A Slow Start

We got a slow start leaving for the warm south.  First, the jacks on the motor home were frozen to the board they were on and the boards were frozen to the ground.  It took Don a while to loosen them.  We finally left town about 11:00 Tuesday morning Dec. 27th heading for Rehoboth, MA to meet friends we were traveling with.  Once we got on the road, the "Stop Engine" light kept flashing on every time we went up the slightest incline.  Don decided we'd better stop at the Freightliner garage in Westbrook to get it checked out.  He's been there many times with trucks and trusts them.

We got there at lunch time so when they all got back, they took us right away.  We had visions of having to wait a few days.  It took a few hours to figure out what it was.  It was a turbo, the thing that makes sure the engine gets enough air.  Luckily they had all the parts but they wanted to have the same mechanic put it in and since it was a 4 hour job, we had to wait until the next day.

So we parked it in the yard and stayed the night.  They got started at 7:45 the next morning and finished about 11:00.  So we hooked up the car and off we went.  No sooner were we around the corner that the "Engine" light goes on.  Back to the garage, again they took us right away.  This time it was a cellunoid, kind of like an air overflow.  Unfortunately they didn't have all the parts, so we had to waid until it came in from Bangor.  This time, the night shift was able to do it.  The part came it at about 8:30 p.m. and we were done about 11:00.

This time we took a test drive before hooking up the Jeep.  Fortunately this was all under warranty, which is up in 3 months.  Just how lucky is that.  Everything went fine so we hooks up again and since Don had taken a few naps while we waited for parts and work to be done, he drove until 3:30, bringing up to New York, about half an hour before the Tappan Zee Bridge.  I went to bed about 1:30, what a way to spend my birthday.

We slept until 9 the next morning, this is the Tappan Zee Bridge crossing the Hudson River.  He was bound and determined to meet up with our friends, Paul & Joyce, that night.

Beautiful sky.  We drove until 11:15 p.m. and met them at a WalMart in Dillin, South Carolina.

Finally in Florida.  It's been a long 4 days.

College Station, Texas

We visited the George Bush Library in College Station, Texas.

This sculpture was absolutely beautiful.  I think horses are beautiful animals anyway.

This was a nice entrance to some of the displays. There was a smaller version of this where there were descriptions of different rooms in the white house and when you pushed the corresponding button, a light would light up in a window where you could see a scaled model of the room.

Here is what his office looked like at Camp David.

Many of the gifts given to them from visiting dignitaries were on display, they were all so interesting and amazing.



This was one of his boats, still had the Maine registration on it.

There was a display of dolls, one for every inauguration, showing what the first lady wore.  I would love to do something like that.  What fun.

This was a reflection pond in the back of the building, it's where Groege & Barbara Bush will be burried.



Leaving our Work Camp

As we left Stonebridge RV Park we said good bye to the other work campers, Mike, Gail & Coco.  Every morning as soon as Bruno could tell Mike was up, he had to run over there to say "Good morning"

It was really foggy as we heaed towards Houston.

Big city ahead, Houston, Texas.

Thought this was a neat building.

We headed to Hilltop Lake where Don had a lesson.

Galveston, Texas

We took a day and went to Galveston to the Railroad Museum.  It was closed when we were here last year because of all the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

Do you think the real car is a little bigger?

 It's a real shame that these cars suffered so much damage.  Most had been restored.  We could see the high water mark on the cars, it was over our heads.

Look at the tree growing out of this one.

I loved this old relic of the past.

Including the one in the pink shirt and hat.

And this one.

This is an old steam tractor.



This is more devastation that Hurricane Ike caused.  As you know Galveston is a long narrow island.  It was hit on both sides with wages, 17' on one side and 18' on the other.  hey must have met in the middle. 

I loved this chess game, people were actually playing a game.

 I know I took a bunch of pictures of these colored houses last year, but I took some more, I absolutely love them.

So unique.

I love the different shapes.

Way behind

WOW am I behind.  We kinda got settled in here at Stonebridge, did our workamper jobs, socialized with people by the large ourdoor fireplace.

Roasted marshmallows, they even have flavored ones now, the chocolate ones are yummy.

We went into town occaisionally, mostly to Bay City but sometimes to Lake Jackson. I loved their street names there. They also had a street named That Way but unfortunately I was driving when I saw that one and couldn't snap a picture.

These flowers are pink and they are everywhere right now, very pretty.

 

See the mud tower?  There's a hole going right down the middle of that.  This one was about 6" tall.  (I got bitten by fire ants taking this picture, they really do a number on you.)  They're homes for what they call crawdads, or what we call crayfish.



Then we had the snapping turtles that would cross the fiield trying to get to the pond.

This pond was stocked with fish, but only "catch & release" was allowed.

And there we are in site #1.



And there is Don, doing his favorite thing, riding something.

Kemah Boardwalk

Joyce and I and another workcamper, Gail, decided to take a road trip while the guys worked.  We went to the Kemah Boardwalk amout 45 mins. away.

It was foggy when we first got there, but it cleared up.

Check out the old police car.

We walked the boardwalk, these are my "partners-in-crime".

There are mostly restaurants and a few shops.  Most were not open, we were told most things are open at night and on the week-end this time of year.  I guess the place is mobbed in the summer.

Do you suppose this needs repair?  I wouldn't want to try to go in there.  Just about everything around here near the ocean is on stilts.

This is a double decker merry-go-round, thought it was really cool.

This is what they call the Boardwalk Bullett.  Check out the link for a history.  This frame is all made of wood, you wouldn't catch me on there, way too high for me, I'm like our dog, a real woose.

We enjoyed the area and our lunch, but it was time to head home.

I love the views on the coast, look at all these sail boat masts.