Monday 10-30 Halloween Dance

Halloween Eve

We started the day off by going for walk. Today we walked three miles on the Pepper Creek Trail in Temple. We wore a light jacket but by the time we finished we needed to take the jackets off.

Hiking Pepper Creek Trail

The foam in the seat cushions of the dinnet in the Minnie are worn out, Earl at Troutt's Upholstery did such a good job on redoing our couch seat we decided to use him again. When we went to get the couch worked on Earl was so backed up that he gave us an appointment that was over three weeks away, today he said he could have the cushions done on Thursday, it would have been even quicker but he has to order the foam.

On the way home we stopped by the Temple Library to check out the new Cork O'Connor book. We also decided to check out the second and third season of Sherlock Holmes that was on KLRU.

We normally only buy Campbell's Chunky soups but while we were on our trip we bought a few cans of Great Value soup, we had not tried them yet so today for lunch we had the chicken gumbo, it was very good.

After lunch Larry decided to work on a review for the Wagner Flexio 3000 paint gun he received from the Home Depot Seeds Program. It is a new model of electric sprayer and it worked great. It comes with two different plastic containers, one was designed for a regular paint and the other one was designed for fine painting with light weight material such as stain. The biggest problem with spray equipment is cleaning it after you use it but it was no more difficult than other paint guns.

Wagner Flexio 3000

Larry finished up sanitizing the water tank in the Minnie. He filled it up with clean water, emptied it, and filled it up again, he also ran lots of clean water through the pipes and water heater.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers. Tonight was their Halloween Dance. They had 10 squares during the Grand March and enough people sitting out for another couple of squares. They invited Lucy and Jerry Pate to cue round dancing in between the tips which brought a lot of round dancers. Brad Caldwell called with Dan Clairmont. There were six tips and two of them were plus. There was a special guest, Randy Dougherty who calls in Mesa and in the Rio Grande Valley, we have danced to him many times and we really like him. He didn't call tonight but it gave us chance to visit with him. Some of the dancers did a great job of dressing up for Halloween. We had a super time dancing with friends to Brad and Dan. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Betty and Howard round dancing to Lucy Pate

Brad as Willie Nelson and Dan as Popeye

Larry visiting with Randy

Friends having fun celebrating Halloween by square dancing

 

  

Sunday 10-29 Doing Projects

Doing Projects

We woke up with frost on the grass. What should we do? Well, it was a little chilly to do projects outside but not too cold for a walk. We walked the Nolan Creek Trail for two and half miles. It was a very nice walk along Nolan Creek and down MLK Street.

Larry was getting low on the blue gloves he uses when he dumps the Minnie holding tanks and other projects so we stopped by Harbor Freight to pick up a box of gloves.

When we got home Larry worked on a few projects. First he treated the yard for weeds and fire ants. Next he filled the septic tank with bleach, he hadn't done this since before our trip and it took over two gallons of bleach. He usually does this every month and it takes a little over a gallon.

After lunch we took the Minnie for a ride to warm up the oil. When we got home Larry parked it on the side of the house and changed the oil. He also dumped the holding tanks and decided to empty the water tank and sanitize it with bleach. We filled the water tank up with a mixture of water and bleach, now it will soak overnight.

Draining the oil

Removing the oil filter

Putting new oil in the Minnie

The next project was winterizing the boat. We only use the boat during the summer and every year Larry winterizes it. We pulled the boat out of the garage. Larry emptied the water out of the engine, manifolds and hoses. Then he put the hoses back on. Next he cleaned the extra water out of the boat. We took the platform off before putting the boat back in the garage that way we can walk behind the boat over the winter.

Winterizing the boat

Late in the afternoon we watched an episode of GizWiz and I finished my jigsaw puzzle.

United States Presidents Jig Saw Puzzle

In the evening we finished watching the Archangel series, it really was not that good but it was entertaining. Then we watched the Star Wars movie Rouge One. We have watched it before but we still enjoyed watching it again. We like Star Wars movies. 

Watching television

        

Saturday 10-28 Doing This and That

Doing this and that

We had another cool day and the wind was down. It was so cool I put on a light jacket. 

Our car has been acting up. When we got back from our trip it would run rough and stall out now and then. Larry used an electric code reader which indicated one of the camshaft sensors is having a problem so he called the dealer and made an appointment for Monday at 7:30 am. He knows that I don't normally get up that early so we decided to drop it off this morning and I won't have to get up early Monday.

