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| "From Darrell's Chair" Archives |
| This page will be used to share my thoughts
with you as I sit in my chair and contemplate the daily events that take place during our fulltiming journey.
Hopefully
you will enjoy the entries, learn a thing or two, and have some
chuckles along the way as Judy and I continue "Wandering America". |
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Thursday, July 29, 2009
On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I w*rk in Honey Bear's Store in the morning and do tubing trips in the afternoon. One of my lines while giving the "tubers" some instructions is: "We go tubing in the rain but if it starts to thunder and lightening and you see me hit the beach and starting running up the bank, try to keep up!" Storms do have a way of materializing out of nowhere up here in the Adirondacks but yesterday storms were predicted for the late afternoon. Before the 2 o'clock run I checked the local radar and it appeared that we would have at least an hour to an hour and a half before the storms would begin, however, we no more than got on the river when a thunderstorm materialized. I got "tubers" close to a beach which is about a third of the way down river and radioed in for another radar report. I was told that we should be able to make it before the storm got to us so I got them moving down river again (keep in mind that keeping "tubers" together on the river is sort of like marching katts in a parade). We no more than got past the point of no return for the beach when the skies opened up with a drenching rain, thunder, and lightening. I continued to paddle back and forth from the front of the line to the end of the line assuring everyone that we would in fact live to tell about it. A group of teenagers took to paddling their tubes with a vengeance and reached the take out point waaaaaay ahead of the rest of the group - that only makes the distance that I have to cover in the canoe that much further. Wouldn't you know it? By the time I had everyone at the take out point the storm had passed, the rain had quit and we were all soaked. Just another day in the life of tubing at LGE. Tuesday, July 28, 2009 Boy, did I ever understate the tired thang!!! Two days off, "Ta Do List" growing, and still very little energy to do anything about it. We did go kayaking for two hours where we paddled up into a cove and then just sat there enjoying the peace and quiet. On the way back we would paddle a little bit and then hold hands allowing the kayaks to just float back to camp on their own. Once we got home we took our recliners out back and just sat there staring off into the abyss. Miss Judy read while I just sat there until sleep overtook me. What's on the ever growing "Ta Do List"? Well, let's see!! We have an electrical problem in our 12 volt system that I thought was going to require replacing the batteries but after placing a load tester onto each battery I found that they were both fully charged with strong amperage. So, the next issue will be to check out the converter - anyone know how to do that? Another item is the washer/dryer which is most likely the heating element in the dryer but in order to determine that I have to remove the top from the unit which requires disconnecting it and pulling it out of the closet. Then there is an alignment problem with the large slideout. I'll have to get out the manual in order to figure out how to adjust that. I still need to order the fender skirt, paint it, and install it. Then there is the lawn to mow; with all of this rainy weather all the grass knows how to do is grow. It's nye ankle deep pushing its way toward knee deep. All of this and here I sit!!!! Too tired to give a darn. We w*rk way too hard for old farts, there's just no two ways around it. New rule: Should we ever w*rkamp again it will be for no more than four days a week and no more than six hours a day and for no more than a two months stint and for no less than $50 an hour. There, that should take care of that!!!! We did muster up enough energy to prepare ourselves a great dinner last evening. I grilled some perch basted with EVOO and lemon pepper, Judy cooked up some spinach, and we worked together to make some Mezeria. Mezeria is a salad made with sliced cucumbers, sour cream, and chives seasoned with a little Splenda (or sugar), salt, and pepper to taste. We should have had a little wine with dinner but didn't have any chilled - oh well, next time. The meal was yum, yum and healthy too!!! Monday, July 27, 2009 Mr. Alex let us sleep in this morning and it felt great. Miss Judy rolled out at 6:30 and I at 7:00. It was just what the doctor ordered after the looooong week that we put in - 6 weeks left to go. We both have to get our blood drawn this morning and, no, it's not for a marriage license. Other than that, the day looks great and after a few chores we are planning to go kayaking. I don't know, either w*rk is getting harder or we are slowing down in our "old age" but, whatever the case we were tired at the end of the week. We went out to get pizza for dinner and then just crashed and burned. It was a busy week with a lot of campers in the campground and lots of busy activities. Honey Bear's Store was busy, crafts were busy, tubing was busy and boats were busy. Needless to say, we were busy and could use more than two days to get rested up again. Oh, if we can only hold out until Labor Day!! Yesterday was off and on again rain with otherwise nice weather. We did our Wally World thing and started finalizing our July actual expenditures. Even though we will have some money to put away we are still going to continue hunkering down for the next month or so. Actually, other than our travel back to Rainbow Plantation (and the Escapees Chapter 26 Rally) we are going to continue hunkering down for the rest of the year so we can save a little more moolar. Well, this morning Meredith Viera and Ann Curray are up here in our neighborhood and actually did some fly fishing on the Schroon River. Had we wanted to get up real early in the morning and gone over to the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton's Landing we could have been on TV waving to you but, somehow, that just doesn't appeal to us. Anyway, if you watched the Today Show this morning and saw Meredith and Ann in a canoe you would have seen the Schroon River which is where we have lived, w*rked, and played during the past three summers. Well, that's it for today so keep on keeping on!! Monday, July 20, 2009 As you all know, Judy and I have been hunkering down and conserving our funds for most of 2009. We spent a little time yesterday reviewing our budget to see where we are and were very pleased with the results. Last August we had enough money in our IRA to get us through to December of 2009 as well as enough for a down payment on a new truck. By the end of October 2008 we were around $6,000 short of making it through to August when my pensions would kick in. Well, by hunkering down and conserving we will make it to August with $2,000 in reserve and by the end of September we will be able to put an additional $3,500 into our emergency fund which we haven't had to touch. Just so you know, we have three other 201K (a.k.a. 401K) accounts that we shouldn't need until after we come off the road so we're not exactly living in poverty but it is certainly nice to know that we can live on less than $30,000 a year if it is necessary, however, our annual budget for 2010 will be $42,500 as we start traveling again. The debt-free lifestyle certainly does give us flexibilities that you don't have when you have a mortgage, car payments, and credit card debt. Wow!!!! Forty years ago today Niel Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin walked on the face of the moon. I vividly remember sitting in front of the television set at my aunt Eunice's and uncle Dale's house listening to Walter Cronkite's rendition of that moon landing. It was unbelievable to say the least as we all sat there totally awe stricken. Friday night's news bulletin brought us the news that Walter Cronkite had passed away at the age of 92 - the end of an era. I can't help but wonder if Mr. Cronkite will get as much publicity as that self-absorbed singing/dancing pedophile drug addicted freak who added little to nothing to our society. "Uncle Walter" certainly contributed a huge amount to our lives. He loved people and he had a passion for telling us the news and the ability to give us the truth even when the truth hurt. He had a gentle manner which was very comforting in rough times. It would have been good to have had him at the news helm back last fall when the economy went into melt down instead of the "sky is falling" crisis mentality that existed within the news organizations, which I believe contributed to the collapse. I feel he would have calmly reassured us that national economies are cyclic and recovery would be inevitable so we need not panic. I can remember every evening at 6 o'clock sharp gathering in the living room in front the television to watch the Evening News With Walter Cronkite. It was a nightly tradition that began when I was a child and lasted right through until his retirement in 1981. I have missed him since he left the news desk back in 1981 as there hasn't been anyone that has come close to matching him and most likely there never will be. Today's newscasters are more concerned with their own ratings and ability to "out scoop" one another than they are in getting it right. But, Uncle Walter could be depended on to come into our living rooms and share the daily news with us personally without trying to manipulate it or create it. We need some more newscasters like him. Rest in Peace Uncle Walter and thanks for sharing the news with us for 19 years. "And that's the way it is Monday, July twentieth, two thousand and nine!" Monday, July 13, 2009 As the old saying goes; "Timing is everything!" Last week Judy emailed Doug and Anne Craw (friends of ours who own a home at Rainbow Plantation) for information on the Escapees Chapter 26 Rally that they will be hosting in Florida this coming October. In the email Judy mentioned that we were werkamping at Lake George Escape. Doug emailed back the information and wouldn't you know it? They were planning to arrive at a campground three miles up the road from us on Sunday. So, in light of the "no cooking on travel day" tradition we emailed them back an invitation for Sunday spaghetti dinner at our place which they accepted. They arrived as planned yesterday afternoon and made their way to our place for dinner at 4 o'clock. We sat and enjoyed some wine and conversation before dinner, enjoyed some more wine and had dinner, and sat in the living room while enjoying some more wine and chatting after dinner. It seems that Doug was born in Glens Falls, New York, which is about 20 miles south of LGE and that they are here for a small family get together as well as some genealogical research. It was sure good to see someone from the Plantation again and we enjoyed our evening together - we slept like babies after all of that wine ;-). Well, tomorrow I turn Golden Age Pass. Actually it is now the America the Beautiful - Senior Pass but, Golden Age Pass is easier to say. I've already called ahead to Saratoga National Battlefield Visitor's Center to ensure that they have the passes available. So, tomorrow A.M. we'll be making our trek to the battlefield to acquire said pass. Yippee, Horray, Waahoo!!!! Speaking of my birthday, I have submitted all of my paperwork and have done all of the follow up on receiving my pensions and social security - everything is go with T-minus 18 days and counting. I just love it when a plan comes together! Now if I could just get that no good, dirty, rotten warranty company (Heritage) to settle the claim for our refrigerator repair waaaaay back in December that would throw another eight hundred dollars in the till. Well, I best get going. Today is Wally World Day along with a whole bunch of phone calls to make. The dryer portion of our washer/dryer is not functioning and I am trouble shooting it with the assistance of the Splendide representative who is in Oregon. It may just be a switch or it could be the heating element but, in any event, I have to take the top off and do some continuity checks which the representative is guiding me through. I, also, have to call Cedar Creek and order the replacement fender skirt that was destroyed by the blow out last April. And, there are still three more lambrequins that need to be finished and installed in the livingroom. Plus, I still have not finished any travelogues for 2009. Sure am glad that I don't have to werk a real J-O-B anymore - J-O-Bs just take waaaaaaaaaay to much time. So adios for the time being. Be sure to keep warm, have fun, and may God Bless!!!! Thursday, July 9, 2009 I'm pretty much "mended" from the cold or whatever it was that I had, however, this damp weather is causing a little cough to linger on. Yes, it continues to be rainy and damp with bouts of sunshine thrown in for good measure. This has certainly been one of the rainiest springs and summers that I can recall; on top of the webs that have developed between my toes now I am growing gills on the sides of my neck. Not too much new here in the Adirondacks. We get up, read some travelogues, get breakfast, shower, werk, come home, hit the hay, and sleep only to rise and do it all over again. Monotonous, isn't it? Oh well, this too shall pass. This week is the half way point - we'll have been werking for eight weeks and now have eight weeks left to werk. Before we know it we will be on the road again. Even Katie and Alex are ready to roll. Katie goes from window to window looking for new scenery; not finding any she climbs back into bed for another little katt nap. Alex just paces back and forth - he doesn't like it when mom and dad are gone for so long day after day. I called the 3G Store about a new Verizon air card; our Sprint contract ends on August 6 and we have not be overly happy with the performance. Sprint does not have EVDO coverage in very many of the places we travel. Verizon has much better coverage, plus we can get a 15% discount being that I am a veteran. What I found out was that I will need a new router as Verizon doesn't make an air card that will fit into my Kyrocera (surprise, surprise). The price of the routers has come down significantly in the past two years. We paid around $250 for the Kyrocera whereas we can get a new Cradlepoint for as little as $65. The one we want will cost $115 - it comes with a 12 volt auxiliary plug that we can use it in the truck (plugs into a "cigarette" lighter). We will still be able to use the 3 Watt amplifier and the booster antenna that we purchased with the Kyrocera. Right now the Verizon air cards are free and they may even waive the $35 activation fee. We'll order the "stuff" the last week of July and cancel Sprint at the completion of the contract. Well, I must go and get ready for werk. I werk in Honey Bear's Store this morning and do tubing trips this afternoon. That's why it's so had to shake this cold. I get my feet wet at the 2:00 tubing run and they stay that way until I get home between 5:30 to 6:30. That's not good with this cool, damp weather that we continually get day in and day out. This is becoming the summer that wasn't. Oh well, I owe, I owe, so off to werk I go. Well, we don't owe but we do have bills. Monday, July 6, 2009 On Wednesday I started coughing and by Friday night I had a nice little chest cold going on. I managed to get through Saturday but have spent the last two days recuperating. These things sure take their toll on the ol' body; I've been completely wiped out. The weather yesterday was just perfect. Lots of sunshine, warm, and very few mosquitoes to "bug" us. Miss Judy and I sat outside in our LaFluma recliners for about an hour. Even though I was sick it was still nice and comfy to be outside. The warm fresh air helped "dry out" my cold; at least a little bit, anyhow. Our only outing was to go to Rite Aide to get some nasal spray. I got some Vicks Sinex and that stuff worked just great. I've never used it before but will certainly buy it from now on (that cheap Walmart stuff doesn't work very well at all). Being that I was pretty much down (but not at all out) for the day, Miss Judy and I started looking at our fall travel plans for when we leave New England. Being that I turn Golden Age Pass a week from Tuesday, we are looking at Corp of Engineers park locations to help us plan our trip back to Rainbow Plantation. We want to implement the 4-4-2 plan (drive no more than 4 hours a day, be set up no later than 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and stay for at least 2 days). So, with that as our guideline we'll plot our drive back to 'bama. While looking at some of the Corp parks in North and South Carolina we began becoming like kids in a candy store. There are sooooo many beautiful places that we don't know which one to choose first. It's a good thing that we are starting to look at our choices now 'cause it's gonna take us some time to make them. We are sooooo looking forward to Wandering America again. Saturday, July 4, 2009 Hallelujah!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! We live in the greatest country in the whole wide world. Let us celebrate America's birthday with grateful hearts and remember all of the brave men and women who have worked so hard to make it a country where we can live with freedom. Especially, remember those who fought and died to keep our country free from oppression. Happy 4th of July,
Everyone Thursday, July 2, 2009 The webs have now fully formed between my toes. I'm able to swim faster than a speeding bullet and it's a good thing too. With all of this rain we may have to add floats to our RV and a propeller to the truck just to get out of here. I think I hear Mikee coming. Yep, Mikee and Peggy are talkin' 'bout another RV trip and NY was mentioned in that talk. It would be great to see them again; we haven't seen them since our Rainbow Plantation days which seems like a hundred years ago. We plan to visit with them this fall after we escape Lake George Escape and make tracks to Maine for a few weeks. In the meantime, "Come on Down!"; or in this case "Come on Up!" Should you get near the Schroon River, drop in - we might even feed ya! Speaking of Lake George Escape, I am sooooooo glad that we won't have to do this again. The J-O-B in itself is not that bad, but Miss Judy and I were just not created for "werk". We are now in the retirement mind set and it has been hard for us to give up our daily routine in order to do this "werkamping thang", Werking five days a week is just more than we want to do, however, LGE does pay for all hours "werked" as well as provide a free full hook up site with 50 amp electric and cable TV which makes it attractive. But, we do "werk" hard and come home tired. Most campgrounds want 10 hours "werk" (or more) per person per week to cover the cost of the site. If you calculate that based on $7.25 per hour (which is the minimum wage beginning this month) it comes to $580 per month for your site. There are a lot of sites that you can pay a lot less than that for per month without doing any "werk", but if ya need the money whatca ya gonna do? In our future we will volunteer for our site and may put in more than 20 hours per week but that will be "werking" for a cause and not for the money. When volunteering for Habitat for Humanity we'll both "werk" for about 30 hours per week and sometimes pay $5 or $10 per day for our site. Our reward is knowing that a family will have a nice place to call home when the project is finished. When volunteering for Campers On Mission, again, we will be doing "werk" for a worthy cause. We, also, want to volunteer at visitor's centers and interpretive programs for the National Parks and other historical sites around the country which could require a month or two commitment along with "werking" up to 32 hours per week. These are all things that we enjoy doing and don't mind giving of our time. "Werking" for the satisfaction of contributing to society rather than earning money makes all the difference in the world; it's no longer a J-O-B but an opportunity to give back (or, "pay it forward"). On top of that, there is a lot of comradery among the volunteers that leads to developing new friendships which is priceless. |
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