The new Oak Grove house

I've been seeing the progress on the new Oak Grove house via Facebook, but was able to see it in person!

I grew up in the Oak Grove house; we moved there when I was in first grade. Dad lived there until he died in 1999, and it had not been lived in since then. It was not a well-built house... so Ricky and his bride, Kendra, decided the best option would be to take down the house there, preserving the parts that could be re-used, and then build a house that would be what they want it to be.

The house is largely "up" with lots of finishing work to be done, most of which Ricky plans to do.

Kendra, Ricky, and "Dallas" the kitty on their front porch

Meeting up with friends from youth group

Last year, when Dwayne and I were driving back to Texas from Virginia after Ricky and Kendra's wedding, we stopped at a rest area west of Richmond on I-64. There were two ladies rooms, so I picked the one that had fewer people going into it. There was only one other lady in there, and when we were both washing our hands at the sink, I looked up and recognized Gilda, a friend that I had not seen since we were in youth group together at Providence Forge Presbyterian Church. We were shocked to see each other and to recognize each other!

We've been in touch since then, and another friend from those days, Joni, asked Jimmy to be sure to get me to get in touch with her when I was in town.

So, I let Gilda know that we would be in town, and she set it up for the three of us, Gilda, Joni, and me, to have lunch together.

It was so much fun remembering the people and good times we had in youth group!

New creatures on the farm, and good to get acquainted with old friends too

There is a recently acquired new rooster in town - he seems to have the ladies of the chicken yard all in awe.

There's also a new kitty at the dairy barn - she doesn't have a name yet, but she is a sweetie.

Champ is still filling his role as "watch dog":

Here are some of Regina's girls:

Melanie

Melanie "prays" during her supper (also allows her to reach further to get more of the alfalfa)

Meg

Mikayla (Kay)

Magnolia - note the pompadour!

Magnolia

Marcie

Madeline

I got to "help" by feeding the two bottle babies -- not a good picture of the baldy, but the calf of Kendra's is a cutie:

Kendra's steer calf "Bruno" (destined for the freezer)

Christie Lee - looking forward to getting her bottle

Post-bottle milk beard

Henry is a "ladies man" and wishing that he could be in the pasture with the herd:

The girls in the pasture showed no interest to Henry's moaning/singing:

Henrietta is showing some age, but she is still a sweet kitty!

Thankful to have a brother who is so smart!!!

I am so thankful that my brother, Jimmy, is so smart! He has so much knowledge about mechanical things and how they work - and thankfully he seems to find working on motorhomes to be an interesting challenge.

We arrived on Poplar Springs Farm in Virginia early on Thursday, 10/30, with a list of things we wanted to ask him about. He immediately had suggestions and recommendations.

Here, he and Dwayne are working on the gasoline inlet line.

Jimmy underneath the wheel well of the Trek and Dwayne standing ready to fetch tools as needed.

You may be able to tell that the inlet line (coming in from the right) goes down from the fueling location and then UP to the gas tank - this created something like a "trap" in a drain line, keeping us from being able to fuel the Trek with an automatic hose.

Corrected fuel line, now "down" from fuel inlet and relatively flat from curve to tank.

 We won't know for sure if this corrects the fueling "problem", but it sure will be nice if Dwayne doesn't have to hold the nozzle of the fuel pump for the whole time it takes to pump 35-60 gallons of fuel in the future!

While he had the back tires off, I was able to check the date codes on them - one is 1111 (eleventh week of 2011) and the other is 1211 (twelfth week of 2011).

date code 1111

date code 1211 (hard to see)

Jimmy also has the jackstands that can hold the weight of a 10 ton vehicle, so we lifted it up with the levelers, then put the jackstands underneath, so it was safer to be under it.

When he put the back tires back on, I got to see how dual tires go on - the inside wheel part that goes over the lugs sticks "out" and the outside wheel part sticks "in".

Putting the "inside" tire on - wheel sticks "out"

Putting the "outside" wheel on, wheel sticks "in"

The fancy chrome thing is just a "hub cap" and purely decorative.

The view this evening (10/30) was somewhat more peaceful than the previous (people of WalMart view).

This is the best "campground" you can imagine - amazing views, quiet, incredible meals up at the "main house", a fully stocked "mechanics dream" right next door, and loving family - what else could be wanted?

The Grass is Always Greener

You've heard that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?
This cow believes it:

People of WalMart

One of the things that you quickly learn as an RVer is that there are places where you can "boondock" - that is, stay overnight without hookups. Many WalMarts allow this, as well as many highway rest areas. On our drive from Savannah to Virginia, we decided to stay overnight at a WalMart store. I have an app on my phone (AllStays - I really like it!) that shows me all sorts of good information for RVers - campgrounds, state parks, county parks, truck stops, rest areas, and has the WalMarts indicated as "no overnight parking allowed" or "ask to park". We found an "ask to park" WalMart in Rocky Mount, NC, called them, and got an "ok" to park there. When we arrived, however, the area that was in front of the WalMart but furthest from the store had multiple signs posted "No Overnight Parking - Towing Enforced". I didn't want to wake up to a "boot" put onto our motorhome (which is probably what they would do instead of towing us), so we looked a little further down the parking lot (more in front of the OfficeDepot) and that area was not posted, so we moved Miss Daisy down there.

Now, when boondocking, there are a few things to consider:

1. You don't have electric hookups so you should be sure your batteries are fully charged; you can also run the generator, but since running the generator consumes about a gallon of gas per hour, at ~ $3/gallon, it isn't going to save you anything over staying in a campground overnight if you have to run the generator all night. We ran the generator for a little while when we first arrived to cool down the Trek, and then shut it down.
2. You don't have water or waste hookups, so you should ensure that your fresh water tank has sufficient to satisfy your needs, and your grey and black water are empty. Unfortunately, I had intended to ask Dwayne to ensure that our fresh water was at least 2/3 full... it wasn't...
3. When your fresh water is empty or your waste water is full, you have to find alternate facilities.

Thus, I became a "person of WalMart" as nature called early in the morning and the fresh tank was empty.... A couple of WalMart employees gave me sympathetic looks as I tried to sneak in as inconspicuously as possible...

Let's just say we got an early start the next morning....

Election thoughts

As we've been traveling around in the weeks leading up to November elections in the US, we've seen a lot of campaign signs throughout our travels. It is interesting to me to contemplate several things with regard to elections:

• How do you vote? I know that many people vote "straight party" in Texas. Personally, I use this as an opportunity to actually contemplate each individual as I vote and pray for them. Many of the folks on the ballot and the roles they are running for are totally unknown to me, but I am thankful that they are willing to run and to serve and I use the opportunity to at least once bring their name to God and ask Him to bless them. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
• Why do the candidates run? Having never been one who would be interested in running for a public office, when I see the campaign signs I wonder why they are running for office. Is this the first step for them toward larger goals? Are they gifted in the area of need for their community and they are prompted by God to serve? (Proverbs 21:1)
• How do the candidates campaign? In at least a few of the communities we have driven through, we have seen a LOT of signs for certain candidates, and the signs indicate the post for which they are running, but we haven't seen any signs for the other candidate. Did the one who has lots of signs have lots of campaign funding and decide to spend it that way? Does the other candidate have the election sewn up and isn't bothering to even print signs?

As election day approaches on Tuesday:

• remember that all in authority are there by God's will
• we are commanded to pray for them
• Paul made that statement when the ruling emperor was about as bad as they get against Christians
• Christian - before you criticize that person whom God has placed in authority over you, consider spending at least as much time on your knees praying for him or her