The Minnie needs an oil change and Larry does it himself. On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up an oil filter and oil. As we were going into Walmart we saw some cars in the parking lot and Larry remembered reading in the paper about a car show to raise money for The Children Miracle Organization. When we finished doing our shopping we put the items in the truck, then we walked around the car show. It was a very small show. While walking around Larry stopped and talked to a gentleman about his motorcycle. They talked about different bikes that each one of them had owned. After walking around the show we went home.

In the afternoon Larry double checked the water pump in the Minnie for leaks, he didn't find any so he put everything back in the closet and I helped put the closet door back on.  

In the evening we watched a movie off of Amazon called Arrival. It was made from the novel "Story of Your Life". It was a Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery movie starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. It was a slow movie. Then we started watching a BBC series called Archangel starring Daniel Craig.   

Friday 10-27 Cold WIndy Day

Cold Windy Day

We woke up to heavy winds and colder temperatures. We didn't have any square dancing on the agenda, what should we do?

The water pump that provides water to the sinks and shower in the Minnie has always been noisy. While we were on our trip it started sounding different than normal and making more noise. When we got home Larry ordered a new one and it arrived the other day. Today was perfect for replacing the pump. The pump is located under the floor in the closet so he had to empty the closet and remove the floor cover. Then he removed the old pump and put the new one in. While doing this he decided to replace some of the plumbing to clean things up a bit. The new pump was made a little different, it had a rubber base and four screw holes instead of three. Before putting the pump back in we had to make a trip to The Home Depot to get supplies. 

Larry was unable to get everything he wanted at Home Depot so we headed to Ace Hardware, they also did not have the last item on the list so on to McCoy's Hardware where he found the pipe insulation he wanted. 

After lunch Larry went back to working on the Minnie. When everything was back together and he turned on the pump he discovered a small leak. One of the seals going into the pump was worn. We went to Sunbelt RV. Larry really didn't want to replace the whole part all he needed was the seal. The lady there said they had the seals separate. He was thrilled and bought four. Once back at the house he replaced the seal and no more leaks. He'll re-check everything tomorrow before putting everything back into the closet. The new pump works perfect and is much quieter than the old one ever was. 

The new water pump

The insulation Larry put around the pipes

Installing the insulation on the pipes in the bathroom

The old pump

While Larry was working on the Minnie I worked on my puzzle and I worked out with Gold's Gym for 25 minutes and Just Dance for 20 minutes.

In the evening we watched YouTube videos and a PBS documentary called A Friend Indeed, it was about Bill Sackter. Bill Sackter was about a man that was institutionalized when he was 7 years old and was released 44 years later. The story was made into a 1981 movie starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid. It was an excellent movie. Then we watched an episode of GizWiz. We had a relaxing evening.      

Thursday 10-26 A Fantastic Day of Dancing

Our day started early, we had to be at Allemande Hall by 9:00 to attended two more sessions of DBD square dancing to Johnny Preston. We had six squares at each session. At the end of each session Johnny called an A tip. In between the session there was a two hour break for lunch. The last session ended at 3:00. Attending these type of events makes us better dancers. The callers put us in positions and and call calls that are not normally called. Everyone makes mistakes but you learn a lot more.   

By the time we got home we had an hour to rest before we went to Sun City to dance A with the Sundancers. Everyone was surprised we showed up considering we had been dancing high energy DBD for the last two days. They were also glad to see us because they hadn't seen us in over two months. We had a super night.

We had a fantastic day of dancing. LIFE IS GOOD!!!! 

Wednesday 10-25 RV Project

What a wonderful day!!

We had a wonderful day. The temperature was comfortable all day.

We started out the day by doing a RV project. I should say Larry did the project and I worked on my jig saw puzzle. While we were on vacation we had to replace the microwave in the Minnie. Larry didn't have the proper tools to mount it correctly so we had a bungee cord holding it in place. The microwave we bought was slightly smaller than the old one and we weren't sure how the cover Larry had made would look, well, you can't tell the difference. Larry did an excellent job of mounting the new microwave it looks excellent. 

When the project was done it was time for lunch. When we went grocery shopping the other day we picked up a new Campbell's Minestrone soup with Italian sausage. We have tried minestrone soup before and sometimes we didn't like it but this new soup is very good.

After lunch we drove to Allemande Hall for a two day DBD event with Johnny Preston. Today, there were two two hour sessions with a two hour dinner break. The first session was at 3:00 to 5:00 and the second was 7:00 to 9:00. At the end of each session Johnny did an A tip. The dancing was run by computer and in between each tip there was a five minute break. Johnny did 4 tips each hour. He called fast and at times it was very challenging. There were six squares plus a few extra people. We had a great time dancing to Johnny and with our friends.   

