Week 1

   Well, it;s been a week now and we are settling in.  I have found a job with an immunization clinic.  Everyone has probably seen one, they are set up in all the Walmart and Sam's Club locations around the country.  It sounds like a good job and I will actually be making more than I was in TN.  I get to choose my location and hours and there is a Walmart about one mile from us.  I am waiting to get the online training program from them and I will begin work on Aug 1st and it will run through November 1st, by then I will have reached the limit I can make according to Social Security.  Karen has her name in at several temp agencies but they  haven't yet come up with an actual position for her.  It will be nice to get back to work.  This whole adventure would be a lot more interesting if we had a little money to actually do something with.  There are many things around here that we would like to explore but have to put that off for awhile and get back on our financial feet again.  The rent is paid and there's food on the table so life is good.
  Karen and I have been looking into churches in the area and went to mass on Saturday night.  We figured we would try several and then settle down on one that we could get involved in.  After hearing the list of the names of the different parishes I told her we have to go to Our Lady of Perpetual Help,  that is the name of the parish I was baptized in, although that one was in Brooklyn, NY.  It was a nice service and in English.  They have 5 masses there including the Saturday night mass.  The Saturday night mass and the 9 & 11 O'clock masses are in English.   We will try a different parish next week and since there are about 20 Catholic Churches listed we should be able to find one close that we feel we can fit into and contribute to.
  The RV park we are in is on summer hiatus you might say.  There was a landslide so they had to empty the pool to keep the pressure off the walls since the landslide involved the earth wall that supported the pool.  That is all fixed now and they have refilled the pool.

   It really looks nice and should be open in a couple of days.
The lake, right now, looks like a barren wasteland.  It is in the process of being filled again also.  Apparently, because of dry conditions, during the summer they lower the level of the lake.  You can hear the water pouring into the lake  and it seems like it is a lot of water being fed into it but the level of the lake barely changes day to day.  I have picked out a landmark so I can see if it is rising each day.  It is going to be beautiful when it is full.

 Karen says that she is becoming addicted to watching the palm trees sway in the wind.  It is always breezy here from a light breeze to really gusty conditions and it is somewhat relaxing to just sit there and watch it.  The climate here has really been nice.  Like I said there is always a breeze and the humidity never gets that high so it is pleasant most of the time.  the people that we have met here are very friendly.  There aren't too many that are here right now and we are waiting to see what it is like when the park is full.

See  you down the raod,
Don & Karen

Mission, TX ... finally

  I will try to keep all the info correct and in order, it has been a long four days.

  We finally got on the road Saturday morning.  We made it to Harrah's in Tunica, MS without incident.  They have a really nice RV park there and with the Good Sam discount it is about the most reasonable place you can stay.
  We went into the casino only for the purpose of visiting Paula Deen's buffet.  What a meal, the food there is unbelievable.  We both had the prime rib and it was just wonderful, melt in your mouth beef.  OK, I got $5 in free slot play and used it all at the rate of a dollar a minute.  Karen and I both tried our hand at some games for $20 and well that was all we really had to spend there.  Back to the RV and get some rest for the road the next day.
  Sunday we left Tunica at 9:00 AM heading for Bryant AR to see Karen's brother Kenny whom I had never met.  We got to mile market 213 on I-40 in AR.  A semi-tractor had flipped over and blocked the lane.  The bad part of that is that it happened at the exact spot where the roadway narrowed to one lane for construction.  We were stuck in that traffic, at a complete standstill most of the time, for almost three hours.  Karen had to call her brother and let him know that we were not going to be there for lunch.  Arkansas has some of the worst roads I have driven on so the fact that they were working on it was a relief and except for the accident it moved pretty freely the rest of the way.  We had been planning on having lunch and then continuing on to Dallas that sameday. Well, all that construction put us so far behind that we decided to stay overnight in Bryant AR.  Kenny was nice enough to call ahead for us got us a spot at the I-30 RV park for the night.  We didn't even bother to unhitch the trailer.  We just hooked up the electric so the girls (Prissy & Duchess) could have the air on while we were gone.  We leveled the trailer and went with Kenny and his wife Janet to their home.  We had a really nice visit it was great to get to meet them and their three sons, catch up on some news and leave some history, in the form of old photos, with them.  Thank you Kenny and Janet for your hospitality.

  Monday it was off to Dallas.  Of course Karen had been on the phone with everyone letting them know that we weren't going to be there and tell them our change of plans.  On our way there we were flagged down by someone in the next lane who we thought was telling us that our lights were blinking.  Everything seemed to be operating okay.  I tried the lights and they seemed to be fine and the brake controller was telling me it was connected but, the next chance we had to pull off I went to check the connection to make sure that it was secure and everything was working.  It was then that I realized he had been telling us that the license plate was loose.  I took it off and put it in a side window for the time being hoping we wouldn't get stopped for it.  That didn't seem to be a problem and we never did get stopped.  We got to the Destiny RV Park in Denton Texas without further problems and checked in to our site.  Again we parked, hooked up electric, and leveled the trailer and left it hitched to the Denali since we were heading out first thing in the morning.  We had now discovered that we had no money in our bank account.  Some unforeseen debits popped up and now we were traveling cash in hand.  This truly has been an adventure.  Our granddaughter MacKenzie and her boyfriend Evan, who attend University of North Texas in Denton, came and picked us up and we then all went to our friends Rose & Rod's house.  Everyone went in for a swim, well except Rose and me.  They have a wonderful home and it was great to see their daughters Rachael and Becky again.  After everyone got out of the pool and changed we went to meet Rod at Romano's Macaroni Grill for dinner.  It was a wonderful evening of catching up and getting to know each other.  Thank  you Rod & Rose for a wonderful dinner.

  After dinner we went with Evan & MacKenzie to see her new home.  It is a really nice house and we got to see her new puppy Domino. He is just big enough now to fit in your hand.  Thanks for chauffeuring us around town pointing out the highlights as we sped by.
  Tuesday morning it is off to San Antonio, whoops, I mean Mission Texas.  Since we were now lower on funds than we anticipated we decided to go ahead and make the long trip all the way to Mission and not have to spend money on an extra nights stay.  Before we left I decided that since the license plate still had the frame attached I would just duct tape it to the bumper of the trailer.  We repacked the trailer with all the tubs disconnected the electric and raised the leveling jacks and we were off.  Thank God for the Good Sam Club card for Pilot/Flying J we knew we would be able to have enough fuel for the trip.  Using this meant that we would have to alter our route a little bit so that those stops were within our fuel range.  This was nice though since we hadn't been to this part of the country before we got to do a little exploring.  We ended up going through Laredo and seeing some of that city since we were no longer on an interstate.  I will say that Texas has some of the nicest roads you could travel.  As is to be expected in Texas they are all big.  They are all well maintained also.  There was a lot of construction going on but most of it did not interfere with traffic as it was new construction of roads and not just repairs.  On hwy 83 after we left Laredo there was quite a bit of construction on that road also.  We ran into some very heavy rain right after dark that did slow us down a little bit but it ended soon and we continued on.  The speed limits in Texas are higher than "normal" and we had a lot of people passing us.  I tend to be a little on the pokey side and some of the speed limits seemed a little extreme.  At one of our many stops I thought to check and see how the duct tape was holding up and see if I needed to reinforce it at all.  The duct tape was in almost perfect condition,  there was no license plate attached to it but the tape itself was fine.  Somehow the plate had come off the frame.  Well, I guess we'll have to call and see about getting a new one sent to us.
  We arrived at Lake Canyon RV Park at about 10:45 that night.  Needless to say there was no-one in the office but Karen had called to let them know that we would be very late and they left our site location for us on the office door.  We backed into the site, emptied the tubs and set up what we had to and relaxed for a little while then off to bed.
  This morning we went to the office to check in and everyone seems so nice.  We drove around the park to see what it is like.  There are not a lot of people here at this time of year, about 20 according to Kelly in the office.  We have driven around a little to familiarize ourselves with the area and we like what we see so far.  Our adventure has finally begun and we are looking forward to whatever lies ahead.

See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Moving on

OK, so once again someone else is in control of our lives.  Finances have been probably cut in half for the rest of the year so drastic decisions have to be made.  We have decided that all the travel plans that we just finished "finalizing" had to be changed.  Our apologies to all the people that we made contact with and told them we would be somewhere at a certain time ... not going to happen. Because of the monthly fees that we can get we have decided to go directly to Texas rather than travel and end up there.  It will be hot in Texas but, it seems to be hot everywhere.  Checking Weatherbug, it has been just as hot here as it is there.  So, our time here in Dickson is up on July 5th and we will be packed up and heading southwest at that time.  While we are looking forward to just
'getting on with it" there is a certain amount of anxiety involved also.  Karen was commenting today that this will only be the second time in her life that she has moved.  I have moved several times but, I always took the family with me.  I have lived here In Dickson for almost 23 years, the longes I have ever lived anywhere.  I will miss a lot of things here, especially the kids and grandchildren.  It's kind of ironic that I prayed for so many years that Jennye and Michael, Ezra and Boaz would move back here from California and now that they have I am moving just as far away from them.   I have also had the good luck, by marriage, to have more family become a part of my life and I will miss them also.  We will end up missing a lot of things that we would normally attend, school functions and all that, but we just have to do this and do it now.
  We will keep in touch here while on the road.


See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Dickson, week 3

  It's been a good week in Dickson.  It's been hot, really hot.  It has been in the upper 90's every day.   Sunday, Father's day was nice.  We had. Family day over at Donnie & Leshelle's house and everyone was there.  That was real nice.  All the guys went fishing including Tristan the 4 year old.  I think he managed not to throw anything in the lake this time but the hook.  I managed to keep my personal streak alive and not catch anything.

After a couple of hours we went back to the house the women had prepared a fine dinner, brats, hot dogs, hamburgers, several salads and all the trimmings.  It was truly a good day.  After we got home my daughter Jennye facebooked me to tell me she had gotten me a gift certificate at Amazon.com which I loved.  I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the musical "Porgy & Bess" and love the music.  While I was on the site I set up a cloud to load the music onto.  I can't believe I have a cloud, a week ago I couldn't figure out what a cloud was or why I would need one.  It saves me a lot of storage memory on my phone.  Love it!  On Monday, had such a good time on Sunday, my grandson Dalton & I went fishing again.  This time we left early in the morning and got to the lake @ Montgomery Bell State Park @ about 7:30.  It was beautiful and peaceful at the lake.  The ducks and geese were swimming by causing the only ripples on the water.  The only other thing causing ripples in the lake were the fish jumping.  I thought we might just get lucky that day.   I managed to keep my streak alive though and we didn't have to be bothered with cleaning a bunch of fish.   We really did have a nice time that day.
  Like I said it has been hot Karen has gotten to the pool every day for an hour or so.  We can't seem to get Bobby outside even to go to the pool.  He is content to stay inside all day and play his X-box.  We even went so far as to go his "pocket rocket", a small electric motorcycle, back so he would go outside and do something but, to no avail.
  I took the Denali over to the Goodyear store to have them check out the tires and found a nail in both of them.  $33 but it could have been worse.  There is a "service ride control" light on my warning panel so I asked about getting that taken care of.  I could not believe that shocks could possibly cost that much.  I will take it back to them next week to be sure that's what the problem is.  We haven't had any type of problem in the ride.  Check in next week to see what happens.

Still in Dickson

  Well the past 4 or 5 days have been very productive.  We look like we are having a huge garage sale but it's all progress.  We have found some uses for objects that we really didn't want to get rid of like this cute scarecrow. 
  I have lost track of the number of trips I have made to the old storage unit, the new storage unit, Goodwill & the dump, trying to sort things out and deciding what we really need and what is just junk. 
  Well, you don't see that often, a fire truck lights flashing siren blaring pulling into a campground.  Right behind it is an ambulance no lights or siren.  Of course I could always count on Bobby to find out what's going on.  No flames or smoke visible so mustn't be a fire.  Apparently a women had a stroke.  There are a lot of full time residents here.  I was on my way to take Donnie to get his drivers license taken care of but, I knew that Bobby couldn't resist running over and getting the lowdown.  He doesn't take no for an answer.  He would probably make a good reporter. 
  Well, as I was saying just a few more things to go through and we'll be settled in here.
    I'm still having trouble with the 7 pin connector that connects the car to the trailer.  It got cut during setup.  I have re spliced everything, pretty simple color-to-color.  The brake controller doesn't indicate it's connected and brake lights and directional don't work on right side of trailer.  If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them.
See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Dickson, TN

Well, after a rocky start we have settled in here and it is not too bad.  Still not level but not too bad.  Not sure I would recommend it to others or not.  It is convenient for us and the price is right so here we stay.
  Took a long walk this morning and felt pretty good.  It was nice to be able to go for a walk and not have to suffer from the hip pain.  Prissy seemed to like it too.
  Not really too much to say about this stay.  We have lots of things to do this week and hoping Bobby will be able to stay with uncle Tim & Aunt Renee and the boys this week.  We will be spending a lot of time at the storage unit, which doesn't have wi-fi and he would really be bored.  We're trying to get out of the unit that we're in right now and be able to move to a smaller (cheaper) unit so things have to go.  There are still things that we need to take with us, things to find new homes for and things to just get rid of.  Goodwill may be tired of us by Thursday.
  I will still add to the blog even if it seems dull, so is our life from time to time.

See you down the road
Don & Karen

Lebanon, TN

Today we left Sevierville, ok now it's been a couple of days. Right now I'm sitting in beautiful Centennial Park in downtown Nashville watching the ducks & pretty fountains @ the lake. It has been a time the past couple of days. First, I don't think I will ever tire of driving through east TN down I-40. Driving through the Great Smokie Mountains. The view is just indescibable. As you crest one mountain top and see the valleys & mountains ahead of you. This time of year it is a patchwork quilt of every shade of green imaginable. I have always said that you can see the hand of God @ work in these magnificent vistas. All you have to do is open your eyes and appreciate the splendor of nature laid out before you. I can't imagine any part of the country more beautiful than this but, I am anxious to see all the rest of the sights to see what can challenge this thought. Stopped to get gas just as we reached our destination in Lebanon and managed to cut the corner too tight and tear a small gash in the side of the trailer by hitting one of the guard posts the put up just for such an occasion. No major damage done except to my ego. On to Shady Acres where we have been looking forward to staying for at least two years. No monthly sites left ... bummer. Not too many sites to choose from at all. Well we got in the site and upon examination of the damage to the trailer I noticed that there was also some minor damage to the wheel & tire on the other side. I have no idea how this occurred and doesn't seem to be too bad. All part of the new experience I guess. After some deliberation & phone calls we decided that since we have so much stuff to do in Dickson and weren't able to get the monthly rate in Lebanon it would be better to get a site in Dickson. We managed to get a spot @ Dickson RV Park for the monthly rate and of course it is 56 miles closer to where we need to be a lot of the time. Well, what an ordeal this has turned out to be. First of all the people there bare very friendly & helpful, possibly too helpful. We did all the paperwork and one of the guys that works there, Brian, showed us our site and he and the manager guided us into it. They then jumped in to help get it set up and leveled. Well by the time that it was level two wheels on one side were off the ground. For some reason Brian raised the tongue jack @ that time the whole trailer swung off the leveling jacks and fell. When this happened the front right jack was damaged and is now unusable. Now to top that off the 7 pin connector cable which runs the lights & brakes on the trailer fell on the ground and the tongue jack must have landed on in and severed it. Just another of life's experiences. Anyway, they finally got it leveled and it is now up on blocks and stable ... level not so much but, hopefully enough to live with for a month.

