Starting a New Year in a Familiar Place…

We certainly enjoyed our brief stay in Tucson Arizona but it became time to go. If Tucson wasn't a little bit cooler in the winter than Mesa I could see us staying there for the season. However those extra 5° of temperature on the cold side keeps us away.

We arrived in Mesa earlier than expected and as a result we had to go to a different site. Someone was in the one we had reserved starting January 1st. Since we arrived December 22nd we picked a site across the street from the one we had reserved.

It was a bit tricky getting in since it was beside a park model but we made it in just fine. The office gave us the option to stay there instead of moving. However, after setting up we quickly decided that we would probably move over to our other spot on January 1st since this was too close to the park model on our driver's side.

It didn't take us long to get settled into our Mesa routine for the winter months. We started taking our strolls and hiking in some of our favorite places as well as visiting our favorite happy hour spots.

Sharon and I also began visiting the gym every morning to get in a good workout. Evenings we attend the live music provided by the park now 6 days a week.

On January 1st we moved over to our reserved site right after the people there moved on to Yuma Arizona. We are happy to start the new year and look forward to having fun in our winter destination

Out in the west Texas town of El Paso…

Our next stop on our westward trek was for an overnight stop in Van Horn, Texas. We don’t often stay for just one night but we have been to Van Horn many times and there really is much worth revisiting in this area, so we didn’t even disconnect the CRV.

The next morning we drove into El Paso and over to the Sunalnd Casino. The casino has 8 first-come first-served RV sites with water and 30/50 amp service and we were hoping to snag one for an extended stay in El Paso. Lucky for us there were several available so we hooked up and went into the casino to pay. Wow, only $15 per night to stay here!

It was nice to be in civilization once again after several remote stays in a row. We even found a nice disc golf course called Nations Tobin  we played. Also it was nice to be able to shop in real grocery stores and go out for happy hour. The Union Draft House and Aurellias Brewery were our favorites.

Also nearby was a TruFit fitness center, the same company we became members of in College Station Texas. We are really glad we took advantage of becoming members for FREE via the Silver Sneakers program giving us access to such a nice gym.

While here we took a drive through the Franklin Mountains, the largest urban park in the U.S. There are a few pullouts that provide some scenic panoramic views of the city and surrounding landscape. We didn’t stay until sunset, but we imagine it's especially picturesque during sunset or sunrise.

Lucky for us not too far from Sunland Casino we found a few places to hike and to birdwatch. One was a heritage park and another was a hike along the Rio Grande. Both places were fun and were quite scenic for hiking with views of the Franklin Mts.

Our next planned stop was in Las Cruces NM but the reviews of the park we normally stay at were scathingly bad as it appears the homeless and druggies have discovered the nearby hotel. We decided to drive to Las Cruces in our CRV and see if the reviews had any merit.

When we arrived at the RV park, we saw that the reviews were spot on. The only other park in our budget really wasn’t our cup of tea so we decided we would add a few more days in El Paso and skip staying In Las Cruces. However, while there we went to our favorite New Mexican restaurant, Andeles,  for some green and red chili!

We also went for a hike in Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park while in Las Cruces. So even though we weren’t going to stay we did find things we wanted to do had we gone there.

Back in El Paso we were treated to a beautiful rainbow before leaving. With the weather getting colder in the forecast it was time to move on…

Art in Marfa Texas…

Ballroom Marfa is a contemporary art museum located in Marfa, a town of less than 2,000 people. Free and open to the public it gives artists and musicians the opportunity to engage with the public. On display while we were there was an art piece by Guadalupe Maravilla who proclaims to be a transdisciplinary visual artist, choreographer, and healer.

The massive piece on display is called Mariposa Relámpago. We stopped by to check it out and it is indeed a “WOW” art piece. This is the ultimate bus conversion, and this piece has a story to it as well. Go to this link to hear what the artist has to say.

Maravilla, the artist, grounds his art in activism and healing and reflects his personal journey of migration, illness, and recovery. At the age of eight, Maravilla fled El Salvador’s civil war immigrated alone to join family in the United States. Recently Maravilla was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was during the recovery process that became interested in ancient methods of healing, including the use of sound.

This art piece, Mariposa Relámpago (translates to Lightning Butterfly) is the artist’s largest sculpture. Each sculpture he creates includes metal gongs intended to create the powers of vibrational sound as a form of healing.

“Maravilla’s artworks also contain a cosmology of potent symbols and objects that connect the artist’s personal journey with ancient practices of the Indigenous Mayan peoples; diverse spiritual and folk beliefs; and contemporary crises of disease, ecology, and war. Mariposa Relámpago functions as a sculpture, shrine and healing instrument.”

“Mariposa Relámpago opened at Ballroom Marfa on November 4, 2023. The installation will be presented at The Contemporary Austin’s Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria in April 2024 and will commence at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston in November 2024.”

Marathon Texas and a Hike in Big Bend NP

Marathon, Texas, our next stop, is a place we have been before. Marathon is a small town located in the Chihuahuan Desert, about 40 miles from the north entrance to Big Bend National Park. It's is a perfect stop for exploring the breathtaking natural expanse of Big Bend National Park.

Marathon is best known for the iconic Gage Hotel; a historic hotel built in 1927. The hotel has a beautiful lobby with a large fireplace and the White Buffalo bar near its lobby is a great spot to end any day visiting Big Bend.

Also nearby is the Big Bend Brewing Company, which brews a variety of craft beers. The brewery has a taproom, and they also have a restaurant that serves BBQ. They are only open on the extended weekends, so visitors need to plan wisely. .

Our goal for this stop was to hike the Chisos Basin Loop Trail in Big Bend National Park. Nearing the entrance of Big Bend National Park, the majestic Chisos Mountains stand tall on the horizon. The Chisos Basin Loop Trail is a 2.4-mile trail that starts near the Chisos Mountains Lodge and ends at the Window Trail.

This short and fairly easy hike offers views of Casa Grande peak, the Chisos basin and the Window View. It delivers on the promise of breathtaking views steeped in natural splendor. When hiking it is easy to feel a connection with the untamed wilderness.

The trail begins with a gradual ascent, winding through the Chisos Mountains. Through a unique blend of desert and mountainous terrain. Throughout the hike you'll see the breathtaking Window View, a natural opening in the Chisos Mountains which frames a spectacular vista of the desert below.

Hiking in Big Bend National Park is a truly unique and immersive experience. It offers a stunning landscape that includes vast desert expanses, towering mountains, and the Rio Grande River. Each step brings a new visual delight and the remoteness of the landscape creates a feeling of solitude which is both peaceful and awe-inspiring. Hike it!

Birding Fort Clark Springs and Hiking in Seminole Canyon State Park, Tx

We left Canyon Lake mid-morning and headed to Fort Clark Springs in Brackettville, TX. This long drive we took last year would be longer this year due to construction on loop 1604 in San Antonio.

As it turned out the longer drive was a great way around the congestion in San Antonio. The trip through Boerne and Bandera TX via Texas 46 was a very scenic and enjoyable drive. We decided to never drive through San Antonio from Canyon Lake ever again!

We eventually made it to Brackettville which is home to Fort Clark. Once a frontier fort in the mid-1800’s it is now a 2,700-acre unincorporated community and gated resort of mostly retirees. It is a unique place given it is in the middle of nowhere.

The fort was built near the Las Moras Springs. The springs have been dammed to create a massive swimming pool with 68-degree water year-round. The excess flow continues on to create Las Moras Creek.

We love this park because of all the nature trails and fabulous bird watching opportunities. As before we hiked all along Las Moras Creek. The towering live oaks, pecans and other woodland species support a diverse flora and fauna.

Birders also know that water treatment ponds are great for seeing migrating waterfowl. The fort’s water treatment ponds were no exception as waterfowl were abundant. We even startled a nutria on the bank of the pond.

The campground was nothing special, but it does have full hook-ups. However, every evening we were treated to watching lots of white-tail and sika deer. One evening we had more than a dozen wild turkeys stroll right beside our RV. We also discovered that the resort had a gym where RVers were welcome, so we happily used it!

After two nights we moved over to Seminole Canyon State Park near Comstock, TX. We love the hiking there but hate that it doesn’t have reliable cell or wi-fi signal. We could occasionally get wi-fi briefly over the very poor park’s wi-fi network which was very frustrating.

