Big Party Starts Tomorrow

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 30, 2023

The OFM hit the road early this morning to deliver birthday presents for Piper his grand daughter to have for the birthday gathering in Brookwood Al.

That is where the other grand parents live and most gatherings for all the family parts happen. When we got the presents delivered to Piper and put away we found out that her other grandpa, called POPPY, was having some medical trouble and the gathering was on temporary hold. So all the big plans will liely have a few modifications. But that is a big fun crowd of party folks something will be worked out quickly. So we left the presents and headed home to the Castle.

As we neared the campground we got to see the usual big event temporary changes being installed. That signifies a lot of folks around here for a few days. We plan to keep a low profile at least until July 5.

Here is a few pics of the new temp fencing for vehicle control. Coming into the area here is the barrels lined up to significantly SLOW DOWN AND OBEY THE SIGNS AHEAD. Occasionally someone will do just that.

Then we get to the entrance to the public use part of the complex. The barrels turn into free standing fencing.

FREE STANDING FENCING

At this point only campground traffic goes straight ahead. All the rest of the traffic turns right to the big park area and the big parking lots and the holiday excitement. They are expecting several thousand folks each day of the big party days. In the past it has seemed that every policeman from Alabama that wanted some overtime was was here “assisting helping the folks” figure out where to go. Basically it quickly becomes a rowdy pile of folks. Usually in the campground the folks with a site host all their relatives at their site for loud fun and noise they call music. But the general public is normally kept out of the campground and in the events areas. But it does get rowdy at times.

It was Texas hot outside most of the day so the OFM did not get much outside exercise done but he got a lot of cool inside time trying to learn how to do watercolor pencil art. He is still a plain old flop at it but this coming weekend looks like a good one to practice inside for a few days as the best way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Bird In A Tree

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 29, 2023

The morning walk was interesting. We had to get going a bit earlier than normal because it was supposed to get very hot by noon and it did.

The first thing we encountered was the temporary fencing crew putting up the crowd control fencing up in the water park for all the MAJOR doings of the July Fourth events here at the Point Mallard Water Park. There is a bunch for sure. Yes it will interfere with my walks. But it will be noisy and crowded to make up for it. The OFM stopped at the office today and got his car pass hang tag so we can get back in the campground if we go somewhere. The security here will be a good bit tighter than normal and we are glad for that.

The walk this morning turned out to be very enlightening for the OFM Teams. But first a bird pic. This bird was sitting in the tree about ten feet from the edge of the walking path. Most birds that use that spot fly away when we get within about thirty feet and try to use the camera. This picture was one of a few we took while standing about eight feet away from the bird. The bird seemed totally unfazed by the OFM standing there messing around.

This is the new to us turning point for three of our walking loops in the park. It is a nice convenient point to stop, drink a bit of water and take notice of what in the OFM body is complaining. Today it was nothing was complaining.

That is a water hazard on the golf course. The walking loop this morning was 2.6 miles. The big news for the OFM was that he kept up a brisk pace nearly all the way and did not have any joint pain when we finished or later in the day either. When we go for the three mile or longer walks he always has knee or hip pain for a few hours afterward. We will be trying out this turn around point for a few days to see if that was a freak happening or a wonderful new bit of knowledge to help the OFM body work better and last longer.

To pass time nicely while things of the body heal from OFM stupidities we have been slowly working on a coloring to learn how to handle water color pencil colorings. It is a bit different than handling standard colored pencils but we have hope for success. Here is a picture of part of Stuck Together we took this evening for the blog.

As you can imagine the slow brain of the OFM is making this study a long drawn out process. However it is fun and nice to be learning another interesting art style as a way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Miserable Heat

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 28, 2023

The morning walk was interesting. Not a leaf was moving as we made our way along the morning adventure. We took extra water with us since it was a still day with nearly a 100F forecast. Shortly after we got going well we passed the first slough and noticed slick water, no breeze ruffling the leaves and very warm already.

That gave us a hint of what the day was about to show us about the weather. We definitely put a slower pace on the walk with the hot muggy no wind weather. It was slow walking for the others we howdyed along the trail. Nobody seemed to be moving briskly.

We got to an open area where we can see I65 crossing the river and swamp land and stopped to check the weather so to speak. It was not very nice humidity and heat wise.

A little after the one mile mark we took a careful inventory of our abilities and chose to make this a shorter than 3 mile walk and headed back to the Castle. We were really happy about that when we got back and even happier when we got cooled down a good bit.

As we got near the end of the trail we got this picture of some folks cooking humans in a boat. They can have it as far as the OFM is concerned.

After lunch we stopped at a store to get a small item and tried out our new Debit Cart. It did not work. Back home we got on the phone and just shy of three hours later we hung up the phone with a guarantee that it was now fixed. We shall find out the truth about that tomorrow. A full time Rver needs to have a way of getting cash easily while out on the road for times where credit cards are not accepted. It is not often these days but it still happens here and there.

Any way it was a tiresome day over all so we hope to sleep well tonight so we can get busy trying to have some more fun in the heat?

Shady Trail Report

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 26, 2023

Our first duty today was straightening up the Castle a good bit. We had left overs from several birthday gift wrapping events and miscellaneous other minor projects the OFM has done lately just being needing to clean up. Yep the trash bins are a bit heavier today.

Then we reconfirmed our route and distance for the SHADY TREE WALK along the river front. What the OFM forgot was to make certain that the camera had an empty chip card in it. We hit the trail moderately early and soon wanted a picture for the blog. Guess what the camera was smart enough to tell the OFM there was no memory card in the camera. But at least the camera was polite and did not tell the OFM how stupid he is out in public.

The route proved to be a well considered walk and about 85% shady. We made the whole 3 miles in decent fashion, but still disappointed at the good pics wee failed to get. The OFM asked himself why we had never laid out this route in all the other hot summers we have spent here. No intelligent answer was forthcoming.

The afternoon was used up shopping for presents for relatives and not having any luck. The shopping was a bit tiresome and the OFM needed some horizontal time. Probably the new walking path and distance added to that need. However we set the A/C temp to Sleep and set a timer for a 35 minute nap. We are fairly certain the OFM's head was asleep before it hit the pillow.

And now it is time to fix supper, put things away and rest for trying to have tooooo much fun tomorrow.

Shopping, Walking and Napping

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 25, 2023

We got the day busy by setting off on our walk with the trash to drop at the dumpsters. The morning was a bit warm and got hot later. Our path was along the golf course fence to where the maintenance road circles around the golf course. But that changed as it got hotter and hotter. When we made the turn onto the maintenance road the OFM had become a shade hunting fool. A little ways up the road was the entrance to the hike/bike trail along the waters edge. It is shaded for nearly all of it. So away we went in the shade of the nice trees. We got to the turn in the trail and started back to the Castle still chasing shade. But the temp had risen noticeably and it was barely 0900. By the time we got back to the Castle we had done a nice 2.6 miles mostly in shade. There is a good chance we will chase the shade again tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent shopping for Castle things and birthday presents for all the July birthdays. Some success was had and a bunch of nothing chosen was our results.

This evening the OFM actually took a nap from all the running around he did trying to have tooooo much fun in the heat.

Great Fish

 

Adventure Location:

Huntsville, Alabama

Grandkid Land

Date: June 25, 2023

A very nice but busy and somewhat exciting day it has been. We got rolled in Sierra on time and arrived at the grand kids home right on time. Then suddenly all kinds of activities came blasting into the OFM life. We talked with his son, kiddo on the blog, wife and the grands for a long while.

Then it was off to have lunch at Teranovas restaurant in Huntsville. The salmon steak was much better than WONDERFUL. During the meal we were entertained by the far worst rain, hail and lightning storm the OFM has ever been in before.

After it abated a bit, we left and went back to grand kid home to play and visit some more. It was a great visit to say the least.

The OFM ran into the storm again on his way home and it was a mess for driving. At least we did not have any serious flooding to contend with.

Back at the campground we had about thirty minutes of nasty storming and it suddenly disappeared. Since then it has been a reasonable day weather wise.

We plan to sleep extremely well from all the trying to have tooooo much fun. See ya tomorrow.

Floating Rock

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 24, 2023

A very nice day it has been. After breakfast this morning we headed out for a walk of whatever seemed right at this moment. 3.26 miles later we were finished and well tired but feeling a good tired without any pains anywhere. That is a big change. Tired is good. Pains are not.

We shot several photos but only two seemed worth posting. As we walked the path around the edge of Flint Creek we took pictures at random of what ever was attracting our attention at the moment. That was great fun even if we only got a couple of shots to keep.

This is a reflection shot of a lone tree across a golf course water hazard but it looked nice to us.

The trail is partially regraveled in preparation for the Fall cross country school races and training in cross country running, They have some kids that can really move on along us old folks have to dodge to be polite. But big HOWDYS and THANK YOUS are frequent.

As we meandered along we grabbed this shot of a rock and stuff. Then when we processed the photo for the blog presentation we were surprised how much it looked like the main rock was floating in the air. WOW that is neat. The OFM wishes he was smart enough to get the floating rock pic on purpose but it was an accident.

FLOATING ROCK

As has been mentioned the OFM is trying a new style of watercolor for his art efforts. This next coloring is only 2.75 inches square and proved to be a heck of a challenge. The results showed the OFM he has a lot of larning to do quickly and soon.

Here is Succulent One illuminated by this afternoons sunshine.

Painting that small turned out to be a tough challenge for the OFM and it still took about twelve hours of work.

Now we need to get back outside and try to have tooooo much more fun.

Thumpity Thump UPDATE

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 23, 2023

For some reason the Bayfield Bunch site cannot be received here since last night. 

Check the comments and see where we now know that the Bayfield Blog is having computer type trouble and not folks troubles.

We got in a nice brisk walk again this morning. Along the way we got to meet a new pup and two new folks who were very friendly. That made our day really well.

The best pic we got this morning was of this very delightful bench location.

We have rested and massaged incalcatrant muscles and/or joints several times at this location over the last 12 years. It was always a welcome site when on the trail.

Most all of the rest of the day was used working on a new water color painting that we should have ready tomorrow for displaying. It is a small format painting of about 2.75 inches each direction. It was fun to paint and so far we have about four hours in it. Water color painting is a lot faster than colored pencil painting. Especially since we are using water color pencils for the water color. We can put on the pencil first in a free style to get the color on the paper and then water it down or tip the wet brush with water color from the pencil tip as required. Either way works well but the OFM needs a lot more practice.

We were sitting here thinking about what else to write about and we noticed a lot of thumping going on in the area. Then we remembered we have a cornhole tournament here in the campground on the big July weekend coming up. Probably we will get to listen to a lot of thumpity thump until that tournament is finished.

In the mean time we need to get busy trying harder at having tooooo much fun.

Little Sleep

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 22, 2023

For some unknown reason the OFM had trouble getting to sleep last night. We saw 0230 on the clock the last time we looked at it. That is OK since we were up at 0630 this morning having breakfast in preparation for what turned out to be a nice long walk at a decent pace. But the lack of sleep hit hard about 1400 and a 30 minute nap was required.

Out on the trail there was a lot of nice pictures we saw in person and we took a pic of each one. When we put them up on the screen for editing they did not seem all that nice so away they went to wherever land. We amused our self on the trail checking out a lot of recent tree falls like this one.

This tree was upright yesterday when we came by it. There must have been 8 trees freshly fallen overnight. We did not recall any especially bad winds while we were not sleeping.

A serious chunk of the day was spent birthday present shopping with no luck. This afternoon we spent some time wrapping the presents we already have. That was a knack that the OFM had lost at first but we soon gained it somewhat back. At least for a new 6 year old girl grand child.

A bit before sundown we hit the walking path to check out the cloud formations. They were interesting for sure. Here is one of them. The sky behind the OFM's back while taking this picture was beautiful cloudless bright blue.

Then we walked a few hundred yards and took this picture of sunset just about ending and it is dramatically different to us.

As you can tell the Teams are not at their best lately but we are still chasing trying to have tooooo much fun.

No Success

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 21, 2023

Well folks here today was a big nothing. Computer trouble off and on all day until early evening. We guess some place somewhere was making upgrades to the system.

Then the OFM learned he had a new talent. All he has to do is get up from the computer and act like he was going outside and a rain drizzle would start and he would sit back down and watch the light rain for a bit.

We did get out for our chicken burger and root beer. And then we went to Hobby Lobby birthday gift shopping with no success there either.

Back at the Castle it started light rain as we drove into the campground.

And for supper it was part of the baked potato order from yesterday. So everyone work hard tomorrow trying to have tooooo much fun to make up for our slack today.

Pay Attention To Which Trail To Take Fool

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 20, 2023

We made it out of bed decently this morning and got the OFM ready for a walk of 1.5 miles around part of the golf course and along a short part of the Tennessee River. The OFM was feeling decent and the nasty weather was several hours away. As we strode along the first section of the walk things were going good. We made the turn to the loop around the golf course and got to the slough that normally has something to photograph. Up came the camera and as we tried to focus on a nice scene the camera informed the OFM that there was no memory card in the camera. So the OFM politely put the camera in his pocket. There was a couple of nice folks nearby so he did not voice his opinion ot loud about the moron that failed to make sure the camera was ready back at the trailer. So we just carried on with the planned walk. The turn back on the river trail was made. Then a good while later the OFM realized we had turned on the wrong trail. But by now we were closer to our previously planned return route that we jut went on walking. However the OFM knees were objecting so we knew we were overdoing our walk. Anyway we got back to the Castle feeling third class in walking.

After resting and showering we sat down and did the computer distance measurement for what we actually did and it was 3.7 miles with about a mile of rougher trail than was intended. For the rest of the day every time we rested a bit the knees were stiff at startup. So we got better during the afternoon but until late afternoon the cold start of walking after sitting for a while was an interesting effort. Tonight we seem to be recovered but you can be assured the OFM will be more careful on his routing turns in the future. We are not a young 75 any more.

Today we finally decided what to set our site up like since we had several choices available. Here is the picture of the site taken from in the trees behind the site looking toward the campground loop road. The loop is one way right to left as we look at it. All that big square of gravel is available for our enjoyment.

This site is proving to be a first class location especially since it is close to the Office and Laundry.

And now for the special news. We have been worrying about getting the Texas registration sticker for Sierra here before it ran out at the end of June. Well it made it here today and the OFM was very happy. It is now mounted on the windshield so we will be clear of that chore for another year.

And to top it all off nicely the OFM's Social Security was deposited today in his checking account in Washington State so we can eat for another month and run around trying to have tooooo much fun.

Fresh Stoup and a Long Drug Induced Nap

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 19, 2023

Didn't sleep well last night but got out of bed this morning wondering what the OFM would do. We ended up grocery shopping and then cooking some decent stoup that we had for supper.

Some of the day was spent cleaning out more things that got given away. Yep even less weight to haul around. This time it was likely less than 80 pounds of junk but we are glad to be shed of it all.

The pollen allergy trouble got a lot worse and the OFM took an antihistamine and soon passed out for three hours right after lunch.

Late this afternoon we took off for a short walk since the very ugly weather the forecasts called for never showed up but the sun did. We went by the futbol field and there was a bit of a game going on to our right so we went left where there was only a class for beginners starting when we went by,

After a very nice and reasonable short walk along the river front vegetation enjoying the decent evening air the OFM needed to waddle on back to the Castle. We grabbed a nice picture of the American flag flapping in the evening pleasant breeze.

Back at the Castle it was stoup time and it was well received by the hungry OFM.

Nothing special is set up for tomorrow. So we reckon that we will have to settle for trying to have tooooo much fun in the allergies floating around.

Bye Shop Vac

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 18, 2023

Didn't sleep well last night but got out of bed this morning when the AC started up at 0857. We took our time since the OFM was not feeling well. The next thing we knew it was coming on to lunch time and we had not really got going yet. Needless to say there was not a hint of a big walk or a little walk today until we took the daily garbage down to the dumpsters. That was about a half mile round trip and the big walk for the day.

But we did get a few things done inside. The new vacuum was finally assembled and when the switch was turned on it had a good suction. We got about three quarters of the Castle vacuumed extremely well and the vacuum quit. Maybe it needs a charge and plugged it in. Five minutes later we hit the GO button and finished the Castle vacuuming. WOW that was a lot quicker than using the old shop vac. So we think we have a winner. The manual says we should have let it charge at least four hours for the first charge. Now we feel that figuring out where to keep it and charge it is worth doing. It will be a lot easier to use. Tomorrow we will ge getting rid of the shop vac if we can find someone to take it it. Otherwise it will hit tomorrows dumpster load.

As the OFM got hungry for supper he decided to find something in the refrigerator to have for supper.

After looking in the refrigerator he decided to have the last TV dinner in the freezer and it was just fine.

I looks like tomorrow will be a day of lightening our load in the Castle and restocking food while looking for tooooo much fun.

Good Pork Chop Meal Tonight

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 17, 2023

The day started out nice with a bit of cool and warmed up during the day to finish a bit hot with a breeze. Pretty decent weather and clear skies. The AC cut on a couple of times during the day but we opened a window a couple of times also.

The morning walk started mid morning and pictures from the 2.3 mile walk were all that were worth talking about. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior all day. That was very nice.

The morning trail turned out the one near the very back of the campground the OFM is not a big fan of. However today he realized he had not walked it since December of last year so away we went to enjoy whatever was there.

It is a nice trail that loops behind the campground and ties into the other eleven miles of trails here.

The first part of the trail system we joined was a paved section around the golf course and inland about a hundred yards from Flint Creek. The golfers were being nice and having fun and actually fun to see the silliness they show after a bad shot. He he he. We headed on along the road until we got to a spot to turn right into the natural area on the grave trail that parallels Flint Creek to head back. This very nice trail brought us back to the fishing bridge seen often in this blog. Folks were busy not catching fish this morning from what the youngsters were complaining about.

Shortly we came to a new to us writing on a post that was installed a few years ago and nothing has happened since until this writing was put on it since yesterday.

We have no idea what the writing is about. Do any readers have a guess?

A bit farther along is an old tree we were sure it would fall at least ten years ago. We have been waiting at least that long. Two years ago the tree was barely alive. Looking carefully at it today showed it was totally dead now. The stump is weird like it was growing around some object on the ground years ago. But now it does not seem like enough stump left to keep the old dead tree trunk upright any more to us.

Near the trail was a cluster of vegetation and other tree parts were clustered. We almost missed him. The large turtle was being very still as we got closer to get the picture. When we took this picture we were only about seven feet from the turtle and they usually get gone before we took this picture.

Since tomorrow is Father's Day the campground is PACKED solid with folks celebrating the holiday and on Monday another holiday with lots of great fragrance cooking on all sorts of pits outside.

Speaking of good food, tonight the OFM had the last of the medium thick pork chops he had cut into 3/4inch cubes. Potatoes chopped to fit went into the pot first. Then olive oil to get them cooking. Then the pork chop cubes were added at the right time. Finally at about the three quarter done point a large dollop of BBQ Sauce of his choice flooded the food and simmered for a few minutes. The the cold Root Beer was put in a mug and the wonderful feast began. YUMMITY YUM YUM.

