went together but I quickly learned it was not my cup of tea.  So, we

 

parted ways early this morning, her going off to basket making and me staying home.  As they say, there is a first time for everything.  Even parting ways temporarily.   I do confess it felt a bit, well, abnormal.  Whether that’s bad or good I haven’t decided.

While she was gone I continued to tinker with the last awning getting it ready to install over the bedroom window.  Now all I need is that pesky eight foot ladder from a friend of mine.  As of now he is using it daily.  I mean, how dare he.  Just because it’s his ladder why does that give him the right to use it all the time!  All in good time as they say.

Once Barbara got back home it was time to join forces once again.  Together we began to work on Tour America 2019.  We added and subtracted stops and sights.  We changed the route here and there.  We’re still not done but getting there.  We probably have a good half of the year fairly well set at this point in time.  It’s been fun working together as I knew it would be.  So why then did it take me so long to realize it?

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Though apart for a brief interlude we were

soon back together again traveling along, side by side, singing our song.  The way it should be.  Will we have need to part ways again?  I guess.  But the next time I will be ready for it.  Thanks again for joining us on our continuing journey and we’re glad you came along.  We always enjoy your company.

One special request please.  The other day I told you about my neighbor Joe.  The new fulltimer, just on the road, just retied at age 65.  Yesterday he learned he has cancer and there is unfortunately not much they can do for him.  The mass is too large and too intertwined with other organs thus it cannot be removed.  With chemo they may be able to reduce it’s size, perhaps even manage it and keep it from spreading further.  But sadly his future is not looking too good.  His wife shared with me they are probably looking at maybe another five or six years at the most.  So please remember both Joe and his wife Leona in your prayers.  They are absolutely overwhelmed and still trying to process everything.

Time to say goodnight but before I go let me leave you with a thought for each of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  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

What can I say, just another beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Temperatures are cool enough at night for a comfortable night’s sleep.  Daytime temperatures are usually in the low to mid 80’s.  Yes, I’m sure this is going to change quite a bit in the next coupe of months.  Just as long as there is no snow, and no worry about the water lines freezing I’m OK with that.

First thing on the schedule was an appointment with the chiropractor.  Actually, make that the second thing on the schedule.  First thing was breakfast at McDonalds this morning inasmuch as the the Chiropractors office is less than a mile away.  A good old steak egg and cheese bagel.  Would you believe this is one of the few McDonalds that still serves this sandwich?   It’s one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches.   Add a hash brown

and an Iced Caramel Mocha and I was good to go.  The it was off to the chiropractor for a weekly tune up.

Next we were off to Dollar General and Wally World for those things that you just can’t live without!  Not really sure what we bought but I know it was essential.  There had to

be at least one bottle of wine in the bag.  Now that is an absolute necessity come about 3 in the afternoon.  No arguing please.

Shopping finished we came back and started another game of Mexican Train.  Hey, there’s no TV so besides reading a good book what else is there to do.  Can you tell we’re getting a bit older?

I also managed to find a really tall ladder that I can borrow so within the next few days I can put the last window awning up over the bedroom window.  It’s been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to finishing this project.

Later in the day I also started making some calls regarding my orthopedic appointment with the Surgery Institute  in Ocala.  When I called them they stated that the VA had never sent the necessary paperwork.  Nothing new.  This time, however, I had a secret weapon up my sleeve.  Last year when I had all the problems getting an appointment a manager from the Tampa VA hospital called and gave me his personal cell phone number.  He said if in the future I ever had any further issues I was to call him.  Time to give that number a try.  It was answered on the first ring.  He listened and then said not to worry he would take care of everything and he would call me back when he had.  No more than 20 minutes later he called to let me know that the paperwork had been sent and I should expect a call by tomorrow and if I didn’t call him back.  Now how about that!

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  No sightseeing yet but we’re working on a few things for the future.  A sand sculpture contest on the beach in Sarasota.   Some concerts over in the village.  Give us time and we’ll find things to do.  Once again thanks for joining us as we traveled along.   Once again we did it our way just traveling along, side by side, singing our song.

Now before I go let me leave all of us with a thought to ponder upon:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  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

 

 

What a difference a few hours south in Florida can make in temperatures.  Up at Gold Head State Park it was time for blankets every night.  Down here in Sumter Oaks we’re using the AC again.  However, it’s not the temperatures that are getting to us down here.  Oh no, it’s the acorns that keeping dropping on the roof!  It’s what I imagine it must be like in a hail storm.

Breakfast was excellent.  An egg sandwich on an onion roll, ice tea (ran out of juice oh my!), and a couple cups of coffee.  Tummy filling and definitely delicious.  The perfect way to start one’s day.

I promised a picture of our site and here it is.  Same site as before, number 45.  This is where it really all started for us back in January of this year.  This was our first winter home.  After this, well maybe some year we’ll be back.  Time will tell.

Afterwards I did some house cleaning.  In this respect living in an RV is really no different than living in a sticks and bricks house.  The bathroom needed to be cleaned, the blinds dusted, odds and ends put away.  I wanted to also vacuum the floors but our vacuum gave up the ghost, it will no longer recharge.  Ah well, time for a new one I guess.

Barbara then sat down at the computer and began to work on the details of our airline tickets for our trip to Wellsboro for Christmas.  Neither of us could believe all the extra

charges they add on.  Want extra legroom, it will cost you more for that.  Want to bring a suitcase, it will cost you more for that.  Want to be able to possibly change your dates, it will cost you more for that.  Want to board early, it will cost you more for that.  It’s crazy.  We still have to figure out the best place to board Marti and the best way to get to and from the airport.

While Barbara was doing her thing I set up my office on the patio and began to tinker again with Tour America 2019.  This time I started to list things we wanted to see and to put dates with locations.  It’s looking good so far.  We have ample time so far meaning

we’ll be able to stay longer in several locations and catch our breath.  We’ve also decided that we are no longer going to stay in just one location for the winter.  We’ll probably pick out maybe one location in New Mexico, two or three locations in Arizona and maybe one right over the border in California.  OK, now once I have the places and dates for next year more or less firmed up I’ll start looking for RV parks and/or State Parks and/or COE sites and/or Harvest Host locations.  A bit more time and it will be more or less done – as if it ever is!

After Barbara finished with our airline reservations she was off to the Wishy Washy.

Did we ever have a lot of laundry to be done!  That’s what happens when you keep putting it off week after week.  It’s all clean now and we’re good for another week.

That was the sum total of our day on The Road of Retirement.  We’re just taking our time, doing what needs to be done, but at our own pace.  Thanks once again for joining us we enjoyed your company.  Hey, if anyone ever has any suggestions or questions please feel free to email us and we’ll reply as soon as we can.

Now before I go here is the sixty four thousand dollar question of the day – are we vagabonds or gypsy’s?  Good question and we’ve been called both.  Let’s see a vagabond according to those in the know is a person who wanders from place to place without a home or job.  But we have a home, its just on wheels.  OK, how about the term gypsy.  Often the word has negative connotations associated with the it but the word can also mean a nomadic or free-spirited person.  That sort of fits us.  I’m still not sure.  I think therefore I’ll go with calling us vagabond gypsy’s!  All I know for sure is our style is to travel along, side by side, singing our song.

OK, enough silly nonsense for the day.  I’ll say goodnight now but before I go a thought for each of us to ponder upon:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  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