It's Over

Another Christmas has come and gone. They seem to be coming faster and faster as the years roll by. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got to spend time with the people they love.

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Friday Connie, Sam and I piled into the truck which was loaded with gifts and the fixings for a Christmas Eve feast. We headed across the Causeway and up I-45 to League City and the kids house.

They had the house decorated beautifully. We didn’t leave until Sunday morning and I was still finding decorations I had not noticed before. I told Dana it would take him a weekend to get it all down and put away. I think he’s hoping Jackie does it during the week. Chase pointed out that he had decorated the table…..

We spent some time talking while the grandkids were patiently waiting to open gifts. Megan was especially studying the load of presents under the tree….

One of Connie’s gifts brought some laughs. The shrimpers and crabbers on the island all wear white rubber boots. I bought her a pair a few years ago as a joke. The joke was on me because she wore them quite a bit when gardening or fishing. Hurricane Ike took them away but now she has a brand new pair of leopard-print west-end Reebok's..……

I think my son-in-law’s brain gear slipped a cog because he got Jackie a five foot tall jewelry box. That girl loves her bling so I hope he’s got deep enough pockets to fill that thing.

Megan got a “Pregnant Barbie” complete with a baby in her belly. What the hell was Santa thinking?

After the gifts had been opened and the mess cleaned up Connie started cooking dinner. She made Beef Wellington this year instead of her usual Prime Rib. I vote for Mr. Wellington’s roast again next year. It was absolutely delicious. The sides were great and I think everyone had all they could eat. Sorry no pictures…..I forgot.

Normally it’s just the six of us for Christmas Eve dinner. This year was a little different. An elderly couple live a short distance down the street. Jackie and Dana had invited them over for a little Holiday Cheer. They showed up with a homemade angel cake just about the same time Connie was finishing up cooking so they were invited to dinner. There was plenty of food and it was very enjoyable getting to know them.

Ken and Pearle have family spread out all over the country but none close by so they were all alone for Christmas. Dana and I had been kidding Connie about dinner being later than she planned but maybe it wasn’t her timing at all.

Ken and Pearle telling us about themselves……

They seemed to really enjoy themselves and I think we made their Christmas a little brighter.

Christmas morning brought another round of gifts for the kids…….

Dana’s family started arriving shortly after noon and before I knew it the house was full of happy people enjoying the holiday. Everyone was talking and laughing so there was a lot of commotion. Sam didn’t know what to do because he’s used to our quiet lifestyle. He spent the afternoon and evening glued to either Connie or I. A couple of little girls were petting him, pulling his ears and trying to ride him whenever they got the chance. He was very patient with them and kept looking at me as if to say “Please make them go away”. When we got home yesterday he lay down in his bed and didn’t get up until this morning.

Connie made seafood gumbo and Jackie made crawfish chowder. There was a bunch of appetizers and desserts and side dishes. Everyone kind of grazed all day. Anybody who left hungry had only themselves to blame.

Connie & Dana conferring on the gumbo

Jackie cleaning shrimp

Megan making guacamole










Chase got a new gaming computer. He and his Dad set it up but couldn’t get the computer to talk to the flat screen TV he is going to use for a monitor. Being the smart kid he is he waited until the last guests left then texted and invited some friends of his parents over. When Justin (he’s a computer guy) and Laura arrived Chase told Justin about his problem. Justin was able to solve the problem in a few minutes. Chase was a very happy camper.


That’s a short synopsis of our Christmas. It was wonderful and I received many great gifts but the best gift was the time I was able to spend with Jackie, Dana, Chase, Megan and my beautiful wife Connie.

I would like to do a little bragging on the Connie and the kids before I end this post.

Connie works at a non-profit that serves kids and families. One of their shelters is for homeless families. They can only stay there for 90 days. When they leave they don’t really have much. Connie arranged for Jackie, Dana and the kids to “adopt” a single mother and her nine year old son who had recently moved out of the shelter and into a tiny apartment in Galveston.

They were sleeping on air mattresses and sitting on the floor to eat. The apartment was pretty much bare and any thoughts of Christmas presents were only dreams for them.

