BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!

Friday, August 17 - Well, we've gone and done it! We bought a house.

When we began full-timing, we committed to living on the road for at least two years. Well, it's been three years, and we've decided to become “Part-Timers.” We don't intend to stop traveling. We still have a daughter in Houston, TX, we plan on seeing frequently, and we have places we want to see and people we want to visit all over the country. We just felt the time was right to move in another direction. Time to slow waaaaay down!

Backyard is nice a large.

Our plan is to sell our Tiffin Phaeton and downsize to a trailer in the near future. We'll use the trailer to escape the cold Ohio winters and travel about six months a year. If anyone is looking for a wonderful 2005 Tiffin Phaeton diesel pusher, that has served us well over the past three years, we have just the vehicle for you and you certainly won't be disappointed.

We both had some reservations about buying a house, but felt the time was right to slow down and give “Part-Timing” a try. With interest rates at all-time lows, and it being a buyer's market, it wasn't a hard decision to make. We both knew we wouldn't be full-time RV'ers for ever and thought we would start the process of home shopping. Little did we know we would find a well-priced house so quickly.

A scary moment when we signed the contract. Yes, that wallpaper will come off…and fast!

Being “part-timers” or “snowbirds” seems like a comfortable compromise for us. We can spend some summer months in the Canton, Ohio, area with our daughter, Kelly, family and friends, and then escape the snow in the winter months to visit our other daughter, Carrie, in Houston. Mix in some trips to places around the country we still want to see and we should be happy!

So another lifestyle change has begun. Wish us luck!

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

ANCHORS AWAY!

Sunday, August 12 – We spent today on a sailboat! Our first ever sailboat adventure.

Our daughter, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Dave spend many summer weekends on the sailboat that Dave's parents own on nearby Atwood Lake. They invited us to spend today with them on their boat.

Our First Mate, Jackie, took us out to sea with Captain, Dave, looking on.

We began our day with a short tour of the Atwood Lake Yacht Club. What an impressive place. They have a swimming pool, restaurant, and tavern. They even brew their own beer in their micro-brewery.

We then walked down to the docks to see the sailboats and meet up with Dave's parents – Dave Sr. and Jackie. They have a beautiful 30 foot sailboat. We don't know a thing about sailboats, but we sure thought it was a pretty nice boat.

Take special note of the sign men.

The DiCato's sailboat named the Unless. (Long story on the name.)

The Club was having a race this afternoon, but we were not involved. This was just a pleasure trip.

We used the motor to move out of the dock area and into the main lake. Then it was time to set the sails and catch the wind. How cool.

Everyone chips in to make a very smooth ride.

We got moving pretty fast and even leaned the boat into the wind. Pretty interesting. Marsha wanted nothing to do with the boat tipping – she got down on the floor (or is that the deck....LOL)

After several hours on the lake, we headed back to the docks. The yacht race was ending, so we decided to head for the Clubhouse and enjoy the captains' bragging about their boats and consume a few beverages with the crews.

The lake is lovely.

Dave and Kelly

Thanks Dave and Jackie. It was a great day on the lake, and we sure enjoyed our first sailboat experience. Now if we could just sell our motor home, we could sail the Great Lakes in our new sailboat...ha ha!

Our sign for the day.

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

CLEAN-UP OLD HEADLIGHTS & VISIT GOOD FRIENDS

Wednesday, August 8 – Many of you may remember that Paul polished the motor home headlights several years ago when they became cloudy.

Well, they have clouded up again so Paul used the 3M Headlight Kit he purchase at Harbor Freight, two year ago, to re-polish the headlights.

A little masking tape to prevent an accidental scratching on the nearby paint.

The Kit consists of a sanding disc with interchangeable Velcro-backed sandpaper. You begin by using a 500 grit disc to sand away most of the clouding.

It's a little scary when you sand the entire headlight to an opaque finish.

Next you use progressively finer discs (800 grit and 1200 grit) to smooth away the plastic headlight covering. Once that is complete, you finish up by using a foam pad with rubbing compound to re-establish a shine.

A little water helps with the final buffing.

When the lens cover is shining “like new” it's a good idea to give it a coat of wax to protect it as long as possible from future clouding. It seems like a process that needs repeating every couple of years.

It's a pretty simple process and the kit is relatively inexpensive. So if your headlights are showing their age, give the 3M Kit a try. Paul thinks you'll be happy with the results.

JUST LIKE NEW!!

Besides taking care of the motorhome, we have been visiting with family and friends. We visited with a former teacher and good friend, Red, at his home. Red has a huge garden that he give tender-loving care to daily.

There will be NO weeds in my garden…Red's motto.

He shared a few zucchini with us and in return Marsha gave him a loaf of her delicious Zucchini Bread.

Red standing by his tower of pole beans.

We spent a couple of hours talking and laughing about old and new times.

One evening we met with our good friends, Stephanie and John. We have been friends with them since our daughter, Kelly, and their daughter, Julie, were in middle school together. The two girls played softball and soccer together in high school and on traveling teams during middle school and high school. We met for dinner and again talked the night away.

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