Summer of 18-#4-Spending Time with Mom & Everyday Living

April 22nd - May 7th, 2018

We have spent the two weeks visiting with Mom, and Bryan has been helping with some projects.

He also got an infected tooth and had to go to the dentist here which resulted in a root canal.  It was a painful few days for him but thankfully he seems ok now.

At the same time this was going on we had a problem with our slide in the bedroom where the trim strip had come away.  Bryan managed to knock it back in place but we called a mechanic out to look at it.  They looked at it and verified that water had got in behind the trim but there are no soft spots and so it seems the structure is ok.  They reinforced it and made sure it was level.  We will keep an eye on it but hope that it is now fixed.
We also got them to look at the toilet that was leaking when we flushed it.  They ordered parts and came back a couple of days later to fix it.  They looked at our inverter which wasn't working on the road trip to here.  The inverter supplies electrical power when we are driving along for the 110 sockets and we noticed the power was going on and off on the way here.  This affected me being able to get a internet signal when I was trying to work on my laptop on the journey.  Not the end of the world but we wanted to get it fixed. There was a loose wire that he fixed and he said we could probably do with new batteries.  We will see if the power works when we are on the road leaving from here. The batteries will have to wait a little while but they will go on the list of things to do.

We were due to go to Brenda & Johns to visit them and the girls for a few days and be there for Aimee's birthday but the extra expense of the dentist and repairs meant we had to cancel, as we had to use the money for the trip for those expenses.

It also looks as though we will have to cancel our plans to go to Niagara Falls as it is too far East for this trip.  Second time we have had to cancel these plans but hopefully we will get there eventually.  It is the one place I really want to visit.  Bryan still has San Francisco on the top of his list and we had to cancel that couple of years ago when we had medical issues.  So, that's another place we need to make an effort to get to.  Thousands of miles apart though and when you get between 5 & 7 mpg it could take a while. We have to be realistic with our money and not try to spread our limited income further than we should but the whole purpose of this lifestyle is to see the USA and so that is still our mission.  We have to be realistic though and realize that we have to go at a a slower pace in order to save money on campgrounds and fuel.  It's not easy fitting everything in there is to do when you only have summer for the Northern part of the States.  We have no desire to be anywhere in the snow and ice.  Likewise the South is really too hot in the summer so we need to go South in the Winter. At the same time we need to do this putting minimum miles on the motorhome to conserve fuel.  I think we need to see what we want to on The Eastern side of the States before we start to move back toward the Western side.  That means probably another two years, at a minimum, on the Eastern side and then work towards the Central USA, North & South before moving on to the North West.  Anyway, I have mapped out this summers route and the map on here shows future anticipated stops with brown spots.  If you click on any of the spots it should tell you the campgrounds and places where we plan to stay.

On to better things!!!  We went out for a meal at the restaurant at Bass Pro Shop.

This old air boat was on display outside the restaurant.

Mom & I waiting for our food!!!

There was a huge fish tank by our table and we had fun watching the fish swimming around.  There was one smaller one that was really cute, he was propelling himself around with his fins flapping quickly.  So funny and kept us amused.

Of course, we had to have a walk around the store after we ate.  It always takes a while!!!

Can you spot Mom?

As Pops would say, "That's a BIG fish"

and a big turtle. Not sure of what type this was. 

The next picture is the ceiling in one part of the store.  It was designed to make you feel as though you were in the water.  That's the bottom of a boat, I'm guessing we were the fishes!!!

Back at the campground this lone flower slowly bloomed.  I could see it from my chair and I watched it come out a bit more each day.  This started a few days after our family friend had passed away in England.  Mum was telling me everything was ok. :)  This has been here for a couple of weeks all by itself but the last couple of days I can see more blooms starting to form.

Sadly, I heard that my Dad's sister, Auntie Hilda had passed away.  RIP Auntie, I enjoyed listening to your memories at Mum's funeral.  Our thoughts and prayers are with our family there.