Nitewriter Chronicles

Roadrunner

2015-01-03T19:50:00.000-05:00

I sold the truck camper (just the camper, not the truck) and got a small RV. Here's the roadrunner.

first post in a year -- catching up for 2014

2014-08-25T11:58:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been a year since I posted on this blog. It's been a busy year. We have a new grandson now -- Jacob is almost 3 months old.

We are planning a road trip to TX in October. I have three presentations to do at the ADEIL conference in Lubbock mid-Oct so we're heading that way for three weeks to visit family and take some vacation stops along the way.

We're renovated the fifth wheel to make office space. We never used the recliners anyway so we fixed it up for desk chairs (which are way more comfy). We also took out the dinette and made an L-shaped sitting area so we wouldn't lose the storage space under the benches. We're not sure yet whether we'll keep the sofa or get rid of that and make more office space. I don't need much but hubby has the laptop and a large monitor. The space he fixed for that is really nice. We also have new steps inside and out to make it easier for me to get up and down without straining my hips and back.

We'll be putting the 5ver up to the top of the driveway soon to start getting ready for the trip. I'll post some more photos then. More later.

My first meander-thal trip

2013-08-23T07:50:00.001-04:00

So I'm taking off on Sunday for a few days. Have no idea where I'm going other than heading west. Just 2-4 days to try out some interesting photography. This will be a new experience for this left-brained traveler who likes to have the route and overnight stays well planned in advance. It'll be cool enough to take advantage of Wally World for overnight parking if I get stuck with no place to stay. More to come later.

Are you a meander-thal?

2013-08-14T07:25:00.004-04:00

Love this post -- this is what I want to be when I grow up!

Are you a meander-thal?

Camper's back on the truck!

2013-07-30T05:26:00.001-04:00

The camper's back on the truck for some minor repairs. Need a new vent fan in the bath so DH is putting in a max-air vent and then one of those nifty covers that lets air circulate but keeps even driving rain out. Being able to open the hatch over the bed and also get that max-air fan going when parked will really help keep it cooler. And overnight parking without power will be more comfy too with the hatch and max-air vent both open to catch any cool air and breeze at night.

Happy trails! Hope to be on the road again in a couple of weeks.

Ready to hit the road soon .. maybe

2013-07-23T11:11:00.001-04:00

Weather is looking good for the next week so we're heading down to the campground and I'll stay through the week if the heat and humidity stay down. Planning for a solo road trip in August -- maybe more than one. Time to get to the mountains!

May have a small problem though -- my right hip is getting very bad. Pinching, catching, constant pain down the outside of the hip, thigh, and knee. Plus the torn cartilage inside the hip joint. Not sure at this point what my options are. I know that pt for the soft tissue pain (iliotibial band) might be helpful. Nothing much to do for the arthritis and torn tissue inside the joint except repair surgery or replacement. Not going the repair route - I've read horror stories from people with ehlers-danlos who have done that (multiple surgeries and eventually after a couple of years a replacement). So when and if the time comes, I'm going right for the replacement and to heck with repairs.

Time will tell. DH is going to make another modification in the camper so that I can use the sofa as a bed if I'm on a road trip and the hip acts up and I can't get up the steps to the bed.

Here's the sofa-dinette with the little table -- see that little area where the table goes? He's going to put in a platform that fits precisely so that I can put a cut-to-fit foam pad to extend the flat bed area. Even if I don't sleep there, it's more space for me to sit comfortably and work and still have room for Beau :-)

I'll be able to use either the table or the bed extension. You can see the steps up to the bed behind the table and bench seat.

Bottom line -- I'm a bit worried about hip problems when I'm on a trip. I need to have a place to sleep (and the bench area is plenty long and will be wide enough with the extension platform) if I can't do the steps. So we'll see. Got to get the camper back on the truck so DH can get in there to fix up the bench extension.

Happy travels to my blog travel friends -- stay cool!

Writing outside

2013-07-13T10:10:00.002-04:00

The weather (heat, humidity, storms) is not conducive to being at the campground and working out on the deck. My hip issues are not conducive to walking three dogs four times a day. So I adapt.

I now have a nice clean power-washed patio with deck chairs and a table. The patio is under the deck so when the weather gets hot, it's a lot cooler down there. It's just a bit of a pain carrying all my stuff (laptop, drinks, snacks, etc.) out back but I do have a stair chair inside so I don't have to walk up and down the steps.

Then upstairs on the deck, we have a huge 12x12 Gander Mt canopy (we've had it a few years but haven't put it up this summer until this morning) and deck chairs, tables, etc. Plus I've got a fan out here now and since the sun's not shining and the temps aren't too high yet, I've been very comfy out here. And the dogs LOVE being outside lazing around.

DH is working on my camper, fixing a few odds and ends so that I'll be ready to roll in a couple of weeks.

But first .... *sigh* .... I have to see an ortho specialist about my hip. It's getting to the point where I may have to give in and get something done. More about that later.

Have a great (and dry) weekend, friends.

Productive yet relaxing weekend

2013-07-06T10:49:00.000-04:00

The trip to the campground has been awesome. I was afraid the weather would be too hot but I've been able to be outside on the deck until around noon every day and then back out for a few hours in the evening. The dogs LOVE it!! I've gotten a LOT of work done and a lot of reading. I needed a relaxing break and so glad the weather cooperated.

This fall, late Sept, we are going on a duo trip either to the northeast or the northwest. Researching and trying to decide. DH has two weeks he can take and we figure if I do some of the driving (first time towing a fifth wheel for me but I'll learn fast!!) we can get just about anywhere in 2 1/2 days.

He wants to go to Acadia. I want to go back to the Black Hills and Badlands. Glacier is on both our lists but might be pushing it for just two weeks.

Solo trips in the planning stages -- of course TX again! But I'll go a different route this time, probably around my elbow to get to my thumb so I can hit some new places going and coming back.

I'm not sure I'm up for two month-long trips solo every year. Thinking about where I'd go other than my TX trip. Problem is we've been just about in every state and I don't really want to do reruns. I'm not sure I want to go cross-country solo although I know a lot of you do that. I'm worried about my hip giving out on me as it's getting progressively worse and I refuse to even consider surgery.

I'm quite comfortable going all up and down the east coast and there are a lot of historical sites I haven't visited yet and quite a few I would love to go to again, this time for photos.

So I'm thinking solo to TX taking a route that goes all the way around so I come in from north TX instead of south/west. Then several shorter 1-2 week road trips up and down the east coast. First I think I'm going to head to Shenandoah Valley and further west in VA as soon as we get a break from the nasty stormy weather as it's been just as bad, if not worse, out there than here.

Happy weekend to all! I'm going to kick back in the lounge chair right here on the deck and join the dogs in a nice little nap!!

Planning next road trip

2013-07-02T12:14:00.001-04:00

Planning is underway! I'm going to head to the Shenandoah Valley to take photographs. I love the mountains and historic places and the Valley has a lot of both!

Haven't been to Wmsbrg to the campground since May. It's been too freaking hot and humid, plus some major thunderstorms almost daily. Humidty, heat, and storms are worse in Wmsbrg than either here or at the beach.

We ARE going over the 4-day weekend. Hubby has a "work at home" day on Friday so he'll work from there. Hopefully the weather will be a bit cooler early in the mornings so I can spend at least a few hours a day out on the deck.

Back to work and writing! I'm also working on some online photo albums from my/our 2013 trips. I'll post when those are done.

Safe travels to all this week and next weekend!

Antsy for a trip

2013-06-27T09:28:00.003-04:00

The weather here has just been awful. It's been in the 90's with 90% humidity. Just nasty to be outside. I've wanted to go to the Williamsburg campground for weeks now, ready to sit out on the deck and work and write. But it's been too hot and humid to be outside at all, except maybe a few hours early in the morning. And rain? Omigosh it's stormed and rained almost every day. And it's always worse storms in Wmsbrg than at home just 45 min away.

So ....... we're going to try for the weekend. Then hopefully we can go back next Thurs through that weekend. It's not the best time of the year to spend a week or two there. And Wmsbrg weather is worse -- hotter, more humid, and worse storms.

If I have to stay inside, I'd rather do that at home where I can just let the dogs out and not have to walk them in the nasty weather.

So I'm ready for a road trip. But the weather out in the western part of VA and in WV is as bad, if not worse, than here.

Perhaps a 3-4 day trip just close by (within a couple of hours) to photograph some old historical homes. That might quench the craving to be on the road, at least temporarily.

R&R over for the time being

2013-06-21T08:31:00.003-04:00

Well back from vacay and set in the regular routine plus some! I have a project going at work and a new class starting in two weeks. LOTS to do. The past few days have been nice and I've been working outside on the deck in the mornings and evenings. Unfortunately not at my retreat but at home. I've had some lower back and hip issues that prevent me from traveling at the current time. I'm also on a medrol pack for 6 days which is usually lethal for diabetics.

Apparently the dogs scrounge around in some underbrush that had poison ivy in it and it's all over my hands, forearms and some on my face. Rubbing the dogs after their exposure transferred the oil to my skin. UGH!

The medrol causes high blood sugar in normal folks but it can be extreme in diabetics. Fortunately, over the past three months my BS has been low enough to be "normal" for someone who does NOT have diabetes. Readings have been between 75 and 95 even when I splurged and ate birthday cake for my dad's 85th b-day and a few splurges on our anniversary dinners (yeah more than one) at restaurants on vacay.

After the first day on medrol, my BS was elevated to about 119 at the highest. Not too bad so far. I've completely cut out all carbs except what's in pb (my mainstay) and whatever veggies and meat I consume. No fruits (which I'd just gotten so I could enjoy in moderation after three years of NO fruit at all) and no bread or any other type of starchy stuff.

I'm hoping to keep the numbers below 140 for the 6-day duration and the days after as the crap gets out of my system. Then hopefully back to my normal 75-95 readings. The one worry is that my diabetes was prednisone-induced and I'm hoping that with such a short burst, there won't be any long term effects.

Good news? The intense itching has stopped for the most part after just one day. Now it the rash and scaly crap will just go away in the next 5 days it'll be worth cutting out all carbs completely for two weeks.

Meanwhile, I have lots of work to keep me busy. My new independent-study writing pilot at work opens July 1 as does my writing class at the university. Perfect opportunity for some comparisons in effectiveness for student learning.

More later -- don't worry if I'm not around for a week or so -- got to be ready for the opening date.

Father's Day for two, two birthdays, and two anniversaries.

2013-06-17T05:08:00.000-04:00

We had a nice weekend. Every year on Father's Day, we have a quadruple celebration. We celebrate father's day for my dad and my husband, my dad's birthday and my daughter-in-law's birthday, our anniversary and our son/DIL's anniversary.

This year is was my dad's 85th birthday. Quite a milestone and honestly, I wonder if he'll be here for his 86th. He is so feeble now, loses his balance and falls all the time. He hasn't broken anything yet (except for smashing his nose and needed four hours of surgery two years ago), and he's walking with a cane, has a walker at home that he refuses to use. He's SO slow walking and so off-balance.

We like his wife, she takes quite good care of him. We lost my mom 13 years ago and my dad has married three times in those years. This one's a keeper, though. We met her family for the first time on Saturday when they had a surprise birthday dinner for him. They are all lovely people, seem to genuinely like my dad (his second wife's family hated my dad because they thought they'd lose her money even though he and Wife#2 set up legal paperwork to see that didn't happen -- guess they didn't believe it -- greedy bunch they were and eventually drove a wedge between them and they separated and divorced after 8 years -- such a shame). Wife #3 was just -- well words don't describe so I won't try.

Wife #4 is a gem and her family, including 6 grandchildren, two of whom are in college, are quick to look out for him (jumping up from the table for example when he gets up to go to the salad bar -- which I have to say he fusses mightily at me for doing the same thing). The oldest granddaughter drives 35 minutes to their house at least once a week when she's home from college and the others come by fairly often as well. They're a close-knit family and I'm happy to see that they help their mom/grandmom look after Dad when they're around. Wife#2's family would never have been like that. Wife #3 didn't have any siblings so no grandchildren.

At any rate, I have been expecting (that's how bad his physical condition is) to get a call any time now for the past year about how he's fallen and broken a hip or worse. Last week he reached down to pick up something off the floor and literally fell over on his head. It can't be too much longer. He's stubborn, hates using his cane and just gave in on that about 6 months ago, hates asking for and needing help doing anything, and generally, I believe, hates being old. He wants to be able to do stuff he's always been able to do. For example he built and operated ham radios when I was a kid and it was nothing for him to get up on the roof to put up antennas, even into his 60's when he and mom lived in the house we are in now.

Oh well, such is life, we all get older. What happens will happen. And it makes me realize that I need to get out and do my traveling while I still can. I was 58 a few months ago and my joints are getting progressively worse. Fortunately my pain decreases enough during good weather patterns that I can still travel, although sometimes it's not easy. More over the next few days about our travels and RV issues on this last trip. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Back to work for me today!

Roadside Breakdown

2013-06-15T08:19:00.001-04:00

So we drove home yesterday from our two week vacation (I also had some conference presentations during those two weeks). We were scheduled to arrive home around 3 Friday. Our first unexpected stop was around one when all of a sudden vehicles going by were honking horns and pointing at the trailer. Hmmm ... so we pulled off at the next exit ramp and onto the shoulder, got out and walked around checking everything out. Noticed the antennae on the top of the trailer was broken. So DH went up to take a look and sure enough, it was about ready to pull right out and blow away. That would have been a disaster for anyone on the road behind us.

Fortunately DH never goes anywhere without a full tool box (you know, one of those big truck bed tool boxes you see in work trucks – men and their toys!!) so he climbed down, got out a hacksaw, and went back up on the roof of the fifth wheel and took that sucker right off. Wish I'd thought to get pictures. And we were on our way again.

Until about 15 minutes later, vehicles going by started honking horns and pointing again. So we pulled off at the next exit ramp and onto the shoulder. Oops – shredded back tire on the fifth wheel. I'm talking shredded – as in shreds left on the rim. Dang tires are only two years old, have very few miles on them, and just got inspected two weeks ago. There are double tires on each side of the fifth wheel so when one goes out, it's not noticeable when you're driving – no vibration, noise, nothing.

We called AAA (we have premier RV so no worries there). We lucked out – it was only 81 degrees and the nice breeze with a few strong gusts here and there kept us quite comfortable. We knew we were in for a wait so we set up the awning, camp mat, and chairs. Got the dogs out of the truck, took them for a walk and then fed them their supper while we sat in the shade under the awning on the side of the road, waiting for the tow truck to come out and change the tire. Once we were on the road again, I bet the shredded tire on the rim that was put back on the spare tire rack on the back of the RV got lots of looks going down the highway.

So anyway, we got back around 5 instead of 3 as planned. All in all, things could have been MUCH worse. It could have happened during a pouring thunderstorm or 95 degrees with 90% humidity, both of which we've had plenty of over the past two weeks. We were joking around with our campground neighbors the other night and we all agreed that it never fails – crappy weather while you're on vacay and the day you have to leave, the weather turns gorgeous. Well today that was quite all right with us, as things turned out. So an eventful trip back home for sure.

