Update from Drifters Resort - December

     It has been a little over a month now since we arrived in Texas, and wanted to let everyone know what we have been doing. After celebrating Thanksgiving in Atlanta with our “kids”, we took a leisurely three-day drive down here to the resort where we stayed last winter. The weather cooperated with us every day, and thankfully, no turkeys managed to mangle our windshield during this trip.
     Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve with just the two of us still seems a bit strange, although we did it last year in Muscatine. However, with all of the other campers residing here, it feels much less lonely. Many people decorate their entire campsite, including setting up actual Christmas trees outside, wrapping lights all around their motor homes, trailers and nearby trees. There are lighted wreaths, flashing twinkle icicles, and inflated holiday yard ornaments everywhere. As tacky as that sounds, it was really pretty neat to see! (I tried to take a video to include here, but it was too dark). There was also a lavish Christmas potluck dinner, with ham provided by the campground hosts, as well as a New Year’s Eve dance with a band, champagne and party favors.
     There are so many activities in which to participate around here that we are never bored. We have breakfast and dinner potlucks, fish-frys (where the residents generously share their recent catch), rock & roll/country music dances with bands, Texas Hold’em nights, Wii and other game competitions, get-togethers to watch football games, ladies’ luncheons, aerobics classes, work-outs in the fitness center, craft club, etc. There is a beautiful pool here that we are anxious to use soon, also. (It is 76 degrees outside now – maybe today is the perfect opportunity!)
     Ken and I have undertaken several excursions on our own, as well. We visited the Corpus Christi Trade Center – a huge indoor marketplace with over 200 vendors. Going there involves taking a ferry, and we saw several dolphins leaping out of the water as we crossed. Having lunch at a seaside restaurant on a warm sunny day, while gulls fly overhead and boats sail by, has been a relaxing and enjoyable pastime for us. Most afternoons will find Ken hanging out with the neighbor guys, drinking beer and playing a rousing game of ladder-ball. Often several of us “girls” will sit and cheer, while enjoying cocktails and chatting together. Sometimes the lone, tame Barbado sheep (which looks like a cross between a goat and a deer) will wander through the campsite. Other times, it might be the noisy herd of guinea hens, squawking and walking by. I am truly enjoying my new Kindle that Ken bought me for Christmas, and its lighted cover allows me to read anytime!
     We have also signed up for Netflix and Redbox accounts, so if the weather is not particularly cooperative, we can enjoy afternoon movies and popcorn, along with a nap, if necessary. Inside our camper we have recently made a few extra modifications to make it feel more like “home”, too. I put together photo collages in six frames (57 pictures in all) to hang on the walls. Ken made a wood & glass table-top for our steering wheel, while I sewed a tablecloth for it and added a lamp and silk flower basket. It’ll never be nominated for a House Beautiful layout, but we feel quite comfortable here.
     There have been a couple of technological issues that have plagued us, however… our cell phone and Internet service is sporadic at best, so we had to invest in an expensive “network extender” to help resolve that issue. Also, Ken’s nearly-new deluxe Megatouch video game console has developed an annoying “freeze-frame” problem that we are trying to correct. And, when the propane gas truck came by to top off our tank, it inadvertently got over-filled, with a dangerous potential for explosion. It only took a couple of days (with much head-scratching and improvising) to remedy that situation. Luckily, everyone here is extremely helpful!
     All in all, however, we have definitely been enjoying our stay here in south coastal Texas. Some friends (Lynn and Sharon Kokemuller) from Muscatine stopped by on their way to South Padre Island, and we will perhaps be making a visit down to see them soon. Also included in our tentative schedule are plans to visit a lumberjack wood-chopping competition, quilt show, nearby “market days”, local theater performances, and whatever else we deem interesting. Glad that most of you are experiencing unseasonably warm weather during these winter months, and hope that you are enjoying all the good things in your life!  


"Barbado" sheep

Guinea Hens

Steering wheel table-top

Rough beach day

Ken playing Ladder-Ball

Friends from Muscatine - the Kokemullers

Crossing the bay nearby

Thanksgiving in Atlanta with the "kids"...

    Guess it’s time to update everyone on what we have been up to since our last post.  Once school started in the fall, I spent quite a few days subbing in grades K–5, which kept me off the street corners and afforded me a bit of pocket change.  Ken kept busy working around Nancy and Tom’s house, where we continued to live until mid-November.  He kept the lawn mowed and fertilized, completed a few projects for the motor home, and we also enjoyed many evenings sitting outside enjoying the mild weather. 

