SLOW MOTION

4/19-21/09---It is a little like being in slow motion when the chores are done. The most important things to do are enjoy the sunshine and watch the pilings beneath the restaurant to determine if the water is rising or falling. The reference picture shows the water is going down.

HAPPY WANDERERS

4/18/09---The following tales & pictures are from Maryann. She and Keith are the "Happy Wanderers".

When last we checked-in, we were in St. George, Utah. After leaving there, we drove up I-15 to SLC to visit Keith’s cousin Duane. We spent a delightful day with him, stayed the night in Bountiful, UT, and headed north through Idaho.

When we passed the Budweiser silos, we thought of our good friend Scott, who works for them in St. Louis. Seeing the MT sign was fun for Maryann, as she was raised there. We arrived in Laurel, MT, (Maryann’s hometown) and visited with her parents and brother for a couple of days.

On Wednesday, April 8, daughter Stephanie and her family arrived from WY. They invited us to go to Chico Hot Springs with them, and we jumped at the chance! Grandson Max rode with Grandma and Grandpa in their new Roadtrek and got to “camp” with them in it for 2 nights at Chico. The natural hot pools at Chico are amazing, and so is the delicious food at the lodge!

While we were at Chico, we drove into Yellowstone Park one day. Todd was our chauffeur, and we drove him crazy being typical camera-happy tourists! Here are just a FEW of the photos we took of the wildlife (buffalo, mountain goats & elk), snow etc. Mammoth Hot Springs is especially beautiful in the winter.

On Saturday Max and we returned to Laurel, and Stephanie and Todd headed back to WY. We spent Easter

in Laurel, and Max discovered that the Easter Bunny can find him anywhere! After church that morning, a wonderful dinner was enjoyed by several family members at Maryann’s parents’ home.

The next day we visited a family friend in Billings before heading to Gillette, WY, Keith’s hometown.

Keith had a good time surprising his mom with his “nautical” beard, which she had not seen. She almost didn’t recognize him in the hallway of her apartment!

The next few days were spent surprising other family members and playing cards. Maryann enjoyed attending Max’s Karate class, which reminded her of when son James took it. On Thursday Grandma, Grandpa, & Great-Grandma Beth attended Max’s swim class at the Gillette Aquatic Center. They have the only indoor, heated Olympic size pool in WY, and many swim meets are held there.

The Gillette school children are fortunate that swimming is part of their school curriculum. While in Gillette, Keith re-connected with his friend Nick at Thunder Basin Ford. Nick is a good guy who sold a car to Keith’s mom. That brings us to now - Saturday, April 18th. We plan to spend one more day in Gillette and then start heading south. We’re missing Dream Manor.

SCREENS

4/17/09---Did accomplish a little today. Added hydraulic fluid to steering on the fly bridge. Cleaned screens on both the shower pumps and cleaned screens on the air conditioning units. Helped install an in line "waterless" hot water heater in neighbors boat. Joe did most of the plumbing and I did the wireing What a deal -- checked out the system and there were no leaks and the unit actually worked!

250 HOUR SERVICE

4/16/09---The mechanic (Don Rounsavall) arrived at 8:00 a.m. He is well know in the boating world as "Diesel Don". It was quite obvious he was very experienced as he efficently performed the 250 hour servce on our 315 HP Yanmar diesel engines. Removal, cleaning & testing of fuel injectors was first priority. He then set the proper clearance on the intake and exhaust valves. A visual inspection of the turbo-chargers and air cleaners was done. Drained and replaced the coolant in the engines. Pulled the fluid out of the transmissions and replaced the ATF. Don was very careful to keep everything clean as he performed the various tasks.

Fuses were blown on both starting batteries and the port side was dead. Started both engines with the starboard battery. Inspected cables and various fittings on the engines. Made sure there were no leaks or problems from the services that were done. While Don was doing some final inspections I went to the NAPA Auto parts store and purchased 2 automatic reset breakers. Don installed the 30 amp breakers in place of the inline fuses that have been such a problem on the batteries.

The van Don drives is a traveling store. It is well stocked with many parts that may be needed to repair & service engines wherever he goes. The supplies are very well organized. It was truly a pleasure to have such a professional work on the engines. You may contact Don on his mobile: 256-259-7728 or by email: don@dieseldon.com He resides in Scottsboro, AL.

We are ready now to enjoy cruising this summer!

WASH & GO

4/13-15/09---Monday passed quickly as Carol needed to get the washing done from the trip to Nevada. I ran errands and re-packed my clothes. Tuesday I traveled to Demopolis, AL. The boat looked lonesome but I thought there was a little smile when I boarded. Wednesday was very peaceful as I got reaquainted and did some cleaning on the boat.

HOME IN YOUNGSVILLE

4/12/09---Enroute from San Antonio to Houston I called Margaret Grant. She and husband John were going to have a little time before their family showed for Easter so Carol & I stopped at their home in Houston. We enjoyed lunch and a fun visit. Margaret showed off her garden in the back yard. Things are growing very well. They will surely enjoy some fresh vegetables.


Traveling the rest of the way home was uneventul until we caught up with the rain storm that was traveling east. There were a couple of wrecked vehicles along the road that had apparently hydro planed out of control. The highway patrol were busy investigating. We got into some heavy rain the last 25 miles before reaching Lafayette and arriving home in Youngsville, LA. Certainly a relief to be home after traveling nearly 1700 miles.

SAN ANTONIO

4/11/09---What a windy day! It was blowing up large clouds of dust from the desert floor. However it was not so bad as the yellow sign indicates it can get. The picture with all the brush is not really blurry, that is dust in the air. Everything in Texas is big including the speed limit. In other states you get stopped and fined for traveling that fast! Driving 80 MPH with a strong cross wind probably caused some tire wear on Brother's van as it was necessary to crab into the wind. Hang on to the steering wheel, if the wind gusted and let up it made guiding a challenge. The end of the Rocky Mountains near El Paso are quite majestic as they rise high above the desert. There are no trees on the mountains. The rock takes on a dark lavender appearance. Purple mountain majesty. We looked south across the Rio Grande Valley, but had no desire to cross the border into mexico.










There was an area on the dessert (or great plains) about half way between El Paso and San Antonio that was so far from civilization no radio stations could be heard. I had to listen to my wife for many miles. (Wait until she reads this!)

We stopped in Fort Stockton for lunch and an opportunity for Carol to have her picture taken with the road runner. Maryann had previously sent her a picture of this very large replica and Carol wanted to see it in person.

We continued on to San Antonio for the night.