A lot of things have changed since my last post but first here are a few pictures from my trip to Arkansas.
We started in Hot Springs and drove up route 7 to Harrison. Then we went into Branson, Mo. for one night. Then it was on to Eureka Springs, AR. We had a wonderful time. A lot of relaxing and a lot of walking, I needed both. Wonderful food, lots of little shops with local art, and beautiful views of the mountains. The trees weren't as beautiful as usual but we enjoyed what color there was.
October 13, 2015
Still haven't spent the night in the van. After driving for 4 hours the camp ground where I was planning on staying was full. I checked into the lodge and spent the night on a comfortable bed. Since I had packed my breakfast I woke up early and headed out to explore at sunrise. I found a national forest camping area with no facilities right on the lake. This is where I will try camping on my next trip this way. One deer and 2 wild turkeys on this trip. The turkeys must be very plentiful this year.
This Saturday I leave for Hot Springs, AR. I hope we are on time for the leaf changing. We will be taking rt 7 through the mountains on the way to Harrison, AR. the drive should be beautiful. There won't be any camping on this trip. All hotels with breakfast before we start out everyday.
October 2, 2015
It's been over a month since my last post. Nothing much has been happening around here just the usual work work work.
This weekend I'm planning a trip to my mothers with the hope of camping in my van on Sunday night. It has finally cooled off enough to sleep in the van with lots of covers. Sleeping in a van with the windows closed at 50° is much easier than 90°.
It's not just the weather holding me up. I have a 14 yr old dog with arthritis, she cannot walk very far and does not do well in extreme hot or cold weather. Leaving her behind when she is obviously in pain and poor health has not been easy, but she would not enjoy being on a camping trip either.
On the 18th I am going to Hot Springs & Eureka Springs, AR. I'll be traveling with a friend in her car and staying in hotels along the way. We will be driving through the mountains with the hope of seeing the fall color.
August 19, 2015
Didn't make the camping trip last weekend. I did go to the lake for the afternoon on Sunday and that was very pleasant.
So what kept me from camping. On Saturday I received a call from the yard man because he had awakened a bumble bee hive. I watched the bees on Saturday evening and then called an exterminating company on Monday. They want $175 to dust the hive and then come back and dust everything under the house. The bees have gotten under the house through the vent and made their hive in the insulation against the outside wall. Now it would seem killing the bees would be a no brainer but as with most of the country our bee population is declining. Bumble bees pollinate many plants and while they are not as necessary as honey bees they are still important
Some research on the internet is helpful. Male bumble bees die in the winter and only the fertilized queens hibernate. They go underground for the winter and when they awaken in the spring they establish new hives for their off spring. The bees under my house will either die or become inactive within 1 to 2 months. The BIG question is will they move out from under my house or will they establish more hives under the house.
August 26, 2015
Nothing much going on. I spent another Sunday setting on my friends deck overlooking the lake and watched the birds fight over the feeders. I've contacted the county extension office about the bees and they along with everyone else think the answer is just killing them. I'm going to set an appointment with another company that only charges $90 but they only come out once. I think one trip will be enough for as late as it is in the year. They tell me the chemicals they use will not stay active through the winter so no matter what I do now I will probably be calling them back in the spring.
That's it, that's all I've accomplished in two weeks. Next weekend my mother will be in town so there won't be any trips to the lake. Maybe I'll get some housework done before she gets here. We'll see.
Have a great day!
August 14, 2015
I'm not sure when I became so disorganized but I have noticed on the last few trips I've taken I'm scrambling at the last minute to get everything together. Last night at the grocery I walked around in circles trying to decide what to take with me this weekend. Finally decided to go home and make a decision about how I was going to be cooking before buying food.
I considered eating out, using the electric hookups to use my coffee maker and a small electric grill, or buying a small propane stove. For what I would spend eating out I could buy a small stove and I don't want to wait for my morning coffee. In the end I have decided to just use the electric hookups for coffee and grill. With that decision made I can buy groceries. I'm planning to take a couple frozen hamburgers, a container with some lettuce and tomato slices and buns for dinner Sunday and lunch Monday. For breakfast I'll take some bacon to cook on the grill and either boiled eggs or maybe make an omelet that I could warm on the grill. I've always loved a big breakfast when camping but I'll keep it simple for this trip.
It costs $5 more for a site with electric hookups but I will need a fan since it is suppose to get into the 90's on Sunday. Overnight it is only going down to about 77 still plenty hot and humid for sleeping. I'm hoping by running the A/C to cool down the minivan before bedtime and using the fan to move the air, maybe it won't get too hot to sleep.
