it's sh-nowing !

Not a lot .... but still, for a Houstonian, it's a big deal !

The Blue Ridge mountains are still blue .... even though they don't have a lot of green on them.
When we took our road trip up to Boone a couple of weeks ago, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway was still closed for winter. Someone told me they will remain closed until quite late because of the many tunnels ..... the tunnels are frozen inside and not safe for traffic.  Kinda like our bridges down south.

We are working on getting our landing built so that Bugsy will have a ramp to go up and down out of the motorhome.  He's 14 years old now and his "arf-ritis" is really bad .... one rear leg doesn't support him well; so we are carrying him up and down the steps almost all the time. 

More later,
Marilyn

we're here !

Made it to Marion, NC and to the RV repair place ... made some side trips during the 3 days the coach was being worked on.  One of which took us up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to Boone, NC... and we kinda got lost coming back. It was about 4 pm and the sun was setting, and the car said it was 27 degrees.... and we had some "twisty" mountain roads between us and back to the RV place ....... but we made it fine (but it definitely was a good 'adventure').
We are now in Hendersonville, NC (about 30 minutes south of Asheville), and will be here a month before moving back to the campground where we were last summer.
There is just nothing like these "blu-u-u-e  ridges". Even with the trees mostly bare, they are still beautiful. Actually it is more interesting because you can see the sides of the mountains and all the rock formations better without the leaves.

Later, Marilyn

ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum

I awoke this morning to the sound of hoofbeats..... just like in the old western movies .... only there were four beats to each "ta-dum" (four hoofs, you know).  I heard the first one go by, and fell back asleep. Then the second and third went by ... and then many more!  we were 'camped' in the parking lot of Delta Downs in Louisiana.

So, then today we came across I 10 to Gulfport, Mississippi..... and, on the road, we heard:  "ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum .......    only this was the sound of our tires banging over the construction joints in the older sections of  the roads with concrete pavement.  In our motorhome those joints just seem to be magnified; and all sorts of things rattle in the cabinets..... big things too.

So, we're just moving along.
Marilyn

On the road again !!

First nite out on our 2014 adventure..... made 93 miles, to Beaumont, TX !! wow.  We had some scheduled maintenance to see about at the Freightliner truck place.
So, we are excited to be on the road; we are out of practice, for everything!  But not to worry, we reverted to our trusty checklists we once had to use almost daily.
I'm sure it has nothing to do with age, but I find it easier to mix up which comes first in a task .... any task.
With the help of a good neighbor, we built a platform for outside the entry door to the motorhome. It will of course have steps down, but also 2 dog ramps: 1 removable one up into the coach, and 1 down from the platform to the ground.  The total rise from ground to motorhome floor is 50 inches, and the 2 older dogs have a real problem with the steep steps (they both have "arf-ritis").  We have to lift the smaller one up and down the steps an increasing number of times, especially in the mornings when he is very stiff.
But since we will be in one place for at least 6 months .... we'll use it now, and then see if we want to disassemble and transport it back to Houston for the winter.  It bolts together and fits pretty easily into the back of the SUV being towed (our "toad", as it's called).

I really enjoyed our "family of friends" and so many activities while at our homebase in Houston..... but we'll be back in November.
As for now, our immediate plan is to stop at one of our favorite camper repair places, in Marion, NC for a couple of days before arriving in Hendersonville, NC for a month ..... before reporting to our seasonal work place about April 15th. 
We will be at the same campground, probably in the same site, as last summer. We are looking forward to seeing friends there.

Right this moment we are sitting in a parking lot about 50 feet from the racetrack at Delta Downs. I think they're supposed to have races this evening ..... don't care about the races or gambling.... but I sure do love horses ! 
We were in such a "tizzy" getting out of Houston that I didn't even get to go to the Quarter Horse Show there at Reliant Arena !!! maybe next year.  Many years ago, John and I would go almost every day of the Cutting Horse Contests ....... I'm a cowgirl at heart.

I'm including a photo of the most recent watercolor paintings that Charlie and I have done.  We have painted a lot the last couple of months (we've been taking a class in Galveston every Saturday). I think we are definitely improving !

This is mine, of Bolivar Lighthouse ....... who likes a black lighthouse? .... I just took a little "artists' license" and made it blue.

 

This is Charlie's ..... of an old farmhouse in North Carolina that we came across.

 



On toward Mississippi.
Marilyn