'23/#29 Traveling Again

 Our stay in the valley was brief but productive. We saw the people we wanted to and took care of the business we had. It is time to get back on the road. 

This will be a trip to cover miles as opposed to exploring. Every day will be driving and each night will be in a different town. The rig is ready for quick set up and take down. When we stop we will only hook up to electricity and rely on our fresh water and waste water tanks instead of hooking up to water and sewer at each stop. We can easily go a week without those hook-ups.

While we are traveling the weather is changing. The daytime temperature has only reached 60 degrees and the overnight was 40 degrees. It was also windy so it felt like 38 degrees. Two days ago we were running around in shorts and sleeveless shirts! Also there was some rain. Not a lot but enough to make the cold get that raw feeling. We don't want the insane heat that the south has had all summer but a little bit warmer would be nice. We will try to bring a little of this cooler weather to Florida with us.

Well it is time to hit the road. With the wind we take it easy and give ourselves plenty of time to reach our next destination. I will sign off now from our home in....... (hey Mary where are we now?) oh yeah, in Houston Texas because ..........

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#28 Emotional Roller Coaster

 We made it the Rio Grande Valley safe and sound. The park we are staying in is the same one that we wintered in from 2018 through 2020. If you remember this was our winter job while we were exploring the western states. It was nice to pull into a familiar driveway and check in at a familar office. The office staff had only change a little so it was nice to see familiar faces. Then the bottom dropped out.

In a 55 and older community there is always the possibilty, and maybe probability, that the faces will change. Some get too old to travel and are not there any more and others are just not anywhere any more. It was a bit of a shock to hear the names of people who we just assumed would be there forever that had passed away. A lot of them were the core of the community and that changes the whole face of the park. 

We did catch up with some of the oldtimers, and they are doing OK. There are a lot of new faces, some of which we got to know, and they will be the driving force of the community going forward. Only being here short time did not allow us to get to know many or get involved but Texas Trails will go on.

Part of the reason for our trip to the valley was medically motivated. Dental work and prescriptions are much more reasonable in Mexico, and yes it is safe! We also bought a few other items just for the fun of it and found some reasonably priced spices and some miscellaneous stuff. It was fun walking the streets of Progresso and seeing the street vendors in a way that would never be seen in the U.S.

Everything we wanted to do is done and it is time for the wheels to start rolling again. Our trip and the stops we will be making are planned and we will be on the road soon. While we were glad to see some of our old friends it was also sad to know that we will never see others.

I will close by telling you to appreciate the people around you because one day they will be gone. We will keep living the good life for now in our home in Pharr because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#27 Fill In The Blanks

 I was so excited about the Balloon Fiesta there were things I forgot to mention. Let me fill in the blanks. We had a good trip all the way from Michigan through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, and into New Mexico. Took advantage of a new fuel saving card and got to see an old friend.

During the last stretch into Alburquerque the trailer started tracking sideways. At the next rest stop we checked underneath and found we had broken a leaf spring and the axle was riding wonky. We were able to get a road service to us quickly, find the part, and get back on the road in just a few hours. Our arrival at the Fiesta Grounds was only about 3 hour later than we had planned and it was time to enjoy the balloons.

While we were in Alburquerque we noticed some excessive wear on the tires from the wonky axle. It was time to replace them anyway so we found a tire dealer in town who could take care of us right away. Not every tire shop can deal with a 40' trailer but these guys were not fazed. This added an extra day to our itinerary but such is life on the road. 

New tires, new spring, and we were ready for the three day trek accross Texas. Yes, Texas is that big. But just to put it in perspective, and Texans don't want to hear it, Alaska is almost three times the size! We are in San Antonio now and will be leaving soon for the Rio Grande Valley.

If you follow us you know we did three winters down here and made many friends. It is time to drop in and see them. We will spend about a week there and continue the adventure. I will sign off now from our home in San Antonio because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23#26 Balloons Inflate and Deflate

 There is black and white, good and bad, and as they say everything that goes up must come down. Today is the last mass ascension at the Balloon Fiesta. The balloons go up and then the balloons go down. Excitement level was way up when we arrived and our excitement is starting to ebb. This our last day in Albuquerque. Tommorrow we hit the road and move on to the next adventure.

We have seen balloons of every shape, size, and color. They stayed on the ground and flew right over our heads. We also saw them up close and lit up at night. We came to see balloons and balloons we saw! Just got the wind update and the morning ascension has been delayed because the winds are too unpredictable to fly. We will wait and see. 

Later today the group we are with will run shuttles into Old Town Albuquerque. It will be fun to explore and check out some of the stores, restaurants, and history in the area. When we get back in the afternoon we will start preparing to leave Monday morning. 

As you can see there are a lot of RVs here at Fiesta Park and all of them will be leaving in the morning, except for those that stay to tear down tents, canopys, signs, and everything else that was put up for all to enjoy the Balloon Fiesta. We are in no hurry and will leave  as the traffic and time allows.                                                                                                            

 

I am going to sign off now, have some breakfast, and we will start our day in our home in Albuquerque New mexico because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary                                                                                        

                                                                                             

        

                                                                                          

'23/#25 Gooood Morning Albuquerque!

 I was going to have coffee and blog about last night at the Balloon Glow but woke up to the mass ascension flying right over our RV! Just had to post this right now. 

Now it is time for coffee and a shower. Today we will see the annular eclipse, go to a group social, and head over to the launch area for another Balloon Glow. I will also blog later about last night.  

Getting ready for another busy day in our home in Albuquerque because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#24 BALLOONS!

 We are in Albuqerque NM for the Balloon Fiesta. It is supposed to be the largest single gathering of hot air ballons in the world. This year 618 balloons are registered. One year they had over 1000 ballons and decided it was too much to handle. Our group checked in on Thursday, had orientation, and then dinner. The next three days will be all about the ballons.

The balloon glow and mass ascension start at 7am so it is imperative to get there early. We decided 4:30 am was the time to wake and start our adventure. A short bus ride from the RV area and we were right in the middle of the activity. We watched balloons inflate before the sunrise and walked among them gaping and taking pictures. As the sun started to rise so did the balloons.

First there were a few then maybe a dozen then twenty or so and soon there were more balloons in the sky than we could count. There will be lots of pictures and some videos here and on Facebook from Mary and myself. We counted and between the two of us we took almost 500 pictores before 10am! There is not much more to say than we saw balloons, more ballons and lots of balloons of every shape, size, color, and theme.

We were back in the RV about 10:30 am tired but too excited to sleep. Played with the pictures, ate a little lunch, and blogged. Now we are tired and will take a nap to be back at the launch field for the Special Shape Glowdeo tonight. More pictures to follow.

It's nap time in our home in New Mexico because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

O23/#23 Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'......

 And the wheels keep rolling as we get closer to Albquerque NM. Overnight stays are easy and don't take too much time to set up and tear down. 15 to 30 minutes and we are off the road and set up for the night and usually a little less to get back on the road in the morning. Tonight we are in Amarillo Texas with one more stop before we get to the balloon festival.

Our next stop we will prepare the rig for "off grid living" while we are at the festival grounds. The details are not important but it will let us enjoy our time there without worrying about RV living.

On another note, I do watch the responses to the blog and look forward to each and every comment. I know it is easier to post as anonymous, and that is ok, but if you could mention who you are or give me a clue in the comment it would be great. I like to to put a face to the comment. 

A short trip so a short blog. Until the next blog I''m gone. From our home in Amarillo Texas because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#22 Life Back On The Road

 I know I pointed it out before that we have been very busy. Well we finished our work commitment in St Ignace and got the rig ready for travel, all in time for our planned departure. Our little KOA family got together for dinner and dessert one last time before we left. We got very close to these people and will keep in touch. Some we will get together with once back in Florida. Another season and our workcamping family keeps growing.

October 3rd the wheels officially started rolling. First stop was Elkhart IN. We have passed through the area many times and always try to spend a couple of days. It is after all the epicenter of RV manufacturing. And don't forget all the gooood Amish food! As a bonus a friend from the Post Office lives just down the road from where stayed. We had a 2 plus hour lunch just laughing and telling stories over good food. But it was time to move on down the road.

Our next stop was just an overnighter. We stayed at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for $20. What a deal! On the road early the next morning and into Ozark Missouri. Another cheap parking lot campground with a special feature. It was the proximity to a close friend that Mary worked with in Forsyth about 5 years ago. We spent a couple of days catching up, seeing how big her boys have grown, saw her new house, and met her new husband. it was a great visit but once again the road was calling.

Today we are in Choctaw OK. Another one night stay but it was time to catch up on some chores. In another day I was going to have to go commando if we didn't do some laundry. We also needed a few groceries to get us to our ultimate destination....Albeuquerque New  Mexico and the Balloon Festival.

The washers are done and things are starting to come out of the dryers. And since clothes don't fold themselves I will end this blog.Until the next blog we are home in Oklahoma because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary