OK so here is a little rant for y'all. See my Texas accent? I have been a supporter of Vista and an early adopter. When people were complaining I just said this really isn't any different then what we have gone through with every major release of Windows. The real issue this time is other manufacturers have dropped the ball as far as supporting their old applications and hardware. In the old days you could go to the manufacturer's web site (or bulletin board for those of us who knew about computers before the web) and download updated drivers for your current hardware and fixes for your software. This time around a lot of companies, HP in particular have decided that it is time for you to purchase new hardware and/or software for the new OS and are not supplying drivers/updates for anything that is not currently in production. So in my opinion the big stink about in-compatibilities really isn't anything new. And yes every time we get a new release you have to spend some time figuring out how to get to all your old tools/utilities under the new interface.
So now to the rant part of this article. I recently installed SP1 which the world has been waiting for to fix all the Vista problems! Well guess what? It broke two Microsoft applications we run regularly on my laptop. The real issue is Microsoft has no fix at this point for the broken apps. The one I can almost understand, it's an older version of Encarta so I can't squawk too much about that but the other is Microsoft Streets and Trips version 2008! When I contacted Microsoft support their reply was yes that application is not compatible with SP1 and we suggest you uninstall SP1. Un-freeking believable! This is a company that has been getting all kinds of bad press about Vista, and they knowingly break their own applications without having a fix available.
I did some research on the net and was able to find a work around for the problem, you set the properties for the executable to run as administrator and Streets will run under SP1 but I was not able to get Encarta to run no matter what I tried.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Back in Michigan, Cook Duty and Identifying Stroke Symptoms
We arrived back in Howell early Friday afternoon, April 18. We had good weather all the way home and it's hard to believe but we have even had good weather since we arrive. Word is it's not going to last but we have to be thankful for what we get.
It's been a busy week so far, the neighbors and family got together on Sunday for a steak fry. I got recruited to do the grilling. Then on Tuesdays the family gets together at Mom's for dinner. Jamie asked me to make her Mexican Chicken, so I have been pretty busy cooking!
Linda and I had dentist appointments on Tuesday and I had a Dr's appointment on Wednesday for my annual physical. Good news at the dentist both of us just had cleanings with no signs of problems. My physical went well until it was time to draw blood for cholesterol checks and such. At the end of the struggle I had three new holes in my arms and I still had all my blood. In the past, they have had trouble drawing blood but have always succeeded, but today I guess I just didn't co-operate! They decided to send me to the lab to have my blood drawn, and I decided to let my arms heal up a bit before I tried again.
We have added a new article to our web site outlining the STR hints for recognizing when someone's having a stroke. Please have a look, it could save a life.
It's been a busy week so far, the neighbors and family got together on Sunday for a steak fry. I got recruited to do the grilling. Then on Tuesdays the family gets together at Mom's for dinner. Jamie asked me to make her Mexican Chicken, so I have been pretty busy cooking!
Linda and I had dentist appointments on Tuesday and I had a Dr's appointment on Wednesday for my annual physical. Good news at the dentist both of us just had cleanings with no signs of problems. My physical went well until it was time to draw blood for cholesterol checks and such. At the end of the struggle I had three new holes in my arms and I still had all my blood. In the past, they have had trouble drawing blood but have always succeeded, but today I guess I just didn't co-operate! They decided to send me to the lab to have my blood drawn, and I decided to let my arms heal up a bit before I tried again.
We have added a new article to our web site outlining the STR hints for recognizing when someone's having a stroke. Please have a look, it could save a life.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day 5, Sikeston, MO. Some flooding
We are at the Hinton RV Park in Sikeston, MO. It's a great overnight stop and is close to Lambert's Cafe "The only Home of the throwed rolls". A great restaurant that calls to us every time we are through the area. I had the rib dinner and brought half a slab home for tomorrow nights dinner. Linda had the roast beef sandwich and she brought half that home as well as one of their cinnamon rolls for us to share!
We managed to get the wind behind us today so mileage was a bunch better than we got the first two and a half days of driving. We stopped at the Flying J, exit 57 on highway 55. As we exited the highway I looked to the east and saw part of the Mississippi a lot closer to the highway then I expected. Check out the two photos Linda managed to get. Click the image to see a larger version.
We saw a fair amount of flooding in Arkansas but nothing compared to the Mississippi, we are told it is at 41feet which is about 7 feet over flood stage! Linda usually wants to go to the New Marid river overlook but that wasn't going to be an option this trip.
We plan to be to Mom's early afternoon on Friday if all goes well. We will try to keep you informed!
We managed to get the wind behind us today so mileage was a bunch better than we got the first two and a half days of driving. We stopped at the Flying J, exit 57 on highway 55. As we exited the highway I looked to the east and saw part of the Mississippi a lot closer to the highway then I expected. Check out the two photos Linda managed to get. Click the image to see a larger version.
We saw a fair amount of flooding in Arkansas but nothing compared to the Mississippi, we are told it is at 41feet which is about 7 feet over flood stage! Linda usually wants to go to the New Marid river overlook but that wasn't going to be an option this trip.
We plan to be to Mom's early afternoon on Friday if all goes well. We will try to keep you informed!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
We are licensed and in Arkadelphia Arkansas
We checked out of the Escapees park when they opened this morning and headed for the Texas Department of Public Safety to finish up our drivers licenses. We got into the office about 9AM and had to wait in line a few minutes but things went smoothly. We had all the paper work done and since Linda was only getting a class C license she just had to sign her name, turn over her Michigan License and pay her money.
I had the opportunity to keep my motorcycle endorsement for a mere $15, no sense going through that process again if I ever win the lottery and can afford a Harley. From there I had to take a 20 question written test. As I was taking it I wondered why I needed to know the rules for a class A license when I was only trying to get a class B license (A is for someone driving a vehicle that weighs over 26,000 pounds and pulls a trailer that weighs more than 10,000 pounds).
I passed the written test than got scheduled for a driving test, another 30 minute wait. Things went well on the driving test and I was all done by 11AM. We headed to the WalMart again to hook the Jeep up (you have to park on the side of the highway at the DPS office). Since Taco Bell was right next door to the WalMart we had lunch before hitting the road.
We made pretty good time today and managed to get to the Arkadelphia Campground & RV Park in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. We had stopped here last year so were familiar with where it was and how to get there. There are new owners this year and they appear to be making a number of improvements. We are about half way to Michigan, so should be to Mom's on Friday without pushing it too hard.
I had the opportunity to keep my motorcycle endorsement for a mere $15, no sense going through that process again if I ever win the lottery and can afford a Harley. From there I had to take a 20 question written test. As I was taking it I wondered why I needed to know the rules for a class A license when I was only trying to get a class B license (A is for someone driving a vehicle that weighs over 26,000 pounds and pulls a trailer that weighs more than 10,000 pounds).
I passed the written test than got scheduled for a driving test, another 30 minute wait. Things went well on the driving test and I was all done by 11AM. We headed to the WalMart again to hook the Jeep up (you have to park on the side of the highway at the DPS office). Since Taco Bell was right next door to the WalMart we had lunch before hitting the road.
We made pretty good time today and managed to get to the Arkadelphia Campground & RV Park in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. We had stopped here last year so were familiar with where it was and how to get there. There are new owners this year and they appear to be making a number of improvements. We are about half way to Michigan, so should be to Mom's on Friday without pushing it too hard.
Monday, April 14, 2008
No luck getting a license today!
We kept checking with the Department of Public Safety throughout the day, the system was still down. About 2 we decided to take a tour of the area and go see Lake Livingston. I won't go into the details but let just say that my navigator had a few problems reading a paper map..... We finally managed to get around most of the lake and got to see some pretty scenery!
Once we were in cell phone range again we checked back on the camera/computer issues and they finally had the system back up. It was about 4PM and too late to do anything today, so we will have to make another attempt in the morning. The plan is to break camp and check out first thing in the morning and then drive to the office trying to be there as early as possible. With any luck I can get through the written and driving tests and we can get some mileage under our belts tomorrow.
Once we were in cell phone range again we checked back on the camera/computer issues and they finally had the system back up. It was about 4PM and too late to do anything today, so we will have to make another attempt in the morning. The plan is to break camp and check out first thing in the morning and then drive to the office trying to be there as early as possible. With any luck I can get through the written and driving tests and we can get some mileage under our belts tomorrow.
Inspections and Registrations are complete
Things went quite smoothly this morning. I was awake early so we got under way by 7:30. First stop was the RV Shack to get both vehicles inspected. We managed to be first in line, so they took the coach in first thing. As we were being inspected another guy came for an inspection but was turned away, seems we got the last two inspection stickers they had on hand. Everything went fine and we were on our way to the Polk County Tax Office by 9AM.
Since it is downtown and there is not a lot of parking we left the coach at the WalMart at the junction of 190 and 59. We thought we might have a problem at the tax office when we saw the sign that said no out of county checks. Apparently that is just an out if they have a suspicion about the customer. They were happy to take our out of state check.
From there it was back to WalMart to get the new plates on, then we headed for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Big snag here, seems the camera and computer were down and they were waiting for their tech support guy to show up and get things going again. So at lunch time we are waiting for the office to open back up from their lunch break so we can call to verify things are back up and running again. I am taking the time to study for the drivers test a bit more.
Since it is downtown and there is not a lot of parking we left the coach at the WalMart at the junction of 190 and 59. We thought we might have a problem at the tax office when we saw the sign that said no out of county checks. Apparently that is just an out if they have a suspicion about the customer. They were happy to take our out of state check.
From there it was back to WalMart to get the new plates on, then we headed for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Big snag here, seems the camera and computer were down and they were waiting for their tech support guy to show up and get things going again. So at lunch time we are waiting for the office to open back up from their lunch break so we can call to verify things are back up and running again. I am taking the time to study for the drivers test a bit more.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Livingston we have arrived!
We made it to Livingston Texas today with no problems what so ever. Since it was Sunday we decided to run straight through down town Huston. There was a fair amount of traffic and we went by an accident that had traffic in the other direction backed up a bit.
Once we hit Livingston and started the trek to the campgrounds we managed to pick one of the more scenic routes (read narrow winding road). We made it without incident. The check in lady was friendly and very helpful, especially when she found out this was our first visit to an Escapees park and we were here to become Texans. She handed us a cheat sheet outlining what we will need to have with us, what order to do things in and giving locations of the three stops we need to make.
After getting settled we decided to drive around the town and layout our route for Monday. First we need to get a vehicle inspection for each vehicle. At this point we are not sure what is involved, the only thing I have a doubt about is a stone chip we have in the jeeps windshield. It's been injected with a stone chip kit from Permatex but you can still see the little star in the windshield. Tomorrow will tell. Next stop is the Tax office for vehicle registration and to pay the difference in sales tax between what we originally paid in sales tax on the amount required by Texas. Final stop will be the Department of Public Safety. I believe Linda will only have to hand her Michigan drivers license over and get a new Texas class C License. I will need to have a class B non-CDL license to drive the coach and that requires a written and driving test.
We'll let you know how we make out.
Once we hit Livingston and started the trek to the campgrounds we managed to pick one of the more scenic routes (read narrow winding road). We made it without incident. The check in lady was friendly and very helpful, especially when she found out this was our first visit to an Escapees park and we were here to become Texans. She handed us a cheat sheet outlining what we will need to have with us, what order to do things in and giving locations of the three stops we need to make.
After getting settled we decided to drive around the town and layout our route for Monday. First we need to get a vehicle inspection for each vehicle. At this point we are not sure what is involved, the only thing I have a doubt about is a stone chip we have in the jeeps windshield. It's been injected with a stone chip kit from Permatex but you can still see the little star in the windshield. Tomorrow will tell. Next stop is the Tax office for vehicle registration and to pay the difference in sales tax between what we originally paid in sales tax on the amount required by Texas. Final stop will be the Department of Public Safety. I believe Linda will only have to hand her Michigan drivers license over and get a new Texas class C License. I will need to have a class B non-CDL license to drive the coach and that requires a written and driving test.
We'll let you know how we make out.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Were on our way, headed back to Michigan
This is our first day of traveling after being holed up in south Texas since the last week in October. It takes a little getting used to herding this big box on wheels especially when heading into the wind for most of our travels today.
We got started right on time with only a small glitch with the lights on the Jeep. Seems ever since we had the safety recall done to correct a problem with the wiring for the exhaust brake and brake lights, we have been blowing the fuse for the trailer plug on the motor home. I thought I had it licked when I replaced the brake/turn signal bulbs with LED's on the Jeep. We made it all the way down here without an issue. This morning when checking to make sure the lights on the jeep were working I found the fuse was blown once again. I guess I will have to get in touch with Spartan to see if there is a fix for this issue.
We only put in about 250 miles today. We both figured that was enough for our first day. We want to be in Livingston, TX Sunday night which is only about 440 miles from Mission so we are better than half way there. Anyways it works well with my 230 plan, thats stop after 230 miles or 2:30 in the afternoon. Today we made our mileage by 1PM so I have some extra time for a nap.
We are staying at the Lazy Longhorn RV park in Victoria, Texas tonight. The have nice concrete roads and sites with a good cable lineup and free WiFi. Bud is enjoying having all the new smells to check out and Linda and I are looking forward to a nice nap this afternoon.
We got started right on time with only a small glitch with the lights on the Jeep. Seems ever since we had the safety recall done to correct a problem with the wiring for the exhaust brake and brake lights, we have been blowing the fuse for the trailer plug on the motor home. I thought I had it licked when I replaced the brake/turn signal bulbs with LED's on the Jeep. We made it all the way down here without an issue. This morning when checking to make sure the lights on the jeep were working I found the fuse was blown once again. I guess I will have to get in touch with Spartan to see if there is a fix for this issue.
We only put in about 250 miles today. We both figured that was enough for our first day. We want to be in Livingston, TX Sunday night which is only about 440 miles from Mission so we are better than half way there. Anyways it works well with my 230 plan, thats stop after 230 miles or 2:30 in the afternoon. Today we made our mileage by 1PM so I have some extra time for a nap.
We are staying at the Lazy Longhorn RV park in Victoria, Texas tonight. The have nice concrete roads and sites with a good cable lineup and free WiFi. Bud is enjoying having all the new smells to check out and Linda and I are looking forward to a nice nap this afternoon.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
An empty park, cleaning and packing!
Things are really getting quiet here in the park. I've only parked 1 rig in the last 3 days and have been having 6 to 8 rigs heading home each of those days. I am still opening the front gate in the morning, cleaning the pool and closing the gates in late afternoon. Along with any other odd jobs they need done in the park.
We are scheduled to leave on Saturday the 12th and are keeping a close eye on the weather. We seem to be okay for the trip to Escapees Rainbows End in Livingston but who knows what the trip from there to Michigan will bring. The big storms seem to be coming one after the other and really pounding the middle of the nation.
I have started getting our rig cleaned up and repacked. It's surprising how much work it takes to get all the stuff re-packed. I know I have added a couple of things, like the stand for the grill, but everything that I know I brought with us got bigger while we were here!
Our friends from Quebec are still holed up in Arkansas waiting for the weather to clear and the snow to clear out in I'lle Bizard. At one point there was 16 feet of snow piled up around their house.
We are scheduled to leave on Saturday the 12th and are keeping a close eye on the weather. We seem to be okay for the trip to Escapees Rainbows End in Livingston but who knows what the trip from there to Michigan will bring. The big storms seem to be coming one after the other and really pounding the middle of the nation.
I have started getting our rig cleaned up and repacked. It's surprising how much work it takes to get all the stuff re-packed. I know I have added a couple of things, like the stand for the grill, but everything that I know I brought with us got bigger while we were here!
Our friends from Quebec are still holed up in Arkansas waiting for the weather to clear and the snow to clear out in I'lle Bizard. At one point there was 16 feet of snow piled up around their house.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Looking for beach gold combined with a road trip
It's been a fairly cool weekend here in South Texas, at least for this area anyways. High in the 80s with cool nights that make for good sleeping weather.
Saturday we did another of our driving tours, my first intended stop was Boca Chica beach. There is usually a nice wide sandy beach but this weekend due to wind direction and tide levels there wasn't much beach to be driving on. In fact the usual hard pack just wasn't available for driving on. We probably would have turned around and headed for South Padre Island if it hadn't been for the fact I really wanted to collect some black sand to take home and run through my cleanup sluice. I know that south Texas is not known for gold but there have been some reports of gold on the beaches. We ended up using 4 wheel drive on the ole jeep to get down to where the black sand gets piled up. Once we get home and I have a chance to run the sand through the sluice I will let you know if we had any luck.
From there we headed over to South Padre Island. We visited the B & S Kite shop. I was proud of both of us because we didn't spend any money there even though we could easily have spent a lot. We then cruised along hotel row and managed to get on the beach for a bit. Linda tried to do a little shopping but didn't find what she was looking for (clothes for the little girls).
It seems one of Linda's favorite stops is Seven Seas in Los Fresnos, on Highway 100. She did manage to spend some money there but with what she has been saving most of the winter I guess I can't complain.
Bud and I figured this would be our last chance to hike in Bentsen RGV State Park so about 9AM we headed in to hike the Rio Grande Trail. It's a two mile trial but we had to hike into the trial head. So in total we must have hiked a bit over 4 miles round trip. Bud has not had the ambition to get off the couch since we got back. In previous years we have made this trip a number of times each season but due to my work camping job, this was the first time we have made the trip. Always an enjoyable hike!
