HOT PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT

Monday, March 28 – They are working on the campground driveway today. We've been notified that if we want to leave or use our cars, we should move them prior to the start of the grading process. We've moved our car to the paved parking area.

Before…a few large pot holes.

The grading process only took a couple hours. They graded the base, filling in the low spots.

Then a couple loads of gravel were brought in and spread over the entire area.

Paul heard later in the day that the Elks in charge of the process were not satisfied, and the job may need to be done over.

Much better.

Paul used a 3M product – Headlight Renewal – today that is suppose to remove the yellowing, clouding, and scratching appearance that comes to plastic headlight covers after a couple years of service.

Can you see the cloudy appearance?

It is a process of four different sanding discs used to actually sand the plastic covers, removing these defects in a fine sanding process.

IT WORKS ........ MAGNIFICENTLY!!!! A product Paul would recommend to others. A neighbor here at the Elks RV Campground told him about the product, and Paul purchased it at Harbor Freight. It is well priced on sale for $15 and is well worth it! Our headlights shine and look like new!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!!!

Saturday, March 26 – We went over to Kelly's apartment today to celebrate Paul's birthday. It's actually Sunday, but today is a better day to get together with our daughters. We sat by the pool and visited for several hours. Kelly’s friend brought her new little puppy over to visit us.

Gizmo

This little sweetie wanted to give him a hug, but Gizmo wanted to give her kiss instead.

We watched some NCAA basketball (March Madness), had dinner (Salmon on the grill. Marsha had a new recipe for a sauce. YUMMY!), birthday cake, and played a couple games ( Farkle and Rats). The birthday boy began nodding off a little after ten o'clock, so it was time to head home. We had an great day with the girls.

How many candles are on that cake?

Sunday, March 27 – HAPPY BIRDAY TO PAUL. Yep another year has come and gone. Last year at this time he was recovering from his back surgery. What a difference a year makes. No big plans that he knows of but Marsha said she had some plans for later today. Sounds INTERESTING!

TENTATIVE TRAVEL PLANS:

We finally came up with some TENTATIVE PLANS for our next couple of months travel. Here's what we've PENCILED in for the summer. CAUTION.....these plans are done in pencil and could, and most likely will, change several times!

Segment I – April through June

1. Livingston, TX

2. Frisco, TX

3. Oklahoma City, OK

4. Eureka Springs, AR

5. Branson, MO

6. Mountain Home, AR

7. Mountain View, AR

8. Little Rock, AR

9. Hot Springs, AR

10. Murfreesboro, AR

11. Shreveport, LA

12. Stafford, TX

Segment II – July through September

13. Kinder, LA

14. Bay St. Louis, MS

15. Foley, AL

16. Red Bay, AL

17. Kentucky Bourbon Trail

18. Cincinnati, OH

19. Canton, OH

20. Gettysburg, PA

21. Gaffney, SC

22. Augusta, GA

23. Charleston, SC

24. Amelia Island, FL (if brother John is there)

25. Destin, FL

26. Bay St. Louis, MS

27. Kinder, LA

28. Stafford, TX

If any of you will be in any of these areas, let us know. We would really enjoyed meeting up with you for a long happy hour.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you back real soon. Have a great day!

WATCH OUT FOR THE GIANT ARMADILLO!!!

Monday, March 21 – We went to the Washateria this morning. Boy did Marsha have clothes to wash......been awhile since we did laundry.

Once that chore was completed, we cleaned up and went shopping for Marsha's new glasses. We had hoped to get them in Mexico this winter but Progresso, MX, did not really have the optical places like we saw in Algodones, MX, last winter. We ended up at Eye Masters which was having a buy one, get one free sale. Not sure if this is really a sale or a scam to get you to buy glasses from them. We were happy with the selection and price.

Marsha then finished her second basket. She made it for Paul to put combs, change, etc.... in on his dresser. It took her all of two days to make.......WOW!

Tuesday, March 22 - Marsha had a doctor's appointment this morning for a check-up. On the way home, we did a little sightseeing. First stop was the giant 50 ft. Saxophone. It is made up of a Volkswagen, car parts and for good measure a couple of kegs. It is so large an entire VW is in it! YIKES!

Can you see how little Marsha looks next to it?

The next stop was the armadillo. The giant 20-ft-long stainless steel-plated armadillo (with longhorns!?!) sits outside Goode's Armadillo Palace on Kirby. His eyes glow red, and smoke pours out his nostrils. This place was packed! We weren’t hungry, but everyone says it is the place to go for BBQ.

