December 2010

Good Little Girls and Santa



Rhonda, Patty Lonozo and I went to Beaumont, Texas to make a day of it. First we stopped for pizza at Joe’s Pizza Place, went to see the movie, Morning Glory, the girls dropped me off at Barnes & Noble’s while they went window shopping and then we all walked around the mall. Since it was getting close to Christmas the girls had to stop by Santa’s Shop and say hi and get their picture taken with him. Aren’t the cute on Santa’s lap?













Music at Paradise RV Park

The first Saturday of the month there’s music, food and folly at the Paradise clubhouse. The food was excellent and plentiful thanks to Linda.
We had a really good time and we were the only couple to dance this night. Patty showed up with about one hour left of activities in the clubhouse. Patty, Rhonda and I went to our M/H just for a little while after the festivities to talk and visit.



















Motor home site for December

On the 6th we moved down to Warren, Texas so Patty could take care of our cats while we were gone for the month of December. She has 7 or 8 acres. I disconnected the water, electric, sewer and satellite for the move to Patty’s.





We left Paradise Park around 1:25 p.m. arriving at Patty’s just 14 miles away. After a few unsuccessful attempts to try parking M/H beside her backyard deck, we decided to put it in front of the deck directly behind her house. It probably was the best place we could have put it.








The Beginning of 3 Weeks of Whirlwind Activities


The anticipation of getting on the road woke us up at 2:51 a.m. on the day of our departure, the 7th. We were out of bed by 3 a.m. and the start of our whirlwind of activities for the next three weeks began. We completed the finishing touches of getting things ready for the trip up to Murray, KY. Our trip started at 4:17 in the morning. We transferred driving duties every hour for the first four hours.
We then did two hours apiece and finished up the trip with each of us doing 1 ½ hours each. The Grumpy old Grandpa voice on our new GPS brought us right to Neil and Joan’s lake house. They are Rhonda’s second cousins. The trip took 12 hours, 11 of them driving. One hour was for pit-stops, gas refueling and stopping to eat lunch. The GPS brought us right to their front door at exactly 4:17 pm. We received the warmest of warm greetings from them both. Joan made a wonderful dinner with pork meat, mashed potatoes, lima beans, salad, and hot rolls. It was delicious and their company was delightful. We spent the better part of the evening just talking and having a great time together. They gave us the complete tour of their “new” lake house.
They had at one time a small rustic lake house (see picture above) and a small amount of living space 600 feet. They had a new lake house built which took five months instead of the three months promised. The delay was mostly because of bad weather. They went from 600 square feet to over 3,400 square feet. They have a magnificent view of the lake from any of their three levels. Their two decks or the basement level are all great to gaze upon Lake Kentucky. The basement is not yet completed but they are getting every so close to completing it. I took pictures inside and out of their new lake house. We always look forward to seeing them anytime we are in their area. We said our goodbyes to Neil and Joan after a wonderful breakfast and good conversation. We hugged our goodbyes and put our suitcases inside the car. Plugged in my youngest daughter, Katie’s address to the GPS and pulled out of their drive way at 10:45 a.m.













My Sweet Granddaughter

We switched drivers every hour of this 5 hour and 47 minute trip, driving an easy 581 miles according to our GPS. We arrived at 6:10 p.m. Katie’s house just as it was getting dark outside. My sweet granddaughter, Ally greeted us as we entered their home. She was excited to see us and gave us big hugs. Katie gave me a big hug and I returned it because I’d missed her so. They gave us the nickel tour of their house. It’s a really nice house. They still have things they want to get done but that’s normal with any young couple just getting started in their new house. It’s a house before it becomes a home. Kevin my son-in-law has already carved out his man-cave in the basement where he has set-up a 100 foot TV screen by painting his wall with a special paint and putting a border around it. It’s the neatest darn thing. It’s almost like being at a theatre. It was really nice to see Katie and her family.













Northern Indiana

The very next morning we took off for Ft. Wayne taking Sadie to Rhonda’s friend, Bonnie Kellams. She was dog-sitting for us while we went on our cruise later this month. We left Sadie in her capable hands and drove just a few blocks to a nursing home where Rhonda’s Uncle Carl had been admitted. We stepped into his room and Rhonda’s cousin Marsha was visiting her stepdad. Carl was laboring for every breath and it was just a matter of time before he would take his last one. Rhonda’s, Aunt Jean was across the road with some friends having lunch so we stopped over to see her too. We gave her our condolences and said goodbye.

Our next stop was meeting Rhonda’s mom at a restaurant for lunch. We took the computer inside to show her some pictures we had taken recently. It was a good lunch and good time with Rhonda’s mom, Jane.






We weren’t done yet our next stop was to see our friend Nancy Biscardi. She had moved from Colorado to the Ft. Wayne area since her husband Frank passed away and this was the first time we were able to see her and her new apartment. We think we almost have her convinced to full-time RV.

After visiting with Nancy we then traveled back down to Greenfield to stay with my daughter, Katie.










Indianapolis to Los Angeles

Katie took us to the Indianapolis International Airport for our flight to Los Angeles where we would board our cruise ship, The Mariner of the Seas, a Carnival Cruise Ship. We arrived at the airport really early but it was worth it. Going through airport security was a lot easier than I’d expected. The flight out to LA enabled me to start and finish a new book I had bought at the Kountze Trade Days titled, So Innocent, but So Dead, authored by a retire police officer, Bill Davis who I met and he signed my copy for me. We flew on Southwest Airline and it was a very good one and the first time we had been on this airline.





















We arrived at the LAX Airport right on time.

Next up our cruise down the Mexican Rivera.

November 2010

Fritch, Texas



We were up a little before 6 am getting things ready around the motor home to leave USI RV Park on November 2nd. I started by taking down the satellite, dumping our black and gray tanks and putting up all the hoses. Rhonda did all her little “pink things” while I completed my “blue things.” I hitched the dolly up and then hitched the car up, filled up the LP tank on the motor home and we said our goodbyes and gave hugs to everyone. We then pulled out of USI at 10:25 am. I called Steve Lesly in Fritch, Texas to make sure we could stop by to see them because they are always so busy. But of course Steve and his sweet wife Karie always have the welcome mat out for us. We arrived in Fritch at 5:30 p.m. parking the motor home in one of the open sites. We then settled in for the night.

The following morning I worked on the computer a little and Rhonda did her thing getting ready to go see Steve and Karie. We met up with them at a Mexican restaurant. Karie brought Evan their grandson who’s the cutest little 2 year-old and he was a well behaved youngster too. We ate, talked and laughed at lunch where we had a really nice time. It was good to see old friends. Steve and I set up a golf date for the next day. The girls set up a day to do their own thing of shopping and visiting with one another. They invited us over for a nice dinner at their house and as usual we had a wonderful time.


Our stay in Fritch with our friends was way too short. We arrived on the 2nd and we left on the 8th pulling out at 9:25 am. We headed the motor home southward toward our home base of Woodville, TX. We stopped just long enough to say goodbye at Steve's office, shaking hands and saying our goodbyes. Steve gave us some homemade apple-butter that Karie had made as a going away present. (It was excellent, notice the past tense).

We arrived in Gainesville, TX about 4:30 pm after traveling 332.1 miles. We stopped at an Outlet Mall where behind the mall was a small RV park. We paid $15 to stay at this park which entitled us to all services (W/E/S). Dropping our money in the cashbox we paid for our nightly stay after we went over to Applebee’s for our dinner.

Home Base Woodville, Texas



We pulled out of the Gainesville Outlet Mall at 8:10 am. Traveling SE towards our destination of Woodville, TX where our home base is located. I drove the first 100 miles, Rhonda the next 100 miles and I finished off the last hundred. It was a total of 301.9 miles to our site at Paradise Senior RV Park. We arrived just shy of 3:30 pm. Guy and Linda (owners of the park and our good friends) met us at the entrance where we went inside the office and talked for almost an hour. Guy surprised us by allowing us to have the premiere spot in the park; it’s so spacious and is actually two lots instead of one. It’s right beside the clubhouse and has a nice storage shed. It was good to finally be home and relax.



A Nice Guy



We dropped in to see Rhonda’s boss, Danny Self traveling down to his house in Hillister, Texas. He owns the tanning salon where she has worked part-time the past few years. She won’t have the time to work there until maybe February, but we did want to see him.He’s a remarkable person with a special kind of spirit. Danny lost one of his legs through an industrial accident working on the railroad. He’s a kind hearted man with a wonderful “can do” spirit. He showed us around his 8,000 square foot home which even has a indoor swimming pool with an area that can accommodate up to 90 people for parties and socializing. He mentioned they have even had one wedding in this large add-on room. It was quite impressive.




I’m getting old – I’m SSN eligible

We readied ourselves for our trip to Lufkin, TX, on Monday, November 15th where I had a 1:15 p.m. appointment with Shelly Jabbaroo, a nice young lady who works at the Social Security Office. She was very patient with me making sure I understood everything concerning my eligibility. She answered all my questions and concerns. It was determined it was to my advantage to start receiving my SSN benefits immediately. It’s a very small amount because I already receive a pension from the government, - they consider this an off-set. So what the heck, I went for it. Waiting would have been senseless, at least according to her and the calculations she presented to me.


Two Lovely Ladies


Toward the end of the month we stopped in the town of Warren to see Patty Lonozo. She is a sweet lady Rhonda met while working at Brookshire Brothers Store. She also helped me get started playing the piano. Our purpose was to see if we could park the RV by her house while we’re gone for the month of December and for her to watch and feed our cats, Blossom & R.T. Everything looked favorable. We paid her to plug in our electricity, to watch the cats and let our RV stay on her property. It’s a pretty good deal for everyone. The electric won’t be more than one dollar a day at the most. After a short visit with Patty we came home to rest.

Going to the Chapel & We’re Going to Get Married


We went to Livingston to attend a class called, “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.” A workbook, written by husband and wife team Dr. Les and Leslie Parrott and a lesson plan on a DVD was presented to us by instructor Anna Chancellor. The class was held in the First Baptist Church in Livingston. The class was from 8 am – 4 pm. In attendance were two other couples’ a young couple by the name Shawn and Mandy both being in their early 20’s; the other couple was A.W. Williams and Margaret and they were in their 70’s. He mentioned being 78 she didn’t mention her age only to say they were both in their 70’s.

Their story was just like a fairy tale. At least it sounded like a fairy tale come true. The last time they saw each other was in 1957 when they were in college. They were close friends and both had strong feelings toward each other. In fact they were in love with each other but neither one of them had spoken those words to each other. So they went their separate ways married different people and lived their lives apart for more than 50 years. Until June of 2010 by happenstance at their school reunion they were reunited with one another. A.W. was in the state of Michigan and Margaret in Texas. Margaret had been a widow for 10 years and A.W. for at least 5 or 6 years. At least that’s what I think he said. Margaret is a well kept beautiful woman with a light creamy chocolate complexion. Her hair has a silver-white color that had the look of a woman who had just stepped out of a beauty salon with every hair in place. She was smartly dressed with matching accessories to her attire. She was more the talker of the two with a voice that told of her love for the Lord. A.W. at 78 was a strapping man with a slow deliberate pace in his voice and his walk. It was as if he was searching for just the right words every time he spoke.

We introduced ourselves as they first walked inside the church. I stuck out my hand first to A.W. and then to Margaret they both had a strong confident handshake. They had a wonderful story to tell and they were good witnesses for the Lord. They didn’t have a concrete date for their wedding but instead said it should happen before December 20th. They had an astounding 101 years experience as teachers. A.W. was a math teacher along with being a football, basketball and track coach in the Houston area. Margaret was a third grade teacher; I know this because the young man also attending this class had attended Margaret’s class when he was in third grade. It was a sight to see a teacher and her student in a premarital class together. Neither one of them could have imagined any such encounter.



Kountze Trade Days



We went to the city of Kountze where the city is having a Vendors Trade Days just like the city of Livingston does each month. It’s only 3 months old and a lot of the vendors who sell their wares in Livingston were in attendance. There was a lot of nice stuff being sold and the city has gone all out to make it a success. We actually liked it better than the one in Livingston. We picked up Bobby and Annette Adkins for the trip to Kountze. We walked around the vendor’s booths and enjoyed the morning with our friends. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we checkout this venue.

A little footnote: My youngest daughter called me in the middle of November letting me know that my next grandchild is going to be a boy. He is due in early April of 2011. This will be #10. I’m really happy for her and Kevin.

October 2010

Socializing Month

This month we had many activities but none more fun than a double date with Rocky and Georgette. We went out for a nice supper at Logan’s Restaurant and then off to Georgette’s home to play some card games.

The very next evening we went to dinner with a hometown couple from Indiana who were staying in the park. Rob Edwards and Robin Lee are from Fishers, Indiana. We went to an upscale restaurant called Red Rock River Canyon. It was a wonderful meal. In fact it is one of the best eateries in Wichita. We had a relaxing evening with this new couple which we now consider our friends. We hope to see them whenever we are in their area up in Indiana. After dinner we invited them back to our home where we talked, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed their company. We had such a good time we invited them to breakfast at Nancy’s Place, a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Frank and Sondra told us about in their old neighborhood. The breakfast was absolutely yummy. We are starting to think that Wichita might have the market on excellent places to eat.

(Pictured above Will, a friend of Robin & Rob, at Nancy's Place)

Golfing and Cleaning up

I continued to golf with Frank and Gary; and had the opportunity to go out with John Beddie and his niece, Samantha (Sam); and the owner’s new son-in-law Brock and his friends Shawn and Lucas. Golfing was a big part of my summertime fun.

I know that I’ve mentioned how nice and clean the USI restrooms and laundry facilities are because of Sheila’s insistence to maintain them at a high level of cleanliness.
Frank and I tried to sustain those high standards throughout the summer. Rhonda and Sondra also maintained the same high standards for the office which they were entrusted.

New Blood & Bonding

Mid-month Bruce and Sheila Keller arrived at USI; they were the finishing touch to the workforce for the winter season. While I was out golfing with Frank and Gary in Cheney, KS, Rhonda was out shopping with Sheila Wagner. They did a really nice job finding Rhonda a wedding dress with some nice accessories to compliment it and her. Sheila amused herself by poking fun at me concerning the wedding. If you listened to her, she had us getting married in Las Vega, right here in Wichita, at a far away island off somewhere in the Caribbean, on our upcoming cruise and if she could work it out I think she would have tried to get us hitched in Tim-buck-too. She did it all in good fun. The best part about their shopping experience was it allowed them quality bonding time.

(l-r, Frank, Tom, Sondra, Rhonda, Sheila & Keith)
Since we now had the winter crew in place; the owners of the park were taking the summer crew out for a farewell dinner. The six of us drove to the Bone Fish Grill where the ambience was first-rate and the company was appreciated. The meal was truly superb and the dessert was a melt in your mouth tantalizing way to end the evening. Driving back to the Pegg’s we all sat around their patio chit-chatting about what a wonderful summer we all had together.



(At right ladies with an attitude)



El Dorado, Kansas – Day Trip

We took time to drive up to El Dorado, KS to visit friends we met at Adventureland, Joyce and Jerry Riggs and their son Jeff. We had a nice lunch and visit with them. Rhonda and Joyce became close dear friends on a trip they took a few years back from Iowa to Indiana together.






Port-of-calls are calling

I worked on the computer a lot this month and last, I just didn’t work on the blog like I should have. I did accomplish booking our cruise down the Mexican Rivera and setting up a shore excursion in Mazatlan. Our port of call for Puerto Vallarta is where we are meeting our close friends Dave and Jacque Graff hoping to spend a fun filled day with them. The only port of call we haven’t set up something to do is in Cabo San Lucas, we plan on playing this one by ear.

