Summer 2019

I’m really terrible at this blog thing.  I know you’re supposed to update it and tell about what you’re doing now.  Mine has become more like writing my memoirs.  Maybe it’s my age or maybe it’s because our arrival in Arkansas started a series of unfortunate events that I don’t want to re-live.

Even though some people are trying desperately to erase history, what happened, happened and you can’t change it so you might as well tell it like it was.

After leaving the Houston area, we spent two weeks in Mansfield and then took off for Arkansas on June 26.  We were going to drive the whole way in one day (500 miles).  After the first couple years of RVing, we learned to keep our driving to 350 miles a day, max.  But this is a trip we’ve made so many times it seemed OK to go ahead and bite the bullet.

Going down I-40 through Oklahoma, I noticed one of the tires on the trailer was gaining pressure (we have a tire monitoring  system that has a readout inside the truck)  – this is an abnormal occurrence.  We pulled off at a rest stop and noticed that the high pressure tire was also generating heat.  I discovered a loose brake wire hanging down on the back side of the wheel.   I thought maybe the loose wire caused the brake to engage and thus the heat caused a buildup of pressure in the tire.  After crawling under there and doing my best to reconnect the wire, we resumed our trip.

We were near Ft. Smith when we had to pull off again.  This time, the heat coming from the wheel was intense, so I pulled the wheel off and the brake drum was very hot.  There were water faucets at the rest stop so I got some and cooled off the brake drum.  (My good friend, Don Bell, who I consider a car expert, told me later I was lucky that I didn’t crack the brake drum.)

We were 12 miles from Fayetteville when I had to pull off again.  That’s when I called Don, who lives in nearby Springdale.  After discussing my options, we decided to limp into Fayetteville and spend the night.  We made it to Fayetteville and Don came by with some phone books, (yes, phone books...Don is a flip phone kind of guy) took us to dinner and we had a great visit with my high school and college buddy.   Friends like that don’t come along often.

We found a place in Springdale the next morning and they were able to make the necessary repairs that afternoon.  Turns out a bearing went out, but they also discovered grease on the brake parts of 3 wheels.  (I had had the bearings repacked before we left Arizona, but that’s another story)

We arrived at our campground only one day later than planned, which I thought was pretty incredible, given what could have been.

And that’s when things got worse.  As I was maneuvering the RV into position to back into our site, I backed the RV into a tree, cracking the fiberglass on the outside and making a floor to ceiling split up the wall on the inside.  Needless to say, we were both sickened, in fact I thought I was going to regurgitate.

We thought about just going back to Texas to get it fixed, but eventually decided to wait for the insurance adjuster before moving it and causing possible further damage.  We finally reached a point where we decided not to let it ruin our whole summer.  We would stay and get it fixed when we got back to Texas.

We got the boat in the water and were ready to start having fun.

A few days later Jane, Kathy and I were working at the vacation house and we needed to get a dead limb out of a tree that was leaning toward the house.  We had a long strap tied to the limb and to the back of Kathy’s side-by-side ATV.  I was going to make the cut with the chain saw and she was going to pull it away from the house as it gave way.  Wellllll, that’s what was SUPPOSED to happen.  Luckily, the limb didn’t go through the siding of the house, it just took out the downspout and an outside light.  Now, instead of a completed project, I had two more DIY jobs to do.

It seemed like everything I touched broke or caused damage to something else.  I was on a bad streak and the next morning seriously contemplated staying in bed all day.  I was sure not going to get in the boat.   Boating can be an unlimited menu of possible disasters, from minor, “Oh look honey, we have a swarm of ants living in the kneeboard.”(OK, that one really happened) , to major, “Do you smell something?  Why is there smoke coming out of the back of the boat?”  “Since there is no cell service out here, how far do we have to paddle?”  “Do you remember what you did with the boat registration?”  “No, why?”  “Because that boat with the blue flashing lights is following us.  I think you better stop.” 

A few days later, we had a tremendous thunder storm and a nearby lightning strike that shook the ground.  It knocked out Kathy’s well pump and our vacation house guests said the A/C was not cooling the house.  OK, this one was not my fault.  And we again were lucky that it wasn’t worse.  The A/C guy replaced the flux capacitor and the non-fluxing capacitor (haha) and we were back in business.

It’s good that I’m writing all this because it makes me realize that in the grand scheme of things, these are all problems that can be fixed (with time and money).  Nobody got hurt or sick.  The trailer was still inhabitable and when I look back on it, it doesn’t seem as bad as when it was happening.

Another bit of good fortune for us concerned our RV park location.  We’ve been staying a couple miles from the lake instead of at a Corps of Engineers campground on the lake.  This year, 48% of the Corps campsites were under water due to the lake being 30 feet above normal. 

We were looking forward to our annual family get together at the end of July.  Chris and Angie brought the kids from Friendswood (Houston).  Brian drove up from Arlington.  Then, there’s always the contingent that drives down from Illinois; my brother Bill, nephew Jake and his wife Jamie and their kids, Jackson, Trinity and Millie along with my niece Adrienne.  And the locals represented by Kathy, her son John and his wife Dana, their two girls Jordan and Emma and her other son Scott and his wife Amy.

Caleb couldn’t wait to see if he could get back up on skis and do some tubing. 

Hannah wanted to swim and get on the tube with Gram or Mama or Daddy or Brian.  Millie and Hannah are about 5 months apart in age and really had fun together this year.

We would have a flotilla of boats out on the weekend all tied together and have more than 20 people floating in the lake.  The variety of boats is always interesting:

John – 31 ft. cabin cruiser, Jake – 24 ft. Baja (noisemaker), Kathy – 24 ft. pontoon boat, Bill – 21 ft. bass boat, Scott – 18 ft. runabout, me – 21 ft. runabout.

We had great weather while they were there and everyone had a wonderful time.  

Just before we left, our friend, Vicki, from Texas, came to visit for a little R and R.  We talked and boated and tried a new place for lunch.  So glad she got to come.

We made it back to Texas and the house is now in the shop, which brings me to another bit of good fortune; instead of being in a cramped hotel room, we have a son who is graciously letting us stay at his house. ( Jane promised to cook :).)  This is a big deal because to leave the RV at a repair shop for 2 weeks, the refrigerator must be completely empty (catsup, mustard, pickles...everything!  Brian's fridge is FULL of condiments).  It will be so much nicer to come back to a house instead of a hotel after surgery. 

Because of the rehab after the surgery, we plan to be in Mansfield until we leave for Arizona at the end of November.  No softball or pickleball this winter, but just wait till next year!


Hannah prepping for a ride on the tube

Caleb and Hannah getting started

          Caleb and uncle Brian literally on the edge

Group activities: talking, snacking, drinking, paddleboarding and most of all just enjoying the moment.

                                          Is he posing again?

The old man.

                                             What a cool dude.


                                              "What can I say?
                                                       It's the hat!"

Uncle Brian jumping the wake.

Caleb getting hooked on wakeboarding.
No more skis for this kid.
Next year he wants to jump the wake like
his uncle Brian.

                              This girl knows how to chill.

Did I mention that
the old man's still got it?
"I'm ready for the slalom course."
 (NOT!!)

                                                    I love that hat!!  And just for the record, the noodle matches the swimsuit.

From Jane: I "rode" the noodle and tubed with Hannah. That's as wild as I get. 

One giant leap for . . . well maybe not giant.  The distance of the jump gets shorter as the water gets higher.  But Caleb said after you get up on top, it looks farther than it did from the boat.

Adrenalin junkies.  They did it twice.