It is SO good to be home. However we're already talking about our next trip and my next trip. DH telecommuted enough hours over the two weeks that, even though he was away from work for 10 days, he only used up 6 days of vacation. Which means we have four extra days to tack on the next trip, and if we plan that around a holiday, we'll get two weeks out of the deal. We're thinking the day after Labor Day we'll head north to New England for two weeks. And after we get back, I'm heading back down south when the weather cools off, hopefully around mid-to-late October. Planning on Texas again but I've got about 6 places I want to stop along the way for photos. I like photographing candid and odd or humorous situations (like the 18 foot conversion van towing a 13 foot self-contained bumper pull camping trailer- that was funny looking for sure). And all kinds of funny things people do when they think no one is looking.

I've always been a sucker for centuries-old homes and antiques of any kind – my late mother wrote a book about furniture refinishing and our home is wall-to-wall with gorgeous pieces she refinished. I LOVE antique tables but only the really old and odd tables. I'm going to start going to auctions again just to take photos of all the really cool tables people made a century ago (and occasionally I run into pieces made even hundreds of years prior to that. I live in prime history country and it's time to make the plantation trip up Route 5 again to get photos. I lost all my photos from when I was teenager.

So tell me, where's the best place to set up a series of photo albums online? Free with lots of storage place.

I have to also study on how to take photos in the dark of night. There was the most wonderful light show last night as the storm was approaching – but I just couldn't figure out how to work the camera to get those spectacular lightning flashes.

Here's our temporary roadside campsite :- )

Rain's over but good gosh the wind is whipping

2013-06-07T11:43:00.001-04:00

We stayed ahead of Andrea all the way north and got a lot of rain last night but no big deal. Today the wind is horrible -- no threat of tornadoes though. Gusts up to 40-50 so not too bad. The RV rocks a bit in the higher wind gusts but they are short-lived. Nice day to stay inside and work. Wade took a break from work and went out to his favorite place - Camping World. We need lube for the slides -- they kept stopping and he had to stand there and reset the fuses while I rolled the slides in (or out as the case may be). They'd trip the breaker every few seconds, he'd flip it back, and I'd hit the button again. They are opposing slides so usually the first one went out okay then we'd have to flip the breaker about 4 times to get the bigger slide in (or out as the case may be). It's dragging a bit and the motor is working too hard. So time for a lube on the slide mechanisms.

Other than that, everything's been fine. Our 37th wedding anniversary is Tuesday so we're putting Beau in a kennel here from Monday afternoon till Wed afternoon. The other two dogs are fine staying the RV for 5-6 hours while we go to a show and dinner but not Beau. So he's going to a kennel for two nights so we can see a show Monday night and go out to a fancy dinner Tuesday night.

We're supposed to drive home Friday next week but don't you know Josh Turner is going to be at the Alabama Theater Friday night? We' have to leave Beau in a kennel again overnight if we were to stay over till Saturday morning so we could see the show Friday night

Thinking about it .......

Have a great week!

Tropical Storm Andrea headed our way tonight

2013-06-06T22:25:00.001-04:00

Left Jekyll Island this morning around 6 am just ahead of TS Andrea. Had good travel weather and got set up in our new campground in record time. The afternoon we stayed busy catching up on work (both of us). TS Andrea will cause high winds and heavy rains starting around 5 am in the morning. We have our NOAA weather radio and some essentials packed in bags by the door in case we have to leave the RV for a safer building. My emergency bag -- meds, kindles, flashlights, water, camera, smartphone, laptop, food for us and a small bag of food for the dogs. Taking extra paper cups because we'll most likely share the bathhouse with other campers so we also have a way to share water and food. Be back online tomorrow -- no worries -- it's not supposed to be bad where we are. And I promise to get photos up soon. My go-bag also includes the instruction manual for my new camera! LOL

Laters --
Lee

Random thoughts

2013-06-04T13:30:00.001-04:00

The conference presentation went great.

Met in person a colleague I've worked online with for 8 years.

Have a few photos. Still figuring out the new camera.

Weather is hotter than forecasted. Storms every day. Humidity is off the charts.

Blogging on the cell phone is convenient but slow.

Big tiff with boss on my new pilot project lead job. I don't do university politics or suffer fools gladly. I won't take direction from faculty chairs who have no clue what this pilot is all about.

