Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Weekend at Blanton Creek

Memorial Day weekend is usually the busiest time at Blanton Creek Park and it has lived up to its potential this weekend..  All 51 sites were reserved well before time. We always maintain a "waiting list" for campers trying to get in, this year we had 17 names on it. Only one lucky camper got a call!

The boat ramp parking lot was filled to capacity. This is a great park for water enthusiast. I thought I was going to have to turn boaters away but we squeaked by without having to.

Lots of activity at the boat ramp

Judy and I were treated to a delicious fish dinner with all the trimmings by one of our campers Sat. evening. Their kindness is always appreciated.

Today things will start to slow down as most campers will be checking out by 1:00 PM. I am looking forward to a relaxing evening.

That is all for now. Thanks for stopping by.
Next Blog: After we return home, probably Thurs.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

House Sale Update 02

Judy and I are back at Blanton Creek for our weekly shift.  We are about 15 days from our closing date.  I hope there are no hick-ups with the sale of the house. As far as we know the process is moving right along.

Jet Ski Lift "Sold"

We brought  a lot of stuff up to the RV with us.  It is probably too much stuff.  If it is, we will just trash it.  Once we return for our final week, we will get the house cleaned up. Most of the remaining stuff is going to the dump, left for the new owners or delivered to a charity.

Judy has arranged with her sister and brother to store a few boxes each.  I only have a few personal papers and my guns to decide what to do with. I found it easier to not look through boxes of memorabilia before trashing it. Some of it has been boxed up for years anyway.

Judy made arrangements with Direct TV to have a tech come out to the park to replace the regular box with a DVR.  The tech explained that the DVR is limited to recording only one program at a time and that while recording we can't watch a different channel. The reason for this is that there is only one lan line. It will not receive HD programing even though it is a HD DVR because our Travler SAT system and SlimLine ant. must be upgraded to HD. I will have this checked out when we leave here after Labor Day.

We received an emergency call on the park phone this AM at 2:45 from a camper having a medical emergency.  They had already called 911.  I got up and unlocked the park gate and opened it.  The paramedics arrived about 12 minutes later.  The camper had low sugar.  The paramedics stabilized the camper. The responders left the park at 4:00 AM. I'll probably need a nap to day.

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.
Next Blog: next week

Saturday, May 18, 2013

House Sale Update 01

Thanks to everyone who have left comments and encouragements, Judy and I have really enjoyed them.

Things are moving along quickly and smoothly towards our house closing date.  Judy and I have been sifting through things we have collected throughout our thirty nine years of marriage.

We have systematically gone through each room and sorting items into three piles,( a.) stuff we are taking on the RV,( b.) stuff to give away and( c.) stuff going to the dump. Judy did not want have a garage sale.  So family members and friends have had a chance to pick a lot of stuff out.  Two of our nephews went through my tools today and they did not leave much!  Other family members will be going through household items tomorrow.

Did I really keep my Navy Hat since I retired in 1995 (18 yrs)?



I have sold all of our big ticket items since Tue. I sold my 1999 Honda Accord, bass boat, and I just delivered my pontoon to its new owner today.  For the first time in fifteen years I don't own a boat.  I sold my chain saw and gas powered weed trimmer to the man that cuts our grass when we are on the road. I think we are going to meet our deadline even though we still have a lot to do.

I'll post an update after we return to the park.

That is all for now. Thanks for stopping by.
Next post: After Tue.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

House Inspection

Judy and I returned home from the park Sunday evening so that we could be home Monday when the house inspection took place and to meet with the perspective buyers.

The house inspector arrived Monday morning around 9:00 AM. It was the same home inspector we had hired ten years earlier! It was nice talking to Hill about the changes we had made to the house and hearing his stories about going RVing with his grandparents when he was a kid. He inspected all areas of the house and checked out all the major systems. The inspection took about four hours. No major problems were found. He suggested that we cut back the tree limbs that were encroaching on the roof.  The limbs are from my neighbors tree. I asked the neighbor over 2yrs ago to trim them back! Hill also mentioned that while on the metal roof he noticed a couple of pieces of insulation disturbed on the root vent and also said it would be a good idea to blow the accumulation of leaves off the roof in one of the valleys.

The perspective buyers arrived about 45 min. after Hill had started his inspection.  They wanted me to go over the boat lift operation and the irrigation system.  I also showed the husband where the electric panel is located for the house and boat dock. Judy and the wife and daughter talked about other things. They are very excited about having a lake house. We hope they enjoy it as much as we have.

