Thunder & rain

There was a high chance of rain in the forecast today. They got it right. Before it started we loaded the bikes onto my bike rack and drove into the heart of the Gucci district. Jamie & I biked around some. Jamie towed Connor behind his bike in a trailer. The girls went shopping. We ate lunch at a waterside restaurant and then it was about nap time. The wx was about to turn ugly but I wanted to get into my kayak for a little while. I did, but only for a little while. I paddled behind the campsite and took a pic of the RV from the water.

Connor enjoys RVing

Hilton head island

4 adults and 2 small boys in an RV. It's sort of crowded but we are coping pretty well. Today was Jamie's 30th. We did the birthday stuff on the picnic table behind the campsite. We are on the water and this place is pretty cool. We are just barely on the island so it's a little ways to all the hot spots. Hilton head is one of Jamie's favorite places. He has been here with his family many times. We have no definitive plans for tomorrow. We are going to play it by ear. Or as Jamie says "play it by year".

Charleston KOA

Well, we have spent 2 nights in the RV and we are pretty comfortable. I have been on a couple of excellent bike rides. We are developing a routine. It's important to find a place for all of our dodads. We have trays and baskets and hooks for that purpose. We will be at Lindsay's all day today. Lindsay has something going on and later the couple has a dinner date to celebrate Jamie's 30th.

Hiking trail at campground in Charleston

Watch "Connor runs the trail" on YouTube

A mute reminder: be careful where you choose to swim.

Really good pizza

Watch "Williams, Wight, pizza feast." on YouTube

First overnight in our RV

We have been playing with the RV in our driveway. It was finally time to take the plunge. We headed for Charleston for a couple of days in a KOA. The drive went Ok. The car brake system isn't working because it thinks the car battery has low voltage. That's hard to believe because the car is new. We hooked up the RV to cable and it didn't work. I ended up going to the office and asked them about it. Turns out there is a button you have to push that is hidden in a cabinet that shifts the signal from over the air to cable. Seems like I would have been briefed on that little item when we were given the walk through. I still have a lot to learn. In spite of that we did pretty well for our first day.

Garden in

I spent the entire day getting the vegetable garden planted. I added some new dirt and then I turned the soil with a shovel. That was hard. I don't remember it being so hard last year. March 15th is pretty early but I did it about this time last year. I planted 16 tomatoes, 27 leaf lettuce plants and a few other do-dads. I got a bunch of asparagus sprigs and strawberry plants in via UPS today. I've got no idea what I'm going to do with them. I must not have been thinking clearly when I placed the order.

Aubrey models her new dress

Headed home

11 1/2 hours. We are stopping in Meridian MS. Yesterday I visited with Alan and Donna. Should be home tomorrow. We are currently waiting for a domino's pizza.

Bad news

Today when the guys returned from our hike the girls were glum faced as we walked up. One of the horses (Reggie) has gone lame. They noticed a pronounced limp and she is not putting much weight on that leg. We are all disappointed and Pat is heartbroken but I'm afraid we will need to call off the remainder of the trip. Courtney, I'm terribly sorry but Pat needs to have Reggie seen by a vet. We will be driving to SA tomorrow. This really sux but this is one of this unfortunate spit balls that life, occasionaly flicks in our direction. I will see you and the girls tomorrow. Again we are sorry, sorry, sorry.

Tucker tries out for Lay-z-boy commercial

Quick post

I'm returning to camp after a 7 hour loop hike into the high country with Steve and Francis. The girls have now ridden all of the trails available to them on this side of the park. The horses have become acclamated to the trails and Pat says they are enjoying the rides, How she knows that is a mystery to me. Anyway she has some good rides picked out for Courtney on Fri and Saturday. We're iooking forward to your arrival Courtney. I'll try and call tomorrow.

Tucker eats Francis' birthday cake

To Paula's utter and complete consternation the birthday cake surprise she had planned for Francis was ruined by the dog named Tucker. With no regard for our human desire to eat carrot cake the dog "Tucker" found the damn thing where it was expertly hidden in the bathroom of the horse trailer. Damn dog. He was the only happy, completely satisfied camper. The humans camped here were forced to eat M&Ms.

Trip to Carlsbad NM

I can't remember if I mentioned this before but the horse trailer had a flat tire when it arrived at the park. Steve and I took the tire into Carlsbad to see what was up with it. It was a bad valve stem. The girls left on their trail ride about the same time we did. They're doing the El Capitan trail today. It's a little more technical than the one they did yesterday. I gather from their discussions that the horses weren't to happy with yesterday's ride. I'm curious to see how today's ride went. Francis is on his way. He should be here in a couple of hours. I washed my railrider pants this morning. I have worn them everyday and they were getting pretty ripe. On the drive into Carlsbad I had no data connectivity. I couldn't do any searches. Jamie, could that be possible in a civilized town that has a Walmart super center?

The girls go trail riding

Camp pictures

Survived the night

The Wisconsin crowd arrived at 4ish yesterday. We fried up some chips, drank some alcohol and did some planning. Last night around midnight it started to blow like crazy. We had to batten down the hatches a little bit but we don't think anything was carried off. Pat made us all a superb breakfast and they are now in the ranger station talking about horses. The ranger station has wifi so I am able to blog. Temp is ok but it's still windy.

Waiting for my sisters

I moved my camp from pine springs to frijole ranch this morning in anticipation of the horses arriving. Camp is made. I've been in intermittent touch with them as they make their way out here. I think they shound be here in a couple of hours. The fun should begin In earnest then.

View from Hunters peak

Day hike

Today I hiked up the tejas trail to pine top. I wanted to be able to give pat an assessment of the trail and to be able to find the ranger cabin that has a rain water tank. I did both. It was a great hike. Tomorrow pat and Paula arrive. It should be fun.

Day 4 Guadalupe mountains

I have no idea if this will post. I have no bars. My hike to Shumard canyon was a killer. Winds were forecast at 70 gust 90. There were a few times I had to just stop and brace myself. I'm not exaggerating about the wind. It was Biblical. I was a wreck when I got to the campsite. I needed water so after all that I had an 1 1/2 hour round trip to the spring. Day 2 I bushwacked for 3 hours to find another spring that eluded me on 2 previous trips. I feel certain that no one  has been there in many years. There is absolutely no reason to go there. Didn't stop me. Temps have been maybe 40 at night and 60 or so during the day. I'm now back at Pine Springs which is the main campground in the park. I'm waiting for my sisters to arrive with the horses on the 3rd.