     We left Muscatine for Atlanta the week before Thanksgiving, spending over-nights in Springfield, Illinois and Clarksville, Tennessee.  Luckily, the weather cooperated with us during the trip (and the turkeys avoided colliding with us!).  We stayed with Kirsten, Paul and Lucas at their home for the first five days, with Ken helping to complete several projects such as a garage / attic re-organization, insulating the garage door, etc.  My brother Eric had arrived from Illinois that week-end with his Porsche, to race on the Road Atlanta race track.  We spent several hours hanging out there, and Kirsten bravely went around a few laps with him, at a speed of 155 mph.  (I really wanted to go myself, but was afraid of the consequences!).

     On Thanksgiving eve, Kyle and Rachel flew in from Denver, and we continued the merriment with drinking, snacking, and MegaTouch videogame tournaments.  We had not all been together since Kyle and Rachel’s wedding in June 2010, so there was a lot of catching up to do.  Lucas and his hilarious antics provided much of our entertainment, and Grandpa and Ninee (Lucas’ name for me) baby-sat while Kirsten, Paul, Kyle and Rachel enjoyed an evening out in downtown Atlanta.  Ken also celebrated his birthday while we were there, complete with singing waiters and obnoxious sombrero at a Mexican restaurant.   

     Good-byes were particularly difficult, since we don’t know when we will have the opportunity to be together again.  But, with all the technological options available to keep in touch these days, that should prove less daunting than in the past.  Kyle and Rachel returned to Colorado on Tuesday, November 29th, and we resumed our travel south on that day, also.  We again were fortunate to have excellent driving weather, and stayed over in Mobile, Alabama and Beaumont, Texas on our way to Rockport, Texas.  We are now back at Drifters Resort where we stayed last year, and are settled in and enjoying ourselves with all the friendly neighbors and fun activities to keep us occupied and relaxed.  More updates will follow with accounts of our “homeless” lifestyle, if you’re interested.  Meanwhile, here’s wishing all of you a most blessed and enjoyable holiday season with your family and friends! 





Eric's car



Eric, Kirsten and Lucas at Road Atlanta

 

Going for a spin



Organizing the garage

 


Paul and Kirsten



Lucas "hiding" from Ninee



Kyle and Rachel




Ken's birthday

  





Update from the Travelling Hillbillies...

Can’t believe it has been almost a month since updating our journey on here.  Life has been treating us very well, and although we really haven’t participated in a lot of exciting activities, we’ve certainly been enjoying ourselves.  The weather has been absolutely perfect lately – mild temps and low humidity, with only a few rain showers that occur mostly at night.  However, we did experience a rather nasty thunderstorm while we were in Coralville at the end of July.  It came up suddenly during the night, and Ken had to go out and pull in the awning on our camper.  Unfortunately, a part of it broke off, although we were able to purchase a replacement for it the next day.  We’re discovering that living in our motor home is not very different than a “sticks and bricks” house.   They both still require routine maintenance and often costly upkeep.  Ken recently spent several hours replacing the thermostat in our water heater, and also had to fix the outside door which had been whipped out of his hand during a bout of windy weather.  Luckily, he is very knowledgeable and able to perform most tasks himself.  After leaving Coralville, we moved to Fairport near Muscatine.  The weather was extremely hot and humid, and the docks had to be dismantled due to flooding along the river.  On July 28, I flew to Atlanta to spend a week with Kirsten, Paul and Lucas.  Our grandson is growing up so fast – today he turns two! - and his vocabulary is expanding quickly, as well as his ability to entertain me with his antics.  Ken and I will drive down to visit again in mid-September.  On our 38th wedding anniversary August 4th, we set up camp at Shady Creek, a few miles away.  Tom and Nancy brought their motor home out and we hung out together for several days.  We decided to spend some time at the local casinos, where Ken was quite lucky!  So we returned the next day, and surprisingly that luck rubbed off on Nancy, too.   Last Sunday we strapped our bikes to the back of the camper and drove here to Lake Red Rock, near Pella, IA.  It has been about 25 years since we’ve been to this campground, and we actually managed to get the same site we had back then, when our kids were with us in our travel trailer.   We last visited the Iowa State Fair at that time, and returned this past Monday.  Not to offend anyone, but Ken and I agreed that we probably wouldn’t ever feel the need to go to the Fair again.  After waiting almost an hour in a line to ride the shuttle there, and paying $10.00 each to enter, we were accosted by at least a hundred greasy food stands, hawking commercial vendors and loud politicians.   It was interesting, though, to see the many beautiful quilts on display, but that was actually the highlight of the day for me.  Luckily, we have enjoyed our scenic campsite right on the lake, and the well-kept meandering bike trail that surrounds it.  Unfortunately, we must leave here tomorrow.  Our destination will be Shady Creek for awhile, since I will be substitute-teaching all week and part of the next.  Hoping we’ll be able to sneak in a visit to Iowa City over Labor Day week-end to see Kyle and Rachel, who will be in town for a friend’s wedding (and celebrating Rachel’s birthday on Sunday).  After returning from Atlanta in September, we will most likely be storing the motor home for awhile, living again at Tom and Nancy’s house, with only periodic week-end camping trips until the weather turns cold.   Then, it’s back to Texas for at least three months this winter, hopefully meeting NO turkeys on our way!  Thanks for following along with us – it’s always nice to hear from all of you!



