Wednesday doings.

Well another morning and Sam & Donna hit the coffee  early today, Donna couldn’t sleep and was up before 04:00am ,She got off to the truck company at 05:30am and Sam went down to the computer, Adam came down about 07:00am and announced he was up for the day, Like you can’t hear the patter of six not so little feet running down the hallway with Rigg’s all excited that his buddy is finely awake. Not much planned today but it dawned clear and the temp is supposed to be 70 degrees today so I will try to get something done outside today, the temps are supposed to start back down tomorrow so make hay while the sun shines.Haven’t heard yet this week from the Bus company but it was slow last week and I was hoping for an overnight run this week. Here is a story from the past from Rigg’s
He also wants you to see his newest picture.

              Such an innocent face,maybe it should be a mugshot.
Mom, I'm not a brat, I'm just adventurous and mischievous
You know I can't tell time , 300 in the morning so.  Yeah , I know I probably should have played
with Duckey, or my bone, or my rope, or the beheaded Kittykat...but they don’t get your attention.
And you were IGNORING me....just sitting with your coffee, wrapped up in your robe and watching TV.
Now why couldn’t I keep the goggles, you know I might need them, some of things I chew could get in my eyes?
And no I don’t think I looked ridiculous running around with deer antlers sticking straight on in front of me ( and I really
didn't mean to run into Zep with them, sorry Zep).....after all what did you want me to do with them balance them on top
of my head....I'm no deer I cant do that.
Now as far as the box of Christmas cards...you know its never too early to start planning.
And about the measuring spoons, I can explain ( I just cant think of it now )
The spatula ??  Didn’t you want breakfast ?
You know if you are going to put something on top of the hamper so I cant open the lid it really should be
heavier than an empty basket.
Yeah, I know there was more, but I'm tired now and going to take a nap, I was up early.
also, Mom you have to remember the doctor said you were to have more exercise, so actually I'm just helping
with your cardio workout.
Love
Riggins
Before I forget I want to welcome Al & Kelly from The Bayfield Bunch, and also Wandering Willy or Bill. Both signed on as followers. I have been following Al &  Kelly for about a year and I have learned a great deal from both of them I have always enjoyed photography and since changing from  35mm to digital it is like starting out again. Al is the one who directed me to Picasso 3 and I thank him for that. Willy was discovered as he was starting his Mexico trip I enjoyed all his adventures, even some of the ones I’m sure he would rather forget.
Most of my photography and videography has been train related in the past, I’m not giving that up but I may expand my horizons once we start traveling.Well That"s about it for now. Be Safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Wide Open Spaces

Here it is Tuesday, Donna just left to head to the truck company, I am sitting here thinking about some of the blogs I have been reading lately about being in the dessert and out in wide open spaces, it kind of reminds  me of when Donna & I decided to move from a subdivision in Florissant MO. out to Dardenne  Prairie which at that time was prairie farmland. I was still working on the police department not having retired, so I had a 40 mile commute each way, and Donna’s drive was, and still is 50 miles each way.
We bought a nice brick ranch 4 bedroom home, with 4 baths, a dining room and finished basement. A total of 2500 square feet of living space sitting on 2 acres, with a small pond in the front.
At the time there was just three of us with our son Andy in about the 6th grade.
Lot’s of room and as I used to say you could go outside naked in the back and nobody would see you. Directly behind us was over 250acres of farm land, complete with cows and corm and beans. MY son would go over there and get muddy and he would have to take muddy clothes off at the back door before Donna would allow him inside.
I will put a picture of what it looked like from a plane in 1993, and what it looked like in 2006,

the road in front was two lanes and ditches for drainage on both sides, the pond was stocked with bass & Blue gill and Andy and his friends would swim and fish all summer.
Here it is in 2006.

The road is widened to three lanes with sidewalks,I had to fill the pond in as I was afraid of somebody else’s kids getting in there and drowning, and homes have grown up in the over 600 acres of tillable land that was in front  and back. Wonder what kind of seeds they used to grow houses, I’ll bet Al & Kelly from the Bayfield Bunch would have loved this happening in their front and backyards.
So much for progress, it has given us a lot of incentive to think about full timing.
Hey, how about another Rigg’s adventure, he is always ready to let you in on his thoughts.
But Mom what’s so important about those things you call clothes....I don’t have any and I get along just fine.
After all you throw them in that white thing, isn’t that what  you call a trash can, do you just throw them away anyway?
And as far as  your panties, yeah I like them best they have such pretty colors. ( and you run a little faster after me
when I steal them )
And I just cant figure Dad out.....he complains about taking out the trash, but when I take out the trash he yells at me. What
does he want ? Help or no help ?
When Dad was gone no one was using that side of the bed, so why cant I ?  I like laying my head on you, it makes me
feel good to know you are there....Ok, sniffing your head and pulling on the hair might have been a little out of line.
Only reason I was standing on your stomach was I thought I heard something and I didn’t want you to get up until I was
sure it was okay.  And no I don't weigh as much as you, well almost, guess I'd better cut down on the kibble.
And yes, I meant to chew up Tigre Tiger and leave little plastic orange pieces all over the living room....I didn’t like
they way he looked at me and that silly grin, well what else can I say...
You still love me right Mom
Love, Riggins
That’s it for today, Be Safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Another new week.

Boy did the weekend come and go quickly, I never sat down and did a blog post all weekend, We were kept busy though, We had Adam with us all weekend and it was the first sunny and mild weekend we have had, temps reached the low 60’s both day and no wind and beautiful sunshine, the kids played from morning to night in the back yards and on the neighbors trampoline. Just watching all that energy being expended tires you out. Last night Donna ,Sam & Adam went out to try a new restaurant out, It was Sunday so we decided to splurge and not cook. We went to Max& Erma’s in Lake St Louis Mo. The meal was fine Donna got a steak, Sam A burger and Adam a corn dog plate.The only complaint was Sam’s fries weren’t as hot as he likes them but what can you do.
 








                                     Adam at dinner.

                                    Sam&Donna at dinner.
After dinner it was home to unwind. Sam unwound so good he was asleep in a couple of minutes.
Monday looks like it will be a nice day also. Donna just headed for the truck company and Sam is waiting to get Adam up and ready to take him to school.
Rigg’s has been up to his old self, I think I mentioned in a previous blog that I had contact with a lady I went to high school with, Saturday I found my old high school yearbook, from 1966, I was reading through it and left it on the kitchen table. While I was down in the basement Rigg’s got a hold of it and luckily it was not chewed to badly .The cover was torn a little and some teeth marks but I was able to repair it without damage to the inside. Luckily Donna heard him and stopped it before much damage was done,

Rigg’s could tell that Mom & Dad were kind of upset with his for this, so he sent his Dad an e-mail.
Hey Dad, Are you still mad at me?
Now Dad I really get confused…..You sit at the table and eat, so isn’t anything on table food?
I saw the white thing and had your scent all over it…..didn’t know its what you call a ‘book’
I cant read, even though Mom has gotten on me about taking Adams books.  Anyway how was I to know that
It was over 40 years old and was something called your high school yearbook.  Boy there were some funny looking people in there.
Were you able to fix it okay ?
Now Adam said my breath is  minty fresh, isn’t that a good thing.  By the way who are the Girls Scouts and why do they bake cookies?
Thin mints huh…..does that mean I’m going to get skinny ?   Oh, well, they were good.  Got any more ?  No more doggy breath if I get more.
Honest I’ll try to do better tomorrow
Love, Riggins
That’s about it for now, Be Safe out there and we will see ya soon, Sam & Donna.

It’s Friday

It’s Friday, not much different around here though, Donna is off to the truck company and then the restaurant, Sam has some chores around here today, I went out to the 5th wheel since it was almost 50 degrees here yesterday, I took the TV converter down and tried to hitch it up but I couldn’t get the menu screen to come up, I hope it isn’t a bad unit, the trailer was 37 degrees inside when I went in so I fired the furnace up and in about 30 minutes it was up to 57 degrees so I guess the furnace is in good working order over the winter. Looked around for any evidence of humidity but it looked good, a month or so I will take it out of mothballs and get it ready for our trips. We have started thinking about getting rid of some stuff prior to selling the house. Donna asked me to go on the internet and see what the value of my Jim Beam police car decanters were, There sure is going to be a lot of stuff to get rid of that you collected over a lifetime, but like I told her those decanters have just sat on a shelf in the family room entertainment center for 30-40 years and there just won’t be storage room for them in my trailer, I also will have to drastically thin my HO Model Railroad collection, I told her basically I would keep a couple of Locomotives and my Lackawanna Phoebe Snow passenger train, along with my radio throttle and the rest would go, I will either place a garage sale aid at the club or local hobby shop and get rid it that way. Funny how you spend a lifetime buying stuff that you have to have and then there comes a time when you have to get rid of it. I guess anyone who has decide to go fulltime has made these hard choices and they surely are things you can live without, maybe some of you have suggestions on how you went about this.
How about a Rigg’s story.

                “Honest Mom I’m trying to be a good boy”
Sorry Mom how was I suppose to know you didn't want to brush your hair at 330 in the morning. I only had the brush
in my mouth and jumped on you so I could help you get ready for work and I wasn't really running away from you I was
just happy  you were up.
Now about that carmex stuff,....it says its for lips...I just forgot that dogs don't have lips and I only put teeth marks all over it
because I was trying to get the cap off !
Adam plays with those toys why cant I ?
sorry but I didn't like the channel you had on, you know what they say No news is good news.....really I was just trying to
see if Lassie or pets stars was on.  Yes I did run away this time, you are always hogging that remote.
No I don't know who I was going to call at 400 a.m. but you never know who else might be up. and no ,dog slobber on a phone is
not disgusting besides I hadn't had anything to drink yet so it couldn't have been that wet.
You bet I'm fast, you thought you could drop that underwear into the hamper faster than I could grab it......fooled you.
Hey when you got out of that thing that makes you all wet and were bent over with a towel at your feet how was I to know
that my nose was that GD cold...you smelled nice .
Well, you said you were going to work so guess its time for my nap, I'm a little tired.
Well that’s it for now, See Ya, Be Safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Am I getting old

We were up and at em at our usual 04:30AM, Donna was off to the truck company. Sam is waiting to get Adam up and off to school.
Got a nice e-mail from a former high school Classmate who found me either through Face book or my blog on the internet search, I didn’t know it but Google puts your blog on their search engine. Boy how time flies she said they had an old address for us from where we lived 25 years ago in Florissant MO.but after that we dropped off the face of the earth. Anyway she said the 45th reunion was coming up in 2011 and she wondered if I would be interested and also she had a list of former classmates if I wanted it, she also said that about 45 have passed away out of about 220, wow do the math, that's almost 25% .Time sure marches on.
Anyway now that I have been reminded of my own mortality, I decide maybe I would go ahead and see how some of these people are doing to help kill some downtime when I am not driving the bus.
Oh and I received a Digital converter that I ordered off E-Bay, Wal-Mart had them in the cataloged for $49 but none of the stores stocked them anymore. I went on E-Bay and found a Magnavox for $29. It arrived after a week, I needed this for the 5th wheel since we carry a direct TV box and two dishes but sometimes you can’t get a satellite fix. Hopefully it will just be  a backup.
Anyway that's it for now, not much planned for today but supposedly it might get into the upper 40’s today and then the 50’s for the weekend. Until next time, Be Safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Wednesday Already.

We were up at the normal 04:30AM, Sam always waits a few minutes until he can smell the coffee and then stumbles into the kitchen tripping over Rigg’s who is just so happy that his Dad is up and moving. A cup or two  of coffee generally get the old motor running and then the day starts, Donna will hit the door for the truck company at 05:30AM, Then Sam will check the blogs out until 07:30AM when it time to get Adam up for school, 08:15AM they jump in the truck and fire up the diesel and head off to drop Adam at school, only 1 mile away, remember walking two mile like I did. Boy the kids have it easy today. Tonight Donna has restaurant duty so it will be the boys alone for supper, Grandpa gets to duty as chief cook and bottle washer.
Hey were in luck today, how about not only a Rigg’s letter,but a restaurant adventure. Here we go, first we’ll here from Rigg’s.
“Dad are you still mad at me?
First off I thought you'd be proud that I could from a sitting position leap strait up onto your pedestal bed...you know it's kind of high.sorry if I landed right on top of you, I tried to scramble off by kicking all my feet, but guess its different than when I went into that lake kicking legs don't work too good on a bed.And honestly I wasn't trying to hit you in the face with my new toy, I was just trying to fluff it up in case you wanted to sleep with it.I was just trying to save you the time of taking a shower this morning when I sat on your stomach and licked your face and arms.By the way what does G.D., Riggins mean ? and yes I know I am a son of a b...after all I am a dog.
Anyway, hope your still not mad.
I'll try to be better tomorrow (have I  said this before ?)”
Love
Riggins
Now from Donna at the restaurant.
“One night at the restaurant my new table consisted of an elderly couple.  Of course when I walk up to a table
I smile and say good evening, may I get you something to drink while you look at the menu...they both ordered a soft
drink.  When I returned I set down the drinks and laid a paper wrapped straw by both drinks.  The elderly gentleman opened
the wrapper, looked at me and in a very harsh tone said " Here take this dangerous thing away! ".....totally dumbfounded I
took the straw and walked away.  A few moments later the lady came up to me by the register and said "Honey, I am sorry
for my husbands attitude, but he doesn't see well any more and you have clear straws so he winds up poking himself in the eye."
Fortunately I was able to container myself until I could get to the kitchen”. Donna…
I have been remiss in that I have not welcomed our latest followers,
Donna&Dennis, Randy&Pam Warner, Cyndi, Rollie&Gina, FreelyLivingLife, and Mike & Pat McFall.
Thanks so much for visiting our blog and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoy yours.
Anyway that's it for today, like the old Sarge said, Be Safe out there.Sam & Donna

A slow day, so here’s a previous trip.

Sam is off, Donna is off to the truck company, Rigg’s is till moping a little ,we think he misses his buddy Zep. I am going to share some pictures of a trip we took to Scranton Pa. which is Sam’s hometown, Sam & his son Andy & his grandson Adam went to visit Uncle Rick and Aunt Wendy, and while they were there. They made the mandatory visit to the National Park Service Steamtown Site. Which is on the site of the former Lackawanna Railroad Scranton Yard and Shops. Sam’s Grandfather worked there and as a boy Sam and his brothers spent time there on visits with Grandpa to see the trains when it was a busy working railroad.

              

         Adam with his bear friend at the PA Welcome Center

   These are some photo’s taken at Steamtown National Park.

You really don’t have to be a train nut to enjoy this place, It is about as close as you can come to seeing how steam locomotives were rebuilt and used, they are currently rebuilding several and there were three in operation while we were there, I believe on selected weekends they have steam powered excursions to the Pocono Maintains.

Also there are plenty of campgrounds and state parks in the area and in the Pocono’s around Scranton, but wait till summer as the summer weather is great you can swim during the day and still have the windows open at night and not use the A/C. Not to many days in the 90’s. Just a nice area for a summer vacation stop. Lots to see.

I guess that will be it for today, Be safe out there, Sam&Donna.