2012 - Nov 15-18 Mark, Mike, & Gary at Marks Lake House

We left town on Thursday afternoon about 2:45. My friend Mark, his old college buddy, Mike and I headed for Mark's lake house on Lake of the Ozarks. The plan was to drink some beer while we cleaned up the leaves around the yard, fixed the latch on the back door, relocated an electrical outlet on the boat dock, and put an extension on the sewer vent.

We stopped for a sandwich on the way down at the Thirsty Hog Saloon south of Fulton, MO. Nice little spot, but everyone was keeping their eye on us. We got to the lake house about 8:45 after a stop at a grocery store to pick up some provisions. I was particularly attracted to a bottle of Ardmore Traditional Cask single malt Scotch in the liquor department, so I took it along for the ride.

We got the car unloaded and our stuff stowed away before settling down for a few cocktails, including the Ardmore. In bed by 11:00 to get a good night's sleep before starting our chores in the morning.

When I got up Friday morning, Mark and Mike were already sitting in front of the TV telling lies and making comments about one of the shows on HGTV. It was probably 10:00 by the time we headed outside. As we went out the back door, there was a deer between the neighbor's house and us that had a nasty gash on her right front leg just below the shoulder. The leg looked like it was hanging on by the skin. It wasn't bothering her much when she ran up the hill and out of sight on three legs just as fast as if she had four.

We got outside and fired up the leaf blowers. Mark and I ran the blowers and Mike tended the fire. A bit over two hours later we were finished and it was time for a beer.

About 3:30, we arrived at some bar, the name of which escapes me, and had dinner and a couple of beers. Then we went to The Glory Hole, then on to the Branding Iron to top off the evening. The party started when we got there and was still going when we left. I'd say that place was probably the highlight of the trip. So much so that we went back for dinner on Saturday night!

Saturday morning, we went over to the other side of the cove to check on Mark's jet ski and boat trailer to make sure they hadn't been stolen from his storage shed. All was well, so after a short drive around the neighborhood, we went back to the house to start our electrical project.

All of the wiring on the dock is encased in metal conduit. The object of the game was to move one of the outlet boxes from a post on the left side of the fish cleaning table to a post on the right side of the fish cleaning table. We disconnected the length of conduit leading from a junction box to the outlet box, moved it to the new location, filled in the gap with a new piece of conduit and fished a new length of wire thru the conduit from the junction box to the outlet. No one was hurt, no sparks flew, and no tools were dropped into the lake. It was a good day!

So, again around 3:15, we were looking for a place to eat. It was back to the Branding Iron where we knew we'd be welcome because we made such a good impression the previous night. The food was good and we were remembered!

We were home and in bed by 10:00 so we could be awake and alert for Sunday's drive home. No pictures were taken on Sunday because we all looked older by then.

The pictures after the kayaker came from Mike's camera, so the chronology starts over again at that point.

It was a great time with a lot of laughs. We're already looking forward to doing it again next year when we'll take a shot at putting the extension on the sewer vent.

2012 - Oct 2-5 Land Between the Lakes Rally, Piney Campground, Dover, TN

We were supposed to get to the rally on Monday, but Marsha's Uncle Bill passed away on Saturday. The visitation was yesterday and the funeral was Tuesday morning. We camped at Lithia Springs on Lake Shelbyville Monday night. After the funeral, we went to the luncheon at the church before going back to the campground, hooking up and heading south.

We arrived at Piney Campground around 6:00pm where we found that about twenty campers had already arrived, even though the rally doesn't officially begin until Thursday. Our campsite was under a canopy of oak trees, right across the road from the brand new shower house. Other than the occasional acorn bouncing off the roof of the camper, it was a great site.

Marsha and I made a couple of trips to town, but as in the past, we didn't do much sight seeing in the area. Maybe next year!

On Wednesday afternoon, Adrian and Sugar (her real name) hosted a cocktail hour at their campsite on the shore of Lake Barkley. The rally officially started on Thursday evening with a welcome and a few announcements from Dennis, the rally organizer. You may have noticed that the label on this post is '2012 Out and About' rather than '2012 Aliner Event'. That's because it's a non-denomination rally. It started out a few years ago with mostly Scamp and Casita campers, but soon evolved into a come-one-come-all event. Dennis says he doesn't care if you're in a tent. Come and join the fun! There were 42 camping units in attendance, including one tent.

Marsha went on the Friday morning 'walk & talk' with several women. Too early for me! Friday was a full day with camping tips, how-to demonstrations, another cocktail hour, and a potluck dinner. The weather was great until that evening when it cooled off and started to rain just as the potluck dinner was coming to an end.

Saturday morning, Marsha and I got up early and hit the road about 8:30 in order to make it home in time for another social event. Hope everyone had another day of fun on Saturday and at the Smores Pajama Party on Sunday morning. Sorry we missed it!