True stories of us on the road

2011-03-16T21:05:00.002-06:00

shot of the babies at 3yrs

this what happen t this shirt when u put it in the sun
the colors come out

the solar shirt without sun on it

Going south

2010-12-12T20:41:00.002-07:00

My son Daniel told us about this "giant pair of legs" in the middle of a field in Amarillo, so of course we had to find it! There is a reason the artist put them here, actually. There was a building here way back, apparently a very pretty one, and after it fell to ruin, Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein", wrote a poem about the ruins and says in the poem that all that remains is "a giant pair of legs."

Would you believe this is a cast of the only known Tyrannosaurus Rex footprint? This is at Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton, New Mexico. Imagine that! The footprint was found on that land. As you can see, the footprint is from Jan's feet to her waistline. Rather awe-inspiring, don't you think?

Here are Jan and our precious babies taking a walk at Sugarite Canyon State Park.

No, we didn't manage to escape the snow before we got south! Here is what we saw out our window one morning in Colorado. The lake behind our trailer was frozen over as well. Time to head south!!!

Our visit to CSU

2010-09-28T11:33:00.002-06:00

our friends VIc and Dee

the flower there are so beautiful

Bubby's birthday party

2010-09-11T12:44:00.002-06:00

We celebrated Jan's birthday with our good friends Vic and Dee Lucas at a lovely restaurant in Loveland called Sofia's Bistro. We met Vic and Dee when we were both working at the Hell Hole in Maryland, so we've been through a lot together.

Jan is looking at her birthday card from Vic and Dee. It was a nice evening with good food and good conversation. Does it get any better than that?

Just Some Fun Photos

2010-08-14T12:25:00.003-06:00

We got together in Boulder with four of our Boomer friends, which is always fun. In the foreground is John and Julie Black, who live nearby (but a world away) in the mountains above Denver. It's always cool at their house! Kathy and Loren Webster were visiting them. Kathy and Loren have both had major health issues in the past few years, so we were VERY happy to see them looking well.

Do you remember how Jan's wedding rings got too tight, and I had to cut them off? Well, we finally got around to taking them to a jeweler for repair and resizing. She says they look better now than they did 13 years ago, because the jeweler really shined them up.

The girls, Sophie and Hannah, LOVE to wear the tutus their mommy made for them. They swirl around the living room until dizziness makes them hit the floor. Jan says they are doing the "Downward Facing Dog" yoga position.

Here they are "swirling" with their delighted grandparents looking on. Sophie is in the pink and Hannah is wearing purple.

A Happy Birthday Day!

2010-07-25T14:14:00.002-06:00

It was the twins' 2nd birthday, and we had a great time at Lisa and Craig's place. Sophie just woke up and still has her sleepy eyes.

When little girls are 2, they don't need expensive presents. Proof? Hannah is playing with an empty diaper box! Sophie was being comforted by Daddy after a boo-boo.

Three of the beautiful women in my life -- my daughter Lisa, my ex-wife Nancy Krantz, and Jan.

Little Hannah and her empty box. It doesn't get any better than this!

Yarn Shop!

2010-07-25T14:10:00.001-06:00

Jan's absolute favorite way to spend a day is browsing through a yarn shop, so one day we went out to lunch with our friends Vic and Dee Lucas; and lo and behold, there was a yarn shop in the same shopping center! See you in a couple hours, Jan!

A Nice Hot Day in Colorado

2010-07-25T14:00:00.002-06:00

Yes, it might have been hot down in Loveland, but up here in Rocky Mountain National Park, it's another story! This wall of snow is taking its good old time to melt, as you can tell by the fact that there is graffiti on it!

The beautiful Rocky Mountains, as seen out our truck window on the way up to the summit in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This is in Loveland, heading towards the mountains. They call this "The Front Range" in Colorado, and the nice thing is, you can always tell which direction is west! We can see this view from our campground as well.

Meanwhile, here is a fun way to spend a warm day in Loveland, Colorado. I think these water parks are great! You can get cooled off but you know that no-one is going to drown!

The World's Largest Steam Engine

2010-07-25T13:49:00.002-06:00

Cheyenne has a really lovely downtown park, and on display in that park is "The Big Boy", one of the largest steam engine trains. You can read this information board, I think, but you can't really "get" how big it is till you stand next to it.

I had to stand pretty far back in order to get the whole train in the frame, but that's Jan taking a look at it. Pretty impressive, eh?

A Visit to Boulder and Cheyenne

2010-07-25T13:38:00.002-06:00

This guy was parked and his little dog was just SO INTERESTED in what was going on! It's like he was saying, "Hey, whassup?"

At the train depot in downtown Cheyenne, which is all restored with a big plaza out front, there are lots of big boots, saddles, etc. Cheyenne is a great cowboy town!

.. . . which would lead you to believe that Boulder is a pig town! It's not. Their entire downtown area is a pedestrian mall with lots of shops, restaurants, and art galleries. I guess this qualifies as art, I don't know.

Here is my beautiful wife in the pedestrian mall in Boulder. How can you tell that it's not a weekend, but a week day? The fact that there are NOT 20,000 people milling around. This place is a ZOO on weekends.

Having fun with the grandkids

2010-06-20T12:35:00.002-06:00

Just Some Photos

2010-05-20T20:39:00.002-06:00

I TOLD you I was going to buy some nicer clothes! We went to Jan's favorite store (Kohl's), and I have 3 nice pairs of pants and 3 nice shirts. I wore this to my interview today at Cherry Creek StatePark. (I've never worked so hard to get a $8 job, but that's another story.)

Here I am with my little girl, Mollie, who adores the earth I walk on. (It was a really cold day, that's why I'm wearing my coat and hat inside the house.)

This, my friends, is THE kidney stone that caused all my woes in the last weeks. This is why I went to the emergency room twice and the urologist's office once. This is the one they planned to blast out of me two days ago, but when I got home from the urologist's office, pre-blasting, I went to the bathroom, and OH YEAH! I felt that sucker come out!

This is Jack, waiting for Mommy to put clean sheets on HIS bed. Isn't he adorable?

Our twin grand-daughters

2010-05-02T12:58:00.002-06:00

Hannah just got up from a nap and wanted no-one but Mommy. She just had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids, and Lisa says she's just now starting to feel better. You wouldn't know it from this picture, though! Hannah has just the biggest eyes, and you'll see her in a better mood below.

Here's Hannah having a little lunch of soy nuggets -- yuck! But just seeing Hannah eat is a wonderful thing, as her whole life (almost 2) she has had no appetite. Then they discovered the adenoids were completely blocking her nose, and her tonsils were swollen to 4 times normal size, so the poor little girl wasn't able to taste anything all this time!

And here is my beautiful wife, Jan, sipping a cup of Joe with Lisa and me.

Sophie finally got up, and she too got a nice portion of soy nuggets. There are baby bunnies living under Lisa and Craig's deck, and Sophie is saying, "Bunnies! Bunnies!" They are talking, both of them, and they are so cute we can't stand it.

Anyone who reads Lisa's blog (newsphotogirl.blogspot.com) knows that the girls love a TV show called "Yo Gaba Gaba". So for all of you uninitiated to childrens' TV, here is a shot of the Yo Gaba Gaba show. When it comes on, both of them go, "Yo! Yo!" So cute.

Trinidad, CO

2010-05-02T12:52:00.002-06:00

Trinidad is the closest "big" town to Raton, NM, 13 miles over the Raton Pass. The Raton Pass was originally part of the Santa Fe Trail, and I imagine it was very difficult driving cattle up and over. We took a car tour of Trinidad after we shopped at the Safeway, and we found a house with an interesting retaining wall!

Trinidad is fixing up their downtown area, and they are doing a very good job. They're not quite done, but pretty soon this will be a very cute tourist stop on I-25. Did you know that THE pre-eminent hospital for gender reassignment (sex changes) is in Trinidad? This is something that the Chamber of Commerce does NOT brag about in their brochures, but hey, someone has to do it, and Trinidad is a beautiful place to be is you're going through this difficult process.

NRA Whittington Center, Raton, NM

2010-05-02T12:36:00.002-06:00

As Jan said on Facebook, the N.R.A. is hardly our thing, but they have a lovely campground in Raton, NM, which is very close to the Colorado border. This center is the world's largest open air firing range, and the sound of "Pop Pop Pop" was in the air as we set up camp.

This is the view out of the right side of the trailer (the living room side). Those are firing ranges in the distance. They have separate ranges for pistols, shotguns, AUTOMATIC WEAPONS, and others. I guess if you have to have an automatic weapon, this is the place to be.

This is the view out of the left side of the trailer (the dining room side). All sites at this campground are full hookup, and it's only $25 a night. And when all the shooters go home, it is very quiet -- almost silent. We were one of four campers at this 46 site campground. There is another campground, also full hookup, with 72 sites just down the road.

I wanted to tell this little deer, "You may want to rethink where you are!" This picture was taken through the blinds in our dining room window, and this little guy was having a drink thanks to our water hookup which was leaking. We saw hundreds of deer here, but thankfully they are not allowed to be shot.

In addition to camping, they have a big area full of rental log cabins. This is one of the big ones with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, but they also have little teeny cabins that are just one room. Those rent for $54 a night. We know this because someone was renting one as we waited to check in. There are probably 30 some cabins in all for rent.

Spring in Texas

2010-04-20T12:39:00.002-06:00

We've been talking on Facebook about how pretty it is in Texas in April, and here are some pictures to prove it. Aren't our babies cute? 'Course they'd be cuter if they weren't panting their heads off, but they're enjoying the bluebonnets as well!

These are the bluebonnets for which Texas is famous, and they are everywhere!

Beautiful wildflowers!

Spring Break at Mustang Island

2010-03-18T21:00:00.002-06:00

When Jan gets done working at the booth, she's tired, but the dogs are tireder! Jack is totally sacked out on Mommy's lap, and Mollie is in the other chair. This is what most nights look like at our trailer!

We were walking the dogs on the beach. No that is not me on the leash! This was on a Monday, and the beach is empty compared to what it was on the weekend! You can see some campers, though, so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

This is our parking space at Mustang Island State Park. There are 4 sites for campground hosts, and we are on the end. The Gulf of Mexico is just over the dune. We can see it from our windows.

At this time of year, the campground is totally booked every single day. As you can see, we pack them in pretty good!

Bill and I fishing trip Port aransas

2010-03-18T20:47:00.002-06:00

The old man of the sea

Bill was busy; this is only one of the twelve he got!

This is a Red. It was a fun day! The boat cost us $75 for 5 hours, but it was worth
it! Bill and I could fix the world's problems; just ask us!
When we got back to the dock, my legs felt like I was still in the boat. I was weaving pretty good, but I was sober, believe me!

Fun at Mustang Island

2010-02-26T18:40:00.002-07:00

Went fishing with my buddy Bill and caught this catfish which they call hard-heads. They have a big skull which is very thick; that's why they're called hard-heads.

I work on Fridays and Saturdays with the craziest bunch of guys you can imagine. We have lots of fun, I don't even mind that I'm not getting paid! From left to right is Billy, Paul, and John. They're part of the reason why we wanted to come back here this year.

You won't believe this! Willie Nelson's bus broke down RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR PARK, and Willie came into the office while waiting for a tow truck. Okay, if you believe that, I have some beachfront property in Arizona to sell you. Actually, this is John, who is a BIG Willie Nelson fan, and he's all excited because Willie really is coming to Corpus Christi soon.

John thought he looked just like the picture on the back of this teeshirt, which he got the LAST time Willie was in town.

Some Pictures of Mustang Island

2010-02-20T20:17:00.002-07:00

First of all, we haven't showed you a picture of our babies for awhile. Here they are making themselves at home in our new La-Z-Boy chairs. Oh, did I say OUR La-Z-Boys? I meant THEIR La-Z-Boys. Aren't they adorable? Mollie is on the left, and Jack is on the right.

Here's a shot of part of the campground at Mustang Island. This was not a busy day. Every weekend, and coming in March, every DAY this place is full. We're only yards from the Gulf of Mexico, and at $24 a night, this is the best buy for camping on the island.

This is the Gulf of Mexico, just over the dune from our trailer.

This is a picture of something Jan and I never see, and we never really WANT to see. SUNRISE! We have to get up early on the days we work, so I told Jan to go out and take a picture, so we could prove we do get up early once in awhile.

This is the side of the truck that I drive when I work. Pretty impressive, huh?

Views of Houston, TX

2010-01-29T13:40:00.004-07:00

I thought this was neat. All the sewer drains have a plate on them that tells where the water eventually ends up. Maybe this would keep people from dumping their used motor oil in the sewer drains!

Actually, this isn't Houston. This is the upstairs part of the trailer, and we keep all our money in that safe. We need a big one. Yep. Actually, this is the vault of the Wells Fargo, and the guy told me I couldn't take a picture of it, so I pretended I erased it. Hee Hee.

I mentioned in Facebook how all the buildings in downtown Houston are connected by these tunnels. Well here is Jan and our friends Dee and Vic Lucas in the tunnel. Vic and Dee worked with us in "Hell" last summer -- Point Lookout. They hated it, too.

This was a view from the observations floor (59th) of the Wells Fargo building. I have no idea what building this is, but we all thought it looked like a big trash can,

Before vertigo set in, I took this shot looking straight down. Those little specks are cars. I had to back off after I took this.

Check out our new digs!

2010-01-16T20:08:00.002-07:00

We've been wanting to do some fixing up in our trailer for the longest time, and we decided to do it while we were in Ocala. Here are our two new La-Z-Boy chairs, which are where our couch used to be. Sure beats a peed-on couch with a hole in it, eh? Also you can see our new carpet under everything.

Our new carpet is a tweedy berber with colors of tan, brown, green, blue, burgundy. You name it, it's in there. I will take more pictures but wanted you all to see the changes.

It's Great to Have Friends!

2009-12-20T19:57:00.002-07:00

Our last night together, we all got together for turkey dinner at the Knapps'. L-R are Mary Lane, Christine Bridge, Elaine Cannell, Laura and Gordon Bornkamp, Frank and Gretchen Knapp, and Jan and me.

Laura wanted a picture of the girls with all their Bare Minerals faces. Don't they look great? This is Gretchen, Jan, and Laura.

We drove to Orlando to see Jan's former co-worker, Bill O'Brien, who I forgot to take a picture of. This is Bill's wife, Sandy, who used to live across the hall from Jan way back in the 70's in Columbus. Jan got Sandy a job with Patton, her former company, Sandy met Bill, and now they've been married for 25 years!

Then it was my turn to visit my mentor and good friend, Chuck Fekete and his gorgeous wife Bobbie. We ate dinner at Outback Steakhouse, and Bobbie's steak was tough, and Jan's steak was RAW, so we asked to see the manager, and the manager gave them their dinners for free. Then I asked her to take our picture. I'm sure she was thrilled to do that after we bitched at her.

Beauty Day at Bushnell Escapees Park

2009-12-20T19:51:00.002-07:00

These pictures are kind of bass-akward, but Laura Bornkamp, our good buddy, decided to get her hair cut by another woman here at the park, and when she came to show us, Jan said she'd do her makeup. So here's the "after" picture.

Here is the "during" picture. Jan uses Bare Minerals, so she was showing Laura how easy it is to put on.

The hair cut lady made a lot of money that day! Here's our other good friend Mary Lane getting her hair cut.

And here's Laura getting HER haircut, which is what got the ball rolling for Beauty Day at the Kessler trailer.

2009-12-15T18:48:00.002-07:00

The top picture is me and my beautiful wife in front of Cinderella's castle, and the bottom picture is with Terry and Joan Murphy. We met Joan and Terry our very first year of full-timing in 2002, and we haven't seen them since, because they usually winter in Florida. They work at Disney World on the Splash Mountain ride. It was so great to see them again, and they were excellent tour-guides through the Magic Kingdom.

A Visit to Disney World

2009-12-15T18:31:00.002-07:00

I haven't been to Disney World in years and years, decades really, so it was fun to go with our full-time RV friends Joan and Terry Murphy. This is at the entrance to the Haunted Mansion. I don't know who this woman is, but it's hard to get pictures at Disney World without people in them.

And this is the living room in the Swiss Family Robinson tree house. Today's kids have probably never seen the movie, but I sure did back in the day. Jan saw it too and both of us wanted to live in a treehouse back then. This place is so cool with all of the little rooms stuck in the limbs of a huge tree.

Several times a day there's this parade through the Magic Kingdom, and they do lots of singing and dancing and clapping of hands. These stilt-walkers were pretty cool; I've never known how they do that. And the characters from "Toy Story" are on the float. Disney hires lots of RV'ers to work at the park, and Jan said it would be fun to jump around and dance all day long, and Joan said, "Honestly? I think they're looking for dancers a little bit younger than you!"

And here is Cinderella's Castle. Thank God for this place, which keeps you from getting lost. I guess there's an apartment in the towers, built for Walt Disney, and now rented out to the guys with the Big Bucks. It's a beautiful castle.

And here is Main Street at the Magic Kingdom, all decorated for Christmas. We were there on a Tuesday, and this photo was taken around 9:00 a.m. when it wasn't really crowded yet. Later on in the afternoon, this avenue was wall-to-wall people. There are shops with expensive merchandise, and a restaurant where we paid $16.99 FOR A HAMBURGER!!!!

The Webster Flea Market in Florida

2009-12-15T18:23:00.002-07:00

This flea market is HUGE and is only open one day a week - Monday. Jan's not into flea markets, so I went by myself and had a great time. I was there all day. This is the inside part, and I guarantee you anything you need is here.

This is the outside part. There's so much here, I can't list it all, but I enjoyed looking at tools, old furniture and the like. There are way over 200 vendors here. They have a whole section of farmer's market with great deals on fruits and vegetables. I had a ball, and I MAY go back next Monday!

Visitors at Bushnell Escapees Park

2009-12-06T20:18:00.002-07:00

I looked out the window today, and there were a pair of sandhill cranes just strolling around, not a care in the world. They weren't concerned with people or dogs coming close to them, and they let me close to take a few pictures.

Like I said, not a care in the world!

Stephen Foster State Park, White Springs, FL

2009-12-06T19:52:00.002-07:00

We totally enjoyed our visit to this State Park in the northern part of Florida. They have a "Craft Square" where various artisans are given free space to display homemade wares. This guy made rope, which was neat to watch.

This is the bell tower which, in addition to chiming the hours, plays some of Stephen Foster's songs: Old Folks at Home (Florida's State Song), My Old Kentucky Home (Kentucky's State Song), Carry Me Back to Old Virginny, Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair, etc. Stephen Foster wrote a LOT of songs.

I took a picture of a picture, showing an aerial view from above the bell tower.

Inside the museum, they have dioramas to illustrate Stephen Foster's songs. This one commemorates "Camptown Races".

There are many pianos in the museum, and this one has an unusual keyboard, called the Von Jonks keyboard. Every row has the same keys on it, so if you want to hit a middle C, you can hit in in any of the rows, whichever one is more convenient to your hand. It seems to me a whole lot more efficient way to play the piano!

Our Day in Downtown Savannah

2009-11-27T16:09:00.002-07:00

Jan's wedding ring had gotten so tight on her finger, and her knuckle so swollen, I had to cut it off! So we visited a silversmith in Savannah and got her a new wedding band. Simple but very nice.

This area is called City Market, where they blocked off a street and turned it into a pedestrian mall. This is kind of the heart of downtown Savannah. LOTS of restaurants, LOTS of galleries.

This is for all the Paula Deen fans out there. Since we couldn't get into the restaurant, right next door was the Paula Deen Store, full of tee-shirts, aprons, and the like with "Hey Y'all" written on them, as well as expensive cooking gadgets. She talks about Michael all the time on her show, so here's a picture of her and Michael on their wedding day, not all that long ago.

And here is the famous Paula Deen restaurant. Just kidding, no it's not. It's right across the street, and we loved the name.

THIS is the Paula Deen restaurant. You have to get in line starting at 8:30 a.m., and they will tell YOU when you're going to eat, and you can just shop and spend all your money in Savannah and work up an appetite that way. Their buffet is $17.99 a person. We didn't eat there, nor did we really want to. Their specialty is fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, and we can get that at Cracker Barrel for less than $17.99!

Hilton Head, SC

2009-11-27T15:57:00.002-07:00

The first few days we were here in Hardeeville, it was gray, gloomy, and wet, but then one night the sky got gorgeous at sunset, which we took as a sign it would start getting nice -- and it did!

I had never been to Hilton Head before and wanted to see it. Of course, it was nothing like I thought. I pictured a seaside town like Lewes (in Delaware), but this place has "plantations", each of which is kind of its own town, and you have to pay to get in. Keeps down traffic, I guess. This is the Hilton Head lighthouse, which is the hub of Sea Pines Plantation.

This is one of the 8 quadrizillion condo buildings in Hilton Head. I'm pretty sure there are more condos than houses. This particular building overlooked the marina and the lighthouse.

This is the Sea Pines marina, filled with big, big boats, the smallest of which probably cost more than my house in Maryland.

Beautiful Charleston, SC

2009-11-18T17:56:00.002-07:00

On a lovely Tuesday, we ventured into downtown Charleston. We've been there several times, but we're always impressed by the loveliness of it. It's such a mixture of neat stores on King Street and gorgeous old (and new) homes everywhere else. It ain't cheap to buy a house here! We ran into a realtor who was showing a nice "fixer upper" to a guy, and the price was $1 million.

This is called Rainbow Row, but it's not the most impressive part of Charleston. All these places are painted cheery colors, but frankly, I think some repainting is due. The picture above is access to parking in a little courtyard place. Jan wouldn't want to negotiate this alley in the truck if she'd had her weekly glass of wine!

This is one of the oldest buildings in Charleston. It was a marketplace back then, and I'm sure slaves were sold here.

You can take a nice carriage ride around town if you have $40 for two people. We didn't, so we walked everywhere. We walked 4 miles or so, and our feet were pretty tired.

Here is a typical gorgeous home in downtown Charleston. The building in back is a carriage house. Isn't this just lovely. We both decided we could live here. Of course, we couldn't pay the mortgage, but we could live here.

MY WIFE NEW SOCK

2009-11-18T08:15:00.001-07:00

MY WIFE LOVES TO MAKE SOCK. yOU CAN SEE IT IN HER WORK

New Bern, NC -- the birthplace of Pepsi!

2009-11-10T19:39:00.002-07:00

Here I am at the very drugstore where Pepsi was invented. It was originally called "Brad's Drink" and was meant to soothe an upset stomach. The original drugstore burned down a long time ago, but this Pepsi museum is where the drugstore used to be. That's all they serve, by the way. I haven't had a "sugar" Pepsi in a long time and it tasted GOOOOD.

Here's Jan by the sign in front of the drugstore. New Bern was a very pleasant little town with a neat downtown.

Jamestown Settlement in Virginia

2009-11-10T19:26:00.002-07:00

Our first stop after Delaware was Newport News, VA, where we visited our friends Floyd and Trish Martin -- met them in Alaska 6 years ago! After that, we made day trips to Yorktown and Jamestown, all pretty close by. Yorktown was "okay" but we really enjoyed Jamestown. Despite its being Thursday, there were lots of re-enactors on the job, and they all talked of Jamestown in the present tense. This lady was doing a shooting demonstration, and except for the guy's head, this is a great shot, don't you think?

This guy is carrying little tubes around his neck that contain another gunshot. All the people who work here will talk to you as long as you want. This guy said that since the Indians figured out that "we" aren't going anywhere, they've been shooting at them. Remember, he's talking present tense. It was so interesting.

Jan and I decided to help out the war effort, so we donned our armour, and we're ready for battle, as long as we're home in time for CSI.

Isn't she lovely?

It's So Nice to Work at a Fun Place

2009-10-24T18:28:00.002-06:00

This is my boss here at Cape Henlopen, Mike Chambers. He is, I think, the best boss I've ever had when campground hosting; and I KNOW he's the most fun. He is in charge of maintenance, and he actually works! This park is spotless, and that's because Mike insists on it. Behind Mike is Mike's boss, the park superintendant, Paul Faircloth. Everyone here is nice.

Here I am dressed as Papa Bear. Every year the park has a "Children's Fantasy Trail" at Halloween time, and here I am with "Mama" and "Baby". The park has been doing this for more than 20 years, and it's a big event in the area. Over 1,200 people came through Friday night! The little kids are SO CUTE. They say, "Papa Bear! Papa Bear!" and sit on my lap while Mom and Dad take their pictures. Great fun.

Just Some New Pictures

2009-10-03T10:51:00.002-06:00

Mollie is making sure the dog biscuit box is empty! One can dream, can't one?

Here's our cute little babies on their 1 1/2 year birthday. They need a haircut! They are so precious, and never more so in the evening when they've calmed down and want to cuddle.

Here are the two lighthouses at Cape Henlopen. The red one marks the entrance to Delaware Bay, and the white one in the distance is on the ocean and marks the entrance to the entrance of the Delaware Bay.

Theses guys are our constant companions when we have to pick up trash on the fishing pier. Sometimes the fisher-people throw worms and stuff on the pier, and the birds are there to tell us, "Don't you pick that up!" They're very tame, as seagulls always seem to be.

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2009-09-30T17:50:00.000-06:00

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Lewes, Delaware

2009-09-17T09:52:00.002-06:00

On our first day off, we paid a visit to the town closest to us, Lewes, DE. First thing Jan wanted to look at was the yarn store. She said this one was a "C", really too small to get into that euphoria she always gets when she's in a yarn store.

There was a fancy-schmancy pet store with organic dog biscuits and the like. Rich people love places like this. Outside the store was this cute little garden with doggie topiary.

Here's a long shot of Lewes' main street. This particular day, the weather was terrible, although you can't really tell it in this picture. Eventually the rain and wind chased us home. But this is such a chi-chi little town, great window-shopping. There's one restaurant, Jerry's Seafood, that had the best cream of crab soup EVER EVER.

Here's Jan in front of the building for the Cape May - Lewes ferry. We went in to check prices. The wind was pretty fierce, and the ocean was so rough. There was no way in heck we were going to Cape May that day!

Cape Henlopen State Park

2009-09-16T19:44:00.002-06:00

There are several observation towers on the state park property. They were the guardians of the east coast during World War II.

They are solid concrete, and what they lack in aesthetics they make up for in impressiveness. One of the towers is restored and you can climb your way to the top. (We haven't been up there yet.) They say there's a helluva view up there!

Cape Henlopen is also the home of Fort Miles, the buildings of which are being restored in an ongoing project. They have lots of guns on display, and this particular display shows how far the range was for the gun. In other words, watch yourself, Cape May!

Here is the gun that could take out Cape May, if it worked. And after we take care of those pesky New Jerseyans, we can have a picnic!

There is a paved bike path all the way around the park, about 3 1/2 miles around, and we try to walk it every day. Here is one of the spots where you can see the ocean.

More Pictures of My Family

2009-08-27T13:08:00.002-06:00

Tiffany is my oldest grand-daughter, and Hannah (in front) is my youngest grand-daughter! Tiffany is 25 and Hannah is 15 months. Tiffany's son, Tristen, is my first great-grandchild, and he will be 2 years old on September 2.

Here is part of Sandy's family. Her boyfriend is Curt Rinehart, and he is just a terrific guy. Tristen calls him "Poppy". Markie Man is Sandy's youngest son who is not quite 10 years old. Sandy has two older sons, Michael and Cody, who are college-age.

A nice close-up of Markie Man. This kid is a natural athlete and is good at EVERYTHING! He can throw a football, he's excellent at baseball, and he goes golfing all the time with his father.

This is my ex-wife Nancy with her husband, Dick Krantz, and Daniel's two sons, Benjamin on the left and Isaac on the right.

This is Daniel's beautiful wife, Christy, and their oldest child, Lily. Lily is quite the basketball player; she says, "I'm good at defense. I know how to get in other people's FACES!"

Kessler Family Gathering, August 22 & 23

2009-08-27T13:00:00.002-06:00

Here is (L-R) our son-in-law Craig Goldberg, my ex-wife Nancy Krantz, our son Daniel, and our daughter Lisa.

Lisa's twins just LOVED playing the piano! Lisa is holding Sophie, and our grand-daughter Tiffany is holding Hannah.

Here's Jan, holding Hannah. Hannah has the biggest, most expressive eyes! She is such a little China Doll! She's way smaller than Sophie, her fraternal twin.

Here I am with my son Daniel.

And here are my two gorgeous daughters, Lisa on the left and Sandy on the right. And I am the thorn in the middle of two roses!

Duncan's Family Campground

2009-08-27T12:47:00.002-06:00

Here is Jack running in the new Dog Run at this campground. It's on a hillside, and it has fire hydrants to pee on and a teeter totter that he stepped on and was greatly puzzled when his side went down. Both he and Mollie had a great time.

Duncan's is the place we escaped to after our hellish 3 months at Point Lookout. We'd heard nasty things about this campground, but recent reviews on "RV Park Reviews" were good, so we decided to give it a try. As you can see, they've evidently cleaned up their act, as it has a nice homey feel to it. It's very quiet, and reasonable compared to Cherry Hill, the only other campground in the D. C. metro area. (Cherry Hill is $398 a week, this place is $273.) That's our trailer next to the small one with the Jeep in front.

Duncan's Family Campground

in Lothian, MD

Four Generations!

2009-07-26T16:45:00.002-06:00

I'm so happy today because my beautiful daughter Sandy came to visit me! So we took this four-generation picture. Markie Man, age almost 10, is wearing the red shirt. He is Sandy's son. The little guy is Tristen Culbreath, Sandy's grandson and my GREAT grandson. He's as handsome as his great grandpa, huh. I scare the poor kid to death, though. He won't let me hold him. Sandy's boyfriend Curt is his "Poppy". Curt's sweetheart of a daughter, Nicky, visited too, but my pictures of them didn't turn out.

Our Lives at Point Lookout

2009-07-21T19:21:00.002-06:00

As you know, when we got here I planted some basil, peppers, and a Topsy Turvy tomato plant. Well, here are the first fruits of my labor. In my right hand is my first green pepper, and in my left hand is my first tomato.

As you know, we haven't always been really happy here at Point Lookout, but we did get to meet these people, our fellow campground hosts, from left, Harry and Connie Swoyer, and Mary Ann and Richard Jones. They are so much fun, but they're counting the days until they're out of here on August 1. We'll miss them. We've enjoyed bitching about this place with them.

One really hot day, our power went out at our site, so we took the doggies and piled into the truck so we could be in an air-conditioned area. We visited Piney Point, about a half hour from here. It's a "cottage" town where people from D. C. used to escape to in the summer. Now, of course, the "cottages" cost $300,000 and up! This is the Piney Point Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Keeper's house, part of the Piney Point Museum complex.

As you can see, it was the first lighthouse built on the Potomac River.

Every Weekend at Point Lookout

2009-07-21T18:31:00.002-06:00

Part of our duties here is that every Saturday night and Sunday night we have to pick up litter at the beach and picnic area. This is a beautiful place, right on the Chesapeake Bay, but every weekend, it is totally trashed by people who do not speak English. It makes us so mad. This view is a mild one, believe me, because usually there's so much trash you can't even find the ground.

It took every ounce of my courage to enter the bathroom to see what it's like. Since we have found over 100 dirty diapers in only 2 months OUTSIDE the bathroom, God only knows what it's like in there. This is, again, a mild view. The maintenance crew comes in after closing and power washes the whole place with bleach -- EVERY WEEKEND.

This is more like a typical view of the beach. We clean it up on Saturdays and on Sundays it looks like this again. I do the beach and Jan usually concentrates on the parking lots, and typically we fill two lawn and leaf trash bags (the big ones) APIECE. This makes us very angry and upset every week, because we don't like the fact that people come here to our country and just trash this beautiful place.

Maybe I should have warned you. That brown stuff on the floor is EXACTLY what you think it is. And this is every weekend!!! I don't know how people can do this in their own country, let alone ours.

Dick and Nancy's visit to Point Lookout

2009-07-21T10:38:00.005-06:00

My ex-wife and friend came down to visit with her husband, Dick Krantz. She brought Jimmy ( Jimmy is a bird). We had lunch at The Captain's Table in Solomons. Jimmy attracted quite a crowd.

Jan and Nancy love to knit. It is an addiction. When they enter a yarn store their eyes get glassy. Jan is wearing a sweater Nancy just finished. P. S.: Jan loves it when Nancy's sweaters turn out too big. This one unfortunately fit Nancy perfectly.

Working at Point Lookout

2009-07-21T10:27:00.003-06:00

Here we are at work on a 94-degrees day. As you can see, I do all the work. We
clean the fire pits, rake the sites, and pick up trash.

Here is my helper, Jan. Between 94-degrees and her hot flashes, the sweat pours off of her pretty good.

Our Neighbors at Point Lookout

2009-06-30T20:17:00.002-06:00

Right next to Site #98 is this big, bare-limbed tree with a huge osprey nest in it. Daddy sits there for hours and hours and guards his little ones. Occasionally he challenges another bird who happens to fly by a little too close for comfort. You can usually see Mama's head or a baby's head sticking out the top of the nest. This is Mama in this picture.

Not sure what Mama is doing in this picture. Maybe telling me to get the heck away! She just stood there in the nest flapping her wings. Maybe she's explaining the concept of flight to her little ones.

I took this picture on our walk through Solomons Island a couple weeks ago. It was in a beautiful yard just loaded with flowers. It's so pretty in Solomons. Pricey real estate with pricey yards!

A Day at Solomons Island, MD

2009-06-15T18:58:00.002-06:00

The woman on the right is Candy Lord. She has been a friend of mine for many years. We are both in recovery, and if it hadn't been for Candy, I don't know if I'd be celebrating 23 years this September! She finally met the man of her dreams, Jeff Lord, and they got married last November. They live in Lusby, MD, just up the road from Solomons. We got to see their house, and we had some incredibly good ice cream at Bruster's.

Some people are so lucky! Jan and I were walking around Solomons, looking at the gorgeous homes and wondering how much it would cost to buy here. (More than we'll ever be able to afford!) The house below has this incredible view of the Chesapeake Bay.

As you can see, this house isn't a "McMansion" and it has some character. I'll bet it has a "McMansion Price", though. Oh well, I'll keep on buying those lottery tickets. You never know! Someone has to win those things!

