This is a TOUR of OUR Home on Wheels.

This entry is not going to be political. This is our home. Most folks we know, know we live in a motor home. We have lived in every state in the USA and slept in the same bed ( except for Hawaii) at night. We have slept on the side of the road, in parking lots and shopping centers, but very, very seldom. Most of the time we are in a National, state or private RV park. Most of the time we have full hook ups, which means electric, water and sewer.
In the West USA, Yukon and in Alaska we have lived in the wilderness. We are fortunate to have batteries, an inverter (changes 12v batt. To 120 AC), we have a generator that completely replaces shore power. We have 50 gals of fresh water and 50 gal grey water storage and 50 gal black water storage. We can, and do live the life of Reilly anywhere we are.
We have a compressor for air if we need it and have a satellite dish that has never been used. We now have two new TV’s that get watched very seldom.


The kitchen is small but very adequate. With an LP stove top cooker, above it is a combination microwave/convection oven. Sherry has added a toaster oven where she likes to cook corn bread.
This pic is out of order as the first (I can't place them well) The Bedroom has a six foot slide out. This is Sherry’s closet. With the mirror doors. WE keep our vacuum here also. It seconds as a hanger for Sherry’s dusters.
(Note you can see our queen size bed in the mirror)

This should be the first picture. This is our living room, very comfortable with a 16ft slide out. The couch makes an uncomfortable bed, but sit very well. A lounge chair and the driver & shotgun seats swivel to make living room furniture.

Out kitchen table doubles as our computer stations. I am on the right and Sherry as you can see is on the left. There is a router in the center that takes the Verizon card and routes to both systems so we can be on the net at the same time. As some of you know, I comment sometimes, Sherry does not. So she is usually ahead of me reading your journals and says, “Did you see what Woody’s done, Did you read about Paula? You know where Terri went? Lucy has an upside down tomato plant. Shirl put on an entry did you read it.? Debbie put one on! Etc.”
That is not all true, but we can enjoy the journals without looking over each others shoulders. If she needs my attention she e-mails me and vice versa. LOL.

There is a four door refrigerator with ice maker. The pantry I installed is just beside the refer. Sherry says she doesn’t mind putting away groceries since this is installed. If you will note on the insidde of the door is a cross stitch map of the Appalachian trail given to us by 'Chilly Willie' (trail name).

Next down the little hall on your left is our pride and joy a washer/dryer combination. It is made in Italy. I don’t think an American company makes these. (dirty clothes hamper detergent etc above, also the ironing board and vacuum assessories). I am just learning to work it, Sherry is proficient with it. It takes small loads but gets the job done. You do have to remove and shake the garments out before replacing them to dry. (Oh they will dry without it, I tried it. But they dry in a wad! Talking about needing ironing!) LOL

Next down the hall on the left is my closet. Notice the floor of the closet has rolled dungarees. An old Navy trick roll ‘em instead of folding or hanging them.(In the motor home: YOU GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO ROLL THEM , KNOW WHEN TO FOLD THEM) LOL!

(I am missing some pictures here) The bedroom has a queen size bed, it sits atop the rear diesel engine. There is some storage beneath ours and Sherry’s stuff. Christmas decorations and a ceramic tree. Extra blankets etc. There are two small shirt closets either side the bed. My closet extension on the left Sherry’s on the right. And of course this is where Sherry's closet is supposed to appear instead of the top.

NOW! Coming back up the port side we have a full size Shower and vanity. I sorta like the see thru door. LOL

This is the vanity. Of course the things you see sitting around are stored when we hit the road. Most jut get pud down in the sink.

NEXT: THE THRONE.....Small water closet (toilet) not as big as an out house, but all we need.

Well that is the tour of our Motor home inside and out. IT is 38.5 feet long. It has a 315 HP Cummings Diesel, an exhaust brake, power brake and a six speed Allison Transmission. Air horn, air ride, remote mirrors, rear view camera and monitor and leveling jacks for when we are parked. We have 12v and 120v lights. We also have a ten gallon hot water heater. Since we do not have a dishwasher, we do share the task. We also share the cooking tasks also.
Finally we tow a 1995 Honda Odyssey to run around in when we settle down. Most folks do not know that you cannot tow ever car. Some would be completely ruined if towed without doing something to the transmission or installing a driveshaft disconnect. The Saturn and the Honda will tow four wheels down by simply putting them in neutral.
We hook up the Honda and head down the road. We love RV’ing, many folk would not.
Thanks for coming this way,
Nite Shipslog.
PS:
Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

This is a picture of the starboard side of the motor home, This is called the basement storage.