A week before Christmas Connie arranged to get a tree and some decorations. She and the kids went there and set it up. Jackie and Dana brought beds and bedding, a small table and chairs and some gifts for under the tree. Some of the gifts were bought but Chase also went through his closet for clothes for the boy.

I’ve got a better family than I deserve.

This will be my last post for 2010 so I’ll take this time wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope 2011 is prosperous for everyone and all your plans come to fruition.

Adios for now, enjoy life.

--Rod

THE RV NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land
RVers were sleeping in their great big tin cans.


The stockings were hung by the fridge with great care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.


The children were nestled all snug in their beds
While memories of family trips danced in their heads.


And Pa in his sweater and I in my shorts
Were watching TV – a show of some sorts.


When out in our campsite there arose such a clatter,
I sprung from the gaucho to see what’s the matter.


To the window I flew, heart full of fear.
I pulled up the blinds to see what was near.
Then what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a giant red sleigh and a bunch of reindeer!


When I saw the driver I realized real quick
This must be the ever so famous St. Nick!


Faster than Dodge Dualies his coursers did tow,
And no hint of sway, not even in snow!
He looked at his team and started to bellow.
He had a loud voice, this Santa Claus fellow!


"Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen,
On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen!
To the roof of that trailer, to the top of them all,
Dash away, dash away, dash away all!"


So up on my trailer those reindeer, they flew!
With a sleigh full of toys and St. Nicholas, too.


Then, in a twinkling, up on my roof,
I heard the prancing of all those big hooves!
"The roof will cave in, we’re all going to die!"
 I thought of insurance and started to cry.


I got it together and was turning around,
When from the bathroom there came a strange sound.
A thumping came out of the toilet that night,
Old Santa had come down the wrong darn vent pipe!
I opened the dump valve and out Santa came,
Covered with substances I don’t care to name.


With a wink of his eye and a nod of his head,
He was magically cleaned – there was nothing to dread.
A bundle of toys he had with him, cinched tight.
He looked just like my husband on laundry night.


He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
He filled all our stockings, and turned with a jerk.
Then turning the crank while standing on his toes,
He gathered himself up and out the roof vent he rose.


He jumped in his sleigh, to his team gave a holler,
And away they all flew – just like RVing dollars!
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!
Wherever you may be.

Connie and Rod

Our Thanksgiving Trip

I wrote this last Monday but we have been without Internet service all week so was unable to post until today.  It has been an interesting/exciting/depressing/expensive week.  I'll explain in a few days.

About our trip......

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday in the woods at Martin Dies Jr. State Park. We left on the Sunday before Turkey Day and got home yesterday afternoon.

It was a great week and Connie and I really enjoyed our time away. I don’t think Sam enjoyed it quite as much as us. He had to be on a leash all week and that doesn’t sit well with him. He tried to chase an armadillo the first day and almost broke his neck.

My partners... The Boss and her shadow

We were almost completely alone the first part of the week but all that changed starting Tuesday night. By Thanksgiving morning the loop we were on was completely full except for two or three sites.

The people on one side of us were nice and very quiet even though they had two sites and lots of people. The people on the other side not so much. They also occupied two sites. At first there was one dog then there were three. None of them were on leashes. They wandered around, coming towards our site on occasion which always sent Sam running and barking. I don’t like hearing other people’s dogs barking so I won’t have mine doing it. When Sam tried to do what dogs do and defend his territory I had to put him in time out in the trailer.

Looking back on it I guess I should have complained to the park staff but I really don’t like doing that. I always expect people to follow the rules.  Stupid me thought they would see that their dogs were causing a problem and fix it.  If they did realize it they didn’t do anything about it. Next time I’ll just be an a-hole I guess.

Sam and Connie were up about six every morning. I like to sleep in a little when I don’t have any reason to get up early. No such luck with those two. We had coffee sitting outside each morning and planned our travels for the day. It was very pleasant sitting there looking at the lake and hearing the birds.

All bundled up on a cool morning

After breakfast each day we traveled around looking at properties for our future home base. Sam is a good road trip dog. He likes to sit on the back seat and look out the windows when we are on side roads or going slow. It almost seemed like he was as interested as us in checking out each area.

We saw lots of potential property. Some “possibles”, some “I don’t think so” and some “NO WAY IN HELL”. The absolute worst was about ten miles of dirt road into the woods. We crested a hill and came upon a little settlement of eight or ten shacks. All had trash and junked vehicles for lawn art. The people we saw all resembled each other. I don’t think they take kindly to strangers there. You could probably disappear real easy and your remains would never be found. We looked at each other and quickly turned around. I don’t think we will become residents of Whitetail Ridge anytime soon. I know the settlement name because the sign on one shack read “Whitetail Ridge VFD”.  I would have taken a picture but being unarmed I figured a quick escape was probably the smartest move.

We did see a few places that may need further consideration when we get a little closer to retirement. In the meantime we will continue exploring. I think the next area we will look at is further west, from Livingston to Conroe. Property there will probably be a little more expensive but you never know we may get lucky.

I don’t know how many miles we traveled in our exploring but we burned seventy-eight gallons of diesel not including the trips between the park and home.

Thursday Connie prepared a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Sam and I tried to help but we mostly just watched and taste tested. I was so full afterward I didn’t even build a campfire. We watched a movie and turned in early.  Every other night we had a campfire....

The weather was great for most of the week. We got a little rain Thanksgiving night but not enough to mess things up. Friday night it was supposed to get down to 28 degrees but I don’t think it got that low. There was heavy dew in the morning but no ice.

Sunday we woke up to a very cool trailer. It was about 50 degrees. The furnace had quit during the night. The blower comes on for about thirty seconds but the burner doesn’t ignite. I’m not sure what the cause is because I haven’t fooled with it yet. I hope it’s an easy fix.

I’m really having serious doubts about this trailer and by extension anything made by Keystone. Every time we go anywhere with it something breaks down. It really gets aggravating. I know the saying about RVs being rolling earthquakes but even that doesn’t excuse some of the things that have gone wrong. Poor quality and poor quality control explains all of it.

I don’t know when we will go camping again, probably after the new year. I hope we can steal away for a long weekend with the grand kids in January or February. Their schedules are so busy it’s hard to get a time when they are both available.

Here's a few pictures week took around our campsite...

Adios for now, enjoy life.

--Rod



Bachelerhood..........................

SUCKS!!!!!


At least for me it does. Connie left on Sunday afternoon.


After over 33 years of being together almost every day I now have been forced to make do for myself. I feel like part of me has been amputated. Sam just lies by the door and jumps up whenever he hears anything outside. The house feels empty.

I better clarify before I start getting calls asking “What did you do to make her leave?”


She has been attending an instructor training seminar in Houston this week. It’s for one of the courses she will be adding to the training curriculum at work. She’s staying with the kids in League City to save her an hour of drive time each way. I’m sure Megan and Chase are having fun with their Nana but Sam and I miss her.


I figured two nights of spaghetti, two nights of hamburger hash and one night stopping on the way home for a submarine sandwich would get me through the week. Connie just thinks I’m helpless and won’t cook for myself. I told her I would be fine cooking for myself. She acted like I would starve. I insisted I could make my own meals but she went ahead and made up some meatballs anyway.

I don’t know how many hundreds of meatballs Connie has made for me over the years but these were hands down the best ever. I had to restrain myself from eating them all the first day.


I can cook most things OK and a few things pretty good. The “hockey puck incident” was an exception Megan. I over grilled some hamburgers one time and my granddaughter will never let me live it down. It was really her fault. She was the one who wanted to try to teach me to dance while I was cooking.

Sunday evening and again last night I cooked macaroni, poured on some store bought sauce, added some hot Italian sausage and a few of the meatballs then proceeded to stuff myself. There was enough left each time for my lunch the next day. Monday night I made a big pot of hash. I’ll finish that off tonight. PB & J for lunch tomorrow and a sub tomorrow night will finish out my week. If Connie’s not too tired I’ll take her out to eat Friday night.

I’ll probably get some new readers this week since I managed to use the words “pot” and “hash” in the same sentence. So a big "Hey Dude" to any dopers who got here through a Google search.

I finished a Kindle book on Monday night and last night I went Amazon.com shopping. I downloaded Decision Points, the new book by George W. Bush. It was only $9.99 for the Kindle as opposed to $24.99 in book form. I read the first chapter before going to bed. It was so interesting I wanted to keep reading but knew I would regret staying up late. He writes just like he talks, kind of plain, simple and straight forward. No cliches, platitudes or BS like most politicians. I could almost hear him talking.


I know a lot of people dislike him and consider him to have been a poor president but I disagree. I don’t agree with everything he did (especially the bailouts) but I think history will prove him to have been a good president at that particular time in our history. Time will tell. None of the world’s bullies wanted to mess with that crazy cowboy. They knew he would do more than lob a couple of cruise missiles at an aspirin factory if they acted up.

He kept America safe. That is the number one responsibility of the federal government. Running around the globe apologizing for America’s greatness is not in the job description of the President. Somebody should point that out to the current resident of the Oval Office.

Sorry for the political comments I hope my beliefs don’t run anyone off.

We’re leaving Sunday for the piney woods of east Texas and I can’t wait. We’ll be at Martin Dies Jr. State Park for the whole week of Thanksgiving. Connie cooked us a feast last year and I have no doubt she will repeat the performance this year. We’ll miss the kids but they will have so much company they probably won’t notice that we aren’t there.

I’ll close with some pictures of a fifth wheel that is parked on 19th St. in Galveston. I drive by it every day and had to snap a couple of pictures with my phone. I guess the guy thinks he traded up because he used to have an old tear drop trailer parked there. The tear drop looked to be in good shape except for the paint job. It was painted a lime green with black silhouettes of buxom African American women painted all over it.

 He must use the same body shop as the guy in that Class C I saw last week......

I really like the after market AC unit.....

Adios for now, enjoy life.
Rod

UPDATE: I forgot to stop at Subway so I guess it's going to be spaghetti again tonight. Don't think we'll be going to an Italian resturant tomorrow.
--Rod

Veteran's Day 2010

Original title for today's post don't you think?

Happy Veteran's Day to all you vets out there. Thank you for your service and defense of this great country of ours.

I'm off today and Connie has to work so it's just Sam and I holding down the fort.  I've got a couple of side jobs to finish up before we go camping Thanksgiving week so I'll be busy all day.

Not much happening around here. We went to visit the kids last Sunday. Megan wants to pitch next year in softball so Jackie and Dana signed her up with a coach for lessons.  Dana was practicing with her and I was amazed how hard she can throw. Of course her control is not consistent yet.  He was sitting on an upturned 5 gallon bucket and holding his glove to give her a target. Most of the time he could reach the ball without getting up. 

Chase decided he wanted to catch for her and replaced his dad on the bucket. All was going well until he missed one that was low.  It bounced off the bottom of the bucket straight up into an area no guy wants to get hit with a fast moving softball.  I was in pain just watching so I know he was hurting.  He jumped up and fighting back tears said "I'm never catching for her again until she learns to throw it straight!"  I think it might be time for a little equipment.

We have a flock of about a dozen wild ducks that hang around our canal. Every morning a neighbor feeds them corn on an adjacent vacant lot. If he's late they sit there an raise all kinds of a ruckus until he comes out. The other morning I noticed this one guy who must have slept in because he was late.  He was paddling for all he was worth. I guess he didn't see the "No Wake Zone" signs.......

One of the major concerns in the planning stages for full time RV life is the choice of rig. What size? Will it hold up to full time living? Generator or not? Washer/dryer or not? How many slides? Trailer/truck combo or motor coach? These are all questions that can cause many a sleepless night.

I have decided all you need is faith in whatever you can afford.  I came to this conclusion after seeing the following rig in downtown Galveston, Texas.  The license plate is Florida.  This guy really has some faith.....

Adios for now, enjoy the day.
--Rod

Welcome New Followers

I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank several of
our new followers:

"Judy and Emma"

"Pidge"

"Cruizin2some"

"Visionquest"

"John & Carol"

"BIG DAWG AND FREEWAY" (edited)

"Chuck and Anneke's RV Travels"

It truly is a special gift when you click on your blogger dashboard and discover that you've acquired another follower. Makes me smile like a jackass eastin thistles.

Thanks for joining y'all.

-Connie

Damsel in Distress Here...

Good morning everyone. I sure could use some help with a site issue.

Just recently a reader who wants to follow our blog hit the 'follow' button and it won't work for her. She has a hotmail emaill addy and also blogs through Google Blogger. I had no problem when I hit the follow button to her blog.

I'm not sure whats going on. I've checked every single blog setting we have and nothing prevents anyone from signing up as a follower. I often wondered why we had so few followers, this may be the reason.

Has anyone ever had this issue before? If so, what did you do to fix it. The Google Help menu wasn't any help at all.

Any ideas ?

Connie

Happy Birthday Dad

Today was my father's birthday. Even though he's been gone since 1991 I think of him each day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, I MISS YOU.

I've been working in the field all week. We're resurfacing a section of Seawall Boulevard in Galveston. The contractor is really doing a good job and is very organized so the project is moving at the speed of light compared to other paving projects we've done. The actual paving should be finished tomorrow. After that is complete we have to install new curb ramps, traffic loop detectors and pavement markings.

It has been nice to be outside all day. The weather has been beautiful and I hope it stays that way for a few more weeks. If it can hang on through Thanksgiving it would be great. Connie, Sam and I are going camping at Martin Dies Jr. State Park that whole week. Connie will make a complete Thanksgiving dinner and I will eat until I can't anymore. It's one of my favorite meals of the year. Eating outside with a campfire nearby makes it even better.

I grilled hamburgs last night and about 20 minutes after we ate Connie was violently throwing up. I thought maybe it was food poisoning but I have had no ill effects and we ate the same thing. She had a restless night and is currently resting on the couch. Now she has a fever and body aches so I think it's the flu. I got my shot about a month ago and she got one two weeks ago tomorrow. Hopefully the doctors are right and she has a short lived case.

The other day I went to the local Social Security office on a fact finding mission. I knew that my benefits would be reduced if I retire at age 62 in June but I am also subject to another penalty. Galveston County was able to opt out of SS in 1979. They set up their own system which provides a much better return on your money.

I started work for the County in 1994 and have been a member of their system the whole time. I also have 27 years full time in the SS system. Part of the federal government's requirements for allowing the County to opt out was a Windfall Elimination Provision. How the hell is it a windfall to collect the full amount of a system that you contributed to for 27 years? They will take $686 a month from my SS check simply because I have another retirement account. That isn't going to make or break us but it will make our retirement budget quite a bit tighter than I expected. Am I pissed off? You bet I am, that is my money they are taking.

My mother and her husband had some bad news this past week. Bob has been diagnosed with "moderate" Alzheimer's Disease. We knew that but this week his doctor took away his driving privileges. He told Bob it was only for 90 days at which time he will be re-evaluated. Everyone knows he isn't going to get better. I think this was a way for the doc to break it to Bob gently.

I feel bad for Bob. He's always driven and in fact until last Tuesday would not ride with anyone. One of his favorite things has always been long Sunday afternoon drives. He and I haven't had the closest of relationships but it still makes me sad to think of him confined and dependant on others. I know it is for the best to take him off the road before he hurts himself or someone else. Mom can drive around the area they live in but any out-of-town trips to see my sister or aunts will probably have to be put off until someone else drives them.

I just read what I have written so far and it's pretty damn depressing so I'm going to close with a few pictures of  the Jamaica Beach boat parade a couple of years ago. Chase and Megan dressed as Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

Looking at these pictures gets me to thinking that maybe we'll do it again this year if the kids want to.

Adios for now, enjoy the day.

--Rod

Picked Up The RV

Last Saturday our friends Louie and Jeneane invited us over for cocktails and snacks. Louie had just brought his custom made bar-b-que pit home. He had it built in Sugar Land, Texas for $2800.00. It's a beautiful pit with lots of great features but man, that's a lot of money.

He can cook about a dozen briskets in the side stack alone not counting the two racks in the main chamber. It's made from heavy gauge steel and powder coated. The main chamber is a 24" pipe. To compare my pit has a 15" pipe. There are two chimneys on the vertical stack and one on the main chamber. The main chamber has two metal plates that spread the heat evenly. We cooked bacon wrapped dove breasts on it and it was like cooking in an oven, no moving everything around to prevent burning.  This pit will last him the rest of his life. I look forward to lots of good food from it. All the pictures in this post are from my i-Phone except the last one.

This week I told my boss that I was planning on retiring in June if everything works out. I wasn't going to say anything to him until a month before the date but he has been a good boss so I feel I owe him a heads up. He didn't act surprised but did tell me I could stay as long as I liked. Kind of a weird vibe. Made me feel like a house guest who maybe needed to move on.

We started construction on the the Galveston Seawall this week. It will probably be my last big project. I'm doing the full time inspection as well as the construction administration. I know that it's been a while since I've stood on my feet following a milling machine for 11 hours a day. That's what we usually hire consultant engineers for. My feet and legs have been complaining all week. Back in the day I wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Thursday the Harvest Moon Regatta started. They had about 200 boats according to the paper. It was neat to watch them sail across the horizon. I'm not sure where they sail to, Port Aransas I think.

You can barely make them out. I wish I had the good camera with me. It was a beautiful day to be anywhere but work.

I picked up the RV today. Connie had to work and she was a nervous wreck about me going by myself. She left a post-it note on the check book to remind me to put the mirrors out on the truck.

When I got to the dealer they took 15 minutes to find the check from the insurance company. It had been mailed to them three weeks ago. They handed me the check to sign and the invoice for the work. The check was for $2279.75. That was the amount of the agreed repairs minus my $500 deductible. The total repairs were supposed to be $2779.75. The invoice was for $2937.98. I asked them who was supposed to pay the $158.23 difference. They thought I should. I asked them if anything had been done other than the agreed upon work order. They said no and had no other explanation for the discrepancy. I refused to pay it and threatened to call the adjuster. They backed off immediately and accepted the agreed upon total. Nice try guys. You've screwed me once before on repairs you aren't going to do it again.

I left there and drove to Discount Tire in Texas City. I was praying all the way that one of the other tires didn't blowout. I had called all over looking for good, American made, NEW trailer tires. Most places wanted to sell me truck tires or Chinese made tires. Discount told me they could get me Goodyear Marathon trailer tires made in the USA this year. I told them to order them and that I would be there today to get them mounted.
I pulled in, gave the man a check and left with 4 new tires in less than an hour. The total cost was $604.00 including road hazard. I also found out I could get four new Goodyear tires for the dually for a hell of a lot less per tire than I paid for the two Firestones I bought earlier this year. That will be necessary in the near future.

Connie should be proud of me. I pulled in and backed up into the stall with no jockeying around. I didn't hit anything and even remembered the AC unit on top. She seems to think I'm a disaster waiting to happen when I'm towing that RV.

I left there and drove home without incident. Backed into the driveway perfectly on the first try. I didn't even have to use the driveway across the street to get it in the right spot. Unlike someone else I know. :) She better be nice to me or I won't let her tow it anymore.

Home safe and sound!

We have been having great sunsets lately. Here's one from the other evening.

Adios for now, enjoy the day.

--Rod



May God Rest Their Souls

Rod and I are extremely shocked and sad this morning to hear the news of the sudden and tragic death of two incredible people. Margie and Bruce touched the souls of so many others with their lighthearted and cleverly composed stories. I'm not sure they really understood the impact they had on the RV world. Margie's wonderful, expressive and profoundly in-touch words about life and family will be greatly missed.

To the children:

May your Mother and Father rest in peace. May God comfort you in this devastating time. Hold on tight to the good memories and the love you shared. Don't give up on your dreams, your parents would want you to carry on with your life and to be happy. We hope in time you will somehow find peace. God bless you and your children. Our hearts go out to you and yours and we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers for as long as you need them.

We are both sorry to hear this terrible news.

Rod and Connie

Chase's Big Day

First an update on the smoking.........8 days without and counting!  I'm using lozenges but Connie is just doing it on will power.

The week was pretty boring.  Friday I called the dealer to get a progress report on the trailer repairs.  I was told that the parts are in and the trailer is in the shop but they didn't know if the work had been started.  Told me to check back on Wednesday.  I'll keep my fingers crossed but if they are lying to me it won't be the first time.

Megan had a tournament Saturday so Chase came to visit and stay the night.  It was an absolutely beautiful day so we decided to take a boat ride. Chase and I went to the store to pick up some snacks first. On the way we saw the new Jamaica Beach police car at City Hall. There were two officers standing near it and they had the doors and trunk opened up. I needed to pick up my building permits so I pulled in next to the car. Chase hardly waited for me to stop before hopping out of the truck.

He has always been crazy about policemen and firemen and their equipment. I think most little boys go through a stage of wanting to be one or the other when they grow up. Chase has never outgrown that stage. He wants to be both. He spends hours on YouTube looking at videos of police and firemen.

He went over to the officers and started talking with them. He asks questions about stuff I never give a thought to. They were very friendly and answered his questions and let him sit in the car.

One of the officers told Chase "if you want to be an officer make sure you never ride in the back seat". I thought that was pretty good advice to give a kid just starting those dangerous teen age years. We spent about 10 minutes with them before I reminded Chase that Nana (Connie) was waiting. He had already told me he talked to a policeman for an hour and a half on National Night Out. I didn't want to stay there that long.

We continued on our mission for goodies then returned home. Once the boat was loaded we headed out to the bay. Chase doesn't like to fish much (I think it's too boring for him) so we just rode around, talked and took pictures. Chase has a real creative side and sees things I never see. Someday I'm going to do a blog of just his pictures.

We circled this pelican twice before he flew off and he sure did go through some poses for us.....

After a couple of hours we returned home. While I was doing some things at the house Connie and Chase left to go look at a house Dana had just finished. Chase talked her into driving past the City Hall.

There was a fireman washing their jet ski. Jamaica Beach has a volunteer fire department which is very well equipped. They just got a new firetruck to go with the 2 or 3 they already had. They have a search and rescue inflatable as well as the jet ski. Our police department also has a new marine patrol boat, complete with a machine gun. God help the terrorists who try to attack Jamaica Beach.

Chase wanted to look at the new truck so Connie pulled in. He went over and started talking with the fireman. It was then that I started getting text messages from Connie:

"we're at the fire station"
"he is inside the new truck now"
"under cover cops just showed up. We might be a while"
"OMG!!!"
"I'm riding in the new JB fire truck"

The fireman stopped what he was doing, got Connie & Chase in the new truck and took them joyriding. He told Chase "I don't care if I get in trouble, we're having fun".

They drove a few miles down the road to a subdivision with lots of streets but few houses. He had Chase blowing the sirens and horns and they had all the lights on. For a grand finale he let Chase out of the truck and backed down the road a few hundred feet. Then he turned everything on and raced toward him. Chase was video taping it with his phone.

If I can figure out how I will post the video later. It's not the video so much as the comments from Chase during it that are entertaining. He watched that video a dozen times before going to bed last night. When he and Connie returned home Chase could barely talk in coherent sentences he was so excited. He told me "Papa I think I peed my pants a little".

I just want to thank all the fire and police men and women who protect us everyday for all they do. I don't know who that volunteer from our little department is but I intend to find out and thank him personally. He made a youngster he didn't even know very, very happy. It takes a special person to do something like that.
Here's a few pictures of Chase.....

His first police uniform. That's a real Houston police uniform, courtesy of George and Teresa. Chase has already promised that George gets to pin his badge on if he becomes an officer.

His first fireman uniform.

Adios for now, enjoy the day.
--Rod