Georgia in Late Winter

Coming up through GA from FL was new for us at this time of year.  All the leaves were brown and many of the trees were actually naked!  It's such a beautiful state, and driving up 319 to I-75 was a real treat.  Rolling hills, very small communities, lots of green grass this time of year.  There are still alot of hardwoods but the undergrowth is minimal so that I could see through the trees.  I kept expecting to lock eyes with a deer.

I was surprised that we were still seeing alot of armadillos as road kill.  I thought they were more in the dryer states like TX.  Guess not, it's funny kinda, in the NW and even in the more northern state we see lots of raccoon's alongside the road, but not down here.

Once we got to Knoxville heading west the rocks were very visible, I even caught glimpses through the trees of small caves or cave openings scattered around the trees.  It would be fun to slither inside and see what kind of cave it is.  I'm sure many small animals call them home so intrusion would not be welcome.

On the both sides of the interstate were high rock cliffs, on the north side facing south the water was flowing slowly, but on the south side facing north it was all frozen and looked like whiskers of knomes as they looked out of the rock. LOL  It was really beautiful, when comparing the two sides, there didn't seem to be as much water flowing on the north side, but on the south frozen side, it accumulated and was very full.

We got into Lexington on Wednesday, we parked and I let the girls out to play, they got cold quickly and were happy to come in and snuggle under the blankets on the couch.  

What a wind & thunder rain storm we had last night, I was awake alot and the rain came in sheets while the RV was rocking alot.  Peter thankfully slept through it, but I was awake every couple of hours and it lasted all night.

3rd week of Feb 2009

What a week we've had... we left Bassfield and headed south to Florida... we were within 80 miles of our destination at Chatahoochee, FL just 40 miles short of Tallahassee when the drive shaft fell off the RV... right in the middle of the I-10.

The RV had started vibrating while we were going down the road and Peter was trying to determine what it could be... he went through all the possibilities hoping to get to the KOA where we had a reservation before anything bad happened.  He had just told me that it was possible that it was the drive shaft coming loose when it fell off..  The middle yoke bolt looks like it broke and dropped the shaft front first.  Since we were going 60 mph it ripped itself out of the back and the drivers side back tires rolled right over it.

God was sure watching over us because the shaft could have done alot of damage to the under carriage, but yet there was none.  He is so good, our Protector!!!

We called the insurance to see if they would pay for a tow truck, sure the first 16 miles LOL we were out in the middle of nowhere, 120 miles from Tallahassee where there was a big enough truck that would tow us to the people who could fix this.  Since we're so long with a tag axel, not everyone will tow us.  Plus we had to have the trailer towed also since the tow truck cannot tow the RV with the trailer on behind because the trailer would pop off the first bump that was hit.

KOA recommended a repair place that had proven themselves to them and we followed their recommendation and happy that we did.  These guys "Rising Son's" were great, they found places to construct all the parts, found out that the front part of the shaft was bent also and made sure that it was made too.  We stayed overnight at their place, and they pushed everything through in good time.

We made it to the fairgrounds in Tallahassee in time to set up our booth for the show.

This was a very small show but also had some agility going on.  The public came in and there were quite a few people enjoying the nice day.  Overnight and in the mornings the temp was very cold (23 degrees) and being that we were setup outside I layered all over and wore my boots.  It warmed up during the day into the high 60's and off came the layers LOL.

Longleaf Trace

Have a couple of items to report.  I'm getting a new video for my Stibbar Booth & Store.  It's 2x2 weave training by Susan Garrett out of Canada.  This video shows how to teach your dog weave poles in 12 days.  I'm excited by it because weave poles are the hardest things to teach and everyone has trouble with them.  Most trainers say that after 6 - 9 months of training you should be able to have some consistancy of your dog going through them.

The second item is that we stayed in Bassfield MS and I took Hoshi out on the bike trail that is 42 miles long and goes from Hattiesburg way west to Bassfield and beyond.  Hoshi and I did 3 miles the first day and then 7 miles the next.  Plus we got alot of custom orders shipped out, as we passed by the PO heading for the trail.  There was also a Regions bank in town so got the checks deposited.

It was a great couple of days, we stayed at a stables that is run by a man who was born in bassfield 62 years ago and his dad was born there too.  Very nice couple and they have 7 or 8 hookups and the water is delicious.

Arkansas

We were at McKinney last week and had a nice show.. best of all I picked up a new product. Roberta Kirby is a top notch massager of dogs... and she has a new video out that helps owners massage their own dogs right at the time of injury or problem.

We just finished our first show in Arkansas.  It was a small show but we did OK.  Got enough to make it to Fl next week plus get some product in, plus pay for entries into other shows.

After florida we will be heading to Lexington to see the dr.  Peter needs some updates on his meds, and I need some help with the arthritis, it's getting worse in my hands and right wrist.

We had to get the bearings greased on the tag axel drivers side... it was making alot of noise.

Last 2 weeks

 The trip from Rosenberg to Abilene was beautiful, we stayed off any large roads since TX has great state roads.. the scenery was great. Rolling hills, great big pecan and oak trees spaced far enough apart to make it look like a park.

Hoshi got her fill of cows, but we saw lots of boer goats as well as sheep.  She doesn't know what those are so doesn't pay attention to them.

Abilene show was quite small but I sold 43 ornaments!!! Hardly any leather.  Very disappointing.  We then went back to Houston for the Crosby show that we've done now for the 3rd year... this was the best year ever... sold so much leather that Peter will be working for a couple of weeks to get us re-stocked plus they ordered alot of stuff.  24+ orders on friday and saturday and he worked all day saturday and sunday to get it made.  Then I got more orders on sunday and he has to make them when we get to Dallas.

We love those people, they are very appreciative when we show up.  I've got to get into the summer Houston show this year.

We celebrated with Pizza last night, really good from a local pizza joint in highlands, TX.

We're currently on our way up to McKinney which is just 20 miles N of Dallas.  There is another agility show there this weekend.  It will be interesting to see how we do there.

Peter's mad at the garmin as it makes alot of mistakes, this am has taken us on a round about way to get to I-45... went 40 miles out of our way...grrrrr

Now at last we're on 45 and can make some time.

Peter is doing ok, he's adjusting to his lower blood pressure and to the multiple drugs he's taking.  We're figuring out where we'll be by the end of the month so he can see another cardiologist.