IT WAS QUITE A PINE POLLEN MESS WE CAME HOME TO WEDNESDAY

BAYFIELD’S BEACH

A guest in the Shout Box wondered if the couch bed in the rig was comfortable & I can happily say yes it is but I do have a full body piece of foam I roll out on top of it before crawling into bed.  Best RV bed we've had in an RV & the easiest to deploy.  Couch can be partially reclined & also configured to make it's own coffee type table.  It's a groovy design & well thought out.  And the reclining part is powered.

And I think the other guests in the Shout Box are right about the States allowing Canadians to be in the country 182 days according to the calendar year.  We have always had it in our heads the 182 days was from the time we entered the States in October until we left the States in early April.  If Peggy McDonald says it is in a calendar year then that's good enough for me.  We first met Peggy & her late husband John at an RV show seminar in London many years ago & again at a campground one time west of Woodstock.  Also met John another time in St Mary’s Ontario when I was ferrying passengers between a parking lot & CANADA'S BASEBALL HALL OF FAME.  They were full timers for many years & very influential in the RV world at one time.  Some may have Peggy's books & remember her RV Blog.

Upon returning home Wednesday we both noticed immediately what a mess everything was in from the heavy yellow pine pollen.  Folks here say it was the heaviest dusting ever.  I spent all morning with the garden hose, power washer, & leaf blower just trying to clean up everything.  Decks, porch, sheds, car & motorcycle were just a few of the things under a heavy coating of the talcum like pine powder.  It gets inside vehicles, the house & just absolutely everywhere. Even got some stuck up my nose when the leaf blower backfired.  The new cement pad in the carport cleaned up really nice.  So glad to be rid of that dirt floor. In between all that I managed to power wash the Motorhome as well.  Now I have to go around & clean all the water spots off the glass.

Gassed up the Motorcycle today.  Last time I put gas in it was October 2013 & this was my first fill up since then.  Guess that kinda tells you I haven't been riding my bike a lot this year again.  Did take myself for a nice 40 minute ride this afternoon checking out the wind turbine progress south of Bayfield.   We had a fine warm sunny day going on here. 

We are re-thinking our idea about slipping across Canada to the West coast in the Fall.  Price of gas rising & the lack of & hassle of trying to find boondocking spots. (except a prime spot beside JB'S grain silo:))  It would add a lot of miles to our journey as well.  We haven’t discounted the trip yet but am now thinking maybe we would just head straight for southern Utah.  We like that area & there is much to see & do there.  Utah is my favorite scenic State.  And it’s pretty much right on the way to Congress Arizona:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  When I was younger, I remember receiving the inevitable homework assignment to write an essay on "something I am thankful for". Then I'd spend a lot of time sitting in my room trying to figure out just what in the world that could possibly be; and I'd end up writing down everything I could think of from God to environmental consciousness. But after having children, my priorities have clearly changed:
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful to have been born the USA, the most powerful free democracy in the world.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for Velcro tennis shoes. As well as saving valuable time, now I can hear the sound of my son taking off his shoes -- which gives me three extra seconds to activate the safety locks on the back seat windows right before he hurls them out of the car and onto the freeway.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for the recycling program which will preserve our natural resources and prevent the overloading of landfills.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for swim diapers because every time my son wanders into water in plain disposables, he ends up wearing a blimp the size of, say, New Jersey, on his bottom.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for fresh, organic vegetables.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for microwaveable macaroni and cheese -- without which my children would be surviving on about three bites of cereal and their own spit.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for the opportunity to obtain a college education and have a higher quality of life than my ancestors.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful to finish a complete thought without being interrupted.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for holistic medicine and natural herbs.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for paediatric cough syrup guaranteed to "cause drowsiness" in young children.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for all of the teachers who had taught, encouraged and nurtured me throughout my formative years.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for all of the people at Weight Watcher who let me strip down to panty-house and a strategically placed scarf before getting on the scale each week.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for the opportunity to vacation in exotic foreign countries so I could experience a different way of life in a new culture.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful to have time to make it all the way down the driveway to get the mail.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for the Moosewood Vegetarian cookbook.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for the butterball turkey hotline.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for a warm, cozy home to share with my loved ones.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for the lock on the bathroom door.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for material objects like custom furniture, a nice car and trendy clothes.
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful when the baby spits up and misses my good shoes.
BEFORE CHILDREN: I was thankful for my wonderful family
AFTER CHILDREN : I am thankful for my wonderful family.