After they left, Judy and I discussed having someone come out to trim the limbs. The limbs were too high for me to do. We have called a couple of "tree cutters" during the past couple of years but they wanted to use a "bucket truck" but we did not want a big truck in our yard.  I remembered my workamper friend Peter had given me the name of a guy that had taken down some trees for him before he left for his summer job in CT.  Judy had the young man's name in her cell so I gave Chris a call. I explained to Chris what needed to be done and my concern about having a large bucket truck in my yard. Chris told me he did not use a bucket truck and proudly informed me that he is a "tree climber".  Two hours later he arrived . I showed him what needed to be trimmed and he put on his tree climbing belt and up the tree he went!  In 30 minutes all the limbs were trimmed and the debris was disposed of.  He even went up on the roof and tucked the roof vent insulation back into place and used my leaf blower to blow the leaves off the roof!

Chris at work

A Little Entertainment (9million hits on you tube!)
Enjoy - This could happen to you.

That is all for now. Thanks for stopping by.
Next Blog: May be at least a week due to the work getting the house ready for the sale.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Limbo

Judy and I are back on the job at Blanton Creek Park.  If things continue smoothly with the house sell we will be living here at the park during our week off.  I am sure we will adjust to not having to drive back to Milledgeville every other week.

We both feel we should be at home getting things packed up and disposing of items that we will not be putting on the fifth wheel. Even though we have been planning for the sale of our home for two years we have quite a bit to do.  When we went in  Monday to officially sign the accepted selling contract our agent informed Judy that the prospective buyers ask if we would sell one of our couches.  Judy told our agent that we would like to sell all of our furniture.  A couple of hours later the wife contacted Judy and offered to purchase all of the furniture and the lawn mower.  The prospective buyers also indicated an interest in our pontoon also. That will make our getting out task a lot easier.

Wed. at the park was quite except for tree removal operations.  At least 10 large trees were removed. 





That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.
Next blog: 3-5 days

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sold

Mine and Judy's luck took a turn for the better Sat. at 5:30 PM.  Even though it was pouring down rain (had been for the past 24 hrs.) it seemed to brighten up a bit when we received a call from our realtor.  I'll never forget where we were when the call came in, we were having dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my sister and brother-in-law but I digress.

A showing was scheduled for 3:00 PM so Judy and I vacated the house and took a drive while the showing took place.  It was pouring down rain.  We thought the appointment would be cancelled but it wasn't.  We returned home about an hour later.  We were surprised when Judy got a text during our dinner date from our agent saying she had been called by the other agent and informed they would be making an offer on the Sticks n Bricks.  Once she got it emailed to her she forwarded it to us. By that time we were back home.  After a couple of back and fourths we had an agreement that all parties were happy with.  The buyers ask for a 30 days closing which is fine with us.  Judy and I have been to this rodeo more than a few times and know things sometimes go side-ways.   We will see.  It has been a good ten years here on the lake but it is time to move on.

Home for the past 10 yrs


I'll miss the great sunsets


And this


That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.
Next Blog: Wed

Friday, May 3, 2013

Down Week at Home

The trip home Tue went well but my string of bad luck had started a few days earlier. My dental crown popped off about three days before we left for home. My dentist worked me in on Wed. Judy and I don't have dental insurance since leaving the workforce so we pay as we go. The cost of  having it reattached was $99.00

The weather has continued to limit the number and types of outside projects I can do.  This is frustrating me a lot. Thursday I decided to try to cut the grass before the rain arrives Fri. That didn't workout because my Cub Cadet mower's blade drive belt broke.  By the time I get it into the shop and have to have my lawn cut the cost will be close to $150.00

This AM as I was going to take my mower into the shop I had another setback.  When I started my Ram 3500 dually it would not shift into Drive. It would only go into D4. I spent the next couple of hours arranging to have it transported to the Dodge dealership in Dublin, GA sixty-five miles away. I must admit that Geico Roadside Assistance was very helpful. The Dodge service dept. called me after they localized the problem to inform me that the transmission valve body would have to be replaced.  I have no idea what that is. The failure may have been caused by lack of operation. I don't drive the truck much when I am not pulling the fifth wheel. I will drive the truck at least 25 miles a week once I get it back. Cost: $1140.00. Ouch.

Ram 3500 Transmission Valve Body

I am going to end with more positive news.  I did a nest check on my Purple Martin colony and found many eggs. The average number of eggs is five. So it won't be long before there will be nest full of babies.

Babies Soon

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.
Next Blog: Wed