When I first started planning this the forecast called for cooler and dryer weather but in our area the weather changes every few days. I could cancel and wait until fall but I want to get this first camping trip under my belt so I can move forward with my plans. I have plans for setting up the minivan better but I'm too cheap to spend the money if I hate camping in it. If I enjoy this trip I know I can make the van even more comfortable.
Can you tell I'm getting excited? The last time I went camping was 30 years ago, with 3 children and a tent. The girls and I got pretty good at building fires and we had fun most of the time. However, I made a lot of mistakes and it always rained on us at least one night during our trips. When you live in Kentucky no matter how hot and dry it has been if you put up a tent it WILL rain.
Time to get to work.
Have a great day!
August 12, 2015
This past weekend I made shades for the windows in the van. I made them from foam board that I purchased from the Dollar General store. One of the rear ones is a little too short and would allow someone to see in between the shade and the back curtain but I'm not going to worry about replacing it yet.
This weekend I'll go to one of the state parks to try camping. I'm going to use my couch cushions for the bed and I have rope and sheets for curtains at the front and back. The only thing I will buy is a rechargeable LED light and a camping stove. The camping stove is the biggest issue for me. I can get a single burner that uses the small propane tank as the stand for $20 or should I get a two burner Coleman stove. I worry that the single burner would not be very stable. I haven't done anything about a canopy for shade but I've got a good idea of how I want to make it. I just don't want to spend the money for that just yet. This is a very cheap set up to start with. As I'm writing this I realize I will have no where to make coffee if it is raining. I'll have to give that some thought. Maybe the canopy is a more important investment than I originally thought.
I have customers in the store so I must go to work now.
Have a great day!
August 5, 2015
Yesterday it rained. I sat out on my front porch and watched the birds. There are 6 or 7 hummers fighting over 2 feeders. I've always liked rainy days and often took long walks during the rain. If I was retired what would my day have been like? How long would I have sat outside and then what? When I got up this morning it was cool outside and the high for today was suppose to get to 80. Another beautiful day spent inside working. Depressing!
Reading the blogs of full time travelers fill my days. There are those that will live their life in their van, trailer or motorhome and there are those that will eventually settle into another stick & bricks or at least park their rv on a permanent lot.
Well, the Adkins diet didn't last long, about 3 days was my limit. On Sunday the 19th I had my children & grandchildren over for dinner and that blew the diet. On the bright side I have lost 3# since my last post. So, at least I'm headed in the right direction.
The plans for the minivan are coming along even if I haven't actually done any work. Just measuring and shopping around for items to make curtains. It's too hot and humid right now to sleep in it but I want to have it ready for a trip this fall. I saw a blog about a woman getting ready to travel in a mini van but I can't find it now. She has a mini van with a tent that attaches to the back of the van. I clicked onto her site through someone or something else I was reading about so I'll have to do some research to find it again.
My mother is looking to buy or rent a house in the same area where I live. Right now they live about 3 1/2 hrs southwest of here. We've looked at retirement homes but they are just too expensive. My step father is in poor health and my mother is struggling with walking because of osteoporosis in her spine. What prompted her desire to move closer to my brother and I was having shingles and pneumonia a couple of years ago and not having any help available in her small town. While there are more health care and home care advantages here I'm just not sure she would like moving.
Does this effect my plans? Not really sure. It would be very hard to leave town if she needed me here.
My mother has always been a very adventurous person. She was the first person I knew that owned and drove an RV. She loves travel and drove through all 48 states and cruised Hawaii and Alaska. She's been to Mexico, South America, China, Ireland, Germany and a few other countries.
That's enough rambling for today I better get back to work.
Have a great day!
This post will be a bunch of stuff about nothing.
I received an offer on the store earlier this week but it was way too low. The owner of a nearby thrift store wants my location and will take my inventory.
The store is not actually for sale. In order to put it up for sale I would need a future plan and I'm not there yet. The property is leased so the only value is the inventory, shelving and equipment.
Yesterday I was rereading last years posts. One of the reason for starting this blog was so I could look back in a year to see if I had made any progress. I've actually gone backwards with my full time rving plans and I've made no progress on getting my house or business ready to sell since the beginning of the year. My one concession to traveling has been to purchase a minivan that I'm working on getting ready to use for camping.
Thinking about going to the RV-Dreams fall rally. This would give me the opportunity to test out the minivan and learn about others full time experience. In reading over the list of classes I could benefit from almost all of them.
The hummer with the damaged beak has not been back to my yard. Maybe it was just something stuck on his beak and he got it off. At least that is what I prefer to believe.
I'm going to start the Atkins diet tomorrow. I've been working on low carb for a year without much success so I'm just going to go full throttle into the Atkins. My blood sugar has been staying under control with low carb but I'm not loosing any weight. We'll see what happens with a few weeks on Atkins.
That's about it for today.
Have a great day!
