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Our diving sites on day two would include Eagle Rock, just south of the equator, Black Rock and Figure Eight located just north of the Equator. Site#3 EAGLE ROCKS (Batu Elang) Location: 3 small islets S of Kawe Island GPS: S 00 08.219 E 130 07.416 (general location of 3 rocks) Photography: Wide angle and macro Dive Site Overview: During our dive briefing we were provided with, for first time in my diving experience, a reef hook and instructions for it's use. There are several dive sites around the Eagle Rock complex with strong currents and in the event that the currents were too strong to swim against we would be prepared and equipped. On this dive we would practice deploying our reef hooks and their recovery. We got in the water at 0727 and dove this site for 48 minutes with a maximum depth of 68 feet. The water tmperature was 84ºF and as it turned out, the current this day was manageable which helped us in doing the deployment and recovery of a reef hook in a controlled manner. While exploring this site we observed an abundance of soft and hard corals. When lit up with a light the colors were amazing! Suzy Wheat referred to one of them as "Aorta coral" due to it unique shape similar to an aorta, although I doubt a human aorta is purple and yellow in color. The variety of shapes, textures and sizes of the coral made for a wonderful visual experience as we looked for other creatures hidden in this aquatic world. Our guide found us a Leaf Scorpionfish on this dive. According to Wikipedia, "Taenianotus triacanthus is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long fully grown. Their color varies from green, red, pink, brown, ocher and yellowish to a ghostly white. The fish is almost as flat as a leaf and resembles a leaf in many other ways. The head and mouth are large. Through their eyes is a dark line. The large dorsal fin starts just behind the eyes and has 12 spines and eight to 11 soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and five or six soft rays. The venom of the leaf scorpionfish is considerably weaker than that of the lionfish and stonefish. The skin often has blotches that enhance a camouflage effect. This fish has appendages around the mouth, and sometimes real algae and hydroids grow on its skin". After our dive ended we were picked up by one of the two tender dinghies and we returned back to the dive boat for breakfast. During breakfast, the boat traveled to the next dive site and crossed the equator. It is a longstanding maritime tradition to initiate sailors who are crossing the equator for the first time. Those who have not yet crossed are known as “pollywogs.” After crossing the equator they become “shellbacks,” or trusted subjects of Neptune, the Roman god of water. Although there was no offical ceremony, Karen and I are now officially "Shellbacks"! Site#4 BLACK ROCK Location: W of Kawe Island GPS: N 00 01.300 E 130 08.450 Photography: Wide angle and macro Dive Site Overview: Described as an extensive and often very fishy site worth multiple dives. Begin at S-point, swim along sloping plateau, reef right (W-side of rocks) to N-point where the slope ends and Tubastrea-clad pinnacles begin. Look for mantas in the blue. We geared back up and re-entered the water at 1038 and dove this site for 57 minutes with a maximum depth of 71 feet. The water tmperature was now 86ºF and this is where we encountered our first reef manta rays. Manta rays are truly amazing creatures to behold. They are, in my opinion, the angels of the ocean. They move effortessly though the water and exhibit poetic movements. It's a ballet performed by these curious but shy giants of the deep. Every encounter I have ever had always leaves me in awe and wonder of their beauty and grace. We were fortunate enough to be visited by not one but two of these animals. They usually will only swim by a few times before leaving but these two individuals seemed very curious and just continued to circle us. I even think the first one waved to me in the second video. What do you think? The word “manta” means “blanket” or “cloak” in Spanish, and it’s quite accurately descriptive of these large, flat, diamond-shaped cold-blooded fish with eyes on the sides of their heads. Ending our second dive of the morning at 1135 we were once again recovered by one of the two tender dinghies and we returned back to the dive boat for lunch before our last dive of the day that afternoon. Site#5 FIGURE EIGHT ROCK Location: W Wayag GPS: N 00 10.379 E 130 00.373 Photography: Wide and Macro Dive Site Overview: Although connected underwater, from the surface this site appears to be two separate islands. It can be dived on a single tank by a non-photographer, but could easily be dived as two distinct sites by photographers or divers willing to spend more time looking for critters. We once again geared back up, re-entered the water this time at 1439 (2:39 PM) and dove this site for 50 minutes with a maximum depth of 80 feet. With the water temperature now 84ºF my 0.5 mm diving skin was more enough to keep me warm on these repetitive dives. This venue was known for the really small creatures known as Nudibranchs. Nudibranchs are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms, and they have been given colorful nicknames to match, such as "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", "dragon", and "sea rabbit". Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known. This last dive of the day ended at 1529 (3:29 PM) and after returning to the boat to shower and get a snack we prepared to visit a special place in Palau Wayag. An hour later we were back on the dinghies for the 30 minute boat ride to Shark Beach. Shark Beach is where you can swim or snorkel with baby sharks. I'm not kidding!. I thought about it but wanted to get some drone video and couldn't do both. I got to dive with Bull Sharks in Fiji last year, so I flew the drone and Karen swam with the baby sharks. Everyone returned with all their fingers and toes. This is where we spent the second day of our live aboard dive trip. A long, wonderful day of diving ended with an amazing dinner on board the Jelajahi Laut with much more to come.

We arrived at our first diving location in the late afternoon on Friday, January 1oth for an easy checkout dive with the diving staff aboard. This is standard operating procedure for most diving operators to evaluate the divers abilities with their gear and their diving techniques like air management and bouyancy control in the water. This is especially critical given the potentially challenging conditions we might encounter. Raja Ampat is known for strong current conditions at many of the dive sites, so strong swimming skills, good operating scuba equipment and the ability to stay calm in these diving conditions is critical to the safety of all divers. This was important because we had some relatively new scuba divers with us on this trip and we wanted them safe but we also wanted to be careful with the reef structures to do no harm or damage due to bad bouyancy control or fins position near the coral formations. Dive site#1 was called Saonek Kecil. The Saonek Kecil Island is a location close to the Waisai Harbour. I normally dive wearing a 0.5 mm wetsuit (or skin) in warm water (82º F to 86º F) using about 12 to 16 pounds of weight depending on the salinity of the water and whether the air tank is aluminum or steel. In this part of the world they use kilograms not pounds so some thinking had to go into determining the appropriate weight for diving in Raja Ampat. I started with 8 Kg or 17.6 pounds which I thought initially was too much. Later I adjusted to 6 Kg or 13.2 pounds which worked out better for my bouyancy control. With weight and wetsuit thickness dialed in after the first dive, we got back on board. Our second dive site was offshore the Sapokren Village near our PapuArts stay location. This was our first night dive on the trip and everyone was excited about seeing the underwater nightlife. This would be the first time using my new iPhone DiveVolk underwater housing with a Sealife 2500 lumen flood light. Karen was lovingly picked up by William and Maddie Severi while getting geared up for our dive. This was a good sign of the fun times ahead for our group as the joking and banter continued on the dive deck. With our torches (dive lights) attached and chemical glow sticks secured to our tanks we boarded the dinghies for a back flip entry into the abyss. The site did not disappoint us as we encountered a seahorse almost immediately as well as multiple cuttlefish during the dive. Raja Ampat is known for its Pygmy Seahorse but we encountered a more common seahorse on this dive. The Cuttlefish we encountered were on the smaller side but still quite colorful. Our last encounter was with a Leaf Scorpion Fish found by our guide Sahril. This diving location is referred to as a "Muck Dive" because of the sandy or muddy bottom contour. This was not the prettiest dive site but it was teaming with all kinds of creatures that generally only come out at night. We all returned safely to the speedboats and were ferried back to Jelajahi Laut to secure our diving equipment. Our next destination on day two would be enroute to the northern most Raja Ampat Islands. EAGLE ROCKS (Batu Elang) Location:  3 small islets south of Kawe Island GPS: S 00 08.219 E 130 07.416 (general location of 3 rocks) Photography: Wide angle and macro Dive Site#3 Preview: There are several dive sites around the Eagle Rock complex. Eagle Rock is also home to the largest population of manta rays that can be found in the northern part of Raja Ampat. Stay tuned for more scuba diving stories!

We returned to Sorong from PapuArts in Waisai, Waigeo Island on Thursday, January 9th to spend one night at the Aston Hotel before we boarded our dive boat. The hotel was very nicely appointed and included an extensive breakfast buffet with our room rate, We paid $1,572,000.00 Rupiah for the one night stay (the equivalent of $97 in US dollars). Friday morning, January 10 we were picked up at our hotel by Mikumba Diving and driven to our rallying point at the dock to meet the cruise directors, Eric and Cami from our dive boat, the Jelajahi Laut , which translates to "Explorer of the Sea". We shuttled our group from the dock to the vessel and were warmly greeted by the crew on board. Eric did his initial welcome briefing with us above the dive deck while the crew brought our gear aboard. This area would prove to be a favorite place to relax between our dives because of its shade protection from the sun and comfortable sea breeze. The boat can accommodate up to 12 guests total. We were fortunate to book the entire boat for this week with our group. A more comprehensive briefing took place in the main salon to cover safety issues and finished with a tour of our new home for the next week. Eric (standing) and Cami (seated to the right) were our cruise directors for this adventure on board Jelajahi Laut. This is the Sun Deck where the life rafts were stored and where I would place my Starlink antenna above our cabin during our stay on board. We had one of the two deluxe cabins with large picture windows off the port side and a private bathroom. This is our view outside our stern view balcony. The two boats in tow are our dive dinghies used to take us to and from our diving sites during the week. The dive deck is expansive with plenty of room for two tanks per diver with wet storage underneath each dive station. Oversized tanks (15 L) were available along with extra equipment and Nitrox. During our briefings the crew moved our luggage to our cabins then we removed our diving equipment to be rigged up on our assigned diving stations on the dive deck. Karen and I were assigned the "Turtle" cabin for stay on board. We were two decks above the dive deck on port side of the vessel's stern. Following the briefings and tour we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the dining salon then relaxed enroute to the first dive site for our afternoon "checkout dive". Life aboard the  Jelajahi Laut is looking exceptional. Now, would the diving meet our expectations? Time would tell us soon enough.

According to Wikipedia, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago located off of the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula (on the island of New Guinea), Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals around the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. The Raja Ampat archipelago straddles the equator and forms part of the Coral Triangle, an area of Southeast Asian seas containing the richest marine biodiversity on earth. The Coral Triangle itself is an approximate area west-southwest of the Philippines, east-northeast and southeast of the island of Borneo, and north, east and west of the island of New Guinea, including the seas in between. Thousands of species of marine organisms, from the tiniest cleaner shrimp and camouflaged pygmy seahorses to the majestic cetaceans and whale sharks, thrive in these waters. The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as coral and fish larvae are more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and role as a source for larval dispersal make it a global priority for marine protection. Its location results in it being a biogeographic crossroads between Indonesia, Micronesia and the Arafura Sea. According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and East Timor. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystem in the world. The oceanic natural resources around Raja Ampat give the area significant potential as a tourist area, drawing divers, researchers and others with an interest in the marine life there. This is why Raja Ampat is perhaps considered the crown jewel of scuba diving venues in the international diving community, and the reason we decided to journey here. The remoteness of the location obviously requires a serious travel commitment of time and treasure, but we expect we won't be disappointed.

PapuArts Alter-Native Stay is a traditionally built home stay / dive lodge but with a modern touch. Located in Raja Ampat, West Papua, also named Last Paradise on Earth, a true heaven for Nature Lovers, above as well as below the water. They offer the choice between 3 different Papuan room types. We chose the ocean view room looking out at the four ocean view rooms over the water on the dock. They advertise and offer an eco/sustainable place to stay in the middle of world's biggest marine biodiversity and equatorial jungle. We were attracted to the PapuArts Alter Native Stay as a transitional venue after a long traveling segment. After resting up, it offered all kind of options around the island of Waigeo and beyond. After getting our energy back we enjoyed snorkeling out to the nearby reef and relaxing in the hammock outside our hut. I set up my Starlink antenna and have access to the internet for communication, research and entertainment. Our accommodations include a small loft with another bed and sitting area, a private bathroom and a queen size bed with mosquito netting. We are living a more rustic lifestyle of Raja Ampat camping without locking doors, open windows and no air conditioning. We are enjoying three wonderful, home cooked meals a day prepared and served by the lodge staff. The biggest challenges involve mitigating the mosquitoes and humidity, but frankly these are minor issues. We've made new friends staying at the PapuArts during our visit here. We met Conner from Ireland on the ferry ride over. Rohan and Sarah from Scotland were at the lodge when we arrived. Later we met Elias and Paul, two cousins traveling together from Austria and Christopher AKA Tique from Sweden who arrived on our third day. Two members of the Raja Ampat Rascals are staying here as well, Keely Martin and Suzy Wheat decided to hang out here for a few days too before going to the liveaboard. In addition to snorkeling around the facility, as a group we have explored the local village and took a day-long trip to the "Blue River" site across the island. Most of the time is spent relaxing as well as sharing stories and experiences with fellow like-minded travelers and scuba divers. Elias doing a back flip into the "Blue River" Another beautiful sunset at PapuArts Alter-Native Stay

We departed Smithville, TX on Wednesday December 18th for a roadtrip to Thornton, Colorado to visit the Teague Clan for the holidays. From Smithville to their home is a 14 hour drive, so we planned on three days to get there. Day one we departed around 9:30 AM and headed northwest through Austin towards the Panhandle region of Texas. We chose highways less traveled and passed through some small rural towns and villages arriving in Childress, TX for the night. The Panhandle is a narrow, straight region in the northernmost part of Texas. It's part of the same grassland that extends from the Great Plains of the Central United States. The Panhandle remains a top producer of fed beef, cotton and sorghum, as well as dairy, corn and wheat. Thursday, December 19th we continued heading northwest to the the town of Texline near the corner of the Panhandle with Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. We crossed into New Mexico and continued through the northeast corner to the town of Raton. We picked up Interstate 25, US 85 and started north into Colorado. through Trinidad and ultimately Pueblo, Colorado for the second night. Pueblo is a city of 111,000 people and is located about 4,692 feet above sea level. The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk is an urban development, with boat rides, public art, restaurants and events. The project commemorates the river’s original location before it was diverted in the wake of a 1921 flood. El Pueblo History Museum has a recreated 1840s trading post and artifacts tracing the city’s past. To the west, Lake Pueblo State Park is a popular fishing, boating and camping spot. Pueblo has always been a major part of Colorado history. At Pueblo’s start it was just a small fort; however, it was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Colorado. We visited the Riverwalk area of the city to enjoy a short walk along the water then enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Angelo's before returning to the Hampton Inn for the night. The Riverwalk decorated for the Holidays Friday morning after breakfast at the hotel we departed for Erik's home in Thornton, CO by way of a circuitous route up through the Rocky Mountains. We drove past Colorado Springs and headed west to Woodland Park, CO just 7 miles from the Continental Divide at 8,481 feet of elevation. From there we headed up CO67 to a remote region near Deckers, an unincorporated community along the South Platte River in Douglas County, Colorado. We had to use 4-wheel drive to navigate the dirt road covered with ice up the 15% grade where we discovered the Sprucewood Inn along the way to Sedalia, CO for a quick lunch. This was a unique inn remotely located in the mountains above the Denver Metro area with some colorful characters who like the remoteness of the region away from the busy city life. The inn is frequented by bikers and fishermen alike. We finally arrived at the kids' place around 4:30 PM after inadvertently transiting through downtown Denver during rush hour on a Friday! Well, that was a mistake and definitely not a do-over. Finally arrived to see the grandkids next to their Christmas tree.

After three major RV trips including the ALCAN to Alaska we decided it was finally time to replace our trailer brakes. Since we purchased the rig in December 2021, we've driven 40,548 miles on the original brakes so we wouldn't just replace the brakes pads on all four wheels but the entire brake assembly as well as repack all the bearings. Getting our "ducks in a row" for the work. One of the four new brake assemblies all shiny and new! I researched on YouTube doing the work myself and quickly realized it was worth the money to pay some else to do the work. We hired My Mobile RV Tech, Donnie Klesel out of La Grange, Texas on a recommendation from folks in the Village to do the work. He arrived at our site in the Village on Wednesday, November 11 and had the work done in about three hours. When he removed the first brake drum assembly I got to see first hand the physical condition after 3 years on the road. We were definitely ready for new brakes. I was frankly expecting the wear to be much worse. The brake pads exhibited uneven wear depth with thinning on one end more than another. But all the pads still had some material left which I thought was amazing. The wheel bearings were last replaced and repacked about a year ago in South Carolina, so they needed to be redone. The old bearing grease looked dark but there was still plenty in the bearing/spindle assembly even after a year's travel and the ALCAN highway up and back. Before and After comparison. I'm convinced, after talking with Donnie, the brakes lasted this long because of our RAM 3500 diesel truck's exhaust braking feature. For those who are unfamiliar with what it does, here's a brief explanation: A Ram 3500 diesel exhaust brake works by electronically controlling the opening of the exhaust valves to restrict the flow of exhaust gases, creating backpressure that slows down the engine and thus the vehicle, essentially acting as a braking mechanism when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal; it's primarily used on downhill stretches to reduce strain on the regular brakes, especially when towing heavy loads. Is it good to keep your exhaust brake on? Running the exhaust brake all the time, except in very slick road conditions, is a very good idea and reduces wear on the service brakes. And, the mechanism that changes the turbo vane angles needs to be worked to keep any carbon buildup from accumulating and obstructing it. Yet another advantage of a diesel truck over the gasoline version for towing. With this RV maintenance job completed we are all ready for the road again come February 2025. Thank you Donnie for doing a great job and getting the work done so quickly!

Following our return from the Western Caribbean cruise we decided to spend an extra day in Houston with Bob and Gail Conrad before their departure on Tuesday, December 10 back to San Diego. We checked into the same Hilton Garden Inn and rested up for our tour of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) on Monday, December 9th. Being a "card carrying space nerd", I was looking forward to spending more time in another of my "happy places". Unlike the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, no rockets are launched from this NASA facility. JSC is where Mission Control is manned by space flight managers, technicians, and mission specialists. Here scientists provide support and monitor missions and the spacecrafts after they're launched. This is where the International Space Station (ISS) is monitored and managed from the ground and communication is ongoing with the ISS 24/7. The museum we visited is on the actual Johnson Space Center grounds and we got to include a visit to the Rocket Garden, home to one of the only three remaining Saturn V's, the actual Boeing 747 that transported all the Space Shuttles back to the Kennedy Space Center and numerous wonderful exhibits and displays. In addition we took two tours onto the JSC campus; one to the Mission Control Facility and the other to the Astronaut Training Facility. Most of the space shuttle landings were at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of California. A few weeks after the landing, this specially modified 747 would transport the shuttle, mounted piggy-back, and return it to the Kennedy Space Center for another future flight. NASA's Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center (MCC-H, initially called Integrated Mission Control Center, or IMCC), also known by its radio call sign, "Houston", is the facility at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, that manages flight control for the United States human space program, currently involving astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The center is in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center and is named after Christopher C. Kraft Jr., a NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation, and was the first Flight Director. We were allowed to visit the Mission Operations Control Room 2 (MOCR 2) that was used for all Gemini and Apollo (Saturn V) flights (except Gemini 3); it was located on the third floor. As the flight control room for Apollo 11, the first crewed Moon landing, MOCR 2 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. It was last used in 1992 as the flight control room for STS-53 and was subsequently converted back almost entirely to its Apollo-era configuration and preserved for historical purposes. Together with several support wings, it is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the "Apollo Mission Control Center". In January 2018, the first set of consoles in MOCR 2 were removed and sent to the Kansas Cosmosphere for archival cleaning, refurbishment, and restoration to Apollo-era configuration, for eventual display back in the control room. On July 1, 2019, the newly restored Apollo-era Mission Control was reopened to the public after a two-year long effort to restore the room to its configuration as seen during the Apollo Moon landings. Period-appropriate accents were acquired, from cigarette packs and ashtrays to wallpaper and carpeting. The room is accessible via the tram tour at the nearby Space Center Houston visitors' center, but only from behind the glass in the restored Visitor's Gallery viewing room. As we sat in the visitor's viewing area, we relived the Apollo 11 descent of the LEM with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon's surface and landing on July 20, 1969. "Tranquility Base here...the Eagle has landed." Following our tour of MOCR 2 we visited the Astronaut Training Facility at NASA Johnson Space Center. The only way for the public to view this facility is through Space Center Houston’s Astronaut Training Facility NASA tram tour! Astronauts train within this full-size classroom in the heart of NASA Johnson Space Center. Since its inception in 1975, the Astronaut Training Facility has supported NASA’s missions. There have been several types of mockups within the facility and each served a different function for astronauts and engineers. Initially, the facility housed space shuttle training modules such as the full fuselage trainer and two crew compartment trainers. Although equipment in the building may change, the goal of this training facility has remained the same. It houses almost 200 training courses to help astronauts become familiar with the spacecraft, understand its various systems and prepare for emergencies that may occur during a mission. This facility houses a full-size and complete with all the modules International Space Station, a Boeing Starliner, Soyuz capsule, and NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis missions The Astronaut Training Facility has become the central hub for resolving issues during missions. If a problem were to occur aboard the ISS, JSC officials would come to the facility to work through the situation with engineers, then relay the step-by-step process to the astronauts in orbit. Space Center Houston offers this behind-the-scenes look at NASA Johnson Space Center on the NASA Tram Tour. As part of this tour, on a walkway positioned right above the training mockups, we observed the engineers, astronauts and equipment used for daily trainings. Karen really got into the spirit of the tour. Well, we all were "space nerds" for the day and celebrated our completion of the JSC mission with dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant before dropping Bob and Gail off at the hotel. We hugged and said our goodbyes with talk of a future cruise to be determined. We drove the two hours from Houston back to Smithville and got home about 10 PM. We left everything in the truck and cozied up in our own warm bed after a wonderful adventure of sightseeing and travel.

On Sunday, December 1 we drove to Galveston, Texas to board the Regal Princess with our good friends, Bob and Gail Conrad for a seven day cruise. The trip would include stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico plus Mahogany Bay, Roatan Island in Honduras. This was our first time cruising with Princess so there was a bit of a learning curve. We've cruised with Celebrity Cruise Ships in the past and we needed a few days to understand the different services and the layout of the ship as well as the on board App for the day's activities. We arrived around 10 AM at the cruise terminal long-term parking, parked the truck and took the parking shuttle directly to the port facilities. We dropped off our luggage and went through the check in process where we received a personalized medallion that would provide us access to our cabin and on-board purchases. After getting to our cabin, C606 on deck 10, we checked out the view from our balcony. Across the shipping channel from our berth was an amazing view! There, directly across from the Regal Princess was the USS Texas. USS Texas (BB-35) is a museum ship in Galveston and former United States Navy New York-class battleship. She was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914. Texas was the first U.S. battleship to become a permanent museum ship; she was turned over to the state of Texas on 21 April 1948 as a permanent museum in Houston. In 1976 she became the first battleship to be declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and is the only remaining World War I era dreadnought battleship. She is also one of the seven remaining ships and the only remaining capital ship to have served in both World Wars. USS Texas is owned by the people of Texas and is officially under the jurisdiction of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Everyday operations and maintenance of Texas have been handled by the non-profit organization 'Battleship Texas Foundation' since August 2020. At the end of August 2022 she was moved to a dry dock in Galveston, Texas, to undergo a $60 million repair project. On completion, her new permanent home will be Galveston. As of March 2024, the repair project is still underway, but she has moved out of dry dock. On the Regal Princess, this is the view from the Sky Deck looking aft over the Sun Deck as we departed Galveston at 3 pm. This is the view from the port side Sky Deck looking forward as we transit the shipping channel past commercial cargo ships at anchor on our way to the open sea. Our ship featured the inviting piazza-style grand atrium -- the stunning centerpiece of many of the ships in the Princess fleet. The majestic atrium spans several decks and features the International Café, Vines Bar, a spiral staircase and several glass-walled lifts that provide panoramic overviews of the ship. We really looked forward to a week of relaxation, good food and hanging out with old friends. Much to our surprise, we found out at the last minute that our friends, Paul and Rhonda Harlin, from the RVICS Village were on the same ship with us! So now our cruise included two other couples to share the on board party experience. We had a great time together playing cards, eating delicious food and enjoying shows on board! Sunrise at sea on Monday, December 2 from our cabin balcony heading south to Cozumel, Mexico.

We're settling into Smithville and life here in the village. Everything in town is a short bike ride away so we try and use that form of transportation for short errands as well as visits to the local donut shop, hardware store or Dairy Queen. The town is larger then we originally thought and there are many ways to navigate using the residential streets avoiding the rural highway that runs through the center of town. We are adjusting to the train noise. Union Pacific Railroad: Smithville, TX Depot is a transportation hub that serves as a vital link in the railway network, facilitating the movement of goods and materials across the region, therefore, we hear trains throughout the day and night. Every trip to and from the village requires traveling over the four tracks entering the depot and first it was difficult to get used to the trains horns in the distance. But now we are accustomed to them and amazed how we've come to appreciate the sound of an approaching train, reminiscent of a past era. Karen has found a chiropractor in Bastrop and will be using that office for adjustments while we are in the area. Bastrop has a huge HEB grocery store and a Walmart we'll use for our provisioning. When we were there shopping earlier in the week we stopped at the Tractor Supply, Dollartree and Harbor Freight. Bastrop has all the big box stores off the main highway. We checked out the town of La Grange later in the week. It is about the same distance as Bastrop but south of Smithville. It is less busy according to villagers and has the nearest VA Clinic if needed. The HEB store there is smaller but not as crowded; there's a RAM dealership as well. Karen also recently found us a local dentist in Smithville and we both had appointments. This completed our needed annual dental check ups and cleanings. This is yet another convenience in our new base of operation. Our plan for the next three months is to leave the rig here during our scheduled future travels in December and January. On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 28 we drove up to have the holiday dinner at the home of Frank and Nina Phelan, Karen's cousins who live in Cedar Park, Texas which is north of Austin. Cousin Cass and Auntie Ann were also part of the celebration. It was great to be together with Auntie Ann and the rest of her side of the family. After a wonderful meal and family fellowship we returned home with plenty of leftovers that we will finish before leaving again on December 1. From left to right: Frank, Nina, Cass, Auntie Ann, John and Karen. Thank you for inviting us to join y'all. The turkey, ham, and all the fixins' were awesome. Dessert included pumpkin and pecan pies. Smithville has a Christmas Festival and parade every holiday season. Throughout the town gingerbread panels decorate the streets and homes. The gingerbread man, later named “Smitty,” became a reality on Dec. 2, 2006, at the 16th annual Festival of Lights celebration in Smithville, Texas. He weighed 1,308 lbs, 8 oz and measured 20 feet from head-to-toe. He consisted of 750 lbs of flour, 49 gallons of molasses, and 72 dozen eggs (separated!). He was baked over a dump truck load of charcoal before being raised by crane to an angle of 65 degrees in order to qualify for the Guinness World Record.

Well it is official, we are " Village People "! We arrived on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at our new home site #24 in the RVICS Village (Roving Volunteers in Christ's Service) in Smithville, Texas. This is the final destination on our third RV adventure that started back on Friday, April 5 of this year. The journey started in Livingston, Texas and took 229 days as we traveled through fly-over country to Canada and eventually Alaska then back through the Pacific Northwest to California, Arizona, New Mexico to Texas. A total of 99 stops along the 14,128 miles of various highways and byways. Now Trinity has landed for the next three months for a well earned rest. She will get a much needed brake job and new wheel bearings while we are off the road. I'm hoping to have her detailed with a professional wash and wax spa treatment while we are here. I took the Thule box off the roof rack of the truck and it is stored in the 8x12 storage shed we have on our lot. Thursday, we drove into Bastrop, Texas for lunch with a bunch of RVICS Village People at a great barbeque place called Southern Market BBQ. After lunch we ran some errands and Karen had a first visit with a local chiropractor. Bastrop is about 25 minutes northwest of Smithville and has most of the big box stores we would need for weekly shopping. Every Thursday a group from the village goes to Bastrop for lunch, so we will probably use that as our main shopping day in the future. There are some things to get use to living here. We have some train noise living in the village; still getting used to it, especially at night. Other than the train noise it is very quiet here. There are 71 sites in the village and some residents have two sites in their name. We still getting to know our neighbors. All of the residents are either active project or retired RVICS members. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Our site faces to the east so we get the morning sun until about noon then the trees on the back of our lot filter the sun and provide some shade in the afternoon. So far the weather has been pleasant with a slight breeze and temperatures in the 70's. On Friday Karen did the laundry at our community center while I washed the trailer and truck. Later in the day we rode our bikes into Smithville to see the town up close after stopping at the Dairy Queen for lunch. Smithville is located in southeastern Bastrop County near the Colorado River, 12 miles southeast of Bastrop and 42 miles southeast of Austin. The population was just 3,922 at the 2020 census. Thomas Jefferson Gazley arrived in 1827 and set the pace of development for Smithville by building the first house and establishing the first store, which served incoming settlers. He later served in the Mexican government, helped write the Texas Declaration of Independence and the first Constitution, and became a true Texas hero. William Smith's family arrived several years after Gazley. They also owned a store and were early influences on the area, including the naming of Smithville where about seventeen families lived on the south bank of the Colorado River. On December 2, 2006, at the city's 16th Annual Festival of Lights, Smithville broke the Guinness World Record for the world's largest gingerbread man . The record breaking "man" measured over 20 feet (6.1 m) long and weighed 1,308.5 lb (593.5 kilograms). Some of the ingredients used were 750 pounds of flour, 49 gallons of molasses and 72 dozen eggs. The pan used in the baking now stands as a monument at the James H. Long Railroad Park in Smithville. Friday evening we joined two other couples from the village for dinner at Pockets Restaurant. We've only been in the village three days now, but it is beginning to feel like home. The villagers are so welcoming and we both are enjoying the new connections we are making with our brothers and sisters here. We thank God for this opportunity to be part of the RVICS community!

Today is the day! The sixth test flight is scheduled for 4 PM this afternoon and we will have great seats for the launch. Yesterday we drove out to Boca Chica Boulevard (Hwy 4) all the way to the state beach next to the launch tower with the complete stacked rocket literally a football field's distance from where we stood. The road to the Star Base comes from the Port of Brownsville and eventually passes the Mega Bay and High Bay of the factory and assembly facilities of Space X. We drove to the launch tower facilities and parked the truck on the north side of the highway opposite the fuel tank farm. This is a county road and is only closed from 8 AM to 10 PM on the launch day. From there we walked to the beach to get even closer to the launch towers. We couldn't believe how many people were out there. The road ends at the beach where some folks with four-wheel drive drove right on to the sand, parked and set up camping equipment. Many of the people are serious rocket geeks like me but we met people from all over the world who were just curious. While we were out at the launch tower site we could see SpaceX workers up on the orbital launch mount (OLM) where the booster sits continuing the last minute preparations for this flight. It truly gave me a scale of the massive size of the space vehicle. Trust me when I say it is bigger than the Saturn V we saw at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vibe here is surprisingly layed back. Nothing like the uptight government security at a NASA venue. It's more like a big block party with people hanging out around this giant rocket. They do have security around but they're very low key. There were some creative vendors selling water and snacks but no big concessions. It was a very family friendly environment with kids running around the surrounding sand dunes and playing in the ocean. This is a bit unexpected for this massive engineering facility and the seriousness of the project. I wonder how long they will continue to allow this community access to continue? While we were near the SpaceX Star Base we drove through the living quarters area which is the only area open to the public. There are some permanent homes, both new and old, but many of the living quarters are manufactured homes or Airstream trailers. They all had Starlink antennas, of course! This was an amazing opportunity to see this incredible venue up close and personal. I'm glad we took the effort to drive the hour from South Padre Island (SPI) to see this place in person. After our visit we drove back to SPI but first had to stop at the Hopper Haus in Port Isabel, a space geek watering hole, for a couple of micro brews and an appetizer. We met even more rocket geeks there of course. Karen was so supportive and even admitted to having a new appreciation of this subject. Tuesday, November 19 is Starship Flight 6 launch day. This morning the weather has improved. There were partly cloudy skies, with the winds lighter and out of the NNE at 10 to 15 MPH. The temperature is 85º F with humidity dropping down to 41% by launch time. At 10 AM Karen and I walked down to the viewing area and were surprised at the number of people already there. Most of these folks are probably here in Isla Blanca Park for the day use only and didn't want to miss out on getting in. The park has limited day use parking and I'm sure if you wait too close to the launch time you wouldn't get in. We got in a mile walk and dropped off the RV trash before heading back to the air conditioning in Trinity. I took the time to wash the RV and truck. The last time I washed the rig was in September while we were in Washington, so it needed a quick spray down with water to get off some of the dust. At 2 PM we rode our E-bikes to our selected spot and waited for 4 PM and the "Big Event". WE WERE READY TO RUMBLE!!! Literally!