Wednesday, March 23 - Paul scrubbed the roof of the MH this morning. It wasn't too dirty but he wanted to do it now so he could check any needed caulking before heading into rainy areas this summer. Everything looked in good shape up there! Of course since all that dirty soapy water ran down over the MH he had to wash the entire thing.

He also “equalized” the batteries. This is a new procedure for him and with the help from one of the neighbors he did it for the the first time. This is something that should be done occasionally, so he added it to his maintenance list. After equalizing, he topped off the water and cleaned up the batteries and storage compartment with baking soda and plenty of water.

Thursday, March 24 - Paul cut out more basket bottoms this morning. This is kind of a “redo” of the ones he cut out for Marsha a month ago in Mission, TX. At that time, she wanted the holes – thousands of them – drilled pretty close together. Now she wants them farther apart.....I guess ladies are allowed to change their minds......LOL

We've experienced an internet issue lately. A fellow parked here at the Elks mentioned to Paul the other day that he has a computer program capable of breaking into secured internet sites. He bragged about knowing our security codes. We also noticed that our Verizon usage has recently spiked, setting records for usage that we never experienced before. So we've shut down our Verizon air card and are using the SLOW WIFI available through the Elks Lodge.

The Elks Lodge is filled to capacity tonight. There is even a MH from Alaska parked in the gravel on the one side of us! On our other side is a couple from NC that are returning from spending the winter in Mexico. They spend every winter in Southern Mexico and are quite the fishermen....some great pictures of really BIG fish. The interesting thing about meeting them is their cat. It is a 30 pound Bengal Cat (that's right....30 lbs.). It is amazingly beautiful. It does tricks like a dog. It shakes hands, begs, rolls over, and sits up! Instead of fur it has a pelt like a beaver or other wild animal. It is only eight generations removed from the wild with dark green searching eyes. Beautiful!

We had an impromptu Happy Hour on our patio this evening. People just sort of settled around to tell stories of their days on the road. We sat out and talked until dark, and as the air began to cool we headed to our respective homes. It was an enjoyable evening with a group of new friends.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

RODEO HOUSTON…YEE HAW!

Friday, April 18 – We went “Rodeo Houston”. We watch the rodeo and a concert by Alan Jackson. Tonight Alan Jackson will sing to his one millionth concert goer. We're not huge Alan Jackson fans even though we listen to country music.

We parked off site and rode the train to the Reliant Center to avoid the traffic. We were cutting things close because Carrie, our youngest daughter, was returning from Chicago. She travels as an Exxon employee. Our plan of avoiding traffic didn't work....US-59 was PACKED.....what a mess.

The 79th edition of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ended on a record-breaking run, with 2,262,834 in total attendance. The Rodeo is the largest in the country. Now you can understand why all the traffic. 

But Carrie was sitting in the airport.....her flight arrived late....surprise, surprise, surprise. Kelly was already at the parking garage, so we decided to move on and meet Carrie at the Rodeo. Thank goodness, Kelly knew where and how to find the train station. The train ride was awesome. We really like mass-public transportation in big cities.

We arrived at Reliant Stadium, along with thousands and thousands of other people. Since Paul and Kelly's birthdays are coming up in the next couple weeks, Carrie paid for the tickets......thanks girl! The seats were actually pretty good.....a little high, but as the commercial goes....”No bad seat in the house!” The stadium roof was closed, and the air conditioning was cooling things off nicely. And of course we had the huge screen TV's giving us up close views of the action, if needed!

View from our seats.

The rodeo was GREAT! We saw Tie Down Roping, Some pictures are enlarged from the zoomed in version of the original picture. They may be a bit fuzzy but not bad.

Bareback Riding. While we were looking at the TV, Carrie noticed something on this cowboy’s helmet.

I zoomed in and there as big as day is Chief Wahoo. Our Cleveland Indians mascot. GO TRIBE!

Team Roping. This was really exciting. Two cowboys…one had to rope the calf around the neck and the other had to catch a hind leg in a rope.

We also watched steer wrestling, bucking broncos, bull riding, barrel chases, and even Mutton Bustin’. That last event was hilarious. It involved little boys and girls, all dressed-up in their cowboy outfits, riding lambs.....bare back! It was sooooo cute! And a 5 year-old GIRL WON! Way to go.....girl!

Notice how all the sheep are running to the opposite end of the pen. They are trying to get away from the kids.

The Chuck Wagon race was fast and looked dangerous! They first had to work their way through the barrels, and then race around the track.

