Reservations Made

Ok, forward-thinking here to get past the usual Sunday evening blahs.  We've firmed reservations for fall at Destin.  I'm very excited.  I've asked Gina to begin a TPMS fund for added safety and piece of mind before we embark on this longer trip.  For those who don't know, a TPMS is a tire pressure monitoring system.  There are varying setups around, but many RV folks use an in-vehicle monitor which monitors sensors that are attached to each tire's valve stem.  The one I want will monitor each tire's pressure and temperature. It a tire overheats or drops below 10% (or whatever set to) of pressure, an alarm goes off which will hopefully allow us time to pull over and possibly prevent a catastrophic event.  Any extra pieces of safety equipment is alright in my book!

The fund I spoke of is part of our Dave Ramsey philosophy (and others).  It basically means that we save to get it before we get it!  A novel thought in today's times.

I need to research Destin, Gulf Shores, and even further along the coast E (more south I think) and possibly even West.  We're going to be there for 2 weeks after all.

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

Today is Peach harvest day.  Got quite a bit from my two types of 3 year-old trees.  I would say nearly 200 or so guessing.  Pears and apples didn't produce.  This year is especially gratifying for me.  Other than peaches, the blueberry bush produced some and I expect the grapes to come in next month.  Have more grape vines and blackberry vines planted and hopefully they'll product significantly in the next two years or so.  May add some more blueberry bushes in the spring.  The one bush was a test and it surprised me.

The veggies did ok although I killed the okra and herbs side-dressing with nitrogen.  From now on, I'll use the water-dissolved method.  Anyway, am getting green beans and tomatoes galore.  Already harvested a very large cantaloupe crop and they're still producing a little (got 2 yesterday).

Destin, Florida in Our Sights

Gina and I try to go somewhere on vacation every year.  Somewhere exciting and new.  This year will include Voyager.  It will be her first time out of state (with us).  So, we've spoken with our work masters and got it approved to vacation this fall.  We are targeting 2 weeks, Oct-Nov.  This is somewhat firm, but we realize that the oil may prevent the trip.  Our coast needs our business so if it's possible, we're going to make it happen.  If not, we'll figure out another route.  Super-simple.  Details to come. Stay tuned.

Oh, gotta also say that the more I'm out and about, the more I want to be out and about.  I'm home and already want to go again!

Maumelle COE Park 2

Really liked the park so decided to take kids there during Bryan's visit from California.  Bryan got in a week ago Saturday evening.  He took Donovan and Madison to Grandma Dot's for a few days.  This was something I thought the kids would enjoy--a solo trip together.  They got back late Thursday and we headed to Maumelle Park on Friday.  It was stifling hot.  Arkansas sucks this time of year and this weekend was the worst for heat so far.  But, we made the best of it.  We went to the movies, out to eat, and even tried a little fishing although we caught zip.  Still it was good to see Bryan.  He doesn't come much and I was sad to see him go...like always.  It was harder this weekend to see Madison and Donovan go home to their mother too even though they live right down the road.  All-in-all, it was a really nice weekend for me with all 3 of my youngins together.

Maumelle COE Park

This is our second trip in the 5th wheel.  We decided on Maumelle because this wasn't planned far out and it's close.  We didn't have any kids this past weekend so why not trip on Independence Day weekend?  So, here's what we did in a quick summary folks:

1.  Arrive Friday night and setup.  Headed out to eat at Bonefish Grill.  Good stuff!  Picked up some nice meat from Fresh Market--a local high-end grocery store--including lamb chops, shroom and swiss stuffed chicken breasts, and a rather large ribeye.  Mmmmmm.  Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart for the regular groceries.  Headed back, did some BBQ, did a little computer, Gina did some crochet, and we watched some TV.

2.  Saturday.  Slept in!  Headed out to get some yarn for Gina's baby blanket she's making.  Went into a couple stores and walked around.  Headed back, BBQ, short walk of campground, ate some pie, Gina crochet, me puter, and off to bed.

3.  Sunday.  Breakfast, went to IMAX to see Twilight - Eclipse.  Surprisingly good.  Drove around and checked out West Little Rock some. Visited some stores.  Headed back and walked the campground trail.  Not a bad walk.  Grilled, had some drinks, and watched fireworks on the River.  Very nice.

4.  Monday.  Slept in till 9.  Ate some lunch and packed it up and headed home.

All-in-all, good weekend.  Very nice to get away and into something different.  As with last time, it was extremely hot, but what can you do other than make the best of it.  In a couple years, it's this time of year that  HOPE we'll be in 70 degree weather somewhere NORTH or somewhere UP.   Here's a few snapshots: