Accident, Church and Storms (Livingston Dec 13-20)

Trees have been pretty here the last few days.  This is a picture of our rig with some of the trees that have changed colors.  It feels like we have followed the colors from Indiana down to Texas!

This past week has been relatively quiet except for last Wednesday.  Pat got up early to go to the grocery store and get gas at the station down the road.  At about 7:30, he called me to give me the news that he had a car accident.  :-(  He was waiting for traffic at the gas station to clear when another customer backed right into his rear.  She must have been going like a bat out of hell because she actually pushed him out onto the road into traffic.  Fortunately no one else hit him.  Anyways, Pat was OK other than being angry and the car had damage to one of the taillights, the fender and the bumper.  It is now at the body shop to be repaired--I am so glad it was not his fault since the repairs are going to cost the other insurance company in excess of $800.

We did take a trip down to Humble (just north of Houston) and stopped at an RV park that we might stay at in February so we can see Houston sites without leaving the four-legged children too long.  It's a nice park far enough away from the freeway so we won't hear the traffic noise.  The sites are concrete with concrete patios and the monthly cost is reasonable.

Sunday, we attended worship service at the First United Methodist Church.  This is a very large church with two services: one at nine is contemporary followed by Sunday School for all ages.  The second service at eleven is a traditional service.  We attended the early service and the annual children's program was held--nice performance and the service still lasted only one hour.  Several people fro the Escapees park were there as well.

Last night we were sound asleep when all of a sudden our emergency radio went off at midnight.  There was a report of a possible Doppler-indicated tornado to the west and north of us.  We decided that we were not in the tornado warning area and headed back to bed.  It continued to storm off and on all night which meant that Abby didn't sleep too well and kept us awake as well.  With all the rain, our roof leak came back--we woke up at 3 am to the sound of drip..drip..drip.  :-(  We think it is around the vent in the bedroom but haven't had any luck finding it or plugging it.

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and remembers the true meaning of the season!!

EASY LIVING!!

New Friends and Christmas in Livingston (December 9-12)

The wonderful part about our RV lifestyle is that we don’t need to have big plans every day.  In fact, most days we just kick back and enjoy!

Friday night was our dinner out.  We went to Buster McNutty’s again and Pat had a steak and I had beef kabobs.  There was so much that I brought my leftovers home for lunch on Saturday. 

Saturday was the day of the Hometown Christmas celebration in Livingston.  We hooked up with our new friends, Judy and Tom, and headed to the festivities.  They had various food booths and craft booths along one of the streets downtown.  This reminded me of Harvest Homecoming in New Albany but on a smaller scale.  Just about every building is also decorated--what they miss in not having snow, they make up for with decorations.

At 6pm, there was a Christmas parade and every organization, store, and church was represented with floats all lit up with Christmas lights.  For a small town, they really do it up big.  Maybe that is what Texas is all about! After the parade, we headed to Shrimp Boat Manny’s for a light evening supper.  They serve mostly Louisiana Cajun cuisine which was good but a bit spicy for my taste-I think Pat liked it though.  We all had a good time laughing and talking for a few hours.

Sunday we bought a small Christmas tree at Wal-Mart and it is now set up in the RV.  Now it feels a bit more like Christmas!

Yesterday while Pat washed the RV and both vehicles, I cleaned the inside.  Every once in a while we have to do the more mundane tasks and we now have a clean RV on the outside and the inside. The weather has finally warmed up so we should be able to sit outside this afternoon.  The current temperature is 67°!

That’s about it for now.

EASY LIVING!!

Drive to Galveston (Livingston, TX December 1-8)

This week has been somewhat uneventful.  The main thing we had to do was to try to stay warm.  The low temperatures have been down to the mid-twenties so we had to start the furnace.  Hopefully the cold weather is gone and we will get back to more seasonal temps of 60’s during the day and 40’s-50’s at night.

We did go on one road trip on Tuesday.  We decided to start out driving south on TX146 to see where it goes.  Our intention was to drive a short ways and then turn around.  However, as we drove further and further, we decided to go all the way to the Gulf coast.  We had no idea what we would see and it turned out to be a pleasant drive of about 300 miles round trip.  We saw many oil wells--wish some of these were ours!!

When we arrived at the Gulf Coast at an area of Bolivar Peninsula, we saw the Gulf of Mexico which was quite rough that day.  We did not stop to walk on the beach because it was windy and probably only about 40°. 

As we drove further, we saw a lot of new construction of houses built on stilts and even saw a school built on stilts with the parking lot under the building.  We figured it must have been from a hurricane but didn’t know which one.  We finally found a gas station and I asked the attendant which hurricane had wiped out the area.  It was Ike—the same one that went through Louisville with high winds a few years ago that gave us a new roof on the house!  One of the houses under construction has stairs that retract. I guess that is one way to prevent unwanted visitors!

At the end of the peninsula, the road ends at a ferry to cross over to Galveston Island.  There is no cost to the ferry, so we decided what the heck we’ll ride it.  That was a fun experience—we passed several ships and saw a cruise ship in dock.  It looked like these seagulls wanted a ride too!

Galveston’s main street is very pretty with palm trees lining the street and lots of old buildings.  I am sure the residents of the city were relieved when Ike missed them and the heritage of the city was saved.

From Galveston, we headed home without having to go through Houston during rush hour.  It was 5:00 by the time we arrived back at the Escapees Park.  We were tired, especially Pat since he did all the driving.  Another day, we will venture back in that direction to visit the Johnson Space Center.

Last night we were prepared to attend the weekly potluck (sausage stew was my contribution).  We drove up to the activity center to find it dark and deserted.  We asked another couple (Tom and Judy) what the deal was and it seemed that the get-together had been moved and was not a potluck after all.  We did not attend any of the social hours this week or we would have known.  Anyways, we invited Tom and Judy to come over to our rig and share the stew with us.  We had a great time and learned that they just started full-timing this year also.  We shared some tips and tricks of the life style and Pat and I hope to see them again before they head up to Dallas for the holidays.

That’s all for now!

EASY LIVING!!

Staying in Livingston

This week has been a week for some decisions.  First we decided that we would NOT continue further south for the winter but instead we are going to stay in the Livingston, Texas area.  Through the end of the year we are at Rainbow's End Escapee park.  We are enjoying our time here getting to know some of the folks who are here either for the winter or who live here full time.  I am happy to report that the dogs seem to like it and have calmed down.  They still get excited when another dog walks by but they are not going as ballistic as they used to at some of our other stops.

On Sunday, we met our nephew Matt and his family for lunch at Chuy's in Humble, Texas.  Matt and Adele live in Cypress (West of Houston) so Humble was about half way between their home and our RV park.  We had not seen them in about 20 years and had never met their four children.  What a delightful family they are!!  Sunday evening there was an ice cream social.  I am already looking forward to it this next Sunday evening!!

Monday morning, we paid a visit to the Escapees National Office and learned about the mail forwarding service.  Seeing the operation and having heard good things about it, we signed up so we will no longer be a burden to family members who were forwarding our mail to us.  The Escapees mail operation is quite efficient with their own zip code and sorting facility.  We can even have UPS or FedEx deliver packages which will then be forwarded to us at general delivery wherever we tell them.

Yesterday I got up and started defrosting the freezer.  That is one disadvantage to living in an RV--the freezer is NOT frost free.  Since we have been on the road for six months, this is a task that will have to be completed twice a year.  It didn't take too long so we were able to drive to Humble to stock up on some frozen food at Sam's Club.  Humble is about an hour drive so we won't be making the trip too often.

The RV park has many activities so there is no reason to be bored.  This morning I went to a group called "Stitch and Chat" where people bring their craft project and can get help if needed.  Some of the ladies are extremely creative and have crocheted beautiful afghans or poncho and hat sets.  The hour passed very quickly!  Other activities include line dancing, movies, social hours, potlucks, genealogy class, and on and on.

Soon we will probably drive around to see some sites and I'll post pictures then!

EASY LIVING!!

Lake Tawakoni to Livingston, TX

Yesterday ended our two week stay at Lake Tawakoni and the peaceful lake setting.  We traveled about 200 miles to the Escapees Rainbow’s End RV Park in Livingston, TX.  The drive was uneventful and we got all set up in a site that we thought would be OK.  Unfortunately, the office was closed for lunch and when we tried to register after lunch, we discovered that we were in a site that was designated for one night only.  Since we are staying until Wednesday, we had to pack everything up and move.  We did that and we were both frustrated by the time we got re-setup.  Oh well that should teach us to be more patient!

After showers and after the LSU-Arkansas game was decided, we headed out for dinner.  We decided to try Buster McNutty’s Family Restaurant.  It was an excellent choice with ½ pound hamburgers.  We will probably go back for a regular dinner type of meal before we leave next week.

This morning, the park had a Biscuit and Gravy breakfast (YUM) and we met some really nice folks.  There is a daily social hour where we should be able to meet other folks.  If we had arrived a couple of days ago, we could have had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner even though we did enjoy our own peaceful steak dinner.

Today is kind of an indoor day as the rain comes and goes before a cold front arrives later.  At noon, it is 65 degrees which is pretty nice for November 26!  J

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

EASY LIVING!!

