'20/#7 The Final Countdown Begins

Before I get started let me thank the people who have started adding comments to the blog. It is nice to know when you are reading and enjoying our adventures. Now on to the meat of the blog.

We are in March and the clock is ticking away. Where has the time gone? There is still a decent size list of things we need to do before we hit the road and just a little more than three weeks to get it done. Most of it is simple easy stuff but still takes time to get done. If we don't dawdle we will be ready with time to spare.

During this time our life doesn't stop. We still have our jobs here, the volunteering we do, and a couple of excursions planned. The big volunteer job is St Patrick's Day.  As I have mentioned in a previous blog we are cooking for this final event of the season. Lists have been made and volunteers to help have been lined up so now all that is left is the shopping, cooking, serving, and clean up. Ok, maybe we don't have as much behind us as we have yet to do but it is all falling into place.

We have been saying goodby to the people who are leaving early and processing them out from the park. We will be saying goodbye soon enough ourselves. For now we are still here in South Texas so I will sign off from our home in the Rio Grande Valley because.....


Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'20/#6 Maybe #5 1/2 ?

Just a quick blog for those of you who follow us on the internet. I don't Facebook that much but Mary does keep me up to date on our friends, family, and other important things on Facebook. I don't use "important and Facebook" in a sentence very often. Let me get to the point I am making. I would love it if any of you would post what you think or are feeling when you read my blog. I have a couple of regular posters and I can see that I have a number of people following us on the blog. It would be really nice to see a few more comments. The web site has made it easier to comment and if you would put something in the name box for me to know who you are.It doesn't have to be your whole name or anything you wouldn't like out on the internet. Just something that lets me know who you are.

Thanks for listening, following, and hopefully commenting. Blog at you soon from our home in the Rio Grande Valley because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'20/#5 Why We Do What We Do

Today was the annual Volunteer Appreciation Lunch in Texas Trails. Like many RV parks the activities are run, attended, and supported by volunteers. Whether it is a holiday dinner, the weekly dance, or in our case the weekly Chuck Wagon the volunteers make it all possible. Many of the events would never happen without our volunteers. The best part is that anyone can volunteer! There is always something to be done and something for every level of ability.

This New Years Eve party Mary and I volunteered to take charge of the decorating. There was plenty of decorations from past years and we added some new to brighten things up. When we asked for volunteers to help we got about ten people step up. We also had several more who wanted to help but were commited to a previously planned bus trip. In less than two hours the hall was decorated and ready to usher in the New Year.

Every one had a skillset to bring to the table. Some of the older ladies unpacked and fluffed up the hanging items while others taped art work to the walls. Some of the gentlemen set up the components for our photo back drop including ballons and a giant champagne bottle. I ran up and down the ladder hanging things from the ceiling while Mary kept things organized and jumped in where ever she was needed.

We don't expect our older residents to climb ladders or move tables but they can set tables, roll silverware, and assemble table decorations. There is a job for everyone and every little bit helps. If the activities in your community need volunteers try and help. Even the tiniest help is something that needed to be done. It is also a way to get to know your neighbors in this RV transient life style.

Even though the lunch was for the volunteers, almost 200 of them, we still volunteered to help serve and clean up after. That is what volunteers do! Well I will sign off from our home in Texas Trails because......

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'20/#4 Hanging On For Now

Here we are in South Texas and the weather is a bit colder than we would like. With temperatures getting down in the 30's we are hanging on down here as long as we can. We will be heading north soon enough and there will be colder weather where we are going. We and the rig will be all prepared for the road as well as the weather.

Our list to get ready is getting shorter and longer at the same time. While getting the water connection fixed we found a leak in the water heater. This was a job better suited to a professional so that was something added to the list. That was taken care of and then a rock hit the truck windshield. Another thing added to the list. When we got that taken care of we found someone who could take care of our slide topper. One thing off the list and another added. If we keep going like this the list will never end!

With only seven weeks left the list has to get done. We also have a few other commitments on the calender that have been planned all winter. Once again I ask "how did I find time for a full time job?". Even without all the volunteering we aren't doing anymore I'm sure it will come down to the wire.

It is time to get to the list and try to stay warm so I will sign off now from our home in the Rio Grande Valley because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'20/#3 Racing The Calendar

HOLY CRAP! I just looked at the calendar and realized that we will be on the road in just over two months. Where did the winter go? I know I talked about all the volunteering we have done and the work we do but it still sneaked up on us. There is so much to do and so little time. We have stopped volunteering to give us more time but that just allows us to enjoy a little "do-nothing" down time. Now that we have rested a little, it is time to get back into gear and start checking things off our to-do list.

