On the road at last

Hi,

This is Thelma,

Well I apologize for not posting in a while, but since we left on our Great Desert Adventure we have had lots of trouble. First the fridge was only working on 110 volt when we left. We drove with the generator running. We stopped in Celina Ohio to get the fridge fixed and some other things fixed. Kevin replaced the circuit board on the fridge and all seem well. He also we fixed the battery charging system by replacing the Xantex inverter with a Magnum inverter. And we got the fluorescent light fixture in the bedroom replaced. And replaced a hockey puck halogen light in the kitchen with an LED light. Loren told me this will allow leaving the kitchen light on at night when he and Sharon leave Louise and I alone. Not that we need a light. I'm not scared of the dark! And I I have great night vision. I think it is so he can see me standing by the door trying to escape when they come home.

We left Celina on Monday morning. The "fixed" fridge only lasted for 50  miles down the road and it quit running on gas. So we stopped agin this time in Bowling Green Kentucky, at a Camping World. They replaced an igniter circuit board. We stayed there for about an hour to see if the fridge would stop running on gas. It worked fine in the parking lot, 50 miles down the road it quit.

We kept going, planning to get the fridge fixed in Dallas. Of course all the food in the fridge and freezer was spoiled and we had to throw it out. Thank the cat goddess that our food is in cans and not in the fridge.

We spent Tuesday night in a Walmart in LonOak Arkansas, the first time we have ever been asked to leave. So we get to Dallas on Wednesday. Loren calls a mobile RV repair and he can't come out till Monday. While talking to the repair guy on the phone, Loren turns the fridge off and then back on. It has been working ever since. Go figure!

So we had Xmas in Dallas. Well Loren and Sharon had Xmas. Louise and I were left in the Bus. We did get some Xmas presents, neat catnip toys. Actually, they didn't "give" them to us. We found them in the bag and when Sharon got up the next morning we had licked and chewed them till we were silly.

Sharon took Loren to a Telescope Store and bought him an 8" reflecting Telescope for xmas, birthday, aniversary, etc. I can't wait till we get to Arizona, so Loren can take picture of the deep sky objects with the camera mount.

On Monday we were finishing up some preparation for departing Dallas and heading for New Mexico, when we got a call that Sharon's uncle Larry in Memphis had died. So we headed back to memphis on Wednesday instead of New Mexico. It takes two short driving days to get back to Memphis. It was nice to see all of the relatives. We had planned to see them in March, when we passed through Memphis on our return trip.

So now we are heading out of Memphis and back to Dallas. We should get there on New Years Eve.

More later. . . 

Louise's Opinion

Thelma and I watching the rain in a Walmart parking lot.

Hi,
I'm Louise. My female staff person and personal chef, Sharon, calls me Lulu. She calls my sister Thelma, Telly. I don't know why but it seems to make her happy. Keeping the staff happy is important. Thelma and I could care less because we don't answer to anything they call us. After all we are cats. No self respecting feline would ever give credence to a moniker that the staff picks. Besides I have heard Loren, my male staff person and personal chauffeur, refer to me as the "Grey !@#$%" and Thelma as the "Devil Cat". When the time is right I'll get even with him, but more on that later.

We are getting ready for our big trip to the wilds of Arizona. Loren has been reading all about the Southwest. He has told about many of the places we plan to visit. After Xmas we are leaving Dallas and driving all the way across Texas to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I suspect they won't let my sister and I actually go into the caves, but I will instruct Loren on proper picture taking techniques. Then when he returns from the caves he can show me all the wonderful sights.

After that we are going to visit the aliens in Roswell, some rockets in White Sands, a place called the Organ Pipe Mountains, a 1500 year old red hot lava flow in the Valley of Fire, and Thelma wants especially to visit Smokey Bear Historical State Park were Smokey is buried.

Then we are on to Tucson. Sharon and Loren want to visit their niece Celeste and her boyfriend Matt. I don't know them. But I'm sure they want to meet me. If they are nice I will rub against there legs and allow them to stroke my magnificent fur. If not, I will ignore them. I may ignore them even if they are nice. That's just the way I am.

More later. . .

Our First Big Trip

Louise and Thelma The RoVing Cats

Hi,
My name is Thelma and my sister is Louise, we (and our staff Loren & Sharon) are the RoVing Cats.

We have lived in Michigan our entire lives. But this winter, we are loading up the "Bus" (a 40 foot American Coach motor home) and heading to the wilds of Arizona. I'm hoping to see lots of strange and wonderful critters.

Most of all I'll be glad to not be in Michigan during the "greys of winter". Each fall the clouds move in and hunker down over my home state like a colorless blanket. A very deep depressing blah made of cold, snow, wind, and no sunshine. The days are short and the nights are long. Dark when the staff goes to work and dark when they come home at night to feed us. Some times they are thoughtless and don't come straight home, and we have to go hungry for an extra hour. I know that the staff has needs, but so do we. And they are the "staff".

Anyway I digress. . . We don't participate in cold weather sports. My sister and I refuse to wear sweaters or booties, so, even though we have wonderful, soft, warm fur coats our paws get cold if we go outside. They just don't make, cat fashionable, boot or snow shoes that will fit our four paws.

Anyway I digress. . . We have made several trips in our "Cat House on Wheels" but this will be the longest. Our motor home has all the conveniences of home; a litter box and a bed in a special hidy hole that Loren built into the old TV space under the dash. I especially like to ride in there. Louise is more the adventurer. She often rides on the dash and looks at all the scenery as it passes by at break neck speeds. Later, when the staff has parked the RV for the night, Louise will tell me about all the things she saw that I missed. Sometimes, I sneak out to take a look. I crawl up on Sharon's lap, and we snuggle, I feel safe there. But then the bus will hit a bump and I get scared and run for my hidy hole.  Louise doesn't seem to mind the bumps and rattles, but not me. I know that this 30,000 lb thing I'm riding in, is trying to get me.

Louise navigating down US2 in the UP

Anyway I digress. . . We are going to meet our cousin in Dallas. I know he's a great big dog, but I hear he loves to lick, so he can't be all bad. We are going to spend Xmas in Dallas. I hope they have a tree. I want to climb to the top of the tree, and knock all the ornaments off, and play soccer with them, and hide them under the chairs.

 More Later. . .