Okay, I know I’m always saying how incredibly busy I am, but it’s really the truth. I work 9 hours a day, currently including Saturdays. And I commute to work for another hour a day. I come home from work and have to give at least an hour’s attention to the boys (mostly because nothing else is possible during that time). And then I have to cook dinner, clean up the kitchen, feed the boys, and check emails and YouTube comments. This takes me into about 9:00 PM, and very little energy to do much else. Yesterday I decided to add to that routine by coming home and immediately getting into running gear and taking Akela for a run. That got me the exercise I need, the attention for Akela he needs, but leaves Dakota very unhappy. So I felt bad for him and gave him some turkey from Thanksgiving which he really appreciated. But the next day when I came home he had sprayed the house with poop to remind me that he has a sensitive stomach and doesn’t really do good on poultry anymore. Thank goodness that I’ve gotten rid of most of the rugs and the house is all laminate flooring now so it was much easier to clean up and the 2 little throw rugs that I leave for him to lay on we just threw out.
But thankfully while my life seems to be slightly chaotic with too much to do, I have children that decide to come visit because they think it’s a requirement to visit 
When my son comes to visit me I often get a little silly. I tend to pretend that he’s an 8-year-old, because that’s when he was really the most fun. So I decided to take him to “The Lazy 5 Ranch” to see the animals. Its about 30 minutes from my house, and for about $10 a piece they give you a bucket of food to feed the animals and send you on a drive through the animal habitat. Now I’m sure they have been doing this for more than 5 years, because the animals are all perfectly trained to beg at the side of the cars. And while it took us about 2 hours to drive through the entire 1 -1/2 miles of the ranch road, the video was almost useless because of so much shaking and laughing from the amount of fun we were having. My son and I have the same basic warped sense a humor and he was pretending like he was going to overfeed the emus until they exploded and we just were laughing and trying to avoid all horned and slobbery animals. If you left your window rolled down for 
more than a minute something would come over and stick its head and nose into the car, which surprised me several times while I’m trying to take a picture looking through the viewfinder. And of course my son was always trying to attract them to the window when I had it down with the food bucket. He’s always been a little brat! Another thing we did that same day, which I didn’t do a video on, was we went to the “GoPro Metroplex”. This is a very fancy go-cart track that was pretty expensive. $25 per person per race and for another $32 you could rent a GoPro camera to record your race. So I had my GoPro camera and I rented one for my son so we could record the race. However, when we got in our cars and they put the cameras on our helmets they did not turn on my sons, and they installed mine so it was looking basically at my steering wheel and crotch. Though it may have been exciting for some people it really wasn’t worthy of YouTube, I don’t think. So I did convince them to give me the $32 back for the rented GoPro. But the race was pretty much a bust because it’s a very complicated track and it takes quite a bit to learn the carts and how to get the most performance out of them. Unless you’ve got $1000 or so to spend I wouldn’t recommend the GoPro Metroplex.
All in all my son spent 6 days with me, goofing off and running around. We really did have a great time and I got at least one more video, if not two, to post up of things we did. But I haven’t gotten it all together yet so you’ll have to wait until the next post to see them. It’s always fun to have family visiting. I’m not a big fan of the huge celebrations like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I just feel it puts so much stress and expectation on things that it takes away from the fun. And I think in a country that has so much food all the time that having celebrations centered around huge meals is just gluttony. Now, I suppose that may be heresy for some people, but it’s just my opinion and it’s worth exactly what you paid for it. So thanks for coming by and reading my blog. I hope you enjoy the videos and leave me a comment there. Of course the way they show real love is to share the videos!! Love you all,we’ll see on the next video or blog.
Rick, Dakota, Akela….. Ceasar in spirit
It is now 01-03-2019. Are you okay? We haven’t heard anything from you and the mob is beginning to form with their torches. Hope all is well with you and the dogs, I know you have been more concerned lately with Dakota’s health. Here’s to a new year and to the things that bring warm smiles to faces like your videos.
Yes, I took off some time from the weekend before Christmas to after New Years. I needed to get some rest and I have so much to do around the house. Since the weather has been in the 50’s or 60’s all week it was just too good to not work outside and get lots of stuff done. Plus lots of friends and family DEMAND time to catch up. So its just a crazy time to get all the Vlogs, Blogs, and Facebook stuff filled in..LOL. But its always nice to get a note from someone saying they care ! So I will get some stuff up and posted very soon ! Back to work I guess !! Thanks for the comment !
Hi Rick,
Not bad advice that Leslie shares. My dad worked 6 days a week 10-12 hours a day and sometimes called in the middle of the night to fill a prescription for an ill person. It took it’s tow on his heart as well. He just couldn’t stop, he gave so much to the community and asked nothing in return. Keep everything in moderation, and enjoy the boys Rick!
I’m pretty low stress, I just need a 34 hr day !! I have too much I want to do and there is so much out there to see ! We will only be doing this for a few more years and then its all fun and games until some one ends up in the cone !! LOL
Spending time with family is always paramount. Glad you have a good relationship and share time together.
Sounds to me like you had a wonderful time with your son. Too bad about the videos, but what matters is the memories you two will share. However I do enjoy your videos so hope you do get some more up by the time I return from the southwest next spring. I had just found you when you moved from NYstate where I live. Dang you were sharing places to boondock and I really need help locating those places. Still can’t figure out how you found them. Thanks for all you share.
Well, I used to work for the DEC, so I do know some tricks to finding places, and then I’m not to afraid of trying things others may not. But if you need any directions of help, just drop me an email. The places are almost endless… you just have to get there first ..LOL
So good you had your son with you. Our youngest son joined my husband and me for Thanksgiving Dinner at the RV resort in Florida where we winter. About 200 of our best friends showed up for the pitch-in. I recommend retirement.
About your working hours and commute added on, including Saturdays: My husband was 60 years old working similar hours at a stressful job – designing motors as an electrical engineer – when he had a heart attack. He survived, but his heart has paid a price. Is this worth it?
Following the heart attack, he cut back to 5 days per week, 8 hours per day. In retirement now at age 74, he is in heart failure due to the damage caused by the heart attack. We are hoping that we will be able to resume RVing in the spring, and that the cardiologist will have his meds keeping his heart beating the way it should. Words of caution…
Life can hand you unexpected turns at any time. I hope he gets his health tuned up and back on the road. I will admit I love living !! And now that I have this new little critter (who I may kill any day now for chewing up the house) I feel I should be responsible and stay healthy. I would hate to leave him to my sons, they have enough troubles !! LOL But on the other hand, I am ready to go anytime. My life has been totally fulfilling and I can’t think of anything I might want to change. The trials and tribulation are as dear as the best times. Its all about living ! Thanks for the comment ! Good Luck and Bless you
Good to hear from you and especially to hear you enjoyed yourself so much. Nothing like some down time with the kids to relax you and do you good 🙂 (oh, and sorry about the rugs LOL LOL)
Actually, Thank goodness for the rugs. They were cheap and easily throw away-able !! LOL