Sunday December 8, 2013, Las Vegas, NV

It wasn't as cold this morning as it was the last few days. There was no wind, so it seemed rather pleasant.
I fixed the coffee and we enjoyed that while deciding whether to go on to Las Vegas today or split the trip up.  We decided to go directly on to Las Vegas with no more over night stops. 

Desert mountains along US 93

Our route was I-10 to Phoenix and then onto US 60 and then US 93 north.  I always miss the desert mountains but sometimes forget that also means 6-7% grades.  We picked up I-40 into Kingman and then back on to US 93 into Las Vegas.

Las Vegas from just past Railroad Pass.

  We traveled I-215 west to Rainbow Blvd. and made a stop at Sam's to fill up the motor home tank.

We got to the house at around 5 PM and unloaded a few necessary items.  We tuned into worship services from Oakey Blvd. and then had supper.  We had chicken salad roll ups for dinner.  After some TV and computer time we called it a night.

This culminates a trip that started on July 13, 2013.  This trip included visits with friends and family in Southern California, Central California, Northern Nevada, Iowa, West Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Arizona.  It also included a month in Southern Europe with a Mediterranean cruise.  Not counting the cruise we have traveled about 9300 miles in the motor home this year and spent more than 200 days on the road.  I managed to find 178 caches on this trip.  Including caches in six countries on our cruise.  I have now found caches in 19 countries including the USA.

This will be my last blog until we travel again in January. 

Saturday December 7, 2913, Casa Grande, AZ

Gerri got up earlier than I did.  After I fixed coffee and enjoyed a few sips I walked about .30 miles to try to find a cache.  I didn't find it and the walk was in bitter cold with a wind in my face.

We got on the road at about 9 AM.  Our goal for today was Casa Grande, AZ.  The trip is mostly along I-10 with a short section of I-8 before we turn off into town.  There were clouds with a little sky showing when we left Las Cruces.  Later we ran in to fog .  It was with us for quite a while but wasn't freezing nor affecting visibility like after we left Fort Stockton.  We stopped in Lordsburg, NM  for fuel.  It was clear there but still cold with a wind blowing.  We also picked up tuna sandwiches at a Subway shop.  Gerri ate hers while we drove on.  I stopped at the first rest stop in Arizona and ate my sandwich.  Later we stopped again at a rest stop in Texas Canyon and I got the information for an earth cache..

Our next stop was at a Blue Beacon truck wash in Eloy, AZ. That took awhile since there was a truck and motor home ahead of us.  The wait wasn't as long as I expected since they were operating two wash bays.

We arrived at the Casita Verde RV park in Casa Grande at about 5 PM and got set up.  Our site was the first back in site we used since Hilton Head.  Even though it was tight, I had no trouble backing in with Gerri directing me.  Casita Verde is an Encore par so we got a discount due to our membership in Thousand Trails.We had to unhook the Jeep before parking, but since we were going to Ben and Merridy Barnhart's for dinner, we had to unhook it anyway.

I hooked up sewer and water since we plan to be in Las Vegas tomorrow evening or possibly Monday.  The coach will be parked for several months so I want the tanks fairly empty.

Ben and Merridy Barnhart

We drove to Ben and Merridy's house about two miles away.  Ben is Gerri's 2nd cousin.  Until recently they had been motorhome travelers and we have met them in Montana a couple of times and once in Pahrump.  We had a nice visit and a great meal before returning to our coach for the evening.

I was tired and went to bed early.

Friday December 6, 2013, Las Cruces, NM

I stayed in bed this morning until the temperature came up to what it was when I went to bed last night.  Gerri got up earlier and went into the front room where it was warmer.  The temperature had fallen into the 20's during the night.  While I was still in bed I heard a neighbor scraping ice off his windshield.  It had rained off and on during the night but our windshield was clear of ice.  It is nearly vertical so water usually runs off before freezing.

We started our coffee and got caught up on Facebook and e-mail.  For some reason Outlook won't work on Gerri's computer, even after I installed a newer version.

Brr! Icicles on the coach

The only things to do before traveling were to unhook the power and bring the slides in  We were pulling out of the park by 10:15.  Did I say all we had to do?  There was lots of sheet ice on top of the slide out awnings.  We had to run the small slides in and out twice to get the ice off.  The large slide awning we tried 5 or six times and the awning was still out about 10 inches.  We drove to a Walmart before getting back on the interstate and tried once more.  Apparently the ice had blown away, the awning rolled up properly.

Ice crystals on the trees

Limited visibility

Once on the road it was still overcast and visibility got worse as we traveled west.  The shoulders on the bridges were icy and we saw one major wreck on the east bound side.  By the time we got to where I-10 and I-20 intersected I was down to 40 mph.  I couldn't clear the windshield because the wipers were iced up.  We stopped at a picnic area at mile post 185.  It was crowded and visibility wasn't more that a couple hundred feet.  I cleared the ice off the wipers.  I also made another pot of coffee.  It looked like it was going to be a long day.  The road signs have about 4 inches of icicles hanging from the bottoms.  I was thinking we will be lucky if we get to Las Cruces today.

The conditions with the icy fog reminded me of the Pogonip I have seen before in northern Nevada.  The road was icy on the shoulder and the grass and brush all covered with ice.  As we reached lower altitudes the fog cleared some.

We stopped for fuel in Van Horn.  While I was fueling up, Gerri heard a noise on the roof.  It sounded like some kind of knocking.  I couldn't think of any thing up there that would cause any noise.  The noise continued so I stopped to check it.  I had to get the ladder out to check the roof.
The noise turned out to be the the #60 TV antenna.  I couldn't find a way to stop it.  We tried turning off the 12 volt power.  No luck so we continued west with the antenna still spinning.

The check engine light came on just after we passed Soccorro.  I stopped at a picnic area and checked the oil.  All the gauges had were in the normal operating range.  The engine oil level was right.  When I turned on the engine the warning light didn't come back on.  Some time later the antenna stopped searching.  I guess it must have thawed out.

In the mid afternoon the weather cleared and it became sunny.  No more 40 mph.  Wrong!  We got to El Paso and for about 20 miles it was stop and go, going being about 30 mph maximum.

We had decided on stopping for overnight at the Hacienda RV and Rally Resort in Las Cruces.  We had stayed there during a Freightliner Club Rally in 2004.  We pulled in just before dark and were assigned the space next to the one we stayed in 8 years ago.  I had forgotten that we had gained an hour when we passed into the Mountain Time Zone.

I checked the map and our next destination will be Casa Grande.  It is 345 miles.  I made reservations at the Casita Verde RV Resort.  It is an Encore Resort so I got a discount because of our membership in the Thousand Trails system.

The resort is only a couple of miles from cousins Ben and Marridy's home.  Gerri will check and see if they are available for a short visit.

As usual TV and computer time rounded out the evening.

Thursday December 5, 2013, Fort Stockton, TX

The cold front came in before we got up.  It came with wind and rain.  I should have checked the Aquahot last night.  This morning no heat came on in zone one, the front of the coach.  After having some coffee I went to the office and contacted Matt who sent a tech to our site to check the Aqua Hot.  The tech rapped a wrench on the Aqua Hot fittings and the heat started.

We pulled out of Crestview RV park at about 8:30 AM.  We headed south on I-35 and then west to pick up I-10.  The route took us through familiar territory, Johnson City and Blanco.  We picked up I-10 and proceeded west to Fort Stockton.  Traffic was light but we had some freezing rain along the way.  We stopped at a couple of rest stops but the phone and internet weren't picking up enough for easily locating caches.  At the second rest stop I did get a signal on Gerri's phone.  It was cold and windy out but I found the cache.  It didn't seem as far back to the coach.  Then I found out Gerri had driven closer to me while I hunted.  That sure saved me some walking in the cold.  What a thoughtful wife.

We picked a park to stay at in Fort Stockton that is in the Pass Port America system.  The GPS didn't have it located close to Fort Stockton.  As we got closer Gerri called and got directions.  The Parkview RV Park was only about a mile of I-10.  We got to the park at about 5 PM. It wasn't much to look at, all dirt and above ground power.  We came by a small town named Bakersfield, that and all the power poles around the park, reminded me of Oildale, CA.  Not many places are this dreary.  Of course if the weather was nicer here it might not seem as dreary.  When I hooked up to shore power I walked around the front of the coach and it was covered with a coat of ice.

We had left overs from our stay with Dana and Curtis.  Gerri doctored up some chili and made a great meal.  The heat hit the spot on this cold evening.

Later during the evening it rained for awhile.  Later I couldn't tell if it was ice on the windshield or rain drops.  At 9 PM it was 35 out with a low forecast of 28.

I had planned a stop of two nights on the way home, either at Verde Valley or Lake Havasu City.  Gerri wants to get home as quickly as possible.  That is probably what we will do.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013, Buda, TX

FOG!  It was really foggy this morning.  We had our coffee as we rolled up everything so the coach can go in the shop at 8 AM.  Of course 6 AM came and went with no activity.  We wnt down to the lounge and I checke don the status of work starting.  All I got was that they would get to it.

Gerri and I went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  We always enjoy Cracker Barrel abut we always eat to much.  Well at least I eat too much.  As usual the food was very good.  Gerri had the French Toast an I had the Grandpa's Breakfast with chicken fried steak and biscuits and gravy.
 After breakfast we went to the customer's lounge.  Besides waiting for repairs, I also had some time to kill before my doctor's appointment.

I left for San Marcos early so I could check on a nearby cache.  I didn't find the cache and headed on to San Marcos.  I stopped at Sam's and gassed up the Jeep. I also picked up our Christmas cards before going to the doctors office.  The purpose of my doctor visit was to have the stitches from the earlier surgery removed.  While at the doctor's office I got the good news about the biopsy on the removed tissue.  The biopsy showed that it was Squamous and that that the margins were clear.

I returned to the RV Park and saw that the coach was back in our spot.  I checked with Matt and the motr replacement for the leveling jacks hadn't been the problem.  With no more time to spend in Texa I settled up the bill.  Not much was done except the body repair.  He said the problem with the Aquat Hot was fixed.

Christmas is a fun time

Later we went to Curtis' and visited wi and played a couple of games of Jenga before dinner.

We didn't stay long after dinner, we want to get started for Las Vegas in the morning and it a school night.


It wasn't as cold as past night so I didn't test the Aqua Hot.

Christmas can also be a funny time

Tuesday December 3, 2013, Buda, TX

We got up early expecting someone to come by from the shop and pickup the coach.  We had our coffee. At about 11 I went to the office ad checked on my status for repairs.  I was told that the parts were in and a tech would be by for the coach at 8 AM tomorrow.

Dana called and wanted us to watch the kids while she worked with a PTA project.  I went caching and found four before returning to the coach at 1:33.

We went and picked up the kids at the school.  After stopping at the house, Gerri, Vanessa, Brandon and I played a couple of games of Jenga.  Later Brandon and I went to find more caches.

We found two and DNFed two.  I filter the caches and they are getting further and further away.  I filter the caches so I don't hunt ones that have a terrain rating of over 3.5..  I have decided to concentrate on qualifying for the all around cacher series.  I will be trying some harder caches in the future.

We had dinner at Curtis and Dana's.  Dana grilled salmon and served it with green beans and roasted red potatoes.

The kids lit the Hanukkah candles and opened presents.  After that they talked to their grandmother Judy in Las Vegas, via SKYPE.

Since it was a school night we returned to the coach and called it a night.

Monday December 2, 2013, Buda, TX

We got up and had our coffee, there were some high clouds and a lot of sunshine.
After catching up e-mail and Facebook I walked down to the office to check on the status of the repairs and parts ordered.  Matt got a tracking number for the parts and will check on them.  As far as the repair to the Aqua Hot system he had to check with the dispatcher on the scheduling.  The dispatcher wasn't in yet.  We got ready to go to visit the Connors

Ann and Paul Connor

in Spring Branch. I stopped by the office again before driving out of the park and nothing was happening so we headed out.

We stopped for gas in San Marcos and followed the GPS direction.  Some where the directions recalculated and took us into Wimberley.  We got turned around and back tracked to the 9 miles to the correct road.  It took longer to get to Paul's than we had figured.

We visited until dinner time.  Ann had fixed a meatloaf which was delicious.  She served it with salad, a baked potato and green beans.

Me with the Connors

We visited more over coffee before heading back to Buda.  On the return trip we drove directly toward New Braunfels and picked up I-35 to Buda.  We got to the coach at about 10:00.

Some TV and Computer time finished the evening.

Tomorrow I hope the get some thing done on the coach.

Sunday December 1, 2013, Buda, TX.

We got up and started our coffee.  Vanessa had spent the night with us and we planned to go to Church at 10 AM.  Vanessa had her snacks and I got cleaned up and dressed for Church.  We went to the Buda/Kyle Church of Christ.  The Church was about 5 miles from the park and on the way to Curtis' house.

Brandon points to the cache while Vanessa holds it.

 We changed clothes at Curtis'.  Curtis, Brandon and Vanessa went with me to find some geocaches.  The first one we went to was one in Old Town Kyle that I had looked for before.  I figured that more eyes had a better chance of finding it.  I spotted the cache very quickly this time.  It was a small magnetic bison container painted to match the rusty windmill frame. Sometimes it amazes me how I overlook something.  The container was small and well hidden but I have found several like it..

Because I have been caching in the area for a week, the caches are getting further away.  I'm sure there are closer caches left but I filter out high terrain ratings, multi caches, puzzle caches and earth caches.  That said it was a long drive to the next cache and somehow a multi cache had gotten on my list.  On the way to the cache we passed two crash sites.  One, an alien space ship with two surviving aliens and the other a US missile, maybe the one that shot down the aliens.  We got to the area and even though it was a multi cache we started hunting for the first clue.  I found it near a fence post.



It was a match safe with a note giving directions to the final cache.  While I was hunting the first stage Curtis had been looking around where we parked and found a bird house suspended in a tree by a rope.  That turned out to be the cache.  This by far the largest cache I have found in the area and had the best trading items I had seen for a long time.  The cache hadn't been found since March.  We set the GPS for the next closest cache.  The route took us further along the same country road.  At least it did until the road ended at a locked gate.  We turned around and had to drive back to San Marcos to pick up I-35 going north.  When we got to the turnoff to Curtis' house the cache was still further north.  We decided to call it a day and went to the house.

Dana and Gerri had gone shopping.  The kids went to play with other kids in the neighborhood.  Curtis and I visited with a couple of his neighbors.

Dana grilled chicken and ribs for dinner and we had a great meal.  After dinner the kids lit another Hanukkah candle and opened gifts.  Vanessa's gift was clothing and Brandon's was a Jenga game.  After the kids were ready for bed we played a game of Jenga.  The game lasted longer than I have ever seen a Jenga game go.  Brandon finally removed the piece that made the tower collapse.  That made Gerri the winner since she was the last one to successfully remove a piece and place it back on top of the tower.

The sunset was really pretty tonight and I managed to get a picture without the buildings showing.  We returned to the coach at 8:40.  I called it a night by 9:30 and Gerri was up longer on her computer.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Paul and Ann Conner in Spring Branch and have supper with them.  We also hope that parts have come in and some work can be done on the coach.

Saturday November 30, 2013, Buda, TX

The morning was cloudy and it was still cold.  We had our coffee and caught up on e-mail and Facebook.

Christine Kotara and Gerri, Salt Lick BBQ Driftwood, TX

Gerri had made plans for a Hatchlings friend to come by at noon.  She lives in Austin and they planned on having lunch at the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX about 20 miles from our motor home in Buda.  She said the GPS directions were a little tricky for them, but they made it there and to their surprise didn't have to wait at all for a seat even though the parking lot was full.  The food was delicious and she had a nice afternoon with Christine.

Salt Lick BBQ Pit

I went to Curtis' house after picking up Gerri's prescriptions at CVS.  Brandon and I went geocaching.  Our first stop was to place a cache near Brandon's house so he can follow the number of visitors.  I also activated a travel bug named, "Follow Me Brandon."  I will set it on its way when the cache we placed is activated.  Brandon only wanted to cache for an hour, he wanted to come home then and play Rock em Sock em Robots. We went to find a nearby cache.  Either we couldn't find it or it was washed away by the

Brandon placing his first geocache

flood at the end of October, the cache hadn't been found since July.  The flood debris was as high as three feet from the ground.  Maybe the cache owner will check on it.  We then went to the first of four caches we did find.  All the caches were named for some variety of tea and all were hidden in Guard rails.  Brandon spotted the first two quickly, so I decided to stop by two on the way home that I hadn't found a few days ago.  Brandon spotted them both pretty quickly.