Square Dancing

    

Tuesday 10-24 Running Errands

We had an expensive day.

Last summer Larry had a tooth pulled, You have to wait months for the area where the tooth was removed to heal before you can place an implant. In our stack of mail we got an advertisement from a local dentist listing implants at a very reasonable price. Yesterday, Larry made an appointment and he was surprised they had an opening for an implant consultation at 9:00 this morning. The dentist determined the area was ready and said he could do it today considering they had a cancellation. Now it will take a couple of months before things have healed and a crown can be put on. It cost us $1995.00 for the crown and the implant which was less than half of what we had been previously quoted. Hopefully, Larry won't have any problems. While I was waiting for Larry I finished reading a book on the tablet and played some pinball on the tablet.

Going to the dentist

 My tennis shoes were shot and I needed a new pair so when we left the dentist we went to Academy where I found a pair I liked. Larry also needed a new pair and he bought the same shoes. 

    

Next we drove to Belton and paid for the car tags and the boat tags. Then we drove a couple of blocks and paid our property taxes. Property taxes in Texas are very high, our house is under 1600 square feet and our tax bill was $4000.

When we got home I made some lunch for myself. Larry was still numb so he had to wait. During the afternoon I finished up doing laundry and started another jigsaw puzzle called The Presidents.

I worked out on my Wii Fit for fifteen minutes and Just Dance for fifteen minutes. When I started the Wii, it told me it had been 63 days since I used it. It was correct considering I didn't use it while we were on our trip.

In the evening we watched some YouTube videos. We also watched the first episode of the second season of Durrells In Corfu and watched a series off of Amazon called Upstanders. The series had 11 episodes of short 5-7 minutes stories about people in America, it was a very good series. We had a busy day of doing errands.

Watching television

   

Monday 10-23 Doing This and That

Busy Day

After being gone for 61 days there was a lot to do. We spent the day getting things back in order. First off was the cars, Larry charged the battery on the car overnight and it started but it is not running as smooth as it should. The truck battery was totally dead, Larry removed it from the truck,  charged it all day and when he went to bed it still was not completely charged, hopefully we won't have to replace it.  We went to town where we stopped by the UPS Store and picked up the majority of our mail. Then we swung by the post office and restarted mail service to the house and picked up more mail, actually only one piece of mail, every once in awhile something gets sent to our house instead of our mailing address at the UPS Store. Afterwards we went to HEB and did some grocery shopping considering our refrigerator and pantry were bare.

On the way home we stopped by the Valvoline Oil Change store to get the car inspected, the tags are due this month. When this was finished we went home.

After lunch Larry was busy doing stuff around the house. The first thing he did was go through the mail. Even though all of our normal bills are electronic over two months we still end up with a lot of mail. While we were on our trip one of our security cameras stopped working so Larry did some trouble shooting. He couldn't get the camera to work so he called the company. The support person had him do a bunch of stuff and when that didn't work they told him to send the old camera back and they would replace it. While Larry was doing this I read.

In the evening we went to Sun City and danced to Brad Caldwell. It was a small group of dancers, the dance started out with six squares but ended up with only three squares. The last tip there were only six couples left so Brad called a six couple plus level tip, it was a lot of fun. After the tip we had enough people for an A tip. We had a fun time dancing with friends after being gone for two months. The dancers were happy to see us back in town. 

We had a busy day. 

Sunday 10-22 Home Sweet Home

After being on the road for 61 days and driving over 5800 miles we're home. We had a super trip but it's always a pleasure to be home. When we got home we emptied the Minnie and got things going in the house. We spent the evening catching up on some of the YouTube Videos we follow. Then we watched Wonder Woman. We had a relaxing evening.

We're home

Saturday 10-21 End of a Wonderful Weekend

We had a fabulous three days of dancing, now it's time to go home and rest up for the next event. 

We started the day off walking a few blocks to a local donut shop for a couple of donuts. We had not had a donut since we left Canada where they always seemed to have a Tim Horton's close by.

Today was the last day of TEXPACC. The schedule was the same as yesterday except the last half hour where everyone was to gather in one hall and dance to all the callers. There was also an after party with entertainment and refreshments. We didn't attend considering we were exhausted. We had a super time. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Having fun dancing with friends during the day sessions

Our friends having fun dancing during the day sessions

Having fun dancing to Bronc Wise

Bronc Wise calling part of the night dance

Friends waiting for the next call

Friday 10-20 A Day of Square Dancing

Today we had a full day of A2 square dancing. The first session was a two hour workshop with Bronc Wise and Tim Ploch from 10:00 to 12:00.  There were four squares at the workshops.

There was a two hour break for lunch, Larry and Patrica invited us to ride with them to downtown Paris to a café that Larry had read about. The downtown was a quaint little area with shops but we could not find the café so we ended up having lunch at Subway.

After lunch Larry dropped us off at the Minnie where we rested for 45 minutes before going to the afternoon session from 2:00 to 5:00. Vic Ceder, Darryl Lipscomb and Ross Howell were the callers. Our friends from Austin, Renee and Robert showed up and we got a chance to dance with them a few times. There were four squares and a few people sitting out.  

Friends waiting for the next call during a workhop

The evening dance started at 8:00 so we had three hours to rest. We read a little and took a short nap. I made chicken enchiladas for dinner. Each caller was given a half hour slot and we danced for two hours. Sometimes there were five squares but most of the time there were four. Some of the callers were very challenging. We had a super day of dancing and we still have another day to go.  

Thursday 10-19 Paris, Tx. - Our Final Destination

Awesome Day!!!

Our final destination of this trip is Paris Texas. Every year there is a big A2 thru C3 square dance weekend in Paris and it happens to be this weekend. This year there is even more dancing, the dance started today with a Trails End Dance and then there are full days of dancing on Friday and Saturday.

It is only 15 miles from Pat Hayse Lake to Paris. As we were leaving the campground we went to the observation point by the dam and took a few pictures.

The event takes place at the fairgrounds which has RV sites with full hookups. We arrived at 11:00 and the dance wasn't until 8:00. We hadn't danced A for almost two months and by getting there early it gave me a chance to review the moves. 

After lunch I walked over to the registration building and paid for the dancing and three nights of RV parking. When I got there they had a package waiting with the dance schedule and lots of other information. We dance A2 and we just have to walk over to the building right across the street from the RV sites.

In evening we danced for over two hours to five different callers: Vic Cedar, Darryl Lipscomb, Bronc Wise, Tim Ploch and Ross Howell. The dance was run by computer and we ended up sitting out one tip. Our friends Patricia and Larry were there along with a bunch of other friends and folks we know. We did really well considering we haven't danced for about two months. I did get a bit confused a few times. We had a super time.

Larry enjoying the dance

Tim Ploch calling the dance

     

Friends having fun dancing

Friends enjoying themselves

     

Wednesday 10-18 Hiking and Relaxing

Lets go hiking

We spent the last two nights camped at Pat Hayse Lake. It is located in east Texas about 15 miles from Paris. It is a nice fishing lake with a lot of trees. We always enjoy camping in east Texas because of the trees.

This morning we woke up to sunshine and the temperature in the mid 40's. We had breakfast and then went on a hike. At the trailhead there is a sign that shows all the trails and where they go, it also tells the distance of each trail. You could walk the trail in either direction and there are arrows along the trail to help. We planed to only hike a couple miles but ended up hiking five miles. We started on Deer Run and moved to the Bottom Bracket, somehow we ended up getting off the Bottom Bracket Trail and got on the Inner Loop Trail. We hiked through a beautiful forest of pine trees, elm trees and other types of trees. At times the trails were challenging with quite a few gullies to go up and down. There were also a few dry creeks with small bridges. The bridges were made of different materials; metal grates, logs, mixed wood and metal planks. It was a great hike.

The hiking trails

Pat Mayse Lake

Some beautiful purple berries we saw during our hike

Having fun at Pat Mayse Lake

Larry having fun barbecuing

One of the bicycle obstacles

By the time we got back to the Minnie we had hiked five miles, it took about two and a half hours. We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry barbecued hamburgers for lunch and dinner. We had two wonderful days at Pat Hayse Lake Park.   

 

Tuesday 10-17 Back in Texas

Today we started out in Oklahoma and ended up in Texas. Unfortunately the road continued to be terrible. We knew that we were going to have to drive a toll road and hoped that it would be smoother but the toll road was very old and the right lane was very rough so Larry had to use the left lane a lot. We had to go through two toll booths and pay $2.00 each time. By the time we got to Texas we were happy to get on smoother roads.

We arrived at Pat Mayse Lake around 1:30. Pat Mayse Lake is a Corps of Engineer lake and has four campgrounds: Lamar Point, Pat Mayse East, Pat Mayse West and Sanders Cove. We decided to stay in Sanders Cove campground. There are seven miles of hike and bike trails, a boat ramp, dump station and restrooms with running water. The sites have a lot of trees. Some of the sites are right on the lake, our site has a view of the lake. 

We ended up doing a bit of reading and after dinner we walked around the campground. Later I walked around for another 45 minutes to get my steps in. We had a super day of sunshine.