Little Lucas - Birthday Boy!

Mr. Sassafrass



Kirsten and Lucas

Shady Creek

Kallie enjoys life anywhere

So does Ken!



The shuttle line for the Iowa State Fair

 

Turkey legs at the fair - $8.00 each!



Quilts were AWESOME!

Riding the bike trail at Lake Red Rock

 

Sunset over the lake - beautiful!



Back on the road again...

Decided it was time to update the blog and let people know where we are and what we are doing.  After moving back into (sister) Nancy and Tom’s house on April 1^st when we returned from Texas and visiting (daughter) Kirsten, Paul and Lucas in Georgia, we spent a couple of months planting some vegetables, doing a bit of yard work, and planning our next get-away.  During the middle of June, we travelled to Colorado to visit (son) Kyle and Rachel for a week, and had a great time with them.  Ken worked on a few house projects while we were there, as well as during our visit the following week to the Wisconsin lake house to hang out with (sister) Karen and Bob.  Spent some time with (niece) Sara, Scottie and Payton, and enjoyed the 4^th of July parade and fireworks.  Then we returned to Muscatine, and before venturing out again, luckily the Chamberlin crew came and fired up our tired A/C units, both front and rear.  Thanks to them, we were able to comfortably camp along the Mississippi River at Fairport for the next several days.  When our reservation expired, we stayed one night at Nancy and Tom’s again, and enjoyed a delicious grilled chicken dinner.  Surprised to discover we could reserve four days at one of our favorite sites up at Coralville Lake, we ventured there on Saturday, July 16^th, then moved to an even nicer site where we’ll stay for the next week.  Ken helped the older gentleman who was transferring his camper to a different location, and just about got run over by him.  Hopefully, someone will tell us when it’s time to sell our camper, when it becomes too dangerous to drive!   This site has lots of “back yard”, so it is perfect for privacy and playing “fetch” with Kallie, but unfortunately, the weather has been extremely hot and not suitable for campfires.  We still like to sit outside (with two big fans blowing on us), watching the deer, raccoons, squirrels and even cats wander in and out of the woods nearby, while imbibing refreshing adult beverages.  Last Monday, my tooth had been hurting for quite awhile, and the dentist sent me to an endodontist near here.  During my appointment, he did an emergency root canal, which was more painful to the checkbook than my mouth.  Ken went to his doctor in Muscatine today for a physical, and an appointment was made for him to see a cardiologist (on our wedding anniversary – boo!).  Needless to say, growing old(er) brings unexpected medical issues, so we are truly trying to enjoy quality time together as much as possible.   Yesterday, we went to a camping supply store and bought a few items, then browsed around the local Goodwill store before going to lunch at “Shorts” (Nate Kaeding’s restaurant) in downtown Iowa City .  Being “homeless” in this kind of situation is really wonderful, as each day brings new adventures, with fun things to do and places to explore.  Stay tuned for more updates in the near future, and thanks for "following" us!

Ken in the Poudre Canyon in Colorado

Mishawaka Restaurant on the Poudre River

Kayakers on the Poudre River

Kyle and Rachel

On the lake in Wisconsin

My fun sister Karen and niece Sara

Darling great-niece Payton

Ken, Bob and Scottie building some deck-steps

Our campsite at Coralville Lake (Iowa)

Strange clouds before a thunderstorm

Last, but hopefully not the least...