We didn’t take the cave tour this year but did enjoy a hike to Presa Canyon. Hiking along the edge of Seminole Canyon the trail led us to the smaller Presa Canyon. We always will enjoy this hike. During the hike we spotted many different fossils forever enshrined in the limestone. Our leisurely trek westward has been enjoyable and we are hoping the weather will cooperate all the way to Arizona.

Finally, back on the road in Texas…

Well after a very extended stay in College Station (and NC for Sharon) we are together again and finally, back on the road! The RV started up without any issues and the tires were rolling westward bound.

Our next stop would be Potter’s Creek Park on Canyon Lake. We stay there often for its scenic beauty, proximity to to great towns to visit and because it is relatively close to our son’s house in San Antonio.

We aren’t staying as long as we usually do (it’s harder to obtain longer reservations now, like so many other places) so we will cram in as much fun as we can. Our first day trip was to revisit the Old River Road to New Braunfels. With it being autumn, the Bald Cypress and Pecan trees were nearly at peak for their fall colors. This sure made our favorite day trip from Canyon Lake all the more pleasurable.

Another day trip took us on a scenic loop drive through Sisterdale, Tx and over to LBJ National Historical Park. We took the loop drive on the former president’s old ranch and stopped to check his private plane and runway as well.

Next up was a downtown Fredericksburg, Tx. stroll. We love this German heritage town and all the old historic buildings in it. Also on this loop drive was another favorite hill country stop of ours, Luckenbach, Texas. I mean after all we had to check in on Waylon, Willie and the boys!

  

One really neat thing happened while we were at the campground. During our morning walk I noticed two Harris Hawks on perches beside an RV. Obviously someone at this RV was a falconer. A fellow was standing outside the RV and we started chatting with him. He is a falconer from New Jersey. A friend had gifted him the hawks when they were babies and he has had them since. He told us lots of stories about the birds and even offered us the opportunity to hold one of them. Too cool…

Our final day we headed to San Antonio to visit our son and his family. It was a brief stay but gave us time to reconnect with the grandson and of course, the grand dogs!

Like always the time went by fast and it’s once again time to hit the road…

Back to Texas…

Wow, our two weeks stay in North Carolina visiting our daughter and her family flew by! We really had fun with playing with Allie, our 2.5-year-old granddaughter who has acquired a huge vocabulary, is fun, exuberant and always on the go. We also enjoyed snuggles with Emmy our newest granddaughter who is beautiful. Katie and Brooks have made a great life in North Carolina, and it was great sharing it with them. Although it was sad to say our goodbyes, we knew it was time for us to leave.

We had to catch our flight back to Texas. Fortunately, we didn't have any problems with our flights, and we arrived on time, retrieved our car which was still in good shape and ready to roll. We drove back over to College Station but on our way, we stopped by to visit Lone Pint Brewery in Magnolia Texas. It’s a pleasant outdoor venue and serves some nice craft beer so we think it is worth a visit if you're in the area.

We made it back home without any ordeals and were glad to see our RV in great shape. It’s always a bit concerning to leave our RV home for long stretches of time. We stayed in College Station for 5 more days before hitting the road.

With Sharon having been gone 3 months, we revisited many of the spots that we love in our former hometown including a nice walk around the campus of Texas A&M University. With one last weekend, we also visited friends to say our goodbyes and to have one last weekend of fun with them. Monday rolled around and it was time to pack up the RV and start our trek westward.

The pictures in today’s blog are from my visit to the Texas Renaissance Festival while Sharon was still in North Carolina. I always enjoy people watching at this particular festival in Plantersville, Texas.

Our future plans are to winter in Mesa Arizona again this year. Before heading there our next stop is at Canyon Lake in Texas. While there we will visit our son and his family one more time in San Antonio before leaving Texas. After that we want to revisit some backroads and stay at some of our favorite places we have stayed at before.

Follow us on the road of retirement...

Moving on to Plan B…

As you may recall at the end of the second coat of primer the paint gun started sputtering paint which resulted in paint drips all over the endcap. Well after doing some internet research, I figured out what happened and how to solve it.

Apparently, the paint tip cap that screws in over the paint gun tip needs to be super tight, I mean way tighter than one would reasonably assume. This explains why it was so hard to remove when I practiced taking the gun apart the first time. Not tightening it real tight can result in paint drips or splatters. After tightening the tip and retesting the spray gun I found it did solve the problem.

Further research yielded a solution to repairing the drips in my primer. Before the paint fully cures you can use a single edged razorblade to scrape the highest parts of the drip and then using a small block with 400 grit wet sandpaper you can slowly sand the drip even with the paint.

The first few drips took me a while to repair but once I got the hang of it I repaired the remaining drips pretty quickly. However, by the time I was done I had lost another day because there wasn’t enough time for me to put on two more coats of primer. This is making it a real challenge for me to complete this project especially since I have a flight to North Carolina to go see the grandkids for two weeks.

The next day’s weather cooperated, and I was able to apply two more coats of primer. Better yet is that they went on smoothly and without any drips. However, with the one day of curing needed for the primer my luck with the weather is running out as rain and colder temperatures are heading my way.

The next day was cool and rainy and with the extended weather forecast leaving me only one day possible to finish the job I had some planning to do. Looking over the forecast I determined it would be unwise for me to attempt to finish the job due to the cooler morning temperatures. Temperatures not reaching 65 degrees early enough in the day meant I would be hard pressed to be able to complete painting three different colors with three coats each and the still be able to spray the clearcoat all in one day.

If there were any problems or challenges whatsoever that slowed me down even 10 minutes I would run out of daylight and unable to finish. And to do this job right it all has to be done in one day. My only recourse is to move to plan B.

I had mentioned previously that I was attempting to paint only the endcap to see if it was a task I was capable of doing and now I do believe I am. But I also learned a lot and realize it would be difficult to do this job anywhere else without access to all the equipment and space my friends have offered to me. Since I don’t plan (or want to spend any additional time here I will move on to plan B, letting someone else finish the job.

So, it looks like another trip to Puerto Penasco Mexico is in our near future… 

Best laid plans…

The day I picked for painting the primer on the end cap finally came and it was a perfect day for painting. Eighty degrees for a high, overnight lows above 65 degrees and wind less than 8 mph. My plans were coming to fruition!

Before the morning chill was over I went outside to wash the area to be primed with dawn dish soap. After about an hour I went backout to mask off the area to be painted with plastic. Then I did the final cleaning with Sprayway glass cleaner and SPI 700-1 Waterborne Wax and Grease Remover.

The Waterborne Wax and Grease Remover. Has to sit 45-60 minutes before applying the epoxy to allow the solvents in the cleaner to dissipate. While the Wax and Grease Remover was drying, I mixed epoxy primer with its activator because it must be induced (allow to rest after mixing) at least 30 minutes covered.

It was nearing noon by this time, so I let the epoxy continue to induce and broke for lunch. I wanted to be fresh for my first attempt at painting. The day before I had bought some water based paint that was on the discount shelf at Lowe’s to practice with. This allowed me to work not only on my technique but to get comfortable with the paint gun and it settings for air and fluid.

After lunch I donned my goggles and Respirator (charcoal), paint suit and latex gloves. Then I stirred the epoxy once again before spraying, poured the epoxy into the paint gun’s cup using a filter, fired up the compressors and got ready to paint.

I mentioned compressors because I had to use two borrowed 20 gallon compressors to do this job because a 50 gallon compressor wasn’t available for rent anywhere in town. So I used a splitter to join the two compressors together to give me 40 gallons of air supply.

Once the compressors stopped filling their combined tanks I was ready to paint. I used some scaffolding I bought (cheaper than renting and to be sold later) and three borrowed ladders to get up, down and across the endcap so I could maintain a “wet edge” on the paint.

When painting it is important to maintain a “wet edge” of paint for it to have a professional look. I had my Eastwood Concours spray gun with a 1.3 tip set at 28 psi and started spraying about 5 inches away from the surface. I sprayed a initial light to medium coat for the first coat.

Everything went pretty smooth as I was able to maintain a wet edge for the most part and getting up and down the ladders and scaffolding wasn’t as challenging as I feared. I was pleased with my first coat.

