It has been close to a year since been started fulltime rv'ing in our friends front yard. From a moving to Texas and becoming oil field gate guards to having to replace the rv unexpectantly in October and the recent birth of our granddaughter Aria, it has been quite the adventure.
Little did we know what challenges awaited, from generator problems to emptying the tanks without making a huge mess. getting sunburnt, freezing temperatures, tire blow outs and the occasional wild animal we have risen to the occasion each and every time.
One of the biggest lessons we have learned is that this lifestyle is definitely not for the weak hearted or the insecure. This is not a vacation but rather a lifestyle choice, we work just as hard, if not harder than some to be able to enjoy the "perks."
Another lesson learned was to slow down and enjoy the journey. Society has become so focused on goals and destinations we often forget that the journey itself is part of the adventure and many times we miss out on what happens along the way. We may not move long distances as often as some but in this line of work we move much more often than others.
As we had begin our second year a whole new set of challenges will need to be met. We hope that the experience we have gained will make these mere speed bumps in our road.
DX Conditions
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Time "March"es on.
I've been spending quite a bit of time on ham radio lately and really enjoying it. I was worked by a station in Northern Ireland the other day, seemed fitting as we are close to the St. Patrick holiday.
We have been picked up by the drilling rig we took over when we moved over to the Yorktown/Cuero area. We have followed them back into the Karnes City area and after a few hectic days of a rig move things are finally settling down into a normal flow of traffic.
It's definitely springtime here in South Texas, temperatures are rising into the 70's and 80's daily and the weather has been beautiful. The big floppy hat has been pressed back into service as well as copious amounts of sunscreen. We have heard reports from other gate guards that the rattlesnakes are getting quite active and are counting ourselves lucky so far by not having any incidents.
We have been picked up by the drilling rig we took over when we moved over to the Yorktown/Cuero area. We have followed them back into the Karnes City area and after a few hectic days of a rig move things are finally settling down into a normal flow of traffic.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Its been awhile.
Just taking some time to sit outside and enjoy the day before it starts to storm. I find that it makes it easier to deal with the traffic and Toie isn't disturbed so much. We have been here in the Yorktown area for a couple weeks now and it seems to be a nice area. We aren't far from Cuero and Victoria is only about 40 miles away.
As I wrote earlier, I got my ham license last month and have been really enjoying the hobby thus far. We are a little remote to be able to access some of the repeaters with the handi-talkie so I have been playing with a program called Echo link. I can "dial-in" to repeaters all over the country and world using my android devices and internet and not need a bulky HF radio and miles of wire for antennae.
Toie and I have started going through the RV and cleaning out some of the items we thought we would use but haven't done so yet. Taking our time doing so gives us something to do when traffic gets slow.
We have also made a conscious decision to change our approach to food in our lives. We have become much pickier about the products we buy and are incorporating more fresh foods into our diet. We have both become heavier since starting this adventure and don't wish to continue doing so.
The wind turbine has been working pretty well. I had to order an Any volt 3 to stabilize the output so that the charge entering the batteries would be a bit more consistent, especially at slow wind speeds. I shouldn't need to use the battery charger when we are sitting for long periods time to top off the starting battery as much/anymore. I set the turbine up the other day and it immediately garnered a bit of attention from people entering and exiting. I even managed to score a few more stickers for the tail fin on it.
As I wrote earlier, I got my ham license last month and have been really enjoying the hobby thus far. We are a little remote to be able to access some of the repeaters with the handi-talkie so I have been playing with a program called Echo link. I can "dial-in" to repeaters all over the country and world using my android devices and internet and not need a bulky HF radio and miles of wire for antennae.
Toie and I have started going through the RV and cleaning out some of the items we thought we would use but haven't done so yet. Taking our time doing so gives us something to do when traffic gets slow.
We have also made a conscious decision to change our approach to food in our lives. We have become much pickier about the products we buy and are incorporating more fresh foods into our diet. We have both become heavier since starting this adventure and don't wish to continue doing so.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
KF5TOT
I took my test to get my ham license a few weeks ago and today my call-sign appeared in the ULS database. This opens up a whole new world of communication to us. Toie has even explored getting her license as well, we will see.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Fabric of Life... Ghosts from the past
It's been an eventful month. After everyone left I decided to focus on obtaining my Technician class amateur radio operators license. I studied using apps available from the android appstore and even downloaded a study guide available free in .pdf format from the www.kb6nu.com website.
During this time we ended up with a few days off around the 12th and chose to spend them in San Antonio. We re-visited the River Walk and spent some time in the Alamo area exploring more of the grounds on which it sits. Interesting enough, the Alamo is one of many missions located along the San Antonio River near downtown. While we weren't able to see them, we will be exploring them on a trip in the near future. We also had to replace the front brakes on the car during our trip. Luckily, the hotel we chose was situated kitty-corner to a shop and located on the trolley routes for the Alamo and downtown areas. We ended up utilizing the public transportation system and found it quite sufficient.
After we returned from San Antonio to our gate we spent the next few days getting back in the groove of things. I went to the Red Cross building on the 19th and took my ham test and passed the technician portion with flying colours. Waiting to receive my call letters feels like Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to arrive.
I received a surprise message from my mother on facebook the other day saying that a person I knew when I was in the Army was trying to find me and had called her and my Uncle John's house looking for me. What a blast from the past, this person is actually the wife of my best friend that died in the first Gulf War. I am still reeling from hearing her voice after all these years and her son's voice, who was only a few months old when his father died, and his spitting image. I cant even begin to express what that feels like. Its like a small window back in time. David, I still miss you, even after all these years.
Gotta go
During this time we ended up with a few days off around the 12th and chose to spend them in San Antonio. We re-visited the River Walk and spent some time in the Alamo area exploring more of the grounds on which it sits. Interesting enough, the Alamo is one of many missions located along the San Antonio River near downtown. While we weren't able to see them, we will be exploring them on a trip in the near future. We also had to replace the front brakes on the car during our trip. Luckily, the hotel we chose was situated kitty-corner to a shop and located on the trolley routes for the Alamo and downtown areas. We ended up utilizing the public transportation system and found it quite sufficient.
After we returned from San Antonio to our gate we spent the next few days getting back in the groove of things. I went to the Red Cross building on the 19th and took my ham test and passed the technician portion with flying colours. Waiting to receive my call letters feels like Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to arrive.
I received a surprise message from my mother on facebook the other day saying that a person I knew when I was in the Army was trying to find me and had called her and my Uncle John's house looking for me. What a blast from the past, this person is actually the wife of my best friend that died in the first Gulf War. I am still reeling from hearing her voice after all these years and her son's voice, who was only a few months old when his father died, and his spitting image. I cant even begin to express what that feels like. Its like a small window back in time. David, I still miss you, even after all these years.
Gotta go
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