Big conference call tomorrow. Hope I still have a job once all is said and done.

Haven't decided which is the grossest - mice, ants, or ticks.

But for some odd reason I love camping (okay Holiday Inn on wheels might not be true camping).

Summer catching up

2013-05-30T21:13:00.004-04:00

I've been reading your blogs but haven't had time to respond. I know -- how can someone not have time to do that? Ugh - you really wanna know?

We're leaving Sat morning for GA and I'm nowhere near ready to go. I won't go into details on work but suffice it to say that I am totally slammed with too much stuff to do. I'm learning how to make videos and animations -- have to do that for some paid course design work. I'm a tech moron so it's taking me way too long to learn this stuff. Plus all my usual work.

I had a conference presentation two weeks ago. My next one is in GA on Monday. And then the following week on Tues in SC.

The house is a wreck. The fifth wheel was infested with ants -- the bug bomb is going now. So tomorrow I have to clean up from that, put all the dishes and stuff away again, and then pack. We're taking all three dogs so won't that be fun!

Too much to do plus work and only one day left. Somehow I don't think we're going to be off at 5 am Sat morning as we'd planned. We'll be lucky to get away by noon at this rate!

Will write more and post some photos with my new camera and my OLD camera which I found when getting stuff ready for this trip. So I have two cameras now and that's just awesome. Now if I could just figure out how to get the dang photos from the cameras to the computer. I'll figure it out -- just don't have time till Tuesday next week :-)

Happy weekend to all!

Work this week - retreat next week

2013-04-30T09:21:00.001-04:00

My first conference is Tues the 14th of May. I've finally figured out how I'm organizing the presentation. It's a short one so more difficult to figure out than the longer presentations. I'll be working on getting that all put together this week. The June conference is the same topic but longer time slot so I can easily expand on the shorter one for that conference. The second June conference is a topic I've done before and have an awesome presentation so I'll only need to revise and update for that one. Lots of work this week.

Thursday I'm leaving home to go to the "permanent" campground for about 10 days. I'll have all three dogs and that awesome deck to sit outside and work. That's my writer's retreat. I may just come home for the conference and then go back the next day! I'm planning another solo road trip for mid-summer out to the WV mountains. I won't be gone longer than a week or so and am planning the trip for lots of photo ops.

Mouse Party!! Come on over.

2013-04-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

We went to the campground where we keep our trailer year round. It was full of mouse droppings. I mean everywhere. Horrible. So we set traps. We didn't just have a cute little mouse. We had a mouse party in there all winter long it seems. Cleaned and disinfected everything -- cupboards, sinks, all the dresser and kitchen drawers, everything. Scrubbed the floor and tables and vacuumed droppings out of all the furniture. Did I say Mouse Party? Set 6 traps and caught four mice. Reset traps and are going back today to see if there were anymore. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to stay down here this whole week but the weather is going to be crappy and I don't want to be having to walk three dogs 3-4 times a day and dodging rain showers and storms. *sigh* Will try for next week. If the weather clears I may head on out Wed or Thurs. We'll see.

Teaching is not going well.

2013-04-26T06:22:00.000-04:00

Caught up with work, whew!! Well teaching anyway. I'm starting a new online proofreading and academic coaching business and worked on the website for the past two days. Then had problems with the domain name. So I can't go public with it until next week. Drats!!

Adjunct teaching work is drying up. I just finished two classes, have two ongoing, one with just ONE student for the next four weeks. And the other with about 15 students for another four weeks. Then nothing.

If my boss doesn't assign me a class for the next start in four weeks then I will have NOTHING. No classes to teach for the first time in years and years. I'm used to teaching 4-8 classes all the time.

Which is why I'm starting this new business. First, I have to work or I'll go nuts. I don't go out and "do" a lot of stuff - actually hardly anything LOL. I have to keep up with my pain meds most of the time, especially during times when the weather pattern is constantly changing. So I don't drive. Much.