Our Days were numbered
(l-r, Sondra, Frank, Rhonda, Tom, Keith, Sheila)

Our last two work days this summer were October 29th and 30th. Enthusiasm and bittersweet feelings came to the surface regarding these two days. We hope to say our goodbyes to the regular residents here in the park and our goodbyes to each other as we get ready for our departure. After work on the 30th Sheila and Keith threw the summer work crew a going away party. Those in attendance were the new winter work crew; Chuck & Pauline Doney-Montes; Bruce & Sheila Keller; also in attendance were Keith & Sheila Wagner (owners of park); their daughter Amy and her husband Brock and little daughter Chloe; residents John & Donna Beddie; and our new friends Rocky Reagan and his girlfriend Georgette Hall. It was a bittersweet way to say goodbye, but we are happy knowing we will be returning next season.

(Pictured above Miss Rhonda & little cutie pie Chloe)

(Farewell party in full swing)






Halloween brings out all the ghost, goblins and little witches. We had a real cutie pie stop by our motor home on Halloween. Sheila’s little granddaughter, Chloe came in with her mom and dad. She was our only trick or treater this evening and she certainly was a cutie as you can see in the picture with her Pa-paw.If you look real close you can even see a "black cat" in the background. How spooky is that?


It was time to try-out those new tires soon and see how the rubber hits the road as we get our voices ready to sing rolling, rolling, rolling; keep those tires a rolling.

September 2010

A time of remembrance!

As in my father and grandfather’s time everyone could remember where they were when hearing about the Pearl Harbor Attack, on December 7, 1941. So the same remembrance by my son, grandsons and myself as to where we were and what we were doing when we heard about the Twin-Towers being hit with planes full of our innocent citizens as all came tumbling down in a rumble of ash. It was such a sad day in our history and in the world’s nine years ago this month.


Scooter finds a home

The early part of this month had a challenge for me concerning a stray mutt running around the campgrounds. A handful of individuals were trying to catch him. Someone even called the Humane Society hoping they could catch this elusive little dog with a neck noose. But he was too quick for them and he stayed out of sight when they showed up. Fairy tales do come true once in awhile. After several days and failed attempts by myself and some of the other residents to capture him by putting food and water out, I was finally successful in capturing him. By using a travel cage we have for our little dog, I was able to entice little Scooter (later named by his new owner) into the cage. Just as Hansel and Gretel used bread crumbs, I used some doggie treats lining them up toward the open door of the cage so little Scooter would follow them. Once close enough I pushed him inside. Now the really good news about this little stray dog was one of the pipe-liners named Bob Bales was willing to take him in and give him a new home. He named him Scooter. During Bob’s long work hours, I would take Scooter outside to do his business. Someone had just dumped him but thanks to Bob’s good heart, little Scooter had a wonderful new home with four new playmates to go back to in Arkansas. Bob spent a lot of money on Scooter (getting him shots, shampoo and the works) but most of all he gave him a loving and safe environment.


Multi-tasking

September found us doing all sorts of multi-tasking. Of course our regular routine at USI was being fulfilled. It was a month of screwy scheduling as far as our work schedule because of losing one of the three couples working here. We were supposed to go to working three days on and having three days off until the new couple arrived. The first week found us working every other day which neither couple liked but was a necessity because of commitments by each couple. We finally fell back into a more “normal” schedule once the new couple arrived. This is the new couple, Chuck & Pauline. A very nice couple and we think they will do just fine this winter.



Rhonda and I went to many different places for lunch; we dropped off six pair of blue-jeans given to me by one of the residents living here at the park, they needed alterations; making three into shorts and the other three being hemmed up an inch for proper fit; Rhonda visited J.C. Penney and I was dropped off at Barnes & Noble’s for a nice afternoon of relaxing while she shopped; stopped by TGW (the golf warehouse) to pick up free golf towels; I helped Rocky set-up his new treadmill; rented movies from Blockbusters; initiated the my man-cave for the start of the NFL and fantasy football season in the motor home; Rhonda and her new friend Sheila Dunn went to the Kansas State Fair; appointments with my chiropractor ; car care (oil change and tires rotated); setting up a cruise down the Mexican Rivera in the month of December; made phone calls to friends and family; attended a Arts & Crafts Fair in Hillsboro, KS; took a day-trip with Rocky and his girlfriend, Georgette; attended a Chili cook-off in downtown Wichita; picked up our wedding rings for our January ceremony. Now I will talk about just a few of these because otherwise this becomes a book instead of just a short blog.

Tom – Cruise, Wedding Rings and Rhonda

Okay not “the” - Tom Cruise, I mean it’s Tom on a Cruise with Rhonda. Yes, we are doing things a little ass-backwards in taking a honeymoon cruise before the wedding. So who says it has to be done in any sort of order? We are taking a cruise down the Mexican Rivera with port-of-call stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The cruise is a seven day excursion December 12 – 19 out of Los Angeles, CA on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. If you’re interested in seeing the ship we will be sailing on its name is Mariner of the Seas. Otherwise you can wait until I write about it after the cruise.

The wedding will take place in the Valley of Texas by our good friend Jack Gregory. We are looking forward to seeing him and his sweet wife, Karen. The date is going to be 1/11/11, that’s so the old guy (me) won’t forget our anniversary date. Kind of a memory trick in reverse no matter how you turn the numbers around, it’s always the same. We are hoping a lot of our friends will be able to attend. Here is a picture of the rings on our fingers.





Arts & Crafts Fair

We took a day-trip to Hillsboro, KS attending the 41st Arts & Crafts Fair held in this small community. This is a one-day event well worth attending. There are over 300 vendors from all over the country – hand picked from entries submitted to the town of Hillsboro. There are unique items at just about every booth. This fair is rated among the top Arts & Crafts shows in the nation. I didn’t take any pictures this year; we were so worried about Sadie being stepped on or being hurt because of all the people who attended this event, we carried her throughout the fair. We plan on attending next year when we return to the area and do some serious shopping. Of course we will leave Sadie at home for her safety.

A Couple of Day-Trips

Little Sweden in Kansas

Although I took pictures of our day-trip with Rocky and his girlfriend, Georgette to the town of Lindsborg, KS, I failed to properly transfer them on to the computer. Thus I lost all my pictures taken this day. Luckily they both took pictures and gave us printouts of the fun filled day we enjoyed with them. I in-turn took pictures of the pictures and then put a few on my computer so I could transfer to this blog. Lindsborg is considered the Little Sweden U.S.A. at least in the state of Kansas. We stopped for a nice lunch at a café called Butcher, Baker & Candlestick Maker Café. A block up the street was a nice little store where we rented a bicycle built for four. A four-seat contraption, two in the front and two in the back, it had pedals for all four of us. The problem was Rocky had a bum-knee and Georgette was too short to reach the pedals. Therefore; the four-horse powered bicycle was running on half of its horses, just Rhonda and me. And let me just say the old gray stallion isn’t what he used to be. We pedaled up the street to a small community college, Bethany College and rode through the campus collecting a few stares along the way. After a half –hour of pedaling we called it quits and drove over to, The Old Mill Museum where once a year they mill flour, showing how the mill operates. This mill was operational until the 1950’s. Rocky was truly impressed with the machinery since he was an engineer.

Chili Cook-off Downtown Wichita



We traveled to Wichita’s downtown area to attend the Great Chili Cook-off with another couple from the park. We made new friends with Gary and Barbara Bernhardt who live in the RV Park. Gary also became another golfing buddy of mine. Since this was their fifth time going to this chili cook-off, they drove us there. For just $5 you received a taster’s kit consisting of a small Styrofoam cup, a plastic spoon, a mint (for later), a napkin and a small navy bean. There were hundreds of booths to sample homemade chili. We sampled far more than we should’ve; some very good and some very bad. The navy bean was to “vote” for your favorite chili booth. It was fun and adventurous for the four of us. We all decided on this one booth to give our lonely little navy bean to. She was one fun loving person, running the booth all by herself. It was her first time at the Chili Cook-off and she was a hoot. We are not sure how she did in the voting process but we certainly hope she fared well. We look forward to attending this event again next year.

I could write much more for this month but I still need to catch up on this blog. So now it’s on to the month of October, 2010.