2007

2007

1/2/07. Huge ice storm covers everything. The wireless internet at work doesn't work in Tilden, so I run up there to investigate. Solid ice everywhere. Very hazardous to be over 105' in the air on a sheet of ice with no guardrails!

1/10. Debbie and I head to AZ again, this time driving my Tucson and bringing Mom and Red along. Starting in New Mexico, the views became spectacular.

1/16. We take a side trip to Puerto Penasco/Rocky Point to look at some condo investments. They were luxurious and the views were awesome. Here is a condo at the Sonoran Sea, and where we spent the night ($238!)

Here's a condo in another development:

In Mexico there was a stretch of about 15 miles of critter crossings. Here's a few:

We spotted a prime Mexican rental on the way back :>)

1/19. We go to the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction.

6/9: We get the boat out for the first time of the year. Dale enjoyed the day with us. The new paint job and graphics look great in the water.

8/7 (Sam's 21st birthday, BTW). Debbie and I get adopted by a stray kitten. We named her Bailey.

	11/3. We take a 2nd exploratory trip to Lake of the Ozarks. I'm really falling in love with the area, and it's likely I'll move there someday. Here's the morning fog burning off, as viewed from the condo we stayed at. The 2nd picture is from a high bridge crossing the lake.
	The best way to look for lakefront property is from the lake. We ran an ad looking for a boat to rent. A local real estate agent called and said her friend owned Bikini Pier and would take us around. Great coincidence, since he's at the same resort where we stay. Peggy and Mike turned out to be super people, and we'll certainly deal with them in the future. Out on the lake was fantastic. With the tourist season over, we pretty much had the lake to ourselves. The water was smooth and the Fall colors were beautiful.
	Brad Pitt's vacation house on Lake of the Ozarks. Wow.
	This house, while looking great from the water and being brand new, was a disaster. The floors were poured unevenly and the carpentry was sub-standard. It was a lot of house for the money, but a lot of new stuff would have to have been taken back out to do it right.
	It also had a community dock, and we would have only owned a portion of it.
	Another lakefront house we looked at. Notice the boat lift that keeps the boat out of the water. Everyone's got one here.
	This house looked great from the outside, and was at the very end of a cove. The down side of that is that the water is shallower than other parts of the cove. It was a little under 5' when we checked at the dock. The good news is that the property extended almost all the way back to the cover, with over over 300' of waterfront and over 6 acres. And, look what's in back of the house. A HUGE 40X60' shop.
	The house sits next to a family resort, and one of the rental houses is next door. We'd have to decide whether having new neighbors every weekend for 4~5 months is worth it. On the other hand, it'll likely be vacant for the rest of the year, making it very quiet.
	Here is the street side view of the house.
	The inside has been remodeled, and has a great living room full of windows. There are a couple of shallow steps up to it.
	This is looking back towards the breakfast bar and door to the kitchen. The area behind the breakfast bar could be an expanded kitchen, and when you see the next couple of pictures, you can see why it needs the room.
	YIKES! Whoever did the great job on the living room in front wasn't the same person who did the kitchen. The counter on this side is shallow and useless. The colors are aweful, too.
	Here's a view from the other end of the narrow kitchen. The area through the doorway is where the breakfast bar is, so that wall should be totally torn out and the kitchen expanded.
	The downstairs was advertised as a master 13X27' bedroom, but it was awkward in its layout. Something else should be done with it. There is a bedroom upstairs that's too small for a master, but there is enough room to expand it into something special.
	Single garage with tandem doors.
	Back side of the single garage.
	Here's a closer shot of the shop. Double doors, and in very good shape.
	Inside is a mechanic's dream. All insulated, lighted, wood stove, radiant heating, compressor and 2 car hoists. Yes, that's a 41 Ford being restored on the left, and a Opel GT on the right. Needless to say, I really like this house, and it has some great possibilities. Debbie would rather have something already done, but I don't think we'll find anything like that in our budget.
	While driving around looking at property right at dusk, we (almost) run into this 6-point buck. Tame as can be, it waited for us to get the camera out, load it and take the picture. We saw several deer in the evening, and none of them were afraid of people like they are around home.

	Thanksgiving weekend Debbie and I check out Table Rock Lake, near the Missouri/Arkansas border. It's just as beautiful as Lake of the Ozarks. Lot less docks though, since the Corps of Engineers limits them. Most are community docks, which has its pluses and minuses. This view was from a house that was for sale.
	The loft area of the house. Very nice, but the bedrooms (and the house) were small. Debbie really liked the log cabin exterior.
	There are several air parks in the area, and this one had a huge hangar already built on it. Supposed to be home sites as well, but most are only building hangars.
		While driving around looking at houses we came across this unbelievable sight. Besides the '55 and '57 Chevies, the two '68 Camaros and the two '69 Camaros (one's a convertible), there were a bunch more cars behind the house. 3 signs on the tree warned us to stay out, and that nothing was for sale.
		Dale is home for the week of Christmas, and puts together the Lego fighter jet that he got. During the days he comes with me to work, and was able to put together this 750-piece puzzle.
	J.D. & Brian

2007

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