WOW been in Grapevine nearly 6 months and its nearly time to be heading to Florida.
Our trip for the driveway replacement was interrupted by IRMA, so now time to play catch up.
We were to have our Driveway replaced, new irrigation and a new fence installed back in August but of course Irma changed those plans. We lucked out and only had a big limb twist off the tree in front breaking only one of the tiles on the roof. Since then we've had the tree removed to prevent that from happening in the future.
We were so glad to have removed the ugly trees in the back yard or any one of the 3 could have been on our house or our neighbors.
We'll spend a little more than 10 days this time in Florida then returning to Grapevine to work thru the end of October before heading south.
We'll spend some time in Groosebeck taking care of some stuff around the house for Bills mom.
From Groosebeck we'll high tale it to Florida, we're excited to spend the holidays in Florida for the 1st time since buying the house 2 years ago.
Its all kinda bitter sweet, next year we plan to travel the Northeast, just not too sure where as of now. It will be back to having an adventure.YEA
.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017
April 28, 2017 Westward bound
In day 2 for our return trip to Grapevine! We Drove about 520 miles yesterday when we spent the night just west of Tallahassee. Tonight since we are making good time we drive a little over 600 miles today and hopefully will make Shreveport for the night then the drive Saturday will be an easy drive.
On the house we got all the ugly trees in the back yard removed which made the backyard seem huge, giving us a blank slate to work from. Additionally we got the windows installed and that should help keep the house clean while we're gone.
After we get our finances in order we'll swallow the pill to put in a driveway which will give our place a very nice curb appeal. Hope by June or July we'll fly back when the material is delivered to be there to observe the installation of the sprinkler and drive!!!
We'll be in Grapevine till end of October when we'll return to Fort Lauderdale to enjoy winter in South Florida!
Stay tuned
On the house we got all the ugly trees in the back yard removed which made the backyard seem huge, giving us a blank slate to work from. Additionally we got the windows installed and that should help keep the house clean while we're gone.
After we get our finances in order we'll swallow the pill to put in a driveway which will give our place a very nice curb appeal. Hope by June or July we'll fly back when the material is delivered to be there to observe the installation of the sprinkler and drive!!!
We'll be in Grapevine till end of October when we'll return to Fort Lauderdale to enjoy winter in South Florida!
Stay tuned
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
February 15, 2017 Fort Lauderdale
Ok our Trip from Texas took a little longer than planned, however we stopped and saw our friends Kenny and Johnny just a bit outside of the Tampa area. The visit was very nice since we hadn't seen them in a while. From their place it took us about 4 house to make it home, not a bad drive either.
Been home a little over a week now and we've got a few things done. Let me see if I can remember all the things:
Got estimate on driveway replacement(OMG) that was sticker shock.
Got bid on replacement windows (OMG) that was sticker shock, boy I'm seeing a trend here?
Bought a refrigerator and it happened to be on sale and now we'll have one inside. We've slowly moved stuff from the motor home(MH) over and now more food. We actually been going to the MH nightly for dinner and TV since we hadn't brought any food over.
Worked on sprinkler system in front and found a leak which might have been some of the problem and had to clean some of the dirt from the heads. Some still don't pop up like they should but I'll get that resolved.
While running the sprinkler, the front zone I happened to look into the back yard and saw water flowing over the sea wall from yet another break. This break was larger and a main line so I have cut the broken pipe out and am about to reinstall the new piece.
We found our garbage disposal sprung a leak and we bought a new one and we replaced it yesterday as well as hooked up the ice maker.
Of course we went to Modani and bought another bedroom suit, so we had to move everything we had from the one bedroom to the other as the new bed is a King and the fit will be better (but tight) so now the bedrooms will all be furnished.
Put together a cabinet that we put in the linen closet so we have more storage for bathroom stuff. Also have another cabinet that we need to put together and that will be like a mini office space for filing and in general paper work.
Dang we have yet to make it to the beach. However we did attended a party last Friday night which was fun and it was nice we met several people and enjoyed the evening. We will continue to cast the net to bring more people into the fold and try to create our Ft Lauderdale circle of friends.
We're getting set up pretty well since it was like starting all over in life.
We need to get our bikes from the MH and take them to Trek for tune ups so that we can begin riding them....
Stay tuned....
Been home a little over a week now and we've got a few things done. Let me see if I can remember all the things:
Got estimate on driveway replacement(OMG) that was sticker shock.
Got bid on replacement windows (OMG) that was sticker shock, boy I'm seeing a trend here?
Bought a refrigerator and it happened to be on sale and now we'll have one inside. We've slowly moved stuff from the motor home(MH) over and now more food. We actually been going to the MH nightly for dinner and TV since we hadn't brought any food over.
Worked on sprinkler system in front and found a leak which might have been some of the problem and had to clean some of the dirt from the heads. Some still don't pop up like they should but I'll get that resolved.
While running the sprinkler, the front zone I happened to look into the back yard and saw water flowing over the sea wall from yet another break. This break was larger and a main line so I have cut the broken pipe out and am about to reinstall the new piece.
We found our garbage disposal sprung a leak and we bought a new one and we replaced it yesterday as well as hooked up the ice maker.
Of course we went to Modani and bought another bedroom suit, so we had to move everything we had from the one bedroom to the other as the new bed is a King and the fit will be better (but tight) so now the bedrooms will all be furnished.
Put together a cabinet that we put in the linen closet so we have more storage for bathroom stuff. Also have another cabinet that we need to put together and that will be like a mini office space for filing and in general paper work.
Dang we have yet to make it to the beach. However we did attended a party last Friday night which was fun and it was nice we met several people and enjoyed the evening. We will continue to cast the net to bring more people into the fold and try to create our Ft Lauderdale circle of friends.
We're getting set up pretty well since it was like starting all over in life.
We need to get our bikes from the MH and take them to Trek for tune ups so that we can begin riding them....
Stay tuned....
Thursday, February 2, 2017
February 2, 2017 Eastward bound
After being out west to see our friends we ran back thru Grapevine for a wedding for Pete and Patty, our other camp host. We also had Doctors appointments before going to Florida.
With all that being completed we headed down to Bill's moms for a couple nights. Got a burn pile burnt, got a RCA booster for the TV that Raymond and Steve had suggested and even better a wireless phone booster, WOW that made a difference. I was able to get at least 3 bars and in some cases LTE service. Bill's mom can now sit in her chair and make or receive calls where before she had to go outside to make any call. A good but short visit but we are anxious to get home and start doing stuff to our house.
Bills driving so I thought it would be a good time to make an update.
Just went thru Mobile, Al and that was the smoothest I recall. Last time I was on my lap top not paying any attention and we planned to go north out of Mobile so we could avoid some of I10 and we got a bit side tracked on MLK oops. The drive has been actually better than either can recall and I10 hasn't been totally beat up as seen in the past.
We'll spend a couple months in Ft Lauderdale before returning to the Vineyards for the summer to work 6 months then next year we'll spend a complete 6 months in Fl for a change.
Stay tuned for more.......
With all that being completed we headed down to Bill's moms for a couple nights. Got a burn pile burnt, got a RCA booster for the TV that Raymond and Steve had suggested and even better a wireless phone booster, WOW that made a difference. I was able to get at least 3 bars and in some cases LTE service. Bill's mom can now sit in her chair and make or receive calls where before she had to go outside to make any call. A good but short visit but we are anxious to get home and start doing stuff to our house.
Bills driving so I thought it would be a good time to make an update.
Just went thru Mobile, Al and that was the smoothest I recall. Last time I was on my lap top not paying any attention and we planned to go north out of Mobile so we could avoid some of I10 and we got a bit side tracked on MLK oops. The drive has been actually better than either can recall and I10 hasn't been totally beat up as seen in the past.
We'll spend a couple months in Ft Lauderdale before returning to the Vineyards for the summer to work 6 months then next year we'll spend a complete 6 months in Fl for a change.
Stay tuned for more.......
Monday, January 9, 2017
December 2016 to Jan 9, 2017
Left Texas headed to Earp Ca. to see friends that were staying in Emerald Cove just across the state line from Parker AZ. Park is located on a nice portion of the Colorado which normally is nice during the winter, this time not so much.
First we went to Quartzite with friends to camp on BLM land for a few nights, gave our friend Sid time to operate his new drone. And of course a little jeep time too! We then choose to run over to the Salton Sea which is pretty interesting place which was sold as the Rivera of California in the 50's and 60's.
