Hi Darlin’,
I let myself sleep in a little, but it didn’t take too long to get packed up and moving by just after 10:00. I made a stop at Tractor Supply just south of Grand Rapids for Flash’s horse feed, (they apparently don’t carry Perform at the Big Rapids TC anymore!), and picked up some longer bolts for the awning, though I’m not sure they’ll fit. Arrived at camp before noon, though I missed the turn to the dump, so that will have to wait until the next camp. I was a bit concerned about having enough room in here, because on their reservation website they limit the trailer size to 40′ (I’m 47′), but when I got it there were cleary plenty of places long enough for me, and fortunately, the spot I chose was one of them. It also has a corral, so I’m sure the horses will be glad to not have to wear halters for awhile. Didn’t take me too long to set up, then I went over to my nearest neighbors, Amanda and Cameron, and they filled me in on some of the details. The only have a hand pump here in camp, but they have fresh water over at the people camp’s dump station, and they were just on their way over there anyway, so they led me there. I also checked in on the way back, so I’m all taken care of! They ended up buying a book, which was nice, and said they might come back in the next few days to ride and chat again. Then I got online to make an appointment for an alignment, it’s been pushed back to Thursday, which was fine, except I was about out of dry dog food, plus I had a book order online, so I packed that up and ran to the nearest post office, which is only about 10 minutes away, and took care of that. Family Dollar had the dog food as well as some LA’s Awesome Cleaner, which I’ve been wanting to get to clean my now working awning. Got back just as they were leaving, then I settled down to dinner and a Big Valley. It’s a beautiful evening, perfect temps, mid 70’s to mid 50’s at night, low humidity, no rain, absolutely stunning! I’ve been so fortunate to have such good weather this whole summer, it’s been fabulous. Anyway, movie, shower, bed, loving life! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, did my chores, then got busy with all the packing and extra little jobs that always accumulate when I stay in one place for a while. Did a load of laundry, did some housekeeping while the generator was on, moved the books from the truck to the back of the trailer, cleaned out the back of the trailer since it’s been over three months since I’ve had to carry two horses, sewed up Apollo’s feed bag, which he’s already managed to chew a hole in big enough to start losing feed, filled up his feed container, restrung the chair with baling twine since the stuff I used before broke already, and generally just put stuff away throughout the day. I waved at everyone leaving, Jody came by and chatted for awhile (and bought a book!), then Chris and Mervin came by and visited for awhile. After they left, I lined up the truck, did a little more packing, had dinner, and settled down for the evening. It’s a short drive tomorrow, so I’m not too worried about leaving early, so I left a few things to be done tomorrow. Watched a movie, now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
A restful night, the usual chores, then I got busy getting the new motor into the awning. I managed to do it on my own, wasn’t sure I’d be able to, but didn’t really have a problem. I did pop a screw that connects the awning to the RV, and the other one was evidently missing, so I’ll need to get a couple bigger and/or longer ones to replace them. Debated whether to do that today or tomorrow, but I was in a lazy mood and the day slipped by. I did manage to update my website for book orders, now that I have new books, and that took awhile. After that, I just ended up watching a couple of movies, having a chicken burrito and relaxing the whole day. Didn’t even feel much like riding today, it was pretty hot and humid, so just a day off! I’ll get busy the rest of the weekend, a lot of folks coming out again, apparently, some that want to ride with me, so I’ll have company. Anyway, enough said, heading for shower and bed. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Slept late this morning, after not getting to sleep until very late last night, so my internal clock is getting a little screwed up. Happy to report that my air mattress stayed up, yay! I’ve been waking up on the bottom of the floor, but it seems to be fixed for now. I killed some time until 1:00, then went into town to pick up some things, stopping at the post office because I had an Amazon package being delivered there, General Delivery, like I’ve done many times before at many post office, but for some reason, the clerk there gave me a hard time. She claimed they NEVER accept packages for delivery services, despite it being addressed to General Delivery. I explained that I’ve done it many times before, and couldn’t see the problem. She said they hadn’t received any packages for me anyway, so I left. I finished my errands, then went over to my friend’s Chris and Mervin, who looked after Apollo while I was gone all summer. When I got there, I checked with Amazon and found that my package had since been delivered, so Merv and I went into town to go retrieve it, and something at the pharmacy for Chris. When I walked in and asked about my package, the clerk told me that yes, they had received it, but the Postmaster had instructed her to mark the package Return to Sender! WHAT??? She said that they don’t accept deliveries because, according to the postmaster, they can’t track whether the recipient has actually received the package, because they don’t have a USPS tracking number. What BS!! If someone sent me a first class letter to General Delivery, they wouldn’t be able to guarantee that either, so what’s the difference?? I couldn’t believe my ears!! I told her I’ve done this many times all across the country, and no post office has every questioned me about it, and she might want to straighten her Postmaster out. I mean, I’d already stopped by there, they knew I was expecting a package, and they STILL think they have to be able to guarantee delivery? How ridiculous! I finally just put my hand out and said, “Just give me the package,” and she finally went and got it. Thank goodness I didn’t wait until tomorrow to go back and pick it up (I was considering it!), or it would probably be gone already. I’ve had problems with this post office before, but I never imagined they would be this stupid about this. Anyway, it was my awning motor, so that will be my job in the morning. We went back to their house and had a nice dinner (breakfast for dinner!), I picked up my order of books, which I had wisely had sent to their house, so now I’m flush with books again, and got back to camp before 7:00, fed the horses and settled down for the evening. Very warm today, not cooling off too fast, so I ran the AC for a bit, taking a cool shower tonight! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Started slow this morning, and after chores and breakfast I tackled what turned out to be the only job I ended up doing today, finding the leak in the air mattress. It was right next to where the last leak was, along the seam, so I glued it all up with my old reliable Air Stop, two thick layers throughout the day. Once I got that done (you know what a pain it is to get down to the mattress with all the layers on top!), I realized I was in just a plain lazy mood. It was cloudy, and supposed to rain a couple of times during the day (it didn’t), so I just decided to make it a movie day. Watched a couple of movies, had some popcorn, and generally just took a day off. After dinner, I finally put the bed back together again, a hot and tiring exercise, but managed to get it done. Unfortunately, it looks like some of the baffling is going on my side of the bed at the feet end (it’s already done that on your side of the bed), so this mattress is truly on it’s way out. I did some research on it, and absolutely no one makes an air mattress that will fit in the space as it is now, and I’m not really interested in a memory foam mattress, too many bad reviews and not enough flexibility. I’m thinking I can get a twin air mattress, which I can fit in if I move the existing foam side frames around a bit. That may be my only alternative, unless things change by the time I need it. Anyway, that was the extent of my day! Good news, my next batch of books has been shipped and is arriving tomorrow, yay! Was worried they wouldn’t come in time, but they’ll be, unless Fedex screws up again, like they usually do. At least they’re being delivered to a house, so they better get it right! Also, my new motor for the awning should arrive at the post office tomorrow as well, so I’ll have my work cut out for me once I pick up my deliveries. Well, enough talk, I’m ready for my shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Got up early with the alarm, did chores quickly and went up to pavilion to help do a few preparations for the Poker Run. Once I finished that, I headed into the hardware store to get a screw on this awning motor tapped out, and Ernie did a great job in just a few minutes. He didn’t have a replacement screw, so I headed down to the Ace Hardware and managed to find some long threaded screws that fit. Got back and went to work. After numerous attempts throughout the afternoon to fix it, and after stripping out a few more screws, I decided the best thing was to just buy a new motor. Hate to do it, but hey, it’s 12 years old, so I can’t expect it to last forever, especially considering how often I use it! Anyway, at 2:00 I went back to the pavilion for the the final awards, seems they did pretty well this year! “Eagle Eyes” Sam from the Shore to Shore was here, nice to see her again! Spent some time down at Sheila’s fire, now I’m ready for bed and shower. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Baby,
Woke up to the sound of thunder around 7:30, rain came in quickly and stuck around for quite awhile. Good news, I took my truck down to Ken’s, who’s only about a mile down the road, and dropped it off, and by 2:00, it was done! New steering box, and he only charged me $100 in labor, and the parts were just over $300, so a far cry from what those ripoff artists at Quality wanted. Yay! I did more research on tires and finally decided on a brand called Falken, which is better known in motorsports circles, but is getting a good reputation with the average consumer now. They scored better than most other brands, and they’re a heckuva lot cheaper than the Michelins, which have aged out before they’ve worn out, so I didn’t figure I needed to spend that much again. I’m not really doing the miles that we used to do, basically just from Florida to up north and back once a year, not a lot in between, and these are supposed to be nice and quiet on the highway, but built tough enough for gravel roads as well. High marks for towing, too. We’ll see! Also did some research on the awning motor. I’ve decided to take it out and tear it apart to see if I can see what’s wrong with it, I’ve read it could be as simple as a stripped screw or gear, figured I’d check that first. I can get a whole motor assembly in just a couple of days, so it’s worth it to check it out. Hung out with Sheila and her growing gang at the campfire for a bit, but I have a busy day tomorrow so I came back early, having my Sleepytime tea, soon to take my shower and go to bed early! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Hon,