We went back to the house. At about 3, Gerri called to let me know that she and her friend were on the way back to the RV Park.  I got there at about the same time they did.  Gerri caught up on things around the coach before we went back to Curtis' house.  On the way to Kyle we went by a Church of Christ to check on the times of worship.

Vanessa and her Christmas tree

Back at the house we had Thanksgiving left overs for supper.  Dana had to work tonight Brandon and Vanessa lit Hanukkah candles and opened gifts.  Brandon and I also played some card games until time for us to go home.  Vanessa asked to go with us.  I explained to her we would be going to Church in the morning and she said she wanted to go to Church too.  So we spent some time finding her some clothes and waiting for her to take a shower.

Back at the coach we got Vanessa into bed pretty quickly.  Gerri and I watched a little TV and spent some time on Facebook before going to bed.

Tomorrow is Church.  We will see how Vanessa does.

Friday November 29, 2013, Buda, TX.

Up early this morning hoping that some work might be done today.  We had our coffee and I walked down to the service department to see if anything was planned for today.  I spoke to Matt and found out the parts for the leveling system had not come in.  Matt called Power Gear, they were closed.  He told me he hoped to get a tech to check the Aqua Hot today.

We went to Sam's Club in San Marcos after dropping off a prescription for Gerri at a CVS in Kyle..  Gerri wanted to pickup some items that were on sale on black Friday.  I had a new Sam's Membership card made to replace the one stolen with my billfold in Spain.  I put gasoline in the Jeep once I got the new card.  Gerri dropped me off at Best Buy to make a return while she went to Dollar Tree to get some gift bags.  Black Friday has a reputation of being a hectic day to shop.  It wasn't bad in the places we went.  Although there were two bus loads of shoppers from Mexico being picked up in the parking lot.  They may have bought everything Ross, Dress for Less had.

The traffic going back to Kyle wasn't too bad.  Back at Curtis and Dana's we had turkey sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch I went geocaching.  I found four and DNFed three.  After caching I stopped by the Crestview office and found out no work had been done on the coach today.  We only have three more working days before heading to Las Vegas, I hope they get something done during those three days.

Dana and Curtis had put up outside lights, a Christmas tree and had presents wrapped under the tree.  Brandon and Vanessa both have trees in their rooms plus the one in the living room.  Christmas holds a special fascination for children.  Brandon and Vanessa are no different.  Although Dana and Curtis don't strictly observe any religious belief they observe both Curtis' Christian upbringing and Dana's Jewish heritage.




For dinner we went to the Kobe Steakhouse and had Teppan (Teppanyaki) style cuisine following sushi appetizers.  It was very interesting watching Vanessa and Brandon's interaction with the cook.  It was also interesting that they enjoyed the dinner and ate very well.  The fact that the food was very good and the cook put on a show probably helped.

We said our goodbyes at the restaurant and went directly to the RV Park.

Tomorrow I plan to go geocaching with Brandon.  I have made up a cache to hide near his house so he can keep track of how many people visit it.

Thursday November 28, 2013, Buda, TX

The sky wasn't as clear as it was yesterday.  There were a lot of puffy white clouds, but nothing that looked threatening.  It was still cold.  While having coffee we saw several other residents of the park walking by and they were all bundled up.  Yesterday and the day before there were a few empty sites near us but they filled up last afternoon and the park was full today.

Gerri started cooking her famous green bean dish as her contribution to this afternoon's dinner.  She had helped Dana with the pumpkin cream cheese pies last night. 

Since Curtis' scanner wasn't working I decided to give another shot at hooking up the one in the coach.  I hope to have better luck with the computer I am now using.  The attempt worked.  It was slow, about a minute per page.  But, I got the job done and my third quarter reimbursement claims into UMR.  UMR is the administrators of the health insurance plan we are in until next April when thy drop us retirees because of Obama Care.  The so called Affordable Health Care Act is any thing but.  First we were forced into medicare, which we have to pay exorbitant rates for because we never paid into Social Security or Medicare.  Our supplemental insurance had a huge increase in July and another is coming in January before we are dropped in April.  The department's promises of lifetime insurance are just like Obama's promises, LIES.  They have broken faith with those of us who have retired.  Rant off.

We went to the Kids house at 12:15.  It was finally warm enough to watch the kids play outside.  I didn't get to geocache today but worked on one to place so Brandon can keep track of it.  He was impressed with caching.  He said it was awesome.

Winner, winner, turkey dinner

We had turkey with all the trimmings for dinner, including Curtis' favorite pumpkin cream cheese pie.  Curtis and Dana's neighbors, Keith and Shawna and their three children joined us.

It was a great meal and great company.  We are so blessed as a family.  I could fill pages with our blessings and thank God for them every day.

After dinner it was still nice enough to spend time with the kids in the back yard.  Curtis and Brandon played a game of horseshoes.  I challenged the winner, Brandon.  I had forgotten just how bad I am at horseshoes, Brandon skunked me.

After dark we visited some more before the other family went home.  I played War with Brandon and Vanessa until they lost interest.  We went back to the coach at about 7 :30.  Some computer time and then to bed at about 10 PM

Game time

Tomorrow I plan on being ready in case the parts for the coach came in.  I am hoping the parts came in and they can do the installation so we can have time to test the system out before leaving Buda on the 5th.  We also plan to go to Sam's Club in San Marcos to order our Christmas cards.  I also need to get a new membership card since mine was stolen in Spain.

