Baby Boomers News, Reviews, & Observations

Camping Season Has Officially Begun!

No, it’s not yet Friday of Memorial Day weekend 2009, but I’m sitting here under our RV canopy watching RV after RV pull in and setup for the holiday weekend. There are big ones, little ones, new ones, old ones, pop-ups, 5th wheels, coaches, Moms & Dads with all their kids, grandparents without theirs, you name it…they’re coming in.

Even more interesting is that there are some here because of their jobs, and they’re packing up and leaving for the weekend. Not us. We’re sticking around for part of the weekend, and when we do go for a quick overnight trip we aren’t taking our 5th wheel.

I’ve enjoyed observing the comings and goings. It’s interesting to see where people are coming from…or at least where they’re based anyway according to their vehicle and RV tags. Sometimes it seems strange though to see an RV come in one day and be gone the next. Those are the folks in route to another destination who just need to stop in for an overnight rest.

Before I get back to RV watching I’ve GOT to share this video with you. Trust me…you’ll see RVers do it cooler.

Fulltime RV’ing and Loving It!

Now THIS is the life! Fulltime RVing it these days and LOVIN’ it! Especially when the weather is finally as gorgeous as it is today and I’m able to sit outside with DH’s ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch Netbook with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, Bluetooth, XP Home, and a 9.5 hour battery life.

Living in our 5th wheel RV is like living in an efficiency apartment on wheels, but you at least get a little bit of a yard with it. Best part is being able to change your scenery on a whim.

Then there’s the issue of neighbors. Just give it a few days and you’ll have new ones if you’re not quite compatible with the current neighbors, or just move yourself. We’ve been fortunate the last couple of weeks to have two neighbors who are fun. Some evenings we gather around the picnic table and enjoy an evening meal and pleasant conversation.

Like us, our current neighbors are RVing it due to job situations. We all agree it’s nice to be paid to be on vacation. We’re going to be here for awhile, but they live a little bit more on the edge than we do as they’re in construction. They may park somewhere and be there for months or have to up and move to another location at the drop of a hat one day.

I’m fascinated by the many different RV floorplans and setups. Absolutely amazing to me what the RV manufacturers have come up with in recent years. If you haven’t already, take a look at ours to get a little bit of an idea. Later this week I’ll write a post about some of the RVs I’ve seen since embarking on this lifestyle so stick around.

Somebody’s Ghost Sending My Blog Posts via Aweber

Promise! It wasn’t ME! I’ve checked and fixed what I THINK may be the problem. However, if duplicate posts keep dropping in your email box without me doing anything to make it happen then I’ll just drop Aweber’s service and go back to using Feedburner’s email service.

Please accept my apologies. I promise I’m not trying to pester anybody.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Capture the Magic of Santa!

Oops! Hope your chimney is wider than my blog!

Santa Claus is Real!

I found this cool site. It’s called CaptureTheMagic.com

The site has been developed to enable users to “Capture Santa” in a photo right inside your own home. Parents can produce a compelling photo of Santa in their house which will amaze and delight the “believers” in their families (all for less than $10).

The site is very compelling visually, yet SIMPLE AS 1-2-3 to use, and takes just a couple of minutes. Users simply 1. Upload a photo, 2. Pick a Santa from a large gallery, 3. Adjust the Photo & Save to Disk.

The resulting photo helps parents enhance their child’s once in a lifetime belief in Santa, and provides visual evidence that Santa is indeed real. This is a modern twist to the popular Letter from Santa concept.

Boogie Bloggin’ Again

Hey! Ye-e-e-a-a-aaahhh! Back to the bloggin’ boogie board. Hey y’all! Been missin’ everybody out there in the last few months, and when I checked my blog for comments a little bit ago a commenter by the name of Jack gave me the impetus to jump in here and listen to the music again. Woohoo! Glad I did, too! Just as Jack does, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the old songs I have on my player.

I do need to update the player soon. Maybe now that things have kind of settled down a bit I’ll have a little time to get that done. Gonna have to see if Hope is up to blartying again sometime soon, too.

Speaking of music, have you been over to the Rock Relic’s blog lately? Wow!!! I LOVE the updated look! Go there! Now! You gotta see this! Talk about a Sharp Dressed blog!

Light at the End

Even though the surface is a little rough it’ll give you traction so keep going.

There’s light at the end.

Will Remnants of Hurricane Ike get my AR town this time, too?

I’m heading back home tomorrow. I left town a week before the onslaught of torrential, flooding rain from Hurricane Gustav overwhelmed my AR town last week. Will I be walking into another such onslaught of torrential rain and floods from Hurricane Ike? I dunno, but I am mentally prepared at least to grab what I’ve gotta and get the heck outta dodge if need be.

Of course, my concern isn’t nearly as great as those who are in for a direct hit from Hurrican Ike. I’ll definitely be keeping those less fortunate than myself in my prayers. How dreadful to have to deal with the force of Mother Nature.

Although I wasn’t anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico at the time, I’ll NEVER forget Hurricane Camille. We were traveling to vacation in torrential rain when that one hit years ago and moved inland. My parents actually had won one of those free 3 days/2 nights weekend vacations to Biloxi, MS that very weekend. Needless to say, we spent those free days and nights in Nashville and Chattanooga, TN.

I’m very thankful that my home sits on a high ridge with lots of rock and gravel as that’s what helped to spare us from any flooding issues. The power was out for a bit, but thankfully not long enough to create a mess in the deep freeze to deal with when I return tomorrow. My neighbors took care of the tree that was about to fall across the driveway. Bless them!

Hope, on the other hand, will probably be running right back INTO it again. She’s a storm chaser. Loves the excitement and adventure. Yes, she called me a couple of Fridays ago as I was heading west on I-70 out of St. Louis to NE Kansas to let me know I shouldn’t feel bad that I was going to miss seeing her in St. Louis that weekend because she was going hurricane chasing! Fool (j/k, Hope!) went STRAIGHT FOR IT…LOL! Got there then turned around and raced ahead of it to get out of the way…LOL! Me thinks she likes playing chicken with Mother Nature, don’t you? Naw, truth be known, she went to be there for her Mom and help her get the heck outta dodge. That’s the mark of a good daughter…h/t to Hope.

Hey, Hope, you out there? Meet me at my house this weekend. We’ll watch from there…we can get away faster if need be. Bet the road out won’t be as packed.

Where Did the Summer Go?

I think I missed it this year. I stayed indoors way too much this time. Now here I sit on the porch watching a lite misty rain wash away some of it. There’s still plenty of greenery, but the temperature is only in the 60’s.

I want to go back and be able to enjoy some more sun rays. I want to go back and spend more time doing the summer things we usually do with family and friends. It all slipped away too fast this year. Whizzed right on by before I realized it.

Promising myself that won’t happen again.

Wishing You Had a Quiet, Peaceful, Park Like Setting to Live & Work In?

Here it is ready to welcome you to a place of serenity. Nine point six acres m/l of blissful peace and quiet in a scenic park-like setting less than 10 minutes from small southern town USA.

It’s the perfect place to build your dream home and use the existing home for business or hobby quarters. Add a garden. How about a barn to board your horses? Need a cabin for the kids and grandkids when they come to visit? You have plenty of room for it here either close to your main dream home or maybe over the hill and in the woods to preserve the privacy of both.

Only 20-30 minutes from watersports such as boating, swimming, and skiing. Fishing and camping nearby make for a quick getaway weekend of fun for the whole family. Fine dining, shopping, and best of all…

…some of the most relaxing spa centers providing an exquisite spa experience that will take you away from it ALL. How can you possibly resist having this experience nearby for such a small investment?

Natural Thermal Hot Springs

The first federally protected area in the nation’s history, Hot Springs National Park Arkansas features amazing 147° thermal water, rich history and beautiful architecture. Enjoy gorgeous Arkansas hiking trails in the Ouachita Mountains, tour the historic Fordyce Bathhouse and Visitor’s Center, or enjoy a relaxing Hot Springs spa - all in the historic downtown area.

…of Hot Springs, Arkansas, America’s first resort. Enjoy it all on your choice of Lake Hamilton, Lake Catherine, or Lake Ouachita.

Prefer white water rafting, kayaking, and rafting? Well, it’s here, too, and even closer than Hot Springs, the Spa City. It’s right here in Hot Springs County, Arkansas from Remmel Dam to I-30 here at Malvern.

The beautiful scenery of Hot Spring County and the water flowing gracefully down Ouachita River make the trip here worthwhile. The average Arkansas whitewater rafting or kayaking river tends to be a bit easier to master than those in other states, so don’t forget that quite a few of the sections here are pretty easy. No matter if you’re whitewater rafting or kayaking this area has a large number of paddling spots. The Remmel Dam to I-30 at Malvern section of Ouachita River in Hot Spring County is 6 miles long and is rated by American Whitewater as a
class I-II section.

Low cost of living and perfect for retirees or anybody desiring to have enough space for outdoor hobbies or operating a business from home. The reliable broadband cable internet service provides the connection to the world you need to operate your business in a rural setting away from all the hustle and bustle of urban living.

Plenty of wildlife to observe and enjoy including a resident black squirrel who scampers from tree to tree gathering his winter stash of hickory nuts abundant on the property. Deer or turkey hunt? Just park on the front porch and save the time and money spent on deer camp.

Are you an adventurous foodie? You’ll have an opportunity to try the infamous poke salit aka poke salad and pokeweed, made famous by Tony Joe White of Poke Salad Annie fame, if you’re brave enough to be really adventurous. Muscadine grapevines grace the property every few years as well. Tame them, plant more, and start your own muscadine winery.

So little an investment will get you a place with so much potential. You CAN affordably live in serene, tranquil surroundings with plenty of recreational ammenities nearby so what are you waiting for? Head on over to Howard Real Estate of Malvern, Arkansas and give Harmony Tidwell a call today to make this piece of heaven on earth your home as soon as possible.