Thousand Trails Medina Lake RV Resort – Lakehills, Texas Day 3 (GA304)

 Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.

Because we have 4,500+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in Acton, California. I’m scheduled to depart here April 3rd.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

 

 

 

This entry was posted November 22, 2012

 

 

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. She had successful carotid artery surgery on Wednesday, November 14th,  returned home the following day and is in the process of recuperation.

 

 

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails. the largest RV resort company with 80 locations nationwide, of which Mary and I are members. I’ll begin my “Winter hibernation” by hiding out from colder weather with a three-week stay, departing not later than December 10th. After my stay here, I’ll head even further south until I reach the Rio Grande River and the border of Mexico to hide out from the colder Winter weather.

 

 

Yesterday I took a walk to the activity center that is all decked out for Thanksgiving…

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The adult lounge…

 

 

 

 

Had this eye test chart for seniors…

 

 

In other news…

 

 

I haven’t been in San Antonio (about 40 miles away) since 1979, so I may take a day-trip or two there while I’m here. Other than that I’ll just be hanging around reading and doing area photography. I’ll be supplementing my daily Blog with RV related topics that I’ve accumulated over the past year.

 

 

Yesterday I had a loyal reader send me an Email that said in part…

My suggestion:   Instead of having all of us readers scurrying around to find the atlas and locate you in your wanderings in Texas and elsewhere,  how about posting a map, not a Google map, but a real one that shows where you are geographically?  That would keep me and maybe others from having to listen to our own mutterings “He’s in so-and-so place.   Now where the hell is so-and-do?  Never heard of it!”

 

 

So, I agreed to try if it wasn’t to big of a hassle. The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

Now you do not have to try to find me on your atlas!

 

 

Enjoying easy-to-see Ramblin’ Man current locations without having to use an atlas is another joy of the RV lifestyle!

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

Mary did not post this date.

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos and video.

Forecast for today is rain and 54 degrees. Most unusual weather for this area and time of year.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

A Smaller Thanksgiving!

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 21st year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I am scheduled to depart November 28th. While here, I’ll do cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to both vehicles.

 

 

Today’s Subject…A Smaller Thanksgiving….

 

Yesterday Mary, her brother Norman and I drove 92 miles in her Prius to her youngest daughter’s home for Thanksgiving in Davis, California..

 

The family crowd this year was smaller than usual. Missing were her oldest son and his family (4), her oldest daughter and family (4) and Mary’s grandson Owen aged 15, who was in Greece with his other Grandmother.

 

Since the crowd was smaller, a smaller turkey was cooked butterfly style to reduce cooking time. It was still very tasty…

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The smaller crowd…

 

 

 

 

Another thing getting smaller is myself. I’ve not yet mentioned it in my blogs, but I’m in the process of losing some weight. I’ve put myself on what I’m calling a modified Atkins Diet…restricting myself to under 25 grams of carbohydrates a day and have lost 20 pounds since Labor day. Yesterday being Thanksgiving I set a goal of not exceeding 50 grams of carbs. You can see by my plate I used a teaspoon to portion out the trimmings. Hopefully, I kept the day’s intake to under 100 grams of carbs… 🙂 …

 

I’ll be keeping on my restricted eating habits as I’ve got more weight to lose. More on that topic as time goes by.

 

It was a very nice and enjoyable day, as I hope was yours.

 

To read all about Murphys, click this link…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphys,_California

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Yesterday was mostly sunny and 60 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 59 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2016

Henry Ford And A Turkey..

The motorhome is currently parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. My current departure date is scheduled for December 1st. Four days and counting!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I like many people give thanks for the good life I enjoy. My family, Mary, my good health, my new eyesight and being able to enjoy the full-time RVing lifestyle coming up on 20 years!

First here’s a photo about Henry Ford and his first pickup camper…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

You can read the story by just clicking this link…http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2014/11/27/henry-fords-pickup-camper-first-rv/19568353/

Now for the turkey. I took this photo of this beauty in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia back in 2010…

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

The cataract surgery of my right eye was conducted on October 9th and my left eye on November 6th. Both eyes are now at 20/20. The only remaining item left (other than eye drops until early December) is a visit to the optometrist to be fitted for reading glasses at the VA Hospital in Livermore, California was yesterday. I made a last-minute phone call and changed my appointment to December 2nd.

Yesterday was a mostly sunny day and 70 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 72 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

HUNGER IN AMERICA.

WE ARE MORE ALIVE WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE CONSCIOUS OF OUR TREASURES.  I think that is a quote from Thornton Wilder.

I’m thinking of that Norman Rockwell Cover of the family with a big fat turkey on the table. I’m going to enjoy Thanksgiving at my son’s house in Valley Springs. As a family we always count our blessings and give thanks for what we have. And we will have that fat turkey at our table. People are generous at Thanksgiving and Christmas; Americans are very giving in general.

