Mazatlan, here we come!

We had a great time in Montgomery [just north of Houston] with Ed & Connie during the week of Thanksgiving! The sun was shining almost every day and it was around 80F until a couple of days ago. Seems a cold front managed to find us even here, way down south . . . brrrrrrr. Even so, the sun is shining and while it's a bit chilly, it beats snow and rain. No matter, we'll be warming up in Mazatlan in a couple days...

Thanksgiving was spent eating turkey dinner at the clubhouse where Ed & Connie live. It was so nice not to have to cook or clean up, but to just sit and eat to our heart's content while enjoying the company of our friends. The food was really quite good [that's an understatement] and as usual, we ate too much! Should've skipped dessert but this is the one day a year where we don't hold back! I went to bed mighty early that night, could not keep my eyes open!

The Sunday after Turkey Day, we headed back to Nacogdoches to square away some things [more on that later]. Today we were on Tornado watch for awhile but it seems to have passed and without the 1.5" hail that was supposed to happen. We are so relieved, hail and RVs are not a good mix!

We left Gabbi behind and she kept Ed & Connie's dogs, Brisbane and Chelsea, company. Today, Kris and I went out to run some errands and I'm sure he's sorry he took me along. I discovered a wonderful clothing store and found a bunch of really cute things. He actually found several things for himself which helped take the heat off of me. The best part is everything was on clearance or at least half off. Never mind that we have run out of places to store things in the RV! Our dresser drawers are already bulging but there are always boxes and counter tops. I think this is a sure sign that we aren't meant to live full time in our RV like many of the folks we have met along the way. Some have actually sold everything and been roaming the country for over 10 years and love every minute of it. Me, I'm starting to hear the call of home. I told Kris when we get back from Mazatlan, I'm ready to head towards home!

We found out today that one of the motorcade trips we had signed up to do next year, Washington D.C., has been cancelled. As much as we would have loved to go there [neither of us have ever been there], we are somewhat relieved as we were feeling we might have overbooked ourselves next year. It's always disappointing when a motorcade is cancelled but we were trying to figure out how we were going to do it all. Now we have one less thing to worry about! There will be other opportunities to go to Wash. D.C. down the road.

Tomorrow, Kris and I will be heading back to Montgomery where all of the dogs will be going to a place called The Pet Resort while we head off to Mazatlan for two whole weeks! We are all so ready for that. Swimsuits and pool toys are packed. I promise more pictures are coming soon.

It's a beautiful day in Montgomery, Texas!

We spent all last week taking care of the necessary, but mundane affairs in life: laundry, house cleaning, bill paying, hair cuts, doctor appointments, dog grooming, etc.  It was a very busy week! I ordered a new pair of eyeglasses since mine were falling apart. I sure hope I'll be able to see better too... We enjoyed dinner in Lufkin at Tokyo Steakhouse [similar to Benihana] with Beverly from the Motorcade Club office with a luscious turtle cheesecake afterwards. Thanks Beverly!

Yesterday, we left Nacogdoches and headed south to Montgomery where we will be staying all week at the Lake Conroe/Houston North KOA. It's a huge campground with an indoor pool and even has a Kamp K9 which Gabbi loves. Shortly after we got here, Ed & Connie came over to the RV and after cocktails, we went to dinner at 7 Leguas not far from here. The restaurant is named after the horse ridden by Pancho Villa in battles during the Mexican Revolution. It was fun and oh my gosh, was it ever good! They have a deep fried avacado which I had never heard of before. I had to try it along with their stuffed poblano pepper...oh my! And they know how to make the best michelada! Next, we visited the Marble Slab Creamery! Need I say more? I'm starting to notice that I seem to talk about food a lot of the time. I'm also shocked I haven't gained any of the weight back that I lost over the summer. I weigh myself every day so it won't sneak up on me either!

It's a beautiful day here, a bit cloudy, but almost 80 degrees with a nice breeze! We're fixin' to mozy on over to Ed & Connie's for some home made beef stew and a long visit. We've missed them so much since they left Fall City but now we understand why they love it here so much! I'm trying to get into the Texan lingo. You know what they say, when in Rome... This is our third winter in Texas and each year we stay a little longer than the last. We're not looking forward to heading home anytime soon due to the weather reports we've been hearing for the Pacific Northwest area! This is one of the reasons we are enjoying the RV life as much as we are. We get to see our beautiful country and we have a home in every city we visit! It doesn't get much better than this, although I do miss my sewing room and I'm sure Kris misses his biodiesel factory! Who knows what the future will bring?

If I don't have a chance to blog before Thanksgiving, my hope is that you all have a wonderful day of giving thanks with your friends and/or families. We'll be joining Ed & Connie for turkey dinner at the clubhouse in the community where they live. They live in a gorgeous gated community which is on a golf course at Lake Conroe. We're all truly blessed.

Have a good one!

Ladies Driving School ~ Foretravel Factory, Nacogdoches, TX

I can tell you that I was NOT eager to go to ladies driving school! I put it off for over 7 years, which is how long we have owned a Foretravel RV. Before that Kris had a Winnebago which I also never had a desire to drive. He always wanted me to drive so he could get up and figure out where all the squeaks and rattles were coming from as we were driving down the road. I couldn't tell where they were, nor did they bother me, but they drive him crazy. I could never bring myself to get in the driver's seat. This is his [very expensive] baby, what would happen if I dinged it or worse, wrecked it? Well, as you all know, he wrecked ours last year and was pretty upset with himself. I decided I better at least know how to drive the thing in case something happened to him and I had to get it off the road or all the way home by myself. I always teased that I would just hire someone to drive it but that isn't really practical in an emergency situation. So here we are...

The first day of school was mostly getting acquainted with the other 24 ladies, about half of which had never driven before, just like me. I was so worried I would be be the only one who had NEVER driven! Next, we got an introduction to our motorhome by way of walking around it with our instructor pointing out what everything is for, inside and out. There is a whole lot to learn! Some of it I knew about, some of it I didn't. That evening, after dinner, we had mini remote control motorhome races! It was fun and helped everyone relax.

Another reason Kris wanted me to take ladies driving school is so that I could pass on to him the right way to do things that he might be doing wrong. Most, if not all, men are self taught and there are no classes offered for men here at the factory because men think they know everything already! Kris is not your typical man, he really wants to know the right way to do things. There were also some completely new RV owners in the class who had never driven an RV before and had purchased a Foretravel as their first RV. I think it's funny that their wives will know more than they do right off the bat!

The second day was spent all day in the classroom viewing slides and going through the book we were given. I was getting more nervous by the minute! The third day we would actually be getting behind the wheel and driving through four different obstacle courses with five ladies in each coach. I was so nervous I couldn't eat breakfast. We had the use of a new 36', 40', 42' and two 45' coaches and were assigned randomly to our instructors and coaches. OMG, I was assigned to a 45' coach! Ours is only 40'! I managed to be fourth in line to drive the course which helped a lot. Being able to watch the others first made it a lot easier. Our instructor, Jack, has a reputation for really challenging his students. And challenge me he did. After doing the slalom where you drive in and out of cones which were placed very close together, he had me back up through the same course! I was so relieved after I finished without running over a single cone! We also simulated backing into a campsite following the hand signals a spotter, driving up to a dump station and stopping at the proper area of the coach using mirrors and driving up to and backing up through a narrow gate. I was amazed at how well I did. I think it's because I do watch Kris very closely when he's driving.
  

The 45' coach I drove and it is for sale!



I wasn't quite as nervous on the fourth day, which would be our last, and we would be driving the highway loop around Nacogdoches, IN TRAFFIC, each of us for about 45 minutes at speeds from 55mph to 70mph. I could not believe how relaxed and laid back Jack was but then he's been teaching this course for about 11 years and I don't think anyone has ever crashed, lol. Still, I didn't want to go first! I wanted the benefit of watching others before me. Four ladies drove the loop before lunch which left only me. I would drive after lunch and I was getting nervous again. I really think it helped having the benefit of watching the others first. It seemed like a really long drive when the others were at the wheel but when I got in the driver's seat, it all went by pretty fast! Thank goodness! My only mishap was barely tapping the curb with my rear tires driving out of the parking lot. They call that a "curb check"... I was super nervous the whole time but now I know I can do it if needed!

That evening at our graduation dinner, all the ladies stood up to receive their graduation certificates. All of the five instructors made everything so much fun and relaxing throughout, and all the ladies were smiling at the end of Ladies Driving School [unlike at the beginning]! 



The history of Foretravel
http://www.foretraveloftexas.com/

 

Safe and Sound in Nacogdoches!

We arrived in Nacogdoches today safe and sound, but not before another silly mishap!!! Yesterday, we were driving from Marion, MS to Monroe, LA and decided to stop for fuel about 25 miles before we reached Monroe.  After fueling up, we continued down the highway and were about 5 miles from our campground [in Monroe] when a vehicle starting honking at us repeatedly while pointing at the side of our RV. We couldn't see anything out of the ordinary in the mirrors so we kept driving but this person wouldn't give up. He pulled ahead of us, then over to the side of the highway, still honking and pointing. By now we were in the middle of commute traffic, but we decided we better find a safe place to pull over and check things out. I got out of the RV, walked to the back and waited for traffic to clear out so I could walk up the driver's side to check things out. Well, to make a long story, short, it seems Kris had locked the fuel door, but had forgotten to put the fuel tank cap back on first. We were leaving a trail of diesel fuel behind us!

The disappointing part is only one vehicle out of so MANY bothered to point out our problem to us and went above and beyond to make sure we knew! We wish we could thank them personally, but once they saw us pull over they drove on and went about their business. Thank You whoever you are!!!

We drove the remaining 5 miles to the campground, all the while fuel sloshing out due to the not so smooth Louisiana highway. That's putting it mildly! Once we were safely parked in our campsite, Kris washed the diesel fuel off the side of the RV. Then he unhooked the jeep, which was literally covered with fuel and drove it to a car wash. Next, we headed 25 miles back to the fueling station and retrieved the cap, thankful it was still there. It seemed like such a long drive... Well, at least it wasn't something worse and we're all cleaned up as good as new.

The next morning we headed off again. The sun was shining and though Kris was pretty upset with himself, the important thing is we arrived in Nacogdoches safe and sound where we'll be parked for awhile. Ladies Driving School starts Tuesday so I'll be busy doing laundry and hopefully sewing for the next few days! Hopefully it will be noneventful...

The joys of RVing!

It suddenly hit me right upside the head that we are living in nothing more than a leaky 40' long by 8' wide fancy expanding box on wheels. I have cabin fever like you wouldn't believe! I think it was yesterday when we were packing up and getting ready to hit the road again. I was trying to be helpful and brought in the slides while Kris was outside unhooking the water, etc. I went back to the bedroom area to get something I forgot. It was dark and I could hear noise like water dripping so I turned on the light and saw that the bed and everything on it was soaked. To make matters worse, water was still pouring in through the top of the slides I had just brought in! I had forgotten it rained all night, ugh, and we have to "tip" the coach first to let the water run off the slides before bringing them in whenever it rains. I think I will try NOT to be so helpful in the future!

Fortunately, when I told Kris what happened, he could see how upset I was so he didn't dare get upset. He said he probably woud've done the same thing because it had been so long since it rained he would've forgotten to tip first. I was so relieved, I had a sort of mini melt down right then and there [oh, the joys of menopause]! Kris spent the next hour removing wet papers and other drenched items from the bed, then stripping the bed, putting sheets in the dryer and spreading the comforter out wherever he could, to allow it dry. What a mess! I was ready to pack it all in and just head home! Kris is such a trooper, he just keeps on going. What would I do without him?

