June 10, 2013

What a great day!! Tim Tebow is now a member of my favorite team, The New England Patriots! It will make watching football really interesting this year. The Patriots play the Jets twice and I sure will be happy to see Tebow scorch them!!

We are stuck here in Red Bay as we are in line to have the wet bay replaced and the side rails replaced. It could take a week to get done here. I hate that but I would hate it worse if Tiffin did not fix it. This coach is my home so I will just preserver and leave with a great coach. I hope to have pictures as we proceed with the repairs.

Still in Red Bay and it is June 13th.  maybe they will start repairs soon. Already had to cancel our reservations at ROD in Greensboro, Ga. Be nice to get on the road again.

Had a shocker! Got a call from my grand daughter and she said the house was hit by lighting and all the electronics were taken out. Hit the Direct TV antenna and went into the house. All TVs, receivers, computers  and other electronics were zapped. This is a fun project to take care of over the phone. In any case, the Direct TV is repaired and the insurance forms are in the process of being submitted. Linda and I thank the Lord for there not being a fire. It rattled the house so bad the large items were thrown off the shelves. There was a vase on the bathroom window and it was thrown off the window and broke on the floor. The alarm system was also zapped! Electrical outlets are suspect as lights go off and on.

I got a call from Doug Anderson and we talked a while and he said he forgot why he had called. I told him that was ok as I forgot who I was talking to. Told him to call back when he remembered. He called back a short time later and he said he had purchased the Emergency Evac  plan from Coach-net. He said he called and talked to them and was convinced it was a lot better than the high price MASA or Sky Med. I already have it. Bought it when FMCA cancelled our benefit. I would recommend you research it before you spend you money.

Here are some pics of the folks here awaiting repairs here at Red Bay.

there are 49 repair bays 

there are 92 full hook up sites

lots of Tiffins here

All sites and bays are filled

They start at 7 and quit at 3. We are told that we may get in for repairs later today. Hope so as it is hot here and nothing to do in Red Bay. We went to a sponsored dinner for MASA. Dinner was good but they wanted over $4000.00 for a lifetime membership. My life time of travel is not expected to make that a good deal. Coach-net is only $169 a year and that includes roadside service. Check it out.

June 9, 2013

We left The C&C campground at  the Talladega Raceway this morning early. The weather was clear and overcast. The folks at C&C really go out of their way to make sure all is good for your camping experience. We hope the Friendship Chapter will again hold their Friendship Rally at C&C in two years.

The entertainment at the Rally was really outstanding and it was enjoyed by all. The attendees really hated to see the end come to their performance. There were three really talented guys that sang songs that you could understand and the skits were really funny. The evening meal was really outstanding too. Pull pork! Wonderful.

Linda and I are now at Red Bay at the Tiffin Repair park. We have no idea how long we will be here. Not over three days we hope as we have reservations in Ga. that we really want to keep.

There are 93 spots for the coaches to park in and they are all full! They also have 46 work bays so maybe we can move through the system quickly.

Will have some pics of the facility tomorrow for you.

Otis and Linda

June 7, 2013

The rally is a very good experience. The food and entertainment have all been good. The weather has been overcast the last two days as a result of the storm that moved in from the gulf. We have had next to no rain so all is fine.

Here are some pics of the rally.

Stage at Friendship Rally

Challengers waiting for diner

 The Challengers have 11 coaches here.

more Challengers

Willie Nelson impersonator 

Linda being romanced by Conway Twitty

The facilities at the rally are first rate.




























He really sounded like Willie Nelson. Did  a great performance.












Linda looks like she is having fun

June 6, 2013

We have had good weather for the start of the Friendship Rally held every other year here in Talladega, AL. As with all activities, the number of attendees is down. We do have 11 coaches from our home club, The Challengers of Central Florida.

As I write this blog, we are getting warnings pertaining to the first tropicl storm of the season. The warnings are for Brevard County, Florida/ We are expcting some rain and storms here over the next couple of days. It is curently 73 degrees here.

We had a hot dog and hamburger supper last evening and eggs, bacon, grits and bisquits for breakfast. I always folunteer to help with the cofee so I was up at 6 this morning. It is so nice to work with so many friendly people.

he setup here is really nice. We all have 50 amp electric and plenty of water. In face you have to use a pressure redcer so you don't blow up you water system. There is a dump station here if yu need to dump before you leave. The "lots" are very large so visiting with you neighbors is accomandated. Also you have plenty of room to park your car. All in all, a very nice location here at the speedway. We can see the grandstands from our motorhome here where we are parked.

June 4, 2013

So much has happened in the last few months. A lot of it good and joyful. One of the highlights being the birth of Branson Beal, my third great grandson, born to my granddaughter Kayla Beal. As we spend the majority of the winter in Florida parked at our RV garage in Grant Valkaria, we get to see the Beal family daily. The young gives balance to the old.

We have had too many deaths in our circle of friends and family. To be philosophical about that we are getting older. My oldest brother Mark, who is 86 lost his wife of 69 years to a stroke. Mark is still doing fine and now lives in an assisted living facility. My other living brother Dallas, worries way to much about things he can not control, like politics, new morality and what happens to Tim Tebow. He has had heart issues and is doing fine now.  He will greatly improve if Tim Tebow  can get a new team where he can again do his magic.

My three sisters are all well and busy. Patty is still working so very hard in the Minerva community and for Habitat for Humanity. She is amazing in all she does for all. A real model for a person with a servants heart. She is the sparkplug for our family reunions and makes it a roaring success each year as she opens her home and heart to over 100 family members for the Friday and Saturday reunion in July. Her son, Ricky with his wife Judy, sponsors the Friday night pizza affair at their house. A wonderful family affair and in all the years (over 30 years) that we have had a family reunion in Minerva, Ohio, not one negative event has occurred.

We continue to enjoy our full timing lifestyle and can not imagine moving back into a "stick" house. The freedom you have and the lack of "daily chores" make for a very nice lifestyle. Repairs and maintenance are an issue you have to deal with. Instead of waiting for a repairman to come to your house you take your house to the repairmen. This can be a real pain as it is your house where you live. This past April we had a window that got water between the dual panes and we took it to Lazy Days for replacement. Tiffin covered the repair 100 % and our membership in the Crown Club at Lazy Days provided us with free camping and meals, but we were there for 14 days to get the window replaced. When they finally started the repair it took less than 30 minutes. To be fair, we told our service contact that we were in no hurry as we enjoy our stay at Lazy Days. This repair is used as an example of one of the events of the full time RVing that we live with.

We still enjoy our club, the Challengers, that we camp with on a monthly basis. It is good to get together and just visit and play games with one another. Many of the members are planning a trip to Talladega, AL in June for a 5 day Rally. The Friendship Rally is the best one we attend. It is held every other year and is a must for us.

Just got interupted! As Linda, my great grandson and I were walking down to get the mail, Linda said "look, here is a gator!" It was not a gator but a 6 - 7 foot crocodile! It was about 3 foot from the driveway and right where we were! He was pretty with his coloring and was just lying there in the sun. I asked Linda to watch him and I went and got our personal protection. I then went next door to our neighbor, the famous Shawn Heflick, of the Python Hunter fame on the National Geographic Channel.  He wasn't home but my grandson - in - law, Nathan Beal got his number from his website and called him. He came right home ( about 7 minutes ) but by the time he got there the croc had decided to take a swim. Now it was far more difficult to get a good solution to the removal of the croc! By this time we had a real crowd as a lot of neighbors were here watching the famous python hunter do his thing!  Shawn got a rod with heavy leader and a treble hook and finally hooked the crock and pulled him into the bank. He went down and put a rope around its nose and pulled it onto the bank. He then got on the top of the croc and tied its mouth shut. Then he picked it up and put it in the back of a pickup and took it to his house and put it in a pen. This made for about 3 hours of entertainment for us and the neighborhood.

As I look back over the last year of our full timing in an RV, I have to say that it has been a grand adventure and Linda and I sure wouldn't want to change anything. We have had a few maintenance issues that were no different from the problems that you have living in a stick house.  We enjoy going to Lazy Days for repairs so there is not a big negative in our maintenance. It does cost more to service the Diesel over a gas engine but overall our yearly costs are well within reason. The only recurring problem we have had is the leak in the bedroom. It is slight but it must be repaired. We went to Lazydays on the 14th of May to get it fixed (again).

I finally got Direct TV to give me a free RV Sat kit. It is super easy to set up and Tiffin has a "Tripod" connection in the electrical bay of our Phaeton. That makes it super easy to connect and I installed an AB switch so I could just select either the top antenna or the tripod. Now when we camp in a spot that has the "sky" hidden from our view we can set up the external antenna and get our sports.  We also purchased a 60 watt solar system that we can take with us and use if we go dry camping. With our 6 house batteries we should be able to keep the freezer good and cold without running the generator. The cost of the solar system with the charge controller and a 200 watt inverter was under $200.00. It works like a charm. The only drawback to both is we have to find a place to carry them as we travel.

