There is nothing on our calendar today; amazing!  We might have to go back to work to find something to keep us busy!

Our daily walk took us down by the river, and it was amazing to see the line-up.  There were 10 fishers in a line about 30 yards long—almost within arm’s reach of one another.  Regretfully, we did not have a camera, and when we returned they had almost all disappeared.

We’ve met lots of the campground “neighbors”, and most are seniors from within a few hours who visit and stay here often.  After one has camped around the area a few times, a lot of the same faces begin to show up; it’s a small world.

After a leisurely morning, we drove back to the house for lunch and some “serious” computer work requiring WiFi.  I balanced the checkbook, got the blog up to date, sent a few emails, and surfed the net.  Since we were in no hurry, we spent the entire afternoon there.  It was kind of like a short visit, and quite pleasant.

From some reason,our high definition (HD) televisions were cutting of the picture on each side, and it had become frustrating.  Finally, after calling DISHTV, the fix was simply pushing the “*” button on the DISHTV remote control, which is also the “Format” button.  I had pushed it previously, without any results, but one must push it several times to reach the HD format.  By putting this in the blog, hopefully, we’ll remember next time.  Anyway, we watched television recorded from Friday night, wrapping up the evening.

We arose early to the sound of rain thumping on the motorhome roof, and thunder and lightning too close for comfort.  It rained on and off for a couple of hours, and we were not able to discern a leak in the newly installed front windshield, though there is evidence that one has occurred in the past few weeks.

Despite “camping”, our clothes still need laundering.  After breakfast, we drove the short distance home, and washed, dried, and folded 3 loads of clothes.  In addition, while at the house and with WiFi, I caught up on our household bookkeeping and balanced the checkbook, making sure all our bills were paid.  Sometimes, we get so busy “on the road” that one will slip through if we don’t constantly check.  Fortunately, most have automatic payments drafted from our account, but we still have one or two laggards.

By the time we returned, everything had dried out allowing the motorhome windows to be cleaned.  It’s amazing how much road grime, dust, and gunk can build up on the front windshield and side windows. Our view out sure seems better than before.

Several RVers left the park today, but others have come in, many for the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council Conclave.  It is a good time to avoid the rivers with some 1,000 fly fishers visiting the area.

We visited with our neighbors who are from Mountain View.  My sister met them at Devil’s Fork Campground on Greers Ferry Lake a few days ago and told me they were coming to Quarry Park.  You should have seen the look on their face when I asked them if they had been at Devil’s Fork, and if they rode bicycles!  After talking a bit, they were both retired from the US Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg.  Though we did not know each other, we did know a lot of the same people.

After a rushed dinner, Kay and I drove to the Geery’s to play cards with our old TLBC friends.  I came in next to last giving us a good reason to make a hasty retreat back to the campground!

and caught osoAfter all the busyness of the last few weeks, we have finally relaxed

What a beautiful day; a bit overcast, but cool and otherwise just a perfect day the Lord has given us to enjoy.

We walked around the campground a couple of times, about 3 miles, Wayne dropped by to visit, and we had breakfast.

Our schedule for October is shaping up to be quite busy, with one 50th anniversary celebration, 4 birthdays, 3 quartet concerts, 4 Sunday School lessons to prepare for and teach (Kay), and one RV rally.  Plus, the Honda CR-V has been idle awaiting for a much needed oil and filter change and other scheduled maintenance which we had on the calendar for October 6.  We both had wanted to go shopping in Springfield, MO, so on the spur of the moment, decided to drive there today, get our Honda service done, and shop. We drove by the house, took showers, and drove to Springfield.

After arriving in the city, I dropped Kay off at Battlefield Mall, and took the car to Wessel Honda.  It was a really good experience.  They have an Express Service area, and I just drove in, told them we wanted an oil and filter change, air filters changed, and transmission fluid changed. They took my name and address and 30 minutes later the car was ready, and not terribly expensive either!  They definitely have the key to success as far as we’re concerned and we’ll continue to do business with them under these circumstances.

It is customary for us to have lunch at Olive Garden when in Springfield, and we have the same thing each time:  calamari, salad, soup, and breadsticks.  After a late lunch, we were off to Sam’s Club; Sam’s Club in Springfield is clean and neat, and the staff is friendly. After almost $500 worth of groceries and merchandise, we made the 2 1/2 hour drive home, unloaded the car, and returned to the motorhome for the night.  It had been a good day, and best of all, we can drive the Honda again!

The air conditioning finally cooled the inside of motorhome last night, and we slept great. Tuesday’s high temperature was 94 degrees.

It was nice and cool this morning, allowing us to walk and be comfortable.  Twice around the park is about 3 miles, and quite enjoyable as we visit with other campers and walkers, see lots of birds, and this morning we saw a fox run alo0ng the woods beside us.  Wayne came by and visited, and it was great “catching up” even though we’re only a couple of miles from home. Kay called Verizon and activated a “personal hotspot” using her Apple IPhone 4.  This costs $20 per month for 2 GB.  Up to 5 devices (computers, IPads, IPhones, Kindle Fires, etc.) can hook-up simultaneously, but one can very quickly consume 2 GB, particularly streaming video, and uploading and downloading photos.  Consequently, I don’t establish a connection with “Kay’s IPhone”.  When we’re on the road, we sparingly use her hotspot, and I generally “save” all my internet work until we get to our nightly destination RV park with WIFI, or go into McDonalds or Starbucks. We also set all of our computer updates to manual to avoid a huge sink of data transfer beyond our control—lesson learned by Kay—as the cost of using over your 2 GB is VERY expensive! Fortunately, she has not gone over the allocation, yet.

We rode our bikes today as well, again enjoying seeing and visiting with other campers.

Wayne and Loretta stopped by for a visit and Loretta brought a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers she had picked along the river near their campsite.  There were 7 species in all.  Isn’t this awesome?

Kay prepared chicken parmesan for dinner and we all enjoyed a great meal.  For us, it seems like we have more time to visit and just enjoy living when we camp without all the mundane chores at home!

We forgot to record any television programs for the RV, so we did the next best thing (or perhaps the best thing), and watched 3 episodes of Downton Abbey on the IPad.  What a life!

This past weekend, Kay celebrated a major birthday, and we were privileged to have Ron, Cheryl, Karyn, Matt, and Ridge visit and join in the celebration—what a marvelous time!

We’ve been quite “busy” the last few weeks with a 10 day trip to the Maritime Provinces in Canada, pre- and post-trip preparations, and celebrating Kay’s BIG birthday.  RVing gives us a break from the everyday world—we don’t quite know why, but it probably has to do with an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality—even though we have the landline transferred to Kay’s cell phone, go to the house everyday when we’re close by to shower, pick up mail and packages, restock with groceries and supplies, etc.  It also lets us exercise the motor home, keeping all its systems on go.

We drove to Quarry Park, just up the road and river from the house; it was surprisingly full, but we found a good site and established our “residence” for a few days.  It only took a few minutes to level, hook-up electricity, water, and satellite, and extend the slides. We returned to the house to pickup a second car and bicycles, and now we’re all set. I have not felt great the last week or 10 days, and still not feeling 100%, I hung around inside the motorhome, and did very little.  After we got all settled, we both let our a collective big breath and RELAXED.

Later in the day, our neighbor and very good friends, Wayne and Loretta, drove their “new to them” motorhome up to Quarry Park, and quickly set up on a great site on the river.

We spent a quite evening, enjoying the sights and sounds of the campground.

As an aside, local wildflowers have apparently been laying dormant because of the severe drought.  As a result of recent rains, they seem to be blooming everywhere, and particularly along the river.  What a beautiful sight!

TIME: 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 1 unit increasing to 2 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge

ROD USED: 7’ 9” 2-wt Winston WT

HATCHES: Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I fished with Ed, Bill, and John. We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy to what we thought was falling water. Bill and John remained downstream while Ed and I waded upstream. We crossed from the island to the left descending side of the river, and fished our way upstream towards the riffle, but I only took one fish on the scud/zebra midge combination.  The water did not recede as projected, but remained at what appeared to be around 1/4 unit.  I waded upstream to the left descending side of the plunge pool and noted rising water.  Ed and I waded to the bank, and realized that water was rising too fast for our return to our walk-in—WE WERE STRANDED.  SWPA had projected 0 generation after 6:00 AM, but instead ramped up to 2 generators at 8 AM, with a swift rise in water levels.  Why they could not or did not project this is beyond me.  This is the only region of the country in which we have NO RELIABLE GENERATION PROJECTIONS.  Please write your US Senators and Congressmen and complain about this; we don’t have to tolerate this kind of arrogance.  If this happens with minimum flow, it will only be a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or dies from unexpected high water conditions.

Meanwhile, Ed and I waited on the bank for any passing boat, but none were seen.  We walked through the woods to the road near McClellan’s entrance, knowing that Kay would pick us up if she was aware of our situation; sure enough, she came to our rescue.

I am so incensed at SWPA; I sure hope someone gets the political entities involved, with the threat of cutting Federal funding unless they provide accurate, reliable projections similar to that provided by Tennessee Valley Authority, Bonneville Power Administration, and other quasi-governmental power agencies in the rest of the US!

TIME: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge, #14 Norfork River crane fly

ROD USED: 7’ 9” 2-wt Winston WT

HATCHES: Caddis, Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I fished with Ed, Bill, and John.  We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy to falling water.  Bill and John remained downstream while Ed and I waded upstream.  Fishing was slow on the scud/zebra midge combination.  Shortly after 9:00 AM, crane flies began surfacing and fish were rising to them. Ed moved to the center of the riffle, between two streams of river, and immediately began catching fish on top; most of the fish were 14-15 inches and pretty hot.  He continued to catch fish on the crane fly imitation for the next 3 1/2 hours.  I fished the right descending side of the riffle and caught quite a few fish. I waded upstream to the plunge pool and again caught fish, about half of which were caught stripping the crane fly imitation. I switched back to the scud/zebra midge combination, moved to the left descending side, and caught several fish in the small riffle.  wading downstream to the tail out above the island, the fish continued taking the zebra midge, with far more misses than catches.  Bill worked his way upstream and caught lots of fish below, along side of, and above the island while John caught a bunch of fish below the island. 

TIME:  8:30 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge, #14 Norfork River crane fly, #22 olive/black midge

ROD USED: N/A

HATCHES: Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I accompanied Ron and Matt, son and son-in-law respectively.  Ron began catching fish immediately in the tail out of the riffle just above the island; most fish were caught on the red/silver zebra midge.  About 9:30 AM, crane flies began hatching and fish began rising to the hatching insects.  I tied on a Norfork River crane fly, and the “boys” caught an occasional fish.  Matt moved to the center of the riffle, between two streams of river, and immediately began catching fish on top.  Ron waded upstream and likewise began catching fish on top.  This continued until about 12:00 PM, and the fish stopped taking the crane fly fly.  I tied on a #22 olive/black midge trailer below Matt’s crane fly, and he caught an occasional fish on the trailer.  At about 12:30 PM, neither the crane fly nor the trailer would catch fish.  Ron and Matt switched back to the scud/zebra midge combination and again caught fish, but sporadically.  At 1:00 PM, we called it a day after lots of fish being caught by both.

We awoke early, ready to return to the USA and home. We repacked our bags for the flight home, and twiddled our thumbs for a couple of hours until near time to leave.  Our bags were hauled to the rental car, and apparently John and Sandy were in the same frame of mind as they, too, were ready to go.

Unsure of the time to return the rental car, check in, and go through US Customs, we made the 35-minute drive to the airport without a hitch, arriving about 10 AM.  I dropped Kay, Sandy, John, and the luggage off at the US terminal, and drove to the rental car return.  So far, so good. The US has a Customs operation in the Halifax airport, and once you’ve made it through there, you are treated as a domestic passenger for the remainder of your trip; this proved to be very convenient.  We checked our bags at the Delta counter, made it through Canada customs, and through US Customs.  The only problem we had was with some apples we tried taking through.  Without a sticker of origin, they got trashed, but at least the agent was friendly; he almost talked our ear off.

