George W. Bush Presidential Center

Before we left Fort Worth, we wanted to try and make it over the the GWB Museum and Library in Dallas adjacent to the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU).  We decided to stay and extra day to do it and it was worth it.  We have made it a high-interest item to see as many presidential homes, museum and libraries as we can.  We've also put State Capitols in the same category too.

Here is a photo of  GWB Presidential Center from the parking lot.

One thing I noticed right away is the grass.  The grounds are now mowed as you might expect.

Instead grass is left to grow long.  By design.  It looks like prairie grass.

Inside the building is like a large hall with displays along each side.  I liked the way the "Gifts to the American People" items were shown.

They probably have warehouses full of these kind of things.  This was only a few of the small stuff I'll guess.  Necklaces, jewelry, gold carvings and my favorite:  gold stirrups from Africa.

After the initial gallery, tourists gather in a large open area and look up to a 4 sided presentation of Texas.

The seamless video somehow is display along 4 walls at the same time.  Very unique.

We watched the short video "A Charge to Keep"

Next we moved into the galleries and displays of his life and times.  I always like the family photos and 'growing up' pictures of famous people.  And some ones that show a different side.  Like the display of signed baseballs.

There are ones signed by Sandy Koufax, Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Ozzie Smith.

Of course the overshadowing time in his Presidency was 9/11.  There was a good amount of displays and video clips concerning that.

It was an emotional for me remembering all that again and how it has profoundly changed America.

Another feature was an interactive display with some big issues and then choices of how to handle the situation.  We got 4 minutes to hear four scenarios and opposing opinions on each.  Then we had to decided what to do.

Our choices were compared with what actually happened. Interesting way to make a point and learn that part of things.

Each president is confronted with strong but differing opinions yet, they have to make a decision.

There was a display with the pens used to sign (or in one case veto) legislation.

There were some other assorted displays viewed

I am glad we took the time to see that facility.  It is almost brand new and has some very interesting features.  It was well laid out but I got the feeling the 2/3 of the building were not being used.  We only saw the museum and it seemed to be a little crowded.  There were a lot of people there while we visited but they still seemed to pack a lot of information into a small space.

After seeing the large LBJ museum in Austin recently, this one is much smaller by comparison.  Nevertheless, I would still recommend it.  We are glad we saw it.

We posed for a photo between 41 and 43 before we left.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Last Day in Texas for a While

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Me and My Dog (Katie)

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We got Kelly all packed up and the house cleaned up so we took it easy yesterday.  The PODS people were supposed to come and pick up the unit.  After that we only had a couple of things scheduled.  We met some friends Kelly wanted us to get together with for coffee and bagels and to talk.  It was nice to meet Mary and Rebecca.

After that Kelly went back to her house for the day and Pam and I drove over to Fort Worth.  It was my
brother Brad's birthday so he and I went to play golf at Squaw Creek while Pam went to get her hair cut and to run some errands.

I was hitting them pretty well on the practice range made some errand shots on the front nine and shot 42.  On the back nine I hit some more than ugly ones and shot a 46.  It was enough to get humbled badly by his  39 and 42.  He played well and he should have---it was his birthday!

The winning golf swing

After that, we went back and talked for a while.  After Sue got home we called and then picked up pizza for dinner.  Sue is a counselor at a local high school and already has earned her pay for the year.  What a challenge (is that the right word) at this time of the year to get all the students scheduled with the right classes!  Ugh!  I don't know how many weekends they have worked in the past six weeks but it has been a lot...  If you are (or have been) a high school counselor, may hat is off to you!

Kelly went out to dinner with friends and we came back to the Roadrunner to pack away things and get ready for a 9:00 AM ish departure.  We are headed to Red Bay Alabama to get some work done on the coach at the factory.

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Roadrunner Recap: Caught Up in Dallas

The last couple of days we have been helping Kelly pack up and move out of her home in Dallas.  She rented a PODS unit and it arrived in front of her house on Tuesday.

It took a while to get things out of the house and onto the lawn and then into the unit.  Meanwhile it was hot!

At 103 degrees, the sweat was rolling off me everywhere.  I really didn't mind--to me it is like a good work out and a sauna.  I must have drunk half a dozen bottles of water and Gatorade!

After a long day Tuesday, we went for sushi and noodles at the Asian Fusion Cafe and Dessert Bar. Yum!

Next we went to The Porch which is a Tuesday night service for the younger crowd (20's and 30's) at Watermark Church in Dallas.  They have a beautiful facility and the message on 'Being the Exact Opposite' was good. 

After the service people hang around and talk.  Kelly got to see some friends and say goodbye and they agreed to a picture for the blog:

Here is a good looking group of accomplished, hard working young professionals!

Then yesterday, we finished loading up the PODS unit.

And I had some work to do in the garage on patching a couple of holes in the garage wall.

We will be finishing that up and the PODS will be picked up for delivery next week in Virginia Beach.

That wraps up another day of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  We appreciate you taking a look today.  Hope you are having a good week and thanks for all the comments.

Roadrunner Recap: Canada to Texas in 3 Days

While we were in Canada, Kelly had an telephone interview which led to a flight to Virginia Beach for a face to face meeting.  She was hired as a Marketing Coordinator and starts on August 25! 

We planned a route to Texas to help her move.  We also stopped in Dayton OH so Adam could catch a flight to Washington DC before he leaves for India on August 22.

We stayed at the Port Huron Township RV Park Campground (A) last Thursday and Friday.  Port Huron is right on the Canada / Michigan border.

We left the RV campground in Port Huron on Saturday morning and drove to Dayton, OH (B).  Kelly drove to Dallas Texas on her own, taking Ed her dog.  She needed to get home and start packing.

We stayed at the Wright-Patterson AFB, OH FamCamp and stocked up on groceries.

On Sunday morning, we got up early and took Adam to the Dayton International Airport, then drove to Arkadelphia Arkansas.  That was a long day --- 747 miles!  But it was easy in many ways traveling in the Roadrunner.  I got an hour nap at one point and we had a hot dinner Pam cooked in the micro wave while barreling down the highway.

We stopped for the night at Arkadelphia Campground in Arkansas.

We were glad to get a site since it was late at night when we rolled into the campground.  The office was closed and it started to rain.  But we got set up and went to the office in the morning to pay for the site.  Then we left for the shorter drive to Dallas.

We found the Plantation Place RV park which is about 15 minutes from Kelly's place.  It has no office but we called the manager, got a site and found our paperwork waiting for us at the kiosk near the front.  It was pretty straight forward and simple.

The campground is fairly secluded yet not far from the freeway.  It is way more convenient than the campground we stayed in the last time we visited Kelly.  So we are close to her and have packing and cleaning to do to get her ready to leave for Virginia Beach on Friday.

That concludes this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Tomorrow I'll be posting some of the friends and family we have seen since arriving a couple of days ago.

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Planes, Bikes and Boats

Yesterday I had Pam at the Flint Bishop International Airport at 5:00AM for a 6:00 AM flight to Dallas.

She got there in plenty of time, had a brief layover in Chicago and got to DFW about 9:30 AM.   She is driving back up here to Michigan with Kelly and Ed (her dog).

I got back to the Roadrunner, had breakfast, went for a good run before I finished the wax job on the Roadrunner.

It is supposed to get 'Step 2' but it isn't going to happen in this heat...

After lunch I found a nearby bike trail 'Hudson Valley Trail' and went for a one of the longer rides I have had in a while.  I think I went about 12 miles and found another trail 'South Lyon Trail Head'.

I came back in time to heat up some 'chili mac' for dinner and ate on the banks of the lake.  I built a fire and sat in the shade and made some phone calls.

Pam and Kelly almost made it to Nashville last night before the checked into a motel.  They should be here tonite.

Before the sun went down, the boats were out on the lake.  I haven't seen so many here in the water at one time.

It was a bit warm so a boat ride was appealing.

I read some before I turned in and called it a night.  That was it for yesterday on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for viewing!

Garage Doors at our NOMADS House

We got back in the saddle at our NOMADS house in Galveston.  I caught a ride with Jerry and Kit while Pam went back to the doctor for a followup.  She also got the tire repaired and did some other things before she joined us there too.

Pam found out they could not balance the tires because the tread on a front one is wearing too thin.  It is time for new tires.  ??  Really...after 16,000 miles?  We have to call our Honda dealer and check out that one.  I thought these were supposed to be good for 50,000 miles (or 30,000 at least...).

Kelly returned to Dallas with Ed(her dog).  The RV campground where we are staying at Island Community Church is about half empty.  More people left last weekend and we only have 10 people left on the project.  It closes down this week and resumes again in the fall.

My main task for the day was to get started on the garage doors.  They need to be replaced.

It was built with 1/4 inch plywood but we are replacing it with 3/4 inch.

The old doors are a bit twisted so, we are putting up cross braces inside the doors on these ones.

If the hinges hold on these HEAVY doors, they should last a while.

Inside, Jerry was fixing the bathtub fixtures and replacing an electrical outlet box while Kit and Fran were finishing off the trim around the laundry and closet doors.

Kit also finished painting the back door.  Quitting time came very quickly and we headed back to the campground after 4:00 PM.

In the evening I got caught up on emails and coordinated the final touches over the phone with our tax person at H and R Block.  That online approval and submission is pretty nifty.  We had a bit of a complicated return this year so it was great to have Mike get it done for us.  Good news ~ we get about $1700 back this year!

We are getting in the pack up and move mode.  Tonight after 'work' I will take off the tire covers and check the tire pressure, do some packing rearrange some things in the basement.

We will leave here on Friday morning for Red Bay AL to get some work done at the Tiffin factory.

Hope your week is going well and thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - February 2010

During February, we spent the majority of our time at Agave Gulch FAMCAMP.  We love Tucson and have some friends there and in the surrounding area so it was the perfect place for us to stay for a while.

The highlight of the month was seeing so many friends in Tucson, Maricopa, Scottsdale and Tempe.

While in Tucson, we also went to a number of museums, National Parks, hiking trails, played some golf and worked out a few times.  The weather was pretty good although it rained a few more days than I expected.  Surprisingly, we could see the snow in the surrounding mountains at the upper elevations.

Overall - it was our best month for expenses since we began full-timing in May of 2009:

Overall, we where a whooping $1060 under budget.  It helps when you have a $1000 budgeted for diesel and you don't drive it anywhere during the month.

Good news are areas where we are under budget- 

At Agave Gulch, our campground fees were $6/night in the overflow area and $17/night in the full hookup sites.
The other area we did well in was medical.  Also - not budget related but significant for us was that we changed from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard.  That allows us to find a doctor that takes Tricare insurance anywhere in the country.  We have additional co-pays (up to $300/yr) and a deductible limit of  $3000 per year.  That gives us additional flexibility instead of being tied to a doctor and facility in a specific area of the county.

Biggest expenses for the month - 

- We played golf three times at the Davis-Monthan golf course and spent $140.
- We continue to spend more than we budget of food and were $130 over our $400 budget.

Large 'One Time Cost Item(s)' - 

- I got Pam's MacBook fixed and took the technician's advice to purchase a separate external hard drive for my backups ($118)
- We bought a small standup vacuum ($90)to clean the large areas of the Roadrunner. 

Monthly average since we started tracking in June 2009 - 

The monthly averages shows a lower monthly average than in January.  The average is down $237.  We still are a considerable amount above our target, but are confident we can get closer to our average number of $3320/ month.

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today!