Hi Guys,

No one has heard much from us lately because I have been unable to get on the internet.  I normally do that by tethering my cell phone to my computer and use it as a modem.  The phone has been a major problem.  I have had three phones after the original.  All in all, I have now spent 25 hours on line talking to Verizon techs and have made 8 trips to Verizon Stores.  But it is now working.  The tech at a Verizon Store in Portland got it up and running.  Will be interesting to see if it stays fixed.

 

Today we are in Portland, OR, and are having a great time.  We truly have started toward Pennsylvania.  We have to be home sooner than we would like because our Grandson, Gary III, is getting married.  But of course that is an event which we would not want to miss and are looking forward to it with much anticipation.

Here is Log Summary 139.  It is late because of my telephone/internet problem. In fact Number 140 is about ready to go out.

I had previously said that Summary 138 would be the last for anyone who did not respond and indicate that they really want to continue receiving the Log Summaries.  That too has been impacted by my telephone/internet problem, and those of you who did not respond are now receiving a Summary you did not want.

CHEERS!,

Gary

 

SNYDER LOG

Summary 139, May 16-31, 2009

File:/log/Summary 139, May 16-31, 2009

Days 1983-1998

At the end of the last summary we were in San Antonio, Texas, at the Army Travel Camp on Fort Sam Houston.  There were about thirty RV’s in our group belonging to Naval Academy graduates.

One of the events which had been arranged was a trip to the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg.  It was, of course, heavily oriented toward ADM Nimitz who grew up in the area, and to things naval in nature.  We learned of a re-enactment of a typical battle on a Pacific island, to be held on Memorial Day Weekend.  We decided it would be sufficiently interesting to warrant a return trip in a week.

We went to church on the base.  We really did not know what we were doing and entered the sanctuary through a door in the front.  We were greeted by the faces of hundreds of servicemen looking at these two old geezers who don’t know what they are doing.  To top it off, we had an incorrect starting time which focused on our inappropriate entry.

We had a guided tour of the Institute of Texas Cultures.  What a neat place.  So many cultures were involved in making Texas the state it is today.

One evening we had a dinner tour on the San Antonio River.  There were 12-13 people per boat plus a crew of two: a young lady who kept the food and drink (iced tea) flowing, and the coxswain or boat driver.  He was very important, not so much for his ship handling skills, but for his narration throughout the cruise.  He was quite good at it.  They are licensed and their presentation is highly scripted.  At one point he turned the sound system off when he described things not on the approved list.  He did this to minimize the likelihood of being overheard by someone on the controlling commission who just might be eating dinner at one of the many restaurants we passed and who, therefore, might hear him talking about non-approved subjects.

We went to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.  They were nice but not spectacular.  We have seen many which are more extensive and elaborate.  The most striking feature was the large, cone shaped glass buildings which housed many of the exhibits..

After leaving San Antonio we to Thousand Trails Medina Lake, on the western edge of San Antonio.  Enroute we stopped at the Class A RV Repair facility nearby where we had our trailer repaired.  As reported in the last summary, a tire disintegrated and there was considerable cosmetic damage to the trailer.  We had not made up our mind as to whether we would have the trailer repaired there or wait until we got home. After talking to the owner, however, we decided to have the repairs here.  This caused a five day delay in our travel plans, plus another three days because nothing was done over the Memorial Day weekend. 

We slept in the trailer each night, either in the thousand Trails Facility or in the repair facility.  The repair facility provided electrical power so our air conditioner would function.

One of Gary’s cousins came from Del Rio to visit for the day.  That was a three hundred mile round trip.  Quite a hike we thought, but driving long distances seems to be the norm for Texans.

One of Gary’s cousins came from Del Rio to visit for the day.  That was a three hundred mile round trip.  Quite a hike we thought, but driving long distances seems to be the norm for Texans.

Bandera is a nearby town of 900 people known as The Cowboy Capital of Texas.  Om Memorial Day they had a big parade which we attended.  We sat on our lawn chairs under a large tree for two hours.  Pretty comfortable viewing.

The parade was very horsey, not unexpected for this part of the country.  It was pleasant and some items were rather unusual.  For example there were four zebras pulling one float.   The animals were mule size and probably were cross-breeds.  There also were a camel, a long-horn steer under saddle, and many different wagons with teams of horses

After dinner we headed to the rodeo.  We able to get into handicapped parking which made it nice.  This was a professional rodeo attended by big name riders.  There was a special event for young riders six years and under.  They rode sheep, not horses.  Some of them hung on for dear life and rode all over the arena.  Most, however, fell off their sheep in a few seconds.

Enroute to Fredericksburg to the reenactment of a battle on a Pacific Island during WWII, we stopped for fuel and met a rancher from Unionville, PA.  He had bought a small ranch in the area.  He said the ranches do not make money in the true sense.  He says his taxes are fifty cents per acre except for the acre whereon his house sits.  Pretty high there, he said.  We think the Texas Hill Country is nice but we would not trade it for Chester County, PA.

We arrived at the Combat Zone at 10:15, just in time for the demonstration and re-enactment.  Everyone had to wear ear plugs. Lots of rifles and machine guns were demonstrated.  Some fire at a very high rate and all were noisy and smoky.  When the battle was over we were covered with a layer of black specks. 

We went into town and ate dinner at a German restaurant, Der Lindenbaum.   Nice meal. Their hot German potato salad was great, as was the sauerkraut.

We were able to get handicapped parking permits without any trouble, but unable to get concealed weapons carry permits.  It seemed to be an easy thing to accomplish except that classes are filled for quite some time.  But at least we know how to do it now.  When we visit Texas again we will arrange for a class well in advance of our arrival.  Our permits from Pennsylvania have expired..

We visited The LBJ Ranch and the Wild Seed Farm nearby.  The Wild seed Farm is said to be the largest, or one of the largest, wild seed farms in the country.

The LBJ Ranch, now both a State Park and a Federal Park, was a few miles down the road from the Wild seed Farm.  We took a bus tour.  Only four on the bus.  The driver/guide was a rather young Park Service Ranger.  He kept a running commentary about the ranch ad about LBJ..

The house had grown under LBJ to eight thousand square feet.  It certainly was not a mansion.  Looked like a somewhat long ranch house.  There was a huge swimming pool (empty) in front of the house.  There also were four old gray trailers which had been used by the Secret Service, mostly for housing communications equipment.  The front of the house faced the river.  The river looked nice, very large and serene.  The actual river is pretty small but LBJ had dammed it to increase the esthetic value of his home.  The guide said this caused residents down stream to become angry.  The driver told a number of not very complimentary stories about LBJ.  LBJ certainly was not a very nice person on many occasions.

One night there was a big storm, including a smattering of hail.  At the center of the storm some miles way there were baseball sized hail stones.  It was said that at high elevations the ice was 3.5 inches in diameter, but at ground level they had reduced to baseball size.  The damage was spectacular.  The hailstones did not just break windshields; they created large holes.

We went to Scottsdale to visit one of Gary’s cousins. We parked on an Indian reservation which had a very nice campground along with a casino and resort centered about a large hotel.  It was ear Fountain Hills which featured a fountain display each hour.  In that one jet went straight up into the air for a hundred feet, the display was spectacular. 

End of Segment 139

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At the end of the last Summary we were staying in the Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola, FL.  We had expected to be gone from Pensacola by now, but as noted in the last summary, a good friend, a Naval Academy Classmate of Gary’s, fell from a ladder while trimming a tree and was killed.  We decided to delay continuing on and were delaying our trip until after the funeral.  Rose Marie arranged to sponsor us at Oak Grove Family Campground on Naval Air Station Pensacola, so we moved there because the facilities were so much better. 

 

We had toured Fort Barrancas on NAS Pensacola some years ago but there was a redoubt that we had not visited, so we did that during one of our days of waiting.  It was called the Advanced Redoubt.  I believe this was in reference to it being a superior design to a previous one.  We found there had been a tour in the morning.  That would have been interesting.  Even though we missed it, learning about the construction from observation and reading the informative displays was a neat experience.  There was a lot of thought and design about building the structure.  It took a long time and was obsolete when it was finished.  It was started with slave labor and finished by white folk fifteen years later.

 

We sort of fell in love with fried oysters while in the Pensacola area.  Margo has a severe egg allergy and we normally find the oysters are dipped in egg before the breading is applied to it will stick.  But we found a place which uses buttermilk rather than egg.  So we ate oysters often.

 

Stopped at the Mississippi Welcome Center.  Love bugs everywhere!  Never have seen anything like it!  They fly as a loving couple and make a big splash on the front of your car and trailer.

 

We stopped at Rainbow’s End Park in Livingston, Texas.  Livingston is our official address.  We vote there; our mail goes there; our vehicles are registered there; our driver’s licenses are from there; etc.  When we quit traveling we will change our address to Lancaster, PA, where we have an apartment in Willow Valley Retirement Communities. a Life Care Facility.

 

We got our vehicles inspected.  Tried to get new concealed weapon carry permits but did not have enough time to complete all the requirements.

 

From Livingston we continued west to the Thousand Trails Lake Medina Preserve in Lake Hills, TX, a suburb of San Antonio, about 40 miles west of San Antonio.  The RV Chapter of the Naval Academy Alumni Association is having a weeklong meeting on Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio.  On the way we had a bit of excitement.  We had stopped for lunch at a rest area on the interstate when we found that the street side of the trailer was badly damaged.  After more examination we found that the tread had separated on a trailer tire. The strip of rubber flying around had caused significant damage to the trailer.  No structural damage, thank goodness, but extensive cosmetic damage.

 

Our experience is that we can change tires (install the spare) in less time than it takes AAA to arrive and do the job.  Not true in this case.  We wanted to back one trailer tire up on a stack of numerous short pieces of wooden plank which we carry.  Some pieces are new.  They are slippery and the blocks would move.  We had called AAA and The Rockin Wrecker came rather quickly.  They installed the spare tire easily. Better for Gary’s back.  Although Margo is quite strong, she does not like 70 pound tires.

 

While at Medina Lake we had an electrical problem.  Just as friends were leaving the first night everything got dark and very quiet.  Did not lose 120 VAC power but everything which operates on 120 VAC requires 12 VDC for the control system so nothing worked.  So we backed the truck close to the trailer and connected the power cord.  This powered the 12 VDC buss from the truck and then everything was fine. 

 

Started the next day calling around to locate a new trailer tire and trouble shooting the electrical problem.  It was reasonably easy to find the tire we wanted after getting telephone numbers of various tire dealers after going to the Activity Center and getting a number of telephone numbers.  Called Discount Tires.  They did not have the correct tire in the store but got one from one of their other stores in a few hours.  It cost almost $430.  Seems a bit much.

 

After mounting it and putting it in the back of the truck, the mechanic said he had inflated it to 90 pounds.  I reminded him that I wanted 110 pounds.  He said they will not do that-too dangerous!  What a strange thing to say, I thought.  Here is a place which routinely sells truck tires and they will inflate to only 90 pounds pressure.  Good thing I could properly inflate the tire myself with my own compressor..

 

It is interesting that the failed tire did no blow out.  Our SmarTTire monitoring system reported a 5-6 pound drop is all.  It is nice that I did not pull off the road to check things.  If I had done so, with the condition of the tire I would not have been willing to continue on at all.  As it was we were in a road side rest area when the problem was discovered.  Ignorance is bliss?

 

The cause of loss of power to the 12 VDC buss was troublesome.  It took 4 or 5 hours looking for a fuse or breaker which I knew had to exist.  Finally found it built into a terminal board.  It is tiny.  I had noticed the reset button early on but thought it was a piece of dirt.

