Nice and quiet again!

Well, the camp filled up over the weekend and we were glad to see Sunday come. We are back down a lane and quite isolated from the other campers, but up on the hill a family with four children and a dog came in. Now to their little dog's credit, I did not hear it bark once. . . not even when the entire family took off and would be gone for several hours, leaving the poor little thing outside tied up to a tree. It had plenty of shade and did not appear to be distressed, but that should never have happened.

Yesterday morning while I was out with Neal I heard the mom yelling at one of the kids. Ah yes, that always bodes well at campgrounds. I have to say, however, we have managed to avoid screaming families since we quit attending a certain campout in northern Indiana in the spring. We certainly hate listening to it. At least this weekend, alcohol was not involved, so it wasn't as bad.

Now the weekenders are gone and we professional campers are doing our thing! We have beautiful weather today so we sat out this morning talking with neighbors and petting dogs. Terry continues to dish up some great items grilled on his new grill. He has searched and searched for the perfect grill. He finally settled on the Baby Q by Weber and really likes it. It is a bit heavy, so I made a waterproof cover for it and it can stay put now.

We will enjoy the lake here for another week before moving onto Nashville, then the family reunion in Mississippi.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Roll with the punches. . .

That's what ya' gotta' do. It just doesn't pay to get your blood pressure up. Yesterday started out bad and went downhill fast.

We planned to go out boating, so I got started making the bed. Hmmmmm. Seems it's a little easier tucking things in. . . TERRY!!!!!!! The bed sprung a leak! Sure enough, air was escaping. . . not a lot, but a leak nonetheless. So we stripped the bed, found the leak, and deflated it and threw it away. Grabbed the new "backup bed" from the closet, inflated it, and made it all up. Back in business.

Now, yes, we have an air bed. It's $19.88 at Target and they last about a year. So I keep one in the closet all the time. I've had a lifetime of back problems and tried every air bed out there including the extemely expensive Sleep Number Bed. I have to tell you, I was so disappointed in that system. Primarily because we considered it junk to begin with. . . two air mattresses, some foam, and a cover. Bingo. Oh yea, then the pumps that I had no place for. Anyway, it was not good for me. So we returned it under their 30-day money back guarantee. Yea, hahahahah. Try that. They tell you that but they don't want you to do that. I did finally get a credit, but I still had to pay a shipping fee both ways which I didn't get back. We experimented with others that we liked, but they didn't hold up more than a few months, so we finally bought a cheap air mattress. Works better than anything else we have tried. Cheap, does the trick, and easy to find.

Okay, so we got that taken care of and headed out on the lake. Boat was running beautifully so we headed out of the Obey River and onto the main water. Out there we saw an EAGLE! He was fishing. At one point he dove and grabbed a fish in his talons but dropped it about a foot off the water. He eventually moved on and I hope he got his fish somewhere else. He had a white head and white tail, so I believe that makes him a bald eagle. It was not possible to get a closeup, but I'm hoping you can see a little if this picture blows up.

We drove on and perused some of the docks we used to frequent. At Willow Grove we saw them taking a houseboat out of the water. Something must have been wrong because it looked like it was all decked out. On to Hendricks Creek and then on the way back I asked to stop at Sulphur Creek. We had not stopped at any of the other places, and as we pulled into a slip, the engine died. Tried to start it and all we got was a tell-tale click. A mechanic checked it out and determined it is the starter. And of course, ours is a hybrid engine and no one stocks parts for it. What's worse, we were 20 miles from camp by water and 35 miles by land. But, the wonderful mechanic said he would take us home in his truck if we waited till he quit at 4:30. So we got home around 5:45. Neal was sitting with his legs crossed, but he managed to wait till we got him out the door. He is a good boy.

So this morning we went to our storage garage and got the trailer and drove the hour and a half back to Sulphur Creek and the mechanic there towed our boat around. We are really thankful for that because there was one large expanse of water we didn't know how we were going to traverse. We loaded the boat and brought it back to our storage bay. The mechanic there believes he has a part for it, so when he gets it changed out, we will be good to go.