Jan was talking to our friend Liane Holder, and I said, "Hey, pose!" So she turned around and smiled for the camera without missing a word of her conversation with Liane. It was incredibly hot this day. Actual temperature was 92 and the humidity was 96%.

This is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Maryland. I tried to look up the name of it on the internet, but it's running so slow tonight, I got tired of waiting. Anyhow, it's very picturesque, and if I ever find out the name, maybe I can edit this post.

Blue and Gray Day at Point Lookout

2009-06-15T18:20:00.002-06:00

Every year at Fort Lincoln, they do a re-enactment of a typical day at the fort. It's not a battlefield re-enactment, just men and women in period dress. They stay in character, too. When I answered my cell phone, a lady asked me what "that box" was in my ear. This guy, like most Civil War re-enactors, knows lots and lots of trivia about the Civil War and all the people of history who were involved in it. He was so interesting! We talked to him for a couple of hours!

And what Civil War re-enactment would be complete without a cannon blast! This cannon was perched at the edge of the Potomac River, and following several loud BOOMS, all the boats in the river surrendered.

Tomato and Pepper Watch, 2009

2009-06-15T18:13:00.002-06:00

Lookee, lookee! We have a tomato on our Topsy Turvy tomato vine! This will be the first of "hundreds" of tomatoes -- according to the Topsy Turvy commercial!

Here is the big view of the Topsy Turvy, with the circle showing our little tomato.

I also planted a sweet green pepper plant, and we have a little flower emerging from that plant, too. The weather here has been hot and humid, and usually there's a thunderstorm in the afternoon, so the tomatoes and the peppers are starting to show!

Some of the History Here

2009-05-22T19:17:00.002-06:00

This area has a really interesting past. Because Point Lookout is at the point where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay, it provided an important vantage point first used in the War of 1812 to keep an eye on the British Fleet. The fort and hospital were built on the point in 1862 on account of the Civil War. Down at the bottom of this particular post is a picture of what the fort looked like. About 1/4 mile from our campground loop (Green's) is Hoffman Loop, and on that spot was the prisoner-of-war camp that Point Lookout is "infamous" for. It was built to hold 10,000 prisoners, but throughout most of the war they kept more than 20,000 men there. Corrupt officials in charge of the prison withheld food and medicine from the prisoners (an ancestor of Cheney's apparently) for personal gain, and 3,500 men died while in custody at Camp Hoffman. This monument in this picture is a Confederate memorial to those who died in custody at this prison camp.

I took this picture because of the name John Kesler on it. Obviously not spelled the same as my name, but who knows? Maybe it's a relative.

"Erected by the State of Maryland in memory of the Confederate Soldiers who died Prisoners of War at Point Lookout from March 1, 1864 to June 30, 1865." That's only 1 year and 4 months, and 3,500 men died.

This tablet lists the victims by the states they were from.

And this is the picture of the fort I mentioned above.

Point lookout Our site

2009-05-22T10:57:00.001-06:00

Point Lookout State Park

2009-05-22T10:29:00.002-06:00

Now that we're settled into our summer home here at Point Lookout, I decided to try my luck at planting some tomatoes, basil, and canteloupe.

Here are Jack and Mollie in their self-imposed prison, watching all the action around our campsite.

I decided to try one of those Topsy Turvy tomato planter things advertised on TV. They're only $9.88 at Wal Mart. There's my little tomato plant sticking out of it. We'll see how well it works!

Here, I'm standing on the causeway that connects "North Park", where we are, with "South Park", where the lighthouse, beach, boat rental, and all that stuff is. That's the Chesapeake Bay you see. Beautiful!

Bell's Palsy Strikes Again!

2009-05-18T20:04:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it! This is my THIRD attack of Bell's Palsy. I started getting that pain behind my ear last Friday, but I hoped it would go away. But unfortunately, I woke up Sunday to a really saggy face. It's just as bad as it was in 1999, when I had the last attack. Jan was all nervous, thinking it could possibly be a stroke, so we drove up to St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, where they confirmed that it was Bell's Palsy -- again. This time they gave me a medication that didn't exist 10 years ago, called Valtrex. In the years since my last attack, they've figured out that Bell's Palsy is a form of HERPES! So my fervant hope is that this Valtrex will jolt my nerves back into operation so I won't look like this. One can only hope!

Pictures from Home

2009-05-18T19:45:00.001-06:00

Well, the dogs blew it! We'd been letting them stay in the trailer uncaged for several months. They did so well, we donated their crate to the animal shelter in Zanesville. While visiting Daniel, though, in West Virginia, they had to stay in the trailer a tad too long, and they ate a hole in our couch! We were hoping that was a one-time event, but the next night when we got home, Jan's knitting was in shambles. She was 80% done with a sweater, and they unraveled the whole thing. So we decided it was time to buy a new crate. No more freedom for Jack and Mollie!

My daughter Sandy is a grandma! Tiffany, my grand-daughter, gave birth to little Tristen Jay in September of 2007. This is the first time we've seen him since he was an infant. This is a picture of my beautiful daughter Sandy and little Tristen.

Sandy treated Jan and me to dinner at Chicken Out on our last night home. I love my family! Left to right is Curt Reinhart, my daughter's boyfriend, me, Sandy, and my grand-daughter Tiffany, mother of little Tristen.

Dinner at The Meltin Pot

2009-05-11T19:18:00.002-06:00

Tonight, my wonderful daughter Sandy treated Jan and me to dinner at a fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot. We'd never been to a place like this, and what a good time it was!
First they melt a big pot of cheese (you can pick what kind) and give you bread, vegetables, and fruit to dip into it. After a huge dinner salad, they brought a pot of broth into which we put lobster, chicken, tenderloin, shrimp, and pork to cook. And then the best part: a big pot of chocolate. I could have just spooned it out, but they gave us pound cake, brownie pieces, marshmallows, fruit, Rice Krispie bars, and other stuff. It was not just a nice dinner with my daughter and my grandson, Markie Man, but an adventure in eating!

Back in Maryland Again

2009-05-11T19:08:00.002-06:00

We are lucky enough to be able to stay in Maryland for free! And not bad digs, are they? God bless my friend Dale DuVall, who lets us stay in his beautiful backyard every time we come home. He lives in Hanover, MD, which is about halfway between Baltimore and Washington.

Jack just loves Mommy, so one night Jan was lounging on the couch, and he wrapped himself around her leg and fell asleep with his head on her hand.

Just to prove the babies like me, too, here we all are on the couch one lazy day. These two just love to cuddle. Aren't they adorable?

A Doggie Reunion!

2009-04-16T20:56:00.002-06:00

We decided to pass through Lexington, KY, on our way north, so that we could meet Sarah Munoz, from whom we bought Jack and Mollie. So Sarah brought over Jack and Mollie's brother, Clifford! He's a big boy!

We have also e-mailed often with Liz and Mickey Reffitt, who also bought one of Sarah's pups. They live in Morehead, KY, about an hour east of Lexington, so we drove over to see them on Saturday. Here we are with their little baby, Bella, who is Jack and Mollie's sister! They played, and played, and played.

And this is Sarah Munoz! She is the coolest woman! She's like a female Dog Whisperer. She got Jack to heel in about 5 minutes. We must have talked to Sarah on the phone a hundred times, but this is the first time we got to meet her. We hit it off immediately and know that we a have a new friend (and doggie expert) in Lexington, KY.

Now we're back at the Reffitt's again. Bella's favorite toy is a duck and goes "Quack, Quack, Quack" every time you squeeze it. Mollie (on the right) REALLY liked that duck and tried like heck to take it away from Bella.

And here are the 3 siblings together. Bella is in the background, Jack is on the left, and Mollie is on the right. We had the most fun watching the three of them play. When we got back into the truck to go home at 9:00 p.m., Jack and Mollie conked out in about 30 seconds and slept all the way back to Lexington.

The babies' first long hike

2009-04-05T20:37:00.002-06:00

Last year, we took April to this park -- Big Thicket National Preserve in east Texas. We figured if she could put in 8 miles, so could these little whipper-snappers. So we made our second visit to this great hiking place. Jack and Mollie loved it, and so did we. Jack (on the left) is watching a bird, and Mollie is just plugging right along!

This little cabin is a welcome sight. It's at the end of a very long hike and about 1/2 more to a water fountain and the truck.

This is the trail we walked on -- Kirby Nature Trail. You can connect from this trail to the Turkey Creek Trail, which is 17 miles one way. We'll leave that for another day!

Life at Mustang Island

2009-03-26T19:52:00.002-06:00

I was setting up my antenna the other day, and I saw something move, and it startled me. What in the world was that? It was the tiniest little frog I've ever seen. I took this picture, and the frog looks bigger than it really was. It was no bigger than a penny.