When I was traveling, I was headed south and the weather patterns leveled out, which meant less pain overall. I was worried about that all these months planning for solo travel and then actually doing it. But I fared very well and needed pain meds only to sleep at night for the most part.

So anyways -- I love my online teaching and if I have no classes, I'll have to have something else to do. So my new business. AND I'm planning to work with photography a bit -- have to "borrow" my dad's photoshop programs (he was really into photography for a long while and doesn't do that much anymore but still has the software).

And then planning where to go for photos. I love waterfalls and I think perhaps I may focus my travels and attention on that. And I love historical buildings so that's another possibility.

I've applied for about 100-150 teaching jobs and nothing's popping because I don't have a phd. I started one about 8 years ago and ran out of time and money (refused to go into debt and was paying as I went along through the program). So I started writing for myself (and published a few things) and then started getting so many classes to teach that I could barely keep my head above water.

Now everybody wants to teach online; schools are cutting back on how many classes online adjuncts can teach because of Obamacare; and are hiring only phds because they're all losing jobs too. Why hire someone with years of experience using innovative online teaching methodology when they can hire a phd with very little to no experience for the same amount of money? Because they can. And it looks better for accreditation (a percentage of phds is required for accreditation which leaves lots of wiggle room for us who have only masters degrees plus 18 hours in each of several different subject areas).

It all rather sucks, actually. So I have to get something else going. And I have other irons in the fire too. I'll be creating my own classes and teaching them privately. I did that over a decade ago when I was just starting out.

Now that I'm thinking on it -- I'd much rather do my own thing than follow along with some school's arbitrary rules where I can't teach the way I know works for students. And working for myself means I don't have to put up with whiny students.

There's good with the bad. I just hope a little bit of dough comes along with all these changes. Not as much as I was making before (which was pretty awesome there for a couple of years) but a little bit will do. To finance my travels and tech toys.

Gotta get moving -- it's almost 6:30 and the day is already going strong. Have a great one, friends. And please forgive the typos -- morning's not my best time for coherent writing :-)

Got a digital camera for my birthday

2013-04-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

I got tired of of taking photos on my phone. So I got a tiny digital camera for my birthday. Here are a few photos of the flowers in our yard. They turned out pretty good I think. I'm looking forward to using it on my next trip. I'm thinking WV in the dog days of summer -- it'll be cooler in the mountains and I love waterfalls!!

Hope everyone's having a good week.

What I Learned on my Road Trip to TX

2013-04-21T11:36:00.002-04:00

Random Thoughts

1. I loved visiting family in TX. I'm contemplating another trip sometime in the fall.

2. I can drive three 8-10 hour days and get to TX in three days. For a destination trip, the less time driving the better.

3. For a sightseeing or photography trip, I'll go closer to home and not be gone more than a week at the most. I've got several places in mind already.

4. Having to carry clothes for both cold and hot weather sucks. I carried way too much stuff. For a 3-4 week trip, though, it's necessary. But I could've cut down by half what I did take.

5. For a short trip, LAYERS is the key to packing clothes. If the nights are going to be cold and daytimes hot, a couple of tank tops, work out pants and capris, and just one pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt are all that's needed.

6. The little fan and the thermostat-controlled heater were lifesavers.

7. The dog takes up a lot of space as does his food! But .... it was nice having a furry four-footed travel companion and he does travel very well.

8. I didn't cook at all so I can really cut back on the amount of food I carry with me. I need to make sure most of what I take is refridgerated because the more stuff in the fridge, the better it stays cold when unplugged during driving.

9. I'm not taking the keurig next time either. It's too much trouble to get out when parked and put away for travel. I'm fine with instant coffee and a cup of HOT water out of the microwave.

10. Not being able to go through drive-thru's is a pain in the butt. It's going to be worse when the weather gets REALLY hot because I can't leave the dog in the truck while I go inside to get something to drink or eat.

11. When I need stuff at the store, I stop early in the morning on my out to go somewhere. I made a couple of Walmart stops around 6 or 7 in the morning when it was cool enough to leave Beau in the truck for 15 minutes or so.