We are on the road again. Left Grant-Valkaria and went to Lazydays to have a bedroom slide leak fixed (didn't happen) and went on to Thousand Trails in Orlando for a week. From there we went to Florida Gateway RV resort to meet with Wayne and Marianne Bittner. What a resort. The park was unbelievably beautiful. We only stayed a night as we went on to Unadilla, Ga for a night. Wayne and Marianne stayed there and Linda and I went on to Talladega, AL to arrive early for the Friendship Rally. It is always a great time. We will be here a week.

Our RV site at Gateway Resort

Our neighbor in Grant-Valkaria loving a crock

A beach at Gateway RV Resort

Sunday December 16, 2012

As we arrive at the end of another year one can only wonder how fast the days, week, months and years go by. It has been a year where there have been wonderful adventures and really good fellowship with fellow RV'rs. When we reflect on the recent events that occurred in Newtown, CT, we are filled with deep sorrow as we try to make some sense out of a senseless act that claimed so many innocent lives. I have tried to relate to it is the following blog. It is impossible to make sense out of such a horrible event and my heart grieves for the victims and their family. We can hope and pray that these events will cease to happen. Maybe if each one of us will strive to live a Christ-like life, the country will return to normalcy. Each one of us will have to do his/her part to make a difference.

God Bless America and the families in Newtown, CT.

Matthew 19:14 KJV

But Jesus said , Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

This is the verse that came to my mind as the terrible event in Newtown, Ct unfolded. I saw my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with His arms open wide, welcoming the 20 young children of His into His arms. I also saw a tear in His eye as he took the suffering of the children and their parents and loved ones into His being. He cares for us. He cares for all the children of the world no matter their age.

I have always believed garbage in garbage out. Today our society is constantly exposed to violence and carnage. The video games that are played have one thing in common - what can be more violent and vile. Our TV programs have come a long way since “Name That Tune”, “Leave it to Beaver”, The “Hit Parade”, “Lassie” and other programs of the ’60’s. It is hard to believe that young people would pay hundreds of dollars to buy “paint guns” so they can “kill” each other in fun. Where does that lead??

I am sure each one of you reading this have noticed the great polarization that is taking place in our society. We face great times of peril. The debt will not sole itself. We need to agree on a course of action and work together to restore our financial freedom.

Twenty children brutally murdered and the nation mourns.

Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended; about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion. (AGI).

In 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S., down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002, 1.31 million in 2000 and 1.36 million in 1996. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S. (AGI).

The population of the US was 311,591,917 in Jul. 2011.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

50 million would be about 1/6 of the US population.

Who is grieving for these children? I am sure Jesus welcomed these children into His loving arms also.

How long will God allow our inhumanity to man to continue? How long will He continue to bless this great country as we turn our backs on all that is pleasing to Him?

I don’t have an answer. I only have sorrow in my heart for the loss of those twenty children and the loss they bring to our country.

This is the time of year for rejoicing as a King was born to us. A Redeemer to heal us and save us from our sins. Even saying “Merry Christmas” is restricted in our society. My Granddaughter took her school class out caroling. They were instructed to sing no songs that mentioned anything to do with the reason for Christmas! How much lower can we decend into the devil’s kingdom. It certainly feels as if we are as low as we can go.

I would like to think we have gone through periods in our history like this and came out the other side even stronger. If you have evidence that things are better now than they were even 50 years ago, please publish those tidings of great joy so the rest of us can sleep a little easier.

Genesis 6:5 KJV

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Deuteronomy 29

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and thecurse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obeyhis voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hathscattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy God willbring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed , and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good , and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thineheart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thysoul, that thou mayest live. 7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies , and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. 8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. 9 And the LORD thyGod will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, tokeep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turnunto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say , Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say , Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 15 See , I have set before thee this day lifeand good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply : and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest topossess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away , so that thou wilt not hear , but shalt be drawn away , and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surelyperish , and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have setbefore you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seedmay live : 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayestdwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, togive them.

We do have a way that God has shown us. Do we go His way or do we continue to do it our way? I think we all know where our way has taken us and where this path will certainly lead.

Joshua 24:15 KJV

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Merry Christmas to all and may God continue to Bless the United States of America

Otis and Linda

Friday December 14 2012

Been awhile since I have posted on the blog. We have been here at our old stick house where my Granddaughter and her family now live. Been kind of busy with the great grandson doing some things around the house. Most of the time has been taken up with doctor appointments. After the heart attack there has been a new hospital stay to open up the blockages - another 2 stints and I am in the pink again. Linda has made sure that I have taken it easy and that we get our walks in daily.

I did take some time to write a little philosophical article on aging and I include it here. We all are getting older so we really need to make sure we are doing the things that are enjoyable and good for one another. I am already planning our next adventure but will need to limit the travels to areas of the good old USA that are nearer sea level.  

