STINK BUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my God!! We haven't told you about the Stink Bugs! When we were camped in Maryland (in September) at Elk Neck State Park the Stink Bugs were every where!! We stayed there almost a week and then moved 20 miles down the road to camp with Rob's sister Jeanne and her husband. We stayed  there another week and the whole time we were there we were battling Stink Bugs. Weird thing was, Rob's sister and husband who were parked right next door to us, didn't seem to have our problem.

We have been fighting these damn stink bugs ever since! After doing a considerable amount of research on the internet it is a known fact that the upper east coast has been invaded by millions of stink bugs and they are causing a variety of problems. When we were in Elk Neck State Park we must have been parked  right in the center of their breeding ground. No wonder no one else was camping in this enormous state park. There wasn't even any staff around the whole time we were there, it was self check-in. It was a little eerie.  Obviously someone knew something we didn't.

Now, thanks to us, we have depositing stinkbugs all over the southern United States. Every where we have gone since we left Maryland we park and they start coming out of every where. While at the Outer Banks we found what we thought was our mother load, there were hundeds of them all neatly tucked away in the folds of all of our window treatments. We sucked them all up with the Kirby. Then we found another mother load tucked in all of Rob's folded T-shirts. Rob took all of his clothes outside and shook them off. We also found them amounst our hanging clothes.
   At one point our ice started tasting like stink bugs so Rob disassembled our icemaker to find dozens of them in it. He had to do this 3 times! Then we went to Asheville and winter came. It appears as though they don't like the cold so we thought we were done with them. Not so. Now that we are back in the nice climate they are coming out again. On average, we kill about a dozen everyday.

The reason why they call them Stink Bugs is because they have a strong odor that smells extremely medicinal or a bad herb.  Rob has had them squirt on him when he is picking them up (I haven't) and it takes at least two hand washings to get rid of the smell!! They are a little smaller than the size of a dime. Damn little bastards.
Their average life span is about 9 months so I guess if they aren't breeding we should be done with them by
May. Look out folks, they ARE coming to a theatre near you. I loved Maryland, but you couldn't pay me to go back there.

Dave

Who ever knows as we travel through life what daily events will play pivotal roles in our future.

About twelve years ago we hired a gentleman by the name of Dave. He was a pretty likable guy and really did a bang up job selling Kirby's for us. It wasn't long and he had worked into various management positions. Occasionally he would dissappear for a few days but then show back up again with a somewhat believable excuse. Over time  it became apparent that his absences were due to a serious drug addiction. (we would find out many years later that he was a crack addict)  We tried to work with him for quite a long time, he really was a nice guy and was so talented, but Dave had done some things that we could not overlook, so we had an unpleasant parting of the ways.
It was not a total surprise to us when about a year later we saw a news story on TV about Dave being charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He had held a woman up at an ATM machine,( he had used the the knife in a nail clipper) and stolen her money. All caught on camera, hence, his arrest.
We never heard another thing about him and just went on about our lives. Dave spent the next 10 years in prison. While in prison he entered a drug treatment and counseling program. He emersed himself in studying religion and became a firm believer in God and redemption. Over the course of the many years he spent there, he mentored many other young, troubled immates. While in prison his mother died, and a year before he was to be released his wife, who had never given up on him, died. Because her medical bills were so high a collection agency moved in and sold off all their personal possesions. When Dave was finally released all he had left were the clothes he had gone in with. Dave had paid his debt to society.
Area churches stepped in and got Dave some suits and ties and dress shirts. They helped him get into an apartment. All Dave wanted to do was get back into Kirby because at one time he was really good at it. Being a convicted felon there were some hoops. I know the gentleman that took over our territory after we left Kirby called Rob to get his take on Dave's abilities. Of course with drugs out of the way we knew that the sky was limit, why not give him a shot.
In December of this past year our son Mat was yet again looking for employment. We suggested that he might want to go to the local Kirby office and sell Kirbys, so he did. We had been invited guests to their company Christmas party, which happened to be the day after Mat started.  Dave was at the party, he had now been back to work for several months and was doing a great job. He was sooo glad to see us and wanted desparetly for us to know the man he had now become. He was so proud of having been almost 11 years clean and sober. I then told him our son Mat's story and asked him if he would take Mat under his wing. Maybe by Dave sharing his story, Mat might get it. Dave's exact words were, "it would be my honor".