Here's our boy Jack. We were eating breakfast when Jan said, "Where's Jack?" We took a peek upstairs, and he had crawled back under the covers and was fast asleep. I tried to very quietly take his picture, but when I framed the shot, he woke up and looked at me. He was so cute, all tucked in under the covers.

This was my birthday present! Jan's mom gave me a Home Depot gift card, so I bought a weather station. This one is wireless, and it is so cool. I got it all set up. As you can tell, it was kind of a crumby day at Mustang Island. Most days have been sunny, warm, and breezy, but on this particular weekend, it was cold and stormy.

Mustang Island State Park

2009-03-07T21:20:00.002-07:00

While we were staying in Aransas Pass, the office manager of Mustang State Park called us and asked us to be hosts for the month of March. Tough Duty! We are separated from the Gulf of Mexico by only a sand dune. It's a beautiful beach!

Here's another part of the beach up by the jetty. The arrow points to the water.

Here's our home for the month of March, and you can see the arrow again. That's where the beach is with regard to our trailer. There's always a great breeze blowing off the water, and we can hear the ocean at night with the windows open.

This is the campground at Mustang Island, and this shot is if you were standing in front of our rig looking out. There are 4 campground hosts at this park, which is a lot, considering there are only 48 sites! We only have to work 2 days a week each!

Check out the Top of the Screen

2009-02-23T20:49:00.002-07:00

I just thought this was too funny for words. This was on Saturday, February 7, and the U.S. Senate was "back in session to debate details of stimulus bill", but at the top of the screen, the show that was SUPPOSED to be on was "Nightmare Behind Closed Doors." I thinking the Republicans were causing the nightmare.

Look what I caught? I don't know what kind of fish it is, and I don't care. It took a long time to reel it in. It was 24 inches long. I didn't have anything to weigh it with, but it was heavy. I give the little ones I catch to my good friends, named "Pelicans", but this one was a keeper.

Jan bought us both one of these shirts to celebrate the END OF BUSH!

Here are two nice pictures of our dogs' butts. They love to look out the window.

Jan and I ate Valentine's Day dinner here at the Crab N. When I took this, I didn't know if the food was going to be any good, and it turns out it was SUPERB. We loved it. I had mahi mahi, but Jan had a filet. She doesn't like fish. The restaurant was on one of those canals where rich homeowners park their big boats, so it was a nice view out the window. A truly wonderful evening with my wonderful wife.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

2009-02-07T13:49:00.002-07:00

About 45 miles from Aransas Pass is the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which provides a home for, among other birds, the whooping crane which almost became extinct. (I did not know that.) There are also tons of blue herons, ospreys, egrets, pelicans, and of course good old seagulls.

They have many boardwalks with observations decks and telescopes so you can see out into San Antonio Bay. There were several boardwalks where they said you could see alligators, so we avoided them since we had the babies with us.

Here's Jan and the babies during our walk. Would you believe that they picked up FLEAS while we were here? That did not make us happy. All last evening, we were noticing fleas in our house, so today is "Bombing Day". We're spraying the whole house to kill the little suckers. And of course, now the babies are armed with Front Line.

Jan and I said that we hardly ever see LIVE armadilloes, we usually see them flattened on the road. So here's a picture of a live one, taken at the wildlife refuge.

More Pictures from the U. S. S. Lexington

2009-02-07T13:35:00.002-07:00

This propeller came from another ship that was scrapped, but it's a whopper; and as big as it is, the ones on the Lexington are bigger!

And here's a view of the U.S.S. Lexington from the Texas State Aquarium, which we visited last week.

Our friend Odel King flew an F-4 during the Vietnam War , so when we saw this, we took a picture, and now we are really impressed that Odel could fly this thing.

This is a view from the end of the flight deck looking towards the bridge. It never ceases to amaze me that planes can actually land on these ships AND catch that line that stops the plane. It must look like a postage stamp from the sky!

Yes, I know, I already posted this picture, but Jan really likes her Buckeyes, so here it is again.

A Visit to the U. S. S. Lexington

2009-02-07T13:22:00.002-07:00

The U.S.S. Lexington is an air-craft carrier permanently moored in Corpus Christi. Here I am at one of the guns that are on display before you go on board.

And here I am in the brig, which is where Jan says I belong.

This is on the captain's bridge. ALL AHEAD FULL! I love WWII movies, particularly the ones with John Wayne in them, so this is a great place to play "make believe."

On the flight deck they have probably a dozen planes on display, so Jan got all excited when she saw one of the planes was called a "Buckeye".

Just before we went on board the Lexington, this big tanker came in to Corpus Christi Harbor.

Jan's a Knittin' Fool

2009-02-07T13:12:00.002-07:00

Jan is definitely declaring victory over the UFO (knitting talk for "unfinished object"). She bought the yarn for this project in Fargo, ND, in July of 2007! It sat for a LONG time, and she finally decided to finish it. So here it is, the Fargo Shirt, 1 1/2 years in the making.

Jan loves her new blocking board, which she bought here in Corpus Christi. It takes all the guesswork out of getting the measurements right. You pin it down on this board, steam it till it's nice and damp, and then let it air dry.

This has nothing to do with knitting, but it's a cute picture. Jack and Mollie like to stare out the bedroom window in the morning and bark at birds, dogs, people, whatever. Jack has the purple collar and Mollie wears the pink collar.

Texas State Aquarium

2009-01-29T19:45:00.002-07:00

Wednesday, we paid a visit to the Texas State Aquarium, which is located in Corpus Christi. It's located right on the Gulf of Mexico and is right by the C. C. Harbor, where there are continuous streams of BIG tanker ships.

Absolutely the coolest thing about this aquarium was the dolphin show. I tried like the dickens to catch one of this dolphins in a jump or flying in the air, but all the pictures I took show the big splash when they go back in the water. Except this one, where the dolphin is saying hello to us. The trainers do all the commands via hand signals, and the dolphins are just wonderful. They obviously love their trainers.

I should have made a note. Other than a "pretty purple fish", I have no idea what kind of fish this actually is. It was in one of the many tanks throughout the aquarium.

I don't know, these guys just look EVIL to me. This stingray, according to the guide, used to be in the "touching pool", but now he is in a different tank where you're not allowed to touch him. Anyway, since this stingray is used to being touched, he was "flirting" with us, coming right up to the edge and then flapping at us and turning over on his back. At least the guide SAID he was flirting. I wasn't inclined to flirt back.

Port Aransas, TX

2009-01-25T19:41:00.002-07:00

We took a ferry ride from Aransas Pass over to Port Aransas, which is a touristy, Ocean City-like town. We found this county campground which was almost miraculously empty, given that most every RV park in the area is packed with winter Texans. It's called I. B. Goode County Park, and we'll keep it in mind for a future visit. A guy there says it's $110 a week for electric and water.

I TOLD you this was a touristy town! Here getting by "Jaws". This was the entrance to one of those cheap souvenir places you always see in a beach town. TEE SHIRTS -- 4 FOR $20.00!!!!!! Due to the chilly weather today, there was no-one around!

Jan had the choice of putting her head on a "fat lady" cut out, or she could pose here and say she still likes the Annie Hall look.

The Reason We Came to Kemah

2009-01-20T21:22:00.002-07:00

Our babies are now 10 months old, and boy do they love me. I can hardly sit down in my Lazy-Boy that they don't climb right on me. Jack is on the left and Mollie is on the right. She has dots around her nose. They are just so cute.

Now for the reason we came to Kemah. My sponsor in N. A. is Tom Catton, and he lives in Hawaii. The last time we saw him was on our honeymoon 12 years ago! Tom is a mesmerizing speaker and was in Texas for a regional meeting of Narcotics Anonymous. He spoke on Saturday night at the banquet. Jan won a dumb little dolphin thing during the door prizes and Tom won a coffee cup, so here they are posing with their winnings.

Tom has been my sponsor for many years, and I owe him a lot. Even though he's in Hawaii, we talk on the phone all the time, and Tom is just an amazing person. His outlook is always sunny, even though in the 12 years since we saw him last, he's survived prostate cancer and two brain surgeries after he was in a head-on collision.

Jan always says that Tom could read the phone book out loud and you'd be hanging on every word. Tom's message is to live in the moment because "God is loving us now," and if you go to a negative place, you go there alone. It was so great to see him, and we hope it's not 12 years till the next time.

Damage Done by Hurricane Ike

2009-01-20T21:14:00.002-07:00

This is what remains of a row of hotels that faced Galveston Bay. The hurricane was in September, and Galveston is pretty much still wiped out. Maybe 25% of the businesses in the tourist area are open, the rest boarded up. Practically all the houses facing the Bay were destroyed. Even the ones still standing are all boarded up.

We had a spot at an RV park in Kemah, about 15 miles up the Bay from Galveston. Our morning walk took us by this sight in the little suburb of Clear Lake Shores.

Unlike the other messed up boats, this one was put here on purpose in Clear Lake Shores. It's all painted up and says, "We're OK."

Jan's and My Hero

2008-12-12T19:53:00.002-07:00

This is Padraic Ley. Padraic is one of our favorite people on this earth anyway, but even more so now. My computer crashed two weeks ago, and I am lost without a computer. We were planning to visit Padraic in Terrell, TX, anyway, but this time we couldn't wait, because we thought Padraic MIGHT be able to fix my computer. We got here last Saturday, Padraic took my computer home with him, and on Sunday morning, he had it running again. The man is a GENIUS! We are so appreciative he could save it. And we've had a great time talking to him and visiting him and Willie.

Today we went into downtown Dallas and visited the JFK Museum, better known to our generation as the Texas School Book Depository. The infamous window is the third window up on the corner. The museum is really neat, but unfortunately you can't take any pictures in there. They have that corner window area cordoned off, and it looks just like it looked on November 22, 1963. It really was kind of eerie, thinking that's where Oswald was when he shot Kennedy. Looking out of the window next to it, all you can think is, "Wow, that's one hell of a shot!" It really was a trip down Memory Lane, and Jan and I were both lost in thought the whole time we were there, remembering that day.

This is the infamous Grassy Knoll just outside the School Book Depository. This is where Zapruder was standing, more or less, when he took that movie. It would have been a great view that day, as the knoll is high enough that you could see over the people in front of you. When we left, we drove on the very road, in the same lane even, as Kennedy's limo. Like I said, it sure did take us back!

Out of Colorado and Headed Towards Texas

2008-11-20T20:04:00.002-07:00

These pictures are backwards in sequence, but "oh well." We left Colorado on Tuesday and went over a pass on I-25 that separates Colorado from New Mexico. We're staying in Raton, NM, a few days and today we went back over the pass to Trinidad in CO. Yesterday it was 70 degrees, and today it was 37. At the top of the pass, the trees were all covered in ice.

You won't believe where we're staying! On RV Park Reviews (internet website) we found out about a campground at the N.R.A. Whittington Center. Yes, THAT N.R.A. This is the largest firing range in North America, and they have full-hookup campsites for $18 a night, a pretty good price. This is the view from our campsite. Below are various firing ranges for everything from pistols to shot guns to machine guns. We only heard shots a couple times.

There is only one camper here besides us. I was talking to the manager of the place, and they get no money from the N.R.A. They are, however, allowed to use N.R.A. letterhead for their fundraising projects. There are 33,000 acres here, all of it reclaimed coal mine land. There are herds of pronghorn sheep roaming everywhere, and no-one is allowed to shoot them, thank goodness. The Santa Fe Trail runs directly through the property, and there's a statue of Charlton Heston on a horse at the spot where the Trail crosses the road.

Okay, now we're back in Colorado, and this is me with my little grand-daughter Sophie, who is just a real cutie. She smiles nearly non-stop, and belly laughs if you make funny noises. It was so nice being able to spend so much time with Lisa, Craig, and the girls for a whole month!

Jan and Craig have this Michigan v. Ohio State thing going. Jan wanted Craig to lay down on the floor and she would put her foot on his chest, but he said, "No-o-o-o-o way!!" Craig's team has lost 8 games this year, Michigan's worst season IN 136 YEARS!!!!!! Ohio State plays them this Saturday, and Jan thinks the outcome is not in doubt.

Clear Creek RV Park

2008-11-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

The kids next store feeding bee
and they let them play with them

What Difference A Day Makes

2008-11-15T20:01:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was a nice day,
Wednesday we had three inches of snow
Go figure

Clear Creek RV Park Golden,CO

2008-11-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

This is the view from our campsite

More Babies

2008-10-25T17:31:00.001-06:00

Jan and Lisa at the mall

Old paw

A Fun Day in Boulder!

2008-10-25T17:18:00.003-06:00

We had brunch with our Boomer friends: Kris and Dean Caldwell, and Julie and John Black. Kris and Dean just got back from two months in Peru two days ago, and they spent all day yesterday babysitting their grandkids. These folks have STAMINA! John and Julie want to go to Peru, so it was a perfect group of people.

Boulder was a busy place on a beautiful Fall Saturday afternoon. There were buskers galore, and then there was this guy. Colorful!

Julie, John, and Jan in front of Julie's favorite kitchen store in Boulder. John and Julie live in Blackhawk, about 30 miles from Golden and Boulder in a triangle. We met them in Arizona, as they spent their winters in an RV.

2008-10-22T20:13:00.001-06:00

2008-10-22T20:11:00.000-06:00

I love this shot

Our Newest Grand-daughters!

2008-10-22T19:59:00.002-06:00

This is Hannah Goldberg! She and her sister Sophie were born to my daughter Lisa and her husband Craig on June 2, 2008. They lived in San Francisco until the first of September, when they returned to their favorite city (where they met) and our favorite city, Denver. They have purchased a house in our favorite suburb of our favorite city, Golden, so it will be SO much easier to visit them. In fact, our favorite RV Park (Clear Creek RV) is only 4 miles from their new house!

Here is Jan holding Miss Sophie Goldberg, and a very jealous Jack hopped on the chair. "Who is this little usurper of my mom's affections?" he wonders.

This is Hannah. She and Sophie are fraternal twins, and they don't look alike at all. Sophie is a big ole girl, Lisa calls her "Thunder Thighs", and little Hannah is a petite little thing, just like her mom and her Grandma Nancy.

Sophie got the giggles when it was time to give her her bottle, and she was laughing hysterically when I took this picture. It was so funny. I wish I'd taken a video of it.

Well, all good things must come to an end, and here's Sophie in her little car seat, all ready to go home and see Daddy, who is thrilled that the Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series. We won't see Craig until the travel day between games! That's okay, Craig. Jan understands completely.

This One's For You, Peggy!

2008-10-22T19:40:00.002-06:00

Our friend Peggy in Zanesville is a big fan of our grandchildren, Sophie and Hannah Goldberg, whom we just met for the first time today! Aren't they adorable? Sophie is on the left, and Hannah is on the right. So, knowing how often Peggy visits this blog and Lisa's, I put the little "Hi Peggy" sign on them. This one's for you, Peggy!

And this is "our" baby, Jack in Jan's lap while she was talking on the phone. Jack is a real cuddler, and Mollie can only sit on your lap for a couple minutes.

Only A Yarn Addict Can Understand

2008-10-16T20:51:00.001-06:00

Hi, this is Jan. When we found ourselves in northwestern Nebraska, I knew that we were pretty close to Mitchell, NE, home of the Brown Sheep Woolen Mill. They make one of my favorite kinds of yarn, Wildefoote Sock Yarn. It was only a little over an hour away, so we drove down. It's the first time I've ever been anywhere that they make yarn.

They have a store there where you can buy seconds of yarn. The only thing wrong may be that it doesn't exactly match their color cards. They sell yarn by the POUND, and as you know, yarn doesn't really weigh all that much. I took a pattern with me that I've wanted to make for a long time, and when I picked the yarn for it, the total for it was $11.99!! In some yarn stores, a single skein can cost $8.00 or $9.00. I was very excited.

They wouldn't let us take a tour of the place. But they did hold the door open so Barry could take this picture of newly dyed yarn. They told us they get their wool from sheep farmers in the tri-state area (Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming). The shorn wool goes someplace in North Carolina where it is washed and becomes "roving". Brown Sheep gets the roving, and they spin it and dye it. They are the biggest producer of natural fiber yarn in the country. It surely was fun being around all that yarn!!

Fort Robinson State Park in Nebraska

2008-10-14T21:43:00.000-06:00

We visited here about 5 years ago but only stayed a couple of days. It's a great old fort, and these barracks are right next to our campground. The fort is across the road, and you can rent rooms for the night, or you can rent a whole officer's quarters.

Read this. It explains all about Fort Robinson.

It is surrounded by these beautiful buttes. The one in the distance is called Mexico Canyon.

You can hardly see it, but there's a bluebird perching on the fence post.

When Jack and Mollie came here, they stuck to Jan like glue. Well, I think they like me now! This morning, they both crawled into my lap and settled down for a nap. They just melt my heart.

Snow at the Hart Ranch

2008-10-14T21:30:00.002-06:00

Well, it's time to get the heck out of South Dakota! We had one brutal cold front sweep through Rapid City while we were here. High temps were in the low 40's, lows at night were in the 20's. Saturday, we called it a blizzard without the snow, and Sunday, here came the snow! This we can live without!

A truly gruesome sight out our windows on a brutally cold Sunday morning.

Pictures from Aberdeen, SD

2008-10-06T11:31:00.002-06:00

For those of you who have wondered why I have had a pony-tail for so many years, now you know! It's long enough for a COMB-OVER!!

Hey, am I handsome or what? A little bit of hair gel, comb it up and over, and HELLO LADIES!

Meanwhile, Mollie decided to take a nap on the couch. It was a rainy day in Aberdeen, and she doesn't like football any more than I do.

You remember our "honorary daughter" Barb? She is a police-person here in Aberdeen, and she stopped by to see us. She was telling us she has very pretty teeth.

And she's getting married! Barb got engaged this summer to her beau of 2 years, Derek Reifenrauth. (She'll be spelling her last name for the rest of her life.) Derek is a sheriff in the next county over from Aberdeen. She is so excited, and we are thrilled for her. She will become Barb Reifenrauth on April 25, 2009.

On the Road Again!

2008-10-02T19:34:00.003-06:00

Our first stop after leaving Turtle River is the little town of Valley City, North Dakota. It's a very pretty little college town in southeastern N.D., about 45 miles west of Fargo. This pedestrian bridge is so pretty. It links the campus of Valley City State University with downtown. There is an active Flower Club or something because there is nice landscaping all over town. The campus, though small, is very pretty and spotless.

Valley City owns a little city campground, and that is where we're staying. It's right on the main drag and behind us that little Flower Club went crazy with the most beautiful Fall flowers making a nice view out our windows. There are lots of city campgrounds in the Midwest, and this one is a winner!

We got a kick out of the name of this bar -- BOOMER'S CORNER KEG. We proudly belong to the Escapees Boomers, so I think we should have a rally here so we can give this place some business!

I also liked this shop. They sell shoes, they give shoeshines, and oh, by the way, do you need a gun? A bow and arrow? Gotcha covered!

We made a side trip to Jamestown, ND, and saw this interesting sculpture on the side of the VFW building. It's an eagle, and the wings of the eagle are arms and legs. I didn't know whether to feel patriotic or repulsed.

Fall has come to Turtle River State Park

2008-09-24T18:07:00.002-06:00

Fall is here at Turtle River. Today was just gorgeous. The leaves are in full color and are dropping off the trees pretty rapidly. The sky was bright blue, and the high temperature was 63. We will be leaving here one week from today, and we will miss it.

Some pretty Fall leaves on the surface of the Turtle River. They're going to stock the river with trout in the next week or so, so we'll have lots of fishing here pretty soon.

We pass this little house every time we go into Grand Forks. The harvest is all done up here, not that there was anything planted in this particular field, I don't think.

Puppies

2008-08-21T20:20:00.002-06:00

I is hard to tell from this picture that he ate the cellphone
and my glasses

Mollie is getting ready to attack

It a Coat

2008-08-21T20:07:00.002-06:00

Awhile back a camper came into the park with a lamb. They came back
with the lamb.only it is a coat

More Babies

2008-08-21T19:54:00.002-06:00

This is Hanna with my Ex-wife we are very good friend.

The new babies (2+ months) they had fulled out.
as you can see jan didn't write this

More Puppies

2008-07-23T19:14:00.001-06:00

Big Happenings

2008-07-21T20:12:00.002-06:00

At our staff picnic, we got an award! We were plenty surprised. The award was for "Project Efficiency" for when we took the pictures of the campsites for the North Dakota website. The man on the left side of the picture is the head ranger at the park, Steve Crandall, and our immediate boss, Steve Best is behind Jan's shoulder. It made us feel good. It is always nice to be appreciated!

One of the seasonal rangers, Lee Harwell, is to the left. He's from "Loosiana", and we met his wife for the first time the day before the picnic. Jan was thrilled to learn that Jamie Harwell is a Buckeye! She's originally from the Cleveland area, but her parents are now living near Salt Fork Lake State Park in Cambridge, Ohio. Jan and Jamie decided to wear their Buckeye shirts to the picnic. By the way, Jamie is a diesel mechanic. Doesn't look like one, does she?

Our favorite time with the puppies is, when else, when they're worn out in the evening. They stick to Jan like glue, so the minute she sits down on the couch at night, they're in her lap in a heartbeat. They're adorable, aren't they?

Last Saturday, the little town called Larimore (13 miles from the Park) had their annual festival called Larimore Days. Because of vacation schedules, our boss couldn't spare a ranger to be in the Parade, so he asked Jan to be "Ranger For A Day." Here she is in ranger garb, all ready to go.

And, ladies and gentlemen, meet Roscoe the Racoon! As portrayed by me, Barry Kessler. It was pouring down rain, and they didn't want to get the Roscoe suit wet, so I sat in Steve's truck, all crouched down in the seat so that I could fit Roscoe's head in, and I threw Dum Dums to the kids. They all thought I was Smokey the Bear. The parade was fun, but it rained the whole time. Jan also couldn't walk outside because they can't let the ranger hat get wet.

Pictures I Should Have Posted A Month Ago!

2008-07-16T19:44:00.002-06:00

I've neglected this blog for about a month! Here are some pictures I took over the last couple weeks of good times at Turtle River. The gray dog in this picture was a GIGANTIC
Great Dane, and when his mommy would say, "Who do you love?" he would answer, "WI WUV WU." I swear it sounded like "I Love You." It was really funny.

Here is Jan with Tallena, who is the seasonal Park Naturalist. She was dressed up as a Pioneer woman for one of her Friday night programs which are very popular. Jan was giving her a ride in the pioneer golf cart.

There was a tent here last weekend that looked like a little house. Cute, huh?

Jack and Mollie, Part 2

2008-07-16T19:36:00.003-06:00

I just found these photos that I forgot about. You can see Jack really good here, and that's Mollie's speckled nose in the background.

And this is Good Golly Miss Mollie, sick of the drive home from Minneapolis like we all were by this time.

Jack and Mollie Arrive At Our Home!

2008-07-16T19:23:00.002-06:00

Meet our two new babies! The top dog is our boy Jack, named after Jan's dad, and the bottom dog is Mollie, named after "Good Golly Miss Mollie!" They were bred by a woman named Sarah Munoz in Lexington, Kentucky, and they were flown to Minneapolis, where we picked them up on the 15th. Then came a 6-hour trip back to North Dakota.

When we got them home, they were full of energy after being cooped up all day, but after a nice long walk this was the result.

This morning, July 16, they woke us up at 6:30! We walked them about 2 1/2 miles, which caused them to conk out for a couple of hours. They are so adorable. We are looking forward to having lots of fun with them.

More Sweetie Pies at Turtle River

2008-06-20T21:59:00.004-06:00

We were delivering some firewood to some campers just down from us, and from out of the shadows came this adorable little lamb! He's only a couple of weeks old. The lady told us that she found him along side U. S. 2 with the umbilical cord still attached! It was like the lamb had fallen off a truck or something. So this lady, a true Good Samaritan, picked him up and is feeding him goat's milk just like Tick the fawn drinks.

Jan got to feed this little guy, whose name they SAY is "Chaos", and he sucked down the formula as fast as Tick does. He's a real sweetie, and I hope they can raise him. They said they have plenty of property for him to roam once he gets big, and they PROMISED not to eat him.

Farmer Barry's Summer Crop

2008-06-20T21:53:00.002-06:00

I planted some more tomatoes this year, but this year I decided to put them in a 5 gallon bucket instead of the ground. There are a million deer at Turtle River, and last year they ate most of my tomatoes. Well, with the buckets, I can HIDE my tomatoes from them at night and give the tomatoes lots of sun in the day-time. Well, look at my tomatoes! I can guarantee no-one's gonna get salmonella from these babies!

We'll keep you informed on our Tomato Progress!

Our Beloved April, 1995 - 2008

2008-06-20T21:44:00.002-06:00

We lost our little girl today. She had cancer, and in the last two weeks, she really went downhill. She had terrible difficulty pooping, she wouldn't eat for days at a time, and most days when she did eat, she threw everything up. Despite all this, she was still our "woo-woo girl", always looking for us out the window, and howling with happiness when we got home. Her tail has never stopped wagging since 1995 when we got her. Jan and I did not want her to reach the point of sheer misery, so we took her to a very nice vet in Grand Forks. He came out to the truck to sedate her (April always shook like a leaf when she went to the vet), and then he carried her indoors and administered the euthanasia drugs. She died peacefully and without pain or fear. We loved her very much and will have a hard time adjusting to life without her. We hope she's up in heaven now giving Spike the dickens. As for Spike, he's probably saying, "Geez, I had peace and quiet for 14 months!"