123 - Thar She Blows

The first time winter weather blew into the park it was a little scary because the wind really picked up and I told people it was almost like going through another hurricane. It was so crazy that I compared it to Ike. Once when I attempted to peek out and see that everything was secure, I could barely open the door against the push of the wind. Guess that's a drawback to our great spot on the end by the water... we are the windbreak for everyone and everything behind us, and the water does nothing to slow the wind... but most days it's just gorgeous and there's nothing to complain about. So anyway... the awnings that we put on top of our slides to keep the debris off (official term: slide toppers) flap in the wind whether it's a low breeze or gale force winds. Sometimes they sound like gremlins jumping on top of the roof, sometimes they sound more like a low rumble, and other times it just sounds like someone is outside the RV looking into your storage compartment... but I checked, and no one was. :)

I think at the time Mike thought I was overreacting when I mentioned the how hard the wind was blowing. And when I said that I didn't want to be out on the roads after the sun went down if it was supposed to be rainy and cold. And I think all that changed last night - last night's cold front was nothing to sneeze at.

I knew it was coming, just not when. We were at around 60 degrees during the day and the low was expected to be around 28 degrees. Since it stayed in the 50's until well after dark I figured we were in for some pretty strong gusts; this was not my first rodeo. Just like last time, you could feel the wind hit the side of the RV, see the recliner start to rock, and then the slide toppers went crazy. At one point Mike muted the tv because he thought the rumble might be a tornado. Since the temp was supposed to be well below freezing, we had to switch to gravity feed versus city water, but we hadn't gotten around to filling the tank just yet... So out I went... The RV blocked the wind pretty well, but just listening to the wind howl and tear through the trees was pretty intimidating. When everything was done I went back inside, but I almost couldn't get the door open. There's not much to grab onto, our door handle is more like a latch, and the wind was incredible so it took some doing, and then once I pried it open I had to hold onto it so it wouldn't slam into the side of the RV and get pinned there. Lasted about two hours, and then it was over. There was a little sleet, but nothing that stuck, and thankfully no hail.

Today, on the other hand, was gorgeous. We went into town, back to the awesome Thai restaurant we found. The lady who runs the place is a hoot. This was the second time she gave us sake after we'd paid the bill. She likes Mike's cowboy hat, but I got the hug. After that it was off to Walmart to return a couple of things (and for once, we didn't replace them with anything - WE WALKED OUT EMPTY HANDED!!!). Drove around for a while and stopped into a bar to hang out with a friend, but the place was too damn smoky. We lasted about a minute. I just can't tolerate it anymore, I don't like the smell, but it was also so thick that it bothered me physically. My throat is actually scratchy right now. So we went to a little shopping area, looked around, and had dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant before heading home.

Before we hit the road this morning we stopped in to say hi to Mary Rose, the lady who sold us our membership. She's very nice and we clicked and I've been meaning to make my way over there but I got busy and time somehow slipped away from me. Anyway, as we were talking I realized that even if we do get the house in TN, which... who knows... not everyone is keen on lease to own or is in a position to owner finance but I'm still hopeful... I could, conceivably, work here and live in the RV and come 'home' on my days off. It's about a three hour drive, so it's about like going to Austin for the weekend, which is something I did quite often when Mike and I were dating. And she mentioned that if you work over 40 hours, which sounded like a real possibility, you can use it as comp time, so I could save that up for when Mike will be home and we can have a long weekend. It's not much money, but it's probably fairly flexible, and it's close, and the salary might include the week we have to pay for each month. Huntsville is a hike and I just don't know if I'm ready to be a professional again, but I do know I wouldn't look forward to the drive and the traffic, especially with the weather they have around here. The stress that I feel like I just got rid of would come flooding back in no time. If the owner finance deal doesn't work out, it's a job that I would keep at least until September/October, and all or part of it could be put aside toward a downpayment. I talked to the manager a couple of days ago and he seemed very interested in me until I told him we were probably here until March or April and then the fire died down, so maybe this will reignite his passion, hahaha.

So that was our day. It's 12:30 now and I wish I was sleepy... I'm getting there but I'm not exhausted yet and I know that if I get in bed now I'll just lie there wishing I could sleep, so I guess I'll see what's on tv. Good night everyone. :)

122 - The Hubs is Home

After three looooooooooooooong weeks, Mike is home again. And he brought Scout (my car).

I was in an accident over a year ago. This woman who was driving a daycare van came into my lane and I was unable to avoid the collision despite honking and moving over as far as I could. Insurance paid for the repairs but it pissed me off because my car was about six months old at the time... basically brand new. Fast forward to last week when Mike is getting routine maintenance done and points out that you can see the belts in one of my tires, and I only have 16,000 miles on the car. Apparently, the alignment is off and the only way to get it back into camber is to replace the struts. It's barely out of alignment, but it's enough to cause ongoing issues with my tires and those puppies ain't cheap. So I've had to reopen the claim, and I will have to take it to the shop to get an estimate, wait for the inspector to determine that it results from the accident, and then I can take it in to get it fixed. In short, a hassle, and I can only hope she gets it all back in spades... you may think that's harsh, but she lied and said I came into her lane, then refused to speak to the insurance company, so I got stuck paying my deductible (and there were kids in the van who could have been injured because she wasn't paying attention)... and I got stuck paying for the alignment and a new tire - which will hopefully be covered by the claim but there is no guarantee.

Yesterday we ran around town for most of the day, then to kill time we went to a state park. We thought we'd walk a trail and take pics then head back to the car and go to dinner. What could go wrong?

It seems impossible that a trail can be uphill all the way. It's confusing when a trail is multiple choice and you don't know which option to take. It's disconcerting when your trail turns into a logging road then disappears. It's cause for concern when the sun starts to set and you're still in the woods. It sucks when you finally find a road and have to walk down it for about a mile before you get back to your car. Sucks even more when a park ranger stops to talk to you but doesn't offer you a ride. Even after you mention you are lost.

So we were tired... and a little cold... but we made it out and headed to dinner at Wentzell's. Oysters were good, the rest was eh. Today we ran more errands and had lunch at a cool Thai restaurant in town. Food was good, owner was awesome, we got a free bottle of saki. Got our hair cut... I miss Missy... Went to a winery run by another awesome lady. They have lemon wine and cranberry wine. Lemon is my new favorite.

And now it's picture time:

This was our plug... documenting it for insurance but never posted it...

Birds nests

Mike got some good shots of the water fowl this morning