Solar for the Fun Finder #1

Posted on by August 18, 2018
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LEDOur 2010 F-210X Fun Finder travel trailer is a great little camper as long as it is hooked to a power grid.  Mary & I can make our on-board fresh and waste water tankage last for about a week but the single 12V battery that came with the rig gave up the ghost in a day or less when we used normal DC powered items on battery power.  We replaced the OEM lights inside and outside with LEDs and reduced our battery usage for lighting by a factor of more than 10.  Click the photo for a link for the ones we bought on Amazon.com – these replaced all the little peanut bulbs in the ceiling lights, night lights and the pass through light.  We also found the bulbs for the refrigerator, range hood and outdoor light on Amazon as well.  About 20 lights in all and we can now turn them all on and use the same battery draw as 1 or 2 of the old ones. Continue reading →

Museum of Appalachia July 2014

Posted on by August 6, 2014
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI had heard of the Museum of Appalachia back in 2012 at the Smokey Mountain Banjo Academy.  A fellow attendee said she lived nearby and that they had a wonderful collection of Banjos that I might enjoy seeing if I was ever in the area.  Then earlier this summer, I ran across a “Groupon” offering 2 for 1 admission and last Wednesday, we decided to take a day trip up to that area. Continue reading →

Warrior’s Path July 2014

Posted on by August 3, 2014
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe decided to take a short camping trip to Warrior’s Path State Park for a little R&R and to try our Expedition on the road with trailer in tow.  We hitched up on Wednesday, July 23 and headed up I81 to Kingsport, Tennessee.

Dialing in the equalizing hitch took two tries and we decided that leaving 3 links dangling was the correct adjustment for our combination of Expedition and Trailer.  The trip was comfortable and uneventful except for about 20 miles of really heavy rain from the I40/I81 junction to the Greenville exit. The rig was fine but driving among the trucks in a rainstorm is never much fun. Continue reading →

Pigeon Forge Area 5/16-22/2014

Posted on by August 15, 2014
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Sugarlands Visitor Center

Sugarlands Visitor Center

Mid May and friends Sheila & Mike from Maryland finally got down our way for a visit.  Sheila had booked us a time share for a week in Pigeon Forge so with me as chauffeur, Mike riding shotgun and Sheila and Mary directing us from the aft command post, we headed off for our first full week of vacation together since 1988!

Our route took us through Townsend, Tennessee where we passed a pleasant hour looking through the exhibits in the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center before checking in at the Sunrise Ridge Resort in Pigeon Forge.

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Saturday 12/14/2013 – Settling in.

Posted on by August 3, 2014
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Mary with her grilled shrimp.

Mary with her grilled shrimp.

I find it to be amazing that just spending a couple of days on the road can be so tiring but I suppose that is just a part of aging.  We woke to cloudy skies and warm temps this morning.  Mary busied herself getting the interior of our land yacht shipshape while I did the same with the exterior.

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Gulf Shores – The end of the road.

Posted on by December 15, 2013
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Mary at Gulf Shores

Mary at Gulf Shores

We arrived in Gulf shores on Friday the 13th at about 1:45pm 499 miles and 11 road hours from home.

Our trip began yesterday 12/12 at 10am as we left Loudon at a leisurely 45-50mph pace down US411 into Georgia and then to our first destination: The Woods RV Park in Montgomery, Alabama.  We arrived at  4:45pm Central time after 306 uneventful but enjoyable miles.

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Just a quiet Sunday at home

Posted on by March 16, 2023
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With all the travel, visitors and goings on of the past several months you might begin to think that Mary and I never have much time to stop and smell the roses.  You might be right but not today!  An afternoon of commercial filled Hallmark movies about Christmas and good things in life has made me a bit reflective so here goes.

It seems that we get so caught up in the living of our lives that we forget to take the time to reflect on the many blessings in our lives so on this warm rainy Sunday in East Tennessee, I’m going to reflect a bit.

We have so many good things in our lives that it seems impossible to list them all but I would start with Mary as my number one blessing.  She came into my life more than a quarter of a century ago and brought happiness.  She still brightens every day as much as the first.

Our children and grandchildren are our immortality and our joy – all of them make us proud and secure in our little corner of the world.  The children have all become loving parents in their own right and their children are all blessed as well.

We have close friends and family and some not so close as well; we wish we were better at staying in contact but secretly know that we probably will not do much better in the future.

We have great days and not so great ones but we love each other and that is what matters.

We have been thinking on selling our home because we want to buy a new and a bigger home, many people recommend us to contact ARG they provide legal services to clients buying/selling/leasing real estate, from residential to commercial and investment properties.

Pass the Kleenex.

Bittersweet Days

Posted on by November 3, 2013
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IMG_2924Friday and yesterday were bittersweet Fall days for Mary and I.  We moved Silver Lining from her home slip at the Tellico Village Yacht Club to our storage space here in the village.  We do this every year but this time may be the last as we plan to send her on to a new owner next Spring.

The trip from slip to launch ramp was uneventful but nostalgic as we enjoyed the 10 knot SW breeze and the slap of the waves on her hull.

At home, we scrubbed her from top to bottom and stowed all her gear for her next voyagers then we thought of many personal voyages both made and unmade. Continue reading →

A little Fall color at Norris Lake

Posted on by October 30, 2013
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Beautiful day on the lake.

Beautiful day on the lake.

Last spring I purchased a groupon for a pontoon boat for a day at Norris Lake North of Knoxville.  We had tried to setup a visit to the lake a few times over the summer but last-minute items always managed to put a dent in our plans.

Finally yesterday, we were able to get together with our neighbors Faye and Karl and made the 50 mile trek to Norris and Beach Island Marina.  After a simple check-in, we boarded our boat and headed out for a picnic lunch and 4 hours on the lake.  It was a spectacular fall day – 68 degrees and very light breezes.  Just a few clouds to highlight the subdued fall colors.

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