The Unclaimed Luggage Center turned out to be quite a let down. It wasn't much different than shopping at your local Goodwill store. I did find a couple of name brand sweaters for a good price and Kris found a cheap solar calculator. They had mostly shoes and clothes, but also jewelry, laptops, cameras, luggage, cell phones and an annex with junk according to Kris. I didn't make it to the annex so I have no idea. I'm glad we went and got that out of our systems! That night we went to a really great Mexican restaurant!

Kris chose to skip the US Space Center Museum after seeing the brochure. We may do the Houston Space Center tour instead. We went into Huntsville and did some banking and other errands and went back to the coach where we listened to all the news on the elections taking place. We're pretty excited about the outcome!

The next day, we drove from Scottsboro, AL to Meridian, MS where we spent last night. It rained again most of the night but this time we remembered, well, . . . YOU'UUU know!

That brings us to this morning and we are on the road again, planning to camp at Monroe, Louisiana tonight. If all goes well, we'll be in Nacogdoches, TX Friday afternoon!

We're on the road again . . .

The entire group of 27 Foretravel coaches went their separate ways Saturday morning! Of course, Kris and I were the last to leave as usual. Everyone but us had a long way to travel to get to their next destination. We said our good-byes Friday evening at our farewell banquet. The banquet was a lot of fun and the food was abundant as usual. I can't believe I haven't gained any weight on this trip!

Kris and I are no longer considered motorcade "first timers" which is good because we've signed up for several motorcades next year: Washington DC, Pacific Coast [from Bodega Bay just north of San Francisco to Anacortes, WA], Alaska, San Antonio, Breaux Bridge, LA [Grandvention] and Rayne, LA for Christmas. It's looking more and more like we won't be home much in 2011 although there is always the possibility we may decide not to go on all of them. The way I'm feeling today, that is a very good possibility! I keep telling myself I could never be a "full timer" in an RV but it sure seems like we are trying. I do miss my home when we're away but I asked Kris if he ever missed home and he says he doesn't even think about it, so "not really". I know his folks miss him terribly. Fortunately, we have cell service most everywhere we go and can keep in touch.

Getting back to Saturday, we had a very short day of driving. We camped near a state park at Rocky Fork Lake in Hillsboro, Ohio. It was the last day of the season for this campground, they would be shutting off water and electric the morning we would depart. We spent Saturday aternoon visiting Kris's relatives, Jean and Mary Lou, in Greenfield, Ohio, which is also where his mother grew up. We drove by the house she was raised in as well as the K-12 school. We visited Jean and Mary Lou once again the next morning before heading on down the road. It was nice to see them again and very difficult to say good-bye. The last time we saw them was in Seattle shortly after Kris and I got together.

Our next stop was Louisville, KY where we had dinner last night with an old friend of Kris's. Chuck and Kris used to work at UPS together B.S. [before Shannon]. We didn't have a chance to see much else in Kentucky and we noticed the highways there were sorely in need of repair.

I forget where, but we gained an hour today which is always nice! We're back in the central time zone. Tonight we'll camp in Woodville near the Unclaimed Luggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. I've been looking forward to visiting this place for two years, when we were last in this area and didn't have time to stop. There were a few places in Kentucky I would've liked to stop and see, such as the Diamond Caverns, Coca-Cola Museum and Lincoln's birthplace but we have to be in Nacogdoches, Texas in time for ladies driving school where I'll attempt to learn to drive our RV. I'm only learning in case of emergency. I can't imagine actually wanting to drive the thing for any period of time. I've seen Kris white knuckle it and he's been driving RVs for many, many years! I wonder what color my knuckles would be? What comes after white, purple maybe, after holding your breath and cutting off all circulation?

Will write more later and still need to upload some pictures as well...