12. Mostly I've learned to let go of my need for "stuff" and I've learned to pack a lot lighter.

13. For overnight stays on the road, I don't bother hooking up the water hose. A jug of water for drinking and making coffee works fine. I keep another jug of water that I can fill at the campsite spigot for anything else (toilet, washing dishes, bathing, shampooing, etc.). My holding tanks are pretty small, only about 7-8 gallon, so I can make do for at least two days without hooking up the water hose. Perfect for on-the-go daily driving with just overnight stops.

14. I pack everything for the road the night before when staying overnight on driving days. My tote bag is ready to put in the truck. Dog's food is ready for in the morning. I've made sandwiches for the next day. I've programmed the GPS for the next day's drive.

15. Then in the morning, I heat water to make two travel mugs of coffee, get bottled tea and water out of the fridge and my sandwiches and put in the small cooler. Feed and walk the dog, put coffee and tote bag and small cooler in the truck, unplug the power cord, ready to roll. I can usually get that done in about 45 minutes. Most of that is walking the dog :-)

It was a good trip for the first time out. There's a lot more I've learned about road trips and the next trip will be even better. We have some minor "fixes" to do on the camper before my next trip. But nothing too extensive. Can't wait to get on the road again.

Meanwhile, next week I'll be heading out to the campground in Williamsburg to stay for a couple of weeks with all three dogs. I call it my writing retreat. Stay or go? Best of both worlds.

I'm working on the photos for the trip and will get a new page up in the next week or so with all the photos. Stay tuned!!

no textbook? too bad

2013-04-18T18:08:00.002-04:00

Dear Professor: I know the class started last Thursday but I forgot to order my books till yesterday. I want an extension on the quiz and paper due date Sunday because I didn't want to shell out the extra money to pay for overnight shipping on my textbook.

Dear Student: You're kidding, right?

Photo journal

2013-04-18T08:40:00.001-04:00

I am exhausted and have quite a bit of work to catch up on. I felt pretty good yesterday after the 15 hours on the road the day before. But it caught up with me last night and this morning I can hardly keep my eyes open or think straight! I need a clear head for getting my work done. *sigh*

Over the next week or so I'm going to organize and post the photos I have from my trip. First I have to create three conference presentations, the first one being mid-May and then the other two are the first two weekends in June. One in June is similar to a couple I did two years ago so it's going to be revising and adding some new stuff. The one in May is similar to the second presentation in June so that will be a timesaver.

I need a small easy-to-use digital camera. My birthday is Sunday and we're going to Walmart to find a cheap but decent camera that takes better photos than the smartphone. If I get into photography big time, after a year or so I'll get a better camera.

The one thing that I was not able to do on this trip was take time to do some sightseeing and get some photos. My next trip to TX will be longer driving days, some side trips to various historical and nature places for photos, and a week-long visit with family then a drive back that includes stopping a few places along the way home for more photos. I could really get into this traveling, writing, and photography thing.

Meanwhile, please go to the Facebook page I've created and click on LIKE to get updates on the photo journal. Click here to find the Facebook page. Stay tuned -- more later.

Back home!

2013-04-17T21:55:00.005-04:00

Left Meridian MS at 5 am Tuesday morning, lost an hour going across GA line, and got home at around 9:30pm Tuesday night. 15 hours on the road. I probably spent a total of two hours stopping for fuel, walking the dog, and stretching the back. Next time I travel that far (VA to TX = 23 hours), I'm doing it in three days but balancing the days 8x8x8. This time, Sun was only 4 hours, Mon a bit more, and all the rest on Tues. The good news? (1) I'm home and (2) I know I can drive long days if I have to or want to. Good to be back home. Have lots to catch up with and will post updates and photos on blogs and FB over the next few days. And I'm already thinking about my next trip and taking more photos. That probably means getting a small digital camera. Something EASY to use that produces decent photos that are quick to get into the computer. The smartphone camera isn't worth spit. I'm very disappointed with the end results.