This is still the starboard side, showing my hanging tool kit, and LP compartment. the part showing with the blue tarp is a pass through storage area.

This is the back section, power tools and cleaning stuff, Battery compartment with jumper cables and Extra Oil.

This is the front Port (drivers)side. Houses the air compressor and hose to reach all wheels, Fuse and brain area of the coach.

This is the Starbord side again where the waster and Sewer is handled. I am dumping the 'black water'. It smells only because others have used the commode. MINE DOES NOT STINK!

This is mid coach on the Port side. I am in my hand tool section and some power tools.

This is the front of the coach, it houses the generator. The gernerator puts out over 50 amps. Runs anything in the coach.

WE are getting our back packs ready also, I had about forgot how to put this little tent up. Sherry is cleaning it out.


I am happy with my life. I realize it is about over, realistically speaking. We know of folk who drive RV’s up into their eighties, but they are exceptions. We want to travel as long as we can feel comfortable that we are not endangering ours and others lives. I think I will be able to accept it, if I live that long.
We have nothing against living and staying in one place, but prefer to be on the road. The one question we have been asked is, ‘ how do you live without your ‘stuff’ ‘.
It really isn’t a problem. And in reality I carry enough ‘stuff’ to satisfy that little corner of my life. WE toyed with the idea of a storage facility when we started this life. Some quick math told us it would be cheaper to buy a tractor/trailer box. So I found a 53’ trailer for $1500, that would have been less than a year’s storage. We were in it today. There is ‘stuff’ we will never use, but do not know how to get rid of it. So we leave it. We have slowly given some of the furniture away. We can at least walk through it.
Yes, we know we are fortunate we have a place to park the trailer in the woods. We usually look into it once a year. I know it is a haven for snakes and mice. It seems the snakes have won out and the mice seem to be gone. I don’t mind the snakes. I know if you make enough noise we will never see the snakes or mice. So it is better to have the snakes, they do not eat furniture or bed clothes. That is sound logic isn’t it? ISN’T IT? I thought so.
Anyway we went in to get the back packing stuff we hope to use this summer. Sherry has been washing the clothes because they have a musty odor as you could imagine. So now we have our back packing stuff almost ready. The tent is up by the way. To be honest I had forgot how to put it up. It took a few minutes to figure out the many parts. But it is up. Maybe it will rain and I can check to see if if leaks.
I took pictures to let you see where I keep our stuff and how much I have in the ‘basement’. (Tomorrow the inside of our home)

Thanks for coming this way.
Nite Shipslog
PS:
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered..'
End quote….
Wouldn’t you like to be smart enough to say something like that 200 years before it happens.
Also I wish I was smart enough to have said this:
'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'-Mark Twain

Shirl's thrill

Sherry came over to stop my work to show me this clicking bug. Has no legs, just snaps between the body and head. What is it? Shirl wants to fix it so she can wear it as a pin, it is so cute.

Don't take much to thrill a girl, a cute bug and a TOMATO,

Even better TWO TOMATOES! Is She and Lucy wierd? or what?. Lucy getsw a bloom and Shirl being farther south gets little tomatoes. You would have thought we were going to slice it and make a tomato sancwich. hahahahahahahah!

Joking aside it is great to see things growning in the spring.

Now I will make my entry above. You can comment on Shirl's blog, she doesn't do pictures yet!

http://ncbelmontbelle.blogspot.com/

Just a joke girls, quit throwing things Shirl.

Jack

I think this is I-81 North in Pennsylvania. we will be headed that way soon I hope.

On the left front is Ann Brown who invited me to speak, a lady who said I was a mean kid when she knew me in Albemarle, I knew she was telling a story, and Sister Vhooris (because I cannot think of her first name. OUr church has folks with the first name of Sister and Brother. LOL

Sherry had the camera, but is tied up with the lights and doesn't have time to shoot pictures during a performance. Main picture on the left, trick pic's on the right. You would not have know if I hadn't told you, huh? The digital picked up the moon and stars, you cannot see then until the lights are off and the black light is on. Then the windows, doors and road light up with the moon and stars. I didn't know the digital would show them before they were supposed to be excited by black light..

Today's exciting information, not political.

The program went well last night. I did a poetry night. My first was the ‘World’s Best Poem’ by a Mr. Anon. Then the feature program was a drawing of “The House By the Side of The Road” by Sam Walter Foss. During the drawing I did something completely new to me and the audience, I played a CD of Vladimir Horowitz’s last piano concert, as I drew the picture.

I ended the program with “Home” by Edgar Guest. So the program would not be too serious at the ending I did the trick drawings I usually do at the beginning.

I drew a crooked neck squash, turned it into a Duck,
Then the famous two folks about to kiss, that become a flower vase. The last is a Monkey completely done with circles.

Sherry, of course, handled the lights and surprised a lot of folks by turning a day scene into a nite scene, complete with moon and stars. I always enjoy seeing the surprise on the audience’s faces when that happens under Black light.

Of course we sold a few books, had a great meal, all in all had a wonderful time.

I cut Shirl’s grass, our grass and the new neighbors grass. Like Debbie says, cut it when you can, never know when you will have another chance. (I only got stuck once Deb, but not bad.)

Shirl seems to stay in the yard looking for something to plant or move, or trying to feed some bird that flies by. LOL

Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shipslog
PS:
********I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

******My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson

******No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson

This was our tour of the white house (ha) with then pres Johnson. (Of course it was the Wax Museum instead)

This is my answer from yesterday.......

Dear Friend,Thank you for your message.

On behalf of President Obama, we appreciate hearing from you. The President has promised the most transparent administration in history, and we're committed to listening to and responding to you.In order to better handle the millions of electronic messages we're receiving and respond more quickly, we've implemented a new contact form on our website: Please note that this web form has replaced comments@whitehouse.gov.

That email address is no longer monitored, so we encourage you to resubmit your message through the link above. Thank you for using the web form and helping us improve communications with you.

Sincerely,

The Presidential Correspondence Team
***************88888***************888888******

That was the message I received when I sent my entry to the Whitehouse using the address I had used for the Bush Admin. I never got anything back from them either, but I sent my feelings.
You know it is really silly, but I do send my opinions about three or four times a year. I do have enough sense to know that The President is not going to ask that e-mails be printed out and he and Michelle are going to use them for late night reading. He does have some things more pressing.

I said before the election that our black population was about to find out that Candidate Obama was a politician. He could in no way change things over night as he indicated. NO ONE can. ‘My first order of business will be to close Gitmo!” Is the prison closed on Gitmo. NO!
I think he indicated he would stop the war in Iraq. WE are still going pretty strong. And now we are escalating in Afghanistan! Is that better? It is just when you castigate the man in there and say I WILL STOP TEHE WAR! You should be albe to do just that the way you insunuate you will.

Don’t take this wrong guys, I ain’t faulting the guy. Politicians (both parties) paint with a broad brush on the campaign trail, but when they get in office, it is a different ball game.

But there are somethings that we can do, The jobs left the USA with a stoke of the pen, Can’t we bring them back basically the same way?
Sure it will make some other nations mad, but we are dying here! Shall we die at their expense?

The outlying areas of Mexico are corrupt via the local police and no amount of industry there will change that. WE cannot legislate Democracy or a Republic government in other lands, but we can keep the level of life we have grown accustomed to. That is if we get even half the jobs back.

Thanks for coming this way,
Nite Shipslog
PS:
******** The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

******* The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

*********To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson

Stimulus money.... Not from this administration alone.

Wanna get mad? look at this......http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=13140642

Jack and the twins. NOW

This is Sonny and Sherry holding their grand daughters (A few years ago)

This is Sherry and I with the twins a long time ago. (It was supposed to be below the other picture.)

Really cold and rainy today here in good old North Carolina. A pretty slow day. We met with the old folk at Hardee’s this morning. After a death the subject is usually death and funerals. Sonny has a first cousin to die yesterday. The had lived in Arizona and we stopped by to see them on our way round the country once. He was a truck driver for ABF, Arkansas Best Freight.
Well today there are a lot of college graduates out of jobs but on the market. It is hard to imagine the number of applicants throughout the entire country.
That brings me to my favorite subject, manufacturing jobs. While in the mountains we were in an area that was once the Mecca of furniture. Names like Drexel, Broyhill, Thomasville, Barnhardt, Scott, Southwood, Statesville etc. Huge plants sitting idle Parking lots growing up in grass/weeds.
We live around the largest of Textile Mills, sitting idle. Some cut up into Condo’s or nursing homes. But the replacements DO NOT produce manufacturing jobs. I was once naïve enough to think NC/SC were the real textile belt. But as I travel and read the net I hear where some of you are there are empty Textile mills. We don’t even make thread much anymore, much less cloth.
Dalton, Georgia has lost carpet mills.
Pittsburg has lost Steel mills. NOW Detroit will be closing some car manufacturing plants.
We have some Americans who are the BEST in Ranching and Agriculture. We can easily feed our selves the only problem is having the jobs to earn the money to buy the meat and vegatables.
Now I was a Perot supporter. Call him what you want, but his predictions have come true. All I can say to the president and politicians is you guys sent all the jobs out of the country. BRING THEM BACK. Require public purchases to be at least 50% American steel that builds the bridges and roads and infrastructure.
Require our armed forces to buy uniforms made with American labor on American machines.
FOR HEAVENS SAKE DO SOMETHING!!! FOR OUR SAKES DO SOMETHING!!!
I don’t like to hear, but we had an agreement/trade treaty, etc. WELL MODIFY THE SUCKER, THERE IS NOTHING THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED, CHANGE IT!!!! Canada & the UK are facing about the same thing. The citizens of each country want the Government to protect their lively hoods. Somebody better get aware that taxes do run this country, but if we cannot work to buy all the stuff being imported, there will be MUCH LESS TAXES!!!!
My soap box speech for today. Now I will send a copy of this to the White house. (for what good it will do).
Nite Shipslog
PS:
******When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe

****** The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

*******It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. signed.....Thomas Jefferson

Mother's Day 2009

Shirl knows how to help a guy get started off in life, here is her card (above front)











This is the inside, some of the best advice a senior can give to someone just starting.......

This is Josh and Britney his fiance. Marriage is planned next Jun/July. they have been going together since High School.

Steve and his new friend Kelly, she is from Florida. This was our first time meeting Kelly, seems like a sweet lady. She would have to be for MY (OUR) grandson to be paying that much attention.

Did I break the rules? Steve in on the left and Josh on the right (I'll have to look back and check.) The guy in the middle is the proud papa, Jack our oldest son.

Well some of our schedule is behind us. We have two presentations for Seniors One Tuesday night and one two weeks later. Our article was not in the paper this week, of course we are anxious for it to appear.
As I promised above is a picture of the twins now. And yes, we are very proud of them.

EXCEPT we now have engineers and not trains. I was surprised that Josh doesn’t have a train. He tried to explain that all engineers do not have a train to drive. I am disappointed in that. I have never taken a real long train ride; I just knew this was my chance. LOL.

Today was a special day. MOTHER’S DAY. Mark the youngest son, was at the beach. But promised to take his mother out when he got back. Jack surprised his mother by coming to church to be with her, then taking us out to eat at the Texas Road house. When we got there, there was a long line. Jack said to us wait here. In a few minutes he came out and said Mother your able is ready. We walked right past everyone to the table. We did not ask how he did it.

He did say he walked up to the Maître de and said, “Darnell, ready for the table for three.” (or something like that, he had no reservations, they do not take reservations on Sunday.)

We had a great meal and a good time visiting with Jack. It was a good Mother’s Day for Sherry, She deserves it, she is and has been a wonderful mama!

Happy Mother’s day to all you ladies out there, hope you had a wonderful day.
Thanks for coming this way,
Nite Shipslog
PS:
******No matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

****** Sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

******A simple walk with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

Graduation Day, TWO degrees.....

2001, Josh on the left Steve on the right (Steve had cut his hair I think for the lead in Grease.)

1999 That is Steve on the left and Josh on the right.

Here is Steve on the left and Josh on the Right. Jack their dad in the center!

About 1997 Steve on the left and Josh on the right. (my opinion)

Steve left, Josh right.. (My opinion) Later 1987

I will stay with Steve left and Josh right. 1987

TWODegrees! (THAT'S HOT!) and that is not the temperature!

My Sister Shirl was our families first High School Graduate. Sherry was her families first High School Graduate. I, another HS dropout, am surrounded by educated people. Over the years I have finally piece-mealed an education but have never crossed a stage to receive a diploma.
Today we have two grandsons who will graduate from college, the first college degrees in our family. I am sorta proud of that, NO! WHAT I MEAN IS THAT WE ARE REAL PROUD of that. Jack’s twin grandsons finish four years of college today. WOW, with scholarships and side jobs they have made it.
I am not going to be worried about the job market; they would be facing worse if they had not attended college. We cannot change the economy from this motor home so we will not cry (or try), we will just shout inside and out, YES! They did it.
WE will be at UNCC for Josh this afternoon. I said we, Sherry’s dates dropped out so I will go with her. (I NORMALLY DO Not ATTEND THESE FUNCTONS) I am not fussing about that either, I will be there and I will be proud. Stephen will come down from Mars Hill College later and we will all get together.
Tonight we celebrate our families FIRST COLLEGE GRADUATES!
Thanks for coming this way.
Nite Shipslog
PS:

'Those who hammer their guns into plows will
plow for those who do not.' ~ Thomas Jefferson

Having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

You should never say no to a gift from a child.

I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

TRUTH HERE!
This is one of the most important keys to a long friendship or marriage:

Being kind is more important than being right.