Computers!

I am breaking in a new computer and don't have all my picture files moved. My Averatec, 2 1/2 years old is burning up. I actually burned up a "cool mat" with it and got another, but it is heating up so much after an hour or so that it shuts itself off. Averatec's customer service said, "Sorry, it's out of warranty." No discussion of where I could take it, etc., to get it fixed. . . so I told them I wouldn't buy another piece of crap from them. . . I would go buy a good computer. I truly am not sure one exists. I liked the Averatec because it was very small and didn't weigh much, but I guess I sacrificed for that. It just didn't have room to exhaust much air and I wanted to quit using it before I lost data.

In other news, I am fighting cellulitis in my leg for the third time since March. This time it is down at my ankle. More painful than before and my ankle is swelled. Was to the doctor yesterday. Will see how it goes with the meds.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Back in the Land of Taxes!

Terry subbing for Dale.


We're back at Elkhart Campground in Elkhart, Indiana, arriving yesterday (Sunday) after an uneventful 2 day trip from Virginia. We like the campground here since it's the closest to the apartments, plus a lot of our travelling friends hang out over here, when in the area.

We'll be here waiting for two weeks working on getting an empty apartment rented and getting the house back in order after new flooring in the kitchen in Goshen. South Dakota is on our list for late in the month to tie up some questions on our trust and a visit to our home state.

While in Virginia had spent four days at Misty Mountain Campground near Crozet, VA to be close to Jossie, Tom and Ronan. Close means 12-15 miles in this case, so it usually meant trip to town then back to feed the Scotties dinner and back to town in the evening.

Tom is growing a beard, since he now has started his family with the birth of Ronan in the true Amish tradiation of Jossie's ancestors on her mom's side.

Ronan is growing fast, holding his head up, smiling, cooing and testing his lungs on occasion. Dale spent much of our time in Pigeon Forge buying up outfits at the three Carter's outlets, needless to say Ronan won't have to be a nudist at this point in his life. I must admit that I added 3 more outfits to her dozen or so while Dale was getting her hair done at the Charlottesville Mall. The final layout on the kitchen remodel at Jossie and Tom's has been set, now all I need is a few answers from Ikea on fillers and the like. Our next trip to Charlottesville should be in late August for this project..

I'm off early for an oil change at Wally World for the Sport Track, then to Goshen for some yard work.

Till next time. . .

Terry

Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg

Boy is it hot. . . and has been for several days. We spent last week in Red Bay, Alabama, getting work done on Phaeton Place. The work was completed mostly in two days, then we waited on the electricians to work on the King Dome and then do the refrigerator service. We renewed friendships of people we had met there before. It’s almost like a reunion when you go there. In fact, we parked right next to people we were parked next to the last time we were there. Imagine that. We also made some new friends and we all share information on campgrounds and restaurants. We met another couple going full time who lived in northern Indiana, so we got to know them.

We left Friday morning and were going to drive half way to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but gave that up after looking at two campgrounds. One was on the side of a hill, and if we had stepped out of the coach, well. . . let’s just say that first step would be a lu-lu. So we drove on. The next place wasn’t much better, so we broke our cardinal rule of 2-2-2 and drove on into Pigeon Forge. We called ahead and got a campsite. It’s a Passport park, but not on the weekends, but the owner said he would split the difference with us, so it is costing $20/night for 50 Amp FHU. Not too bad for this tourist trap. It’s a level site and away from the hustle and bustle of Highway 441. This is called Walden Creek Campground and right next door is Creekside Campground, also a Passport park. This road is right off Wears Valley Road, but you don’t want to go on past the two campgrounds because it is a mountain road. We went out that way with the SportTrac yesterday. That was fine, but it would be a bit scary in the motorhome.

We have been doing a little shopping, mainly at the Carter’s outlets here (there are 3). Since we are leaving here tomorrow and going to Virginia to see the kids and Ronan, decided we couldn’t go empty handed. Ho ho. We went up to Sevierville this morning and shopped a little as well, but it was so crowded and hot that we went out for lunch and then came back to watch the Nascar race. For those of you who haven’t been here for awhile, basically the road from the Interstate (I-40) is built up now on both sides with shops, tourist traps, and venues. There are more and more musical venues, like Branson, starting north of Sevierville on down to Pigeon Forge. I would say from I-40 to the start of the Smokey Mountain National Park, there is mostly entertainment. All kinds of activities, hotels, condos, campgrounds, restaurants, shops, etc. Then going on the parkway over to Gatlinburg there is nothing until you get to Gatlinburg, which is mostly shops but now there is a large aquarium and a Ripley’s, etc. Not as much entertainment as you will find in Pigeon Forge, but a lot more shops. I think we may go back over there tonight.

Traffic was very bad this morning, but a lot of people were leaving, as northbound traffic was much worse. This afternoon I was out for a bit and it wasn’t quite as bad. Tomorrow should be a good time to leave.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Phaeton Place is home again!

We are back in Red Bay, Alabama, birthplace of Phaeton Place. We arrived this morning in anticipation of getting the rig washed and in place in time to watch the Nascar race. We didn't need to be in such a hurry. It is 4:15 p.m. now and the race has just started, having been rain delayed for 2 hours. We had an appointment, so we go into Bay 2 at 7 a.m. Hopefully after a couple days we will be on our way, which will take us to Charlottesville, Virginia, to see Ronan, our 6 week old grandson. I can't wait to see him.

We had an enjoyable few days in Mississippi. We camp there at Piney Grove Campground at Bay Springs Lake. It is a nice camp, really busy with a lot of kids on the weekends but we have 50 amp there with water, so we are comfortable. Friday we drove the Natchez Trace over to Tupelo to get a few groceries and then stopped by Uncle Bob's later in the afternoon. We chatted with him for an hour or so, then headed home to the campground. The reunion yesterday was not as well attended as it has been in the past, but we still did get to see lots of relatives and catch up on what everyone has been doing in the past year. The food was great as usual and it was good to see everyone again.

We left in the afternoon and came home and spent time with the dogs and fed them supper, then headed back in to Shirley's to see her, Aunt Teen and Gary and Jo. Gary and Jo live in Louisiana and their place is always a stopping point for us on the way west in the fall and the way back east in the spring. Gary is a charter fishing captain and has several charters this week. He was anxious to get back fishing. They are building a house up on posts over the water at Leeville, Louisiana, and it looks like they will have it finished before long. If you want to go fishing, he promises you a great time. We have been there and plan to go back sometime. Check it out. . . Lewis and Harp . . . ask for Captain Gary.

We are settled in at Red Bay for the night and tomorrow will be getting coach work done.

Till next time. . .

Dale

One of my favorite places . . .

We arrived at Dale Hollow Lake, Obey River Campground, early this afternoon. We had rented storage here for our boat and jetski and for the last couple days have been driving separately towing both boats down here. Since we no longer live in Indiana, it just didn't make any sense to keep them there. We rented storage here at Sunset Dock and Marina which is where we have been coming the last several years.

We were surprised when we came across Lake Cumberland because it is down quite a bit. We learned later there is a problem with the dam and it may be 8 years before they get it redone or fixed or whatever. Dale Hollow, on the other hand, is way higher than we have ever seen it and there are some sites in the campground that are right now in the lake! They created some boat parking in one of the play fields because the parking lot is partially under water and the ramp and pier at the far end of the parking lot are pretty much unusable.

We did a lot of running around getting the things we use when we store our boat. . . moth balls and damp rid. And then we had to wash the jetski. Pulling it behind the motorhome just covered it in dirt and mud. But we got it all cleaned up and ready to put the cover back on. We also will be going to the courthouse tomorrow and getting the new Tennessee registration for the boats as we no longer wish to license them in Indiana. So it was a long day with a lot of running around for us, but it is almost done and the boats will be here in case we swing through sometime and want to go out on the lake.

Tomorrow morning we head toward Mississippi. We will be staying at Piney Grove Campground again on Bay Springs Lake. It is a nice lake and we have thought we might eventually bring our boats down there. The reunion is Saturday and so we will be able to visit with some family before. We always enjoy seeing everyone again.

Till next time. . .

Dale

On the road again . . .

My tooth, aka ex-tooth, is healing well and all the pain I have had with it over the past year is gone. Let that be a lesson. . . root canals do not always save teeth. I believe now that when I first damaged this tooth, I broke it; so there was no saving it no matter what they did to it. You cannot save a cracked tooth. The dentists don't want you to know that and will continue to treat, treat, treat until you finally say. . . enough is enough.

While we were in Goshen, we did manage to get a lot accomplished. We got the kitchen painted in the main house and got a new dishwasher. Took out the other appliances and got it ready for the new laminate floor to be laid. I hope it doesn't look too dark when it is all finished, but with the skylight, I think it will look good. We also plan to put a large rug and maybe some small runners in because our handicapped Scottie, Neal, cannot walk on slick floors.

We are currently south of Berea, Kentucky, at Renfro Valley Campground. We came here because we are towing both the boat and the jetski. They don't have any venues tonight, so their parking lot in front of the campground is empty, except for our boats. I am breathing a little easier tonight because I don't like driving separately. We don't ever drive too many miles or hours in a day, but I still like having my driving "partner" handy. I am driving the SportTrac and towing the Wellcraft boat. Terry is driving Phaeton Place towing the jetski. We are just 90 miles from the lake now. We are headed to Dale Hollow Lake to our newly rented storage bay at Sunset Dock near Byrdstown, Tenneessee. The last few times we have been there, we have been at Sunset Dock. We can rent a slip there for the boat and jetski and they have a COE park there where we camp for half price. The state dock where we used to go has never upgraded their dockage facilities and when they added their resort, we never were able to get a slip. In our youth, we used to put the boat in/out of the water every day, but now we prefer to put it in a slip.

We have really been busy the last few weeks at the house because we also had an apartment to get ready to rent. Most of the work there is done now and when we get back the main job will be to get a new tenant. Hopefully that will go quickly.

Till next time. . .

Dale