Wednesday November 27, 2013, Buda, TX

This morning when we got up the sky was clear.  It was what our friend Alan would call severe clear. The wind was still with us and it was very cold.  I may have figured out the heating system, at least the part that works.  Last night I ran the Aqua hot on electricity with the bedroom thermostat set at 55 and the two space heaters in the front on 65.  Those settings kept us comfortable.

No one came from the shop to take the coach in.  At 9:30 we took the kids for breakfast at McDonald in the nearby Walmart.  The kids had pancakes and ate everything in sight.  Gerri had a breakfast sandwich and I had a breakfast burrito.  Gerri picked up some items while the kids finished eating.

After that we went to the house so that Dana could take Vanessa to a doctor appointment.  Curtis was working on a rain barrel project.  He plans to catch rain water to water the plants around the house.

Brandon finds a geocache.

Brandon and I went out and found some nearby caches.  We found four.  It appears that the next one had washed away when the San Marcos river flooded at the end of October.  The last cache we looked for, we didn't find.

I dropped Brandon at the house and returned to the coach to clean up and pick up some things I needed to scan and copy.  Curtis' scanner wasn't working.  I plan on giving another try at hooking up the printer/scanner in the coach in the morning.

Gerri, Vanessa and Dana prepared the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving supper.  

 I wrapped the Christmas present we bought for Curtis and Dana. 

Dana fixed chili for supper.  We all ate at different times.  First the kids and then Gerri and I.  Curtis and Dana ate after the corn bread was finished.  Gerri and I sat with them and had some corn bread.  The pies presented a little problem for not being able to bake the cornbread in a timely matter.  The chili and cornbread was very good. 

Today was the first day of Hanukkah and the kids opened presents.

We returned to the coach at 8:30.  Some TV and computer time rounded out the evening.

Tuesday November 26, 2013, Buda, TX

This morning it was still cold and windy but the sky was not the even grey it has been for the last several days.  There were bands of lighter grey, white and an occasional glimpse of blue sky.  It hadn't rained any more since late yesterday afternoon.

New from the Wal

Last night I set the heat pump in the rear of the coach on 60 and the two space heaters on in the front.  We spent a comfortable night.

I went to the service desk and had Matt add the Aqua Hot to the repair list.  The front zone only puts out cool air, the rear zone seems to work fine.  I always thought the Aqua Hot furnaces didn't work when set on electric.  I had always checked the front outlets.  Today I checked the rear and warm air does come out in the rear zone.  This tells me that something was wrong with the front zone from day one; it never worked on electric and now doesn't work on diesel either.

Dana had been shopping in Austin and stopped by the coach.  After visiting for awhile, Dana, Gerri and Vanessa went to the house.  Brandon and I went geocaching.  It was the first time out for Brandon.  His words were," geocaching is awesome."  On the second cache Brandon spotted the cache before I did.  We had fun, Brandon especially enjoyed two of the caches where the containers were fired shotgun shells.  I logged the caches and Brandon returned them to their hiding spots.  That saved me a lot of time out in the cold wind.

At dark we went to the house for dinner.  Dana cooked a pasta dish with mushrooms, chicken and peas.  After dinner the kids went with us back to the coach for the evening.  Curt and Dana have a date night, no kids and no one has to work in the morning.

Brandon and the iPod

Vanessa and the Clumsy Ninja

Back at the coach we played three games of LRC.  I won one and Vanessa and Brandon won one each.  We also played two games of War.  Vanessa and I each won one.  After those games Vanessa played Clumsy Ninja on the iPad and Brandon played a Penguin Race game on my iPod  Gerri and I caught up on computer time.

The kids went to bed at 10 PM in our bed.  The plan is to move Brandon to the couch later, so Gerri and I have room to sleep with Vanessa in the king size bed.

It was a great afternoon and evening with Brandon and Vanessa.  We enjoyed having them at the coach for the evening.

Tomorrow morning we plan to go to McDonalds and then take Vanessa home so she can go to a doctors appointment.  We may also have to vacate the coach if the service department can schedule the work on the Aqua Hot.

Monday November 25, 2013

Every time I was awake during the night I could hear the rain falling on the roof.  When I got up and fixed the coffee, it was raining and the sky was grey.  The front of the coach was 47 and the bedroom 55 degrees.  I turned on the Aqua Hot furnace, the small electric heater was on all night.

After five years I have never been sold on the idea of the Aqua Hot water heating system.  The last few days we have used the furnace feature of the Aqua Hot and I must say I am unimpressed with it's ability to keep the coach warm.  The system is supposed to heat both the air and water using electricity.  It has never heated the coach when only powered by electricity, the vents blow out cool air.  On electricity the water is hot enough for me to shower, but not for Gerri or the washing machine.  Last night I turned off the diesel burner before going to bed.  This morning I turned it on and after an hour cool air was still coming from the registers.  I turned on the heat pump in the rear of the coach and got warm air after a few minutes.  I am going to try leaving the Aqua Hot on and just set the thermostat at a lower temperature.  I have been shutting the entire system down when we didn't need heat.  It seems to me that the air ought to get warm quicker than I have been experiencing.  

We stayed in the coach most of the day.  It rained most of the time and was cold.  I checked the Aqua Hot and saw that it was low on boiler fluid.  I bought some at the Crestview RV store and filled the tank to the tank "Cold" line.  In playing around with the controls I found that the rear zone was putting out warm air but not the front zone.

I went to Walmart and found an electric heater to replace the old one that no longer oscillates. 

We got to Curtis' house at about the same time he got home from work.  He has to work again tomorrow but then is off for the rest of the week.  Dana fixed tacos for dinner, very good.