We finally boarded the really small aircraft, making it to New York on time.  From there, we caught a flight to Atlanta, and barely had time to make the flight from Atlanta to Little Rock.  The planes on all three legs of the trip were full to capacity.

Arriving in Little Rock just before 8 PM, we grabbed our baggage, caught the shuttle to the Holiday Inn, loaded the old Explorer, and drove home, getting here about 11 PM. 

This was a great trip, and traveling with John and Sandy was a joy.  We have many things in common, yet enjoy enough differences to make things interesting. 

The Maritimes were populated with wonderful, friendly people.  The countryside is neat and clean, and there is little “junk” on the property.  Most of the area, about 75 percent, is forested.  There is far more agricultural land and farms than we would have ever dreamed.  And there are lots of old, old churches, almost all of them painted white, with tall bell towers.  Residents should be proud of their respective provinces.

For Kay and me, we’re glad we did this trip, but it will likely be our one and only trip to the Maritime Provinces—too many things to do and see, but too little time. 

Another life list item to check off. 

Today marks our last full day in the Maritime Provinces.

After a restful night’s sleep, we awoke, had coffee, and finished packing for our departure.  Sebelle and Susan, owners of the Atlantic Sojourn B&B, had a late evening, so we all delayed breakfast until 8:30 AM.  However, all the guests met in the common area near the dining table and visited, getting to know one another better, and we asked them lots of questions about Canada, their customs, their healthcare system, food, etc.  They were quite patient with us.We all enjoyed another hearty breakfast, and we excused ourselves for a 9:30 AM departure.

The drive to Halifax was just over an hour; we bypassed Peggy’s Cove at the suggestion of Sebelle.  We all checked into the Westin near the harbor. We all walked the harbor front and purchased tickets on the Grayline’s Ambassatour of Halifax.  The downtown area is vibrant, with lots of young adults everywhere.  We also saw families enjoying the city, especially along the water front.  Three things aroused my interest in Halifax:  their public garden, the explosion of 1917, and their role in the Titanic disaster recovery.

My favorite part of the Ambassatour was walking through the Halifax Public Garden, one of only two Victorian gardens in Canada.  It was well kept, and the flowers and plants were awesome.  Some of the blooms were huge, and I could have been there all day taking photos.  We were amazed at the number of people, including many families, enjoying the gardens.

I was also surprised to learn of the 1917 explosion in the Halifax harbor. This explosion occurred in December 1917 when the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship fully loaded with wartime explosives, collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in “The Narrows” part of Halifax Harbor.  About 2,000 people were killed by either debris, fire, or collapsed buildings, and over 9,000 were injured.  Every building within a 16-mile radius, over 12,000 in all, was destroyed or badly damaged, essentially leveling a major portion of the riverfront area.

Halifax played a major role in the Titanic disaster recovery. White Star Line built, owned, and operated the Titanic on its maiden voyage. When news broke regarding the “unsinkable” Titanic hitting an iceberg, White Star officials in New York at first believed that the damaged Titanic would sail to Halifax, the closest major port and trains with relatives and immigration officials departed from New York to Halifax. Hours after the Titanic sank, however, White Star Line commissioned their cable ships based in Halifax to recover the bodies of victims. Of the 209 bodies brought to Halifax, 150 were laid to rest at three local cemeteries.  It was apparent that many in Halifax still hold the White Star Line and its wealthy owners in disdain for their handling of the whole recovery effort and callous treatment of victims.  The “rest of the story” is pretty interesting, indeed!

After the tour, Kay and I split off from John and Sandy to walk the downtown area.  We were hungry for regular food, so had a sandwich at Subway, and it was real good.  We spent the rest of the evening in our room, ready for our trip back to the US and home.