Greys & Things

I learned some news this morning that upset me.  I guess I could be one of the last to know.  I learned a big Guiding Light spoiler.  Have you heard?  The show is going off the air in September!  I’m really upset.  I love that show.  I have only watched for maybe the past two years, but I’m in love with Lizzie, Daisy, Reva, Bill and several others.  I went to town this morning so that I wouldn’t miss this afternoon’s show.  There is a story line right now that I just can’t miss.   As you may remember, we do not have a DVR and our VCR is eating tapes. While at the store, I saw the headline on Soap Opera Digest that Guiding Light was going off the air. I came home and checked it out on the Internet and it is true.  I will have to find something else to occupy my time from 2 pm to 3 pm.  I guess I could exercise.  Nah!  LOL

The only other soap that I watch is As The World Turns.  I am not happy with the story lines on that one right now and have switched to watching Ellen many afternoon.

Life is about change and this is just another change in my ever changing life.  I have decided that I will not be posting daily on this blog.  I know I do have some regular readers, so I wanted to give you a heads up.  I didn’t want you to think that I fell of the face of the earth or anything like that. I would like to thank you for reading my blog, learning about my life and leaving comments.  I enjoyed meeting all of you.  I will pop in from time to time to tell you of my latest camping adventures and also any important updates on the lives of the greyhounds, Jack and Scout. You can also visit them at their own blog, Two Greyhound Town . They are pretty good at keeping their blog updated with photos and their latest adventures.

When you see a motor home traveling down the highway, I hope you smile and think about me, my camping obsessed husband and our greyhounds.  I would say to honk, but you might scare the driver.

Bye for now,

Patty and the greyhounds, Jack & Scout

My husband asked me on our last camping trip why I thought he was camping obsessed.  I just looked at him and then started listing the reasons I feel this way.

1. We visit the local RV dealership at least twice a month and that includes the winter months.

2. We drive through the local state park, just to see if anyone is camping.  Hubby did this by himself one day last week on his way home from work.

3.  He reads two camping related magazines.  He reads a RV forum daily.

4.  He comments on every camper that we see on the highway.  He notes the number of slides, the length, tow vehicle or vehicle doing the towing.

5. He comments on homes that have a camper parked in their yards that are in route to and from work.  He wonders where they are when the camper is missing from their yard.  He lets me know when they return home.

6.  We camp in all sorts of weather.  We have been camping in snow, rain, tornado warnings, severe storms, hottest days of the year.  Yep, we have seen it all.  Hubby feels it is an adventure to face the weather extremes.

7.  He and Tom Tom spend their evenings planning our next trip.

8.  He wants to know every detail if I tell him someone I know has bought a camper.

9. He considered delaying our trip last week because the local RV dealer was having an open house and we might miss a good deal in the store.

10. He can spend hours working in the motor home.  I think it’s his man cave.

I’m waiting for this obsession to end.  We have been camping since 2005 and it’s only getting worse, so this one may take a while to run it’s course.  LOL  At least he is obsessed with something that includes me and the dogs.

It’s hard to unwind after a camping weekend.  The dogs are itching to hit the road already.  They love seeing all the people and smelling all the new smells.  The only thing that Scout does not like about traveling is that she cannot run.  The girl loves to run.  After returning home this time, I let Jack and Scout into the fenced yard and Scout ran 4 laps around the yard, she started into the garage and headed back out for another lap.  She came in again and then did one more lap.  She then rested for the rest of the evening.  Jack is not a runner.  He could care less about having a yard to run in.

I like being able to take a long shower and I can’t do that in the motor home.  Our shower in the motor home is nicer than the one that we had in the small travel trailer, but we do not take long showers.  Unless we have full hook-ups which means the water is connected to the motor home,  we take very, very short showers.  We get wet, turn off the water, shampoo and soap up, turn the water on and rinse.  That’s it.  The worst part of camping to me is showering and sleeping.  I do not sleep well in the motor home.

Our dream for several years had been to own a motor home.  That dream came true last year when everything seemed to align correctly for us.  We camped in it 13 times last year.  This year we will probably do that many trips or more.  Hubby likes to go every other week.  We need to come home to cut the grass and earn money for gas and then we hit the road again.  We have reservations for four trips made already, but that just takes us into June.  We have only toured Missouri so far, but this year, we are heading to Kansas for a greyhound event.  Missouri really has some beautiful sights to see.  We’ve camped as close as 10 minutes away from home to as far as 6 hours.  We camp closer to home when it’s with family and farther away when we are on our own. 

The next trip will be to the Lake of Ozarks.  Hubby’s Mom and step dad will be camping with us. They have a fifth wheel.  I plan on visiting the outlet mall there one day and probably just enjoying the view of the lake on another day.  We stayed there last year and loved it.  The weather was perfect that weekend, so that made it really nice.

We returned home from camping yesterday afternoon.  It was a rough drive home in that it was very windy.  We were blown around quite a bit, but the motor home is still easier to handle than the travel trailer we used to have.  It was good to get back home.  We were all tired.  I think the wind and the cold weather took a lot out of us.  It was in the 20’s with the windchill.

I was disappointed when we arrived home and the part for Roomba was not waiting for us on the porch.  Later in the afternoon, the UPS man did arrive with the part for Roomba.  Hubby immediately installed the new motor.  It came with new brushes which are different than the ones she came with.  The brushes seem like they will be easier to clean.  After Hubby installed the new motor, I pressed the button and Rosie Roomba took off cleaning.  She looks like a brand new machine.  You should see her cleaning.  It is so nice to have her back and to her wonderful cleaning self.  I will really make her work later today.  She will clean the living room and kitchen.  Yesterday, I just had her clean the hallway and my office as we were in the living room watching TV.   She needs to clean the motor home, too.  Rosie had a long enough vacation and it’s now time for her to earn her keep again.  LOL

We will head home later today.  It has turned quite cold.  I think the high today will be 38 and that does not include the wind chill.  The wind gusts are up to 30 mph.  It should make for an interesting drive home.

Saturday night, a few storms moved through during the night.  Jack was scared.  He ended up crawling in our bed and I slept on the couch.  I slept better on the couch anyway.  Jack gets so scared during storms.  The only time we let him on our bed during the night is if he is scared.

Yesterday, we drove to Camping World.  It’s a store that we have only visited through their website.  We really enjoyed shopping there as they have a much bigger selection than the RV store we normally visit.  We bought a few things, but nothing really exciting.  It was a good time though.  Here is a photo of Hubby leaving the store.  I shopped for a while and then sat in the car with the dogs. Hubby can shop for hours.

Last night, we returned to the motor home and dropped off the dogs.  We went to the nature center and toured it.  We then ate at the lodge again.  I wish I would have remembered my camera.  The lodge is very rustic.  It was built in 1929.  I had country fried steak, mashed potatoes, fried apples and salad.  Hubby had the fisherman’s platter.   After dinner, we went to the camp store.  We found a photo frame that is in the shape of a motor home.  It holds 3 photos, so we are going to put our photo along with a photo of Jack and a photo of Scout.  It will look cute in the motor home.

We made reservations for a trip to Springfield, MO yesterday.  We hadn’t planned on it, but KOA is having a free day weekend, so we decided to go that weekend.  We really prefer the state parks, but the KOA campground is close to Bass Pro Shop and other attractions, so we decided to give it a try.  It should be a fun trip.

Our next trip is just a few weeks away.  We are going to Lake of the Ozarks.

Yesterday, Hubby went trout fishing.  The whistle blows at 7 a.m.  I took a shower and then the dogs and I went for a walk.  I was surprised when Hubby returned around 9 a.m.  I expected him to be gone until at least noon.  He caught one fish.

It was so windy.  We decided to put the awning in because of the high wind.  As Hubby was putting it in, it got away from him, but didn’t break.  He had trouble getting it put back in and had to get on the motor home roof to get it locked in place.  While he was on the roof, he saw someone else’s awning break.  We ended up seeing 4 awnings fly back due to the wind.  The people were all at their campsites, but I guess they didn’t think it would happen to them.

Camping is all about people watching.  I didn’t know that but Hubby’s family has taught me that.  After watching the awnings break, I watched my neighbor try to get into his waders.  He was a big man and the waders look to be at least a size or two too small for him.  It was a struggle for him to get in them.  He was only gone for about an hour when he came back and took them off.  I thought he might have trouble taking them off, but they came off much easier than they went on.

Hubby went fishing after lunch.  I stayed in the motor home and played on the computer.  I ended up falling asleep while doing so.  LOL  I rarely sleep while when we camp.  I really prefer my bed at home.

I ended up going trout fishing late yesterday.  No luck for me or Hubby.  It was so windy that it was hard to fish.  I don’t think I like trout fishing.  I don’t like fishing next to people and you have to do that here.

Here are a few more photos from Bennett Springs.  These were taken from the car as we drove past the people fishing.

We arrived in Bennett Springs State Park yesterday and I have Internet service!  I am so excited.  My husband laughed at me because I am sitting inside the motor home in a recliner with my slippers on using my laptop which has an Internet connection and watching satellite TV.  Yes, this is my way of roughing it.  LOL

The weather has been wonderful so far.  Rain is expected tonight and then cooler temperatures on Sunday.

We did quite a bit of walking yesterday with the dogs.  Jack and Scout love to walk.  They are also promoting greyhound adoption by showing just how wonderful the breed is.  They received a lot of attention.  Scout is modeling her new camping collar that I made her on Thursday.  It is a pink camouflage collar.  Jack has a green and brown camouflage one.  They look cute together wearing their “camping collars”.

Last night, Hubby and I ate at the lodge here.  It was an all you can eat buffet with fried chicken, catfish, shrimp, fried clams, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, fruit, etc.  It was good.

This morning, Hubby is going trout fishing.  I am going to hang around the campsite and then going fishing later in the day.  It should be a nice relaxing day.

Here are a few pictures showing our adventures yesterday.

Scouting riding in the motor home.

Our site at Bennett Springs

Bennett Springs

We are getting ready to head out for four days of camping tomorrow.  I purchased all the food on Wednesday.  The last time we camped, I didn’t buy much and we ended up going to a grocery store to pick up a few more things.  I somehow had forgotten that all the junk food that Hubby doesn’t like in the house normally is what he wants for camping.  I really stocked up this time.  It will be a junk food feast for us. 

We are camping at Bennett Springs this time.  It is a trout fishing place.  The last time we went there was three years ago.  The morning that we left, I hurt my back.  My back has problems from time to time, but that had to be one of the worst times.  I could barely walk.  Hubby had said we could cancel, but it was our vacation and we had planned it for quite some time, so we went.  I did not get to fish at all.  I could barely walk Jack because I would have spasms as I was walking.  We went shopping at Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO and the only way I could get around was to lean on the cart.  It was terrible.  The last night that we were at the park, I could finally walk upright and, of course, I was almost normal when we returned home.  I really hope nothing like that happens on this trip.

The snow is over.  I think we probably got an inch.  It’s a heavy snow and has some of our smaller trees bent over.  I was asleep when the snow came, so I am not sure if it was hamster, gooey butter cake or bowling ball size.  Those were all the predictions that the weather men were giving for this snowfall. The snow is already melting.  That’s the best type of snow in my opinion.  It’s supposed to be 60 here tomorrow.

We are celebrating the last cold weekend of the season by having a fire in our fire place. I am going to fix chili today.  I hope to not do much work.  I want to make a few dog collars today.

I ordered our fishing licenses on-line and they arrived yesterday.  I can now fish when we camp.  Honestly, I didn’t want to purchase one in person because you have to give your weight.  I didn’t feel like announcing that to whoever took my information, plus I figured Hubby would be standing right there.  I have a thing about not telling Hubby the actual number.   We have purchased fishing licenses in the past, so all of our information is on-line.  I noticed that Hubby hasn’t updated his weight from like five years ago, so I didn’t either.  LOL

We are supposed to head out on Friday for a four day camping trip.  We are going trout fishing.  I told Hubby I would fish in the afternoon, but do not have any intentions in standing out there in the wee hours of the morning.

On a sad note, Mizzou lost last night.  I was really hoping that they would make it to the final four.

Happy Sunday!

We had such a nice weekend.  The only rain that occurred came around 2 a.m. and only lasted a few minutes.  Rain had been predicted each day, but each day turned out to be sunny at some point in the day.

I was very disappointed in the way that had to update my blog.  I could only update it while we were driving around and that was not easy.  It was hard loading photos.  I had to write the blog in Word and then copy and paste it as we were bouncing around on the road.  I hope the next trip is a little better as far as that goes.  As long as I have a cell phone signal, I am able to get online.

Yesterday, we visited Dillard Mill .  It wasn’t open for tours, so we just walked around.  I’m sure it is a really pretty place when the sun is out.  The sun always makes places prettier.

After the visit to Dillard’s Mill, we traveled to St. James, MO and visited Maramec Springs .  It was beautiful!  The sun was still not out when I took the photos, but appeared while we were still there.

We walked all around and looked at the trout, visited the hatchery and just enjoyed the scenery.  We met a Great Dane.  Our dogs were scared of him.  I guess they have never seen a dog bigger than themselves.  His head was at least 3 times as big as theirs and he towered over them.  I should have taken a photo, but since they were scared so we didn’t talk to him very long.

This morning we took the dogs on a trail. They both really love trails. Scout wasn’t very sure about trails when we first adopted her, but she has learned that they are fun. She likes to be in the lead. She never likes to be last. I think it is part of that racing instinct. You know, being last is not good in a race. Also, the view never changes when you are last. LOL

Here’s Scout and her Daddy on the trail.

Scout and Jack on their hike this morning.