Looking For A Lull

Wow!  I forgot just how humid it gets in Houston.  It's only 75 degrees or so today but we are running the air in the trailer to keep from sticking to stuff and keep the dogs happy.  It felt like I was swimming out to the truck after we finished picking up some groceries during my lunch break today. We had a great night out last night.  We went to a local cajun place just south of here and the food and the music was terrific.  Not sure how much site seeing we will be doing because I'm working all week, but so far so good. Eating dinner with family! We splurged and had some dessert too. Yes, of course I had a Bloody Mary! 

Ok so no new news on the house front;  The kitchen is still tore up and we are still waiting on the insurance and contractors to reach an agreement so they can start putting us back together.  This does not stop us from planning though, because life moves on even if everyone else isn't ready. I've been looking around and doing some research lately into what we may need to consider while we are in AZ and of course that means making another list so here it goes.   It's warmer there but still gets cold.  Packing clothes to match those dips in weather isn't the issue rather keeping Chappy warm and free of frozen pipes etc, is where I'm looking.  Much to consider here and I get the feeling I should maybe have started looking into this earlier however I'm formulating a plan that involves some heat tape, a small space heater and using our fresh water tank as primary water source most of the cold times.  I'll have to remember to come back report on our final ...

It's been a busy week with work, but that is a good test.  Only a couple more days left on this trip and then we will start working on the next one. It has not been the smoothest of trips, or months for that matter.  The Donk got bit by something we think and had an allergic reaction.  She has not been eating right the whole time we've been here either so she has been a pretty miserable puppy.  We also found out that something leaked back at the house while we've been gone and we have a bit of water damage to contend with when we get home.  It's easy to get discouraged when you have so many things that go wrong in a short time, but we just have to remember that it's not always like this and just because everything isn't going your way at the moment life is still good. Sad puppy wearing her sock to cover her bug bite.

This trip we've been doing better with the food.  We've cooked almost every meal this week at the trailer with the exception of 1 rotisserie chicken we picked up and even then I still cooked the side dish. The combo of the grill and the instant pot really work well.  We can put both of them into play together and make some great meals.  The small grill works really well although it is easy to burn food on it, and we can use it under the awning if it rains.  We've not used it as much this week though, with the temperatures in the upper 90's and the humidity really high, there have been a few storms that have popped up that caused us to roll up the awning.  I don't grill in a downpour. All in all, we've picked up a few new recipes and even been eating a little more healthy!  It's really nice to sit outside and eat though, but the mosquitoes have been making that difficult at times but we manage.  The dogs really like being out for dinner too! Mak...

We went out to the lake for the weekend and set up camp with the Grandpuppy in tow this  last weekend.  Katia and Tony were on vacation and we were lucky enough to be able to take Serenity with us.  She did really well!  She gets along great with the Rocky and the Donk and they had a pretty good time. Chillin in the camper Serenity making herself at home I tried hitching up again while we were out there and it took about 10 minutes or so before the hitch finally bit on the kingpin.  I'm hoping that over time it will loosen up but I'm going to exercise it and lube it up a bit this week.  We're leaving for Michigan soon and I can't wait to see how Bodie handles on this trip. 

Not writing a lot today.  Very bummed about the loss of our wonderful Saratoga.  I miss her.

I mentioned our Grand-kitten and Grand-puppy before but I haven't put any pictures up here yet.  I thought it is high time I do that! This is Freckles.  She is staying with us for a few days while TW airs out his place from the water.  She is a ton of fun and she has already helped out around the house by catching a mouse! This is Serenity catching some rays on the deck with "Aunt Donk".  She is a lot of fun.  Very curious, but it's a laid back curious.  She is coming to stay for a bit while Katia and Tony are on vacation.  I can hardly wait.  I don't want to forget "The boys" Charlie and Grinch, although I keep forgetting to take pictures of them when we visit.  They don't come to visit us since they are more excitable and that many dogs in one place is a lot to handle!

This has been the rainiest it's been here in Ohio since we arrived from New Jersey in 2007.  The ground is soaked, many roads are closed, and people all over have complained about flooded basements and worse!  Aside from a very muddy yard, we've been pretty fortunate to avoid all of the problems with the water, but I feel for those who haven't. TW even got a bit of water in his kitchen at his new place.  I don't think this will be a normal occurrence for him so after it dries up a bit around here he should be fine.  In the meantime our Grand Kitten is visiting for a few days while he opens the windows and doors and blows the water out (I'll have to take some pictures while she's here). I hate to think about what the Mosquitoes are going to be like when all that water finally stagnates and they start hatching. *Shudder*.  I may have to invest in some plate armour and ankle weights. We will probably spend part of the weekend out at the campground this weeken...

Returning to Michigan and then to Ohio was very uneventful but sad as always to see the end of a vacation coming.  The Donk was a real trooper and on the final leg between Michigan and Ohio it was just her and I in the truck since Karen rode back in her own car with her Mom.  She actually fell asleep, unaided by the good drugs, with her head snuggled next to my elbow for most of that final trip. Sometime during the ride from SD to MI, I can't recall exactly when, the subject was brought up by Karen that Delilah's back seat was 'just to small' for a big dog like Donk and WAY to small for both her and the Donk so we discussed getting a new truck. I realize there is still much to tell about the trip, dropping the trailer off at the campground and other events that have occurred and I promise to get to most of that, but because I'm excited to share and sad to see Delilah go I want to introduce our new tow vehicle  "Bodie" (Short for Boadicea) Bodie at ...

It was time for us to start our trip back so we decided to make our way through the Indian reservation to Wounded Knee and then on to the same campground in MN that we stayed at on the way out.  You won't find any pictures of Wounded Knee because we only stopped for a second and didn't even make it out of the truck before we were accosted by people trying to sell us little trinkets.  It is really sad to see the state of what should be a hallowed place that holds the story of a part of American history that should not be forgotten barely represented and neglected.  So sad. I chose the headline for this post because of the state of things that we found when we arrived at our campground in MN.  While we were gone they got a TON of rain.  Many sites were flooded, they warned us that they couldn't mow because the mower got stuck in the mud a couple of times and OMG the bugs.  We drove through swarms of bugs on the way there and Chappy will need a big bath when...

The Donk has a sore hip so Karen stayed back at the trailer with her while Big Joe and I went to Jewel Cave.  It was a pretty neat tour of the worlds 3rd largest cave system and not far from the campground either.  I took a ton of video and we'll see how that turned out.  If it looks decent I may put some on here as well. The cave was pretty chilly as caves are, and the walking tour took us about an hour.  I learned some important facts though;  #1 Leaving your jacket at the trailer when going to visit a cave is a bad idea especially if you are sensitive to the cold. When the tour finished up we stopped at a quirky little tourist trap called "Four Mile old West town".  The buildings are pretty run down and the place needs some work, but it was still AWESOME!  There were a ton of old antiques that you don't see every day and the ladies working there were very friendly.  I'd suggest a stop if you have the time. Joe and I finished our outing at...

Got up extra early and hit the road on our first leg of the adventure.  We rode all morning and arrived at Jackson MN with no issues.  After checking the weather report it looks like we aren't going to be in the black hills for a few days as the snow will be piling up before we will be able to get there and so we decided to stay at this campground for an extra night and decide if we can get closer for another day before moving on to our final destination.  I called the KOA in Custer, SD and let them know and they were fine with our plan. The Jackson KOA is nice, the people are friendly and if you happen to stay there bring the owner a bottle of hot sauce for him to add to his collection; better yet make it two so he can try one and put the other on the shelf above the check in counter. Everyone was friendly at the local eatery, grocery and hardware store.  It seems like a neat little town to live in and a fine bunch of people that call it home.  I was perfec...

We took the first load of supplies out to Chappy at the campground and we are planning on staying there will all 3 dogs before starting our Michigan leg of the trip. The first morning, Sara Dog, gets dropped at the Kennel.  She is getting old and is too much for Mom Tyler to look after.  Katia tried when we did the Florida/Georgia trip, but it proved too much for her too.  Then we hit the road.  We've divided the trip into 3 parts going west. Updated map to include our Stops Ohio to Michigan (4H 27Min 291 Miles).  There we drop off Rocky Dog at Mom Tyler's and pick up Big Joe.  We will spend the night before Karen, Big Joe, The Donk and I move on. Michigan to Minnesota (9H 22Min ~650 miles)  We have booked accommodations at a fine camping establishment. Minnesota to South Dakota (7H 472 Miles)  The 7 hours here does not include the stop we are going to make in Wall SD so Big Joe can visit Wall Drug.  It is kitschy yes, but it real...

We finally got Chappy back from the dealer, all fixed and ready for the road, and dropped him off at the campground.  I had been waiting for that before I took my truck in to have the oil change and tires rotated and I wasn't expecting to have to wait so long, but that is done too.  The packing list is ready, the road food list is ready, We are starting to pack. Amidst all of that, Tyler moved to his new apartment and we helped with the move. Mom Tyler is coming to visit and we are picking her up in Michigan on our way back from South Dakota and that brought on a whole bunch of work I wasn't expecting.  We want her on the main floor so she doesn't have to deal with the stairs so I moved my office to Tyler's room.  Karen moved our old bet from the basement to the old office and all of this while I was on call for work. I still have to mow the lawn, finish packing, and have everything ready to go so we can stay the night at the campground and leave early the next m...

During our Florida/Georgia trip having the Donk with us was really special.  I felt a little bad because we couldn't take her with us on all of our adventures and she had to stay back guarding Chappy, so I figured I would do a little more planning for this next trip and find some Donk friendly places that we might be able to visit in South Dakota. That is where I found this website .  A great place to get some suggestions of places to go with your puppy and really useful for those that are visiting a particular area and looking for Dog friendly places and things to do. Now, Donk being a rather large puppy, probably won't be gracing the halls of any museums or stores while we are in South Dakota, but I did find a number of trails we can hike, a place where we can take her to catch rainbow trout for dinner, and that she could ride with us through Bear Country USA, although that last one may damage her self esteem (seeing cats that are bigger than you!). We will definitely ...