After dinner we played LRC.  We played five games, I won three and Curtis won two.  Before we finished playing, Dana went and picked up frozen yogurt for dessert.

We left the house at 8:30 and returned to the coach.  Tonight I plan to run the space heaters in the front of the coach and the heat pump in the rear.   We will see how that works out.  It is supposed to get down to freezing tonight.

Tomorrow I will check with the service writer and see if they have someone qualified to work on the Aqua Hot and add it to the list for repairs.

Sunday November 24, 2013 Buda, TX

We woke up to another cold, cloudy day.  Actually, I had been awakened by the wind and rain several  times.  Although it was grey sky all over, it looked a little different this morning.  There was a band of lighter grey along the horizon with a darker band above it.  Vanessa, who had spent the night with us,  said that meant it was going to rain.  I'm sure her prognostication and the fact that about a half hour later was purely coincidental.  This time it rained for about 40 minutes and then it was back to the universally grey sky.

We like to sleep in a cool bedroom.  We ran the furnace in the front of the coach all night.  When it was time for showers, I turned on the heat pump in the rear.  I don't remember using it before but the temperature reached 65 very quickly.

We met Curtis and Brandon at Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast.  After breakfast Gerri, and I came back to the coach, Curtis took Brandon and Vanessa home for a nap.  Shortly after that we returned to the house.  Gerri, Dana and Brandon went shopping.  Brandon went with them.  Vanessa stayed and played with two of her friends from across the street.

For dinner we had chicken parmigiana served with spaghetti.  Brandon ate very well and Vanessa didn't finish her food.  After dinner, Dana needed somethings from Walmart, Gerri decided to go with her.  I decided to come back to the coach since the Walmart is by our motor home and Dana could just drop Gerri back off at the coach after their shopping.

Back st the coach I tuned into the worship service net cast from Oakey Blvd. Randy delivered a great message on using our time in this life wisely.

Some computer and TV wound up the evening.

Saturday November 23, 2013, Buda, TX

Brandon stayed the night with me in the motor home.  When we got to the coach it was 40 degrees.  I turned on the inside furnaces and the electric heater.  It was 2:30 before it warmed up enough to turn down the heat.

Brandon got up about 30 minutes before me.  I fixed coffee and started drinking it.  The sky was solid grey, the wind was still blowing and it was raining off and on.  Brandon and I played a few hands of poker and then went to McDonald's and had Egg McMuffins.

Brandon, Curtis and Vanessa

Later Curtis called and suggested we go to Cabella's and look around.  Curtis, Vanessa and, Gerri came to the coach later and we went for lunch at Dan's first.  Dana had been called in to work.  Dan's is a hamburger restaurant nearby, I don't know if it is a chain or not.  The burgers remind me of what Whataburgers were in the 50's.  Dan's also serve other types of food including breakfast.  After eating we went to Cabella's and looked around.  We went to the aquarium.  They have some of the largest catfish I have ever seen.  Curt and the kids spent some time in the shooting gallery.

Curtis and Brandon went home.  Gerri, Vanessa and I had some quite time at the coach.  On the way to the house we stopped and picked up Papa Murphy's pizza.  After the pizza was cooked we had dinner.  After diner we played three games of Left , Right and Center.  Gerri won all three games.  Gerri later played Candy Land with Brandon and Vanessa, Gerri won again.

At eight PM Gerri, Vanessa and I went back to the coach.  Vanessa went to bed at 9.  Gerri and I stayed up and watched some TV and caught up on e-mail and Facebook, before calling it a night.

This cold rainy weather is getting old.  I'm also longing for the desert and mountains, we haven't seen mountains since we left Maderia on our cruise.  This is a flat, green area and kind of dismal looking in the rain and cloudy river.  However, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
'

Friday November 22, 2013, Buda, TX

The alarm didn't go off but I was up at 7.  It is only 15 miles to the dermatologist's office in San Marcos.  We had our coffee and got ready to go.  The plan was to drop Gerri off at Dana's and they were going shopping after I got back from the doctor.

I arrived at the doctor's office with time to spare.  After consultation with the doctor it was decided the best thing to do was remove the spot even though there wasn't time to do a really attractive closing.  The doctor's opinion that it was probable a basal cell carcinoma, even though it didn't look like the typical one.  He thought it was better to remove it, he said that if it was worse than a basal cell carcinoma it could cause more concern if he biopsied it.  The actual operation to remove the affected area only took about 15 minutes and was painless.  I didn't even feel the numbing shot.  I received wound care instruction which was basically the same as with others that I had removed. The tissue will be sent for biopsy.  I made an appointment to have the stitches out on December 4th.  I also got a prescription for an antibiotic.

My other mission for this trip was to find another power cord for Gerri's computer.  Last night she shut the 110 part of the cord in the Jeep door and pulled the tip off.   I stopped at a nearby Best Buy, I had to buy the entire cord set with the charger.  On the way back I stopped at a Radio Shack and got just the part I needed.  I stopped by the coach and picked up my phone and met Gerri back at the kid's house.  She wanted to keep both chargers so she had a spare.

Dana had to work and left about 4 PM.  When Curtis came home we went to dinner at Milt's BBQ in downtown Kyle.  Gerri and I had a dish called a Haystack.  It was Fritos topped with BBQ brisket, beans, cheese, corn, onions and jalapenos.  I also had sausage on mine.  Curtis had brisket, and ribs which he shared with the kids.  Brandon and Vanessa both ate very well.

Back at the house we played some cards.  Tonight Gerri stayed  at the house with Vanessa and Brandon went to the motor home with me.

Brandon and I played games until he fell asleep at 10:20.  I got him into bed and called it a night myself.

Thursday November 22, 2013, Buda, TX

It was cold and threatening rain when I got up and fixed the coffee.  While we were drinking our coffee the body shp came to pickup the coach.  We got ready quickly, we only had to unhook the power and bring the slides in.

Gerri called Dana and found out that she had picked up Vanessa at school and was taking her to a doctor.  The school nurse said she had temperature of 103.  We went to Crestview's customer lounge until we heard back from Dana.  The doctor's office readVanessa's temperature as 99.  She will be tested for asthma the first part of December.

We met Dana at the house.  Gerri and Dana went shopping and I stayed with Vanessa.

After Gerri and Dana returned from shopping, I went back to Crestview to check on th coach.  It was back in our spot. The damaged storage door had been repaired.  Now it's just a matter of waiting for parts to fix the leveling system.

I did hunt 6 caches but only found four.  I had wait through a rain shower in the Jeep at one.  I returned to the house before dinner.

Dinner was carne asada with, beans rice and tortillas.  Curtis' next door neighbors, Don and Mary, joined us for dinner.  Don and Mary stayed for three games of CLR.  Brandon, Vanessa and Don each won a game.

We returned to the coach afte 8 PM.  It was still cold and raining off and on.  We caught up on computer time and watched some TV before going to bed.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to see a dermatologist, so I have to up early to be in San Marcos by then.

Wednsday November 20, 2013, Buda, TX

We were up having our coffee when one of the technicians came and ask how long it would be before we were ready for them to take the coach in to start checking it over.  I said 30 minutes,  we got everthing unhooked and the slides in before the tech got back.  I quickly described the problems again.

Gerri and I went to breakfast at the nearby Cracker Barrel.  After eating, Gerri called Dana and we arranged to meet her at the kids school to pickup a house key.  Dana was working with other mothers finalizing the popcorn fund raiser sales.  I dropped Gerri at the house and went out to geocache.

I found nine and DNFed three. It took most of the afternoon even though I was never more than five miles from Curtis' house.

I returned to the house at about 3.  After a short visit I decided to check on the progress on the coach.  I returned to Crestview and checked the RV park first.  The coach was parked in our spot, hooked to shore power with the bedroom slide out.  I checked and the steps and other slides operated without the jumper.  I went to the office and contacted the service writer, Matt, for an update.  I approved  ordering the parts to repair the leveling system.  As for the R5000 unit, the cost of a replacement was over $4000.  I had them not order that.  I want to check with Kevin first to see if there is better unit or if he has a used one.  In any event that repair will have to wait.  Crestview plans to pickup the coach in the morning for the repair of damage I did to one of the storage doors.  Matt told me that it would take five days to get the parts for the leveling system.

I returned to Curtis and Dana's. I watched the kids play in the backyard before dinner.  Dana fixed Santa Fe Chicken and served it with green beans and corn.

After dinner we taught the kids and Curtis how to play CLR, a fast paced dice game.  Dana went to a PTA meeting.  Even though the game moves pretty fast, Vanessa is easily distracted.  We did play three games, Curtis won one and Brandon won two.

Vanessa with her cards

Before bed time Brandon and I played draw poker.  I taught him the game yesterday along with the idea of Jacks or Better to open.  We worked on the opening idea for few and and then I introduced the betting rules of maximum opening and raising, in this case three chips, and a thee raise limit.  I hope he learns how to bet wisely and not scare other players away with extravagant betting.  He seemed to get the idea.

We went pack to the park at 8 PM.  Some TV and computer time and it was bedtime.

Tuesday November 19, 2013, Buda, TX

Mother and son

 We had our coffee and then I went to the office and checked to see if they were going to get started checking out the coach today.  The answer was maybe tomorrow.


I had downloaded some nearby caches.  The first was less than a quarter mile away.  The eight was much further.  I also picked up three travel bugs.

After three we went to Dana and Curt's house.  Vanessa wasn't feeling good and was in bed.  Brandon and I went outside and I watched him ride his bike and Green Monster.  After that we tossed a football until Curtis got home.  Curt took over the passing and ran a few plays with Brandon.  I din't film the football part but did make some videos of the bike and monster riding.

Father and son

After dinner we played some poker.  I tried to teach Brandon how to play seven card draw.

We called it a night at 8 PM.  As we were leaving Vanessa came downstairs she was feeling better.  She wanted to come stay with us in the motor home, but tomorrow is a school day.  She was unhappy when we left.

Earlier that afternoon I made an appointment with a dermatologist in San Marcos.  I have a spot on my chest that I need to get checked out.  When we left home in July it was just a crusty spot.  Now it is more like a blister and I have to keep it covered with a band aid.  The appointment is for Friday morning.

Tomorrow I hope to be notified the shop is ready to check the coach.

Monday November 18, 2013, Buda, TX

Moving day.  We got up at 7 and had our coffee.  It was misting outside and I took my time getting the coach ready to roll.  We were on the road at 9:20.  We stopped in Tomball for fuel.

Our route was west on FM-2920 to US-290, west to Texas 71 and then on to I-35 south to Buda.

We arrived at Crestview RV at about 1 PM.  By the time I met with the service writer and we got set up in our space it was 3 PM.  The RV park has several sites for people at Crestview RV who are having service.

Happy belated birthdays

We went to Curtis and Dana's house and visited with Dana and the kids until  Curtis got home from work.  Dana fixed a baked chicken dish with baked potato and squash.  After dinner we were surprised with a birthday cake and presents.  Gerri's birthday was the 4th and mine was the 12th.  The kids showed me some of their toys in the back yard.

After the kids were wound up we returned to the RV park a little after 8.

Some computer and TV time and we called it a night.

Last week when I called for the service appointment I was told it could be several days before the problems could be checked.  By being here with the coach it might be quicker. We don't know if we get to sleep in tomorrow or not.

Sunday November 17, 2013, Spring, TX

Back to front left- Me, Lael Miller and Gloria Ford
Back to front right side- Karla Schuler, Kari Webster, Mark Ford,
Lawana Tom and Curtis Ford

We got up this morning and fixed our coffee.  It had rained during the night but was getting warm and humid.  The plan for the morning was to meet the Fords for breakfast at Alma Latina Taqueria in Spring.

We had a great breakfast before my aunt and uncle left for back home in Corpus Christi.  Plans were made later to meet the cousins at Pappasito's Mexican Restaurant in Spring.

We returned to the coach and tuned into worship services at the Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ.

At two we met my Ford cousins at Pappasitos. and had appetizers while we visited.

The cache container and log

The cache container and log for my 4200th cache

The container and its hiding spot

After we left the restaurant we went to hunt four caches that I had downloaded.  I planed to do three caches to reach 4200 caches.  I downloaded four caches just in case I had DNF.  I also planned for my 4200th to be the cache that completed my quest for finding caches with names beginning with 0-9 and A to Z.  I did that and then did the fourth cache for good measures.

After the caches we returned to the RV Park.  We relaxed with computer and TV time.

Tomorrow our plan is to move to the Crestview RV Park in Buda, TX, 161 miles away.

Saturday November 16, 2013, Spring, TX

Uncle Curtis Ford

Yesterday and today were quite a bit warmer than the last few days, we can actually feel the Texas humidity.  Earlier in the week we needed the furnace last night and today we almost needed the air conditioners.

We had our coffee and left late to be at my cousin's, Neysa Bates, house for a family gathering.  It is about 20 miles from the RV park and I had to stop for gas in the Jeep.  We did arrive before the food was served, about 11:30 AM.  Another big meal with lots of food to go around.

After dinner we played LRC using lottery scratch off tickets instead of quarters.  That is Left, Right, Center.  A dice game we that learned a few years ago from our friends Carl and Joyce Wolf in Ohio.  Uncle Curtis showed us two other games with cards 31 and Mess Up Your Neighbor (I cleaned that up), I hope we remember the rules.

Rear - Gerri and Frank Barker, Curtis Ford, Brandon Bates,
Jenn and Mathew Miller, Mark Ford,
Judy and Michael Martinez (John Tom's sister and her husband)
Middle - Gloria Ford, Lawana Tom, Kari Webster  Lael Miller
Front - Karla Schuler, John Tom, Korbyn Johnson, Neysa Bates

The Fords, Curtis and Gloria Ford,
Karla Schuler. Lawana Tom, Kari Webster,
Lael Miller and Mark Ford

Aunt Gloria Ford, cousin Karla Schuler and me

The party broke up at about 6.  We made plans to meet for breakfast with the Fords before Curtis and Gloria drive back to Corpus Christi on Sunday.

It was a great visit.  We had to cancel our visit here last year after I hurt my leg.



The drive home was quicker.  We were mostly on I-45.  Going to the party the GPS directed us on surface streets even though I had it set on fastest route.

The Barker side of the family from West Virginia dwindled down to Aunt Gloria and me.  Of course there are cousins galore.  Gloria's children, grand children  and great grandchildren.  Then there are all the cousins in Seattle, descended from my aunt Marcella.  Not to forget the cousins descended from me.  There are a lot of us scattered around the country and many of us don't get a chance to know each other.

Friday November 15, 2013, Spring, TX.

Computer time

Today is the day Neva departs for Las Vegas, ending her time with us.  We had coffee and caught up with e-mail and Facebook.  We got every thing ready to roll by 10 AM.  Gerri dropped Neva off at Hobby Airport and I headed toward Spring, TX for our next stop.

Leaving for Las Vegas

The distance I had to travel was 60 miles.  I started out on Texas 146 and then west on Texas 225.  This portion of the drive reminded me of I-110 leaving Long Beach, CA.  There were too many semis and trailers to count.  The next portion of the drive was north on I-45,  Traffic wasn't too bad but about two miles from my turnoff the GPS lost the satellite connection.  

That was weird since I was traveling on flat terrain, no trees or buildings blocking the signal.  I exited the Interstate at the designated exit and pulled into the parking lot of a Walmart.  I tried to figure out what the problem was and where I needed to go.  I finally got a connection and the instructions were to continue north on I-45.  I did that and then the GPS indicated I needed to get off the Interstate and go back south on Texas 75.  I tried to do this but ran into blocked streets and construction.  My next instructions were to go north on I-45.  I ignored that and went further east and turned back on to a road that I knew was south of my destination.  I finally arrived at the RV Park  a few minutes before noon, having driven an extra 8 miles.  When I arrived the office was closed but there was a sign that told me which site to park in.

I got parked and hooked up before Gerri arrived.  Her experience coming through Houston was much different, there had been a major accident causing miles of piles up with bumper to bumper traffic.  After she arrived and finished setting up the inside, I went to the office and registered.  Gerri contacted my cousin Lael and nothing was going on tonight.  I down loaded some nearby caches and went out and found six, I need three more to reach 4200 cache.  I also went to Walmart and picked up a few items.

We had a dinner of left overs from Bubba Gump's.  We mixed some horse radish and shrimp sauce in the tarter sauce, it was very tasty.

After dinner it was TV and computer time until bedtime.

Tomorrow is the Ford family gathering at my cousin Neysa's.