Well, we are finally back from our southern travels, and it was an amazing two months on the road.  Ken has actually given our trip a "9.8 out of 10", which gratifies me, since there were a few moments when I was quite concerned about whether or not we would be able to survive our challenges.  The dramatic 'turkey' incident was, of course, the most difficult obstacle we managed to overcome.  However, there were other less traumatic issues that I think we handled quite well, and have proven to be a testament to the stability of our relationship.  Having our GPS lose reliability because of the damage done during the accident made trip-routing somewhat of a problem.  Having no camping sites available during several sections of our route made for some rather primitive living conditions (and we all know that "roughing it" for me typically means no room service after midnight, or that the ice machine is on another floor).  But we "weathered" all the adversities we encountered, including some very strong winds, rain and hailstorms.  After leaving beautiful spring-blooming Atlanta and Kirsten, Paul and little Lucas, we headed to Red Bay, Alabama to tour the Tiffin Motorhome facility where our camper was made.  It was absolutely fascinating!  (Thank you, Dora, Shawn and Floyd).  Ken was particularly interested in the cabinet-making operations, and saw many innovative techniques being incorporated into their new models.  We then drove to Perryville, Missouri and stayed at the same campground we did on our first night on the road - back where the turkey hit us.  It was great to enjoy that campground when the temperature was not registering  a freezing-cold four degrees, as it was when we were there in January.  Arriving back in Muscatine on April Fool's Day, we've since been asked several times what our future adventures might include.  At this point, we plan on staying here at Nancy and Tom's cozy and comfortable house for a couple of months, and then perhaps settling in at one of the nearby campgrounds on the Mississippi River.  I have a few sub-teaching dates already scheduled, and Ken will be working on a few construction jobs as they become available.  In the meantime, we'll take a trip out to Colorado to see Kyle and Rachel, and maybe tackle a couple of household projects there, as well.  Our thanks to all who have followed our "Big Adventure", and hope you will continue to do so in our future travels. 

Throwing the ball with Kallie at the Tiffin "campground"
(we were in a parking lot with no electricity or water) 

 

Installing cabinets in the wall

Building a motorhome

Fun campground in Tupelo, Mississippi

Our campsite in Tupelo, MS

Updates from the road...

The Alamo

San Antonio River Walk

San Antonio River Walk

Campground in Fort Worth,Texas

Ken, Parker and Carson fishing at the campground



Indian Springs State Park in Georgia

Beautiful view

Our campsite

Paul and Lucas and the new frog bubble blower

Kirsten and Lucas

Out for pizza with "Mr. Destructo/Distracto"

 It never ceases to amaze me how busy we seem to be on our supposed “vacation”, but it appears obvious by how long ago it was that I updated this blog.  So many activities have kept us entertained and active, partly because the last two weeks we have been traveling more and visiting several relatives and friends.  We had new tires put on the motorhome before we left the campground resort in Texas, because we were told that even though we didn’t have many miles on them, their age made them dangerous to drive.  So, we painfully paid for our first major maintenance expense on our new “home” – almost $4000.  Ouch!  But, Ken feels much more confident now and says he can actually tell the difference.  I just hope someone else’s tires don’t explode and hit us on the highway now!  We left Drifters Resort and headed to San Antonio / New Braunfels to visit with Tom and Debbie Blake, full-timers from Muscatine,  on March 12^th.  They showed us around the area, and we had a yummy dinner at a German restaurant – schnitzel, spaetzle and red cabbage.  For this Stych / Ostermeier duo, it was perfect!  We also had fun visiting the famous San Antonio River Walk and saw the Alamo – something we have wanted to do for quite awhile.  On March 14^th, we drove to Dallas/Fort Worth to hang out with my nephew and his family, and my sister Karen who was visiting them, also.  We had never seen Jeff and Carrie’s beautiful home, and anyone who knows my sister will understand how I always get a good ab workout when we are with her, because she always makes me laugh so much.  The boys Parker and Carson (ages 6 & 4) enjoyed fishing at our campground, which was on a huge lake.  It had a large  playground, plus a beach with paddleboats and kayaks, and was very nice – we will definitely stay there again.   We left on St. Patrick’s Day, which was not a fun day for a drive – it was extremely windy, but we did travel for 520 miles to Meridian, Mississippi, where we spent the night in a WalMart parking lot.  We had Subway sandwiches for dinner, (from inside WalMart) and also a Subway breakfast.  Sometimes it's great not to have to make meals! The next day we arrived here at Indian Springs State Park in Jackson, Georgia, which is beautiful!  The best part is being with little Lucas, and of course, Kirsten and Paul.   We have spent the last week going back and forth between their home and here (which is a 45-minute drive each way), making dinners together, working on little “to-do” projects, visiting Lucas’ day care center (awesome!), shopping, and generally just enjoying our time with each other.  The weather has been perfect (although the pollen has been terrible – apparently 90 is ‘high’ and it is up to 2000 now, so allergy symptoms have been severe).  Today we are all going to hang out here and enjoy a grilled steak/baked potato dinner and a roaring campfire, then spend the night together.  (Our sofa pulls out into a bed, and we’ll have the playpen set up, so though it will be a bit “cozy”, we think it will be true 'camping out' for everyone.)  On Monday, we’ll move on to Red Bay, Alabama to tour the factory where our motorhome was made, and stay at their clients' campground.  So, in the meantime,  thanks for being patient enough to read through this, and hopefully the next update will be posted again soon.