Hello again, back after a season's absence

[W4RLR]

Greetings to the Island...

Contrary to popular opinion, I did not fall off the edge of the earth. I have missed a lot, I know. (including Bob's birthday). To make a long story short, the house I thought I bought in February didn't work out, the lender got cold feet three days before closing and the wife and I had to vacate with only three days to do it. (more on that in a bit).

We lived in our travel trailer on the shores of Nickajack Lake from March to about three weeks ago. During that time we continued to look at houses and searched for a new lender. We were successful on both counts, and closed on a beautiful 2700 square foot home near Monteagle, atop Jump Off Mountain. The altitude of our new digs is 1600 feet above sea level and would make a GREAT repeater site. I have four and a half acres of mostly wooded property that overlooks the valley. I'm about 40 minutes from downtown Chattanooga and an hour and a half from Nashville.

The best part? The house was a Fannie Mae foreclosure. It needed a little work, we offered less than half the assessed value, and we got the house. The worst part? In having to vacate the previous house so quickly, I dropped a refrigerator on my foot and I've been in and out of the hospital since March, and will probably wind up having foot surgery.

So as I hobble about, I am slowly putting the shack back together. It will be a while before the tower goes back up, but I might get a few hams from the Chattanooga club to help me throw some wire in the trees. Since I am now permanently retired, I will have lots of time to devote to the amateur hobby.

If anyone is in the area, give me a call or an e-mail. We can do lunch at Sugar's in Chattanooga or Jim Oliver's in Monteagle.

That being said, I am going to finish off this shot of Jasper Newton Daniel's finest and head to bed.

Cheers.

Richard

[PA5COR]

Hello Richard,
Looks like you are back to normal life, just take care of the hurt foot will ya?
Get some wire up, and have fun, here in our community hams help each other if need be to put antenna's up.
Maybe we can have a chat in the future when the goddess of conditions allows ;)

[KA9MOT]

4.5 acres in heaven....and it has a house! Damn I'm jealous! Welcome back Richard!

[N8YX]

I'd say this worked out considerably better than your previous dwelling - and the situation surrounding it. Congratulations and welcome back. :cheers:

[ki4itv]

Welcome back Richard!
Wow. 2700sqft and acres is trending the opposite direction from me.
I'm looking for less to do.
Congratulations!

[KG4CGC]

I am not a doctor, nor do I suggest you take any medical advice from me.
Here's a bone knitter drink. It's just some Vit C and minerals and stuff.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/drinks/a889790a.jpg

[N2NH]

Welcome Back. Wuz away for awhile myself. Good to see more coming into the pride.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f366/Carlito4000/welcome_back.gif

[NQ6U]

Welcome back, Richard. Glad things are working out for you at last.

[K7SGJ]

Glad to hear things worked out, finally. Enjoy your retirement. You only get one shot at it, so take your time and get it right; I know I am. Let us know when you get back on the air. I still don't have Monteagle or Jump Off Mountain confirmed.

Sorry to hear about the foot. You should have sued the manufacturer, but then, I guess you didn't have a leg to stand on, so to speak.

[kb2vxa]

Congratulations! Oh boy, you have a VHF operator's dream there, great spot for weak signal work and never mind the repeater that would clobber your own operating. Call you Richard the Lion Heart, I'm just a little leery of a mountain called Jump Off when I have no intention of doing so...

[WØTKX]

Hiya Richard! The last we heard from you, you said you were still gonna make it happen, and you did! :cheers:

[KC2UGV]

I'm glad things are coming together for you Richard :)

[N2NH]

... I'm just a little leery of a mountain called Jump Off when I have no intention of doing so...

Sounds better than The Gunks. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0509/sports/rock_climbing.html)

[N2CHX]

Welcome back! Glad to hear that things are going well for you, foot aside. Sounds like a gorgeous new place.

[KG4CGC]

Welcome back! Glad to hear that things are going well for you, foot aside. Sounds like a gorgeous new place.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Aliens%20Guy/2a6f9c04.jpg

[WØTKX]

My left fridge?

[KG4CGC]

My left fridge?

From Kelli's quote, "foot aside."

[suddenseer]

WOOT!!

[NA4BH]

Welcome back Richard, I'm glad everything finally worked out for you. You have found a beautiful spot to live, just remember it snows up there and the drive down the mountain on I-24 to Chattanooga could prove to educational.

Welcome back.

[W4RLR]

Welcome back Richard, I'm glad everything finally worked out for you. You have found a beautiful spot to live, just remember it snows up there and the drive down the mountain on I-24 to Chattanooga could prove to educational.

Welcome back.Thanks to all for the welcome back!

Taking Tennessee 156 to Sewanee and the University of the South, then U.S. 41A to I-24 and the interstate down from Monteagle is what we call "the easy way" from the house to the valley. Picture being at the end of the Monteagle grade headed towards Chattanooga and going past the first exit (Martin Springs Road) from the bottom. Now look right. That is Jump Off Mountain. The "quick way" to my QTH is getting off at Martin Springs Road and taking Tennessee Route 2 to Stagecoach Road, five miles of twisty, curvy road which includes a 170 degree hairpin, with NO guardrails and 12 percent grades. The long way is Tennessee 156 from South Pittsburg, which is the way the wife goes to work, as her job is in South Pittsburg.

Right now, my shack is in the sunroom, which was added on by the previous owner. He neglected to connect the room to the circuit breaker box, and that fix will require crawling under the house. I might get to it this week.

The wife was none too thrilled when my kids came up to help us move in, and my son discovered one of the local wildlife came to welcome us. A five foot timber rattlesnake...we picked it up with a substantial tree branch and moved it to another part of the property. He lives here and keeps the rodents at bay.

There are lots of deer and wild turkey up here. Our nearest neighbor is a quarter mile up the road, and there are not that many houses up here.

I'm going to ask some of the members of the Chattanooga club for assistance in getting the tower up, but I can run some wire along the roofline or in the attic to get started. I've been off the air far too long.

I am not kidding, if anyone is in the area, give me a shout, lunch will be on me.

Richard

[W3WN]

Welcome back Richard, you've been missed... didn't mean to ignore you the last few days, I've been a mite busy!

Don't suppose you're going to be at the Ten-Tec hamfest at the end of the month? If so, keep an eye out for my friend Bill W3WH. (You can believe about half of what he says about me, but you'll have to figure out which half).

[W4RLR]

I might head up that way, Ron. I missed Huntsville and Shelby due to the foot thing and all of the work of moving in.

[W3WN]

Sounds good! Would love to go, maybe next year. Bill asked me if I'd like to split the costs with him, but I just don't have the spare shekels right now, let alone enough days off to cover the drive down & back.

Also, if you go, keep an eye out for Wade KJ4WS. I'd love to meet him in person; I owe him a dinner for the rehab on the Argonaut.

[w2amr]

Good to see you again Richard. :-D

[AE1PT]

Glad to hear things worked out for you Rich. Last I heard you were getting pretty depressed and looking at the life of a peripatetic wanderer living in campgrounds...

Just so you know, that snake will not be lonely. He/she has many relatives very close by. Also it may get a bit crowded, as an average fall brood is about 8-10 more of them. You may not be so charitable in the future. Also, be on the lookout for copperheads. They have a nasty disposition...