After 40 minutes of ”flash time” (time allowed to drive and for solvents to dissipate) I got the paint gun loaded for the second coat of primer.I had planned to put three coats on this day but towards the end of the second coat the gun started sputtering paint which resulted in paint drips all over the endcap. Crap! Now I will need to research how to handle this setback…

Steps– Painting Epoxy Primer on the RV Endcap

The primer I will be using is Southern Polyurethanes Inc. (SPI) 6620-1, Black Epoxy’

Below are the steps I will follow to put the primer on the endcap:

1.wash it down with dawn dish soap
  2. blow off w/ air and mask out area to be painted with plastic/paper
      a. Clean with sprayway glass cleaner
      b. Clean surface with SPI 700-1 Waterborne Wax and Grease Remover, let sit 45-60 minutes before applying epoxy
      c. Tack Cloth surface before priming
  3. mix VERY WELL SPI 6620-1 epoxy primer & 6700-1 Activator
      a. MUST BE MIXED up very well with a paint stick due to sediments
      b. use a paint filter to filter out contaminants from being poured into the paint gun.
      c. induce at least 30 minutes covered
      d. Respirator (charcoal), eye protection, paint suit, gloves
      NOTE: We strongly recommend when you activate the epoxy to stir and mix very well before letting it sit/induce for 30 minutes. Stir once again before spraying and the longer you wait between spraying your coats of epoxy the better.

  4. prime the surface - epoxy, 2-3 coats
      a. Primer will fill in 180 to 320-grit sand scratches.
      b. set gun full fan full fluid, then adjust it until finding the right settings on test panel
      c. spray gun 1.3 tip, 25-28 psi 4-5 inches away lay on light to medium, 2-3 wet coats
      d. spray first coat  w/1 hr. min flash time between coats, then 2nd, 3rd if needed
      d. Wait 24 hours before sanding
      e. clean gun Aerosol Injected Cleaner/lacquer thinner

  5. Sand primer
      b. Sand with 320 to 500 grit w/interface pad to smooth paint runs or drips smooth to the
  surface, being careful not to sand too far and exposing the surface again.
      d. Wash area to be primed with Dawn and dry
      e. Use compressed air to blow water out of crevices.
      f. do initial masking,
      g. wipe down with W&G remover and Tack Cloth right before painting
  6. Seal with epoxy reduced 25%. 1:1:1/2
      a. one wet coat only and wait 2-48 hours before basecoat

I will move from my current RV park over to a friend's lot where I will be

able to paint without bothering anyone. Wish me luck for I will need it. Not only because I have no clue what I am doing but the weather is going to try and sabotage my plans…

Steps - Prepping for Painting the RV Endcap

I am posting this as a reminder of the steps I took to prepare the RV for painting the endcap with primer. If I am successful at doing a good job I wanted to document my process so I can repeat it. The steps are the same for painting a bin door as they are for the endcap. This may also help others who might wish to tackle such a project.

PREP STEPS
  1. Wash area to be painted
        a. wash using dawn
        b. Clean any repair area with glass cleaner (sprayway)
        c. then use 70% isopropyl alcohol or wax and grease remover to remove contaminants that can interfere with paint adhesion  
        d. always use lint free shop towels for wiping
2. Repair any bad spots
        a. strip the current finish for any repair areas down to the bare metal/fiberglass
        b. fill imperfections with body filler - Allow filler to harden per directions
        c. DA sand 80 grit to flatten filler
        d. wipe clean with dawn/water

3. Carefully remove any fixtures that are not to be painted (e.g.. tail lights, RV ladder, license plate)
        a. use envelopes for screws and loose parts, label envelope accordingly
        b. remove any caulk entirely from surface (a flat edged razor blade works best)
        c. use Goo Gone or acetone to get any residual caulk off

4. sanding the old finish off
        a. DA with 180 to smooth chips or filler and to get old clearcoat off
        b. sand with 240 grit to get rid of 180 scratches and last of clearcoat
        c. sand with 320 grit to get rid of 240 scratches and to smooth out old paint
        d. for hard to get spots such as edges, use maroon scuff pad equiv. to 400 grit

The above steps are the most time consuming but how well you prepare the surface for paint will be reflected in the final product. This is not the place to cut corners.Remember any deep scratches from 180 grit or imperfections will be seen in the final paint job.

More Sanding on the Endcap

I have been busy sanding the back of the RV. It has taken countless hours of sanding to remove all the paint but I have made great progress.I began sanding with 80 grit sandpaper to remove the clear coat which was damaged while knowing I had to really get down to the surface of the paint.

As I was sanding through the clear coat I switched over to 180 grit to reduce my aggressiveness and to smooth the 80 grit scratches. Once I got down to the old paint I decided it was probably best to remove the paint as well and sand to the the fiberglass

To do that I continued with the 180 grit until I began to see the primer and then I switched to 240 Grit once again moving to a finer grit to smooth the scratches of the 180 grit sandpaper.

Once the primer was wearing through the last grit I chose to use was 320 grit. Once finished with this paper I will have a very smooth surface for application of the first few layers of epoxy primer.

That is where I'm at at this point in time I sanded for hours and hours resulting in a surface as "smooth as a baby's butt" (well maybe not that smooth).Now I am focusing on caulk removal and finishing sanding all the hard to get to spots.

The next step will be to prepare a paint shelter that will protect me from the elements when I start the painting process of the epoxy primer. I will be using an epoxy primer from southern polyurethanes based upon recommendations from a forum I joined.

My paint shelter will be constructed out of 3/4 in. PVC pipe and thin plastic sheeting that is transparent to let the light in. It will be constructed so that it will cover the entire end cap. This will provide me a protected space from the elements such as dust, debris and bugs thus protecting my fresh paint.

So now it's a waiting game and time to buy my final products to get the job done. My plan is to start painting sometime around the 6 or 7th of October!

Repainting the Endcap of our RV

Well it didn’t take me long to get in trouble. Our RV is a 2007 model and thus is now 16 years old. Over the last year or so the clearcoat has begun to flake off in several places with the end-cap being the worst. What started out as little checks in the paint has resulted in some spots with lots of clearcoat peeling off as can be seen below.

Last year in Arizona I reached out to many paint shops across the USA to see what needed to be done. The consensus for fixing this problem wasto sand all the areas that are bad down to the primer or fiberglass.The cheapest bid I found was for $23,000. That is nearly half the current value of the RV.

Since there was absolutely no way I was going to pay that much money for cosmetics it left me little choice but to attempt to do it myself. The only problem was,the only painting experience I had was with houses not cars, trucks or RV’s. But hey, it is never too late to learn another trade, right?

First I had to figure out how to remove the stick- on logos and stickers on the RV. I decided to start with the end-cap first. After scouring the internet I bought an Eraser Wheel from Amazon. After a short while I had my first sticker off.

After removing the stick-ons and stickers next would be sanding. Again after reading forums on the internet and watching hours of You Tube videos I began sanding the clearcoat off with 80 grit sandpaper

To sand the entire end cap I had to remove all the lights and things attached. This also required researching because There were delicate plastic silver rings around each tail light that would surely break if not removed carefully.

After using a paint can opener and a plastic putty knife I was able to gingerly remove each of the four plastic rings without breaking one of them. The rest of the lights were easy to remove. Now I was able continue sanding.

The gas cap removal was a bit tricky too. I sure hope when I am finished I will be able Humpty Dumpty back together again!

Yikes! What’s Happening? When?

Well the day before Sharon was planning on leaving for North Carolina to help Katie get ready for her second baby and our fourth grandchild we got a phone call. Katie’s husband informed us that Katie was experiencing a complication with the pregnancy and the C-section was being moved up to this day. So Sharon will arrive a day after the birth instead of about 10 days before.

Fortunately for Katie and the baby that evening everything went smooth with the C-section and baby Emmy Kate came into this world! With that announcement When baby Emmy got to come home it was time for Benny (their Corgi) and Allie (her sister) to get to meet her. And with I’ll just post a few pictures of the new baby with her grandmother (GiGi),Allie and Benny all enjoying the moment!

I will stay in Texas until things settle down for our daughter and her new family and will fly out to see Emmy in mid October. With all this time on my hands before flying to see her I wonder what trouble I can get into?

Not exactly chilling in our old home town…

Well we certainly picked the wrong summer to spend in our old home town in College Station, Texas. It has been over 100 degrees for seemingly forever. College Station has currently seen 60 days over 100 including 51 days in a row and 15 days in a row of over 105 degrees. They also set the highest ever recoded temperature of 112 which we have hit twice! Not hot by Arizona standards but the humidity here is always more oppressive.