That being said I thought that I would tell you about our next volunteer project. Yes we have one more volunteer job that we are committed to. We are cooking St Patrick's Day dinner. That means corned beef and cabbage for 350-400 people. This is the last social event of the season before all the Winter Texans head north and is also one of the most attended events of the year. Others will be organizing the parade, games, contests, and other activities and there should be no shortage of volunteers for all of it. No doubt we will have many hands helping in the kitchen.

This last party cuts our time down to 4-6 weeks to get everything we want to do and see before we leave. This summer we will be getting some work done on the RV and anything I can do myself is money we can save for some of the bigger projects we have planned. Such is the life the full time Rver.

Well we have to get started on our day or as they say in the old westerns,"we're burning daylight!!". So here's so long from our home in the Valley because......

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'20/#2 Unsung Volunteers

2019 ended with the usual flurry of holiday activity and the activity is carrying over into 2020. The weekly activities that were suspended during the past few weeks are getting started again. As is common in most RV parks all the fun and games rely on the volunteers that organize, run, set up, and clean up to keep things running smoothly.  Now if you know Mary she is one to step up and take charge when needed. If you know both of us you also know when you get one of us for anything you usually get both of us. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am a volunteer whether I know it or not.

Here in Texas Trails there are sign up sheets for all the activities and I make it a point to check and see what I have volunteered for. Many times I have volunteered and signed my name in Mary's handwriting. During the activities I get the chance to talk to other volunteer husbands that don't remember signing up but nonetheless are here doing their part. The common factor is they seem to volunteer in their wives' handwriting. None of us mind as long as we get a heads up before we actually have to show up. We are the unsung and sometimes unknowing volunteers that keep the park a community.

The next few months will be plenty busy for us. We have a laundry list of things to do before we get back on the road in the spring. All of this is in addition to the activities in the park that we participate in and some of the excursions we have planned in the Rio Grande Valley. It still amazes me how full our calender gets even though we are retired. I'm not sure how I ever found time to hold a full time job before.

Well I have to go and check the volunteer sign up sheet so I will be saying goodbye from our home in the RGV because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'20/#1 A New Year and Life Goes On

Happy New Year to everyone and welcome to 2020! After bringing in the New Year twice, once on TV on the east coast and again in person in Texas in central time, it is time to start the new decade. It is also time to remember the past year so we can appreciate what we have and also what we have lost. It is a time to plan for the future. So my rambling begins.

2019 was like any other year with it's ups and downs. As travelers we saw many wonderful places and got to meet a ton of great people. In our travels we had a few mishaps that in the grand scheme of things were truly only bumps in the road. At the time it may have seemed bigger, but bumps and bruises are signs of a life lived to the fullest. The past twelve months also had a number of people leave our lives. Some moved on to live where we probably won't see them again, but we never know. Others have moved on to a more permanent destination where we know we won't see them again. Those, especially the ones closest to us, really can be as close as the memories we have of them. I'm not trying to minimize the loss, I am just saying that life goes on and hopefully the memories of the good times will help numb the pain of loss that we all feel.

Now 2020 will be a year like no other simply because all of us have to do our part to make it what it will be remembered for. First I would like to say something and get it out of the way. 2020 is a presidential election year and everybody has an opinion. I am not taking sides here but I am saying that if you have an opinion the place it matters the most is the ballot box. 2016's 60% voter turnout is shameful. Government by the people means ALL the people! Just vote! And please let us be civil to each other.

Off the soap box and back to our plans for 2020. As I have posted before we will not be workcamping this year but will do more traveling in and around our old stomping grounds. We will be trying to reconnect with friends, old friends, and some really old friends and visiting with as much family as possible. Along the way we want to give our home some much needed TLC and possibly some up grades to take us into this new decade and all that it promises. Since our home is on wheels and our plans are written in jello we are just making tentative travel plans. We are also looking for new workcamping opportunities along the way. We might even find one near these old friends and family.

Right now I am looking out the window at a dreary rainy January 1st, but maybe it is 2020's way of washing off the old 2019 to give us a new clean slate to mark our own 2020 on. So, again, Happy New Year to everybody who follows us from our home on wheels in Pharr Texas because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary