The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

rogerbum · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:07 am Post subject:

Jeez - Jim playing a dummy - who'd a thunk it? It was a stretch I'm sure but I know that with your fine acting abilities you could pull it off. Wink

JamesTXSD · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:36 pm Post subject:

RVing our way north. Still near the water... the campground in Branson was on Turkey Creek, right off of Lake Taneycomo. Currently, we are in a pretty city campground along the Missouri River; nice wide sites, a great bike path that runs past the campground, and a great view of the river...

The bike path winds along the river, past an athletic complex, then turns into the countryside between corn fields. Every so often there are historical markers, telling of the Lewis & Clark Expedition and other local history - very nicely done.

The river views...

And the campground...

We are visiting my Mother here. Another few days and it's on to the Dakotas.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Papillon · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:50 pm Post subject:

Beautiful pictures...any picture with water in it is beautiful to me. Does your mom still think you are nuts? Don't take it personal Jim...you are nuts.

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:12 am Post subject:

Wow, Roger calls me a dummy and Mike calls me nuts... nice to be amongst friends. Rolling Eyes

My son-in-law uses a cartoon cat to insult me. It's fortunate I have good self-esteem or I'd develop a Rodney Dangerfield complex. Wink

There is no doubt I am wired differently. Some see the glass as half full, others see it as half empty... I look at it and think, "Look at the way the light refracts through that glass." Very Happy

Pat thinks I have a dolphin fetish, but I really appreciate their ability to cruise through life with playful curiosity. In the grand scheme of things, I have no idea what part we are all supposed to play, but the philosopher Cyndi Lauper only got it half right: it isn't just girls who want to have fun.

Best wishes,
Jim

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:48 pm Post subject:

Ripped from the headlines!

Well, OK... maybe: taken from this thread? Seems that Dan is keeping tabs on us through this forum. With that in mind, here's this week's Captain Jim...

Of course, I would never say anything about a repair without shedding blood. Karma.

Not sure how he finds the time; besides his teaching job, he coaches. His baseball team is 6-0 for the season, so far. Pretty cool, huh? Very Happy

Hope you enjoy the column.

Best wishes,
Jim

hardee · Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 10:38 pm Post subject:

Yea Jim, You are different, but in your case different is good....

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject:

Hi Harvey,

I've been pretty fortunate to go through life comfortable in my own skin. Roger and Mike are friends and we can all kid each other. Well, Mike probably wasn't kidding, but I still like him in spite of the stuff he says about me. Cool

After all, look at all the stuff I've said about Dixie and she's one of my favorite people. Mr. Green

We're still out and about, land cruising. Right now, we're spending some time at Hart Ranch in the Black Hills... some may remember it as the place we put up a tent as our "camping unit" and stayed in the boat (boats aren't allowed as the "camping unit" here). Very Happy

It is one of the premier RV resorts in the midwest and a place we truly enjoy. And now, we "fit in" again.

It's still a bit cool for this island boy, but we've been riding our bikes, walking, and enjoying springtime in the Hills... with long pants and jackets. Wink

It may make it up to 70º here by Tuesday. Hot

Best wishes,
Jim B.

PS For anyone keeping track, Dan (the author/creator of the Captain Jim comic strips) finished the regular season 8-0. Thumbs Up

Yeah, we're excited for him.

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 7:27 pm Post subject:

Izzy the travel cat has been working on her leash training while at Hart Ranch. It must be going well - I now walk wherever Izzy wants to go. Wink

There is a large grassy area behind our RV, also known as the "dog walking area." We haven't told Miss Iz that, she thinks it's there for her. Out towards the edge of that area is a sign; Izzy found that sign very interesting, likely because it has been peed upon by countless canines.

Probably a good thing she can't read...

Izzy was happily chasing grasshoppers and even caught a fly in the air; I kept a careful look out.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

JamesTXSD · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 12:06 am Post subject:

Update on the land cruising...

Still in the beautiful Black Hills. I woke up this morning, and every muscle in my body hurt. No, I'm not sick; we added another conveyance to the "travel train": an enclosed Featherlite trailer to haul the motorcycle. I've been working on it.

The dealer installed all the motorcycle tie-down gear, but I wanted some kind of liner for the floor and ramp door. Researching that, I found Herculiner - similar to the Rhino-Liner in our truck, but available in a D-I-Y kit. Thus, the reason for my aches and pains - yesterday, I squatted for several hours getting the first coat on...

Today, even my hair hurt. Disgust

And I knew I had to put the final coat on. This stuff is easy to apply, and I can see where it could have some real use on boats, too... you just have to be right down there on the floor doing it. On the bright side, if I keep this kind of stuff up, I will have Buns of Steel. On the not-so-bright side, it hurts when I sit, stand, or walk. Rolling Eyes

We ordered the 5th wheel with a factory hitch, and picked out the trailer so we will be right at the legal tow length limit when double towing. With some dealer guidance and visiting with some other folks who are doing what we will be doing, we went a little wider on the trailer and got a V-nose.

Obviously, there is no way to haul Wild Blue behind the 5th wheel, but this trailer will have enough room for Yonder (our dinghy), if we decide to haul it along. So, we'll still be RVing or boating.

For anyone wondering about Izzy the travel cat, she is doing better than we could have imagined... she rides in the truck like a real traveler; strange people or noises don't scare her; and she walks on the leash like a pro. She will certainly be ready for the boat when we get back to Texas.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Papillon · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject:

Hope this cures your homesickness...

JamesTXSD · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 7:04 pm Post subject:

Mike, ol' buddy, thank you for thinking of us - that's great! Very Happy

Seeing the lifelines at the bottom of the frame, I see you were out on the sailboat when you shot those. Yes, we have been missing being on the water. Yesterday was a particularly gorgeous day here in the Black Hills; we decided to drive down to the lake where we used to rent a slip when we lived in the area... I was hoping for the opportunity to see some of our sailing buddies. When we got to the lake, we were happy to see that the lake level is finally up... but, unfortunately, there were quite a few empty slips. We recognized a couple of the sailboats that were in slips and looked around for our buds. We asked some people on a boat there if they had seen them and they said, "They just left on Scot's boat. Do you want to use our radio to call them?" Well, sure.

My friend, Steve, said, "See that Catalina at the head of the dock? Go get on it and bring it out here and meet us." Well, I wasn't going to get on someone's boat that I didn't know. Steve said, "Hey, that's my new boat (it's a Catalina 27). If you aren't going to bring it out, go help yourself to something out of the fridge and we'll be there in a few minutes."

It was like "old home week", with hugs, laughing, lying, and more laughing. Steve insisted we go out with them on their boat. It didn't take much arm twisting. Temps pushing into the 80s, sunny sky, and enough gusty wind to keep it interesting. Yeah, we remember how to do that sailing stuff! Cool

No dolphins here in the Hills, but the water was nice, Mother Nature was very giving, and it was big fun renewing old friendships.

We'll be heading for home in a couple weeks... got to see some of the dolphins for myself, you know. Then, we're off again with Wild Blue.

Thanks again, Mike - our best to you and Judy.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan

toyman · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 7:51 pm Post subject:

Does Pactola have any water in it Jim ? We were stationed in Rapid a LONGgggg time ago. Went back thru a couple of years ago and were blown away by the low water levels !

toyman · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:08 pm Post subject:

Oops - how'd that happen ??

JamesTXSD · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:30 pm Post subject:

toyman · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 9:04 pm Post subject:

After 30 years of working and living around the world, the Black Hills area is the only area SHE and I have always wanted to return to - to live, for the SUMMER !