UPDATE ON MOOGIE'S

Moogie's had been for sale for a couple years. Sunset Dock finally bought it and tore it down. There are no plans to rebuild it. Sunset Dock has a very nice restaurant and is now offering an expanded menu.

The park has been virtually empty this week. That has all changed today. Campers are rolling in by the dozens. I'm surprised they are still coming as I would think all the sites are filled. We are snug in our "special" site back about 150 feet off the road, no one beside us, no kids running through our camp, and no noise. Very peaceful.

Till next time. . .

Dale

We had visitors today!!!!!!

Yep, they came right up to our campsite midmorning for the daily handout. Perhaps the campers on this site before us fed them as this is the second group to arrive. Today mama duck came with 10 little ones. I was amazed to see so many. Usually there aren't that many survivors! But these were cuties and would peep at me. They came very close, but wouldn't eat out of my hand.

We got the boat on the water today. We sure do get out of practice. Hah. But she started up and we went out for a spin. It was glorious. It was certainly a lot hotter on the water than I had anticipated. The sun was very bright and the water was beautiful.

We made it back to the dock and rented a slip for the time we are here. It is so much easier having a place to tie it up every night when we come in. Years ago we put the boat in and took it out every day, but no more. We go the easy way. The sky started to cloud up and the owner of the dock said storms were moving in. There was thunder, so we decided to put the boat up for the night. We took the trailer back to the storage barn and came back home. It never did rain. We are certainly enjoying kicking back this week and relaxing.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Another one bites the dust. . .

Oh my gosh! MOOGIE'S IS GONE!!!!!!

Obituary. . .

Moogie's is gone. Everybody that visited Dale Hollow Lake knew about Moogie's. Moogie's was a great place to come and relax after a hard day on the Lake. It was fun for everyone in Moogie's Karaoke Bar and Moogie's offered some of the finest food to be found on Dale Hollow Lake in its casual dining room.

Moogie's has been bulldozed down and all that's left are the memories of the visits you made there.

There appear to be no survivors.

RIP Moogie's

Till next time. . .

Dale

Dale Hollow Lake, 2009!

Here we are on site 63, best site in the place. We arrived yesterday and are here for 2 weeks. We certainly don't wish to overstay our welcome because apparently they take drastic action if you aren't out on time. . . . This would make anyone want to leave.

Okay guys, they're late leaving . . . send in the vultures.

Note: I don't know why that picture won't enlarge. I've done it three times and all sizes. It just won't do it. Sorry. They were huge birds and about two dozen in number.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Will you be my friend?

We have had a rough few weeks with Neal. He has had some physical symptoms which we had to seek vet care for, but nothing seems to be wrong physically. We finally ruled everything out and have attributed his problems to depression and anxiety over losing his brother and best friend, Bailey.

Those of you who know my two dogs knew that there was not much interaction between the two. Neal, with his brain disorder, got to the place where he couldn't walk much and Bailey, the toy nazi, never shared any of the toys we bought them. So there really were no activities they were able to do together. Bailey was such a loner and probably viewed Neal as a nuisance to be tolerated. Both were rescues. Bailey's first three years were tied to a dog house. Neal was in a home with another Scottie. So Neal was used to companionship and apparently Bailey was more of a companion to him than we realized. They were always together when we left to go somewhere and at night, pinned up in different ends of the x-pen inside the motorhome. . . each with his own cushion and water bowls to separate them. They lived comfortably like this since we started full-timing four years ago.

That is all changed now and we all are learning to cope. We think Neal is finally starting to heal emotionally.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the FMCA camp in Cincinnati for two nights. Only three rigs in here and one couple has a Westie. A Westie named Bogart, or Bogie for short. They had had a Scottie as well. I went over to meet Bogie and they wanted to meet Neal so we carried him over. Bogey and Neal were an instant hit. Course, Bogie wanted to play and Neal isn't much for playing, but they certainly became acquainted with one another and Neal seemed pleased. Bogie just couldn't resist putting a paw on Neal's shoulder as if to say, "Will you be my friend." It was very cute.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Meet my newest Granddog, Whiskey!