Still trying to figure out this whole blog thing and when I do I will get the pictures where I want them on the blog

See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Sevierville, TN

  Today we're in Sevierville, TN.  River Plantation RV Park.  this is a really nice Good Sam's park.  It is very large and has a lot of full timers.  I have been getting out and walking everyday trying to get some exercise.  I figure it's going to either ease the aches and pains or put me in a ride-on scooter.  I'm going back to the doctor next week to get another steroid shot.  Hopefully that will hold me for another 4 months or so.  I didn't realize how long or steep the road was up to the front to get a picture of the entry to the park.  Halfway up it seemed longer and steeper than it did at the bottom.  The boys have been swimming quite a bit, as much as they can, and have made some friends here in the park.  Can you spend too much time at the pool?  They have a very nice pool area here including pools, one of which had an inclined slope to get in the pool and a water fountain at one end and a hot tub.
  We haven't been able to get out and do as much as we would like due to financial constraints at the time but hopefully we'll at least get in some miniature golf or something. This is the perfect weekend for the synchronous firefly.  This is an occurrence that only happens here in the Smoky Mountains from what I understand.  Haven't been able to get to see them mainly because of the weather but am hoping that it will clear up by this evening and will take a trip to the National Park.  You can check this out for yourself at r http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/fireflies.htm.
  Rain last night.  It was quite nice actually to sit there under the trailer awning and watch and listen to the rhythm of the falling rain(hmm good song title in there).  This morning it was raining again.  This time it was really coming down.  The wind was blowing so hard that I was beginning to worry about the awning.  It calmed down enough to get back outside again and visit with my early morning friend that comes by every morning.  This robin red breast is there every day digging up worms.



  Had to refill the LP gas for the first time today.  It wasn't that bad $25 for the 30lb tank.  I thought that was a reasonable price for that.  We'll see how long that lasts.  We will be here for several more days before getting back on the road and heading to Lebanon, TN which we will call home for the next month or so.

See you down the road
Don & Karen

Racoon Mountain

Great day here in Chattanooga.  Whole family went to the TN Aquarium today.  Quite a place.  All the usual specimens you would expect to see alligators, turtles, sharks .. etc but, the way it is laid out is very nice.  Two separate buildings rivers & oceans.  They also had water flowing through a man-made creek which ran through the property.  On such a hot day as this the younger kids loved it and the old ones cooled their tired feet in it.  The kids loved petting the sting rays and the sturgeon.  The stugeon came with a warning to use 2 fingers only and not to try and grab the fish.  They apparently don't like this and have very sharp teeth. 

  Arriving back @ camp on such a hot day everyone was pretty well spent Tristen(4) was already napping in the backseat of the minivan.   Bobby & Karen headed off to the pool and Dalton & I followed after a while.  After about an hour we all headed back to camp to get dinner going. Powerful storms all night really lighting up the night. Wow, it's tomorrow already. Heading out this morning for Sevierville TN. See you down the road, Don & Karen

Last day @ "home base"

  Sunday, Karen's off @ the laundromat getting the laundry done.  This is a somewhat new experience which, she says on Facebook, has some advantages.  She can get it all done @ once and not have it be an all day chore.  Just one of those changes we'll have to get used to. 
  The garage sale is over which went well.  Can't say it was a great success but we did ok.  Hard to have a gsrage sale on the weekend that set or equalled the record high temps for the day, every day.  Karen was worn out after two days and left it for Lescelle & Sami (duaghter-in-law & granddaughter) to finish up on Friday.   All that is left is to take the leftovers to Goodwill.
  For those interested in visiting this area Montgomery Bell State Park is a nice place to stay.  Campground is wooded or open, there are ball fields and playgrounds and is well looked after by park rangers and the camp hosts and there are adequate & clean restrooms & showers.  For those non-campers there is a wonderful inn to stay at.  The park has a swimming beach, boat rentals, including canoes & paddle boats and of course, fishing.  We have enjoyed staying here for several years.  Bobby is a little upset because they won't let him ride his "pocket rocket".  It is a small electric motorcycle but they feel it is too small and people in vehicles won't be abe to see him.
  Tomorrow, off to Chattanooga!

See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Today's the day!

  It has really happened!  Today we had the hitch & brakes installed and are back @ Montgomery Bell St Pk until Monday.  It was a little nerve wracking driving 30. Miles bwith just a regular hitch and no trialer brakes but, we made it there fine. It took almost 3 hours to have it done.  We had no choice, but to wait there since they needed both the trailer & the car. 
  Well, with our first pull under our belts we are ready for Chattanooga and Mont Eagle Mountain(they have runaway truck ramps on that decline). 

See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Less than a week to go

   It is less than a week now until we are finally ready to get on the road.  Next Wed we have the hitch and brakes put on and then a couple of days @ Montgomery Bell St. Pk. and the off to Chattanooga. 
   Things are progressing well, the house is empty, the new tenants will be moving things in tomorrow, garage sale stuff is being sorted and I can't count the number of trips to the dump.  Still things to do yet but mostly just finding places for everything now.
   Karen's son Chris arrived last night, or should I say early this morning with granson Bobby in tow.  Chris will be with us for three days but Bobby will travel with us almost all summer. 

See you down the road,
Don & Karen

Finally

iGoogle:
  Well, it has finally happened.  We have sold the motor home and rented the house all in the same day.  After putting some oil in the engine and some transmission fluid it started right up and ran well.  The man that bought it didn't seem to care if anything else worked in it.  He drove it off and hopefully made it back to Murfreesboro, about a 60 mile trip, safely.
  The family that came today to see the house fell in love with it and are ready to move in.  Their five children have fallen in love with the property, and all the reptiles that seem to live here.  We feel that they are a good match for the house and the neighborhood.  The husband has already made contact with the neighbor across the street since they are both into motorcycles and four wheelers.  I hope that they find as much happiness in this home as I have.
  Needless to say Karen and I are both excited about this turn of events.  The things that we needed to accomplish have finally come to pass.  We have been waiting for over a year for this to happen.  It's been such a good day we even bought a Powerball ticket.
  Our next goal is to have the equalizer hitch and electric brake assembly installed on the Denali.  This is on the calendar for May 23rd but we may just push that up a bit so we can get away for another weekend before traveling to Chattanooga with Donnie, Leschelle and family.  We have been living in the trailer for three weeks now but have yet to actually tow it anywhere.  We will need to have the trailer towed to Camping World in Nashville to have the hitch and brakes installed and just haven't been able to do that yet, until now.

Our new home.

  Our biggest obstacle now is getting rid of all the things that we have accumulated over the years dividing them up amongst family and having a huge garage sale in two weeks and finding where we want to put everything in the new RV.  It seems that we will have enough room ... hopefully.  

  We are looking forward to beginning this journey and taking you along with us.  We would love to hear from everyone and answer any questions, or listen to any suggestions, that you might have.  As we travel from area to area, if there is something you think we just have to see please let us know.

Until later

Love to all, 

Don & Karen

'via Blog this'

Second beginning

Well, it has finally begun.  Today is day number one of DALNKAL's Journey.  Last night we purchased our travel trailer and spent our first night in it.  All seems to be well with it.  The air conditioner works well as does all the plumbing.  It is used so a little work is expected but so far no real problems.  We are still trying to figure pout where everything will go in here (clothes, food, pots and pans ... etc).  In an RV space is a premium quantity so you can't waste any.  We have spent our first night at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns TN.  This is out favorite camping location, so far.  We can only stay here for 14 days and then we have to leave for 3 so we may just take a short trip to Tunica, MS and stay at the Harrah's there.  We've been there before in the motor home and the campground is nice and they have a great pool.  May be a little early for that but we'll see.
   Karen retired on the 13th of April and I hope to be able to retire at the end of May.  We have taken the house off the market since we had little to no response to it and are now trying to rent it.  We had someone just about ready to move in and then they backed out so we have re-posted to Craig's List and have had some inquiries about it.
  We are going to Chattanooga, TN with Donnie and Leschelle and the kids for a week at the end of May and will let you know how that goes.  After that we are looking forward to our futur e travels and will keep everyone informed on here how it goes.  Travel plans have probably changed because of the price of gas these days but we are still intending to set out to somewhere.  We'll let you know where.