Saturday we did another of our driving tours, my first intended stop was Boca Chica beach. There is usually a nice wide sandy beach but this weekend due to wind direction and tide levels there wasn't much beach to be driving on. In fact the usual hard pack just wasn't available for driving on. We probably would have turned around and headed for South Padre Island if it hadn't been for the fact I really wanted to collect some black sand to take home and run through my cleanup sluice. I know that south Texas is not known for gold but there have been some reports of gold on the beaches. We ended up using 4 wheel drive on the ole jeep to get down to where the black sand gets piled up. Once we get home and I have a chance to run the sand through the sluice I will let you know if we had any luck.
From there we headed over to South Padre Island. We visited the B & S Kite shop. I was proud of both of us because we didn't spend any money there even though we could easily have spent a lot. We then cruised along hotel row and managed to get on the beach for a bit. Linda tried to do a little shopping but didn't find what she was looking for (clothes for the little girls).
It seems one of Linda's favorite stops is Seven Seas in Los Fresnos, on Highway 100. She did manage to spend some money there but with what she has been saving most of the winter I guess I can't complain.
Bud and I figured this would be our last chance to hike in Bentsen RGV State Park so about 9AM we headed in to hike the Rio Grande Trail. It's a two mile trial but we had to hike into the trial head. So in total we must have hiked a bit over 4 miles round trip. Bud has not had the ambition to get off the couch since we got back. In previous years we have made this trip a number of times each season but due to my work camping job, this was the first time we have made the trip. Always an enjoyable hike!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Heat, Texas Drivers License and a few last jobs
Well it's 77 degrees at 7AM, I think it might be a warm one today. Being the first of April we will be having a mass exodus today. There has been a small trickle of people leaving daily and the park is almost to the point of having more open sites then full ones, but that will change today. The winter work campers are pretty much done as of today. Rich and I are still going to be helping out with the gates, pool and occasional odd jobs but I should be able to start getting our stuff cleaned up and repacked in preparation for our leaving on the 12th.
We plan to head for Livingston, Texas, home of the Escapees organization. I for one would like to see their mail operation and take a look around the area. We also plan to become Texans while there. I bought a cowboy hat in preparation for the move! I have begun studying for the drivers license test, I will need to get a class B non-commercial license to be able to drive the coach since it's GVWR is over 26,001 pounds (actually 34,000 #). I have downloaded the DL manual from the Texas Department of Public Safety which also contains a list of 120 study questions. I am not sure if Linda is going to attempt it or just go with the standard class C license.
There are a several advantages to becoming Texans. One of the biggest is no state income tax and the other biggie is the cost of vehicle registration is a lot less compared to Michigan. In Michigan vehicle registration costs are based on the value of the unit being registered. In the case of the coach plates will be about $300 compared to $1,500 in Michigan. We also figure the state income tax elimination will help pay for the cost of fuel.
I have a couple of utility pedestals that the mice/rats got into last fall and basically destroyed the wiring for the control module. I figure I will tackle them once my co-worker goes on duty so I won't get interrupted while working. The other issue is when they did the supply wiring to the pedestals they didn't bother to mark the breaker so I have to guest which breaker is supplying power to the pedestal I need to work on. I will make sure to mark them as I figure out what’s tied to what. I will let you know how it goes.
We plan to head for Livingston, Texas, home of the Escapees organization. I for one would like to see their mail operation and take a look around the area. We also plan to become Texans while there. I bought a cowboy hat in preparation for the move! I have begun studying for the drivers license test, I will need to get a class B non-commercial license to be able to drive the coach since it's GVWR is over 26,001 pounds (actually 34,000 #). I have downloaded the DL manual from the Texas Department of Public Safety which also contains a list of 120 study questions. I am not sure if Linda is going to attempt it or just go with the standard class C license.
There are a several advantages to becoming Texans. One of the biggest is no state income tax and the other biggie is the cost of vehicle registration is a lot less compared to Michigan. In Michigan vehicle registration costs are based on the value of the unit being registered. In the case of the coach plates will be about $300 compared to $1,500 in Michigan. We also figure the state income tax elimination will help pay for the cost of fuel.
I have a couple of utility pedestals that the mice/rats got into last fall and basically destroyed the wiring for the control module. I figure I will tackle them once my co-worker goes on duty so I won't get interrupted while working. The other issue is when they did the supply wiring to the pedestals they didn't bother to mark the breaker so I have to guest which breaker is supplying power to the pedestal I need to work on. I will make sure to mark them as I figure out what’s tied to what. I will let you know how it goes.
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