Lake Tawakoni (Near Dallas)

We arrived at Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails Preserve about a week ago for a much needed two week period of rest and relaxation.  The campground is nicely wooded on the shores of the lake which is about ten feet below normal levels due to the severe drought.  It is so low that the dock is totally out of water.  There is a resident armadillo in the campground, this is the first time I have ever seen one!

Campsite at Lake Tawakoni

Resident Armadillo

Dock at campground--no water!

Lake Tawakoni

Actually we haven’t rested all the time as Pat’s brother Roger and his wife Mary Ann live in McKinney just north of Dallas.  We went to their house (about an hour drive) on Saturday, Nov 12 with Duke and Abby.  Unknown to us, they were dog sitting and Duke went into protection mode when the extra dog came running out of the door.  This was a Boston Terrier vs. a black Lab—the Boston Terrier (Duke) came out on the “winning” side and we ended up paying the vet charge for a torn ear on the lab.  The lab is fine and has to wear one of those lovely cones for a while until the stitches are removed.

We spent one day driving all the way around Lake Tawakoni.  I don’t know the mileage but it was a looooong drive.  We did stop to visit the state park which is exceptionally nice with concrete pads and some with full hook-ups and 50 amp service.  They do offer some of the sites for monthly rates of $570 during the months of November-February.  If that is still in place next year, we might decide to stay in this area for at least a couple of months.  We can’t do it this year because we have made reservations at a resort in the Rio Grande Valley.

We have considered seeing some tourist spots, particularly the place where JFK was assassinated and the Stockyards in Fort Worth.  However, the JFK site is in downtown Dallas and we have no strong desire to drive into a big city.  The stockyards are in Fort Worth which I was told is a five hour drive there and back so that is a bit far when we have two puppies at home.  Maybe next time we will see some of the sights when we are in the area for more than two weeks.

We will be leaving on Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to head to Livingston, TX for a few days.

EASY LIVING!

Rest and Relaxation (Shreveport, LA)

We don’t really have much to report on this leg of our trip.  No history lesson today, either! 

We left Chicot County Park at about 8 am on November 8 to drive the 200 miles to Tall Pines RV Park in Shreveport, LA.  Our only plans were to pull the camper to Southern RV for a minor adjustment on the generator.  Our appointment was scheduled for 8am on Wednesday.  We were very lucky at Tall Pines—the site was so level that we didn’t have to unhitch the truck from the trailer so our departure would be easy.  The park is very nice for a city RV park.  There was a bit of highway noise from I-20 but the park itself is very clean and quiet with two dog parks—one for small dogs and another one for large dogs.  Duke and Abby had quite a good time chasing each other around the park.

We did find a Cheddar’s in Shreveport and went there for dinner.  I ordered a glass of wine and waited and waited for it.  Pat talked to the bartender and found out that the bar was out of the wine and the wine cellar was locked.  Apparently only the manager had the key to the storage and he miraculously appeared with my wine after Pat tracked him down.  Then we had a long wait for our food.  My grilled salmon was excellent but Pat said his steak could have been hotter.  I guess we are spoiled by the good service as well as good food at the Clarksville Cheddar’s!!

The rest of our stay was quiet and filled with doing laundry. 

EASY LIVING!!

Chicot County Park (Lake Village, AR)

Wow, I can’t believe I am so far behind on my blog postings.  We arrived at Chicot County Park in Arkansas on October 25.  All we really knew about the park was that it was on Chicot Lake across the Mississippi River from Greenville, MS.  Our choice to stay at this particular park was driven by the nightly cost of only $15.54 (senior rate) and the close proximity to friends, Wayne and Keron, who live in Leland.  Well what a surprise when we pulled into the park and were warmly greeted by the park managers, Raymond and Margie.  The view from our site was absolutely beautiful:

The sites are exceptionally spacious and there is no limit on the stay.  We might consider staying next fall for a month or more.  The only problem we found was the neighborhood dogs which are allowed to run loose.  The first two days of our two week stay were especially troublesome—I was walking Duke and Abby when I came upon a campsite that had two loose dogs that were visiting.  When one of the loose dogs went behind us, Duke and Abby turned me around (protecting me, I suppose) and literally pulled me off my feet and I went down face first.  The owners were quite apologetic and offered to help me back to our camper but, of course, I am much too stubborn to give in to a bit of a bloody mouth.  It turned out that my wounded lips healed fast but my bruised knees took longer (all is ok now).  The next day, Pat and I went to Sherman’s for a delicious steak dinner to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary.  We felt right at home with all sorts of memorabilia from Peyton Manning—Sherman’s owner and Manning’s father are good friends.  After we got back home, I leashed the dogs and started out the door with them.  This is when I discovered that there are neighborhood dogs that run free.  One of them was coming by our camper just as I opened the door; Duke and Abby saw the dog and took off; they pulled me down the steps and in the process I had to let go of the leashes.  Pat and I took after our pups—Abby stopped and came back but Duke continued chasing the stray.  Since it was dark and Duke is black, we thought we had lost him forever.  L  Abby and I continued looking all the way to the entrance to the park and all of a sudden, Duke comes out of the ditch.  His leash was wrapped around his legs but he was not harmed other than a couple of scratches.  What a relief!!  J  Fortunately, I was not hurt other than a couple of bruises.  After these two episodes, we always looked outside before taking the dogs out.  By the end of our stay, I was much more comfortable walking them on my own.

On the Saturday before Halloween, we attended Monuments on Main Street…a walking tour of the Greenville Cemetery with Wayne and Keron.  This was NOT a spooky event but rather a historical tour of the cemetery with actors portraying the featured personalities.  The event benefited three not-for-profits, Animal Rescue and Relief Fellowship (ARRF), Animal Welfare League (AWL), and The Greenville Cemetery.  The first featured grave site was Harriet Byron McAllister Blanton Theobald (April 17, 1798-January 23, 1888).  She is known as the “Mother of Greenville” and her philanthropic deeds helped to rebuild Greenville after the Civil War.  We visited six other grave sites of prominent citizens of Greenville.  This was the first year for the event and reportedly was more successful than the organizers imagined.

In front of this grave marker is a step--in the days of
horse and carriage, the carriage would stop at the
step so that paasengers could exit the carriage.

We also visited the Cypress Preserve.  The preserve is a forested swamp (it is partially dry at this time of the year).  “It is a wetland dominated by woody plants and characterized by saturated soils during the growing season and standing water during certain times of the year.  The highly organic soil of swamps forms a thick, black, nutrient rich environment for the growth of water tolerant trees such as the bald cypress.”  The preserve has trails through woodland and meadow to view various wildlife and vegetation.

Another day’s adventure led us to Vicksburg to drive through the Vicksburg National Military Park.  The driving tour begins at the visitor’s center along Union Avenue.  This was basically the Union line during the battle.  Different aspects of the battle are indicated by blue markers representing union activity and red markers for confederate movements.  In addition, every state that was represented by troops has a variety of monuments marking where different units participated plus a main monument for the entire state. 

African American Monument

Illinois Memorial--Names of all soldiers are listed inside

New Hampshire Memorial

Shirley House-only original building still standing

List of Names of Wisconsin Soldiers

Wisconsin Memorial

The drive continues past the USS Cairo Museum.  The museum contains artifacts from the Cairo as well as the remains of the boat.  The USS Cairo was the first vessel ever sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo (today called a mine).  Across the road from the museum is the Vicksburg National Cemetery.  Of the almost 17,000 Union soldiers buried in the cemetery, about 13,000 are unknown.  Established in 1866, the cemetery is also the final resting place for veterans of the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War.  It was closed to burials in 1961. 

USS Cairo

Vicksburg National Cemetery

The drive then continues along Confederate Avenue where the confederate states memorials and monuments are located.  It would probably take days to fully cover the entire park and read all the signs. 

Tennessee Memorial

Texas Memorial

Arkansas Memorial

An unusual highlight of our stay at Chicot County Park was to watch the demolition of the approach to the old bridge over the Mississippi River.  Mississippi and Arkansas built a new bridge to replace the old one that was a hazard to river transportation.  We happened to be driving back to the campground and saw several cars parked on the levee.  We decided to drive up and see what was going on.  We were told that they were setting explosives to blow up the bridge and that we could watch from another location.  We made it to the alternative location and waited for the show to begin.  When it did it was pretty fantastic!

New Bridge

Section of old bridge still standing

Bridge Approach before demolition

DEMOLITION!

After Demolition

Having grown up and lived all my life in the north (i.e. north of the Ohio River), I never saw cotton fields before this trip.  My initial reaction was how hard it must have been to harvest the cotton before the invention of the cotton gin.  Now a field can be harvested in a matter of a few hours.  We witnessed and photographed a field being harvested and the filed being prepared for plowing.  I am sure the farmers thought we werenuts but we found it quite interesting!!

All in all our stay in Chicot County was a lot of fun seeing friends and the sites of Chicot County, AR, Greenville, MS, and Vicksburg, MS.   On November 8, we continued our journey into Louisiana.

EASY LIVING!!