 

There are HUGE number of deer on this preserve.  I have seen a herd which I estimate at fifty or so.  They are quite tame.  They like to be fed corn, which lots of people do.  Some of the deer will eat out of your hand.

 

We moved to Fort Sam Houston on May 14.  Many of the Naval Academy group had not arrived as we were there quite early.  We got involved with a funeral procession just prior to entering Fort Sam.  It ended up that we were in line following the procession down the road and into the fort.

 

At these gatherings of the RV Chapter, we always have happy hour at 4 or 5 o’clock, followed by dinner somewhere.  We do that well.  Drink and eat, I mean.  The first night, The Firstie, the person who organized the affair, put out a grand feast there in the Family Travel Park where we all were staying.  Bill Bradford and his wife, Dee, did a really great job organizing things for the week.

 

The Family Travel Park is a fair size and was pretty full because of the large number of rigs from the RV Chapter.  There were nice, large concrete pads that had been properly made and were not cracked.  The interior roads were paved, of course.

 

In the afternoon we had a tour of the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum.  It was quite fascinating.  The descriptions of early medical procedures, such as the bleeding of patients and how the practice got started in the first place, were interesting to contemplate.  The old medical tools and horse drawn ambulances also got your attention.  We are glad to live in the present age.

 

The next evening we gathered for our trip downtown to the Arneson River Theater for the performance of the Fiesta Noche Del Rio.  The performance was high class Dancing and Singing, presenting Argentinean and Mexican music. 

 

The stage was on the opposite side of the San Antonio River from the seats, a rather unusual configuration.  The seats were different.  They were terraced into the slope of the river bank.  The seating surface was grass.  The terraces were held by stone risers.  Most sections were identified as reserved for different groups and we were directly opposite the stage, in the front.  Again, good work by Bill Bradford and Dee.  There were no seat backs which made it difficult for some.  Several of our group (all old) were sore the next day.

 

There was lots of traffic on the river from cruise boats.  Margo and I had been on the river cruise before.  Some of the boats had diners aboard.  In fact we are taking a dinner cruise next week and so got to see what the dining facilities look like.  No restrooms aboard the boats.  Not good!  Gary’s storage tank is getting small these days..

  

End of Summary 138

 

 

Summary 137, April 16-30, 2009

File:/log/Summary 137, April 16-30, 2009

Days 11953-1967

 

The last summary of our daily log was in June 2008, just before starting to live in our apartment in The Willow Valley Retirement Communities, Lancaster, PA.  Gary needed back surgery and it was appropriate to get off the road and take care of the matter.   He had surgery twice.  The surgeon gave two options and warned him that the less invasive one had a good chance of failure.  Gary decided to  try it.  It indeed failed.  The pain returned in two weeks.

 

The second surgery was very invasive and recovery is still ongoing.  The back is just fine.  The pain has receded to almost nothing but Gary’s legs are still very weak.  He exercises his legs intensely but recovery is very slow.  He does not move around very well.  His equilibrium is also poor, thanks to a stroke some years ago  The equilibrium problem is acerbated by the weakness in his legs. 

 

Even though Gary’s mobility is impaired we decided to get on the road again and started a four month trip west on Monday, April 20.  Our plan is to go south to Florida; go west to the pacific coast, north as far as Washington; and then return to Pennsylvania following the trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Oregon to Chicago.  Along the way we plan to visit all of Gary’s known relatives and many friends as well.  We have not yet told our relatives!  This may turn out to be too ambitious. There will be lots of side trips and stops.

 

Getting underway was not a smooth operation.  It was quite a chore, particularly for Margo, because we had planned our very first dinner party in our apartment with some of Margo’s high school buddies the day before leaving on our trip. Everything went well but we did postpone leaving by one day.

 

Our plan was to spend a week in Pensacola, FL, visiting a Naval Academy Classmate of Gary’s.  Just before leaving, however, his wife, Rose Marie Kaiser, called to say that Steve was trimming a tree, fell, hit his head on the concrete and suffered severe brain damage.  He has not regained consciousness and is not expected to live.  What a shock!  Very depressing, too.  It points out that life can be quite fragile.

 

Monday, April 20, was a cold, wet day and we got a late start from Lancaster at 2:00 pm.  Our last minute loading of the RV was poor. It turned out that we did not load many things which we wanted.  Big, important things like the bathroom scale, vacuum sweeper, blender, food processor, all were left behind.  Bummer.

 

The apple orchard in Willow Street was unusually beautiful as we passed.  The acres of pink blossoms in the rain and fog were really quite lovely.  The wind and rain were heavy at times.

 

We got to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Resort at 4:00 pm and decided to spend the night because it was late in the afternoon and the weather was so dismal.  We partied a bit.  Had cocktails, cheese, crackers and pear chips.  Initially we were skeptical of the pear chips.  We found them in the RV and they were two years over the hill.  They were quite good, however.  A bit chewy, not crisp like a potato chip.

 

We went over the mountains on Route 77.  We had done that once before on a tour of Civil War Battlefields.  The road was posted as restricted.  Nothing over a length of forty feet.  No problem, however, even though we are just shy of fifty-four feet long going down the road.

 

Going down I-81 we found that it was closed.  We activated our CB Radio and found there had been an accident.  After spending hours at a crawl, all the traffic was shuttled off I-81at Exit 296 onto Route 11, which is a small two lane road.  Hard to think that it was the main north-south highway some years ago.  All of the interstate traffic caused a nearly unimaginable bumper to bumper situation.  At one point I noticed it had taken us four hours to travel one-hundred and two miles.

 

When entering the Endless Cave RV resort in New Market, VA, Gary noticed that the right side of the trailer was lower than the left.  When he looked into the matter in the morning he found that a spring shackle had broken from the frame of the trailer.  Luckily a truck repair facility was about fifteen miles down the road.  We called them and they said to come on in.

 

While having the trailer repaired we looked at a newspaper which had at least part of the story about the accident on I-81.  One lame brained dangerous trucker caused all the damage and deaths.  He was following the truck ahead too close as truckers often do.  The truck in front slowed because of fog and the second truck rear-ended him.  After both trucks came to a stop, a third truck ran into them, and then a car as well.  The final truck, the third truck, was carrying an industrial cleaner.  It caught fire upon impact.  The upshot of all this led to closing all lanes of I-81, closing of all area schools, and evacuation of at least one family from a home near the accident.  The schools were closed because the traffic in the area on Route 11 prevented normal use of the school busses.

 

We stopped for the night in a Walmart Parking lot in Salem, VA. Called a Naval Academy Classmate in Johnson City, TN, and made plans to visit.  We do not stay in Walmart lots very often but sometimes it is convenient.

 

We left the Walmart at 8:15 am and continued south.  The Red Buds are beautiful along the interstate in this part of Virginia.  Huge numbers of trees with lots and lots of buds.  The soil chemistry and climate conditions obviously are just what is needed.  In our travel we have never seen the equal.

 

We arrived at the Warrior Path State Park, Kingsport, TN, on April 23.  Bill and Dot Ballew came for us.  We spent two days with them.

 

We left the Warrior Path State Park and continued south.  It was a warm, eighty degree day.  Made lots of stops along the way because Gary’s holding tank seems extra small these days.

 

We got into Alabama at 3:30 pm central time.  We had trouble finding Oak Mountain State Park.  Had to call twice.  At one point the road crosses a spillway from the lake and the water was probably ten inches deep.  It was a little creepy having water on all sides of the truck and no visible means of support.  The sides of the spillway were at a rather sharp angle with the bottom, too, and Gary was afraid of scraping the rear of the trailer.

 

There was a bad accident on I-59 south of Clanton.  We were pretty close to the accident when traffic stopped.  A small car and a pickup were in the median strip..The car was heavily damaged.  The truck looked in good shape.  There was an evacuation by helicopter.  It was interesting to watch the evolution, particularly when we were so close.

 

When close to Pensacola we called a couple with whom we had traveled to Alaska.  Met them in a Walmart parking lot.  They were still in town but were leaving for Vermont in two days, where they will spend the summer.  They are full time travelers just as we were for five years.  Went shopping and planned to meet them tomorrow at the Big Lagoon State Park, which is where we expect to hang out for a number of days. .

 

Arrived at The Big Lagoon State Park, FL, mid-afternoon.  The Ranger said there were three sites open which officially were big enough for our RV, and we circled around the campground looking them over.  We parked on a nice level and clear site, close to the entrance to the park.

 

After getting hooked up to water and electric we decided to go to Trigger’s for dinner.  That restaurant is one which we visited often with our friends, the Kaiser’s.  Found that Trigger’s was closed.  So we looked in our GPS for nearby food and started out toward Perdido Bay to The Clam Shack where we too have been with the Kaiser’s.  Before getting there we came across the Shrimp Basket where we also have been.  Decided to stop there.  A GPS System is wonderful!!

 

We had an awesome pile of food.  Gary had great fried fish strips.  Lots of them!  Lots of French fries and shrimp slaw.  Shrimp slaw is coleslaw with shrimp mixed in.  Sure is tasty.  Everyone ought to try it.  Even the tartar sauce was unusually good. 

 

Called Rose Marie.  She invited us to go to the hospital in the morning when Steve is supposed to be taken off life support.  WOW!  An invitation to watch your friend die is not your normal invitation.  Initially we said we did not want to attend.  Later, in the early morning after talking to Rose Marie, we both decided to go to the hospital.  Decided it could be considered rude and uncaring to not go.  It was heart wrenching.

 

Rose Marie got permission for Gary to see Steve.  Were it not for the breathing tube, he would look like a normal man, lying on his back, sleeping.  Rose Marie has seemingly total control of her emotions.  We stood on opposite sides of Steve’s bed.  She talks to him and caresses his arm in a very normal manner.  Together we talk about day to day matters.

 

Dick and Larry, two of Steve’s sons arrived at the hospital.  We talked to Larry for a while.  He is the son who married Rose Marie’s daughter, Valerie, and is the son we know better than any of the children.  Things progressed to the point of waiting for Steve’s other son and daughter to arrive at the hospital.  The move was to be made then.  We decided to leave matters to only the family members and we left the hospital and returned to our RV.

 

I had expected a bit more formality.  With the hospital seemingly aware that the move and removal of life support planned, and all of Steve’s children not there at the appointed time, things were a bit casual, we thought.  It has been two weeks since Steve fell and the initial trauma and anguish has been replaced with normalcy and acceptance of the situation.  Rose Marie said that it took some time for three of Steve’s children to accept the reality of removing Steve from life support.

 

Late in the afternoon Rose Marie called us.  The move was made and life support removed.  She said Steve’s breathing, now on his own, was labored.

 

Rose Marie Called.  Steve died quickly after being removed from life support.  Burial cannot be until Monday, May 4, because they can bury only seven people per day and there always seems to be a back log at Barrancas National Cemetery.

 

Late in the afternoon we drove to the beach and looked around at the many pavilions and picnic areas in Big Lagoon State Park.  Quite a place.  It is huge.  Gary climbed an observation tower.  No problem but it was a slow process.  Many things have been rebuilt after the damage caused by hurricane Ivan some years ago in 2004.  Rose Marie fixed things so that we can stay at the Oak Grove Campground on Naval Air Station Pensacola starting in two days.  She will be our sponsor. 

 

We changed our travel plans so as to stay for the funeral.

 

Gary continues to have trouble with his new phone.  Margo thinks he should get rid of it.  But when it works, it is outstanding. Gary downloaded an operations manual from Samsung.  It is more than 200 pages!  That is pretty intimidating.  Of course Verizon gives out a teeny tiny manual.  So far Gary has talked to Verizon Techs for almost eighteen hours on-line or in the Verizon Store in Lancaster.  Even he is beginning to show impatience with the way things are.

 

End of summary 137

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