Anyhow so what are we doing here except to get our RV repaired… Well, it turns out that our daughters is having another baby. We had thought about taking the RV over to North Carolina but after getting the recent repairs we decided to stay here and just fly over to NC.

So we have fallen into a bit of a routine with all this heat. We go for a morning walk of about two miles before it gets too dang hot! Lunch is next and then in the afternoon we go to a local gym for a workout. After our workout we are in search of a nice happy hour. And that is our life is for now.

As a side note, I should mention we joined a gym through a program called Silver Sneakers. If you haven’t heard of this program it is offered through Medicare any more specifically through Medicare Advantage. Not all Medicare Advantage programs offer it but most do.

Silver Sneakers is a health and fitness program designed for adults 65+ and Silver Sneakers members can:access live online fitness classes and an on-demand video library of prerecorded workouts. What we took advantage of is that thousands of gyms, community centers, and other participating fitness locations across the nation participate in it. This means that you can get a FREE gym membership!

Why would they offer it free? Well, the goal is to help you stay strong in body, mind, and spirit. Knowing regular physical activity keeps your heart, brain, bones, muscles, and joints healthy, insurers hope to save money in the long run!

So we've been going to the gym M-F to not only work out but to cool off as they air condition the heck out of these places. For now we are members of Tru-Fit and if we go somewhere else we will just change fitness clubs.

In the meantime we wait for Katie to have baby number 2. She is scheduled for a C-section in about a week or so and Sharon will fly up first to help take care of baby for 8 weeks and then I’ll fly to NC for 2 weeks before returning back to Texas.

In the meantime today’s pictures are from a walk we took on the Texas A&M University campus.

Converting our fluorescent overhead lights to LED using LED light strips.

Well, we finally ran out oft-8 fluorescent bulbs for our overhead lights. That meant it was time to finally convert all of our fluorescent bulb overhead lights to LED. Instead of buying new lights or buying expensive replacement LED bulbs I chose the more frugal way and used LED strip lights.

I  purchased some LED strip lights from TEMU, specifically the Bright Cold White LED Strip Light, SMD2835 12V strips.  These have 120 LEDs per meter. I also bought a Light Strip DIY Connector Set (8mm) so I wouldn’t have to do any soldering.  These connectors were for 2 Pin 8mm 3528/2835 LED Strip Light.

The strip lights cost 3.89 per roll; I bought two rolls. The connector set was 4.89. My total investment so far is less than 15 dollars. I found that one roll and one pack of connectors will do 5 overhead lights where I used two strips (18 inches) for each light. So if you buy the LED strip and a connector kit from TEMU your cost per light conversion will be about $1.75 per light!

This light has white LED's that are equivalent to "daylight" fluorescent tubes, ( ~6500K temp). If you like “warm white" which is more like an incandescent-like (about 4000K). We like brighter lights.

So how did I do this? Here you go…

1. Remove the light cover and then you can see and remove the four screws which hold the light fixture in place. Make sure to take out the bulbs before removing the screws.

2. After removing the four screws the light can be taken off of the ceiling by cutting the 12V wires that are attached to the light fixture. Disconnect the battery if you are concerned or just turn off the lights you are removing.

3.  Remove the ballast cover by drilling out the rivets (from the back side of the light fixture). Now you only need the two wires coming from the switch and save the longest white wire by cutting off of the ballast. This will allow you to keep the light rocker switch intact.

4. I chose to remove the ballast and the white ends which hold the bulbs in the fixture. These have 2 small phillips crews on each end. Once these are removed you can take out the light bulb holders and toss them.

5.Now cut the LED strips to desired length and put one of the strip connectors on the LED strip - MAKE SURE TO OBSERVE POLARITY (there is a (-) printed on the LED strip). It’s a good idea to test each strip with12V to make sure they work.

6. I mounted 2 LED strips in each light and this gave as more light than the 2 original bulbs. Each strip has an adhesive so peel off the tape and stick them to the cleaned surface of the light fixture (you did clean it first,didn’t you). I also used a small piece of double sided tape to hold the connecter where the wired end meets the light strip for a firmer hold.

7. Then I wired the strips all together (positives together, and grounds together).

While I only did five lights I still have three more to do but that will be another day.