Dave worked the next week with Mat every day. Mat told me his heart had changed and he decided to give himself up to God. He was crying when he told me this. Mat had been living in a bad situation and when Dave went to drop him off one night. He told Mat, "no more". They got all of Mat's belongings and Mat moved in with Dave. That was about 6 weeks ago and that is where Mat still lives. They have developed quite a routine. Every morning they do lessons out of a book called "A Purpose Driven Life". They go out and work together every day. Dave is a big believer in the 12 step program and that is part of  their bigger plan, to complete the steps.

We hear from both of them almost every day, Mathew is getting stronger every day and feeling good about himself again. (He sold 5 Kirby's in the last five days!) and Dave, well something tells me Dave is getting plenty out of helping someone beat the cycle of drugs. After receiving a text message from Dave yesterday Rob replied and ended his message with "thank you". Dave texted back" it is my honor".  Wow.

Who knew that the Dave who blew through our lives so long ago would be back in this capacity.

At Christmas time a local department store ran an unbelievable sale on dress shirts and ties so I picked up a few and gave them to Dave. It was the least of what I could do for what he was doing for us. A short while later he came to Rob and I with a Christmas card for each of us. He said I can't afford to get you a gift for Christmas but I'd like you to each have the most important thing I own. Apparently you get a 5 year coin after 5 years of sobriety. He gave us each one of his 5 year coins. It's humbling. Rob carries his in his pocket every day.

You never know how today's events will shape your future.

Age has nothing to do with it

You know I made a promise to myself that once I moved into nicer weather I would start getting more active again, biking,hiking,and working out. I thought I would eat a little smarter and take off a few extra ,pounds that I put on while eating across America. Well I have been getting a lot more exercise, but the eating part- well let's just say it could use a little work. I am not one of these people who blames my weight gain on my age, I know better. Every area we travel has it's unique foods and I always seem to gravitate to the bakeries.
Because of Mardi Gras everyone around here are making "King Cakes", they are absolutely fabulous when made properly and they come in so many scrumptous flavors. (Blueberry and cream cheese, rasberry and cream cheese, cinnamon and cream cheese, praline and cream cheese, etc)  So of course we bought one the day after I made some peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies. 

I got up yesterday and started my day with a piece of the King Cake, then I went out and rode my bike. For lunch I ate some carrots and had a couple of handfuls of some Harry and David "Moose Munch" I had to buy because it was on sale after Christmas. Then in the afternoon I watched Oprah in Australia to occupy myself while I did 45 minutes of pilates. Then another little bike ride.  Dinner was sensible, a grilled pork chop, grilled broccoli, and a tomato caprese salad. But then I ate about 8 peanut butter cookies. So you see I know why when I put my jeans on this morning they were to damn tight!  Age has nothing to do with it, bread and sugar, they are my demise. I write this to shame myself into control.

Speaking of food, we found an absolutley fabulous local seafood shop. Most of you know the gulf coast and cajun country are where you get great crawfish. We bought a couple of pounds and had for them for dinner and the spice on them was to die for!  Nobody cooks them like these people. Also we bought a shrimp I had never heard of before, "Royal Reds". They're on all the menus and are quite pricey. They are naturally salty and sweet so you aren't supposed to season them in any way, they were delish!!

This also  reminds me to talk about the oil spill and the clean up process. This area desperately wants everyone to know the damage has been greatly exaggerated. and that BP is really cleaning up the area better than it was before the spill. They are digging with Excavators to a depth of 4 feet all the way from the water to the dunes, they are sifting the sand to remove all of the oil, and any other debris along with it, and they say that the beaches are cleaner than they have ever been. We have walked the beach and have found some tar balls. I would not have even known what they were if not for one of the beach clean up guys who pulled up on his new big 4 wheeler, bought and paid for by BP, and preceded to pick a couple up. That's what he, and a lot of others get paid to do. It's obvious that BP is spending a tremendous amount of money and that they are taking this cleanup seriously. There are tar balls that wash up on shore on a regular basis and these hunky guys drive up and down the beach keeping them cleaned up. It's very apparent when talking to the locals that they are very happy with how BP has handled this whole thing. 

The fishing in the Gulf has resumed and is back to normal. Everything that is caught and sold is completely safe. They want you to tell every one you know that they can come back now.

Sweet Home Alabama

   Sweet Home Alabama. Well it’s not exactly home but it’s where we are living right now while the rest of the country is in a deep freeze.

   Our time spent in Asheville was quite nice spending time with friends and family over the holidays but with freezing temperatures most of the time that we were there, it wasn’t a lot of fun dealing with things like frozen pipes. These RV’s aren’t really made for cold weather living, but we survived the 7 weeks that we were there.

   When we left Asheville, we made a three day stop in Nashville, TN and spent New Years with some friends and then headed south to the gulf coast to get out of all things frozen.

   Since I do all of the driving, I wanted to stop and rest for a while. I  figured that south Alabama would be a good place to do that. Our home for he next several months is the Magnolia Springs Golf and RV Resort just north of Gulf Shores Alabama. We’ve already been here two weeks and I’m finally sitting down to blog for the first time in months.
   In the time that we have been here, the weather has bounced around quite a bit. It got down to 26 and 27 two consecutive nights but was in the mid forties during the day. Today was really nice, Deb and I took Molly down to the beach and walked for about an hour. I was hot and sweaty by the time we got back to the truck. I guess 65 degrees and bright sunshine will do that to a person. It’s pretty weird walking on the beach here, everybody is from Wisconsin.

   The first weekend that we got here I went out knocking on doors to gain permission to hunt. I talked to nine landowners and got permission from seven of them. It seems that there are a lot of wild pigs in this area and they are causing a lot of property damage. I was told that they are very difficult to hunt and if you put a little pressure on them, they simply leave the area and take up residence elsewhere.

   After about 4 hours of hunting, I had already seen about 30 and killed two. Yes, they are difficult to hunt because they live in the thickest nastiest brush that you ever want to see and just because you see them doesn’t mean that you will have an opportunity for a shot because the brush is thick and they don’t stop moving for more than a second or two.

   After killing two pigs, I thought that I would donate the meat to a local charity but I found out that there are no local donation programs available for pork. They will take all the venison you can give them but no pork. Since the area has a pig problem, you would think that they could solve two problems at the same time by making it easy to donate pork to the needy.

Not only could I not find a donation program, I then spent several hours figuring out that there weren’t any pork processors here either. I found out that the State of Alabama quit allowing people who cut up deer to do pigs anymore. I’m sure that they had a reason but it sure seems counterproductive to me. I had to drive 50 miles to a processor in Florida to have my pigs cut up. I’m sending the meat home so it’s waiting for us when we get there.

The next little piggy is going on a big smoker for a pig roast here at the RV park.

Our trip in review so far.........

By the time we got to Asheville for Christmas holiday ,we had traveled a little over 10,000 miles from July 1st thru Nov. 15th, 2010. We have been to 19 states and 4 Canadian Provinces.
 The following is a compilation of" best ofs" and" worst ofs" as we experienced them. If there are two answers it's because we experienced things differently,  go figure.

Best Grocery Store-  Ingles Supermarkets ( They are all over the south and originated in Asheville,NC, who knew we have been spoiled)

2nd Best Grocery Store- Hannaford's ( found in the Northest)

Astonishing  Natural Phenomenon- Tidal Bore in New Brunswick, Canada

Best scenic drive-   Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Best and Cheapest Lobster-  Maine, Maine, Maine, Maine!!!

Friendliest People-  Michigan or Maine

Who smokes the most-    St. John, New Brunswick

Best Fishing- A lake in northern Wisconsin that must never be revealed

Favorite Tree-   Magnolia Trees or for Rob, the tree that he shot his 455 pound bear from

Biggest dissappointment-   Amish Country in Lancaster county in Pennsylvania-(way to commercial, isn't that an oxymoron?)

Best Blue Crab- Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Best overall campground- South Higgins Lake State Park, Michigan  or Campbell Point Campground, Shell Knob, Missouri

Worst Campground-Tapps Rv Park, Asheville NC.  Not only is it a crappy park but the owner is looney tunes

Best cheese- Vermont white aged cheddar. Rob says Wisconsin

Best beaches- Outer Banks, NC (one side has great waves and beaches you can drive on, other side is calm and both sides the dogs can run free because there are hardly any people)

Update from the Gulf

We got all settled in on Monday to our new home for the next couple of months. Soooo cheap to stay here. We are right on a Par 3 golf course, 10 miles from the Gulf, includes sewer, water and electricity for only $330 a month!!! Today there is an ice cream social at 2:00, yesterday bingo at 2:00. There are all kinds of cute little activities we can participate in. Yes most of the people staying here are older than we are, so often people say to us, you aren't retired already are you? Here is how I explain everything without going into  a lot of unnecessary detail, (you all know I am the queen of unnecessary detail), After closing a business we ran for 26 years, some health issues and family difficulties,.. we decided to take a sabatical and recharge our batteries for awhile. And we are doing just that.

This will be a great place to get back into a fitness routine as we both need it. We have been in an endless eating routine since Maine!! And it shows. So now back to biking, hiking and  moderation eating, afterall isn't that what we all do at the first of the year?

Speaking of first of the year I am preparing my next bog which will be our year in review, "the best ofs" and "the worst ofs" of the areas we have traveled so far.  Stay tuned!!