It has not been a good month for our family, dog-wise. First my granddog Jericho died of kidney failure, then little Bailey met him at the Rainbow Bridge, a victim of heart failure. My vet tells me we have improved the lives of our pets so much that they are now dying of the same diseases their humans do. How wonderful and sad all at the same time. He assures me the one big difference is that we can choose to end our wee ones' suffering which I have had to do too many times.

So on the good news front, Jocelyn, Tom and Ronan have added Whiskey to their home. Whiskey is a standard chocolate poodle who was dumped in the overnight pen at a shelter in Kentucky. His hair was long and matted and he has some scars on him, probably from his life on the run. He was turned over to a German Shephard rescue who cleaned him up, neutered him (ouch), and cut his hair. . . SHORT! But it will grow out. He is now home in Virginia with the family and enjoying his fenced in yard and his warm home. Ronan has been trying to get Whiskey out to "run" with him today. Whiskey isn't quite certain what to make of all this, but he will find his niche and fit in nicely.

And, of course, when they come next month, they will bring Whiskey with them!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rally Time at Camp Pull-Tab!

This is the time of year when we normally put on a rally at the Elkhart Campground. It has been a great success and year after year we always had more rigs coming. We opted not to do it this year. We always billed it as the "first campout of the season" and once our grandson was born in April, it made it harder for us to keep it the same weekend. We would much rather spend as much time as we like with Ronan and his parents.

SO, after we left Virginina, we opted to pass through Ohio and celebrate the time with two of our favorite people, Tab and Deanna. They always have the welcome mat out and we can always count on two other things as well. . . food (this time prepared by Tab and Deanna) and ICE CREAM! They took us to Springfield to the Marble Slab Creamery. Boy was that good! Thanks to two very special people. A very special little "mini rally."

From there, it was back to Summit Lake Campground in our old stompin' grounds. Two of my colleagues retired, so I wanted to attend their celebration and wish them well. It was great fun and we shared a lot of laughs. I got to see many teachers I once saw every day. We also got another invite to join some former neighbors at Texas Roadhouse in Muncie. What fun that was. We haven't seen these friends just to sit and talk for years. When we left the Roadhouse, we went to Richard's Restaurant and enjoyed coffee and just talked till the restaurant closed.

On Sunday we visited with friends Dave, Mark and Joyce and had dinner. Dave fixed up a chicken pot pie (one of my favorites) along with a few other goodies including fresh cookies. Terrific! I once again got my "black Scottie" fix with their Baxter, now seven months old. He is such a cutie. But I also spent some time at the camp visiting with two demure Scottie lassies. I saw them soon after they arrived and had to go over to pet them. Imagine my surprise when the dogs' owner turned out to be a woman who used to work at my school. I knew she had Scotties and I often wondered about them when we were in the area.

We have now been in Goshen at the fairgrounds since last Monday. It has been a busy week because I had a dental appointment and we had several "landlord" items to take care of. We have a wedding in the family next weekend and I wanted a new dress for that. I was able to find what I wanted, plus the shoes as well. So I am all set.

Here at the fairgrounds, the Holiday Rambler Pusher rally has just ended and now the Monaco rally is starting. They have 13 rallies here at the fairgrounds, plus the big fair in July. At least there are a lot of people around. We are not at the Elkhart Campground just yet, because two bridges we could cross to get there are all torn up. Traffic is a bit of a bear so we came here instead. When we get back from Florida in July, we will be at the Elkhart Campground, however, because of the rally schedule here.

I just had to add a picture of Neal stylin' in his new coat.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Brief Update on Neal

We took Neal to his regular vet on Thursday and he took a couple xrays. There were NO blockages which we were glad to hear, since his symptoms seem to point that way. There really was nothing out of the ordinary, so it is a bit of a mystery. The vet decided to do a barium x-ray, so sent us home with the barium to feed Neal. Not to worry there. It was cherry flavored and Neal would have drank the entire bottle. Hah! We went back Friday morning for the x-ray and everything was normal. He is acting better now and all systems seem to be working smoothly, so the vet decided there was no need to go further. Not quite sure what the problem was, but it seems to have passed and he is not in any danger.

So that is good news, and Neal is back to being his old, cranky, pampered self.

Till next time. . .

Dale