With a great meal like that and an easy day like today, Great Sleeping should be next step in a great day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Nice Flowers

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 16, 2023

After a good nights sleep we hoped for a great day but it was just pretty good. Not really anything bad happened but it just was not spectacular. The morning walk went well but the OFM had to slow it down a bit to fit his ability today. But we did get in nearly three miles in two pieces.

A lot of busy RV movement happened as the campground filled totally full today getting ready for Fathers Day visits around the area.

The OFM walked this slightly different route today and found this road divider in full bloom and very pretty. The flowers in and around the campground are kept in really nice shape almost all of the time.

Up on the front porch of the OFFICE is this potted plant that was spectacular with the morning sun hitting it brightly. By the time the OFM got our camera into action the sun had gone behind a big cloud so we grabbed what we could to show how nice it was.

When the sun was hitting those blossoms it was nearly catching fire from the bright glowing flowers. It is still pretty anyway we think.

That's about the main highlights of today while trying to have tooooo much fun in Alabama.

Nice Day

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 15, 2023

The fabulous news is that the OFM slept the whole night without any leg pains for a change. It was wonderful. That means we got out for a nice brisk walk after breakfast. The temps were cool and the sky very pretty blue and clear. A great start to a day we could not have imagined. The walk went along the golf course and Flint Creek later. The whole time you could not ask for better weather and lack of insects .

We grabbed a few pics but this one of a slough coming off Flint Creek shows how nice it was this morning.

There is a lot of green vegetation on top of the water and the OFM was wondering if it might be some sort of pollen since his allergies are giving him fits these days.

The area was one part of the big clean up done in February. This stump did not waste any time getting back into the tree making business did it,

Back in the campground the office folks are putting on a coloring contest for the campers kids for the fourth of July weekend. The kids receive a few sheets of printed outlines to color in and turn in for judging by that weekend. There are some prizes to go to the winners. It seems like a great idea to the OFM but the response has been very little. So the OFM got the idea of coloring one to attempt to get more interest in the contest.

We are hoping have one already colored on the wall will cause some more participation than we are getting now.

We had a big storm and rain blow through this evening. It is still somewhat light outside and the rain has quit. The wind did not get very strong and the rain was only strong a few minutes and then mostly drizzle. That was another good thing.

And the OFM did get in a nice long nap this afternoon also. And that can be an excellent way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Good Walk Today

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 14, 2023

A very bad night of lower leg cramps and ankle pains gave the OFM a case of the worn outs that lasted until he took a nice nap a bit before noon. Then the OFM did some research about old folks and leg cramps. He found out that lots of old folks have major events of leg cramps often. From the reading it seems that the OFM needs to get back on his five bananas a week to solve the mineral deficiency that normally causes the cramps. So the evening shopping trip you will hear more about in a little bit, brought us home with bananas.

The morning weather was very nice and cool. The OFM almost put on a long sleeve walking shirt but didn't. It worked but he had to move a bit fast to stay warm at first. Here is a bit of the trail that was open enough that it was a little cool to be short sleeve only for your torso cover.

As usual we found a few nice flowers to view along the trails. This is one we really enjoy viewing every year. The colors were starting to fade a bit but we still enjoyed it.

When we got back from the over 2 miles walk our plans got a big change when a strong thunderstorms and significant rain began to fall and lasted until mid afternoon. But when it stopped it only took about 20 minutes for the skies to get clear and bright blue. Most of the puddles were gone quickly and we got on with our chores.

We had need to get over to the big Walmart to search for a new item.

The small shop vacuum cleaner we have been using in the Castle is really awkward and it is getting to need a new hose and the motor bearings squeal on start up. In our research for replacement for the over 20 year old shop vac we ran across a few folks that mention in their blogs that they use small house vacs since even a large RV is not really big compared to a house. The Castle is only 147 square feet total including the built in cabinets. So at Walmart we had a decent selection of units to choose from. This one came home with us.

