We admit, hiring a mobile RV cleaning service is a bit of a luxury, but as we get older, it’s a necessary splurge. The idea of climbing on top of Cloud 9 to wash the roof is not at the top of our to-do list. Enter Brian from Mud Divers Wash Crew. Our meeting was…
Jon’s appointment at noon on Friday to receive both the COVID booster and the flu vaccine had us wondering whether we should cancel our weekend camping plans. After all, we had no idea how he would respond to the “dynamic duo,” and if he was going to be miserable, we thought it would be best…
Last Sunday, as we enjoyed a late-summer weekend at Loyd Park, we grew increasingly hesitant to just pack up and leave, especially considering we would be returning to the same site in four days. Why not stay through the week and commute back home for work each day? That turned out to be a bad…
The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, although somewhat expected considering her advanced age, still came as something of a shock this week. After all, we had seen her welcome her new prime minister just a couple of days before, looking frail but stalwart. True to the commitment she made as a young woman, she…
This Labor Day, we once again had the opportunity to reflect on the dignity of our work and the many benefits we enjoy as a result of our employment. It was also a time to recognize that there are still too many financially vulnerable families who are living precariously, paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes, they are…
Historically, the dog days of summer are the hottest, most uncomfortable days of the season, which have been associated with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, and bad luck. As luck would have it, we experienced unprecedented rainfall earlier in the week, which brought about a late-summer greening, and also oppressive humidity. This weekend, amid the dog days of…
The summer of 2022 has been one for the records, at least in terms of triple-digit temperatures and lack of rain. But this weekend brought a break in both. We arrived on Friday afternoon to set up camp and begin preparing for Date Night. With temperatures in the low 90s, it took only about an…
“Anyone who loves the law or sausages should never watch either being made.” That idiom came to mind this weekend as we became aware of the various parts of the pig that go into the Mexican version of chorizo, a highly seasoned ground or chopped sausage: lips, lymph nodes, salivary glands–you get the idea. Typically,…
We’ve previously posted about the types of people we meet while camping. As we said then, some are folks we wouldn’t associate with under any other circumstances, but “love of the outdoors and the desire for adventure can create strange bedfellows.” To be sure, we’ve met more than our fair share of colorful characters, but…
All right. We surrender. It’s summertime, and the livin’ ain’t easy. As much of North Texas sweats through a string of record-setting heat waves, we are beginning to refashion our lives simply to survive the ultramarathon of misery that now defines our white-hot summer. We already limit our weekend activities to the early morning hours,…
Once again, we spent our weekend avoiding the summer swelter. That meant limiting our outdoor activities to morning walks and evening cookouts, spending the better part of the day in Cloud 9’s air-conditioned comfort. It even seemed like the birds took a break. Jon noted on our Sunday morning walk that there wasn’t as much…
Next week, we will likely experience our highest summer temperatures to date, with predicted highs reaching 107 degrees, and the potential for heat indexes to be even higher. But for this weekend, with temperatures in the low triple-digits, we enjoyed the shady surrounds of Site 10 at Loyd Park. Although it’s normal for temperature highs…
Over the course of a sizzling summer weekend, Jon read a profile in The New York Times about a couple who recently married. It concluded with the line, “We’re both looking forward to a chapter of domestic bliss, where we stay at home on Sundays and do the crossword and read.” Although we didn’t spend…
We admit, we’re not feeling very patriotic this Independence Day weekend. Our sense of identity as Americans seems under assault. Our nation is more irreparably divided than ever before in our lifetime. Every single issue gets polarized and politicized. Nuance and complexity are nowhere to be found. Compromise is anathema. Instead, we have a pervasive,…
This was a weekend of revelations, brought about by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case, an unexpected visit from a horse and a man with a feather in his hat, and a new set of curtains expertly made by our friends Dan and Stephanie Matney. A few words about…
Garinns on the Go 