A good night sleep, a beautiful morning, then I got busy. Filled up the water tank in the truck, did some research on the internet, the went to work on the awning. I was using baling twine wrapped around the awning arm and a hook on the front of the truck to try to get the arm close enough together to put some zip ties on it, but wasn’t getting close enough. Then a guy drove by in a Jeep and stopped to asked if he could help. He was exactly what I needed at that moment! With his extra hands, it only took a minute to get the arms locked down, and then he ended up staying and helping through the whole process of rewiring the motor. My goal today was to verify that the problem is, in fact, the motor, and with the help of my new multi-meter, we determined that we had full voltage all the way to the motor connection, so now I at least know it’s not the switch or anything else in between, so I guess I’m getting a new motor for it. Found one on Amazon for just over $300. Between that, the truck repair, which I’m hoping will get done tomorrow, and new front tires, it’s going to be another expensive month! Oh, well, it’s an early birthday gift, I guess! My new friend’s name is Tim, and he’s the official sawyer/lumberjack for the trail club, he was out checking the trails today. We ended up chatting well into mid-afternoon after we finished our awning trials. Then, I saw my friend Sheila, whom I stayed with on my way out of Florida this past spring, walking down to the pay kiosk! She came over and we chatted for awhile longer. Tim finally left, I cleaned up, did some more research on the computer, then had dinner, fed the horses, and walked down to where Sheila and her two girlfriends were camped, and we chatted until dusk, finally came back to home. It was a beautiful day, but it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, perfect for getting the truck done, then that’s all the rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future. Going to be a great weekend! Finishing off the evening with some Sleepytime tea, a Spanish lesson, shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Was in bed really early last night, because the rain made it get dark early, got lots of rest. Woke up early, did chores and breakfast, then took the truck over an hour early for my appointment at Quality Truck. Turned out that wasn’t the best decision. They charged me $50 for each thing I asked them to look at. One thing was my cigarette lighter, and they discovered it was a fuse. A simple fuse. I had already changed the one marked “cig lighter”, but apparently the second one was under some other obscure name, probably took them all of two minutes to find it, and they still charged me $50. They discovered it wasn’t the power steering pump that was leaking (which I was relieved to hear, since I’d replaced that once already a couple of years ago), but the steering box that was gone. Rather then order the part and repair it, they informed me they couldn’t do it until Thursday, which is not what I had bargained for. The other $50 was to get the passenger side mirror extended, apparently the motor isn’t working, but at least they left it extended like I asked. Then they presented me with a list of half a dozen other high ticket items they claimed needed fixing, practically my entire undercarriage. I decided to get a second opinion, and called a friend of Alayna’s, and he stopped by in the afternoon. He confirmed it was the steering box, called to get pricing on the parts (which was much more reasonable that Quality, more like what I could get it for online), and we arranged to do it later this week. And he’s just up the road, two minutes away! Should have gone there in the first place, I guess. Finally, Alayne brought Apollo back, yay! When I put him on the highline, he and Flash put their noses together for a long time, then Apollo squealed like a mare a couple of times! It was hilarious! Flash didn’t flinch anywhere near as much as he usually does when Apollo gets pushy, I think maybe absence has made their hearts grow fonder. I hope so, anyway, Apollo can be a bully when he wants. Once they settled down, he got real quiet. I guess it will take a few days to get back to normal, he’s been getting so spoiled by Alayna’s grandma! Not to mention being in a pasture rather than on a highline. He’ll be fine, I’m sure. Meanwhile, had dinner late, now I’m more than ready for shower and bed. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie!
Woke up before the alarm and got moving fairly early because there was rain predicted. Finished packing up and was out of camp by 9:00, stopped at a state park to dump but they wouldn’t let me do it for free like the last place, so I skipped it. Didn’t really need it anyway, and I’ll be staying at a place with a dump in a couple of weeks anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Arrived at Hungerford just after 11:00, scouted it it for the best spot again, hoping that the site at the top of the hill was reopened, but it wasn’t. I ended up in that same spot where we came to 10 years ago, down by the water house. They’ve improved the cell phone signal here, so that was a factor. Didn’t really want to be that close to the road, but there were more pros than cons, so that’s where I am! Managed to get Flash up on the highline and was just starting to get the awning down when it started to rain. For once the weatherman was right! When I looked at the radar, it could hardly have been mis-forecast, it was a huge storm that ended up lasting all day and still raining at bedtime. I was supposed to have a mobile RV guy show up at 2:00, but when he still hadn’t arrived at 2:30, I called and cancelled it. I’m pretty sure I can solve the problem myself, even if I have to replace the motor. I got a new multi-meter the other day, I’m going to do some checking with that to see if I can track down the problem, and if nothing else, the new motor can be here in two days, so I have time. Figured I didn’t need to spend $150 on a service call for something I can do myself. I’m just going to wait for a nice day! it rained all afternoon, so I ended up just watching a movie with Meryl Streep and an all star cast, lots of fun, just had a nice bowl of NE clam chowder for dinner, now a shower and to bed early. I have an appointment to take the truck in tomorrow for the power steering problem. I managed to get the radio working yesterday, and one of the cigarette lighters, but I’m having them look at the other one, I really need two. Anyway, I’m off to shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!