Tomorrow is try it out day and we will see if the shop vac can go into retirement some place if the new concept works well. That would give us back a nice chunk of storage space under the bed. If any of our readers has experience on this issue we would really like to hear your experiences.

It is resting time to refuel the old body for trying to have tooooooo much fun tomorrow.

 

Plans Are For Changing

 

Adventure Location: 

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 13, 2023

 

 No way in the universe is the OFM ready to deflate the tires and sit still forever. Another Rver that is a year older than the OFM had put together a rather nice place to come off the road in Capitan New Mexico and was acclimating to his new lifestyle. We kept on thinking he is not ready to shut down that much and sure enough today he announced major changes in his plans. Rusty 78609 is his site. Check out his site and his new adventure plan. 

Last night as we were contemplating our future, the OFM thought that Rusty was ready for a new plan and here it is this evening. 

Today was a day of miscellaneous things of very little importance except we had a lot of thoughts during the day that we really do not want to stay here past late September before we go somewhere new to play. Our rent ends on about September 15 and the Grandkids will be back in school with very little time for the OFM. So guess what? We are pretty sure that if health is still adequate we will roll also.

Speaking of food, we were talking of food weren't we, here is the picture of the half a baked potato from Lawlers that we had for supper tonight. The OFM bought two of them this evening so we will have plenty to eat for lunch or supper this week.

This was not a good health feeling day but by evening it seems most of the kinks have worked themselves out and we will be full of it tomorrow as we runnnnnn around trying to have tooooo much fun.

Big Event On The Way

 

Adventure Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Point Mallard Campground

Date: June 12, 2023

The OFM awoke to a yuk feeling after an exciting night of tossing and turning for no good reason. But it was a cool bright morning so we did get in a nice walk on the sore left foot. The temp was cool enough for a light long sleeve shirt and a gentle breeze caressed our feel good mood. The path we chose was the surfaced one that starts at the campground and runs between the road to the campground and the golf course. It is especially good for decrepit OFMen like the fool writing this blog.

As we left the campground we passed a small area of woods that had not been cleared like the area we showed you a blog or so ago. Here is what it looked like before the major clearing effort.

That must have been a real mess to get cleaned up.

Along the path is an old tree that the OFM has thought would fall “any moment for the last several years. But it is still dead and standing.

And in any cluster of growth it can grow in there is a vine that jumps into the fun of things by putting out these pretty yellow and white blossoms. The really fresh ones seem to glow for about four days then slowly fade away.

Near a part of the golf course were a herd of turtles laying eggs in the mowed grass on the golf course and in the ditch next to the walking path. The turtle count would have been about a dozen. It was interesting to see.

By the time we made it back to the Castle we had done about two miles of gentle walking and the OFM was ready for a break.

The July 4 holiday is looking like a big event here in the campground with a golf cart parade and prizes for several best decorated carts in the parade. We are not competing in that fun. Usually there are numerous BBQ competitions between groups of folks that are camping in one of the over 200 campsites in the campground. So when it all comes to full roar it is a large event with probably near to 1000 folks from the campground alone, much less the rest of the Point Mallard Park folks and public events over in their area. We are going to stock up the Castle and stay out of the way if we can.

The weather is supposed to be cool at night and warm in the afternoon so it should be good weather for the next few days for trying to have tooooo much fun.

WOW DAY

 

Adventure Location:

Harvest, Alabama

Date: June 11, 2023

WOW What this was today! It was visit the grandkids land time and they wore the OFM out..

The OFM got to see the latest efforts at greatness of both kids in close detail. The Granddaughter, age 6, read to me from books, told me stories from her inside tent, and played catch out in the backyard. She also had very nice artwork we got to see. The Grandson, age 11, got the OFM up to speed on his cartoon strip that he writes and illustrates. He also played a lot of catch in the back yard with the rest of us, It was bright and hot. The OFM and his son also threw the ball back and forth a good amount. The OFM naturally led the group in goof ups handling the ball. However it was a nice time of comradery in the family. The OFM did much better than he thought he would but he is definitely the OLD man out there.