Hunger in America is very high this year. People are hungry all year-long, not just over the holidays. I’m told by church members that food boxes at Thanksgiving cannot supply enough turkeys for every family in need this year in both counties, Tuolumne and Calaveras. I hope you dig deep and can help out  in your community.

With all the talk, (if they haven’t already done it,) about cutting food stamps, here is how the food stamp program works. It is a debit card and can’t be used for anything but food. It provides $7 a day. Remember that a half-gallon of milk is $3.50. Seven dollars does not go very far. The link below has information about the food stamp program, how it works, the myths and facts about people who use food stamps and so on.

http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/public-assistance-programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/snap-myths-realities.aspx#

Here from my Friend Dominic Torchia is a somewhat personal perspective:

THE REAL SHORT STORY ON OUR “FOOD STAMP PROGRAM”

!. Extremely efficient.

2. Grossly underfunded.

3. Insufficient benefits for the millions of poverty stricken Americans.

4. Hunger a crisis in America – “1 in 7 families is now considered food insecure.

(the highest it has been in America in recorded history)

5. Food banks are not able to keep up with the demands – and congress is set to cut the program amounts.

Let me tell you what it is like – information from friends and

family who are actually receiving food stamps. (by the way) they

get no welfare, disability, workman’s comp – nothing but

CMSP (if they are lucky) and $7 a day – $7 a day!! in food

stamps. Can they work? For many, no – for others, if someone

would hire them they would be on the job in the morning.

Members of congress make $90 an hour. In one hour a

member of congress makes what a hungry American

receives for food for 13 days. Who are the true “welfare

queens?”

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/06/1243243/-The-Welfare-Queen-The-Homeless-By-Choice-Reagan-s-Toxic-Legacy?detail=email

 

SIBLING CHRISTMAS

My sister Dawn spent Christmas with her immediate family in Chico and drove the three hours to my house on Dec. 28th. Brother Norman is my homeless brother and we all get together once a year at Christmas.  Norman is very political and shared all of the letters he has written to various newspapers and congress-people. We played Rummikub endlessly, it seemed with much fun and hilarity.

Yesterday, the rest of the family arrived, Clark, Bill, and Theresa, Clarks Finance. Bill lost his bid for congress. Without my glasses on, I didn’t realize I caught everyone with their mouths full.

We don’t exchange gifts, but Dawn bought me a shirt she couldn’t resist.

She knows I’m an avid fan of Downton Abbey. Mary from Downton Abbey is the figure on the right. If you don’t know the program, well, it may be hard to understand. We had a lot of fun, remembering the program which is set to begin a third series January 16th. I will miss it because I’ll be on the road with Jim.

 

 

We talked politics and solved the problems of the world in four hours. We reminisced about being raised with politics at dinner every night when we were growing up. We all have different solutions, it seems. We talked about our thinning ranks.

Dawn reminded me she will be 80 years old on her next birthday.

Norman is 66. Bill is 75. Clark is the youngest at 57. We’ve lost two brothers, Mark and Dan. So, we remember them and tell family stories. There is always a new one not everyone has heard before.  It is time well spent. Today, I un-decorate and say good-bye to another eventful year as I close the house, (mostly the refrigerator) and pack my bags and prepare to meet Jim. (Maybe I can hide the five pounds I put on over Thanksgiving and Christmas.)

 

Thousand Trails Medina Lake RV Resort, Lakehills, Texas – Day 3

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. She had successful carotid artery surgery on Wednesday, November 14th,  returned home the following day and is in the process of recuperation.

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails. the largest RV resort company with 80 locations nationwide, of which Mary and I are members. I’ll begin my “Winter hibernation” by hiding out from colder weather with a three-week stay, departing not later than December 10th. After my stay here, I’ll head even further south until I reach the Rio Grande River and the border of Mexico to hide out from the colder Winter weather.

Yesterday I took a walk to the activity center that is all decked out for Thanksgiving…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The adult lounge…

Had this eye test chart for seniors…

In other news…

I haven’t been in San Antonio (about 40 miles away) since 1979, so I may take a day-trip or two there while I’m here. Other than that I’ll just be hanging around reading and doing area photography. I’ll be supplementing my daily Blog with RV related topics that I’ve accumulated over the past year.

Yesterday I had a loyal reader send me an Email that said in part…

My suggestion:   Instead of having all of us readers scurrying around to find the atlas and locate you in your wanderings in Texas and elsewhere,  how about posting a map, not a Google map, but a real one that shows where you are geographically?  That would keep me and maybe others from having to listen to our own mutterings “He’s in so-and-so place.   Now where the hell is so-and-do?  Never heard of it!”

So, I agreed to try if it wasn’t to big of a hassle. The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Now you do not have to try to find me on your atlas!

Enjoying easy-to-see Ramblin’ Man current locations without having to use an atlas is another joy of the RV lifestyle!

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust