Meeting Other Couples That Travel In Big Rigs

Friday
October 2, 2009

We woke up to a very nice 46 degrees. I turned the heat on inside for a few minutes to get the chill out of our home. Gina said it was too cold to get out of bed so we just laid in bed enjoying our coffee watching the news. Around ten o’clock we finally got out of bed. I wrote and posted our blog then I read a few other blogs that we follow. Then I handed the air card over to Gina so she could get her fix from Facebook. It’s not that I'm into Facebook but Gina is learning a lot about computers because of Facebook and that makes me very happy.

I think it was pretty neat to have two Excel fifth wheels that are parked in a V at the start of our row where most of the big trucks are parked for the HDT Rally.

Two Excel Fifth Wheels & Two Volvo's

(They Look Good)

Gina decided to make her shrimp dip for our pot luck this evening. We ran up to the grocery store since she needed one thing of cream cheese. Of course we picked up a few other items too. Once we got back home I boiled the shrimp while she mixed the other ingredients. I lost count yesterday but I think there are eleven trucks here now. Most of them will be arriving Saturday and Sunday. We didn’t have to walk far since the Pot Luck was being held right behind our home.

Mike McFall Waving While Everyone Else Is Busy Eating

Let The Eating & Socializing Begin

We met a lot more people this evening and enjoyed socializing with all of them. Everyone has been so nice to us and they are just a bunch of super nice folks. While most everyone retired for the night we hung around and talked with Pat, Rocky and Sherri his wife. They have a very interesting story about doing God's work in the mission field. However, their story was cut short last night so I'll have to tell their story once I have heard it all. We finally said our goodnights to them and headed inside. I watched a little TV while Gina added some new friends to Facebook. A very laid back and enjoyable day.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Travel Day To Hutchinson, Kansas

Thursday
October 1, 2009

We had our usual morning of waking up and having coffee together. We went outside and noticed that all the severe weather that was predicted must have passed over us without dropping a single drop of rain. However, the wind was blowing hard. After I wrote and posted the blog we finished getting our home ready for traveling.

We got on the road at 11:30 heading for Hutchinson, Kansas to attend the Escapees HDT rally. It was an uneventful drive except for the wind. This has been the most wind we have ever driven in and we headed directly into it. I’m glad today’s drive was only a short 140 miles. The truck handled great but I still knew that the wind was out there.

The Official Banner Welcoming All HDT Owners
(Big Boy Toys)

We arrived at the Kansas State Fairgrounds at 2:30 and were greeted by Mike and Pat McFall. Mike & Pat sell the Pressure Pro tire pressure monitoring system and the Power Tank system. I highly recommend the Pressure Pro system. This has been the best money Gina & I have spent since we began RV’ing and we will never tow anything without it again. If you are considering RV’ing or currently traveling with an RV and do not have a tire pressure monitoring system then you need to buy this system. I promise that it will be the best money you ever spent. This is by far the single most important safety system for RV’ers. Not to mention how much stress it removed from us while we are towing our home down the highway. After we got backed into our site Gina got the inside of home all setup. We took Angel and Zoey for a walk around the park and stopped and talked to a few people along the way. We would have walked longer but the wind drove us back inside. The wind has been blowing 20 to 30 mph all day with gusts over 40 mph. They have two other rallies (Monaco owners and Holiday Rambler owners) going on right now. There were four big trucks here already and one arrived after us today. We skipped breakfast and lunch today so we decided to eat an early dinner. We heated up the leftover ribs and ate them with our potato salad. After our early dinner I decided to brave the wind and put up our satellite dish. While I got the dish aligned Gina was chatting with Ashley & Parker in Grenada on IChat. After she got off of IChat we just settled in for the night. I was able to watch Fringe on TV. I believe this is becoming my favorite TV show. Gina got on Facebook and around 12:30 in the morning Chris our son-in-law’s mother chatted with Gina and asked her why she was up so late. She said “I have no clock and nowhere to be, so I wake up when I fill refreshed and go to bed when I get tired”. This is a hard life but someone has to do it. We finally went to bed at 1:15 in the morning. We had a nice travel day and enjoyed meeting a few other couples that travel in big trucks. The Rally does not officially start until Sunday so over the next few days there should be a lot more trucks arriving.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Honoring A Hometown Soldier

Wednesday
September 30, 2009

Before I get started with today’s blog I would like to begin by honoring a hometown soldier killed in Iraq. United States Army Specialist Michael Shane Cote, Jr. who was laid to rest on Tuesday September 29, 2009. He leaves behind a wife and a six month old daughter. It is because of men and women like Michael, who are willing to serve and defend our country and pay the ultimate price by laying down their life for each of us. As Americans, we are able to enjoy the freedoms we have. Additionally, I ask that you keep this soldier’s family in your prayers as Gina & I know the next few months will be the hardest.

SPC Michael Shane Cote, Jr.

October 5, 1988 - September 19, 2009

We both woke up this morning around eight o’clock. We didn’t have any plans for today other than enjoying each other. We sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather. It was a very nice 56 degrees. The weatherman did say that we better enjoy today since thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow. I finally decided to grab my computer and start going through all the pictures that I took and get the best ones loaded onto our online photo album. I was having a lot of difficulty with our internet connection and trying to upload these photos. I got that started then I started writing our blog entry. The pictures still had not uploaded so I told Gina I was going to the truck and see if that would give me a better connection. I then got into the truck and low and behold I had three bars and the connection was great.

Here I am Desperately Trying To Post the Blog

While I was in the truck online Gina received a phone call from our daughter, Ashley. They talked for over an hour catching up. She was a little upset that her hard drive crashed in her one year old laptop. Luckily, she had the extended warranty for a full replacement. Now it’s just the hassle of shipping the broken computer back and waiting on a new one to be shipped to her. Otherwise they are doing great. Both she and Parker are kicking butt in medical school. We are so proud of them.

I got the pictures uploaded and the blog entry posted by one o’clock. I would like to say that I was frustrated but I wasn’t. When you stay in the boondocks you have to expect some of today’s technologies will not work as well. With the difficulties we have experienced here in getting online we have decided to purchase an amplifier and external antenna for our air card.

After that we noticed that the wind had picked up and was blowing rather hard. The wind blew an easy 15 to 20 mph all day. We went inside and turned on the weather channel to see where the storm was currently located. It looked like it was located over western Oklahoma and Kansas. The weatherman advised us that we should expect severe weather tonight starting around ten o’clock. That means we will have to have everything packed up and put into its place before tonight.

In the mean time we decided to grill some pork country style ribs. While they were on the grill I started boiling some potatoes and eggs for a potato salad. To me barbeque just doesn’t taste the same without potato salad. We finally had all the food done and then we sat down to eat around six o’clock. The ribs tasted excellent and the potato salad was even better. We let our food digest for a few minutes until it was time to head back outside and start packing everything up in preparation for this severe weather tonight. We got done with all of that and I went back inside and Gina went out to the truck to see what was up on Facebook. I watched a little TV until Gina came back inside around nine o’clock. There was a Law & Order coming on so we sat up watching it. We both woke up at midnight still in our recliners. We both got up and went to bed. I guess watching and enjoying nature just wore us out. It was another great day here at Coon Creek Cove Campground. We’ll be getting on the road tomorrow heading for Hutchinson, Kansas.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

An Exciting Day Of Bird Watching

Tuesday
September 29, 2009

(Note: Our internet connection here is beyond slow. However, a slow internet is better than no internet).

We made it a point to get up early this morning to see the sunrise. Of course I woke up before Gina and got the coffee started. When the fresh brewed coffee aroma reached into the bedroom she was grabbing her robe. It got cold last night and we woke up to a temperature of 43 degrees. It was still chilly when we went outside to see the sun coming up. We just sat outside enjoying our coffee and watching a beautiful day begin.

What A Way To Wake Up


The Sun Just Above The Trees & Reflecting Off The Lake

Around nine o’clock Gina began frying some bacon for breakfast. We didn’t want a heavy breakfast so we just fixed a bacon sandwich. The temperature by this time was a very nice 60 degrees with clear skies. The weather was absolutely perfect.

First to fly in were the Canadian Geese. There were not as many this morning.

Canadian Geese

Then it wasn’t long before the white pelicans started their feeding and were right in front of us.

White Pelicans Flying In


Gina Watching The Pelicans

Also with them were a lot of Anhingas.

Anhingas

These birds are sometimes called snake birds since they look like a snake on the water. They are unique in that their feathers do not repel water so their body sinks below the surface leaving only their neck and head above the water. We continued sitting outside watching them eat. These sites of nature have been so exciting to us. I took over 200 hundred pictures while we were watching them. Here are just a few pictures. I would have uploaded all of them to our online album but our internet connection is just too slow and I’m not sure anyone would want to see that many birds.

This Picture Is Only A Few Of Them


There Flying To Another Area Of The Lake


There Are So Many That It Takes Them Over 20 Minutes to move


They Look Like Ice Floating In The Water

After about two hours they moved on to another location. We then decided to walk along the lake’s edge. Gina started looking for drift wood that had character. I’m not sure what that means. However, she managed to find a few pieces she couldn’t live without. I guess now she is collecting drift wood instead of rocks. LOL

By the time we got back home I sat down and posted the blog entry for the past two days. When I finished we could see the pelicans slowly making their way back around the lake to us again. Thanks to google we learned a little information about white pelicans. They do not dive into to the water like brown pelicans do to eat. They work in a group to surround a school of fish and then land on the water to eat. While some are eating others are circling more fish into the group. Then they land and eat and the ones that were eating take off to begin circling more fish.

Best View Of Their Feeding Tatics


There Still Moving


One Final Picture Of Them Feeding



Three Pelicans Flying Over Our Home

It has been so amazing to watch these birds. They finally left again for the other side of the lake. We then decided it was time for dinner. I grilled two beef tenderloin steaks while Gina baked two potatoes. This was an excellent dinner to go with our fantastic day. After we ate, Gina washed the dishes and then got on Facebook for a little while until her frustration with our air card constantly losing a signal got the best of her. We then went for a bike ride around the campground before it got dark. Once we got back home I started a fire to keep the flying insects away. The temperature was a very enjoyable 64 degrees and perfect for sitting around a fire. We just sat outside enjoying the ambience and glow of the fire. Around 9:30 we went inside to watch a movie. However, Gina got on the phone with Nicole for a little while then it was Facebook. I started the movie without her and watched it until I fell asleep in the recliner. She woke me up around 11:30 after she got off Facebook to say let’s go to bed.

Today was very relaxing and enjoyable watching the pelicans, anhingas, and candian geese. These sites were just unbelievable and is one reason for us living our dream of traveling to see things like this.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Enjoying The Serenity Of Nature

Sunday
September 27, 2009

This morning we woke up to a warmer morning. It was still nice but you could tell that it would be hot today. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together while I posted the blog entry and then it was time to get everything packed up for our departure today. Gina took care of the inside and I did the outside. I believe we had just about everything we carry with us setup outside. We had it all put in its place and was walking over to Mike & Leslie’s by 9:15. It was agreed last night that they would be cooking breakfast for all of us today. We were supposed to be there at nine o’clock but I wanted to make sure everything was packed up since I know it’s hard to leave friends. Gina had done most of the inside last night so the inside went pretty quick for her.

Mike Cooking Those Wonderful RV-Dreams Pancakes

Mike was pouring the pancake batter on the griddle when we arrived. We sat down to eat just a few minutes later. Breakfast tasted great and it was a wonderful treat for Gina and I getting on the road.

Here's Everyone Eating

We had to say our goodbyes or more accurately we said we would see them down the road somewhere. Gina and I are very thankful to Mike & Leslie for such a wonderful breakfast.

One Last Group Photo


The Girls, Sherri, Gina, and Leslie


The Boys, Mike, Joe, and Myself


The Girls Acting A Little Sassy

Gina and I had a wonderful time with our RV-Dreams family members. I am so thankful for Howard and Linda from RV-Dreams for putting some very special people in our lives. Their website has given us an opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and has made this fulltime lifestyle so great! We pulled out of our site and headed for the dump station around 11:30. I thought there would be a line waiting to dump. However, there was no one there. Before I could get the first tank emptied there were four vehicles waiting behind me. The last one was Joe & Sherri. When Gina saw Sherri she put her computer down and got out to visit with Sherri one last time. After we finished emptying our tanks we told Joe & Sherri bye and headed for the interstate.

We were going to stop west of Oklahoma City in El Reno but the drive was going great so we continued on. We arrived at Coon Creek Cove Campground around six o’clock after driving 293 miles. The gate attendant just told us to go pick a site and come back. We chose site 33 and the views are fantastic.

Our View & Site


Another Angle of Our Site


We Both Agree That This is A Wonderful Site

We got backed in to our site and then rode our bikes up to the gate to let them know our site number and to pay. After which we headed back home so Gina could heat up the remaining taco soup for dinner. I got the DirecTV satellite going pretty quick while Gina was on Facebook. Around eleven o’clock we went to bed. We both agreed that we were glad that we decided to continue driving and come here.

Monday
September 28, 2009

I woke up this morning and put the coffee on. While the coffee was brewing I walked outside to check out the cool 53 degree temperature and I could not believe what I was seeing. While I was in the Navy seeing the world I had seen a lot of scenes that could have been as if I was looking in National Geographic magazine. I was so excited by what I was seeing that I ran inside and woke Gina up to come outside. There were so many white pelicans that it was unbelievable. Gina and I just stood there like we were in a trance. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

The Gathering of White Pelicans


There Were So Many Of Them


They Were Everywhere


Absolutely Breathtaking


They Kept Coming and Going

After about an hour of watching them we went back inside and fixed our first cup of coffee. We then went back outside in our lawn chairs enjoying the views and sounds of nature. Gina was so excited that she hopped on Facebook and posted a couple of pictures so she could share the views with her friends.


We didn’t really have any plans today so we just relaxed. Our neighbor across from our site was leaving today and offered us some firewood. We said thank you and told him that we would get it after he left since we didn’t want to interfere with him loading up. So after they left we carried the firewood over to our site. We then decided to ride into Ponca City to mail a letter and while we were there I saw a Tractor Supply Store and had to stop. I didn’t need anything but I just like to look in stores like this. I didn’t find anything that I couldn’t live without. However, Gina found a pair of blue jeans that she liked so we bought them. We then headed back home and relaxed for a while.

Here They Are Gathering at Dusk

Gina heated up the remaining leftover Gumbo and baked some cornbread muffins for dinner. With our stomachs full and the temperature dropping we decided it would be the perfect setting for a campfire. We sat outside just relaxing and soaking up the warmth of the fire.

Our Night Time Setting With A Campfire


Gina Trying To Stay Warm

Around ten o’clock we headed inside and watched a little TV before heading off to bed.

This campground is amazing and it’s not because of the amenities. However, the birds and the views create such a peaceful setting. This is nature at its finest.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Girls Go Shopping and the Men Just Relax

Saturday
September 26, 2009

Gina and I enjoyed another beautiful morning here at Hickory Creek Park. The weather has been so nice during our stay here. It has been heating up the last two days but still nice. I decided to fry some bacon this morning for a bacon sandwich.

Here I Am Frying Bacon

However, my lovely bride wanted scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese mixed in it. While I was frying bacon I had to laugh at Gina as she was telling her goose friends goodbye.

Here I Am Laughing At Gina Saying Bye To Her Geese


Gina's Geese (at least since she has been here)


Angel & Zoey have that look "Can We Come Out And Play"

Gina and I ate breakfast outside and the eggs with bacon & cheese tasted great.

As soon as we finished Gina hopped into the shower. The girls decided last night that they were going shopping today. It didn’t take her no time at all to be dressed and waiting on Sherri to arrive.

Gina & Sherri (I sure hope they don't spend too much)

Gina then left with Sherri and I walked over to our neighbor’s house to look at his inflatable boat and trolling motor that he was selling. I believe that it was a good deal but not really the boat I was looking for. At first I thought he was missing some pieces but after riding my bike over to Joe’s and looking at his boat I realized he wasn’t missing anything. Rather he just didn’t know how it all went together. Thanks Joe for pulling your boat out for me to look at it. After that I visited with Mike and Joe until Gina called me to ask me about what size shirt that I wear. So with that I left Joe’s and rode back down to our house to look at one of my shirts. I then rode back down to Joe’s and visited with him some more. Mike had left to go take a nap and Joe ate some lunch. I got online trying to figure out where we were going tomorrow. I have a couple of possible campgrounds so we’ll just have to see how far north we get tomorrow. The girls called around five o’clock and said they were on their way home. Once they got home we all piled into Joe’s truck and headed off to Camping World. I wanted to buy a book titled “Camping with the Corps of Engineers”. Joe has one and I really liked it and I just had to have one. While there I also picked up another book called “Free Camping”. After that we were all hungry and decided that we would spend our last night together by going out to eat. We let Sherri pick the restaurant since this is her stomping ground.

Christina's Mexican Restaurant


Got the Waiter to Take One Last Picture of Us All Together


Joe & Sherri


Mike & Leslie


Me and My Lovely Bride

She chose a Mexican restaurant called “Christina’s”. The food was excellent and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Great Choice Sherri.

From there we headed to Academy Sports.

Gina Just Had To Stop Us
(This is the look of two men being interrupted while on a mission)

Joe needed to buy two more oars for his boat. Since I was there I bought another fishing rod & reel. It’s not like I don’t have enough of them but I wanted a 4’ 10” utralite rod for trout fishing. From there we headed home. Joe & Sherri dropped us off and Gina commenced to getting our house ready for traveling. I just sat back and watched a little TV before I was sleeping in my recliner. I’m not sure what time Gina woke me up and told me to go to bed but I promptly obeyed her and got into bed. I know I didn’t really do anything today but I was tired. This fulltime traveling is such a hard life. Just kidding, Gina and I are having the time of our life traveling.

Gina and I both enjoyed another wonderful day with friends. Tomorrow will be a happy and sad day for us. Happy because we will be off to explore another area of this magnificent country we call home. However, we will be sad because we will have to say bye to our friends. Joe & Sherri will be heading south and Mike and Leslie will be staying another day and then slowly making their way to Kerrville for the RV-Dreams rally.

Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.