The top off for the day was late lunch at Phil Sandoval's Mexican Food restaurant on Highway 72 in Huntsville where the food and service has always been top tier like today's service and food. The prices are very much worthwhile with the great service and preparation.

After a bunch more playing and art work and story reading and general goofing around, the OFM decided to head back to the Castle and boy was he glad to get home and actually rest for a nice long sit down. The OFM is fortunate to have such a great family to be a part of. They are very good at trying to have tooooo much fun.

Foolish Plans

 

Adventure Location:

Point Mallard Campground

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 10, 2023

As the OFM was awakening he could tell things were not just right. After the morning necessities, the NOT JUST RIGHT raised its head as a strong migraine attack and we had to reverse direction and settle down to misery for a few hours. The OFM was fortunate enough to be able to get the medicine in him and then fall mostly asleep as the trouble ran its course.

Then a bit before lunch the OFM started to notice he was getting it together a good bit. Most symptoms had moved on and we started to think about if we lived or not. We did.

The morning seemed a lot better now and the normal side effects were quite a bit lesser than normal. So we got on with the day.

The OFM was thinking about his future as an Rver and wondering about how long his body and abilities will allow him to keep rolling at some level. So we have been searching for folks in their 80+ age to see when they chose to quit rolling. Notice that the time is QUIT ROLLING not give up RV life.

Statistics from the Social SecurityAdministration life expectancy site shows that the OFM has a 50 percent chance of living to age 88. After checking several folks about when they quit rolling and re reading a letter from our fantastic RV travel experts down in Texas City, Texas we decided on age 88 as a good planning age for having a serious slow down on the rolling part of RVing. Then we could move in to Point Mallard and grandkid land again until the end comes. So look out folks for the OFM to be out rolling for eleven more years.

Of course we know the style will change as the years pile up on the OFM but we feel this lifestyle fits so well we will stay with it until we just plain can't do it safely any more.

When we checked the camera a few minutes ago we found that this crazy day did not get any pictures taken.

The OFM has found that coloring seashells is not hi favorite style of coloring. So this one tonight is likely the last one he will attempt and give the coloring book away to some with a bit more ability than he has with sea shells.

Here is the seashell coloring in its little bit of glory/

That's it for the exciting day of migraine and aging research. Tomorrow is a new day of trying to have tooooo much fun. Thank goodness.

Good Walking Speed Again Is A Great Sign Of Recovery Progress

 

Adventure Location:

Point Mallard Campground

Decatur, Alabama

Date: June 9, 2023

The morning started well and when we hit the walking paths the OFM was quickly able to get back to his previous brisk walking speed. We even kept it going for nearly 1.5 miles. But when he tired it was an immediate meander back to the Castle. This was good recovery progress in our opinion.

Along the way we found a recreation cart nearly rolled in a ditch.

It turned out to belong to someone from the campground. They had to walk home last night. But today some help from their neighbors and a good rope got the cart onto the road. Then it was driven back to their spot. Everything turned out OK we were told.

Last spring there was a massive cleanup of the woods along parts of the waterfront trail to aid in the trees recovering better with more airflow through them. It gets so thick that no breeze flows through the brush etc for the first 40 feet into the air. Then all sorts of mosses etc start suffocating the trees and other valuable plants and they die off. The best the OFM can recall this cleanup is an every 8-10 year event.

We found it very wonderful this morning to have a nice breeze at ground level during our walk.

Last evening late the OFM got a wild hair and took pics from the door of the Castle to show what this crowded street looks like at night. It is nice to look out a window at night an be able to see things even if the lights make things look odd.

We think we are finally settled in well. Today we got our mail from the Escapees so we have some more paperwork to get done tomorrow. Then we need to take a bit of time to review what we have done and if there is any more paperwork we need to do. The OFM let himself get way to far behind this year.

We also need to do a better job of getting rested overnight from the hard work of trying to have tooooo much fun.