The last event was the Calf Scramble. Twenty-eight teenagers scrambled after 14 calves in the 4 acre arena of the Reliant Stadium. The teens that rope one of the calves received a $1,250 certificate to purchase a registered beef heifer or steer and will return to Houston next year to exhibit the heifer. All year long a record book is kept. Awards are given based on the records and scrapbooks kept, as well as scholarships. It was hilarious watching these kids chase these calves. They really had to work to rope them.

One lucky winner.

After the rodeo was the Alan Jackson Concert. They had set up a stage in the middle of the arena floor, and it even rotated around.....again, not a bad seat in the house.....especially with the Jumbotron TV's.

The concert was fabulous. He sang so many familiar favorites, and the crowd really enjoyed the show!

Even fireworks…inside…roof closed!

His last song brought the house down. He sang, “Where I Come From”, but put a twist on it and made it a Texan version.

We walked around a bit looking for the dance hall, but alas, we couldn't find it. So, we joined the crowd heading home. The train ride (free on rodeo weekend by-the-way) was packed, but everyone was enjoying the ride and we were soon back at the parking garage and on our way home. US-59 was open and moving freely. Instead of the 90 minute ride during rush hour, we were home in 20 minutes.

For those of you, like Marsha’s dad, that like to know what some of the livestock sold for at auction, get a load of these prices! Remember…these are kids selling to members of the community, be it private or commercial. Great job kids!

2011 Grand Champion Junior Market Steer
2011 Price: $350,000

2011 Reserve Grand Champion Junior Market Steer
2011 Price: $310,000

2011 Grand Champion Junior Market Lamb
2011 price: $200,000 (world's record)

2011 Grand Champion Junior Market Goat
2011 price: $100,000

If you can make it to Houston in the month of March, DO NOT miss the Rodeo/Livestock Show. Another one of those…Must See Events.

Can you tell that we had a great time?

Kelly, Marsha, Carrie, Paul

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

MOTOR HOME MAINTENANCE

Thursday, March 17 – Headed out on my morning bike ride, bright and early, only to have Marsha come flagging me down in the car. The RV Mobile Lube truck was here....EARLY....for my oil change appointment.

I had read about this company in Odel & Laurie's Blog, Semi True Tales of Our Life on the Road. They were happy with this service and so was I. The gentleman did what I felt was a wonderful job....changing my oil, filters, lubing the chassis, checking air pressure, checking oil in my wheel hubs, changing the generator oil and generator filters. He was here about two hours and did an outstanding job. They have offices/trucks in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio....check them out here: http://www.rvmobilelube.com

Dumping oil

His truck was well equipped.

Adding oil.

Greasing rear end.

Paul then did some work around the motor home, and Marsha started dying pine needles for her next pine needle basket. I wonder what shape and size she has plans for now????

Marsha purchased liquid clothes dye…dark brown. First, she had to soak the pine needles in warm water for ten minutes. She mixed it and placed some wet needles in a tin pan. Be sure to wear gloves and old clothes!

Something heavy needs to hold the needles down in the dye. She put some water in another tin pan and laid it on top. She left them this way for about 30 min.

She then rinsed them in cold water and laid them on a cookie sheet to dry.

Before and after….they did turn a dark brown. She was thrilled.

Friday, March 18 – Paul has another project! We've never been especially happy with the appearance of the MH front end. It has a protective coating of plastic manufactured by 3M that has proven unsatisfactory by MH owners. As a matter of fact, the product application has been discontinued by Tiffin. They now use Diamond Shield, which many owners praise but many are unhappy, as well. The problem with the 3M product is it is soft and therefore gets stone nicked and stains easily by the bugs splattered while driving. It is impossible to clean. Furthermore, after several years, mold begins to form between the shield and the paint.

The only solution is to remove it! The fear, of course, is while peeling it off, you may damage the paint......YIKES! That is what's kept Paul from attempting the removal procedure. After talking with a fellow Rver, parked next door, Paul has decided to give it a try. If the paint is damaged, I guess we'll get it painted.

Everything went AWESOME with the plastic film removal.

Only one little goof-up, the rest looks like new.

The word Phaeton was glued over top of the coating. It was very easy to remove.

Paul is soooooo happy with the results.

This is the same spot as in the second picture above. Pretty amazing change.

Before


After

Once the protective coating was removed, there was some glue residue. We purchased 3M Adhesive Remover which worked amazingly. It just melted that residue away.

He then polished the front.

Like new.

Hopefully it will hold up to the abuse of bugs and stones being thrown up from the road. Eventually, Paul figures the front end will need painting.....hopefully a few years down the road.

We're heading to the Houston Rodeo tonight with our two daughters. We will report on that event in our next blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!