The Salton Sea was formed between 1905 and 1907 when the Colorado River burst through poorly built irrigation controls south of Yuma, Arizona. Almost the entire flow of the river filled the Salton Basin for more than a year, inundating communities, farms and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/salton/salton.html#ixzz4VKNRfFG7
Slap City is on the land of a Marine Training base used to train men and women during World War II. All of the former buildings at Camp Dunlap were removed. The remaining slabs however, were not removed, and became what is now called Slab City. Squatters and snowbirds have taken up roost at this old, abandoned military base. It all started back in 1965, when Riverside County placed limits on the length of time allowed for a campground stay; the BLM had enacted similar rules
Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/desert-california/slab-city2.html#ixzz4VKPYHdOG
.
Along the Parker Dam road there are plenty of burrows some are young ones, cute and fuzzy.
and as one might suspect in the local diners parking lot, among the trucks and trucks is a Rolls!
Needless to say with all the wind rain and dirt in the air the motor home took on a whole new color.
Smiling Bill, what can I say:
He was elated that we had rented a couple Razors to play out in the desert around Lake Havasu and what a blast, the dunes were awesome
We have moved on over to Phoenix to meet up with more friends from the west Jim and Sue. Staying at Canyon Visit RV resort. Sun set on the mountains from our site.
We wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wrights house in Phoenix. One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most innovative and unusual buildings is under attack.
Then a nice hike among saguaros way above Phoenix
Hole in the rock was pretty cool, great hike and a lot of fun.
From here we'll head to Tucson and will do some sight seeing there before traveling on to see our friends Steve and Raymond and their new home in Los Cruces NM before heading to Texas for our dear friends Pete and Patty's wedding..
This is a summary of our last few weeks traveling
First we went to Quartzite with friends to camp on BLM land for a few nights, gave our friend Sid time to operate his new drone. And of course a little jeep time too! We then choose to run over to the Salton Sea which is pretty interesting place which was sold as the Rivera of California in the 50's and 60's.
The Salton Sea was formed between 1905 and 1907 when the Colorado River burst through poorly built irrigation controls south of Yuma, Arizona. Almost the entire flow of the river filled the Salton Basin for more than a year, inundating communities, farms and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/salton/salton.html#ixzz4VKNRfFG7
Slap City is on the land of a Marine Training base used to train men and women during World War II. All of the former buildings at Camp Dunlap were removed. The remaining slabs however, were not removed, and became what is now called Slab City. Squatters and snowbirds have taken up roost at this old, abandoned military base. It all started back in 1965, when Riverside County placed limits on the length of time allowed for a campground stay; the BLM had enacted similar rules
Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/desert-california/slab-city2.html#ixzz4VKPYHdOG
.
Along the Parker Dam road there are plenty of burrows some are young ones, cute and fuzzy.
and as one might suspect in the local diners parking lot, among the trucks and trucks is a Rolls!
Needless to say with all the wind rain and dirt in the air the motor home took on a whole new color.
Smiling Bill, what can I say:
He was elated that we had rented a couple Razors to play out in the desert around Lake Havasu and what a blast, the dunes were awesome
We have moved on over to Phoenix to meet up with more friends from the west Jim and Sue. Staying at Canyon Visit RV resort. Sun set on the mountains from our site.
We wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wrights house in Phoenix. One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most innovative and unusual buildings is under attack.
Nestled in a quiet neighborhood in Arcadia, Phoenix, the David and Gladys Wright house features a circular spiral ramp that mimics the Guggenheim Museum. When construction finished in 1953, critics called it Wright's best work since Fallingwater. According to Neil Levine, a prominent Wright scholar, architects and historians say its one of the 20 most significant Wright buildings.
The home was a gift for Wright's son David and daughter-in-law Gladys, who lived there from 1952 until Gladys passed away in 2008. In 2009, Wright's granddaughters sold the home to a preservationist who pledged to take care of the property. Just three years later, the family reneged on their promise, selling the home to luxury home developer 8081 Meridian for $1.8 million. Immediately, 8081 Meridian secured a lot split permit for the property from the City of Phoenix with the intent to demolish the David Wright house to make room for two luxury homes.
On to the next sight, so off to Mystery Castle:
The reality of dying was thrust upon Boyce Gully in his prime. Choosing not to live a life of quiet desperation awaiting the end, he ran away from home, family and friends.
Those were sad but wondrous times of soul searching and physical creativity. In his heart was permanently etched the vision of those precious moments when he and his little girl, Mary Lou, built sand castles on the beach in Seattle. How she would cry when the tide washed them away. “Please, Daddy, build me a big and strong castle someday that I can live in. Maybe you ought to build it on the desert where there is no water.”
He would just smile. Perhaps, it wasn’t a coincidence that he migrated to Arizona. He built Mary Lou a native stone castle - eighteen rooms, thirteen fireplaces, parapets and many charming nooks and crannies, then furnished it with southwestern antiques.
Boyce Gully died in 1945 before he could send for his family. His “princess” was an adult when she moved into her “castle” and began living her fairy tale, perpetuating her dream. She shared her “home” by giving guided tours of her beloved Mystery Castle until her death in 2010.
Today, the castle remains open for tours from October through May. The Mystery Castle Foundation, a 501c3 organization maintains the property so that future generations can share in the history and magic that is My Mystery Castle.
Then a nice hike among saguaros way above Phoenix
Hole in the rock was pretty cool, great hike and a lot of fun.
From here we'll head to Tucson and will do some sight seeing there before traveling on to see our friends Steve and Raymond and their new home in Los Cruces NM before heading to Texas for our dear friends Pete and Patty's wedding..
This is a summary of our last few weeks traveling
Monday, August 22, 2016
August 22, 2016 Grapevine Tx
Well the campground is suppose to be fully functional for our Labor day guest. That is exciting since its been a long time coming.
This year has certianly has had its ups and downs. With traveling back to Grapevine and not getting in the park as expected to my dad passing in June its been a challange.
At least we are slowly working thru my folks stuff at their house and before we know it our time in Grapevine will be over.
Bill's mom is moving after being in the house she is in for over 40 years. That move will be interesting I am sure but this should be a good move since she is moving next to Bill's sister. However this will require that we get the new place in order too. Some painting and some general repairs. After completing her move we are likely going to load up a van and take stuff to Florida as well as Bill's car. Then we'll fly back to Grapevine to finish our duties here before heading west to see friends we've not seen in a couple years.
Thats about all the news for now.
This year has certianly has had its ups and downs. With traveling back to Grapevine and not getting in the park as expected to my dad passing in June its been a challange.
At least we are slowly working thru my folks stuff at their house and before we know it our time in Grapevine will be over.
Bill's mom is moving after being in the house she is in for over 40 years. That move will be interesting I am sure but this should be a good move since she is moving next to Bill's sister. However this will require that we get the new place in order too. Some painting and some general repairs. After completing her move we are likely going to load up a van and take stuff to Florida as well as Bill's car. Then we'll fly back to Grapevine to finish our duties here before heading west to see friends we've not seen in a couple years.
Thats about all the news for now.
Monday, May 30, 2016
May 30, 2016 Grapevine Tx
WOW finally the campground has opened 1/3 of the sites and no cabins.
But its about time we were so tired of the Elks parking lot, although thankful
that we were able to stay in Grapevine for when we were working it was an easy
commute.
We are now right up front in H1 which provided more room for the cars and a coverd
picnic table and no neighbors to the east of us. At least now we can even open the day
shades and let a bit more light in. Love those shades, but sometime it makes it too dark for
me.
We've been very busy between trying to get the park and the sites cleaned and my dad
being in and out of the hospital our time has been split up all across several counties here
in the DFW area.
So we are starting a 10 day shift to easy into June HA HA.
About all the news for now
But its about time we were so tired of the Elks parking lot, although thankful
that we were able to stay in Grapevine for when we were working it was an easy
commute.
We are now right up front in H1 which provided more room for the cars and a coverd
picnic table and no neighbors to the east of us. At least now we can even open the day
shades and let a bit more light in. Love those shades, but sometime it makes it too dark for
me.
We've been very busy between trying to get the park and the sites cleaned and my dad
being in and out of the hospital our time has been split up all across several counties here
in the DFW area.
So we are starting a 10 day shift to easy into June HA HA.
About all the news for now
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