The LAST days

Hello, my name is Otis P. Lutz and I want to talk about the LAST days. Not the last days of the earth’s existence, but the LAST days of our lives here on earth.

People have talked as long as I can remember of the demise of the earth through all sort of disasters. From the sun exploding to an asteroid hitting the earth, to plagues, to alien invasions, to earthquakes to global freezing to wars. None of it has happened, obviously - but there is one certainty, we are ALL going to have our LAST day.

I pick up the paper and look at the obituaries and I notice most of the death announcements are for people that are younger than I am! Makes you wonder what is with that. You know that the number of years left are a lot fewer than the years that are already passed. We read the FMCA magazine and notice the “finale Trip” list and we know that there is a time coming when our name will be there.

Do people like to talk about dying? I am not sure but when it is mentioned in a group of elderly people no one seems to shy away from the conversation. In fact, there is often a reference to the conveyor belt we are on and we are near the end, about ready to drop off the end. I guess you would have to be really weird to think death was not the end that awaits you. I mean, we all know someone that lived to be over 100 but that is really not normal.

Now, are we terrified? Are we without hope? NO! We have a sure promise and hope.

A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Sure we have health problems. They seem to grow more numerous with the passing of time. I count myself as really blessed as I was born with Cystic Fibrosis and the life expectancy of CF is less than 30 years. I had my first heart operation in 1986 and the doctor said I was good for 7 years! Been a little longer than that. Now my heart is really giving me problems. Have had 6 stints and 3 angio plastic in the last few years. In Sept. of this year, while enjoying our RV full timing lifestyle, I had a heart attack in New Mexico. They did another heart cath and said there was nothing more they could do for the heart. I also have COPD and now the PSA is getting really high. Cancer! But I am still happy and loving the Lord and life on this wonderful earth he has created.

Another great promise we have is found in 2 Corinthians 5:8

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV

We are confident , I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The wonderful organization to which my wife Linda and I belong, The Challengers, provides us with many opportunities to travel and camp together. The fellowship, food and games we share provide many opportunities to share God’s Love with one another. Sure we are all getting older and we regularly loose a member to their “home going” or to their inability to traveling in a motor home but we who are able continue on. We miss them and grieve for their partner who has gone on to their reward but we are sure in the promise that was given to them also.

Life is like a bank account. We make deposits and we make withdrawals. What we can withdraw depends on what we have deposited. We have all learned in this computer age: garbage in - garbage out. The same with the life savings account. If we have deposited “garbage” we can expect to withdraw garbage. It is much better to deposit good things and deeds into your “life” account. In addition your bank account includes time.

You can not add to the “time” account. Not only that but the account has an automatic payout. All you can do is determine how you will spend your allotted time. Time can be spent to buy happy memories or to purchase regrets. Once it is spent, for good or ill, it is gone. We know that as we get older, time passes very rapidly! We certainly don’t want to spend any remaining time in our account on anything that will bring sadness to ourselves or others. It seems that we older folks are spending too much of our time at doctors. I know I am. I guess we can look at that expense of time as an investment. Hopefully the interest on that time spent is greater than the expanded time. Since we have returned from our wonderful trip, we have spent most of our time at doctors. Hopefully it will enable us to head out again for our planned trip to Alabama and the Friendship Rally.

Family! Families are the mainstay of any group. When we are in a good group, we say it feels like family. I am most blessed with the best family in the world (I know we all feel the same way). We have a family reunion that we attend each July in Ohio. We have over 100 family members attend and the number is usually around 125! It is a wonderful event that is the result of my sister Patty. She works each year to see that this is the best one yet! I sure do admire her for the love she has for her family. But there is a cost to everything. The more we love the more the sorrow when the time for departure comes. The solution is to deposit as many wonderful memories of the “family” reunions as possible. Do not pass a chance to fellowship together.

Well that is my philosophy for life. I am more than happy with the life I have had. There are things I have done and said for which I have regrets and wish I could make amends. I have had a long life and have had the best wife in the world. I have known love and have been blessed. I wish Gods blessing on each and every one of you.

Otis P. Lutz

Still nothing on the Friendship Rally on the net. We have several of our friends that will be travelling with us to the Talladega, Alabama rally in June. Great location for a really friendly and enjoyable rally. It is in June right before the national FMCA Rally. From the rally Linda and I will travel to Ohio for our annual Family Reunion on July 20th.

The weather has been really mild. In March we are here for the birth of another great grandson. Also expect to have a mini family reunion with the arrival of my sisters and their husbands and also my sister-in-law from Colorado. Then we head out for our summer travels. I will be posting or agenda if anyone out there would like to caravan with us.

Until the next time - Otis